Chapter 1069: Eldritch Progenitor Hall, Status (2)

His body refiner self was rather well equipped, lacking only a soul defense artifact. Once his ether body reemerged, it too would need sufficiently powerful artifacts to unleash its combat potential.

Wu Yuan spent some time in careful deliberation.

The Skybreaker Sabers, a set of nine blades. Each individual saber is merely an ordinary low-grade Xiantian artifact, but the nine Skybreaker Sabers share the same source and can unleash astonishing power when wielded together. With all nine deployed, they approach the level of a mid-grade Xiantian artifact, valued at one thousand Xuanhuang merits.

Wu Yuan quickly found a suitable offensive set of Xiantian artifacts for his ether body.

Not the most ideal, but other artifact sets were frighteningly expensive.

The Nether Armor, a low-grade Xiantian artifact valued at one hundred Xuanhuang merits.

This was the most common type of Xiantian battle armor, but combined with Wu Yuan's defenses as a Matter Sovereign, it would boost his ether body's physical defense to terrifying levels.

The Truthsight Lens, a standard Xiantian artifact forged by Dao Zenithel Wan Yu with high soul defense. A low-grade Xiantian artifact valued at one hundred Xuanhuang merits.

I'll redeem three Truthsight Lenses.

Wu Yuan decided.

My body refiner self, ether body, and mana body can each equip one to protect their Yuan Souls.

The Truthsight Lens was far inferior to the Thousand Minds Tether, the soul-type Xiantian artifact possessed by his qi refiner self, ranking among the worst in its class of soul-type Xiantian artifacts. However, it was very cheap.

Even the worst Xiantian-grade soul defense artifact far surpasses top-grade Dao Instruments in defending against soul attacks and karmic attacks.

Wu Yuan mused.

The Thousand Minds Tether? Though effective, Wu Yuan discovered that Xiantian artifacts of comparable power would cost seven or eight hundred Xuanhuang merits after a brief search in the Eldritch Progenitor Hall. Too expensive.

Moreover, Wu Yuan believed that with his powerful Yuan Soul, spirit, and will, combined with the Truthsight Lens' defense, he could easily withstand soul attacks from the vast majority of Perennial Eternals.

As for Dao Zenithel Eternals?

Such eternal lifeforms wouldn't need to employ soul attacks. They could easily annihilate me with physical attacks alone.

Wu Yuan muttered to himself.

Having stronger soul defenses wouldn't make much difference.

With that, Wu Yuan redeemed numerous treasures, depleting his Xuanhuang eldritch merits. Only twenty Xuanhuang eldritch merits remained.

My Xuanhuang merits really don't go far enough.

Wu Yuan shook his head ruefully.

I had originally hoped to gift Master Kua Chi and Grandmaster Bei You a Xiantian artifact each, but it seems that will have to wait for now.

Wu Yuan's current artifacts were all extraordinary, but they were barely sufficient for his own needs! To gift Xiantian artifacts? He still fell short. On the path of cultivation, strengthening oneself must come first.

When my power advances further and I obtain other treasures, I'll consider it then.

Wu Yuan thought to himself.

“Confirm redemption," Wu Yuan said aloud.

Whoosh~

Soon after, accompanied by flashes of hazy light, several powerful artifacts emanating eternal Dao resonance appeared in the hall.

The Skybreaker Sabers set - a full nine sabers, was especially impressive. Though the aura they emitted was far weaker than the Mo Yuan Saber and Azure Origin Armor, it was still incredibly imposing. At the very least, they easily overwhelmed the Nether Armor and the three identical Truthsight Lenses.

Wu Yuan subdued the numerous Xiantian artifacts with his power, then stored them all away, deciphering them one by one within his internal world.

Let's go!

Wu Yuan hesitated no longer, turning to leave the Eldritch Progenitor Hall and heading straight for the Saintdom Treasury.

The Saintdom Treasury was where Sovereigns from the Saintdom frequently came to exchange treasures.

Time passed.

Wu Yuan sold all the useless ordinary Dao Instruments, high-grade Dao Instruments and so on to the Saintdom Treasury, then began redeeming Spacetime high-grade Dao Instrument flying swords, acquiring five hundred and reaching the limit in one go.

The Eldritch Court is indeed the Eldritch Court, the treasures in its vaults far surpass the Taiyuan Divine Court.

Wu Yuan sighed inwardly, though he also understood. This wasn't because the Ling Jiang Saintdom of the Eldritch Court was much stronger than the Taiyuan Divine Court, but because the Eldritch Court headquarters was sufficiently prosperous.

However, even after redeeming five hundred high-grade Dao Instruments, the number of eldritch merits under Wu Yuan's name was still astronomical. After brief consideration, he redeemed many more top-grade Dao Instrument sets, as well as some array bases, secret treasures, and the like.

