Chapter 178: Advancement
Two months later, Yaoguang fully unleashed his power on the summit of a mountain outside Longxiang City. Fusing his power into heaven and earth, he reveled in the overwhelming strength of his physique, a force that could rend mountains and rivers effortlessly.
Even then, he still found it a bit lacking. It was nothing like when he had stood in Nine Heavens City, through array after array, rallying hundreds of sword, technique, and psyche cultivators to unleash a combined assault.
He noted to himself, My body cultivation has also reached the Star Lord Realm.
However, since he had experienced greater heights, the breakthrough did not bring him much joy. At best, it only meant that his ability to preserve his own life had improved again.
As it was, the Nine Cauldrons Sect already treated him like a priceless treasure, allowing him to mobilize over a hundred great cultivators. Yet he had just broken through to the Star Lord Realm. Even if he were to cultivate to the third tier of stellar fiend-god body, which was equivalent to the late stage of the Star Lord Realm, it would still be far from enough.
Yaoguang sighed softly. "Sure enough, times have changed."
The era of cultivators fighting alone had become history. He observed his mental world for a moment. Due to the advancement of the Martial Dao branch, the ancient tree had not grown a new branch. It seemed that the next one would only grow after he obtained a Dharma Form or became a star god.
As Yaoguang descended the mountain, three people stepped forward at the same time. They were Qin Yi, Bai Lu, and Tang Fenghua.
"Congratulations on advancing to the Star Lord Realm, Chief."
Tang Fenghua was a fourth-tier great sword cultivator who had ignited Truefire through his Dao Foundation. As a direct disciple of Li Qingshan, the master of the Nine Cauldrons Sect, he served as a direct bridge between Yaoguang and Li Qingshan. This alone showed how important Yaoguang was to the sect.
"It's just the advancement to the Star Lord Realm," Yaoguang glanced at Tang Fenghua. "I feel that great cultivators who have established their Dao Foundation are better off focusing fully on elevating it to Immortal Foundation, preparing for the Golden Core Realm. Close protection duties can be handled by Wang Feng and the others."
"I am well aware of my own situation. I’ve only reached the Dao Foundation level thanks to my master’s guidance. I wouldn’t even dare to hope for the Immortal Foundation. The resources are better spent on younger, more talented cultivators. As for me, I’d rather go to the front lines than hold a position without contributing and bring shame to my master." Tang Fenghua smiled. "Besides, you don't go out very often, Chief Yaoguang. I have quite a bit of free time for my own cultivation."
."
Yaoguang looked at him for a moment. behaved with courtesy and restraint, showing not the slightest arrogance. He also charged at the very front when danger arose.
In fact, all thirteen of Li Qingshan’s disciples were like this. Except for the three who had not yet reached the third tier, the others had fought on the front lines in places like the East Sea and the Shiwan Mountains. Six of them had fallen. Of the remaining four, one assisted Li Qingshan in handling sect affairs, while the others were stationed outside. In comparison, Tang Fenghua’s role was indeed relatively light.
Yaoguang then descended to the foot of the mountain, where clusters of buildings stood amid lush greenery. Dense masses of buildings stretched as far as the eye could see, enough to accommodate more than a hundred thousand people.
It was the Purple Firmament Institute, which had been relocated outside the city. The place had been expanded once again, mainly to improve quality. Though the number of artifact refiners had not increased by much, space still had to be reserved.
At present, the interference of the Infinite Star Palace made spirit artifacts difficult to sell, but who could say what the future held? What if the Nine Cauldrons Sect began selling treasured artifacts someday?
Treasured artifacts had always been items with high prices but no buyers. If the Nine Cauldrons Sect offered sufficient cost performance, many factions would rush to place orders, even if it meant offending the Infinite Star Palace.
When Yaoguang returned to his residence, he found Zi Qiangwei already waiting there. Upon seeing him, she immediately stood up. "Chief Yaoguang, the first fifty low-grade treasured artifacts flying swords have passed verification. They met all third-generation standards while consuming far less spiritual energy than typical models. The Artifact Refinement Hall and the Warfare Hall were both extremely satisfied with the performance."
Yaoguang nodded, not feeling surprised. "Good. As long as they are satisfied."
Even at the low-grade treasured-artifact level, a third-generation flying sword would cost at least a hundred thousand spirit stones at the Thousand-Beast Sect. Now, for thirty thousand spirit stones, they could acquire a flying sword comparable to those expensive ones..
Moreover, the Nine Cauldrons Sect could save tens of millions of spirit stones from the first batch order of three hundred low-grade flying swords alone. Of course, since everyone knew that the Thousand-Beast Sect’s pricing was severely inflated, the Nine Cauldrons Sect had purchased fewer than a hundred so far. Most great cultivators were still using first- and second-generation flying swords produced internally by the sect.
Regardless, the fact remained that Yaoguang had saved the Sword Cultivator Department tens of millions of spirit stones. If that amount was invested in high-tier sword cultivators with high- or top-grade spirit roots, dozens of Foundation Building cultivators could be produced within just three to five years.
