Chapter 485: Under Scrutiny

Three days later, Qi Sha handed all the Dao-Artifact-level spoils they had seized over to Yaoguang.

Yaoguang selected some resources he and the battle lineage members could use and distributed them as rewards.

The rewards included Dao Artifacts. After all, Dao Artifacts were already of little use to him at this point.

His astonishing combat prowess against one Dao Lord after another came entirely from his Immortal Venerable Realm comprehension, which allowed him to make use of the Great Dao of void far more proficiently than most.

Without that advantage, even with three top-tier Dao Artifacts at his side, he might not have had such a decisive edge over those Dao Lords.

"Void End Perfected Lord, I want you to take charge of some of the men and hold the Yin Lunar Sect for the time being," Yaoguang said to the Void End Perfected Lord, who had come to pay his respects, before turning to Qi Sha.

"Take the people from the battle hall and continue hunting down the remnants of the Yin Lunar Sect scattered across the region."

"Yes." The two respectfully bowed in response.

After learning that Yaoguang had successfully achieved Dao Integration, become a Dao Lord, and even risen to the ranks of the top-tier Dao Lords, the six Void-Shattering cultivators led by the Void End Perfected Lord no longer harbored the slightest thought of opposing him.

Instead, they were all proud to serve a Dao Lord. After all, compared with the Abyssal Ruins Dao Lord, who had treated them as mere tools, Yaoguang treated them far better.

After giving the two men their instructions, Yaoguang’s gaze turned to a Dao Artifact warship cutting through the void.

Before the warship had even come to a complete stop, members of the Nine Cauldrons Sect aboard it had already flown down.

Leading them was none other than Su Yaoxue, the current lord of the southern domain and sect master of the Nine Cauldrons Sect.

Yes. After discussing the matter, Li Hanqiu, Wan Liugui, Li Qingshan, and the others had decided to have Su Yaoxue take over as the sect master of the Nine Cauldrons Sect.

The Nine Cauldrons Sect owed its current achievements entirely to Yaoguang’s support.

Yet with Yaoguang’s current status, he could no longer possibly invest much of his time in a small sect like the Nine Cauldrons Sect. Even if they wanted to repay him or express their gratitude, the gap between them was too great. Even if the entire sect pooled its strength, it would still be of no help to him.

Under these circumstances, having Su Yaoxue, a relative of his, take charge of the Nine Cauldrons Sect was the best arrangement.

That way, whenever Yaoguang helped the Nine Cauldrons Sect, he would essentially put those resources into his own basket. They only needed to benefit from his support.

Otherwise, no matter how much support they continued to receive from Yaoguang, they would eventually feel they didn't deserve any of it.

"You’re here." Yaoguang greeted them.

"Dao Lord." They returned the greeting.

Su Yaoxue, Li Hanqiu, Wan Liugui, and the others still addressed Yaoguang respectfully whenever they were outside the Nine Cauldrons Sect.

"I’ll be modifying the Yin Lunar Sect’s array. The process should take between ten and thirty years. During this time, the Nine Cauldrons Sect can send a group of disciples to serve by my side. I’ll give them some guidance in their cultivation whenever I have the time." As he spoke, Yaoguang glanced at Su Yaoxue and the others. "The same goes for all of you."

Su Yaoxue, Li Hanqiu, Wan Liugui, and the others were all delighted. "Thank you, Dao Lord."

A Dao Lord was essentially an incarnation of the Great Dao. Every movement and every word carried Dao resonance.

For ordinary cultivators, simply living alongside a Dao Lord and immersing themselves in his Dao resonance would let their cultivation advance by leaps and bounds.

Especially Wan Liugui. He had already been deeply moved when he had faced Yaoguang directly not long ago.

If he could continually comprehend the Dao resonance radiating from Yaoguang, advancing to the Void-Refining Realm would no longer be an unrealistic hope.

"Go pick the people you’ll send," Yaoguang said.

"Yes." Li Qingshan immediately left and began making arrangements.

Yaoguang then went directly to the most central part of the Yin Lunar Sect.

A massive rift known as the Cold Moon Abyss stretched through this area, its depths reaching deep underground.

