Chapter 660: Lingering Concerns (1)

One million divine crystals, a sum of wealth enough to rival the entire fortunes of most ordinary Archimmortals, had landed in Wu Yuan’s lap just like that. Even without aiming to make money, wealth came knocking on his door.

Of course, Wu Yuan knew that such opportunities were rare. Firstly, it was not Astral Lord Long Xing’s true self facing danger. Few Astral Lords were willing to pay a hefty price to save a mana body. The vast majority would rather let it perish and slowly nurture a new mana body or ether body. For Astral Lords, time was not a precious commodity.

Secondly, Astral Lord Hao Chi's quick agreement and eagerness to assist wasn't due to the divine crystals, but more so Wu Yuan himself.

This is the first time I've asked him for help, which is equivalent to owing a favor.

Wu Yuan thought to himself.

In the future when I become powerful, if Astral Lord Hao Chi faces any difficulties and needs my help, I'll have to assist him as well.

This was karma, which he would need to find a way to resolve in the future.

Archimmortal Long Xing's willingness to pay ten million divine crystals is also because he doesn't want me to owe too great a karmic debt.

Wu Yuan mused.

If Astral Lord Hao Chi had offered his assistance for free, the karmic debt incurred would have been truly immense. But paying ten million divine crystals made the situation entirely different. Ordinary Astral Lords couldn’t ignore such an enormous fortune.

I've never asked anyone for help before. This first request to Astral Monarch Huo Cang is a significant one.

Wu Yuan shook his head slightly.

If I were to act as an intermediary all the time, I'm afraid the Astral Lords of the Bei You lineage, and even those Astral Monarch Senior Uncles, would look down on me. Then things wouldn't be so convenient anymore.

Moreover, Wu Yuan was acutely aware that the reason he could garner such respect from Astral Monarch Gu Lai, Astral Lord Hao Chi, and others stemmed from Immortal Sovereign Bei You's high regard for him.

The reason Grandmaster values me is because of the talent I’ve displayed. Everything ultimately boils down to strength.

Wu Yuan gently closed his eyes.

Only with great power can one earn respect and face the winds and waves without fear.

Right now, I'm merely at the Earth Immortal phase. In a few hundred years, when I break through to the High Immortal and High Eldritch phases, my strength will truly begin to take shape.

Wu Yuan thought to himself.

He was well aware that the High Immortal and High Eldritch phase was the most crucial stage for peerless geniuses. Spending hundreds of thousands of years at this phase was normal.

Some formidable peerless geniuses, like Senior Brother Jiang Huan, possessed the power to slay Archimmortals. The most outstanding monstrous prodigies would be even more terrifying.

A meal is eaten one mouthful at a time. I've reached the third level of Earth Immortal, time to continue.

Wu Yuan calmed his mind.

Within his amethyst cradle, countless streams of mana surged and churned like mighty rivers. Simultaneously, the Voidspace that reflected his amethyst cradle was slowly expanding as well.

The larger the Voidspace, the faster it nurtured the soul, and the more Faith power it could absorb. When the Soul Will projected the Voidspace into the real world, it broadened one’s attack range.

For those with a first-degree immortal root at the Divided Soul phase, the Voidspace can expand to a maximum of three thousand li.

Wu Yuan thought with anticipation.

At that point, through the Voidspace, my perception can encompass three hundred thousand li.

The Voidspace projection was far clearer than Soul Will perception. Moreover, this was the limit of one’s combat range. Beyond this range, the power of both artifacts and arcane arts would be greatly weakened.

Of course, the most potent range was half the radius, which was 150,000 li.

That was why the Earth Immortal in the Thunder Marsh World chose to attack Wu Yuan's body refiner self from tens of thousands of li away – his Voidspace wasn't large enough. Tens of thousands of li was already the furthest casting distance while maintaining the maximum power of his arcane arts.

...

What? Another million divine crystals, and he wants to exchange it all for physical divine crystals again?

Astral Monarch Gu Lai received Wu Yuan's message and felt slightly bewildered.

He gained another one million divine crystals so quickly? Just how many divine crystals did Master give him?

Astral Monarch Gu Lai wondered.

He knew his master's temperament well. Normally, he wouldn't grant so many divine crystals, especially since Wu Yuan had just advanced to the Earth Immortal phase.

