In the special observation space within the Dragon Star Immortal Voidrealm, the words of Sword Immortal Dong Yang reverberated in the minds of Abbot Wu, High Immortal Hei Yuan, and the other Earth Immortals and High Immortals.
Twin stars of Redmoon?
An Earth Immortal chuckled. “Who would’ve thought even Veteran Elder Dong Yang would be drawn here? He’s about to undergo his Tribulation, and yet, he still has the mind to care about this little Li Xia fellow?”
“Li Xia is also a sword cultivator,” another Earth Immortal responded, stroking his beard thoughtfully. “It’s only natural for Veteran Elder Dong Yang to pay attention to him.”
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Over a dozen figures materialized out of thin air in the observation space. Some were Earth Immortals and others were High Immortals, but all were the top brass of the Dragon Star Immortal Sect.
“Abbot, you were all here already?” One of them called out.
Another, barely containing his excitement, burst out, “Did Li Xia really make it past level sixty of the one-star tower? Seriously? How long has he even been cultivating?” The newly arrived Earth Immortals and High Immortals bombarded their peers with questions, their voices overlapping in a cacophony of disbelief and excitement.
Clearly, they had rushed over after receiving the news.
Abbot Wu’s eyes glowed with anticipation. “That’s right. Li Xia has already cleared level sixty of the one-star tower and is currently challenging level sixty-one. From what we’re seeing, he might even clear level sixty-one.”
“Incredible!”
“It’s true; he’s currently fighting the guardian of level sixty-one.” The new arrivals kept their eyes peeled on the light screen.
The battle unfolding was a sight to behold – Wu Yuan’s miniature star holding firm against the guardian’s relentless assault.
As they watched, it became clear that the two combatants were locked in a stalemate. The guardian of level sixty-one, though slightly stronger than its predecessor, couldn’t breach Wu Yuan’s defense.
A newly arrived High Immortal couldn’t contain his amazement. “Incredible, under sixty years old and he’s already cleared level sixty of the one-star tower?” His voice trembled with emotion. “His talent must rank among the top three peerless geniuses of the immortal continent in the last million years or more!”
No one dared to contradict his words. The Earth Immortals and High Immortals of the Dragon Star Immortal Sect were visibly shaken. They had marveled at Wu Yuan’s talent during the Dragon Star Tournament, but this time they were truly shaken, the full extent of his terrifying potential finally dawning on them.
“Our Redmoon Immortal Continent hasn’t seen anyone clear level sixty of the one-star tower in over six thousand years.”
“Indeed, it’s been a long time. Even Zhuo Haiyue, despite her peerless talent, wasn’t that dazzling in her early years.”
“I just checked. Currently, in the entire Silvermist Immortal Nation, less than a hundred individuals have cleared level sixty of the one-star tower. On average, only one person among dozens of immortal continents can clear level sixty. The highest current record of the immortal nation is level sixty-seven.” One High Immortal spoke solemnly. [1]
Their high authority granted them access to vast amounts of information from numerous channels, and the more they discovered, the more astounded they became. Across the entire immortal nation, those peerless geniuses who had cleared level sixty of the one-star tower were mostly in their eighties or nineties.
Those under sixty? Wu Yuan was the only one.
As the implications sank in, the Earth Immortals and High Immortals of the Dragon Star Immortal Sect realized the true magnitude of Wu Yuan’s achievement.
Someone like Xing Luo, clearing over level fifty of the one-star tower at nearly a hundred years old, was considered a top-tier genius in the Moonsilver World.
Before reaching a hundred years old, clearing level fifty of the one-star tower made one a top-tier genius of an immortal continent, with only dozens to a hundred such geniuses per era (100 years). Clearing level sixty? Such peerless geniuses would rank in the top hundred of the entire immortal nation.
And Wu Yuan was still so young! The difference between clearing level sixty at fifty-something years old versus at ninety-something was astronomical.
While the future remained uncertain, Wu Yuan’s current performance suggested that the entire immortal nation might only see such a monstrous prodigy once in tens of thousands of years.
For an immortal continent, it might take hundreds of millions of years to produce such a prodigy.
