On the third day of the seventh month.
“All participants are required to reach the designated area within a month. The battlefield will be reduced to a spherical region with a diameter of thirty million li. The specific region has been sent to your personal space in the Bloodforge Immortal Voidrealm. Those who fail to arrive at the designated area within one month will be eradicated.”
All surviving participants received the message simultaneously.
As the number of participants dwindled, the battlefield started shrinking rapidly.
“Damn it!”
“We’re doomed.” Countless weaker participants gritted their teeth and began a long journey of migration, knowing full well that it would only get harder from here on. Yet the desire to survive kept the billion-plus remaining participants from giving up.
Wu Yuan naturally received the news while in the cave, but he only glanced at it briefly before losing interest. He was already within the designated region of the battlefield.
Lucky me. I walked right into the final battleground. Wu Yuan mumbled inwardly, then closed his eyes and continued cultivating.
His comprehension of the Celestial Body Dao was exceptionally smooth.
…
Dragon Star Immortal Sect, Dragon Star, High Immortal Nan Yin’s residence.
“How are you progressing this fast? You’ve gotten even faster than before.” High Immortal Nan Yin looked at his disciple with astonishment. “Your sword array has a hint of a sword domain.”
“At this rate, you will soon reach the seventh-level Domain stage of the Celestial Body Dao.”
“I had some epiphanies in the Bloodforge Battlefield,” Wu Yuan’s qi refiner self said respectfully.
Wu Yuan had no plans to tell his master about the black pagoda’s anomalies. For one, there was little meaning. Secondly, everyone had secrets. The matters related to the black pagoda, especially the recent encounter with the Origin Spirit, were too significant, and Wu Yuan didn’t want to divulge everything.
“Alright, keep working hard,” High Immortal Nan Yin nodded.
“Master, I have a request,” Wu Yuan said earnestly, “I hope you can guide me once every half a month for some time.”
“Half a month?” High Immortal Nan Yin was stunned at first, then laughed, “Little rascal, starting to boss your teacher around.”
“I wouldn’t dare,” Wu Yuan quickly bowed his head.
High Immortal Nan Yin shook his head with a smile, “The reason I set our sessions to once a month is so that you will gain something new during each session given your comprehension aptitude. That is the most optimal frequency for resolving your doubts.”
“Half a month? You are indeed progressing much faster now, once every half a month it is. Your teacher will just have to work a bit harder,” High Immortal Nan Yin nodded.
Wu Yuan soon left happily.
Time flew. In a blink, another month went by, and High Immortal Nan Yin mentored Wu Yuan twice more.
This kid is progressing way too quickly. High Immortal Nan Yin’s shock grew. This rate of progress is more than ten times faster than mine back then. At this pace, he’ll be able to reach level seventy of the one-star tower. No! At least level seventy-five.
High Immortal Nan Yin always had great confidence in himself and was extremely proud of his abilities. However, the progress his disciple made in just a month or two still managed to scare him.
Something’s not right. It must be due to his intense experiences in the Bloodforge Battlefield; this shouldn’t be his normal state. High Immortal Nan Yin comforted himself.
Every master hoped their disciple performed well. But when their talent reached an absurd level, it got a little frightening.
Even High Immortal Nan Yin started questioning himself.
…
Wu Yuan’s body refiner self remained deep in a corner of the cave, fully immersed in his comprehension of the Celestial Body Dao and making rapid progress.
Meanwhile, the slaughter on the Bloodforge Battlefield grew more frantic. The Blood Devil Token count of the top-tier geniuses continued to grow, and a large number of peerless geniuses were either forced to use up their retry or were killed.
“What’s up with Wu Yuan?”
“Why is his Blood Devil Token rank dropping so much?”
“From the eighth, it has already fallen to over twenty. His Blood Devil Token count hasn’t moved, what’s going on?” The various factions of the Silvermist Immortal Nation and numerous divisions of the Bloodforge Devil Hall who had been keeping an eye on Wu Yuan were puzzled.
“Other peerless geniuses are fighting desperately, striving to raise their rank, aiming for the title of Bloodforge King.”
“Ao Qi and Gao Yun have already gone berserk.”
“What’s going on with Wu Yuan?” The discussions in the Redmoon Division of the Bloodforge Devil Hall grew.
Some were even a bit annoyed.
“He fought his way up to eighth place. He can clearly continue to raise his rank, and even has the potential to reach the top five.”
“So why did he stop?”
“Could it be that he’s afraid of death?” Many Earth Immortals and even High Immortals criticized him, feeling quite displeased.
If Wu Yuan hadn’t given them hope in the first place, it would’ve been fine. But raising their hopes and then dashing them?
“Ranking in the twenties, he still has a chance to claim the Bloodforge King title.”
“He no longer stands a chance. With just a little more than two months left in the Bloodforge Battle, his rank will continue to fall if he keeps hiding like this out of fear, possibly down to the fifties, or even the hundreds.” Many immortals shook their heads, feeling extremely disappointed.
