Drawing Near

“Immortal King Yuxiao?!” Yaoguang was both surprised and overjoyed. At this moment, his feelings held not the slightest ounce of pretense; it was an authentic mix of shock and delight. Ever since he heard the name “Creation Sect” and learned that a Dao Sovereign had ostensibly emerged within this faction, he had wondered whether this Dao Sovereign might be the Creation Group’s Immortal King Yuxiao, who had fallen three thousand years ago. After all, each conglomerate possessed only so many Immortal Kings. Furthermore, the lifespans of Immortal Kings were measured in scales of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of years. Aside from that era millions of years ago when the fighting was fiercest—where Immortal Kings fell at regular intervals—in the modern era, only one or two Immortal Kings had perished within the past ten thousand years. That was precisely why Yaoguang had taken the risk to investigate. He had not expected to hit the jackpot right off the bat. “Are you... truly Immortal King Yuxiao? The board member of Creation Group who fell three thousand years ago after being persecuted by Immortal King Xuanqing?!” Yaoguang asked. “That incident certainly caused quite a stir, but to say I was persecuted by Xuanqing is somewhat inaccurate. It was merely the pressure of circumstances and the entanglement of karma,” Immortal King Yuxiao said calmly. “Back then, I had already reached the pinnacle of the Path of the Void. To advance further and attain Level 19 clearance, I either had to wage an all-out war against Immortal King Tianyu to contest the position of Void Hegemon, or find an alternative route. However, Immortal King Tianyu had already established an overwhelming advantage in the Path of the Void, commanding a share exceeding three thousand. With my strength, I could not necessarily compete with him, so I chose to make a breakthrough along the Path of Karma instead. Ultimately, drawn by the threads of karma, I fell indirectly at the hands of Chairman Xuanqing.” He offered a brief explanation without delving into specifics. Instead, he turned his gaze to Yaoguang. “Which director cultivated an immortal spirit like you? Level 17 already qualifies you as upper management in the conglomerate. Why haven’t I seen you before?” “I was originally just a minor figure in Creation Group,” Yaoguang replied. “Through a stroke of serendipity, I rapidly climbed to Level 17.” “A stroke of serendipity? In this era, the greatest fortune lies in the Ancient Immortal Realm. Yet the vast majority of opportunities in the Ancient Immortal Realm are concentrated in the Immortal Realm itself. You have not entered the Immortal Realm, so even if you obtained fortunate opportunities, you wouldn’t be able to connect to the Lord of Yuanxi. How could you have elevated your clearance level so swiftly?” Immortal King Yuxiao looked at Yaoguang, a trace of surprise in his expression. “My fortune wasn’t found in the Ancient Immortal Realm, but in the Hunyuan Realm,” Yaoguang said, putting on a surprised expression of his own. “Does Your Highness not know?” “The Hunyuan Realm?” Immortal King Yuxiao pondered slightly. “Although I do not know what has happened in the Hunyuan Realm, its hierarchy has long since calcified. Advancing in status within the Hunyuan Realm is virtually impossible, which is precisely why the Nine Great Conglomerates joined forces to instigate this inter-realm war and keep it going for millions of years... Even if you managed to advance in the Hunyuan Realm, it could only have been from Level 16 to Level 17. There could not have been any massive leap in rank.” “Your Highness possesses piercing insight. I did indeed advance from Level 16 to Level 17,” Yaoguang said with a smile. “However, Creation Group has a vast roster of personnel, with dozens holding Level 18 clearance. Why would anyone remember a mere Level 16 like me?” Hearing this, Immortal King Yuxiao thought about it for a moment and could only accept the explanation. As a board member of the conglomerate and a Level 18 immortal spirit, he usually interacted with Level 17 and Level 18 immortal spirits. While he might take note of Level 16 immortal spirits from time to time, claiming that he knew every single Level 16 in the conglomerate would be overestimating his capacity. After all, immortal spirits relied heavily on the Lord of Yuanxi. If they