In space.

Kill! Kill! Kill!

Wu Yuan's qi refiner self and mana body each attacked separately, killing with unbridled exhilaration, venting the anger that had long accumulated in his heart.

You dare to surround and attack me? You want to interfere with me?

Then let's see if you have enough strength. If you don’t, then you can all die.

Sword qi crisscrossed, and the sword lights sweeping across the void made the Astral Lords of the Myriad Waves Palace tremble with fear.

"Ming Jian!"

"You've won this battle, but you've incurred a great grudge with my Myriad Waves Palace, you'll regret it in the future."

"Don't think that we can't do anything to you just because you're a member of the Spacetime Island."

"I’ll be sure to watch you fall." One Astral Lord after another transmitted angry roars to Wu Yuan before perishing.

The deaths of their mana bodies and ether bodies were a great loss to them.

"Me, die? My true self is right here, if your Myriad Waves Palace has the ability, then come and kill me." Wu Yuan said coldly, continuing his frenzied massacre.

Several dozen breaths passed.

Of the over eight hundred Astral Lords who had participated in the encirclement and assault, less than a hundred escaped the range of the spatial isolation array.

The other seven hundred plus Astral Lords were all slaughtered by Wu Yuan.

The celestial equipment, artifacts, and storage artifacts scattered throughout the void were all collected by Wu Yuan's qi refiner self and mana body.

He might have received two hundred billion divine crystals from the Big Devil, but even mosquitoes were meat. The treasures left behind by the mana bodies and ether bodies of several hundred Astral Lords, all added together, were worth at least a billion divine crystals.

"Flee."

"Go!" The numerous Astral Lords of Space at the periphery of the spatial isolation array immediately carried away the group of Astral Lords who successfully escaped, quickly merging into the Turbulent Spatial Layer and fleeing frantically.

The entire void fell silent.

"They've all escaped?" Wu Yuan stood in the void, not continuing the pursuit.

Although he still couldn't step into the Vacuum Spatial Layer due to mana limitations, he could already reach light speed in the Turbulent Spatial Layer, almost surpassing all Astral Lords of Space.

Even among Astral Monarchs, most couldn't match Wu Yuan’s flight speed in higher spatial dimensions.

So, if Wu Yuan was willing to continue the pursuit, he should be able to kill another ten or so before these Astral Lords of Space completely escaped.

However, the mana consumption is too great.

Wu Yuan thought to himself. During this killing spree, he had unleashed his full power for dozens of breaths, employing part three of the Genesis Law Sacrifice, which drained his mana reserves significantly.

His mana body was left with a mere ten percent of its mana. His qi refiner self fared slightly better - manipulating his lifebound flying sword consumed far less mana, leaving about thirty percent of his mana remaining.

Though he could retreat to the Black Devil Blood Hollow, Wu Yuan's pride wouldn't allow it.

I must be cautious. This is enough. The black pagoda in my upper dantian lobe has reached the saturation limit of Genesis Power.

Wu Yuan sensed inwardly.

It took slaying over seven hundred Astral Lords for the Genesis Power to reach its saturation point, with a storage capacity nearly twenty times greater than before.

This was something Wu Yuan hadn't known previously. After all, when he was in the Black Devil Blood Hollow, he had depleted the Genesis Power in his upper dantian lobe to process Faith Power, leaving only a portion infused into the Genesis Star and Genesis Divine Pillar for combat.

The limit has increased so much. Is it because I've established an Apotheosis root? Or due to merging with a strand of the Ancestral Pagoda's essence?

Wu Yuan pondered, leaning towards the latter explanation.

Aside from the transformation of both his true selves' Yuan Souls and immortal roots, Wu Yuan hadn't noticed any other changes after merging with the strand of essence.

Now, he finally discovered one: the storage limit for Genesis Power had increased.

That's good. I’m acquiring far more Faith now, and requiring more and more Faith Power for cultivation. The more Genesis Power, the better.

Wu Yuan's lips curved into a slight smile.

This plan had been incredibly successful. Without such an opportunity, where else could Wu Yuan have found nearly a thousand Astral Lords to slaughter? And in today's battle, no one could claim Wu Yuan was in the wrong.

Whoosh!

Wu Yuan's qi refiner self sat cross-legged in the void while his mana body stood nearby. His sword domain enveloped millions of li of space, keeping a vigilant lookout in all directions.

Whoosh!

In the distant void, countless points of light suddenly coalesced, once again forming a slightly ethereal, towering figure. It was none other than Sovereign Mo Lang.

"Ming Jian!" Sovereign Mo Lang's voice echoed through the silent outer space.

"Sovereign Mo Lang," Wu Yuan's mana body gazed at him from afar, not even bothering to bow. His qi refiner self didn't even stand up, continuing to refine divine crystals and recover his mana.

"I admire your strength!" Sovereign Mo Lang looked down at Wu Yuan. "I truly do not wish to be your enemy.

I'll give you one last chance.

As long as you promise to abandon our karmic feud and kill Big Devil, I will forgive your crime of slaying so many of my subordinates..." Sovereign Mo Lang began.

"Get lost!" Wu Yuan's qi refiner self suddenly roared in anger. His eyes snapped open, brimming with an almost tangible fury.

Whoosh!

The divine sword formed by the convergence of nine lifebound flying swords suddenly sliced through space, violently slashing Sovereign Mo Lang's projected incarnation apart.

This was merely a projected incarnation of the Sovereign, containing only a sliver of his consciousness. Its power was extremely weak, only comparable to a first-stage Archimmortal.

Hmph! Sovereign?

