The Modern Martial Immortal

"Hanqiu..." Wan Liugui's stunned gaze turned involuntarily toward Li Hanqiu.

And Li Hanqiu understood exactly what that look meant. He gave him a solemn nod.

In an instant, Wan Liugui gasped and began trembling uncontrollably. "A Dao Artifact..."

It's real?! Yaoguang can actually forge Dao Artifacts?! A Void-Refining Realm cultivator who can forge Dao Artifacts?! Wan Liugui thought.

Wan Liugui couldn't stop himself from slapping his own face.

"Master, what are you doing?" Li Hanqiu rushed forward to stop him.

"I deserve to be punished," Wan Liugui said, his voice thick with remorse and guilt. "If I had believed from the start that Yaoguang had the ability to forge Dao Artifacts, how could I have let you all struggle for so long..."

Yaoguang glanced at him, bearing no resentment. "Back then, even if I had revealed my ability to forge Dao Artifacts, the best I could have hoped for was to be imprisoned by one of the major sects and forced to forge Dao Artifacts day and night until I died of old age. And some ruthless individuals, wanting to uncover the secret of how I could forge Dao Artifacts without being at the Void-Piercing Realm, might have simply soul-searched me on the spot. So keeping it hidden was the right call."

He added, "I am already deeply grateful for the fact you stood with us at the critical moment and drove off Heavenly Venerable Jiang."

"I..." Wan Liugui's throat tightened, and he couldn't find the words.

"Enough. The hardest times are behind us. What awaits us now is a future full of promise," Li Hanqiu said with a smile. "Once Yaoguang sells this Dao Artifact and gets the Purple Firmament Type 31 and the Jiuzhou warships out into the market, the Nine Cauldrons Sect will finally soar again."

Yaoguang smiled and nodded.

With an annual income of several million Pure Yang Grand Pills, the Nine Cauldrons Sect, which didn't even have a single Void-Piercing Realm cultivator, would be living like kings.

Then Li Hanqiu thought of something else. "That said... the Southern Capital is not the Heavenly Dao Sect, and the guests you're inviting this time span quite a wide range. On top of that, those who come for a Dao Artifact auction tend to be major figures at the Void-Refining Realm. If any of them decide to cause trouble..."

"Then they'll serve as the perfect example to the others," Yaoguang said calmly. "When I had only just advanced to the Void-Refining Realm, I was already able to slay the Heaven-Swallowing Demon Emperor, who was in my same realm. Now that I've had some time to consolidate my footing, both of my core Dao Techniques have improved substantially. With the Heavenly Dragon-Slaying Array of the Southern Capital on top of that, if any Void-Refining cultivator dares to step out of line, I won't hesitate to make an example of them and let the world see whether my feat of slaying a demon emperor was real or not."

Li Hanqiu thought of the city-protecting grand array that Yaoguang had been steadily reinforcing over the years and relaxed slightly.

Yaoguang could not have set up the Heavenly Dragon-Slaying Array himself, but he had enough understanding of it to work with. Nearly all of the bounty contribution points sent by the Penglai Immortal Sect had been converted into rare materials and poured into the array. Its tier had not risen, nor had its raw power improved dramatically, but its stability had climbed to a whole new level.

With that array in place, even a Void-Shattering Realm cultivator might not be able to run wild in the Southern Capital.

"The reason I haven't moved against the Jing, Lu, and Li families is that I hadn't yet demonstrated sufficient power. This time, I will be revealing to the world an ability they can only marvel at... The ability to forge Dao Artifacts. If any more foolish Void-Refining cultivators still wish to die by my sword after that, I'm sure those three families will quietly withdraw from the southern domain on their own," Yaoguang said.

Yaoguang laid out his plan. "Of course, even if they choose not to withdraw, it won't matter. I believe that with my ability to forge Dao Artifacts established, even if I were to drive them out of the southern domain directly, or kill them outright, not a single member of the Supreme Elder Council would agree to back any motion Zong Wenxian might raise to subjugate the southern domain."

