Chapter 983: The Reappearance Of The Origin Spirit, Ancestral Pagoda Archon

After spending nearly four thousand years integrating the Creation Dao's profundities with the Three Thousand Foundation Diagrams of the Life Chapter, Wu Yuan thought he would need to move on to fuse the profundities of the Five Thousand Primal Force Diagrams with the Creation Dao.

But an instant later, a hazy fluctuation flashed by, and Wu Yuan felt a moment of confusion. When he regained clarity, he found himself in a completely enclosed hall.

This ability?

Wu Yuan's mind was filled with increasing awe as he looked around.

No, this isn't just my consciousness. My true body has been transported here.

Realizing this, Wu Yuan felt even more reverent. The Dao Master's methods were truly unfathomable. Wu Yuan’s Yuan Soul and spiritual cultivation were both at the Sovereign level. In theory, even an eternal being shouldn't be able to affect him to this degree without him noticing. Could the measures left behind by a deceased Dao Master really be this powerful?

This temple.

Wu Yuan surveyed the hall, which was adorned with numerous reliefs. They didn't contain a hint of Law fluctuations, only emanating an incomparably powerful pressure.

These aren't Dao patterns. They don't contain Primordial profundities. Rather, it seems that they're narrating the story of a powerhouse.

Wu Yuan gradually understood.

From left to right, these reliefs vaguely told the rise of a super powerhouse.

In the vast, endless wilderness, atop a lonely mountain, a child walked alone, pursued and hunted by beasts...

As he observed, scenes seemed to unfold before Wu Yuan's eyes. An orphan, had lost the protection of his parents and tribe for reasons unknown, living and growing alone in the wilderness.

By chance, he encountered a long-haired elderly man living in seclusion in the mountains. No, this elderly man was actually middle-aged, just weathered by years. The long-haired middle-aged man taught the orphan a set of spear techniques and archery arts. He was full of mystique, and wielded strange and immense power.

"Teacher, what is your name?" the orphan asked.

"Haha, no need to call me teacher. Remember, you were born with an innocent heart. You are a child of the great mountains. You should follow your heart and traverse heaven and earth... There's no need to take anyone as your master. Heaven and earth is your teacher," the long-haired middle-aged man smiled. "If you really want to know me, then call me 'Yuan'." [1]

The long-haired middle-aged man drifted away.

Afterwards, the orphan always adhered to the long-haired middle-aged man's teachings. He constantly pondered the spear techniques, walking through the great mountains, perceiving the power of the spear from heaven and earth.

One year, ten years, thirty years... As his spear mastery grew, his spear came to embody his longing for the brilliance of life and his yearning for the vast, boundless heaven and earth.

When a powerful faction noticed him and took him in, his spear techniques had already reached a level that left countless powerhouses dumbfounded.

Later, his spear techniques grew even stronger, to the point where they led him to longevity. Then, he encountered that long-haired middle-aged man again.

"Master Yuan." The orphan was now also middle-aged in appearance.

His inner self and spirit had grown powerful. But when he saw his teacher from his youth once more, he was overjoyed and filled with shock.

"Haha, you've finally come, child of the mountains." The long-haired middle-aged man just laughed. "You've grown very powerful, but remember, don't forget your original intention... One’s original intention is the most powerful spiritual force." The long-haired middle-aged man left.

"Master Yuan!" The orphan was shocked to discover that he still couldn't find any trace of Master Yuan despite his strength.

"This disciple is still not as good as Master."

From this meeting onwards, the orphan called himself Mountain Daoist. His power surged to new heights and his spear techniques evolved to become even more fearsome and devastating. After endless years, he finally broke free from the shackles of samsara, truly standing at the pinnacle of all time, revered by all as a Dao Master... But he could never again find that teacher from his past.

The final scene was of the orphan demonstrating the spear techniques he had comprehended throughout his life.

Spear techniques?

Wu Yuan was now completely immersed in the various scenes he was witnessing. He understood that the orphan in the scenes was the Creation Dao Master, and the mysterious being he encountered must have been the Origin Saint.

These reliefs were left behind by the Dao Master, specifically carved for future generations.

Whoosh!

In the scene, the Creation Dao Master wore azure armor. He thrust out his spear, a seemingly ordinary strike.

That spear thrust traversed the sky, reflecting the sun and moon.

This spear technique?

Wu Yuan was deeply shaken.

He had seen supreme secret arts before, and had comprehended and deduced many Sovereign and Overlord secret arts. The Will of Life and Death was the most powerful inheritance he had obtained, also a spear technique.

The spear technique created by True Saint Bu Xiu contained infinite profundities, expressing the transition between life and death. It pierced through life and death, piercing through the samsara cycle of heaven and earth, truly interpreting the Creation Dao to its ultimate end.

Compared to the Will of Life and Death, the spear technique demonstrated by the Creation Dao Master seemed weak at first glance. It didn’t seem imbued with many profundities, almost like a casual strike.

However, at Wu Yuan’s level, he perceived completely new profundities when he saw the Creation Dao Master's first spear thrust. It was a kind of extreme internalization, with the magnificent and glorious power of life completely hidden beneath the spear's tip.

