YUAN’S ASCENSION

As time flowed on, Wu Yuan increasingly marveled at the guidance he was receiving on the path of Laws. It was profound and remarkably effective.

It was like drawing a circle – the larger the circle, the more it encompassed. The broader and deeper his comprehension, the more he found himself touching upon ever more unknowns.

His qi refiner self’s proficiency in the Great Dao of Spacetime was rapidly approaching the third-level Dao Field stage. This rate of progress was terrifying.

Take Zhu Shan for example. When he advanced his comprehension of the Great Dao of Five Elements to the Dao Field stage after over 30,000 years of cultivation, he was already considered a heaven-defying genius, ranking fourth in the entire history of the Eldritch Court in talent.

In the nearly 200,000 years since, Zhu Shan had numerous great opportunities, his providence flourished, and he even had the guidance of an Eldritch Progenitor. He successively comprehended three Greater Laws, but in terms of the Great Dao of Five Elements, he had only managed to reach the limit of the third-level Dao Field stage.

In the end, it was only by relying on the special environment of the Megaverse Crossroads that he finally broke through the bottleneck and entered the fourth-level Dao Field stage.

As for Wu Yuan’s qi refiner self? His cultivation progress had originally been similar to Zhu Shan’s. But now, in terms of comprehension, he was already approaching Zhu Shan’s level after just over 100,000 years of cultivation, far surpassing his peers at the same age.

Of course, while Wu Yuan’s two true selves were advancing rapidly, peerless geniuses like Zhu Shan, Lie Jin, Jiu Yan, Li Guang, You Feng and others were also constantly progressing.

Being able to break into the top ten of the Megaverse Crossroads meant they were destined to shine the brightest, surpassing other Supreme Geniuses in a short time.

Even in the future, the only bottleneck that might stop them was the step between the late-stage Sovereign level and the Overlord level.

…

Within the realm Wu Yuan’s body refiner self currently resided in.

Hum~ Mysterious fluctuations rippled out, as Primordial Stars burning with purple flames appeared, seeming both real and illusory.

Wu Yuan’s body refiner self stood in the void as various lifeforms began to appear. Some resembled True Dragons, some were like phoenixes, some were like Xuanwu, some were similar to white tigers, and there were all sorts of rare and strange beasts… [1] Each lifeform looked realistic, with vast and mighty auras, but each would rapidly dissipate after coming into being.

The so-called path of matter was to take all things and beings in heaven and earth and constantly recombine their components in infinite possible ways while deducing the profundities within, all to explore their strongest potential.

Rumble~ Most of the time, Wu Yuan’s attempts to recombine life would fail, or rather, result in life with obvious flaws. However, occasional successes would allow him to make progress on the Primal Force Diagrams. The Primal Force Diagrams were a guide, representing the most perfect combinations of matter.

Life! Recombination! Matter, Creation, the Primal Force Diagrams, each diagram more profound than the last – this is truly the path I seek to follow. Wu Yuan’s body refiner self was completely immersed.

Soon, these ten peerless geniuses had spent more than 700 years contemplating in these mysterious realms. More than half of the entire trial had gone by.

Wu Yuan’s body refiner self stood in the void, his vital aura rapidly changing and even metamorphosing.

Sixth Tribulation High Eldritch, first-stage Archimmortal, third-stage Archimmortal, sixth-stage Archimmortal… Wu Yuan’s vital aura was soaring at an astonishing rate.

A single thought, sempiternal life. Wu Yuan muttered, a hint of shock in his heart.

The progression of his physical form had previously been driven by his Apotheosis root, and had reached the limit of mortal life.

But now, by reconstructing himself through the path of matter, his physical body’s aura could grow stronger even without employing supreme burst secret arts, swiftly approaching the Astral Monarch level.

He grew more and more terrifying. It was as if a High Deity, after passing the Ninth Immortal Tribulation, was rapidly becoming an Archdeity or even a body refiner Astral Monarch.

