Yuan’s Ascension

Time slipped away.

With the small piece of divine crystal gifted to him from High Immortal Nan Yin, Wu Yuan saved a significant amount of time on essentia cultivation, spending only a day or two each month on it. Such efficiency was astonishing, several times higher than before.

A typical Golden Core Superior would need three to five hundred years to reach the ninth-stage Golden Core through the gradual refinement of spiritual qi from heaven and earth.

If I spend more than half of my life cultivating mana, where am I going to find time to comprehend the Dao?

Within the Dragon Star Immortal Sect, hereditary disciples have spirit-gathering arrays, coupled with ethercrystal, enabling them to reach the ninth-stage Golden Core phase in about a hundred years.

Reaching the ninth-stage Golden Core phase in a hundred years was considered very fast.

But utilizing divine crystal? I estimate that in another ten to fifteen years, I could reach the ninth-stage Golden Core phase. Wu Yuan calculated.

This speed was astonishing, much quicker than his body refiner self cultivating ether with the Luminous Immortal Soil. After all, the cultivation progress of a body refiner was inherently slower.

At the True Dragon Arena, I defeated those hereditary disciples. I bet Bei Hua, Gong Ling and the others still hold a grudge. Wu Yuan revealed a slight smile. I’m sure they’re looking forward to defeating me at the Dragon Star Tournament.

The Dragon Star Tournament was a real-world battle, a test of an individual’s comprehensive strength. Wu Yuan's biggest weakness was his short cultivation time, leading to a smaller pool of essentia and mana.

I have five years left. Even if I don't manage to reach the ninth-stage Golden Core phase, cultivating up to the sixth or seventh stage should be no problem. Wu Yuan brimmed with confidence.

Only two or three stages behind in cultivation? The gap wasn't too large.

Moreover, in terms of immortal root, Wu Yuan was stronger than most hereditary disciples. And by then, the mana gap between him and other Golden Core hereditary disciples would shrink even further.

…

With the aid of the divine crystal, Wu Yuan saved a great deal of time on mana cultivation. He never slacked off, using every second to comprehend the Dao, study the sword, and cultivate secret arts.

With the 'Celestial Body Law Codex' as his core focus, the 'Dark Earth Sword Codex' and 'Star Ruins Sword Codex' as supplementary techniques, along with monthly guidance from High Immortal Nan Yin, Wu Yuan's progress in the Land Dao and Celestial Body Dao was frighteningly fast.

On the other hand, Wu Yuan ran into numerous difficulties while comprehending the 'Extended Life Sword Codex'. Even reaching the initiate threshold had him stumped.

It's too hard. Although I can’t say that I’ve made zero progress in the Wood Dao, the speed of comprehension is just too slow. Wu Yuan felt helpless.

As his master had said, his qi refiner self did indeed have an aptitude for the Wood Dao. As long as he tried to perceive the profundity of heaven and earth slightly, he could sense the ‘green’ heaven and earth's power.

It was clear to him, much clearer than the other heaven and earth's powers. But compared to the power representing the Earth Dao, it was too vague.

Furthermore, the 'Extended Life Sword Codex' was truly profound, and even the introductory part left Wu Yuan confused.

Three months later.

"Master, if I continue to contemplate this, I'm afraid it will take decades to merely reach the initiate threshold, let alone the Domain stage," Wu Yuan expressed his concerns to High Immortal Nan Yin.

"Furthermore, this will consume a large portion of my time. If I were to dedicate this time to delving deeper into the Celestial Body Dao, my advancement in that Dao would be accelerated even further."

"Should I give up on this path?"

"Haha, a few decades to reach the initiate threshold? Don't rush," High Immortal Nan Yin laughed. "As long as you can get to the threshold within a hundred years, it's not long at all."

"A hundred years?" Wu Yuan was dumbfounded.

For Wu Yuan, who had only lived for a little over forty years, a hundred years was a considerable length of time.

"Master, if I give it my all, I might be able to clear level seventy of the one-star tower," Wu Yuan couldn't help but say, "But if I divert my efforts to contemplating the Extended Life Sword Codex, I fear my chances would be very slim."

To be honest, Wu Yuan was puzzled.

“My foolish disciple, do you truly believe your master would wish you harm?" High Immortal Nan Yin chuckled and shook his head. "While I did set a goal for you, it was merely to encourage diligent cultivation, not to demand that you conquer a specific number of levels in the one-star tower."

"Is conquering an arbitrary number of levels important?" High Immortal Nan Yin laughed, "I know, clearing level seventy or even eighty indeed proves that you are a peerless genius."

"But the one-star tower only allows individuals under a hundred years old to challenge it. The path to immortality is long, there's plenty of time, don't be too anxious."

"Some geniuses are born with great talent, high comprehension aptitude, and influential origins, so they progress very rapidly at first, but later they lose steam," High Immortal Nan Yin said.

"On the other hand, some powerhouses are unimpressive at first. Their progress is steady and solid instead of racing for a moment of glory. As they cultivate to the later phases, their progress grows faster. And ultimately, they reveal their unparalleled might."

"Which one do you want to be?" High Immortal Nan Yin smiled at Wu Yuan.

"Disciple naturally wants to be the second kind," Wu Yuan said in a low voice.

Cultivation was a marathon, starting fast did not mean being the first to reach the finish line, many fast starters even abandoned the race halfway.

"I naturally have a reason for asking you to contemplate the Extended Life Sword Codex. What you need to do is to contemplate it with your full effort," High Immortal Nan Yin said.

"Your body refiner self contemplates the Celestial Body Dao, while your qi refiner self contemplates the Extended Life Sword Codex."

"If this path is indeed a dead-end, I will naturally let you know when the time is right."

