Within the core of the eldritch world, inside a high-ranking military encampment, a grand hall stood.

Given the eldritch world's reaction speed, I'll have at most two breaths before an Astral Monarch of Space arrives to apprehend me.

Astral Lord Xuan Tu pondered silently.

Two breaths. I can't possibly escape.

In that case, I shall exert my utmost effort. The moment my mana body strikes Wu Yuan, my true self will also attack, slaying as many Archimmortals as possible.

A cold glint flashed in Astral Lord Xuan Tu's eyes.

To act meant certain death. He had but one thought—to inflict maximum casualties and damage upon the eldritch world.

Assassinating Wu Yuan remains the priority. Yet the chances of success are slim, and he likely possesses powerful life-saving artifacts bestowed by the eldritch world's upper echelons.

Even if I fail, I must at least probe his true strength.

Astral Lord Xuan Tu mused.

With the two great powers warring ceaselessly for eons, many peerless geniuses concealed their true capabilities.

Their various probes and assassination attempts served to gauge the strength of these monstrous prodigies.

Whoosh!

Astral Lord Xuan Tu's form blurred as he flew from his hall.

…

The eldritch world remained oblivious to Astral Lord Xuan Tu's actions, which was to be expected.

In the conflict between the two superpowers, the methods of communication used by such agents had long since reached the zenith of stealth. If they could be easily detected, there would be no room for agents to exist.

Within the first Origin Eldritch Field, a colossal, empty hall hovered above the Origin Eldritch Continent.

"Wu Yuan." The black-robed, towering figure smiled.

"Astral Monarch." Wu Yuan bowed slightly. His ether body had come to the First Origin Eldritch Field not for the Heaven and Earth Tournament, but to meet Astral Monarch Hou Qu.

"These are the special objects the Sovereign ordered me to gather from across the macrocosm, including many from other major factions," Astral Monarch Hou Qu said, flipping his palm to produce a storage artifact which he handed to Wu Yuan.

"Thank you, Astral Monarch." Wu Yuan's eyes lit up as he accepted it, swiftly examining its contents.

For the past ten thousand years, he had been analyzing all things and beings. The deeper his insights and deductions grew, the greater his need for various special objects, all of which could aid his cultivation.

The entire upper echelon of the eldritch world expended tremendous resources and manpower to support this endeavor in secret, entrusting the task to Astral Monarch Hou Qu.

Thus, every thousand years or so, Wu Yuan's ether body would visit the Origin Eldritch Field to collect the items from Astral Monarch Hou Qu.

"Wu Yuan, your aura grows increasingly inscrutable to me," Astral Monarch Hou Qu chuckled. "I even feel vaguely threatened, it’s far more terrifying than Jiang Huan’s... You must have far more strength than you've revealed, no?"

"I still fall short of Senior Brother Jiang Huan," Wu Yuan demurred with a shake of his head.

"Heh heh." Astral Monarch Hou Qu laughed, saying no more. "You may go."

"Mm." Wu Yuan nodded.

He flew from the hall, heading towards a teleportation array tens of millions of li away, his Soul Will scanning the surroundings.

For Wu Yuan, tens of millions of li was a distance he could traverse in an instant.

He encountered numerous members of the Origin Eldritch Field along the way. However, he was unfamiliar with most of them.

Even if other Origin Eldritch Field members sensed Wu Yuan's aura and recognized him, few dared approach him and strike up a conversation.

The higher the level of the Origin Eldritch Field, the higher the status of its earth-tier members. In the First Origin Eldritch Field, earth-tier members outranked even the heaven-tier members of the Second Origin Eldritch Field. ṜÄ𐌽οВÈꞩ

Wu Yuan in particular, despite revealing only a fraction of his power, was deemed by many super powerhouses of the eldritch world as a future Astral Monarch. His status and prestige among countless members of the Origin Eldritch Field were exceptionally high.

The teleportation array loomed in the distance.

The Heaven and Earth Tournament? I'll pass this time.

Wu Yuan mused.

