At the same time, Wu Yuan couldn't help but think of some myths he had heard of in his previous life, including the myth of Kua Fu chasing the sun, though that was merely a myth. [1]

There were many mysterious connections between his previous life and this one.

However, Wu Yuan knew clearly that this 'Great Eldritch Kua Fu' before him was not the same as the Great Eldritch Kua Fu from the most ancient era of heaven and earth.

In incredibly ancient times, many samsara cycles of heaven and earth ago, during the earliest era when the Eldritch Court rose to prominence, multiple Eldritch Progenitors and numerous Great Eldritches were born.

The Eldritch Court fought various Saintdoms, and as the Eldritch Court rose to power, many Great Eldritches fell.

Later, when that samsara cycle of heaven and earth ended, many Great Eldritches of that era all fell into the cycle of samsara.

However, to commemorate that group of Great Eldritches from the most ancient era, the numerous Eldritch Progenitors chose to preserve their names - thirty-six Great Eldritches in total.

In each era of heaven and earth, the Eldritch Progenitors would have some Overlords inherit the names of these thirty-six Great Eldritches.

Great Eldritch was a very ancient term. Thus, through successive cycles of heaven and earth, the Overlord-level powerhouses in today's Eldritch Court mostly addressed each other as 'Overlord' rather than calling themselves Great Eldritch.

Great Eldritch wasn't just a title based on strength, it represented an incredible honor within the Eldritch Court.

Each of the thirty-six Great Eldritches was incredibly powerful, with Great Eldritch Kua Fu being one of the most outstanding.

Wu Yuan had read the accounts and deeds of this generation's Great Eldritch Kua Fu.

He had once arrived at the Ling Jiang Universe and battled the Immortal Emperor Overlords of the Immortal Court, leaving countless legends.

…

"The Megaverse Crossroads could open at any moment!" Great Eldritch Kua Fu's gaze swept across all the geniuses. "Our Eldritch Court headquarters and branches have gathered approximately six hundred thousand geniuses this time.

“You eighty-eight people are the most elite among them."

Everyone listened quietly.

Six hundred thousand geniuses? Each one had early-stage Astral Monarch level insights at least. Yet only dozens of elites were selected.

It could be said that those who could come to this temple were already 'one in ten thousand' among the geniuses participating in the Megaverse Crossroads.

“At different levels of strength, objectives naturally differ as well.

“For you all, the Eldritch Court has four levels of objectives, with corresponding rewards," Great Eldritch Kua Fu slowly said.

"First, advancing to the second stage, the Heavenly Domain stage - once accomplished, you will be granted a high-grade Dao Instrument."

Wu Yuan listened, unsurprised. Almost all the geniuses in the hall would become Sovereigns in the future - being granted a single high-grade Dao Instrument was hardly a big deal.

"Second is breaking into the top hundred of the Crossroads," Great Eldritch Kua Fu's voice deepened. "Don't think it's that easy. There are already hundreds of geniuses in the megaverse who are known to have mastered Sovereign-level techniques, and more might break through later.

“Breaking into the top hundred is still a considerable challenge. Once accomplished, you will be granted a top-grade Dao Instrument, and an Overlord will accept you as a direct disciple."

At this, even those Supreme Geniuses who had remained calm previously perked up.

Wu Yuan was also slightly surprised.

The so-called top-grade Dao Instruments were still categorized as high-grade Dao Instruments, but how could artifacts like the Hundred Stars Saber, Five Elements Pillar, Black Devil Blood Hollow, and Devil Subduing Tome all be considered equals?

The Hundred Stars Saber was just the most ordinary Dao Instrument, while something like the Black Devil Blood Hollow was among the most precious of high-grade Dao Instruments, worthy of being called a top-grade Dao Instrument.

"Third is breaking into the top ten," Great Eldritch Kua Fu continued. "Once accomplished, you may have the chance to be accepted as a direct disciple by the Eldritch Progenitors, or at least as a nominal disciple."

Everyone held their breath.

Disciple of an Eldritch Progenitor? While these Supreme Geniuses might have been granted audiences with Eldritch Progenitors, they weren't qualified to become disciples.

According to public information, only Zhu Shan was currently known to be an Eldritch Progenitor's disciple.

"Fourth is claiming a Saintcrest," Great Eldritch Kua Fu paused, then slowly said, "Once accomplished, you will definitely be accepted as a direct disciple by an Eldritch Progenitor, and additionally be granted a Xiantian artifact."

