Chapter 343: Hunting

Although Qi Sha did not understand where Yaoguang’s information had come from, once he received the order, he still quickly had people operate the warship and change course.

Over the next few days, Yaoguang continued using the True Spirit Light Dao Technique twice per day, using its mysterious perception toward the Great Dao of soul to search for targets.

Six days passed in this manner.

On the seventh day, soon after he had cast True Spirit Light once more, Yaoguang suddenly focused his psychic mind on a certain region.

Immediately afterward, his figure flickered, and he appeared 500 kilometers away. Taking out the Wandering Dragon Sword, he slashed down at a calm stretch of sea.

Just as the Wandering Dragon Sword started descending toward the sea, a streak of light shot out from the seabed, wrapped in demonic qi, and fled straight toward the end of the sky.

"A demon king?!" In the distance, Qi Sha, who had followed over to provide support, was shocked.

This is clearly a demon king who is active in the outer sea. Sect Master Yaoguang actually managed to find one in the vast outer sea, despite the fact that it had been hiding?!

Compared to Qi Sha’s shock at Yaoguang finding the demon king, this demon king was in panic.

It had clearly recognized Yaoguang’s identity and knew that Yaoguang had already slain three demon kings even while outnumbered. It did not dare to fight. So, the moment it appeared, the demon king tried to escape the scene as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately, Yaoguang had already taken out the Heaven-Sealing Stele. The Dao Artifact's suppressive power descended, and the demon king’s speed visibly slowed.

"Crap!" the demon king shouted.

Sensing the crisis, the demon king desperately tried to struggle. Demonic qi surged into the sky from its heavenly demon true body, breaking through the suppression of the Heaven-Sealing Stele while it turned back to resist the Void Sword unleashed by the Wandering Dragon Sword.

Yet, it could not block it.

Its combat strength was not weak, and even if Qi Sha, who cultivated the Great Dao of destruction, had personally attacked, he might not have been able to do anything to it in such a short time. Yet in the face of Yaoguang, who had brought out two Dao Artifacts at once and had already reached the Void-Refining Realm, it was only able to hold on for a moment before the Wandering Dragon Sword seized an opening. The sword's body, wrapped with the power of the void, pierced straight through the Demon King and slew it on the spot.

This was still under the condition that Yaoguang did not want to expose the power of his grotto-heaven or his ability to freely transform void power, and had not gone all out. Otherwise, this demon king would have died even faster.

With a wave of Yaoguang’s hand, he stored the demon king’s corpse inside his grotto-heaven.

His grotto-heaven had already fused with the Void Heart and could contain energy and matter. But if he wanted the grotto-heaven to officially digest the demon king’s corpse, he would have to wait until he verified it at the Demon-Slaying Hall of the Penglai Immortal Sect.

With a rustling sound, Qi Sha’s figure quickly appeared beside Yaoguang.

"We actually found a hidden demon king?" As he spoke, he also realized the importance of Yaoguang’s Dao Technique. "My lord, once this ability of yours is exposed, I am afraid demon emperors, or even demon sovereigns, will risk coming to kill you. To the demons hiding in the outer sea, this means they have nowhere left to conceal themselves."

"I know. I will pay attention to how often I do this. I will kill a few demon kings, make sure to alarm the Heaven-Swallowing Demon King, and once they deliver themselves to me, I will deal with them before returning," Yaoguang said.

If he wanted to truly unleash a massacre in the outer sea, he would still have to wait until his Void-Refining Realm cultivation had reached sufficient maturity and he officially began charging toward the Dao Lord Realm.

Only then did Qi Sha relax.

Yaoguang had already reached the Void-Refining Realm. Although he had just advanced, judging by the Dao Technique he had displayed, he had clearly taken that movement art and flicker-type Dao Technique as his life-bound Dao Technique. With such a Dao Technique at his side, ordinary Void-Refining Realm demon emperors would be unable to do anything to him.

As for demon sovereigns... As long as one dared to show itself, the Penglai Dao Lord, who probably had nowhere to vent her anger, would immediately arrive in her true body and slap it to death.

In that case, his safety was naturally guaranteed.

With that guarantee, drawing out the Heaven-Swallowing Demon King’s group, dealing with them, and claiming that bounty was not impossible.

The warship immediately set sail once more.

Yaoguang continued to cast the True Spirit Light, sensing any potentially dangerous creatures.

If he sensed nothing in one place, then he would head farther away and look around. He would find something eventually.

Under these circumstances, only a little over a month after killing that demon king, he had already found a second one.

In fact, because the Penglai Immortal Sect’s forces in the outer sea had withdrawn somewhat, making the demons grow a little arrogant, a third demon king was also found soon after.

In merely two months, Yaoguang dug it out as well. In less than half a year, he had slain three demon kings in a row. His efficiency left Qi Sha amazed.

If Yaoguang could maintain this state, would he not gather enough contribution points to exchange for a Dao Artifact in just two or three years?

The Void-Piercing Realm was an existence of great importance in any major sect or race. The Nine Demon Race Lineages were no exception.

Although these nine lineages had slightly more demon kings, demon emperors, and demon sovereigns than any single sect among the Ten Great Immortal Dao Sects, they still could not withstand such losses.

How long had Yaoguang been in the Deep-Blue Sea? Only five years. Yet six demon kings had already been killed by him.

If he maintained this posture for ten or twenty years, wouldn't all the demon kings of their lineage end up slaughtered?

This time, the demons of the Jade Scale lineage could no longer sit still.

