Chapter 491: Fishing

"The nail that sticks out gets hammered down."

Deep within the starry sky. A figure bathed in starlight from head to toe spoke slowly. He was a renowned Dao Lord of the Great Dao of void. After developing sentience, he cultivated painstakingly for three thousand years before achieving Dao Integration and taking the title of Chaotic Void Dao Lord.

After two thousand years of accumulation, he believed his cultivation had reached a sufficient level and began participating in the Dao contest. To this day, he had taken part in three of them.

During those three Dao contests, no fewer than five void Dao Lords had fallen to his hands. On one occasion, he had even relentlessly pursued a Dao Lord who had ruined his plans and killed him outright.

As a result, he was essentially the one directing this operation. As he muttered his assessment of Yaoguang, his gaze swept across the surrounding starry sky.

Within this stretch of the starry sky, shrouded by a concealment array, were eight other figures, each of whom continuously emanated void Dao resonance. These were the void Dao Lords who had answered his call.

It should be known that the news that he intended to deal with Yaoguang had only spread within a small circle of void Dao Lords; he hadn't let every single one know. Despite that, the news had still drawn the response of eight Dao Lords. That alone showed just how many people feared Yaoguang.

Of course, it could also be greed. Who would not be curious about what secrets were hidden within someone who had become a Dao Lord in just over two hundred years?

The mere fact that Yaoguang had achieved Dao Integration immediately was enough to tempt most Dao Lords into doing everything in their power to uncover this secret.

After all, this was equivalent to strangling the "human tribulation" in its cradle.

Under these circumstances, when the divine race venerables decided to scheme against Yaoguang and lure him out, these void Dao Lords naturally came to an immediate agreement with them.

One of the Dao Lords nearby seemed to have received some news, and his brow moved slightly. "According to information sent by an informant on the North Sea Star, the Penglai Dao Lord has already left the Penglai Immortal Sect."

"Has Penglai come?" The Chaotic Void Dao Lord’s expression turned solemn. "During this period, she and Yaoguang have practically been inseparable. Several schemes targeting other Dao Lords were carried out jointly by them. Now that Penglai has set out, Yaoguang will certainly move with her as well. It is only because Yaoguang is a void Dao Lord and his movements are extremely covert that we have difficulty tracking him. Six Realms, is your information reliable?"

The Dao Lord known as Six Realms nodded. "I am also very interested in how the Penglai Dao Lord managed to become a Dao Lord in such a short period of time. I planted a hidden agent when she established the Penglai Immortal Sect, and this agent has risen to a sufficiently high position. I cannot say anything about other matters, but I can determine with certainty whether the Penglai Dao Lord is still within the Penglai Immortal Sect."

After hearing this, the Chaotic Void Dao Lord no longer had any doubts. Every Dao Lord had integrated with a Great Dao. Unless obstructed by an array, it was still quite easy to sense whether a Dao Lord was present at close range.

Although Penglai possessed formidable cultivation and had mastered many powerful Dao Techniques, she was not proficient in skills such as artifact refinement, array formations, or alchemy.

Therefore, many people feared her less than they feared the Taiqing Dao Lord of the Three-Qing Temple.

"Notify the divine races and have them prepare for battle. Also make sure to activate the array on our side. Once the divine race activates the Dao Artifact capable of deploying an array in midair, we will immediately teleport over."

At this point, the Chaotic Void Dao Lord sneered. "No matter how formidable Yaoguang and Penglai are, they will simultaneously face fifteen Dao Integration cultivators, including renowned Dao Lords like myself and the Vast Sky Dao Lord. I refuse to believe he can still escape alive!"

The Vast Sky Dao Lord, whom the Chaotic Void Dao Lord had mentioned, nodded, but he did not speak.

Facing two top-tier Dao Lords, he clearly intended to bring his condition to its absolute peak, only then could he ensure that there would be no room for error when the time came to act.

***

The news from the void Dao Lords soon reached the divine race.

Within the divine race, the Destruction Divine Venerable naturally stood at the forefront. As someone who cultivated a core Great Dao, he had long possessed the strength to be regarded as a top-tier Dao Lord.

However, because members of the divine race suffered a decline in strength once they left their own divine kingdoms, his title as a top-tier Dao Lord was not entirely secure.

Even so, he was still extremely famous on the North Sea Star, and within the Ten Divine Races, he was an absolute authority.

"The fish is swimming over," the Destruction Divine Venerable remarked.

At the same time, he gave an order, "Slow down. Wait for the fish to take the bait. Keep a close eye on the Dao Artifact provided by Chaotic Void as well. The moment the fish bites, close the net immediately."

"Divine Venerable, what about the Four Great Immortal Dynasties?" One of the divine venerables glanced at him. He was the Thunderbolt Divine Venerable. He was also one of the most formidable warriors among the divine venerables of the Ten Divine Races.

"It doesn't matter. The reason I went after Heavenly Fate is because Heavenly Fate is already cautious by nature. Even if they guess something, they will prioritize protecting themselves. Moreover, the influence of the Four Great Immortal Dynasties is far from comparable to that of the Ten Great Immortal Dao Sects. Under such circumstances, when faced with danger, they are even more likely to choose to protect themselves first."

The Destruction Divine Venerable paused before continuing, "Besides, once the fish takes the bait, the Heavenly Fiend Sect will immediately make its move against the Great Shang and True Dragon Dynasties. Even if they really want to stay in the starry sky and do something, they will have no choice but to return and defend their own headquarters immediately."

The other divine venerables felt somewhat reassured after hearing this. As long as it was someone else dying, rather than them, there'd be no problem.

