Chapter 1145: The Immortal Court's Deadly Scheme (1)

"Ba You, stop painting such a grand picture for me," Wu Yuan shook his head. "The cake’s too large; I can't swallow it."

The strongest soul class powerhouse? On par with Goddess Nüwa? For the current Wu Yuan, that was far too distant a goal.

"Painting a grand picture? How can this be called painting a grand picture? This is long-term planning..." The elderly man's eyes widened as his eloquent speech was cut short.

"Fine, long-term planning. We'll plan when I become a True Saint and truly control the Samsara Sword," Wu Yuan interrupted him. "You just said this Samsara Sword could inherently transform into a psyche weapon?"

"Correct." The purple-robed elderly man nodded. "There are two types of psyche weapons. One is formed from a powerhouse's own spirit and consciousness. After attaining an Eternal Psyche, one’s consciousness can interfere with reality. When spirit and consciousness are employed in unique ways, they can possess heaven-defying might."

Wu Yuan nodded slightly. The spirit could transform into a vast and limitless Dream World encompassing everything.

It could also be forged into a psyche weapon, focusing on a single purpose – extinguishing the enemy's spirit and soul.

"The second type is an artifact psyche weapon," the purple-robed elderly man said. "These are commonly known as soul-type treasures. But even Xiantian artifacts and Chaos Treasures of this category have a fatal flaw - they cannot perfectly transition between virtual and real. The vast majority of their power is still rooted in reality.

"Reality is where their foundations lie. So, the power allocated for spirit and soul attacks is only a small fraction of their overall capabilities."

Virtual-real transition, fully illusory.

A glimmer flashed through Wu Yuan's eyes as he pondered thoughtfully.

He recalled some information Goddess Nüwa had mentioned in the Eternal Dream Codex.

"The Samsara Sword can achieve this?" Wu Yuan asked.

"Naturally." The purple-robed elderly man nodded. "The Samsara Sword is, in essence, a soul secret treasure. If you can fully unleash its power in the future, you could erase all of an enemy's aura imprints and traces across countless spacetimes in the infinite cosmic sea. This goes even for a Dao Zenithel.

"You could sever all their past, present, and future possibilities. If not for this, how could it be worthy of the name 'samsara'?" The purple-robed elderly man said proudly.

Samsara?

Wu Yuan listened, his mind shaken. Erasing all possibilities of a Dao Zenithel? How heaven-defying! So this was the true power of the Samsara Sword. One strike to bury an enemy’s entire circle of life.

"Of course, if manifested in reality, it is also an extremely powerful physical weapon." The purple-robed elderly man looked at Wu Yuan, pointing to the Samsara Sword in the distance. "Your act of manifesting this strand of essence actually puts the cart before the horse, obscuring its original radiance."

Wu Yuan was struck speechless. How could he have known all this beforehand?

"However, I can't say you made a mistake. Before, when your spirit hadn't even reached the eternal level, how could you have known these things? You could only tell that the Dao resonance was growing more effective at improving your physical attacks." The purple-robed elderly man said, "Moreover, you can now use this sword."

"I can use it?" Wu Yuan's eyes lit up.

Just now, Wu Yuan had been worried that he wouldn’t be able to use it yet. After all, although the Samsara Sword was powerful, being a Xuanhuang Dao Treasure, he might not be able to get his hands on it.

"You wouldn't even be able to touch the true Samsara Sword. But this strand of the sword's essence that you've transformed into reality has already become semi-independent." The purple-robed elderly man said, "It can be considered an incomplete version of the Samsara Sword. We might as well call it the Netherworld Sword."

"Samsara? Netherworld?" Wu Yuan nodded lightly. "Very well."

"This Netherworld Sword, if classified according to the usual standards, would be considered a high-grade Xiantian artifact." The purple-robed elderly man said, "But since you personally manifested it, it's only a hair's breadth away from being a lifebound artifact. Moreover, it is a pure psyche weapon sword.

"To make a comparison, the Netherworld Sword is hardly inferior to many soul-type Xiantian Instruments," the purple-robed elderly man said solemnly.

Wu Yuan's eyes brightened as he listened.

A high-grade Xiantian artifact? Hardly inferior to many Xiantian Instruments? Though it didn't sound as thrilling as a Xuanhuang Dao Treasure, at least he could use it now.

