Dao Seed

Beihai Star. The Nine Cauldrons Sect. Dao Lord Taiwei, fraught with worry, sought out the current sect master of the Nine Cauldrons Sect, Su Yaoxue, and laid out what he had discovered. After hearing what the Dao Lord had to say, Su Yaoxue's expression grew solemn as well. "The number of Dao Lords... has truly surpassed thirty?" "More, not less," Dao Lord Taiwei said with absolute conviction. "The Dao Lords I know of alone number no fewer than thirty. The number hiding in the shadows is likely even greater. In the end, it is by no means impossible for this number to reach forty, fifty, or even eighty to a hundred." At this point, he added, "Two thousand years ago, the commotion stirred up by Dao Sovereign Yaoguang in the vicinity of this starry sky was simply too immense. In the first thousand years, word hadn't had enough time to spread and ferment, or perhaps the news did get out, but the surrounding Dao Lords hadn't had time to arrive upon hearing it. But now... two thousand years have passed. Those who ought to come... have almost all arrived." "Dozens, perhaps a hundred Dao Lords!" Hearing Dao Lord Taiwei's words, Su Yaoxue's countenance turned exceedingly grave. "I know that when the Dao Sovereign departed, he laid down layered immortal formations around the Nine Cauldrons Sect and likely left behind more than one immortal artifact. Under the helm of us Dao Lords, thirty to fifty Dao Lords joining forces might not necessarily breach our defenses. But... what if those who come to attack are more than that—a hundred? Or even one to two hundred?" Dao Lord Taiwei worried inwardly. "Then what does the Dao Lord mean to do...?" "Dao Sovereign Yaoguang should have anticipated this situation before leaving, right? Did he not tell you how to handle it?" Dao Lord Taiwei inquired. "A way to handle it..." Su Yaoxue pondered for a moment and nodded. "He said a mysterious figure would seek me out to protect our Nine Cauldrons Sect. That mysterious figure is just like him—a Dao Sovereign." "A Dao Sovereign?" Dao Lord Taiwei's eyes lit up. "A genuine Dao Sovereign?!" "A genuine Dao Sovereign!" Su Yaoxue nodded firmly. "That is wonderful!" Dao Lord Taiwei said in pleasant surprise. "With that Dao Sovereign presiding, combined with the immortal artifacts and immortal formations left behind by Dao Sovereign Yaoguang, even if the number of Dao Lords gathered outside Beihai Star reaches two to three hundred, they shouldn't dream of threatening Beihai Star in the slightest." "The problem is... we have waited for a long time, yet that mysterious figure has not arrived," Su Yaoxue said helplessly. The expression on Dao Lord Taiwei's face instantly froze. "I still have a jade talisman crafted by his own hand, one of the communication methods he left for me... Let me try and see if it works," Su Yaoxue said. The situation had grown tense to such an extent that they had no choice but to make a decision. "Quickly, then! The universe is vast. Even for a Dao Sovereign, a single journey often takes decades or centuries, or even centuries, millennia, or several millennia if it takes longer. But judging from the current situation, these Dao Lords are growing increasingly brazen, even beginning to land openly on Beihai Star to probe us. We... likely do not have several centuries to spare," Dao Lord Taiwei said solemnly. Su Yaoxue nodded. Without hesitation, she crushed the specially made jade talisman left behind by Yaoguang all those years ago. Next, all they could do was wait patiently. *** On the other side. At the very moment Su Yaoxue crushed the jade talisman, Yaoguang, in the lower realm's starry sky, was en route to the Pantheon—the lower-realm branch of the Shenluo Group. This force's scale had originally been comparable to the Xingri Sect's. However, because the Xingri Sect had been purged by Yaoguang, this faction known as the Pantheon still retained its immense strength. According to the latest intelligence Yaoguang had obtained, the number of Dao Lords here had already surpassed triple digits. Such a massive number was equivalent to pulling in every Dao Lord within a radius of billions of light-years, which spared Yaoguang the trouble of hunting them down one by one. And among these hundred-plus Dao Lords, the strongest was undoubtedly the immortal spirit dispatched by the Shenluo Group. Of course, whether it was a Dao Sovereign cultivated with an immortal spirit as the core, or Dao Lords numbering in the triple digits, neither held much significance before Yaoguang. Presently, not only had he cultivated dozens of Grand Daos concurrently, but many of them had also reached the True Immortal tier. With the Dao Master dao fruit of the Void Dao in hand, he could effortlessly resist the ascension force of the Immortal Realm. Operating in the starry sky of the lower realm, he completely exceeded the world's power ceiling. This was clearly evident from how formidable figures like Dao Sovereign Ronglian and Dao Sovereign Huanyin had been effortlessly crushed and dismantled by him. Feeling the shattered communication jade talisman on his person, Yaoguang paused. Glancing in the direction of the Pantheon, which was still a year or two away, he ultimately set it aside for the moment, turned around, and rushed toward Beihai Star. From his interactions with Dao Sovereign Huanyin and the others, it was evident that these immortal spirits had already deduced the connection between Immortal King Yuxiao, himself, and the legacy within the Land of Dao Oblivion. By now, quite a few Dao Lords and immortal spirits had likely gathered around the Land of Dao Oblivion. Heading over now would serve as a fine opportunity to clean house. With this thought, he mobilized the power of the Grand Dao of the Void and traversed swiftly through the vast starry sky. "The universe... the starry expanse." As he shuttled across space, Yaoguang gazed out at the endless radiance, overwhelmed by sentiment. "If only there were no war with the Hunyuan Realm, no power of fate dragging me onto the battlefield... how