Dao Lord: Starting from a Top-grade Golden Core

’But by setting foot in the Central Plains and Zeji Land, surely they don’t intend to contend with the Upper Profound Sect and the Spirit Treasure Sect? I wonder if this has anything to do with the Six-Eyed Demon Lord...’

Yi Qing continued, "After Nephew Fei, the second True Disciple of the thirteenth generation has finally emerged..."

"Oh?" Xuzhuang’s interest was piqued. He asked, "I wonder who this newly promoted True Disciple is. Perhaps I know of them."

"This True Disciple is named Zhou Jun, with the Daoist name Virtue!" Yi Qing said. "How many years has it been since Nephew Fei became a True Disciple? For another Top-grade Golden Core to be born, the fortune of our Tai Su Orthodox Sect is truly flourishing..."

Hearing that this young man, Zhou Jun, had refined a Top-grade Golden Core so quickly, Xuzhuang couldn’t help but feel that the new generation was hot on his heels. He replied, "Indeed."

"But it’s not just our Tai Su Orthodox Sect; the entire Divine Continent seems to be entering a golden age," Yi Qing said. "Forget just our three sects; geniuses are erupting like a geyser among the six schools. Even the Celestial Abyss Sect, despite being constantly pressured by the White Bone Demon Sect, has produced two new Top-grade Golden Cores in succession."

"Among the three sects and six schools, if we don’t count the few remaining True Disciples of the twelfth generation, our Tai Su Orthodox Sect is about to be surpassed in the number of Top-grade Golden Cores..."

Xuzhuang nodded slightly. "Turbulent times give rise to great talent."

"Therefore, I’ve heard that the Upper Dharma Hall has once again proposed reviving the Golden Core Grand Ceremony. They want to hold one for Nephew Zhou. Not only will the three sects and six schools attend, but the East Sea Three Mountains Immortal Sect, the Beiming Sword Sect, the Arctic Profound Ice Pavilion, the West Su Mystery Sect—all the Xuan Sects in the world will come to offer their congratulations..."

...

...

"I never thought so many exciting things would happen in the few short years since I left the Profound Yellow Realm." Xuzhuang set down his teacup and sighed with emotion. "Once my business here is concluded, I should return to the sect as soon as possible."

Hearing this, Yi Qing responded, "What important matters do you still have in the Guangyuan Realm, Junior Brother? Is there anything I can help with?"

"That is precisely why I came today." Xuzhuang smiled. "The Tai Su Pavilion has been operating in Weiyun Immortal City for a long time. I was wondering if you have a star chart of the regions outside the Guangyuan Realm."

"A star chart?" Yi Qing pondered. "Those are not easy to create. However, cultivators in the Guangyuan Realm, especially in Weiyun Immortal City, travel through the void much more frequently than we do in the Profound Yellow Realm, so some simple charts do circulate."

"I happen to have one that is fairly reliable. If you need it, Junior Brother, just take it."

Before he had even finished speaking, he took a compass-like object from his sleeve and placed it on the table.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Xuzhuang was pleasantly surprised. "Oh, there’s no need for that. I only need to borrow it for a look."

Yi Qing said generously, "Junior Brother, please, do as you see fit."

Xuzhuang didn’t refuse. He swiped a hand over the star chart. The cosmic void has its upper, lower, and eight cardinal directions, so of course, the chart couldn’t be a simple flat scroll.

As Xuzhuang moved, tiny points of light rose from the chart, hovering at different heights and positions, converging to form a projection of the starry sky.

His gaze swept across the chart, and he immediately locked onto a point of golden light. He nodded. "As expected, there are quite a few."

During his duel with Jin Yuan, Xuzhuang had won a Sacrificial Refining Daoist Scripture for the Celestial Rainbow Flying Sword. Xuzhuang hadn’t paid it much mind at first, but after a quick look, he was pleasantly surprised.

This wasn’t to say that his Taiyi Rainbow Sword was lacking any Sacrificial Refining Skill. Its treasure restrictions were already perfected, and its Spiritual Sense was exceptionally strong. As long as he continued to refine it with the Taiyi Separation and Reunion Swordsmanship, there was no danger of it regressing. One could even say it had a hope of achieving a True Form.

But the method recorded in this Daoist Scripture was somewhat different from the Taiyi Separation and Reunion Swordsmanship. It was an enhancement technique created specifically for the Celestial Rainbow Flying Sword.

To understand this, one must first know that there are, in fact, two hidden ’categories’ of Magical Treasures.

Take the Taiyi Rainbow Sword, for example. This Magical Treasure Flying Sword could greatly enhance Xuzhuang’s Swordsmanship—his Sword Escape, speed, killing power... With this sword at his side, the difference between using his Swordsmanship and using an ordinary Magical Artifact Flying Sword was like night and day.

Correspondingly, the stronger Xuzhuang’s Swordsmanship, the more he could unleash the power of the Taiyi Rainbow Sword. Without his level of Swordsmanship, the sword would be a pearl gathering dust in his hands.

