Yuan’s Ascension

For ten years, Wu Yuan rampaged through the mainland of Battlefield 36, but he wasn’t driven by the pursuit of ethercrystal laurels. His sole objective was to accumulate blood mist to its saturation point repeatedly, forming Origin Blood Droplets.

The black pagoda's stone pillar never failed him, generating the droplets each time without exception.

The first ten Origin Blood Droplets transformed Wu Yuan's soul over and over again, expanding his perception range from over a hundred thousand li to over five hundred thousand li.

By the time the eleventh droplet was formed, it seemed as though his Soul Will's perception range had reached its upper limit. Even as his soul continued to strengthen, the range remained at 550,000 li, though it did enhance his clarity in perceiving higher spatial dimensions.

Soul Will perception range of 550,000 li. In the grand scheme of things, this might be another limit imposed by the workings of heaven and earth. Wu Yuan mused inwardly.

After breaking through the original Soul Will perception limit of 100,000 li, Wu Yuan, upon calming down from his initial shock and excitement, made a preliminary judgment: having broken through the first shackle of the workings of heaven and earth, he would likely soon face the second shackle.

As long as one is born in heaven and earth, without having reached the legendary Nirvana phase, one remains bound by these constraints. Wu Yuan pondered.

It’s just that, compared to countless immortal cultivators in history, I've shattered one more constraint.

Thus, when he continued his slaughter and condensed the twelfth droplet, Wu Yuan understood that he was faced with two possible paths.

One path was to break through the Soul Will shackle, evolving his soul into a higher-level Yuan Soul.

The other path was for his Soul Will to surpass heaven and earth’s limit once more, continuing to expand—six hundred thousand, seven hundred thousand li—until he reached another of the heaven and earth's boundaries.

This act of breaking through the limitations of heaven and earth is both an opportunity and a tribulation. Wu Yuan vaguely realized.

He firmly recalled what the Origin Spirit had said: to gain something, one must lose something; the world is always fair.

I know nothing about the Origin Blood Droplets or the black pagoda. All I can do is seize every opportunity to strengthen myself. Wu Yuan was clear on this point. As my strength grows, all veils will fall away.

Drip~ The twelfth Origin Blood Droplet fell onto Wu Yuan's soul, spreading through his soul essence like ink in water, causing his entire being to radiate waves of blood-colored light.

Whoosh~ Like the final straw that breaks the camel's back, or the bucket of water that breaches a dam, when the power of the Origin Blood fully permeated Wu Yuan's soul essence, it began to boil.

Whoosh! Endless blood-colored light erupted from Wu Yuan's soul essence, blooming with boundless, magnificent radiance.

Simultaneously, waves of strange soul light spread out in all directions—twelve in all.

What? Wu Yuan was inwardly surprised, feeling the waves of scorching light spreading out. But he didn’t act rashly, simply observing the process.

Whoosh! The waves of soul light converged, and then Wu Yuan's soul essence began to undergo a strange transformation. The once unified soul essence began to split mysteriously.

In his upper dantian lobe, twelve soul essences bearing Wu Yuan’s likeness materialized, each with a different form.

One Wu Yuan sat in the lotus position, a faint smile on his face, resembling a great sage who had comprehended the ways of the world.

Another seemed to be holding an indistinct saber, like a cavalier from the martial world.

Another appeared to be lying on the ground, snoring loudly.

Yet another had a face contorted in pain, as if experiencing some great suffering.

One more beamed with happiness, utterly immersed in it.

In the blink of an eye, twelve soul Wu Yuans were fully formed. They appeared like separate entities, yet they were subtly connected, forming a complete whole. Together, they constituted Wu Yuan's complete soul essence.

Twelve forms. All forms are me.

Wu Yuan’s Dao comprehension had approached that of a High Immortal, and with a strong Dao Heart and vast knowledge, he instantly realized that these twelve soul essence avatars represented twelve different experiences and emotions from his life.

The satisfaction of comprehending the Dao, the unrestrained thrill of slaughter, the pain and helplessness of facing the death of loved ones, the happiness of bonding with family and friends... As these thoughts took hold, countless memories from the past surged into Wu Yuan's mind.

Boom! The myriad emotions he had suppressed throughout his life could no longer be contained. Like a flood breaching a dam, they completely engulfed Wu Yuan's consciousness.

Externally, Wu Yuan sat in a lotus position.

Meanwhile, within the upper dantian lobe, the twelve soul consciousnesses were immersed in different illusory realms.

…

The supreme Dao is without form, yet it is the source of all that exists. The true Dao cannot be confined to any single definition, for it defies verbal description. Wu Yuan felt as if he had become an ascetic, a Dao comprehender.

He wandered across the vast earth, observing the changes of heaven and earth, experiencing the vicissitudes of the human world, personally perceiving, touching, and comprehending the operation of the vast Dao in the world. It was truly marvelous.

To hear of the Dao in the morning is to die content at nightfall—Wu Yuan was completely immersed in this sensation of deciphering the profundities of heaven and earth, comprehending the intricacies of the Great Dao, unable to extricate himself.

One year, two years, three years... Whether it was fame or fortune, the positions of generals or ministers, all these became passing clouds in his eyes, not worth a fraction of the Great Dao’s importance.

My heart is devoted to the Dao; the Dao is me. Wu Yuan was wholly absorbed in it.

…

Once I enter the martial world, tears well up; Roaming to the ends of the earth, I shall not return. Another of Wu Yuan's soul essences unknowingly transformed into a cavalier of the martial world.

Here, there were no qi refining or body refining secret arts, only martial arts!

Wu Yuan became a peerless saber master, roaming the vast lands with his long saber by his side. He traveled across thousands of li, traversing rivers and mountains.

