The Modern Martial Immortal

”I can’t make it in time.” On a hidden island in the Chaotic Sea, Yaoguang frowned.

He had originally planned to push his cultivation all the way to the Void-Piercing Realm, but he had not expected that the qualitative transformation from a Blazing White Golden Core to an Azure Golden Core would consume three whole months for nothing, even for him.

Although the breakthrough process had gone flawlessly, without the slightest setback, it had brought far greater consumption.

He originally possessed only 1,050,000 Pure Yang Grand Pills, yet merely forming his Azure Golden Core had cost him 500,000 pills.

And now, after completing the breakthrough, he only had 200,000 Pure Yang Grand Pills left.

That amount was clearly nowhere near enough to evolve his Azure Golden Core into a more stable second form.

”In the end, I’ve still successfully formed an Azure Golden Core. If I tried to collapse it into a Primordial Void right now, let my Dharma Form transform into a true spirit, merge illusion and reality, and form a grotto-heaven, my odds wouldn’t be low... At least seventy or eighty percent. But...” Yaoguang paused. ”Since evolving my Azure Golden Core to its second form, the equivalent of the middle stage, can raise my breakthrough success rate to absolute certainty, why would I take that risk?”

He felt the Golden Core within him, one that had now been compressed over and over, and was radiating azure brilliance...

Because he had only just broken through, that azure light nearly permeated his body, shining outward and causing the surrounding temperature to rise sharply. Yaoguang drew a deep breath.

Continue. Yaoguang thought.

He had no intention of wasting those remaining 200,000 pills.

With a single thought, it was as though a Kunpeng manifested within him. Using the power of its Primordial Void, it began devouring the Pure Yang Grand Pills.

Compared to when he had been at the Blazing White Golden Core Realm, the refinement efficiency was on an entirely different level.

It isn’t just that the Heaven-Devouring Kunpeng Technique runs far more efficiently. Using the Wandering Dragon Sword and the Two-Realm Ruler has also become much easier. Using techniques like the Space-Splitting Strike and the Nine Heavenly Transformations now feels far more natural. Yaoguang sensed the changes within himself.

He knew these were all advantages that came with evolving from a Blazing White Golden Core to an Azure Golden Core.

A Blazing White Golden Core was merely the biggest form a star could attain. But an Azure Golden Core shattered the limits within that concept of ”biggest,” transforming into a supergiant.

Such an enormous mass naturally exerted a far greater influence on its surroundings.

If using a supreme divine ability had previously felt like moving a thousand kilograms, now it was like moving a hundred kilograms.

Supreme divine abilities that were once hard to wield had now become effortless and fluid.

Previously, if I wanted to unleash a Space-Splitting Strike, I first had to rely on my Void’s Child talent to sense spatial ripples, then use the Wandering Dragon Sword to drive those ripples before finally executing the technique. But now, the power contained in the Azure Golden Core itself is enough to shake space. While it still can’t compare to how effortlessly the Primordial Void of the Void-Piercing Realm can obtain the same results, it has at least reached the threshold required to cast supreme divine abilities...

At that thought, Yaoguang finally understood why top immortal sects only allowed true disciples to practice supreme divine abilities.

For disciples at the Blazing White Golden Core Realm, setting aside whether they could even master such abilities, simply using them was extraordinarily difficult.

Rather than wasting precious time practicing supreme divine abilities, it was far better to first condense an Azure Golden Core.

Still, supreme divine abilities are of little use to me. Their great power is only one reason they attract cultivators. More importantly, a perfected supreme divine ability acts like a spark that allows one to begin comprehending a Dao Technique. But I’ve only obtained thirteen Dao Techniques in total. My choices are too limited, so there’s no need to waste effort on supreme divine abilities for now. The few I have are enough.

Settling his mind, he continued using the Heaven-Devouring Kunpeng Technique to refine all the remaining Pure Yang Grand Pills.

