Yuan’s Ascension

Chapter 1210: Entering The Holy Sect, The Number One Genius (1)

The Seventh Realm, vast and boundless, was home to countless nations and ancient sects.

Powerhouses fought and killed for treasures, turned on each other for ultimate techniques, and persisted through long ages to protect their sect’s heritage. Countless tales of love and hatred unfolded.

Even for beings as mighty as Overlords, flying at hundreds of thousands of li per second, it would take centuries to traverse the entire world… And this was merely the continent, not counting the even more expansive four seas.

In the entirety of the Seventh Realm, there were over ten thousand publicly known kingdoms and thousands of Overlords, but eternal powerhouses were merely legends.

Following the memories of the Vermilion Devil Master, Wu Yuan departed from the borders of the former Yue Kingdom. He didn’t interact with other Overlords along the way, arriving at the Lan Xing Kingdom of the Seventh Realm after over a decade traveling.

The Lan Xing Kingdom was unremarkable among the many kingdoms of the Seventh Realm, and its ancestral head was just an ordinary Overlord.

Whoosh! Wu Yuan emerged from the distorted spacetime, gazing down at the undulating mountain ranges below.

At first glance, this mountain range appeared utterly ordinary. But with Wu Yuan’s perception, he easily saw through the illusory array on the surface, which was hiding a grotto-heaven at the center. He could make out faint outlines of sprawling hall complexes.

What a powerful array. Wu Yuan marveled inwardly. Even a Sovereign who stumbled in unwittingly would be subtly guided out of the mountains, completely unaware of anything unusual.

An array of this caliber could only have been laid by an eternal powerhouse. Ordinary Overlords simply lacked such ability.

This should be one of the three receiving envoys from the Second Realm located in the Seventh Realm. Wu Yuan pondered. The Vermilion Devil Master’s memories should be accurate.

How could ordinary Sovereigns imagine that such terrifying power lurked within this unremarkable mountain range?

In the spacetime of the Nine Realms, those born in worldlets who cultivated to become Archimmortals could then ‘shatter the void’ to enter the lower six realms. This was the ‘cultivating to immortality’ that countless mortals in worldlets dreamed of.

But to ascend from the lower six realms to the upper three realms? There were two main paths.

The first was to cultivate to become an eternal powerhouse. After which, one would be summoned by the hazy rules of heaven and earth to enter the upper three realms. However, upon entering, one would swiftly draw the attention of the six holy sects and be forced to submit.

The second method was to go through a receiving envoy and pass the corresponding trials, granting them passage to the upper three realms.

Each of the upper three realms was occupied by two holy sects, under which were numerous families of eternal powerhouses.

The six holy sects aren’t equal in power. Wu Yuan mused. In the Vermilion Devil Master’s memories, the most powerful are the Tian Luo Holy Sect of the First Realm and the Qian Yang Holy Sect of the Second Realm.

Moreover, these two holy sects are hostile to each other, having fought many great wars over the long ages.

The other four holy sects aligned with either the Tian Luo Holy Sect or the Qian Yang Holy Sect, forming two opposing factions within the Nine Realms.

This was the overall situation of the Nine Realms.

Perhaps the earliest six Holy Emperors of the Nine Realms were united. Wu Yuan reflected. But without external threats, they naturally fell into internal strife for greater authority.

Without external peril, internal troubles were bound to arise. This was human nature, which almost none could avoid.

So many years have passed, yet the Azure Saint Tomb still hasn’t given me any instructions. But these Nine Realms are truly marvelous, having produced so many eternal powerhouses. It must be hiding some secret. Wu Yuan pondered. It’s unrealistic to sweep through the six holy sects with force. So the only option is to consider joining them.

By joining one of the six holy sects and gradually rising through the ranks, he could learn more intelligence and hopefully come into contact with the core secrets of the Nine Realms.

However, a Sageling of the Tian Luo Holy Sect had died because of him. Though Wu Yuan was confident, he dared not say for certain that they wouldn’t uncover the truth.

Therefore, the best approach was to join the Qian Yang Holy Sect. This way, even if the Tian Luo Holy Sect eventually discovered the truth, they would be powerless to move against him.

Just a Sageling. Surely not enough to make a Saint appear in person. Wu Yuan smiled faintly.

While perusing the Vermilion Devil Master’s memories, he had learned something that utterly shocked him.

There was no samsara in the Nine Realms, but sempiternal lifeforms did have a lifespan limit—nine trillion years. Even Overlords could only live that long.

But this was enough to leave Wu Yuan dumbfounded, sparking many thoughts: Under the Primordial Rules, whether in the River of Universes, Saint Realms, Eternal Realms, or other megaverses, all are subject to the suffering of samsara. One samsara cycle of heaven and earth lasts about three trillion years.

Yet the sempiternal lifeforms of the Nine Realms did not undergo samsara, and their lifespans were roughly equivalent to three samsara cycles of heaven and earth.

There were only two possibilities.

First, these Nine Realms are outside the Nine Megaverses Spacetime, thus not constrained by the Primordial Rules. Wu Yuan reasoned.

