Under the immense pressure, Wu Yuan's initial fear vanished, replaced by unwavering determination that burned brightly in his eyes.

“You’re just a dead man.

A failure on the path of destiny.

A being who can only cower within a Dao Instrument, scheming against one junior after another throughout the ages, vainly attempting to cling to life.

Cut the act! Even if you're supreme, so what? Get out of my way!!” Wu Yuan roared inwardly.

His twelve Yuan Souls bellowed in fury! His myriad consciousnesses cried out in rage!

Boom!

At that point, his spirit blazed with newfound strength.

Wu Yuan felt the entire world shift around him, his perception changing drastically. His Dao Heart, will, and spirit were all undergoing a frenzied metamorphosis.

Suddenly, he realized that the bottleneck he had been struggling to break through had finally shattered!

This was—the Dao Heart and will of an Astral Monarch.

At this moment, Wu Yuan's spirit and will had reached the level of an Astral Monarch. Dao Heart, will, and other such terms all referred to spiritual cultivation.

One could only go as far as their heart reached, and only be as strong as their spirit.

Spiritual cultivation was ethereal and elusive, difficult to grasp, with no concrete method of practice. Yet it undeniably existed.

Why was it that Astral Lords could theoretically live eternally, yet most only survived for billions of years before imploding and perishing? It was because their spiritual cultivation was insufficient! Under the erosion and corrosion of time, the spirits of these Astral Lords warped, eventually crumbling and dying.

Normally, for the vast majority of Astral Monarchs, it was only after their Dao comprehension reached the Astral Monarch level, receiving the influence of the Dao essence, that they would undergo a breakthrough in spiritual cultivation, reaching the Astral Monarch level.

The so-called Astral Monarch level of spiritual cultivation had another name—Eternal Spirit!

It signified that one whose spiritual cultivation reached this level could defy the erosion of time, existing eternally, enduring for as long as heaven and earth itself. This was the first step towards eternity.

Wu Yuan, his two true selves each comprehending a Great Dao, had his Dao Heart and will tempered to extreme strength under their influence, and had long since reached the limit of the Astral Lord-level. ṛАΝȎ฿ĚṤ

However, if not for the extreme pressure he just faced, it would have taken at least tens of thousands of years to have hope of breaking through if he had cultivated normally, even with deeper Dao comprehension.

In an instant, his willpower manifested as a layer of indescribable radiance, enveloping Wu Yuan, and allowing him to withstand the pressure from that supreme being.

His twelve Yuan Soul had transformed into twelve dazzling divine soul swords.

With his lifebound artifacts taking on the form of swords, his Yuan Souls were influenced, also transforming into swords when they unleashed their power.

“So what if you are supreme? You’re just a negligible remnant of consciousness.

I, Wu Yuan, seek to dominate heaven and earth, pursuing the very pinnacle.

Today, I shall slay your remnant.

Never mind that you died long ago, merely a dry bone in the river of time. Even if you were to revive in the future, I could still slay you.

Kill!” Wu Yuan's twelve Yuan Souls, like twelve united divine swords, erupted with blinding radiance.

One of the three secret arts of the 'Sea Of Stars'—Emptiness!

A single word. Yet it represented an extremely powerful soul attack, capable of rendering all obstacles in its path into nothingness.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Under the command of his powerful will, this soul attack grew even more fearsome. Like a surging ocean, it crashed towards that remnant of supreme consciousness emanating purple light.

"You dare?" This voice contained a hint of shock and anger, and even a trace of fear.

In the past, this remnant of consciousness had always kept itself hidden. Why did it only dare to target those who hadn't completed their Ttribulations? Because this remnant was too weak. In fact, only a trace remained.

Faced with super powerhouses at the Astral Monarch level and above, unless it had planted a soul imprint early on, it simply wasn’t their match.

It never imagined that it would encounter a High Immortal whose spiritual cultivation and physical attacks had both reached the Astral Monarch level!

Boom!

A terrifying, formless clash of wills and souls occurred within the core of the Thunderforce Bead's Dao essence.

They collided again and again!

Kill!

Though Wu Yuan was repelled time after time, the vast Genesis Power in his upper dantian lobe continuously eliminated the fatigue of his Yuan Souls.

Conversely, that trace of supreme consciousness, like water without a source or a tree without roots, weakened continuously.

After thousands upon thousands of collisions, the nearly annihilated supreme remnant transmitted a roar into the depths of Wu Yuan’s spirit, "Blasphemer! You will ultimately be destroyed..."

"It is you who blasphemes against me. Die!" Wu Yuan cursed back, giving another mental command.

Whoosh!

Like a storm sweeping away dead leaves, the rolling wave of soul power completely obliterated the last bit of power from this consciousness remnant.

The entire core region of the Thunderforce Bead fell into silence.

Hmm?

Within the Dao essence of the Thunderforce Bead, Wu Yuan perceived a hazy purple light cluster, seemingly formed by countless converging Dao patterns.