"Come, perform the sword arts of the three major sword codices in order. Let's see how much progress you have made this month," High Immortal Nan Yin said.

"Yes." Wu Yuan nodded.

Swiftly, he performed the sword techniques from the ‘Dark Earth Sword Codex’, ‘Star Ruins Sword Codex’, and ‘Extended Life Sword Codex’, aiming his attacks at High Immortal Nan Yin.

The Dark Earth Sword Array unfolded, bold and unrestrained, its sharpness unending.

The Star Ruins Sword Array, like a star itself, returned all to the source — an exquisite art with deceptive simplicity.

The Longevity Sword Array, no, it could not be considered a sword array, for Wu Yuan could not even create a Domain from it. However, he showcased the subtle brilliance of the sword art.

High Immortal Nan Yin intercepted each one, pointing out where the flaws in each execution lay.

At that moment, Wu Yuan realized that his master not only possessed profound insights into the Celestial Body Dao, but could also spot his shortcomings from a much higher perspective.

It was the same for the Wood Dao as well, he could offer guidance without any difficulty.

"Go. Reflect on what you learned and do not slack off," High Immortal Nan Yin instructed.

…

Wu Yuan swiftly returned to his world residence. Though he didn’t quite understand why his master insisted that he study the ‘Extended Life Sword Codex’, one of Wu Yuan's virtues was that he listened to advice!

Anyway, it will take time to comprehend, so I might as well give it my all. A hundred years? I’ll just listen to Master. Wu Yuan shook off his reluctance, suppressing his distractions.

He split out a portion of mental energy, which fully focused on contemplating the Extended Life Sword Codex. Although progress was slow, he still took steady steps, breaking down difficulties one by one, persistently advancing towards the Domain stage.

In addition to studying the sword and comprehending the Dao, Wu Yuan also split out part of his mental energy to cultivate the ‘Sword Soul Sourcelight’, an extremely powerful and mysterious soul teaching.

My soul is strong. Logically, I should be able to practice some soul secret arts.

On the path to immortality, one should focus on strengthening their combat prowess, especially their killing move. Wu Yuan thought to himself.

Among immortal cultivators, prodigies were rare. The norm was to excel in one particular area, reaching an unmatched level. However, this did not include defensive tactics.

With my nine lifebound flying swords, I have more than enough for both offense and defense. However, my soul remains undefended. Wu Yuan contemplated.

All my past adversaries were merely Golden Core cultivators. But in the future, my enemies will be Amethyst Cradle/Shambhala cultivators, or even higher.

Powerful immortal cultivators had a plethora of techniques in their arsenal, soul techniques being one major category, with many super powerhouses specializing in soul destruction attacks.

It is alright if I do not excel in soul attacks, but my soul’s defense cannot be weak; I mustn’t let others easily disrupt my soul. This was Wu Yuan's decision.

He had also obtained the approval of his mentor, High Immortal Nan Yin.

In the end, he settled on the soul teaching known as ‘Sword Soul Sourcelight’, divided into first source realm, second source realm... all the way up to ninth source realm!

If I can cultivate to the ninth source realm, forming nine sword soul lights, I will even be able to withstand the soul attacks of an Archimmortal. Wu Yuan began diving into the teaching.

He was deeply impressed. The ‘Sword Soul Sourcelight’ was powerful, but also extremely difficult to cultivate. Ordinary Golden Core Superiors simply could not grasp it.

Fortunately, Wu Yuan was a sword cultivator, and his soul was extremely strong.

Such powerful secret arts are difficult to cultivate, it has to be done gradually. Wu Yuan was not in a rush.

He knew that many powerful immortals often spent thousands, even tens of thousands of years, just to cultivate a single immortal secret art.

Time flowed by.

In the blink of an eye, more than five years went by.

Altogether, thirteen years had passed since Wu Yuan had joined the Dragon Star Immortal Sect.

…

The Summerpeak World.

Deep within the vast and boundless Xin Continent stood an imposing guard tower, a thousand meters tall.

A figure draped in white robes sat silently atop the tower.

"Young Master, standing guard here no longer serves much of a purpose," a middle-aged man also dressed in white robes stood nearby.

It was none other than Fang Xia.

"The spiritual tide has reached its zenith," Fang Xia says in a deep voice. "All original Spiritless Regions, from the Xin Continent to the four oceans of the Middle Land, have completely disappeared."

"Indeed. Who would have thought that the spiritual tide would last for eight years? The spiritual qi of heaven and earth is growing increasingly concentrated. The Spiritless Region that originally separated the Middle Land from the other regions of the Summerpeak World has completely vanished under this unprecedented spiritual tide," Wu Yuan rose to his feet, shaking his head in a helpless gesture.

Maintaining a lookout at the Xin Continent no longer held any meaning.

"Is the warning array of the Middle Land all set up?" Wu Yuan asks.

"Mm," nodded Fang Xia, evidently excited. "Young Master, with the advanced array diagrams you've provided me, the task of array construction has become at least ten times easier. The guard array is now fully deployed, covering the entire Middle Land."

"That's good. Let's head back to the Middle Land."

“The other regions of the Summerpeak World must have sensed the surge of the spiritual tide and the disappearance of the Spiritless Regions. Whether it's a blessing or a curse is still unknown," says Wu Yuan.

"My qi refiner self is currently trying to figure out a solution in the Redmoon Immortal Continent. Don't worry."

Fang Xia nodded in understanding.

Whoosh! Whoosh! The two of them swiftly left the Xin Continent, heading for the Middle Land.

The Dragon Star Tournament is also imminent. Wu Yuan's body refiner self soared high into the sky at top speed.

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