Chapter 960: Matter Sovereign (1)

"Hm?" Wu Yuan was momentarily taken aback.

Why would the True Saint suddenly ask him about this? He hadn't told Overlord Xin Ya anything about his body refiner self.

"Don't be so surprised. My true body has always been in the cosmic sea, so I rarely pay attention to matters within the universe," True Saint Taiyuan smiled. "Eldritch Progenitor Luan Jiang inquired with me. It seems Wan Xuan made a report to him."

"Wan Xuan?" Wu Yuan grew even more puzzled. Who?

"The supreme being in charge of the Eldritch Court's Long Shan Saintdom is Eldritch Progenitor Wan Xuan," True Saint Taiyuan explained. "It's likely because your body refiner self suddenly lost contact with the Eldritch Court Voidrealm, and they were unable to reach you.

“After all, there has been no news of you for over 30,000 years, and you weren’t even able to contact the Eldritch Court Voidrealm—such a situation is very unusual," True Saint Taiyuan continued.

Wu Yuan nodded.

Indeed! Normally, peerless geniuses or Sovereigns would leave a strand of consciousness in the voidrealm in the event of emergencies. Moreover, his cultivation years were quite short.

"Apart from Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu and Eldritch Progenitor Luan Jiang, the other Eldritch Progenitors within the Eldritch Court likely don't know about your two true selves," True Saint Taiyuan said. "Therefore, it must have been an Overlord of the Eldritch Court's Long Shan Saintdom who inquired with his supreme being superior, eventually leading all the way to me.

“How are you faring? Are you alright?" True Saint Taiyuan asked, though he wasn't too worried.

If something had happened to Wu Yuan's body refiner self, he probably wouldn't be so calm.

"I appreciate the True Saint's concern," Wu Yuan said respectfully. "My body refiner self is merely trapped in a burial mountain of the Creation Dao Realm. I can't escape for the time being, and it will likely take some more time before I can emerge.

“However, I am safe and secure," Wu Yuan added.

"Burial mountain? It's said that the eight hundred burial mountains of the Creation Dao Realm hold quite a few fortuitous encounters, though ordinary sempiternal lives find it extremely difficult to enter. I guess even Eldritch Progenitor Wan Xuan couldn't locate it," True Saint Taiyuan smiled. "Your ability to enter is itself a stroke of fortune. As long as you're safe, all is well."

"However, the Creation Dao Master has ultimately perished. He may have left behind some traps before his death. Although you shouldn't encounter them as a sempiternal lifeform, no one knows what the Creation Dao Master was thinking before his death. Throughout history, the number of Overlords who have perished within the Dao Realm is not small. Be extra cautious," True Saint Taiyuan warned solemnly.

"I'm afraid even the Spacetime Dao Master or Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu wouldn't be able to save you if you carelessly fall victim to certain traps."

"Understood." Wu Yuan's heart tightened.

As an immutable relic site, the Creation Dao Realm was extremely dangerous and highly unpredictable.

"You may go," True Saint Taiyuan waved his hand.

Wu Yuan bowed and swiftly left the hall.

Burial mountain?

True Saint Taiyuan murmured to himself.

Eight hundred burial mountains, burying all the Sovereigns and Overlords of the Long Shan Universe. Isn't the Creation Dao Realm itself just a massive burial ground?

But they still had the chance to establish burial grounds. As for me?

True Saint Taiyuan shook his head slightly, his eyes complex.

Then, his figure dispersed into countless points of light.

If it hadn't involved Wu Yuan, he wouldn't have been willing to send his consciousness here, as it placed a great burden on him.

...

In the Ming Jian Realm of the Greenridge Macrocosm.

I didn't expect my body refiner self's absence to would attract the attention of several supreme beings.

Wu Yuan shook his head, unsure whether to laugh or feel proud.

Then he stopped dwelling on it.

My body refiner self has indeed gained quite a few fortuitous encounters in the Creation Dao Realm.

Wu Yuan pondered silently.

My qi refiner self, after over ten thousand years of secluded cultivation, has finally gained initial mastery over two Xiantian artifacts.

However, I'm still far from reaching the fifth-level Dao Field stage of Spacetime. Perhaps I should also seek some opportunities for adventure and tempering.

Wu Yuan thought to himself.