"Ming Jian, I've told you all that needs to be said," the purple-robed elderly man said. "I don't need to impart the teachings for cultivating psyche weapons, do I?"

"No need," Wu Yuan shook his head.

The Eternal Dream Codex already contained the most advanced methods for forging psyche weapons. He simply couldn't cultivate them as he was maintaining the Dream World.

"Good, then I'll take my leave. Work hard. Become a True Saint soon and come to retrieve me. And for goodness sake, don't wait until the next samsara cycle of heaven and earth to come. Even ghosts wouldn’t want to dwell in that place, let alone a spirit like me..." The purple-robed elderly man shook his head as he dissipated, a fluctuation entering the nearby Netherworld Sword.

The space within Wu Yuan's body also fell completely silent.

So the true Samsara Sword is actually a Xuanhuang Dao Treasure?

Wu Yuan sighed inwardly.

It represents the Primordial Order, similar to the Dao Masters. No wonder it could contend with the projection of the black pagoda back then.

He should have realized it sooner.

The black pagoda projection he saw back then wasn’t the true form of the Ancestral Pagoda. But if the Samsara Sword hadn’t been such a heaven-defying artifact, how could it have dared to defy it at all?

The Spacetime Dao Master once told me the Samsara Sword would be a powerful aid on my path to Dao Enlightenment—even in breaking free from the Ancestral Pagoda’s constraints. He wasn't wrong...

Wu Yuan reflected silently.

Zi Kong had also said that, among all the treasures within the inheritance grounds, the Samsara Sword ranked at the very top.

Now, many things that once puzzled him began to make perfect sense.

But does the Dao Master truly intend to let me wield such an ultimate treasure in the future?

Wu Yuan found it hard to believe.

This wasn't just some Xiantian Instrument or Chaos Treasure. It was a Xuanhuang Dao Treasure! Looking across the entire cosmic sea, how many had emerged among the numerous Dao Zenithels?

What plans does the old Dao Master truly have?

Wu Yuan murmured to himself.

He didn’t even give me his Great Dao imprint. This is different from True Saint Bu Xiu and True Saint Taiyuan.

Without bearing the Great Dao imprint, he couldn't fuse with the imprint or use it as an anchor point for returning. Wu Yuan's experience was ultimately limited; he couldn't understand everything.

I'll wait. As my strength grows, all secrets will eventually be revealed.

Wu Yuan's mind regained its tranquility.

All I need to do is further strengthen myself.

I should try forging the Netherworld Sword into a psyche weapon.

Once Wu Yuan's consciousness fully returned, he began to attempt this.

Fortunately, although Wu Yuan wasn't yet the true master of the Samsara Sword, he had achieved full control over the Netherworld Sword.

The Eternal Dream Codex contained many teachings on psyche weapons, but only two were cultivation methods: ‘External Psyche Weapon’ and ‘Lifebound Psyche Weapon’.

The ‘External Psyche Weapon' method is mainly used by Psyche Dream class powerhouses. It entails controlling soul-type Xiantian artifacts within the dreamscape to carry out slaughter.

Wu Yuan understood clearly.

The power of the soul attacks would be very strong, but not comparable to true Psyche Arsenal class powerhouses.

Psyche Arsenal class powerhouses who cultivated the 'Lifebound Psyche Weapon' method could also deploy illusions, but at the same cultivation level, they certainly couldn’t compare to Psyche Dream class powerhouses.

This was a fundamental difference between the two major classes. No one could excel at everything; there would always be strengths and weaknesses. Most powerhouses only developed their specialties to extreme heights.

However, I have the Netherworld Sword. This should count as one of the top external psyche weapons in the vast cosmic sea.

Wu Yuan revealed a slight smile.

With the Netherworld Sword as the source of attack power, my psyche weapon should be no less powerful than those of Psyche Arsenal class powerhouses. It might even be stronger.

His body refiner self, cultivating both the path of matter and the path of Laws, possessed overwhelming combat power, reaching extreme levels in physical attacks and physical defense.

From now on, Wu Yuan's qi refiner self could likewise be said to cultivate both the Psyche Dream class and the Psyche Arsenal class.

'External Psyche Weapon'.

Wu Yuan began to cultivate this teaching. Various profundities surged into his mind as he delved in, ensuring absolute accuracy.

The deduction process alone lasted over a thousand years.

Begin.

With a thought from Wu Yuan, soul power surged like a tide into the Netherworld Sword.

