Departure

Over the next few days, Yaoguang listened as everyone recounted the countless things that had transpired over the past several millennia. The ordinary factions on Beihai Star were unaware, but as the foremost of the Ten Immortal Sects, they had nonetheless sensed the upheavals sweeping across the cosmos. It was no exaggeration to say the entire universe was weathering a thunderous tempest. Yet no matter how violently the storm raged outside, it had never once affected Beihai Star. There was only one reason. Yaoguang! Or rather, the title he bore after ascending to the Immortal Realm—Immortal King Yuxiao! Because of him, even though countless factions had visited Beihai Star and called upon the Nine Cauldrons Sect, every single one of them had been full of goodwill without exception. For precisely this reason, Beihai Star had become a rare safe haven amidst the storm sweeping across the universe. And that was why the Nine Cauldrons Sect had been able to develop so rapidly over these thousands of years, boasting thousands of Void Piercing cultivators and hundreds in Void Shattering. Speaking to this point, Li Hanqiu suddenly spoke up: "Supreme Elder, if sheltering outside refugees would adversely affect your situation in the Immortal Realm, we will immediately order the other factions to seal the checkpoints of Beihai Star and bar any further cultivators from entering." "No matter." Yaoguang waved his hand. "Over these thousands of years, I have achieved no small standing in the Immortal Realm. Taking in a few refugees is nothing, and no one would dare presume to act rashly on Beihai Star because of it." He knew very well why a tempest was currently sweeping the cosmic starry sky. Master Yuanxi had descended to the lower realms. The channel between the two realms had been forced open. Countless Immortal Spirits had joined the hunt against the Dao Lords. With the Dao Lords hunted nearly to extinction, factions had lost their checks and balances. Compounded by panic over the unknown, the cosmos had naturally fallen into chaos. However, the Immortal Spirits also knew what the situation was in the Immortal Realm right now. With his help, the Nine Dominators and Master Yuanxi were wearing away at the Gate of Karma. With the Ancient Immortal Realm on the verge of being breached, he would be promoted to a level-20 Dominator for his great contribution. Under these circumstances, who would dare offend the Nine Cauldrons Sect, an organization he had clearly devoted time and care to developing? Not to mention ordinary Immortal Spirits, even those so-called reincarnated Immortal Kings would not dare antagonize the Nine Cauldrons Sect or Beihai Star in the slightest. Leaving aside the lack of meaningful benefit, if they made a misstep, they would offend a future Dominator. Thus, most factions arriving at Beihai Star came solely to curry favor. "I knew it! Those factions running rampant out there become completely docile once they reach our Beihai Star, showering us with benefits like benefactors—it was all thanks to you, Supreme Elder!" Hearing the confidence underlying Yaoguang's nonchalant tone, Li Qingshan let out a heartfelt sigh of admiration. "As I said before, the Immortal Realm is no pure land." Yaoguang glanced across the assembly. They were all trusted veterans. Moreover, with their increasing contact with the outside world, things that had once been inconvenient to disclose could now be spoken of frankly. Looking around at them, he said, "I imagine you have all heard more or less about the truth behind the Dao Lord realm by now?" At those words, Su Yaoxue, Li Qingshan, and the other Void Shattering cultivators standing on the threshold of Dao Integration felt a great tremor in their hearts. Su Yaoxue could not resist pressing: "Supreme Elder, could those rumors... truly be real?" "There is no smoke without fire," Yaoguang replied calmly. "To become a Dao Lord, one truly must rely on a share of a Great Dao. Without a share, no matter how god-given a genius one might be, one can only remain halted at Void Shattering." Of course, that did not rule out someone suddenly comprehending the true essence of a Dao Master in a single stroke, bypassing the four stages of Dao Lord, True Immortal, Immortal Venerable, and Immortal King to reach the Dao Ancestor level in one leap. "Shares! Shares! To integrate with the Dao, one really must rely on shares!?" "So... each time a Dao Contention ended in the past, a batch of new Dao Lords would emerge shortly after because Dao shares had been vacated?" "How could this be..." Many Void Shattering experts who learned the truth fell into a daze, finding this reality hard to accept. Cultivation toward Dao Integration did not depend on talent, but on shares. No wonder... Almost every Dao Lord had been vague and evasive about how they attained Dao Integration. Even if asked to attempt Dao Integration a second time, they would have had little confidence. The reason was simply that when they made their attempt, a share had happened to open up. By contrast, those who failed Dao Integration... Even figures hailed among the top three on the Dao Lord Candidate List, like Tianxiao and the Martial Saint, had met only death when charging at Dao Integration without a share—their consciousness suffering Dao assimilation, their lifelong cultivation returning to the primal origin of heaven and earth. "Even if ordinary cultivators are fortunate enough to obtain a Dao share and achieve Dao Integration, it holds little meaning," Yaoguang continued. "In the Immortal Realm, the Nine Great Groups hold supreme dominance. Aside from the Nine Great Groups and the factions clinging to them for survival, the remaining Dao Lords and True Immortals merely eke out a wretched existence. The moment they show themselves, they are hunted down by Immortal Spirits led by the Nine Great Groups." His gaze swept across the crowd. "Among the previous batch of Dao Lords who ascended, fewer than five remain alive today. The rest all perished at the hands of factions led by the Nine Great Groups. And the survivors, such as Yuanyi and Taiwei, only made it under my protection; otherwise, whether they could have kept their lives is still an open question." He did not reveal the war between the two realms to them, yet even so, the cruel bloodshed of the Immortal Realm still