At the very least, my mana body doesn't need to stay in the macrocosm for long periods.

Cultivation was far more than just secluded meditation.

Take his body refiner self—why not stay in the burial mountain indefinitely? Why choose to leave? Logically, cultivating in the burial mountain for several million or even tens of millions of years might be enough to reach the seventh-level Dao Field stage of Creation, and then with the help of the two steles left by the Dao Master, there would be hope of comprehending it to even higher levels.

But there is a greater possibility of being trapped at the limit of the sixth-level Dao Field stage of Creation, ultimately unable to break through even after hundreds of millions of years, wasting time and depleting willpower and determination in vain.

Wu Yuan understood this point clearly.

When reaching certain bottlenecks, relying solely on secluded cultivation was useless. If secluded cultivation alone was enough for one to become an Overlord, half of the Saintcrest Prodigies throughout history wouldn’t have failed to break through even after eons. Similarly, many Supreme Geniuses wouldn’t remain stuck at the late-stage Sovereign level, unable to advance any further.

Becoming an Overlord required not just more cultivation insights but also experiences that made profound impacts on one’s life, let alone achieving eternity.

What's even more important is a heart that dares to forge ahead, breaking free from the constraints of the samsara cycle of heaven and earth, an endless desire for the pinnacle.

Wu Yuan's eyes gleamed with light.

If one only thought about cultivating safely till they grew old, one would have more and more misgivings as time passed, becoming overly cautious, and ultimately even losing the courage and opportunity to charge towards eternity. The path to eternity was about seizing that one thread of hope for survival!

Seizing that one thread of hope for survival in destiny doesn't mean being reckless like a brute, but it also doesn't mean turning oneself into a turtle, hiding in its shell and waiting.

Wu Yuan silently mused to himself.

The Spacetime Dao Master, the Eldritch Progenitors, and others have either explicitly or implicitly urged me to be fast, faster.

With a mind whose edge has not yet been dulled, cleave through the obstacles ahead, and achieve eternity in one go.

This was the path Wu Yuan had decided on after cultivating an invincible spirit on the Megaverse Crossroads.

This was also the fundamental reason why Wu Yuan had always supported his sister, Fang Xia, and others in their adventures and risk-taking. It was why he never opposed Master Dong Yang's decision to embark on adventures in pursuit of advancement to the Sovereign phase. Without experiencing wind and rain, one cannot see the rainbow.

If one dies during these adventures? Then so be it. In the vastness of heaven and earth, with unceasing cycles of samsara, who can avoid death if they don't achieve eternity?

Wu Yuan muttered to himself.

In the end, we'd be nothing more than statues outside Taiyuan Hall or in ten-foot graves in burial mountains.

...

The winds of change in the outside world did not affect Wu Yuan's body refiner self in the Creation Dao Realm in the slightest.

He continued to comprehend the divine pillars steadily, thoroughly understanding each and every Primal Force Diagram. His understanding of the myriad things of heaven and earth became clearer, and he constantly felt the urge to reconstruct his physical body. But he resisted.

Not enough, still not enough.

Wu Yuan thought to himself.

If it were someone else who hadn't cultivated the Primordial Doctrine, they might make attempt after attempt upon reaching this level when faced with an unclear path ahead. But Wu Yuan had the Primordial Doctrine as guidance, and he understood that his accumulation was still insufficient.

A hundred thousand years. According to the black pagoda's guidance back then, I should ideally reach the Well of Life within a hundred thousand years, the sooner the better.

Wu Yuan's rush to break through after leaving the Megaverse Crossroads was closely related to the black pagoda's guidance.

There are still tens of thousands of years left. I'll try my best to thoroughly comprehend all three thousand Primal Force Diagrams.

Wu Yuan thought to himself.

If he had to choose between the two, Wu Yuan would definitely choose to arrive at the Well of Life on time.

With his talent, as long as he followed the normal course of cultivation, he would eventually comprehend all three thousand Primal Force Diagrams even if it took several million more years.

But from his youth until now, this was the first time he had received such clear instructions from the black pagoda.

Of course, Wu Yuan would naturally give it his all to achieve both.

Year after year passed. In the blink of an eye, nearly another twenty thousand years had gone by.

