"Zhu Shan chose the path of Laws?"

"The path of Laws... that's going to be tough." Jiu Yan, You Feng, and the other Supreme Geniuses furrowed their brows, lost in thought.

Zhu Shan’s choice was within their expectations, but it also meant that obtaining a Saintcrest through that route would be extremely difficult. After all, there were only two slots available. Who would dare claim they could surpass Zhu Shan?

Although the other nine geniuses besides Zhu Shan had all reached the 3000th step on the Primordial Steps previously, comprehending the Three Thousand Foundation Diagrams at minimum, it didn't mean these geniuses truly wished to walk the path of matter.

Even among those who had comprehended the Three Thousand Foundation Diagrams, there were distinctions. Some had grasped them early on and were not far from understanding the profundities of the Primal Force Diagrams, while others had barely managed to comprehend them just in time. How could they be considered equal?

These geniuses all had a sense of the difficulty of the path of matter. As for the path of Laws, being a Supreme Genius was already enough to prove their talent. In the future, they would be late-stage Sovereign powerhouses at least. But if they walked the path of matter? It was hard to say.

In reality, among these ten geniuses, quite a few had wanted to choose the path of Laws. However, with Zhu Shan having already chosen it, they would have to compete against him. How difficult was that?

"It's your turn," the Heavenly Domain Emissary looked at Jiu Yan.

Everyone turned their gaze to Jiu Yan.

The path of matter? My comprehension of the Primordial Doctrine isn't particularly fast, far behind Wu Yuan, Ming Jian, Lie Ji, and the others.

Jiu Yan thought to himself.

It's not even on par with You Feng and Li Guang.

If I take the path of Laws, it’ll also be difficult to obtain a Saintcrest. But at least, I will get stronger by the end of it. There’s no need to be fixated on the Saintcrests. Striving to gain more benefits in the third trial and laying a foundation for becoming an Overlord is what I should be doing.

While Zhu Shan and Wu Yuan both desperately yearned to become Saintcrest Prodigies, Jiu Yan had thought things through clearly. Breaking into the top ten was already a stroke of fortune for him; it was better to be practical.

Whoosh!

After a moment's contemplation, Jiu Yan's form flickered as he too plunged into the black vortex.

"He also chose the path of Laws?" The other geniuses continued to ponder.

The third was Lie Jin.

"I'll take the path of matter," Lie Jin, clad in golden robes and possessing an otherworldly appearance, revealed a rather alluring smile as he flew straight into the white vortex.

Lie Jin’s choice didn't come as a surprise to the others. During the Primordial Steps Trial, Lie Jin was one of the three peerless geniuses who had comprehended the profundities of the Primal Force Diagrams. If he hadn't chosen the path of matter, that would have bewildered the other geniuses.

You Feng chose the path of matter.

Li Guang chose the path of Laws.

At this moment, only five geniuses remained in the ancient temple. Yan Xiao, Qin Yuan, and the others couldn't help but look towards Ming Jian.

Matter? Laws?

Wu Yuan's qi refiner self stared at the two enormous vortices in the distance with a hint of hesitation. Both paths were excellent, both leading to eternity. There was no superiority between the two paths.

In terms of the probability of obtaining a Saintcrest, the path of matter naturally offered greater chances. His greatest competitor, Lie Jin, wasn't necessarily unbeatable.

However.

Wu Yuan's qi refiner self narrowed his eyes.

If the ultimate goal is to achieve eternity, the path of Laws might offer greater hope. In the vast megaverse, all those Overlords walked the path of Laws.

He hadn't heard of any Overlord who had walked the path of matter.

Moreover, within Wu Yuan's qi refiner self’s upper dantian lobe, the Samsara Sword was trembling slightly. This sensation was extremely faint, yet unmistakably clear. It was guiding Wu Yuan's qi refiner self, pointing towards that black vortex.

The Samsara Sword wants my qi refiner self to walk the path of Laws?

Wu Yuan thought to himself.

My body refiner self can no longer awaken the Samsara Sword, only retaining its form, so there's no guidance.

Wu Yuan vividly remembered the words of the Spacetime Dao Master - the Samsara Sword would be one of his lifelines. Besides, the path of Laws might not necessarily be a worse choice than the path of matter for his qi refiner self.

Whoosh!

Wu Yuan's qi refiner self took a step forward and flew into the black vortex.

"Ming Jian chose the path of Laws?"

"He actually chose the path of Laws? I thought he would choose the path of matter." Yan Xiao, Yang Qing, Qin Yuan, and the other geniuses all showed a flicker of surprise.

"I choose the path of Laws," Yan Xiao quickly made his decision.

"The path of matter." Wu Yuan's body refiner self unhesitatingly chose the white vortex. In terms of comprehension of the Primordial Doctrine, his body refiner self was number one. There was also less competition on the path of matter

And upon seeing Wu Yuan choose the path of matter, Yang Qing and Qin Yuan swiftly made their decisions.

"I choose the path of Laws."

"The path of Laws."

Firstly, they were already inclined towards the path of Laws. Secondly, their comprehension aptitude for the path of matter was quite average, not particularly strong. How could they compete with Wu Yuan and Lie Jin?

With this, the ten geniuses had completed their choices. Besides Lie Jin, Wu Yuan, and You Feng who chose the path of matter, Zhu Shan and the other seven Supreme Geniuses all chose the path of Laws.

In the temple, only the white-robed Heavenly Domain Emissary remained. He slowly descended to the ground, waved his hand, and the two spatial vortices in the distance dissipated.

How interesting. There are Ancestral Pagoda imprint bearers, Heavenly Cauldron imprint bearers, and even those who are both.

The Heavenly Domain Emissary murmured to himself.

