The Modern Martial Immortal

Three days later, a fleet of warships led by the Heavenly Ruin Hall's vessel departed from the Heavenly Dao Sect and its surrounding cities, sailing in three massive formations toward the southern domain.

As for Nine Cauldrons Peak, Lyu Suoyu and Xu Nianhua, who had recently reached the Blazing White Golden Core Realm, along with two battle immortals from the Heavenly Ruin Hall, were left behind to hold the fort and handle any emergencies that might arise.

After all, Yaoguang still had considerable holdings within the Heavenly Dao Sect, assets that brought in upward of three million Pure Yang Grand Pills annually. He had no intention of simply leaving that behind.

On a separate peak some distance from Nine Cauldrons Peak, Zong Wenxian stood watching the warship climb into the sky and vanish beyond the horizon, his expression unreadable.

Behind him, Lang Ya, who had yet to set out on his mission to the northern domain, offered a word of reassurance. "Master, the southern domain has been under our management for many years. The Lu, Li, and Jing families... all of them have deep ties to us. The Jing family in particular has Supreme Elder Jing Yuntian standing behind them. With Elder Wu Changfeng overseeing everything on top of that, the southern domain is as solid as iron. Even if Yaoguang arrives there, breaking through will take him decades at the very least."

He smiled with the easy confidence of youth. "In a few decades, I will finish reshaping my grotto-heaven to accommodate my Dao Seed and reach the Void-Refining Realm. At that point, he will be a deputy sect master and so will I, and we can contest dominance over the southern domain openly, by the book, as it's right and proper."

"What concerns me is that Penglai Dao Lord, the one backing Yaoguang, may interfere again and upset the balance," Zong Wenxian said in a low voice.

"No matter how badly the Penglai Dao Lord wants to secure a path forward for her own sect, she would never be so brazen about it. Right now she has already made enemies of not only the Jade Scale Demon Paragon but also of the Origin Dao Lord of the Sky-Sea Sword Pavilion. She may have gained the upper hand against the Origin Dao Lord back by relying on the Sovereign Human Emperor Dao Technique related to the Great Dao of origin, but at the Dao Lord Realm, they're already approaching the limit of power that this world can contain. The gap wasn't actually that big."

Lang Ya's expression carried the unshakable confidence of youth. "When everyone's limit is roughly the same, and the only variables are differences in Dao Techniques and Dao Artifacts, having an advantage in numbers becomes the most important thing. So no matter how formidable the Penglai Dao Lord may be, she would never dare provoke three fellow Dao Lords at once."

He paused as though a thought had just struck him and added, "Actually... It's four Dao Lords. The Heavenly Dao Sect's depth is not something an ordinary sect can compare to."

Zong Wenxian considered this briefly and conceded that the Penglai Dao Lord likely would not push things that far.

After all, the Jade Scale Demon Paragon alone was already giving her many headaches. And just recently, the Heaven-Swallowing Demon King had forced her to pull back her foothold in the outer sea.

To openly meddle in the Heavenly Dao Sect's affairs on top of all that would be to make a direct enemy of the sect's Central Heaven Dao Lord and the Golden Book Venerable stationed there. No matter how powerful or formidable she was, that path would only lead to being condemned by everyone.

The moment she stepped through the Gate of the Immortal Realm and ascended, whatever orthodoxy she had built below would be swept away without a trace.

"Last time, the Penglai Dao Lord helped Yaoguang reach the Void-Refining Realm in record time and caught us completely off guard. None of us anticipated that a Dao Lord would personally guide him, allowing him to compress more than a decade's worth of insight spanning from the early stage to the peak of the Void-Piercing Realm. But this time, Elder Wu will be watching closely at all times. If Yaoguang continues getting entangled with the Penglai Immortal Sect and we manage to catch him in the act..." Lang Ya smiled faintly. "We can expel him and purge him from our ranks. Even the Golden Book Venerable would have nothing to say against it."

"That is true enough," Zong Wenxian said with a nod.

He had full confidence in Wu Changfeng's abilities. The southern domain had run like clockwork under his management all these years, requiring very little attention on Zong Wenxian's part.

After a moment's thought, the sect master said, "I will go pay Supreme Elder Jing Yuntian a visit. In the meantime, prepare two gifts for me, nothing too extravagant, and send them to Peak Masters Lu Wanshi and Li Baijie. They will understand what it means."

Lang Ya nodded.

Over the years, Zong Wenxian's firm grip on the southern domain, as well as the willingness of the supreme elders and senior figures to turn a blind eye, had not come from his ability and cunning alone. It had also come from the generous cut of the profits he had shared with others. Lu Wanshi, Li Baijie, Jing Yuntian, Wu Changfeng and the rest were all beneficiaries of the southern domain's wealth.

Yaoguang taking control of the southern domain would inevitably cut their profits. When it came to keeping him in check, none of them could afford to stand aside and do nothing.

***

While Yaoguang's Nine Cauldrons Peak lineage, the Heavenly Ruin Hall, the Ling family, the Chi family, and the rest of their fleet sailed in full force toward the southern domain, a dispute was unfolding within the Penglai Immortal Sect.

"Master is playing favorites!"

