Encroachment

"A Level 18 immortal spirit." This deduction came as something of a surprise to Yaoguang. For the sake of a minor Xingri Sect, it was surprising enough that Dao Sovereign Huanyin had personally descended to the lower realm through unknown means, but he had actually brought along a Level 18 immortal spirit as well? Furthermore, judging by the way that Level 18 immortal spirit calling himself Dao Sovereign Ronglian and Dao Sovereign Huanyin spoke to the other two quasi–Dao Sovereigns, those two were likely immortal spirits as well. And at least Level 17 immortal spirits at that. Were they merely Level 16, they might not have had the standing to speak with Dao Sovereign Huanyin on equal terms. "Immortal spirits and Dao Sovereigns bunching up like this?" Yaoguang muttered a quiet remark. Right then, a thought struck him. Immediately, his Shaohua avatar in Creation Immortal City of the Immortal Realm sent a transmission directly to Chairman Xuanqing. Faced with a message from Yaoguang, the chairman dared not neglect it, swiftly projecting a sliver of divine sense over. "Yuxiao? Are you facing any difficulties in your cultivation?" "Not at all. I previously heard that the great Lord of Yuanxi intended to project His power out of the Immortal Realm and spread into the starry universe of the lower realm. Is there any truth to this?" Yaoguang asked. Xuanqing was not surprised that Yaoguang knew of this news and nodded. "Our siege of the Ancient Immortal Realm has stalled for a long time, and issues have arisen in the distribution of benefits among our Nine Great Conglomerates. We have to bear some of the responsibility, but most of it is due to the interference of destiny and karma. Furthermore, our Nine Great Conglomerates are backed by the Nine Sovereigns, so it is impossible for the Lord of Yuanxi to punish us over this matter. Yet He attaches paramount importance to breaching the Ancient Immortal Realm, so long ago He began preparing to spread His power into the starry sky of the lower realm." At this point, he smiled. "Even though the lower realm has only Dao Lords, and the share each Dao Lord holds is usually only one or two—holding three or four is considered quite a lot—their vast numbers cannot be overlooked. When all those shares are added together, the total is no less than the wealth held by an entire major conglomerate. As such, many still take it quite seriously." "Did the conglomerate send immortal spirits over?" Yaoguang asked. "No one from our branch went, but the conglomerate's headquarters in the Hunyuan Realm dispatched quite a few elites. The leader, Lingquan, is an immortal spirit of Level 18! He is wary of the higher perils of the Immortal Realm, but he intends to showcase his might in the lower realm's starry sky to see if he can make a push for Level 19 clearance." Xuanqing replied nonchalantly, "In addition, six Level 17 immortal spirits and dozens to hundreds of Level 16 immortal spirits have made their move, all eager for a piece of the pie." With that, he shook his head. "Though the total shares in the starry sky of the lower realm equal that of an entire major conglomerate, nurturing two or three holders of Level 19 clearance is the absolute limit. Among the Nine Great Conglomerates, while perhaps not every single one has sent Level 18 immortal spirits, the majority have. There are more Level 18 immortal spirits than can be counted on one hand, and Level 17 immortal spirits number in the dozens or hundreds. Under such circumstances, seizing the lion's share to break through to Level 19 clearance will be anything but easy." Hearing this, Yaoguang's expression turned somewhat peculiar. *Good grief. Too scared to hit the high-level dungeons, so they team up to grind the low-level ones?* *These immortal spirits of the Hunyuan Realm... are certainly cautious to a fault.