Chapter 975: I Shall Rival The Heavenly Imperator (1)

Wu Yuan's heart twinged slightly, but he replied respectfully, "This junior has long heard of the fame of the Well of Life’s Abyss Region. I merely wished to explore it."

"Fame? Explore? Truly, fools rush in where angels fear to tread," Overlord Zi Wu sneered coldly. "Just because you possess two or three Xiantian artifacts, do you think yourself immortal?

“If you die, so be it. But to be so reckless as to lose the Xiantian artifacts bestowed by the Eldritch Progenitor – that would be your true crime," Overlord Zi Wu said icily.

Wu Yuan was startled.

Two or three Xiantian artifacts? Bestowed by the Eldritch Progenitor? True, Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu had gifted him a Xiantian artifact, but that was a secret he had told no one. Even Great Eldritch Kua Fu only knew he had met Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu, but nothing more.

From Overlord Zi Wu's words, it seemed he was certain Wu Yuan possessed two, or even three Xiantian artifacts? Wu Yuan felt a flicker of confusion.

"That's enough, Zi Wu. Say no more," Overlord Ming Zhun frowned. "Wu Yuan now possesses late-stage Sovereign strength. It's normal for him to want to venture out and gain experience."

Overlord Ming Zhun then turned to Wu Yuan: "Wu Yuan, are you able to leave the Abyss Region now?"

Overlord Hou Jue and Overlord Huan Jin also looked to Wu Yuan. This was crucial.

"I'm temporarily unable to leave. This junior is trapped in the Abyss Region. I seem to have gotten lost, but I’m safe for now," Wu Yuan said simply.

This was the excuse he had just come up with. Saying he was unwilling to leave? That would require more explanations. He couldn't keep using the Eldritch Progenitor as an excuse for everything.

"Lost?"

"Lost in the Abyss Region?" The Overlords exchanged glances. This was a common occurrence; even Overlords could lose their sense of direction in the Abyss Region.

It wasn't particularly dangerous, but getting out became troublesome. It all depended on luck. With good fortune, one might find the way back in a hundred or thousand years. With bad luck, getting trapped for hundreds of millions of years was quite normal.

Moreover, the Overlords were no fools. There had to be special reasons behind Wu Yuan's true self venturing out and voluntarily entering the Abyss Region. If Wu Yuan was unwilling to speak of them, they naturally wouldn't force him.

"Hou Jue, Ming Zhun, you've both witnessed it. It's not that I'm unwilling to help," Overlord Zi Wu said coldly. "But searching for someone in the Abyss Region? The chances of death are too high. The Creation Dao Realm is already unfavorable to Overlords. Though I have many ether bodies, I won't waste them so frivolously. I'll take my leave now. Call for me again when you truly need me."

With that, before Overlord Hou Jue and Overlord Ming Zhun could respond, Overlord Zi Wu vanished instantly from the hall.

Seeing this, Overlord Hou Jue and Overlord Ming Zhun could only shake their heads helplessly. Though all were Overlords, and Overlord Ming Zhun nominally held a higher position, he had no authority to give commands to the other Overlords.

"Wu Yuan. I've already inquired with Sovereign Feng Huang, Sovereign Xiang Yun, and the others," Overlord Ming Zhun looked at Wu Yuan. "I've ordered them not to leak any news of your entry into the Well of Life’s Abyss Region. You must not reveal it either."

"Understood," Wu Yuan nodded.

Sovereigns and Overlords were able to communicate extremely rapidly. In that brief moment earlier, Overlord Ming Zhun ascertained Wu Yuan’s journey with Sovereign Feng Huang and issued orders to seal the information.

"Firstly, the Immortal Court doesn't know you've entered the Abyss Region. Secondly, even if they did know and sent hundreds or thousands of Sovereigns to search for you, they'd likely perish in droves before finding you," Overlord Ming Zhun gazed at Wu Yuan. "With your true self hidden in the Abyss Region, your chances of encountering an encirclement by the Immortal Court are minuscule."

"This junior understands," Wu Yuan nodded slightly.

Encirclement? The dangers of the Abyss Region alone could kill over ninety percent of the Immortal Court's Sovereigns. Even if he truly encountered a ninth-stage Sovereign, it would take a battle to determine the victor.