Finally, Wu Yuan’s vital aura surpassed the Archeldritch level and crossed into the Astral Monarch level, comparable to the base-level Astral Monarch ether.

The so-called base-level Astral Monarch mana was equivalent to the mana power of an Astral Monarch with a second-degree immortal root. It seemed to be on par with when his body refiner self previously went all out using supreme burst secret arts.

But supreme burst secret arts could not be sustained for long, while Wu Yuan was currently purely recombining his body through the path of matter.

In a sense, he had already transformed from a mortal lifeform into a sempiternal lifeform, albeit an alternative kind of sempiternal life.

Soon, his vital aura completely stabilized.

Comprehending five hundred Primal Force Diagrams has finally allowed my body to metamorphose. A smile appeared on Wu Yuan’s face. Now, without using any killing moves, relying solely on physical strength, I can unleash Astral Monarch-level combat power.

This was a special aspect of the path of matter. The benefits of cultivating both eternal paths were beginning to reveal themselves.

As of now, under heaven and earth’s rules, I am still a mortal lifeform, for I have not fused with a Dao’s essence. Wu Yuan mused to himself. I have not completed the Ninth Immortal Tribulation, nor have I forged a deity body using the Dao essence.

These were all necessary steps on the path of Laws. But on the path of matter, all such cultivation requirements did not apply.

Wu Yuan’s current body refiner self was now genuinely a sempiternal lifeform, equivalent to an Astral Monarch powerhouse. However, he was an Astral Monarch not recognized by the Dao essence.

What has metamorphosed is the physical body; the primal force of matter cannot invoke Laws. Wu Yuan thought to himself. In terms of physical constitution, I now far surpass body refiner Astral Monarchs.

Qi refiner Astral Monarchs relied purely on mana, with negligible physical strength. On the other hand, body refiner Astral Monarchs unleashed their power through a combination of ether, Law-based secret arts, and ultimate moves to achieve such heaven-defying combat strength. If they relied purely on their body’s physical strength, their power would be much weaker.

But Wu Yuan’s physical body, reconstructed through the path of matter, had pure physical strength matching an Astral Monarch. Of course, he could only be considered an early-stage Astral Monarch for now.

However, if Wu Yuan employed both the Primordial Technique and the path of Laws simultaneously when he fought, his power would be even stronger.

In a sense, is the body refiner lineage a combination of the path of Laws and the path of matter, though leaning more towards the path of Laws? Wu Yuan had an epiphany.

This was something he had just figured out. The qi refiner lineage, on the other hand, was truly the pure path of Laws in the strictest sense.

The Primordial Technique is just the foundation. Harnessing the Primordial Technique to evolve in the order of life, evolving step by step towards eternal life – that is the ultimate goal. Wu Yuan saw the path ahead clearly, his heart filled with yearning.

However, I still haven’t reached the requirements for a second-grade Saintcrest? Wu Yuan looked up at the floating Primordial Stars burning with purple flames.

He had thought there would be some sort of reward after breaking through and metamorphosing.

It seems the requirements for a second-grade Saintcrest are extremely high. Wu Yuan thought to himself.

He had no choice; he didn’t know the Saintcrest requirements, so he could only keep striving to strengthen himself.

Settling his mind once more, Wu Yuan continued to contemplate.

The years passed.

Gradually, Wu Yuan was shocked to discover something: after crossing the small bottleneck of five hundred Primal Force Diagrams, he unexpectedly didn’t encounter any major difficulties. The longer and more deeply he comprehended the Primordial Doctrine, the more he felt a sense of familiarity.

It seemed as if he had encountered similar profundities before, allowing his rate of progress to accelerate.

Indeed! Logically, after comprehending the Primordial Doctrine to the Primal Force Diagram level, it should get increasingly difficult to make progress. But Wu Yuan’s cultivation only sped up, to the point where he was rapidly approaching the Sovereign level on the path of matter.