After some discussion, the order to kill Yaoguang was quickly delivered to the front lines. As expected, the task fell to the Heaven-Swallowing Demon King.

***

At the bottom of a stretch of sea that had already crossed the boundary between the outer sea and the deep sea, a streamlined warship only a little over a thousand meters long was docked silently.

The warship had completely merged with its surroundings and possessed an extremely powerful concealment effect. Even if a Void-Piercing Realm expert passed above it, they would not be able to detect that a warship was docked underwater.

"Oh? So although we did not hook a big fish from the Penglai Immortal Sect, we hooked a little fish from the Heavenly Dao Sect?"

The one speaking on the warship was a demon king with four wings on its back and crimson scales covering its body.

If any disciple of the Penglai Immortal Sect saw it here, they would definitely recognize it immediately. This was the terrifying existence that had inflicted enormous losses on the Penglai Immortal Sect and even forced its outer sea forces to withdraw slightly, the Heaven-Swallowing Demon King.

"What big fish could the Penglai Immortal Sect even have? They cannot even nurture a decent Void-Piercing cultivator. Their two deputy sect masters are also fighting for power, scheming against each other, afraid that after the Penglai Dao Lord enters the Gate of the Immortal Realm, she will not pass the Penglai Immortal Sect to them. Hah, they should look at whether they are even qualified," another demon king said.

This demon king was the one controlling the warship.

Its original body was a Shadowless Beast, but it had undergone a mutation and awakened a powerful life-bound divine ability. It had even advanced this divine ability to the level of a Dao Technique. Together with this Dao-Artifact-level Formless Boat bestowed by the demon sovereign above them, it had truly achieved a state of being both shadowless and formless.

It was precisely because of the cooperation between it and the Golden Cicada Demon King that their squad could move through this sea region with ease.

"Speaking of which, there is no way the Penglai Dao Lord cannot see what kind of people her disciples are. She must have secretly supported some talented figures to help the Penglai Immortal Sect survive a setback. Consider it a backup plan. For all we know, it might be this Heavenly Dao Sect young sect master, Yaoguang. With his talent, there is a high chance he can reach the Void-Shattering Realm within a thousand years. Once he reaches the Void-Shattering Realm, he might even be able to contend for the position of Heavenly Dao Sect’s sect master. Hah, if everything goes smoothly, he could even take over someone else's territory for himself..." Another demon king grew somewhat excited. "Looking at it this way, we may have hooked the true big fish."

"Three-Headed is right. It is impossible for the Penglai Dao Lord not to leave the Penglai Immortal Sect a way out. There is a high chance that this Yaoguang is a chess piece she secretly nurtured. This can be seen from the fact that he rushed to the Penglai Immortal Sect as soon as he reached the Void-Piercing Realm. Now, he is even willing to take risks for the Penglai Immortal Sect, using himself as bait to lure us out. This is clearly him showing loyalty in exchange for greater support from the Dao Lord." The Heaven-Swallowing Demon King also agreed, its scarlet eyes filled with fierce light. "In that case, if we kill him, that Penglai Dao Lord will definitely be very sad."

Their lineage had fought with the Penglai Immortal Sect for over a hundred years, during which no small number of demon kings, demon emperors, and demon sovereigns had been killed or injured.

In particular, during the first few decades after the battle erupted, the Penglai Dao Lord had bullied the weak with her superior cultivation and swept across the Deep-Blue Sea. Who knew how many of their clansmen had died beneath her hand?

Many demon kings, demon emperors, and demon sovereigns both hated and feared her.

"Then let's make a move," The Golden Cicada Demon King said in a deep voice. "If we can make that human Dao Lord feel sad, distressed, and regretful... then taking a little risk is worth it."

"With me here, nothing will happen. Let alone the fact that Yaoguang has only advanced to the Void-Piercing Realm for a mere ten years, even if he had already reached the peak of the Void-Piercing Realm and planted his Dao Seed, he still would not be able to escape me." The Heaven-Swallowing Demon King was full of confidence.

However, the demon kings present did not refute its words.

Among them, the Shadowless Demon King even smiled and said, "Of course we believe that. After all, you already broke through twenty years ago. Strictly speaking, you should no longer be called the Heaven-Swallowing Demon King, but the Heaven-Swallowing Demon Emperor instead. You have hidden your cultivation for so many years without revealing it precisely to hook a big fish. And now, it is finally time to draw in the net. There is no need to keep hiding anymore."

The other demon kings looked toward the Heaven-Swallowing Demon Emperor with a trace of reverence in their eyes, and even some yearning.

At the same time, they also firmly believed what it had said.

With the power of a demon emperor leading six demon kings, let alone facing a newly advanced Void-Piercing Realm cultivator like Yaoguang, even if they were facing a newly advanced Void-Refining Realm cultivator, they would have sufficient confidence to fight and win.

Immediately, the shadowless and formless flying vessel activated, rapidly shuttling through the seabed.

At the same time, they reached out to the other demons, maintaining active communication at all times.

Finally, three months later, they received news that Yaoguang had slain another demon king.

After confirming Yaoguang’s range of activity, the team led by the Heaven-Swallowing Demon Emperor headed straight for him.

Since Yaoguang was openly sailing across the surface of the outer sea in the Heavenly Ruin Hall’s warship, they did not waste too much time this time.

In only half a month, the Azure Demon King, whose perception was the sharpest, suddenly gave a reminder. "We found him!"

"Then..." The Heaven-Swallowing Demon Emperor’s scarlet eyes carried a trace of cruelty. "The hunt begins."