Chapter 749: Ming Jian Emerges From Seclusion (2)

Another half a month passed.

In an expanse of outer space beyond the Summerpeak World.

Whoosh!

Streams of purple light, each spanning tens of millions of li, crisscrossed like chains. Thousands of purple light streams interwove, forming a great net that enveloped the entire Summerpeak World.

"Activate!"

Whoosh!

Countless beams of purple light erupted skyward, drawing in vast quantities of spiritual qi. This process continued for nearly a day.

Finally, the beams of purple light absorbed enough spiritual qi to merge into one with the Summerpeak World.

"Wu Yuan, the nine-layered array is fully deployed," said Astral Monarch Hou Qu, standing in the void with a smile. "From now on, even an Astral Monarch can’t forcibly destroy Summerpeak."

"Many thanks, Astral Monarch," Wu Yuan clasped his hands respectfully.

"It's a small matter. The array is set, so I'll take my leave." Astral Monarch Hou Qu smiled, his mana body swiftly departing.

With the nine-layered defense array perfectly integrated, Summerpeak World is truly a secure haven now.

Wu Yuan broke into a grin.

This array wasn't his idea. After he decided to reside in Summerpeak long-term, Sovereign Kua Chi had ordered Astral Monarch Hou Qu to set it up – an incredibly powerful celestial array.

Summerpeak World orbited the Cang Feng Continent, which was already the heart of the Cang Feng Eldritch World. The Cang Feng Continent itself was already protected by numerous layers of eldritch world arrays.

With the addition of this specially deployed array, it was truly impregnable.

Unless they're a Sovereign of Space, even the Sovereigns of the Immortal Court would likely be detected if they attempted to infiltrate the world.

Wu Yuan mused.

Even if an Astral Monarch-level sleeper agent with clearance could stealthily approach the Summerpeak World, they still couldn't enter it undetected.

To forcibly destroy the Summerpeak World? With the nine-layered defense array, even a late-stage Astral Monarch would need many attempts to succeed.

It wasn't that the array lacked power, but rather the Summerpeak World itself had limitations.

However, the moment the Summerpeak World came under attack, Wu Yuan, who controlled the grand array, would immediately call for aid. Naturally, the eldritch world’s Sovereigns would intervene.

In effect, these various measures ensured Wu Yuan's absolute safety while he remained in Summerpeak. Of course, if he ventured out on expeditions, it was impossible to guarantee his safety.

Wu Yuan's reasons for expanding the Summerpeak World not only included strengthening the Summerpeak lineage and increasing its population, but also considerations for his own safety.

The larger the world, the harder it would be to destroy, preventing it from being obliterated in one strike by an Astral Lord.

Whoosh!

Wu Yuan took a step and returned to the Summerpeak World, descending into a special realm within.

This small realm spanned ten thousand li. It was vast and hazy, shrouded in mist like the primordial chaos. A solitary temple stood within.

This was the dwelling Wu Yuan had created in Summerpeak World for his body refiner self, which he casually named Creation Hall.

At his current level, he could easily sense the world's fundamental essence and, facing no rejection from the world, could naturally harness the immense power of heaven and earth within the Summerpeak World.

Flying into the temple, Wu Yuan sat in lotus position atop a jade platform, flipping his palm.

Thirty thousand doses of divine crystal elixir.

Wu Yuan looked at the jade vial in his palm, a faint smile appearing on his face.

This quantity of divine crystal elixir wouldn't truly pain Master Kua Chi, but it couldn’t be taken lightly either. At least, as far as Wu Yuan knew, Master Kua Chi had never invested so heavily in nurturing a disciple who hadn't undergone their Tribulations.

Let's begin.

With a thought from Wu Yuan, the jade vial was moved directly into his internal shambhala. As drops of divine crystal elixir materialized, they instantly sent his entire internal shambhala into turmoil, swiftly initiating a new round of frenzied evolution.

I estimate it will take twenty years to reach the ninth-stage Earth Eldritch phase.

Wu Yuan mused.

Even with divine crystal elixir, the progress of his Apotheosis root was much slower than a first-degree immortal root. But it didn’t affect him much.

My Faith power has increased as well.

Wu Yuan sensed the Faith power in the miniature Destiny Voidscape within his internal shambhala rapidly growing.

Refining vast amounts of Faith power would consume massive amounts of blood mist!

I never imagined Master could procure five hundred eldritch continent units of Faith power in one go.

Wu Yuan muttered to himself.

Even ordinary Astral Monarchs of the eldritch world likely didn't possess so much Faith power. Though his talent was exceptional, he was still only an Earth Eldritch after all.

If I demonstrate power equal to a late-stage Astral Lord level at the High Eldritch phase, I will be granted Faith power equivalent to an eldritch nation.

Wu Yuan recalled.

A few days ago, he had discussed this with Master Kua Chi, learning the stance of the highest echelons of the Eldritch World.

They were very supportive of him. But Sovereign Kua Chi had also made it clear: "The eldritch world's resources are limited. The eldritch world’s Sovereigns must also consider the views of various Astral Monarchs. Moreover, they're still not very familiar with you. Talent and potential are illusory – only strength is real."

Wu Yuan could understand this perspective.

For now, these five hundred eldritch continent units of Faith power will suffice.

Wu Yuan thought to himself.

Once I've been a High Eldritch for some time, if this Faith power is insufficient, I'll demonstrate late-stage Astral Lord-level strength.

It was difficult for other peerless geniuses at the High Immortal or High Eldritch phase to unleash late-stage Astral Lord-level power because their foundations were lacking.