Zi Qiangwei handed over a sheet of gold foil. "This is the final payment for the first batch and the deposit for the second batch of flying swords."
Yaoguang accepted the gold foil equivalent to at least two million spirit stones. "Due to manpower shortage, the Purple Firmament Institute could only produce fifty flying swords in two months. If you can transfer two or three artifact refinement grandmaster teams over, we can produce three hundred flying swords in half a year."
"Two or three artifact refinement grandmaster teams..." Zi Qiangwei smiled wryly. "Every artifact refinement grandmaster already has their own key projects.They are producing astras to enhance the combat power of body cultivators, working on Sky Patrol Warships, or focusing on Star Gate construction and new world exploration. Those with free time are simply too few."
Yaoguang naturally understood this. In reality, artifact refinement encompassed more than a dozen other major paths aside from flying swords. The latter drew attention mainly because flying swords played a crucial role to sword cultivators.
Even in the field of flying swords, there were countless specialized directions. Some flying swords specialized in speed, others in killing power, while some emphasized flexibility for close combat between sword cultivators. There were also highly stable ones, designed to resist psychic interference.
In truth, all of this information already existed in Yaoguang’s mind. Yet theory alone was never enough, just like in martial studies. Personal testing was necessary. Unfortunately, he only had so much time and mental energy. At present, his main focus was still flying swords.
With that thought, he said directly, "Transfer all artifact refinement grandmasters working on flying swords over here. Even if they are making breakthroughs, they are only working on second-generation and third-generation flying swords, right? Meanwhile, the top sects have already started using fourth-generation ones. Even if those efforts succeed, they will not mean much. We should concentrate all our effort on a single line of flying swords and push it all the way to the fourth generation, or even further! For example, fifth- or sixth-generation flying swords!"
Zi Qiangwei was frozen in place. "Fifth- or sixth-generation flying swords..."
There were some rumors about the Infinite Star Palace working on fifth-generation flying swords, but that was all. As for sixth-generation ones, even behemoths like the Immortal Alliance and the Thousand Beast Sect had nothing worth bragging about. Yet Yaoguang was already aiming for that level?
"Military strength lies in refinement, not numbers," Yaoguang said. "Rather than seeking comprehensive development, we should focus our efforts in one direction and follow it all the way to the peak. Once we’ve secured absolute dominance, we can consider expanding into other fields as well."
Zi Qiangwei’s voice trembled slightly. "Chief Yaoguang, y-you have already started planning for fourth-generation and fifth-generation flying swords?"
Instead of answering, Yaoguang went inside and brought out a jade talisman.
"This contains my concept for the fourth-generation version of the Purple Firmament Type 13. I’m not done with the design just yet, but it’s only a matter of time." He paused briefly before adding, "That is also why I told you not to place too many orders for the Type 13."
"I got it." Zi Qiangwei took the jade talisman with great care. "I will have the Artifact Refinement Hall verify this information and let them know your intentions, Chief Yaoguang."
Yaoguang nodded. "Mhm."
Although the Purple Firmament Institute had completed its quality upgrades and expansion, treasured-artifact flying swords were far more complex than spirit-artifact ones. Ordinary refiners could not even handle basic assisting work. As a result, the Purple Firmament Institute had to work overtime for two full months just to produce fifty flying swords.
At that pace, three hundred flying swords would take an entire year. While finishing a multi-million spirit stone order in a year would leave other artifact refinement institutes ecstatic, it was far too slow for Yaoguang.
At this pace, he would have been better off refining spirit artifacts for the Golden Temple. That was also why he had taken out the incomplete design for the improved fourth-generation Purple Firmament Type 13.
To increase speed, he had to bring in more artifact refinement grandmaster teams. Besides, what he said was correct. His mastery of array arts would steadily increase with time.. Once it caught up with his artifact refinement and filled in that final weakness, designing fifth-generation and sixth-generation flying swords would not be difficult at all.
***
Inside a quiet chamber...
"Array art," Yaoguang said softly.
After completing the delivery of the first payment, he had received several hundred thousand spirit stones. Just like that, he had accumulated a considerable amount of Merchant experience.
His gaze lingered briefly on the Psyche Dao branch, and he cautiously raised it a little. The conclusion came quickly. Five or six million spirit stones to raise it to the Dharma Form Realm.
Cultivation of the primordial psyche leaned toward the conceptual and the mind. Once the cultivator reached a certain realm, increasing cultivation was straightforward. Furthermore, if Yaoguang reached the Dharma Form Realm, that branch would also blossom and bear fruit, giving birth to an innate divine ability. It would likely be of great help to the practical application of the primordial psyche.
Five or six million. The gap is not large, but with the economy blocked and the market halted, I can’t rely on internal circulation within the Nine Cauldrons Sect to get so many spirit stones. As Yaoguang pondered this, he had no choice but to shift his attention to the Array Caster branch. In the end, the breakthrough still had to come from this direction.
With a single thought, the Array Caster branch surged upward, instantly reaching the array master tier. After that, the pace visibly slowed. In the end, it advanced only to 41%, stopping at 1-star level 5 array caster.