Afterwards, Wu Yuan left the Saintdom Treasury, but he did not return to the newly established Yuan Hall in the Myriad River Realm.

Yuan Hall was near Hou Jue Hall, both located on the outskirts of the divine tower. There resided over a dozen Overlords of the Eldritch Court’s Ling Jiang Saintdom.

Wu Yuan's body refiner self silently headed towards the Greenridge Macrocosm.

...

𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Less than half a day later, in an expanse of outer space far from the Greenridge Macrocosm.

Whoosh!

In the dim void of space, a figure in white robes silently appeared out of thin air before Wu Yuan's body refiner self. It was his qi refiner self.

"Greetings, Fellow Daoist," Wu Yuan's body refiner self suddenly smiled.

"Greetings, Fellow Daoist," the white-robed figure replied in kind.

Then, the two figures burst into laughter together. Wu Yuan's sense of humor was rather peculiar like that.

The two true selves shared a single consciousness, and in Wu Yuan's perception, they were both 'himself' with no real distinction.

Whoosh!

Wu Yuan's body refiner self waved his hand, and a grotto-heaven artifact along with several other storage artifacts flew out, landing directly in his qi refiner self's hands.

Afterwards, the two true selves separated once more, taking different routes as they returned to the Greenridge Macrocosm.

...

Within the Ming Jian Realm of the Greenridge Macrocosm.

As Wu Yuan's qi refiner self waved his hand, Astral Monarch Dong Yang and Astral Monarch Ji Shuang, who had been waiting inside the grotto-heaven artifact, felt their visions blur before finding themselves in the world outside.

At a glance, they saw the white-robed figure not far away.

"Master," Wu Yuan smiled faintly.

"Ming Jian," Astral Monarch Dong Yang couldn't help but smile as he recognized Wu Yuan's qi refiner self.

Earlier, though he understood that Wu Yuan's two true selves shared a single consciousness, he still instinctively felt somewhat uncomfortable when interacting with Wu Yuan's body refiner self. After all, it was Wu Yuan's qi refiner self who had originally become his disciple under the name Ming Jian.

"Overlord Ming Jian?" Astral Monarch Ji Shuang held her breath, looking at the white-robed figure with considerable reverence.

As Astral Monarch Dong Yang's Dao companion, she naturally knew about her husband's legendary disciple who had cultivated to great heights in less than a hundred thousand years.

He had risen from an ordinary mortal to a Saintcrest Prodigy in just tens of thousands of years, and now stood at the pinnacle of a universe, defeating numerous Sovereigns.

Moreover, even separated by different universes, her husband's disciple could invite a late-stage Overlord powerhouse to come to their rescue. What an incredible existence.

"Martial Aunt, you may simply call me Ming Jian," Wu Yuan's qi refiner self smiled.

Astral Monarch Ji Shuang forced a smile but remained reserved, not daring to speak.

"Master, I've already transmitted everything you need to know about the Ming Jian Realm through the voidrealm," Wu Yuan's qi refiner self smiled. "Once Master breaks through to become a Sovereign, please come take charge of the Ming Jian Realm, leading the four immortal worlds and all the territories directly under the Ming Jian Realm's control."

"Take charge of the Ming Jian Realm?" Astral Monarch Dong Yang was startled.

"I don't have many people I can trust, and Master is among those I trust most," Wu Yuan smiled. "Besides, I don't have much energy to devote to managing territories."

"Alright," Astral Monarch Dong Yang pondered briefly before nodding in agreement.

As Wu Yuan's master, once he broke through to become a Sovereign, it was only natural for him to take charge of the Ming Jian Realm.

"Master, you and Martial Aunt should go settle into the immortal mansion first," Wu Yuan smiled. "We can chat more when there's time later. This disciple must be going now."

Whoosh!

Wu Yuan took a step and vanished into the void.

Only then did Astral Monarch Ji Shuang finally let out a sigh of relief.

"Shuang'er, there's no need to be like this," Astral Monarch Dong Yang said. "Ming Jian values relationships greatly and respects his teachers. You are my Dao companion, so when he calls you ‘Martial Aunt’, you can simply accept it."

"Dear, it's not the same," Astral Monarch Ji Shuang shook her head helplessly. "If we had become Dao companions before you took him as a disciple, even if I had never bestowed any favor upon Overlord Ming Jian, I could still bear the title of martial aunt.

"But, when we became Dao companions, Overlord Ming Jian was already a peerless genius renowned throughout the universe, and later he broke through to become a Sovereign and even an Overlord," Astral Monarch Ji Shuang said solemnly. "Moreover, it was Overlord Ming Jian who rescued us from our predicament. He saved you because you had taught and guided him.

