Chapter 999: Wu Yuan's Dao Heart

Within the highest temple of the Voltari Plane in the Immortal Court Voidrealm.

"This?"

"That Ming Jian actually told the Immortal Emperor to scram?" Sovereign Voltari, Sovereign Shi Qing, Sovereign Sha Fan, and others stared at the shattered projection before them, utterly dumbfounded.

They never imagined Wu Yuan would dare to be so arrogant, completely disregarding Overlord Gu Nian.

And Sovereign Shi Qing, whose mood had been quite foul due to the loss of his mana body, inexplicably felt much better. Ming Jian dared to rebuke even Overlord Gu Nian. What did it matter if he casually killed the mana body of a mid-stage Sovereign like himself?

"Damn it! This Ming Jian is simply courting death," Overlord Gu Nian stood in the hall, his white robes billowing, his graying beard trembling ever so slightly.

Anger ignited in his core. Over the long years, apart from when he had to face other powerhouses of the Eldritch Court, he had grown accustomed to seeing the cautious, fawning behavior of powerhouses from other Saintdoms. On the surface, he appeared calm and collected, but deep down, he was brimming with pride.

And today, he believed he had shown great respect and courtesy to Ming Jian, but Ming Jian had trampled his pride into the mud with utter disregard for propriety.

Do you truly believe that our Immortal Court wouldn't dare to kill you just because you’re somewhat talented?

Overlord Gu Nian's eyes turned cold as ice, murderous intent welling up within him.

Killing Ming Jian would enrage the Taiyuan Divine Court, but Overlord Gu Nian couldn't care less.

Whoosh!

Overlord Gu Nian suddenly waved his hand again, and a new projection appeared in the hall, showing the scene of Wu Yuan engaging the six great Sovereigns of the Greenridge Immortal World.

Sovereign Voltari, Sovereign Shi Qing, Sovereign Sha Fan, and the others turned their attention to the light screen.

"Voltari," Overlord Gu Nian spoke coldly, "Be prepared. Our Immortal Court's army may arrive. When the time comes, you will lead one of the nine-star divine arrays. The rest of you, prepare for battle as well."

"Me? Yes!" Sovereign Voltari nodded repeatedly.

"Prepare for battle?"

"The army may arrive?" Sovereign Shi Qing, Sovereign Sha Fan, and the others were shocked, immediately understanding Overlord Gu Nian's intentions.

The Immortal Court’s Ling Jiang Saintdom was likely to intervene in this battle, preparing to deal with Ming Jian.

"Immortal Emperor, should we not consider this carefully?" Sovereign Voltari couldn't help but speak up. "That Ming Jian is estimated to have the combat power of a ninth-stage Sovereign, and he's also a Sovereign of Space. Even if our army arrives, killing him would be extremely difficult."

"Difficult doesn't mean impossible," Overlord Gu Nian said slowly. "He is indeed a monstrous prodigy, and being in his home macrocosm, he's nearly invincible. But he’s not invincible yet.

“As long as he hasn't become an Overlord, he has no right to be so arrogant," Overlord Gu Nian said coldly. "Daring to provoke our Immortal Court like this, he must receive due punishment.

“Just await orders," Overlord Gu Nian's gaze swept over Sovereign Voltari, Sovereign Shi Qing, and the others.

"Yes," the Sovereigns replied respectfully, then turned their attention back to the battle on the light screen.

...

In the Eternal Sun Plane of the Taiyuan Voidrealm, Sovereign Bei You, Sovereign Heng Yang, Sovereign Zhen Guang, and the others were similarly staring at the light screen in astonishment.

The projection had continued unbroken from the moment Wu Yuan's qi refiner self descended upon the Greenridge Continent until now. Thus, they could easily observe the development of events through Wu Yuan's projection.

When they saw him cleave apart Overlord Gu Nian's projection with a single sword strike, they were all gripped by disbelief.

"Isn't Ming Jian... going a bit too far?" Sovereign Heng Yang couldn't help but speak up.