In less than half a year, all 200,000 pills had been completely refined.

The Azure Golden Core within him became slightly more solid and profound than before. But...

To evolve my Azure Golden Core into its second form, I’ll need roughly two million Pure Yang Grand Pills. That leaves me 1,800,000 short.

That was no small number.

But considering his current strength, gathering those pills might actually be faster than collecting the amount he had needed to break from the Blazing White Golden Core Realm to the Azure Golden Core Realm.

He glanced again at the Wandering Dragon Sword in his hand.

During this period of cultivation, he had also used the Spirit Nurturing Technique and Treasure Refinement Technique to fuse materials such as Void Flowing Crystal, taken from the Xi family, into the flying sword, greatly deepening its foundation.

He was fifty percent certain that the Wandering Dragon Sword could now successfully achieve Dao Entry.

But because he had no other suitable weapon at hand, it was inconvenient to risk attempting it now.

He would wait until he had a replacement flying sword.

With that thought, he flew out of the cave dwelling, which by now had nearly been destroyed by the overflowing power of his breakthrough.

The moment he left, without Yaoguang reinforcing it from the inside, the cave dwelling immediately collapsed. Even the small island above it, roughly five hundred meters wide, caved in and vanished completely beneath the boundless sea.

Yet after emerging, Yaoguang did not leave at once. Instead, he fully unleashed his psychic thought, sweeping the surrounding area several times. Only after confirming there were no other cultivators nearby did he flip his hand, summoning the Heaven-Sealing Stele.

Inside the Heaven-Sealing Stele, Xuan Shuang was still alive.

Though subdued by the Dao Artifact, he was not dead. He could still vaguely perceive the outside world.

Back when Yaoguang had still been at the Blazing White Golden Core Realm, he had not been absolutely certain he could kill Xuan Shuang. After all, the man was a true disciple at the Azure Golden Core Realm. But now...

The Wandering Dragon Sword transformed into a streak of golden light and shot toward the sky. Empowered by the terrifying energy of Yaoguang’s Azure Golden Core, it instantly stirred spatial ripples and whipped up a spatial tsunami several times stronger than anything he had been able to create as a Blazing White Golden Core cultivator.

Once the power of that spatial tsunami had been built to its peak, the sword edge drove it downward in a devastating strike toward the Heaven-Sealing Stele.

At that same moment, Yaoguang released the seal on the stele.

Its crushing force over space instantly withdrew, and Xuan Shuang immediately broke free.

The instant he appeared, he pushed the Crimson-Gold Divine Phoenix Body to its limit.

”Yaoguang, I am a true disciple of the Heavenly Dao Sect. If you kill me, the Heavenly Dao Sect—” Unfortunately, his words failed to shake Yaoguang’s resolve.

His psychic thought had not even fully transmitted the message before the Wandering Dragon Sword, already primed and waiting, struck with a Space-Splitting Strike, slamming into the Crimson-Gold Divine Phoenix Body that had not even been fully unleashed yet.

There was a boom, an explosion of light, and then endless flames and blazing radiance exploded from that true disciple of the Heavenly Dao Sect.

The Crimson-Gold Divine Phoenix Body of that true disciple was like a cosmic warship getting struck head-on by an object moving almost at the speed of light, shattering on the spot with explosive force.

Though his body had been destroyed, Xuan Shuang didn’t die immediately. Instead, he let out a furious roar, ”Yaoguang!”

The shattered Crimson-Gold Divine Phoenix Body burned violently, and his body transformed into raging flames that began gathering once more, undergoing nirvanic rebirth!

It looked like Xuan Shuang was on the verge of reforging his divine body.

”Hmm?!” Yaoguang frowned.

The power of the Heaven-Sealing Stele surged forth once again.

Formless ripples spread outward, and just as the Crimson-Gold Divine Phoenix Body was about to complete its nirvanic rebirth, it was sealed once more.

