Chapter 1020: Revered By All Quarters (1)

The Greenridge Macrocosm was split in two, with both the Desolation Divine Court and the Eight Mountains Alliance emerging as losers. However, these losses were anticipated by the two major factions, so they weren't particularly surprised. After all, when an Overlord emerged, they were destined to unify the macrocosm.

The faction who truly took the heaviest losses in this upheaval of the Greenridge Macrocosm was the Immortal Court, not just in lost territory, but also in treasures and face.

However, faced with Wu Yuan who had now revealed Overlord-level strength, even the highest echelons of the Immortal Court, no matter how furious, could only swallow their anger for the time being.

This massive upheaval, triggered by the ore vein and ultimately ignited by Wu Yuan's qi refiner self achieving Overlord strength, finally began to settle.

The name of Overlord Ming Jian spread far and wide.

...

Though he had become an Overlord, Wu Yuan's qi refiner self had no immediate responsibilities. Thus, he continued to reside in the Greenridge Macrocosm, spending most of his time in seclusion within the Ming Jian Realm.

In cultivation, time loses all meaning.

In the blink of an eye, nearly a thousand years had passed since the battle at the Greenridge Continent.

...

My comprehension Great Dao of Spacetime has actually sped up significantly?

Wu Yuan's qi refiner self was utterly shocked.

What exactly is my body refiner self experiencing?

It had been nearly twelve thousand years since his two true selves lost contact. This was no short span of time.

Wu Yuan's qi refiner self continued to break through and progress, growing ever more powerful. The Samsara Sword, for instance, had long since fully absorbed those Spacetime-type high-grade Dao Instrument flying swords, and was nearly sixty percent manifested.

But what Wu Yuan prioritized most was still comprehension of the Great Dao of Spacetime. Logically, after reaching the fifth-level Dao Field stage or sixth-level Dao Field stage, one’s comprehension of a Great Dao should slow greatly.

One would encounter numerous difficulties and bottlenecks, all requiring great lengths of time and various fortuitous encounters and epiphanies to have any hope of a breakthrough.

But for Wu Yuan's qi refiner self, these difficulties seemed non-existent, as one perplexing obstacle after another was shattered.

It must be my body refiner self. Though our consciousnesses are now separated, we are ultimately one. Without realizing it, it has influenced my qi refiner self.

Wu Yuan mused inwardly.

In another one thousand years, I'll be able to reach the limit of the sixth-level Dao Field stage of Spacetime.

Such cultivation speed was terrifyingly rapid.

Wu Yuan felt both joy and a hint of worry. If even his qi refiner self, separated by endless spacetime, was experiencing such great changes, what exactly was the body refiner self, right in the midst of it all, undergoing? Was it related to the Ancestral Pagoda?

When each imprint of the two divine objects was fully taken over by a true self, his qi refiner self obtained the complete Samsara Sword imprint. Then, according to Wu Yuan's qi refiner self's deductions, his body refiner self should have obtained the complete black pagoda imprint.

That was a place where the Creation Dao Master had carved out his domain, fraught with unfathomable dangers. There was a risk of perishing.

I hope my body refiner self will make it out alive.

Wu Yuan's qi refiner self shook his head gently.

His qi refiner self had no immediate plans to venture to the Long Shan Universe. Matter Sovereigns like his body refiner self were unaffected in any macrocosm. But if his qi refiner self went to a foreign universe, he could at most exert fifty percent of his full strength, perhaps only reaching the ninth-stage Sovereign level at full power.

Wu Yuan's qi refiner self continued cultivating in seclusion.

...

At last, the day of the Ming Jian’s Overlord advancement celebration arrived. Tens of thousands of Sovereigns from across the Taiyuan Divine Court’s headquarters attended, either sending their true selves or mana/ether bodies.

This was an unprecedentedly grand occasion. Various Saintdoms from across the Ling Jiang Universe had Overlord mana bodies or ether bodies leading delegations, personally coming to the Taiyuan True Realm to offer congratulations.

