Turbulence

*Buzz! Buzz!* Within the Immortal Realm. Yaoguang’s share of the Dao of the Void broke past the one-thousand mark. And the moment his share surpassed one thousand and he attained the status of Immortal King, he sensed something. He divided off a sliver of his attention to "look" at the Dao Fruit born from the completion of his [Dao Integration · Void] branch. The Dao Fruit was exceedingly simple. "Dao Master." As Yaoguang spoke the words, he could not help but glance toward the Dao Fruit granted when his Item Refining reached Level 16. That Dao Fruit had borne the exact same name. Yet compared to that one, the nature of the fruit before him was undoubtedly far more overbearing. "Master of an entire Dao." Yaoguang paused, then continued, "Or rather, its true title ought to be Dao Ancestor." With this Dao Fruit, coupled with his control over one thousand shares of the Grand Dao of the Void, he understood that he now had the leverage to move mountains with minimal effort. By drawing upon the power of this Dao Fruit alongside his own shares, he possessed near-absolute, dominating control over all other shares of the Grand Dao of the Void. As long as he was willing, he could claim every single trace of this Dao across the cosmos of the Ancient Immortal Realm for himself in a matter of moments. This method of seizing ownership was distinct from Immortal King Tianyu's brute-force plunder and drawing of the ubiquitous shares of the Grand Dao of the Void in the Ancient Immortal Realm. Instead, it would "expel" those Void Dao Lords who had already achieved Dao Integration directly from the Grand Dao of the Void... He could even "purge" them entirely from the Grand Dao of the Void, thereby reclaiming the Dao shares that belonged to them. When that time came, he, this "Dao Master," would truly become an existence rivaling a Void Dao Ancestor. However... "Forcibly stripping the Grand Dao of the Void from all Void Dao Lords, Void True Immortals, and Void Immortal Venerables... would cause too great a commotion. It would easily draw the gaze of the Lord of Yuanxi. Therefore... it is still better to eliminate Immortal King Tianyu through a less conspicuous approach." Yaoguang settled his mind. Eliminating the Void Immortal King would, on one hand, incite infighting among the Nine Great Conglomerates, leaving them no leisure to report the matter to the Lord of Yuanxi in time. On the other hand, once he obtained the shares of the Grand Dao of the Void held by Immortal King Tianyu, his own share would approach nearly half. At that point, when he forcibly reclaimed all the shares in the world, the entire process would be reduced to a single instant. The time required to become a "Void Dao Ancestor" would be compressed to the absolute minimum, nipping all potential crises in the bud. "Still, becoming a Void Dao Ancestor is not enough. Even if the Void Dao Ancestor and the Time Dao Ancestor merge into one, they can only threaten the Nine Sovereigns without truly rivaling them. The best way is to acquire the powers of Fate and Karma as well, combining the four Supreme Grand Daos into one. When that happens, contending with the Sovereigns will naturally be well within my grasp." Thinking to this point, Yaoguang remembered that the Hunyuan Realm possessed nine Sovereigns. And there was also the Lord of Yuanxi, who was equivalent to a peak Sovereign... For a moment, he could not help but inhale a deep breath. "I'm afraid that still falls slightly short. Only by merging the Three Thousand Grand Daos into one will I possess the power to suppress the Nine Sovereigns and the Lord of Yuanxi." At this thought, Yaoguang weighed his options slightly. The combination of the Dao Ancestors of the two Supreme Grand Daos—Time and the Void—could merely pose a threat to the Nine Sovereigns. Judging from this, a Dao Ancestor was likely one realm below a Sovereign. Combining the four Supreme Grand Daos would elevate one to a level rivaling a Sovereign. And once the four Supreme Grand Daos further integrated all Three Thousand Grand Daos, one's might would match the combined strength of all Nine Sovereigns and the Lord of Yuanxi, reaching an entirely new realm—the Cosmic Level. That meant commanding the power of the entire universe. When that day came, standing against the Hunyuan Realm... Thinking of this, Yaoguang paused. "I don't truly wish to see the Hunyuan Realm and the Ancient Immortal Realm fight to mutual annihilation, tearing the universe to pieces. Once I truly possess that level of power, I expect I will have already developed the divine ability beyond A Thousand Years in a Great Dream, and perhaps I will genuinely be able to wield 'higher-dimensional' power. At that point, there will hardly be any need to fight at all." Yaoguang calmed his thoughts. He turned his gaze toward the branch of [Dao Integration · Time]. Next, he needed to fill the progress of this branch as well and condense the Dao Fruit of the Dao of Time in the same manner. For him at present, this process was not difficult; it was merely a matter of time. Thereupon, Yaoguang quieted his mind once more. Refining one vessel of the Dao of Time and the Dao of the Void after another, he tempered the supreme sacred artifact known as the River of Time while steadily advancing his cultivation progress in the Dao of Time. Yet after this peaceful seclusion had lasted for several centuries, Yaoguang suddenly sensed something. To be precise, it was his true body in the lower realm that had felt a disturbance. *** Amidst the sea of stars. Yaoguang, who had just emerged from the headquarters of a faction composed of six Dao Lords, suddenly took out a jade talisman. At this moment, the jade talisman had shattered. The universe was vast, and communication across such distances was by no means an easy feat. Through his Item Refining methods, Yaoguang had crafted pairs of jade talismans. Whenever one talisman of a pair broke, the other would shatter along with it, serving as an alert. He had left these talismans in several key locations, which typically housed people or assets he held in high regard. And right now, the shattered talisman in his hand corresponded to... "Dao Lord Zongmai of the Xingri Sect?" Yaoguang was somewhat surprised. "I thought the Yongsheng Sect would be the first to retaliate against me. Instead, trouble arose on the Xingri Sect's side first?" He sensed