The Modern Martial Immortal

With the city-protecting array now in his hands, Yaoguang finally stepped into the Southern Capital.

With the power of this level thirteen array formation in his hands, he was confident that even a Void-Shattering cultivator who dared to come alone would not leave alive.

"The Yin Lunar Sect's fiendish cultivators have been running rampant. The Southern Capital looks considerably quieter than it should."

After passing through the array, Yaoguang glanced at the many shops that had shuttered their doors after catching wind of the situation and offered his assessment. He then turned to Ling Ruogu. "Since the fiendish cultivators have grown so brazen, we cannot afford to let our guard down. Activate the city-protecting array at full power. We must root them out."

"Yes." Ling Ruogu acknowledged the order and moved to fully activate the array.

Wu Changfeng, standing nearby, quickly tried to intervene. "Deputy Sect Master, the Heavenly Dragon-Slaying Array is a level 13 array formation. Activating it at full power will consume spirit stones and resources on an astronomical scale. Even with no one attacking it, the drain alone will amount to hundreds of thousands of Pure Yang Grand Pills per day. It simply isn't worth expending that much for a handful of fiendish cultivators from the Yin Lunar Sect..."

"I've only just arrived, and I need to establish my authority as deputy sect master. These Yin Lunar Sect cultivators are the perfect example to make," Yaoguang said firmly.

"But with the array running at full capacity, movement in and out of the Southern Capital will become extremely inconvenient. As the capital of the southern domain, the volume of commerce flowing through it every day is enormous, and a single day's disruption would be an enormous loss," Wu Changfeng said.

"Look at the Southern Capital. See what the Yin Lunar Sect cultivators have done to it. Barely two or three shops in ten are still open. Throwing our full effort into hunting them down now is the fastest way to restore order. Better a sharp, short pain than a long, lingering one," Yaoguang replied.

Yaoguang wore the expression of someone who deeply cared about the Southern Capital's well-being.

Wu Changfeng, Jing Zhengyang, and the others all felt a creeping sense of unease.

This deputy sect master's methods were going to be far more aggressive and ruthless than any of them had imagined. They would need to prepare themselves.

"Also," Yaoguang said, turning to Chi Yu, "send word in the name of the master of the southern domain, summoning every merchant guild in the Southern Capital that pays at least ten thousand Pure Yang Grand Pills in taxes. I have a small announcement to make."

"Yes." Chi Yu nodded.

They had already done preliminary groundwork on the Southern Capital's prominent guilds before arriving; it was simply a matter of passing the word along now.

Wu Changfeng smiled and said, "Such trivial matters hardly require the deputy sect master's personal attention. We would be happy to help."

"No need. You've prepared a banquet to welcome me, and I can't possibly let your goodwill go to waste. Come, come, let us all go together. Today, we drink until we drop."

Yaoguang laughed and took Wu Changfeng and Jing Zhengyang by the arm, beckoning Lu Qianshan, Li Guiren, and the others along as they headed directly for the domain lord's residence.

Though none of them knew what Yaoguang was planning, none dared refuse the invitation of the new master of the southern domain.

Very soon, the group entered the domain lord's residence. The manor had served as Wu Changfeng's seat of power and personal residence until recently, but it had since been cleared out and prepared for Yaoguang's arrival.

The party entered the banquet hall, which had been set and was ready, and soon it filled with song and dance. The atmosphere grew lively, and the mood began to loosen.

But that lighthearted mood lasted less than half a day. Someone transmitted a psychic message to Li Guiren.

The Void-Piercing cultivator shot to his feet the moment he received it, then, seeming to think better of the setting, lowered his voice slightly and said with a smile, "Deputy Sect Master Yaoguang, may I ask what the Sky Tower has done to offend you, that you've seen fit to send people to surround it in such force?"

"I don't know anything about that. I've been here drinking with everyone the whole time. Let me ask." Yaoguang put on a puzzled look, called over a subordinate, asked a brief question, and then said, "Well... Apparently, the Sky Tower is suspected of harboring Yin Lunar Sect cultivators, so I sent people to investigate... Oh?"

He seemed to notice something else, and smiled as he projected an image for all to see. In it, Chi Yu's forces and the Sky Tower's people were locked in a standoff.

"Look at that. If the Sky Tower weren't harboring fiendish cultivators, how would they have the audacity to defy an order from me? They're even rallying their people to stand against mine. Outrageous! I'd say there's at least a ninety percent chance that some Yin Lunar Sect's cultivators are hiding in the Sky Tower right now!"

Yaoguang turned directly to the Heavenly Ruin Hall's people. "Qi Sha, take your men over there at once. Raze the Sky Tower to the ground, capture whatever the fiendish cultivators are hiding inside, and restore peace to the people of the Southern Capital!"

"Yes." Qi Sha received the order and rose to leave immediately.

Seeing that even Qi Sha, a Void-Piercing Realm expert, had been sent out, Li Guiren quickly stood up. "Deputy Sect Master Yaoguang. To my knowledge, the Sky Tower has long been one of the Southern Capital's most reputable charitable institutions, dedicated to public service year-round. There is no possible way it is harboring fiendish cultivators. Please allow me to go and investigate personally. I will get to the bottom of this for you."

"Charitable? A cover, nothing more," Yaoguang said flatly. "I'd say it's precisely because you've been too friendly with these establishments that they banded together to deceive you, and allowed the Yin Lunar Sect's cultivators to wreak havoc right under your noses for so long without being caught."