The Megaverse Crossroads will open in just a few thousand years. As the winds of change stir and clouds gather, the monstrous prodigies of various superpowers are conserving their strength. There's no need to draw unnecessary attention.

Although Wu Yuan was confident that he could withstand karmic attacks from Overlords across spacetime with his current strength, caution was always advisable.

It was better to maintain a low profile.

…

In a hall not far from the teleportation array, the previously motionless Astral Lord Xuan Tu's eyelids flickered.

He's here?

He composed himself, suppressing any trace of killing intent.

Whoosh!

He flew directly from the hall towards the nearby teleportation array.

This didn't draw much attention from the other Astral Lords stationed in nearby halls. Astral Lords held considerable authority in the eldritch world. Though tasked with guarding their posts, occasional departures were normal and largely unrestricted.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The plaza before the teleportation array teemed with immortal cultivators coming and going, making it impossible to detect anything amiss at first glance.

An Astral Lord? A powerhouse of the eldritch army's guard is here?

Wu Yuan merely glanced at the black-robed figure before dismissing it from his thoughts.

He was familiar with the Origin Eldritch Field's hierarchy. Moreover, a mere Astral Lord hardly warranted his attention.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Astral Lord Xuan Tu seemed to pay little heed to Wu Yuan, flying towards one of the teleportation arrays, yet his path 'happened' to intersect with Wu Yuan's.

In the blink of an eye, they were separated by a mere few thousand li.

For Archimmortal-level powerhouses, a few thousand li was an extremely close distance.

The entire teleportation array plaza spanned millions of li. With the constant flow of people, unless traveling together as companions, most Origin Eldritch Field members maintained at least a thousand-li distance from each other.

"It's Wu Yuan."

"That monstrous prodigy? They say he'll be even more terrifying than Jiang Huan in the future!"

"This is my first time seeing him." Many Origin Eldritch Field members passing by turned to look at Wu Yuan.

Everything appeared calm.

Boom!

Astral Lord Xuan Tu, only over a thousand li from Wu Yuan, suddenly erupted with power.

Like a pent-up torrent finally breaching its dam, Astral Lord Xuan Tu's vital aura exploded to its zenith as a blood-red sword materialized in his hand.

Die!

The killing intent Astral Lord Xuan Tu had concealed for eons burst forth as his surging vital aura rapidly contracted, pouring into the blood-red sword.

Eons of cultivation and a lifespan bordering on eternity were all condensed into this single sword strike.

In an instant, Astral Lord Xuan Tu had merged with the blood-red longsword, infusing it with boundless mana.

This was a powerful artifact he had prepared in secret, specifically for an assassination attempt someday in the future.

Endless ages of waiting culminated in this moment.

Whoosh!

Time itself seemed to freeze, heaven and earth appearing to hold their breath.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

The blood-red longsword, imbued with immense power, was already right before Wu Yuan.

"No!"

"This is?"

"An assassination? This Astral Lord is a sleeper agent? Trying to assassinate Wu Yuan?"

"This is bad!" The passing High Immortals and High Eldritches hundreds of thousands of li around all noticed the attack, their expressions changing dramatically.

They could sense the terrifying power within that blood-red longsword, and witnessed it thrust directly before Wu Yuan.

It was too fast, fast beyond measure.

If these High Immortals and High Eldritches were to face such an assassination attempt, they’d likely be impaled by the sword, unable to react at all.

This was a strike from an Astral Lord at the expense of his life.

"This is bad."

"Astral Lord Xuan Tu is a traitor!"

"A traitor indeed." In the nearby halls, the large contingent of stationed Astral Lords were jolted into action by this powerful aura, and immediately activated their arrays upon sensing the changes outside.

These Astral Lord powerhouses were all furious, but it was too late for them to intervene. Whether their own power or that of the arrays, it would take an instant to reach the scene.

But in that instant, life or death would be decided.

"Xuan Tu is willing to sacrifice his life to kill Wu Yuan?"

