Modern World's Martial Dao Human Immortal-Chapter 454 - 440: Protector
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"Within the top ten of the Shattered Void."
Alkaid smiled and didn’t argue with Li Hanqiu on this topic.
Although the gap between the Hollow Void, Refining Void, and Shattered Void wasn’t as insurmountable as heaven and earth, the difference between an ordinary Hollow Void and him...
compared to the gap between the Shattered Void and a Dao Lord, was probably not much smaller.
The warship tore through the sky, and the Penglai Immortal Sect was already within reach.
Even though Alkaid had been to Penglai’s territory more than once or twice, each visit had been to the periphery, such as to places like Biyou Fairy City.
This was his first time actually arriving at the main base of the Penglai Immortal Sect.
And when the Penglai Immortal Sect, with its 108 large and small islands that formed the sect’s headquarters, came within Alkaid’s perception, he couldn’t help but let out a sigh of amazement.
"The Penglai Immortal Sect... really is vast."
Yes.
Vast.
The entire headquarters of the Penglai Immortal Sect stretched across more than thirty thousand miles.
Some disciples of the Penglai Immortal Sect, with lower ranks and lesser talent, might never leave the confines of the sect’s headquarters in their lifetime.
But...
Besides being vast, there seemed to be nothing else praiseworthy about the Penglai Immortal Sect.
Lacking Formation, resources, and sacred grounds.
Of course, that’s not to say there were none at all.
But in comparison to the Heavenly Dao Sect, the Penglai Immortal Sect’s headquarters was a notch below in its entirety.
Considering the prior development level of the Southern Region, it was hard to imagine this was the main base of a top-tier grand sect.
As the warship approached the skies above the Penglai Immortal Sect, streams of light shot into the heavens, and a rainbow bridge of five colors spread out from within the sect.
Following that, under Shi Lin, the Acting Sect Master’s personal guidance, several palace masters of the Void Refinement Realm were waiting at the skyport, getting ready for the warship to dock.
When a Shattered Void level expert enters another top force’s territory, they typically need to give notice to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings.
Therefore, Alkaid naturally informed the Penglai Immortal Sect of his intention to visit the Penglai Dao Lord well in advance.
And with such a distinguished figure arriving, one who is not the Sect Leader of the Heavenly Dao Sect but might as well be, the Penglai Immortal Sect certainly did not dare to show any negligence.
Especially since the recent update of the list of candidates for Dao Lord ranked him in the top ten, making everyone aware of his true strength.
It was for this reason that Shi Lin, the Acting Sect Master, personally came to the skyport to welcome Alkaid, fully demonstrating the Penglai Immortal Sect’s regard for his arrival.
After a friendly exchange of pleasantries, Shi Lin also introduced Alkaid to several palace masters who were acting as receptionists.
Alkaid also wore a faint smile, nodding to each of the palace masters in turn.
And these palace masters were filled with surprise and excitement at the arrival of Alkaid.
Rumors had long circulated that Alkaid had a close relationship with the Penglai Immortal Sect, but Alkaid himself had never confirmed this, and subsequently, it was rumored within the Heavenly Dao Sect that such talk was the gossip of those with ulterior motives, to prevent the Penglai Immortal Sect from relying too much on them.
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Yet now, after Alkaid’s name appeared in the top ten of the Dao Lord candidate list, he immediately came to visit the Penglai Immortal Sect...
The speculation undoubtedly received a certain level of confirmation.
Thinking that their Penglai Immortal Sect had connections with such a top-tier Shattered Void expert, those palace masters of Refining Void were naturally puffing out their chests in pride and felt a sense of glory.
After a period of friendly exchanges, Shi Lin smiled and said, "My master has been informed of Sect Leader Alkaid’s arrival. I will now take you to the place where my master cultivates."
"Thank you."
Alkaid nodded slightly.
Then, he left Li Hanqiu and the others behind and followed Shi Lin towards the interior of the Penglai Immortal Sect.