Overlords? The Eldritch Court could only dispatch two Overlords in the short term. How many could the Immortal Court send?

It could be said that the Well of Life’s Abyss Region was a very safe hiding place for Wu Yuan – provided he could survive the many dangers of the Abyss Region itself.

"This inter-Saintdom war will last tens of thousands of years at most," Overlord Ming Zhun said. "Since you can't leave in the short term, try to delay until the tail end of the war before emerging."

Tens of thousands of years? Leave?

Wu Yuan listened silently.

When a Sovereign's mana body or ether body was destroyed, even with the aid of precious Immortal Life Pills, cultivating a new one would take at least a million years, not to mention the loss of numerous treasures. As a result, in inter-Saintdom wars that often spanned tens of thousands of years, if one side suffered devastating losses and could no longer maintain the balance of power, they would ultimately choose to retreat.

Furthermore, after an ultra-large-scale inter-Saintdom war concluded, if one side's forces were significantly depleted, the victorious side would often escalate the conflict into an even larger ‘macrocosm war’. These wars targeted various macrocosms, aiming to conquer territories and lands from the defeated side. This chain reaction made inter-Saintdom warfare majorly consequential. For any Saintdom, the outbreak of such a war was treated with the utmost seriousness.

Wu Yuan suddenly grinned: "If there's hope, this junior will try to emerge and join the battle as soon as possible."

"Join the battle?" Overlord Ming Zhun was startled.

A flash of astonishment passed through Overlord Huan Jin's eyes as well.

"The Immortal Court wants to kill me. Naturally, when I emerge, I must strike back fiercely," Wu Yuan said calmly.

The Overlords exchanged glances.

"Good. It's best you have such courage," Overlord Ming Zhun smiled. "Then let us wait and see."

"Ming Zhun, Huan Jin, apologies for the trouble. There's no need to rescue Wu Yuan for now," Overlord Hou Jue, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke. A smile adorned her face, "I'll depart with Wu Yuan first.

“Wu Yuan, come with me." Overlord Hou Jue swiftly vanished from the hall with Wu Yuan, heading directly to the Ling Jiang Plane.

"Ming Zhun, do you think Zi Wu's guess is true?" Overlord Huan Jin smiled.

"There's a fifty percent chance," Overlord Ming Zhun chuckled. "If Wu Yuan truly has several Xiantian artifacts... The fact that an Astral Monarch can unleash their power, reaching the late-stage Sovereign level – that's impressive enough.

“The greatest Astral Monarch in the history of the megaverse - he lives up to the name," Overlord Ming Zhun smiled at Overlord Huan Jin.

Overlord Huan Jin nodded in agreement.

An Astral Monarch erupting with seventh-stage Sovereign combat power? It was indeed unprecedented in the endless megaverse's history, not to mention that formidable physical defense and movement technique.

"As for the second possibility? A sempiternal lifeform, simultaneously cultivating two paths to eternity?" Overlord Ming Zhun mused. "Forget about us sempiternal lifeforms, even among the eternal existences, I fear not many have achieved that.

“You're usually hot-tempered, rarely this amiable," Overlord Ming Zhun smiled. "I suspect you've also considered this point."

A gleam flashed in Overlord Huan Jin's eyes.

Indeed! Overlord Zi Wu was solitary and aloof, never deigning to curry favor with others. But Overlord powerhouses were all powerful enough to lead a Saintdom faction, which of them wasn't domineering? Her willingness to show a smile to Wu Yuan was naturally not without cause.

...

For Overlord Hou Jue and Wu Yuan, who possessed late-stage Sovereign authority, traversing different planes within the Eldritch Court Voidrealm only required a thought.

In the Ling Jiang Plane, Myriad River Realm, within Overlord Hou Jue's hall.

"Is your true self really trapped in the Abyss Region? Or are you unwilling to leave?" Overlord Hou Jue, dressed in a flowing dark gossamer fabric, fixed her gaze on Wu Yuan. "Normally, I wouldn’t question your activities, but since it concerns your true self, I must be more cautious."

"Rest assured, Overlord. I know my limits," Wu Yuan said.

"Very well." Overlord Hou Jue gave Wu Yuan a deep look, then smiled. "Don't blame Overlord Zi Wu for his attitude. In fact, he's not the only one. Many Overlords in the Eldritch Court have similar attitudes."

