Chapter 1169: Melding A Thousand Daos, Transcending All Laws (2)

"What's the second benefit?" Wu Yuan asked eagerly.

"The second is the Dao traces of historical Legends of the River," the Heavenly Domain Emissary said slowly. "If you can slay their incarnations, then you can absorb and comprehend their Dao imprints perfectly."

Wu Yuan felt increasingly shocked.

Could there be such a great benefit? The Daos pioneered by historical Legends of the River were probably all quite extraordinary. These two major benefits were indeed heaven-defying.

"There are two ways to leave the path alive," said the Heavenly Domain Emissary.

"First is to persist for over a thousand years, after which you will naturally be allowed to leave.

"Second is to slay nine Legends of the River.

"Achieving either requirement allows you to stop fighting at any time and leave the Path of Ancients," said the Heavenly Domain Emissary.

Wu Yuan pondered thoughtfully.

From the Heavenly Domain Emissary's tone, it seemed no one had ever been able to persist indefinitely since ancient times.

"Senior, if one slays all the Legends, can they stay indefinitely?" Wu Yuan couldn't help but ask.

The Heavenly Domain Emissary was stunned for a moment, looking at Wu Yuan as if looking at a fool.

There was a long silence.

"At most, one can stay for ten thousand years," the Heavenly Domain Emissary finally said. "However, since Goddess Nüwa's Dao traces were imprinted, only the Heavenly Imperator succeeded. After the Heavenly Imperator, no one has been able to slay all the Legends of the River."

Wu Yuan's pupils contracted slightly.

So it seemed that in the earliest period, Goddess Nüwa was already an insurmountable peak, which even Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu couldn't overcome. Later, the Heavenly Imperator defeated Goddess Nüwa at the sempiternal stage. After the Heavenly Imperator, no one had cleared the path by defeating all the Legends. No one could defeat the Heavenly Imperator.

"Wu Yuan, you will not only be facing the Heavenly Imperator," the Heavenly Domain Emissary said with a faint smile. "It's the combined might of Yan Tuo, Hou Tu, Nüwa, and the Heavenly Imperator.

"On the Path of Ancients of the River, the Dao traces manifest as the Legends in their prime states during their sempiternal stages."

Wu Yuan felt his heart pounding with increasing alarm as he listened. This level of difficulty was truly astonishing.

"Still confident?" The Heavenly Domain Emissary looked at Wu Yuan with keen interest.

Wu Yuan grinned broadly, uttering a single word: "Yes!"

The Heavenly Domain Emissary was stunned for a moment, shaking his head with an amused chuckle.

"On the Path of Ancients, you cannot use any external weapons or tools," the Heavenly Domain Emissary said, offering no further advice. "You can only rely on your own strength. Go now."

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Wu Yuan's two true selves flew into the distant Path of Ancients.

Such confidence. And such youthful vigor.

The Heavenly Domain Emissary mused inwardly.

It's a pity, for this is an almost impossible feat to accomplish.

Defeating all the Legends of the River? How prodigious must one be to pioneer a Dao during the sempiternal stage? Their self-created Daos are more or less all top-tier Daos.

I hope you’ll persist on the Path of Ancients and glean more benefits. This is your only chance to sense the operation of the entire River of Universes’ essence.

The Heavenly Domain Emissary shook his head gently.

He had high hopes for Wu Yuan, but didn't believe Wu Yuan could achieve such a monumental feat. Even if the Heavenly Imperator, Goddess Nüwa, and the others were to attempt it again, they wouldn't succeed.

The difficulty was simply too great. Not only did they have to defeat the Legends of the River from all eras, but ultimately, they had to defeat themselves.

Thus, of the Legends of the River who dared to attempt this challenge after the Heavenly Imperator, most could count themselves lucky just to return alive.

...

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Wu Yuan's two true selves flew off the bronze platform, landing on the Path of Ancients. Instantly, he felt the surrounding spacetime warp.

The Heavenly Domain Emissary was no longer visible and the bronze platform had vanished. All around was an endless, dark void, with no discernible boundaries.

Beneath his feet stretched the Path of Ancients, a million li wide.

This?

Wu Yuan dared not make any careless movements, frowning slightly.

Didn't the Heavenly Domain Emissary say that I'd be able to merge with the entire River of Universes' essence once I set foot on the Path of Ancients? Why don't I feel anything?

Whoosh~

Above the Path of Ancients, a hazy ripple suddenly materialized. This ripple quickly enveloped Wu Yuan's two true selves. In that instant, Wu Yuan's perception began to expand wildly!

Is this a fluctuation of the River of Universes' essence?

Wu Yuan realized.

Hazily, it seemed to encompass the entire Xuanhuang Cosmiris, including the countless stars within the Cosmiris, and the numerous Overlords struggling fiercely on each star...

Wu Yuan's perception continued to extend beyond the Xuanhuang Cosmiris into the River of Universes.

The boundless void of the River of Universes, countless Xiantian qi streams, universes wrapped in numerous qi streams, the Abyss nurtured in the depths of the River of Universes...

So, the Abyss lies in the depths of the River of Universes... Pity that sempiternal lifeforms cannot cross the layers of obstacles in between; they must pass through the Abyssal Void.