Abbot Wu’s face broke into a smile as he spoke. “These past months, the immortal continent has been abuzz with rumors that Zhuo Haiyue is a monstrous prodigy, a once-in-a-hundred-million-year talent who could rival or even surpass Ancestor Dong Yang, a peerless genius that only appears once in a hundred thousand years throughout the immortal nation.”
His eyes sparkled with pride as he continued, “But now, another monstrous prodigy has emerged from our Dragon Star Immortal Sect, the greatest genius in the sect’s history—Li Xia.”
“His terrifying talent is definitely on par with Zhuo Haiyue,” Abbot Wu concluded, his smile widening.
“Absolutely!”
“Peerless genius.”
“Li Xia can stand shoulder to shoulder with Zhuo Haiyue. The immortal ancestor is an incredible teacher.” The other High Immortals and Earth Immortals chimed in.
Their hearts had all been conquered by Wu Yuan’s talent.
“Now, let’s see how many levels Li Xia can pass.”
“Pure defense!”
“Combining two Intermediate Laws, how extraordinary.” The High Immortals and Earth Immortals of the sect looked on, eagerly awaiting the final outcome.
But they knew that no matter which level he stopped at, the difference was negligible.
…
Inside the one-star tower, in the boundless expanse of outer space, Wu Yuan was locked in fierce combat with a black-robed guardian.
To call it fierce was an understatement—it was more accurate to say he was taking a beating!
Towering celestial bodies collided violently, the impacts sending shockwaves rippling through the fabric of space itself. Yet, for all the fury of the assault, Wu Yuan couldn’t even touch the guardian.
Stand firm! Wu Yuan gritted his teeth, focused on maintaining the miniature celestial body. Relying on the turtle shell I’ve cultivated, let’s see who can outlast whom.
It wasn’t that he hadn’t considered attacking, but after a quick analysis, Wu Yuan knew his chances of winning through offensive measures were too low. He had to play to his strengths.
As he endured the relentless assault, Wu Yuan’s mind raced, analyzing the situation. Intermediate Laws are extremely difficult to grasp, but once you do, the power of the first-level Domain stage is comparable to the first-level True Intent stage of a Lesser Law. he mused inwardly.
Celestial Body Dao, fifth-level Domain stage. Longevity Dao, first-level Domain stage.
Individually, neither level of Dao comprehension can compare to the guardian of level sixty. But when combined, their defensive power rivals the ninth-level True Intent stage of a Lesser Law. If I were to unleash an attack, it might even match the seventh-level True Intent stage of a Lesser Law.
Wu Yuan understood well that comprehending the Dao grew exponentially harder the further one progressed.
Drawing from numerous law codexes like the Dark Earth Sword Codex and the Star Ruins Sword Codex, combined with his personal experience, he had developed a theory:
Assuming a constant rate of Dao comprehension, and that advancing from the first-level Domain stage to second-level Domain stage of a Lesser Law took one year, then getting from the first-level True Intent stage to second-level True Intent stage would take at least a thousand years.
And advancing from the first-level Dao Field stage to second-level Dao Field stage would take at least a million years.
At this rate, fully comprehending a single Dao would take over ten billion years!
And this rate of progress didn’t account for the time spent breaking through bottlenecks, such as advancing from ninth-level Domain stage to the True Intent stage, or from ninth-level True Intent stage to the Dao Field stage. Hence, most immortal cultivators would never finish comprehending a Law before their lifespan ended.
The path of the Laws was indeed arduous, and the profundities of heaven and earth truly vast and boundless. These were not empty words.
With time, immortal cultivators generally saw their aptitudes rise as their souls strengthened, speeding up their Dao comprehension rate. However, many powerful immortal cultivators would still end up trapped in bottlenecks, despairing as they reached the limits of their lifespan.
It didn’t matter if one was a peerless genius. If one isolated themselves, refusing to undergo trials to improve, they would eventually fade into obscurity and perish in the Immortal Tribulations.
To advance to the Amethyst Cradle phase, one must reach the seventh-level Domain stage of Dao comprehension.
To advance to the seventh-stage Amethyst Cradle phase, one must reach the True Intent stage of Dao comprehension.
