Chapter 1342: Wu Yuan And The Heavenly Imperator (2)

In the deepest recesses of the Realm of Destruction, far beyond the Lightflare Domain, lay the true core region. Strands of black light pulsed with destructive energy, constantly produced in the void only to suddenly vanish. These countless dark tendrils enveloped the endless emptiness.

At the center of this void stood a divine sword that seemed to pierce through heaven and earth. Its body was entirely blackish save for a faint blood-red tinge, as though stained with the indelible blood of countless powerful lives it had reaped.

An invisible ripple spread outward. Light converged, and a projection materialized. It was Imperial Majesty Nan Guang.

"Heavenly Imperator." Nan Guang bowed with deep respect, his eyes reflecting awe as he gazed at the golden-robed figure standing in the distant void, unmoved amid the endless black light.

The Original Sword Spacetime. This!

Despite having witnessed it many times before, each encounter still filled Nan Guang with profound shock.

He had attempted to enter this realm once, only to discover that a single strand of black light possessed power comparable to a Full Dao Zenithel. The countless strands surrounding them could annihilate him in an instant.

Only the Heavenly Imperator stood untouched, ignoring the destructive forces as he secluded himself in this spacetime, cultivating and comprehending for eons.

"I already know," the Heavenly Imperator said, slowly opening his eyes. Those pupils remained calm and unperturbed, as if all had been foreseen. "It was my miscalculation."

"Miscalculation?" Nan Guang's confusion was evident.

"You must wonder why Wu Yuan arrived neither earlier nor later, but precisely when you finally located the treasure." The Heavenly Imperator's gaze settled on Nan Guang's incarnation, his voice gentle yet carrying unmistakable authority.

"Please enlighten me, Heavenly Imperator," Nan Guang replied with deference.

"It's not that his luck was exceptional, but that the treasure emerged because of his presence," the Heavenly Imperator stated simply.

"What? The treasure emerged because of his arrival?" Astonishment painted Nan Guang's features as realization dawned—the fortunate one wasn't Wu Yuan but himself.

"The operation of the Primordium naturally has its rules," the Heavenly Imperator continued. "Through the Original Sword, I can discern most secrets of the Realm of Destruction, but I haven't fully mastered it yet and cannot control how this realm functions. I could deduce that an ultimate treasure existed in the Lightflare Domain and Oceans of Darkness, but couldn't calculate its precise location or manner of emergence."

"What should I do then? Please guide me, Heavenly Imperator," Nan Guang asked urgently.

"Don't rush. The contest for the ultimate treasure depends partly on destiny's favor, but more significantly on strength." The Heavenly Imperator took a single step and appeared beside Nan Guang. "If destiny favors him, then I shall use strength to rewrite destiny."

The Heavenly Imperator's figure suddenly dissipated, leaving the Original Sword Spacetime in absolute silence.

“Heavenly Imperator?" Nan Guang stood confused before understanding struck him.

The Heavenly Imperator has already departed. What I witnessed was merely a projected incarnation he left behind.

He wondered silently how long it would take the Heavenly Imperator to arrive.

...

At the boundary of the Lightflare Domain, endless streams of light intertwined with the Oceans of Darkness, forming a vast curtain of water that blotted out the sky. Purple stars blazed with dazzling light, creating a barrier that had stopped countless Dao Zenithels throughout history, even Full Dao Zenithels.

A brilliant golden light resembling a divine sword suddenly pierced the dim void, emitting an overwhelming aura of destruction. Where this light touched, the waters of the Oceans of Darkness exploded and retreated.

A purple star obstructing the way shattered instantly, fragmenting into countless shards that scattered outward.

If other Dao Zenithels were here, they would immediately understand how those shattered purple stars in the Lightflare Domain came to be.

Wu Yuan?

Atop the golden light stood a golden-robed figure, calmly surveying the dim void at the Lightflare Domain's edge.

I've never sought you out before. I didn't expect you to come to the Realm of Destruction on your own.

