Heavenly Dao

After annihilating Dao Sovereign Ronglian, Yaoguang did not pursue the spirit being recalled to the Lord of Yuanxi this time. He did not even give Dao Sovereign Ronglian the chance to return to the Lord of Yuanxi. Inside his body, the miniature "Lord of Yuanxi" surged with full force, instantly drawing all of Dao Sovereign Ronglian's spirituality into itself. All the operational experience and techniques regarding spirituality and computing power belonging to this Level 18 immortal spirit were thoroughly absorbed and transformed by this miniature "Lord of Yuanxi," immediately boosting its operating efficiency by a massive margin. With a single thought, Yaoguang channeled the power of this "Lord of Yuanxi" to augment himself. In an instant, the efficiency with which he memorized and digested all immortal arts multiplied countless times over. Previously, although he had obtained immense cultivation experience in countless immortal arts and cultivation techniques in a single flash through Higher-Dimensional Cognition, the sheer volume of data was so colossal that even picking out the parts of interest and browsing through them bit by bit required a considerable amount of time. Now, however, under the computing power augmentation of this miniature "Lord of Yuanxi," the speed of his thought was elevated to the pinnacle. In just a brief moment, the nearly two thousand Grand Daos he had mastered and the trillions of Dao arts and immortal arts derived from them flowed through his mind like a river, leaving no room for anything to slip through the cracks. Such a change... "Incredible," Yaoguang murmured from the bottom of his heart. It was no wonder that every immortal spirit was considered a peerless genius in the Immortal Realm, advancing by leaps and bounds in cultivating immortal arts, refining power shares, and comprehending realms. He had merely experienced the computing power boost of Level 18 clearance, yet it had already accelerated his cognitive speed to such an astonishing extent. What would Level 19 or Level 20 clearance be like? And as for the Lord of Yuanxi at the very peak of Level 20 clearance... While one could not claim true omniscience and omnipotence, that being likely held a complete, effortless grasp over every single change within the Hunyuan Realm. *Hmm? Not necessarily. The Nine Rulers can still cause a little trouble for the Lord of Yuanxi.* As Yaoguang pondered, he glanced at the "Lord of Yuanxi" Dao fruit. In the end, he decided to rename it. Though continuing to borrow the title of "Lord of Yuanxi" was not out of the question, it was better to keep things distinct. "I already have the Grand Dao Pagoda. Since I possess the Grand Dao, I cannot go without the Heavenly Dao. In that case, let it be called the 'Lord of Heavenly Dao.'" Yaoguang sensed the Lord of Heavenly Dao resting within his spiritual world, which functioned as a miniature Lord of Yuanxi. With the Dao arts and immortal arts he currently commanded, if he uploaded all of them into the Lord of Heavenly Dao and then had other beings in the Ancient Immortal Realm contribute their spirituality to connect with it, they would be able to download and learn trillions of Dao arts corresponding to nearly two thousand Grand Daos according to their own needs. Of course, that was assuming he set no permissions. If he chose to establish access levels—dictating how many points could be exchanged for how many Dao arts—they would never be able to master everything in one go. *I possess every foundation needed to become a 'Lord of Yuanxi,' and I can do even better than the Lord of Yuanxi.* Yaoguang thought of his ability, Higher-Dimensional Cognition. This power was unreasonably formidable. It was likewise mysterious beyond his comprehension. Furthermore, the stronger he grew, the more he appreciated the profound enigma of Higher-Dimensional Cognition. As things stood, the core search ability of the glazed treasure tree, the essence of "existence" nurtured from the rebirth of chaos, and even the freshly forged Lord of Heavenly Dao were all merely derivations of Higher-Dimensional Cognition. It was equivalent to an all-encompassing, top-down containment. Higher-Dimensional Cognition encompassed the three thousand Grand Daos recorded by the glazed treasure tree, the essence of existence born from chaotic rebirth, and the computing power manifested by the Lord of Yuanxi. It was as