The voice belonged to Leng Qingqiu, and it rang out from Penglai Pavilion, where acting sect master Shi Lin was attending to the sect's affairs. "Yaoguang has been affiliated with our sect for less than twenty years. So why does Master hold him in such high regard that she would personally pass on her techniques to him? On top of that, he has never even been formally registered with us. He is not really one of our own."

"Master's decisions are not ours to question. And that is not what we are here to discuss. We are here to address the matter that Palace Masters Zheng Yang and Xuan Yin reported back to us." Shi Lin fixed her junior sister with a firm look. "Why did you turn on Perfected Lord Yaoguang over the Heaven-Swallowing Demon King? Why did you have Palace Masters Zheng Yang and Xuan Yin move against him? Do you have any idea what consequences that could bring down on our sect?"

Her tone was severe. "He came all the way to the Deep-Blue Sea in good faith to help us slay the demon race, and you repay him by attacking him?! If word of this gets out, which Void-Piercing or Void-Refining cultivator from any sect will ever dare come to the Deep-Blue Sea to assist us again?! And do I need to remind you that Perfected Lord Yaoguang is also the deputy sect master of the Heavenly Dao Sect? Do you understand what it means for you, as deputy sect master of the Penglai Immortal Sect, to have raised a hand against the deputy sect master of another major sect?"

Her stern words, however, did nothing to intimidate Leng Qingqiu.

They had lived together for so many years. Leng Qingqiu knew her eldest senior sister's temperament.

She fired back without yielding an inch. "Deputy sect master? He was not deputy sect master at the time. And how exactly did he rise to become the Heavenly Dao Sect's deputy sect master so quickly? Don't tell me you had no idea, Eldest Senior Sister. Yet you kept all of us in the dark about the whole thing. Do you even consider us family anymore?"

"Junior Sister, I am talking to you about the consequences of what happened. Do not change the subject." Shi Lin cut in quickly.

"The consequences matter more than the trust between us? More than a rift opening up in our own family?! Eldest Senior Sister, you always said our sect is different from the other sects on the North Sea Star. You said we should be like a family, supporting and caring for one another. A home is built on bonds, not benefits and arguments. Yet here you are now, ignoring all of that and standing on an outsider's side to reproach me?"

A note of grievance crept into Leng Qingqiu's voice. "Did it not even occur to you to wonder whether I was hurt? Did it not occur to you that perhaps he struck first, and I had no choice but to defend myself?"

Shi Lin looked at her junior sister and felt her resolve soften.

She relented and asked with concern, "You... were not hurt, were you? Did he strike first?"

"He did not strike first. But Eldest Senior Sister, do you remember when I asked him to help deal with the Heaven-Swallowing Demon King? Even back then, he was looking down on me, taking every opportunity to mock and belittle me. I was convinced he harbored nothing but ill will toward me. So as a precaution, I may have let my actions get a little out of hand," Leng Qingqiu said with absolute conviction.

"That reasoning is far too subjective," Shi Lin said, only to realize she had already been steered off course by Leng Qingqiu's words without noticing.

"I am simply stating the facts," Leng Qingqiu said. "He clearly sees all of us as rivals to be crushed. If we don't stand together now, his next move will be to interfere directly in the affairs of our sect."

"If things are really as the outside world says, then this too is Master's decision..." Shi Lin let out a quiet sigh.

"Then let me go see Master myself. I have had so many questions about my cultivation that I have wanted to ask her, but she keeps putting me off with talk of preparing for the Dao Contest and refuses to see me. Yet she had all the time in the world to personally guide an outsider step by step. Are we, after all these years of devoted service to the sect, truly worth less to her than someone who has been with us for barely ten years, someone who only arrived on the North Sea Star not long ago?"

"The Gate of the Immortal Realm will open in less than a thousand years, and the Dao Contest is an extremely perilous undertaking. Master must prepare thoroughly. You need to understand her situation. She—"

Shi Lin was about to continue when a well-groomed young man and a girl with an oddly mischievous air came shooting in on their travel light and landed in the hall at the same moment.

"Eldest Senior Sister, where is Master right now? Word has been going around outside that Yaoguang is Master's newly accepted disciple. Is that true?"

"Eldest Senior Sister, Master is being so unfair. Why would she spend her time guiding an outsider instead of me? If I had nearly a decade of Master's personal guidance, I am certain I could reach the Void-Refining Realm as well."

The two newcomers were Zhan Xiao and Shui Yunhan, two other disciples of the Penglai Dao Lord.

Shi Lin looked at them, feeling completely helpless.

"Eldest Senior Sister, please just let Master know we are here. Otherwise none of us will ever be able to accept this."

"That's right, Eldest Senior Sister. We at least deserve to know where we fell short."

"Surely if Master has time to guide someone else, she has time to see us. We are her direct disciples, after all."

The voices came one after another, a relentless barrage that left Shi Lin even more at a loss.

In the end, she could only say, "Then... I will ask Master..."

And truthfully, she had wanted to ask too how they should regard Yaoguang in the future.

As simply a Void-Refining perfected lord on friendly terms with the Penglai Immortal Sect? Or... as the Penglai Immortal Sect's unofficial deputy sect master.

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