Yuan’s Ascension

Chapter 1115: Powerhouses Of The Saint Realm (1)

This realm was filled with boundless radiance. At its center stretched a vast astral continent, while above, celestial bodies shone with divine light, casting their brilliance across outer space.

Surrounding this astral continent were millions of elliptical spheres. Their surfaces shimmered with a deep azure hue, and they resembled colossal membranes, each emanating an astonishing vital aura.

At this moment, Wu Yuan and Saint Zuo Zai stood in the void beyond the astral continent, gazing into the distance.

“So this is the Saint Realm? Not as grand as I imagined,” Wu Yuan remarked softly.

“This is the cosmic sea dimension. Establishing a stable world here is incredibly difficult, so naturally it’s not as magnificent,” Saint Zuo Zai smiled. “I’m sure you’ve noticed that even reaching a hundred times light speed is challenging in the cosmic sea.”

Wu Yuan nodded in agreement.

Indeed, they had entered the Saint Realm a while ago, and Wu Yuan was only now beginning to acclimate to the cosmic sea’s environment. He had experimented briefly and found that spacetime here was extremely stable.

In the Abyss, he could easily accelerate to tens of thousands of times light speed, but it was exceedingly difficult here in the cosmic sea.

“This astral continent is the core of the Saint Realm, also known as the eternal continent. It’s the dwelling place of the eternal powerhouses of the Saint Realm,” Saint Zuo Zai explained quietly. “The entire continent has a maximum diameter of only one light year.”

Wu Yuan nodded slightly. A continent one light year across sounded vast. But on the scale of a universe, it was truly insignificant. After all, a typical macrocosm usually spanned billions of light years of spacetime. Even the spacetime of an immortal nation extended tens of thousands of light years.

“Those spheres you see are material worlds, also called micro-universes,” Saint Zuo Zai smiled. “Each sphere appears to be only billions of li in diameter, but their internal spacetime spans at least billions of light years across. They are home to vast numbers of mortal and sempiternal lifeforms.”

“Mm, I read about that in the intelligence you provided earlier,” Wu Yuan replied.

It was like observing a universe from the River of Universes – it appeared only a light year across, but the true universe spanned trillions of light years in diameter. Observations from different dimensions of spacetime yielded drastically different results.

“The sempiternal lifeforms dwelling in these countless material worlds refer to the mainland as the Supreme World,” Saint Zuo Zai smiled. “If lifeforms from these material worlds break through to the Sovereign phase, they too can live and cultivate on the mainland.

“The beings in these material worlds call this process ‘ascension’. Ascending to the Supreme World is the highest aspiration for the millions of lifeforms there.”

Wu Yuan listened attentively.

According to the intelligence he’d recently acquired, these material worlds within the Saint Realm were similarly subject to the Primordial Rules and would also undergo samsara cycles of heaven and earth.

The samsara cycles of heaven and earth encompassed the entire cosmic sea. Unless one achieved eternity, there was no escaping it.

“In a sense, the entire Saint Realm is a stable miniature river of space and time,” Saint Zuo Zai mused. “Lifeforms born here also have hope of achieving eternity via Dao Enlightenment. However, it’s far more difficult – perhaps hundreds of times harder than for lifeforms from the other eight megaverses.”

Wu Yuan nodded slightly.

The lifeforms of the other eight megaverses had inferior vitality compared to the Central Megaverse. And lifeforms born in Saint Realms or Eternal Realms had even weaker overall potential – even becoming a Sovereign might prove challenging for them.

“Overlord Ming Jian, remember this,” Saint Zuo Zai cautioned. “In the long years to come, you’ll often visit the Saint Realm. When exploring, you can observe how these material worlds operate, but don’t attempt to enter them.

“With your power, you wouldn’t cause a material world to collapse, but you will destabilize the entire world. One must not interfere with the operation of material worlds. This is an iron law of the Saint Realm,” Saint Zuo Zai said gravely.

Wu Yuan nodded slightly.

As an outsider, if he tried entering one of these micro-universes, it would certainly provoke backlash from the world’s essence.

“Let’s go. It will take us a day or two to reach the mainland,” Saint Zuo Zai said. “I’ve already sent word to the True Saint, but he said you needn’t pay respects.

“He simply instructed me to take you to the temple on the continent. Once there, my task of escorting you will be complete, and you’ll be free to move about as you please.”

