Chapter 1180: A Chance To Rule The Universe (1)

"Breaching the Saintdom of the Immortal Court?" Wu Yuan was stunned upon hearing this. "Eldritch Progenitor, do you mean the Saintdom in the Immortal Court Universe or the one in the Ling Jiang Universe?"

This question made Eldritch Progenitor Di Jiang and Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu smile.

"Naturally, I'm referring to the Immortal Court's Ling Jiang Saintdom," Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu said with a chuckle. "How could you possibly breach the Immortal Court Universe? The Heavenly Imperator can unleash extreme power there, far beyond what any sempiternal lifeform can imagine."

"Wu Yuan, within the Immortal Court Universe, the Heavenly Imperator is invincible, capable of unleashing Dao Zenithel-level power," Eldritch Progenitor Di Jiang added. "Just as Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu is invincible within the Eldritch Court Universe.

"Of course, their invincibility is limited to their respective universes within the River of Universes. In other regions, under the suppression of its essence, they can only unleash power at the Peak True Saint level," Eldritch Progenitor Di Jiang explained.

Wu Yuan listened, inwardly marveling.

‘Only’ at the Peak True Saint level? As expected of the leaders of the Eldritch Court, their perspective was indeed lofty.

Before entering the Xuanhuang Cosmiris, Wu Yuan had dared to claim near invincibility within the River of Universes. But at that time, the power he could unleash was merely at the Threshold Saint level. How vast was the gap compared to the Peak True Saint level?

"Wu Yuan, there's no need to compare yourself to the Heavenly Imperator or me," Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu said with a smile. "Our situations are special. In terms of direct combat, I'm slightly inferior to the Heavenly Imperator, but when it comes to controlling the overall situation, he falls short of me.

"Within the River of Universes, the moment he steps out of the Immortal Court Universe, he can't escape my constraints. He cannot harm you," Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu's voice brimmed with absolute confidence.

Wu Yuan nodded slightly.

On the Path of Ancients, he had indeed experienced the Daos pioneered by Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu, the Heavenly Imperator, and others. They were indeed different.

Perhaps at the sempiternal lifeform stage, the Heavenly Imperator was stronger, but upon reaching the Peak Dao Zenithel level, Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu was not necessarily inferior.

The Dao was pioneered step by step. While the foundation was undoubtedly important, the third step and the fourth step were equally crucial. Many Dao Zenithels also climbed to the peak one step at a time, surpassing others only at later stages.

"Eldritch Progenitors," Wu Yuan said solemnly, "If I attack the Immortal Court's Ling Jiang Saintdom, what level of resistance will I face? Will the Heavenly Imperator descend? What about other Dao Zenithels?"

The two Eldritch Progenitors exchanged a glance.

"The Heavenly Imperator might descend," Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu said. "But none of us can descend in our true bodies. We can only project incarnations, maintaining power at the Full Saint level in other universes.

"However, I will block him."

Wu Yuan nodded lightly, also quite shocked inwardly. So, even in other universes, the Heavenly Imperator and Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu could exert such heaven-defying power. They indeed far surpassed other Dao Zenithels in the cosmic sea.

Thinking of this, Wu Yuan couldn't help but recall Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu's words from years ago, that she could shelter him from all storms within the universe. It was not an empty boast.

"Besides the Heavenly Imperator, there are two major obstacles to breaching the Immortal Court's Saintdom," Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu said. "The first is the arrays. The Immortal Court has paid a huge price to construct arrays for each Saintdom. Their power reaches the limit of the River of Universes, which is the Threshold Dao Pioneer level."

The Threshold Dao Pioneer level was the limit of power allowed by the River of Universes' operation. Anything stronger? It would be suppressed by the essence of the River of Universes. Battles exceeding this level would imperceptibly affect the universe's essence, harming the universe itself.

"I'm confident I can tear through this array," Wu Yuan said candidly.

The eyes of the two Eldritch Progenitors lit up.

"The second major obstacle is the Saintdom Master," Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu continued slowly. "That is, the True Saints behind each Saintdom in the universe, such as True Saint Bu Xiu and True Saint Taiyuan.

"Behind the Immortal Court's Ling Jiang Saintdom is True Saint Xiao Yao."

True Saint Xiao Yao? Wu Yuan listened attentively.

"Those ancient True Saints in the cosmic sea would face tremendous rejection upon entering the River of Universes," Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu explained. "But these Saintdom Masters are all very young. The suppression they face from the River of Universes isn't as severe. Moreover, the special nature of the Saintdoms allows them to descend quickly using the Saintdoms as anchor points.

"Their self-created Daos are strong enough that they face no time limitations when returning to the River of Universes."

Wu Yuan listened, recalling how True Saint Bu Xiu and True Saint Taiyuan had both returned to the universe extremely quickly.

"Once they descend into the River of Universes, they all possess Full Saint level power," Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu said solemnly. "But they can only maintain it for a very short time. The longer they stay, the more severe the suppression from the River of Universes' essence becomes. Eventually, their power will gradually decrease to the Threshold Saint level."

