Yuan’s Ascension

While Wu Yuan was experiencing all this in the Black Devil Hall...

In the Core Region of the Snowlight Mist Realm, atop a vast glacier.

This Ming Jian, he went after so many Astral Lords, but after so many days, he hasn't come looking for me? Astral Lord Gu Shou sat in lotus position on the glacier.

Back then, he had personally slain Ming Jian's mana body. Logically, if Ming Jian sought revenge, he would have targeted him first, as their karmic connection was the strongest.

Perhaps he believes he's no match for me. Astral Lord Gu Shou snorted coldly. Cowardly fellow.

Other Astral Lords might be unwilling to provoke Ming Jian, but Astral Lord Gu Shou was not afraid. He was a late-stage Astral Lord powerhouse, skilled in the Space Dao.

Suddenly, a cold voice resonated in his mind, "Black Devil Blood Hollow, inheritance trial begins, prepare to enter."

What? The Black Devil Blood Hollow? Isn't that the treasure trove left behind by Sovereign Black Devil?

But Sovereign Black Devil perished long ago. How could I suddenly be summoned to participate in his inheritance trial? Is it a trap? Astral Lord Gu Shou was startled at first.

Then he felt an unseen force envelop him. Immediately, he darted into the Turbulent Spatial Layer to break free from the restraints.

Whoosh! The force intensified, refusing to let him go even in the Turbulent Spatial Layer.

Hum! Astral Lord Gu Shou instantly vanished from his position.

I must report this to the Astral Monarch immediately! Far away in the Hundred Mysteries Palace headquarters, Astral Lord Gu Shou's true self began to report the situation to his superiors in shock.

…

Simultaneously, all Archimmortals and Archdeities within the entire Snowlight Mist Realm were encountering similar situations.

Whether they were as powerful as late-stage Astral Lord powerhouses, or as weak as first-stage Archimmortals/Archdeities, they all received the same notification.

Then, regardless of their consent, a terrifying force teleported them away. It was like a large-scale capture operation; not a single Archimmortal or Archdeity in the entire Snowlight Mist Realm could escape.

This revealed the frightening power of the Black Devil Blood Hollow.

Even many Archimmortals and Archdeities who were in the midst of fierce battles were instantly teleported away.

Meanwhile, the countless High Immortals and High Deities in the Snowlight Mist Realm were completely unaffected.

The number of Archimmortals and Archdeities teleported away in this instant exceeded tens of thousands. News of this strange occurrence naturally spread at an alarming rate among the nine major factions of the Dao Realm.

Perhaps in the vast river of space and time, Sovereign Black Devil wasn't particularly famous. After all, he was just a Sovereign, not an Overlord.

But in the Spacetime Dao Realm, Sovereign Black Devil was exceptionally special. He was once acknowledged as the number one Sovereign of the Dao Realm. He had even waged war against numerous Sovereigns of the Dao Realm simultaneously and maintained the upper hand.

Though he had fallen, his legend persisted. With his inheritance emerging, it naturally attracted immense attention.

…

The Black Devil Blood Hollow, though seemingly hidden within the Snowlight Mist Realm, was actually a space specially created by Sovereign Black Devil, containing a vast world within.

Within this vast world, numerous expansive realms were created, each no smaller than an immortal continent, some even more extensive. The total area of these realms far exceeded that of an immortal nation.

These realms, collectively known as the Devil Realm by the countless beings within the Black Devil Blood Hollow, nurtured innumerable lifeforms, among which arose a multitude of powerhouses, including vast numbers of Archimmortals and Archdeities.

These powerhouses could not leave the Devil Realm, let alone the Black Devil Blood Hollow, and had lived in the Devil Realm all their lives.

Today, countless powerhouses throughout the Devil Realm simultaneously received a message from the will of the Devil Realm: “Whoever obtains the Devil Lord's inheritance shall control the entire Devil Realm.”

In an instant, powerhouses across the many realms of the Devil Realm were in an uproar.

