Yuan’s Ascension

Chapter 1025: Completion, Ancestral Pagoda Archon (1)

“Help?” A flicker of confusion passed through Wu Yuan’s eyes.

In terms of power, Overlord Bei Zhen stood unrivaled in the Ling Jiang Universe, having defeated countless other Overlords.

In terms of background, he was not only a successor of the Spacetime Dao Master, but also backed by True Saint Hui Mie. He was truly a formidable figure involved with numerous eternal beings. [1]

What could he possibly require Wu Yuan’s assistance with? Wu Yuan’s strength ranked among the bottom tier of Overlords. Instinctively, a sense of wariness arose in Wu Yuan’s heart.

“Junior Brother Ming Jian, there’s no need for concern,” Overlord Bei Zhen said with a smile, seemingly perceiving Wu Yuan’s thoughts. “I have no designs on your inheritance treasure. Each Dao Master successor can only possess one such artifact – that’s the rule set by the Dao Master himself.”

Wu Yuan nodded slightly.

Indeed, such a rule existed. Moreover, if this samsara cycle of heaven and earth ended and a Dao Master’s successor had not yet broken free from the bonds of samsara, their inheritance treasure would return to the Spacetime Dao Realm upon their demise.

However, neither Overlord Bei Zhen nor Wu Yuan knew that if Wu Yuan’s qi refiner self were to ultimately perish, the Samsara Sword would vanish forever, never to return to the Spacetime Dao Realm.

“I wish to help you because I believe you have great potential to reach the fourth-stage Overlord level in the future,” Overlord Bei Zhen said slowly.

Wu Yuan listened intently.

Potential to become a fourth-stage Overlord?

“When you have sufficient strength and the time is right, I will extend an invitation and explain everything clearly,” Overlord Bei Zhen said with a smile. “At that time, I will also pay an adequate price, and you can decide then whether to accept or not.

“If you ultimately fail to reach the fourth-stage Overlord level, just take it that I never spoke these words today,” Overlord Bei Zhen sighed.

“Alright,” Wu Yuan nodded.

Everyone had their secrets, just as he himself was entangled with the Spacetime Dao Master, True Saint Bu Xiu, Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu, and the mysterious supreme Ancestral Pagoda. These secrets were interconnected, mutually reinforcing his ever-growing power.

To have reached his current level, surpassing numerous Dao Master successors and possessing the potential for eternity, Overlord Bei Zhen certainly had many deep secrets of his own. There was no need to delve deeper into them now. All would be revealed in time.

“Senior Brother Bei Zhen, if there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave,” Wu Yuan said with a smile. “You’re always welcome to visit the Greenridge Macrocosm as my guest.”

“Haha, I’ll certainly come when I have the chance,” Overlord Bei Zhen replied with a grin. “And you’re welcome to visit the Bei Zhen Macrocosm as well, Junior Brother.”

Whether it was Overlord Bei Zhen, Overlord Peng Shi, or Overlord Qing You, even as members of a Saintdom, they each ruled over their own macrocosm. This was the norm.

While a Saintdom’s headquarters should theoretically be impregnable, its core structure was created and controlled by a True Saint, who also held the highest authority. Thus, Overlords instinctively felt a hint of unease if they resided there. Even if they followed a True Saint, super powerhouses trusted themselves above all else. Neither Wu Yuan nor Overlord Bei Zhen were exceptions to this rule.

…

Wu Yuan left a strand of consciousness in the Spacetime Immortal Voidrealm to receive messages from Zi Kong, Sovereign Lan Yan, and others at any time.

In the Greenridge Macrocosm, within the Ming Jian Realm.

The Xuanhuang Cosmiris? Wu Yuan sat upon a jade platform, contemplating silently. According to intelligence from the Taiyuan Divine Court, although it opens not long after the conclusion of the Megaverse Crossroads, the two aren’t related.

The Megaverse Crossroads seemed to be operated by an invisible hand behind the scenes, with intangible, omnipotent rules. No mortal lifeform that reached a certain level could avoid it; participation was mandatory. Wu Yuan had experienced this firsthand.