To advance to the Void Refiner phase, one must reach the seventh-level True Intent stage of Dao comprehension.
And to become a Divided Soul Earth Immortal, one’s Dao comprehension must reach the Dao Field stage.
My understanding of the two Intermediate Laws may only be at the Domain stage, but it is equivalent to the True Intent stage of Lesser Laws. When combined, their power is exponentially greater.
Plus, my powerful soul supports and enhances my abilities. Without forming a true sword Dao Field, even a sword array driven by ninth-level True Intent wouldn’t shake me!
This guardian has only reached the eighth-level True Intent stage of comprehension. Let’s see how you plan to break through my defenses. Wu Yuan’s confidence was unshakeable.
The combination of Earth and Wood was the killing move of his qi refiner self, forming the strongest shield!
“Kill!” The black-robed guardian’s eyes were as cold as ice as he triggered the Dark Earth Sword Array again and again, directing divine swords towards Wu Yuan.
Boom! Boom! Boom! The two clashed repeatedly, the impacts resonating through spce. Neither could gain the upper hand, locked in a stalemate.
One couldn’t afford to stop maintaining the miniature celestial body, and the other couldn’t drop the Dark Earth Sword Domain. It was just a matter of who could hold out longer.
The seemingly dull battle actually highlighted how evenly matched they were, or perhaps how formidable Wu Yuan’s defense truly was.
The battle raged on for nearly a full hour.
Finally, the grueling match ended with the black-robed guardian exhausting his mana, and Wu Yuan emerged victorious.
That was close! My mana is down to less than twenty percent. If the guardian were any stronger, I’d deplete more mana maintaining the Star Ruins Sword Array, and I would’ve lost. This thought flashed through Wu Yuan’s mind. My defense isn’t strong enough.
If his defense was truly sturdy enough, his array would be able to weather the guardian’s frenzied attacks without costing him so much mana.
“Next level!” Wu Yuan’s voice rang out.
He pressed on to level sixty-two.
Unlike the Dark Star, where real combat was involved and one needed to know when to stop if victory wasn’t assured, battles in the Seven Star Luminaries Tower were virtual ones. This allowed Wu Yuan to charge ahead without hesitation until his ultimate defeat.
…
Back in the observation space, excitement rippled through the gathered immortals.
“Victory!”
“He’s made it past level sixty-one.”
“Li Xia still has energy left. He’s just matched the immortal Continent’s past 10,000-year record. Amazing.” The group of immortals in the observation space were all smiles.
The battle had been extremely prolonged, but no one had wanted to leave. In fact, more immortals of the sect had come to watch after getting word, drawn by the historic nature of the event.
Seeing Wu Yuan finally defeat the guardian of level sixty-one, these High and Earth Immortals were both stunned and awed. He had matched the immortal continent’s past 10,000-year record!
Abbot Wu smiled. “Now, let’s see if Li Xia can set a new ten-thousand-year record of the immortal continent.”
Many immortals nodded, their eyes gleaming with anticipation. Set a new record! Given the number of decades he had left to challenge the one-star tower, Wu Yuan was destined to set record after record.
High Immortal Hei Yuan grinned. “The news has already spread throughout the Dragon Star Immortal Voidrealm and the Redmoon Immortal Voidrealm.”
“There are many immortal cultivators focused on the Seven Star Luminaries Tower’s records. With the sect’s current record being shattered, people are bound to notice.”
“Li Xia took over an hour each to pass level sixty and sixty-one.”
“The storm Zhuo Haiyue stirred wasn’t small. This time, the waves Li Xia will stir up won’t be small either.”
“With the immortal ancestor, Ancestor Dong Yang, and now a rising star like Li Xia, our Dragon Star Immortal Sect is bound to prosper,” many Earth and High Immortals discussed joyfully, their voices a chorus of optimism and pride.
While lower-level disciples might worry about internal competition, these High Immortals and Earth Immortals knew that only a sect that was strong overall would bring greater benefits to its individuals.
When you can’t be the leader yourself, then follow the leader!
1. Level 81 is the historical record ☜