Chapter 1339: Encounter In The Realm Of Destruction (1)

Wu Yuan's gaze stretched across the vast expanse before him.

One of the eight elite exploration sites, the Realm of Destruction.

Billions of years ago, his mana body had traversed spacetime, roaming the Nine Megaverses. With its astonishing velocity, it had left traces of its passage across the cosmic sea, including the region near the Realm of Destruction. Combined with intelligence from the Eldritch Court archives and knowledge bestowed by Daoist Tian Xu, Wu Yuan possessed substantial understanding of this realm, despite never having entered it before.

I still need to be cautious.

Wu Yuan reminded himself.

He transformed into a streak of light and plunged directly into the vast, endless expanse shrouded in black mist. This time, however, his body refiner self led the way rather than his mana body.

While the mana body excelled at traversing spacetime, the Realm of Destruction posed too many hazards. Here, the Great Dao of Spacetime’s fluctuations were extremely weak, and the slightest carelessness could lead to death. His body refiner self moved slower but possessed formidable physical defense capable of withstanding most dangers.

Since the battle in the Tenth Void, both of Wu Yuan's true selves had expanded their Eternal Realms to their limits. The speed at which they now nurtured mana and ether had increased over a hundredfold, rendering his body refiner self's vitality even more terrifying than before.

The moment he entered the black mist, Wu Yuan felt waves of destructive power attempting to corrode him through his battle armor.

This corrosive force could easily annihilate a Peak True Saint powerhouse.

He noted silently.

No wonder it's said that entering the Realm of Destruction before becoming a Dao Zenithel means certain death.

The Realm of Destruction ranked second only to Yonder Cliff in danger among exploration sites.

Chiaroscuro Domain.

At Wu Yuan's command, streams of black and white qi intertwined and spread majestically outward, isolating the black fog. Though not afraid of it, the all-encompassing fog limited his perception range, making him vulnerable to ambush. The Chiaroscuro Domain solved this problem.

Wu Yuan's body refiner self continued his advance, flying in a straight line for over a hundred years before finally reaching the outermost layer of fog. He entered the Sea of Thunder, an infinite expanse of lightning containing raw destructive power. These bolts of lightning spawned Ruinthunder dragons, each possessing Dao Zenithel-level strength despite their extremely low intelligence. Unlike living beings, they couldn't cultivate.

Throughout the cosmic sea, most Dao Zenithels exploring the Realm of Destruction ventured no further than the black fog and the Sea of Thunder, where they waited for treasures to emerge. Examples of these were the Origin Thunderlight or Black Immortal Stone. Some aided cultivation, while others served as rare materials for refining Xiantian Instruments or Chaos Treasures.

After a thousand years spent overcoming numerous inherent dangers in the Sea of Thunder itself and evading dozens of Ruinthunder dragons, Wu Yuan finally passed through the Sea of Thunder.

During this time, he observed two Dao Zenithels exploring the area—one from the Immortal Court, the other from the Night Ripper Megaverse. Both moved with extreme caution.

To avoid alerting the Heavenly Imperator, Wu Yuan refrained from engaging the Immortal Court Dao Zenithel. His communications with Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu had revealed that most Immortal Court Dao Zenithels explored the Realm of Destruction, while their Eldritch Court counterparts more frequently ventured into Yonder Cliff.

Beyond the Sea of Thunder, Wu Yuan encountered endless dark waters. Vast black currents stretched above and below with no perceptible boundaries. In the void between these two bodies of water floated enormous stars that emitted purple light, rotating at high speeds. Many had shattered, their fragments scattered throughout the void. Strangely, neither the stars nor their fragments ever entered the waters above or below, as if governed by invisible rules.

The Oceans of Darkness! The Lightflare Domain.

Wu Yuan halted at this threshold. He had reached the extreme depths of the Realm of Destruction.

Both the Oceans of Darkness above and below, and the Lightflare Domain in the center, posed extreme danger that ordinary Dao Zenithels wouldn't dare face.

According to intelligence from the Blood Emperor and Dream Emperor, to become an Original Sword Archon, one must pass through the Oceans of Darkness and traverse 127 danger zones before reaching their destination.

Wu Yuan recalled.

The Blood Emperor had discovered this path by chance, but ended up trapped for over a hundred million years. Both he and the Dream Emperor were eventually ambushed by the Heavenly Imperator in the Sea of Thunder.

No rush.

Wu Yuan decided.

If I take on the challenge of becoming an Original Sword Archon now, it might alert the Heavenly Imperator.

Heeding Daoist Tian Xu's warning, Wu Yuan preferred to avoid confrontation with the Heavenly Imperator for the time being.

First, let's search for the Xuanhuang Dao Treasure.

His eyes glinted with resolve.

Obtaining another one would significantly increase my strength, whether for attack or support.

With his body refiner self wielding two Xuanhuang Dao Treasures, dealing with the Heavenly Imperator would become far more manageable.

According to the Ancestral Pagoda's guidance, that Xuanhuang Dao Treasure lies in the depths of this Lightflare Domain. Let's go.

Without hesitation, Wu Yuan plunged into the dark void filled with purple stars.

The Lightflare Domain, sandwiched between the Oceans of Darkness above and below, formed a seemingly "narrow" slice of void. Yet it extended in all directions, with no discernible end.

As Wu Yuan traversed this space, spacetime suddenly warped. A dazzling purple light erupted from an ancient star, tearing through the void and shooting straight for Wu Yuan's position before he could react.

Hmm?

His pupils constricted. This beam moved faster than he could wield his saber; it was impossible to evade.