Such was the world of cultivators - with great strength naturally came different treatment.

Ming Jian had achieved Overlord status in less than a hundred thousand years, astounding not just the divine court headquarters, but the upper echelons of countless Saintdoms across the megaverse. Most deemed that he would stand at the pinnacle of Overlords. He even had hope of achieving eternity!

Whoosh!

Several figures radiating powerful auras appeared out of thin air. At the lead was a black-armored man emanating a mighty, vast aura. Standing there, he seemed like an eternal painting come to life.

Several Sovereigns followed behind him, among them a Sovereign with relatively weak aura - none other than the Desolation Divine Court's peerless genius Yu Xiang, who had once clashed with Wu Yuan.

Nearly seventy thousand years had passed since the end of the Megaverse Crossroads battle, and Yu Xiang had also broken through.

"Yu Xiang, you participated in the Megaverse Crossroads battle along with Overlord Ming Jian back then, didn't you?" The towering man in black armor said with a faint smile. "Back then, at the very beginning, you were the number one genius of the Ling Jiang Universe. The workings of heaven and earth are indeed unpredictable. In the blink of an eye, his strength has nearly caught up to mine."

Yu Xiang listened obediently. He felt quite emotional, having practically watched Ming Jian's meteoric rise. Now, Ming Jian had reached a level that he could only look up to – Overlord!

Even though Yu Xiang was a Supreme Genius and had encountered multiple opportunities in the Megaverse Crossroads, he didn't have the confidence to say he would definitely become an Overlord. However, he didn't feel dejected about it.

"Let's go!" The muscular man in black armor said with a smile, leading the four Sovereigns towards the distant hall complex in the void.

Naturally, Sovereigns came to receive them.

As they passed the majestic and vast halls, layer upon layer of array barriers, and powerhouses radiating mighty auras, the Sovereigns from the Desolation Divine Court felt their breaths catch in awe.

Finally, the Desolation Divine Court’s delegation arrived outside the main hall, where they saw two figures standing not far away, one in white and one in black, both emanating extremely powerful auras.

"Why do I feel that Overlord Ming Jian's aura seems inferior to that of Overlord Xin Ya’s beside him?"

"I sense it too." The Sovereigns of the Desolation Divine Court transmitted messages to each other, not daring to discuss aloud.

What they didn't know was that the so-called Overlord aura was actually a trace of eternal Dao resonance bestowed by an eternal Great Dao when one's Dao comprehension reached the ninth-level Dao Field stage, nearing eternity. It was utterly different from the aura of other Sovereigns. At the moment, Wu Yuan's qi refiner self's Dao comprehension was still very far from that level.

"Xin Ya, long time no see. And this must be Overlord Ming Jian. Truly worthy of being the number one genius in the history of our Ling Jiang Universe." The muscular man in black armor strode forward like a dragon in motion, leading the four Sovereigns.

Hmm?

Wu Yuan's mana body's pupils constricted slightly, sensing an incomparably powerful aura emitted from the muscular man.

It was like a vast, bloody pressure crashing down on him, similar to Overlord Bloodforge, but the bloody scent was less intense, replaced by a hint of domineering might.

But Wu Yuan easily resisted this pressure, while also noticing a familiar figure following behind. It was an old acquaintance, Yu Xiang. He had now broken through to become a Sovereign.

"Haha, Overlord Bei Zhen, to think you would lead the delegation yourself. How rare indeed. Welcome." Overlord Xin Ya smiled as he took the initiative to greet them.

Overlord Bei Zhen?

A peculiar light flashed through Wu Yuan's eyes as he understood who the newcomer was: the number one powerhouse below Eternals in the Desolation Divine Court, and the Overlord publicly acknowledged as the strongest among the hundred-plus Overlord powerhouses in the entire Ling Jiang Universe – Overlord Bei Zhen.

