Wu Yuan’s form blurred as he shot out of the courtyard, flying out of the Immortal Belvedere.
Having cultivated here for over three hundred years, progressing from the Amethyst Cradle phase all the way to the Earth Immortal phase, he had grown familiar with his surroundings.
Suddenly, several figures flew towards him from the opposite direction. All were Earth Immortals, each exuding a formidable aura.
Upon seeing Wu Yuan fly past, they bowed slightly. “Greetings, Grand-senior-uncle Ming Jian.”
“Greetings, Grand-senior-uncle.”
“Greetings, Senior Uncle.” The three greeted with utmost respect.
Their differing forms of address indicated their varying ranks within the Bei You lineage, though they seemed to be friends of sorts.
Immortal Sovereign Bei You had taken on far too many disciples, making this lineage incredibly complex. Combined with the multitude of nominal disciples and the passage of long years, the generational hierarchy had become rather muddled.
Unless one was a direct disciple within three generations, most addressed each other based on relative strength and closeness of their relationship.
“Mm.” Wu Yuan nodded with a smile.
“Senior Uncle, have you broken through to the Divided Soul phase?” The middle-aged Earth Immortal in black robes who had addressed him as ‘Senior Uncle’ exclaimed, his eyes lighting up in shock.
“Yes, I just made the breakthrough,” Wu Yuan confirmed with a nod.
“Impressive!”
“After cultivating for less than five hundred years, you’ve already reached the Earth Immortal phase? You put us all to shame, Senior Uncle,” the black-robed middle-aged man remarked admiringly.
“What are you saying?” The white-robed youth shook his head. “Senior Uncle has already cleared level one hundred of the two-star tower… isn’t reaching the Earth Immortal phase only natural?”
“That’s enough. Senior Uncle, we won’t disturb you further,” the first Earth Immortal said anxiously. “We’ll take our leave now.”
“Mm.” Wu Yuan nodded with a smile.
The three Earth Immortals bowed respectfully, turning to depart.
Whoosh~ Before they could leave, a plump figure in black robes appeared out of thin air. His aura was ethereal, at odds with his appearance, as he smiled at Wu Yuan.
“Senior Uncle Gu Lai.” Wu Yuan bowed slightly in greeting.
“Astral Monarch.”
“Greetings, Astral Monarch.” The three Earth Immortals grew even more anxious, bowing respectfully once more, their hearts filled with shock.
Wu Yuan could address him as ‘Senior Uncle’ because he was a formal disciple. These three Earth Immortals, not truly part of the inner circle, dared not use overly familiar terms to address an Astral Monarch.
“Mm.” Astral Monarch Gu Lai gave the three Earth Immortals a cursory glance, his attention fully on Wu Yuan. “Junior Nephew Ming Jian, I understand you wish to see Master? Master has agreed and sent me to escort you.”
“Sorry for the trouble, Senior Uncle,” Wu Yuan said with a smile.
“No trouble at all. Let’s go.” Astral Monarch Gu Lai replied with a beaming smile, waving his hand to envelop Wu Yuan in an invisible force.
The two transformed into streaks of light and vanished into the distance.
The three Earth Immortals left behind exchanged bewildered looks.
“Is Senior Uncle Ming Jian going to see the Immortal Sovereign? He can just request for an audience and be granted one?”
“It seems so.”
“Astral Monarch Gu Lai came to escort Senior Uncle Ming Jian personally?”
“Apparently so.”
The three Earth Immortals fell silent. Having cultivated at the Immortal Belvedere for over a thousand years, they had naturally heard tales of Ming Jian’s exploits.
Dominating the entry-level battlefield, consecutively clearing the one-star tower, reaching level one hundred of the two-star tower – he was nothing short of a legendary figure.
Yet, witnessing him firsthand still left them astounded.
They were all Earth Immortals. The three of them, able to cultivate at the Immortal Belvedere, were considered quite successful among Earth Immortals. In any immortal continent, they would be regarded as important figures.
However, an Astral Lord or even an ordinary Archimmortal wouldn’t easily grant them an audience. Wu Yuan, on the other hand, could casually meet the great Sovereign.
“Let’s go.”
“No use thinking about it. Grand-senior-uncle Ming Jian is on a completely different level from us.”
