Yuan’s Ascension

"Junior Nephew Ming Jian, are you there?" A voice suddenly called from outside the courtyard, its tone quite gentle.

Hmm? Wu Yuan opened his eyes.

In a flash, he left the meditation chamber and appeared outside.

"Senior Uncle Gu Lai," Wu Yuan bowed respectfully.

"Haha," the plump Astral Monarch Gu Lai laughed, his eyes crinkling into merry crescents. "Junior Nephew Ming Jian, you're truly remarkable. Congratulations on clearing level one hundred of the one-star tower, setting a record in our Eternal Sun Immortal World."

"Thank you, Senior Uncle," Wu Yuan smiled slightly.

"I'm here not only to congratulate you but also to take you to meet the Immortal Sovereign," said Astral Monarch Gu Lai.

"Grandmaster?" Wu Yuan was slightly surprised.

"Yes, you've comprehended the True Intent of an Intermediate Law. The Immortal Sovereign has learned of this, so he specifically ordered me to come and fetch you," Astral Monarch Gu Lai clicked his tongue in admiration. "Junior Nephew, to be summoned by the Immortal Sovereign repeatedly in such a short time is something that even we older disciples can rarely experience."

There was something he didn't say aloud: in terms of progress rate, few of Immortal Sovereign Bei You's numerous disciples could match his own.

"Let's go," Astral Monarch Gu Lai waved his hand, swiftly leading Wu Yuan away from the Immortal Belvedere.

They advanced quickly through the mountain range, soon arriving before the temple.

"Go in," said Astral Monarch Gu Lai. "The Immortal Sovereign hasn't summoned me, so I won't enter."

Wu Yuan nodded.

He flew swiftly into the temple.

"Ming Jian pays his respects to Grandmaster," Wu Yuan bowed respectfully. The figure at the far end of the temple remained unchanged, seemingly embodying the descent of all of heaven and earth, existing eternally.

Eldritch Sovereign Kua Chi and Immortal Sovereign Bei You were both Sovereigns, yet the mastery of different Greater Laws imbued them with starkly different auras.

"Ming Jian, I hear you have cleared level one hundred of the one-star tower. Excellent, your rate of progress is faster than I had imagined," Immortal Sovereign Bei You leaned forward as he looked down at Wu Yuan below, smiling. "However, you were able to clear it because you stepped through the threshold of the Law of Life, am I right?"

Wu Yuan was secretly shocked.

During his battles in the Seven Star Luminaries Tower world, he hadn't revealed any profundities related to the Law of Life, yet it had still been seen through. A Sovereign was indeed someone not to be underestimated.

"Grandmaster's insight is profound." Wu Yuan spoke with utmost respect, choosing his words carefully: "This disciple has made extremely rapid progress in the True Domain Dao and Qiankun Dao, but in terms of the Law of Spatial Rift, progress has indeed been pitifully slow."

Wu Yuan was concerned that Immortal Sovereign Bei You might grow displeased because of this.

"It's of no consequence. I've said before that whether it's the Law of Space or the Law of Life, the choice is yours. I won't be angered by this," said Immortal Sovereign Bei You.

"I've summoned you because you've met my requirement for the first stage of your cultivation training plan. I gave you a hundred years to comprehend the True Intent of an Intermediate Law of Space, but you only took twenty-three years. Very good."

Wu Yuan's qi refiner self listened attentively.

A hundred years? If not for the special changes taking place in his body refiner self in the Immutable Land, it might have taken him several more decades to comprehend the True Intent of True Domain.

"As a reward for completing your goal ahead of schedule, I will grant you ten thousand divine crystals.

I have two requirements for the second stage. First, clear level one hundred of both the two-star tower and the three-star tower. Their difficulty is lower than that of the one-star tower," said Immortal Sovereign Bei You.

Wu Yuan nodded in agreement.

That was right. According to the intelligence he had gathered, within the Seven Star Luminaries Tower world, level one hundred of the seven-star tower was the most difficult, as it required full comprehension of a Greater Law, making it terrifyingly challenging.

Next in difficulty was level one hundred of the one-star tower. Because the age limit of a hundred years was too short, it would normally be impossible to achieve.

Following that was level one hundred of the six-star tower, five-star tower, four-star tower, and so on.

Conversely, if one’s cultivation progress was fast enough to clear level one hundred of the one-star tower, it was almost a given that they could clear level one hundred of the two-star and three-star towers simply by continuing to cultivate methodically.

"The second requirement is to deduce all three Intermediate Laws of the Space Dao to the True Intent stage within a thousand years," Immortal Sovereign Bei You said, looking at Wu Yuan.

Wu Yuan's expression changed slightly.