At the same time, the Wandering Dragon Sword, transformed into golden light, once again drove spatial ripples forward like a ship cutting through the tide, swiftly gathering those ripples into one and forming a second Space-Splitting Strike.

The moment the force of the Heaven-Sealing Stele dispersed again, the not-yet-reborn Xuan Shuang was struck again.

”Spare me...” Faintly, the unwilling plea for mercy of that true disciple seemed to echo out.

But those psychic thoughts did not affect Yaoguang’s sword speed in the slightest.

As the second Space-Splitting Strike arrived, the Crimson-Gold Divine Phoenix Body, which had only just transformed into flame and shown signs of reforming, was utterly obliterated, exploding into countless sparks that scattered in every direction.

This time, those flames could no longer continue burning. Though the blazing heat still seemed capable of scorching the heavens and boiling the sea, it finally dimmed after lingering over the ocean for a few moments.

Yaoguang’s figure flashed, and when he reappeared, a storage treasure and a battle saber were already in his hands.

The reason his first Space-Splitting Strike had failed to deliver a fatal killing blow, even with Xuan Shuang sealed by the Heaven-Sealing Stele, was precisely because he had wanted to avoid excessive destructive force and prevent everything on Xuan Shuang from being destroyed.

He had not expected that the Crimson-Gold Divine Phoenix Body could actually allow Xuan Shuang to undergo nirvanic rebirth.

Fortunately, while undergoing that process, Xuan Shuang clearly had no ability to destroy his storage treasure or battle saber. So although Yaoguang had needed to spend a little more effort, his goal of preserving the spoils had still been achieved.

He examined the battle saber in his hand.

”The quality is decent. There’s plenty of room for modification,” Yaoguang remarked.

The saber was not the important part. The important thing was...

His psychic thought immediately checked the contents of Xuan Shuang’s storage treasure.

At once, an enormous quantity of Pure Yang Grand Pills, along with vast amounts of cultivation materials, came into view.

As expected of a true disciple. He’s so rich! There are at least a million Pure Yang Grand Pills here, and the total value of these various resources exceeds another million. Add in this battle saber... After selling everything off, the total return will absolutely exceed three million Pure Yang Grand Pills. Yaoguang was delighted.

This was what striking it rich overnight truly meant!

”True disciple...” Yaoguang murmured.

The true disciples of the top immortal sects were really wealthy. No wonder everyone wanted to become a true disciple of a great sect.

But considering that whenever any true disciple died, their sect would send an investigation team led by at least a Void-Piercing Realm elder to pursue the matter to the very end, Yaoguang did not dare relax.

The Wandering Dragon Sword spun through the void in a sweeping arc, stirring up even more spatial ripples while continuously gathering momentum and guiding them.

After several full breaths, a Space-Splitting Strike several times stronger than before came crashing down. And this time, the target of that attack space itself.

With one sword strike, that supreme divine ability truly lived up to its name, tearing space apart and causing everything within dozens of kilometers to collapse.

Countless streams of elemental qi and particles were completely erased.

Terrifying spatial ripples and violent waves of energy spread outward in all directions like a raging tide, sweeping five hundred kilometers away and shredding everything within that vast range.

Below, towering waves surged from the sea. Placed on a small planet, they would have been world-ending tsunamis, endlessly sweeping across the surrounding region.

By the time the shockwaves had faded, it was already clear that this region would inevitably produce terrifying celestial phenomena due to the violent spatial upheaval.

Those disturbances would erase ninety-nine percent of all traces.

Unless a supreme elder at the Void-Shattering Realm who had comprehended a Great Dao of tracing or investigation personally intervened, it would be extremely difficult for anyone to uncover any useful clues.

Having done all this, Yaoguang wasted no further time and once again summoned the Longxiang Flying Vessel.

As the flying vessel accelerated, it quickly parted the void. Not long after, it had already vanished from the battlefield.