Yuan's Ascension

Chapter 652: Dharma Body, Divided Soul (1)

The Greater Laws were already incredibly difficult to comprehend, representing the pinnacle of Daos that could manifest in the normal operation of the cosmic universe.

And the even more profound Essence Great Daos? They contained the most essential power that transcended heaven and earth. Each of these Creation Essence Diagrams was profoundly mysterious.

Transcending heaven and earth. Surpassing heaven and earth, even the slightest display of power would be suppressed by the forces of heaven and earth and eliminated. Wu Yuan also sensed these essence diagrams, feeling the mighty power within.

Encompassing numerous Laws, merging and unifying them into a whole. Even the Law of Life is merely a part of it.

Previously, Wu Yuan only possessed one Creation Essence Diagram, so he couldn’t see the big picture. But when all 365 Creation Essence Diagrams were revealed simultaneously and his comprehension deepened, he vaguely sensed that these essence diagrams seemed to form a whole. They were merely separated.

On the surface, these essence diagrams all depicted various states and stages in the life of a thunder beast. If combined, they would form a vivid and lively thunder beast.

There were moments of leisurely enjoyment, passionate battle, sadness, joy... Wu Yuan couldn't help immersing himself in them.

But to comprehend over 300 Creation Essence Diagrams simultaneously? Wu Yuan shook his head slightly.

It was too difficult. One cannot grow fat from a single meal.

It’s just like comprehending the Law of Life, I initially started from the profundities of the Land, then gradually expanded and extended my understanding to the Law of Celestial Body, Law of Longevity, Law of True Domain... finally merging them to form the Law of Life. Wu Yuan pondered silently.

Biting off more than one can chew will lead to problems. I should start by comprehending the Creation Essence Diagram that I first studied. Wu Yuan's gaze fell on the essence diagram depicting a thunder beast lying comfortably on the ground.

This was the one most in line with Wu Yuan's inner nature.

I'll start from this essence diagram, and after comprehending it to a relatively profound level, I'll gradually begin to comprehend the other essence diagrams. Wu Yuan's approach to cultivation underwent a change, from seeking completeness to specialization!

The Dao profundities contained in this diagram are too profound to comprehend directly... I must study the corresponding secret art sacred mountain.

Wu Yuan divided some of his mental energy into studying the secret art sacred mountain for this essence diagram.

The Dao patterns on the sacred mountain described an extremely powerful combat methodology. Studying it allowed Wu Yuan to resolve many of his previous conundrums.

The essence diagram was like theory, while the methodology of the secret art sacred mountain was like practice. Combining theory and practice, one could progress much faster.

...

Wu Yuan's body refiner self threw himself fully into contemplation. The more he comprehended, the more he could sense the vastness of this Essence Great Dao. The profundities of the Dao derived from numerous Greater Laws combined, producing all sorts of wondrous changes. Wu Yuan's understanding of heaven and earth changed unconsciously.

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

Thunder, Fire... these Greater Laws, and Space, Life, even Earth, Wood, and so on, are all tenuously connected. They are not completely unrelated. It's just that these connections are extremely weak. Wu Yuan thought to himself.

If he hadn't entered the Thunder Marsh World, he wouldn't have noticed. Only through the essence diagram could he perceive this point.

Over the past decade, through the Creation Essence Diagram, Wu Yuan gained a slight understanding of the Law of Thunder and the Law of Fire.

It was very superficial, not even reaching the first-level Domain stage. However, it was just like how adding a pinch of salt to ingredients could completely transform the flavor of a dish.

Nearly 300 years of comprehending the Creation Essence Diagram had allowed Wu Yuan to comprehend its spiritual resonance and artistic conception to an extremely profound level.

And in this special environment of the test location, combined with Wu Yuan's already profound comprehension of the Law of Life, the pieces begin to fall into place. Through ten years of effort, the tiny bit of profundities of the Laws of Thunder and Fire he had comprehended subtly merged with his insights into the Law of Life.

This merging produced a wondrous change.

Ten years. Comprehending the Creation Essence Diagram and secret art sacred mountain has yielded results. Let's try again and see if I can pass level seven. Wu Yuan thought to himself.

He leapt up, charging straight into the entrance at the bottom of that unremarkable azure tower suspended in the void.

...

Once again, his consciousness descended into the battle space with a diameter of ten thousand li. As usual, two sabers floated beside him.

Not far away was that figure shrouded in silver robes, with height and weapons identical to Wu Yuan's.

"The battle will soon commence, three, two, one!" The familiar voice echoed again in the battle space.

But this time, Wu Yuan didn't take the initiative to attack. He just stood in place, while that silver-robed guardian also stood in place. The two sides faced each other from ten thousand li apart.

Time seemed to slow to a standstill.

This calm lasted only for a breath. Seemingly realizing Wu Yuan wouldn't take the initiative, the silver-robed guardian finally moved, grasping his saber.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Several afterimages flashed, and the silver-robed guardian had nearly closed the distance between himself and Wu Yuan.

Less than a thousand li away, the cold light on the edge of the saber was clearly visible!

Here he comes. Wu Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly, gripping the two sabers in hand.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Four terrifying blade rays lit up simultaneously in the air.

