Modern World's Martial Dao Human Immortal

"Xingyuan Realm?"

Alkaid was quite surprised and delighted to hear the name of such a material.

The Xingyuan Realm was indeed the core material for refining the Heavenly Abyss Tower.

He had prepared several Immortal Artifacts as candidates to serve as the carriers for "essence," and among these Immortal Artifacts, the one he favored most was the Heavenly Abyss Tower.

The Heavenly Abyss Tower could absorb and contain all attacks.

Although once it exceeded the limit of what it could absorb and contain, it would lead to the destruction of the Immortal Artifact, in some ways making it resemble a single-use Immortal Artifact.

But...

The fact was, its performance was exceptional.

Before the Heavenly Abyss Tower was destroyed, it was essentially invulnerable.

As for the destruction of the Heavenly Abyss Tower...

It indeed would affect his cultivation.

But he was a powerful Artifact Refiner himself, and if an Immortal Artifact was destroyed, he would simply refine another.

This was akin to an ordinary person with a strong "recovery" ability practicing martial arts; naturally, they would practice a secret technique that placed a great strain on the body but possessed tremendous power, thereby maximizing the advantage of their rapid "recovery."

Now that he had received the "Xingyuan Realm" material from the Taiyi Immortal Sect, refining a simplified Dao Artifact version of the Heavenly Abyss Tower—the Endless Tower—was like fitting the last piece into a puzzle.

The conditions required for his Human Immortal path were, from this point on, largely complete.

"Alkaid Sect Leader, I wish to offer my congratulations to you and the Artifact Sage behind you, in hopes that your wishes are fulfilled, and you succeed in refining a top-tier Dao Artifact, becoming the number one Artifact Refiner of the Northern Sea Star."

Taiyuan True Monarch smiled as he brought out a special, prismatic Crystal Stone.

This prismatic Crystal Stone was a storage treasure, but what it contained inside was not any mundane object, but a star abyss.

Through this Crystal Stone, Alkaid, Zhen Xuanyuan, and the others could clearly see the star abyss sealed within the stone.

"Thank you."

Alkaid accepted the Crystal Stone.

The two sides then exchanged warm pleasantries and dialogue once again.

Alkaid, in his capacity as the Sect Leader of the Heavenly Dao Sect, also signed a mutual defense agreement with Taiyuan True Monarch of Taiyi Immortal Sect.

The agreement stipulated that if either the Taiyi Immortal Sect or the Heavenly Dao Sect was attacked by a third party, the other party would need to send troops to assist.

At present, the Taiyi Immortal Sect naturally seemed to benefit from this agreement.

After all, the Heavenly Dao Sect now had Alkaid and Jing Hong True Monarch, two candidates ranked in the top ten for the Dao Lord's Supplementary List, whereas the Taiyi Immortal Sect also had a Supreme Elder on the Dao Lord's Supplementary List but ranked twenty-sixth, incomparable to the Heavenly Dao Sect in terms of weight and influence.

With the agreement signed, the delegation from the Taiyi Immortal Sect left contentedly.

Alkaid, as Sect Leader, personally saw them off.

Once everyone had departed, Alkaid summoned Qi Sha, Chu Gushan, and the Vein Masters of the Heavenly Vein and Dao Vein chosen by several Supreme Elders from the Supreme Elder Council, instructing them to handle the various affairs of the Sect.

After giving instructions, Alkaid kept Qi Sha back.

"I will be dealing with important matters for some time to come; you will oversee the affairs of the Heavenly Dao Sect," Alkaid said to him. "You are in charge of the War Vein; all the Sect's power at the Supreme Elder level and below the Peak Master level is in your hands. Chu, the Vein Master, is still our person. I imagine the other two Vein Masters will honestly maintain the operation of the Sect..."

Alkaid instructed.

In reality, his words were of little significance, uttered or not.

Jing Hong True Monarch within the Heavenly Dao Sect was utterly supportive of Alkaid becoming the Sect Leader, and the Sect's rebellious elements no longer had any ground to stand on.

Moreover, after he had successively slain the nine Demon Lords of the Yin Moon Sect and the seven Divine Emperors of the Light Divine Race, his prestige on the Northern Sea Star had reached a new peak.

Outsiders even began comparing him with the top three candidates on the Dao Lord's Supplementary List--Tian Xiao True Monarch, Kong Xuan True Monarch, and Martial Saint True Monarch--speculating about who among the four was the strongest.

Such a strong individual, who could single-handedly kill his way through a top Sect...

In the absence of a Dao Lord's return, his deterrence was now on par with any Dao Lord.

In such a scenario, unless those within the Heavenly Dao Sect had decayed brains, no one would dare to sing a different tune from Alkaid.

Saying that the entire Heavenly Dao Sect was under his absolute control wasn't an overstatement.

Despite this, Qi Sha still nodded seriously to Alkaid's instructions: "I understand, I will not disappoint the Sect Leader."

"Hmm."

Alkaid replied with a hum, then immediately added, "Please ask True Monarch Liao Chen to come see me."

"Yes."

Qi Sha bowed and exited.

Soon after, True Monarch Liao Chen, who was a Supreme Elder, arrived at the Magnificent Heaven Hall where Alkaid was located.

"Sect Leader."

Although both were of the Shattered Void, this Supreme Elder showed considerable respect in his salute.

Alkaid recalled the information he had learned about this Supreme Elder recently.

This Supreme Elder had a rather low profile within the Sect, particularly because his interests conflicted with Zong Wenxian's, and he was under pressure.

Originally, he had joined forces with Zhen Xuanyuan and Chi Yun to counter Zong Wenxian, but...

Compared to the more assertive and politically savvy Zhen Xuanyuan and Chi Yun, this Supreme Elder's temperament was obviously "milder."

