Yuan's Ascension

Chapter 545: Apotheosis Yuan Soul Tribulation (2)

Heaven and earth was vast, the macrocosm boundless. Yet, no one knew that Wu Yuan was facing a terrible tribulation. Even his body refiner self could only vaguely sense it, powerless to help.

This was a tribulation! To gain, one must pay.

For most immortal cultivators, when their soul level advanced from Soul Will to Yuan Soul, the process was a straightforward breakthrough without special trials. But for those who defied the limits of heaven and earth, the price was enormous.

If it were someone of Eldritch Sovereign Kua Chi's level, having lived through endless ages, they would naturally understand that this was a legendary type of tribulation – Apotheosis Yuan Soul Tribulation!

A sword was sharpened on a whetstone. Without an absolutely strong Dao Heart and unwavering will, one was not worthy of wielding the terrifying power granted through Apotheosis.

Only a strong heart could harness such power. Only by overcoming the tribulation could one continue to advance toward the next stage after Apotheosis.

If one failed to overcome the tribulation? Then they would be reduced to ashes.

...

Deep underground of Battlefield 36, in the meditation chamber of the spirion battleship.

Wu Yuan sat in a lotus position, his vital aura dangerously feeble, as if a powerful life had lost its spirit. When the soul dissipated, the body naturally died.

At this moment, in his upper dantian lobe, Wu Yuan's twelve avatars each had extremely weak auras.

The Dao comprehender sat quietly on the mountainside of a towering peak, overlooking a world of twinkling lights below. A gentle breeze caressed his skin.

So, this is the end of Dao comprehension. Is this the true nature of the profundities of heaven and earth? How blissful. In this vast land, perhaps no one else can comprehend the principles of heaven and earth to my level. Wu Yuan's face lit up with happiness.

This was the contentment of believing he had fully comprehended the Great Dao.

Six hundred years of time, six hundred years of comprehending the Dao. I immersed myself in contemplation, deciphering all profundities. If I so wished, I could completely reshape this world and turn it into my ideal world. Wu Yuan had reached an unimaginable level of comprehension.

He calmly observed this world.

Six hundred years of Dao comprehension.

What a pity! It's all illusory in the end. A mysterious smile appeared on Wu Yuan's face.

Everything is false. I pursue the Dao to fully grasp the principles of heaven and earth, and I enjoy the process of contemplating the Dao. But what my heart truly desires has never been Dao comprehension itself. This illusion cannot replace my true abilities.

Moreover, the Dao comprehended here is ultimately illusory! Wu Yuan gently closed his eyes.

Rumble~ The world he had lived in for six hundred years crumbled, transforming into countless memory streams that poured into Wu Yuan's soul avatar.

...

I killed until corpses piled high like mountains and blood flowed like seas. I killed until heaven and earth turned crimson.

Wu Yuan's towering figure sat on a majestic throne, dressed in blood-red robes, radiating endless killing intent as he looked down upon the blood-colored world below.

Even heaven and earth faintly took on a blood-red hue.

Killing was never the goal. It's just a means. Wu Yuan's mind was clear. Killing is not my desire. Whether I kill trillions of beings or destroy world after world, nothing can shake my spirit.

My spirit has never been controlled by primitive desires for killing.

When I feel killing is necessary, no one can stop my saber.

When I feel killing is unnecessary, even if ten thousand people despise me, I will still leave with a smile.

The heart of slaughter is not my true heart; it cannot control me.

Rumble~ This world of bloodshed shattered.

...

And so, the heart of Dao comprehension, the heart of slaughter, the heart of lust, the heart of gluttony, the heart of laziness—various illusions stemming from Wu Yuan's experiences began to shatter, and his soul aura strengthened rapidly.

His vital aura was also quickly recovering.

All hearts contained good thoughts, evil thoughts, and devilish thoughts. Each being had ambitions and laziness. Countless desires intertwined to form a living, breathing existence.

All living beings had desires and emotions. Without desires and emotions, that wasn’t life, but a rock.

