Yuan’s Ascension

"So what if that's the case?" A frosty woman retorted coldly, "As per the Huo Cang Army’s rules, if the Commander falls, we all face severe punishment. Even if we are in danger, we have to risk our lives to protect him."

"Enough of this squabbling. The higher-ups must have their reasons. Maybe he's a powerful cultivator?" Another bald youth shook his head, "We are all captains here. Keep up military morale. Once we enter the Eldritch-Immortal Battlefield, we'll still need to rely on coordination arrays to fight."

"Powerful?" The first man to voice his discontent scoffed, "The well-known Amethyst Cradle and Shambhala powerhouses are limited in number. Could this guy be stronger than our big brother? You believe that?"

Suddenly, a cold voice rang out, "Silence! The Earth Deity has arrived."

The hundreds of Amethyst Cradle and Shambhala cultivators looked up.

Everyone quickly fell into line, and the six captains dispersed immediately.

Swoosh! Swoosh! The black-armored Earth Deity descended rapidly with Wu Yuan by his side, standing before the three hundred Amethyst Cradle and Shambhala cultivators.

"Attention, everyone." The black-armored Earth Deity's voice was frosty as his gaze swept over the reserve soldiers, "This man beside me is your new Commander, Ming Jian!"

"Greetings, Commander." The three hundred Amethyst Cradle/Shambhala cultivators bowed in unison.

"Remember, if the Commander dies, you will be deemed to have failed the assignment and will face third-degree punishment," the Earth Immortal’s voice boomed. "Understood?"

"Yes." Hundreds of Amethyst Cradle soldiers stifled their feelings of injustice, not daring to express the slightest dissatisfaction.

This was the Huo Cang Army! The weak were just sacrificial pawns for the strong.

"Huo Cang Reserve Army Commander?" Wu Yuan's gaze swept over the hundreds of Amethyst Cradle/Shambhala cultivators.

"Draw your sword." The black-armored deity looked at Wu Yuan, his voice echoing in his mind, "According to the orders from above, you are to lead this team onto the Eldritch-Immortal Battlefield.

"They will follow your orders under martial law. You just need to command the army and kill any enemies. If you encounter insurmountable danger, act as you see fit."

Wu Yuan, as astute as he was, understood instantly. Leading a team of the Huo Cang Army was not just to conceal his identity, but to provide himself with hundreds of cannon fodder.

Act as you see fit? In other words, if it came down to a life or death situation, let these soldiers take the fall, and he would take the opportunity to escape.

"Six captains, step forward." The black-armored soldier barked coldly, "Inform your commander of your names."

"Pei He, reporting to the commander." The silver-armored, handsome young man bowed slightly, his face calm.

"Zhang Shan…" The burly man's salute was casual, his dissatisfaction evident.

"Bing Roushui…" The icy woman's voice was emotionless.

"Lie Shier…" The bald youth showed a slight smile, his salute the most respectful.

The six captains saluted one after another. From their attitudes, Wu Yuan had already gleaned a good deal of information.

These six team leaders seemed to harbor some dissatisfaction towards him. Likewise, the hundreds of Amethyst Cradle/Shambhala cultivators also appeared somewhat disgruntled.

However, Wu Yuan couldn't care less. He wasn’t considering going solo at this point.

After all, despite the inconvenience of working together with hundreds of Amethyst Cradle cultivators, their combined strength meant greater safety.

No matter how confident I am, safety comes first in the Eldritch-Immortal Battlefield. Wu Yuan thought to himself.

When it came to the Eldritch-Immortal Battlefield, he dared not be careless. It might be an entry-level battlefield, but for an Amethyst Cradle cultivator, it was akin to entering a dragon's den or a tiger's lair.

"Alright, Ming Jian." The black-armored Earth Deity said in a low voice, "Lead the team through the teleportation array directly to Eldritch-Immortal Battlefield 36."

"I have already inputted the coordinates into the teleportation array."

"Mmm, understood," Wu Yuan nodded, his gaze sweeping over the six captains. "The six of you, lead your teams and follow me."

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Following their team captains, hundreds of Amethyst Cradle/Shambhala cultivators entered the enormous teleportation array one after another.

Whoosh! A pillar of light rose to the sky, and the 301 Amethyst Cradle/Shambhala cultivators within the teleportation array vanished without a trace.

…

In a desolate space, hundreds of Amethyst Cradle/Shambhala cultivators gathered, surrounded by dim starlight. It seemed as though they were still standing in the same spot.

After some time.

"Captain, how long will this teleportation transfer take?" an Amethyst Cradle soldier asked. "The Earth Immortal mentioned that it will take some time, but it feels like we're not moving at all."

The other Amethyst Cradle cultivators started to feel uneasy. Yet they dared not make any rash moves.

"It should take several more hours, I guess." The silver-armored young man named Pei He replied with a hint of uncertainty.

"We are currently in the Vacuum Spatial Layer." A faint voice chimed in, "The Huo Cang Immortal Continent is nearly three billion light years from the entrance of Eldritch-Immortal Battlefield 36 located in the Blood Eldritch Immortal Continent."

"It'll probably take around a day and a half to teleport there."

The Amethyst Cradle/Shambhala cultivators all stared at Wu Yuan, who was sitting in lotus position at the front of the group, gazing into the pitch-black void ahead.

There was a moment of silence.

"Commander, what is the Vacuum Spatial Layer?" The bald youth named Lie Shier asked curiously.

"Space has multiple layers. We live in the Material Spatial Layer..." Wu Yuan began with a smile.

Swiftly, he recounted what Astral Monarch Hou Qu had once told him, along with some of his own understanding, to the hundreds of soldiers.