He delved into one Primal Force Diagram after another.

What exactly is the reason? Wu Yuan was puzzled, but also threw himself fully into comprehension. Whatever the reason, this was an opportunity that had to be seized.

In less than a hundred years, on the 800th year of the trial, Wu Yuan broke through another small bottleneck.

The 800th Primal Force Diagram.

This was an unimaginable rate of progress. It had taken him 700 years to comprehend fewer than 500 Primal Force Diagrams before, but in just a hundred years after that, he had successively comprehended 300 more, each one far more difficult. Even accounting for the cultivation guidance here, it still felt inconceivable.

“The requirements for a second-grade Saintcrest on the path of matter have been met.” Suddenly, a mysterious fluctuation entered Wu Yuan’s mind.

Wu Yuan’s body refiner self was surprised for a moment, but quickly regained composure. He had finally reached it. A second-grade Saintcrest.

At last, I’ve reached second-grade. Wu Yuan sighed emotionally. The difficulty level was seriously too high.

If not for his continuous breakthroughs over the past hundred years, which seemed almost divinely aided, based on his previous rate of progress, he likely wouldn’t have been able to reach the requirements for a second-grade Saintcrest even by the thousand-year time limit.

Never mind. Let’s try to metamorphose the body once more. Wu Yuan gently closed his eyes, his thoughts stirring.

Boom! The physical body of Wu Yuan’s body refiner self began to undergo matter recombination once more, as vast quantities of vital ether surged out from his internal shambhala to serve as nourishment for the metamorphosis.

Only the physical body was metamorphosing. Aspects like the internal shambhala and vital ether had already reached the limit of mortal life and could not metamorphose. Wu Yuan’s body refiner self would need to break through on the path of Laws and overcome further Immortal Tribulations to advance these aspects.

Soon after, Wu Yuan’s body reconstruction was essentially complete, and his vital aura began to surge once more before stabilizing after a moment.

The power of my physical constitution, when unleashed, should rival the mana of a first-level Astral Monarch. Wu Yuan mused inwardly.

With such formidable physical might, Wu Yuan believed that even without channeling a strand of Law fluctuations, a single punch with his pure physical strength could grievously wound or even outright slay an unprepared first-stage Astral Monarch. This was truly terrifying.

One had to understand that the pure physical strength of quasi-Sovereigns who specialized in body cultivation couldn’t match the full power of an Astral Monarch.

In terms of raw physical power, few if any Astral Monarchs across the vast megaverse could likely match Wu Yuan now.

However, Wu Yuan remained unsatisfied. He understood clearly that the countless Astral Monarchs on the path of Laws didn’t focus much on physical constitution, instead relying on the combination of multiple techniques and abilities.

At present, he was still only at the early stages of the Primal Force Diagrams, with strength comparable to an early-stage Astral Monarch powerhouse.

If he cultivated step by step according to the Primal Force Diagrams, ultimately comprehending all five thousand Primal Force Diagrams, a single punch from his reconstructed body would carry explosive power rivaling that of a Sovereign in burst-state!!

…

Primal Force Diagrams. Wu Yuan continued to comprehend diagram after diagram. The later diagrams grew increasingly complex, containing ever more unfathomable profundities.

This caused Wu Yuan’s previously meteoric progress to slow slightly. However, this “slowing” was only relative to his own standards. In reality, his speed remained incredibly swift.

In just a few more decades, Wu Yuan had silently broken through the bottleneck of one thousand Primal Force Diagrams.

One thousand diagrams. A glimmer of joy flashed in Wu Yuan’s eyes. This was a significant breakthrough, enough to boost his strength by another large margin.

But, just as he fully comprehended this and swiftly reconstructed his body, completing the transformation…

Boom! In the upper dantian lobe of Wu Yuan’s body refiner self, the black pagoda that had been dormant for so long, surrounded by copious blood mist, suddenly began to tremble violently before erupting with boundless radiance. The red light blazed brilliantly, dazzling beyond measure.