Yaoguang had considered venturing deep into the planet’s core to take a look at the sealed Gate of the Immortal Realm, but he had too much to deal with at the moment, so he set the idea aside for the time being.

Instead, he settled into a palace beside the Cold Moon Abyss, a palace that once belonged to the Black Lunar Fiend Sovereign.

Naturally, Tang Fenghua did not need Yaoguang to give him any instructions. He had already taken it upon himself to redesign the palace according to Yaoguang’s personal tastes.

Having stayed by Yaoguang’s side for so long, Tang Fenghua handled such matters with ease.

Inside the palace, Yaoguang focused his attention on the Array Caster branch.

Over the past few days, he had already transferred all the experience gained from the Daemon Hunter branch into the Refiner branch.

A single Dao Lord's contribution could increase the Dao Integration(Void) branch by four progress points, but when applied to the Refiner branch, it directly boosted its progress by 31%.

The effect was remarkably significant. After some calculations, however, Yaoguang found the difference wasn't that great.

In fact, compared with simply increasing the Dao Integration branch's progress, the overall gain was slightly lower.

And that was despite also including the experience provided by Yue Wuying and the other Void-Shattering and Void-Refining cultivators.

Although the experience they provided to the Refiner branch was negligible compared with that of a Dao Lord, every little bit still counted.

In addition, spoils from slaying the Black Lunar Fiend Sovereign and seizing the entire Yin Lunar Sect reached the hundred?billion range. Subject to the "manpower cost" diminishing?returns effect, these resources raised progress by approximately 4%. Combined with Yaoguang’s own 1% contribution, they ultimately pushed the Refiner branch to 36%.

36% progress... At this stage, the artifact refinement methods mainly concern ordinary immortal artifacts. At level 17, I should be able to refine the high-grade immortal artifacts used by immortal venerables... Will I be able to refine the top-grade immortal artifacts used by immortal kings once I bring the branch to level 18?

The thought made Yaoguang curious.

Then what kind of artifact could he refine at level 19? Supreme sacred artifacts? Great Dao Divine Artifacts?

And what about beyond level 19? Could what he refined at that level break through the shackles of the Dao Ancestor Realm?

He had no answer. But he believed that as long as he continued to grow steadily and cautiously, he would eventually uncover the truth behind everything.

Although my Refiner branch hasn’t reached level 17, my success rate when refining immortal artifacts has already increased considerably. At this point, I should be roughly equivalent to a high-tier refiner specializing in immortal artifacts. But what I need right now isn’t an immortal artifact, but a semi-immortal artifact...

Yaoguang made a rough estimate. Originally, upgrading one of his top-tier Dao Artifacts into a semi-immortal artifact would have taken several hundred years. But now, a hundred years would be enough. Three artifacts would take three hundred years.

By then, the overall situation on North Sea Star would have just entered the Dao contest period.

With that thought, Yaoguang collected his thoughts and began considering how to modify the array in this area.

The Yin Lunar Sect’s original sect-protecting array had already reached level 15. Clearly, this land possessed the conditions necessary to support a level 15 grand array.

Moreover, an array already existed here. He simply needed to alter the nature of the entire array.

If rebuilding an array from scratch was like constructing a house, then he only needed to replace a door, or perhaps just change the lock. The amount of work would be drastically reduced. That was why he believed he could complete the array in as little as ten years.

"But with my current level of array mastery, setting up an immortal array would be far too difficult. My skill is one limitation, and immortal arrays also have strict environmental requirements. If I really wanted to set up such a powerful array, I’d probably have to draw upon the earth vein power of the Heavenly Dao Sect, the Yin Lunar Sect, and even the Penglai Immortal Sect to serve as its foundation." Yaoguang sighed.

Of course, he could set the immortal array directly within the planetary core and use the core’s energy as its foundation. But doing so would delay the Gate of the Immortal Realm's opening, and all the Dao Lords would oppose him.

For the time being, Yaoguang remained at the Yin Lunar Sect and quietly worked on the array.

This sight made many Dao Lords from the Ten Great Immortal Dao Sects secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

"He’s truly ferocious. He killed a Dao Lord in such a short time."