though he were using the three thousand Grand Daos of the Ancient Immortal Realm, his newly nurtured essence of existence, and the Hunyuan Realm's Lord of Yuanxi to attempt to comprehend the concept of Higher-Dimensional Cognition. *The more I understand, the more questions arise. I am like a mortal who has acquired a futuristic mech. In the past, I had no idea how to operate or even start it; I could only borrow the mech's auxiliary intelligence to pose as a hacker online, searching for scraps of data. Only by constantly studying the mechanical knowledge of modern society can I attempt to start this mech up, continuing until I master it completely,* Yaoguang reflected. His journey so far had essentially been a continuous process of unlocking and comprehending Higher-Dimensional Cognition. When the day came that he truly mastered the power of Higher-Dimensional Cognition, he would ascend to a higher dimension and become a genuine higher-dimensional lifeform. *** Yaoguang moved with extraordinary efficiency. Once the two Dao Sovereigns of the Xingri Sect fell, the remaining quasi-Dao Sovereigns and ordinary Dao Lords were naturally crushed with effortless ease. With the nurturing of his Dao Master talent in the void path, he no longer feared the traction of ascension. Under such circumstances, he was completely unrivaled in the mortal realm. To his eyes, there was scarcely any difference left between ordinary Dao Lords and Dao Sovereigns. Thus, by the time Dao Lord Zongmai arrived at the Xingri Sect accompanied by two other Dao Lords, the force of Dao Lords that the Xingri Sect had painstakingly gathered had already been wiped out cleanly. "You're here," Yaoguang said. "Dao Sovereign, you..." Sensing that not a single trace of any Dao Lord's aura remained in the Xingri Sect's headquarters, Dao Lord Zongmai looked at him with sheer disbelief. "As you can see, I have dealt with the Dao Lords of the Xingri Sect. From here on, I will leave this Gate of the Immortal Realm in your hands again. Any problems?" Dao Lord Zongmai's spirits soared, and he quickly made a solemn pledge. "No problem! Absolutely no problem!" "Very well." Yaoguang nodded. He was about to say something, but after a moment, he shook his head. "Forget it. In truth, it holds little meaning." He looked at Dao Lord Zongmai. "Before long, a colossal catastrophe will descend upon the cosmic starry sky. I do not know what form this calamity will take, but what I can confirm is that apart from the forces backing the instigators of this disaster, every single Dao Lord across the cosmos will be completely wiped out." "Every Dao Lord in the cosmos will be wiped out?!" Dao Lord Zongmai's eyes widened in profound shock. "All of them?!" "All of them," Yaoguang nodded. "If nothing unexpected happens, no new Dao Lords will ever be born in the lower realm after this catastrophe." "How... how is that possible?!" Dao Lord Zongmai found it hard to accept. Then, as if realizing something, he blurted out, "Wouldn't Immortal Kings descend from the Immortal Realm to resolve this disaster? After all, if no more lower-realm Dao Lords ascend, the Immortal Realm will receive no fresh blood. When that happens..." "The Immortal Realm has no need for fresh blood." Yaoguang shattered his illusions and continued, "Besides... who do you think would be the executioners of a catastrophe capable of sweeping the entire cosmos?" Dao Lord Zongmai had already drawn that connection in his mind, but hearing Yaoguang state it outright struck him like a thunderbolt. His body swayed violently. It took him a long while before he tremblingly looked up. "Those Immortal Kings from the Immortal Realm?!" "The situation in the Immortal Realm is far more complex than you imagine." As Yaoguang spoke, he knew this matter was difficult to explain, involving far too many facets. Considering that Dao Lord Zongmai had been loyal and diligent in serving him over the years, Yaoguang gave a wave of his hand, projecting a coordinate. "You may head to these coordinates and take up residence on Beihai Star. If danger arises there, I will come to your aid immediately... I cannot say what the distant future holds, but for the near term, I will not let anything happen to that planet." With that, he concluded the conversation. "Of course, if you do not believe me, you can pretend I never said anything and continue guarding the Xingri Sect's Gate of the Immortal