"As for me? I have shown no prior benevolence towards him, yet he has shown me great kindness by saving my life.

"They say a teacher is like a father, so if you are equivalent to his father, then I would be like a stepmother," Astral Monarch Ji Shuang said helplessly. "What’s more, a stepmother who only entered the family after he had already grown up and achieved success."

Astral Monarch Dong Yang was stunned.

"Overlord Ming Jian calls me ‘Martial Aunt’ out of respect for his teacher, but if I were to overstep because of this and truly regard myself as his martial aunt, it might instead incur his displeasure," Astral Monarch Ji Shuang shook her head.

Astral Monarch Dong Yang was taken aback, then smiled and said, "I see I've given too little thought to this. Very well, you should have fewer meetings with Ming Jian in the future.

"It's not that you've given this too little thought, it's just that those involved in a situation are often blind to it, and in your perception, the current Overlord Ming Jian isn't that different from when he first became your disciple," Astral Monarch Ji Shuang sighed. "But when I first met him, he was already an Overlord whose name shook the universe. How can it be the same?

"However, even if Overlord Ming Jian doesn't help me in any way, just this nominal change in status is already an enormous opportunity for me. I can't ask for more.

"Now that you, my husband, are about to become a Sovereign, I should also strive to become a Sovereign," Astral Monarch Ji Shuang smiled. "To help you stabilize the Ming Jian Realm."

"Haha, then let's do our best. If we husband and wife both become Sovereigns, it would indeed be a beautiful tale."

...

Wu Yuan strode through the void, his mind calm as still water.

This Astral Monarch Ji Shuang is indeed a smart one. No wonder she could move Master's heart.

Such occurrences had become all too familiar to him. As his power grew and his status rose, former friends and even seniors now regarded him with awe or even reverence when they met. Though Wu Yuan found this disheartening, he knew there was little he could do to change it. For this was simply the nature of reality.

Moments later, Wu Yuan's qi refiner self traversed the vast expanse of spacetime, arriving at another special realm within the Greenridge Macrocosm—the Bei You Realm.

"Grandmaster," Wu Yuan sent a message ahead before entering the innermost temple of the Bei You Realm.

"Ming Jian." Sovereign Bei You's eyes flickered open, a smile gracing his features. "What brings you here?"

"I've brought Master back," Wu Yuan replied with a grin. "Moreover, Master has fully comprehended the Law of Life. He should break through to Sovereign soon."

"Oh? Breakthrough to Sovereign?" Sovereign Bei You's eyes lit up, his smile widening. "Haha, excellent! Excellent!"

He was genuinely pleased. Though Astral Monarch Dong Yang hadn't broken through using the Law of Space, having one of his disciples advance to Sovereign was still cause for great celebration.

"Additionally," Wu Yuan continued, "I've come to present some gifts to you, Grandmaster." With a wave of his hand, he produced a storage ring.

"Gifts?" Sovereign Bei You started, reflexively reaching out to accept the ring. As he probed its contents, his eyes widened in shock.

"This?" Sovereign Bei You was utterly astonished. Within the storage ring were dozens of top-grade Dao Instruments—sword arrays, battle armor, soul defense artifacts, domain type artifacts, battleships, binding type artifacts, and more. There was everything one could possibly need.

"Please accept them, Grandmaster," Wu Yuan said with a smile. "Furthermore, I've expended some resources at the divine court headquarters to secure you a cultivation spot in the Lumina World."

Now Sovereign Bei You was truly stunned, a hint of excitement creeping into his heart.

The Lumina World was a renowned cultivation paradise controlled by the Taiyuan Divine Court. Unfortunately, spots only opened up once every hundred million years, so one could imagine how fierce the competition was.

In the past, Sovereign Bei You had tried several times to obtain a spot, but to no avail. He never imagined Wu Yuan would manage to secure one for him.

"In thirty thousand years, Grandmaster should first head to the divine court headquarters, then proceed to the Lumina World," Wu Yuan explained.

"Alright." Sovereign Bei You nodded solemnly.

"I wish Grandmaster success in breaking through to late-stage Sovereign."

...

Almost simultaneously, Wu Yuan's body refiner self had returned to the eldritch world, similarly gifting a vast array of valuable top-grade Dao Instruments to Sovereign Kua Chi, along with insights from his own cultivation experiences.

Sovereign Kua Chi was equally astounded.

...

Within the Spacetime Sword Hall of the Ming Jian Realm.

All matters are settled.

Wu Yuan's qi refiner self murmured, sitting in the lotus position.

Now, it’s time to drive the manifestation of the Samsara Sword to the seventy percent threshold.

As for my body refiner self, it's time to venture into the Immutable Land.