The Modern Martial Immortal

"You dare..." Seeing Yaoguang, whom they had taken for a newly advanced Crimson Golden Core cultivator, strike back against them, the Zhou family’s Golden Core cultivator was caught completely off guard.

He thought he had already figured out Yaoguang’s temperament thanks to their previous interaction, and that he could manipulate him at will. Killing him might not have been necessary, but by scheming against them and applying some psychological pressure, he was convinced that he could easily have these men, who believed the saying "a wise man knows when to retreat," pay several hundred Pure Yang Grand Pills.

He had never expected him to resist. As a result, the words "You dare" had burst out almost instinctively.

He meant to crush them with their energy, to intimidate them before matters escalated into a life-or-death battle. But before those two words had fully left his mouth, shock replaced outrage.

"Something’s wrong!"

The power of this sword qi was not at the Crimson Golden Core Realm strength! It absolutely wasn't on the same level as them!

And when the 438 strands of sword qi, guided by psychic thought, shot with flawless precision toward every Zhou family cultivator present, moving so swiftly and cutting so sharply that no Core Formation, Heavenly Fire, or Eternal Light cultivator could possibly resist, that shock immediately turned into terror.

"Crap!"

That was the third time that day that he had been shocked. And now it had turned into a sudden plunge into despair. Nothing described it better.

"You’re not a Crimson Golden Core cultivator..." The Zhou family’s Golden Core cultivator roared. Under the guidance of psychic thought, dozens of blazing sword lights filled with scorching heat erupted with each swing of the top-tier flying sword in his hand, intercepting Yaoguang’s 438 strands of sword qi.

But it was useless. Every single one of those 438 strands of sword qi could threaten the life of a Crimson Golden Core cultivator.

The moment the Zhou family's Golden Core cultivator's sword qi collided with Yaoguang’s, it perfectly demonstrated what it meant to strike a stone with an egg. Upon contact, his sword qi shattered instantly, exploding into violent shockwaves that tore through the air in all directions.

One strand after another broke through the defenses. Before the Core Formation, Heavenly Fire, and Eternal Light cultivators could even react, the sword qi pierced through their bodies. The razor-sharp edge cut them apart, and the terrifying heat contained within instantly incinerated them.

Whether Eternal Light or Core Formation cultivators, under those strands of sword qi, they were like statues that had been sealed away for tens of thousands of years, long since rotted and decayed, suddenly exposed to the open air and swept by a gust of wind...

They crumbled and scattered into ash.

In an instant, clouds of gray ash, along with the lingering scent of burnt meat, spread through the sky.

Aside from the Crimson Golden Core cultivator, who was desperately trying to resist, and a few Eternal Light cultivators who had happened to be standing close to him, nearly all the Zhou family's cultivators were erased with that first exchange.

It was as easy as wiping dust from a table.

"No! No! No!" That result made the Zhou family Golden Core let out a hoarse scream of pure terror.

His eyes were wide with disbelief.

Radiant Sun Golden Core! The man before me is absolutely someone who has condensed a Radiant Sun Golden Core! No! A Radiant Sun Golden Core might not even be enough! Blazing White Golden Core! Most likely, this is someone who has condensed a Blazing White Golden Core, someone who can join a top great sect and become an officer.

But why?! Why would such a powerful figure deliberately act as though he stood on equal footing with Crimson Golden Core cultivators like us? If he were that strong, or if he really coveted the resources aboard their ship, he could have simply taken them by force. Why waste precious time arguing with us? Why engage in such pointless verbal sparring?

But now was clearly not the time to seek answers.

More than 480 Zhou family cultivators had died in an instant. The Golden Core cultivator trembled from head to toe.

The few survivors, including Zhou Xueyan, shook just as violently.

They had run into a brick wall!

Had they known the one passing by was a Radiant Sun Golden Core cultivator, or perhaps even a Blazing White Golden Core cultivator, they would never have dared disturb him in the slightest.

In fact, if this senior had openly displayed the cultivation of a Blazing White Golden Core cultivator while passing by, both they and the Black Shark Pirates would have stopped fighting immediately.

They would have feared their battle might disturb him and bring disaster upon themselves. But they knew this was not the time for regret or resentment.

Zhou Xueyan, famed for her quick wit, was the first to cry out in pleading. "Mercy, Senior! Please spare us! We were blind and failed to recognize your power. An honored immortal stood before us, yet we remained ignorant. We deserve death! Our Zhou family, and even the Coiling Dragon Island, are willing to make amends to you! These goods, every last one, are our apology. Please take them all. I am also willing to serve as your maidservant and slave to atone..."

"After killing you, the goods are mine anyway." Before Zhou Xueyan could finish, Yaoguang pointed casually into the air. A streak of golden light flashed past in an instant.

"No..." Before they could even make out what that golden streak was, a shrill scream rang out beside them.

Was that... Third Uncle’s voice?!

In the next moment, endless heat erupted from their bodies. In horror, they discovered their entire bodies had ignited, and with terrifying speed, the flames consumed their true origin, flesh, thoughts, and will, burning everything to nothing.

They could not even let out a final scream. They were devoured by blazing heat and reduced to ash, like the weaker family members moments earlier.

"Count the supplies!" Yaoguang gave Xu Nianhua a command.

"Yes," Xu Nianhua answered respectfully and quickly descended onto the great ship.

Meanwhile, Yaoguang glanced in the direction the Black Shark Pirates had fled, then stepped forward.