However, just as they were about to enter the core array of the Penglai Immortal Sect, he seemed to sense something and glanced in a certain direction.
There, he saw the Deputy Sect Master Leng Qingqiu, who was ostensibly one of the ’receptionists’, showing a trace of jealousy at his apparent qualification to meet the Penglai Dao Lord directly.
But as Alkaid looked her way, the Void Refinement Realm Deputy Sect Master was frightened enough to quickly look away, not daring to meet Alkaid’s gaze any longer.
At this point, everyone knew how Alkaid had single-handedly suppressed the Yin Moon Sect, and with such fearsome prestige, who would dare disrespect him?
Even Leng Qingqiu, a direct disciple of the Dao Lord and Deputy Sect Master of the Penglai Immortal Sect, lacked the courage to display dissatisfaction in his presence.
At most...
She would grumble behind his back.
A mere jester.
Alkaid chuckled quietly and looked away.
Following Shi Lin, he stepped into a Fourteenth Level array that could only be crafted by a miracle of great strength.
...
Inside the array, the first thing to catch one’s eye was a vast lotus pond that at first glance seemed to have no end in sight.
Countless healthy lotus blossoms filled Alkaid’s view, seemingly spreading across ten or more miles...
In the lotus pond, there were numerous wooden pathways, with people walking through them as if they were in an ocean of lotus flowers.
After a short walk with Shi Lin, a woman with long, flowing hair was seen leaning back in an arbor seat inside a small wooden hut on a small island in the middle of the lotus pond, enjoying the endless lotus flowers.
Shi Lin brought Alkaid to this small wooden hut.
The hut was quite small, less than a hundred square meters, and was completely open-style.
The breeze passed through, causing the many silk screens to billow, creating a...
unique aesthetic.
"Master..."
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Shi Lin respectfully greeted her.
"You’re here."
Penglai Dao Lord glanced at the two, beckoned with her hand, and pointed to a wooden... tiered mat?
"Sit."
Alkaid stepped forward, glanced at the barefooted Penglai Dao Lord leaning against the windowsill, and then at the spotless... tiered mat, and finally...
He removed his shoes before sitting down.
Penglai Dao Lord gave him a smile that wasn’t quite a smile, then began, "This is the memory of my childhood home I cherish the most, especially this lotus pond... Every summer, my mother would take me and my sisters here to escape the heat and play..."
Alkaid was somewhat surprised to hear this.
Penglai Dao Lord had gradually become famous only after entering Heavenly Sea Sword Pavilion.
Before that, she was totally obscure.
However, there was a rumor that she was not from Northern Sea Star by birth, but rather, from an ordinary planet under the jurisdiction of Heavenly Sea Sword Pavilion, where she cultivated to a certain level before ascending like a "flying immortal" aboard the warship of the Heavenly Sea Sword Pavilion to Northern Sea Star.
Later, it seemed the demon race had destroyed that planet...
Well, that’s not the point.
The point is...
Her home actually had a lotus pond that was over ten acres?
How extravagantly wealthy must one be!?
Such a tycoon.
So rich, incredibly rich.
To the side, Shi Lin, like a maid, helped pour tea and water for both Alkaid and Penglai Dao Lord.
"If there was something, you could have sent me a message, coming all this way this time... are you planning something big? And might it catch the Dao Lord’s attention?"
Penglai Dao Lord asked curiously.
"Yes."
After pondering for a moment and considering that Shi Lin seemed to hold a different weight in Penglai Dao Lord’s heart compared to other disciples, Alkaid still answered truthfully, "In the next period, I am going to aggressively purchase some materials for Artifact Refining..."
He paused, "Some, for the refinement of top-tier Dao Artifacts, even Immortal Artifacts."
"Top-tier Dao Artifacts, Immortal Artifacts!?"
Penglai Dao Lord was taken aback, "You can refine Immortal Artifacts now?"