Wu Yuan stood in front of the last towering divine pillar that stretched over a hundred million li high. With his keen perception, he could clearly observe all the countless matter patterns. Yet he couldn't memorize them.

When it came to the path of eternity, one could remember what they had thoroughly comprehended, but if not fully understood, one would quickly forget everything they remembered. Wu Yuan had already spent nearly ten thousand years studying this final divine pillar.

Creation! Life! Spacetime...

In Wu Yuan's spirit, countless thoughts collided and intertwined.

It wasn't just insights into the path of matter, but also insights into the Great Dao of Creation, the Law of Time, and the Law of Space. Inspiration from the two paths to eternity resonated.

The thirty thousand years since leaving the burial mountain had been the time when Wu Yuan gained the most from comprehending the Primordial Doctrine.

He was searching for the most perfect possibility, trying to completely perfect the 3000th Primal Force Diagram.

No! No, the Primal Force Diagrams are just guidance...I am me. That's it.

Wu Yuan's furrowed brow gradually smoothed. As his eyes fully opened, the confusion faded, replaced by a calm smile.

To hear the Dao in the morning, one can die content in the evening.

Thoroughly comprehending it, that momentary sense of satisfaction and exhilaration surpasses everything in the world. This is the allure of life's evolution.

Wu Yuan's face was full of smiles.

Finally, I can break through.

Rumble~

Wu Yuan's body immediately began an astonishing transformation. The mass of flesh and blood within him instantly turned into the most primitive Primordial Particles, the most fundamental level of matter. Then a large number of particles began to recombine.

Boom!

With the appearance of the first drop of blood, a powerful pressure spread out.

Not right!

Wu Yuan instantly sensed something amiss. With a thought, the drop of blood dissolved back into countless particles.

Again.

Boom!

Another drop of blood appeared.

Not right!

Wu Yuan chose to disperse it again.

Continue.

Even though he had thoroughly comprehended the three thousand Primal Force Diagrams, this only represented insight, not the power he could actually exert.

Time flowed on.

Wu Yuan made over three hundred attempts before finally finding the most perfect configuration.

This is it. Recombine!

A colossal figure, towering nearly ten thousand zhangs tall, rapidly materialized in the void. Vast quantities of flesh were filled in, and the vital aura emanating from him grew increasingly terrifying. Finally, all fluctuations ceased, and Wu Yuan completed his metamorphosis, fully reconstituting his body.

Late-stage sempiternal life.

Wu Yuan gazed into the distance, as if able to perceive the formless river of space and time through the divine pillars. Only late-stage sempiternal lifeforms—that was, Sovereigns—could perceive it.

Previously, although Wu Yuan's body refiner self was powerful, its sensitivity to destiny was far inferior to his qi refiner self.

Struggle, undulation. The constraints of the river.

Wu Yuan could clearly sense it with his physical body.

Now, I am a Sovereign, though I should be called a Matter Sovereign.

Wu Yuan mused.

The countless qi refiner and body refiner Sovereigns in the megaverse were fundamentally Law Sovereigns. The combat power they unleashed relied greatly on Dao essence fluctuations.

This was also why it was extremely difficult for Astral Monarchs and Sovereigns to conceal their auras from each other. Their Yuan Soul was imprinted within a Dao essence, and the Law essence’s aura was too potent. There was no way to hide it.

However, Matter Sovereigns are completely different.

Wu Yuan couldn't help but smile.

If I suppress my aura and don't unleash it, even Overlords probably couldn't discern it. [1]

Even if I do unleash it, without knowledge of the path of matter, they'd likely just assume I've mastered some supreme technique.

In other words, even if Wu Yuan were to battle a Sovereign now, his opponent would most likely still mistake him for an Astral Monarch.

Now, with my fists alone, I could probably shatter a low-grade Dao Instrument with a single punch.

Wu Yuan looked down at his hands.

One punch carried the power of a second-stage Sovereign. What if he combined it with ether and Laws? Wu Yuan grew excited just thinking about it.

Having comprehended the Three Thousand Primal Force Diagrams and reconstituted my physical constitution to the Sovereign-level, it's time to leave this place.

Wu Yuan's gaze swept across the surroundings.

Which way should I go?

1. This is probably referring to vital aura, different from soul aura which is used for recognition of an individual ☜