"Could it be... this is Wu Yuan's true self?"

"Though Wu Yuan is a body refiner, he's only a High Deity, probably with the combat strength of a fifth or sixth-stage Archimmortal. Xuan Tu's strike definitely rivals the quasi-Astral Monarch level, he's certain to die."

"It's over."

"Let's hope it's not Wu Yuan's true self." These stationed Astral Lord powerhouses were all shocked and enraged, but at this moment, they could only pray.

The leading late-stage Astral Lord powerhouse was particularly distraught, his mind in chaos.

They understood Wu Yuan's talent and status. If it truly was his true self that perished, it would undoubtedly incur the wrath of the eldritch world's upper echelons, sparking a great storm. And as the stationed defense force, they would inevitably bear the brunt of it.

At such close range, even Astral Monarch Hou Qu, sensing what had happened from tens of millions of li away, couldn't intervene in time.

Only a Sovereign could. However, as leaders of the eldritch world, the Sovereigns couldn't possibly keep constant watch over all affairs in the Origin Eldritch Fields.

An assassination?

An Astral Lord? And an Astral Lord of the eldritch army, surely someone highly trusted.

Earlier, three Astral Lord sleeper agents from the Voltari Temple died right outside the Summerpeak World. Have they still not given up?

Countless thoughts flashed through Wu Yuan's mind as he mused.

But, this is just my ether body. Could this Astral Lord sleeper agent have mistaken this for my true self?

Wu Yuan could sense the power imbued in the blood-red longsword.

In an instant, Wu Yuan made two deductions: either this Astral Lord believed he was the true self. Or, the Voltari Temple had prepared for a long time, and this sword strike from the Astral Lord was merely a facade, concealing a terrifyingly powerful karmic artifact capable of penetrating through the ether body to affect his true self.

The possibility of it being the first was over ninety percent. If so, it would be best for Wu Yuan to let his ether body be destroyed, lowering the Voltari Temple's suspicions.

However, when it came to matters of life and death, how could Wu Yuan be willing to gamble?

Kill!

Wu Yuan's vital aura began to surge as he employed the Creation Saint Prohibition. At the same time, thick gloves materialized over his hands, a mid-grade celestial artifact and one of the treasures his ether body always carried. There was no time to display any other ether arts.

Eternal Flame!

Wu Yuan's eyes turned cold.

His palms struck out like sabers, instantly causing the space before him to ripple. Blade rays blossomed like fireworks, exploding outwards with terrifying power.

The second step of the Will of Life and Death — Eternal Flame!

Crash!

The blade rays, brilliant and beautiful, carried unfathomable profundities. They devoured the blood-red longsword’s power bit by bit, and the terrifying pressure and vital aura emanating from Astral Lord Xuan Tu frantically dissipated.

Finally, everything returned to calm.

Astral Lord Xuan Tu's vital aura had completely scattered, leaving only a few storage artifacts, battle armor, and the blood-red longsword firmly grasped in Wu Yuan's hands.

There wasn’t a trace of residual energy in the area surrounding the clash, as if the battle just now had never occurred, merely a dream.

Silence reigned.

It seems I've been exposed.

Wu Yuan's gaze swept across his surroundings, taking in the countless shocked gazes, as he inwardly sighed.

However, even if the Voltari Temple knows now, so what? Even if they unleash their full might to kill me, can they succeed?

Wu Yuan's mind remained remarkably calm.

He had hidden his strength for ten thousand years. It was long enough.

Whoosh!

Space trembled slightly as a towering black-robed figure appeared — it was Astral Monarch Hou Qu.

"Wu Yuan? You...?" Astral Monarch Hou Qu's eyes were filled with disbelief, tumultuous waves of shock roiling in his mind.

The countless High Immortals and High Deities outside the teleportation array, and even those Astral Lords, couldn't be certain.

However, he, an Astral Monarch of Space, had perceived everything clearly, understanding just how terrifying the move Wu Yuan had just executed truly was.

It had undoubtedly reached the Astral Monarch level.