Chapter 1272: A Chaos Jade Crystal Emerges (2)

Across the boundless void, others had felt it too.

A man with flowing hair and blue robes stood motionless, exuding natural grace and authority. His eyes narrowed as he gazed into the distance.

A Chaos Treasure? No! It's a Chaos Jade Crystal!

In a flash, he soared upward, his elegant form vanishing into the darkness.

...

From a magnificent cosmic river that spanned the outer reaches of space, a flame-red figure soared into the sky. His aura radiated with dominance, overwhelming and fierce.

Chaos Jade Crystal?

True Saint Yan Huo's eyes gleamed with fierce ambition.

Haha, it seems I, Yan Huo, have been granted a great opportunity.

He glanced around the empty void.

It doesn’t appear to be far from me. I hope Cloud Saint, Luo Quan, and the others aren't nearby. This should be the first Chaos Jade Crystal to emerge; it's destined to be mine.

Yan Huo shot forward, treading upon the cosmic river as he rapidly accelerated toward the source of the disturbance.

...

Elsewhere, atop a colossal divine tree that stretched over a hundred million li, an emaciated elderly man's eyes snapped open. His clouded gaze peered into the infinite darkness.

Chaos Jade Crystal? Finally, the wait is over. After laying dormant countless ages, I wonder how many in the cosmic sea still remember me.

Whoosh!

He drifted over a hundred million li in a flash.

...

The emergence of the first Chaos Jade Crystal sent shockwaves across more than one-fifth of the Tenth Chaos Void. All True Saints occupying this region sensed its presence, igniting a furious race.

"Chaos Jade Crystal!"

"The first one has appeared!"

"Quick, we must get to it immediately!"

Thousands of True Saints erupted into action, making a mad dash toward the source. Those with significant power, who believed they stood a chance of claiming it, felt their blood boil with excitement. After cultivating for countless ages, perpetually trapped at the True Saint stage, they saw this as their golden opportunity to advance to Dao Zenithel. If not now, when?

Yet for many others, the news brought only resignation.

"The Chaos Jade Crystal has appeared? I didn't sense anything here; it must be too far away."

This intelligence spread rapidly, reaching tens of thousands of True Saints throughout the Tenth Chaos Void. Many sighed in disappointment but didn't bother to head over. If they couldn't even sense the spacetime disturbance, the treasure was simply too far from them. The journey might take thousands of years, and by then, the treasure would be long gone.

"The first Chaos Jade Crystal has emerged.”

"The second won't be far behind, and it won't always appear in the same region. Let's wait patiently."

Powerhouses like Cloud Saint, True Saint Luo Quan, True Saint Dong Yi, and other top-ranking figures chose to forgo this competition, biding their time for the next crystal to manifest. The Tenth Chaos Void was simply too vast.

...

The majority of True Saints, upon hearing the news, reluctantly abandoned hope. But within the range of the spacetime disturbance, over a thousand True Saints raced frantically toward its source, setting the stage for a battle of immense proportions.

...

As Wu Yuan sped through the void, messages from Eldritch Court powerhouses who had arrived ahead of him poured in. Aside from the Eldritch Court, numerous powerhouses from the same faction quickly exchanged information.

"True Saint Wu Yuan, there's a massive array here. For now, we can't breach it and are all blocked outside."

"Over a hundred True Saints have gathered already."

"Powerhouses ranked in the top hundred of the True Saint Rankings have arrived."

"True Saint Yan Huo is here."

The stream of information allowed Wu Yuan to prepare himself mentally before his arrival, forming strategies and contingencies.

Within the Eldritch Court Voidrealm, in the Eldritch Progenitor Hall, numerous True Saints watched the unfolding scene through a light screen.

"Wu Yuan, we’ll be depending on you for this upcoming battle," True Saint Dong Yi declared. "You must defeat True Saint Yan Huo and seize the Chaos Jade Crystal."

True Saint Pu Yang, True Saint Qi Guang, and the others fixed their gazes on Wu Yuan, their eyes brimming with expectation.

"Understood," Wu Yuan's avatar nodded slightly. "Rest assured."

True Saint Yan Huo? Memories of their previous confrontation stirred in Wu Yuan’s mind. Previously, Wu Yuan had essentially fled. But now?

Yan Huo.

He thought.

I hope you don't disappoint me.

After nearly a hundred years of travel, Wu Yuan finally arrived.

