Yuan’s Ascension

In terms of Dao comprehension, Wu Yuan's body refiner self’s aptitude was previously only considered the pinnacle of a single era in the immortal nation.

It was thanks to his formidable soul and the guidance of the Celestial Body Law Codex

that he shone so brilliantly.

After all, the immortal nation was vast, with over six thousand immortal continents teeming with countless beings. Each era typically saw the birth of numerous cultivators with second-degree and third-degree immortal roots.

There were several disciples with third-degree immortal roots in the Dragon Star Immortal Sect alone.

Among these geniuses with second and third-degree immortal roots, it wasn't uncommon for one or two to possess an innate Dao Body. However, it was usually just a Lesser Law Dao Body.

The strength of one’s immortal root isn't directly proportional with one’s Dao comprehension talent. Wu Yuan knew this well. The immortal root represents the foundation of one’s mana; and generally, the stronger one’s foundation, the greater one’s Dao comprehension aptitude.

In short, those with extraordinary Dao comprehension aptitude were unlikely to have weak foundations. For instance, Ao Qi and Gao Yun both possessed third-degree immortal roots. There was a positive correlation between the two aspects.

However, a genius with a second-degree immortal root didn’t necessarily have stronger Dao comprehension aptitude than one with a third-degree immortal root.

For example—Zhuo Haiyue! Though he had never seen Zhuo Haiyue in action, Wu Yuan knew that Zhuo Haiyue had a second-degree immortal root.

In terms of potential, Zhuo Haiyue far exceeded that of his qi refiner self, whose Dao comprehension was the result of combining the hard work of both his qi refiner and body refiner true selves.

In the past, my two true selves had to work together just to keep up with Zhuo Haiyue. Wu Yuan quietly sensed the fluctuations of the Celestial Body Dao. But now?

In a single era, it was normal for one or two cultivators to establish Dao Bodies in an immortal nation, most of which only aligned with a Lesser Law.

A Dao Body that perfectly aligns with an Intermediate Law? Wu Yuan mused inwardly. The difficulty of establishing one is second only to establishing the legendary first-degree immortal root.

It was said that a cultivator with an innate first-degree immortal root always established a Dao Body perfectly aligned with an Intermediate Law. This union of supreme immortal root and Dao comprehension aptitude represented the pinnacle of a being nurtured by heaven and earth, embodying the biological limit of such existence.

Pinnacles were, by nature, hard to reach.

An innately established first-degree immortal root was not just a legend within the immortal continents, but across the entire Eternal Sun Immortal World.

At least, I haven't heard of anyone establishing an innate first-degree immortal root in the Eternal Sun Immortal World over the past tens of thousands of years.

Perhaps there are some in the headquarters of the Taiyuan Divine Court, where many peerless geniuses from the vast river of space and time congregate.

However, those were legends!

As for upgrading one's immortal root in the future? From what Wu Yuan knew, it was possible to gradually upgrade one's immortal root to a first-degree immortal root with the advancement of one's cultivation phase, but it would never be as miraculous as an innate first-degree immortal root.

My current talent is almost on par with someone who possesses an innate first-degree immortal root. Wu Yuan silently contemplated the profundities of the Celestial Body Dao, absorbing each insight with insatiable thirst.

For the first time, Wu Yuan felt that comprehending the Celestial Body Dao was truly effortless.

Bloodforge King. As Astral Lord Yin He mentioned, the higher the ranking, the better the final rewards and opportunities. Wu Yuan pondered. If I do not tap into the Longevity Dao, I still lag behind Ao Qi and Gao Yun.

With defense, he could ensure survival, and survival came first. But to kill the enemy, one must use offense.

At the very least, if Wu Yuan continued to hunt down those Bloodforge Seeds and the immortal nation's participants, his Blood Devil Token rank would only hover around the top ten in the next six months. That was as far as his strength went.

Top five? Not very likely. Wu Yuan quickly dismissed the idea. According to records from previous Bloodforge trials, participants ranked in the tens and hundreds typically begin to form alliances as the competition advances, aiming to defend themselves from the top-tier geniuses.

Almost all of the top twenty rankers aimed to clinch the Bloodforge King title, while most second and third-tier geniuses were content to ‘lie flat’ once they secured ten thousand Blood Devil Tokens. [1]

After all, they had no hope of claiming the title of Bloodforge King. Securing the title of Bloodforge Marquis was sufficient; why risk everything?