Wu Yuan sneered coldly.

My unwillingness to offend a Sovereign doesn't mean I truly fear one.

Sovereign? As a Dao Master Imprint bearer of the Spacetime Island, Wu Yuan had long known that Sovereigns couldn't act directly against Spacetime Island imprint bearers.

They could send their subordinate Astral Monarchs and Astral Lords to hunt them down, but couldn't take action themselves.

This was a rule set by the Dao Master. Violating it would result in punishment. And the more powerful and brilliant the Spacetime Island imprint bearer was, the heavier the punishment would be if they fell by a Sovereign's hand.

I excel in the Dao of Spacetime, I'm young, and I'm a Dao Master Imprint bearer... I'd like to see if this Sovereign Mo Lang dares to make a move against me.

Wu Yuan thought to himself.

As long as they weren't fools, these Dao Realm Sovereigns would all speculate that the Spacetime Dao Master was paying close attention to Wu Yuan, and wouldn't act rashly.

Only Sovereign Mo Lang, who had major karma with the Sovereign Black Devil's lineage, took action. Other Sovereigns of the Dao Realm, even if they had some grudges against Sovereign Black Devil's lineage, hadn't reached the point of directly exterminating Wu Yuan.

No matter. Once my mana is fully recovered, I'll return to the Spacetime Island as soon as possible.

Wu Yuan continued to cultivate.

…

In the Spacetime Immortal Voidrealm, within a majestic temple belonging to the Myriad Waves Palace.

"Damned Ming Jian. A mere High Immortal! How dare he destroy my incarnation." A series of angry roars could be heard from atop the towering throne.

Sovereign Mo Lang was indeed furious. Throughout the long years, hardly any Astral Monarch would dare to treat him like this, let alone a High Immortal.

The temple was deathly quiet.

Astral Monarch Jiu Xue, Astral Monarch Wu Yao, and many other Astral Monarchs stood respectfully with their heads lowered, listening to Sovereign Mo Lang's angry shouts, each one as quiet as a cicada in winter.

They too hadn't expected that Ming Jian would dare to openly defy a Sovereign. He was truly audacious beyond belief.

"Wu Yao!" Sovereign Mo Lang suddenly growled.

"Sovereign," Astral Monarch Wu Yao bowed respectfully.

"Use all your power to capture Ming Jian," Sovereign Mo Lang looked down at Astral Monarch Wu Yao. "If capture proves difficult, you may kill him if necessary. Don't worry too much, I will take responsibility for any consequences. No one will blame you, understand?"

"Your subordinate understands," Astral Monarch Wu Yao said solemnly.

"Let's see how long he can hide," Sovereign Mo Lang's eyes were cold as ice. "His true self has left the Spacetime Island, and over a thousand years have passed. He has likely failed his previous spacetime mission long ago, and he can't possibly accept a new one... He can't return directly to Spacetime Island."

He had well and truly developed killing intent towards Wu Yuan. If not for his reservations about the Dao Master's orders, and had it been any other High Immortal, he would have already launched a karmic attack.

"Whoever captures Ming Jian will be rewarded with a mid-grade Dao Instrument. Whoever kills Ming Jian will be rewarded with three hundred billion divine crystals," Sovereign Mo Lang issued another command.

Instantly, the eyes of the many Astral Monarchs in the hall lit up.

Such rewards were enough to compel them to give their all, especially since any karmic consequences would be borne by the Sovereign.

…

Wu Yuan began to recover his mana in the Snowlight Mist Realm.

Simultaneously, numerous Astral Monarchs from the Myriad Waves Palace secretly surrounded the Snowlight Mist Realm, preparing to capture Wu Yuan.

Meanwhile, in the Spacetime Immortal Voidrealm was a towering temple belonging to the Hundred Mysteries Palace. It was vast and boundless like a worldlet, filled with raging blue flames.

Amidst the endless flames stood a towering figure, exuding an incomparably sacred aura.

"Sovereign," a figure in purple robes bowed respectfully.

"Speak," Sovereign Lan Yan looked down.

"We've just received news that the Myriad Waves Palace gathered a large number of powerhouses to surround and attack Ming Jian in the Snowlight Mist Realm, but were heavily defeated," the purple-robed figure said respectfully. "We have some battle footage."

"Show it," Sovereign Lan Yan said.

The purple-robed figure immediately waved his hand, and a huge projection appeared.

The projection showed Wu Yuan piercing through the True Domain River Array with a single sword strike, then destroying the Heavenly Fire Array, and finally single-handedly pursuing nearly a thousand Astral Lords, killing over seven hundred of them.

It was a complete bloodbath!

The projection soon ended.

"Is this projection real?" Sovereign Lan Yan asked softly.

"Absolutely. Ming Jian's strength should have reached the Astral Monarch level, incredibly formidable. He must have obtained Sovereign Black Devil's inheritance," the purple-robed figure said respectfully. "The Myriad Waves Palace suffered heavy losses."

"Myriad Waves Palace?" A gentle voice echoed through the great hall.

Whoosh~

Flames surged, and Sovereign Lan Yan walked out from the sea of flames.

Her aura was extraordinary, making the purple-robed figure feel increasingly reverent.

"To be able to secretly mobilize so many late-stage Astral Lords, and even several Astral Lords of Space... It must have been Sovereign Mo Lang's direct order," Sovereign Lan Yan said. "He has a great feud with Sovereign Black Devil's lineage, so it's not surprising that he took action.

However, given his temperament, he's unlikely to only send out some Astral Lords, or to only prepare a single stratagem," Sovereign Lan Yan said calmly.