Hm?

From a distance, he beheld a breathtaking sight—an impossibly vast array stretching across the void, its diameter exceeding ten billion li. Endless light erupted from within in all directions, illuminating the darkness as if transforming night into day.

Majestic fluctuations continuously pulsed from the array, radiating an aura of extreme danger. The hundreds of True Saints who had already gathered dared not approach, let alone attempt to enter.

Wu Yuan drew near, and dozens of Eldritch Court True Saints immediately rushed over to greet him.

"True Saint Wu Yuan!"

"Wu Yuan!"

"You've finally arrived." Their voices rang with excitement and relief.

This scene instantly drew the attention of True Saints from rival factions.

"It's Wu Yuan!"

"Wu Yuan, ranked fifth on the True Saint Rankings. They say his physical defense has reached the Dao Zenithel level."

"When the Chaos Jade Crystal emerges, we must join forces against him." True Saints from various factions grew vigilant, their gazes fixed on Wu Yuan.

His reputation cast a long shadow. Given the fame he had carved through countless battles, Wu Yuan alone could contend with dozens or even hundreds of True Saints. He was undoubtedly the most formidable among all who had gathered thus far.

Quite a crowd.

Wu Yuan’s gaze swept across the vast void before settling on a flame-red robed figure far in the distance, True Saint Yan Huo.

Wu Yuan?

From afar, Yan Huo also spotted him.

Your strength has grown.

Yan Huo thought, sensing the terrifying aura emanating from Wu Yuan.

But who's stronger? We'll have to fight again to find out.

His eyes betrayed no fear.

Around him, several dozen True Saints from the Immortal Court had gathered. Though the Immortal Court and Eldritch Court were sworn enemies, their conflicts within the Tenth Chaos Void rarely escalated to all-out war. With various major factions present, and treasure hunting being the main goal, neither side wished to create openings for others to exploit.

Outside the massive array, Wu Yuan and Yan Huo reached a tacit agreement not to confront each other yet. Both chose to wait in silence, conserving their strength for the true prize.

This array...

Wu Yuan examined it closely, sensing its vast profundities. It seemed impenetrable, its workings impossible to unravel.

At its core, he vaguely discerned a blurry jade stone radiating a unique, alluring aura. It was the Chaos Jade Crystal itself.

Over time, Wu Yuan made numerous attempts to enter the array with force. Yet even with his tremendous power, he could only approach the outer edges before being violently repelled.

Is it not yet time for the Chaos Jade Crystal to emerge?

Wu Yuan wondered. Unrushed, he chose a spot and began to meditate.

𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

The third step! My body refiner self is only a hair's breadth from crossing this threshold. A breakthrough could come at any moment.

Wu Yuan channeled all his focus into cultivation. Once he broke through, this advancement would bring earth-shattering changes to his body refiner self. His ether body's strength would increase dramatically as well.

Taking each step of one's self-created Dao was a monumental task. A breakthrough might come at any time, yet paradoxically resisted all intentional effort.

...

Centuries slipped by in what felt like moments. The Chaos Jade Crystal still had yet to emerge, the massive array unchanged.

By now, over 1,500 True Saints had gathered around the array.

There were nearly 200 powerhouses from Eldritch Court alone. Besides Wu Yuan, the mightiest among them was True Saint Tian Peng, alongside several Full True Saints.

"Tian Peng, we meet again," Wu Yuan said with a warm smile.

"Just luck," True Saint Tian Peng replied, grinning broadly.

The two had entered the Tenth Chaos Void together but separated immediately upon arrival. In the ten thousand years since, True Saint Tian Peng's speed and considerable strength had allowed him to reap an impressive harvest.

"If we encounter True Saint Luan Hai, we'll need to join forces against him," True Saint Tian Peng cautioned in a hushed voice.

"Indeed." Wu Yuan nodded slightly, his gaze drifting to a figure hundreds of millions of li distant in the void.

He wasn't alone. At this moment, most of the thousand-plus True Saints outside the massive array focused their attention on the blue-robed, long-haired silhouette in the distance—True Saint Luan Hai.

Number one on the True Saint Rankings!

Before the Tenth Chaos Void opened, he had been the undisputed number one True Saint across the entire cosmic sea. His absolute strength had overwhelmed Cloud Saint, True Saint Dong Yi, and countless other powerhouses.

