Chapter 1036: The Great Extermination Plan

At last, I've broken through.

Wu Yuan's lips curled into a faint smile as he felt the surging ether within.

With my Apotheosis root, this breakthrough puts me on par with body refiner Overlords.

Now that I'm a body refiner Sovereign, it's time to reconstruct this physical body.

Wu Yuan mused silently.

With a thought, his formidable body—which had shown no change despite previous attempts at nourishment with vital ether—began to transform and restructure itself.

Deep within Wu Yuan's flesh and blood, at the most fundamental level, a rapid reorganization took place. Countless Primal Force Diagrams formed, emitting mysterious fluctuations. These diagrams were incredibly intricate, representing the very limits of matter profundities.

As the myriad Primal Force Diagrams converged, the power within his flesh underwent an astonishing metamorphosis. The aura emanating from Wu Yuan's body began to surge wildly, reaching more terrifying heights than that of many Overlords. Only the resonance of an eternal Dao was absent.

A continuous rumble filled the void as Wu Yuan's body persisted in its transformation and reconstruction. His aura fluctuated constantly, at times overwhelmingly powerful, at others seeming to dissipate as his form collapsed and rebuilt itself.

After what seemed an eternity, this expanse of space fell utterly silent. The aura radiating from Wu Yuan's body had reached the limit of power.

The metamorphosis is complete.

Wu Yuan reveled in the strength of his new physique. His power had become even more terrifying, at least tenfold stronger than before.

"Hah!" Wu Yuan suddenly lashed out with a punch. As his fist struck, the entire void rippled like a tide, warping space for millions of li in every direction.

Such terrifying might would leave countless Sovereigns slack-jawed in awe, for this punch from Wu Yuan carried no hints of Daos or Laws.

A single drop of blood could dye the earth crimson. A fragment of bone could suppress the very heavens. This was a Matter Sovereign. They could not harness any Dao or Laws, yet their bare fists transcended them all.

The power of my punch has nearly reached the late-stage Sovereign level?

Wu Yuan nodded in deep satisfaction.

In truth, even with an immortal root rivaling an Overlord's, the power of Wu Yuan's vital ether fell far short of his physical strength.

However, ether and mana could be applied with the profundities of the Great Daos. When combined, they could unleash terrifying power tens or even thousands of times greater.

Matter profundities worked differently. The evolution they brought about in the physical body had, in a sense, already encompassed the profundities of the evolution of all things.

These were two entirely different paths. Their powers could stack but never truly merge.

It's enough. The ultimate technique created by my body refiner self is only average among Overlords. But with my powerful artifacts, I can match a peak third-stage Overlord.

And when you factor in the strength of this physical body?

In the entire megaverse, I now stand near the pinnacle of Overlords. Those like Overlord Hou Jue and Overlord Gu Nian, whose true selves are merely at the second-stage Overlord-level—these ordinary Overlords would likely fall swiftly were they to face me in battle.

And if I were only fighting their mana body or ether body? Without their Xiantian artifacts, they'd be even weaker.

Wu Yuan's body refiner self was confident of gaining the upper hand in direct combat against the likes of Overlord Jiang Meng or Overlord Peng Shi. But to claim victory? That wouldn't come easily.

As for Overlord Long He or Overlord Bei Zhen? Wu Yuan's first instinct upon encountering them would be to flee. Their fourth-stage Overlord strength truly rivaled Perennial Eternals.

But how many such top-tier Overlords exist in all of the megaverse?

There were only two in the Ling Jiang Universe and three in the Long Shan Universe. Such encounters would be exceedingly rare.

My qi refiner self has the Samsara Sword to rely on, while my body refiner self lacks such a formidable weapon.

A glint of murderous intent flashed in Wu Yuan's eyes.

However, as an Ancestral Pagoda Archon, I can traverse countless universes and macrocosms without facing any suppression.

As an Ancestral Pagoda Archon, essence suppression was now nothing more than a joke to Wu Yuan.

The Eldritch Court and Immortal Court could claim vast territories across multiple universes, and many Overlords dared act brazenly within their own macrocosms, all due to the protection of their essences which gave them a home field advantage.

Foreign Overlords would be suppressed to late-stage Sovereign strength by the local macrocosm’s essence, making it extremely difficult for various Saintdoms to breach the branch strongholds of rival factions, even during all-out wars.

Wu Yuan was different. Now, he could unleash power rivaling a fourth-stage Overlord in any universe or macrocosm. If he so chose, Wu Yuan could freely devastate the Immortal Court's spacetime territories across tens of thousands of macrocosms in dozens of universes.

Take the Voltari Temple as an example. The strongholds of ordinary branches of the Immortal Court Saintdom could only withstand attacks from ninth-stage Sovereigns. They stood no chance against an Overlord.

This was why Sovereign Voltari and the others had fled in panic when faced with Wu Yuan's enraged qi refiner self.

For this very reason, shortly after becoming an Ancestral Pagoda Archon and understanding the functions of the Ancestral Pagoda's phantom, Wu Yuan had conceived a plan, one audacious enough to incite the entire Immortal Court to fury and madness—the annihilation of the Immortal Court's branches across thirty-four universes.

