Chapter 496: Three Disciples Of The Eldritch Sovereign (1)

Outside the towering hall.

“Wu Yuan, since the guards have said so, go on in and meet the Eldritch Sovereign. I won’t accompany you,” said Astral Monarch Hou Qu.

“Understood.” Wu Yuan nodded, feeling a tinge of nervousness in his heart.

How could he not be nervous? From the intelligence provided by Astral Monarch Hou Qu, Wu Yuan knew that an Eldritch Sovereign was an existence that shook the entire macrocosm for endless ages.

Even within the ancient Eldritch Court, an Eldritch Sovereign was a high-ranking figure. Looking across the river of space and time, they were super powerhouses.

Wu Yuan took a deep breath and started up the steps into the hall.

The two Astral Lords guarding the entrance merely smiled, without any hint of mockery.

They had guarded this place for over tens of millions of years, and had seen countless so-called important figures lose their composure when meeting the Eldritch Sovereign.

Plenty of them were far more nervous than Wu Yuan.

...

The hallways were empty, devoid of a single soul, yet Wu Yuan could feel an invisible power guiding him forward.

Eventually, he arrived at a colossal hall at the end. Looking in, he had an unobstructed view of its vast interior.

Hmm? Three people?

Standing at the entrance of the hall, Wu Yuan immediately noticed three figures inside.

But soon, his gaze was fixed on the three-meter-tall figure at the far end of the hall.

He was dressed in beast hide, with a long face and short hair, his hands reaching past his knees. At first glance, he seemed quite peculiar. Yet, an invisible aura emanated from him, giving one a sense of peace and tranquility.

The more Wu Yuan looked at him, the more he felt that the man, though only three meters tall, seemed to loom immensely tall, while he himself became infinitely insignificant.

He didn't merely seem like a figure at the center of heaven and earth; rather, it felt as if he had become heaven and earth itself.

As for the two figures beside him, Wu Yuan could sense their immense power. One of them was even stronger than a typical High Immortal. However, compared to the man in beast hide, they were worlds apart.

"Wu Yuan, come over," the man in beast hide spoke, his voice warm yet strong.

Whoosh!

An invisible force immediately lifted Wu Yuan and carried him into the grand hall, gently setting him down before the man clad in beast hide.

At that moment, the two figures waiting at the side fixed their gazes on Wu Yuan.

The young man in white robes wore a faint smile. The young man in black robes looked on with a mix of curiosity and inexplicable wariness.

Who were they? Wu Yuan had no idea, but he was certain they weren't Archeldritches or Astral Lords, and definitely not Astral Monarchs.

"Wu Yuan greets the Eldritch Sovereign," Wu Yuan knelt and performed a respectful kowtow.

In the presence of the great Eldritch Sovereign, proper respect was mandatory.

"Wu Yuan, you may rise," the man's voice remained gentle, his gaze shifting to the two figures beside him. "You two, leave for now. I'll call for you later."

"Yes, Master," the young men in white and black respectfully bowed and quickly withdrew.

Master? Were they all disciples of the Eldritch Sovereign? Wu Yuan dared not dwell on it for too long and promptly stood up.

In the grand hall, only Wu Yuan and the man clad in beast hide remained.

"Wu Yuan, I've seen your performance in the Bloodforge Battle. Not bad, you’re decisive in your kills," the man in beast hide said softly. "Your Dao comprehension talent is mediocre, but your soul and Dao Heart are quite decent."

Mediocre Dao comprehension talent?

Wu Yuan muttered to himself.

If anyone else had said that, Wu Yuan would surely be indignant.

Yet facing the man in beast hide, he couldn't find the courage to rebut—this was an Eldritch Sovereign, a figure who had witnessed countless peerless geniuses over endless centuries.

"I see you're not convinced when I said your Dao comprehension talent is mediocre?"

The young man in beast hide smiled faintly.

"You’ve stepped into the threshold of two Intermediate Laws at a young age. Your comprehension of the Celestial Body Dao can be said to have reached a decently high level."

"Across the entire Greenridge Macrocosm, among the geniuses born in the past century within the seven major factions, you rank in the top hundred. Zhuo Haiyue of the Redmoon Immortal Continent is about on par with you," the young man in beast hide remarked lightly.

Wu Yuan felt a twinge of pride.

Top hundred? This was the entire macrocosm, spanning billions of light-years in spacetime. And he was among the top hundred of peerless geniuses in the last century.

"But so what?" The young man in beast hide smiled faintly. "On a scale of a hundred years, you are a top-tier genius."

"But what about a thousand years? Ten thousand years? Even millions of years?"

"I have presided over the Cang Feng Eldritch World for nearly ten billion years. Within my Cang Feng Eldritch World alone, countless geniuses have been born in this period, and those who can match you and Zhuo Haiyue number in the millions." The young man in beast hide looked down at Wu Yuan, a hint of amusement in his eyes.

Wu Yuan was completely dumbfounded.

Millions? Though it seemed incredible, upon careful thought, it made sense.

If the macrocosm produced one peerless genius each year, over a billion years, that amounted to a billion peerless geniuses. Ten billion years, that was ten billion.

The Cang Feng Eldritch World consisted of eight hundred eldritch divine nations, covering more than a tenth of the macrocosm's spacetime territory. Once he did the calculations, even millions was likely an understatement.

At this moment, Wu Yuan finally understood why even though his qi refiner self appeared so dazzling, few Astral Monarchs in the immortal world intended to take him in as their disciple.

These eternal beings had seen too many of such similar geniuses over the years.

But back then, my body had yet to evolve to a Celestial Divine Body.

