The Modern Martial Immortal

In the Taiyi Immortal Sect, the Taiyuan Perfected Lord had his disciple Zhao Yang see off the Heavenly Dao Sect Void-Piercing cultivator who had come to deliver the invitation, and afterward he found himself reflecting on the news he had just received.

"So it's confirmed that Yaoguang has an artifact paragon standing behind him. Perhaps his growth has been this fast not just because the Penglai Dao Lord has been backing him, but because the artifact paragon has fully supported him as well. Of course, it's also possible the Penglai Dao Lord personally guided Yaoguang out of regard for the artifact paragon, which is why he advanced so quickly through the Void-Piercing, Void-Refining, and Void-Shattering Realms. What I never expected was that this artifact paragon's attainments in refinement would be this formidable."

The sect master of the Taiyi Immortal Sect found himself dwelling on just how much influence an artifact paragon capable of refining a top-tier Dao Artifact truly carried.

Even if this one apparently needed a mountain of materials to produce a true top-tier Dao Artifact, and the final cost might end up being several times what such an artifact normally took, that level of skill still ranked first among the many refiners on the North Sea Star.

Setting aside the rare few who had become Dao Lords and then steeped themselves in refining for tens of thousands of years, it would not be an exaggeration to call him the foremost artifact paragon on the North Sea Star.

At that moment, two streaks of light tore through the air with a swoosh and arrived at the Taiyuan Perfected Lord's residence. One was the Supreme Jade Emperor, and the other was named Hong Yan.

In cultivation, this supreme elder was nothing remarkable compared to the others, but his standing rivaled that of the Taiyi Immortal Sect's chief supreme elder, and even that of the Taiyuan Perfected Lord himself.

He was, after all, an artifact paragon, a vanishingly rare rank across the whole North Sea Star. Over his long life, five Dao Artifacts had come from his own hands!

So when he saw the supreme arrive, the Taiyuan Perfected Lord rose to his feet. "Hong Yan, and the Jade Emperor too. What brings you here, elders?"

"Sect Master, have you heard? The Penglai Dao Lord is actually sparing no expense, just to have the mysterious artifact paragon behind Sect Master Yaoguang forge a top-tier Dao Artifact for her! Th-This is unbelievable!" Hong Yan, the supreme, had eyes full of shock and disbelief.

"It is rather alarming," the Taiyuan Perfected Lord said, nodding. "Artifact paragons on the North Sea Star who can refine Dao Artifacts at all are exceedingly rare. For all the Dao Lord inheritances within human territory, there are probably fewer than five factions that have an artifact paragon of their own. The mysterious paragon behind Yaoguang can not only refine Dao Artifacts, but he can also almost certainly turn out high-grade ones. Otherwise, he'd never have convinced the Penglai Dao Lord to place such a heavy bet on him, to work with him through the sect master's succession ceremony and buy refinement materials from other powers at premium prices, all to attempt creating a top-tier Dao Artifact."

The Supreme Jade Emperor nodded in firm agreement. "I finally understand how Yaoguang grew so much in just over a century. With an artifact paragon like that supporting him, free to study and use whatever Dao Artifacts suit him, it's probably not far off from being tutored by a Dao Lord in person."

"Exactly." The Taiyuan Perfected Lord smiled. "But if he wants to use this opportunity to buy up top-tier Dao Artifact materials, he may be hoping for too much. Those materials tend to be strategic reserves for the top sects, never mind immortal artifact materials. Put out one or two portions of immortal artifact materials, and you could trade them for a finished top-tier Dao Artifact without trouble."

"The Penglai Dao Lord stripped the Heavenly Sea Sword Pavilion's collection bare, and she's cut into the demon race heartland more than once to plunder one demon paragon after another. She's rich beyond reckoning, and nobody knows quite how rich. Now she's personally vouching for this, signaling that Yaoguang will pay double for top-tier Dao Artifact materials and even immortal artifact materials. Some powers may well be tempted," the Supreme Jade Emperor assessed fairly.