Six Dao Lords from the Ten Great Immortal Dao Sects had gathered in a special secret realm constructed by a Dao Artifact to discuss the matter.

This top-tier Dao Artifact belonged to the Three-Qing Temple and was known as the Heaven-Reaching Mirror. A Dao Lord with extraordinary expertise in artifact refinement had forged it hundreds of thousands of years ago, using immortal artifact materials. It had nearly become a semi-immortal artifact.

Any cultivator could leave a strand of psychic thought within this Dao Artifact and communicate with others through it, regardless of distance.

It was also thanks to this Dao Artifact that several Dao Lords from the Ten Great Immortal Dao Sects could travel together during the latter half of their return journey, despite having cultivated in different parts of the starry sky.

Among the six were the familiar faces of the Central Heaven, Sovereign Radiance, Azure Crow, Pill Cauldron, and Taiwei Dao Lords. The Taiqing Dao Lord was also present, and his standing was high enough that he was basically considered the leader of the Immortal Dao.

"His strength as a top-tier Dao Lord is well deserved. His sharpness is so formidable that even the Penglai Dao Lord may pale in comparison."

"The nail that sticks out gets hammered down. This time, Yaoguang and the Penglai Dao Lord thoroughly humiliated the Six Great Fiendish Dao Sects. They killed the Black Lunar Fiend Sovereign in front of several Dao Lords. The Six Great Fiendish Dao Sects certainly won’t let this go. The moment they get a chance, they’ll probably cause trouble."

"It’s not just the Six Great Fiendish Dao Sects. Yaoguang’s attack on the Black Lunar Fiend Sovereign proves that he has no intention of letting the Light Divine Venerable off either. That Divine Venerable will undoubtedly make a move when the opportunity arises."

The Dao Lords continued discussing the matter.

Finally, the Pill Cauldron Dao Lord addressed the Central Heaven Dao Lord, "For the time being, you should advise Daoist Yaoguang to keep a low profile and avoid going out whenever possible. Otherwise, someone might scheme against him and put him in danger."

The Central Heaven Dao Lord nodded. "I’ll remind him to be careful."

"There’s no need to worry too much. Yaoguang is a top-tier Dao Lord, after all. Even if he takes things a little too far, so what? This is ultimately a world where strength rules over all. As long as you’re strong enough, everything you say and do can represent justice and truth," the Sovereign Radiance Dao Lord said with a smile, easing the tension in the room.

The other Dao Lords agreed with him, but the Taiwei Dao Lord added, "It’s always better to be careful. There is always someone stronger, and there is always a higher mountain. Without caution and a healthy sense of respect, you’ll eventually suffer because of one careless mistake."

"The cosmos is vast, and no one knows what dangers might be lurking within it. There are even perilous places where a Dao Lord wouldn’t dare enter without worrying about whether they could make it out safely." The Taiqing Dao Lord agreed, a hint of emotion in his voice.

After hearing this, the Central Heaven Dao Lord decided to remind Yaoguang again when he returned.

At this point, the Azure Crow Dao Lord suddenly spoke, "Compared with everyone’s concern about the Dao Lord Yaoguang’s safety and strength, I’m actually more interested in the Penglai Dao Lord..."

He glanced at everyone present. "Did any of you notice that the Penglai Dao Lord seemed to use a Dao Artifact when she fought the Innate, Yellow Springs, and Nine Hells Fiend Sovereigns?"

"A Dao Artifact?"

The Azure Crow’s words immediately caught the other Dao Lords off guard.

The Taiwei Dao Lord quickly realized what he was implying. "A top-tier Dao Artifact!"

He looked surprised. "When did the Penglai Dao Lord get a top-tier Dao Artifact?"

"A top-tier Dao Artifact?!"

The moment they heard this, the Central Heaven Dao Lord and the Sovereign Radiance Dao Lord, the two people who knew Yaoguang best, seemed to realize something at the same time. Their pupils contracted sharply.

"That artifact paragon... has finished refining the Dao Artifact he was going to give the Penglai Dao Lord?!"

"Already?! How could it be so fast? How long has it even been?!"