Creation

Creation Group. Yaoguang's Shaohua avatar spent several years wandering through Creation Immortal City. Having used that time to let his true body in the lower realm decipher all of Immortal King Yuxiao's routines and counterstrategies for entering the Creation Group, he finally made his way to one of the city's premier restaurants. The restaurant was built atop a thirty-thousand-meter-tall spire. Directly above it lay an energy matrix connected to one of the thirty-six floating islands. Aside from the thirty-six floating immortal islands themselves, this was arguably the highest point in all of Creation Immortal City. When Yaoguang arrived, he could clearly see cultivators dressed impeccably, waiting outside in long queues. Whenever a group was called, they would enter with joyful faces, stepping into the dining hall with an attitude bordering on pilgrimage. To dine here seemed to be the greatest honor of their lives. The restaurant staff maintained an outwardly respectful demeanor, their etiquette completely beyond reproach. Yet deep in their eyes... Lingered a condescending disdain, regarding the queuing crowd as if they were a bunch of ridiculous clowns clumsily mimicking their betters. Of course, that attitude vanished when facing Yaoguang. The moment they noticed that he wore no suppression bracelet on his wrist and was walking toward their establishment, an elegant female cultivator hurried over to greet him. "Distinguished guest, will you be dining with us? Our Ascending Immortal Tower boasts the finest ingredients in all of Creation Immortal City. We will surely provide you with a delightful experience." "Mm." Yaoguang responded simply and followed the woman through a separate corridor into the restaurant. This sight drew intense envy from the cultivators waiting outside, some of whom had been queued for months. Yet not a single person found it unfair or abnormal. Countless years of living in Creation Immortal City had gradually etched a deep-seated awe of social hierarchy into their very marrow. Forget cultivators of lower cultivation stages facing those of higher cultivation—even high-stage native cultivators dared not show the slightest defiance before distinguished guests of lower cultivation stages. Their zeal for class supremacy ran so deep that even if beaten to death, they likely wouldn't dare fight back. During his years wandering Creation Immortal City, Yaoguang had even read news of a Dao Lord being framed by a Golden Core Stage cultivator named Liu Ruyan and driven to suicide. Guided by the staff, Yaoguang took the VIP passageway, bypassing the outer dining hall reserved for ordinary patrons, and entered the inner hall. Upon stepping inside, a Void Shattering Stage cultivator was already waiting. He respectfully ushered Yaoguang further in, asking, "Distinguished guest, do you require VIP service, or would you like to upgrade to Immortal Spirit service..." "The Spirit Transformation Pavilion, according to the highest Immortal King standard," Yaoguang said. "The Spirit Transformation Pavilion? Immortal King standard?" The Void Shattering cultivator froze momentarily, looking at a loss. "Distinguished guest, could you be mistaken? Our Ascending Immortal Tower has no Immortal King standard. Moreover... the Spirit Transformation Pavilion requires prior reservation. You..." "Report my request directly to the chairman of your Ascending Immortal Restaurant Group. He will understand," Yaoguang stated in an undeniable tone. Gazing at Yaoguang, who wore no suppression bracelet, the Void Shattering cultivator dared not neglect his words. He quickly bowed. "Please wait a moment, distinguished guest. I will consult our manager at once." Soon, another Void Shattering cultivator hurried over and respectfully escorted Yaoguang into the Spirit Transformation Pavilion at the deepest part of the restaurant. Yaoguang did not wait long in the pavilion. Before long, a specialized device activated, followed immediately by the projection of a divine mind. "May I ask who Your Honor is..." "What, Dikong, you don't recognize me?" Yaoguang chuckled softly. "My aura has changed somewhat, but..." He directly mobilized a wisp of immortal spirit power to simulate a distinct vibrational frequency. Upon sensing this unique resonance, the cultivator named Dikong grew visibly excited. "Your Highness, you... you have returned?!" He immediately followed up, "I shall summon Wuyin, Huanshi, and the others to pay their respects to Your Highness at once." Yaoguang nodded slightly. "Just the three of you will suffice." Dikong, Wuyin, and Huanshi were all Immortal King Yuxiao's trusted confidants. Not only were they Level 17 immortal spirits, but each was fiercely loyal. Level 17 immortal spirits belonged to the near-peak echelon of forces deployed from the Hunyuan Realm into the Ancient Immortal Realm—across the entire Ancient Immortal Realm, there were probably only a few thousand of them in total. If Immortal King Yuxiao wanted to break the stalemate upon returning to the Creation Group, he needed their strength. Of course, this loyalty persisted because he had only been away from the Creation Group for three thousand years, and his fall had merely been an accident while comprehending the Grand Dao of Karma. Had he truly offended Chairman Xuanqing and stayed away for tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of years, the monkeys would have scattered when the tree fell; how many would still follow and serve him would be anyone's guess. After all, all intelligent beings were driven by self-interest. Soon, the three immortal spirits—Dikong, Wuyin, and Huanshi—arrived via special channels at the Ascending Immortal Tower's Spirit Transformation Pavilion. Although the restaurant group behind this tower was considered luxurious and prestigious by others in Creation Immortal City, standing as a titan of the dining industry, even the group's chairman was merely one of Dikong's disciples. Upon learning that Dikong was arriving in person, the entire Ascending Immortal Tower had closed its doors to outside guests. Yaoguang paid no heed to these details. Looking at the three immortal spirits, he smiled and adopted Immortal King Yuxiao's customary tone: "Only three thousand years have passed. Your duties within the group shouldn't have seen major changes, right?" "Indeed," Dikong answered immediately. "I still oversee