"It may even drop to the Peak Perennial level, inferior to most Saints who return to the River of Universes."

"I see," Wu Yuan realized. No wonder True Saint Bu Xiu had said that the longer he stayed in the River of Universes, the more uncomfortable he felt.

Saints faced many restrictions when descending, but their power remained constant. When True Saints descended, their power was extremely strong at first, but they weakened later.

"Eldritch Progenitors," Wu Yuan said, "if a True Saint descends and is able to unleash Full Saint level power, I'm afraid I won't be able to breach the Saintdom’s defenses in a short time. I must cultivate for another period of time.

"Right now, I estimate that I'm barely approaching Peak Saint level power," Wu Yuan shook his head. "Even if my two true selves, mana body, and ether body join forces, I'm afraid we still wouldn't be a match for a descended True Saint."

Indeed, approaching Peak Saint level power – this was the strength of Wu Yuan's body refiner self. Meanwhile, his qi refiner self was weaker.

In terms of Dao cultivation level, Wu Yuan's body refiner self was nearly at the True Saint level. But in terms of base power, the gap was vast. He could barely reach the Perennial level. Even with extremely powerful artifacts, his overall strength could hardly reach the Peak Saint level.

"Nearly Peak Saint level power?" Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu and Eldritch Progenitor Di Jiang exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with delight.

It seemed this level of strength had already exceeded their expectations.

"Your Dao is absolutely formidable," Eldritch Progenitor Di Jiang looked at Wu Yuan with increasing satisfaction. He and Wu Yuan had little connection in the past, this being their first meeting. But the stronger Wu Yuan was, the more pleased he became.

"This level of strength is sufficient," Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu smiled. "Were you planning to confront a True Saint alone?"

"Isn't that the case?" Wu Yuan was taken aback.

"Haha!" Both Eldritch Progenitors laughed.

"You sure have the courage to dream boldly. If you've undergone Dao Enlightenment, naturally you could," Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu shook her head. "Throughout endless years, the so-called Legends of the River have only ever slayed Saints. True Saints? They're absolutely not something sempiternal lifeforms can contend with.”

"Even within the River of Universes, it's not possible," Eldritch Progenitor Di Jiang also laughed. "Our plan is simply for you to breach the grand array and defeat the descending Saints. That's enough.

"As for True Saint Xiao Yao? Eldritch Progenitor Luan Jiang will naturally intervene. True Saints should be fought by True Saints."

Wu Yuan nodded slightly.

Indeed, no matter how highly Eldritch Progenitors Hou Tu and Di Jiang regarded him, even they did not fully grasp the extent of his true strength. Slaying a True Saint within the River of Universes? No sempiternal lifeform had ever achieved such an impossible feat.

"Originally, we only had a 30% chance of success," Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu smiled. "But with the strength of your body refiner self and ether body alone, we have a 70% chance."

"Is there no 100% guarantee?" Wu Yuan couldn't help but ask.

"Unexpected situations might occur," Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu shook her head lightly. "For example, we must be on guard against the intervention of other Saintdom Masters."

"Other Saintdom Masters?" Wu Yuan instantly understood.

There were twelve Saintdoms in the entire Ling Jiang Universe. Excluding the Spacetime Dao Master, there were still eleven True Saints.

"In a normal confrontation, those Saintdom Masters might not intervene," Eldritch Progenitor Di Jiang said. "But once you unleash your power, if the Immortal Court reveals the truth, the other True Saints will likely be inclined to take action."

"The truth?" Wu Yuan was puzzled.

"Do you think we're asking you to breach one of the Immortal Court's Saintdoms just to slaughter some of their Sovereigns and Overlords? Or for the Immortal Court to temporarily lose the territory of one Saintdom?" Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu gave a mysterious smile.

"Even if you revealed your identity as the Ancestral Pagoda Archon and destroyed the Immortal Court's Saintdoms in thirty-four universes, the loss wouldn't be fatal to the Immortal Court, let alone losing the territory of one Saintdom. It wouldn't shake their foundation. They'd recover in the next samsara cycle of heaven and earth.

"Our plan doesn't require you to expose your identity as the Ancestral Pagoda Archon. Breaching the Immortal Court's Ling Jiang Saintdom is sufficient."

Wu Yuan grew increasingly confused.

If not to slaughter the Immortal Court's sempiternal lifeforms and Saintdoms, then what was the purpose?

At the same time, Wu Yuan had a realization: from his perspective, preventing the Immortal Court from expanding into various universes in the River of Universes for one samsara cycle of heaven and earth seemed like a significant loss for the Immortal Court. But for Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu and Eldritch Progenitor Di Jiang, how many samsara cycles of heaven and earth had they lived through? Competing for temporary gains was utterly unimportant.

"Our goal is to prepare for the creation of another Eldritch Court Universe," Eldritch Progenitor Di Jiang said.

Wu Yuan's pupils constricted slightly. Create another Eldritch Court Universe? Was he referring to the Ling Jiang Universe?