The Modern Martial Immortal

Chapter 106: Possession

Ji Pingtian asked, "Do you need me to stay and keep watch here?"

"No," Yaoguang replied calmly. "Currently, the only means the Crimson Star Empire has to threaten me is nuclear weapons, but they might not have the courage to use them on Dayu."

He then stated bluntly, "Although Dayu cannot stop the Crimson Star Empire’s nuclear weapons, detecting them in advance is not a problem. As long as I hide in the nuclear bunkers built within Dayu, I will remain unscathed. However, they would then have to face retaliation. I believe the Jiang family of the Crimson Star Empire will weigh the stakes for themselves."

Ji Pingtian nodded. "I will head to the White Tower Federation immediately."

"Mhmm," Yaoguang replied. He did not place much importance on whether the White Tower Federation joined or not.

Ji Pingtian and the others soon left. After their departure, Kong Fang approached Yaoguang and said indifferently, "The World-Saving Society still fails to see the situation clearly. They do not realize that you are the core of everything."

"Everyone has their own thoughts and needs, but that is not important," Yaoguang sighed. "What I pursue is not world unification, but simply achieving peace. For this goal, unifying the world is one option; making myself strong enough to stand above any power so they no longer dare to act rashly is another."

Kong Fang was startled and quickly understood Yaoguang’s meaning. "You chose the latter? Do you plan to turn Dayu into a sacred land that is separated from the world?"

"It is simply that the latter is easier to achieve and involves fewer trivial matters," Yaoguang said. Besides, didn't this world lose contact with the Artifact Sect? In that case, why not let me become the Artifact Sect and take its place?

When one is poor, they attend to their own virtue; when successful, they attend to the whole world.

Yaoguang was far from poor now, but he wasn't successful to the point he'd try to save the world or help everyone fight against the Crimson Star Empire, the Snowdragon Empire, or the Rebirth Society. The reason he was forced to this point was entirely that the existence and actions of the Crimson Star Empire threatened his safety.

When he was about to move against the Liao family, he had already examined the map of Dayu and circled a 600-kilometer radius centered on the capital. To the north was Yuhuang Mountain, where Yaoguang currently stayed. To the south was the Canglan River, which ran through the entire country and neighboring regions like the White Tower Federation and Lihuo before flowing into the sea. To the east and west were the massive Zongheng and Taibai Mountain Ranges.

That layout provided a natural geographical advantage. The region also possessed various mineral deposits and resources belonging to Dayu. After acting against the Liao family, he had intended to use this area as the Su family’s base to consolidate and develop.

However, the situation changed too quickly. The intervention of the Crimson Star Empire forced him to step forward and face them. But this was something he should have expected. The reason aristocratic families like the Jiang and Lyu families held the Su family in such high regard and would fulfill every request the Su family made was that they wanted to use Yaoguang's power to withstand the pressure from the Crimson Star Empire.

Both sides took what they needed. It was just like his current relationship with the World-Saving Society and the various nations of the Eastern and Central Continents.

People gathered for benefits and scattered for benefits. This was the essence of the world, and he did not intend to change it. He respected the destiny of others, just as he respected the destiny of other nations.

The only thing he could do was to use this sacred land that he created as a mirror to let the world see the truth. Like a lighthouse, it would remain until people truly saw what life looked like.

***

The news of Yaoguang charging into the Crimson Star Empire and slaying Jiang Shengtian circulated only within a very small circle. Lower-level powers, including various royal families, believed these were simply retaliatory acts by the World-Saving Society against the Crimson Star Empire.

Furthermore, since the World-Saving Society had obtained Yaoguang’s permission to take credit for the feat, they used it to build the Eastern Continent alliance they desired. As a result, everyone's attention was focused on the World-Saving Society.

Thus, Yaoguang enjoyed a rare period of free time.

***

The Yujing Mountain defense line was the highest point of the entire world. It was also the location of the Star Gates for both the Crimson Star and Snowdragon Empires.

The mountain range itself was an array formation. By using the terrain to channel the forces of heaven and earth, as well as the stellar magnetic fields, it eventually received signals from the Artifact Sect through the Star Gate. It then transmitted the signals back to form a stable channel for traversing between the two worlds.

However, the two nations had not received a signal from the Artifact Sect for over forty years. To be precise, it had been forty-six years.

For a Star Gate that previously opened almost every one or two years, this was inconceivable. Had their world really been abandoned by the Artifact Sect? That seemed unlikely.

Their world was a high-quality world. The immortal weapons and fiendish artifacts produced here reached the level of treasured artifacts. The Artifact Sect would not abandon such a world under any circumstances.

Unless, just as the Lunar Fiend Empire claimed, the Artifact Sect had undergone a drastic upheaval and suffered a direct defeat. Perhaps even the corresponding Star Gate was destroyed, which was why they could not receive a signal or open the gate.

The Xie family found this news hard to believe, but now, they had no choice but to accept the reality.

***

In a heavily guarded canyon within the Snowdragon Empire, a towering gate stood over a hundred meters high.