"Similar attitudes?" Wu Yuan was startled at first, then said softly, "Because of the Xiantian artifacts?"

"Yes." Overlord Hou Jue nodded. "The Eldritch Progenitors bestow a Xiantian artifact upon each Overlord. It's customary. Among the hundreds of Saintdom factions across the endless megaverse, only our Eldritch Court and the Immortal Court can do this."

Every Overlord is granted a Xiantian artifact?

Wu Yuan was astonished.

How generous. As expected of the Eldritch Court.

"They're all bestowed one, but that doesn't mean each still possesses it," Overlord Hou Jue smiled. "Some may have lost their mana or ether bodies on adventures, resulting in the loss of their treasures.

“Or they might be slain by enemies who then seized their artifacts. Naturally, they'd no longer have a Xiantian artifact," Overlord Hou Jue nodded.

Wu Yuan nodded.

Although the mana/ether bodies of powerhouses didn’t usually carry important treasures, they did bring them along at crucial moments. For instance, when Sovereign You Hong's mana body perished recently, she lost her most valuable top-grade Dao Instrument, the Heavenly Ennead Chains.

"However, Xiantian artifacts are typically bestowed only when one truly becomes an Overlord. They're almost never granted in advance," Overlord Hou Jue smiled. "Take Overlord Zi Wu for example. He also claimed a Saintcrest in the past, but he only received a Xiantian artifact from an Eldritch Progenitor after becoming an Overlord."

“Do you understand what I’m trying to say?" Overlord Hou Jue looked at Wu Yuan with an enigmatic smile.

"Overlord Zi Wu believes the Eldritch Progenitors bestowed a Xiantian artifact upon me in advance?" Wu Yuan couldn't help but ask.

"Not one! Two," Overlord Hou Jue said flatly.

"Two?" Wu Yuan was slightly shocked.

"Yes." Overlord Hou Jue nodded gently. "This recent battle of yours revealed quite a lot. Though some Sovereigns and Overlords might believe your claim that you don't possess Xiantian artifacts, most don't. Sovereigns are already late-stage sempiternal lifeforms. Even supreme secret arts wouldn't have such a great effect."

Wu Yuan couldn't help but smile.

His earlier words to Sovereign Pu Hang were just an attempt to minimize potential trouble. Even if no one believed it, he lost nothing.

"After analyzing the battle, many Overlords have concluded that you likely possess one offensive Xiantian artifact," Overlord Hou Jue looked at Wu Yuan. "Perhaps even two."

Wu Yuan was speechless.

"Furthermore, your physical defense is outlandishly formidable, far surpassing even body refiner Sovereigns. It's hard not to suspect you might have Xiantian artifact battle armor," Overlord Hou Jue said.

"Then there's that special close-combat domain you unleashed at the end, which almost completely negated Sovereign You Hong's domain suppression effect. Thus, some guess that you possess a Xiantian artifact with special utility. If it were merely a top-grade Dao Instrument, it could hardly unleash such power," Overlord Hou Jue said.

Wu Yuan was at a loss for words.

He hadn't expected that by concealing the Azure Origin Armor in this battle, he'd instead led many Overlords to believe he possessed multiple Xiantian artifacts.

"Of course, there's another possibility: you've also cultivated the path of matter, and succeeded in becoming a Matter Sovereign," Overlord Hou Jue said in a low voice. "If you're a Matter Sovereign, your close-combat domain and incredible physical defense could be explained."

Wu Yuan was inwardly startled, but not too surprised. The path of matter was no secret to most Overlords.

"However, it's an ironclad rule acknowledged by countless sempiternal lifeforms across the river of space and time that one can only pursue a single eternal path, never both simultaneously.

“Moreover, beings of the universe are inherently ill-suited for the path of matter. To my knowledge, no Matter Sovereign has ever emerged from the universe," Overlord Hou Jue gazed down at Wu Yuan. "Thus, when an Overlord proposed this idea, it was immediately rejected by the others.

“This indirectly proves that you indeed possess three Xiantian artifacts, or at least two. Excluding the one you obtained from the Megaverse Crossroads, the other two could only have been bestowed by the Eldritch Progenitors." Overlord Hou Jue fixed her piercing gaze on Wu Yuan. "Do you think the other Overlords of the Eldritch Court wouldn't have their suspicions?"