Using the Two-Realm Ruler, ripples spread outward as he activated the Nine Heavenly Transformations and instantly pursued them.

Bandits of the Chaotic Sea were savage by nature, vicious, and always bent on revenge.

He did not fear them himself. But what if they set their sights on the Nine Heavens Sect? So it was better to kill them all.

***

Five hundred kilometers away, the two Golden Core cultivators of the Black Shark Pirates were still seething with resentment.

"Damn bastards, how dare they ruin our business! They deserve death!"

"A deal worth two or three thousand Pure Yang Grand Pills just went down the drain like that?! If I ever find out who they are, I’ll slaughter their entire family, down to the last chicken and dog!"

Of course, they were only venting threats to maintain their fierce image in front of their subordinates.

In truth, unless they were genuine members of the Black Dragon Pirates, where would they get such a vast intelligence network? In a place as enormous and chaotic as the Chaotic Sea, how could they possibly track down two Crimson Golden Core cultivators who seemed to have no reputation at all?

Just then, one of the Crimson Golden Core cultivators seemed to sense something and suddenly pulled out a Combat Power Detector.

The moment he activated it, he saw a flashing red combat power reading rapidly approaching on the screen.

Looking at the warnings continuously popping up, along with the displayed number, the Golden Core cultivator was instantly terrified out of his wits. "5-530,000?!"

And this lifeform with 530,000 combat power seemed to be closing in on them at incredible speed!

"This is bad! Has that Zhou family genius Zhou Wenxian arrived?! No, that’s not right. Zhou Wenxian is only at the Radiant Sun Golden Core Realm. Breaking two hundred thousand combat power would already be his limit. How could he possibly reach 530,000?! This number..." He trembled violently as he abruptly looked up.

At the far edge of the sky, a streak of golden light tore through the heavens, clearly locked onto their six warships.

Suddenly, that streak of golden light reduced speed and skimmed across the sea’s surface.

As it passed overhead, the violent air waves swirling around it forcibly split the ocean apart. White waves surged upward, each tens of meters high, endlessly rolling outward.

It was as though the sea itself had been ripped open, leaving behind a long white scar.

Such overwhelming momentum left even these two Golden Core cultivators, both battle-hardened veterans who had weathered countless storms, frozen in place, too intimidated to move even slightly.

When the golden light caught up to the six ships, it came to an abrupt stop.

The instant it halted, the hurricane-like force it generated slammed into the fleet, overturning two of the nearest ships on the spot. The cultivators aboard tried to rise on flying swords and flee to the other ships, but the wind pressure was so overwhelming that they were blown wildly off balance. Dozens were sent tumbling into the sea, splashing up towering sprays of water.

But the two Golden Core cultivators of the Black Shark Pirates had no mind to care about their subordinates. Their eyes were fixed on the figure that had just arrived, a terrifying being with a combat power of 530,000!

Yet when they finally saw who it was, an unprecedented terror swallowed their hearts like a devil.

"It’s you! You actually..."

"That’s impossible, impossible! How can it be you!? How can you possess this kind of strength? No... Senior, spare us!"

That was the defining trait of the North Sea Star. Those with backbone were the rare minority.

Most people begged for mercy the moment they needed to. Only people like that survived and grew stronger.

And once they grew stronger, having gone through those experiences often made them even more ruthless in exploiting cultivators weaker than themselves.

Yaoguang paid them no attention. He simply raised a hand, and a mass of blazing white light bloomed in his palm like a fully opened white lotus.

"No!" Sensing fatal danger, the two Golden Core cultivators let out desperate cries. Their evasion lights erupted as they instantly unleashed their strongest secret techniques and fled in opposite directions for their lives.

Unfortunately, the gap was too great.

The two Crimson Golden Core cultivators possessed, at most, combat power in the range of the tens of thousands. Against Yaoguang, who was no longer holding back, they were not even on the same level.

The moment the white lotus fully formed, it shattered like porcelain. Countless delicate petals scattered outward, drifting down toward every member of the Black Shark Pirates.

Across the heavens, it looked as though a rain of white flowing light had begun to fall.

Every Black Shark Pirate touched by those white petals let out terrified screams as the heat and flames contained within burned them into ash.

Even the two Golden Core cultivators who were desperately fleeing after activating secret techniques were no exception. White lotus petals swiftly caught up to them, ignited their bodies, and burned them to ashes amid agonized screams.

Unlike when he destroyed the Zhou family fleet, however, these white petals only incinerated their bodies. Their protective artifacts were left completely unharmed.

As Yaoguang stepped forward, every asset carried by cultivators above the Heavenly Fire Realm was swept into his hands.

"Even mosquito meat is still meat," he casually remarked.

He still had the entire Nine Heavens Sect to support. Waste and extravagance were luxuries he could not afford.

Still, once cultivators on the North Sea Star had any money, they either spent it on indulgence or converted it into resources to strengthen themselves as quickly as possible. Very few kept large amounts of wealth unused.

"Poor bastards! With this many cultivators, they still couldn’t scrape together even a thousand Pure Yang Grand Pills," Yaoguang muttered in complaint.

By the time he finished counting the spoils, Xu Nianhua had caught up and respectfully handed over a storage treasure. "Perfected Master, the Zhou family’s cargo is worth roughly two thousand Pure Yang Grand Pills. The spoils found on their bodies are worth about 1400 Pure Yang Grand Pills."

Yaoguang nodded. "Good. We continue on to Heavenly Dao Sect."

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