* "Why has Director Yuxiao suddenly taken an interest in this matter?" Xuanqing asked with a smile. "It's just that after attaining the status of Time and Void Immortal King, I will have to face the formidable Immortal King Tianyu. Feeling quite a bit of pressure, I wondered about obtaining more shares and decided to make some inquiries." "Immortal King Tianyu is indeed formidable, but over the years, our scheme to sow discord has begun to bear fruit. When we make our actual move, the board members of Immortal King Yuankun's faction will choose to turn a blind eye. Moreover, when we strike at Immortal King Tianyu, we will not target his entire faction, but lay siege to him alone. With the might of our eight Immortal Kings combined, accomplishing this shouldn't be difficult," Chairman Xuanqing said with a smile. "Oh? You've already formulated a plan?" Yaoguang's eyes brightened. "Yes." Xuanqing nodded. "Originally, our greatest concern was that Immortal King Tianyu would lodge a complaint with the Lord of Yuanxi, immediately requesting the Lord of Yuanxi's descent for judgment the moment he was attacked. However, the Lord of Yuanxi will soon enter the lower-realm universe. At the moment His power spreads beyond the Immortal Realm, His computational power will naturally be diverted on a massive scale. At that time, we will have all the immortal spirits of the entire Creation Group submit computational power requests simultaneously, causing computational latency. The Lord of Yuanxi will temporarily have no attention to spare, which will naturally grant us the opportunity to strike Immortal King Tianyu with a thunderous blow." "Seizing the opportunity to cause lag for the Lord of Yuanxi, is it..." Yaoguang nodded. This was indeed a fine plan. However, because of this, the battle could certainly not last long. To that end, Xuanqing would likely have to unveil a lethal trump card. Pondering this, he said, "Which of the Nine Great Conglomerates are involved, and who are the immortal spirits they deployed? I'd like to see if I might exchange for some shares from them when the time comes." Naturally, Xuanqing would not pry further into the matter of "shares," lest Yaoguang ask to raise his quota requirement upon becoming an Immortal King again. Thus, he readily handed over the dossiers on all the immortal spirits to Yaoguang. ... "As expected." In the lower-realm universe, Yaoguang's true body reviewed the information Chairman Xuanqing had sent via his Shaohua avatar. Six conglomerates could be confirmed to have dispatched Level 18 immortal spirits. Among them, Changsheng Group and Star Sun Group had Immortal Kings descending in person. For Changsheng Group, it was Immortal King Guangcheng, who was severely eroded by the power of destiny. It was said that the moment he stepped out the door, he would offend people; no matter how covertly he hid, native cultivators would hunt him down; and in his cultivation, unexpected accidents arose in endless succession. His future virtually ruined, he simply seized this opportunity to "perish" to purge the encroaching power of destiny from himself, reincarnating as another Dao Lord to coordinate with the Lord of Yuanxi's plan and reap profits in the lower realm. As for Star Sun Group, it was none other than that Immortal King Huanyin. This Immortal King originally specialized in the Grand Dao of the Soul, and in recent years seemed to have achieved success through arduous cultivation in the Grand Dao of Karma. He had actually managed to master the art of dual souls within a single body, casting a wisp of his soul down to the lower realm. Of course, assisting the Lord of Yuanxi in encroaching upon the lower-realm starry sky was one reason these two Immortal Kings had descended; another was to investigate the destruction of their lower-realm sects—the Xingri Sect and the Yongsheng Sect. Those capable of destroying the Xingri Sect and Yongsheng Sect were bound to be Dao Sovereigns who were reincarnations of Immortal Kings. Once discovered, the culprits could be blackmailed for hefty compensation. "The Lord of Yuanxi is about to encroach upon the starry sky of the lower realm." Yaoguang felt a slight weight in his heart. Fortunately, after spending nearly two thousand years purging Dao Lords in the lower realm, he had eliminated nearly half of them. Although many still remained... Even if the Lord of Yuanxi truly extended His reach into the lower-realm starry sky, the impact on the Ancient Immortal Realm would be significantly diminished. *Wait, no! Even though the Lord of Yuanxi has not yet encroached upon the starry sky of the lower realm, those immortal spirits have already arrived. These immortal spirits will surely coordinate with one another, slaying Dao Lords to ensure they themselves attain the Dao Lord realm...