Realm." "Dao Sovereign... are... are you leaving?" "Yes. I am going to check on the Yongsheng Sect," Yaoguang said. He had already learned from Xuanqing that several of the Nine Great Groups had sent people to the lower realm. Since the people of the Star Sun Group had revitalized the Xingri Sect, the Changsheng Group had almost certainly recruited the Dao Lords associated with the Yongsheng Sect as well. It was the perfect time for him to deal with them. At the same time, he could refine more Level 18 immortal spirits, decipher their specialized computational vectors, and use those insights to piece together and deduce Level 19 clearance. At present, the performance of the Lord of Heavenly Dao was still relatively rudimentary. It was fine for Yaoguang's personal use, but if he were to roll it out across the Ancient Immortal Realm, it would clearly fall far short. Of course, Yaoguang was still deliberating whether he should ever roll it out. Even so, taking precautions was prudent. It was best to elevate the performance of the Lord of Heavenly Dao to Level 19, or ideally Level 20, before anything else. After layering the capabilities of the Lord of Heavenly Dao onto himself, Yaoguang faintly realized that the reason the Time Dao Ancestor and Void Dao Ancestor could not defeat a single Ruler even when joined as one was not because their energy levels were weak, but rather... They lagged far behind in other areas. According to his observations, the Hunyuan Realm and the Ancient Immortal Realm were roughly comparable in scale. Yet when it came down to battle, the Ancient Immortal Realm was utterly suppressed... The issue likely lay in "technique." One side pooled collective wisdom, concentrating everyone's intellect into a single Lord of Yuanxi, constantly innovating and evolving with the times. The other clung rigidly to the past, with the three thousand Dao Ancestors shutting their doors, each content in their own isolated domain. Even with identical energy levels, it would have been a miracle if the Dao Ancestors could overcome the Rulers. "Dao Sovereign!" Seeing that Yaoguang was truly about to depart, Dao Lord Zongmai called out hurriedly. Gritting his teeth, he made up his mind. "I am willing to follow you to the Yongsheng Sect..." "You are too slow," Yaoguang dismissed with a wave of his hand. "Besides, traveling with someone is inconvenient." "Then... I will set out immediately for the coordinates you gave." "Mm. Do not force yourself either way," Yaoguang said. Dao Lord Zongmai replied at once, "All the prominence I have enjoyed in recent years was granted by you, Dao Sovereign. Without you, I would be nothing more than an ordinary Dao Lord. I understand that much clearly." "Go as soon as possible. The disaster could arrive at any moment." Having said this, Yaoguang offered no further instructions. He simply appreciated that Dao Lord Zongmai had been loyal while handling affairs for him and did not wish to betray that trust. As for any deeper friendship between them... There was practically none. With his instructions given, Yaoguang wasted no time. With a single spatial traverse, he vanished from the void. Watching Yaoguang depart, Dao Lord Zongmai promptly began his preparations. The two Dao Lords accompanying him could not help but ask in bewilderment, "Sect Master, do you truly intend to abandon our foundation here and the revenue of a Gate of the Immortal Realm just to head to the place pointed out by Dao Sovereign Yaoguang?" "I believe the Dao Sovereign's words. The era is about to change," Dao Lord Zongmai said solemnly. "How rare were Dao Sovereigns in the past? Not a single one might emerge across hundreds of thousands of years. But now? In just a few thousand years, we have encountered three, every one of them a towering figure who suppresses an entire era! This in itself signifies that some profound transformation is taking place across the cosmos!" "This..." The two Dao Lords exchanged glances. "The choice is yours. If you are unwilling to leave, I will not force you. But as for me... I will make for Beihai Star with the utmost haste." "We... think we'll stay here." "Indeed. I am accustomed to life in this region. Suddenly uprooting billions of light-years away would surely be difficult to adjust to," the two Dao Lords said sheepishly. Dao Lord Zongmai said nothing more. "I will pack my things at once. May we each take care of ourselves."