“Understood,” Wu Yuan nodded.

Whoosh! Whoosh! The two flew through the boundless void at a hundred times light speed. Along the way, they occasionally passed those elliptical material worlds. With Wu Yuan’s perception of spacetime, he could easily glimpse the inner workings of these worlds.

Besides these material worlds, numerous massive temples had also been erected in the void of the Saint Realm.

Of course, “massive” was relative – the largest hall complexes spanned at most a million li, with buildings rising no more than a hundred li high.

“The True Saint has decreed that residences for sempiternal lifeforms and those at the Perennial stage must be established on the continent,” Saint Zuo Zai explained.

“But Dao Pioneer Eternals who prefer solitude may establish halls here in the void of the Saint Realm. Only about a hundred Saints live in the Saint Realm, and most of them do prefer to dwell in the void.”

Wu Yuan nodded slightly. He was already familiar with rough intelligence on the hundred-odd Saints of the Taiyuan Saint Realm.

They passed by one of the temples.

“That temple is the residence of Saint Chong Hun,” Saint Zuo Zai’s face lit up with a smile. “Oh, it seems Saint Chong Hun is hosting a banquet. What an opportunity.

“Overlord Ming Jian, come with me.”

Wu Yuan turned his gaze to the distant temple. He could sense many powerful vital auras emanating from within. They all seemed to be eternal lifeforms.

Whoosh! Whoosh! The two swiftly approached the sprawling hall complex. At the entrance stood over a dozen beings radiating formidable auras.

“It’s Saint Zuo Zai.”

“A great Saint has arrived – quick, report this!”

“The one accompanying the Saint seems to be a sempiternal lifeform, but a very powerful one. Must be an Overlord.” These Sovereign guards, all True Dragons, bowed respectfully.

“These Sovereigns were all born in those material worlds. Their potential is limited. They ascend to the mainland hoping to obtain powerful teachings and artifacts. Most end up following the Saints,” Saint Zuo Zai explained with a smile. “I have nearly a hundred such Sovereigns under my command.”

Wu Yuan nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over these Sovereigns. Judging by their auras, most seemed to be early-stage or mid-stage Sovereigns.

In the material worlds, they were likely apex existences. But once they ascended to the Saint Realm, they became part of the lowest rungs, relegated to guard duty.

However, only by coming to the Saint Realm and receiving guidance from eternal powerhouses did these Sovereigns have even the slightest hope of transcendence.

The gains and losses were difficult to weigh.

One of the Sovereign guards went to report their attendance, but Saint Zuo Zai led Wu Yuan directly into the massive main hall.

The temple’s interior was incredibly vast, stretching thousands of li. Several hundred figures were engaged in lively conversation.

So many powerhouses. Wu Yuan scanned the entire hall in an instant. It seems that there are only about a hundred eternal lifeforms. The rest are sempiternal lifeforms.

It wasn’t the scene Wu Yuan had imagined. He had thought all the banquet attendees would be eternal powerhouses.

The great hall was clearly divided into three circles. The eternal powerhouses and sempiternal lifeforms were distinctly separated.

Those few at the highest level must be Saints. Wu Yuan mused. The other eternal lifeforms are likely just Perennial Eternals, while these sempiternal lifeforms… judging by their vital auras, they all seem to be Overlords.

Hundreds of Overlords? At that moment, the several hundred figures in the hall sensed their arrival. All eyes turned to Saint Zuo Zai and Wu Yuan.

“Zuo Zai has arrived.” A towering figure in golden armor, seated on the high throne in the hall, suddenly laughed heartily. “Everyone, let us welcome Saint Zuo Zai.”

“Greetings, Saint.”

“Saint Zuo Zai.” Immediately, the hundreds of Overlord powerhouses and over a hundred Perennial Eternals in the hall rose and bowed respectfully.

Saint Zuo Zai accepted their greetings with equanimity.

In the Saint Realm, Saints held an extremely lofty status. Even across the entire cosmic sea, Saints were considered great powerhouses.

“Zuo Zai, come drink with us.”

“Hurry, it’s been too long since we shared a drink.” Several Saints with domineering auras flanking the throne called out. Some even raised their wine cups, making gestures of invitation.

“Overlord Ming Jian, take a seat for now. You can chat with the other Overlords and make some acquaintances. It will benefit you when you explore the cosmic sea in the future,” Saint Zuo Zai said in a low voice. “I’ll take you to the hall after the banquet ends.”