Wu Yuan had an epiphany.

This was still not the limit. Universe after universe - the Long Shan Universe, the Ling Jiang Universe, the Violet Night Universe... various universe exploration sites, vast macrocosms... the operation of countless Sector Rivers in the thirty-six sectors of the Abyss...

In that hazy, nebulous state, Wu Yuan felt as if he were the master of the entire River of Universes, the incarnation of its will. The operation of the entire River of Universes was within his perception.

Of course, Wu Yuan understood that this was merely an illusion. He could only sense it, and very superficially at that. He could only observe the form of many operational rules, unable to comprehend their true profundities, let alone interfere with their functions.

Indistinct, yet crystal clear... It sounded bizarre, but was undeniably real.

How profound and abstruse! Is this the River of Universes' operations?

Wu Yuan was deeply awed.

This is where the essence power of the Primordial Rules resides, a supreme and unparalleled force.

This experience and sensation surpassed that of the Flower of Sin by hundreds or even thousands of times, absolutely capable of shocking and thrilling any living being.

A great opportunity! This was indeed the right decision.

Wu Yuan's conviction grew stronger, his longing intensifying.

At Wu Yuan’s current level, he wasn’t able to understand the most fundamental profundities. However, even those Dao Zenithels at the peak of the cosmic sea might not be able to understand them.

If they could, the Eternal Realms constructed by Dao Zenithels wouldn't fall short of universes.

However, Wu Yuan didn't need to comprehend everything. Just gaining some insights and imitating what he’d learned was enough to benefit him greatly.

I have 999 years?

Wu Yuan received this message.

Those who challenged the Path of Ancients would not face attacks for the first 999 years, allowing them to contemplate peacefully. Then, they would face the Legends of the River manifested from their Dao traces.

Over nine hundred years. That’s enough time for me to comprehend.

Wu Yuan's two true selves immersed themselves in contemplation.

...

The operation of the River of Universes! What marvelous insights these are. If I were to pioneer a Dream Universe or Dream Megaverse in the future, I could reference the framework of the entire River of Universes.

Wu Yuan's qi refiner self eagerly contemplated.

...

The Abyss, divided into thirty-six sectors. The thirty-six universes. The void of the River of Universes completely envelops both, forming the framework of the entire River of Universes.

Wu Yuan's body refiner self looked at things from a new, higher perspective.

He didn't dwell on the details. Instead, he focused on the larger framework, focusing especially on the Abyss's essence and each universe's essence.

The Abyss's essence.

Wu Yuan carefully sensed it.

He had once sensed the Abyss's essence through the Flower of Sin. But firstly, he was weaker then and his spirit had not yet reached the eternal level. Secondly, the efficacy of the Flower of Sin was far inferior, making his perception far less clear.

Destruction! Extreme destruction!

Wu Yuan shuddered as he perceived, now with far greater clarity.

The Abyss's essence frantically devoured the Xuanhuang qi in the River of Universes. At the same time, it was also absorbing the animus of countless dead Abyssal Devils from the thirty-six sectors, grinding and consuming them.

The Sector River that flowed through the thirty-six sectors could also be called the river of destruction, as it was directly connected to the Abyss's essence!

No wonder all the living beings of the Abyss have such extreme destructive natures! Born with a love for slaughter, easily enraged and maddened.

Wu Yuan marveled inwardly.

Whether it was the Abyss itself or the living beings born from it, they all carried the most primal sense of destruction within.

But, at the end of destruction, there is creation.

Wu Yuan began to see the fundamental nature of the Abyss for what it was.

Interlinked, the thirty-six sectors are nearly perfect and flawless, completing the Abyss. Not a bit more, not a bit less.

The Sector River spawns new members of the Abyssal Devil race, never ceasing.

The Abyss embodied destruction, but at the end of destruction was creation.

Universe.

Wu Yuan then observed the essence of various universes.

All universes are constantly expanding.

Wu Yuan sensed this.

The distances between macrocosms are constantly increasing, universes are expanding at an astonishing speed in all directions, into the void of the River of Universes... This is an amazing force of creation!

New worlds will be created in the expanding void, and new macrocosms will be born. There will be new stars, new expanses of outer space in the universes, and countless new living beings...

Each universe was full of vigor. Countless living beings multiplied, their songs and laughter echoing. Countless families grew stronger through heritage. Blood lineage propagation, civilization... At their core essence, they were all about creation, creating the future.

Creation, future, new life.

Its impact on Wu Yuan was far less intense than the destructive nature of the Abyss's essence, and he began to immerse himself in it gradually.

His consciousness merged into a universe's essence. In the depths of his mind, he seemed to see a constantly expanding future.

In an infinitely distant future, the entire universe had expanded to its limit. In that instant, the entire universe would collapse and implode with a thunderous crash. Countless matter would revert back to Xiantian qi streams, spewing into the void of the River of Universes. The entire universe would return to a singular point in an extremely short time. Then, everything would start anew.

At the end of creation is the most extreme destruction, and after destruction comes rebirth...

Wu Yuan gradually understood.

The Abyss and the universe, opposing yet intertwining, were both parts of the River of Universes. What they represented was destruction and creation.