The Modern Martial Immortal

Chapter 282: Strength

The Nine Heavens Sect.

The Cloud Sword Sect, which they now occupied, had originally been a faction at the same level as the Dark Light Sect and the Heavenly Water Pavilion, merely guarded by a Radiant Sun Golden Core cultivator.

Only after Long Wuyin broke through to the Blazing White Golden Core Realm did he start fighting the Dark Light Sect, expelled the Heavenly Water Pavilion from the region, and attempted to unify the lands east of the Yunchuan Mountains.

Although the unification war had been won, the Cloud Sword Sect’s foundation was still shallow. In many aspects, it had yet to transcend the scope of a Golden-Core-Realm-level sect. At the very least, Long Wuyin’s cultivation room could not fully conceal the might of a Blazing White Golden Core.

Because of that, the moment Yaoguang’s Golden Core broke through once again, its internal pressure, heat, and scale surged to an entirely new peak. A blazing sun phantom spanning dozens of kilometers spread across the sky above the Nine Heavens Sect.

Streams of blazing white light circulated across the phantom. Even though it was merely the aftershock and projection of its power, it still radiated visible brilliance and heat, instantly startling every cultivator within the sect awake.

"Is that... a Golden Core?! That size, that color... A Blazing White Golden Core?!" The first to notice the anomaly was Fang Yueming, who remained constantly vigilant and faithfully served the Nine Heavens Sect.

Looking at the vast phantom stretching for dozens of kilometers, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"A Blazing White Golden Core?! It’s actually a Blazing White Golden Core!" Li Hanqiu’s figure appeared immediately after.

When Yaoguang borrowed his cultivation room a few years ago, he had already guessed that Yaoguang was aiming to break through to the Radiant Sun Golden Core Realm. Yet now, Yaoguang had given him an even greater surprise.

He had not been targeting the Radiant Sun Golden Core Realm at all; he had been aiming for the Blazing White Golden Core Realm!

A Blazing White Golden Core cultivator had nearly a ten percent chance of breaking through to the Void-Piercing Realm!

Ten years! It had only been ten years since they left the Great Cangwu World, yet Yaoguang had risen from the Heavenly Fire Realm and broken through four realms to reach the Blazing White Golden Core Realm!

Such speed, such growth, such talent...

"Good! Good! Good!" Li Hanqiu burst into hearty laughter. "This is wonderful! My sect now has a Blazing White Golden Core cultivator!"

Li Qingshan, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, was equally filled with excitement and joy.

"A Blazing White Golden Core cultivator! Even among top sects, that’s a level capable of competing for the title of true disciple!" He laughed loudly.

Over the past ten years, the Nine Heavens Sect had obtained tens of thousands of Pure Yang Grand Pills, and everyone within the sect had been cultivating diligently. Yet deep inside, the higher-ups had always been full of doubts about the future.

No one knew whether the Nine Heavens Sect could truly establish itself on the North Sea Star, nor what awaited them.

But with Yaoguang advancing from the Heavenly Fire Realm to the Blazing White Golden Core in just ten years, all doubt, confusion, and uncertainty vanished completely!

"As expected of Perfected Master Yaoguang. I knew he would create another miracle, rising far beyond our imagination and leading the Nine Heavens Sect to rapid growth!" Tang Fenghua, who had once personally protected Yaoguang, had eyes shining with excitement.

Looking at the blazing white phantom spanning dozens of kilometers above the sect, he felt not only admiration but also boundless reverence.

Is there anything in this world that Perfected Master Yaoguang can not accomplish?! He thought.

"A Blazing White Golden Core cultivator! In the Yunchuan Mountains, that is the pinnacle of power! Among the other sects, only the Hundred Flowers Valley in the south and the Iron Blood Sect in the west have such experts."

"With this, our sect has truly established itself in the Yunchuan Mountains. Next, we should expand outward, shouldn’t we?"

"I’ve been waiting for this day. At times, I was even scared that I might never see it. But who would have thought... In just ten years, the light of hope is already shining before us!"

Lou Yuyu, Jiang Zhouyue, Huang Tianhao, Murong Hui, and the other veterans of the former Nine Cauldrons Sect all appeared one after another.

Looking toward the direction where Yaoguang was in seclusion, they were filled with excitement and anticipation.

"Alright, go back to cultivating," Li Hanqiu told them. "The Nine Heavens Sect cannot rely on Yaoguang alone. I hope all of you will grow quickly and contribute to the sect’s future."

"Yes." Everyone responded respectfully.

Although it was Yaoguang alone who had broken through, once they returned to their own cultivation, they all found their progress accelerating. Some even broke through their existing realms directly.

Previously, after witnessing the environment of the North Sea Star, they had all felt immense pressure, as though a massive weight were pressing upon their hearts. Their cultivation had nearly deviated.

Even so, none of them had dared to slack off and had continued training relentlessly.

But now, after witnessing Yaoguang’s rise from the Heavenly Fire Realm to the Blazing White Golden Core Realm in just ten years, displaying talent comparable to the true disciples of the top sects of the world, the pressure they felt immediately reduced by over half.

Heavenly Venerable Jiang of the Taiyi Immortal Sect? The Nine Heavens Sect also had a genius of the same caliber!

With that mental burden gone, it felt as though they had cast off heavy loads and begun moving freely. Their cultivation advanced at astonishing speed.

Coupled with the fact that their cultivation levels were still relatively low, and each of them had received dozens or even hundreds of Pure Yang Grand Pills, once their realms reached the threshold, their breakthroughs naturally followed.

