Yuan’s Ascension

On the Path of Ancients, an unprecedented battle approached its end. Wu Yuan had fought with great tenacity, yet remained systematically suppressed—blasted away repeatedly, his body accumulating wounds that transformed him into little more than bloodied flesh.

Were he anyone other than a Matter Overlord—anyone lacking his phenomenal vitality—such wounds would have been sufficient to incinerate his vitality completely.

The universe overhead and the Abyss beneath had been blasted into fragments—dim, lightless, teetering on the brink of total dissolution.

Yet amid seemingly desperate straits, Wu Yuan remained utterly composed, employing myriad techniques with each subtle movement.

Finally, I've grasped the Daos of all the Legends of the River throughout the ages.He murmured, his eyes calm as he prepared to take the final, most critical step.

Dao? Now this is truly my Dao.

Universe? Abyss? Mutual creation and destruction? Eternal cycle? No! It shouldn't be like this.

Wu Yuan's aura began to metamorphose. His dim divine eyes rekindled with an incandescent brilliance. His terrifying presence expanded, radiating endless light from his hundred-thousand-li tall, majestic form.

"A breakthrough?"

"Dao pioneering?"

"He hadn't pioneered his Dao yet?"

Shock rippled through the gathered powerhouses. The young Heavenly Imperator, Goddess Nüwa, Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu, and the assembled Legends of the River exchanged looks of profound astonishment.

"Kill!" they roared in unison.

Unwilling to grant Wu Yuan even a moment's respite, they unleashed their most devastating killing techniques.

Self-created Daos blanketed the sky, manifesting their might. Powered by incomprehensibly strong mana, these attacks suppressed even the fluctuations of the Great Daos, converging on Wu Yuan in a cataclysmic onslaught intended for total annihilation.

Wu Yuan stood motionless in the void, contemplating the operation of the Daos. He sensed the intricate resonances of his emergent Dao, existing in perfect harmony with heaven and earth. Facing the terrifying combined attack of self-created Daos, he remained serene, almost indifferent.

Boom!The combined assault sent Wu Yuan flying backward, yet something extraordinary occurred. Not only did the attacks fail to damage his vitality, but his aura grew exponentially stronger.

The space where he stood transformed into the very epicenter of Dao itself, effortlessly deflecting every attack.

This unprecedented display left the Legends of the River utterly astounded. In their fragmented memories, they had never encountered an entity capable of withstanding their collective onslaught. This was an assault that even the young Heavenly Imperator had joined.

"The birth and death of Dao?" Goddess Nüwa's eyes flashed with sudden comprehension. "He's beaten me to it."

The young Heavenly Imperator's thunderous voice resonated with pure confidence. "This challenger is indeed formidable. However, I am not my true self. I believe my true self's future Dao will be no worse than his."

This declaration epitomized the essence of the Heavenly Imperator—acknowledging strength while maintaining an undefeated spirit, considering himself peerless under heaven.

The Legends continued their assault, though now futile against Wu Yuan. He was undergoing his final metamorphosis—severing past limitations, smelting a thousand Daos, integrating myriad Laws, breaking through every conceivable boundary.

Origin, cessation.

Dao rises, Dao falls.

Great Destruction and Great Creation are inherently one. The universe and the Abyss should be a single chaotic entity. Why separate them?Wu Yuan had silently grasped that spark of enlightenment deep within his spirit. This was no sudden epiphany, no mere stroke of luck. This was a breakthrough forged through eons of preparation—the culmination of countless ages of contemplation and struggle.

Having comprehended, Wu Yuan's techniques underwent a complete and instantaneous transformation.

Rumble!The universe above and the Abyss below violently merged, transforming into a vast, primordial wonder. Within this chaos, entire universes breathed into existence. All things began and evolved. Galaxies formed and dissolved. Macrocosms emerged and collapsed. Destruction and creation danced in perfect harmony.

This chaotic marvel encompassed everything. All things were contained within, all things evolved within.

And at the center stood Wu Yuan—eternal, timeless—with past, present, and future converging at a single, infinite point.

Spacetime, Destiny, and Karma intertwined.

My Dao has no past, no present, no future. Only the Dao exists, and it is eternal.

This is my Dao, beginning from the Primordium, ending in chaos. Limitless and endless, boundless and infinite!

A voice rose from his spirit, elevating his aura to unfathomable heights.

My Dao is the Heavenly Dao!

Self-created Dao: Heavenly Dao. This was Wu Yuan's ultimate interpretation, a belief that his Dao transcended all other Daos and Laws. Originating from the Primordium yet surpassing it, truly limitless – naturally this was the Dao of Heaven.

Deep within his being, this was more than a revelation. It was a great vow, an ideal Wu Yuan had set for himself.

All can be absorbed into my Dao! My Dao can also evolve into all Daos.

Wu Yuan moved, attacking the group of Legends of the River with a saber technique.