struck a chill into the core of everyone present. The previous batch of ascended Dao Lords... had actually dwindled to fewer than five survivors!? "How could this be..." "The Immortal Realm! The Immortal Realm! Is this... still the Immortal Realm of our dreams!?" "If we cannot become Dao Lords and cannot ascend to the Immortal Realm, where does our future path lie?" For a time, the hundred-plus veterans of the Nine Cauldrons Sect were gripped by panic and overwhelmed by confusion. Though they had already realized the Immortal Realm might differ from what they had imagined, they had never expected its environment to be so brutally dire. "My purpose in coming here this time is to resolve this very issue." Yaoguang looked at the crowd. "The lifespan of Void Piercing, Void Refining, and Void Shattering is a mere ten thousand years. Many of you are already drawing near your natural limits. Meanwhile, the path of Dao Integration is untenable, and the Immortal Realm is hardly a place of benevolent shelter. I intend to lead you to a new domain..." Here, he paused. "Of course, if you insist on trying to attempt Dao Integration and then ascend to the Immortal Realm, I will not force you. The choice is in your hands." At these words, everyone voiced their stance at once. "We naturally trust the Supreme Elder's word!" "Without the Supreme Elder, the Nine Cauldrons Sect would not exist today. The Supreme Elder would never harm us, and we are willing to follow your every instruction!" "You command and we obey; there is no need to consult our opinions." These veterans were all people who had followed him from the Cangwu World. Every one of them had witnessed Yaoguang's legendary feats with their own eyes, and they supported all his decisions unswervingly. Their receptive attitude spared Yaoguang a great deal of breath. "Then prepare yourselves. I will give you ten years. Those who wish to leave with me may come along, and for those who do not, we will respect their choice." Yaoguang added, considering potential misunderstandings: "There is no need to disclose my presence. Simply announce to the outside that the Nine Cauldrons Sect requires a total migration." "Understood." Li Qingshan and Li Hanqiu solemnly assented. Sect relocation was something the Nine Cauldrons Sect knew well. Hadn't they done the exact same thing when they moved from the Cangwu World to Beihai Star back then? "Then do so as quickly as possible. After all, the journey itself will take some time," Yaoguang said. Even if he sped up on the way back, for those with only one or two millennia left before their lifespans expired, time was still pressing. Following Yaoguang's order, the entire Nine Cauldrons Sect mobilized swiftly. Though Yaoguang had given them ten years, the Nine Cauldrons Sect was now colossal in scale; completing an entire migration within ten years was still no easy feat. Everyone had to seize every moment. As Beihai Star's foremost sect today, the Nine Cauldrons Sect's sudden decision to relocate in its entirety instantly drew the attention of every faction. Within mere months, the sect masters of the other major sects among the Ten Immortal Sects arrived one after another to inquire about the truth. Upon learning that the Nine Cauldrons Sect truly intended to leave Beihai Star, these major sects grew panicked. Others might not know, but how could they, as leaders of major sects, be unaware? While torrential storms raged through the outer starry sky, Beihai Star had served as a safe haven in the hearts of all visiting cultivators solely because of the Nine Cauldrons Sect's presence. More precisely, because of the presence of Daoist Venerable Yaoguang—Immortal King Yuxiao—behind the Nine Cauldrons Sect. If the Nine Cauldrons Sect truly migrated entirely, losing the protection of that Immortal King's influence, then... Beihai Star would inevitably be ravaged by the storm, just like all the other worlds in the universe. All at once, these sects pleaded with the Nine Cauldrons Sect, hoping to depart alongside them. Li Qingshan and Su Yaoxue did not dare make decisions on such requests lightly, quickly reporting them to Yaoguang. Yaoguang looked over the sects petitioning them, his gaze pausing briefly on the Heavenly Dao Sect. Memories of all he had experienced in the Heavenly Dao Sect flashed through his mind... "Forget it. Go ask them. It seems all the major factions on Beihai Star want to leave with us. If so, I might as well just take the entire Beihai Star along," Yaoguang replied. To ordinary cultivators, a world like Beihai Star was boundless, spanning tens of millions of li, but to Yaoguang, who had already begun evolving a chaotic world, packing it up and taking it away was no difficult task. Having received his assent, Su Yaoxue, Li Qingshan, and the others promptly contacted representatives of the Ten Immortal Sects and the Four Great Celestial Dynasties. After several rounds of discussions, the vast majority expressed their willingness to follow the Nine Cauldrons Sect in the migration. Because Yaoguang had considered the relocation of the entire Nine Cauldrons Sect before setting out from his chaotic world, he had deliberately brought along a plane refined and enveloped entirely by the essence of "Existence." Once he received a definitive answer from the Ten Immortal Sects and other factions, he cast a divine ability akin to plucking the stars and seizing the moon, depositing the immense Beihai Star entirely into this plane wrapped in the essence of "Existence." Having taken Beihai Star, he pondered for a moment, then made a trip to the Cangwu World and took it along as well. The plane he had refined was sufficiently vast; accommodating two worlds was more than effortless. Packing complete, Yaoguang looked back at the starry sky. "I wonder what will ultimately remain of this universe once the war between the Ancient Immortal Realm and the Hunyuan Realm concludes..." Sighing softly, he flickered and gradually departed the bounds of the Ancient Immortal Realm, stepping out into the chaotic void before carrying this detached essence of "Existence" directly toward his distant chaotic world. Having completed all this, his self in the Immortal Realm also drew back his focus, devoting his full efforts to assisting the Nine Dominators and Master Yuanxi in wearing away at the Gate of Karma.