He waved a hand. "When dealing with fiendish cultivators, we can't give them any leeway! Better to err on the side of caution and kill an innocent than let one slip free! Leave this to my people! I'll root out the fiendish cultivators in the shortest possible time, free the people of the Southern Capital from this threat, and set the city back on the path to prosperity!"

"Deputy Sect Master Yaoguang—"

Li Guiren wanted to speak again, but Yaoguang cut him off. "Enough. Don't let these matters spoil the mood. Ling Xi, activate the psychic-thought-blocking array. Since we said today was a proper welcome banquet where no one leaves until they're drunk, then let us enjoy it properly. No one is to be disturbed by outside matters, and no one may leave early, for that would be a loss of face for me."

He swept a hand toward the performers below. "Play the music. Let the dancing begin."

On command, Ling Xi activated the domain lord's residence's psychic thought-blocking array without delay. Once it was up, it sealed all psychic thought communication between the inside and the outside.

In other words, none of them would be receiving any further word from the outside world.

At that, every Void-Piercing Realm cultivator in the hall grew visibly uneasy.

Yaoguang clearly intended to wipe out every faction that refused to bend to his will. And from the fact that he hadn't even been willing to spare the Sky Tower, an establishment tied to the Li family, it was evident that unless a faction had submitted from the very start, very few would escape unscathed.

In an instant, many eyes turned toward Jing Zhengyang and Wu Changfeng, the two Void-Refining Realm cultivators at the head of the group.

Wu Changfeng's expression shifted through several changes.

In theory, he was the most appropriate person to speak up, but in that moment he said nothing.

It was Jing Zhengyang who, sensing Wu Changfeng's unwillingness to speak, could no longer hold himself still.

"Sect Master Yaoguang!" Jing Zhengyang rose slowly to his feet. "Do you really intend to push things this far before you'll be satisfied?"

"Oh? I'm not quite sure what you mean. Can you be a little more specific?" Yaoguang looked at him.

Jing Zhengyang said nothing in direct reply. Instead, he pointed at Li Guiren. "The Li family's backer is Peak Master Li Baijie, a formidable cultivator who has remained at the Void-Refining Realm for over a thousand years. By all accounts, he even obtained a Dao Artifact a century ago! With a Dao Artifact in hand, his combat strength stands at the very pinnacle of the Void-Refining Realm!"

He then pointed to Lu Qianshan. "Elder Lu's backer, Peak Master Lu Wanshi, may not have a Dao Artifact, but he has spent even longer than Peak Master Li cultivating at the Void-Refining Realm, and his mastery of Dao Techniques has reached the upper tier of that realm."

Having introduced the two, his tone paused briefly. "As for Supreme Elder Jing Yuntian behind me, I don't need to say much about his standing, do I?"

"And then?" Yaoguang smiled.

"And then?" Jing Zhengyang's voice suddenly sharpened. "You want to purge the Southern Capital of every existing power and bring it entirely under your control. But have you really thought through the consequences? Have you really prepared yourself for the price of making enemies of all of us?"

"I think there is one thing you have all fundamentally misunderstood." Yaoguang's smile faded as he rose slowly from his seat. "The one who really needs to think carefully about the consequences is not me, but you! Who am I? The deputy sect master of the Heavenly Dao Sect, someone who reached the Void-Refining Realm only ten years after breaking through to the Void-Piercing Realm. Other than a Dao Lord, I do not fear anyone. Even a Void-Shattering cultivator only poses a minor threat to me. What standing do you have to speak of making me pay a price?!"

His gaze swept across Lu Qianshan, Li Guiren, and Jing Zhengyang in turn. "Forget yourselves... Even the peak masters standing behind you don't have the right to consider themselves equal to me! The only one among your backers I hold any genuine regard for is Supreme Elder Jing Yuntian. I respect his strength. But if he has set his mind on opposing me, do you really think I would be afraid of him?!"

At those words, the expressions of Lu Qianshan, Li Guiren, and Jing Zhengyang changed simultaneously.

Yaoguang had torn the pretense away entirely, against two peak masters and a supreme elder all at once. He had made enemies of two Void-Refining cultivators and one Void-Shattering cultivator in a single breath.

"I can only say I've been too lenient, and it seems that has led some of you to lose sight of where you stand. But the truth is, even if your peak masters and supreme elder were standing right here in this room, I would be fully within my rights to look every single one of you in the eye and say..." Yaoguang's expression was cold. "Who exactly do you think you are?"

Lu Qianshan and Li Guiren's eyes went instantly to Jing Zhengyang and Wu Changfeng, the two Void-Refining cultivators at the head of the group.

Jing Zhengyang's face had gone red with humiliation, his breathing becoming fast and uneven.

Wu Changfeng, on the other hand, maintained his silence, inexplicably keeping an even lower profile than before.

"The array is already active. Psychic thoughts cannot leave this room, and Recording Stones cannot function properly in here. So I'll tell you plainly." Yaoguang's Void-Refining Realm energy radiated outward in slow, expanding rings. "Today, I am going to eliminate every faction in the Southern Capital that refuses to submit and bring the Southern Capital under my complete and absolute control. From there, I will use the Southern Capital as my foundation to quickly take hold of the entire southern domain."

He had laid his cards on the table. His intentions were now stated in full.

"If you refuse to submit, that's even better. We already said the Southern Capital has Yin Lunar Sect cultivators running rampant in it, doesn't it? Then come! Join forces and defeat me! If you manage, whether you say I died at the hands of the fiendish cultivators or by some other cause, that will be entirely up to you. Otherwise..."

Yaoguang pointed toward the doors. "Get out of the southern domain!"

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