All the soldiers listened in astonishment. Most had never left their military garrison. How could they comprehend the vastness of the macrocosm, let alone the different layers of space?

Pei He, Lie Shier, Zhang Shan, Bing Roushui, and the other captains exchanged glances, and silently reached a consensus - to temporarily obey.

This commander called Ming Jian seemed to have some real skills. At the very least, his knowledge and perspective greatly surpassed theirs.

…

Unfazed by the many thoughts of these captains and ordinary soldiers, a hint of excitement stirred deep within Wu Yuan's eyes.

I finally understand. It's Space, it's the cryptic patterns of Space. Wu Yuan recalled the scene just a moment ago, when the fluctuations of the teleportation array carried them, passing through the Fragmentary Spatial Layer and Turbulent Spatial Layer in an instant.

He only caught a fleeting sight of those chaotic spatial fragments. Yet he could feel the similarities between them and the faint Dao fluctuations from the cryptic patterns on the silver sphere.

Wu Yuan was immediately certain – they were cryptic patterns of Space.

Space was far more mysterious than the seven common Laws of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, and Thunder. Space was everywhere, yet it was the hardest to comprehend! Its power was also astonishing.

The Vacuum Spatial Layer is an extremely high spatial dimension. I can't sense a single ripple of spatial fluctuation. Wu Yuan thought to himself.

He gently closed his eyes, continuing to contemplate the Longevity Dao.

…

Celestial Body, Longevity, Space. In the distant Fifth Origin Eldritch Field, Wu Yuan's body refiner self was still fully engrossed in contemplation. Sadly, his progress was frustratingly slow.

I can understand a very small part of the Celestial Body Dao. I can comprehend just a hint of the Longevity Dao. The Space Dao? As cryptic as a heavenly scripture. Wu Yuan sighed inwardly, the layers of cryptic patterns were simply too profound.

He was at his wit's end.

Normally, Amethyst Cradle/Shambhala cultivators could perhaps apply some principles from the laws of heaven and earth. But comprehending it remained utterly unrealistic.

Forget it, at least I can confirm that these cryptic patterns are related to the profundities of Space.

I still have three hundred years left. Ninety percent of my focus will be dedicated to studying the Celestial Body Dao, and the remaining ten percent will continue to trace these cryptic patterns. Wu Yuan swiftly made a decision.

The Celestial Body Dao was his foundation. As Master Kua Chi once said, even if he couldn't understand the profundities of the silver sphere, as long as he could comprehend the Celestial Body Dao, he could still become an Astral Monarch. This path was just as viable.

Moreover, if I can comprehend the Celestial Body Dao and the Longevity Dao to an extremely high level, I will also be able to understand larger sections of cryptic patterns on the silver orb. Wu Yuan thought to himself.

If it were that easy to comprehend, his master wouldn’t have given him three hundred years.

Wu Yuan didn't aim to reach the heavens in a single stride.

…

The fifty-four Eldritch-Immortal Battlefields were all located at the spacetime boundary between the Cang Feng Eldritch World and the Voltari Temple.

And Battlefield 36, in terms of fighting intensity, was second to none among the many entry-level battlefields.

That was because this battlefield was located in the Blood Eldritch Immortal Continent where a special treasure known as Fire Ethercrystal was produced. It possessed many mystical qualities.

In a bid to harvest Fire Ethercrystal, the two major factions dispatched large numbers of Amethyst Cradle/Shambhala cultivators to this battlefield, making the fighting all the more ruthless.

At opposite ends of the battlefield were the main camps of the two opposing major factions. The one set up by the Cang Feng Eldritch World was called the Blood Eldritch Temple.

The temple was vast, housing a large number of super powerhouses and nearly ten thousand teleportation arrays. It was designed for easy transportation from countless immortal continents and eldritch continents, immortal nations, and eldritch divine nations throughout the macrocosm.

One of the teleportation arrays flashed with light.

Over three hundred figures flew out from the teleportation array, uniformly armored. With their powerful aura, the expressions of the other immortal cultivators on the plaza shifted, and they retreated in a hurry.

"It's an army."

"They must all be sixth-stage Amethyst Cradle cultivators at least. Where did this army come from? It must be dispatched from some major faction, right?"

"It's not from an eldritch divine nation." The immortal cultivators passing by all looked over, but none dared to come too close.

With hundreds of late-stage and mid-stage Amethyst Cradle/Shambhala cultivators gathered, it was naturally a great show of strength. After all, cultivators had to be at the Amethyst Cradle phase when they first entered the entry-level battlefield.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Two figures flew across the square, landing in front of Wu Yuan and his team, their auras considerably powerful.

"I presume you're the reserve soldiers of the Huo Cang Army. Which one of you is the commander?" The man in white robes at the front gently smiled.

His aura was mighty, a Void Refiner cultivator.

"I am." Wu Yuan responded.

"Good, your application to join the battlefield has already been approved. Please follow us. After a day's rest, we'll brief you on the battlefield conditions and you'll be teleported to a war base on the immortal continent." The man in white robes smiled.

"Alright." Wu Yuan and the others nodded in agreement.

Flanked by two white-robed Void Refiner Eminences, Wu Yuan led the Huo Cang soldiers, soaring towards the other end of the plaza.

…

On one side of the plaza was a tall tower. Standing in the main hall, one could survey the scene in the plaza below.

"I told you, this ethercrystal vein has just been discovered," a black-robed youth asserted. "I need to enlist a team to assist me."

"An Shu, with your authority, you may only command a team of six hundred," the middle-aged man in white at the end of the hall frowned. "Your team has already been decimated thanks to your actions.

"If you want help, either ask other members of the Origin Eldritch Field for assistance, or invite a foreign military team! Either way, this is beyond my authority."