Chapter 1127: A True Hopeless Situation (2)

"Senior White Emperor," Wu Yuan said, turning his gaze toward the imposing figure.

White Emperor gestured toward the three figures standing before them. "These are the three guardians. Your task isn't necessarily to defeat them—merely to pass them and enter the depths of the passage. Do that, and you'll have succeeded."

"I don't need to defeat them?" Wu Yuan's voice carried a note of confusion.

A laugh escaped White Emperor's lips. "You won't be able to. Their strength exceeds anything you could imagine..." His eyes gleamed with knowing amusement. "You'll understand once you face them. Though nothing is absolute—perhaps you might defeat them through clever methods. It all depends on your approach."

Wu Yuan nodded slightly.

His power ranked at the pinnacle among sempiternal lifeforms. With both his true selves present, as well as his mana body and ether body, this was the full strength he could muster. Though there was no retreat possible, he now wielded his complete arsenal.

Even if confronted by the Heavenly Imperator or Great Emperor Yan Tuo when they were at the sempiternal stage, he believed he could defeat or even destroy them.

Studying the three figures, Wu Yuan sensed that they were all at the sempiternal lifeform level. None radiated the distinctive eternal Dao resonance.

It was worth noting that even puppets with Perennial or Saint-level strength emitted eternal Dao resonance. Three mere sempiternals? How formidable could they truly be?

White Emperor glanced at Wu Yuan, easily perceiving his thoughts but showing no interest in offering further warnings.

"I'll take my leave now," White Emperor said with a cryptic smile. "Remember, kid, fail to pass through the Path of Light, and you'll be trapped here for a million years, ten million years, perhaps even a hundred million years."

With a single step, White Emperor vanished into the void, leaving Wu Yuan alone to face his challenge.

Ten million years? Over a hundred million years?

Wu Yuan's eyes blazed with determination.

A hundred thousand years. I must escape within a hundred thousand years at most.

The Xuanhuang Cosmiris would open in no more than 110,000 years. Wu Yuan refused to miss that opportunity.

With a fluid movement, Wu Yuan's mana body and ether body separated from his main form, surging toward the distant Path of Light.

Despite his confidence, White Emperor's warning left him cautious. He would send his mana and ether bodies first to test the waters. If no mortal danger presented itself, his body refiner and qi refiner selves would join the assault. In raw power, his mana and ether bodies weren't significantly weaker.

On the Path of Light, the three guardians exchanged glances as White Emperor departed. The woman in purple gossamer and the white-robed elderly man turned and flew deeper into the passage. Before leaving, the elderly man offered Wu Yuan a kindly smile that revealed nothing.

In an instant, only the towering black-armored giant remained at the entrance. Roughly 900 million li behind him stood the woman in purple gossamer, and an equal distance behind her waited the white-robed elderly man.

Wu Yuan immediately understood—they would guard in stages rather than confront him together.

Are they underestimating me? Or is cooperation simply not their thing?

The thought flashed through his mind.

His mana body and ether body reached the entrance to the Path of Light. The opening stretched a hundred million li wide, the towering armored guardian occupying only a fraction of that vast space.

Wu Yuan's two bodies separated, accelerating to maximum velocity as they attempted to rush past the armored giant—one to the left, one to the right.

The moment his ether body stepped onto the Path of Light, the armored guardian's aura surged with terrifying intensity. Cryptic patterns brimming with destructive energy appeared across his black armor, twisting and distorting the surrounding space.

Wu Yuan felt a chill. This display of might suggested Saint-level power.

As the guardian's aura exploded, shifting the very hues of heaven and earth, he moved with shocking speed. In an instant, he reached several hundred times the speed of light, violently charging toward Wu Yuan's mana body.

Six hundred times light speed?

Wu Yuan's mind reeled in disbelief.

How is this possible?

This was the cosmic sea dimension. As strong as Wu Yuan was, he topped out at a hundred times light speed. His instantaneous burst speed paled against his opponent's. What manner of being was this?

The Origin Saint Pearl materialized above Wu Yuan's mana body as he deployed the Spacetime Ring.

Surging mana poured forth, transforming the surrounding spacetime. Forces of distortion immediately enveloped the armored giant.

Wu Yuan unleashed everything simultaneously—the Origin Saint Pearl, the Heavenrending Sword Array, the Samsara Sword's Dao resonance—all at full power to trap his opponent. Such a combination was enough to ensnare a Peak Perennial powerhouse.

"Mere tricks," the armored giant snorted. Rolling streams of energy rolled from his nostrils as he clenched his fist and swung with terrifying force.

Boom!

The impact caused spacetime to quake violently. Devoid of any Law-based power, the blow sent shockwaves in all directions. The Spacetime Ring began collapsing, unable to withstand such overwhelming force.

He’s this strong?

Wu Yuan's eyes widened in shock. The power behind that punch unquestionably reached the Dao Pioneer level.

Pure strength at this level? How truly frightening—the embodiment of absolute power shattering all techniques. Fortunately, the Spacetime Ring had absorbed some of the impact, buying his mana body precious moments to retreat.

"This domain is too weak. Die." The towering guardian stood like an eternal pillar in the endless void. Having shattered the Spacetime Ring with one punch, he swung his left fist again.

Immense force concentrated in this second blow. With terrifying speed, it crossed tens of millions of li in an instant, smashing directly toward Wu Yuan's mana body.

A direct hit would obliterate Wu Yuan's mana body completely. No possibility of survival would remain.