The sharpness of the spear technique wasn’t the key. Instead, it was the serenity one felt beneath the calmness. Yet he could clearly sense the profundities of the Creation Dao.

Life! Original intention.

Wu Yuan was completely immersed in it.

The Creation Dao Master's spear technique merely interprets his original intention. He never deliberately pursued or comprehended any particular Law, never yearning to obtain any particular power.

What he loved was freedom and tranquility, like running freely through the mountains and the earth in his youth. He had the purest love for the spear.

Wu Yuan was deeply moved.

He observed for a long time. The words of the Origin Saint and the spear technique of the Creation Dao Master gave him much to ponder.

Whoosh!

After a long while, the Creation Dao Master executed his final spear thrust, and Wu Yuan was thoroughly entranced.

The Creation Dao Master in azure battle armor suddenly turned his head. His gaze was calm and far-reaching, seeming to pierce through space and traverse time, looking at Wu Yuan in the future.

“To have made it to this step, you must have reached an extremely high level of attainment. Reaching the peak of sempiternal life in the future will pose no difficulty for you. The path to eternity cannot be taught by others.

𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

“Remember, the Great Dao is already eternal. What we truly need to make eternal is our own heart. Go where your heart seeks, walk your own path!

“I believe your future accomplishments will be no less than mine." The Creation Dao Master smiled slightly, transforming into countless shards of light.

Poof~

The many scenes Wu Yuan witnessed similarly dissipated like dream bubbles. Everything before his eyes returned to reality.

Walk my own path?

Wu Yuan mulled over this in his heart. He vaguely understood the Creation Dao Master's meaning.

No matter how many secret arts one comprehended or how many ultimate techniques one cultivated, they were all methods that others created. Learning others' methods was a form of accumulation, but one couldn’t keep learning from others forever. The Dao was the source, the method the root.

Comprehend the Great Dao, create one's own method. Only by creating eternal ultimate techniques belonging to oneself can one achieve eternity.

Wu Yuan understood this point.

I should create my own ultimate technique now.

The reliefs left behind by the Creation Dao Master didn't contain many Dao insights, nor ultimate skills or secret arts. What he left behind was his ‘heart’. [2]

With his own life's journey, he showed the path forward for future generations. However, how much one could ultimately perceive and understand depended entirely on the individual’s strength and aptitude.

Boom~

An intangible fluctuation descended, waking Wu Yuan up. His pupils contracted slightly, revealing a hint of shock.

In the once-empty hall, a grand black pagoda suddenly materialized out of nowhere. Its entire structure was pitch-black, faintly veiled in an aura of blood-red light.

The pagoda was identical in every detail to the one within Wu Yuan's body, without the slightest discrepancy. Towering before him, the black pagoda radiated an immense and oppressive force that made Wu Yuan's body quiver involuntarily.

Black pagoda? Ancestral Pagoda? Is the pagoda before my eyes completely real? Is this the target that the black pagoda within me was searching for?

Wu Yuan's mind was in chaos, many thoughts and speculations forming in his mind.

Boom!

The entire hall trembled slightly, followed by the sudden opening of a long-sealed window on the second floor of the distant black pagoda. From within, the shadowy form of a four-hoofed beast, pitch black from head to toe, emerged.

Its shape resembled that of a black panther, but it had four eyes. These eyes glimmered with an intelligence that seemed less bestial and more akin to that of a wise elderly man.

"You? Origin Spirit?" Wu Yuan stared in utter shock at the four-eyed spirit beast that had walked out of the pagoda. His mind churned with endless waves of shock.

He had seen this four-eyed spirit beast once in his youth. Back then, when the first floor of the black pagoda opened for the first time, the spirit beast had ultimately helped Wu Yuan transform his body into a Celestial Dao Body, marking the beginning of his body refiner self's meteoric rise.

"Wu Yuan, it seems you still remember me," the four-eyed spirit beast revealed a slight smile, fixing its gaze on Wu Yuan. "Who would have thought that in such a short time, you'd reach this level? Truly, your potential is boundless. You're only a step away from becoming an Ancestral Pagoda Archon."

"Ancestral Pagoda Archon?" Wu Yuan held his breath. Yet his confusion only grew.

"Senior, this is a realm created by the Creation Dao Master. How can the black pagoda appear here?" Wu Yuan couldn't help but ask. "Moreover, I've long been an Ancestral Pagoda imprint bearer. What exactly is an Archon?"

Archon? Wu Yuan had never heard of such a thing.

"Heh heh." The four-eyed spirit beast instead revealed a smile. "The third stage of the Creation Dao Master’s trial is to test whether later generations can become Ancestral Pagoda Archons. If successful, there's hope of branding their imprint on the Great Dao’s Authority."

"Without becoming an Ancestral Pagoda Archon, a sempiternal lifeform has no chance of leaving an imprint on the Authority of the Great Dao."

"The third stage of the trial is to become an Ancestral Pagoda Archon?" Wu Yuan's pupils constricted slightly. He was completely bewildered.

