Yuan’s Ascension

The basic units of life! Though my qi refiner self cannot utilize the Great Dao of Creation, I've still crystallized Life True Intent and Death True Intent, as well as Spacetime True Intent. Spacetime is the origin of all things, and Life's essence also contains an aspect of Spacetime. Wu Yuan's qi refiner self was also fully absorbed in comprehension.

The two true selves, starting from two different Great Daos, focused separately on comprehension, yet their efforts produced many wondrous sparks of inspiration. Eventually, their focus shifted entirely from contemplating the Great Daos to concentrating on deducing the intricacies of the two secret codex teachings and unraveling the fundamental properties and nature of numerous spirit herbs.

…

Such rapid comprehension. My disciple is truly a monstrous prodigy who can crystallize Creation True Intent at such a young age. Sovereign Kua Chi was also shocked.

He had anticipated that Wu Yuan's progress would be swift, after all, Creation True Intent was most suited for analyzing the fundamental nature of all things. But he hadn't expected Wu Yuan's progress to be this fast, several times quicker than he had imagined.

Could it be that my disciple is exceptionally compatible with this path? The thought flashed through Sovereign Kua Chi's mind.

He didn't realize that Wu Yuan's two true selves were working in tandem. His qi refiner self's Yuan Soul was far stronger than even ordinary Archimmortals, naturally resulting in shockingly high efficiency.

…

In the Spacetime Dao Realm, within that trial ground in the Black Devil Blood Hollow, countless pill furnaces were lined up.

The majority of Archimmortals and Archdeities repeatedly attempted to refine medicinal pills.

A few exceptionally powerful beings were lost in thought. This included Wu Yuan, whose two true selves were silently engaged in joint comprehension, unnoticed by the others.

In the blink of an eye, over ten years passed.

Inside one of the pill furnace spaces.

Boom! The furnace fire blazed fiercely. Waves of dense spiritual qi dispersed from the furnace, then several immortal pills flew out.

The eighth type of Archimmortal-level pill. I’ve finally succeeded. Astral Lord Gu Shou revealed a smile.

At the same time, he received a notification that the third batch of the eighth type of pill was successful, allowing him to proceed to refine the ninth type.

I could already refine nine types of Archimmortal-level pills before the trial. Astral Lord Gu Shou smiled. Now, with the Sovereign's personal guidance and the ‘Black Devil Secret Codex’, my progress has naturally been swift, and I’ve mastered the methods to refine several more immortal pills.

Refining immortal pills was extremely challenging. Even with Astral Lord Gu Shou's exceptional mastery of pill refining, he would occasionally fail. On top of that, refining each batch of immortal pills could take several months to a hundred years.

Astral Lord Gu Shou had chosen relatively simple immortal pills, yet it still took him over ten years to reach this point.

The others? Astral Lord Gu Shou's gaze swept across the pill furnace spaces on either side, taking in the scene of over ten thousand Archimmortals and Archdeities.

In our trial ground, there shouldn't be anyone faster than me at pill refining. Astral Lord Gu Shou thought to himself.

Of course, he wasn’t too certain. The second trial was taking place in eleven trial grounds in total. It was possible that someone in another trial ground was progressing even faster.

Continue. Astral Lord Gu Shou resumed refining immortal pills.

…

Time flowed by, and several more years passed in the blink of an eye.

Wu Yuan's qi refiner self was fully focused on comprehension while also observing the situation of other candidates.

He paid particular attention to the top tier of powerhouses like Astral Lord Red Devil, Astral Lord Xue Yao, Astral Lord Gu Shou, and others.

The stronger one's power and deeper one’s Dao comprehension, the more likely they were to excel in various auxiliary skills as well.

I've completed a preliminary analysis of over fifty thousand of the fifty-five thousand basic spirit herbs.

Preliminary analysis and complete analysis were two different concepts. It was like knowing that one plus one equals two – preliminary analysis only required memorization, while complete analysis demanded proof. The difference in difficulty was like the gap between heaven and earth.

I've analyzed and understood over a hundred thousand types of basic units of life. I've also deduced much about the pill refining techniques in the Black Devil Secret Codex, but it's not enough yet. Wu Yuan felt he had made tremendous progress over these twenty years.

While his Dao comprehension hadn't visibly improved, he had actually reviewed the Law of Life from a brand new dimension, all the way from the beginning.

Wu Yuan had a feeling that if he were to deduce and comprehend the Law of Life again in the future, his progress would likely advance extremely rapidly.

Not enough. My current skill is still far from sufficient. Even if I attempt to refine pills now, I estimate I could only refine High Immortal-level pills. Refining Archimmortal-level pills? The failure rate would be extremely high. Wu Yuan shook his head slightly. He wasn't satisfied.

But if this news were to spread, it would be shocking enough. After all, twenty years ago he was still a complete novice in pill refining. In just twenty years, he was able to refine High Immortal-level pills, and through the most difficult approach of 'analyzing all things' no less. His progress could only be described as inconceivable.

He continued to immerse himself in comprehension. His body refiner self, which was in the highest-grade pill-refining ground of the eldritch world, constantly researched and analyzed various spirit herbs under Sovereign Kua Chi's guidance.

Fifty-five thousand types of spirit herbs, with over a thousand specimens of each type, in different stages of their life cycles.

Ordinary factions could never gather such a collection, but with Sovereign Kua Chi's help, this was not an issue.

These were the top-tier spirit herb resources of the entire eldritch world, supporting Wu Yuan's comprehension and cultivation behind the scenes.