* A thought struck Yaoguang. If that were the case, he would no longer need to scour the universe searching for Dao Lords scattered across the cosmos. Hundreds and thousands of immortal spirits would spontaneously seek out those Dao Lords and seize their shares. And as for him... He only needed to target the gathering grounds of these immortal spirits. For instance... "Dao Sovereign Huanyin and Dao Sovereign Ronglian of the Xingri Sect." Yaoguang smiled faintly. Conveniently, because he had not slain Immortal King Yuxiao, his immortal spirit level was only at Level 17. He only needed to kill these two Level 18 immortal spirits and familiarize himself with the privilege structure of a Level 18 immortal spirit, and he would naturally rise to Level 18 himself. Furthermore, if he familiarized himself with enough Level 18 immortal spirit structures, he could even "deduce" and perceive the clearance structure of a Level 19 immortal spirit, thereby elevating his own clearance level to Level 19. Beyond Level 19 lay Level 20. At Level 20 clearance, one could influence the Lord of Yuanxi's decisions, which would undoubtedly be a crucial step toward taking control of the Lord of Yuanxi—and even the Hunyuan Realm. Thinking up to this point, his gaze swept over Dao Lord Zongmai and the others. "A great upheaval will soon sweep across the cosmos. From now on, there will likely be only two factions remaining. Without delay, we shall depart for the Xingri Sect to deal with Dao Sovereign Huanyin and Dao Sovereign Ronglian." The several Dao Lords beside Dao Lord Zongmai hesitated. Dao Sovereign Ronglian was already incomparably formidable. He possessed the genuine power of a Dao Sovereign. Yet beside him, Dao Sovereign Huanyin was suspected to be present as well. That Dao Sovereign commanded terrifying deterrence across this starry sky, inspiring so much dread in these Dao Lords that they feared rushing over would merely mean throwing their lives away in vain, squandering a bright future. As for Yaoguang's claim that only two factions would remain in the universe... How could that be possible?! Who could possess the power to unify the universe?! They did not believe it in the slightest, taking it merely as Yaoguang's intimidation. Dao Lord Zongmai saw through their thoughts and said in a heavy voice, "All these years, we have jointly governed the Gate of the Immortal Realm, and many people possess detailed information on you. If the Xingri Sect truly stages a comeback, you will inevitably end up on their hit list. Rather than living in constant dread under the Xingri Sect's hunt hereafter, you would be far better off following the Dao Sovereign and staking everything on a desperate fight." He cupped his hands. "You have witnessed Dao Sovereign Yaoguang's might with your own eyes. No matter how powerful Dao Sovereign Huanyin and Dao Sovereign Ronglian are, they cannot possibly be Dao Sovereign Yaoguang's match." "Enough. There is no need to force anyone," Yaoguang said indifferently. "Dao Sovereign... Over the years, they borrowed your renown to rule this star sector and reaped so many benefits..." Dao Lord Zongmai was about to say more, but Yaoguang waved his hand. "Those willing to leave, come with us." With that, he took the lead and stepped out of the palace. Dao Lord Zongmai followed closely behind. The remaining six Dao Lords exchanged glances; only two followed after them, while the other four remained where they were, unmoved. The group arrived outside the desert planet, where an immortal artifact–grade warship was already waiting. Boarding the vessel, the warship soon got underway, heading toward the Xingri Sect's Gate of the Immortal Realm. Yet barely moments after the warship departed, a figure materialized. Upon closer inspection, this figure was not a flesh-and-blood person at all, but an avatar of divine sense. In the avatar's hand, however, rested a pagoda. A pagoda within which the power of dozens of Grand Daos circulated ceaselessly. As the pagoda was unleashed, an earth-shattering pressure came crashing down. The four Dao Lords remaining on the planet instantly sensed it, and their faces turned pale with horror. "A Dao Sovereign?!" "Dao Sovereign, have mercy! We are willing to go with you!" The Dao Lords cried out, unleashing divine abilities and Dao arts simultaneously in a frantic bid to flee. Yet beneath the crushing weight of the Grand Dao Pagoda, the four Dao Lords had no means of resistance whatsoever. In an instant, they, the planet beneath them, and the surrounding starry expanse were entirely ground to dust by the power of the Grand Dao Pagoda. To avoid alerting the enemy, he also used the power of Time to confound this region of space, preventing the people of the Xingri Sect from growing suspicious upon sensing the fall of Dao Lords in this starry sky.