With Wu Yuan's relatively weak attack, it would get increasingly harder to seize Blood Devil Tokens en masse.

Moreover, the second stage is likely to involve direct confrontations with other peerless geniuses. Wu Yuan also understood this well.

Talent was crucial for the ultimate opportunity challenge stage, but strength was equally important.

Alright! Wu Yuan made his decision, a gleam flickering in his eyes.

Over the next five months, I'll focus on contemplating the Celestial Body Dao. With my current rate of comprehension, five months would be equivalent to four or even five years of my past self’s progress.

I have a good chance of reaching the seventh-level Domain stage, or even higher.

Of course, there was no way to be absolutely certain of this. Although advancing to the seventh-level Domain stage from the sixth-level was not as significant a jump as transitioning from the Domain stage to True Intent stage, or from True Intent to Dao Field, it was still a barrier one had to overcome.

Given two to three years, Wu Yuan would definitely be able to break through. Five months?

Let’s just give it a try. As Wu Yuan gently closed his eyes, he began to meditate on the profundities encompassed within the Starsunder Saber Codex, Dark Earth Sword Codex, Star Ruins Sword Codex, and Celestial Body Law Codex.

It was to the extent that his qi refiner self temporarily abandoned studying the Longevity Dao, dedicating its full concentration to comprehending the Celestial Body Dao.

…

Ten days flew by. As July arrived, the numerous ordinary participants and elite participants in hiding breathed sighs of relief.

"We survived!"

"Time to leave."

"Let's go." The ordinary cultivators who managed to meet their minimum Blood Devil Token quota quickly chose to leave the trial grounds.

For them, these six months had been a nightmare. They had witnessed innumerable immortal cultivators fall. But in the end, they survived.

"I never wanted to participate in the Bloodforge Battle, but the damned sect forced me to. Haha, now, I survived and qualify to become a disciple of the Bloodforge Devil Hall. Once I cultivate to the Amethyst Cradle phase, I will return and kill them all."

"Finally, I qualify to become a disciple of the Devil Hall."

"Having survived, this is my opportunity. I must seize it and reach the Amethyst Cradle phase." The participants from countless worlds harbored a range of thoughts and emotions. While some immortal cultivators succumbed to madness, others maintained their composure.

"It's time to leave."

"Let's go."

"With ten thousand Blood Devil Tokens, I qualify to leave; as for a hundred thousand? That's too difficult."

"The upcoming battles will be more brutal, with no weaklings left." Many weaker second-tier Bloodforge Seeds and participants from the immortal nation also wisely chose to leave.

A hundred thousand Blood Devil Tokens? The ultimate opportunity? It sounded tempting and alluring. But after enduring six months of bloody slaughter, many so-called geniuses had sobered up. There was always someone stronger out there.

These geniuses, who were famous in their immortal continents and second-tier divisions of the Bloodforge Devil Hall, realized they were far from the top-tier geniuses of the entire immortal nation.

In just one day, more than two billion participants chose to leave.

When the day ended, fewer than three hundred million remained.

Indeed, in six months, out of 580 billion participants, only over two billion survived. This was the most brutal of bloodbaths.

"Kill!"

"I don't believe I can't make it into the top hundred." Those who remained behind were mostly confident in their strength.

"I'll continue to fight."

"Damn it, if not for getting defeated by Wu Yuan, I would have collected enough Blood Devil Tokens long ago. Now, I only have a little over eight thousand." Some participants gritted their teeth. They were strong but had been defeated and needed to start from scratch.

"It's too hard."

"I've struggled so much just to seize eight Blood Devil Tokens. Where can I find the remaining two?"

"I have only eighty tokens. What should I do?" The remaining billion-plus participants were mostly ordinary cultivators.

Most of them had hidden away from the start, avoiding the bloody chaos, and were fortunate enough to survive until now.

Unfortunately, they hadn't met the minimum Blood Devil Token quota to leave the Bloodforge Battlefield. And after a year, those who did not meet the minimum quota would be eradicated.

On the Bloodforge Battlefield, one could hide, but not forever.

1. From wikipedia: Lying flat (躺平) is a Chinese slang neologism that describes a personal rejection of societal pressures to overwork and over-achieve, such as in the 996 working hour system, which is often regarded as a rat race with ever diminishing returns. Aka reject the hustle culture. ☜

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