The Ancestral Pagoda must have guided you to this Xuanhuang Dao Treasure. But so what if it’s the Ancestral Pagoda? What of the Primordial Rules?

He rode the golden light as it swept forward, his speed increasing exponentially.

His velocity multiplied exponentially: ten thousand times the speed of light, then twenty thousand, thirty thousand! Had Wu Yuan witnessed this feat, he would have been utterly astonished.

One had to understand the crushing spacetime suppression of the Realm of Destruction. Even Wu Yuan's mana body, which controlled the essence of the Great Dao of Spacetime, could reach ten thousand times light speed at most.

Yet here was the Heavenly Imperator, shattering the Primordial Rules' constraints and effortlessly overcoming the realm's spacetime limits.

Nothing could impede his advance.

...

Across the Lightflare Domain, Wu Yuan remained oblivious to the Heavenly Imperator's approach. Knowledge of this pursuit wouldn't have deterred him anyway.

A colossal figure hovered above an enormous star radiating intense purple light, persistently attempting to break its defenses.

"Break for me!" Wu Yuan roared. A dazzling blade ray sliced through the void, a black and white thread that swept across heaven and earth.

The ancient star responded by converging invisible fluctuations, which erupted into purple light that rushed to meet the blade ray.

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Just before the collision, the surrounding spacetime distorted with an unnatural hiss. The blade ray curved bizarrely, bypassing the purple light and striking the massive purple star directly.

The impact split the celestial body like a saber through a watermelon. Countless star fragments exploded outward in all directions. The purple light, with power comparable to Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu's might, slammed into Wu Yuan, hurling his towering form backward.

A thunderous cascade of star fragments followed, driving his body refiner self even farther.

After a moment, Wu Yuan stabilized himself.

At last, success.

He murmured.

After all this preparation, my mana body finally managed to manipulate spacetime.

His eyes blazed with intensity as he fixed his gaze on the void where the purple star had been.

Dazzling radiance spread outward, releasing powerful and mysteriously profound fluctuations. It was the unmistakable aura of a Xuanhuang Dao Treasure.

After driving away Imperial Majesty Nan Guang, Wu Yuan's body refiner self and mana body had spent four months trying and failing repeatedly to break open the star, encountering the same obstacles as Nan Guang. The Lightflares unleashed by the star proved too powerful. Though Wu Yuan could withstand attacks of this magnitude, they knocked him away time and time again, preventing him from approaching.

With no alternative, Wu Yuan could only calm himself down and decipher the star's operational patterns. But rather than technically circumventing the Lightflares, Wu Yuan chose a direct approach. He employed his mana body's control over spacetime, established an array, and succeeded immediately.

The massive star was merely a facade. The source of those terrifying Lightflares must be this Xuanhuang Dao Treasure.

Wu Yuan's body refiner self concluded as he soared upward.

He closed the distance in a flash. Before him floated a jet-black saber, its surface etched with faint white threads. It radiated waves of violent, destructive energy, its aura utterly manic. This was the most aberrant, crazed Xuanhuang Dao Treasure Wu Yuan had ever encountered.

A Xuanhuang Dao Treasure saber, specializing in physical attacks.

Wu Yuan reached out and grasped the weapon.

The saber vibrated frantically, struggling to escape his control. Its savage aura would have unsettled any ordinary Dao Zenithel. But Wu Yuan was no ordinary being. With a surge of powerful ether, enhanced by his self-created Dao's radiance, he easily suppressed the saber's destructive nature and imprinted his aura upon it.

The moment he claimed ownership, information flooded Wu Yuan's mind, revealing the treasure's numerous functions.

A weapon of slaughter.

He realized.

Oblivion? So that's your name?

Delight filled his eyes.

Excellent! I desperately needed a Xuanhuang Dao Treasure for physical attacks.

Though his qi refiner self's psyche weapon attacks were formidable, they couldn't be cast repeatedly in prolonged battles and were best suited for assassination. As for physical defense, his body refiner self was already extraordinarily well equipped. Now, with the Saber of Oblivion, he had truly become a force to be reckoned with.

