Yuan’s Ascension

On the wind-swept surface of a desolate planet, two battleships hovered above a massive crater.

"The remaining Amethyst Cradle cultivators and their puppets have been completely annihilated," Gong Shujie reported with a satisfied smile.

"They excavated nearly two-thirds of the mine. Only one-third remains, but we've seized all the Fire Ethercrystals they mined. They basically did all the hard work for us," An Shu added with a grin.

He turned to Wu Yuan, his expression sincere. "Daoist Ming Jian, we owe you for this. Without your help, we wouldn't have survived, let alone won this battle."

"Indeed," Gong Shujie nodded in agreement.

"It was our combined efforts that led to victory," Wu Yuan replied, his smile calm and assured.

"Gong Shu, how many more days until the mine is fully excavated?" An Shu inquired.

"Four days," Gong Shujie responded. "My puppets are working around the clock."

Wu Yuan and the others listened as Gong Shujie explained.

Why bring a puppet master? The ore-rich planets had extremely unusual structures. They were incredibly sturdy, with high surface gravity. Even the full-force strike of a ninth-stage Amethyst Cradle powerhouse would only create a large crater.

Excavating the ore manually would have been an arduous and time-consuming task. But Gong Shujie’s humanoid puppets, though not particularly strong in combat, excelled at mining.

"The total value of the Fire Ethercrystals mined from this vein, if sold to the Blood Eldritch Temple, is around thirteen billion catties of ethercrystal," Gong Shujie continued.

Thirteen billion catties of ethercrystal! The mere mention of such an immense fortune made Pei He, Lie Shier, and the other captains’ hearts race. It was a sum vast enough to make even Void Refiner/Elysian Field powerhouses envious.

Of course, Pei He, Bing Roushui, and the others remained silent. They knew that, firstly, mines of this caliber were extremely rare, and secondly, without Wu Yuan, they couldn’t have competed for such a high-tier Fire Ethercrystal mine.

So, they all looked to Wu Yuan.

Before Wu Yuan could speak, An Shu spoke up with a smile. "Daoist Ming Jian, I've thought it over. For the spoils of war from defeating the enemies, you should take fifty percent, and Gong Shujie and I will each take twenty-five percent."

"Also, our previous agreement is void. The deposit paid earlier need not be returned, but we should adjust the allocation of the Fire Ethercrystals from the mine."

"I'll take forty percent, you and your team take forty percent, and Gong Shujie takes twenty percent."

He proactively offered a better deal.

"Alright," Wu Yuan nodded in agreement.

"No problem," Gong Shujie said with a smile.

This Fire Ethercrystal vein’s location was provided by An Shu, and Wu Yuan's team was crucial to their victory. Gong Shujie felt that taking twenty percent was quite fair.

As for Wu Yuan, obtaining treasures worth billions of catties of ethercrystal was an opportunity he had no reason to refuse.

…

With four days needed to fully excavate the Fire Ethercrystal mine, their next task was naturally guard duty. They had to deter other powerhouses coveting the mine.

Pei He, Gong Shujie, and the others quickly set up monitoring arrays around the mine and in space.

Wu Yuan made an agreement with Pei He, Lie Shier, Zhang Shan, and the others that all battle spoils would be split sixty-forty. Wu Yuan would take sixty percent, and they would take forty percent.

None of the soldiers opposed Wu Yuan's proposal; in fact, they felt the conditions were overly generous.

After all, given Wu Yuan's immense power, the spoils of war he could obtain on his own would be valued at a staggering amount. Taking forty percent seemed meager by comparison, but it could very well be more than they’d gain hunting alone.

Most importantly, it was safe. With a top-tier expert like Wu Yuan leading them, their chances of surviving the battlefield were significantly higher.

In the core meditation chamber of the first-grade spirit battleship, Wu Yuan sat in lotus position, deep in thought.

Killing an Elysian Field powerhouse and slaying a genius from the Immortal Hall yields the same rewards? Wu Yuan mused inwardly. Both rewarded me with five hundred thousand ethercrystal laurels.

Wu Yuan reviewed the detailed breakdown of ethercrystal laurels. Of the laurels awarded for killing the two formidable opponents, half went to the eighty Amethyst Cradle cultivators who coordinated with him to form the array.

In other words, the Blood Eldritch Temple's rewards are based on the opponents’ strength levels. For Amethyst Cradle/Shambhala cultivators, as long as they can unleash Void Refiner/Elysian Field power, they are considered Void Refiner/Elysian Field cultivators and rewards would be increased accordingly.

It makes sense. If the rewards weren’t significant, who would risk hunting these geniuses?

And from just one battle, Wu Yuan earned a reward of one million ethercrystal laurels, directly advancing to a sixth-rank fighter—a rank that countless Amethyst Cradle cultivators yearned for but couldn’t reach.

Still too slow. This time, I encountered several formidable experts, yet I didn’t accumulate much. Wu Yuan shook his head slightly. What if I only encounter Amethyst Cradle cultivators?

