Chapter 699: Breakthrough, Twelve Yuan Souls (2)

Time flowed on, and the years passed.

Wu Yuan's mana body no longer ventured into the Core Region of the Snowlight Mist Realm, instead exploring various danger zones in the Inner Region.

In the Inner Region, Astral Lord level powerhouses were rare, and even cultivators above the fourth-stage Archimmortal level were not a common sight.

With Wu Yuan's mastery of Space and Time, he might be unable to match Archimmortals in direct combat, but could at least ensure his own safety.

At the same time, he gradually acquired treasures in many danger zones, though most were not of high value.

Without an active mission, it took at least half a year for him to return to the Spacetime Island from the Inner Region of the Snowlight Mist Realm. Thus, without sufficient gains, Wu Yuan was reluctant to have his mana body return.

For Wu Yuan, the acquisition of treasures was secondary; the most important thing was clashing with powerful High Immortals and Archimmortals, tempering himself.

His swordsmanship grew increasingly exquisite, his movement skill reaching new heights. His comprehension of Space and Time also grew deeper and deeper. All of these were a form of accumulation, and one day they would bear fruit.

With each successive battle, Wu Yuan's reputation grew steadily.

In the blink of an eye, nearly forty years had passed.

Wu Yuan had reached seven hundred years of age.

...

Wu Yuan's qi refiner self cultivated in seclusion on the Spacetime Island, steadily improving his overall strength.

Meanwhile, in the test grounds of the Creation Divine Hall in the Immutable Land, Wu Yuan's body refiner self gazed at one of the enormous Creation Essence Diagrams on the stone wall, inscribed with countless Dao patterns.

Law of Time. Law of Thunder, Law of Fire.

The thunder beast depicted on the stone wall was in a state of fierce combat, emanating a violent, murderous aura. The waves of oppression radiating from it seemed to stifle one's heart.

The first Creation Essence Diagram that Wu Yuan's body refiner self comprehended, the thunder beast lounging on the earth, gave a sense of peace, leisure, and tranquility. Meanwhile, this current Creation Essence Diagram had completely swung to the opposite extreme. The two were diametrically opposed.

The first Essence Diagram I comprehended was based on the Law of Life, which encompasses parts of the three Greater Laws of Space, Earth, and Wood.

Wu Yuan pondered silently.

It contained very little, almost none, of the profundities of Time, Thunder, and Fire.

But this current Creation Essence Diagram is dominated by the Laws of Time, Thunder, and Fire. The combination of these three seems to produce another profound fluctuation.

A mysterious fluctuation that seemed to oppose yet also embrace the Law of Life, together forming a profound law.

In the past, Wu Yuan didn't understand it. But after cultivating in the Creation Divine Hall for over three hundred years, Wu Yuan's body refiner self had unknowingly reached the fifth-level True Intent stage of the Life Dao, even though he had been fully focused on comprehending the Essence Diagrams.

With deliberate contemplation over time, Wu Yuan had achieved considerable progress in the Laws of Thunder and Fire. And most importantly, the Law of Time! His progress was astounding.

Combining various aspects, Wu Yuan understanding of the 365 Creation Essence Diagrams was now vastly different from before.

Over the past three hundred years, Wu Yuan would venture into the Creation Tower every few years to battle the level nine guardian. From initially failing after just a few moves, he could now last over ten exchanges.

My qi refiner self's comprehension of the Laws of Time and Space has reached an extremely high level, greatly enhancing my combat strength. My saber techniques are not far behind those of seventh-stage Archimmortal powerhouses.

Wu Yuan's body refiner self reflected.

Only the Dao comprehension of his two true selves was shared at present. The link between their memories, combat secret arts, and other aspects was still severed

Therefore, Wu Yuan's body refiner self didn't know the various battle secret arts from the Spacetime Secret Codex and could only utilize Time and Space in relatively simple ways.

If Wu Yuan's body refiner self knew techniques like the Sword of Spacetime and Moonlight Shadow, his chances of conquering level nine of the Creation Tower would naturally increase significantly.

Unfortunately, his body refiner self did not.

Just a hair's breadth away.

Wu Yuan's body refiner self had long since thought it through clearly.