The Xuanhuang Cosmiris, on the other hand, was no different fundamentally from numerous universe exploration sites. It held many treasures and opportunities, but there were no set rules to speak of. Success depended solely on one’s strength and luck.

Three hundred thousand years? Even now, the Taiyuan Divine Court has no information on it, yet the Spacetime Dao Realm already knows. Its opening was likely divined by the Spacetime Dao Master. Wu Yuan mused. When it comes to divining the future, the Spacetime Dao Master truly stands unparalleled.

Years ago, the Spacetime Dao Master had also divined the opening of the Megaverse Crossroads earlier than True Saint Taiyuan.

I wonder if the Eldritch Court or Immortal Court has divined the timing of its opening. Wu Yuan pondered. Judging by Overlord Peng Shi’s reaction, they likely haven’t. Otherwise, given his power and status, he should have known.

Historically, few cultivators could enter both the Megaverse Crossroads and the Xuanhuang Cosmiris in quick succession, as the interval between the two was far too brief.

Even for Saintcrest Prodigies, after breaking through to become sempiternal lifeforms following the Megaverse Crossroads, achieving late-stage Sovereign strength within a million years would be considered impressive. To possess Overlord-level power? That was the stuff of legends!

Even for someone as powerful as Zhu Shan, his true self likely only possesses eighth or ninth-stage Sovereign strength now. Wu Yuan thought to himself.

Three hundred thousand years indeed passes in the blink of an eye for Overlords and Sovereigns.

But I’ve only cultivated for a hundred thousand years so far. In another three hundred thousand years, who knows how far my strength will have progressed. Wu Yuan felt quite confident.

My qi refiner self has two major advantages. First, my Dao comprehension level is relatively low, leaving much room for improvement. Second, I possess the Samsara Sword.

After brief consideration, Wu Yuan mapped out his path forward.

First, he needed to break through to the seventh-level Dao Field stage in the Great Dao of Spacetime. The leap from the sixth to the seventh level represented a major bottleneck, but once broken through, his strength would increase dramatically.

Then, he would hunt for more treasures, striving for 70% manifestation of the Samsara Sword, reaching the second major threshold of its recovery.

If I can achieve this within three hundred thousand years, then by that time, even if my strength doesn’t fully reach that of a third-stage Overlord, it should be nearly on par. Wu Yuan vaguely estimated.

And if my body refiner self returns… With my two true selves working in tandem, I should be able to contend with third-stage Overlords.

Thinking of his body refiner self, Wu Yuan’s eyes flickered with a hint of concern, tinged with puzzlement. I wonder how my body refiner self is faring. According to the vague sensations I’ve been getting, my body refiner self seems to be growing increasingly powerful.

With that, Wu Yuan’s qi refiner self pushed aside these thoughts and focused on cultivation, aiming to break through to the seventh-level Dao Field stage of the Great Dao of Spacetime in one push.

…

Time flowed like water.

The turmoil in the Ling Jiang Universe gradually subsided, and Ming Jian’s Overlord advancement celebration concluded, fading from the attention of various powerhouses.

In the distant Long Shan Universe, the inter-Saintdom war between the Eldritch Court and the Immortal Court had already lasted over ten thousand years, reaching its most brutal stage.

Both sides plunged into a frenzied slaughter, with countless Sovereign mana bodies and ether bodies falling in battle. Among the casualties were many top-tier powerhouses at the eighth and ninth-stage Sovereign level.

Unless one possessed the strength of an Overlord, even the most formidable eighth or ninth-stage Sovereigns could be overwhelmed and slain when surrounded by large numbers of their peers. Even without forming coordinated battle formations, the combined might of so many Sovereigns was no trivial force—it was enough to deliver fatal blows to even the strongest among them.

Throughout the Long Shan Universe, Saintdoms from all factions silently observed this war.

The Immortal Court and Eldritch Court both refused to back down. After reporting to the eternal beings, the Overlords of both factions continued to dispatch more Sovereigns to join the battle.

Both sides exerted their utmost effort, each hoping to claim victory.

…

Within a solemn and majestic temple in the Eldritch Court’s Long Shan Saintdom headquarters.