For the High Immortals and High Deities, the Devil Realm was vast enough to spend a lifetime exploring. However, for Astral Lords, who possessed near-eternal lifespans and stood at the pinnacle of power, the realm felt far too small.

"Devil Lord! The Devil Lord's inheritance."

"Legend has it that the Devil Lord once waged war in the worlds beyond. He never returned, and never again summoned our Devil Realm's great army."

"This is our opportunity, a chance to transcend the Devil Realm."

"Yes! A chance to surpass the Archimmortal phase." Countless powerhouses across the Devil Realm were incredibly frenzied and excited.

Legend had it that the Devil Lord created this world, establishing the entire Devil Realm. He was the progenitor of myriad devils.

However, as eons passed, the early super powerhouses born in the Devil Realm had long been recruited for battles beyond the realm.

The birth of powerhouses required the right environment and foundation. Although the realms within the Black Devil Blood Hollow were vast, they lacked great opportunities, competition, and battles. More importantly, they lacked the guidance of even stronger beings.

Thus, in the billions of years since Sovereign Black Devil's fall, many Astral Lords had been born, yet no Astral Monarch had emerged.

Now, for the countless powerhouses of the Devil Realm, their opportunity had arrived. If they could obtain the Devil Lord's inheritance, they could naturally ascend to the heavens in a single step. They could even leave the Devil Realm and venture into the vast world outside.

"Let's go."

"Let's take up the challenge. I no longer wish to be confined in the Devil Realm. It's too small, like a tiny pond. Only by going outside can we seek the path to eternity."

Unlike the Archimmortals and Archdeities in the Snowlight Mist Realm who were forcibly captured, the Devil Realm powerhouses were given a choice to take up the challenge.

However, after weighing the pros and cons, over half of the Astral Lords and more than thirty percent of the Archimmortals and Archdeities in the Devil Realm chose to accept the challenge.

When opportunity came knocking, one had to make a decision.

…

After being teleported by an invisible force from the Black Devil Hall, Wu Yuan felt himself plunging into a realm of nothingness. Darkness surrounded him, with no exit in sight.

Where is this? Why have I been brought here? Wu Yuan wondered inwardly.

Although news of the events in the Snowlight Mist Realm had spread throughout the Spacetime Island, only Archimmortals and Archdeities were teleported in, and no Spacetime Island imprint bearers were transported, thus the impact of this incident wasn't particularly significant on the Spacetime Island.

Moreover, both Wu Yuan's qi refiner self and mana body were in the Black Devil Blood Hollow.

Upon entering the Black Devil Blood Hollow, Wu Yuan immediately sensed that his connection to the Spacetime Immortal Voidrealm had been severed.

Although his two true selves shared a consciousness, Wu Yuan's body refiner self couldn't instantly find out what was happening on the Spacetime Island. Therefore, Wu Yuan was temporarily unaware of the developments in the world outside.

Though trapped in this realm of nothingness, there was no immediate danger, so Wu Yuan naturally didn’t rashly use Nine Firmaments In A Thought, and instead waited patiently.

Another day passed.

Whoosh! Another formless power enveloped him, and Wu Yuan felt the space around him shift. Suddenly, he found himself in a vast world.

An endless, sprawling ice plain stretched before him.

So many people. Wu Yuan's heart tightened.

As soon as he was transported to this realm, he was shocked to discover at least ten thousand Archimmortals and Archdeities densely packed together on this wasteland. The sheer number of them was terrifying!

Countless Archimmortals and Archdeities were either gathered in groups of three to five or stood alone, scattered across the expanse.

So many Archimmortals and Archdeities? Wu Yuan's heart raced, and he sensed something amiss. It seems there isn't a single High Immortal or High Deity among them.

Moreover, among the tens of thousands of Archimmortals and Archdeities on the wasteland, Wu Yuan could easily sense that several hundred of them posed a clear threat to him. They were all at least Astral Lord-level existences.

So many Astral Lords?