It wasn’t just the Taiyi Rainbow Sword; the few other Magical Artifacts Xuzhuang currently possessed, like the Hualong Dharma Jade and the Purple Qi Xiaoyi, were also of this type.

But there was another type of Magical Treasure in this world, one born purely for destruction. As long as one could supply enough Magical Power, it could be unleashed. Take the One Yuan Chen Golden Seal, for example. It didn’t rely on any specific Daoist arts; with its own intrinsic power, it could suppress mountains, fill seas, shatter continents, and sink islands with ease.

Besides the One Yuan Chen Golden Seal, the Dragon Image Sect’s Panlong Great Halberd, which Xuzhuang had witnessed before, was also of this type. Given his current status, he also knew that the Tai Su Orthodox Sect possessed an incomparably powerful Magical Treasure of this kind, called the Tai Su Void Sword.

The Tai Su Void Sword, bearing the name of Tai Su, was an entirely different concept from the Tai Su Yuanzhen Invisible Sword. The Tai Su Void Sword was personally refined by the Jade Longevity True Monarch. It was said to be capable of "Star-Cutting and Moon-Sundering" and opening up chaos. It served as the Guardian Daoist Sword for the Master of the sect and has been passed down through generations to this day.

However, this type of Magical Treasure also had significant drawbacks. Not only did they consume enormous amounts of Magical Power, but the more powerful the treasure, the harder it was to control. Furthermore, it was extremely difficult for them to grow in spirituality and be refined into a True Form. Of course, if one ever did achieve a True Form, its power would be absolutely extraordinary.

Even after being sacrificially refined by generations of Masters of the Tai Su Orthodox Sect, the Tai Su Void Sword has still not achieved a True Form. One can only imagine the difficulty involved.

And this Daoist Scripture recorded a method to imbue the Taiyi Rainbow Sword with a destructive Sword Qi, all without damaging its spirituality. Although it was a clever workaround and perhaps not as powerful as a true destructive Magical Treasure, it was undoubtedly a massive boost to the Taiyi Rainbow Sword’s killing power.

The first step to mastering this method was to gather and refine enough ’Taiyi Celestial Rainbow.’

What was a Celestial Rainbow? To put it simply, its essence was nothing more than sunlight. But with Xuzhuang’s current level of cultivation, if he wanted to follow the Daoist Scripture and refine a strand of Taiyi Celestial Rainbow, he would have to get close to a Great Sun and absorb a massive amount of its light.

However, the Great Suns of Great Thousand Worlds like the Profound Yellow Realm and the Guangyuan Realm seemed to possess some other mystery; one couldn’t simply fly toward the sun in the sky and expect to reach it. But in the void, the great suns—the stars that illuminated whole regions of space—were numberless, if not quite as common as ordinary stars.

Although Xuzhuang didn’t know the exact difference between these stars and the suns of Great Thousand Worlds, according to the Daoist Scripture, cultivators could still gather Great Sun Essence Qi and even refine Great Sun True Flame from within them. He figured that gathering and refining the Taiyi Celestial Rainbow should also be possible.

And with the Du Xu Palace, traveling through the void was no longer difficult for Xuzhuang. As for why he planned to act outside the Guangyuan Realm...

Before leaving the Profound Yellow Realm, the Immoral Taoist had mentioned that the White Bone Demon Sect and the Celestial Abyss Sect had arranged to hold negotiations on a desolate star outside the realm. Coincidentally, Xuzhuang had witnessed the very scene of that star being annihilated.

Combined with what Yi Qing had said—that in the Divine Continent, the White Bone Demon Sect was still relentlessly pressuring the Celestial Abyss Sect and had nearly fought its way to the Celestial Abyss Mountain Gate on several occasions—the outcome of those negotiations was obvious.

The situation in the Profound Yellow Realm was simply too dangerous right now. Even an expert like the Immoral Taoist was unwilling to go near it at present. Xuzhuang naturally had to return to the Profound Yellow Realm eventually, but to have him pilot the Du Xu Palace through the void outside the realm to find a sun to practice his technique...

A wise man doesn’t stand under a crumbling wall. While Xuzhuang was no coward, there was no need to deliberately put himself in harm’s way when other options were available.

After memorizing the star chart of the region outside the Guangyuan Realm, Xuzhuang waved his hand, dismissing the projection. He cupped his fist in thanks, and Yi Qing quickly waved his hands in return.

Xuzhuang dispensed with the pleasantries and took a small pouch from his sleeve, placing it on the table. "There is one more thing I need your help with, Senior Brother."

"Please help me send this back to the sect."

Yi Qing stroked his short beard and said, "That’s simple enough. I am currently procuring a batch of cultivation materials under orders from the Upper Dharma Hall. An elder will be coming in a few days to handle the transfer. I’ll just ask him to take this back with him then."