several departments, including the Grand Dao of True Knowledge, in my capacity as Vice President." "My position hasn't changed either," Huanshi said, though he glanced toward Wuyin. The latter immortal spirit hesitated briefly before speaking. "Personnel recruitment has always been a critical post. Director Alpha has already set his sights on me and is making trouble. Furthermore, he has swayed quite a few of my subordinates to his side..." "Alpha." Immortal King Yuxiao nodded slightly. In his repeated deductions using Immortal King Yuxiao's cognition, Yaoguang had clashed violently with this director several times. Open rivalries and covert maneuvers were numerous between them, so he naturally had ways to handle the present situation. "I know what to do. He only dared to jump out because he saw that something had happened to me. Once I return to the board of directors, he will quickly fall in line," Yaoguang said. "Return to the board?" The eyes of the immortal spirits lit up with delight. "Has Your Highness's clearance been restored? Have you secured enough Dao shares to cultivate into an Immortal King?" An Immortal King, or Level 18 clearance, was the minimum threshold to join the group's board of directors. "Since I have come, it means I am confident," Yaoguang said, standing up. "For various reasons, I cannot disclose the opportunity I have obtained, but... I believe that once I meet the chairman, he will make the right choice. Now, take me to see him." He added indifferently, "After all, I currently hold no rank and haven't officially joined the Creation Group." "I will arrange the meeting with the chairman immediately," Dikong replied at once. Yaoguang was their backer; his return to the board of directors would be an immense boon to them. Soon, the group escorted Yaoguang straight toward Creation Immortal Island hovering above. As Vice Presidents of the conglomerate, they belonged to the management class, and having obtained permission from Chairman Xuanqing, their journey was completely smooth. On the way to meet the chairman of the Creation Group, Yaoguang discreetly observed the personnel he encountered. Upper management within the Creation Group was entirely monopolized by immortal spirits. Native cultivators could at best reach the ranks of supervisor or director. The vast majority of native cultivators languished at the very bottom as ordinary employees. The number of immortal spirits Lord of Yuanxi could mobilize was too small. More precisely, too few immortal spirits were willing to take the gamble and venture into the Ancient Immortal Realm. Divided among the Nine Great Groups, there were only a few hundred thousand per conglomerate. Given the sheer scale of the Creation Group, a few hundred thousand immortal spirits were a drop in the ocean. To effectively govern the territory of the Ancient Immortal Realm, they inevitably had to enlist the strength of native cultivators to achieve their goals. After observing for a moment, Yaoguang soon arrived at the chairman's executive office area. Not a single native cultivator could be seen here. The lowest clearance among those present appeared to be Level 16. 'In the Hunyuan Realm, the scarcity of clearance holders above Level 15 escalates tenfold to thirtyfold with each level, and for certain critical ranks it can reach a hundredfold—for instance, only one Level 16 holder for every one or two hundred Level 15 holders... Level 16 clearance holders are already the elite of the elite. This chairman has quite a gathering of talent under his command,' Yaoguang observed. Toppling this chairman would be no easy feat. Resorting to brute force would create a situation detrimental to the Creation Group's development and might even provoke the Lord of Creation to intervene. It seemed he had thought things through too simply before. Playing against them within the rules of the Ancient Immortal Realm and the Hunyuan Realm, defeating them was by no means an easy task. Fortunately... The ability of A Thousand Years of Dreams to leverage Higher-Dimensional Cognition had allowed him to break free of this predicament. Since Xuanqing had invited only Yaoguang, Dikong, Huanshi, and the others halted outside the chairman's office entrance. Led by the chairman's executive assistant, Yaoguang stepped through the immortal formation that served as the main gate. An extraordinarily clean, boundless expanse of pure white space unfolded before his eyes. The supreme ruler of the Creation Group in the Ancient Immortal Realm, Chairman Xuanqing, appeared before him. "Yuxiao, your swift return comes as quite a surprise. It seems you have gained considerable insight from comprehending the Grand Dao of Karma," Xuanqing remarked with a smile. "The Grand Dao of Karma and the Grand Dao of Fate are mysterious and elusive. Even though we clearly hold the absolute upper hand, we have never been able to wipe out the remaining remnants of the Ancient Immortal Realm. The Gate of Karma and the Gate of Fate must be behind this," Yaoguang replied. "We have sensed that as well, which is why the main forces of the Nine Great Groups are concentrated around the Gate of Fate and the Gate of Karma." Xuanqing sighed slightly. "After all, they are the final bastions of the Ancient Immortal Realm. Faced with their desperate death throes, the sovereigns may have nothing to fear, but immortal spirits like us at Level 19 and Level 18 could very well perish within." At this point, he paused and smiled. "Perhaps our hesitation and delay in launching the final assault are themselves influenced by the Gate of Fate and the Gate of Karma. After all, we are standing on the Ancient Immortal Realm's ground." Yaoguang nodded. "Indeed. However, while I have not unraveled the profundities of the Grand Dao of Karma, I did make some gains in the lower realm." "Oh?" Xuanqing looked over with interest. With a flick of his finger, Yaoguang sent a ripple of space-time undulating outward. "The Grand Dao of Time?" Xuanqing was taken aback. "You don't intend to pursue the Void..." Before he could finish his sentence, another ripple—this one of the void—rippled forth from Yaoguang's hand. The alternating display of these two powers caused the usually serene and composed Immortal King Xuanqing to suddenly rise to his feet. "This is..." "Indeed." Yaoguang nodded. "I have simultaneously mastered the powers of time and the void."