Yuan’s Ascension

For the current Wu Yuan, fully comprehending the Law of Myriad Rainbows hardly improved his already formidable strength.

After all, his qi refiner self had already reached the seventh-level True Intent stage Great Dao of Spacetime.

And over these past years, his body refiner self had reached the eighth-level True Intent stage of the Great Dao of Creation.

Mastering a single Intermediate Law? The impact was negligible.

Yet, this realization did little to quell the awe Wu Yuan felt. Progressing along the path of a Great Dao did not diminish the difficulty of the bottlenecks one faced when attempting to fully comprehend an Intermediate Law.

Forget mastering an Intermediate Law; even if Wu Yuan sought to fully comprehend a Lesser Law, he would encounter countless obstacles, requiring a significant investment of time.

These past six hundred years, Wu Yuan's progress in the Law of Myriad Rainbows had been nothing short of explosive. It defied all reason.

One had to understand that both his qi refiner self and body refiner self possessed a decidedly average aptitude for the Law of Thunder.

Moreover, it was primarily my qi refiner self engaged in this pursuit. Wu Yuan mused silently. My qi refiner self is influenced by the Great Dao of Spacetime. My speed of comprehending other Laws is naturally slower.

He closed his eyes, his mind drifting back six hundred years.

After annihilating that fragment of True Saint Lei Xing's remnant consciousness, countless motes of violet light had merged with his soul.

These centuries of contemplating the Law of Thunder couldn't truly be described as perception or deduction. A more accurate description would be—divine revelation!

It was as if an invisible power was rapidly driving my assimilation of the Law’s profundities. Wu Yuan shook his head slightly.

Could it be that upon assimilating ownerless Dao patterns from a supreme being’s imprint, one gains access to that portion of cultivation insights?

This was a bold hypothesis Wu Yuan had formulated, based on his personal experiences and the breadth of his knowledge.

Bold as it may be, it aligned perfectly with Wu Yuan's circumstances. Otherwise, there was no explaining how he had fully grasped the Law of Myriad Rainbows in a mere few hundred years. No amount of external cultivation aids could have accomplished such a feat.

In truth, Wu Yuan's conjecture wasn't far from the mark.

If a supreme being were willing, they could easily create a Sovereign-level existence using their own vital aura imprint after their demise. However, living supreme beings rarely chose to do so.

Haiyue likely finds herself in a similar predicament. In fact, her situation is probably far more serious than mine. Wu Yuan silently recalled what he had witnessed, extrapolating from there.

He was beginning to understand why Sovereign Lan Yan had once stated that Zhuo Haiyue might rapidly become a Sovereign in mere tens of thousands of years.

If one is able to gather and fuse with more of True Saint Lei Xing’s aura imprints, it’s only natural that their growth will be exponential. Wu Yuan pondered. Tens of thousands of years? If one were willing to pay any price, it might be possible to 'infuse' a complete Greater Law in just a few thousand years.

Yet, as always, the world rarely offered free lunches.

To gain, one must inevitably give.

The normal path of cultivation involved perceiving the profundities of heaven and earth, enduring countless perils, and only then reaping the rewards.

Though fraught with hardship, this path built a solid foundation, step by arduous step. A meteoric rise left one without a base of support, making a fall all too likely.

Judging by Haiyue's words, the price she paid is likely her entire existence. True Saint Lei Xing has probably already begun to exert control over her. Wu Yuan's brow furrowed slightly. She must have received the True Saint's imprint quite early on... Can she break free?

Based on the words of that Thunder Spirit he'd encountered earlier, combined with Wu Yuan's deductions, there was a high probability that True Saint Lei Xing had already perished.

However, having witnessed the abilities of True Saint Bu Xiu and the Spacetime Dao Master, and especially after personally encountering the remnant consciousness of True Saint Lei Xing, Wu Yuan grew increasingly aware of the terrifying nature of supreme beings.