However, Wu Yuan only dared to contemplate this scheme for now. He wasn't yet bold enough to truly implement it.

If I were to actually do this, I fear that after destroying the Immortal Court's foundation in a single universe, the eternal lifeforms of the Immortal Court would descend, bent on exterminating me at all costs.

Wu Yuan mused.

Even Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu might not be able to stop them.

Indeed! Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu had promised that the conflicts of eternal lifeforms would never affect Wu Yuan. But as his strength grew and his understanding of eternal lifeforms deepened, Wu Yuan realized that Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu was not omnipotent.

Under normal circumstances, Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu's promise would hold true.

This was because the highest echelons of the Immortal Court would never expend all their resources to kill him. As one of the greatest factions, they had their pride and reputation to consider.

To the Immortal Court's upper ranks, even the emergence of a True Saint Eternal posed only a moderate threat, far from an existential one.

The Eldritch Court and Immortal Court had waged war against each other for eons, yet neither could truly vanquish the other. Many unspoken rules governed their conflict.

But if Wu Yuan were to attempt to destroy the Immortal Court's carefully laid plans across dozens of universes—plans spanning an entire samsara cycle of heaven and earth?

The situation would be entirely different. It would undoubtedly spark an all-out war between the Immortal Court and the Eldritch Court. Numerous eternal lifeforms of the Immortal Court would likely take action personally.

When all is said and done, it comes down to strength.

Wu Yuan muttered to himself.

My current power is not yet sufficient. But what if I possessed the might of a fifth-stage Overlord? Then I might have a chance of executing this plan.

With fifth-stage Overlord strength, Wu Yuan would fear nothing. Even if eternal lifeforms risked great peril to return to the river of space and time, he dared to face them in battle. He might even achieve the monumental feat of slaying an Eternal.

According to Wu Yuan's understanding from the Taiyuan Divine Court's intelligence archives, each of the five steps of eternity was as vast as heaven and earth. After forging one's Dao, the gulf between each step became increasingly difficult to surmount.

Perennial Eternals and Dao Pioneer Eternals had their power constrained when returning to the river of space and time, but didn't suffer unreasonable restrictions.

But True Saint Eternals, whose true bodies had grown incomparably vast, would cause tremors in the river of space and time merely by attempting to return. The suppression they faced would be truly terrifying. A True Saint Eternal within the river would barely match the strength of a fifth-stage Overlord.

As for Dao Zenithel Eternals? Their true bodies were so immense that a single river of space and time could no longer contain them. Even attempting to interact with the River of Universes would cause the entire river to quake and retaliate.

Only Dao Masters could choose to establish a Dao Realm within a specific universe. This was a unique ability of the Great Daos’ Masters. Thus, if Dao Masters were willing to expend the effort, they could theoretically unify a single universe. However, they couldn't prevent a universe from undergoing samsara like Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu or the Heavenly Imperator. This was how the Spacetime Dao Realm and the Creation Dao Realm were created.

This plan shall have to wait for the future.

Wu Yuan decided.

For now, I'll collect some interest from the Immortal Court.

Wu Yuan rose to his feet and waved his hand.

The distant void split open. With a single step, Wu Yuan strode out of this divine pillar realm and back into the majestic temple.

"Wu Yuan has emerged."

"Wu Yuan." Bai Sui and Hong Qin immediately turned their attention to Wu Yuan, swiftly noticing the change in his aura.

"Congratulations on becoming a body refiner Sovereign," Bai Sui remarked, studying Wu Yuan.

"You should now possess first-stage Overlord strength, I presume," Hong Qin added.

In her view, even though Wu Yuan had broken through with a formidable immortal root and powerful artifacts, his cultivation time was still brief. His Dao comprehension likely wasn't sufficiently profound yet. Achieving Overlord strength was already quite impressive.

"Indeed," Wu Yuan nodded with a smile. "By my estimation, I should have strength equivalent to a third-stage Overlord." There was no need to conceal his true power from these two realm keepers.

Hearing Wu Yuan's words, both Bai Sui and Hong Qin were momentarily stunned. Third-stage Overlord?

"Wu Yuan, I know you cultivate two paths of eternity simultaneously, and your strength must be extraordinary now that you've also fused with a strand of the Great Dao's Authority," Bai Sui couldn't help but say. "But third-stage Overlord strength is something few Overlords can achieve..."

Yet he noticed that Wu Yuan's eyes remained unchanged, his smile unwavering.

"You truly possess such strength?" Bai Sui stared intently at Wu Yuan.

"Indeed." Wu Yuan nodded, smiling.

Suddenly, he raised his hand, chopping down through the void like a saber. In an instant, space itself shuddered. Where his hand passed, countless lifeforms and worlds manifested, proliferated, and perished. In the end, everything returned to nothingness.

Silence reigned!

Bai Sui and Hong Qin stared at the scene in utter astonishment. With their discerning eyes, they could easily sense the profundities imbued within Wu Yuan's saber strike - it was undoubtedly at the Overlord level.

Considering the guardian treasure Wu Yuan possessed... he should indeed have reached the third-stage Overlord level.