The portal was oval, resembling a mirror, but its interior reflected not the surrounding valley, but a radiant starry sky. Every star within that sky was flickering, emitting a faint glow that made the gateway look like something out of a dream.

However, as time passed, the radiance gradually dimmed until all the light vanished completely.

Minutes later, a look of disappointment flashed in the eyes of an old man in the command room. "It failed?"

Beside the old man stood a middle-aged man in his forties, wearing three golden stars. He was Gu Wanquan, the youngest general of the Snowdragon Empire.

Hearing the old man's question, Gu Wanquan shook his head. "There is still no coordinate signal being transmitted from the sect."

"The eighty-eighth time." The old man let out a long sigh.

"Although the words of those special lifeforms calling themselves the Lunar Fiend Empire cannot be fully trusted... Something has definitely gone terribly wrong with the Artifact Sect," Gu Wanquan said, hesitating for a moment. "Should we... forcibly activate the Star Gate and send someone over to investigate?"

"Without an established connection channel, forcibly activating the Star Gate would inevitably cause our side to collapse. If that happens, we will truly lose all contact with the Artifact Sect," the old man replied.

"That might not be the case. Doesn't the Crimson Star Empire still have a Star Gate on their end?" Gu Wanquan smiled slightly. "With our strength, if we truly wanted to seize that gate, could Jiang Bairen alone really hold it?"

"And if the Artifact Sect is unharmed?" The old man glanced at him. "Decades ago, Heavenly Venerable Jiang had already forged his Dao Foundation. Who knows how far he has grown over the years?"

He looked toward the Crimson Star Empire's camp on the other side of Yujing Mountain. "If we were truly going to deal with the Jiang family, we would have acted long ago. Why wait until now?"

"But the Jiang family is clearly in the wrong... They should have handed this world over to us long ago..."

"Right and wrong?" the old man said indifferently. "Might is right. The Jiang family is stronger than our Xie family. Is that right enough for you?"

Gu Wanquan felt a sense of suppressed frustration. Their Xie family was the legitimate ruler of this world, while the Jiang family should have returned to the Artifact Sect a century ago. Yet they not only refused to leave but had lingered for nearly a hundred years, even refusing to give up the Northern and Southern Continents. It was simply intolerable.

"Is there really no other way?" Gu Wanquan asked. "The Rebirth Society has been crossing the line more and more in recent years. Large numbers of their personnel are flooding in through means we don't understand. If we don't stop them, once they establish a firm foothold, they will remain a dire threat even if the Crimson Star Empire leaves. It might even affect the nurturing of the immortal weapons we have to hand over to the sect in two hundred years. If the immortal weapons aren't nurtured well and the sect blames us..."

The old man remained silent. The Xie family of the Snowdragon Empire was currently caught in a dilemma. Even the subordinate families they brought with them were beginning to complain. They had come to this world intending to plunder it and cultivate artifact spirits, blood vigor, and soul essences to trade back at the sect. But now, blocked by the Crimson Star Empire in the Western Continent, they couldn't penetrate the Central or Eastern Continents, and they didn't dare to start a war. It was maddening.

The old man was about to speak when the lights across the entire base began to flicker simultaneously. A moment later, they all went out. The base plunged into a blackout. Even though backup power was triggered in many areas, a strange wave swept through, and the backup lights were quickly extinguished as well.

"Again!?" The old man's expression changed.

"Commander! Look!" someone suddenly cried out, pointing outside.

As the old man looked as far as he could see, a circle of formless ripples appeared near the Star Gate. However, the characteristics of these ripples did not indicate the opening of the Star Gate, but rather...

"The Lunar Fiend Empire!?" The old man immediately ordered, "Everyone, focus your mental energy! Visualize the Nine Heavens Snowdragon Diagram!"

"Those monsters from the Lunar Fiend Empire... How dare they be so arrogant!?" Fire flashed in Gu Wanquan's eyes.

Over the years, they had learned that whenever an abnormal, continuous power outage occurred, it was inevitably accompanied by the infiltration of those fiends from the Lunar Fiend Empire. In the past, these blackouts happened in small countries within the Crimson Star Empire's sphere of influence; it had only happened once in the Snowdragon Empire's territory, over a decade ago. But now, this infiltration was not only reappearing in the Snowdragon Empire, but it was occurring at their most critical location, Yujing Mountain.

"Preposterous!" The old man's eyes flared with anger. "Since the Jiang family cannot stop the insolence of these fiends, our Xie family will—"

He suddenly felt an unspeakable chill and couldn't help but shiver. In the next instant, a consciousness rapidly surged from the depths of his mental world, as if... it had been there all along.

"What is this!?" A terror unlike anything he had ever felt washed over him.

"The only high-tier cultivator in this world? Passable."

Amidst his fear, a wave of thought that did not belong to him at all radiated outward. Like seawater, it continuously crashed against his consciousness, making him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, chilled to the bone.

"Destruction!? This time, I will teach you the meaning of true destruction!"