Even in death, the techniques they left behind could likely annihilate a Sovereign with ease. The reason for this conjecture was simple: Sovereign Lan Yan dared not interfere.

If the threat didn't extend to Sovereigns, Sovereign Lan Yan wouldn't need to be this wary with the Spacetime Dao Master backing her. Wu Yuan silently reasoned.

After careful consideration, he naturally felt the weight of pressure bearing down upon him.

The exhilaration he'd felt when destroying the True Saint's remnant consciousness was now matched by an equal measure of anxiety. It could be said that both parties had now become entangled in great karma.

If this True Saint Lei Xing possesses the ability for revenge, or even truly revives in the future, he’ll most certainly come after me. Wu Yuan muttered to himself. Desecration of a True Saint?

Yet, despite this karmic entanglement with a supreme being, Wu Yuan didn't blame Zhuo Haiyue for his predicament.

Firstly, when she had visited him, she had already provided subtle warnings. But she was deeply ensnared, unable to speak freely about many things. Those warnings were likely the extent of what she could manage.

It’s just like how I cannot speak openly about what happened within the Immutable Land. Wu Yuan shook his head. The methods of supreme beings are unfathomable.

Secondly, he had willingly agreed to assist.

A lifetime of struggle, with death looming at every turn. Among those she knew and could marginally trust, perhaps I was the only one with the possibility of helping her. Wu Yuan murmured to himself.

Wu Yuan had agreed after careful consideration, unwilling to see Zhuo Haiyue truly walk down a path of no return.

I don't have many true friends. Haiyue, I suppose, counts as one. Wu Yuan's mind was calm.

Another reason was that he saw a reflection of himself in Zhuo Haiyue.

Zhuo Haiyue was embroiled with a supreme being, while he was entangled with the Ancestral Pagoda. Their fates bore striking similarities.

Both of them were merely struggling against the currents of destiny, trying to grasp a sliver of hope for survival.

The most crucial reason was that the immense danger Wu Yuan had ultimately faced wasn't due to the inheritance within the Thunderforce Bead, but rather the directive of the black pagoda, compelling him to forcibly eradicate True Saint Lei Xing's imprint.

Otherwise, that initial soul attack alone could have been easily withstood by any Astral Monarch-level powerhouse.

The black pagoda was the source of this calamity. Wu Yuan sensed the black pagoda within his upper dantian lobe, where it stood motionless as ever.

Over the past ten thousand years, Wu Yuan had made numerous attempts to trigger a reaction. Even with his greatly increased strength, he still couldn't make it budge, let alone open its gates.

The black pagoda seemed to react only under certain special circumstances.

Why did it want me to destroy True Saint Lei Xing's remnant consciousness? What does the black pagoda gain from this? Wu Yuan pondered, unable to fathom an answer.

He only sensed that the black pagoda's actions weren't purely for his benefit, but rather served its own purpose. It was just that he was currently too weak to perceive its true intentions.

Regardless, fully comprehending the Law of Myriad Rainbows means my body refiner self is able to become an Astral Monarch at any time. Wu Yuan mused.

Over ten thousand years had passed, and both his qi refiner self and body refiner self had weathered six Immortal Tribulations.

The next steps would be the Seventh and Eighth Immortal Tribulations.

Overcoming these two Immortal Tribulations, even without choosing to forge an immortal body or deity body, would still result in another transformation and increase in mana.

However, one still belonged to the broader category of mortal life after completing the Sixth Immortal Tribulation. The workings of heaven and earth wouldn't exert too much pressure, allowing one to live up to a million years before facing the Seventh Immortal Tribulation.

But once one chose to face the Seventh Immortal Tribulation, it truly marked the first step towards breaking free from destiny and achieving longevity.

If one chose not to forge an immortal body, then under the workings of heaven and earth, the Eighth Immortal Tribulation would descend 180,000 years later at most, followed by the Ninth Immortal Tribulation after another 180,000 years.