“Alright,” Wu Yuan nodded.

They had already spent a hundred years on this journey. It wasn’t necessary to save this bit of time.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Saint Zuo Zai flew to the highest level of the hall, while a puppet guided Wu Yuan to his seat.

Seated on either side of Wu Yuan were Overlords emanating powerful vital auras. These Overlord powerhouses were engaged in conversation.

“Brother, I serve under Saint Qiu Xu and am called Jue An,” the silver-armored Overlord beside Wu Yuan introduced himself with a smile. “I pride myself on my wide circle of friends – I know over half the Overlords in the entire Saint Realm, yet I don’t recognize you.

“Are you one of Saint Zuo Zai’s subordinates?” Overlord Jue An inquired.

“No,” Wu Yuan shook his head.

“Oh? Haha, it seems Saint Zuo Zai just brought you into the Saint Realm and you haven’t chosen which Saint to follow yet,” Overlord Jue An laughed. “No matter, don’t be too reserved. You’ll naturally grow familiar with everyone given time.”

“Brother, what’s your name? What’s your specialty?” Another Overlord, his body jet-black and birdlike in form, called out from nearby.

“Ming Jian. I specialize in the Great Dao of Spacetime,” Wu Yuan replied.

“Ming Jian? You’re an Overlord of Spacetime?”

“Hm? An Overlord of Spacetime?” In an instant, the group of Overlords seated near Wu Yuan perked up, the way they looked at him changing dramatically.

“Overlord Ming Jian, would you be interested in venturing to an exploration site? Our team is quite powerful and experienced. If you join us…” An Overlord immediately drew closer, extending an invitation to Wu Yuan.

“Luan Ye, stop boasting. Your team doesn’t even have a single fourth-stage Overlord…” Another Overlord immediately pushed him aside. “Overlord Ming Jian, if you want to go on an expedition, you should come with us instead…”

A crowd of Overlords swarmed over, and the area suddenly turned boisterous as they vied to invite Wu Yuan on expeditions.

This scene startled Wu Yuan.

It seems the rumors were true – few naturally-born eternal lifeforms specialize in the Great Dao of Spacetime. Wu Yuan marveled inwardly.

He knew full well that these hundreds of Overlords before him were not lifeforms from the River of Universes, but rather young naturally-born eternal lifeforms.

Naturally-born eternal lifeforms typically grew to the Overlord level given enough time. Yet for them, breaking through from the Overlord level to the Perennial stage was quite difficult. The conditions were numerous and stringent, and a breakthrough could not be achieved in one go. So, in order to break through, these Overlord powerhouses would often team up in groups of three to five to venture into the cosmic sea.

However, it seems no Overlord has heard of qi refiner self’s name. Wu Yuan thought calmly to himself.

There wasn’t much communication between the Abyss and the cosmic sea. These young naturally-born eternal lifeforms, who either resided in the Saint Realm or explored the cosmic sea, knew very little about the situation within the River of Universes. It was normal that they hadn’t heard of him.

“Everyone, I’ve just arrived in the Saint Realm and am not yet familiar with everything,” Wu Yuan smiled at all the Overlords who had extended invitations to him. “Moreover, I have some business to attend to and will first make a trip to Ancient Dream Mountain. We can discuss teaming up for adventures after I return.”

Where he was going wasn’t some great secret. If he didn’t mention it today, it would spread once he encountered powerhouses from other factions at Ancient Dream Mountain. After all, his qi refiner self was not like his body refiner self who would be targeted by a large number of enemies.

“Ancient Dream Mountain?”

“That place is quite dangerous. Overlord Ming Jian, you’d better be careful,” the crowd of Overlords advised after hearing this, no longer extending invitations.

Wu Yuan couldn’t help but smile.

How incredibly difficult was it for the likes of Overlord Xin Ya, Overlord Jiang Meng and others to cultivate to the Overlord level within the universe? Which of them hadn’t experienced countless trials? They were all extremely shrewd.

But naturally-born eternal lifeforms were different. They were born powerful, and many of them roamed the cosmic sea alone for eons as they cultivated. Therefore, they may be Overlords in terms of strength, but most had experienced very few trials, and their spiritual cultivation was generally lacking. Simply put, they were relatively naive.

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