In the vast heaven and earth, it is precisely because living beings had desires and emotions that they became malicious and evil. Yet, it also led to their diverse natures.

How one turns out depends entirely on their inner heart. Those with strong hearts don't eliminate their desires but control them! They harness each desire, harness the impulses in their hearts.

Only thus can one's inner heart remain unshakable. Only thus can the spirit become radiant and immortal through endless years.

Why was it so difficult for most Archimmortals to achieve true immortality? The most crucial reason was that their spirits couldn't withstand the erosion of endless years. As they grew weary, their Dao Hearts would ultimately collapse and perish.

They didn't die from external causes, but from within.

Time was a knife that killed without a trace.

Only the strongest Dao Heart could withstand being worn down over time, tracing back to the birth of time itself, and glimpsing the final endpoint of time...

Illusions shattered one after another. Finally, only three remained.

The heart of strength, the heart of familial love... As the other illusions were shattered, Wu Yuan could clearly perceive that the final three illusions were false.

One illusion was the constant pursuit of strength, the chase for greater power, different from the heart of Dao comprehension or the heart of slaughter.

The heart of Dao comprehension was about seeking knowledge; the heart of slaughter was about releasing one’s repressed thoughts of violence.

One illusion was the scene of his previous life, accompanying his sister as she aged, watching his niece grow up, marry, and have children...

One illusion was the scene of a perfect, happy family from his current life. He was trapped in happiness, unable to extricate himself...

These were the most difficult illusions to break, the most terrifying obsessions deep within Wu Yuan's heart. They formed the driving force of Wu Yuan's Dao Heart.

However, there are two sides to every coin; motivation could also become shackles. If one acted out of emotion, one could also be constrained by emotion.

Year after year, it became increasingly difficult for Wu Yuan to break free from these frighteningly strong shackles, the bindings growing ever tighter.

The moment he lost himself completely in these illusions, it would trigger a chain reaction.

Of the twelve avatars, if even one avatar couldn't awaken from their illusion, it would ultimately lead to an imperfect soul and a scattered Dao Heart.

This was the Apotheosis Yuan Soul Tribulation—a blade of heaven that struck at the greatest monstrous prodigies.

Days passed in the world outside. Yet, Wu Yuan remained trapped in the three illusions. Even though he was aware that everything before him was false, he was still unwilling to leave.

They were just too real, and he was too content. This was what he had pursued for nearly a hundred years across his past and present lives, yet still hadn't achieved.

Lose myself? It's just... I really... don't want to leave!

In the illusion of the Blue Planet, Wu Yuan and his sister had both grown somewhat old, and their family was a peaceful and happy one.

Another Spring Festival had arrived.

Wu Yuan sat on the sofa, watching his sister, who despite having a nanny, still busied herself in the kitchen.

Watching the group of children playing and laughing, a smile appeared on Wu Yuan's lips.

He went to his sister in the kitchen.

"Little Yuan, go sit down. It'll be ready soon," his sister smiled gently.

Even though they had grown old, she still called Wu Yuan 'Little Yuan.'

"Sis, after I leave, I’m guessing you’ll miss me a lot, won’t you?" Wu Yuan suddenly smiled.

"What are you talking about? Where are you going?" his sister laughed.

"Sis, actually, I've always missed you too. I missed you so much." Wu Yuan smiled as he looked at his sister, whose hair had begun to gray.

Faint tears welled up in the corners of his eyes.

"Little Yuan, what's wrong with you today? Are you sick?" His sister put down her ladle, looking at Wu Yuan with apparent confusion.

"Sis, actually, I have so many things I want to tell you."

"It's just... you're ultimately not real." Wu Yuan spoke gently to his sister, who looked somewhat flustered and at a loss.

"Thank you for these decades."

"Sis, when I was little, I always made you worry. I didn't expect to suddenly disappear when I turned twenty-something and make you sad again."

"What’s false can't replace what’s real."

"But I've heard that legendary great beings can trace the past in higher spacetime dimensions, reversing the flow of time... One day, I will definitely, definitely reach Master's level, and even surpass it!" Wu Yuan said calmly, yet with unshakeable conviction.