When he desired a drink, he indulged with abandon, making friends along the way.

When he encountered injustice, he drew his saber and rose to action. Offending a major sect? Kill!

Kill until the wealthy and powerful trembled, kill until great sects were exterminated, kill until the evil in the martial world disappeared… He believed not in worldly fairness, but in the moral scale within his heart. If something didn’t conform to this scale, he killed without hesitation.

Immersed in the martial world, free and unfettered, Wu Yuan seemed to forget his past, losing himself in this new lifestyle.

…

Kill! Kill! Kill... Heaven and earth is unfair, I will tear heaven and earth asunder. Here, Wu Yuan transformed into a terrifying devil.

This was his heart of slaughter, his devilish thoughts and desires. With no other thoughts or emotions to suppress them, his killing intent erupted without restraint.

He killed beyond the world, until heaven and earth lost color and the sun and moon dimmed. Countless living beings fell under his blade.

Unlike the cavalier who drew his blade for justice, this Wu Yuan was consumed by a devilish killing intent—killing simply for the sake of killing. He walked the path of slaughter, nurturing a heart steeped in blood.

…

In a large villa, a gentle and quiet intellectual woman oversaw the nanny and chef as they carefully prepared dinner.

"Little Yuan, you're back," the woman, appearing to be in her early thirties, turned around, her faint smile warm as she looked at Wu Yuan.

Wu Yuan's heart trembled.

"Uncle! Uncle! You're finally back! Where have you been these past years?" A four or five-year-old girl, wearing a white princess dress with cheeks still plump with baby fat, came bouncing down the stairs.

"Uncle, take me flying! I want to fly." She grabbed Wu Yuan's arm and started swinging it playfully.

"Sister, Little Lu," Wu Yuan whispered, stunned.

His eyes moistened as long-sealed memories surged into his mind like a tidal wave. Decades had passed, and Wu Yuan thought he had long forgotten, but now, faced with this scene, he realized he had never forgotten.

Never!

The sister who had supported and raised him, and his adorable niece—they were once the people he protected with all his heart.

Zhuangzi's butterfly dream? Was I just in a grand dream? Wu Yuan pondered, already feeling right at home in this environment. This was the life he had once dreamed of.

"Mother! Little Yi," a young Wu Yuan called as he walked through the bustling streets of Li City, carrying his young sister on his back.

"Dear, look, Little Yuan has grown up; he can carry Little Yi now," a gentle woman smiled, tugging the sleeve of the man beside her.

"Haha, indeed! Our Little Yuan has grown up. He will surely become a powerful martial artist in the future," the burly man laughed heartily, his face bright with pride.

Wu Yuan grinned, starting to jog as he shouted, "Little Yi, we're flying! Taking off!"

As he ran, his eyes moistened.

Wu Yuan was never just Wu Yuan of the Blue Planet; his soul also incorporated the memories of that young man from the Middle Land. They were equally a part of him.

Deep in his heart, there was a longing for his father and a desire for his family's happiness.

The death of his father in battle was the greatest regret and sorrow buried deep within the memories of the Middle Land's Wu Yuan.

But in this world, there was no clash between Cloudstride and Great Jin, no raging fires of war, no great calamities—only the warmth of family.

…

Twelve versions of Wu Yuan, twelve different forms, fell into completely distinct illusory realms almost simultaneously. Each illusory realm targeted the most fundamental desires and weaknesses of the different avatars, fulfilling them in such a way that made them unwilling to awaken.

One by one, the twelve avatars gradually succumbed. Wu Yuan was also completely immersed.

To be human is to have desires and weaknesses.

To be human is to have the most primal kinds of longings.

A strong Dao Heart and unshakable determination only exist because one hasn't encountered something that can shatter the Dao Heart. Threads of Wu Yuan's consciousness struggled to resist.

Though he wasn't clear on what he was about to face, his instincts told him that he couldn't succumb to it—he had to stay awake. If he kept sinking deeper until those threads of determination completely dissipated, it would likely be the end of each avatar.

And when the twelve avatars dissipated, it would mean death.

However, breaking free was too difficult. The illusory environments were too real, unbelievably real—they were his most heartfelt desires.

Twelve avatars, twelve illusory realms, isn't this what I've been pursuing?

Let go of the self. These dreams that might take ages to achieve are all being realized one by one. How is this different from reality? Wu Yuan's avatars were equally unwilling to leave these illusory realms.

When an illusion was perfected, it became no different from reality.

One day, two days, three days in the world outside might be one year, two years, three years, or even decades in the illusory realms. The flow of time in the illusory realms where the twelve avatars resided was drastically different.

As for Wu Yuan, adding up his past and present lives, how long had he lived in total? Not even a hundred years! His consciousness was already starting to blur, increasingly unable to distinguish between illusion and reality.

Time passed.

In the world outside, several months had gone by.

…

"There's no trace of Ming Jian. Where did he go? There have been no more killings, and nothing on the monitoring array."

"Could he have left the Eldritch-Immortal Battlefield?" The Archimmortals and Archdeities of the Immortal Court camp wondered.

However, the four Archeldritches and Archimmortals in the Blood Eldritch Temple knew very well that Ming Jian hadn't left; it was just that he hadn't deactivated the monitoring function of the voidrealm jade, so they didn't know his specific situation. They could only confirm that Ming Jian was still alive and still on the mainland.

"Could he be in seclusion for a breakthrough?"

"He should know the rules—he can't advance to the Void Refiner phase, or he'd be directly removed from the battlefield."

"Isn't he allowed to have a breakthrough in Dao comprehension?"

"He’s already invincible on the battlefield. If he breaks through in Dao comprehension, who knows how terrifying he’ll be."