Chapter 1022: The Dao Master's Successors

Years ago, when Wu Yuan's qi refiner self became a successor of the Spacetime Dao Master, Zi Kong informed him that the Spacetime Dao Master had four other successors besides himself in this samsara cycle of heaven and earth. Of these four successors, one was a Sovereign and three were Overlords.

However, at the time, Zi Kong did not tell Wu Yuan specifically who they were, only saying he would inform Wu Yuan after he became a Sovereign. Unexpectedly, Wu Yuan's qi refiner self had already become an Overlord.

"One of the Dao Master's successors is here to attend the celebration?" The names of a multitude of Overlords and Sovereigns flashed through Wu Yuan's mind.

First, he excluded powerhouses from foreign universes. Next, ordinary late-stage Sovereign powerhouses were ruled out. Someone who could be the Dao Master's successor, even if unable to advance to the Overlord level in a short time, should at least be an eighth or ninth-stage Sovereign. Finally, they must be either a Sovereign of Space or an Overlord of Spacetime.

In an extremely short time, only three or four names remained.

"Overlord Bei Zhen? Overlord Mie Hun? Or..." Wu Yuan hesitated somewhat.

Among the dozens of Overlords who attended, most were from the Ling Jiang Universe, but there were only these two Overlords of Spacetime.

Sovereign Lan Yan and Sovereign Hong Yi exchanged a glance.

Then Sovereign Lan Yan smiled and said, "It is indeed Overlord Bei Zhen."

"It's really him?" Wu Yuan was inwardly shocked, immediately understanding why Overlord Bei Zhen's congratulatory gift had been extra generous and why his attitude towards Wu Yuan had been so friendly. It turned out that he could be considered Wu Yuan's senior brother.

"Young Master." Sovereign Lan Yan suddenly flipped his palm, revealing a small purple talisman.

The talisman was exquisite and delicate, yet emanated a mysterious aura. Its surface was engraved with countless complex cryptic patterns.

"A Spacetime treasure?" With Wu Yuan's knowledge and perspective, he could immediately determine the talisman's purpose. It seemed to be a communication artifact.

"This talisman was forged by the Dao Master. It is fundamentally a voidrealm jade. After deciphering it, Young Master will be able to enter the Spacetime Immortal Voidrealm," Sovereign Lan Yan said with a smile.

"Spacetime Immortal Voidrealm?" Wu Yuan was slightly taken aback. "Isn't its range limited to the Spacetime Dao Realm?"

Since leaving the Spacetime Dao Realm, Wu Yuan's qi refiner self had never entered the Spacetime Immortal Voidrealm again.

"The Spacetime Immortal Voidrealm is actually no less impressive than the Eldritch Court Voidrealm or the Immortal Court Voidrealm, and far superior to the Taiyuan Voidrealm in many ways," Sovereign Lan Yan smiled.

"It's just that, with few powerhouses in the Dao Realm, those functions aren't needed. Thus, only the Sovereigns of the Dao Realm have the qualifications to use it, making it convenient for them to communicate and seek aid when venturing outside.

“Similarly, disciples of the Dao Master are also gifted this voidrealm jade talisman after reaching the Overlord level, allowing the various Dao Master successors to contact each other as well as Senior Zi Kong with ease," Sovereign Lan Yan explained.

Wu Yuan nodded lightly in understanding.

Wu Yuan reached out to receive the purple talisman, then swiftly branded his Yuan Soul imprint upon it with a mental command.

Whoosh~

A strand of his consciousness immediately entered the talisman, connecting with a vast essence in a distant place in the void.

The highest grade voidrealms all possessed a massive, boundless essence that seemed both real and illusory. Only those standing at the pinnacle of eternal beings could construct such incredible voidrealms with coverage spanning the megaverse.

"Young Master, aside from us three Sovereign Custodians, the other Sovereigns of the Dao Realm won't be able to sense your presence in the Spacetime Immortal Voidrealm if you wish to remain incognito," Sovereign Hong Yi smiled. "However, when you enter the Spacetime Immortal Voidrealm, we will be able to contact you at any time."