“The number of fallen Sovereign mana and ether bodies has exceeded thirteen thousand,” Overlord Huan Jin, a violet-robed beauty, said softly. “The number of Sovereigns participating in the war has surpassed fifty thousand.”

“Mm, I’m aware,” Overlord Ming Zhun, who appeared as an elderly man in cerulean robes, nodded. “The Immortal Court’s side has also suffered over ten thousand casualties.”

“But they have more Sovereigns, and their losses are somewhat fewer. The Immortal Court’s overall advantage is growing increasingly pronounced,” Overlord Huan Jin sighed. “According to my divinations, unless we deploy our late-stage Sovereign legions, the probability of us losing this inter-Saintdom war is very high.”

As an Overlord of Spacetime, Overlord Huan Jin’s divination abilities were exceptionally powerful, second only to Overlords of Destiny.

Moreover, for large-scale inter-Saintdom wars like this, Overlords from both sides and the eternal beings behind them would expend time and energy on divination.

Barring any special circumstances or unexpected reinforcements, it essentially came down to a contest of foundational strength – whichever side had more powerhouses and was willing to invest more resources stood a higher chance of victory.

After ten thousand years of slaughter, the situation had become quite clear. Not only the highest echelons of the Eldritch Court’s Long Shan Saintdom, but the upper ranks of various Saintdoms throughout the Long Shan Universe were all certain: as long as there were no unforeseen incidents, the probability of the Immortal Court winning this inter-Saintdom war now exceeded 80%.

“Late-stage Sovereign legions?” Overlord Ming Zhun hesitated. “How much longer can we hold out?”

Overlord Ming Zhun was reluctant to deploy the late-stage Sovereign legions. While the current number of fallen Sovereign mana/ether bodies seemed shocking, that was a death count accumulated over ten thousand years, and most were early and mid-stage Sovereigns. Very few late-stage Sovereign powerhouses had lost their mana/ether bodies.

But once late-stage Sovereign legions were deployed, the situation would change dramatically. The Immortal Court would certainly respond by deploying corresponding legions.

If they won, all would be well. But if they lost, the annihilation of even a single legion would be tantamount to losing a crucial fighting force for the next million years.

A late-stage Sovereign legion, unleashing its full might without restrictions, could rival a third-stage Overlord in power. Such massive losses would likely provoke the Immortal Court to escalate the war to an even larger scale.

“Six thousand years,” Overlord Huan Jin said after brief consideration. “For the next six thousand years, we can still maintain a casualty ratio close to one-to-one between our forces.

“But beyond that, our losses will grow increasingly severe. The disparity in overall strength between us and the Immortal Court will widen, and the rate of attrition will become truly frightening.”

Overlord Ming Zhun nodded slightly.

In mortal warfare, the heaviest casualties often didn’t occur during the decisive battles that determined victory or defeat. More often, they came during the great rout after the outcome had already been decided. The same held true for inter-Saintdom warfare.

“If we withdraw from the Creation Dao Realm now, our losses would still be manageable,” Overlord Huan Jin said softly. “If we delay for several thousand more years, I fear the Immortal Court, seeing victory assured, will proactively deploy their late-stage Sovereign legions.”

Overlord Ming Zhun’s eyes flickered. He asked in a low voice, “In the Ling Jiang Universe, our Eldritch Court has already ignited large-scale warfare, correct?”

“Yes,” Overlord Huan Jin nodded. “That legendary genius from the Taiyuan Divine Court, Overlord Ming Jian, annihilated five of the Immortal Court’s legions, severely weakening the peak combat power of the Immortal Court’s Ling Jiang Saintdom. Naturally, our Eldritch Court would seize such an opportunity.”

They had fully deployed their armies, invading the headquarters of more than ten macrocosms under the Immortal Court’s domain. Many Overlords of the Immortal Court had appeared, barely managing to hold their ground.

Overlord Huan Jin already understood Overlord Ming Zhun’s thoughts – they could not dispatch the late-stage Sovereign legions. If they were defeated, the situation would spiral out of control.

1. Hui Mie = Desolation, as in Desolation Divine Court ☜

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