"Double the price..." The thought sent the Taiyuan Perfected Lord into a brief silence. After a moment, he said, "You mean..."

"Double the price is persuasive enough on its own, and on top of that it's a chance to build goodwill with a prodigy like Yaoguang, who has a real shot at Dao Integration, and with the mysterious paragon behind him," the Supreme Jade Emperor said. "Weighing all that, some factions may well sell their portions of top-tier Dao Artifact material to this artifact paragon as a favor. With that relationship in place, if they ever want to ask him to refine a high-grade Dao Artifact for them, it'll be easy to get the deals they want."

Hearing this, the Taiyuan Perfected Lord's gaze fell on Hong Yan. "What do you think?"

Those top-tier Dao Artifact materials, put in Hong Yan's hands, would sharply improve his own output of Dao Artifacts. And if the immortal artifact materials were spent as well, there was every hope of producing a high-grade Dao Artifact.

So whether to send the materials away was a question that had to take Hong Yan's opinion into account.

"Yaoguang has been at the Void-Shattering Realm for only a few decades. However brilliantly gifted he is, and however many Dao Techniques he's brought to perfection, climbing onto the top ten of the Dao Lord Candidate Rankings takes more than raw strength. It takes outside help, which means high-grade Dao Artifacts! Dao Artifacts refined by that mysterious artifact paragon's own hands!" Hong Yan spoke gravely. "So for Yaoguang's succession ceremony, I intend to go with you, Sect Master. I want to see those high-grade Dao Artifacts of his for myself and judge the artifact paragon's exact level of skill from them!"

"Oh? Elder Hong Yan wants to come along?"

"Yes. And if Yaoguang is willing to let me examine the high-grade Dao Artifacts that the artifact paragon refined for him, we can sell them a portion of top-tier Dao Artifact material at cost." Hong Yan then added, "I'll cover the loss myself."

"You're too generous, Elder. Studying those high-grade Dao Artifacts is for the sake of your own refinement skill, and the sect can bear that much." The Taiyuan Perfected Lord smiled. "Still... Why not simply meet this mysterious artifact paragon face to face?"

"At this stage, he won't agree to show himself," Hong Yan said with total certainty.

"Oh? Why not?" The Taiyuan Perfected Lord was curious. They were both artifact paragons. A meeting, an exchange, comparing their respective attainments... What could be more natural?

"Sect Master, you still haven't grasped the key point of the news. This artifact paragon is attempting to refine a top-tier Dao Artifact!" Hong Yan shook his head. "It's not just you, Sect Master. I doubt anyone has realized what this refinement really means!"

Envy, admiration, and longing laced the artifact paragon's voice. "Beyond the three thousand Great Dao, there are said to be unorthodox roads to Dao Integration, and since ancient times there have been many accounts of craft verging upon the Dao. An artifact paragon who can already refine high-grade Dao Artifacts while still at the Void-Shattering Realm, given the mind he's poured into refinement and the depth of his study and understanding, absolutely meets the standard of craft verging upon the Dao. If he can seize this chance and successfully refine a top-tier Dao Artifact, his mental state shall undergo a complete transformation, and there's a strong chance he could grasp that moment to enter the Dao through the artifact and achieve Dao Integration in a single stroke."

"Entering the Dao through the artifact?!"

"Dao Integration?!"

The Taiyuan Perfected Lord and the Supreme Jade Emperor both went pale with astonishment at Hong Yan's words. The Taiyuan Perfected Lord in particular caught on almost at once. "You're saying that the Penglai Dao Lord is spending a hundred billion, even several hundred billion, to support the mysterious artifact paragon behind Yaoguang in refining a top-tier Dao Artifact because she's helping him attain the Dao? Using this unorthodox road to enter the Dao through the artifact first, then carrying that elevated state of mind into true Dao Integration?"