"That's fine! If you face any troubles in the future, feel free to seek my help," Wu Yuan said with a smile. He had quite a favorable impression of the three Sovereign Custodians of the Spacetime Dao Realm, especially Sovereign Lan Yan, towards whom Wu Yuan felt particularly grateful.

"Young Master. We've delivered the item and won't stay long. We must return and report to Senior Zi Kong," Sovereign Lan Yan said solemnly. "I expect Senior Zi Kong will soon summon you and the other three Dao Master successors."

"Three?" Wu Yuan was slightly surprised. Wasn't it four?

"Without Overlord-level strength, one isn't qualified for an audience," Sovereign Hong Yi smiled. "There's still one Dao Master successor who, though possessing ninth-stage Sovereign power, is still quite far from the Overlord level. It's estimated they'll need several hundred million years before having a chance to break through."

"I see." Wu Yuan nodded lightly.

Not everyone was like him, fortunate enough to be born in an era where the Megaverse Crossroads opened. Normally, it was considered extremely fast for Sovereigns to attain Overlord power in hundreds of millions of years of cultivation.

"Young Master, aside from Overlord Bei Zhen, the other two Dao Master successors who have reached the Overlord level are Overlord Peng Shi and Overlord Qing You," Sovereign Lan Yan said. "The Taiyuan Divine Court should have detailed intelligence on these Overlords, so I won't elaborate further."

Overlord Peng Shi? Overlord Qing You?

Wu Yuan was quite startled internally.

In the Heartland region of the megaverse were thirty-six universes. Apart from the Eldritch Court Universe and the Immortal Court Universe, the Ling Jiang Universe had the most Overlords of Spacetime.

Normally, a universe would have only two or three Overlords of Spacetime, but the current Ling Jiang Universe had a full ten Overlords of Spacetime, including Wu Yuan.

Wu Yuan wasn't surprised by this. Just as the Long Shan Universe produced many Overlords and Sovereigns who comprehended the Great Dao of Creation, the Ling Jiang Universe was in a similar situation.

And according to Sovereign Lan Yan, among these ten Overlords of Spacetime, four were successors of the Dao Master.

Overlord Bei Zhen is a fourth-stage Overlord, the number one Overlord in the Ling Jiang Universe.

Both Overlord Peng Shi and Overlord Qing You are third-stage Overlords. In terms of direct combat power, they are not at all inferior to Overlord Jiang Meng, and are even more skilled in aspects of Spacetime.

Wu Yuan thought to himself.

These three great Overlords are all leading figures of their respective Saintdoms.

Even the nine Overlords of the Taiyuan Divine Court might not match these Dao Master successors.

Wu Yuan had to acknowledge the exceptional caliber of successors chosen by the Dao Master; none of them were easy opponents.

Upon reflection, he understood why. In addition to their extraordinary natural talent, each successor carried inheritance treasures personally bestowed by the Dao Master, which elevated their capabilities even further.

The inheritance treasures obtained by the other Dao Master successors, even if inferior to the Samsara Sword, must be extremely precious, far surpassing ordinary Xiantian artifacts, with many wondrous uses.

Various thoughts flashed through Wu Yuan's mind.

Compared to the Dao Master's successors, the successors of other Eternals had the advantage of Great Dao imprints, as the Dao Master couldn't bestow Great Dao imprints.

But Great Dao imprints could only help one reach the ninth-level Dao Field stage, and weren't of much help in achieving eternity.

Meanwhile, treasures like the Samsara Sword were something that ordinary True Saints probably couldn't provide.

"Lan Yan, thank you for the information," Wu Yuan smiled.

Shortly after, Wu Yuan saw Sovereign Lan Yan and Sovereign Hong Yi off from the Taiyuan Divine Court headquarters.

