Chapter 1088: The Nine Heavens Path (1)

The Sector River, revered as the mother river in all sectors of the Abyss, was directly influenced by the essence of the Abyss itself, harboring extraordinarily special powers.

Ordinary sempiternal lifeforms were unable to enter the Sector River. Any who dared to intrude would be instantly crushed by its might and perish. At the very least, one had to be a late-stage Sovereign to traverse it.

The Sector River was divided into two layers, upper and lower. The lower layer was the foundation of the Sector River, ceaselessly producing vast numbers of mortal-level Abyssal devils. Even Devil Emperors could not enter the lower layer, only able to gaze down at it from the upper layer.

Devil Emperor Qian Ze enjoyed roaming through the Sector River, observing the births of countless Abyssal devils. Though unable to interfere, he felt a sense of lofty superiority. Occasionally, if he encountered a youngster with decent talent, Devil Emperor Qian Ze would wait until they left the Sector River, then take them away. In his own words, he called it "doing good deeds."

Today, however, Devil Emperor Qian Ze encountered something bizarre. Before him stood an array of incomparably vast proportions.

Hum~

Invisible fluctuations enveloped the area, distorting spacetime and causing the river water to grow turbid.

It was as if an enormous boulder had suddenly appeared in a great river, affecting the flow of water in the surrounding area. The impact was immense.

In truth, the waters of the upper layer of the Sector River were not actual water, but rather a weave of essence power, spacetime profundities, and energy.

This route cannot be wrong. I've passed through this place nine times over the past hundred million years, and I haven't been swept into any other spacetime region.

Devil Emperor Qian Ze swiftly assessed.

Three million years ago, there was no array here.

Moreover, this array before me seems incredibly profound. I pride myself on my attainments in array cultivation, but if I were to try dismantling it, I wouldn’t know where to begin. As for creating such an array, it's absolutely beyond my capabilities.

At this thought, Devil Emperor Qian Ze's heart began to race, pounding fiercely. He was very confident in array cultivation.

Could it be that some immutable relic site emerged? Or perhaps some treasure trove?

A thought flashed through Devil Emperor Qian Ze's mind.

Has my opportunity arrived?

He pondered for just a moment.

I'll enter. This is merely my ether body. With an opportunity before me, how can I hesitate?

Devil Emperor Qian Ze focused all his senses, carefully observing the array and trying to find a flaw in its operation.

He dared not charge in recklessly. After all, this was an unfamiliar, powerful array—even if it couldn't kill him, trapping him would be easy.

...

The entire array spanned approximately 800 billion li. The establishment of such a colossal array deep within the Sector River was already incredibly inconceivable.

At the center of the array, in a place beyond Devil Emperor Qian Ze's perception, there existed the embryonic form of a world about 10 billion li across. This embryonic world was formed only through the convergence of matter, without a true world essence.

Without essence, a world would eventually disintegrate no matter how vast it was. However, this embryonic world, stabilized by layer upon layer of arrays, was incomparably secure.

At its core lay a lake filled with a crimson liquid that emanated an endless aura of evil. Clearly, it was formed from the slaughter of innumerable living beings.

The entire lake spanned no more than a hundred million li at its widest point. At its center grew a plant nearly nine meters tall, with an aura diametrically opposed to the lake—one of absolute purity.

Its stem was dark, with a snow-white, unopened bud growing at its apex.

After forty thousand years, the stem of the Flower of Sin had grown taller and sturdier. However, the most significant change was the flower bud, which now looked full, as if it could bloom at any moment.

Forty-eight thousand years. It’s finally about to bloom.

Wu Yuan's body refiner self sat in the lotus position beneath the flower stem, silently observing it while filled with anticipation.

"Master, I estimate it will take about another 2300 years," said Yun Yi in a soft voice.

"Mm." Wu Yuan nodded.

Over forty thousand years ago, he had brought Yun Yi into the Abyss, but they hadn't lingered in Sector 13. To evade True Saint Ji Guang's pursuit, he had headed directly for Sector 11.

Why Sector 11? Because, according to the intelligence provided by Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu, Sector 11 was the only domain among the thirty-six sectors of the Abyss where no True Saint had been born in the last nine samsara cycles of heaven and earth. Thus, by hiding here, Wu Yuan wouldn't have to face the descent of a True Saint Eternal's true self, at most encountering a Dao Pioneer Eternal.

Upon arriving, Wu Yuan had plunged deep into the Sector River of Sector 11.