It just hovered there, pulsating strangely. Yet it instinctively aroused a desire to devour it.

What is this?

Wu Yuan instinctively extended a tendril of consciousness towards this purple light cluster.

Boom!

The moment it made contact, this purple light cluster seemed to come alive, suddenly exploding into countless purple motes of light. Following Wu Yuan's tendril of consciousness, it instantly permeated and infiltrated Wu Yuan's upper dantian lobe.

Those countless motes of light directly merged into Wu Yuan's twelve Yuan Souls.

What? It's not a soul attack, the Golden River didn't react. This is?

Just as a flash of shock crossed Wu Yuan's mind, he felt countless Dao insights and epiphanies surge into his consciousness. All of them were related to the Law of Thunder.

This rate of comprehension seemed ten or a hundred times that of a normal epiphany, with vast knowledge pouring in.

It caused Wu Yuan to involuntarily immerse himself fully in cultivation, falling silent.

Silently, an extremely faint fluctuation rippled out from the Dao essence of the Thunderforce Bead, entering a higher spatial dimension and attempting to escape.

Hum~

Just then, the black pagoda in Wu Yuan's upper dantian lobe suddenly trembled slightly, the entrance at its base revealing a barely perceptible crack.

An irresistible suction force pulled at that subtle fluctuation that had already entered the Vacuum Spatial Layer. It ignored all spatial obstacles, and disregarded the boundary between Wu Yuan's upper dantian lobe and the outside world.

This is, it's the Ancestral... No!

That fluctuation, which thought it had already escaped, instantly panicked.

How is this possible?

It sensed that this invisible force didn't target the soul, nor any mana or artifacts or other physical things, but specifically targeted this trace of vital aura imprint derived from the Great Dao.

No!

It struggled desperately. Though it had lost the essence power contained in the Thunderforce Bead, as long as this strand of aura imprint could escape, the loss wouldn't be too great.

If this trace of aura imprint were to be devoured? As a being who had died long ago, every aura imprint lost was irretrievable, and his possibility of returning in the distant future would diminish accordingly.

However, the suction force from the black pagoda, seemingly weak, was actually terrifyingly powerful, allowing no resistance.

Whoosh~

The ripple struggled desperately, but was still sucked into the black pagoda. Then, the entrance of the black pagoda closed. This entire process was silent, completely unnoticed by Wu Yuan.

From beginning to end, Wu Yuan had been engrossed in absorbing and deducing the insights into the Law of Thunder that were frantically surging into his mind.

The sheer quantity of information was frightening.

Wu Yuan had initially been wary, prepared for the worst, but as nothing unusual occurred, he gradually let his guard down.

Could it be that this is some special power left behind by the so-called True Saint Lei Xing?

Wu Yuan speculated silently.

Uncertain, yet detecting no problems, he decided to focus all his efforts on comprehending it.

…

This was a mysterious, distant place beyond the Spacetime Dao Realm, where lightning flashed endlessly across the sky.

Thunder serpents, each stretching tens of thousands of li long, roared through the air. A silver-armored figure trudged through this endless sea of lightning, each step a monumental struggle against the relentless assault of electric bolts.

It was none other than Zhuo Haiyue.

Hmm?

A flicker of surprise suddenly crossed Zhuo Haiyue's eyes, tinged with disbelief.

My life shackles... a link is missing. Ming Jian, was it you?

Ming Jian, thank you!

She felt as if the oppressive weight of destiny bearing down on her had somehow lessened.

The prospects of her future seemed to shift and change.

So, even you have this day.

Destiny! In this world, no one’s destiny has ever been set in stone.

Zhuo Haiyue silently affirmed, her gaze growing ever more determined.

…

The commotion Wu Yuan had caused in his own hall went unnoticed by all, save for Zhuo Haiyue who faintly sensed it in a distant realm.

Star Moon remained oblivious.

Sovereign Lan Yan, the overseer of the Spacetime Island, likewise perceived nothing.

In an even higher spatial dimension above the Spacetime Island, where spacetime intersected, a majestic hall hung suspended. Here, space itself seemed nonexistent. Countless spatial dimensions converged, and time flowed at ever-changing rates.

Within the hall, a black-robed figure with long hair obscuring his face remained motionless. He seemed eternally unchanging, his body never moving by even a hair's breadth.

"Grown stronger once again," came a murmur from beneath the black hair. "Hunt the ultimate end, slay the eternal, is this the rule you wish to establish?"

Then, no further sound came from the black-robed figure, as if his previous words had been mere illusion.

…

Centuries passed in the blink of an eye.

On the Spacetime Island, within Wu Yuan's hall.

Boom!

A powerful Dao fluctuation enveloped the area, radiating countless bolts of lightning.

For the first time in centuries, Wu Yuan's qi refiner self opened his eyes.

“The Law of Myriad Rainbows, I've actually fully comprehended it?” Wu Yuan muttered to himself, his voice tinged with joy and a hint of amazement.