Whoosh!A single slash pierced through heaven and earth—shadowless, traceless, yet suddenly manifest. It blocked the attacks of over a dozen guardians. The chaos surrounding Wu Yuan's body encompassed all, easily withstanding every impact.

Another blade ray appeared, its speed surpassing all guardians.

"Fall!" he uttered.

The blade ray sliced through, piercing the skull of a Legend of the River. The body disintegrated instantly.

One had fallen.

Countless bodies transformed into streams of light, flowing into Wu Yuan's body—becoming nourishment for his cultivation.

"A Dream like Clouds!" Goddess Nüwa unleashed her ultimate technique, invisible waves assailing Wu Yuan.

They could not shake him.

"My spirit is complete, my spirit is flawless," Wu Yuan's voice was ethereal, his form dreamlike. "Goddess Nüwa, your Dao has not evolved to its limit. How could you make me falter?"

Whoosh!Another blade ray passed. Another Legend of the River perished. They were no longer on the same level.

Swish! Swish! Swish!Wounds gradually healing, Wu Yuan walked through the void. His saber technique was a symphony of perfection—at times violently explosive, at others breathtakingly gentle, always brilliant. He slaughtered the Legends of the River, forcing them into an inexorable retreat.

Most self-created Daos focused on a singular aspect of the Primordium's operation, meticulously refining and extrapolating that specific path. But Wu Yuan's Dao stood at an incomprehensible height, encompassing everything without a single flaw.

Against any enemy, Wu Yuan could make instantaneous adjustments—modifying movement and saber techniques with surgical precision, attacking weaknesses that left opponents with nowhere to hide. His fundamental power through the cultivation of two paths far surpassed his adversaries.

In terms of cultivation level, Wu Yuan's body refiner self had transcended the scope of top-tier self-created Daos. These factors elevated his strength beyond the Legends of the River, propelling him into a domain no sempiternal lifeform had ever touched.

Whoosh~Blade rays cut through the void, leaving seemingly eternal saber marks, systematically slaying Legend after Legend.

...

In the distant Essence Void, the Heavenly Domain Emissary was profoundly shaken.

This Dao?he murmured.The most perfect self-created Dao? Without a single flaw or weakness—is this truly something a living being can pioneer?

He had anticipated that Wu Yuan's potential would be earth-shattering, potentially surpassing even the Heavenly Imperator's self-created Dao. Yet witnessing its actual manifestation left him dumbfounded. Its power was simply too perfect, too absolute to seem like a mortal creation.

Legend! Perhaps this is truly the supreme legend of sempiternal lifeforms since the Primordium—never to be surpassed.

The Heavenly Domain Emissary did not believe subsequent generations could pioneer a stronger Dao. At most, they might equal Wu Yuan's achievement.

Suddenly, his pupils contracted.

The Path of Ancients? Wu Yuan's Dao traces cannot be engraved into the essence of the River of Universes?

A message from the Path of Ancients's spirit confirmed the impossible: Wu Yuan's Dao was too powerful to leave an imprint. In a sense, it had transcended the profundities of the River of Universes' essence.

It's about to end.The Emissary sensed.

...

On The Path of Ancients, the once-numerous guardian Legends of the River had been reduced to just one – the young Heavenly Imperator.

The Heavenly Imperator fought with a towering, frenzied aura, unleashing technique after technique. Wu Yuan, by contrast, remained calm—methodically blocking palm strikes, responding with an almost meditative precision.

Destruction taken to the extreme.Wu Yuan observed, analyzing the young Heavenly Imperator's Dao.

Even having pioneered a Dao that completely surpassed his opponent's, Wu Yuan continued to gain insights, reaping profound benefits from this exchange.

Whoosh~The young Heavenly Imperator unleashed a palm strike, then retreated tens of thousands of li, coming to an absolute halt.

Electricity seemed to crackle in his eyes as he stared directly at Wu Yuan—not a trace of fear evident.

"Why have you stopped fighting?" Wu Yuan smiled.

"I cannot defeat you," the Heavenly Imperator responded calmly. "The Dao you've pioneered is grander, more complete, and stronger than mine. Continuing to fight would be futile."

Wu Yuan nodded slightly, his curiosity piqued. Here was a Legend of the River with the appearance of a youth, with a Dao of extreme destruction that had profoundly shocked him.

"Your Dao is extraordinary," Wu Yuan observed, "but it's too rigid and breaks easily, having been taken to an extreme."

Though he recognized that this was merely a Dao trace incarnation, Wu Yuan felt an unexpected kinship. This Dao was most similar to his own.

"Taken to an extreme? You don't understand," the Heavenly Imperator countered, shaking his head. "I admit your Dao is very strong, but that doesn't mean I agree with your philosophy. Destruction and creation giving rise to each other—do you think I don't understand that? Do you think I have no insights of my own?"

Wu Yuan's heart trembled, looking at the young Heavenly Imperator with newfound surprise.