Yuan’s Ascension

"It's a High Immortal, and a formidable one at that."

"She looks like the Thunder Knife Fairy, doesn’t she? Also an imprint bearer of the Spacetime Island." The black-robed elderly man and his companions instantly recognized her.

Zhuo Haiyue’s fame surpassed even Wu Yuan’s.

"She's already become a High Immortal?"

"She’s powerful enough to threaten us." The three powerhouses were all startled, and the two Archdeities instinctively began to back off.

"How strong can a High Immortal be? Her power was comparable to a third-stage Archimmortal previously. Even if she has broken through, barely any time has passed. She'd be on par with us at most," the black-robed elderly man barked, immediately issuing an order: "Go, hold her off. Wait for me to capture the Spacetime Sword Immortal."

"Alright."

"Let's go." Although the two Archdeities were initially shocked by Zhuo Haiyue's aura, they still steeled themselves and turned to attack her.

As the black-robed elderly man had said, how strong could a High Immortal who had cultivated for less than a thousand years be? At most, she'd be on par with them.

"Obstruct me? Today, you shall be fodder for my path," Zhuo Haiyue's eyes were hardened chips of ice.

Rumble! The countless small knives surrounding Zhuo Haiyue instantly combined to form two enormous throwing knives. They shot out, sweeping across millions of li.

Two times the speed of light! Three times the speed of light! Four times the speed of light!

As the two knife rays tore through heaven and earth, the expressions of the two Archdeities and the black-robed elder shifted, while Wu Yuan, still fleeing, was shocked.

With their knowledge and insight, they immediately understood the terrifying nature of the knife technique.

This is Thunder! Ultimate destruction. Wu Yuan’s pupils constricted in disbelief.

He was studying the ‘Nine Swords of Spacetime’ and was aware of the Law of Life his body-refiner self comprehended. But at this moment, both of those Greater Laws felt vastly inferior to the knife technique Zhuo Haiyue had just displayed—like they existed on completely different levels.

“This?”

"It’s over!" Both Archdeities were dumbfounded. These knife rays reminded them of rare monstrous prodigies they had encountered in the past – High Immortals and High Deities who had cultivated for only hundreds of thousands of years, yet with Dao comprehension rivaling Astral Monarchs.

However, the attacks of those prodigies seemed far weaker than the two knife rays before them.

The Archdeities couldn't even attempt to block the attack.

Boom! Boom! The lightning-infused knife rays seemed to tear heaven and earth apart, instantly sending the two Archdeities flying, overwhelmed.

Their vital auras rapidly diminished, and with a final explosion, the shorter, black-armored Archdeity’s body disintegrated completely by the sheer force of the attack.

Shock rippled through everyone present, Wu Yuan included, as they witnessed the devastating power Zhuo Haiyue had unleashed.

It was beyond outrageous. A High Immortal had not only sent two Archdeities with fourth or fifth-stage Archimmortal-level strength flying, but had even killed one. What kind of strength was this?

An Astral Lord! She wields the strength of an Astral Lord! The black-robed elder’s expression changed drastically. His extensive knowledge allowed him to assess the situation accurately. Second Brother and Third Brother are Archdeities; they might survive a few more strikes, but I’m just an Archimmortal—one hit and I’m dead.

Boom! The black-robed elder no longer spared a thought for Wu Yuan. His form flickered as he flew into the distance. The chains surrounding his body rapidly expanded into a battle array, resembling a giant serpent, to delay Zhuo Haiyue.

Slash! Slash! Slash! Under the vast sea of lightning, knife rays swept across the air, slaughtering the two Archdeities in an instant.

When the difference in strength was this vast, even the self-preservation abilities Archdeities were known for became meaningless.

One more, trying to escape? Zhuo Haiyue, controlling the lightning sea and her twin knives, pursued the black-robed elder with overwhelming force.

The metal serpent formed by the chains hissed and roared as it attacked Zhuo Haiyue, its power immense.

"Die!" Zhuo Haiyue pointed from afar, and the two thunder knives hovering around her dispersed into individual knives, quickly reforming into a new, even more powerful thunder knife.

It looked like a bolt of lightning streaking across the air. No! It was a knife ray formed from lightning itself!

Whoosh! It struck with terrifying speed, piercing the giant metal serpent and shattering it. It barely slowed, aiming straight for the black-robed elder a hundred million li away.

"No!" Terror flashed in the black-robed elder’s eyes. He tried to dodge, but the knife had locked onto him in a way that seemed inescapable.

Schlik! The thunder knife pierced his body, and the sixth-stage Archimmortal disintegrated instantly.

This? This strength? Wu Yuan watched everything unfold from a distance, shaken to his core. Slaying a sixth-stage Archimmortal in one strike? Annihilating two mighty Archdeities in mere moments?

A glimmer of joy flashed through his heart, having made a narrow escape from certain doom. Yet, a sense of absurdity overwhelmed him.

The silver-armored woman before him was not someone who had cultivated for hundreds of thousands of years; but someone who had cultivated for less than a thousand.

Years ago, when they first met, he was at the Golden Core phase, while she was at the Amethyst Cradle phase.

Later, he had encountered numerous fortuitous opportunities, rising rapidly in power and status. He considered himself someone who reached the benchmark of a Supreme Genius. Thus, when they crossed paths on the Spacetime Island and saw that her power matched his own, he was astonished.

Several centuries had passed since then.

Wu Yuan's progress was remarkably swift and his Dao comprehension approached that of an Astral Lord. Yet she could now slay a sixth-stage Archimmortal. She had only revealed a glimpse of her thunder knives’ power, yet Wu Yuan already found it unfathomable.