Sovereign Black Devil said that if I had enough strength, I could obtain what he left behind. Otherwise, if I perished, so be it. Wu Yuan thought to himself. But then, why transport me here? What's going on?

Where did all these Archimmortals and Archdeities come from?

Wu Yuan could sense that many of the powerhouses here seemed to exude a strong thirst for blood. None of them appeared to be easy targets.

The spatial restrictions are even more severe now. After a brief attempt, Wu Yuan discovered that he was unable to break through to the Turbulent Spatial Layer.

Being unable to enter the Turbulent Spatial Layer meant that Wu Yuan's self-preservation ability was severely weakened. If he were to be surrounded and attacked, it would become extremely dangerous.

Of course, aside from the absurdly strong spatial pressure, other aspects of this vast wasteland spanning tens of millions of li were not much different from the world outside.

"A High Immortal?"

"A High Immortal is here too? High Immortals can also receive the message from the Devil Realm's will and are qualified to accept the Devil Lord's inheritance?"

"Who is he?"

"I've never seen him before. There shouldn't be any legendary High Immortals in this generation of the Devil Realm who can rival Archimmortals in combat power." At least several hundred Archimmortals and Archdeities around Wu Yuan noticed his presence.

If he were an Archimmortal, they wouldn't have been surprised. But a High Immortal? This left them shocked and puzzled. How could a High Immortal appear here? Where did he come from?

"It's Ming Jian."

"It really seems to be him."

"He's an imprint bearer of the Spacetime Island, but he's only a High Immortal. How did he get transported to the Black Devil Blood Hollow?" A very small number of Archimmortals and Archdeities quickly recognized Wu Yuan.

They were all Archimmortals and Archdeities who had been directly transported here from the Snowlight Mist Realm.

One’s reputation extended like a tree's shade.

Wu Yuan's fame was immense among the nine major factions of the Dao Realm, especially in the Snowlight Mist Realm, where he could be described as terrifyingly notorious. His reputation was forged with the blood of countless immortals and deities, naturally drawing much attention.

Whoosh! A figure in snow-white robes flashed over in an instant, stopping about ten thousand li away from Wu Yuan.

Ten thousand li was a comfortable range for Archimmortals and Archdeities to exchange words without feeling threatened.

Archimmortal Li Shu? A flicker of surprise passed through Wu Yuan's eyes. He hadn't expected to encounter an old acquaintance.

Several hundred years ago, when Wu Yuan first went on a frenzied killing spree in the Snowlight Mist Realm, he had crossed blades with Archimmortal Li Shu, only gaining a slight upper hand at the time.

At the end of that battle, Archimmortal Li Shu had paid a price of five hundred thousand divine crystals to resolve their karmic entanglement.

"Daoist Ming Jian, I never expected to encounter you here in the Black Devil Blood Hollow. What luck indeed," Archimmortal Li Shu transmitted her voice to Wu Yuan. Her appearance was still as breathtakingly beautiful as ever, and her aura as extraordinary.

Inside the Black Devil Blood Hollow? Archimmortal Li Shu knows this is the Black Devil Blood Hollow? Wu Yuan was secretly shocked.

He was also quite puzzled as to why she was here. Did she possess a Black Devil Divine Pillar?

"Daoist Ming Jian, I'm curious. How did you, a mere High Immortal, get transported in here?" Archimmortal Li Shu transmitted.

"Why can’t I be here?" Wu Yuan countered directly.

This time, it was Archimmortal Li Shu's turn to be stunned.

She pondered for a moment, then nodded, supposedly having figured it out. "Daoist Ming Jian, you possess a Black Devil Star. Could it be that you entered this place on your own through the spatial coordinates from a Black Devil Divine Pillar?

That makes sense! Since you can enter the Turbulent Spatial Layer, you must have rushed here immediately after receiving news of the Devil Hollow's emergence.

After all, if someone completely obtains Sovereign Black Devil's inheritance, the value of the Black Devil Star would decrease drastically."