Old Ties

Creation Group. After taking the seat of Chairman of Creation Group, Yaoguang had assigned Immortal King Alpha to specifically oversee maintaining internal stability, yet an atmosphere of panic and unease still pervaded the conglomerate. After all, six of the board's nine directors had vanished in one fell swoop, and even the chairman had been replaced. The repercussions of such a colossal upheaval would not subside easily. If Yaoguang did not swiftly roll out a series of policies, Creation Group's future development would likely run into serious trouble. Especially with Tianyuan Group and Shenluo Group continuing to hold Creation Group accountable for the deaths of major Immortal Kings—Immortal King Tianyu, Immortal King Longxiang, Immortal King Diyi, and Immortal King Wumu—and boxing it in from all angles. Yet Yaoguang paid little heed to these developments. He had a premonition that with his intervention, the great war between the Ancient Immortal Realm and the Hunyuan Realm was drawing to a close. At the very least... For him, his battle would soon reach its best possible resolution. He did not know what role the Time Dao Ancestor and Void Dao Ancestor played in this great war, nor did he know what the Glazed Treasure Tree within him truly signified. Yet he was certain that when the Time Dao Ancestor entered the Hunyuan Realm back then, he must have prepared some contingency. Otherwise, there was no explaining why that Dao Ancestor had chosen self-destruction. Was it truly because the disparity when facing the nine Dominators was so vast that, in despair, he chose to end his own existence? Or was there another reason? What others said did not matter. What mattered was observing what they did. First of all, ever since the Time Dao Ancestor and Void Dao Ancestor fell, and the Fate Dao Ancestor and Karma Dao Ancestor dissolved into the Gate of Fate and Gate of Karma, the Hunyuan Realm's unstoppable offensive had ground to a halt. Although the Nine Great Groups claimed this was because of infighting among themselves—scrambling to divide the spoils before achieving total victory—one could discern the truth from how much importance Immortal Kings attached to the "Land of Dao Extinction." Over millions of years, they had dispatched over a dozen Immortal Kings to investigate it. Furthermore, the fact that the Lord of Yuanxi Himself had never truly let down His guard regarding the Land of Dao Extinction or the Time and Void Dao Ancestors who had fallen there revealed crucial information. On one hand, they claimed there was nothing to fear. On the other, they treated it as a mortal threat. Whether this opponent was genuinely formidable, and whether the situation was truly within their control, was already glaringly obvious. Not only the Lord of Yuanxi, but even Yaoguang himself could not entirely see through the schemes of the Time Dao Ancestor and Void Dao Ancestor. Yet he surmised it had something to do with the Gate of Fate and the Gate of Karma. Therefore, before heading off to comprehend the Gate of Fate and Gate of Karma, he had deliberately visited the chaotic void and left behind the "chaos" essence he had grasped through the Void Grand Dao, using "Higher-Dimensional Cognition" as a foundation. Or rather, through his comprehension of Fate, Karma, Time, and other Grand Daos, that "chaos" essence had already evolved into a chaos world. It was just that the world was still fragile and would require ample time to mature. For now... He could be considered unburdened, waiting only for the outcome of Immortal King Nizhuan's negotiations. ... Buzz! Just then, a distinctive ripple of energy came from outside his cultivation cave abode. Yaoguang waved his hand, opening the formation, and the figures of Taiqing and Dikong appeared together. "Something the matter?" "Chairman, two distinguished guests have come to visit," Dikong bowed first and said, "One is Immortal King Fanjing, a director of Fantian Group. The other... is Immortal King Hongmeng of Tianyuan Group." "Whatever it is, we will discuss it after the meeting concludes," Yaoguang said placidly. "This..." Dikong hesitated for a moment before subtly mentioning, "Currently, the perimeter of our Creation Group is far from tranquil. Although Director Alpha is doing everything he can, rallying the other executives to stabilize the situation, developments continue to head in an unfavorable direction. Only a short time has passed, so the repercussions have yet to fully manifest. But if decades or a century go by... Creation Group's influence will inevitably decline. If things go poorly... I fear we might fall from the ranks of the Nine Great Groups." "Creation Group's status as one of the Nine Great Groups does not rely on its influence in the Immortal Realm, but on the Lord of Creation. Right now, even the Lord of Creation is not in a hurry, so why are you?" Yaoguang's gaze remained unperturbed. He knew that the Lord of Yuanxi had set the meeting "ten years" later partly because affairs in the lower realm truly needed attention, and partly to give him time to "consider." And giving him time to consider was also applying pressure. The Lord of Yuanxi's ultimate goal was to make him surrender all the inheritances of the Path of Time and Path of Void, ideally utilizing him under His guidance to break through the Gate of Fate and Gate of Karma. Naturally, if he did so, all his troubles would be resolved with ease. Even if the ambush and killing of Immortal King Tianyu by Creation Group was confirmed, the Lord of Yuanxi would clear him of suspicion, pinning the blame on the Ancient Immortal Alliance by claiming he had been influenced by their Gate of Many Marvels. Yet the corresponding price... He would likely never be able to raise his authority level to Level 20. Such an outcome was something the Lord of Yuanxi was happy to see, and the nine Dominators were pleased to see as well. They did not want a tenth Dominator to emerge and carve up their pie of "authority." That was also why the Lord of Creation had not stepped forward to back Creation Group at this juncture, choosing instead to observe from behind the