Even High Immortal Wu Tian furrowed his brow.
“What is Wu Yuan up to?” High Immortal Wu Tian was anxious. He badly wanted to know the reason, but could not observe the battle.
…
Bloodforge Immortal Voidrealm, Silvermist Plane, Archimmortal observation space.
Wu Yuan’s odd actions naturally drew the scrutiny of many Archimmortals, who were all puzzled.
“Cultivating?”
“He seems to be contemplating the Dao.”
“Could he be planning to advance to the seventh-level Domain stage of the Celestial Body Dao in just a few months?” Many Archimmortals inwardly shook their heads.
It was unrealistic.
“This Wu Yuan.” Astral Lord Yin He also frowned, staring Wu Yuan who was sitting in lotus position on the light screen, “If he kept fighting, he’d still have a good chance at becoming the Bloodforge King.”
“But at this crucial moment, he’s being stubborn? Going off to train?” Astral Lord Yin He shook his head.
His evaluation of Wu Yuan dropped a notch in his heart.
In the eyes of many Archimmortals and Astral Lords, real combat was the best teacher.
After a period of life-and-death combat, it was reasonable for one to spend a day or two briefly reviewing any new insights before diving back into life-and-death combat. That was the best path for cultivation. However, Wu Yuan had spent far longer than that.
“Calm down, Yin He. What’s the difference between a Bloodforge Marquis and a Bloodforge King?” Astral Lord Chen Deng smiled from the side, “Is it really that important to us?”
“Wu Yuan’s performance isn’t bad either, don’t be too harsh,” Astral Lord Chen Deng smiled.
“Mm.” Astral Lord Yin He nodded, “I’m not being harsh, it’s just that he can clearly do better.”
…
What’s Wu Yuan up to? Gao Yun scoured passage after passage, finding and killing one participant after another.
He had been keeping an eye on the Blood Devil Token rankings.
The Archimmortals watching from outside the battlefield knew how fearsome Wu Yuan was, but most of the participants only knew that Wu Yuan was strong.
Only a select few who had personally fought Wu Yuan knew of his formidable defense. Gao Yun was one of them. He had long recognized Wu Yuan as his greatest obstacle to becoming Bloodforge King.
His ranking has fallen to seventy-eighth, and there’s been no change in his Blood Devil Token count. Gao Yun frowned.
He didn’t believe someone as ruthless as Wu Yuan would be a coward.
Forget it. It’s a good thing that Wu Yuan’s rank is dropping. I’ll have one less competitor to worry about. Gao Yun stopped thinking about Wu Yuan.
With Wu Yuan out of the picture, my only rival is Ao Qi. Relying on his powerful soul, Gao Yun scouted passage after passage.
Currently, the battlefield had shrunk to a diameter of ten million li, a thousand times smaller from the start. Fewer than ten million participants remained alive.
…
The world outside was a cacophony of noise, but Wu Yuan, fully immersed in contemplating the Dao, remained completely unaware.
As the days passed, each doubt he resolved brought him closer to the seventh-level Domain stage of the Celestial Body Dao.
In the blink of an eye, only a month and a half remained until the end of the first stage.
In the cave that had been undisturbed for months, Wu Yuan sat in lotus position, surrounded by countless earth-yellow qi streams.
Even heaven and earth’s power was faintly suppressed by these qi streams.
Boom! At that moment, a terrifying surge of soul consciousness erupted from Wu Yuan, spreading in all directions.
A thousand li! Three thousand li! Five thousand li! Ten thousand li!
Everything within a ten-thousand-li radius was within Wu Yuan’s perception—every blade of grass, every shadowy cave… all laid bare.
My understanding of the Celestial Body Dao’s profundities has reached a new height. Wu Yuan sensed the monumental changes within himself.
Yes, it was Soul Will!
Half a year of bloody battles had baptized his spirit, further fortifying his soul. The evolution of his aptitude, connecting with the essence of the Dao, nourished his soul, strengthening it even further.
On top of that, he Visualized black pagoda consistently.
Most importantly, this single-minded focus unknowingly enabled his body refiner self’s soul to break through the Yang Soul limit, stepping into the level of Soul Will.
Reaching the Soul Will level, Wu Yuan’s Dao comprehension sped up once more. In just one day, Wu Yuan’s remaining doubts were completely resolved.
This is it. Seventh-level Domain stage of the Celestial Body Dao! The nascent form of Dao Field.
An ethereal earth-yellow glow enveloped Wu Yuan, completely isolating everything within from the world outside. Even the omnipresent heaven and earth’s power was faintly repelled.
Wu Yuan was in absolute control of everything within the light.
Just over a month left? Ninety-second? Wu Yuan stood up, checking his Blood Devil Token rank.
A fierce battle intent flashed in his eyes, and his lips curled up. Time to get moving and show them all who the true king is!
Wu Yuan waved his hand, putting away the array. As he walked out of the cave, he spread out his Soul Force, encompassing a ten-thousand-li radius.
Instantly, he detected several participants.