Apart from a disciple’s breakthrough to the High Immortal phase, which would warrant a significant reward, one had to rely on their own hard work most of the time.

If Wu Yuan had cultivated for tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of years, Astral Monarch Gu Lai wouldn't have been too surprised. But he had only cultivated for a few hundred years, where did he get so many treasures from?

The vast majority of treasures accumulated by Archimmortals and Astral Lords, barring occasional windfalls, were the result of gradual accumulation over time.

Well, this isn't something I should interfere with.

Astral Monarch Gu Lai muttered to himself.

After a moment's consideration, he helped Wu Yuan exchange the divine crystals for physical objects.

To him, a million divine crystals were just pocket change.

...

Ming Jian has obtained a million divine crystals?

Immortal Sovereign Bei You, who had been in quiet cultivation, quickly received this news.

As a peak powerhouse of the entire macrocosm, his authority in the Eternal Sun Immortal Voidrealm was extremely high, akin to an administrator.

Moreover, as a Sovereign of space, he could retrace the past through karma with a single thought, perceiving many secrets. Soon, he quickly understood the origin of Wu Yuan's newfound wealth.

He acted as an intermediary?

Immortal Sovereign Bei You merely glanced at it and paid no further attention.

He modulated Wu Yuan's training at a certain intensity, but as long there weren’t Astral Monarchs and Astral Lords that went overboard, such as intentionally gifting Wu Yuan tens of millions of divine crystals - a terrifying fortune that would leave him with an enormous karmic debt - he wouldn't interfere.

After all, Immortal Sovereign Bei You was well aware that Wu Yuan planned to upgrade his lifebound flying swords following the optimal evolution pathway, a path that was a bottomless pit when it came to resource consumption.

The optimal evolution pathway is not an easy one. I hope this little fellow won't be frightened and give up, he has such a good foundation after all.

Immortal Sovereign Bei You thought, sending a direct message to Wu Yuan.

...

In the meditation chamber of Wu Yuan's residence in the Immortal Belvedere.

Wu Yuan was currently cultivating his mana, his vital ether surging around him.

Hmm?

He opened his eyes, a hint of surprise flashing in them.

Grandmaster Bei You sent me a message?

In the hundreds of years since his arrival at the Immortal Belvedere, Grandmaster Bei You had never taken the initiative to send him a message. Did something important happen?

Wu Yuan dared not delay. The strand of consciousness that always remained in the Eternal Sun Immortal Voidrealm quickly opened the message.

"Ming Jian, so far, you've completed my training plans with flying colors, but there's one thing I must remind you of – your lifebound flying swords must be upgraded via the optimal evolution pathway. Do not ever, ever forget this!

Even if the cost is enormous and the swords’ transformation at this stage will be relatively slow, you absolutely cannot take a shortcut by switching the so-called superior or normal evolution pathways. Those are paths for ordinary geniuses.

If your chances of breaking through to the Sovereign phase were slim, I wouldn't even bother giving you this advice.

I didn't suggest this to your Master Dong Yang, and he ultimately took the superior evolution pathway.

But your talent is unparalleled in the history of the macrocosm, with limitless potential. Be patient and wait. All your efforts will pay off when you complete the Ninth Immortal Tribulation in the future.”

The message ended.

The content was very simple, yet profound.

The optimal evolution pathway for lifebound flying swords, Grandmaster actually took the time to warn me specifically about this?

Wu Yuan was secretly shocked.

For a Sovereign to make such a specific reminder, it must be an extremely important matter.

Could it be that after overcoming the Ninth Immortal Tribulation, lifebound artifacts upgraded via the optimal evolution pathway will undergo some unusual transformation?

Wu Yuan pondered, a hint of anticipation arising in his heart.

For qi refiners, lifebound artifacts were considered their most important offensive treasures, capable of accompanying them for thousands or tens of thousands of years, even to the end of their lives.

All along, Wu Yuan had insisted on choosing the best path for his lifebound flying swords just to support their continuous growth, and the price he paid was barely manageable.

However, for lifebound flying swords following the optimal path, the various treasures needed for their upgrades would become increasingly outrageous as they progressed. Even Wu Yuan, with his abundant resources, was finding it difficult to sustain and was quite troubled.

Is Grandmaster Bei You worried that I might abandon the optimal evolution pathway and switch to the superior evolution pathway?

