The Modern Martial Immortal
Chapter 251: Apprehension
In the distance, the Golden Core cultivators from the Immortal Alliance, the Infinite Star Palace, the Thousand-Beast Sect, and the Nine Cauldrons Sect had all followed.
However, because of Li Hanqiu’s interference, they stopped nearly 50 million kilometers away from the battlefield and were not allowed to approach any closer.
The Immortal Alliance, Infinite Star Palace, and Thousand-Beast Sect were naturally happy to comply.
The Immortal Alliance and Infinite Star Palace feared that Li Hanqiu might intervene to save someone at a critical moment.
As for the Thousand-Beast Sect, they simply enjoyed watching the chaos unfold.
They could see the battle on Planet No. 6713 with perfect clarity.
For Golden Core cultivators whose states were unstable, unless their lives were at stake, battles between them were usually decided quickly.
If victory could be achieved in a short exchange, then it was victory. If not, dragging the fight out too long meant that even the winner risked their Golden Core collapsing and dying from the instability. In such situations, both sides would often choose to de-escalate rather than fight to the bitter end.
It was precisely for this reason that after their initial probing, Mi Le and Janko had decisively unleashed the two top-tier spirit treasures, the Void-Splitting Disk and the Chaotic Heaven Ruler.
The moment these two treasures were activated, Lu Xi, Johan, and the others revealed expressions mixed with excitement and tension.
They believed that, with these two supreme spirit treasures working together, they would surely be able to execute Yaoguang. They couldn't help but be excited.
Yet they were also tense, fearing that once Yaoguang died, Li Hanqiu would go completely mad.
At this point, all of them were fully focused on the battle. Yet the results left them disappointed.
Although the Chaotic Heaven Ruler and Void-Splitting Disk had posed a threat to Yaoguang, they had clearly failed to harm him. Relying on the advantage of his psychic thought, he treated the Chaotic Heaven Ruler as if it were nothing.
This scene caused the expressions of Feng Ao, Lin Deng, Luo Fu, and the others to grow extremely somber.
For Yaoguang to be able to withstand the attack of a top-tier spirit treasure like the Chaotic Heaven Ruler, it meant that the strength of his psychic thought had truly reached the peak of the Dharma Form Realm, just as Feng Ao had claimed.
Such a terrifying existence was practically unmatched in the current Great Cangwu World.
Even if the three Dharma Form cultivators of the Immortal Alliance and Infinite Star Palace joined forces, they might not be able to put up a fight against Yaoguang.
It was no exaggeration to say that Yaoguang was qualified to proclaim himself the strongest Dharma Form cultivator.
Damn it! Feng Ao cursed inwardly.
Yaoguang suddenly changed his tactics. He rapidly closed in on Mi Le and Janko, continuously wearing down their attacks with the Origin-Shattering Technique.
Although the Golden Core cultivators could not clearly understand what he was doing, they could tell that this secret technique specifically targeted the Golden Core's structural state.
For a moment, not only did the Golden Core cultivators of the Infinite Star Palace and Immortal Alliance grow tense, but even the Thousand-Beast Sect's Ye Lin and Fu Long became more serious.
If Yaoguang could threaten Mi Le and Janko with this tactic, he could naturally threaten the Thousand-Beast Sect as well.
Not long after Yaoguang revealed his technique, the situation on the battlefield rapidly deteriorated.
When Mi Le’s Golden Core structure began to break down, Lu Xi could no longer remain seated. "That’s enough! Yaoguang has already proven his strength. We acknowledge that the Nine Cauldrons Sect possesses two Golden Core cultivators and your status as a top-tier immortal sect. Tell him to stop!"
Li Hanqiu ignored Lu Xi completely, his gaze fixed intently on the battlefield 50 million kilometers away.
There was clear delight in his eyes. It was obvious that Yaoguang’s strength had exceeded even his expectations.
