Chapter 288: Black Dragon

From that point onward, Yaoguang deliberately released traces of his Blazing White Golden Core aura, and as expected, the journey became much smoother.

Several times, when they passed factions locked in desperate life-or-death battles, those groups sensed his presence from afar and immediately broke off their fighting. None of them cared about finishing off their opponents anymore. They fled in panic, not daring to come face to face with Yaoguang.

"The Chaotic Sea truly lived up to its name. We haven’t been flying for long, yet we’ve already encountered more than five large-scale clashes. And that's with me displaying the cultivation of a Blazing White Golden Core cultivator, as well as silently erasing many hidden threats before they could surface. If we were really just two Crimson Golden Core cultivators, or worse, at the Eternal Light Realm, we'd have had to be extraordinarily lucky with the weather; otherwise, crossing the Chaotic Sea alive would have been impossible." Yaoguang sighed.

Beside him, Xu Nianhua nodded in agreement.

On the North Sea Star, reaching the Core Formation Realm already counted as having achieved something in cultivation. In the Great Shang, it was enough to qualify for official service. Cultivators at the Heavenly Fire Realm and Eternal Light Realm were already considered minor experts.

Within that system, while they might not hold great authority, they could live comfortably enough.

In smaller cities, they could even become heads of some less prestigious departments.

As for Crimson Golden Core cultivators, there was even less to say. In the Great Shang, they counted as middle-ranking figures. The city lords of some smaller cities possessed no more than that level of cultivation.

Yet in the Chaotic Sea, that level of strength offered no safety whatsoever. Once isolated, they became the easiest targets to notice and hunt, not so powerful that they were difficult to kill, yet wealthy enough to make the risk worthwhile.

As they continued flying and the journey passed its halfway point, Yaoguang seemed to sense something.

His psychic thought extended once more toward a fleet that was apparently just done plundering others, and was now returning, heavy with loot.

The banner hanging from that fleet was a black dragon banner!

The Black Dragon Pirates? Yaoguang thought.

The moment Yaoguang’s psychic thought touched the fleet, someone aboard also detected the presence of the two of them by some unknown method.

He sharply sensed a strand of psychic thought probing toward him.

It was extremely subtle, yet he still clearly caught the malice hidden within it.

The owner of that psychic thought was, like him, also a Blazing White Golden Core.

After sensing the aura Yaoguang had deliberately released, one that likewise belonged to a Blazing White Golden Core cultivator, that cultivator withdrew his psychic thought.

Yaoguang also pulled his back. But the moment he withdrew, that strand of psychic thought quietly returned in an even more concealed manner, leaving a mark on Xu Nianhua.

Had Yaoguang’s psychic thought not already reached a level just one step away from the true spirit, lacking only the transformation between illusion and reality and the final process of the Void-Refining Realm turning illusion into truth, he might never have noticed the mark.

It was a tracking mark, meant to guide others to their location.

Yaoguang lingered on the sensation for a moment, then laughed in anger.

Their clash of psychic thought had, in truth, been a hidden confrontation.

Yaoguang had assumed that since both were Blazing White Golden Core experts, mutual caution would prevail. After brief contact, each side would withdraw, keeping to their own path and leaving the other alone.

But in the eyes of that Black Dragon Pirate, mutual restraint meant caution. Caution meant fear.

And fear, according to the Blazing White Golden Core of the Black Dragon Pirates, meant that Yaoguang was at most on the same level as him.

If they were on the same level, then he could be robbed!

At worst, they simply needed to gather more manpower first.

The concealed mark left on Xu Nianhua made that malicious intent obvious beyond doubt.

"As expected, on the North Sea Star, especially in places like the Chaotic Sea, the most dangerous thing has never been harsh environments or extreme celestial phenomena. It’s people! Other people are hell!" He extended his psychic thought toward that fleet once more.

Information on the Black Dragon Pirates surfaced in his mind. They were the largest pirate force in the Chaotic Sea. Their chief, Tong Yan, ranked fifth on the bounty list. He had formed an Azure Golden Core and possessed a thirty to forty percent chance of breaking through to the Void-Piercing Realm. Over the years, he had frantically plundered resources in hopes of exchanging them for a Dao Pill and making that breakthrough. Because he knew when to keep his head down and carefully avoided provoking top-tier forces, his bounty had never reached the outrageous level of Gu Zhenyi, but it was still worth 300,000 Pure Yang Grand Pill.

Tong Yan’s public combat power was 760,000. But there was no need to guess that a pirate chief who had roamed freely through the Chaotic Sea for over a century had hidden trump cards.

Such a person was not within Yaoguang’s hunting range.

But a mere Blazing White Golden Core cultivator is at most equivalent to a second- or third-chief. And he dared set his sights on me? Yaoguang thought.

"Follow behind me and clean up the battlefield." Under Xu Nianhua’s puzzled gaze, Yaoguang gave the order, then rose into the air, transforming into a streak of golden sword light as he shot straight toward the fleet.

On the ship, the third chief, the Blazing White Golden Core cultivator who had seemingly withdrawn his psychic thought, had actually never lowered his guard against Yaoguang.

He had already sent word to the chief.

Other forces might hesitate to provoke a lone Blazing White Golden Core cultivator, especially one traveling alone without any faction banner. But the Black Dragon Pirates would not hesitate to rob him.

Anyone afraid of death would never have become a pirate.

So when he realized Yaoguang had suddenly changed direction and was flying straight toward them, the third chief’s heart jolted.

Still cautious, he barked out an order. "A fish actually swam right to our doorstep? Bad luck for him. Jiang’er, there’s a small fish over there. Take a squad and strip them clean. Leave the wealth, kill the people."