Sovereign Zhen Guang and Sovereign Zhu Yue remained silent. They were relatively weak, and didn't dare to offer their opinions casually. However, their expressions said it all. Wu Yuan's actions indeed seemed somewhat reckless to them. A powerhouse had the right to be domineering, but there should be limits.

"Ming Jian." Sovereign Bei You frowned slightly. Even though he knew of Wu Yuan's great enmity with the Immortal Court, he also felt that Wu Yuan's qi refiner self was behaving unnecessarily out of line today. Acting too rashly could quickly lead to one's demise.

"Grandmaster, everyone, I know what I’m doing. There's no need to worry," Wu Yuan's voice was utterly calm.

From beginning to end, he had a clear plan.

Crazy? This had always been Wu Yuan's nature. He had never been a good person, nor did he ever claim to be one. He only differentiated clearly between gratitude and grudges.

In Wu Yuan's dictionary, the word forgiveness was rare. More often, it was 'repay kindness with kindness, and vengeance with vengeance.'

To friends and family, Wu Yuan gave his all. Take Zhuo Haiyue – even if helping her incurred karmic consequences with Saint Lei Xing, Wu Yuan never complained.

The same went for the Wu Clan, the Summerpeak lineage, the Dragon Star Immortal Sect, and others. He always did his utmost to help them.

Another example was this ore vein mountain. Although he sensed that Sovereign Zhen Guang had some selfish motives, Wu Yuan harbored no resentment whatsoever. In his view, having some selfish motives was perfectly normal as long as it didn't harm others.

And when it came to the final distribution of the treasure, Wu Yuan believed he had been very considerate toward the Sovereigns from the Eternal Sun Immortal World. He had a clear conscience.

But towards enemies, he had always been utterly ruthless.

During his initial confrontation with Sovereign Qing Ling, Wu Yuan didn't intend to kill him, only to defeat him and establish dominance. But when Sovereign Qing Ling made a clear move to threaten his life, Wu Yuan's killing intent was roused, and he acted without hesitation.

Similarly, once he confirmed that the six Sovereigns of the Greenridge Immortal World had allied with the Immortal Court, they were sentenced to death in Wu Yuan's heart.

This was his nature, unchanged from childhood to adulthood.

In his youth, he defeated Great Jin in the Summerpeak World, exterminating the Jin royal family. In the Huanggu World, he defeated the three Imperial Majesties of the immortal race, slaughtering all the high-ranking members of the immortal race...

If one day in the future he were to breach defenses of the Immortal Court’s Ling Jiang Saintdom, Wu Yuan would show no mercy, exerting all his effort to massacre their upper echelons. Even if corpses piled into mountains and blood flowed into seas, even if the blood of his enemies turned the entire universe red, it would not shake his will in the slightest.

Be warm as spring to friends and family, and cold as the ruthless winter to enemies.

This was Wu Yuan's Dao Heart, consistent throughout his life.

As for right or wrong? Wu Yuan never believed himself to be right, nor did he think he was wrong. In battles between factions, on the path to eternity, there was no right or wrong, only life or death.

If I die because of this? I can only blame myself for being weak!

Wu Yuan mused inwardly, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

My mana body is right outside the Voltari Temple headquarters.

As long as Shi Qing's true self comes out, I can follow the karmic thread to ambush and kill him in one strike, fulfilling my Great Dao Oath and resolving the karmic debt.

Better yet, if that Gu Nian sends a group of Sovereigns to stop me, then I'd have sufficient reason to take action.

Wu Yuan thought to himself.

There was a crucial reason behind his grand performance today: to create a reason to fulfill the promise he made to Astral Monarch Wan Lei years ago.

If he couldn't complete it, bound by his oath, it would be nearly impossible for him to achieve eternity in the future.

...

"Overlord Xin Ya, Ming Jian just killed Sovereign Qing Ling not long ago and is now attacking the Greenridge Continent..." Sovereign Bei You directly reported the matter to Overlord Xin Ya in secret.

Although he could understand where Wu Yuan was coming from, he still felt Wu Yuan was going overboard.

...

