Chapter 294: Battle Immortal

I knew it! Elder Jin, the one overseeing the recruitment of inner sect disciples, really has problems. Inside his cave dwelling, Yaoguang held a file in his hand as his eyes swept across its contents. He has taken in a total of 106 disciples over the last thousand years, almost one every ten years. Yet out of those disciples, only one ever amounted to anything and reached the Void-Piercing Realm. Even that elder who reached the Void-Piercing Realm has grown endlessly weary of him, and the two have openly clashed in public before.

And that was only what was publicly known. As for how severe the conflicts were between Jin Yuliu and his disciples behind closed doors, there was no need to guess.

And Jin Yuliu is exceptionally petty. Anyone who offends him never ends well. I temporarily intimidated him by borrowing the prestige of a mysterious master, but if I remain in the Heavenly Dao Sect for ten years and still no word spreads that I have ties to some Void-Refining Realm peak master or lineage leader, he will definitely take revenge... At that thought, Yaoguang understood that he had to act.

Although Jin Yuliu would not make any rash moves for a while, placing hope in another person’s caution was itself a gamble.

The best method was to grow stronger himself, quickly enough to gain the power to contend against a Void-Piercing Realm expert.

First, I’ll head to the Great Shang and claim the bounty on the Black Dragon Pirates. After that, I’ll continue sweeping through the Chaotic Sea. My greatest advantage is that my cultivation is only at Blazing White Golden Core Realm, yet my combat strength rivals true disciples at the Azure Golden Core Realm. Azure Golden Core and Void-Piercing Realm battle immortals are already the upper limit of power in the Chaotic Sea. If I show up a few times there and deliberately display a bit of wealth as a mere Blazing White Golden Core cultivator...I may very well hook a big fish. Yaoguang quickly formed a plan.

As long as his luck was good enough and he found one or two more targets from the bounty list, he would gather enough Pure Yang Grand Pills to advance to the Azure Golden Core Realm.

Once he reached that stage, even if danger came again, he would at least have a way out.

Whether, after reaching the Azure Golden Core Realm, he continued cultivating until reaching the middle or late stage could be decided based on circumstances.

Of course, before fishing for prey, it would be best to upgrade the doomsday ark first, ensuring that if danger arose, he could activate that Dao Artifact and retreat safely.

The Void Flowing Crystal he had bought for two hundred thousand Pure Yang Grand Pills could finally be put to use.

With that thought, Yaoguang stepped out of his cave dwelling.

He sent a message to Xu Nianhua.

There had been thousands in Xu Nianhua’s batch of examinees. Among them were quite a few who entered through the genius pathway, and because the officer overseeing the examination had been in an excellent mood, the standards had been set unusually low. More than half of the applicants had passed, and Xu Nianhua was among them.

Of course, the outer sect disciple examination itself had never been particularly strict and was relatively easy.

The Heavenly Dao Sect treated outer sect disciples more as a business venture, which was why someone like Xu Nianhua, despite lacking practical combat experience, could still pass.

After instructing Xu Nianhua to cultivate diligently, Yaoguang rose on his sword, transforming into a streak of sword light as he flew straight toward the sect’s outer perimeter.

With his identity token as an inner sect disciple, he could travel by sword throughout the outer regions of the Heavenly Dao Sect, completely unhindered.

Not long after Yaoguang left on his sword, Wang Daoshu and Xuan Shuang arrived in succession, one openly and one hidden.

Xuan Shuang glanced at the message left by Xuan Mo, surprise flashing through his eyes. "He actually went out? He just joined the sect and doesn’t even understand its situation, yet he chose to leave. There’s definitely something suspicious."

His conviction deepened. "But leaving the sect works perfectly. If I, a true disciple, seized an inner sect disciple within the sect, it wouldn’t be a major issue, but it would still bring trouble and attract attention, creating unnecessary complications. But since he left on his own... We couldn't ask for a better opportunity!"

He immediately sent word to Wang Daoshu.

Wang Daoshu wasted no time.

Under pressure from the Chi family, the Wang family’s situation had become dire. For the sake of his family, even knowing he was being used as a pawn by Xuan Shuang, he had no choice but to comply.