My accumulation of insights into the Life Dao is already very profound.

Wu Yuan's body refiner self had a vague feeling that if he could understand the combined profundities of the Laws of Time, Thunder, and Fire, and then leverage his comprehension of the Life Dao, he might truly be able to comprehend the nature of the Creation Essence Diagrams.

But it was incredibly difficult.

Less than fifty years to go before the end of the four-hundred-year test duration

. Wu Yuan frowned slightly.

Can I succeed?

He wasn't very confident. The more he comprehended, the more Wu Yuan's body refiner self understood the difficulty of comprehending this Essence Great Dao, and the clearer he understood the challenge posed by level nine of the Creation Tower.

I'll exert my utmost effort. Even if I fail, I have no regrets.

Wu Yuan's heart remained as unwavering as a glacier.

Even knowing the high likelihood of failure, even if pushed to the brink, Wu Yuan would never choose to give up even till the last moment. He would strive with all his might.

Hmm?

A flash of shock passed through Wu Yuan's body refiner self's eyes.

For an instant, he had faintly sensed the existence of his qi refiner self.

The Yuan Soul of my qi refiner self; it's expanding rapidly, seemingly about to break through the power of the Immutable Land isolating my true selves. Have I broken through some sort of bottleneck?

Wu Yuan's body refiner self was slightly startled.

He knew that the Yuan Soul of his qi refiner self was an Apotheosis Yuan Soul, far from ordinary.

...

Wu Yuan's body refiner self was not wrong.

After hundreds of years of Visualizing the black pagoda, the soul of his qi refiner self had long since reached the limit of the Yuan Soul stage.

Now, it had finally broken through another shackle.

Inside Wu Yuan's private hall on the Spacetime Island.

The Divided Soul level of the soul! Multiple Yuan Souls!

Wu Yuan's qi refiner self sat in lotus position, silently sensing the changes.

At this moment, within Wu Yuan's upper dantian lobe, the Yuan Soul condensed from his soul essence was undergoing an extraordinarily violent transformation.

Strands of radiant light burst forth as the massive form of the Yuan Soul gradually tore apart, forming one ethereal Yuan Soul after another.

Each additional Yuan Soul formed caused Wu Yuan to experience an agonizing rending of his soul. This pain would be unbearable for an ordinary High Immortal, making them tremble in fear, yet Wu Yuan endured it without much trouble, only gritting his teeth.

First Divided Soul...Second Divided Soul.

Wu Yuan employed the Divided Soul Secret Art, carving out one Yuan Soul essence after another from his soul essence.

In the instant these Yuan Soul essences were fully split off, they remained part of Wu Yuan's soul yet also became vaguely independent.

Third Divided Soul...Sixth Divided Soul...Eighth Divided Soul.

After consecutively eight Yuan Soul essences were split off, even Wu Yuan began to feel waves of dizziness despite his willpower, an instinctive urge to slip into unconsciousness creeping up on him.

Hmm? I can split off even more?

Wu Yuan was astonished. Normally, when an immortal cultivator’s soul advanced from the Yuan Soul level to the Divided Soul level, they would have nine Yuan Souls.

Wu Yuan had split off eight Yuan Souls. With his original Yuan Soul, that made nine in total. But now, Wu Yuan could clearly sense that his soul essence remained robust, as if it could be further divided.

Continue!

Wu Yuan clenched his jaw and continued employing the secret art, dividing his soul essence. In this manner, he split off two more Yuan Soul essences.

Each additional split left Wu Yuan struggling to maintain control. This excruciating pain emanated from the very depths of his soul, countless times more terrifying than any so-called torture in the mortal world!

I can keep on going. Split!

Wu Yuan roared inwardly. Abruptly, one more Yuan Soul essence violently split off from that still-powerful soul essence.

He had split off eleven in total, which together with the original one, made twelve Yuan Soul essences.

Whoosh!

An overwhelming wave of agony wracked his spirit. Despite blocking off his six senses, it didn’t diminish in the slightest. Weakened, Wu Yuan instantly fell into a deep slumber.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Unbeknownst to Wu Yuan, the instant the eleventh Yuan Soul essence split off, the twelve Yuan Soul essences seemed to react to each other, instinctively forming a circle. Then, each began to change, taking on Wu Yuan's appearance.

