Chapter 1317: Xuanhuang Dao Treasure Wielded! Infinite Mana! (1)

Wu Yuan was drawn into the stream of light, swiftly departing the mysterious and vast realm. As he emerged, the fabric of heaven and earth split apart like an enormous curtain, parting to both sides before seamlessly resealing itself.

He found himself surrounded by the endless darkness of the void.

Even though I know that Chang Feng Spacetime exists right there, I still cannot perceive it.

Wu Yuan marveled inwardly, his gaze scanning the distant, gloomy expanse. He could no longer sense the faintest trace of the realm.

Truly inconceivable. His qi refiner self was no longer merely a True Saint but a Dao Zenithel. On top of that, he was a Dao Master whose consciousness had perfectly merged with the essence of the Great Dao of Spacetime. He was, by all accounts, the most powerful Dao Master in history. Yet this realm remained imperceptible to him.

Is this the power of a Grand Supreme?

Wu Yuan pondered.

Or perhaps what the cosmic sea calls the Heavenly Venerable stage?

Grand Supreme or Heavenly Venerable, both were merely titles, referring to beings that transcended the Dao Zenithel stage.

Different eras naturally develop different cultural lineages.

Wu Yuan reasoned as his mind gradually calmed.

Those bygone Primordial Epochs produced many Grand Supremes. The relic sites of Frostheaven Peak reveal that they produced far more Dao Zenithels than our era.

But even then, those at the Grand Supreme level were rare.

In this epoch, after the passage of countless ages, a Grand Supreme will surely emerge. Why can’t it be me?

After his conversation with Daoist Tian Xu, learning all these secrets, an endless yearning arose within Wu Yuan.

Before, he had wandered without direction, lacking a concrete goal. Now, he finally understood, gaining clarity about the so-called Grand Supreme stage.

Senior Tian Xu seems to know countless secrets. As the first lifeform born since the Primordium... I suspect there is still much he hasn't fully explained.

Wu Yuan thought.

How could Tian Xu, merely a Dao Master, know so many secrets? Even Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu remained unclear about the Ancestral Pagoda's origins, yet Tian Xu knew it in great detail.

Throughout the vast cosmic sea, no one had heard of Hong, yet Tian Xu spoke of him with thorough familiarity, asserting with certainty that he rivaled the Great Leader of Frostheaven Peak.

Of the many places left behind by Grand Supremes, such as Frostheaven Peak and the Azure Saint Tomb, I've never heard of anyone controlling them.

Wu Yuan reflected.

Yet Senior Tian Xu moves through the Chang Feng Spacetime as freely as returning home.

Most importantly, why is he so determined to nurture someone that can wield the Ancestral Pagoda? And to what end?

Wu Yuan's mind harbored countless questions. He pondered for a long while before concluding.

If I can't decipher it now, I'll set it aside. Senior Tian Xu must have his reasons for withholding the information. As a Dao Zenithel, I already stand at the apex of combat power in the cosmic sea.

But I'm still not the strongest.

I shall become unrivaled in the cosmic sea, surpassing Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu and the Heavenly Imperator, perhaps even becoming a Grand Supreme. Then, even if the Primordial Cataclysm comes, surely my family and friends can endure eternally.

He imagined creating a Grand Supreme realm like the Azure Saint Tomb or Chang Feng Spacetime, where he could live through multiple Primordial Epochs unbound by the Primordium.

Everyone yearned for true eternity; no one wished for everything around them to be erased by time.

Of course, these remained merely conjectures. Wu Yuan's understanding of the legendary Grand Supreme stage remained nebulous at best.

Take it slow. First, I must help Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu lead the Eldritch Court to suppress and overthrow the Immortal Court.

Wu Yuan's form shifted, transforming into a stream of light that merged with the essence of the Great Dao of Spacetime, swiftly departing.

To do this, I must get stronger.

My progress in creating ultimate techniques and deducing the profundities of my self-created Dao has become extremely slow.

So I'll focus on artifacts. First, I must acquire the Samsara Sword.

Wu Yuan followed his senses, heading directly toward the Samsara Sword's location.

Though he could always sense the other two Xuanhuang Dao Treasures of the Spacetime lineage, both resided in Chang Feng Spacetime under Senior Tian Xu's control. Despite coveting them, Wu Yuan would never consider seizing them by force.

Hmm? My body refiner self's breakthrough finally approaches.

The memories of Wu Yuan's two true selves were connected. While his qi refiner self roamed the cosmic sea, his body refiner self exerted its full effort to maintain the transformation of the Saint Realm's essence.

...

Time flowed onward. No matter how swiftly Wu Yuan's qi refiner self traveled toward the Samsara Sword, it would take time.

In the Long Shan Universe, at the core of the Saint Realm's essence, a transformation unfolded.

Rumble~

Wu Yuan’s Saint Realm's essence manifested, emanating endless radiant light. Then, the radiance of his body refiner self's self-created Dao shone. Countless rays of divine radiance and innumerable black and white lights interwove, forming strands of Dao patterns that exuded terrifying undulations, constantly merging into the Saint Realm's essence, driving its frenzied transformation.

The transformation proceeded slowly at first. Then, as if reaching some critical threshold, it immediately accelerated into a chaotic metamorphosis.

Wu Yuan observed, utterly astonished.

The effect of his body refiner self's Dao profundities on the Saint Realm's essence far exceeded his expectations.

Though I've only taken the third step, it seems even more powerful than my qi refiner self's Dao profundities.

Wu Yuan noted intently.

The effect appears far greater as well.

Wu Yuan clearly sensed countless Dao patterns being born within the Saint Realm's essence, interweaving with each other, black and white intermingling before perfectly fusing. It resembled another type of Chiaroscuro Domain, but far more exquisite. It was perfect and complete. And above all, balanced.