wonderful that would be." Even if he could not manifest in the Immortal Realm, he would be content simply living 129,600 years like a Dao Lord. To spend those nearly 130,000 years traveling from one planet to another, each boasting distinct splendor, taking in the dazzling magnificence of world after world... What a life free of regrets that would be. Alas... The Hunyuan Realm's invasion would never grant the Ancient Immortal Realm peace. The power of fate would also exhaust every means to seize any mobilizable strength... Or rather, forcibly conscript every single soldier who could be recruited and send them to the front lines. It left him no choice at all. His gaze lingered briefly upon the boundlessly vast starry sky outside before he ultimately said, "Regardless of the outcome, my initial goal has been realized. Traveling from Beihai at dawn to Cangwu at dusk—with my current strength, crossing from Beihai Star to the Cangwu Realm doesn't even take a day." Moreover... Yaoguang sensed his essence of chaos, which had returned to a state of pristine clarity. If he could thoroughly comprehend the three thousand Grand Daos in the future, it was not impossible for him to paint upon his essence of chaos and construct a world akin to the Ancient Immortal Realm. Even if he could not forge an Ancient Immortal Realm, building a 'small world' akin to the Cangwu Realm—seemingly a continent, yet actually an entire universe—would be just as fine. And since his essence of chaos was synonymous with himself, he could alter those mountains, rivers, forests, plains, and wondrous celestial phenomena however he pleased. "Since the outside world is fraught with all kinds of troubles and dangers, if I pour all my effort into creating 'a world of my own,' no one will be able to make trouble out of nothing anymore." Thinking of this, an involuntary smile surfaced on Yaoguang's face. *** While Yaoguang was rushing back at full speed... Outside Beihai Star, a substantial number of Dao Lords had assembled. Just as Dao Lord Taiwei had surmised, their numbers had surpassed a hundred. At this moment, however, these hundred-odd Dao Lords had not launched an assault. Instead, they had gathered inside a palace. The palace appeared to span a mere ten li in length, yet inside, layers of folded space expanded the usable area to over ten thousand li across. At present, deep within this palace, several figures radiating powerful auras were conferring with one another. "Dao Seed, we have given them so many years; shouldn't it be about enough? Ought we take more drastic action?" "Indeed, Dao Seed, our time cannot be wasted like this. We still have far more important matters waiting for us to handle. We openly revealed ourselves a century ago; they should have felt the crisis and sent a message for aid to the mysterious force or mysterious Dao Sovereign backing them. It makes no sense for there to still be zero movement after all this time." Several Dao Lords gathered around a dignified man clad in a white robe. "Qianran, Shenghui, do not be impatient." The man revered as the "Dao Seed" waved a hand. "It also takes time for him to rush to Beihai Star from the outer starry sky." "My fear is that they don't understand our intention at all and simply assume we are lingering outside Beihai Star as spectators, intimidated by Dao Sovereign Yaoguang's prestige and not daring to truly strike, which is why they haven't sent a distress signal," Dao Lord Qianran said in a deep voice. "Our time is precious. The Nine Great Groups clearly intend to make major moves in the near future. Before they act, we must establish our organization and rally a larger force to cope with the coming crisis. Therefore, I propose approaching their gates directly! Whether by intimidation or speaking plainly, let us call them out to meet face-to-face first." "We have come seeking cooperation, not enmity," the white-robed man said calmly. "Furthermore, it remains unclear whether Dao Sovereign Yaoguang and that other mysterious Dao Sovereign are friend or foe. If we have mistaken the situation and the remaining Dao Sovereign behind Beihai Star is still an immortal spirit, revealing ourselves like this will undoubtedly alert the enemy." "Didn't the great Immortal King Tianming sense through the Gate of Many Marvels that the inheritor of the Time Dao Ancestor and the Void Dao Ancestor had emerged?" Dao Lord Shenghui asked with some surprise. "Anyone who obtains the legacy of two Dao Ancestors is bound to become a Dao Sovereign. And in the Land of Dao Oblivion during this period, the only one definitively confirmed to be a Dao Sovereign is Yaoguang, who has already ascended and whose whereabouts are currently unknown. The other... should be that unknown Dao Sovereign who has continually consolidated his share of the Grand Daos over the past two thousand years. He must have an extremely close relationship with Dao Sovereign Yaoguang." "Let us wait a little longer," the white-robed man said. "Because of the major operations the Nine Great Groups are about to launch, there are far too many immortal spirits in the lower realm right now. The responsibility we shoulder is far too grave to allow for the slightest misstep. Therefore... we wait a bit longer." "Dao Seed, have you ever considered what we should do if the Dao Sovereign who received the Dao Ancestors' legacy is unwilling to join us?" a Dao Lord suddenly asked. "How could that be? To be chosen by the Dao Ancestors and receive their inheritance, he is bound to be a person of our Ancient Immortal Realm, not one of those so-called immortal spirits. With such an origin, whom else could he join if not us? Throw his lot in with the Nine Great Groups? Do not forget that the Nine Great Groups' objective has always been our total annihilation," Dao Lord Qianran answered immediately. The white-robed man known as the Dao Seed quickly grasped his meaning. "Are you saying... he might want to cast us aside, cast aside the great mission and responsibility he shoulders, and go at it alone?"