After a long search, Yun Yi had selected a suitable nurturing ground for the Flower of Sin deep within the Sector River.

Wu Yuan's body refiner self, mana body, and Yun Yi worked together to lay down three arrays.

At the core was the Array of Eternal Sin, which could be considered an upgraded version of the Blood Sacrifice Devil Array—the best supporting array for nurturing the Flower of Sin.

As for nourishment? Firstly, the Array of Eternal Sin could absorb essence power directly from the Sector River. Secondly, the ten-billion-li blood sea left behind by Devil Emperor Xue Gu was more than sufficient. Combining these two, Wu Yuan could nurture the Flower of Sin without having to embark on mass slaughter or refinement, simply waiting patiently. This also greatly reduced the risk of exposing himself.

The second array was the Nine Radiance Celestial River Array, a defense array that greatly boosted Wu Yuan’s power.

However, as he was in the Sector River, the power of this array was greatly weakened.

The third array was the Realm Mirage Array, which could firstly distort spacetime to minimize the impact of the first two arrays on the Sector River, and secondly conceal the aura of the Array of Eternal Sin. Its main purpose was to reduce the chances of Wu Yuan being discovered.

“If not for you, Yun Yi, I fear I would have been discovered long ago.” Wu Yuan smiled.

Back then, Yun Yi had taken a large number of Wu Yuan's materials and treasures, laying down the three arrays in succession, leaving Wu Yuan dumbfounded.

Yun Yi's mastery of arrays completely surpassed Wu Yuan's imagination. He felt that many eternal lifeforms who researched arrays for countless years might still not match her.

"It is all thanks to Master's efforts. The arrays are merely a supporting measure," Yun Yi smiled. "Under normal circumstances, the Flower of Sin would take several million years to grow from eight meters to nine meters with the Array of Eternal Sin.

"But Master, you've managed to shorten the growth period of the Flower of Sin by another hundredfold. It's simply terrifying," Yun Yi marveled sincerely.

She was created with an innate understanding of how many arrays worked.

Wu Yuan couldn't help but smile.

Terrifying? The Archaea imprint of the Ancestral Pagoda was indeed extraordinarily powerful. While being an Ancestral Pagoda Archon didn’t directly lead to a rise in one's strength, it had many unexpected uses. For example—nurturing the Flower of Sin.

With the Ancestral Pagoda's projection, the growth speed of the Flower of Sin has increased by several dozen to a hundred times.

Wu Yuan thought to himself.

Add to that the Array of Eternal Sin, and the fact that we’re in the Sector River...

It was the combination of these factors that allowed Wu Yuan to bring the Flower of Sin to the brink of blooming in just a few tens of thousands of years.

From this, one could see the far-sightedness of Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu, who had roughly estimated the time required even before Wu Yuan had understood everything.

Clearly, Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu has a very clear understanding of both the Flower of Sin and the Ancestral Pagoda.

Wu Yuan mused.

The more he interacted with Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu, the more he could sense her greatness.

After exchanging a few words with Yun Yi, Wu Yuan resumed quiet cultivation.

Besides operating the array, both his qi refiner self and body refiner self had been cultivating with all their might over the years, hoping to possess the strength to stand at the pinnacle of the River of Universes before the Xuanhuang Cosmiris opened.

Wu Yuan was unwilling to place all his hopes on the Flower of Sin. After all, though the Flower of Sin was excellent, Wu Yuan knew that quite a few Devil Emperors had obtained a Flower of Sin over many samsara cycles of heaven and earth in the Abyss. But in the end, more than half couldn't create an eternal ultimate technique. All auxiliary cultivation treasures were ultimately just aids. The most important factor was still oneself.

It's a pity. Creating a limitbreak Overlord ultimate technique is easy, but trying to create an eternal ultimate technique is indeed difficult.

Attempting to break through the shackles of the Great Dao to pioneer one's own Dao seems even more distant.

Wu Yuan thought to himself.

Looking back on these tens of thousands of years of cultivation, both of his true selves had made significant progress.

His qi refiner self, for instance, had reached the peak of the eighth-level Dao Field stage of the Great Dao of Spacetime, and could break through to the ninth-level Dao Field stage at any moment. This speed was already incredibly frightening.

Of course, breaking through to the ninth-level Dao Field stage was extremely difficult. Many Saintcrest Prodigies throughout history had been stuck at this step.