"I will make all of this real."

"Real!" Wu Yuan gently closed his eyes, his face covered in tears.

Boom~

It wasn’t just this illusion. The avatars in the other illusions were experiencing a similar situation.

Silently, the three illusions dissipated simultaneously. The twelve avatars fully merged, and Wu Yuan's soul immediately began to undergo an unprecedented transformation.

Rumble~ His soul began to expand, and his Soul Will’s range increased rapidly.

Apart from Wu Yuan's soul, his Dao Heart and will began to transform, growing stronger.

A hundred years of past and present lives, constantly tempering and reflecting on myself, along with countless acts of slaughter. Wu Yuan's heart was incredibly calm.

The strength of my Dao Heart was originally close to or even comparable to many Earth Immortals.

But now?

The twelve illusions were false, yet they were also real experiences. Tens of thousands of years' worth of tempering had been accumulated through these trials, each targeting the desires of the human heart.

Now, even trials meant to test the Dao Heart of High Immortals wouldn't be able to shake me in the slightest. Wu Yuan's inner heart was serene.

His soul expanded rapidly, pushing against an invisible boundary until it finally reached a certain limit.

Strands of radiance began to emanate from his soul essence, and Wu Yuan felt his Soul Will's perception range surge.

One million li, two million li, three million li...

Yuan Soul radiance! Wu Yuan understood. He realized that his soul had finally stepped into a level that many Earth Immortals took tens of thousands of years to achieve—Yuan Soul!

A level that truly seized control from heaven and earth.

Even after reaching the Yuan Soul level, many Earth Immortals and Earth Eldritches, can generally only perceive a range of one million li at first, reaching three million li upon perfecting their Yuan Soul. Wu Yuan's Soul Will spread out in a flash, then quickly retracted. Yet my Yuan Soul has a range of 3.6 million li from the beginning.

It could be said that, in terms of soul strength alone, Wu Yuan could already rival many Earth Immortals. This wasn’t just because of the Origin Blood Droplet. It was more because Wu Yuan had passed the Apotheosis Yuan Soul Tribulation.

Wu Yuan was also beginning to truly understand the meaning of 'external objects are only aids.' One could only rely on oneself to overcome tribulations and tests. If he had failed this tribulation, he would still have died, even with the black pagoda.

My heart cannot be shaken. I will realize everything in the illusions. Wu Yuan murmured to himself, the last traces of tears vanishing from his eyes.

As Wu Yuan's Yuan Soul transformation was completed, strands of Yuan Soul power began to penetrate through the narrow entrance above the Amethyst Cradle, probing into the ethereal and unfathomable Destiny Voidscape, and sensing the Voidspace he had opened.

The Voidspace was the source, while the soul was the root.

Boom~ With the influx of surging power from the Yuan Soul, the Voidspace, which had theoretically reached its limit, began a new round of frenzied expansion.

Three hundred li, three hundred and thirty li, three hundred and sixty li... the Voidspace continued to expand, slowly but steadily.

This expansion was not supported by any external objects, driven solely by Wu Yuan's powerful Yuan Soul.

Like a strong man effortlessly pushing a wall of mud that seemed immovable to a child, the process was smooth and easy.

Soul Will cannot budge the Voidspace, but a Yuan Soul can sense higher virtual dimensions—a qualitative change. Wu Yuan grasped this crucial point.

Time passed.

In the vast, unfathomable Surface Void Layer of the Destiny Voidscape, the small Voidspace opened by Wu Yuan slowly expanded.

After what felt like an eternity, Wu Yuan's Voidspace finally reached its limit—550 li!

This seemed like a constraint of heaven and earth. No matter how hard Wu Yuan's Yuan Soul power pushed, it couldn't surpass this boundary.

As the Voidspace reached its limit, those mysterious purple strands of power caused the Amethyst Cradle lake, which had already reached the peak of the second-degree immortal root, to begin expanding frantically.

Strands of even purer Amethyst Cradle mana gushed from the lake's center.

Amethyst Cradle transformation?