The factions truly taking action in this operation were not limited to their divine race, the void Dao Lords and the now Five Great Fiendish Dao Sects would also cooperate. With such an enormous lineup, Dao Lords from other factions simply would not dare to interfere recklessly.

Even the Four Great Immortal Dynasties, which were already involved in this matter, were no exception. The most difficult part of the entire plan was to lure the fish out. Once the fish appeared, with the lineup they had prepared, fifteen Dao Integration cultivators would swarm him. Against two top-tier Dao Lords, victory was virtually assured.

"Today, Yaoguang is doomed to die. All the secrets hidden within him, including the rumor circulating outside that he possesses the ability to refine top-tier Dao Artifacts, will also be brought to light," the Destruction Divine Venerable spoke with absolute certainty.

History is always remarkably similar. And the only lesson that countless living beings can ever learn from history is that they never learn any lessons from history.

Meanwhile, Yaoguang had already met up with the Penglai Dao Lord. The two top-tier Dao Lords rode on a Dao Artifact warship, traveling at full speed.

However, after seeing the traces along the way—and quickly noticing that they had been practically left there deliberately—even the Penglai Dao Lord felt that something was amiss.

"I estimate that this operation by the Ten Divine Races is a trap, a trap specifically targeting you. Moreover, there are two factions behind this trap. One is the divine race, and the other is those void Dao Lords who fear your strength and talent," the Penglai Dao Lord said in a tone that was already more of a conclusion than a guess.

"It doesn't matter." Yaoguang glanced at the other communication jade talisman in his hand.

The Heavenly Dao Sect, the Taiyi Immortal Sect, the Three-Qing Temple, the Golden Crow Sect... The Dao Lords behind these factions had learned that he had left the North Sea Star in pursuit of the Ten Divine Race, and they had all sent him messages to warn him.

However, Yaoguang paid them no heed. Instead, he used these factions’ channels to learn about the movements of the other Dao Lords.

As they pursued at full speed, information from the various Dao Lords also came back.

Yaoguang said directly, "The Five Great Fiendish Dao Sects are also involved in setting up this trap. However, the fiend sovereigns of the Five Great Fiendish Dao Sects shouldn't take action personally. They have actually become surprisingly cautious in this regard.

"But that makes sense. The divine race is not worthy of their trust either. Aside from these organized factions and alliances, the rest are void Dao Lords, fighting on their own."

He made a brief summary and calculation. "Based on the combined information from the various sects and the number of void Dao Lords in the previous Dao contest, I estimate that there are between eight and ten void Dao Lords coming to ambush me.

"Of course, we cannot rule out the possibility that some void Dao Lords have come from other star regions. If there are such Dao Lords, then the number of void Dao Lords lying in wait for me should exceed ten."

"Ten void Dao Lords?!"

The Penglai Dao Lord was somewhat startled. "Aren't there too many?"

"Not only ten void Dao Lords. The six divine venerables of the divine race have to be counted as well," Yaoguang said. "Once the Heavenly Fate Dao Lord and the others from the Four Great Immortal Dynasties learn that the Destruction Divine Venerable is actually coming after me rather than truly targeting them, there is a high probability that they will stand by and watch."

The Penglai Dao Lord frowned. That was indeed the most likely outcome. Anyone capable of becoming a Dao Lord was extremely selfish.

"Then this is troublesome," The Penglai Dao Lord said, glancing at Yaoguang. "Should we turn back?"

"It's fine," Yaoguang said calmly. "To me, even ten void Dao Lords are less troublesome than the six divine venerables."

There was an indescribable confidence in his expression. "With my advantage in comprehension of the realms, a void Dao Lord can display at most thirty or forty percent of their full strength before me. Anyone capable of displaying more than half of their battle strength would already have to be considered extraordinarily gifted."

"Is the suppression from your comprehension really that great?" The Penglai Dao Lord was somewhat astonished.

Her comprehension in the Great Dao of origin was likewise a level above that of other cultivators of the Great Dao of origin, but with such suppression, even twenty percent would already be the limit.

Suppressing fifty or sixty percent of their battle strength?! How great must the difference between their comprehension be?! Or rather, how high must Yaoguang’s comprehension in the Great Dao of void have reached? At the very least, it has to be comparable to a true immortal, right?

After pondering for a moment, the Penglai Dao Lord said, "If you can really contend with ten void Dao Lords, then I can help hold back the six divine venerables."

"Can you hold them back?" Yaoguang looked at her, somewhat surprised.

"You have grown over the years, but I’ve made quite a bit of progress myself." The Penglai Dao Lord smiled slightly. "Of course, I can only barely hold them back. If they abandon their confrontation with me and turn around to deal with you, I will not be able to stop them completely either."

"That's enough," Yaoguang said.

After pondering for a moment, he said directly, "I have a supreme treasure that can manifest a heavenly realm capable of causing an immense distortion of cognition in the outside world.

"At that time, we will face the void Dao Lords and the six divine venerables within that heavenly realm. To prevent it from also affecting you, send out a strand of psychic thought. We will maintain a state of psychic communion so that we can better deal with the enemy."

Send out a strand of psychic thought. If Yaoguang possessed some special soul Dao Technique or curse Dao Technique, he could easily use this strand of psychic thought to injure the soul origin of the Penglai Dao Lord.

However, recalling the times they had fought side by side over the years, the Penglai Dao Lord agreed after only a brief hesitation. "Alright."

At once, a strand of psychic thought was sent out. Their psychic thoughts soon intertwined. In an instant, they understood each other’s thoughts completely, and there was no longer any barrier between them in their coordination.

Just as the two of them were adapting to this state, spatial fluctuations rippled through the void ahead. Under the control of a divine venerable of the divine race, a warship belonging to the divine race tore through the void and came to a halt.