"Yes, Father." The named Radiant Sun Golden Core cultivator acknowledged the order and quickly led his squad into the sky, heading toward the direction indicated.

Meanwhile, the third chief himself rose on a streak of evasion light, using reconnaissance as an excuse to quietly distance himself from the fleet.

"Do you think you can escape?" Yaoguang muttered.

The Two-Realm Ruler shimmered around Yaoguang. As he activated the supreme divine ability Nine Heavenly Transformations, he vaulted forward in a single step and instantly appeared before the squad led by that Radiant Sun Golden Core cultivator. Before any of them could react, the Wandering Dragon Sword stirred ripples through the void, transforming into a golden wandering dragon that seemed capable of crossing space itself. In an instant, it pierced through the Radiant Sun Golden Core cultivator and six Crimson Golden Core cultivators.

Then Yaoguang shot forward again, pursuing the fleeing third chief.

"Crap!" The third chief nearly lost his soul when he saw Yaoguang strike.

Especially when the corner of his eye caught the combat power detector and saw the number on it instantly skyrocket. Terrified, he immediately unleashed a forbidden technique, sending his speed surging as he fled.

Yet, Yaoguang’s psychic thought remained locked onto him.

As Yaoguang swept past the fleet of the Black Dragon Pirates, the Wandering Dragon Sword split into two, and then from two into four, four into sixteen, and sixteen into 256 streaks of sword light. Like a golden storm, they instantly rained downward, slaughtering every Radiant Sun Golden Core, Crimson Golden Core, and Eternal Light cultivator aboard the fleet.

Among those Radiant Sun Golden Core cultivators, some seasoned veterans had already sensed something was wrong the moment they saw the third chief flee.

The instant that golden torrent of sword light descended, they leaped into the air, trying to escape the battlefield.

But the golden sword lights formed by the Wandering Dragon Sword were simply too fast.

They seemed to ignore the barriers of space itself, striking with instant death.

Though those Golden Core cultivators relied on their rich combat experience to sense danger in advance, no matter how they twisted, dodged, or maneuvered, they could only watch helplessly as the golden lights pierced through their bodies one after another.

In the end, they were burned into charred corpses by the terrifying heat contained within the sword light.

After briefly delaying to wipe out that group, Yaoguang accelerated once more.

With the Two-Realm Ruler and the supreme divine ability, Nine Heavenly Transformations, even though he had wasted some time destroying the fleet, the distance between him and the fleeing third chief continued to shrink.

How can he be this strong? We’re both Blazing White Golden Core cultivators, so how is he this powerful?! Which sect’s true disciple is he?! The third chief thought as he fled in terror.

He fully realized he had run into a brick wall.

Anyone who could unleash such horrifying combat strength while still at the Blazing White Golden Core Realm undoubtedly possessed a supreme divine ability.

And those qualified to cultivate supreme divine abilities were the standard bearers of true disciples from the top sects.

When these true disciples fought rogue cultivators like them, defeating opponents above their level was no empty boast.

Damn it. I thought we were already close to our base, and this Blazing White Golden Core cultivator didn’t show the slightest trace of arrogance. He didn’t seem like one of those great sect true disciples. He looked like prey delivered right to our doorstep, something already in our pocket. That’s why I planned to gather my brothers and make a move on him. Who would’ve thought... The third chief cursed bitterly inside.

You’re a great sect true disciple. When our psychic thoughts touched, why did you retreat so cautiously?! Shouldn’t you have coldly barked, "Impudent!" and ordered me to slap myself in apology?

At that point, I would have smacked my own face a couple times, showered you with praise, and given you all the face you wanted. The matter would have ended there, and nothing would have happened.

Why are you not following the script?!

As Yaoguang drew closer and closer behind him, the third chief gritted his teeth. His Blazing White Golden Core trembled violently, as though part of it were collapsing inward.

That collapse generated a fierce burst of energy, drastically pushing his forbidden technique to its limits and increasing his evasion speed up another level, barely enough to maintain a pace comparable to Yaoguang’s.

But this method of collapsing his own Blazing White Golden Core and converting it into energy clearly inflicted enormous damage on the cultivator himself.

Even if this third chief managed to survive and return alive, his vitality would likely be gravely damaged.

But while fleeing for his life, no method he resorted to could be considered too extreme.

The two streaked across the skies one after the other like golden beams, and before long, they had already flown more than five hundred kilometers.

However, a vast aura suddenly came surging from the horizon.

Mixed within it were five more energy fluctuations on the same level as the third chief. Though three of those auras were clearly unstable.

The moment he sensed those presences, joy flooded the third chief’s eyes, the joy of someone finding life at the edge of certain death. His psychic thought erupted across hundreds of kilometers. "Big Brother, save me!"

At the same time, he unleashed his forbidden technique without any restraint, caring only about surviving long enough to reunite with the chief.

"The Black Dragon Pirates!?" Yaoguang frowned. "How did they arrive so quickly?"

He quickly realized what had happened. That fleet had just completed a raid.

And after completing a raid, what would they do?

Naturally, they would return to their base.

Which meant the Black Dragon Pirates’ main base might be nearby.

Those pirates frequently changed their headquarters, and no force truly knew where their base was located.

His luck might simply have been terrible enough for him to stumble straight into their base.

The Black Dragon Pirates... Tong Yan's combat power is as high as 760,000.

But after a moment, Yaoguang shook his head.

"Since I’m already here..." He lifted his gaze and looked toward the six surging auras. "In that case, I’ll wipe out the Black Dragon Pirates. With that bounty of 300,000 Pure Yang Grand Pills, advancing to the Azure Golden Core Realm will become much easier."