Astral Monarch Hou Qu smiled faintly. He naturally sensed the shift in Wu Yuan’s thoughts and understood his intentions.
He was not surprised. Which disciple of the Eldritch Sovereign wasn’t ambitious or driven by lofty goals? Yet, having goals was one thing, achieving them was another.
“Your homeland has been moved into the satellite world orbit of the Cang Feng Continent and is protected by a world-defense array. Its safety is assured,” Astral Monarch Hou Qu declared.
“From now on, you can visit your homeland via the teleportation array on your continent residence.”
“Understood,” Wu Yuan felt a wave of relief wash over him.
He had been worried about his family.
“Let’s go to your continent residence.”
Whoosh! An invisible force enveloped Wu Yuan, and the two swiftly left the towering hall.
What greeted Wu Yuan’s eyes was an expansive, boundless world, reminiscent of outer space yet extraordinarily bright.
It was a world of unparalleled brilliance, where colossal landmasses, each spanning over ten thousand li in diameter, floated in the endless space.
On these landmasses, numerous halls and pavilions could be faintly seen.
Occasionally, many flying boats could be seen skimming through the space.
“This is the Fifth Origin Eldritch Field, over a hundred million li in diameter.”
“Fifty thousand void continents were created here. Each one serves as a base for one genius; it can accommodate the cultivation of up to fifty thousand geniuses,” Astral Monarch Hou Qu explained with a smile. “Currently, the Fifth Eldritch Field houses about thirteen thousand geniuses.”
Wu Yuan nodded slightly.
The grandeur of the eldritch world was evident; indeed, it was a top-tier faction in the macrocosm!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Astral Monarch Hou Qu led Wu Yuan forward, quickly accelerating—one hundred thousand li per second, two hundred thousand li per second. They soon reached the speed of light.
The surrounding space subtly twisted. In theory, upon reaching this speed, one could enter the Fragmentary Spatial Layer or higher spatial dimensions.
But Wu Yuan was surprised to discover that he still maintained this speed.
Just a few dozen breaths later, Astral Monarch Hou Qu led Wu Yuan to a space above a vast void continent. Below, they could clearly see the hazy light enshrouding the space.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Over a dozen figures shot up from the continent. All of them were clad in battle armor, moving extremely quickly, and stopped before Wu Yuan and Astral Monarch Hou Qu.
“Astral Monarch!” the leading woman, clad in red robes that clung to her seductive figure, respectfully greeted.
“Greetings, Astral Monarch.” The other dozen figures also bowed respectfully, each in utter shock.
What matter could bring a great Astral Monarch here?
“From today onwards, this Spiritual Body cultivator named Wu Yuan will be the master of this void continent,” Astral Monarch Hou Qu declared, “He will become a direct Earth-tier member in the Fifth Eldritch Field.”
“Swear your loyalty to him.”
Wu Yuan? Earth-tier member?
The dozen figures were all incredibly shocked. They knew what it meant for someone to be granted the title of Earth-tier member upon entering the Origin Eldritch Field: a true peerless genius.
“I, Cen Jiang, swear upon heaven and earth to serve Wu Yuan as my master, or face soul annihilation! Eternal damnation, never to reincarnate! May the supreme Eldritch Progenitor bear witness to my oath.” the leading red-robed woman pledged.
“I, Li Ren”
“I, …” The dozen figures behind hurriedly made their vows in turn.
Immediately, over a dozen intangible fluctuations descended upon the seductive woman in red robes and her companions, while Wu Yuan felt a faint yet undeniable connection to them.
“Master,” the woman, Cen Jiang, respectfully bowed to Wu Yuan.
“Master.” The dozen figures behind her echoed in reverence.
“Astral Monarch, what is this?” Wu Yuan stammered in shock.
He could feel it—these dozen figures were no ordinary beings. Each one exuded power far beyond his own.
“An Earth Immortal servant, twelve Void Refiner servants—this is the first benefit of being an Earth-tier member,” Astral Monarch Hou Qu explained with a smile. “From today on, they will be absolutely loyal to you.”
“Rest assured, I hand picked them all. They each have the potential to break through. Once they do, their worth will skyrocket.”
Wu Yuan was stunned, gazing at these individuals. It felt surreal.
Servants? Absolute loyalty to him?
“You’ll need some followers to help you handle matters,” Astral Monarch Hou Qu continued. “Don’t feel guilty; they were captured by the eldritch world from the Immortal Court. If they hadn’t become servants, they would have faced certain death.”
“Becoming servants was their voluntary choice,” Astral Monarch Hou Qu assured him.
“Indeed,” the red-robed Cen Jiang, spoke respectfully. “Master, the eldritch world gave me two choices: death or living as a servant.”
“This was a choice we were willing to make.”
Wu Yuan shook his head slightly, growing more aware of the brutal war between the Eldritch Court and the Immortal Court.
Anyone who had yet to overcome their Tribulations was insignificant in this colossal conflict.