“I’ve heard that Grand-senior-uncle Uncle Ming Jian’s Dao comprehension level is extremely high, comparable even to Archimmortals.” The three Earth Immortals quickly adjusted their mindsets.
…
High above the Bei You Mountain Range, Astral Monarch Gu Lai escorted Wu Yuan towards the Sovereign’s temple at a leisurely pace.
“Ming Jian, how were the materials I prepared for you previously?” Astral Monarch Gu Lai asked with a smile.
“They were excellent. Thank you, Senior Uncle,” Wu Yuan replied sincerely.
The materials Astral Monarch Gu Lai mentioned were the resources for upgrading Wu Yuan’s lifebound flying swords after his qi refiner self broke through to the Void Refiner phase.
At the Void Refiner phase, one could upgrade their lifebound flying swords to mid-grade spirion artifacts in one go, naturally requiring an enormous amount of materials.
For ordinary Void Refiner Eminences, if they didn’t have high demands for the quality of their lifebound flying swords, they wouldn’t require materials and metals that were too precious. Of course, the resulting power of the weapons would also be quite weak – most mid-grade spirion lifebound flying swords were inferior to high-grade spirion artifacts.
But Wu Yuan was different! All along, he had pursued the optimal path of evolution for his nine lifebound flying swords, always striving to forge the best possible foundation.
Therefore, during the hundreds of years he spent cultivating at the Immortal Belvedere, besides comprehending the Law of Space and practicing various arcane arts, he also collected various materials and metals to upgrade his lifebound flying swords.
To upgrade his nine lifebound flying swords from first-grade spirit equipment to low-grade spirion artifacts, Wu Yuan had purchased materials worth over a thousand divine crystals through Astral Monarch Gu Lai.
To upgrade them from low-grade spirion artifacts to mid-grade spirion artifacts, he had spent nearly twenty thousand divine crystals.
And this was already including the discounts through Astral Monarch Gu Lai’s connections. If Wu Yuan were to purchase them on his own, gathering the various materials would have taken more time and effort, and the prices would have been even higher.
These divine crystals were all deducted from the hundred thousand divine crystals that Immortal Sovereign Bei You had gifted Wu Yuan last time.
The cost was great, but the resulting power of the nine lifebound flying swords was also incredible. In Wu Yuan’s hands, their might approached that of celestial equipment. The gains were equal to the investment.
After acquiring these materials, Wu Yuan had only devoted a small portion of his efforts over these hundreds of years to upgrade all nine lifebound flying swords to their limits.
“Now that you’ve broken through to become an Earth Immortal, I suppose you’re planning to upgrade your lifebound flying swords to high-grade spirion artifacts or even low-grade celestial equipment?” Astral Monarch Gu Lai said with a chuckle.
“Senior Uncle, please don’t tease me,” Wu Yuan replied with a wry smile. “Others may not know me well, but surely you do.
To upgrade all my lifebound flying swords to high-grade spirion artifacts would cost hundreds of thousands of divine crystals. As for upgrading them to celestial equipment? I dare not even think about it,” Wu Yuan shook his head.
Hundreds of thousands of divine crystals were an enormous fortune. Even ordinary Archimmortals would struggle to produce such wealth if they exhausted all their resources. This was the price of walking the path of optimal evolution.
As for upgrading them further to low-grade celestial equipment? The leap from the spirion artifact level to celestial artifacts was a qualitative change. The cost was absurdly high – even an Astral Lord couldn’t afford it.
More crucially, some of the special materials and treasures required were difficult for even an Astral Lord to collect.
“Haha, take it slow,” Astral Monarch Gu Lai said with a hearty laugh. “When you’ve gathered enough divine crystals or equivalent treasures, just hand them over to me.”
He held this little junior nephew in high regard. After all, Wu Yuan was far too monstrous a prodigy.
This group of Astral Monarch-level senior brothers had all determined that once Wu Yuan matured, he would at least reach the late-stage Astral Monarch phase, with the potential to become a Sovereign. That was why he proactively took steps to build a good relationship.
However, he was still unclear about his master’s plans for training Wu Yuan, so he didn’t dare rashly gift Wu Yuan too many treasures, lest he incur his master’s wrath. Otherwise, these small favors would be insignificant to an Astral Monarch like himself.
Nevertheless, within the bounds of the rules, he would do his best to make things convenient for Wu Yuan.