"Yes." Hong Yan nodded hard. "Two or three hundred billion, maybe even three, or possibly four hundred billion! What top-tier Dao Artifact couldn't you buy with that? But if this mysterious artifact paragon really enters the Dao through the artifact and becomes a Dao Lord, then what he'll be able to refine afterward won't stop at top-tier Dao Artifacts. He'd be qualified for semi-immortal artifacts at the very least, and even..."

He paused, and a trace of fervor showed in his eyes. "True immortal artifacts!"

Immortal artifacts! Those two words sent a violent tremor through both men.

Refining immortal artifacts was still only a prospect for the distant future, but even a semi-immortal artifact would immediately strengthen a Dao Lord's combat power.

When the day of the Dao contest came, apart from the handful of tracks like the Great Dao of void, who rose to the top would likely depend on who was on good terms with this mysterious artifact paragon and could obtain a semi-immortal artifact from his hands!

"Elder Hong Yan, are you suggesting we invest in this mysterious artifact paragon ahead of time?" the Taiyuan Perfected Lord asked.

"The risk is considerable. Entering the Dao through the artifact and successful Dao Integration are both enormous challenges for him. At most, the road this paragon walks makes him likelier than others, Yaoguang included, to succeed on the path to Dao Integration." Hong Yan paused, then shifted. "But if he does succeed... that will be a blessing for generations to come. For all of us, without exception."

That left the Taiyuan Perfected Lord and the Supreme Jade Emperor looking at each other, unable to decide.

"From the fact that this mysterious paragon raised Yaoguang and won over the Penglai Dao Lord, he must be versed in both void and origin Dao Techniques. And the fact that he chose the Heavenly Dao Sect over any other faction suggests he may have some grounding in the Great Dao of truth as well. As it happens, don't we hold a portion of material suited to a void-type immortal artifact? If we want to invest, we're qualified to."

"That's an investment worth over a hundred billion!" the Taiyuan Perfected Lord could not help but say.

"Which is why I can't make this decision. You discuss it, and it would be best to contact the Dao Lord and ask him for the final ruling," Hong Yan said. "There's still some time before the succession ceremony anyway."

"Go and meet this mysterious artifact paragon." The Taiyuan Perfected Lord's voice turned grave. "We know nothing concrete about his level of skill. Only once you've seen him can we make a final decision."

"As I said, it will be difficult," Hong Yan replied. "Right now he's certainly pouring all of his thought and energy into refining that top-tier Dao Artifact. An ordinary person has almost no chance of getting an audience."

He glanced at the Taiyuan Perfected Lord. "Sect Master, if you were about to make your own attempt at Dao Integration, would you let anything distract you? Especially when it means exposing your identity and your location, and possibly being ambushed for it."

"He hasn't begun his Dao Integration yet," the Taiyuan Perfected Lord said. "And I'd say a portion of immortal artifact material, precious as it is, makes a fairly persuasive argument."

Hong Yan fell into thought. Only after a good while did he speak. "If you trust me, Sect Master, I can try. I can't refine high-grade Dao Artifacts myself, but I flatter myself that I have enough attainments in the craft. If I can meet him in person and talk with him, I'll be able to gauge roughly where this mysterious artifact paragon stands, and whether he's worth the sort of money we'd be spending."

"Of course I trust you, Elder Hong Yan," The Taiyuan Perfected Lord said carefully, then went on, "But this is too important to handle alone. I'll convene the Supreme Elder Council at once and contact the Sovereign Radiance Dao Lord. He's only a few decades of travel from the North Sea Star now, so a reply will come quickly, and we'll make the final decision at the meeting."

Hong Yan nodded.

He was actually deeply tempted. So was the Taiyuan Perfected Lord. If this investment worked out, the return for the Taiyi Immortal Sect would simply be too great.

The Taiyi Immortal Sect moved fast. In less than a day, the Supreme Elder Council convened, and the Sovereign Radiance Dao Lord responded just as quickly. Within a single day, the Dao Lord and the rest of the council had reached a conclusion.

They would trust Hong Yan's eye and judgment and send him to meet the mysterious paragon behind Yaoguang.

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

The matter would be left entirely in Hong Yan's hands.