But this wasn't an issue for Wu Yuan. Once he cultivated part one of ‘Creation Saint Prohibition’ to completion, or when he started on part two, unleashing late-stage Astral Lord-level power wouldn't be too challenging. Moreover, his Dao comprehension would continue to improve.

His body refiner self's current strategy could be summed up as - keep a low profile!

But occasionally, I still need to dispatch my disguised ether body to the Eldritch-Immortal Battlefield to slay some enemies, so the black pagoda can keep generating Genesis Power for my cultivation.

Wu Yuan contemplated.

The black pagoda was too mysterious. So far, only the tip of the iceberg had been revealed to Wu Yuan.

The few instances of good fortune it brought Wu Yuan in the past had been crucial. As for its supporting functions, their benefit to Wu Yuan had now been reduced to basically just Genesis Power. Even the soul protection feature was of little help.

The effectiveness of the black pagoda's soul protection feature seems to be limited to attacks below the seventh-stage Archimmortal level.

Wu Yuan mused.

This was the conclusion he'd drawn after his clash with Astral Lord Bai Hai.

For soul attacks below the seventh-stage Archimmortal level, the black pagoda could generally block them directly after absorbing Genesis Power. But for the seventh-stage Archimmortal level and above, the effect seemed very weak.

This was why Wu Yuan had immediately decided then that he needed to find a way to obtain a soul protection treasure.

Perhaps I still haven't truly grasped the right way to utilize the black pagoda.

Wu Yuan pondered silently.

Or maybe... It's because I haven't yet earned the black pagoda's acknowledgement.

Wu Yuan couldn't be certain about other matters, but there was one thing Wu Yuan was fairly sure of – the black pagoda seemed to be some kind of powerful artifact from a supreme being.

And the so-called 'black pagodas' in the upper dantian lobes of his two true selves were likely just a projection of the black pagoda's true form.

Hopefully, when I venture to the Black Devil Blood Hollow in the future, I can uncover more details about the black pagoda.

Wu Yuan thought to himself as he closed his eyes and resumed cultivation.

...

Time flowed by, and in the blink of an eye, nearly twenty years had passed.

Within a spatial fold of the Cang Feng Eldritch World was a vast world serving as a base for the Voltari Temple's intelligence operations.

"Astral Monarch, over these twenty years, we've made numerous attempts targeting Wu Yuan, ranked second on the assassination list," a black-robed figure bowed respectfully in the temple.

"We tried investigating his whereabouts over the past few centuries, to no avail.

We've made various attempts to ascertain the location of Wu Yuan's true body, and have essentially ruled out the Origin Eldritch Field. There's a 90% chance he's in his homeland, the Summerpeak World.

But the Summerpeak World is a worldlet, and our assassins can't infiltrate it. So we first tried to arrange meetings with him, but even with Astral Lord agents taking action, we either only met his ether body or had our meetings confined to the Cang Feng Eldritch Voidrealm. The only option left is a forceful assault on the Summerpeak World.

The Summerpeak World is quite large. To destroy the world, locate Wu Yuan's true body, and kill him – all before the eldritch world’s Astral Monarchs or even Sovereigns can respond – an Astral Lord's chances aren't great. Only an Astral Monarch would have a 90% chance of success," the black-robed figure reported respectfully.

"Abandon the operation for now. Just keep a close watch on his movements," the Astral Monarch leader shook his head. "Sacrificing an Astral Monarch-level agent for one genius? Impossible, unless there's proof he's 100% certain to become a Sovereign.

Let this matter rest here for now."

Even if he were willing to make the sacrifice, it wouldn't matter. With his position and authority, he could only contact a portion of Astral Lord agents.

As for the Astral Monarch agents? Each one was of utmost importance, personally contacted by the Sovereigns of the Voltari Temple to ensure absolute secrecy.

"Understood," the black-robed figure replied.

...

Wu Yuan's body refiner self cultivated leisurely in seclusion.

Meanwhile, far away on the Spacetime Island, within the private hall of his qi refiner self.

My body refiner self faces pressure from the Immortal Court and needs to keep a low profile, but my qi refiner self needn't worry about such concerns.

The path of cultivation always requires some adventures and bloodshed.

Wu Yuan's qi refiner self smiled faintly.

Besides, after years of intensively refining Faith power, I've nearly exhausted my Genesis Power.

It's time to venture out.

While his body refiner self could replenish Genesis Power in the safe confines of the Eldritch-Immortal Battlefield, his qi refiner self didn't have such favorable conditions.

Merely seeking out Earth Immortals and Earth Deities would hardly pose a challenge.

Wu Yuan's eyes gleamed with anticipation.

Though my qi refiner self may not match my body refiner self in direct combat, it still needs a worthy challenge.

I think I'll head to the Snowlight Mist Realm. With luck, I might even encounter some old 'acquaintances'.

Wu Yuan grinned wickedly.

When he first acquired the Black Devil Star, his mana body had encountered numerous ambushes and blockades while fleeing, eventually leading to its demise.

In the decades since then, even after crystallizing Spacetime True Intent, he had restrained himself from taking action, biding his time until he was powerful enough to embark on a truly satisfying killing spree.

Karmic secret art, combined with Spacetime True Intent. I wonder how many can escape my pursuit.

Wu Yuan's gaze turned cold and merciless.

Whoosh!

An identical white-robed figure appeared—his mana body.

With his strength having undergone massive transformations, Wu Yuan's concerns had diminished. He not only carried numerous celestial swords and artifacts but also brought along a Genesis Divine Pillar.

Let's go.

Wu Yuan's mana body strode out of the hall, swiftly soaring toward the spacetime teleportation array in the distant sky.