outward; he was currently very far from the Xingri Sect. More than thirty billion light-years away. Yet having already effectively become a "Void Dao Ancestor," his speed at this moment could scarcely be described by ordinary notions of "speed." Although an insufficient share prevented him from treating the "void" of the entire universe as an extension of his own body... With his absolute mastery over his own void power as a "Dao Master," even in the starry sky of the lower realm, the time required to cross thirty billion light-years was compressed to less than three years. At such a speed... Circling the entire universe would not take long at all. With a mere thought, void power surged forth from the Grand Dao Pagoda, quickly resonating with the void energy that permeated every corner of existence. In an instant, his entire figure was enveloped by the power of the Grand Dao of the Void. Though he clearly remained standing where he was, the surrounding starfield twisted violently. It was as if an image or canvas was being pulled backward at extreme speed, shifting its perspective toward the deepest reaches of the cosmos. Maintaining this state, he even had the spare attention to refine A Thousand Years in a Great Dream. Three years passed in the blink of an eye. When he emerged from this state, the Xingri Sect was already close at hand. With the distance shortened, he quickly detected Dao Lord Zongmai's location through various means. With a few void traversals, he arrived at an ordinary planet completely engulfed in yellow sands and raging storms. Upon reaching the planet, he swept his divine sense outward and swiftly located a palace shrouded within a Level 14 formation. This formation completely severed the aura of every living being within the palace from the outside world. Yet before Yaoguang, whose cultivation realm exceeded that of lower-realm beings by untold leagues, it offered no concealment whatsoever; he saw through it at a single glance. With a flicker through the void, he stepped directly into the palace. Inside, Zongmai and six other Dao Lords were gathered amid a heavy, grim atmosphere, their brows locked in deep worry. Several of them appeared severely weakened, clearly suffering the backlash from unleashing massive, high-powered Dao arts in rapid succession. Yaoguang had not concealed his presence when he blinked inside, and Dao Lord Zongmai and the others detected it immediately. The moment they sensed Yaoguang's aura, their posture of facing a mortal foe instantly gave way to overwhelming relief. Right away, Dao Lord Zongmai stepped forward to pay his respects: "Greetings, Dao Sovereign." After bowing, a trace of guilt appeared on his face. "Dao Sovereign... the Gate of the Immortal Realm has been..." "Tell me how many of them there are," Yaoguang said, waving a hand to cut him off. "Their core members number only four—individuals we have never heard of before. The rest are twelve Dao Lords from the surrounding starry skies who were sympathetic to the Xingri Sect, making sixteen Dao Lords in total. But only one of them actually took action! And that single individual displayed combat power no weaker than that of a Dao Sovereign!" Dao Lord Zongmai explained with a grave expression, then paused before adding, "Of course, that Dao Sovereign’s strength cannot be mentioned in the same breath as yours. However, judging from their exchanges... the other three, even if inferior to him, are likely not far behind. Especially one among them... from the respectful attitude displayed by the attacking Dao Sovereign Ronglian, he is likely... even stronger." "Even stronger?" Hearing Zongmai's words, Yaoguang grew somewhat intrigued. "Did you witness this Dao Sovereign Ronglian take action? Was he the sort of quasi-Dao Sovereign who merely calls himself one, or did he possess the strength of a true Dao Sovereign?" "Had I witnessed that Dao Sovereign make his move, I'm afraid I wouldn't be standing here alive to speak with you, Dao Sovereign. As for whether he was a quasi-Dao Sovereign or a true one... having witnessed your divine might with my own eyes, I believe I have the discernment to judge. Even the attacking Dao Sovereign Ronglian was a genuine Dao Sovereign." Dao Lord Zongmai produced a jade stone. "This contains the battle scenes reconstructed from the information we gathered, as well as the data on those mysterious Dao Lords and Dao Sovereigns." With that, he added with a solemn countenance, "If I am not mistaken, this is Dao Sovereign Huanyin learning that his lower-realm lineage had been destroyed, and dispatching an avatar in person." "An avatar of Dao Sovereign Huanyin?" Yaoguang shook his head upon hearing this. Having reached the Immortal Realm, he understood clearly that the Immortal Kings of that realm could not project so-called avatars or incarnations down to the lower realm to take action. The underlying reason why so many believed that lower-realm Dao Sovereigns were avatars of certain Immortal Kings... Was fundamentally because when an Immortal King perished, their true body in the Hunyuan Realm remained unharmed. They would then re-enter the Ancient Immortal Realm via the lower realm, displaying invincible strength that led to a series of widespread misunderstandings. He did not believe that Dao Sovereign Huanyin would discard his Immortal King physique in the Immortal Realm and his position as a director of the Star Sun Group just for the sake of a minor sect like the Xingri Sect, running all the way down to the lower realm. Pondering this, he divided off a sliver of his attention to scan the jade talisman. Yet within moments, he realized something. A look of surprise surfaced in his eyes. "It seems... it really is Dao Sovereign Huanyin?" There had been no word within the Star Sun Group of this Immortal King perishing, had there? An avatar technique cultivated through one body holding dual souls? Furthermore... The attacking Dao Sovereign Ronglian genuinely possessed strength on par with a true Dao Sovereign. Although the circulation of his power was not quite as fluid as that of a genuine Dao Sovereign, it was noticeably superior to that of Dao Sovereign Changqing or Dao Sovereign Po Suo. After a brief contemplation, Yaoguang quickly reached a conclusion. "A Level 18 Immortal Spirit who downloaded the cultivation experience of an Immortal King, yet never actually cultivated to become one!"