Direct disciple of a Supreme being? Xiantian artifact? Everyone understood the countless benefits of becoming a direct disciple of a supreme being.

But a Xiantian artifact?

Is it a treasure that surpasses high-grade Dao Instruments? Something used by Overlords, or even supreme beings?

Wu Yuan secretly speculated.

"Entering the Heavenly Domain stage, reaching the top hundred, top ten, and claiming a Saintcrest." Great Eldritch Kua Fu said.

"The Eldritch Court has always been fair and impartial. The stronger you are and the better you perform, the more rewards you receive. Want to get more rewards?

“Then charge forward with everything you've got! The higher you go, the better!"

…

In that magnificent world where numerous Overlords resided, exclamations of amazement began to ring out.

"Xiantian artifact?"

"Is what Great Eldritch Kua Fu said true?"

"This time, they're actually bestowing Xiantian artifacts upon these youngsters?"

"Even I, a mighty Overlord, don't possess any Xiantian artifacts!" The group of Overlords were dumbfounded, deeply shocked.

"It seems the Eldritch Progenitors place great importance on this Megaverse Crossroads."

"Let's wait for the results."

"The Eldritch Progenitors have actually brought out Xiantian artifacts." These Overlords sighed in amazement.

Usually, if any youngster possessed Xiantian artifacts, they would likely be unable to resist the urge to steal them.

But this time, since it was bestowed by the Eldritch Progenitors, none dared harbor thoughts of theft.

…

Inside the temple.

"This is intelligence gathered by our Eldritch Court. Study them thoroughly and memorize everything. They will be your competitors," Great Eldritch Kua Fu waved his hand.

Immortal slips appeared simultaneously before all eighty-eight geniuses.

One appeared before Wu Yuan as well, and he immediately probed it with his Soul Will, causing a flood of information to surge into his mind.

Names floated past one by one, followed by details of each genius - their names, battle footage, cultivation techniques, achievements, specialties, and more. It was incredibly thorough!

There were those from the Immortal Court and other Saintdoms. To be included in this record, they had to be at Bai Yi and Hu Biao's level at least.

"Haiyue? Ming Jian?" Among the vast sea of intelligence, Wu Yuan saw both Zhuo Haiyue and Ming Jian’s names.

According to the intelligence, Zhuo Haiyue seemed to have also mastered a Sovereign-level technique.

Soon after, while sifting through the abundant information on Immortal Court powerhouses, Wu Yuan saw another familiar name - Mu Long.

Hmm? Mu Long has broken through and fully comprehended the Law of Thunder?

Wu Yuan was secretly shocked.

He recalled that frenzied individual from the contest of providence. This intelligence hadn't been collected by the Ling Jiang Saintdom, but the Eldritch Court headquarters had somehow obtained it.

Shortly after, Wu Yuan had memorized all of this complex intelligence.

With this intelligence, Wu Yuan suddenly had a clearer understanding of the countless geniuses across the megaverse. He also formed more detailed plans in his mind.

Whoosh!

After waiting for a while, Great Eldritch Kua Fu waved his hand again, and more voidrealm jades emanating an aura of eternity appeared before the eighty-eight geniuses.

"These voidrealm jades were specially crafted by supreme beings," Great Eldritch Kua Fu said. "Through them, all participating geniuses from our Eldritch Court can maintain contact with the headquarters within the Divine Domain, allowing you to share intelligence and update information on enemies.

“However, this is limited to battles in the Divine Domain. Once you enter the second stage, the Heavenly Domain, the connection will be severed, and even supreme beings won't be able to interfere in the slightest.

“Everyone, claim ownership now," Great Eldritch Kua Fu commanded.

Wu Yuan, Xuan Rong, and the others claimed ownership, branding their aura imprints. Soon, they sensed that they could enter a special independent voidrealm that was unlike the Eldritch Court Voidrealm.

To enable all participating geniuses to maintain contact with each other, as expected of the Eldritch Court.

Wu Yuan secretly marveled.

Setting aside the benefit of cooperation, the ability to share intelligence alone gave them a huge advantage. No wonder the Eldritch Court had so many peerless geniuses in the top hundred or top ten with each opening of the Megaverse Crossroads.

If it only happened once, it could be attributed to luck. But repeatedly achieving this demonstrated the Eldritch Court's foundation and strength.