Li Hanqiu nodded in full agreement.

Yaoguang was a Void-Refining cultivator who could forge Dao Artifacts! The Heavenly Dao Sect's supreme elders and peak masters would be falling over themselves to keep such a person within the sect. Who among them would dare lay a hand on him?

The moment Yaoguang so much as hinted that he was disappointed in the Heavenly Dao Sect and was considering joining another faction, not just neighboring sects like the Taiyi Immortal Sect, but even the Three-Qing Temple, reputed to be the strongest of the Ten Great Immortal Dao Sects, would send several Void-Shattering cultivators in person to invite him, welcoming him with open arms.

"All right. I'll have Ling Ruogu and Chi Yu begin the promotional work and send out the invitations. The auction will be held in half a year. You two handle preparations for the reception; there will be a lot to do." Yaoguang gave the two of them their instructions.

"Understood."

"I can't wait to see how it unfolds."

The two responded with smiles and took their leave.

Once they were gone, Yaoguang produced a communication jade talisman and sent word to Qi Sha, "Come see me at the Hundred-Refinement Peak."

***

The Hundred-Refinement Peak was the mountain peak Yaoguang had dedicated to forging Dao Artifacts.

Five years had passed since he had fully thrown himself into refinement, and by now the entire peak was covered with spirit treasures.

Having not devoted too much attention to them, the Wandering Dragon Sword, the Two-Realm Ruler, and the Heaven-Sealing Stele had each grown in depth, though they still needed considerable time before they could advance to high-grade Dao Artifacts. The Limitless Sword was also still in the nurturing stage.

The Void Sword, though—the one intended for the auction—had completed its transformation. The Annihilation Sword had also successfully achieved Dao Entry, becoming a proper Dao Artifact.

As for the Nine Cauldrons warship that he had been working to refine... He had poured in resources of extraordinary value, exceeding fifty million Pure Yang Grand Pills in cost. Yet, with his attention divided among the other spirit treasures and Dao Artifacts, he hadn't focused on it enough, and the warship had ultimately failed to achieve Dao Entry, getting destroyed in the process.

"There just wasn't enough time," Yaoguang said with a sigh.

He could only hope that after this Dao Artifact was sold, it would give his experience another significant boost and bring him to the threshold of Dao Integration sooner rather than later. Once he reached Dao Integration, he would reassess his path and determine whether to advance his Refiner branch to improve efficiency.

"The pace at which I forge Dao Artifacts is already incomparably faster than anyone else. For another refiner, even a Void-Refining refiner, forging a single Dao Artifact takes hundreds of years. With my ability to use and combine the Spirit Nurturing Technique, the Treasure Refinement Technique, and Dao Entry, I can produce one Dao Artifact every five years or so.[1] That's already dozens of times faster than most..." As he spoke, Yaoguang reached out a hand, and the Annihilation Sword fell into his grasp.

He was carrying it out to the rest area outside the Hundred-Refinement Peak when a streak of sword light cut through the sky and landed on the peak, turning into a man with cold, sharp features and radiating a dense killing aura.

It was Qi Sha, master of the Heavenly Ruin Hall, the man whose annihilation of countless families over the past few years had made his name a source of terror throughout the southern domain.

"You're here," Yaoguang said.

"My lord—"

Qi Sha was about to bow when Yaoguang tossed the Annihilation Sword directly toward him. "Catch."

Qi Sha reached out and caught the Annihilation Sword in his hand. The moment the divine sword touched his palm, Qi Sha, who stood at the very peak of the Void-Piercing Realm, felt his psychic mind shudder violently, and his gaze locked onto the sword instantly.

"This is..."

"A Dao Artifact forged to suit your Great Annihilation Sword Qi." Yaoguang smiled. "Try it out. It should feel quite natural to use it."

"A Dao Artifact!" Qi Sha exclaimed.

Qi Sha's eyes blazed with elation as he immediately channeled the power of his Great Dao of Destruction into the Annihilation Sword.