"Yaoguang!" Within the region of Planet No. 6713, Mi Le’s psychic consciousness pierced through space as he urgently transmitted his voice. "Let this end here. The matter of the Immortal-Proving Tower ten years ago can be forgotten. We will not pursue it further..."
Yaoguang paid him no attention and released another strike of the Origin-Shattering Technique.
Janko could no longer tolerate it. "Yaoguang, what are you trying to do?! The purpose of this clash was only to test your strength. Now that we have acknowledged it, do you really intend to kill the two of us?!"
"What’s wrong with that?" Yaoguang’s psychic thought responded coldly. "Nineteen years ago, the Infinite Star Palace’s Sky Patrol Warship invaded the territory of the Nine Cauldrons Sect. The aftermath of that battle caused tens of thousands of deaths. Shouldn’t we settle that now?"
"You..." Janko’s expression changed, then he said in a low voice, "Your secret technique may affect our Golden Core structure, but as long as we disregard the consequences and fight you with everything we have, releasing the power of our Radiant Sun Golden Cores without holding back, you won't be able to predict the outcome."
"Is that so? I’ll be waiting!" Yaoguang leapt forward and struck with the Origin-Shattering Technique once again.
Although Mi Le did everything he could to evade, his body was simply too large at the moment. Combined with Yaoguang’s overwhelming advantage in guiding his techniques through psychic thought, he had no way to avoid the attack.
After receiving this new strike, his Golden Core state deteriorated to the extreme.
It started reacting continuously, and terrifying energy surged outward, pushing both the power and the temperature it released to their peaks.
The radiance illuminated the starry sky, even spanning hundreds of millions of kilometers and reaching the Great Cangwu World itself.
If people within the Great Cangwu World looked up at the heavens, they would likely see what appeared to be a new star shining above, its brilliance visible even in daylight.
"Yaoguang, what exactly do you want?! Do you really intend to exterminate us?! Doing this means declaring war against the Immortal Alliance! Once war begins, the entire Great Cangwu World will be destroyed. At that time, your family, friends, and everyone you know will be buried alongside it!" Mi Le was both shocked and furious.
The threats were identical to those Li Hanqiu had used against the Immortal Alliance ten years earlier.
At that time, Li Hanqiu’s only leverage had been to bind the fate of the Great Cangwu World to that of the Nine Cauldrons Sect. Now, Yaoguang was effectively avenging him.
However, Yaoguang also understood that it was not yet the time to kill Mi Le or Janko. Otherwise, a full-scale war among the three great factions, one that would destroy the entire Great Cangwu World, would be likely to erupt for real. No one could bear such consequences.
"Hand over all the spirit treasures you have!" Yaoguang said.
"You want the spirit treasures in my possession? No. If I hand them over to you, what if you go back on your word?" Mi Le asked.
"If I kill you, the spirit treasures you have will still become mine." Yaoguang’s single sentence cut him off.
He looked at Mi Le. "If your skills are inferior, then you must bear the consequences. You only have one chance."
As he spoke, he raised his hand. The ripples of the Origin-Shattering Technique began condensing once more. "Would you prefer to gamble? Do you think the Immortal Alliance will go to war with our Nine Cauldrons Sect over the death of a single Radiant Sun Golden Core cultivator?"
At these words, all of Mi Le’s unwillingness completely vanished.
Death?! If I am struck by another Origin-Shattering Technique, it's true that I might not be able to stabilize my collapsing core. As for full-scale war, unless they are truly left with no other choice, who would be willing to go all out? As long as Yaoguang gives them a way out, the sect will not choose mutual destruction. Mi Le understood this clearly, and it made his breath become short and uneven.
The higher one’s cultivation, the more one understood the true nature of the world.
Seeing the Origin-Shattering Technique forming once again in Yaoguang’s hand, he quickly made his decision. "I’ll give them to you!"
In another twenty years at most, the powerhouses that had gone to the North Sea Star would return. In other words, if they endured for just a little longer, the situation would turn. There was no need to gamble his life over this grievance.