Without a doubt, Zhuo Haiyue's Dao comprehension had not just surpassed Wu Yuan's by a small margin, but left him far behind in the dust.

This disparity didn't fill Wu Yuan with despair. Instead, it evoked a sense of surrealism! Zhuo Haiyue's power increase had transcended Wu Yuan's understanding, unprecedented in any record or legend.

The place fell silent.

Whoosh! The lightning that had spread across tens of millions of li dissipated, and the thunder knives returned to her.

Zhuo Haiyue's vital aura receded, and she now appeared no different from an ordinary High Immortal.

"Li Xia," she turned to Wu Yuan.

Wu Yuan was taken aback.

"Oh? I nearly forgot. Here, I should address you as Ming Jian," Zhuo Haiyue shook her head slightly.

She took a step, swiftly appearing before Wu Yuan.

Something felt wrong as Wu Yuan gazed at Zhuo Haiyue. Her eyes held an alien frost, and she regarded him with unfamiliar detachment, as though they'd never met.

Moreover, forgot? How could a High Immortal, with their astounding memory, possibly forget? They shouldn't misremember such details even after ten thousand or a hundred thousand years.

Unless—her memories themselves had been interfered with.

Wu Yuan immediately sensed something amiss with Zhuo Haiyue, and a hint of wariness arose in his heart.

"Haiyue, thank you," Wu Yuan said.

"Your whereabouts have been exposed. The three who just died were merely mana bodies. They couldn't capture you, but they'll surely report your location. We should leave this place now," Zhuo Haiyue said flatly. "Come with me."

"Alright," Wu Yuan nodded.

Boom! A surge of lightning instantly enveloped Wu Yuan as Zhuo Haiyue carried him away. They transformed into a bolt of lightning, streaking into the distance at nearly twice the speed of light!

They charged forward recklessly. Icy gales? Zhuo Haiyue either avoided them with sheer speed or simply plowed through, disregarding most dangers.

Swiftly, Zhuo Haiyue and Wu Yuan rapidly left their original location far behind.

After flying for a long while, the two finally relaxed slightly and began to converse.

"Haiyue, how did you locate my whereabouts?" Wu Yuan asked curiously through telepathy.

He had never revealed his location.

"Karma! There are numerous karmic ties between us. I was already exploring the Snowlight Mist Realm, so I could sense them," Zhuo Haiyue said flatly.

"Karma?" Wu Yuan was startled, his mind churning with shock.

Indeed, karmic connections were formed between countless beings in the world through love, hate, emotions, grudges, bloodlines, and more.

Why could karmic attacks affect the true self through the mana body? Essentially, it was because the mana body and true self shared a karmic connection.

However, karma was a fundamental mystery in the workings of heaven and earth. Most Astral Lords couldn’t perceive it, let alone immortal cultivators.

That was unless one comprehended the Karma Dao.

The Karma Dao, as far as Wu Yuan knew, was formed by fusing aspects of the three Greater Laws of Time, Space, and Thunder.

It was extremely difficult to reach the threshold, no less challenging than comprehending the Space Dao.

"Crystallizing Karma True Intent allows one to sense their own karmic threads. Through these threads, one can perceive the existence of those with karmic ties to oneself at close range," Zhuo Haiyue voluntarily explained via telepathy.

"The stronger the karmic connection and the closer the distance, the clearer the perception.

Of course, even without comprehending Karma True Intent, if one's Dao comprehension in any single Dao reaches the Astral Monarch level, they can still attempt to cultivate karmic secret arts to sense karmic threads. That's how I did it.

The Law Thunder I comprehend is closely related to the Karma Dao, so cultivating karmic secret arts wasn't difficult for me," Zhuo Haiyue said nonchalantly.

Wu Yuan fell silent.

He had heard of karmic secret arts but never attempted to cultivate them. Typically, that was something only Astral Monarchs would consider.

According to Zhuo Haiyue's words, her mastery of the Law of Thunder had already reached the Astral Monarch level? The same level as Senior Brother Jiang Huan, Nie Zhen, and Mi Yun?

But she had been cultivating for less than a thousand years!

"Your talent... far surpasses mine," Wu Yuan sighed with genuine admiration.

He didn't feel discouraged or defeated. There were countless beings in the world; there would always be those with great fortunes and monstrous prodigies. He accepted this reality calmly.

For Wu Yuan, it was enough to surpass himself one step at a time, rather than constantly competing with others. Regarding Zhuo Haiyue, he only felt admiration and awe.

"No! In terms of talent, you surpass me ten or a hundred times over... If you had a choice, you probably wouldn't walk the path I'm on," Zhuo Haiyue said flatly.

Wu Yuan was stunned, confusion filling his heart.

"You'll understand in the future," Zhuo Haiyue looked at Wu Yuan beside her. "You're probably also curious about how I became a High Immortal so quickly."

Wu Yuan nodded involuntarily.

By his calculations, Zhuo Haiyue hadn't completed her eight-hundred-year cultivation consolidation period.

"Some things aren't a matter of choice for me; I have no option..." A fleeting expression of pain crossed Zhuo Haiyue's face, quickly replaced by her usual demeanor, her gaze growing increasingly cold. "I can't say more, and you shouldn't ask further."

Wu Yuan's heart tightened.

He vaguely sensed that Zhuo Haiyue must also harbor a great secret, one that allowed her to progress so rapidly, but also came with significant risks. However, Wu Yuan couldn't begin to guess what this secret might be. His perspective was, after all, limited.

"Ming Jian, you now have two options. First, you can pass the Black Devil Star to me. I've completed my spacetime mission and can return to the Spacetime Island at any time.

Second, I can protect you as we fight our way out of the Snowlight Mist Realm," Zhuo Haiyue suddenly said. "The choice is yours."