Simultaneously, Wu Yuan's qi refiner self had arrived at the Greenridge Continent, displaying overwhelming dominance. This was witnessed firsthand by thousands of Astral Monarchs, among whom were spies from the Cang Feng Eldritch World and the Desolation Divine Court.

Thus, the news quickly reached the highest echelons of various major factions in the Greenridge Macrocosm.

"Sovereign Qing Ling is confirmed dead, killed by Sovereign Ming Jian."

"Sovereign Ming Jian has attacked the Greenridge Continent and is now battling with Sovereign Hai Xuan and the others."

"An Overlord of the Immortal Court tried to mediate but had his incarnation shattered by Ming Jian."

"Sovereign Ming Jian has declared that he will trample the Greenridge Continent and annihilate the Greenridge Immortal World today." As these messages spread, various factions were shocked.

"When did Ming Jian become so powerful? So crazed?" Sovereign Cang Feng, Sovereign Zi Yang, and others from the eldritch world were astounded.

"Wu Yuan, he...?" Sovereign Kua Chi was equally shocked. "Does his qi refiner self already possess the combat power of a ninth-stage Sovereign?"

"This!"

"Ming Jian has only cultivated for such a short time, yet he already has the combat power of an eighth or ninth-stage Sovereign?" The Sovereigns of the Desolation Divine Court and the Eight Mountains Alliance in the Greenridge Macrocosm were also incredibly surprised.

These factions, backed by Saintdoms, naturally reported the news upward swiftly, while also closely watching the battle unfold on the Greenridge Continent.

However, the Sovereigns of these factions didn't dare to personally head over to observe the battle. Firstly, it would take at least half a day for them to reach the Greenridge Continent, by which time the great battle might already be over. Secondly, the actions of Wu Yuan's qi refiner self bordered on insanity, frightening them all.

...

While various factions stirred, they couldn't influence the battle on the Greenridge Continent in the short term.

Numerous Dao Instruments and artifacts were integrated into the Greenridge Continent along with many arrays and defense measures, most of which were laid down by Sovereign Qing Ling. His purpose was to prepare for the day when he might face enemy Overlords.

It could be said that once the arrays and defense measures of the entire Greenridge Continent were activated, attempting an invasion would be incredibly dangerous.

However, by the same token, although the power of the arrays was formidable, how effectively they could be employed ultimately depended on who controlled them.

If the array controller were Sovereign Qing Ling, even an Overlord would struggle to breach them, and Wu Yuan could only turn tail and flee.

But now, only six Sovereigns remained in the Greenridge Immortal World, with the strongest, Sovereign Hai Xuan, only at the sixth-stage Sovereign level, and three others merely at the early-stage Sovereign level. With their strength, not one of them could perfectly control all the arrays of the entire Greenridge Continent.

Even if they worked together, Wu Yuan was confident he could win, or at least ensure his survival.

"Kill!"

"Kill!" Among the nine Sovereign-level combat bodies, three were body refiner Sovereigns and unable to control arrays. They hid within the arrays, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

Therefore, the Greenridge Immortal World side had six Sovereign-level array controllers.

The strongest, an enormous domain array, was controlled by Sovereign Hai Xuan's true self. There was also a large array combining spacetime isolation and mind-confusion effects, controlled by his mana body. The other four arrays were all oriented towards offense.

The great battle erupted.

Though Wu Yuan's speed was fast, he couldn't outpace the arrays that could be triggered with a thought.

Rumble~

A layer of hazy purple auroral light enveloped everything in a hundred billion li. It surged towards Wu Yuan from all directions, attempting to suppress his sword domain.

Hum~

Simultaneously, vast spacetime fluctuations spread, isolating a radius of a hundred billion li, completely blocking the perception of Wu Yuan's Yuan Soul.

This isolation array and the auroral light domain combined, exerting full force to suppress Wu Yuan.

What a formidable isolation array.

In the void, Wu Yuan's eyes flashed with surprise.

I've underestimated them. Even without Sovereign Qing Ling, the arrays of the Greenridge Continent still have such an effect.

Wu Yuan had to admit, given that Greenridge Immortal World had stood as the dominant faction in the macrocosm for so long, gaining tacit approval of its independence from various Saintdoms, it was sure to have some tricks up its sleeve.