Since he was already aboard Xuan Shuang’s ship, there was no point in hesitating.

He followed at once.

Considering they were still too close to the sect, he did not trail Yaoguang too closely. He planned to strike only after they were fifty thousand kilometers away.

***

In the void, Yaoguang had only been flying by sword for a short while after leaving the sect when he sensed something.

Though Xuan Mo’s concealment technique was impressive, his cultivation was ultimately limited.

Meanwhile, Yaoguang’s psychic mind power had long approached the Void-Piercing Realm, and the Supreme Emotional Detachment was one of the supreme divine abilities he had cultivated. Back inside the sect, with so many people around, it had been difficult to judge.

But now that he had left the sect, he immediately noticed the tail behind him.

"Jin Yuliu?! Is he afraid I’ll flee midway, so he deliberately arranged for someone to track me?" Yaoguang frowned.

He slightly withdrew his aura, then instantly activated Nine Heavenly Transformations. After several bounding flashes, he vanished beyond the horizon in an instant.

I got caught? Xuan Mo inwardly shuddered.

At the same time, he felt annoyed at himself.

Fortunately, Wang Daoshu arrived shortly after in pursuit.

Xuan Mo immediately informed him of Yaoguang’s direction.

This Void-Piercing Realm battle immortal did not waste words. He no longer bothered concealing his aura. As spatial ripples spread around him, he crossed dozens of kilometers in a single step, chasing straight toward Yaoguang.

Not long after Wang Daoshu departed, Xuan Shuang’s figure followed close behind.

"Brother, Yaoguang truly carries a great secret." Xuan Mo’s voice was filled with excitement. "I know my talent is mediocre, so my usual responsibility is gathering intelligence for you. To do that, perception and concealment are my greatest strengths. Despite that, Yaoguang immediately discovered me, and the movement art he displayed while fleeing was also extraordinarily profound. Combined with your insistence that he obtained a great fortune, I suspect that it may very well be a supreme divine ability!"

"A supreme divine ability?!" Joy flashed through Xuan Shuang’s eyes.

Obtaining a supreme divine ability was one thing. Mastering one successfully was another.

To master such a divine ability, one had to possess an authentic Dao Technique.

Yaoguang had only entered the sect yesterday. There was no way he had accumulated enough contribution points to access an authentic Dao Technique, yet he had already mastered a supreme divine ability...

That was proof enough that he possessed at least one authentic Dao Technique himself!

Even if incomplete, it could still sell for several million Pure Yang Grand Pills, whether it only included details of the beginner stage or went up to the proficient stage.

"This Yaoguang truly is my lucky star! Stay here and don’t move. I’ll claim this great opportunity for myself. When the time comes, the two of us will both become true disciples." With that, Xuan Shuang eagerly rushed after them.

***

On the other side, because Wang Daoshu was pursuing at full speed, Yaoguang quickly sensed him.

Twisting space? This is a Void-Piercing Realm expert! These fluctuations... A Void-Piercing Realm battle immortal?! Shock flashed through Yaoguang’s heart.

Jin Yuliu had actually sent a Void-Piercing Realm battle immortal after him!

It had to be known that although many Azure Golden Core true disciples looked down on Void-Piercing Realm battle immortals, no one dared deny their strength.

Some battle-hardened Void-Piercing Realm battle immortals were even qualified to hold elder titles in top-tier great sects.

For Jin Yuliu to dispatch such an expert to pursue him...

"This is a test!" Yaoguang quickly realized the truth.

Who would not be curious about a Blazing White Golden Core cultivator displaying Azure Golden Core Realm battle strength? Who would not want to see whether he carried some secret?

On the North Sea Star, struggle was woven into every part of a cultivator’s life. If one did not fight over opportunities, if one did not seize resources, then how could one cultivate and follow the path of immortality? How could one seek longevity?

At the end of the day, he was only an inner sect disciple. With Jin Yuliu’s status, crushing him was effortless.

Not to mention Jin Yuliu had not personally stepped in. By sending someone else, he was already giving face to the nonexistent "mysterious expert" behind Yaoguang.