“Wu Yuan, this is your identity token. It’s also a voidrealm jade. Decipher it, and you will officially become an Earth-tier member of the Fifth Origin Eldritch Field, granting you access to the Cang Feng Eldritch Voidrealm,” Astral Monarch Hou Qu explained, tossing a token to Wu Yuan.
“Hm.” Wu Yuan caught it.
His soul surged into the token, leaving an aura imprint. Almost instantly, a torrent of information flooded his mind.
All of it pertained to the Fifth Eldritch Field.
‘’Wu Yuan, I have now informed you of the main points. Cen Jiang is knowledgeable about the Origin Eldritch Field. If you have any questions, you can ask her, or contact me through the eldritch voidrealm. In a day, I’ll construct a teleportation array in your homeland. You can visit it then.” Astral Monarch Hou Qu.
“Thank you, Astral Monarch,” Wu Yuan said respectfully.
“No need for thanks,” Astral Monarch Hou Qu replied with a smile. “Sometimes, status is both an advantage and a burden. Keep striving.”
Wu Yuan nodded lightly.
With that, Astral Monarch Hou Qu vanished, drifting away like a whisper in the wind.
“Master, follow me,” Cen Jiang said with a demure smile, her figure mesmerizing yet her expression pure and innocent.
She truly is a rare beauty. Wu Yuan couldn’t help but compliment her inwardly. Those who could become Earth Immortals were all extraordinary in some way.
Swish! Swish! The group rapidly descended to the continent below, where countless halls came into view.
“Master, the Fifth Origin Eldritch Field’s geniuses do not rely on Faith, so there aren’t many mortal beings here. The void continent is rather small, with only two significant locations,” Cen Jiang explained.
“One is the Essence Tower.” Cen Jiang pointed to a towering structure on one side of the continent. The tower stood about a hundred li tall. It was entirely purple and sprawled over the land, dominating the landscape.
“This tower also serves as a meditation chamber, greatly aiding in Dao comprehension,” Cen Jiang said. “It’s where the eldritch world has invested the most resources.”
“The second is the Experiment Realm. The Experiment Realm is a separately created world, spanning roughly a million li. It is designed for you, Master, to test various techniques in the real world,” Cen Jiang continued. “To reach the Experiment Realm, you must go through the Essence Tower.”
“Other teachings, disciple interactions, voidrealm battles, and such are conducted within the Cang Feng Eldritch Voidrealm.”
“Lectures by Archimmortals, Astral Lords, and real-world combat sessions are held in the Origin Eldritch Continent at the heart of the entire eldritch world.”
“For duels between geniuses, match-betting, or the purchase and trading of treasures… all these take place on the Origin Eldritch Continent,” Cen Jiang said with a smile. “If there are matters you’re unable to attend to personally, we can handle them for you.”
“We will all be stationed here. In the future, when you ascend to higher Origin Eldritch Fields, we will follow you, until our deaths,” Cen Jiang vowed respectfully.
“I have heard that from the Shambhala phase onwards, I’ll be taking on expeditions that may endanger my life. For all you know, I’ll die at the Shambhala phase,” Wu Yuan half-joked.
That line caused the expressions of his gathered servants to change drastically. Cen Jiang whispered, “If Master dies, then we shall all follow you in death.”
That stunned Wu Yuan. Immediately, he realized that things weren’t so simple. If he died, would it mean that all his servants must die too?
“Haha, relax. I, Wu Yuan, am not so easily killed.” Wu Yuan laughed, striding toward the distant Essence Tower.
Suddenly, he halted, pointing ahead. “What is that?”
There, a colossal mountain rose from the earth, towering at least tens of li high. The one side of the mountain was as smooth as a mirror.
On the mirror-like surface, giant characters appeared.
Heaven-tier: Mu Xia
Earth-tier: Ling Xian, Guang Hanqing, Bu Jiang, Liu Shengquan, Yin Lie… Wu Yuan.
“That’s the Heaven and Earth Rankings that appear on every void continent, announcing the names of all heaven-tier and earth-tier members of the Fifth Origin Eldritch Field,” Cen Jiang explained with a smile.
“Why are there only forty-two earth-tier members?” Wu Yuan couldn’t help asking, “I remember being told there are a hundred earth-tier members in the Fifth Origin Eldritch Field.”
“They’ve all broken through.” Cen Jiang replied, “The Heaven and Earth Tournament occurs every twenty years, selecting new heaven-tier and earth-tier members.”
“Typically, geniuses who can reach the earth-tier are mostly at the Dao Field stage of Dao comprehension. Only a rare few are at the ninth-level True Intent stage.”
“Progress at the Dao Field stage is exceptionally slow. So, once someone reaches the earth-tier, unless they’re extremely young, most will choose to break through without lingering too long,” Cen Jiang said.
“And when a heaven-tier member breaks through, the subsequent earth-tier members will move up in sequence.”