Not hesitating any longer, he began removing the spirit treasures from his body one by one. "Keep your word. Otherwise, I will detonate my Golden Core. At such close distance, if a Radiant Sun Golden Core explodes, you won’t come out unscathed either."
"As long as the Immortal Alliance engages with our Nine Cauldrons Sect based on strength and position going forward, we will not escalate matters beyond control." Yaoguang stepped forward and, in one motion, took all six spirit treasures from him.
Of the six, five were ordinary spirit treasures, offering only limited enhancement to a Golden Core cultivator’s strength. The only truly valuable one was the Void-Splitting Disk.
Even so, gaining five additional spirit treasures for free was still a massive harvest. It would allow further progress of his Immortal Dao branch.
"You may leave," Yaoguang said.
Mi Le remained silent. While doing his best to stabilize his Golden Core, he quickly retreated.
Yaoguang then shifted his gaze toward Janko, who was fleeing in panic.
With his star-god-level physique, his Crimson Golden Core could withstand greater bursts of power.
After a brief pursuit, Janko quickly realized that unless he disregarded the condition of his Golden Core and pushed it to its limits, he would never escape Yaoguang before rejoining Johan and the others.
But if he destabilized his Golden Core, it would take him an unknown amount of time to stabilize it again.
Damn it! Janko cursed inwardly. Then he turned back toward Yaoguang and said in a deep voice, "Perfected Master Yaoguang, we acknowledge your strength. Let today’s battle end here. Does your Nine Cauldrons Sect truly intend to completely fall out with our Infinite Star Palace?"
"It’s not that I want to fall out with you. It’s that you don’t know when to stop. Leave behind all the spirit treasures on you, and I’ll let you go. Otherwise..." Yaoguang glanced toward the distance, where Johan and the others were attempting to come to Janko’s aid but were being blocked by Li Hanqiu, Ye Lin, Fu Long, and the rest. "I don’t mind killing a Golden Core cultivator to warm up."
"You..." A trace of anger flashed in Janko’s eyes.
However, as a top-tier expert, his rationality suppressed his killing intent. He did not dare let the situation spiral into something beyond his control just because of a moment of rage.
He took a deep breath, forcibly swallowing his dissatisfaction and resentment. "If I lose, I must accept it! Just as you said, I am willing to offer these spirit treasures as compensation. From today onward, you will be recognized as the thirty-fifth top-tier Golden Core cultivator in the world."
As he spoke, he quickly removed the spirit treasures from his body one by one, including the top-tier spirit treasure, the Chaotic Heaven Ruler.
Yaoguang collected them all. He also understood that when any Golden Core cultivator had the ability to destroy the entire Great Cangwu World and overturn everything, this outcome was indeed the best possible.
After Yaoguang accepted the spirit treasures, Janko and Mi Le quickly withdrew. Half a day later, they regrouped with the other Golden Core cultivators of the Immortal Alliance and Infinite Star Palace.
Yaoguang also left that region of space and reunited with Li Hanqiu.
Seeing that Yaoguang had achieved a glorious victory while remaining almost completely unharmed and despite being outnumbered, Li Hanqiu gave him a firm nod of approval. "Good! Well done!"
Yaoguang smiled without any arrogance.
However, after the Golden Core cultivators of the Immortal Alliance, Infinite Star Palace, and even the Thousand-Beast Sect regrouped and exchanged information, every single one of them looked at Yaoguang with a trace of apprehension.
In the end, Johan of the Infinite Star Palace stepped forward and said in a deep voice, "Li Hanqiu, Yaoguang, I believe the agreement that Golden Core cultivators must not interfere in the affairs of the Great Cangwu World needs to be renegotiated. Otherwise, if every Golden Core threatens to destroy the Great Cangwu World at will, sooner or later the situation will spiral out of control, and we will all be consumed by the fire we’ve ignited."