***

On the other side, after breaking through to the Blazing White Golden Core Realm, Yaoguang continued cultivating for another two years. Only after he had completely refined all the remaining Pure Yang Grand Pills did he finally stop.

Gone. He looked at the now-empty storage artifact, a trace of regret in his eyes.

If he could obtain another few hundred thousand Pure Yang Grand Pills, he would have been able to push further, reaching the critical mass of the Golden Core and transforming it into an Azure Golden Core.

However, although he had not formed an Azure Golden Core...

With my understanding of the Void-Piercing Realm and the amplification from the traits of the Void’s Child, if I were to forcibly attempt a breakthrough to the Void-Piercing Realm, my success rate would be nearly five times higher than that of other Blazing White Golden Core cultivators.

He suddenly felt tempted to give it a try, but quickly suppressed that temptation.

The success rate for a Blazing White Golden Core advancing to the Void-Piercing Realm was less than ten percent.

And once the collapsing Golden Core failed to transform into a Primordial Void, the cultivator would erupt like a supernova in the cosmos, becoming nothing more than a brilliant but fleeting burst of light.

Such a breakthrough was nothing short of a life-and-death gamble.

Even a fivefold increase in probability only brought it to around forty percent.

It was far better to wait, bring his Golden Core to its critical mass, and transform it into a supergiant state.

With an Azure Golden Core, the base success rate exceeded thirty percent, and with elders protecting the breakthrough, it could rise above forty percent. With his other methods for raising the probabilities, his chances would exceed one hundred percent.

In other words, as long as he seriously attempted the breakthrough at that time, the transformation from the Azure Golden Core to the Primordial Void would occur naturally.

Even without pushing his Azure Golden Core to its absolute peak before attempting the breakthrough, he'd still have at least a sixty percent success rate at worst.

And that was still a conservative estimate. As long as he spent some time stabilizing his foundation at the Azure Golden Core Realm and refining his power, then even at the early stage, his success rate would likely exceed eighty percent.

Perhaps once I reach the middle stage of the Azure Golden Core Realm and refine another one or two million Pure Yang Grand Pills, I can try breaking through to the Void-Piercing Realm. Although I could continue accumulating toward the late stage or even the peak, allowing me to reach something akin to the middle stage of the Void-Piercing Realm the moment I break through... There’s no need! Rather than wasting time at the Azure Golden Core Realm, it’s better to break through to the Void-Piercing Realm as early as possible!

Once he entered the Void-Piercing Realm, he would not only gain the ability to refine Dao Artifacts but also to cultivate and unleash Dao Techniques.

Only then could he fully utilize all his knowledge.

Wait, speaking of Dao Techniques, can I now use void-type Dao Techniques? A thought surfaced in Yaoguang’s mind.

Soon, among the thirteen Dao Techniques, the one belonging to the Dao of the void—the Void Sword—began circulating within his thoughts.

This was the Dao Technique corresponding to the supreme divine ability Space-Splitting Strike.

It was a technique that specialized in cutting through space and shattering Primordial Voids.

I’ll give it a try. As he reviewed the details of the technique, he stepped out of the cultivation room.

Activating the Nine Heavenly Transformations, his body turned into a streak of light and shot toward the depths of the sky.

Thanks to the subtlety of the Nine Heavenly Transformations, no one in the Nine Heavens Sect noticed his departure, except for Li Hanqiu

Sensing that Yaoguang had emerged from seclusion, Li Hanqiu followed shortly after. "Yaoguang."

"You came at the right time, Perfected Lord. In a moment, help me observe the power I can unleash with this supreme divine ability."

"You’re testing your current peak strength? Good. I’ll take a careful look." Li Hanqiu’s spirits rose immediately.

The two arrived deep within the heavens, inside a massive vortex of spiritual qi.

This vortex resembled a colossal storm. If it were to descend upon the land, its power would be enough to uproot entire cities and flatten a whole region.

"First, I’ll release my Blazing White Golden Core..." Yaoguang said.

In the next instant, a colossal sun with a diameter of over ten kilometers manifested behind him. Under the control of his psychic thought, its energy erupted freely, and blazing white light and terrifying heat spread across hundreds of kilometers.

The power he displayed in this moment alone already surpassed the full output of the Cloud Sword Sect’s supreme elder.

"Good!" Li Hanqiu operated the Combat Power Detector in his hand. "290,000!"

As soon as he finished speaking, 1080 brilliant points of starlight seemed to ignite within Yaoguang’s body.

The starlight intertwined with the Blazing White Golden Core, transforming the spiritual power vortex into something resembling a miniature universe.

"Is that a fifth-tier star god body?!" Li Hanqiu quickly recognized it.

A fifth-tier star god body, combined with Yaoguang’s already perfected psyche refinement, already met the conditions for advancing to the Azure Golden Core Realm!

All that remained was to accumulate enough Pure Yang Grand Pills to push the Blazing White Golden Core to its limit.

Amid his shock, he glanced again at the Combat Power Detector...

"530,000! Your combat power is 530,000!" Li Hanqiu’s excitement doubled. "This has already reached the level of an Azure Golden Core cultivator, even if just barely!"

"Only barely?" Yaoguang took a deep breath. The power of his Golden Core and the power of starlight simultaneously poured into the Wandering Dragon Sword in his hand. As he activated his divine ability, ripples spread outward from his body.

Once those ripples of space formed a predefined pattern, he suddenly linked them together and thrust his sword forward. The air itself seemed to tear apart, leaving a visible gray rift behind!

This was the Space-Splitting Strike.