This time, the Netherworld Sword did not pull Wu Yuan in. It simply accepted Wu Yuan's presence silently.

As his soul power reached in, Wu Yuan swiftly gained control over the entire Netherworld Sword. The Dao essence at the core of the blade was vast and boundless, far more powerful than artifacts like the Azure Origin Armor or the Mo Yuan Sabers. It truly was a top-tier high-grade Xiantian artifact.

Moreover, Wu Yuan could detect a trace of an inexplicable fluctuation within the Dao essence of the Netherworld Sword. It was majestic, vast, and filled with authority, almost instinctively evoking a sense of submission in Wu Yuan.

This faint essence fluctuation is the core of the Netherworld Sword?

Wu Yuan pondered.

Is it also derived from that strand of essence from the Samsara Sword?

This strand of essence was the true core. As for the remaining Dao essence power of the Netherworld Sword? Essentially, it was a mixture of the essences of the Dao Instruments and the like that had been absorbed over a long period of time, not particularly precious. Together, they made up the current Netherworld Sword.

Spirit Infiltration.

With a thought from Wu Yuan, his soul power circulated according to the teaching, instantly forming 5,400 spirit chains that gradually infiltrated every corner of the Netherworld Sword.

This was just the first step.

Spirit Infiltration – Virtual-Real Transformation – Dreamscape Accommodation – Virtual-Real Symbiosis – Psyche Unification.

According to 'External Psyche Weapon', there were five major steps in total. The process of forging the Netherworld Sword into a psyche weapon was destined to be a long one. But Wu Yuan wasn't in a hurry.

He cultivated step by step, following the method precisely.

...

Time flowed like water. The strength of Wu Yuan's two true selves increased steadily and methodically, advancing towards higher levels. This was all preparation for Dao pioneering as a sempiternal lifeform.

Meanwhile, various major powers across the cosmic sea were mostly conducting final preparations for the Xuanhuang Cosmiris, gathering up the large numbers of sempiternal lifeforms under their command.

"The Xuanhuang Cosmiris, an event held once every 5.5 billion years."

"Haha, this is a grand event for us sempiternal lifeforms. Legend says it holds countless opportunities."

"This is also an opportunity for us naturally-born eternal lifeforms."

"We naturally-born eternal lifeforms who haven't become Perennials can still participate. The Saint Realm has already issued orders and officially begun recruitment." News spread throughout the various Saint Realms and Eternal Realms across the cosmic sea.

For naturally-born eternal lifeforms, becoming Overlords wasn't difficult, but to become Perennials, they still had to experience numerous hardships and trials to break through.

However, if one failed to break through before the end of a samsara cycle of heaven and earth? Then even naturally-born eternal lifeforms would perish.

Therefore, it wasn’t just sempiternal lifeforms who strove hard on the path to eternity, those naturally-born eternal lifeforms also struggled desperately, venturing out to seek various opportunities.

"One must possess third-stage Overlord strength to participate."

"The Xuanhuang Cosmiris is shrouded in Xuanhuang qi. Third-stage Overlords must be escorted by Saints, so spots are limited."

"If one's strength is insufficient, venturing into the Xuanhuang Cosmiris means certain death." A series of instructions were issued.

There were strength requirements. Fourth-stage Overlord strength? One could enter on their own. But with only third-stage Overlord strength, one would have to be sent in by eternal powerhouses who would return to the River.

Of course, across the entire cosmic sea, the numerous Saint Realms and Eternal Realms were home to vast numbers of sempiternal lifeforms. Adding them all up, the number of powerhouses who reached the third-stage Overlord level was an astonishing figure.

The most crucial point – to participate in the Xuanhuang Cosmiris, one must send their true self. The risk of perishing alone was enough to give many powerhouses pause.

"Afraid? What is there to fear?"

"If you’re so cautious, when will you ever break through to eternity?"

"I've hit a bottleneck. During the previous openings of the Xuanhuang Cosmiris, I didn't dare to venture in, but my strength still hasn't improved. Exploring the cosmic sea... what exploration site in the cosmic sea can compare to the Xuanhuang Cosmiris? I'll risk it all!"

"If we don't take risks, how can we achieve eternity through Dao Enlightenment?" Some Overlords hesitated, but even more chose to face the challenge head-on.

Among those who cultivated to the Overlord level, few would retreat from such a challenge.