Those who could break through as swiftly as Wu Yuan's body refiner self to become true Overlords were ultimately few—a single samsara cycle of heaven and earth might not produce more than a handful of such geniuses.

It's enough. My qi refiner self's cultivation speed is destined to lag behind my body refiner self. Providing support is its greatest function.

Wu Yuan was already immensely satisfied.

If not for the subtle influence of the Primordial Rules, his qi refiner self wouldn't have been able to cultivate this quickly.

Take Zhu Shan, for example. As far as Wu Yuan knew, his Dao comprehension might not even have reached the eighth-level Dao Field stage yet.

Of course, compared to his qi refiner self, his body refiner self's power increase was even more astonishing. However, tens of thousands of years hadn't brought about earth-shattering changes.

For Wu Yuan, true qualitative change in his body refiner self would come either from breaking through to the Overlord level on the path of matter, or from creating an eternal ultimate technique.

As for Dao pioneering? That was the ultimate pursuit of sempiternal lifeforms.

Beyond that, other breakthroughs merely increased strength, without fundamental transformation.

The Flower of Sin, born from endless sin, yet incomparably pure.

Wu Yuan silently observed the Flower of Sin, sensing the aura emanating from its bud.

As one of the Abyss's most wondrous creations, observing it for tens of thousands of years had yielded Wu Yuan great insights. In just over forty thousand years, he had been able to create more powerful ultimate techniques, thanks in part to the Flower of Sin.

Matter profundities.

Wu Yuan's body refiner self multitasked, dedicating part of his focus to comprehending the Primal Force Diagrams while also pondering the Great Dao of Creation.

Of the Five Thousand Primal Force Diagrams, he had already comprehended and analyzed over 4,700. The further he progressed, the more difficult breakthroughs in analysis became. After all, these Primal Force Diagrams represented the limit of matter analysis by sempiternal lifeforms.

Ninth-stage Sovereign. As of now, with sheer strength alone, a single punch from me can unleash ninth-stage Sovereign-level power.

Wu Yuan mused, yearning for a breakthrough as he patiently contemplated.

If I were to reach the Overlord level on both the path of matter and the path of Laws, my overall strength would increase dramatically.

There were no shortcuts to understanding matter profundities. It was a process of repeated analysis and deduction, with the rest depending on comprehension aptitude and time.

Days passed one after another.

Hmm?

Wu Yuan, deep in meditation, sensed something and opened his eyes.

Whoosh~

In an instant, Wu Yuan's perception was amplified by the three grand arrays spanning hundreds of billions of li, immediately detecting the purple-robed figure at the outermost edge of the array. His aura was immense, clearly that of an Overlord.

He was boldly attempting to break into the array. If not for this, Wu Yuan wouldn't have been able to sense his presence at all.

How foolish.

Wu Yuan shook his head slightly.

This grand array interweaves reality and illusion, approaching the very pinnacle of heaven and earth. How could it be broken so easily?

Observing from his position, Wu Yuan could confirm that it would be extremely difficult for this Overlord to break the array.

"Yun Yi, why didn't you inform me that this Overlord arrived?" Wu Yuan inquired directly.

"Master. I have been activating the array to eliminate any late-stage Sovereigns who passed by," Yun Yi appeared before Wu Yuan in a flash. "As for this Devil Emperor, he's been very cautious. It's difficult to kill him with just the array's power alone.

"However. I've been observing him for a long time, and I feel he can't break into the array. If I had informed you earlier and you went over to kill him, it might have exposed your presence and potentially caused even bigger problems," Yun Yi explained. "It's better to leave him be."

Wu Yuan nodded lightly, finding Yun Yi's reasoning sound. They might delay things for much longer by ignoring him. As long as they had another two thousand years or so, the Flower of Sin would truly bloom, and they wouldn't need to worry about being discovered.

"Alright, I understand," Wu Yuan nodded, following Yun Yi's advice.

And so, year after year passed, with over a century gone in the blink of an eye.

Wu Yuan continued to ignore Overlord Qian Ze.

Eternal ultimate technique.

Wu Yuan contemplated deeply, constantly refining the ultimate technique he had created while also ruminating on the insights of the Daos created by Dao Pioneer Eternals, eager to create an eternal ultimate technique.

Boom!!!

Suddenly, a shocking wave of energy was transmitted from hundreds of billions of li away. Spacetime began to quake, the reverberations radiating outward. In that instant, the Realm Mirage Array showed signs of collapse.