Yuan’s Ascension

"Oh? The Spacetime Sword Immortal?"

"Big Brother?" The two black-armored men, one tall and one short, turned to the elderly man in black, their faces etched with surprise.

Was their luck really this good?

"There's no mistake. The Hundred Gales Domain is fraught with danger. Under normal circumstances, only Archimmortals would be willing to venture into this area," the elderly man in black with sharp horns growing from his head said softly.

"A lone Earth Immortal, moving at near-light speed, brave enough to roam through this place. Who else could it be, if not the Spacetime Sword Immortal?" the elderly man in black chuckled.

The eyes of the two black-armored men lit up.

"At this moment, we're certainly not the only group lying in wait for the Spacetime Sword Immortal within the Hundred Gales Domain," the elderly man in black said with a smile. "But encountering him is a matter of providence and opportunity.

Follow me," the elderly man in black rose to his feet.

"Yes." Following the instructions from the elderly man in black, the three quickly transformed into streaks of light, swiftly rushing off in different directions.

However, the Hundred Gales Domain was a strange and unpredictable place, the space within twisted and distorted. Thus, whether by the naked eye, soul perception, or even spatial awareness, their range of detection remained limited.

They were only able to detect him by setting up arrays in advance.

…

Whoosh! Wu Yuan moved through the void at high speed, cautiously probing the path forward, fearful that an icy gale might suddenly appear from somewhere.

Hmm? Wu Yuan's spatial awareness was extremely keen. Even limited by the environmental constraints, he still sensed a black-armored figure several million li behind him. It was furiously charging towards him.

An Archdeity?

Such speed, and vigorous vital aura. His strength is likely comparable to a fourth-stage Archimmortal. Wu Yuan felt uneasy.

After completing their Seventh Immortal Tribulation, if qi refiners chose to forge their immortal body, they were called Archimmortals.

After completing their Seventh Immortal Tribulation, if body refiners chose to forge their deity body, they were called Archdeities or Archeldritches.

Regardless of the title, Archimmortal-level beings were all divided into nine stages.

Once they completed their Ninth Immortal Tribulation, from the seventh to ninth-stage, they were uniformly addressed as Astral Lords.

Beyond the ninth-stage, they were uniformly addressed as Astral Monarchs.

Above Astral Monarchs are the Sovereigns.

However, Archimmortals were more adept at long-range attacks, arrays, soul attacks, detection and perception, and so on; while Archdeities and Archeldritches were more skilled in close combat and had stronger vitality.

Also, because qi refining was the mainstream cultivation system, cultivators often used Archimmortal stages to roughly gauge battle strength.

Among the different methods, there were those that specialized in countering attacks, and defeating stronger opponents.

But no matter what, with Wu Yuan's current strength, trying to kill such a powerful Archdeity would be nothing short of a fool's dream.

So, Wu Yuan immediately chose – to flee!

Boom! Wu Yuan, who had been moving somewhat slowly before, instantly accelerated to light speed, fleeing into the distance.

The Spacetime Sword Immortal, it must be him. All traces of doubt vanished from the short, black-armored man’s mind. His gaze locked onto Wu Yuan.

Whoosh! The black-armored man swiftly pursued Wu Yuan, faint clouds appearing beneath his feet as he also accelerated to light speed.

The two, one chasing and one fleeing, crossed a distance of several million li in an instant.

"Spacetime Sword Immortal, stop running," the black-armored Archdeity transmitted through his immortal consciousness. "If you stop, we won't kill you. After we complete the transaction with the Astral Monarch, you can still obtain a large quantity of divine crystals."

"Only a fool would believe you," Wu Yuan sneered in response.

The fact that they recognized him at a glance made it even more imperative for him to escape.

Boom! Boom! In this region, one had to travel along numerous winding, barely discernible spatial corridors. Otherwise, it would trigger the formation of icy gales.

Wu Yuan's mastery over spacetime surpassed his pursuer, thus his instantaneous burst speed was much higher. The distance between them grew larger over time.

Boom! A million li ahead of Wu Yuan, an incomparably terrifying aura suddenly erupted.

Wu Yuan had failed to detect the ambusher lurking there.

A terrifying giant palm instantly swept across hundreds of thousands of li, smashing fiercely toward Wu Yuan. It resembled the collapse of the sky!

The attack caused Wu Yuan’s heart to jolt instinctively. Another Archdeity?

If this palm landed a solid hit, it could even annihilate a third-stage Archimmortal.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Wu Yuan immediately employed the ‘Moonlight Shadow’ technique, his figure splitting into nine, transforming into nine lifelike phantoms fleeing in different directions. This was a technique of interweaving spacetime, all real yet all illusory.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The giant palm swept through heaven and earth, its five fingers like five massive celestial pillars, directly smashing two lifelike phantoms.

Like bubbles, they burst at a touch!

The remaining seven lifelike phantoms, now separated by large distances, continued to flee frantically, attempting to break free and escape.

"What an impressive spatial phantom technique.” Accompanied by a thunderous boom, the pair of massive hands withdrew, and then fiercely struck four of the phantoms. Each palm strike was terrifyingly powerful.