He hoped to help Sovereign Lan Yan in some way and inquired through a private transmission, but Sovereign Lan Yan just smiled and replied: "Young Master, you've just become an Overlord and still have room for improvement and progress.

“I now have eighth-stage Sovereign power. Apart from Xiantian artifacts, ordinary treasures are of little use to me and have minimal impact on improving my strength. After millions of years of cultivation, I also understand that advancing to the Overlord level is extremely difficult.

“In the future, if I have a chance to encounter an Overlord-level opportunity, I will certainly request Young Master's help. At that time, Young Master must not refuse.”

"Alright." Wu Yuan nodded lightly, not asking further.

Xiantian artifacts? As of now, Wu Yuan's two true selves possessed considerable wealth in treasures, surpassing many Overlords. But for the time being, he didn't have any spare Xiantian artifacts.

...

After bidding farewell to the various Overlords and Sovereigns who attended the celebration, the entire Taiyuan Divine Court headquarters gradually quietened down.

Wu Yuan took the time to sort through all the congratulatory gifts he had received.

Most Sovereigns of the divine court headquarters only sent mid-grade Dao Instruments as gifts, and many didn't send gifts at all.

The gifts sent by individual powerhouses of the divine court headquarters couldn’t be considered too precious, but their sheer quantity made up for it. Added together, their value was quite impressive, equivalent to over a hundred high-grade Dao Instruments.

As for the other Saintdom delegations led by Overlords and independent Overlords, almost all sent high-grade Dao Instruments, which could only be considered tokens of courtesy.

For these Saintdoms, the value of their gifts was secondary. Their willingness to attend the ceremony showed their stance of wishing to maintain good relations.

Added together, it amounted to dozens of high-grade Dao Instruments.

The truly valuable gifts were those sent by Overlord Bei Zhen and the other Overlords of the divine court headquarters, such as Overlord Qian You, Overlord You Mei, Overlord Jiang Meng, and others. They each sent at least one top-grade Dao Instrument.

And the most precious were those sent by Overlord Xin Ya, Overlord Si Pan, and the Eldritch Court delegation, which were all sets of top-grade Dao Instruments, worthy of being called great treasures.

After all, when Overlords dispatched their mana/ether bodies into life-or-death battles, they mostly wielded sets of top-grade Dao Instruments. Treasures of this level could already be wielded as the main combat weapons of Overlords.

If Wu Yuan's qi refiner self had just become a Sovereign, he wouldn't dare accept such precious gifts. Accepting them would incur great karma, and karmic debts must be repaid.

But now, he possessed Overlord-level power, and these gifts weren't considered too valuable. The karma of accepting them was completely bearable.

Meanwhile, if someone had sent a Xiantian artifact, Wu Yuan would have had to think carefully about whether to accept it or not.

𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

All these treasures added together are worth nearly one-third the value of a Xiantian artifact.

Wu Yuan thought to himself.

This was because Wu Yuan's qi refiner self was too extraordinary. For an ordinary Overlord's advancement ceremony, receiving one-third of Wu Yuan's gifts was already pretty decent. Someone who became an Overlord in ten billion years versus someone who only took a hundred thousand years, how could one compare the two?

While the value of these treasures was considerable, it was only a theoretical value. Most of the treasures were useless to Wu Yuan.

It was not difficult to exchange Xiantian artifacts for large quantities of Dao Instruments, but trying to exchange Dao Instruments for Xiantian artifacts depended on whether anyone was willing to make such a trade.

As the overall leader of the Ming Jian Realm, with four immortal worlds under my command, I should establish a separate treasure vault for my subordinate powerhouses.

Wu Yuan thought to himself.

Half of the mid-grade and high-grade Dao Instruments from the gifts, along with the low-grade and mid-grade Dao Instruments I obtained from slaying the Immortal Court's great army, shall serve as the foundation for the Ming Jian Realm's treasure vault.

These ordinary treasures had many uses. They were needed for establishing factions, nurturing future generations and disciples, and so on.