Hmm? Just as Wu Yuan became aware of this abnormality, the twelve Yuan Souls of his body refiner self were already enveloped by the red light, and waves of mysterious fluctuations immediately surged into the Yuan Souls.

It was bizarre and unexpected! From the moment it erupted to the complete envelopment of his Yuan Souls, there was no time for Wu Yuan to react.

Meanwhile, his qi refiner self continued to comprehend the Spacetime Dao, with the black pagoda in its upper dantian lobe showing no abnormalities. Only the black pagoda of his body refiner self was undergoing this strange transformation.

What’s this? Wu Yuan was momentarily stunned, then felt a vast and majestic wave of fluctuations wash over him. These fluctuations contained immense amounts of information.

Boom! Countless insights suddenly flooded Wu Yuan’s mind. Instantly, the previously abstruse and profound Primal Force Diagrams before him grew clear. It was as if something had infused a wealth of profundities about the Primordial Diagrams directly into his consciousness.

One thousand one hundred diagrams…One thousand one hundred and fifty diagrams…One thousand two hundred Primal Force Diagrams… Wu Yuan’s body refiner self’s comprehension of the Primal Force Diagrams skyrocketed at an astonishing rate. It was as easy and natural as drinking water.

A formless wave suddenly washed over him, and simultaneously, a beam of light burst forth from the void, shining directly on him.

“The requirements for a first-grade Saintcrest on the path of matter have been met. Congratulations on claiming a Saintcrest!” A gentle voice resonated.

“You are the first first-grade Saintcrest Prodigy on the path of matter in this samsara cycle of heaven and earth. There are still over a hundred years left. Continue your comprehension.”

Evidently, having claimed a first-grade Saintcrest, the treatment he received was now different.

First-grade Saintcrest. The anomaly of the black pagoda propelled Wu Yuan’s comprehension of the Primal Force Diagrams to an inconceivable level, meeting the requirements for a first-grade Saintcrest.

The first in this samsara cycle of heaven and earth? Wu Yuan pondered inwardly, then immediately calmed his mind to continue his contemplation.

Boom! Vast insights continuously poured into his mind, allowing Wu Yuan to break through ceaselessly. In fact, Wu Yuan already understood the fundamental reason for the black pagoda’s anomaly—it wasn’t a bestowal, not a gift, not a fortuitous encounter.

I am merely recalling some of the Primordial insights that were previously blocked by the power of heaven and earth. Wu Yuan thought to himself.

The memories once lost were being rapidly recovered.

…

For over eight hundred years, the other nine peerless geniuses had been focusing all their efforts on comprehension. They cultivated with a voracious hunger, unwilling to waste even the slightest moment of time. With only a thousand years available, every second was precious.

Suddenly, an intangible wave simultaneously swept through the mysterious areas where the other nine peerless geniuses were located. All received a transmission at the same time.

“What?”

“A Saintcrest Prodigy has already been determined?”

“Saintcrest Prodigy?” Jiu Yan, Qin Yuan, Li Guang, and the other peerless geniuses were stunned as they received the notification.

Although they had made great progress, they hadn’t even met the requirements for a third-grade Saintcrest, and thus were unaware that Saintcrests were divided into different grades. They merely thought that someone had met the requirements for a Saintcrest.

“Who is it?”

“Wu Yuan? Or Zhu Shan?” These peerless geniuses felt puzzled and quietly speculated before returning their focus to their comprehension.

There was only one exception.

First-grade Saintcrest? Zhu Shan stood in the void, his eyes blazing with fearsome light. Wu Yuan? Or someone else?

He had only just reached the requirements for a second-grade Saintcrest.

1. Xuanwu are a Chinese mythological creature that is often depicted as a turtle and snake. ☜

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