As the fist tore through the void, the very heavens seemed to split apart. Then, unexpectedly, the armored giant paused in confusion.

I struck in the wrong direction?

He had clearly targeted his tiny opponent. How could he possibly miss?

An instant later, understanding dawned on him.

An illusion! A soul technique?

His gaze swept the area, catching Wu Yuan's mana body frantically fleeing to one side, attempting to rush past him into the depths of the Path of Light.

In that lightning-fast moment, Wu Yuan's mana body had deployed his limitbreak Overlord technique, World of Dreams, attempting to draw the guardian imperceptibly into his dream world.

But as he tried to infiltrate the guardian's soul, Wu Yuan recoiled in shock. This being's internal spirit world wasn't like that of a normal living being. It resembled a condensed Abyss, teeming with endless sin. The moment Wu Yuan made the attempt, he felt countless wailing ghosts and devils howling within.

The armored giant was nothing like a living being. He seemed more an incarnation of countless evil ghosts and vengeful spirits combined. Wu Yuan's own soul was somewhat affected, as if on the verge of backlash from the brief contact.

He barely managed to break free of that strange effect. In the end, the newly created ultimate technique, which he had been so proud of, had only slightly influenced his opponent.

"Illusion art? Dreamscape?" The guardian's cold voice reverberated through heaven and earth. "You haven't even reached the eternal level, yet you dare try to influence me? What a joke."

He strode forward again, swiftly striking at Wu Yuan's mana body. This time, even a second application of World of Dreams would hardly affect him. Most soul techniques lost effectiveness with repeated use against the same enemy.

Whoosh!

The armored giant closed in on Wu Yuan's mana body with terrifying speed.

"Fall!" he roared, swinging his great palm in a devastating strike. The attack crushed down like an entire universe, leaving Wu Yuan's mana body nowhere to escape.

"Scram!" An enraged bellow tore through the air.

At this critical moment, Wu Yuan's ether body arrived. Its nine arms swung simultaneously, unleashing nine dazzling blade rays that tore through space, converging into one ferocious blade ray aimed at the armored giant.

Eternal ultimate technique—Blade of the Abyss!

Blade met fist in a catastrophic collision. The miniature Abyss formed by the blade ray exploded and shattered, while the horrifying power of the fist was diminished by half.

The remaining force slammed into Wu Yuan's ether body, sending it flying back tens of millions of li.

As his ether body soared backward, it gestured sharply, drawing the mana body into its grotto-heaven for protection.

Finally, it crashed heavily into the mountainside, causing the walls of the Path of Light to tremble.

"Flee!" Wu Yuan's ether body darted away, frantically retreating toward the entrance.

"You took my punch without dying?" The armored giant's brow furrowed slightly. "Your physical defense is impressive. Let's see how many punches you can withstand."

He pounced forward like lightning, unleashing a barrage of deadly strikes.

Wu Yuan's ether body dodged desperately, but his opponent moved with impossible speed. Before escaping the Path of Light, he suffered four or five direct hits. Each punch caused his vital aura to plummet dramatically.

Finally, Wu Yuan burst out of the Path of Light, soaring skyward. The armored giant halted his pursuit at the boundary, as if forbidden to step beyond it.

"Next time, I won't let you escape," he snarled, his voice echoing through the vast world.

Seeing his pursuer stop, Wu Yuan finally exhaled in relief, though fear still gripped his heart.

I am a Matter Overlord with mid-grade Xiantian artifact battle armor. My physical defense reaches the Threshold Dao Pioneer level. Yet a single punch wounded me, and just six reduced my vital aura by over ten percent.

Wu Yuan marveled inwardly.

If I truly tried to force my way through, I fear I'd be beaten to death long before reaching the purple-robed woman.

Nine hundred million li separated the two guardians—an impossible distance to cross under such assault.

Kill him? Wu Yuan immediately dismissed the thought. When his blade technique struck the guardian's fist, it was like a pebble hitting a steel plate, barely leaving a mark. The gap in strength was simply too vast.

What should I do?

His mind raced with anxiety. The towering armored man was fast, hit hard, and had ridiculous physical defense. Even his soul defenses were astonishing, barely affected by Wu Yuan's newly created ultimate move

Even if all four of my combat bodies attacked together, risking everything, I'd likely lose two or three just to reach the second guardian.

Wu Yuan thought grimly.

If his body refiner and ether bodies fought desperately to occupy the first guardian, his qi refiner self might make it past him. But what then? Logically, the second guardian would be even stronger than the first.

Moreover, there was no rule stating the first guardian would stop his pursuit once the second was engaged. If both attacked simultaneously, the situation would be truly hopeless.

Time passed.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Wu Yuan tried again and again, testing various combinations and strategies.

His mana body and ether body attacked together, with his ether body engaging first, followed by this mana body using River Ring, but still failed.

Even when both true selves charged into the Path of Light simultaneously, they couldn't match the armored giant. Forget winning, they couldn't even restrain him.

In his best attempt, Wu Yuan advanced only a hundred million li before being forced to retreat. Pressing further meant certain death.

I can't be reckless. I need to find another way. Let’s think of something else.

Wu Yuan ceased his attempts, forcing himself to calm down and reconsider his options.

Yet deep down, he knew he faced a genuine crisis. With the first guardian so overwhelmingly powerful, completing this challenge seemed impossible.

Am I truly doomed to be trapped here for tens of millions—perhaps hundreds of millions—of years?

The thought surfaced unbidden, heavy with despair.