As a direct disciple of Great Emperor Yan Tuo, he possessed multiple Chaos Treasures and had cultivated the Eternal Matter Body to complete mastery, truly without weakness.

True Saint Luan Hai had vanished from the public eye for a long time. But now that the Tenth Chaos Void opened, he too had joined the competition.

Of course, with the meteoric rise of Cloud Saint and True Saint Luo Quan, many questioned whether Luan Hai's supremacy remained unchallenged. Only the special rules for the top three positions of the True Saint Rankings had preserved his status.

His arrival instantly overshadowed Wu Yuan, becoming the greatest perceived threat among the gathered factions.

Another century passed in the blink of an eye, with fewer and fewer new True Saints arriving.

In some ineffable way, those with powerful divination abilities like Wu Yuan and True Saint Luan Hai sensed that the emergence of the Chaos Jade Crystal drew near.

On that fateful day, it happened without warning.

Hum~

The massive, all-encompassing array that stretched across hundreds of millions of li suddenly began to tremble. In the next instant, the menacing halo-like lights on the array’s surface completely dissipated, leaving only the array bases functioning in various locations.

Boom!

A blinding beam of light shot skyward from the array core. It was the radiance of the Chaos Jade Crystal.

In that moment, the thousand-plus True Saints encircling the massive array understood that the barrier had fallen. The Chaos Jade Crystal had fully manifested.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Streaks of light rocketed upward as True Saint after True Saint charged toward the now-accessible array.

"Everyone!" Wu Yuan's voice resonated simultaneously in the minds of nearly 200 Eldritch Court True Saints. "Give it your all! Remember, we shall each rely on our own abilities to claim the Chaos Jade Crystal. But if any of us succeeds, the rest must lend their full support.

"Furthermore, whoever obtains the Chaos Jade Crystal must bestow gifts upon every True Saint once they ascend to Dao Zenithel."

"Understood!"

"Let's do this!" True Saint Tian Peng and the other 200-odd True Saints responded in turn. This was the agreement they had established long ago.

Fight as one!

Boom!

Led by Wu Yuan and True Saint Tian Peng, the Eldritch Court's group of True Saints swarmed into the array like a great tide.

Wu Yuan's form blurred like a phantom, transforming into a streak of light. His speed rivaled that of True Saint Tian Peng’s, whose greatest forte was speed. The two were among the very first to enter the array's interior.

The moment they entered, both sensed the distortion of spacetime, forming bizarre spacetime corridors.

This is undoubtedly a Dao Zenithel-level array.

Wu Yuan realized.

Even with its most dangerous elements deactivated, the remaining array bases are not to be underestimated.

"Break!" Wu Yuan roared without hesitation.

He unleashed a devastating saber strike. The terrifying blade ray swept across a vast expanse of space before him, shattering the warped spacetime and restoring normalcy to that section of the array.

Break the array methodically? Wu Yuan lacked the patience. Every second counted now.

He could only rely on brute force.

Wu Yuan surged forward like lightning, barging straight through several spacetime corridors to the depths of the array. Yet he found layer upon layer of spacetime distortions blocking his path once more.

Left with no choice, Wu Yuan raised his saber again, but his momentum inevitably slowed.

"Wu Yuan is trapped!"

"True Saint Luan Hai is trapped too!"

"Quick, let's go!"

"This is our chance!" Three True Saints advancing together exclaimed excitedly as they rushed deeper into the array, somehow unimpeded.

Though they had entered after Wu Yuan, they progressed faster toward the array's depths, their luck clearly superior to his.

In truth, Wu Yuan wasn't alone in his predicament. A glance revealed most True Saints ensnared by layers of twisted spacetime. Yet a fortunate few inexplicably sailed through unhindered.

When vying for treasure, luck truly plays a crucial role.

Wu Yuan mused.

Luck was fickle and unpredictable.

Wu Yuan considered himself someone with great providence, but this providence lay in consistency rather than guaranteeing success in every endeavor.

Then I'll rely on raw power.

Wu Yuan's eyes glinted coldly as the nine sabers in his hand suddenly merged into one.

The Chaos Treasure saber—Creation Heavenly Saber!

Boom!

Nine dazzling blade rays sliced through space, merging into one overwhelming beam. It utterly annihilated the layers of distorted spacetime before him!

The residual might of that blade ray carved a path tens of millions of li long, striking one of the True Saints closest to the treasure.