Eldritch Progenitor?

Wu Yuan was slightly startled. His qi refiner self's entry into the Taiyuan Divine Court was something the Eldritch Progenitor had arranged?

He recalled Master Kua Chi's words – that the Eldritch Progenitor had reached some agreement with True Saint Taiyuan.

At the time, he thought it was about establishing the positions of his two true selves within the two factions. But now, it seemed the Eldritch Progenitor had paid some price to allow his qi refiner self to enter the core of the Taiyuan Divine Court.

"The Eldritch Progenitor who came to speak with me possessed extraordinary power, even greater than my own," True Saint Taiyuan gazed down at Wu Yuan, speaking slowly. "You're fortunate to have caught their attention, but whether you can achieve supremacy still depends on your own efforts. External opportunities alone will not lead to transcendence."

Wu Yuan now understood that an Eldritch Progenitor had indeed been pulling strings behind all this. But which Eldritch Progenitor was it? Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu?

"This is precisely why Overlord Xin Ya promised that should you wish to return to the Eldritch Court in the future, you may do so without any obligations," True Saint Taiyuan said. "Because the price you would have had to pay has already been paid by the Eldritch Progenitor."

Wu Yuan listened intently.

To gain something, one must pay a price. He had found it strange that the Taiyuan Divine Court would be so generous. Now it was clear things weren't so simple.

"But having made my promise, I will naturally nurture you with all my effort," True Saint Taiyuan continued slowly. "In fact, I specifically summoned my true body back for your sake."

"Thank you, True Saint," Wu Yuan said respectfully.

"No need for thanks. My assistance to you begins with the Taiyuan Divine Court's environment, which can conceal the matter of your two true selves from the Immortal Court's detection," True Saint Taiyuan explained. "Your earliest connection to my Taiyuan Divine Court lineage makes this appear natural."

Wu Yuan nodded in understanding.

Yes, if his qi refiner self had joined another Saintdom, it would have easily drawn scrutiny and divination, given his monstrous talent. Only by joining the Taiyuan Divine Court could he avoid drawing attention.

"The second form of assistance is a Great Dao imprint," True Saint Taiyuan smiled.

"Great Dao imprint?" Wu Yuan was shocked.

Each supreme being could distribute no more than nine Great Dao imprints among mortal or sempiternal beings. Therefore, supreme beings rarely bestowed them carelessly.

"Though there are multiple supreme beings across the vast megaverse, most no longer possess any Great Dao imprints," True Saint Taiyuan said slowly. "Those suitable for you are even rarer. I have only three Great Dao imprints remaining.

“I had been saving them for some promising geniuses, but now, I shall bestow one upon you.

“Your qi refiner self is already quite formidable, and with this Great Dao imprint, your chances of becoming an Overlord in the future will be even greater. The Eldritch Progenitor has truly mapped out a thorough plan for your future," True Saint Taiyuan said.

Wu Yuan listened with bated breath.

Oh Eldritch Progenitor! What price did you pay to convince True Saint Taiyuan to bestow a Great Dao imprint?

"Beyond these two benefits, I have prepared two more advantages for you," True Saint Taiyuan continued. "However, one of these can only be granted after you complete the nine Immortal Tribulations - it would be useless in your hands now.

“As for the final benefit, how much you can obtain depends on your own capability... you must reach late-stage Sovereign strength at least to qualify for the attempt."

Wu Yuan silently took note of this.

From what he knew, supreme beings typically trained their disciples and descendants in stages, providing the first stage of training when they were mortals, then the next stage of training after they became sempiternal lifeforms.

It was similar to what his body refiner self experienced in the Immutable Land - according to the Creation Emissary, he could enter the Immutable Land once more after becoming an Astral Monarch or Sovereign.

"Prepare yourself!" True Saint Taiyuan, who seemed to stand endless spacetime dimensions beyond, suddenly pointed from afar.

Hum~

Countless rays of light converged, instantly forming a silver droplet-like substance.

It flew from True Saint Taiyuan's fingertip, instantly reaching Wu Yuan's forehead.

Everything happened too quickly. Before Wu Yuan could react, the silver droplet had already landed on his forehead and assimilated into his body, completely dispersing throughout.

The mysterious power within the silver droplet instantly permeated every corner of his body, every inch of his twelve Yuan Souls, and even penetrated his Voidspace.

In that instant, every aspect of Wu Yuan's qi refiner self was completely enveloped by that vast and majestic power.

Countless Dao patterns manifested and shifted in his flesh and soul, transforming Wu Yuan's fundamental nature.

Space!

Wu Yuan's consciousness remained clear.

He could already sense it. His perception of Space’s essence was growing clearer. Even his sensitivity to the distant fluctuations of the Great Dao of Spacetime beyond heaven and earth grew!

In mere moments, though Wu Yuan's vital aura appeared unchanged on the surface, his inner being had undergone an earth-shattering transformation.

His qi refiner self’s body had transformed into a Space Dao Body.

Space Dao Body.

As Wu Yuan experienced the wondrous changes in his body, many of his past conundrums and bottlenecks while comprehending the Great Dao of Spacetime and the Law of Space seemed to unravel.

It was as if he had suddenly experienced an awakening.

Previously, when Wu Yuan's qi refiner self cultivated on the Spacetime Island, his Yuan Soul was stronger than his body refiner self and he had the Spacetime Dao Master's spacetime inheritances – his cultivation environment was far superior to his body refiner self's.

However, his progress in the Great Dao of Spacetime was much slower than the Great Dao of Creation.