Even if he managed to kill them all, it might still not be enough. Who knew when he would accumulate one hundred million ethercrystal laurels and become a ninth-rank fighter?

The Blood Eldritch Temple's ethercrystal laurels were a meager reward. But with a higher rank, one could exchange ethercrystal laurels for special rewards.

For example, upon becoming a ninth-rank fighter, every ten million ethercrystal laurels awarded could be exchanged for one Dao Temple point, up to ten points. This was Wu Yuan’s aim.

On the other hand, I’ve harvested plenty of blood mist. Wu Yuan sat in lotus position, quietly sensing the blood mist swirling in his upper dantian lobe. Thick tendrils coiled around the black pagoda.

Killing an Elysian Field powerhouse yields as much blood mist as slaying two or three hundred cultivators at my cultivation phase. Wu Yuan estimated the maximum quantity of blood mist that could be stored in his upper dantian lobe.

He pondered silently. To reach the upper dantian lobe’s limit, I’d need to kill thirty to forty Elysian Field powerhouses or tens of thousands of Amethyst Cradle cultivators.

This didn’t include the continuous depletion of blood mist used to purify the power of Faith.

Through battles of life and death, I can obtain blood mist, use it to purify the power of Faith. At the same time, I can test out my techniques and verify what I’ve learned through each battle. Wu Yuan's mouth curled into a smile. This trip to the Eldritch-Immortal Battlefield was the right choice.

Not to mention, the two major factions have yet to discern my true strength and identity.

Even if they do, so what? I’m a genius from the Eternal Sun Immortal World. The Voltari Temple won’t target me too relentlessly, nor would they dispatch their top-tier geniuses to hunt me. Wu Yuan's body refiner self had done his research and understood the unspoken rules of the battlefield.

If a genius from the Cang Feng Eldritch World was too eye-catching and ruthless, they'd quickly become a target of the Voltari Temple.

Wu Yuan calmed his mind and continued to comprehend the Longevity Dao.

The purified power of Faith was incredibly mysterious. It merged into his soul, continuously strengthening and transforming it.

This was a long-term process that would accelerate Wu Yuan's comprehension speed.

…

Four days later, on the planet's surface, hundreds of figures gathered at the entrance of a massive pit.

"Daoist Ming Jian, here are the Fire Ethercrystals we agreed upon. Please check them," An Shu said, waving his hand and tossing several storage artifacts towards Wu Yuan.

Wu Yuan caught them effortlessly and quickly inspected their contents.

Upon confirming their accuracy, Wu Yuan grinned. "Daoist An Shu, much obliged." This wealth amounted to a few billion catties of ethercrystal.

With his strength and status, obtaining vast sums of wealth in the future wasn’t beyond Wu Yuan’s reach. However, the wealth earned through his own efforts felt far more satisfying than that bestowed by his masters and elders.

"If thanks are due, it should be from me," An Shu smiled. "Daoist Ming Jian, Gong Shujie and I plan to return to the war base to deliver the Fire Ethercrystals. Will you come with us?"

"No," Wu Yuan shook his head. "I plan to hunt for a while longer."

Return to the war base? Even if the first-grade spirit battleship traveled at full speed, it would still take six or seven days for a round trip covering nearly a billion li. Wu Yuan was unwilling to waste such time.

"Alright, then we'll depart first," An Shu said with a smile. "When we return to the war base, let's meet up if time permits."

"Indeed," Wu Yuan nodded.

The parties then separated. An Shu and Gong Shujie headed towards the war base, while Wu Yuan led his team aboard the first-grade spirit battleship, departing from the planet in the opposite direction of An Shu and his group.

…

Inside the battleship.

"Commander, even if we are to hunt enemies, why couldn’t we travel together for a while longer and separate at the core of the war zone?" Pei He asked, puzzled.

The other captains and soldiers shared his confusion.

"Look," Wu Yuan waved his hand.

A massive light screen projection appeared before everyone.

It displayed two massive light points and countless smaller ones, with a zone marked in red.

"These two light points represent the war bases of the two major camps in this expanse of outer space, roughly five billion li apart," Wu Yuan explained. "The millions of smaller light points represent ore-rich planets."

Everyone listened attentively.

"The red zone at the center of the two war bases is the most intense battle zone," Wu Yuan said with a faint smile. "The closer we are to our war base, the more allies we have, making it safer, but that also means fewer enemies."

"Conversely, as we move closer to the Voltari Temple's war base, the likelihood of encountering enemies increases."

"It seems dangerous, but our killing efficiency will skyrocket," Wu Yuan continued calmly. "Operating near the enemy's war base for a year could yield the same results as ten years of activity near our own war base."

A few simple sentences from him left Pei He, Lie Shier, and the others speechless. At that moment, they realized that their commander was a little too bold, and in fact somewhat unhinged.

Slaughtering the enemy right at their doorstep?