Wu Yuan muttered to himself.

It had been less than a year since the transformation, and its true power had yet to be revealed.

"Over billions of years, I've taken on a thousand direct disciples; now, only a little over a hundred remain, most have perished," the man in beast hide said.

"In terms of talent, specifically Dao Comprehension aptitude, the direct disciples I've taken in were almost on par with that monstrous prodigy in Silvermist Immortal Nation's history, Luo Gu. Some even far surpassed him."

Wu Yuan was left speechless.

Luo Gu? Of course he had heard of that man; that was the most monstrous prodigy in Silvermist Immortal Nation's history, the one who set the record of level eighty-one in the one-star tower.

Even with all his confidence, Wu Yuan dared not claim he could break Luo Gu’s record in the one-star tower. The gap in strength was too vast!

Though his body refiner self had made tremendous strides in the Bloodforge Battle, the difficulty of the Seven Star Luminaries Tower increased exponentially. His current qi refiner self would likely struggle to get past level seventy.

"Wu Yuan, your advantage is your youth. Being young means infinite future possibilities. Perhaps, one day, you will surpass your senior brothers and sisters," the man in beast attire said calmly, "But as of now, among the more than a thousand direct disciples I've taken in, your talent is at the bottom."

"Yes," Wu Yuan nodded, his expression unchanging.

But inside, he felt a pang of disappointment. In the past, whether in the Middle Land, the Dragon Star Immortal Sect, or the Bloodforge Devil Hall, he was always the undisputed top genius.

Yet, compared to the monstrous prodigies that the Eldritch Sovereign had nurtured over billions of years, his current self was indeed insignificant, pathetically weak.

“Wu Yuan, there are three reasons I am taking you as my disciple,” the man in beast hide said with a slight smile.

He could naturally sense Wu Yuan's emotional shifts. Genius? He had seen plenty of monstrous prodigies who only appeared once every hundred million years in the macrocosm.

But talent was one thing. Achievements were another.

Geniuses were often arrogant, so he made sure to ruthlessly break Wu Yuan's pride, humbling him so he would focus on his cultivation.

However, the man in beast hide also understood that teaching a disciple was akin to raising a child; criticism alone was just as harmful.

“First, your soul and Dao Heart, though still under-developed, are strong for your age,” the man in beast hide looked at Wu Yuan. “This is your advantage.”

Wu Yuan's eyes lit up. So, he did have some standout qualities.

“Second, you possess two true selves, and your qi refiner self has an extraordinary foundation, with overall talent nearing a cultivator with a non-innate first-degree immortal root,” the man in beast hide said with a faint smile. “Having an extra true self opens up countless possibilities.”

Wu Yuan was stunned.

The Eldritch Sovereign could tell?

“Haha. Kid, before you arrived, I knew little about you. But the moment I saw you, I could glimpse most of your past,” the man in beast hide smiled faintly.

“Divining the future? That's beyond me. But retracing the past from a higher spatial dimension, that I can achieve.”

Wu Yuan's heart trembled as he listened.

Divining the future? Retracing the past? As expected of an Eldritch Sovereign, a being at the peak of the entire macrocosm.

"Fortunately, your two true selves have not been exposed," the man in beast hide smiled faintly, "The Taiyuan Divine Court won't expose your identity."

"As long as you don't go to the Taiyuan Divine Court’s headquarters, the divine court won't pursue the matter."

"Don’t go to the divine court headquarters?" Wu Yuan was puzzled.

"Haha, do you think the Taiyuan Divine Court is just any place? It's a top-tier faction branching across the river of space and time in many macrocosms," the man in beast hide smirked.

"By becoming my disciple, you have essentially become a core member of the Eldritch Court. Why would the divine court headquarters bestow its most precious resources upon you?"

"Of course, even if you cultivate in the Eternal Sun Immortal World, or become a nominal disciple under some Immortal Sovereign or Astral Monarch, the divine court headquarters won't interfere."

“They will give me that much face, at least."

Wu Yuan nodded along. Indeed, these top-tier factions didn’t suffer fools. Numerous immortal cultivators had two true selves, but how many could hold high positions in different major factions like Master Nan Yin mentioned?

"I have helped you obscure your past. Even powerful beings would find it difficult to peer into it from now on," the man in beast hide said.

"Usually, the cultivation of two true selves is something body refiners only achieve at the Shambhala phase."

"Your qi refiner self made a name for himself when your body refiner self was still at the Spiritual Body phase. With that, together with my help concealing your past, the Voltari Temple will have a very slim chance of discovering their connection."

"Under no circumstances should you reveal it to anyone," the man in beast hide said, "In this way, even if exposed, it would be long into the future. By then, I trust you'll have the strength to protect yourself."

"Thank you, Eldritch Sovereign," Wu Yuan said respectfully.

In just a day or two, he'd already been shaken to his core. The abilities of these great beings were beyond comprehension.

"Remember the name ‘Voltari Temple’. Nearly a third of your fallen Senior Brothers and Sisters died at the hands of the Voltari Temple," the man in beast attire spoke, a rare flicker of anger flashing in his eyes at the mention of 'Voltari Temple.'

A third? Wu Yuan was secretly astonished.

All of the Eldritch Sovereign's disciples were peerless geniuses with countless mystical powers and terrifying self-preservation abilities. Yet so many still perished.

"You are an eldritch cultivator who has received heavenly endowed eldritch tattoos. And now, you've become my disciple," the man in beast hide continued slowly, "Therefore, the war against the Voltari Temple and the Immortal Court behind it is a responsibility you must naturally bear."

"How much you receive, is how much you must give."