In an instant, terrifying destructive force surged from him and radiated outward in all directions, triggering the array arts of the Hundred-Refinement Peak to activate autonomously.

Yaoguang raised a hand, and grotto-heaven power imbued with the power of the Void Heart descended like a canopy, forming a spatial barrier that isolated the interior from the exterior and prevented the destructive fluctuations from spilling out and triggering the Southern Capital's protective array.

"Forgive me, my lord, I..."

"Never mind. Go ahead and test it." Yaoguang waved a hand.

"There's no need to test it. It's perfect beyond any doubt," Qi Sha said without hesitation.

He knew that his lord had also studied the Great Annihilation Sword Qi Dao Technique, and even now, when Qi Sha had reached a proficient stage in the technique himself, he dared not claim his understanding of it surpassed Yaoguang's.

For a Dao Artifact to be forged by a refiner with such intimate knowledge of the very Dao Technique it was built around, the degree of compatibility could only be described as heaven-defying!

With the Annihilation Sword amplifying his Great Annihilation Sword Qi, his offensive power had reached the point where he could pose a lethal threat to Void-Refining cultivators who lacked a Dao Artifact of their own.

"In my hands, this Dao Artifact's power will absolutely be on par with that of a high-grade Dao Artifact aligned with any other Great Dao," Qi Sha spoke with conviction before turning to Yaoguang with an almost overwhelmed expression. "My lord... is this... really for me?"

"The Dao Artifact is already in your hands. Who else would it be for?" Yaoguang smiled.

"Thank you, my lord!" Qi Sha was moved beyond words.

It was a Dao Artifact, and one perfectly suited to him! The boost it would provide to his future cultivation, whether it was for his path toward the Void-Refining Realm or even toward the Void-Shattering Realm, was beyond anything he could put into words.

A Dao Artifact and a Dao Technique were inherently complementary, and comprehension of one's Dao Technique was the very foundation for reaching the Void-Refining Realm, the Void-Shattering Realm, and the pursuit of Dao Integration.

What Yaoguang had given him was not simply a Dao Artifact! It was an incomparably bright and boundless future! Even if he lost his life in Yaoguang's service, he could never fully repay this gift, this grace of a path to achieving the Dao.

"Get yourself accustomed to the interplay between this Dao Artifact and your Great Annihilation Sword Qi as soon as possible. In half a year, the Nine Cauldrons Merchant Guild I founded will be holding a Dao Artifact auction, selling a void-type offensive Dao Artifact. The event will draw many people and factions, and with that many people comes all kinds of trouble. You'll have your hands full," Yaoguang said.

"My lord, rest assured. I will give everything I have to maintain order at the auction," Qi Sha replied with firm resolve.

"I know you will. Go." Yaoguang waved his hand.

Qi Sha bowed once more before turning and departing.

Afterward, Yaoguang summoned Ling Ruogu and Chi Yu and instructed them on the details of the Dao Artifact auction. When they heard the news, they were just as shocked as Wan Liugui.

Selling one Dao Artifact could still be explained as an urgent need to gather cultivation resources. But selling a second...

An artifact paragon! Behind Yaoguang, there has to be an artifact paragon capable of forging Dao Artifacts!

The speculation that the Penglai Dao Lord was that very artifact paragon resurfaced once more in their minds. But regardless of who the artifact paragon truly was, with the backing of such an existence, Yaoguang's future was without limit.

In that moment, both Void-Piercing cultivators burned with excitement and felt elated regarding the decision they had made to follow Yaoguang to the southern domain.

As Li Hanqiu, Wan Liugui, Ling Ruogu, Chi Yu, and the forces behind them began promoting the event and sending out invitations, news that a void-type offensive Dao Artifact was going to be auctioned in the Heavenly Dao Sect's southern domain spread rapidly through the Ten Great Immortal Dao Sects, the Three Great Martial Sects, and the Four Great Immortal Dynasties.

1. Editor's note: And yet he's already created two in the same time, on top of working on one more and failing with another...math isn't mathing... again. ☜

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