High Immortal Wan Bao wasn't particularly eye-catching among the dozen or so Supreme Geniuses in the Eldritch Court. The most memorable aspect of his was his childlike appearance. At first glance, he looked truly naive and innocent.
Though cultivators could transform themselves in countless ways, their outward appearance was somewhat related to their mental state. Those who preferred to appear elderly were often those who had cultivated for long years without a breakthrough. As for High Immortal Wan Bao, he didn't truly possess a childlike mentality.
Boom! Boom! Two terrifying waves of soul power swept forth, causing Wu Yuan's eyes to flutter slightly, as if his soul had been somewhat affected. But an instant later, Wu Yuan's gaze returned to clarity.
As expected of Wan Bao, a High Immortal who has established an Apotheosis Yuan Soul. Wu Yuan's gaze grew slightly serious. His opponent was not to be underestimated!
In the endless megaverse, geniuses were as common as clouds, and opportunities were countless. He had obtained many great opportunities, but which Supreme Genius hadn't? Some opportunities weren't necessarily worse than his, perhaps even greater. But the size of an opportunity was one thing, to what extent one leveraged it was another.
He woke up immediately? A flicker of shock crossed High Immortal Wan Bao’s face as he found himself staring at Wu Yuan in amazement.
In the past, he had always heard of Wu Yuan's exploits, but they had never truly clashed before. From the attempt he made, High Immortal Wan Bao sensed that Wu Yuan's soul was akin to a razor-sharp blade, exuding an overwhelming edge that sent a chill deep into the heart. Its piercing intensity effortlessly dismantled his soul illusion art. Such a powerful soul! Such strong will.
Has this Wu Yuan really only cultivated for less than thirty thousand years? High Immortal Wan Bao found it unbelievable. He was truly a monstrous prodigy.
Perhaps he might stand a chance against Zhu Shan? A thought flashed through High Immortal Wan Bao's mind. Never mind, if I truly want to win, I can only go all out and gamble for a chance of survival.
Boom! High Immortal Wan Bao made his move. Misty rainbow light enveloped him, streams of earthy-yellow qi flowed, while numerous terrifying shuttles appeared simultaneously beside both his true self and mana body. They filled the sky, numbering several hundred. [1]
High Immortal Wan Bao truly lived up to his name. [2]
Harnessing the profundities of the complete Law of Earth, hundreds of Dao Instrument shuttles moved in perfect synchronization, giving High Immortal Wan Bao a god-like appearance with overwhelming might.
Within the interweaving of earthy yellow light and qi streams, many shuttles assembled to form earthy yellow divine dragons with stern expressions and powerful auras.
Whoosh~ Similarly, a considerable portion of shuttles merged into the rolling earthen yellow qi streams, forming a powerful domain, a true world of earth.
This scene shocked the thousands of geniuses watching from the plaza and viewing platforms.
"Such a powerful domain!"
"So this is High Immortal Wan Bao's full strength? With his true self and mana body working together, the power of his secret art has increased tremendously."
"Formidable." A wave of exclamations arose. High Immortal Wan Bao's burst of power surprised the vast majority of geniuses.
Some powerhouses skilled in coordination would see their strength increase greatly when their mana body/ether body and true self united. Obviously, High Immortal Wan Bao was such an example. When he went all out, the power he displayed was stronger than many had estimated.
“Interesting. This domain isn’t bad at all.” Wu Yuan smiled. Then, he made his move too, growing ten thousand zhangs tall and exuding a boundless majestic aura. He appeared to move slowly but actually as fast as lightning, charging straight at High Immortal Wan Bao.
Too fast. Space faintly distorted as Wu Yuan's form became somewhat dreamlike, already charging into the range of High Immortal Wan Bao's domain.
"Roar~" The divine dragons roared.
Swoosh! Blade rays burst forth.
Boom~ Boom~ A series of collisions between blade rays and shuttle-jiaolongs created piercing shock waves, spreading in all directions with sharp whistles.
A towering figure silently stood beside Wu Yuan's true self. He held a saber, his gaze cold. It was Wu Yuan's ether body!
While Wu Yuan's true self had employed the supreme burst secret art, ether arts, Beast Fusion, and various other techniques, the nine sabers in his hands were all still lowered. He had yet to strike!
"This?" High Immortal Wan Bao's pupils contracted slightly, gritting his teeth: "I don't believe it, kill." With a thought, his true self and mana body once again controlled a series of shuttle artifacts, bombarding Wu Yuan with them.
"Wan Bao, it's useless." Wu Yuan's true self's eyes were calm as a still lake.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! A series of blade rays suddenly burst forth, blocking High Immortal Wan Bao's attacks once more. His attacks were unable to bypass Wu Yuan’s ether body to reach his true self. Wu Yuan’s defense was simply flawless.
Whoosh! Wu Yuan's true self, nine sabers lowered, moved toward High Immortal Wan Bao one step at a time. The pressure he radiated continued to build, growing increasingly fearsome.
Every Supreme Genius witnessing the scene was left utterly stunned. The savage-looking High Deity Qi Jue exclaimed, "This! This! Wan Bao's domain and attacks are very powerful, I'm not confident I could completely block them, but Wu Yuan blocked all his attacks with just his ether body?"
"It's inconceivable." High Eldritch Xuan Rong gasped.
