Yuan’s Ascension

Within the Essence Void.

As expected, he's about to fail.The Heavenly Domain Emissary observed, gazing into the boundless void, witnessing Wu Yuan's struggle on the heavenly stairway.In the end, he's fundamentally lacking.

Without pioneering a Dao, one has no right to walk the ancient path of the heavenly stairway to its end. This is an iron law.The Heavenly Domain Emissary shook his head slightly, seeming to lament Wu Yuan's fate.

Historically, the vast majority of Legends of the River easily withstood the heavenly stairway's onslaught, swiftly breaking through. Only Wu Yuan and a handful of others had gotten trapped.

It wasn't that Wu Yuan was weak – in terms of combat power, he could be considered the mightiest of any era. But his greatest flaw was not having pioneered his own Dao.

Indeed, among the few Legends of the River who hadn't pioneered their Daos, most only lasted about ten thousand years before failing. Yet Wu Yuan had persevered for over fifty thousand years, an absolute miracle.

This wasn't just because he possessed two true selves, but more so because his eternal ultimate techniques were exceptionally powerful, far surpassing other eternal ultimate techniques.

But even if he fails, it will have been worth it for Wu Yuan.The Emissary mused.

To have thoroughly comprehended fifteen Greater Laws, saving countless eons of effort – once he eventually pioneers a Dao, his growth will be even swifter.The Heavenly Domain Emissary pondered silently.

Even so, he felt a twinge of regret. In his eyes, Wu Yuan's potential was immense, worthy of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the likes of the Heavenly Imperator and Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu.

Hmm? This can't be right!The Heavenly Domain Emissary's eyes flashed with astonishment.How is this possible? Without pioneering a Dao, he still has hope of breaking free from the heavenly stairway?

He could scarcely believe it. As the Heavenly Domain Emissary, an embodiment of the River of Universes' Order, he had thought his perspective broad enough. Below the Dao Zenithels, there should be no secrets unknown to him.

But today, Wu Yuan's actions truly surpassed his understanding, transcending his cognition.

Could it be... a true miracle?The Heavenly Domain Emissary stared intently at that section of void, observing the scene on the heavenly stairway.

That place was forbidden territory. Only Legends of the River could set foot there. Even the Heavenly Domain Emissary could only watch from afar, unable to enter.

...

On the heavenly stairway, the steps stretched on endlessly.

The Divine Essence Order originates from the essences of myriad Daos. If I cannot dispel the power of these essences, if I cannot sever their connections, I am destined to die here.Wu Yuan's eyes were filled with determination.I must integrate everything I've comprehended into my ultimate technique.

I must make my eternal ultimate technique truly transcend the Greater Laws!

Both of Wu Yuan's true selves moved in unison, beginning to deduce and apply their insights to battle one by one.

With a thunderous boom, a patch of darkness suddenly materialized beneath Wu Yuan's body refiner self, unfathomably deep and brimming with endless destructive energy. This was the manifestation of the Blade of the Abyss's essence.

With a resounding crash, a brilliant halo of light appeared around Wu Yuan's qi refiner self. Trillions of radiant halos circulated as one, perfect and flawless - the manifestation of samsara's essence.

Both true selves began to transform. The myriad thoughts in Wu Yuan's mind settled, his heart growing ever more tranquil as he focused single-mindedly on deducing the Dao.

In terms of accumulated insights alone, both of Wu Yuan's true selves had already reached profound depths that need not be elaborated upon. It was only that his aspirations were too grand, and the pressing urgency of blocking the attacks had prevented him from careful deduction.

Wu Yuan was uncertain whether failure today would result in the annihilation of his consciousness, for the Heavenly Domain Emissary had warned that the Path of Legends held a risk of death.

So in this life-or-death crisis, Wu Yuan's potential was fully stimulated. He strove to surpass his past self, to carve out a path to survival, to pioneer a true Dao.

Boom!Yet the tribulations of the heavenly stairway would not grant Wu Yuan the leisure to comprehend the Dao at his own pace. The manifested attacks grew increasingly savage, cold, and merciless as they bombarded him.

The footing of Wu Yuan's two true selves grew unstable, their auras weakening further.

Abyss, entomb.Wu Yuan's body refiner self abruptly moved, its form exploding outward. The boundless energy concentrated in its body surged in all directions, leaving behind only a faint remnant.

This was not self-destruction. Rather, it was a brand new eternal ultimate technique that Wu Yuan's body refiner self had comprehended during these tens of thousands of years of struggle – Domain of the Abyss.

This was a life-preserving defensive technique, capable of transforming oneself into a miniature Abyss that could devour all incoming attacks.

It's nearly impossible for both true selves to pioneer a Dao simultaneously. The path of my body refiner self is too arduous. I haven't even formed a prototype of Great Creation yet. Hoping to pioneer a Dao in the short term is unrealistic – my accumulated insights are still insufficient.

But my qi refiner self is different. It's already very close to pioneering a Dao.Wu Yuan's mind was crystal clear.

Since it was impossible for both true selves to advance in tandem, he would let his body refiner self act as a guardian, creating an ideal cultivation environment for his qi refiner self.

At this moment, the abyss formed by his body refiner self enveloped his qi refiner self. When the world-shaking attacks of the Laws struck, they struggled to shake this miniature abyss. Even more importantly, they failed to interfere with Wu Yuan's qi refiner self.

Myriad Rebirths Tribulation! Dao Enlightenment in Dreams.Wu Yuan's qi refiner self had cultivated for tens of thousands of years on Ancient Dream Mountain, constructing a Dream World. He had long since accumulated sufficient insights. In a sense, his cultivation level had already reached the Dao Pioneer stage.