After saying this, she looked at him again, "But you haven’t integrated your Dao."
"I’m merely refining some top-tier Dao Artifacts that can potentially be promoted to Immortal Artifacts in the future, and the higher the quality of the materials, the easier it is to create a top-tier Dao Artifact," Alkaid explained.
"It’s a bit of a waste, though."
Penglai Dao Lord immediately replied.
"But I am confident that in the future, I will surely be able to upgrade these top-tier Dao Artifacts that used Immortal Artifact materials to Immortal Artifacts," Alkaid stated.
Having raised the branch of Artifact Refining to the sixteenth level, he had such confidence.
In fact, if it weren’t for the limitation of his cultivation, he could already attempt to refine Immortal Artifacts by now.
Of course, since he had just reached the sixteenth level, the likelihood of failure in refining was extremely high; at best, he could only rely on piling up Immortal Artifact materials to refine Semi-Immortal Artifacts.
"Alright, but apart from Immortal Artifact materials, even the materials for refining top-tier Dao Artifacts are extremely expensive, and these are strategic materials that almost no one will sell..."
"They won’t sell simply because the price offered isn’t high enough."
Alkaid said, "The secondary materials for top-tier Dao Artifacts are at least 100 million each, primary materials start at 10, and they are comparable to a Dao Artifact. Immortal Artifact materials are a hundred times more expensive than top-tier Dao Artifact materials... But what if I doubled, or even tripled this price? What if I used 200 billion or 300 billion to purchase secondary Immortal Artifact materials?"
"You will become a fat sheep in the eyes of Dao Lords," Penglai Dao Lord said with a smile. "Especially Void Dao Lord, who wouldn’t mind snuffing you out while still in the cradle, given your potential future as a Dao Lord. If you display your wealth like this... Forget Void Dao Lord, even I’m a bit tempted."
She looked at Alkaid, "After all, no matter how exquisite your Artifact Refining Technology is, an Immortal Artifact requires at least one primary and two secondary materials, and more complex ones might need four or five secondary materials. Even if you only doubled the price, the cost of using Immortal Artifact materials to refine a top-tier Dao Artifact would exceed 250 billion, a sum not even many Dao Lords possess."
Alkaid knew that what Penglai Dao Lord said was true.
Despite the fact that Dao Lord candidates often possess one or two Superior Dao Artifacts, making one think Dao Lords take Superior Dao Artifacts lightly,
in reality, everyone on the Dao Lord candidate list is nurtured as a future Dao Lord, and a considerable amount of effort from a Dao Lord is invested in them. Furthermore, since Superior Dao Artifacts aren’t particularly useful to Dao Lords, they’re bestowed to those in the Shattered Void for their use.
For many newly promoted Dao Lords, their entire fortune might be just a few hundred billion at most.
Those with a trillion in wealth are among the top figures among Dao Lords.
Penglai Dao Lord, a newly advanced Dao Lord who could easily give Alkaid over a hundred billion in assets, did so in part because Alkaid helped her refine top-tier Dao Artifacts, which are worth this price.
On the other hand...
Her materials mostly came from the Heavenly Sea Sword Pavilion and the Jade Kirin Demon Saint.
Having plundered two top forces, she was naturally wealthier than the average Dao Lord.
If he were to show that he had a fortune worth hundreds of billions...
Being targeted by Dao Lords as a fat sheep for plundering was certainly no idle threat.
"That’s why I’ve come to seek help from the Dao Lord," Alkaid said with a smile. "I can’t defend a fortune worth hundreds of billions, but the prestige of the Dao Lord is enough to deter all the trivial and petty."
"Oh? Are you suggesting..."
"The outside world already knows that we in the Southern Region have an Artifact Sage, so it’s only reasonable for this Artifact Sage, entrusted by the Dao Lord, to attempt refining a top-tier Dao Artifact and thus be in need of purchasing a large amount of top-tier Dao Artifact and even Immortal Artifact materials, isn’t it?"