"What a criminal underworld," Yaoguang mocked.

And that was putting it lightly. This was darker than any criminal underworld.

This should be called Fiendish Dao conduct. Even the Six Great Fiendish Dao Sects would bow in shame before the way these people operated.

Then again, when he thought about it, the Ten Great Immortal Dao Sects and the Six Great Fiendish Dao Sects had always only differed in cultivation methods and ideology. When it came to fighting over opportunities and seizing resources, there was no real difference.

"Looks like I’ll have to reveal some cards," A cold gleam flashed in Yaoguang’s eyes. "If you had sent an Azure Golden Core cultivator, dealing with them would’ve been troublesome. But a Void-Piercing Realm battle immortal..."

His psychic thought spread out and quickly locked onto the location of that Void-Piercing Realm battle immortal.

At the same time, he summoned the Two-Realm Ruler and paired it with Nine Heavenly Transformations, maintaining the gradually closing distance at a relative stalemate.

This scene quickly made Wang Daoshu, who was relentlessly pursuing him, pause in surprise. A mere Blazing White Golden Core cultivator is actually keeping pace with me?

And that treasure...! A trace of greed flashed through his eyes.

But the moment he thought of Xuan Shuang, who held control over the frequency of his Primordial Void, that greed was swiftly suppressed.

No wonder Xuan Shuang wanted me to handle him. This inner sect disciple must have stumbled upon a great opportunity and somehow the information leaked, drawing Xuan Shuang’s attention... Still, if I help him obtain such a treasure, True Disciple Xuan will surely be overjoyed and work even harder to resolve the Chi Family matter for me. With that thought, Wang Daoshu pushed his Primordial Void power harder.

Ripples began spreading from him, and his spatial traversal grew even faster.

While Wang Daoshu circulated his Primordial Void power, Yaoguang’s psychic mind never stopped probing the operation of his Primordial Void.

All the information in his mind regarding the Primordial Void of the Void-Piercing Realm was continuously reviewed, one piece at a time.

At the same time, he rapidly put that knowledge to use through Void’s Child, searching for the black hole frequency of the Void-Piercing Realm battle immortal behind him.

Wang Daoshu, charging forward in pursuit, remained completely unaware.

After several spatial leaps, he traversed the void. A few dozen breaths later, he finally caught up behind Yaoguang. From afar, he reached toward the space around Yaoguang with a grasping motion. Instantly, the space centered on Yaoguang began collapsing.

Space seemed to turn into a quicksand funnel. Though Yaoguang was clearly flying forward, his body involuntarily slid backward toward Wang Daoshu.

This was a divine ability, Void Sand Sea.

"Young man, I do not wish to kill you. Answer a few questions obediently, and I can leave you a path to live. Otherwise, death is the only road waiting for you!" The divine thought of this Void-Piercing Realm expert invaded Yaoguang’s perception.

Judging by its intensity, it was only slightly weaker than Yaoguang’s own.

But Yaoguang gave no reply. He suddenly activated the Two-Realm Ruler. Amid exploding ripples, he forcefully tore himself free from Wang Daoshu’s Void Sand Sea divine ability.

"How dare you!" Wang Daoshu’s face darkened. With a furious roar, he fully circulated the Primordial Void within his body. Inside the Void Sand Sea, a violent storm seemed to rise. Every grain of sand transformed into a wind blade, bombarding and carving toward Yaoguang’s body.

And at the very moment Wang Daoshu fully activated his Primordial Void, Yaoguang, who had pushed Void’s Child to its absolute limit, finally caught what he had been searching for.

So it’s actually that simple. The thought flashed through his mind.

The next instant, trapped within the raging spatial sandstorm, Yaoguang’s body spun sharply. As he turned, a streak of golden light suddenly shot from his body, sending ripples surging outward. Layer upon layer, the ripples stacked and amplified until they caused the void to collapse like a towering wave crashing down.

Then, under the binding force of his powerful psychic thought and that streak of golden light, all that destructive force was compressed into a single point and launched straight toward the Void-Piercing Realm battle immortal behind him.

Space-Splitting Strike!