The Ancestral Pagoda's guidance brought me here.

Wu Yuan's lips curved into a satisfied smile.

This Xuanhuang Dao Treasure was clearly born for me.

If Wu Yuan's body refiner self merely matched Great Emperor Yan Tuo previously, now, with the Saber of Oblivion in hand, he had swiftly acquired the power to surpass other titans and contend with the Heavenly Imperator and Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu. Possessing Xuanhuang Dao Treasures for physical defense and offense, he had eliminated his weaknesses.

Destruction.

Wu Yuan began comprehending the saber's Dao essence.

The ultimate destruction!

From his understanding so far, the saber's Dao essence seemed to embody pure Great Destruction, inevitably reminding him of the Heavenly Imperator's Dao.

It's logical that this Xuanhuang Dao Treasure emerged in the Realm of Destruction.

Wu Yuan reflected.

With my self-created Dao interweaving destruction and creation, I can truly bring out the full power of this saber.

With his current strength, Wu Yuan could easily comprehend numerous profundities and achieve basic mastery. Still, as an incredibly powerful Xuanhuang Dao Treasure, considerable time was required before he could wield it with complete control.

Once he fully grasped its Dao essence and combined it with his self-created Dao's profundities, he could create the ultimate technique best suited to himself and the weapon. At that point, Wu Yuan's body refiner self would truly attain tremendous power.

The treasure is in hand. Let's go!

Wu Yuan recalled his mana body and immediately took flight astride his newly acquired saber, its blade rays crisscrossing the void as he headed directly toward the Sea of Thunder. With the Xuanhuang Dao Treasure secured, he had no reason for further exploration. Moreover, in the depths of his consciousness, he sensed a terrifying threat gradually approaching his position.

His speed escalated: three thousand times light speed, eight thousand, ten thousand, thirteen thousand!

Breaking past ten thousand times light speed?

Wu Yuan marveled as the saber in his hand easily shattered layer upon layer of heaven and earth's constraints despite the invisible pressure of rules. His attack power had clearly transcended the Full Dao Zenithel level and continued advancing toward even higher levels.

Xuanhuang Dao Treasures are truly formidable indeed!

Excitement surged through Wu Yuan as he traversed the void, his confidence soaring.

...

Nine years after Wu Yuan's departure, golden light tore through heaven and earth, descending upon this stretch of void. Atop the golden light stood not only a figure in golden robes but also Imperial Majesty Nan Guang's true body.

"Heavenly Imperator, he obtained the Xuanhuang Dao Treasure. I could not stop him," Nan Guang admitted with a bitter smile.

“Mm.” The golden-robed figure stood impassively, seemingly unmoved by the Xuanhuang Dao Treasure's emergence. He silently sensed his surroundings.

In his perception, the spacetime scrambled by Wu Yuan rapidly returned to normal. Everything that had transpired was observed by the golden-robed figure. He witnessed the Xuanhuang Dao Treasure's emergence as if personally present. He could even sense the treasure's special aura.

Oblivion?

Surprise flashed across his eyes.

So it was you! The ultimate treasure hiding in this void all along was actually you?

His eyes regained their clarity.

"Heavenly Imperator? What do we do now?" Nan Guang asked.

"Only nine years have passed. He won't get away. Let's go." The golden-robed figure waved his hand, and the golden light beneath his feet stretched across heaven and earth as they flew in Wu Yuan's direction.

"At Wu Yuan's speed, it would take him at least four hundred years to leave the Realm of Destruction! We can catch up in three hundred years." A smile spread across his face.

"Haha! Back then, in the Realm of Destruction, Yan Tuo and Hou Tu combined forces but were still defeated by me. This time, let’s see just how capable the Primordium's number one genius truly is."

Despite Wu Yuan's newly acquired Xuanhuang Dao Treasure, the Heavenly Imperator remained utterly confident. Everything was in the palm of his hand.