ever needed information, they could simply query the Lord of Yuanxi directly. Aside from an exceptional few, he would never bother committing Level 16 immortal spirits to memory. “Since you are also a member of my Creation Group, you can stay by my side and work for me from now on. Once we enter the Immortal Realm, with your Level 17 clearance, even without personal connections, becoming a department director in charge of conquering a particular Grand Dao will be well within reach.” Immortal King Yuxiao made his promise. Hearing this, Yaoguang breathed an inward sigh of relief. At this moment, he confirmed two critical conjectures. First: Outside the Immortal Realm, in the lower realm’s starry cosmos, one could not contact the Lord of Yuanxi. Even a Level 18 clearance holder like Immortal King Yuxiao was no exception. Second: After entering the Ancient Immortal Realm, an immortal spirit’s true body remained completely ignorant of events transpiring inside the Ancient Immortal Realm. Even entering the Immortal Realm itself was no exception. It was just like playing a virtual game: their entire body entered a dormant state akin to a gaming pod, leaving their consciousness to operate in the lower realm and the Immortal Realm. Only when their consciousness here was annihilated or destroyed would it be guided back to the true body by the Lord of Yuanxi. And this process came at the cost of having their clearance wiped clean. When that happened, even an entity as mighty as an Immortal King could only start over from Level 13 clearance. Naturally, if they possessed certain secrets, submitting those secrets would allow them to swiftly restore their clearance level. This Immortal King Yuxiao was a prime example. He had fallen three thousand years ago and entered the lower starry cosmos of the Ancient Immortal Realm two thousand years ago. In other words, it took him merely a millennium to restore his clearance status. Of course, whether his restored clearance had reached his peak Level 18 or remained at Level 17 like Yaoguang’s was still unknown. ‘In other words, as long as Immortal King Yuxiao does not die, when I act in his place in the Immortal Realm, neither his true body nor the Lord of Yuanxi will be able to detect the slightest anomaly.’ Yaoguang understood clearly. Now, things were much simpler. The only remaining dilemma was how to capture Immortal King Yuxiao alive and keep him imprisoned in the lower realm for an extended period. ‘I should approach this through the Grand Dao of the Soul, the Grand Dao of the Mind, and the Grand Dao of Illusion—directly plunging his soul and mind into a dreamlike trance so that he remains completely oblivious to being imprisoned and locked away...’ Yaoguang pondered. In his memories, there was indeed a corresponding composite immortal art. It was called Grand Dream of a Thousand Years. It encompassed five Grand Daos: Soul, Mind, Illusion, Creation, and Void. The only issue was that his supreme sacred artifact did not yet possess the capabilities of the Grand Dao of Illusion. No matter; judging by Immortal King Yuxiao’s posture... “Judging by this Gate of the Immortal Realm, it must have opened once already, right? Your Highness did not ascend when the gate opened—could it be that you intend to accomplish great things in the lower realm?” Yaoguang did not give an immediate answer to the offer, instead inquiring with a smile. Immortal King Yuxiao found nothing strange in this. To some extent, as a board member, he was like a tiger stranded in the shallows. As a Level 17 immortal spirit, Yaoguang would be valued under any director’s wing; becoming a department director would be trivial, and if he performed meritorious deeds, he could even aim for a vice-presidency. Under such circumstances, before pledging loyalty, he would naturally weigh the pros and cons. A lord chooses his subjects, but subjects also choose their lord. “According to my observations, the Nine Great Conglomerates’ sluggish progress in the Ancient Immortal Realm has already stirred dissatisfaction among certain figures,” Immortal King Yuxiao explained, looking at Yaoguang. “This discontent has projected onto the Lord of Yuanxi, prompting the Lord of Yuanxi to expand the scope of erosion. Within a millennium at the earliest, or an epoch at the latest, the great Supreme Intelligence will project its power into the lower