Several more months passed in the blink of an eye.

Hum~ On this day, an invisible fluctuation descended, enveloping the entire trial ground, startling all ten thousand-plus Archimmortals and Archdeities.

Everyone couldn't help but look over.

"Hmm?"

"What's happening?"

"Big Devil has appeared."

"Has someone met the trial’s passing requirements?" All the Archimmortals and Archdeities were shocked as they gazed at Big Devil's figure that had materialized in the void.

Big Devil looked down at the nearly twenty thousand immortal cultivators and spoke indifferently, "After twenty years, someone among you has finally met the requirements of the first test."

"What?"

"Someone has already refined ten types of Archimmortal-level pills? Even if they refined pills non-stop, it shouldn’t be enough time."

"So fast."

"Who is it?" The numerous Archimmortals and Archdeities from various forces were all utterly shocked. Many of them had only refined one or two types, and a considerable portion hadn't even succeeded with one. After all, it was extremely difficult to suddenly achieve great success in pill cultivation without any prior experience.

"Gu Shou!" Big Devil's gaze fell upon Astral Lord Gu Shou.

"Senior Big Devil." Astral Lord Gu Shou suppressed his excitement and bowed respectfully.

He hadn't expected that he would truly be the first to complete the pill cultivation requirements.

"Astral Lord Gu Shou."

"It's him!"

"He's actually the first to complete it. Didn't he already obtain three Black Devil Tokens in the last trial?" Countless Archimmortals and Archdeities stared at Astral Lord Gu Shou with envy and jealousy.

Astral Lord Gu Shou had been one of the top performers in the first trial. Now in the second trial, he was taking the lead again?

"You've completed the passing requirements for pill cultivation and may proceed to the second test on equipment cultivation," Big Devil said impassively. "Strive hard. If you're the first to complete all three tests, you'll receive three Black Devil Tokens."

"Understood," Astral Lord Gu Shou replied respectfully.

Whoosh! The pill furnace before Astral Lord Gu Shou transformed, morphing into an enormous equipment forging chamber.

This sight only intensified the jealousy of the numerous Archimmortals and Archdeities present.

Continue. I've merely completed the first requirement. Each step quicker means reaching the finish line quicker. Astral Lord Gu Shou thought to himself. If I can't be the first to complete all three requirements, I must at least strive for the top ten.

He was self-aware enough to know that while he excelled in pill cultivation, he was sorely lacking in equipment and talisman cultivation.

…

At the Hundred Mysteries Palace headquarters.

"Gu Shou, I've been ordered to guide you in equipment cultivation," a powerful Astral Monarch descended, coming to meet Astral Lord Gu Shou.

"Thank you, Astral Monarch," Astral Lord Gu Shou bowed.

…

Astral Lord Gu Shou's completion of the first test seemed to open the floodgates.

Less than a month later, a second cultivator completed the first test. She was a sixth-stage Archimmortal named Archimmortal Xiang Fei, a powerhouse from the Devil Realm!

To think a Devil Realm cultivator would snatch second place? Many Dao Realm powerhouses frowned inwardly.

"It's Immortal Xiang Fei."

"She's a renowned pill cultivation master in our Devil Realm." Though jealous, many Devil Realm powerhouses were also excited.

Then came the third, fourth, and fifth successful candidates. Soon, thirty years had gone by since the trial started.

In this trial ground, those who completed the first test began to sprout like bamboo shoots after the spring rain. Their numbers quickly surpassed three hundred.

Powerful existences like Astral Lord Red Devil, Astral Lord Xue Yao, and others all met the passing requirements for the first test one after another.

By the time the trial reached its eightieth year, over eight hundred cultivators in this trial ground had completed the first requirement. Half of them were Dao Realm powerhouses, and even Archimmortal Li Shu had met the requirement.

Moreover, at the ninety-year mark, the first cultivator to complete the second requirement finally emerged—Archimmortal Xiang Fei. Though only a sixth-stage Archimmortal, she had come from behind to claim the top spot.

Instantly, the entire trial ground erupted in excitement.

"She's only a sixth-stage Archimmortal, yet she's surpassed so many Astral Lords to reach first place and start the third test?"

"So fast!"

"This second trial truly isn't just about Dao comprehension. The Astral Lords have an advantage with their higher Dao comprehension level, but high Dao comprehension level doesn't necessarily mean greater mastery in pill, equipment, or talisman cultivation."

"Archimmortal Xiang Fei is extraordinary." The Dao Realm powerhouses committed Archimmortal Xiang Fei's name to memory. She was a formidable contender!

However, as the hundred-year mark arrived and over a thousand Archimmortals and Archdeities completed the first requirement, many began to notice that a once-prominent figure had now faded into obscurity.

"Ming Jian!"

"He has Astral Monarch-level comprehension, yet he hasn't even completed the pill cultivation requirement."

"He's progressing far too slowly."

"This kind of cultivation prodigy probably never attempted pill cultivation before, so naturally, his progress is extremely slow."

"Pill cultivation and equipment cultivation both require time to accumulate experience."

"He performed well previously, but he might just fail this second trial." Many harbored similar thoughts

Those top powerhouses who had previously considered Wu Yuan the greatest threat temporarily set aside their vigilance towards him.

…

While the trial ground buzzed with activity, Wu Yuan's heart remained unwavering. His two true selves methodically followed the paths they had chosen.

In the blink of an eye, nearly two hundred years had passed since the start of the second trial.