The first requirement wasn't difficult for him, but the second one? That was entirely different!

Of the three Intermediate Laws of Space, the other two Laws were fine, but to deduce the Spatial Rift Dao to the True Intent stage? It was difficult!

It was worth noting that Wu Yuan had only just comprehended it to the first-level Domain stage. With slow comprehension speed, coupled with a lack of interest and motivation, the time and effort required increased dozens of times over, definitely a case of diminishing returns.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Wu Yuan understood that Immortal Sovereign Bei You likely hadn't given up on the idea of having him comprehend the complete Law of Space.

"Ming Jian, I won't make things difficult for you," said Immortal Sovereign Bei You. "If you fulfill the first requirement, I will grant you a million divine crystals."

Wu Yuan listened attentively.

A million divine crystals? Such wealth was comparable to that of an ordinary Archimmortal. However, when clearing level one hundred of the three-star tower, he would be at the peak of the Void Refiner phase at least. He might even have become an Earth Immortal by then.

"If you haven't completed the second requirement, then after your cultivation period at the Immortal Belvedere has ended, you may leave the Bei You Realm and roam freely, just like the other third-generation disciples," said Immortal Sovereign Bei You.

"However, if you can complete both requirements, then you may proceed to the third stage of your training plan." Immortal Sovereign Bei You continued: "Among my numerous disciples, those who can proceed to the third stage are few and far between. This is also the greatest opportunity I have prepared for you.

The path is laid out for you; the choice is yours. Whether you can walk it successfully depends on your own efforts.

You may return now," Immortal Sovereign Bei You didn't ask Wu Yuan to make his decision immediately, directly issuing a dismissal.

"Yes, Grandmaster," Wu Yuan bowed respectfully and slowly retreated.

…

Wu Yuan's qi refiner self returned to his residence at the Immortal Belvedere.

The two requirements for the second stage? A thousand years to comprehend Spatial Rift, True Domain, and Qiankun, all to the True Intent stage? Wu Yuan sat cross-legged on the jade platform, pondering over the earlier conversation.

Though he didn't understand what the greatest opportunity mentioned by Immortal Sovereign Bei You was, the fact that an Immortal Sovereign valued it so highly meant it must be extraordinarily remarkable.

Master Kua Chi wants to raise another Sovereign of Life. Wu Yuan thought to himself. Grandmaster Bei You likely also wants to nurture another Sovereign of Space... but should I walk both paths simultaneously?

Immortal Sovereign Bei You's intentions were clear as day, believing Wu Yuan had extremely high aptitude for Space and wanting to guide himself onto the path of the Law of Space.

The decision, however, lay in Wu Yuan's hands.

To say that Wu Yuan entertained no thoughts on the matter would certainly be false. In some ways, a Sovereign of Space was even rarer, nobler, and more powerful than a Sovereign of Life.

But after just a moment, Wu Yuan calmed down.

No, that's not right! My heart actually wavered? As expected of a Sovereign, with just a few simple words, he unknowingly influenced my choice. Wu Yuan shook his head slightly, then his eyes regained their determination.

Biting off more than one can chew leads to nothing. It's only with both of my true selves collaborating and striving together that I have a slight hope of mastering the Law of Life, and it's also the path most suited to me.

Though the Law of Space is excellent, it doesn't align with my heart, at least for now.

If I were to cultivate both Daos? I fear that in the end, I wouldn't succeed in either. Wu Yuan's qi refiner self had already thought it through clearly, and his Dao Heart grew increasingly pure.

Constant reflection was the way to making one's inner heart stronger, purer, and more unshakeable.

However, I shouldn’t give up on those million divine crystals. Wu Yuan thought to himself. Next, I'll focus on comprehending the Qiankun Dao to the True Intent stage.

Although he didn't intend to comprehend the Law of Space, Wu Yuan was still unwilling to give up on the Qiankun Dao, which would greatly improve self-preservation.

As for the rest, I’ll think about it when my body refiner self returns from the Immutable Land. Wu Yuan's qi refiner self gently closed his eyes. I wonder what exactly my body refiner self is experiencing?

…

Wu Yuan's body refiner self was unaware of everything his qi refiner self had experienced.

In the mysterious Huanggu, Wu Yuan's body refiner self was fully focused on cultivating within the Archeldritch Hall.

In the blink of an eye, another four years passed. A full ten years had elapsed. Unknowingly, Wu Yuan was one hundred years old.

Has it been ten years already? Wu Yuan slowly opened his eyes, sensing the rapid decline in the Archeldritch Origin's potency.

At the same time, the unique enhancement effects of the Eldritch Chamber, which boosted his comprehension, were also fading quickly.