He thought back to the messages transmitted by the black pagoda on the Megaverse Crossroads years ago, then to the trial left by the Creation Dao Master... It was as if some invisible force had been guiding him all along.

What connection did the Creation Dao Master have to the Ancestral Pagoda? Wu Yuan was lost in deep thought.

The two eternal beings in that majestic temple are likely unaware of the truth behind the third stage of the trial.

A thought flashed through Wu Yuan's mind.

"Senior Origin Spirit, what exactly is an Ancestral Pagoda Archon?" Wu Yuan asked in a low voice.

"Just like how the pagoda within you is merely a projection of the Ancestral Pagoda. I am myself, yet not myself," Origin Spirit said softly. "There are many things I am uncertain about and unable to explain to you.

“I can only tell you this: Ancestral Pagoda imprint bearers have existed since ancient times, and there have been many," Origin Spirit looked down at Wu Yuan. "Being an imprint bearer means you've been chosen, but it's only the first step.

“Only by secretly undergoing numerous trials, growing stronger and rising step by step, finally evolving from an imprint bearer to an Archon, can one truly hope to touch the core of the Ancestral Pagoda.

“The Creation Dao Master was an Ancestral Pagoda Archon," Origin Spirit said slowly. "There are many imprint bearers... but only eight Archons in total. Only when one perishes can another inherit the position."

"The Creation Dao Master was an Ancestral Pagoda Archon?" Wu Yuan was dumbfounded.

"What we call inheritance is, in essence, absorption. Take you, for example. You obtained a trace of the Ancestral Pagoda's essence left behind by the Sovereign Black Devil, which greatly enhanced your imprint's power. Then at the Megaverse Crossroads, your imprint's strength was once again significantly boosted," Origin Spirit gazed down at Wu Yuan. "Only by doing so did you meet the requirements to inherit the position of an Archon and receive instructions to head here."

Wu Yuan now understood the matter in its entirety. So, the Ancestral Pagoda had been watching him all along as he grew. From imprint bearer to Archon? The Creation Dao Realm harbored far too many secrets.

Suddenly, Wu Yuan thought of Sovereign Black Devil. Was his death years ago related to the Ancestral Pagoda? Had he received similar instructions yet failed to become an Archon?

But Sovereign Black Devil had long returned to the cycle of samsara, and Wu Yuan could only speculate.

"If I succeed in becoming an Archon, what happens to the Creation Dao Master?" Wu Yuan suddenly asked.

"He will no longer be an Archon," Origin Spirit said softly. "Even if he returns, he will forever lose his status as an Ancestral Pagoda Archon, forever losing the opportunity."

"Lose the opportunity?" Wu Yuan wondered silently. What opportunity?

"Wu Yuan, you have no choice," Origin Spirit looked down at Wu Yuan and said softly. "I’m not the one forcing you, it’s the Creation Dao Master.

“Whether or not you pass the third stage of the trial, you'll be forced to attempt to brand your imprint on the Great Dao’s Authority.

“If you fail, you will die. Even if revived, you'll lose much more than you imagine.

“But if you become an Ancestral Pagoda Archon, your chances will greatly increase," Origin Spirit said softly. "Your future achievements could rival those of the Creation Dao Master."

Wu Yuan remained silent.

Origin Spirit had read his mind; indeed, Wu Yuan instinctively felt some resistance to becoming an Ancestral Pagoda Archon. The true horror was not in what was known, but in what remained a mystery.

"The choice is yours," Origin Spirit said softly. "If you're unwilling, I can also judge you to have failed and send you away. You'll bear the consequences yourself."

Wu Yuan didn't speak for a long while.

"What must I do to become an Ancestral Pagoda Archon?" Wu Yuan finally asked.

"Enter the second floor, and you'll naturally understand," Origin Spirit raised a limb, pointing at the black pagoda behind him.

Wu Yuan pondered briefly, then hesitated no more. His form flickered as he flew directly to the second floor, a window now open.

Whether a blessing or a curse, fate was unavoidable.

Wu Yuan knew clearly that if he had truly caught the Ancestral Pagoda's attention, evasion would be futile.

The window on the second floor of the black pagoda slowly closed.

This is the third time. Wu Yuan's advantage is far greater than the previous two.

Origin Spirit silently watched.

If he can become an Archon, and then wield the Great Dao...

Boom!

Suddenly, the distant black pagoda turned faintly illusory, and at the same time, waves of incomparably powerful sword intent manifested within the pagoda, penetrating through its walls and spreading to every corner of the hall outside.

What? This is? Its aura?

Origin Spirit's expression shifted as it muttered to itself.

It shouldn't be! It shouldn't... How could this happen? How did Wu Yuan get involved with this?

Hum~

The black pagoda suddenly erupted with waves of red light, flashing brilliantly as they suppressed and wore away the diffusing sword intent.

1. 源 = Origin = Yuan. The Origin Saint can also be called Saint Yuan. This is NOT the same Yuan as Wu Yuan. ☜

2. referring to his core principles ☜