That's it.

Whether a Saint Realm or Eternal Realm, a world or River of Universes, balance is most crucial.

Wu Yuan realized.

Just as the endless River of Universes has thirty-six universes, so too are there thirty-six sectors of the Abyss, opposing each other.

Absolute destruction or absolute creation are both detrimental to the workings of heaven and earth.

Destruction and creation interweaving, Yin and Yang merging, life and death coexisting—this is the ultimate principle. There is a beginning, so there must be an end...

As the Saint Realm's essence transformed and grew stronger, Wu Yuan sensed its autonomous evolution, gaining many new insights in that ineffable moment.

Balance!

Though my Dao speaks of Great Destruction and Great Creation interweaving, they have never truly merged perfectly.

Wu Yuan realized, thinking of the Five Moves of Destruction. Despite its name, that ultimate technique of the Great Leader encompassed everything, allowing all to fuse perfectly.

It was indeed far more profound than Wu Yuan's techniques.

Vaguely, Wu Yuan sensed that comprehending this might grant him the opportunity to take the fourth step of his self-created Dao.

Hmm? It's here.

At that moment, Wu Yuan sensed a self-contained spacetime appearing out of thin air, followed by vast, majestic fluctuations that spread outward frantically.

Majestic! Brimming with vitality! It was the essence of the Great Dao of Creation.

If the essence of the Great Dao of Spacetime conveyed power, endlessness, and ethereal vastness, then the essence of the Great Dao of Creation embodied endless vitality—powerful yet compassionate, bestowing favor upon countless lives, even reviving those on death's threshold.

Yet within these formless Dao undulations also dwelled endless deathly stillness. Life and death; where one exists, so must the other, inseparable as shadow and light.

Whoosh~

As the essence of the Great Dao of Creation manifested, strange streams of flowing light poured into the Saint Realm's essence, accelerating its transformation dramatically. Its power grew vast and mighty.

Has it already surpassed my qi refiner self's Eternal Realm?

Wu Yuan instantly judged, holding his breath in anticipation.

What heights will my strength reach?

Wu Yuan dared not imagine it. But undoubtedly, his body refiner self's Dao was perfectly suited for establishing his Saint Realm and Eternal Realm, and the essence of the Great Dao of Creation possessed the strongest vitality. The Eternal Realm that ultimately emerged would surely exceed all expectations.

Surprisingly, even my body refiner self can barely withstand it.

Wu Yuan realized with alarm.

In terms of controlling the Eternal Realm's essence, his body refiner self far surpassed his qi refiner self, having achieved a higher Dao cultivation level.

Time continued its flow.

Rumble~

The Eternal Realm's essence grew increasingly majestic. Compared to before the breakthrough, it had strengthened a thousandfold. Yet surprisingly, this Eternal Realm had not yet produced the first trace of ether, meaning the basic foundation of the entire Eternal Realm had not even been completed.

Transform! The stronger the Eternal Realm's essence, the more beneficial it is to me. Naturally, the stronger the better.

Wu Yuan thought with anticipation, though a hint of helplessness crept into his heart.

However, if it gets even more powerful, I fear I won't be able to endure it.

Though he was the master of the Eternal Realm, Wu Yuan's body refiner self remained only a True Saint. His control over the Eternal Realm was not yet absolute, like a ruler whose growing population makes governance exponentially more difficult.

Half a day passed in an instant.

Wu Yuan's Eternal Realm's essence now produced circular light waves that surged in all directions. These waves interwove black and white, containing the profundities of his self-created Dao, infinitely divine and sacred.

But Wu Yuan was already struggling to maintain control.

Once it erupts, the Heavenly Imperator will know immediately, and will likely deduce my approximate power level.

Wu Yuan frowned slightly.

Executing the original plan would become difficult, perhaps even impossible.

However, Wu Yuan wouldn't hinder his own breakthrough merely for a revenge plot. Compared to any plan, his own strength remained the core priority.

Just as Wu Yuan felt control slipping away...

Whoosh~

Above the essence space, in the dark void, a rift suddenly tore open, followed by an ancient and vast aura spreading outward.

That is?

Wu Yuan's pupils contracted as he sensed it.

Beyond the spacetime rift, in the endless gloomy void, stood a towering pagoda. It was fully obsidian, stretching untold light-years into the distance...

The Ancestral Pagoda!

Not a mere projection, but its true form!

The true form of the Ancestral Pagoda?

Wu Yuan felt the faint tether between himself and the ancient structure. The pagoda radiated a supremely imposing aura, a fluctuation that subtly transcended the Primordium itself. Under this formidable presence, even the overwhelming Creation’s essence appeared subdued.

An invisible wave rippled outward from the pagoda's true form, enveloping the Saint Realm's essence space and suppressing the Eternal Realm's imminent eruption. Everything settled into perfect stillness.

The Ancestral Pagoda is helping me?

Wu Yuan's heart quickened, but he immediately refocused, channeling all his strength into maintaining the transformation of the Eternal Realm.

It took two more days before the Creation Great Dao’s essence finally dissipated. The spacetime rift healed completely, as if it had never existed. Meanwhile, Wu Yuan's Eternal Realm’s essence reached the final phase of its transformation. Black and white lights intertwined, boundless and endless, illuminating all directions.

At last, the transformation is complete.

Wu Yuan's body refiner self stood in the essence space, absorbing the vast, infinite power of the Eternal Realm's essence. It felt powerful. Unparalleled. Compared to his qi refiner self's Eternal Realm’s essence, there was a sense of absolute perfection.