Boom!

Eventually, the four offensive arrays erupted into form—one took the shape of a divine sword, another morphed into a fiery divine bird, a third coalesced into a sea of thunder, and a fourth gathered into a colossal icy divine bow stretching a hundred million li. Each emitted terrifying might.

In the blink of an eye, every hidden array throughout the expanse of the Greenridge Continent was triggered.

Boom!

The azure divine sword and the fire divine bird screeched as they tore through the skies.

Zzz!

The overwhelming purple lightning, crackling with unstoppable force, streaked across the void.

Whoosh!

The divine bow took the appearance of a full moon, aggregating torrents of spiritual qi. Soon, an ice arrow that spanned millions of li materialized. The arrow flew, aiming directly for Wu Yuan!

“This...!”

“Such terrifying arrays." Thousands of Astral Monarchs within the continent's arrays gasped in utter shock, perceiving the dreadful power of each array.

“These arrays.” Watching through the voidrealm, powerhouses like Sovereign Bei You and Sovereign Voltari held their breath, some with hearts laden with worry, others with anticipation.

"The arrays are impressive," noted Wu Yuan in a cold, unyielding tone. "A pity the array controllers are too weak."

With a mental command, he activated the Dao resonance of the Samsara Sword.

Hold!

His already fearsome sword domain was further strengthened with its Dao resonance. Its power rose dramatically as countless sword lights manifested, repelling the oncoming auroral lights of the arrays.

Boom!

The assault from four arrays crashed onto his sword domain—an uncompromising head-on clash.

"It should hold at least, right?"

"Even if it isn’t enough to kill him, the arrays shouldn't completely collapse, right?"

"Four offensive grand arrays." Sovereign Hai Xuan, Sovereign Jin Xu and the others looked on intently, a glimmer of hope in their hearts.

Though they didn't know if it was Ming Jian's true self or mana body that had descended, as long as they could block his attacks, they could survive for today at least.

"Go," Wu Yuan uttered. Within the cascading sword domain, three fiercely sharp sword lights emerged.

The three lifebound flying swords advanced towards the barrage of array attacks, unleashing Wu Yuan's strongest technique at present—My Reflection In The Long River.

The trio of sword lights etched a faint shadow of a long river within the boundless void, ethereal and enchanting, brimming with intimidating power.

Bang!

Wu Yuan's lifebound flying swords collided with the divine sword array, striking it backward. The divine sword's surface fissured under the pressure, on the verge of shattering.

Boom!

Another sword decisively severed the head of the flaming divine bird, further rending its massive form in two.

The final flying sword locked in a duel with the ice arrow, which was the most formidable of the four. Their clash sent shockwaves through the void, bombarding the surrounding emptiness with resounding echoes.

As for the sea of divine lightning? Wu Yuan disregarded it entirely. As the lightning bolts bombarded the sword domain, sword qi automatically barred their path, dispersing each blast into nothingness.

In a single confrontation, Wu Yuan, harnessing only his sword domain and summoning three lifebound flying swords, thwarted the collective might of the six Sovereigns from the Greenridge Immortal World.

This scene chilled the hearts of Sovereign Hai Xuan, Sovereign Jin Xu, and others.

"This?"

"We’re employing the arrays with our full power, and our collective strength definitely reaches the ninth-stage Sovereign level. Yet he didn't evade at all? He blocked it?"

"This! This!"

“What kind of strength is this?” Sovereign Hai Xuan and Sovereign Jin Xu were flustered; Wu Yuan's power was far beyond their expectations.

Meanwhile, the observing Sovereign Bei You and Sovereign Heng Yang and the others felt slightly reassured.

The fact that these arrays can unleash ninth-stage Sovereign strength in the hands of early to mid-stage Sovereigns is astonishing.

Wu Yuan mused internally.

In Sovereign Qing Ling’s hands, they might reach Overlord strength.

No matter. This should allow my plan to unfold perfectly. Let's see if the Immortal Court takes the bait.

Wu Yuan's mind remained calm.