Imprint bearers are still just imprint bearers... They're all still too weak. I wonder how many will achieve eternity.

The samsara of nine megaverses, not much time remains.

Destiny? Primordium?

The Heavenly Domain Emissary sighed softly, gently closed his eyes, and his figure vanished from the temple.

As the Heavenly Domain Emissary, he knew many secrets from the most ancient era to the present day. But as an emissary, he was unable to speak of them.

He could only wait for the Heavenly Domain to open time and again, observing generation after generation of peerless geniuses from the megaverse striving to transcend, observing the future…

…

Upon flying into the spatial vortex, Wu Yuan's qi refiner self felt the surrounding spacetime tremble.

He had arrived in a mysterious place, surrounded by star after star in the void. These stars, each incomparably majestic and boundless, occupied his field of vision. Some were fiery red, some earthy yellow, some dazzling gold… they were too numerous to count.

Looking from afar, these stars appeared extremely realistic at first glance, yet seemed rather illusory upon closer inspection, overall appearing incredibly strange.

However, these stars seemed to be separated by vast distances, making it difficult for Wu Yuan to even sense them, let alone touch them.

Near Wu Yuan were wisps of mysterious, ethereal purple currents, drifting through the void.

The path of Laws, what will it be?

Wu Yuan stood in the void, a hint of confusion flashing through his eyes. Moreover, what was the Samsara Sword guiding him towards?

Hum~

Suddenly, the countless stars in the infinite void began to shine. Streams of light gathered and interwove, ultimately forming a dazzling, boundless beam of light. This beam of light appeared utterly ordinary at first glance, yet contained infinite profundities.

This?

Wu Yuan's pupils contracted slightly.

Boom!

This beam of light had already traversed the infinite void, directly falling upon Wu Yuan's qi refiner self, its hazy aura completely enveloping him.

This light permeated every part of Wu Yuan's qi refiner self - his body, his amethyst cradle and mana, his Voidspace, his upper dantian lobe - spreading its infinite might at will.

It seemed to represent the power of eternity itself, instinctively preventing Wu Yuan from harboring any thoughts of resistance.

Wu Yuan had witnessed the true body of an Overlord before, understanding how overwhelmingly powerful an Overlord's pressure could be.

He had also had an audience with a supreme being, and knew how insurmountably mighty such existences were. They were near impossible to look at directly, and just being in their presence could freeze one's ability to think.

But at this moment, Wu Yuan felt that the presence of True Saint Taiyuan seemed somewhat inferior compared to this beam of light. It was bizarre, yet undeniably real.

Before Wu Yuan could ponder further, an overwhelmingly powerful, infinitely vast consciousness descended, and a flood of information surged into Wu Yuan's mind. A hazy fluctuation completely enveloped Wu Yuan's qi refiner self.

This?

Wu Yuan's consciousness felt suppressed, and waves of profundities washed over his mind.

He vaguely witnessed scenes of heaven and earth’s creation.

He saw the operation of the vast universe, the overlapping worlds in the Abyss connecting to different immense macrocosms, and the birth of countless lives in the macrocosms... And ultimately the great samsara annihilation. Countless worlds were destroyed and innumerable lives perished in an instant.

There were countless images and scenes, a sea of information shocking to the core. There was far too much. Each image was in fact but a fragment of the megaverse's evolution over eons, containing profundities and information that nearly suffocated Wu Yuan, nearly halting the functioning of his thoughts.

Hum~

A gentle, mysterious force entered Wu Yuan's Yuan Soul, awakening the consciousness of Wu Yuan's qi refiner self and swiftly restoring his clarity. It also instantly allowed him to understand his current situation.

How profound. The origin of all things, the operation of all things, the end of all things!

Wu Yuan's heart trembled with awe.

This is the Dao, this is the eternal Dao. All things perish, only the Dao is eternal.

Beneath a shroud of mysterious radiance, those grand and magnificent scenes flowed ceaselessly through Wu Yuan's mind.

Wu Yuan understood that this was an unprecedented opportunity for him. This place was likely the origin of the infinite megaverse, the source of the natural order of heaven and earth.

Spacetime! Spacetime is the origin of all things, and the framework for all Daos and techniques.

Wu Yuan mused inwardly. As his thoughts flowed, he felt countless Spacetime profundities surging into his mind from each of those scenes. His rate of comprehension was at least a thousandfold faster than before.

Whether it's secret arts from the world outside or even supreme inheritances, their purpose is to guide cultivators to better perceive the Dao essence and comprehend it.

Wu Yuan realized, sitting down in lotus position.

And here, I am already at the source of essence.

Wu Yuan didn't know if supreme beings could reach this place. At the very least, the Sovereigns probably couldn't. He could tell that without that mysterious power enveloping his Yuan Soul, he would be utterly unable to comprehend these profound scenes. It surpassed the limits of his understanding.

Sovereigns? Though their Yuan Souls were stronger, their Dao comprehension level wasn't fundamentally higher than his own, so they too would struggle to understand. And this mysterious power was clearly bestowed by the Megaverse Crossroads.

So the so-called third trial which lasts a thousand years, is a test of comprehension via secluded cultivation to reveal our potential.

Wu Yuan murmured.

To ultimately select the Saintcrest Prodigies.

This place could already be called the ultimate training ground. Even ordinary cultivators who came here would see their cultivation efficiency increase a hundredfold or thousandfold, let alone Wu Yuan and the other Supreme Geniuses.

No wonder they say that over half of the Saintcrest Prodigies in history eventually became Overlords.

Wu Yuan thought to himself.

If there are such opportunities in the selection process alone, what benefits will there be when we finally succeed?

It was unimaginable!

According to the Heavenly Domain Emissary, the rewards for obtaining a Saintcrest would surpass even Xiantian artifacts in value.