"Additionally, there's one extra reward," Great Eldritch Kua Fu said. "Those who can kill the true selves of Immortal Court geniuses in the Megaverse Crossroads will receive rewards." He waved his hand, and a huge light screen appeared.

Wu Yuan, Xuan Rong, Cang Yu, and the others looked over.

The reward for killing a regular Immortal Court participant was one billion divine crystals per kill.

The reward for killing an Immortal Court participant with late-stage Astral Monarch comprehension was one mid-grade Dao Instrument per kill.

The reward for killing an Immortal Court participant who had mastered a Sovereign-level technique was one high-grade Dao Instrument per kill.

The reward for killing a Supreme Genius from the Immortal Court was one top-grade Dao Instrument per kill.

Of course, they had to kill the participant’s true self.

This is truly madness.

Wu Yuan was secretly shocked. These rewards were incredibly generous.

As Eldritch Court powerhouses who had cultivated for numerous years, they were naturally motivated to kill all powerhouses of the Immortal Court. With such generous rewards, combined with the frenzied killing that would occur in the Megaverse Crossroads, this would definitely give the Eldritch Court geniuses sufficient incentive to hunt down Immortal Court geniuses.

With the Eldritch Court offering such rewards, the Immortal Court would surely have equivalent rewards.

Wu Yuan could already imagine the bloodbath that would take place on the Megaverse Crossroads. Numerous geniuses from both the Eldritch Court and Immortal Court would definitely engage in a ruthless battle like no other.

…

After providing detailed intelligence about the Megaverse Crossroads, Great Eldritch Kua Fu departed.

Wu Yuan, Cang Yu, and the other geniuses continued to wait quietly in the temple.

Similar events were taking place concurrently in numerous Saintdoms of various universes throughout the megaverse. The many Saintdoms were also conducting their final mobilizations.

The Taiyuan True Realm.

On Taiyuan Island, thousands of qualified geniuses had also gathered in one place.

Only several hundred of us can communicate with the divine court headquarters.

Wu Yuan's qi refiner self looked at the voidrealm jade before him.

Every participating genius of the Eldritch Court received one. But in the Taiyuan Divine Court, only about one-tenth of the geniuses received these voidrealm jades crafted by the supreme being.

Of course, compared to the Eldritch Court which had an abundance of geniuses and intense competition, the Taiyuan Divine Court’s objectives for their participants were much more reasonable.

They only required participating geniuses to try their best to enter the second stage, without needing to fight geniuses from any other Saintdom.

…

The years passed.

Across the vast megaverse's many universes, countless ordinary beings and even many Archimmortals and Archdeities went about their normal lives, cultivating and fighting.

Only a few super powerhouses quietly paid attention, all knowing that a massive competition of geniuses affecting the entire megaverse was about to begin.

In the future, many Sovereigns and Overlords would rise from this event.

On this day, in a boundless, mysterious realm beyond measurable distance—a place where even spacetime felt nonexistent and Overlords couldn’t perceive—a massive surge of energy erupted fiercely.

Whoosh!

This grand and vast wave of energy instantly transcended time, transcended space, transcended all physical limitations, and directly reached every corner of the megaverse.

This power blanketed every corner of each universe, transcending the imagination of ordinary beings.

It locked onto qualified mortal lifeforms through the Destiny Voidscape.

Following this, whether it was those geniuses waiting in temples, in outer space, or under the watch of Sovereigns or Overlords, or some overlooked peerless geniuses waiting in various macrocosms, all who were qualified instantly vanished from their locations!

Their true selves, mana bodies and ether bodies all disappeared simultaneously.

Immediately, all Saintdoms across the megaverse instantly knew - the Megaverse Crossroads had opened.

1. From Wikipedia: Kuafu (Chinese: 夸父) is a giant in Chinese mythology who wished to capture the Sun. He was a grandson of Houtu. One day, Kuafu decided to chase and catch the Sun. He followed the Sun from the East to the West, draining the Yellow River and the Wei River (all rivers and lakes crossing his path) to quench his burning thirst. However, the big rivers were also unable to quench his thirst, and as he searched for more water, he eventually died of dehydration. The wooden club he was carrying grew into a vast forest of peach trees called the Deng Forest (鄧林).

In one version, Kuafu turns into a mountain range. This mountain range and the peach forest are said to be located in present day Lingbao.

In modern Chinese usage, the story of Kuafu chasing the Sun (夸父追日) is used to describe a person who is brave and optimistic and willing to overcome all the obstacles to reach the goal. ☜