Thus, he was also more easily manipulated by Zong Wenxian.

Even for dangerous missions like venturing into the Extraterritorial Starry Sky to stop the Divine Race, he had not been able to refuse.

Certainly, his temperament may not be as assertive as the other Supreme Elders, but he is presently the number one Array Master within Heavenly Dao Sect.

Unfortunately...

In the Northern Sea Star, power is revered, all cultivators wholeheartedly cultivate, climbing realms and striving to Integrate Dao. Their efforts in researching formations, alchemy, and Artifact Refining have been less than satisfactory.

Even True Monarch Liao Chen, the top Array Master of Heavenly Dao Sect, has his formation accomplishments at the Twelve Level at best. At most, in some geographically advantageous environments, there's a certain probability that he could lay out a Thirteen Level formation.

"Here they come."

Speaking, Alkaid waved his hand in the air, and the entire phantom image of Heavenly Dao Sect unfolded before him.

In it, numerous interconnected points of light were particularly eye-catching.

After glancing at these points for a moment, True Monarch Liao Chen could vaguely discern, "Is this a formation?"

But as for what kind of formation...

It was beyond his capabilities.

Seeing this, Alkaid did not explain further and started manipulating the image directly. In a short while, he marked out over three hundred points, "I need you to lead the other Array Masters of the Sect to lay out formations in these areas. I've already completed the inscription of the types of formations you need to execute."

True Monarch Liao Chen was momentarily stunned but quickly replied, "Understood."

Laying out the formation according to the inscribed patterns was still within his means.

"The design schemes for the types of formations and the materials for laying them out are all here."

Alkaid handed a storage Dao Artifact to True Monarch Liao Chen, "This is your task for the time being. Complete it as quickly as possible."

True Monarch Liao Chen nodded.

He swept his Divine Sense over the materials inside and was shocked to exclaim, "This is..."

The value of the materials inside the storage Dao Artifact was no less than ten billion!

There were no fewer than four Dao Artifacts alone.

At this moment, he also felt a hint of familiarity from the formation diagram he had just seen, "Sect Leader... Have you invited a top Array Master to repair the Twelve Demon Gods Heaven Sealing Formation?"

"Just complete the task I've set," Alkaid said, without much explanation.

Seeing this, True Monarch Liao Chen confirmed his guess and dared not say more, "I will immediately gather the Sect's Array Masters to complete these tasks as quickly as possible."

"Mhm."

Alkaid responded.

He also took a significant amount of Artifact Refining materials from inside the Heavenly Dao Sect; he didn't take these materials for free and planned to upgrade the Sect Protection Array a notch, to the Fifteenth Level before saying more.

This kind of act for the Heavenly Dao Sect, serving the greater good, was enough to repay the cost of the Artifact Refining materials.

Of course, this was also because he was not confident in the safety of the Mountain Protection Array, as well as his disdain for the Twelve Demon Gods Heaven Sealing Formation.

For such an ancient legacy, it was somewhat pathetic that the Mountain Protection Array was only at the Fourteenth Level...

...

After arranging various affairs within the Heavenly Dao Sect, Alkaid finally arrived at the "Abandoned Heaven Valley" deep within the Sect.

This valley was where the Hongmeng Dao Lord once refined the Great Dao Golden Book.

For countless years, it has been preserved as the place for Artifact Refining of the Heavenly Dao Sect.

Furthermore, from time to time in the history of the Heavenly Dao Sect, a Dao Lord capable of refining Superior Dao Artifacts and even top-tier Dao Artifacts would emerge, so this valley specifically used for Artifact Refining has been retained. The facilities here, including the ley lines they tap into, are significantly superior to those in the Southern Capital.

Therefore, he didn't alter the facilities of the Nine Cauldrons Sect, but he moved the site for refining his Dao Artifacts to this valley.

With the valley's remaining equipment, his success rate in Artifact Refining has increased by at least ten percent, and efficiency by thirty percent, greatly saving on costs and time.

...

Deep within the valley.

Formations set and inscribed by Dao Lords were drawing the Star Core Power from the depths of the ley lines, forming nine furnaces each towering over a hundred meters tall.

The energy in the nine furnaces was then drawn by formations, converging on the central circular casting platform.

And there on this casting platform, three streams of flowing light were continuously circulating.

The Eight Desolates Mirror, the Endless Tower.

And...

The Human Emperor Sword, being specifically refined for Penglai Dao Lord.

Among these three streams of light, each was suffused with the flow of Dao, as though each strand of light could bring forth a Dao Artifact out of nothing.

Thanks to the formations here, even the Dao essences that drifted away remained confined to a specific area.

Among these three streams of Dao essence, the brightest light was not from the Human Emperor Sword he had promised to deliver within sixty years, but from the Endless Tower.

Theoretically, the Eight Desolates Mirror could not only suppress souls and combat curses but also amplify cultivators' insights into the Void and souls, which would be most beneficial for Integrate Dao.

But for Alkaid, as his influence in the Northern Sea Star grew, he distinctly felt his sense of security waning more than before.

Driven by this sense of "insecurity," he decided to prioritize the refining of the Endless Tower, a defensive Dao Artifact to be integrated into his body.

As for the Human Emperor Sword...

"With the superior environment for Artifact Refining in Abandoned Heaven Valley than in the Southern Region, I can take advantage of this place to refine both Dao Artifacts simultaneously. If all goes well, in forty to fifty years, both the Eight Desolates Mirror and the Human Emperor Sword can be shaped. Then, I'll invite Penglai Dao Lord to help, taking another ten to eight years to allow both Dao Artifacts to complete their final metamorphosis..."

Alkaid calculated the progress of refining these three top-tier Dao Artifacts and slightly nodded, "Perfect."