realm’s starry cosmos, completely enveloping the Ancient Immortal Realm. Once the Lord of Yuanxi makes this move, coordinating from the lower realm will undoubtedly be an immense achievement.” Immortal King Yuxiao continued, “If you follow me and work diligently, this merit alone will suffice to elevate your clearance to Level 18. When you subsequently enter the conglomerate headquarters in the Immortal Realm, you will start at least as a president, and perhaps even enter the board of directors directly to steer the direction of a colossus like Creation Group.” “A millennium at the earliest, an epoch at the latest...” Hearing this, Yaoguang felt even more relieved. This proved that Immortal King Yuxiao would not ascend to the Immortal Realm for a very long time. Meanwhile, the lower realm was like the countryside—transportation and communication were terribly inconvenient. His Shaohua incarnation could easily assume Immortal King Yuxiao’s identity to enter Creation Group or Xiyu Group and hit the ground running. “Since Your Highness has such confidence, I shall naturally see this through with you to the end,” Yaoguang declared at once. “Good.” A smile surfaced on Immortal King Yuxiao’s face. “With the assistance of a ‘Dao Sovereign’ like you, my subsequent operations will be far smoother. Otherwise, developing the Creation Sect on my own would be no easy feat.” “I am a member of Creation Group to begin with, and I have long admired Your Highness’s deeds. Naturally, I will do my utmost to assist you.” Yaoguang cupped his hands. “Is the next step for the Creation Sect to replace the Yongsheng Sect and become number one in the universe? This path will inevitably involve fighting across all fronts. I am willing to be the sharpest sword in Your Highness’s hand, slaying all enemies who refuse to submit to the Creation Sect.” “Excellent. Then I shall watch your performance. If you do well, I will not disappoint you either. I can impart to you my experience in advancing to Immortal King, along with various Immortal King techniques, allowing you to attain genuine ‘Dao Sovereign’ strength within a few millennia.” Immortal King Yuxiao did not mind painting a grand picture. Though the Immortal King realm, advancement experience, and numerous immortal arts could be purchased and downloaded directly from the Lord of Yuanxi, without exception, they all required points. His promise carried immense weight for any Level 17 immortal spirit. Yet to Yaoguang... It was merely empty talk. What he truly cared about was spending time with this Immortal King, getting a feel for his habits and patterns, and then... Completing the Grand Dao Pagoda’s upgrade so he could capture him directly once he possessed sufficient certainty. Thereupon, Immortal King Yuxiao summoned Dao Lord Chongguang. Only then did Yaoguang discover that Dao Lord Chongguang was actually an immortal spirit as well. However, his rank was lower, at only Level 16. He was Immortal King Yuxiao’s confidant. Of course, his true confidants possessed Level 17 clearance, but they remained behind at Creation Group in the Immortal Realm, awaiting his triumphant return. Lacking personnel by his side, he could only bring along this Level 16 Dao Lord Chongguang. After some discussion, Immortal King Yuxiao implemented minor reforms in the Creation Sect’s structure. His position as sect master remained unchanged, but Chongguang and Yaoguang were appointed as deputy sect masters. Chongguang was placed in charge of internal affairs—overseeing sect development, resource allocation, and intelligence gathering—while Yaoguang took charge of external affairs, handling external slaughter and suppressing all who refused to submit. One could glean where each stood in Immortal King Yuxiao’s favor from this arrangement, yet Yaoguang was exceedingly satisfied with it. He was already in the middle of hunting surrounding Dao Lords to reclaim their shares of Grand Daos; having dozens of Dao Lords from the Creation Sect gathering intelligence for him would improve his efficiency to some degree compared to working alone. As for those Dao Lords who had heard rumors and sought to join the Creation Sect, whom he could not simply refine and kill on sight... It did not matter. Once he possessed the strength to capture Immortal King Yuxiao alive, the entire Creation Sect would naturally be swept up in his net alongside him.