If I were to face the Seventh Immortal Tribulation now, I would have at most 360,000 years before I must face the Ninth Immortal Tribulation. Wu Yuan contemplated. When facing the Ninth Immortal Tribulation, regardless of one's level of comprehension, once successful, one must forge an immortal body or deity body.

This was an ironclad rule of the workings of heaven and earth, unbroken since ancient times.

Therefore, most monstrous prodigies wouldn't attempt the Seventh Immortal Tribulation before reaching 640,000 years of age.

Take for example High Deity Nie Zhen, High Deity Mi Yun, Senior Brother Jiang Huan, and others. Even if they had the strength to face the Eighth or Ninth Immortal Tribulations, they would continue to remain at the Sixth Immortal Tribulation stage, remaining as High Immortals and High Deities.

As for Sword Immortal Dong Yang, he had sufficient strength and was nearing the end of his natural lifespan, naturally becoming an Eighth Tribulation High Immortal.

A normal Eighth Tribulation High Immortal's mana could rival that of a third-stage Archimmortal.

When I reach over 600,000 years of age, I can face the Seventh Immortal Tribulation. By that time, I can gradually strengthen my body refiner self's physical form with the Law of Myriad Rainbows. Wu Yuan smiled, feeling somewhat dazed.

600,000 years was an immense span of time. As of now, he had lived merely 12,000 years.

If his qi refiner self aimed to become a supreme being through the Great Dao of Spacetime in the future, he would have to use either Time or Space as the foundation to merge with the Dao essence and forge an immortal body.

Similarly, his body refiner self, comprehending the Law of Creation, could only use the various Laws encompassed within the two Greater Laws of Life and Death as a foundation to become an Astral Monarch or even a Sovereign.

If he hadn't fully grasped the Law of Myriad Rainbows today, in the future, Wu Yuan's body refiner self would similarly have needed to choose an Intermediate Law to fully comprehend first.

Otherwise, if he delayed till the end of his million-year lifespan limit without truly grasping a Law, ultimately unable to forge an immortal body or deity body, that would truly be a waste.

The greatest impact is that fully comprehending a Law will still influence my comprehension of other Intermediate and Greater Laws due to Dao Assimilation.

Wu Yuan remained relatively calm.

He knew it wouldn't affect his comprehension of the Great Daos. The Great Daos transcended heaven and earth, truly eternal. Only they could influence other Laws; no other Law could influence the Great Daos.

My current difficulty in comprehending the Great Dao doesn't lie in understanding the Law of Life or the Law of Death. Wu Yuan pondered. The true challenge lies in fusion. The merging of Greater Laws is the real, painstakingly slow process.

Even his comprehension of the Law of Death, which he cultivated at a slower pace, had already reached the ninth-level True Intent stage, only stalling before the Dao Field stage.

In another few hundred years, by the next mission cycle, I will accumulate 40,000 spacetime points. Then I can attempt to become a Legacy Imprint bearer and receive the Dao Master's inheritance. Wu Yuan suddenly received a message from the Spacetime Immortal Voidrealm.

His mana body had completed a spacetime mission.

Over the last ten thousand years, his qi refiner self had never left the Spacetime Island, while his mana body had been actively taking missions throughout the Dao Realm, barely resting.

Since fully comprehending the Law of Myriad Rainbows, the power I can harness from the Thunderforce Bead has indeed increased significantly. Wu Yuan turned his palm, and the Thunderforce Bead materialized within it.

However, Thunderforce Bead would need to be wielded by my body refiner self to truly unleash its power.

According to Wu Yuan's perception and deductions, if he were to activate the Thunderforce Bead using the Law of Death, its power would likely be even greater.

His qi refiner self, after all, excelled in Spacetime.

For now, I must resist the temptation. Wu Yuan shook his head slightly. The Thunderforce Bead was implicated in too many complications.

If it was found to be possessed by his body refiner self, it could potentially expose the connection between his true selves.