Boom!

The purple light struck Wu Yuan's body like a blade ray, blasting him backward before dissipating.

Its power is almost at the Full Dao Zenithel level.

Wu Yuan noted. The Realm of Destruction truly lived up to its reputation.

This was the reason for its name, Lightflare Domain. The vibrations one caused merely by flying through spacetime triggered the ancient purple stars to generate these lights. The power of these attacks varied. At their weakest, they barely reached the Dao Zenithel level; at their strongest, they rivaled Full Dao Zenithel might. Their defining characteristic was their speed, rendering them nearly unavoidable to Dao Zenithels. One could only endure.

If I drift through the void instead of propelling myself forward, the probability of triggering an attack would decrease significantly.

Wu Yuan realized. He summoned his mana body.

With his mana body controlling the surrounding spacetime while carrying his body refiner self slowly forward, he barely disturbed his surroundings. Though his speed decreased significantly, the frequency of Lightflare attacks dropped by more than 99.9%, occurring only once every ten to fifteen days.

At this pace, it will take about three hundred years to reach the Xuanhuang Dao Treasure.

Wu Yuan calculated as he advanced steadily.

For a Dao Zenithel, three hundred years represented a trivial length of time. Throughout his journey, Wu Yuan remained vigilant against the domain's many dangers while his mana body exerted full effort to sense spacetime disturbances, guarding against encounters with other Dao Zenithels, especially those from the Immortal Court.

The Eldritch Court’s intelligence indicated that numerous Immortal Court Dao Zenithels frequented the Realm of Destruction. Traversing the entire Lightflare Domain and Oceans of Darkness required considerable time even for Dao Zenithels. However, they had formidable perceptive abilities and most likely established hidden detection arrays.

Fortunately, Wu Yuan's caution minimized Lightflare attacks. All dangers encountered proved easily manageable.

Two hundred and eighty years passed in what seemed like an instant.

Almost there.

Wu Yuan sensed the Xuanhuang Dao Treasure getting closer according to the guidance from destiny.

Suddenly his pupils constricted, and he halted abruptly.

Spacetime fluctuations? A battle!

Powerhouses were fighting nearby, creating strong disturbances in spacetime. Engaging in combat within the Lightflare Domain required Dao Zenithel strength.

Could others have reached it first?

Wu Yuan could hardly believe it.

Let's go.

Wu Yuan accelerated immediately, his mana body and body refiner self working in tandem as he rushed forward at full speed. At this point, spacetime tremors no longer concerned him—speed was all that mattered.

...

In the dim void ahead, an enormous purple star radiated dazzling light. The star stretched over ten billion li in diameter.

"Nan Guang."

Two Dao Zenithels emanating powerful auras stood in the distant void, observing an azure-robed figure hovering above a star.

The azure-robed figure's form blurred repeatedly as he transformed into streams of light, attempting to enter the ancient star only to be repelled each time by Lightflares bursting from its surface.

"Split!" The azure-robed figure suddenly grew to over a hundred million li, wielding nine divine swords as he charged toward the star with lightning speed and ferocity.

Sword lights crisscrossed, splitting apart streams of Lightflares, nearly allowing him to land on the ancient star's surface.

This assault seemed to provoke the star. The entire purple star vibrated, waves of energy converging into a dazzling, endless Lightflare. This light was no longer purple but closer to black, saturated with the aura of destruction.

Boom!

The Lightflare howled as it collided with Imperial Majesty Nan Guang's divine swords. Its power sent him flying. His arms shook, nearly losing grip on his weapons.

Its power rivals an attack from the Heavenly Imperator.

Imperial Majesty Nan Guang gasped when his aura finally stabilized. He stared at the ancient star in shock.

How could a single star unleash such power?

This star must hold a great secret! Could this be the ultimate treasure nurtured within the Lightflare Domain mentioned by the Heavenly Imperator? I've managed to find it?

His mind raced with possibilities.

The two distant Dao Zenithels rushed to his side. "Imperial Majesty Nan Guang, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," he replied, shaking his head. "If it launched continuous attacks, I might not be able to withstand them, but a single strike isn't enough to threaten my life."

The two Dao Zenithels nodded in acknowledgment. As the third-ranked leader among Immortal Court powerhouses and tenth on the Eternal Rankings, Imperial Majesty Nan Guang was a formidable existence.

"Biao Huo, Yin Yue," he said softly, "you both sense this star's special nature, correct?"

"Indeed," Dao Zenithel Biao Huo confirmed, his robes fluttering as his eyes gleamed. "The Lightflare Domain contains over a hundred million stars. Most measure only a few hundred million li in diameter, with few exceeding a billion li. I've never encountered one this large before.

"Moreover, the Lightflares it nurtures possess incredible power, beyond anything I've witnessed," he continued. "This star is unusual. A great treasure is likely concealed in its core."

Imperial Majesty Nan Guang couldn't suppress a smile. Most Lightflare stars merely generated Lightflares. Attempting to shatter them typically provoked frenzied counterattacks, which was why most Dao Zenithels avoided them. Occasionally, however, special Lightflare stars harbored unimaginable treasures.

Several samsara cycles ago, the Heavenly Imperator mentioned an ultimate treasure in the Lightflare Domain.

Nan Guang thought, his heart pounding.

I've searched for so long...Has it finally appeared? Could this be a Xuanhuang Dao Treasure?

If it were merely a Chaos Treasure or something of similar value, it shouldn't cause such dramatic disturbances.

But how should I obtain this treasure?

Imperial Majesty Nan Guang pondered, troubled by the challenge before him.