Second, the essence of the Nine Realms possesses a power capable of resisting the Primordial Rules… a power source that can rival the Primordial Rules, or at least isn’t far behind.

Either scenario was mind-boggling to Wu Yuan.

This was his first encounter with a world completely independent of the Primordial Rules. The Azure Saint Tomb truly held great secrets.

Because of their long lifespans, many Overlords in the Nine Realms were exceptionally powerful. The Overlords born here were generally stronger, with far more reaching the third-stage and fourth-stage Overlord levels.

If Overlords in the Nine Megaverses Spacetime were given a few more samsara cycles of heaven and earth, I imagine there’d be a lot more third-stage and fourth-stage Overlords there too. Wu Yuan shook his head slightly.

Therefore, killing a single Sageling from the Tian Luo Holy Sect might provoke retaliation, but at most, it would draw a few Perennials. The likelihood of a Saint personally taking action was extremely low.

Whoosh! Wu Yuan advanced, easily breaking through the illusory barrier on the mountain’s surface and arriving before the sprawling hall complex.

The halls were majestic and imposing, exuding an air of antiquity and heritage.

Several puppets emanating powerful auras guarded the hall gates.

“Unknown Overlord, why have you intruded upon the receiving temple?” The stone lion puppet at the entrance suddenly asked.

“Halt.”

“Roar~” A chorus of beastly roars erupted, reverberating throughout the hall.

Hundreds of puppets charged out of the hall complex.

So many powerful puppets? Even Wu Yuan was inwardly astonished.

Puppets were extremely difficult to craft, far more so than artifacts. After all, artifacts were inanimate objects, while puppets possessed intelligence and could autonomously absorb spiritual qi. Other than their inability to cultivate, powerful puppets were almost indistinguishable from cultivators.

Sovereign-level puppets were highly valuable. As for Overlord-level puppets? Even True Saints struggled to create them, and their value was even more astronomical. After all, Overlord cultivators would eventually perish, but Overlord puppets could be preserved indefinitely, becoming a sect or family’s guardian weapon.

“I’ve come in hopes of joining the Qian Yang Holy Sect. I request an audience with the receiving envoy,” Wu Yuan called out loudly from outside the hall.

“Join the holy sect?”

“What arrogance.” The group of Overlord puppets in the distance all burst into laughter.

“Boy, what’s your name?” The stone lion puppet, seemingly the leader of the puppet group, asked in a low voice, “Where are you from?”

“I come from the Nine Shadows Territory. Through bitter cultivation, I became an Overlord. I’ve just learned of the six holy sects and heard that the Qian Yang Holy Sect is the number one holy sect of the Nine Realms, so I wish to join,” Wu Yuan replied directly. “My name is Wu Ji.”

He took the name Wu Ji from his self-created Dao, Limitless Chaos. [1] Though current intelligence suggested that the Nine Realms had no connection to the Nine Megaverses Spacetime, nothing was certain. Thus, he decided to use an alias.

“Overlord Wu Ji?”

“Never heard of him. Probably just broke through recently.”

“The Nine Shadows Territory is the most chaotic place. It isn’t surprising that records on that area are sparse.” The many Overlord puppets discussed among themselves.

They had lived through long ages and were extremely knowledgeable, surpassing most Overlords.

The Nine Shadows Territory was the most chaotic region of the Seventh Realm, with a size roughly equivalent to a thousand Yue Kingdoms. Countless powerhouses battled there, and special lifeforms constantly emerged from it. Even a force as large as a holy sect couldn’t gather complete intelligence on the entire Nine Shadows Territory.

This was why Wu Yuan chose to claim he was from the Nine Shadows Territory—to make it difficult for them to investigate him.

“Our Qian Yang Holy Sect is naturally the number one sect of the Nine Realms.” The stone lion puppet raised its head and said in a low voice, “However, the holy sect doesn’t just accept anyone.

“First, we must test your potential. How long have you been cultivating, and what Great Dao do you comprehend?” the stone lion puppet asked.

“I’ve cultivated for nearly 300 million years and comprehend the Great Dao of Creation,” Wu Yuan answered ‘very honestly’.

“300 million years? To become an Overlord?”

“That’s quite fast. A rare genius indeed.”

“So he’s that young. No wonder we hadn’t heard of him in our intelligence reports.” The group of Overlord puppets now looked at Wu Yuan with renewed interest.

“300 million years?” Even the stone lion puppet was slightly shocked.

Wu Yuan remained calm inwardly. In the Nine Realms, it was easy to cultivate to the Archimmortal or Archdeity phase. It was easier to become a Sovereign here than in the River of Universes.

But the further one progressed, the harder it became. Becoming an Overlord in 300 million years of cultivation? Though not the absolute top genius of the Nine Realms, it certainly qualified as the cream of the crop.

This was part of Wu Yuan’s carefully considered plan. He would reveal some talent and strength when joining the Qian Yang Holy Sect, so he could more quickly access the secrets of this world.

1. Limitless = Wu Ji ☜