These newly born Yuan Souls were still quite weak and should have taken a long time to recover to their peak. But the moment the twelve Yuan Souls merged into one, the black pagoda suddenly erupted with endless radiance.

The light enveloped the upper dantian lobe as well as Wu Yuan's twelve Yuan Souls, making each Yuan Soul essence feel a genuine warmth. They began to recover and grow stronger rapidly.

Master, what an incredibly powerful Yuan Soul. This! This!

Star Moon stood not far from the hall, staring dumbfounded at the mysterious ripples faintly surrounding Wu Yuan's body.

It was an incomparably mighty aura.

At this moment, Wu Yuan had fallen into a deep sleep and couldn't control his aura. Moreover, having just broken through, his soul aura erupted outward without any restraint, shocking Star Moon.

Even among the High Immortal masters I've served in the past, none of their Yuan Souls could compare to Master's in strength!

Star Moon couldn't understand it.

Unlike Dao comprehension, where extremely talented High Immortals could possess Dao comprehension rivaling a Sovereign's, Yuan Souls were closely tied to one's mana cultivation, and usually wouldn't exceed it by too much.

Normally, an Earth Immortal possessing a Yuan Soul comparable to a High Immortal's was already terrifyingly impressive, let alone far surpassing a High Immortal.

It's still growing stronger, approaching the Archimmortal level. What a monstrous prodigy, how scary.

Star Moon truly couldn't understand it.

After a moment's hesitation, she chose to report it. This was her duty.

...

Above the Spacetime Island, in an area invisible to ordinary imprint bearers, stood a purple hall. Though called a hall, its interior actually opened into a vast world.

This entire world was covered in layer upon layer of purple flames. The flames filled the sky, faintly causing cracks to appear in space itself, as if space ceased to exist.

Clearly, these flames were so terrifyingly powerful that they could affect even the highest dimensions of space, causing multiple spatial dimensions to intersect.

A figure in purple battle armor bathed amidst the endless purple flames, eyes closed. Her face was breathtakingly beautiful, radiating a holy and gentle aura.

It was none other than Sovereign Lan Yan, who seemed to be in a deep slumber.

Hmm? An Earth Immortal with a Yuan Soul surpassing a High Immortal's? And it's still growing stronger?

In the midst of cultivation, Sovereign Lan Yan received this message.

She pondered for a moment, then abruptly opened her eyes. Her gaze was no longer gentle as before, but instead ice-cold.

Her vision pierced through layers upon layers of space, allowing her to see what was transpiring in one of the halls on the Spacetime Island.

So it is true. Is it an Apotheosis Yuan Soul? No, why do I feel it's even more powerful than an Apotheosis Yuan Soul?

A flicker of shock passed through Sovereign Lan Yan's eyes.

She was a direct subordinate of the Spacetime Dao Master, highly valued by him.

Throughout the long ages, the Spacetime Dao Master rarely appeared, leaving her and several other Sovereigns to take turns overseeing the Spacetime Island.

These Sovereigns were also mostly leaders of the Dao Realm's nine major factions. Thus, they were extremely knowledgeable, their perspectives not limited to the Spacetime Dao Realm. They were aware of certain intelligence from across the vast river of space and time.

An Apotheosis Yuan Soul was already incredibly rare. Most Sovereigns across the vast river of space and time would struggle to evolve their souls to the Apotheosis Yuan Soul level, let alone beyond it.

Is it Ming Jian? That youngster is actually hiding such a secret?

In an instant, Sovereign Lan Yan learned of Wu Yuan's many deeds on the Spacetime Island over the past few centuries.

Cultivating both Space and Time? He hails from the Taiyuan Divine Court. With such combat prowess, he’s likely close to clearing level one hundred of the four-star tower.

Sovereign Lan Yan swiftly drew her conclusions.

Her heart trembled with shock.

Which Sovereign under the Dao Master does he receive his tutelage from?

Has our Spacetime Dao Realm ever produced such a monstrous prodigy in its history?