scenes. Everyone was pressuring him to make a choice. Right then, Yaoguang's gaze fell upon Dikong. "It seems to me you are harboring some other thoughts?" Dikong's heart skipped a beat, and he hastily said, "Chairman, heaven and earth can bear witness to my loyalty to you! Even during those most difficult three thousand years, I steadfastly followed your orders without the slightest slack." "Is that so?" Yaoguang gave no indication of belief or disbelief. "It is absolutely true!" Dikong swore earnestly, "I will spare no effort in executing any of your commands, Chairman! The only reason I presumed to disturb you this time was that both Immortal King Fanjing and Immortal King Hongmeng previously left behind legacies in the Land of Dao Extinction. Moreover, you appear to have had ties with the legacy left by Immortal King Hongmeng, which is why I came to report this to you..." "Immortal King Hongmeng," Yaoguang murmured the name. This Immortal King was none other than Dao Sovereign Hongmeng, the founder of the Heavenly Dao Sect back then. Of course, he had not left behind a genuine legacy like Dao Sovereign Huanyin or Dao Sovereign Yongsheng. At most, when he needed people around him to handle trivial chores and found their work satisfactory, he gave them a few words of guidance and left behind a few scraps. Those who received his guidance had banded together and, borrowing the name of Dao Sovereign Hongmeng, established the Heavenly Dao Sect. In all likelihood, Dao Sovereign Hongmeng had not even known he possessed such a heritage in the lower realm. Yet now, with Yaoguang holding the immense interests of the Time and Void Dao Ancestors' inheritances, Immortal King Hongmeng had clearly traced that connection to the Heavenly Dao Sect and come knocking at his door. "Tianyuan Group." Yaoguang pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "There is nothing to discuss. Turn them away under the pretext that I am at a crucial juncture in my cultivation." Seeing that Yaoguang truly seemed determined to cling to his own path, refusing to cooperate or reconcile with the other groups, Dikong could not help but smile wryly. Yet having just received Yaoguang's warning, he dared not show the slightest discontent and quickly answered, "I shall inform Immortal King Hongmeng and Immortal King Fanjing at once." "Mm." Yaoguang acknowledged him, and once Dikong withdrew, he turned his gaze to Taiqing. "And you? What is it?" "Well..." Taiqing, who had already been nurtured to the True Immortal realm, saw that Yaoguang was unwilling to meet even Dao Sovereign Hongmeng, the founding ancestor of their Heavenly Dao Sect. His expression held a trace of hesitation, but in the end he said, "Someone has also asked me to pass along a message, hoping to meet with you." "Who?" "Immortal King Shenyu of Xiyu Group, and... Immortal Venerable Penglai," the Immortal Taiqing replied. "Immortal King Shenyu." Yaoguang was unfamiliar with this Immortal King; there was no need to meet him. Yet Immortal Venerable Penglai... Was this an appeal to emotion? Yaoguang fell into contemplation. At this moment, he did not want whatever was between him and Dao Lord Penglai... Ah, she was an Immortal Venerable now. A Level 17 immortal spirit did indeed correspond to an Immortal Venerable. Still, whether Dao Lord or Immortal Venerable, he did not want too many extraneous factors mixed into their friendship. Yet for sentient beings, the mortal masses, so long as they interacted, worldly ties and social obligations were inevitable. At the thought, he sighed softly within, but said, "Invite them to Yunjing Terrace." "Yes." Taiqing quickly assented. His mood was considerably lighter as he departed. Yaoguang had refused to meet Immortal King Fanjing and Immortal King Hongmeng, yet was willing to receive Immortal King Shenyu brought by Immortal Venerable Penglai. This showed that in his heart, he still remembered his old ties with acquaintances from the North Sea Star. Old ties remained. As long as he maintained this relationship well and served loyally, he, a minor True Immortal, could continue his meteoric rise within Creation Group. In the future, he dared not dream of becoming an Immortal King, but reaching Immortal Venerable was well within the realm of possibility. Yaoguang did not keep Immortal King Shenyu and Immortal Venerable Penglai waiting long. After briefly steadying his state, he stepped through the void and arrived atop Yunjing Terrace. True to its name, Cloudscape Terrace—Yunjing Terrace—was the highest peak on Creation Group's floating isle. The floating isle was situated directly above Creation Immortal City, and Yunjing Terrace was the summit of the isle's peaks. Looking out, a vast sea of clouds stretched without end. Peering through the cloud layer felt like looking down at the earth from outer space; the tens of millions of li spanning Creation Immortal City lay fully in view. Arriving at Yunjing Terrace, Yaoguang glanced at Immortal Venerable Penglai. Compared to her demeanor in the starry universe of the lower realm, her bearing seemed to have undergone a change. If in the past she resembled an exceptionally talented, haughty, and somewhat cynical heroine of dashing valor, then now she undoubtedly looked more like a decisive, capable career woman, exuding refinement and excellence. Only when Yaoguang arrived and had been observing Immortal Venerable Penglai for a moment did Immortal King Shenyu belatedly realize his presence. He knew full well what the previous Immortal King Yuxiao had been capable of. Now, Yaoguang had arrived out of thin air without him sensing a thing beforehand. Such exquisite mastery of the void... It was terrifying. The inheritance of the Void Dao Ancestor was truly formidable to such an extent. "Chairman Yuxiao," Immortal King Shenyu greeted with a smile. Yaoguang nodded slightly. "Director Shenyu." Then he turned his gaze to Immortal Venerable Penglai and smiled. "Long time no see." "Long time no see," Immortal Venerable Penglai responded with a smile as well. Yet at the end, she too addressed him with the title, just like Immortal King Shenyu had: "Chairman Yuxiao."