Moreover, if Wu Yuan's qi refiner self commanded vast territory of the divine court headquarters in the future, there would be thousands of Sovereigns under his command. When occasionally dispatching Sovereigns to fulfil tasks, he needed to reward them too.

Most Sovereigns occupied territory within their respective macrocosms and had the confidence to establish themselves independently. After all, the power of foreign Sovereigns was greatly limited. For example, Wu Yuan's qi refiner self would only have sixth or seventh-stage Sovereign power upon arriving at a foreign macrocosm.

Therefore, most Sovereigns joined the divine court headquarters and followed an Overlord not only because of the Overlord's power and ability to protect them, but also because the Overlord could grant them sufficient benefits. For super powerhouses, benefits were the core concern.

Of course, as an Overlord and one of the top leaders of the divine court headquarters, he had to contribute greatly to the faction. But he also received numerous benefits in return. Not to mention, when contests over fortuitous encounters or treasures arose, one could command large numbers of Sovereigns, forming powerful legions.

Next was Faith power. Over the centuries, as the Greenridge Macrocosm’s domain was divided in two and the Ming Jian Realm's influence expanded rapidly, countless beings not only believed in True Saint Taiyuan, but also followed and worshipped Overlord Ming Jian.

Simultaneously, when Wu Yuan's qi refiner self became an Overlord of the divine court headquarters, he finally qualified to partake in a portion of Faith power from the Taiyuan Divine Court’s wellspring. It was a river of Faith supplied by the vast territories of the divine court headquarters, where innumerable streams of Faith converged over endless eons.

The power of Faith.

Wu Yuan sensed it faintly in his Voidspace.

Infinite white radiance, like a river of space and time, flowed through the Destiny Voidscape. This Faith power, akin to a river of space and time, should theoretically be mixed with countless impurities - the karma of innumerable beings. Even Overlords typically dared not absorb too much at once, needing to refine and assimilate it gradually.

However, the wellspring of Faith in the divine court headquarters was constructed by True Saint Taiyuan's own hand, with an in-built mechanism that filtered out most karmic impurities, allowing Overlords to absorb it without worry.

This was something independent Overlords greatly envied.

Faith power had many uses. It was extremely beneficial for comprehending the Great Daos, nurturing one's Yuan Soul, healing soul injuries, and more. It was considered one of the major advantages that Overlords of Saintdom factions enjoyed.

To enjoy the many benefits of the divine court headquarters, one must also bear responsibilities.

Wu Yuan mused silently.

Whenever issues or disputes arose in the territories of the divine court headquarters, treasure lands, and so on, the Overlords were always the first to charge into battle. Many independent Overlords were unwilling to join Saintdom factions precisely to maintain their freedom.

...

After spending several months familiarizing himself with the various rules of the divine court headquarters and properly categorizing the numerous ordinary treasures he'd acquired, Wu Yuan's qi refiner self and mana body returned to the Greenridge Macrocosm.

Hmm? Senior Zi Kong finally wants to see us?

Soon after, within the Spacetime Sword Hall, Wu Yuan's qi refiner self received a message via the Spacetime Immortal Voidrealm. A glint flashed in his eyes.

It's time to meet those senior brothers of mine.

Whoosh!

A strand of his consciousness entered the Spacetime Immortal Voidrealm.

Wu Yuan's qi refiner self arrived at the highest-level hall he was authorized to access - the Overlord Temple.

In the endless darkness of outer space, a majestic temple hovered. Inside the temple, besides the towering divine pillars, were several jade platforms.

Most of these platforms were empty at the moment, with only two occupied. The auras emanating from the two individuals were remarkably ethereal and vast.

"Haha, Peng Shi, just the thought of you meeting Junior Brother Ming Jian amuses me. You're an Overlord of the Immortal Court, while our Junior Brother Ming Jian made his name across the universe by treading on the blood and bones of several late-stage Sovereign legions from the Immortal Court," a deep voice filled with mirth resonated through the temple. "How do you see this?"