This Archdeity's strength was definitely above the fourth-stage Archimmortal level, possibly even approaching the level of an Astral Lord. Fighting him head-on was impossible!

Time. The vital aura of all seven Wu Yuans began to change, their bodies turning dreamlike and hazy. Their speed immediately soared.

Despite Wu Yuan's desperate efforts to escape, unleashing the time domain to its fullest extent, the pair of massive palms shattered the domain in a single strike.

Boom! Faced with overwhelming power, Wu Yuan’s time domain collapsed. It was not invincible— the larger the area it affected and the stronger the opponents it tried to influence, the greater the strain.

Puff! Puff! Four lifelike phantoms were instantly destroyed.

The other three lifelike phantoms could no longer be sustained, suddenly converging into a single figure in the void. Wu Yuan's face had turned extremely pale. But in the end, he escaped from this Archdeity's pursuit range.

At this time, the short, black-armored Archdeity who had been chasing him from the beginning transformed into a streak of light in pursuit, but was once again quickly shaken off by Wu Yuan.

Three paths. It seems I can only take this one. Wu Yuan scanned the paths ahead with his Soul Will. Of the three, two were fraught with danger. Only one seemed to offer safe passage.

Hmph! A resolute gleam flashed in Wu Yuan's eyes, but instead of taking the seemingly clear path, he abruptly shifted course. Without hesitation, he sped onto a perilous path, accelerating to light speed. The air was thick with danger.

Whoosh! Just one second later, a terrifying icy gale spanning tens of thousands of li suddenly appeared in that seemingly calm space. The wind was like a knife, slicing through the air.

But Wu Yuan was prepared for it. Blocking it without much effort, he continued to flee, though his speed drastically slowed under the influence of the icy gale.

"What?"

"He discovered it?" The expressions of the two Archdeities shifted from confidence to surprise.

By now, it was too late to stop Wu Yuan. They could only grit their teeth and continue the pursuit.

Boom! Along that calm and quiet path, a black-robed figure suddenly appeared, emanating green light that shattered the stillness. His aura was vast and powerful, seemingly even stronger than the two Archdeities. He had been lying in ambush on that ‘safe path’ all along.

He sped towards Wu Yuan.

"Spacetime Sword Immortal, stop," the black-robed elderly man's voice was deep, echoing through the air.

Sure enough, there was an ambush. Wu Yuan's gaze turned cold, but inwardly his heart sank.

Two Archdeities and one Archimmortal had almost driven him to a dead end. Could he escape through the numerous blockades?

Clank! Massive chains appeared and began swirling around the black-robed elderly man, winding through the air across millions of li like giant serpents. They quickly enveloped Wu Yuan.

As expected, Archimmortals excel at long-range attacks and binding techniques. Wu Yuan thought to himself.

In a direct confrontation, Archdeities were stronger. But when it came to various auxiliary techniques, Archdeities couldn't hold a candle to Archimmortals.

Gritting his teeth, Wu Yuan once again employed the Moonlight Shadow technique, narrowly avoiding the black-robed elderly man's attempt to capture him.

"Haha, Spacetime Sword Immortal, if we were in another region, I wouldn't be able to catch you. But you've entered the icy gale zone, and can't utilize your advantages here," the black-robed elderly man moved with incredible speed, his chains able to withstand some of the weaker icy gales.

"Give up! The Black Devil Star is an ultimate treasure, you can't hold onto it," the black-robed elder shouted, unleashing another wave of attacks. The chain artifact hurtled towards Wu Yuan, aiming to ensnare him completely.

Whoosh! Whoosh! The two Archdeities also approached from different directions, pushing their speeds to the limit.

Am I destined to perish here? No! There's always a way, there’s always a glimmer of hope. Wu Yuan clenched his teeth, desperately avoiding this attack once more, though five of his nine lifelike phantoms were shattered in the process.

With his soul scanning possible routes, he frantically dove into an even more dangerous area, while his mind raced to find a way to escape.

The more dangerous the area, the more frequently icy gales emerged, each one growing more fearsome in power.

"You may break free once, but not twice," the black-robed elderly man smiled, strolling through the air as if taking a leisurely walk.

He could already envision himself exchanging the Black Devil Star for immense wealth.

At that moment, a thunderous shout echoed through heaven and earth, "Stop!"

The next instant, lightning flashed across millions of li, and the entire world looked like it had been transformed into a sea of lightning. Wu Yuan, the black-robed elderly man, and the two black-armored Archdeities looked over in astonishment.

Boom! A silver-armored figure appeared, flying over from a distance at nearly twice the speed of light.

Countless throwing knives surrounded her body, their surfaces crackling with lightning.

Haiyue? Wu Yuan's pupils constricted, his heart filled with shock. A High Immortal? How did she cultivate to become a High Immortal?

Based on the timeline, if she wanted to ensure a flawless foundation, she should only break through to High Immortal after another few hundred years, right?

Indeed! The one rapidly closing the distance was none other than Zhuo Haiyue, but at this moment, her aura was terrifyingly powerful.

At first glance, she appeared to be merely a High Immortal. But upon closer inspection, Wu Yuan felt that Zhuo Haiyue's vital aura seemed even more terrifying than many Archimmortals.

What was going on?