Wu Yuan thought to himself.

Many sword codexes and law codexes mentioned the evolution pathways of lifebound artifacts. The methods weren't secret; the main difficulty lay in obtaining the resources.

The evolution pathways of lifebound artifacts could be roughly divided into four levels based on their quality: inferior, normal, superior, and optimal.

Immortal cultivators with even a bit of ambition would at least choose the normal evolution pathway.

If Wu Yuan upgraded his nine lifebound flying swords, from high-grade spirion artifacts to low-grade celestial artifacts following the inferior evolution pathway, it would only require materials and treasures worth about ten thousand divine crystals.

It wouldn't be much more expensive than buying nine low-grade celestial flying swords.

But the caveat was - they could never be upgraded again!

In fact, if one chose the inferior evolution pathway at the Golden Core or Amethyst Cradle stage, their lifebound artifacts wouldn't even be able to reach the spirion equipment level.

If one consistently chose the normal evolution pathway, it would be extremely difficult for their lifebound artifacts to reach the celestial equipment level, even after cultivating to the High Immortal phase.

The cost of the superior evolution pathway is roughly hundreds of times that of purchasing artifacts of the same level. If my nine lifebound flying swords were to follow the superior evolution pathway, each sword would require an investment of at least hundreds of thousands of divine crystals to reach the low-grade celestial equipment level in the future.

Wu Yuan thought to himself.

Although it wasn’t optimal, there was little difficulty upgrading them to celestial equipment, and their power would be formidable.

As for the optimal evolution pathway, the resources consumed would be even more staggering.

The most precious resources are not used in transforming the intrinsic materials of the lifebound flying swords, but for constructing and maintaining the artifact's Dao essence.

Wu Yuan was very clear about this point.

Both were low-grade celestial equipment, and the difference didn’t seem too outrageous at first glance. But one had exhausted its potential, while the other still brimmed with infinite possibilities, as if it were truly alive, capable of evolving to even higher levels. How could they be the same?

It's just that the rare resources needed to pursue the optimal evolution pathway are absurdly expensive.

Wu Yuan muttered to himself.

Wu Yuan felt that there was hope of following the optimal evolution pathway till the low-grade celestial equipment level, albeit with great effort.

But when it came to mid-grade celestial equipment, or high-grade celestial equipment in the future... just thinking about it made Wu Yuan's scalp tingle.

By that point, even if an Astral Monarch spent their entire fortune, it wouldn't be enough to sustain the upgrades.

So, Wu Yuan had considered that after upgrading his lifebound flying sword to low-grade celestial equipment, he might switch to the superior evolution pathway afterwards. This path would be much easier.

In fact, after researching, it seemed that in the entire history of the Eternal Sun Immortal World, no one had ever been able to upgrade their lifebound artifacts all the way to high-grade celestial equipment following the optimal evolution pathway. At least according to public records, there wasn’t a single example.

Those Astral Monarchs and Immortal Sovereigns had mostly followed the superior evolution pathway or the normal evolution pathway.

However, judging from Grandmaster Bei You's message, it seems that one might unlock a great secret by following the optimal evolution pathway for one's lifebound artifacts.

Wu Yuan thought to himself.

But it doesn't make much difference unless one becomes a Sovereign?

Immortal Sovereign Bei You had explicitly mentioned in his message that 'if your chances of breaking through to the Sovereign phase were slim, I wouldn't even bother giving you this advice’.

Yet, throughout the endless ages of history, even among those Sovereigns standing at the pinnacle, how many had shown Sovereign potential from the very beginning? Besides Wu Yuan, not a single one.

Most Sovereigns were previously geniuses on the same level as Jiang Huan, who later broke through after long years of cultivation and numerous fortuitous encounters.

Therefore, even though there were many peerless geniuses, most weren’t worth the immense cost the upper echelons of the immortal world had to spend to help them take the optimal path for their lifebound artifacts.

I must work hard! At worst, I'll just spend more time in the future collecting various resources and treasures, and delay my Tribulation breakthrough.

Wu Yuan silently decided.

Since Grandmaster Bei You had given this reminder, it would be foolish not to pursue this path.

If I'm going to do it, I should aim to be the strongest.

Wu Yuan thought, filled with fighting spirit.