The Desolation Divine Court's status as the undisputed leading faction in the Ling Jiang Universe was largely attributed to the exceptional contributions of Overlord Bei Zhen.

There were only two publicly known fourth-stage Overlord powerhouses throughout the entire Ling Jiang Universe. Overlord Bei Zhen was one of them.

He was renowned for his domineering might. However, what truly made countless powerhouses and even Overlords wary of him was the fact that Overlord Bei Zhen was an Overlord of Spacetime.

Overlords of Spacetime held a special status to begin with. And Overlord Bei Zhen's head-on combat prowess was so mighty it struck fear into countless hearts, naturally leading to wariness from all quarters.

Breaking through each of the five stages of the Overlord level was extremely difficult. Even third-stage Overlord strength was already exceptionally rare, let alone fourth-stage strength. Even in the vast cosmic sea, they could hope to rival first-step Eternals.

Powerhouses at this level had hope of achieving eternity through the path of Dao Breaking. Although the chances of success were very low, at least they had a fighting chance. It could be said that reaching fourth-stage Overlord strength meant that one had something very special.

As strong as Wu Yuan was, with the support of the Samsara Sword, he dared not say he would definitely surpass Overlord Bei Zhen in the future.

In fact, throughout the entire Ling Jiang Universe, the various Overlords feared Overlord Bei Zhen even more than Eternals. After all, Eternals rarely returned to the river of space and time, and had limited power while inside the river. Overlords had no fear of Eternals as long as their true selves didn’t venture into the cosmic sea.

But Overlord Bei Zhen was different. His speed and strength were both unparalleled in the universe. If he set his sights on someone within the universe, that person would hardly dare to leave his macrocosm.

These various reasons forged Overlord Bei Zhen's heaven-shaking reputation in the Ling Jiang Universe.

"I too have long heard of Overlord Bei Zhen's name." Wu Yuan's mana body smiled as he went forward to greet him, his attitude extremely courteous. "Overlord Bei Zhen has even brought an old acquaintance. It has indeed been a long time since I last saw Sovereign Yu Xiang."

Meanwhile, Yu Xiang and the other three bowed slightly to Wu Yuan and Overlord Xin Ya, showing their respect.

"This bit of reputation is nothing. I fear it won't be long before Overlord Ming Jian surpasses me." Overlord Bei Zhen said with a smile.

In truth, he was also observing Wu Yuan's mana body. Having reached his level, ordinary Overlords could hardly catch his eye. Many Overlord mana bodies and ether bodies had perished at his hands before. In fact, while roaming the vast cosmic sea, Overlord Bei Zhen had fought and killed more than one Perennial Eternal, forging his immense reputation.

But he attached great importance to Wu Yuan's qi refiner self, willing to come in person. Apart from Wu Yuan's qi refiner self's extremely rapid cultivation speed, there were also other reasons.

According to Senior Zi Kong, Ming Jian's potential far exceeds my own. He obtained the Samsara Sword.

Overlord Bei Zhen mused silently.

The Samsara Sword. Years ago, he had attempted to claim it as well, but ultimately failed, forced to settle for other inheritance artifacts.

Eons had passed, his power growing ever stronger. Now, he stood at the pinnacle of the Desolation Divine Court, with eternity within reach. Yet thoughts of the Samsara Sword continued to gnaw at him.

Upon learning it had been claimed by another successor, Overlord Bei Zhen had kept a watchful eye from the shadows.

Only a hundred thousand years of cultivation, yet already possessing Overlord strength. No trace of eternal Dao resonance—Junior Brother Ming Jian likely hasn't reached the ninth-level Dao Field stage... but that only speaks to his incredible prowess.

Thoughts raced through Overlord Bei Zhen's mind.

Achieving eternity?

In this samsara cycle of heaven and earth, among the Dao Master's five successors, perhaps only Junior Brother Ming Jian has hope of transcending and attaining Dao Enlightenment besides myself.