A long moment passed.

"Impressive!" The childlike Bai Sui shook his head. "I... have never seen a monstrous prodigy like you before."

Even knowing that Wu Yuan was a Dao Master candidate, potentially his future master, Bai Sui still found it somewhat unreal.

To reach the pinnacle of sempiternal lifeforms after just over a hundred thousand years of cultivation? It was beyond comprehension.

"Third-stage Overlord?" Hong Qin looked at Wu Yuan with equal amazement. "Does this mean that even if we encountered him in the cosmic sea, our strength would only surpass Wu Yuan's by a single level?"

In the past, they treated Wu Yuan as someone inferior to them. Yet in the blink of an eye, Wu Yuan's power had nearly caught up to theirs.

Bai Sui let out a long breath, calming himself. Then, he smiled. "Very well, you now have sufficient strength to protect yourself. Are you preparing to leave, or do you wish to continue cultivating here for a while longer?"

"I'm preparing to depart," Wu Yuan nodded, "However, there is one matter I still need your help with. You should be aware that my Eldritch Court is currently engaged in an inter-Saintdom war with the Immortal Court. The battlefield is in the Creation Dao Realm."

"Indeed," Bai Sui nodded in acknowledgment. "The two great powers have been locked in a brutal struggle. Over the last twenty thousand years, several tens of thousands of Sovereign mana and ether bodies have perished."

As a Realm Emissary, he could observe the entire Dao Realm, naturally aware of everything transpiring within its bounds.

"You wish to slaughter those Immortal Court Sovereigns?" Bai Sui realized.

"Correct," Wu Yuan nodded without hesitation.

Up until now, Wu Yuan hadn't entered the Eldritch Court Voidrealm, unaware of the detailed state of the war. However, through his qi refiner self far away in the Ling Jiang Universe, Wu Yuan had been constantly monitoring this Saintdom conflict. The intelligence gathered by 'Ming Jian' was enough to reveal how insanely brutal this war had become. The Eldritch Court had suffered heavy losses.

Thus, after his memories merged, Wu Yuan's killing intent grew ever stronger, along with a sense of guilt. This inter-Saintdom war, when all was said and done, began because the upper echelons of the Immortal Court's Long Shan Saintdom issued orders to exterminate him at all costs.

It started because of him. Wu Yuan wanted to be the one to end it as well.

"We cannot do that," Bai Sui shook his head immediately. "I can grant you some authority to traverse the Dao Realm more swiftly, and guide you to their locations, but I cannot help you annihilate them directly.

"Killing these Sovereigns wouldn't be difficult, but these tens of thousands of Immortal Court Sovereigns are scattered throughout the Dao Realm. Such large-scale slaughter would only draw the attention of the eternal lifeforms behind the Immortal Court. The cost would outweigh the benefits," Bai Sui said gravely.

"I understand." Wu Yuan smiled faintly. "That's why I didn't ask you to help me kill them. You don't even need to grant me too many privileges."

"Then what do you want me to do?" Bai Sui looked at Wu Yuan.

"I'll kill the Immortal Court Sovereigns myself." Wu Yuan smiled coolly. "But, I hope you can stir up a commotion in the Dao Realm. For example, making it seem like a great treasure is appearing or a treasure ground is emerging. This will lure the vast number of Immortal Court Sovereigns in the Creation Dao Realm over to one location. When I reveal myself, this large group of Immortal Court Sovereigns would immediately surround and attack me.

"This way, there will be justification to slaughter them all in one fell swoop. Otherwise, hunting them down one by one would be too troublesome. If I traverse the Dao Realm far more rapidly than normal, it might reveal my connection to the Dao Realm to those paying close attention." Wu Yuan smiled. "Bai Sui, can you do this?"

Bai Sui couldn't help but give Wu Yuan a deep, searching look. The plan Wu Yuan proposed was truly flawless, and indeed ruthless.

Among Saintdom powers, there was often an unspoken agreement. In inter-Saintdom wars, unless there was intent to expand the scale of conflict, Overlords generally did not interfere. However, if Wu Yuan revealed himself, and a group of foolish Immortal Court Sovereigns actively surrounded and attacked him, forcing Wu Yuan to 'defend himself', that would be another matter entirely.

The Creation Dao Realm wouldn't directly kill any Immortal Court Sovereigns. It would merely gather them in one place. Who could imagine that Wu Yuan was the one orchestrating everything from behind the scenes?

"It can be done, though it will take some time," Bai Sui said. "I will activate a treasure ground, create the impression of a Xiantian artifact emerging, and spread the fluctuations throughout the entire Dao Realm.

"However, it will take at least a few years, and up to several hundred years for Sovereigns to gather from all corners of the Dao Realm.

"So, I estimate that this plan will take about two hundred years to set up. By then, we should be able to gather over eighty percent of the Immortal Court Sovereigns in the Dao Realm," Bai Sui explained.

"Eighty percent? How many Sovereigns is that?" Wu Yuan asked softly. He didn't know how many Sovereigns the Immortal Court had dispatched to the Creation Dao Realm.

"Over fifteen thousand."