So strong! The Abyssal Devil race's Gamang stared intently, beads of sweat faintly appearing on his forehead. He's even stronger now. When he defeated me back then, he had to use some techniques, but now? I'm not even a match for that Wan Bao, let alone the current Wu Yuan.
High Immortal Wan Bao was powerful, but the strength Wu Yuan displayed was even greater.
Higher Dao comprehension, more profound saber techniques, stronger base power. And it seems he hasn't even employed the Primordial Technique yet. Zhu Shan watched from afar, light gleaming in his eyes. He’s gotten much stronger since we last fought, very good.
He was looking forward to it. The Megaverse Crossroads was somewhat boring to Zhu Shan, with hardly any opponents worth fighting. Wu Yuan was someone he found increasingly interesting.
"He won’t be able to hold on for long.”
“Wu Yuan is building momentum. With each step forward, he is striking at High Immortal Wan Bao's spirit and will. When his momentum reaches its peak, he will completely crush High Immortal Wan Bao."
"High Immortal Wan Bao can't retreat, once he retreats, this battle will certainly be lost."
All the Supreme Geniuses could clearly see that High Immortal Wan Bao was in great danger. To stand any chance of victory, he needed to disrupt the momentum of Wu Yuan’s true self.
If Wu Yuan's momentum fully solidified, his saber strike would become unstoppable. Already at a slight disadvantage in strength, High Immortal Wan Bao faced a near-impossible challenge if he allowed his opponent’s momentum to completely overwhelm him.
Inside the grotto-heaven battlefield.
Wu Yuan's ether body defended, clearing away all obstacles before him, while Wu Yuan's true self's momentum nearly reached its peak.
After attacking repeatedly to no avail, High Immortal Wan Bao's face had turned slightly pale. His true self and mana body exchanged a glance, simultaneously shouting: "Merge! Chaos Becomes One!"
Hum~ High Immortal Wan Bao's mana body instantly transformed into a ray of blood light, pouring into High Immortal Wan Bao's true self and causing his vital aura to surge tremendously. He had sacrificed his mana body!
Under normal circumstances, if two powerhouses were fighting and a mana body was about to perish, the Heavenly Domain Emissary would transfer it out, preventing true death. After all, if one won this battle, the next round would begin soon, and it would take ten years to cultivate a new mana body. Without a mana body, it was impossible to compete fairly.
However, if during battle, one chose to sacrifice their mana body or ether body to employ a secret art, that was their own choice, and the Heavenly Domain Emissary would not interfere. These were the rules.
Boom! His flying shuttles instantly gained a massive power boost. They assembled to form two intertwining earthen yellow divine dragons, roaring and twisting as they charged toward Wu Yuan's true self.
Swoosh! Wu Yuan's ether body erupted with full power. Dreamlike azure light faintly manifested across the surface of his body, enhancing his saber technique's power.
The Primordial Technique!
The Primordial Technique was in some sense similar to supreme burst secret arts, but comparatively less flawed and more powerful. Both increased a cultivator's overall strength. However, the Primordial Technique raised pure power, yet this power couldn't merge with Dao fluctuations. Or rather, the power of Dao was already encompassed within the Primordial Technique.
Clang! Clang! Clang! As the blade rays and earthy yellow divine dragons collided, shockwaves spread across tens of thousands of li, distorting space and collapsing distant mountain peaks in the grotto-heaven.
One had to understand that this grotto-heaven was completely enclosed, and the power of the shockwaves was already greatly dampened. Clearly, this battle between Wu Yuan and High Immortal Wan Bao had nearly reached the level of late-stage Astral Monarch powerhouses.
Chaos Becomes One! Kill! High Immortal Wan Bao stared intently at his opponent. He had already fought to this point, sacrificing his mana body. He no longer cared whether he could take another step forward or not. Victory or defeat no longer mattered.
His eyes seemed to burn as he threw himself wholly into this battle, focused only on enhancing his shuttles’ speed and power. Unable to break Wu Yuan's momentum, he could only stack his own momentum to counter. High Immortal Wan Bao felt an unparalleled surge of passion—this was a battle unlike any he had ever experienced, a clash at the very height of existence.
The Myriad Treasures Art is said to give one control of the myriad treasures under heaven. High Immortal Wan Bao murmured to himself. But so what if I have a myriad treasures? In the end, only the treasure in my hand is the most useful one!
Gradually, amidst the layers of earthy yellow qi streams, High Immortal Wan Bao gained some unique insights, ones he had long sought but never found.
Just then, a soft whisper echoed in High Immortal Wan Bao's spirit. "Wan Bao, it ends now."
High Immortal Wan Bao's eyes widened as a sudden flash of fear swept across his gaze. In that instant, a dazzling spectacle unfolded before him: a cascade of lights, brilliant and fierce, as nine blade rays slashed through the air. Wu Yuan's true self had finally taken action.
Whoosh! With a swift and synchronized motion, he drew his nine battle sabers for the first time since the battle began. As Wu Yuan's momentum reached its peak, his spirit also grew incredibly strong. Out of respect for High Immortal Wan Bao, Wu Yuan unleashed his most formidable technique.
The nine sabers struck as one!
Wan Bao was defeated!
1. 长梭, long shuttle is a long, slender weapon that resembles a weaving shuttle in shape, similar in length to a spear or staff ☜
2. 万宝 Wan Bao means ten thousand/myriad treasures ☜