Why? The most important reason was that his body refiner self possessed a Life Dao Body, facilitating comprehension and deduction of the Law of Life and Great Dao of Creation.

Now, with True Saint Taiyuan's help, his qi refiner self had finally made up for this shortcoming.

One could say that the talents of his two true selves had truly reached their peak in all aspects.

An Apotheosis Yuan Soul paired with a Greater Dao Body will result in astounding Dao comprehension efficiency.

Wu Yuan thought to himself.

With a Space Dao Body, my qi refiner self's hopes of becoming a Sovereign of Space in the future will greatly increase, and the time required will be significantly reduced.

Wu Yuan slowly opened his eyes and respectfully said, "Thank you, True Saint. This junior is eternally grateful."

Although the Eldritch Progenitor had paid the price, Wu Yuan was still grateful.

"Mm," True Saint Taiyuan looked at Wu Yuan. "With all your accumulated opportunities, you've reached the pinnacle of mortal life. Even if the Eldritch Progenitor were here personally, there would likely be nothing more they could do for you.

“On the Megaverse Crossroads three thousand years from now, you can only rely on yourself. Under the workings of the heavenly Dao, even we supreme beings can only perceive snippets but cannot interfere.

“If you cultivate step by step, spending a sufficient length of time, you would likely eventually become an Overlord.

“But the gap between Overlord and supreme is an enormous chasm. The earlier you begin accumulating insights and experiences, the better," True Saint Taiyuan said. "Only then will you have a chance of success."

"This junior understands," Wu Yuan nodded.

The Spacetime Dao Master had said similar things, though more severely, stating it was a matter of life and death in the future.

The path from Overlord to the supreme level was indeed difficult.

What he possessed now, whether the Greater Dao Body or so-called dual Apotheosis, could only support him to the Overlord level - that was the limit.

Supreme? That was a transformation of one’s fundamental nature from a sempiternal lifeform to a supreme lifeform - external aids were useless.

And within the Megaverse Crossroads lay great opportunities as mentioned by the Spacetime Dao Master. Some opportunities couldn't be bestowed by even supreme beings.

"I've also prepared an inheritance for you, containing insights from my cultivation. Though it doesn't match your path, it may provide value as a reference, so I'll give it to you," True Saint Taiyuan waved his hand.

Boom!

Instantly, information flooded into Wu Yuan's mind, overwhelming even his Yuan Soul momentarily. There was too much information.

Wu Yuan's consciousness gradually cleared up after some time, and he quickly began examining it.

‘Primordial Infinity', so this is the core inheritance technique created by True Saint Taiyuan?

This was a quintessential inheritance, a supreme technique applying the Great Dao of Infinity.

Besides this technique, there were many other secret arts and supreme techniques - soul secret arts, close combat secret arts, ranged arcane arts and more, in astonishing numbers.

It shared similarities to the ‘Spacetime Secret Codex’ by the Spacetime Dao Master.

"Very well. That is all I have for you. You may go now," True Saint Taiyuan waved his hand.

Hum~

Wu Yuan instantly vanished from where he stood.

"Eldritch Progenitor? Spacetime Dao Master? True Saint Bu Xiu? It seems the Ancestral Pagoda is involved as well..." True Saint Taiyuan murmured to himself. "If I weren't so attached to that thing, I wouldn't want to meddle in these murky waters."

The Spacetime Dao Master and True Saint Bu Xiu spent countless years searching for successors, hoping to nurture new supreme beings. But True Saint Taiyuan? He wasn't particularly interested in nurturing disciples of the younger generation.

"Though, it is indeed intriguing. The Eldritch Progenitor's machinations, are they aimed at that one?" True Saint Taiyuan muttered to himself.

"Yet, can a mere youngster at the High Immortal and High Deity phase truly be the one to change the game? Or is he merely bait?"

Shaking his head, his figure dissipated into nothingness.

…

Outside Taiyuan Hall.

"Ming Jian, you've emerged so quickly?" Overlord Shan Jin immediately noticed Wu Yuan flying out of the hall.

"Overlord," Wu Yuan responded.

"No need to explain. Whatever the True Saint said to you or bestowed upon you, keep it to yourself," Overlord Shan Jin smiled. "Next, I shall send you to the Primordial Hall."

"Primordial Hall?" Wu Yuan was taken aback.

This place had been mentioned once by Grandmaster Bei You when they parted ways. However, he had not heard any news of it for the last two thousand years, and Wu Yuan hadn't given it much thought.

Yet, the word 'primordial' stirred something within Wu Yuan. There was a vague sense of familiarity, though he couldn't quite place it.

"The Primordial Hall is a sacred training ground within our Taiyuan Divine Court, extremely beneficial for breaking through Dao comprehension bottlenecks." Overlord Shan Jin explained, "The cost to initiate one session is so enormous that even Sovereign powerhouses often hesitate to redeem an opportunity to train inside it.

“For mortal beings, unless their Dao comprehension reaches the quasi-Sovereign level with the potential to become a Supreme Genius, it's rarely activated.

“Your Dao comprehension, while slightly below the Sovereign level, isn't far off. Therefore, we Overlords have collectively decided to grant you free entry for one session of training," Overlord Shan Jin said.

"I expect that after training in the Primordial Hall, you would have made great strides, and your chances of claiming a Saintcrest on the Megaverse Crossroads will rise significantly."

"Thank you, Overlord," Wu Yuan respectfully replied.

From what he had heard so far, this so-called Primordial Hall should dramatically increase cultivation efficiency.

"Come," Overlord Shan Jin led Wu Yuan, swiftly departing Taiyuan Hall and entering the Spacetime Intersection Layer.