“Thank you, Senior Uncle,” Wu Yuan said. He understood Astral Monarch Gu Lai’s intentions but had never thought of refusing.
Only through interaction could relationships and goodwill develop between people. If he were to act aloof, what good would his extraordinary talent do? The other Astral Monarchs of the Bei You lineage would likely distance themselves from him as well.
Besides, he was too poor. Wu Yuan naturally wouldn’t stand on ceremony if he could save some divine crystals.
“Junior Nephew, you’ve already cleared the twenty-eighth level of the Divine Stele Test. I imagine it won’t be difficult for you to clear the thirty-first level before leaving the Immortal Belvedere,” Astral Monarch Gu Lai said with a smile. “When that time comes, the Immortal Sovereign will likely prepare a grand gift for you.”
“The thirty-first level?” Wu Yuan shook his head with a rueful laugh. “Senior Uncle, please don’t joke around. It’s difficult! I can only try my best.”
The Divine Stele Test within the Qiankun Divine Stele consisted of forty levels in total. The thirty-first level was a benchmark, requiring one to fully comprehend a Lesser Law to pass.
However, one could only utilize insights into the Law of Space.
Wu Yuan had made good progress over these hundreds of years, not only crystallizing Spatial Rift True Intent but even deducing the complete Law of Space to the sixth-level Domain stage.
But to pass the thirty-first level? It wasn’t something he could accomplish in a short time.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Two streaks of light landed at the entrance of the temple. Astral Monarch Gu Lai smiled, “Go on in. The Immortal Sovereign is waiting for you. I won’t enter.”
“Mm.” Wu Yuan nodded.
He flew into the hall. The interior was still empty, no different from his previous visits. There was only a lone, seemingly eternally unchanging silhouette.
“Grandmaster,” Wu Yuan bowed respectfully.
“You’ve arrived? I see you didn’t delay at all, advancing to the Divided Soul phase as soon as you reached the minimum adaptation time for the evolution of life.” Immortal Sovereign Bei You smiled faintly. “You’re just like your master, both impatient personalities.”
Master? Wu Yuan’s heart stirred. Immortal Sovereign Bei You had to be referring to Master Dong Yang.
But several hundred years had passed since Master Dong Yang left the Greenridge Macrocosm, with no news.
“The task I gave you previously was to advance your comprehension of the Spatial Rift Dao to the True Intent stage within a thousand years,” Immortal Sovereign Bei You said. “Yet you’ve succeeded in just two or three hundred years, even crossing the threshold of the Law of Space.
Your aptitude for the Law of Space is very high, exceeding my expectations.”
Wu Yuan listened attentively.
Comprehending the Spatial Rift Dao? In truth, Wu Yuan’s qi refiner self had unconsciously been influenced, undergoing subtle changes.
Combined with his increasingly powerful soul, this allowed him to comprehend the Dao even faster.
Most crucially, after receiving Master Kua Chi’s approval, Wu Yuan’s qi refiner self would receive the Dao inheritance of the Law of Space once every decade.
For many reasons, Wu Yuan’s progress could be described as advancing a thousand li in a single day!
He had already gained deep insights into the Law of Space, though it still lagged far behind the Law of Life.
“Very well. Now that you’ve reached the Earth Immortal phase, I’ll fulfill my promise and begin the third stage of your training,” Immortal Sovereign Bei You gazed down at Wu Yuan, speaking slowly.
“Looking across the entire river of space and time, quite a few peerless geniuses can obtain this training opportunity. But within the Greenridge Macrocosm, only I can provide it.”
Wu Yuan nodded slightly.
Immortal Sovereign Bei You, the macrocosm’s only Sovereign of Space, naturally had his unique methods.
Whoosh! As he spoke, a stream of light flew from Immortal Sovereign Bei You’s palm. It then directly merged into Wu Yuan’s body, an invisible power instantly fusing into his soul.
“This?” Surprise flashed across Wu Yuan’s pupils.
He sensed a strange power hidden within his body, seemingly able to erupt at any moment with just a thought.
“I have activated the Dao Master Imprint, fusing it with your soul so others cannot strip it away,” Immortal Sovereign Bei You smiled. “With this mark’s aura, you now qualify to enter the Spacetime Dao Realm. And your status there will be extremely high.”
“Spacetime Dao Realm?” A hint of confusion flashed in Wu Yuan’s eyes.
What sort of place was that? He’d never heard of it!