He only lacked a final catalyst.

Most crucially, he felt that his Dream World still wasn't truly perfect.

That was, until he came to the Xuanhuang Cosmiris and set foot on the heavenly stairway. The tens of thousands of years spent here were worth millions of years of ordinary cultivation. Fully comprehending all the Greater Laws finally filled in that last missing piece.

I wish to construct a Dream Megaverse, to the point where it manifests in reality.

To do so, I must exhaust the profundities of reality. The foundation of the Primordial Rules' operation lies in the ten eternal Daos, and the foundation of the eternal Daos lies in the fifteen Greater Laws... Without comprehending all Laws, how could I construct a real dreamscape?Wu Yuan's qi refiner self pondered and deduced.

The Greater Laws, Great Daos, and Dream World all originated from the Primordial Rules and shared commonalities.

During the life-or-death battles before this moment, he had never been able to truly calm his mind. Now, with his body refiner self sacrificing everything to protect him, his qi refiner self finally had a moment of peace. Countless insights collided in his mind, and the Dream World began to transform rapidly.

Years passed. In the blink of an eye, several hundred more years had gone by.

Wu Yuan's body refiner self continued to endure the assault with great difficulty, while his qi refiner self ceaselessly contemplated and deduced, its understanding of Spacetime, samsara, reality, and myriad Daos growing ever clearer.

At a certain moment, it was as if water had found its channel, as if a flower had bloomed from its bud, as if heaven and earth were opened anew.

With a resonant hum, Wu Yuan felt as if everything around him had slowed. His spirit was undergoing an ineffably mysterious transformation. From fake to true!

It's only true, but not real?Wu Yuan observed the evolution of his spirit dreamscape. Trillions of worlds were constantly being born and evolving within, following some special set of laws.

In the past, no matter how vast Wu Yuan's spirit dreamscape became, no matter how many lifeforms were born within it, it held no meaning. They were all fundamentally false and fake. Born with a thought, destroyed with a thought.

But from this moment on, Wu Yuan's spirit dreamscape truly began to include a probability of 'truth', giving rise to dream beings with their own thoughts, with joy and anger, sorrow and happiness.

In the countless worlds and matter of the spirit dreamscape, the concept of truth emerged.

Dao Enlightenment in Dreams. Everything in my spirit dreamscape is still illusory, but within this endless illusion, I have refined false into true.A faint smile appeared on the lips of Wu Yuan's qi refiner self.Granting a trace of true power to the entire dreamscape.

True and false, real and fake. [1]

True and real combined formed reality, forming this brilliant and boundless real world.

Meanwhile, the union of false and fake was simply an illusion art devoid of any spirit or soul.

From this day forward, in my dreamscape world, everything shall be true except for the dream itself.Wu Yuan murmured.How many can escape a dream where truth and falsehood are indistinguishable?

Within Wu Yuan's spirit dreamscape, life could be cultivated, countless tales of love and hatred could unfold, and one could even cultivate to become a sempiternal lifeform, traversing the myriad worlds within the dream. In a sense, it was an alternative true world.

However, one can only cultivate up to the level of Archimmortal.Wu Yuan mused silently.

If it evolves into a Dream Universe, then the dream beings could cultivate to become Astral Monarchs and Sovereigns.

If it evolves into a Dream Megaverse, the dream beings could cultivate to become eternal lifeforms!Wu Yuan, having obtained the Eternal Dream Codex, knew this clearly.

At the same time, Wu Yuan had figured out White Emperor's true nature; the true White Emperor had likely perished. The Senior White Emperor he had encountered was merely reflected within Goddess Nüwa's own Dream River of Universes.

However, that White Emperor within the Dream River of Universes could still cultivate within it, and had likely reached an extremely high level. He possessed his own thoughts and emotions, nearly indistinguishable from the true White Emperor in every way.

If one day in the future, everything in my spirit dreamscape manifests in reality, then all that is currently illusory in my spirit dreamscape would become both true and real.Wu Yuan pondered.

That would be the ultimate realm of the Psyche Dream class, a level even Goddess Nüwa had not attained—refining illusion into reality! Reaching that level was equivalent to manifesting one's thoughts.

This is my Dao, with psyche dream as the foundation and rebirth tribulations as the core.Wu Yuan's qi refiner self felt the terrifying power contained within the spirit dreamscape.Let it be called Psyche Dream Rebirth.

The Dao created by his qi refiner self—Psyche Dream Rebirth!

Wu Yuan's qi refiner self took a flying step, his eyes blazing with light as a hazy ripple enveloped the entire heavenly stairway.

He glimpsed more secrets, sensing the majestic power shrouding the entire stairway.

This heavenly stairway is merely a manifestation of my descended consciousness.

Break!With a shift in thought, Wu Yuan's qi refiner self instantly helped itself and his body refiner self break free from their constraints.

In an instant, the consciousnesses of Wu Yuan's two true selves departed from the heavenly stairway, returning to their original bodies.

This was an ancient and unadorned bronze platform.

Wu Yuan's two true selves were seated in lotus position atop a jade platform, slowly opening their eyes.

"Wu Yuan, congratulations on passing the Path of Will," a gentle voice resounded. "From here on, you are qualified to face the supreme powerhouses of past generations.

"This is the true Path of Legends."

1. There are 4 concepts at play here: 真 True 实 Real 虚 False 假 Fake. True and False are opposites, while Real and Fake are opposites. ☜