The silver-robed guardian's blade rays were like two crescent moons, desolately beautiful, dazzling and intoxicating, as if they wished to tear apart heaven and earth.

But the saber technique Wu Yuan displayed was completely different. The blade rays interwove, like a cross-shaped slash, simultaneously spreading in all directions. Countless Dao patterns interwove to form a huge spherical shape!

If one looked closely, it was as if a miniature celestial body enveloped Wu Yuan, shielding him from the front.

Boom! They collided. Wu Yuan was sent flying backward by those two crescent moons, shooting back over a hundred li like a meteor, but his two sabers didn't waver at all. They were still as steady as a mountain.

Whoosh! The silver-robed guardian’s figure flickered, his movements bizarre and unpredictable, once again pouncing towards Wu Yuan.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Wu Yuan grinned, his figure flickering to produce eleven lifelike phantoms, surrounding the guardian and moving in to attack.

Each lifelike phantom formed a miniature celestial body, creating a series of eleven miniature celestial bodies.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Their exchanges were lightning-fast. With each collision, Wu Yuan was sent flying, yet he blocked again and again. With his superb movement skill, he avoided several killing moves unleashed by the silver-robed guardian.

Wu Yuan couldn't defeat the silver-robed guardian, but the silver-robed guardian, exerting all his strength and exploding forth time after time, likewise couldn't find a way to kill Wu Yuan.

As expected, the combat teachings from the secret art sacred mountains are indeed extraordinary. Wu Yuan marveled inwardly. Learning the first move alone has greatly increased my strength.

Over the past decade, Wu Yuan had comprehended the teachings from that secret art sacred mountain and learned a nameless methodology, which he named ‘Celestial Body Intent'.

This was a teaching designed for life-preservation. It could be used in conjunction with sword arrays, flying sword techniques, saber techniques, staff techniques, and so on. Now Wu Yuan was applying it through his saber techniques.

With the profundities of the Essence Great Dao as its core, it was like a celestial body with inexhaustible protective abilities! Not adept at attacking, but excellent at defending.

It should be noted that the Dao Wu Yuan comprehended most deeply, the one most in line with his inner nature, was the Law of Celestial Body. Thus, cultivating this teaching was relatively easy for him. Only after comprehending the first move did he dare to try level seven again.

Inside the battle space, the two sides clashed time and time again, exchanging more than ten thousand moves!

Whoosh! The silver-robed guardian suddenly retreated and stopped, then his figure dissipated, along with the two sabers.

He's gone just like that? Wu Yuan was stunned. He clearly hadn't won yet.

"Congratulations, you have passed level seven of the Creation Tower. Upon leaving, you are eligible for a third-grade opportunity," a cold voice suddenly sounded, echoing in Wu Yuan's ears.

He passed?

Boom! Wu Yuan's consciousness was withdrawn, swiftly returning to his body.

Was it because he couldn't overcome my defenses, or did the battle exhaust his ether? Wu Yuan pondered.

He couldn't be sure. During the battle, neither side could actually overcome the other.

Well, that's fine too. Wu Yuan revealed a slight smile.

In just a decade, Wu Yuan had grasped an Essence Great Dao, mastering a single combat secret art from the secret art sacred mountain. His power had soared to new heights, allowing him to conquer level seven of the Creation Tower.

Of course, this was also because Wu Yuan had already accumulated a deep foundation, comprehending many aspects of the Law of Life from the Thunder Beast Diagrams. He only needed to fuse and unify his various Dao insights using the spiritual resonance and artistic conception within the essence diagram.

However, I still can't be said to have crossed the threshold of the Essence Great Dao. Wu Yuan shook his head slightly. I've merely deepened my understanding of the essence diagram’s artistic conception.

He didn't attempt level eight. Level seven had been challenging enough. He was guaranteed to fail level eight.

Conquering level seven grants a third-grade opportunity. At the very least, meeting the minimum requirement means it wasn't all for naught, even if I ultimately fail. Wu Yuan mused as he sat motionless on the desolate plain.

He continued to study those essence diagrams intently.

The more he comprehended, the more he understood the vastness of this Essence Great Dao... yet his rate of comprehension was also slowing.

My rapid progress over the past decade was due to centuries of accumulated understanding of the Creation Essence Diagram and the Law of Life. Wu Yuan reflected calmly.

Now, I can only advance step by step. He cultivated patiently.

...

Nearly a century later, Wu Yuan's body refiner self had made great strides in comprehending the essence diagrams. He could put up a prolonged fight against the level eight guardian of the Creation Tower, though he still couldn't clear it.

On this day, as he contemplated the Dao, the internal shambhala within Wu Yuan's body refiner self began to transform. The entire shambhala was undergoing an earth-shattering metamorphosis.

With a thunderous roar, the Boundary Tree grew rapidly. The lake of ether surrounding it, vast as a boundless ocean, surged tempestuously.

Strands of even purer ether were produced.

Whoosh! Rumble! Like a great river, spiritual qi poured into his internal shambhala, processed into streams of pure vital ether.

Hum~ His already vast and expansive internal shambhala shattered its former limits, breaking through to an even higher level.

The world grew more expansive, the earth more substantial, the sky more distant, the essence more potent... This was a leap in the order of life.

Wu Yuan's vital aura grew increasingly profound.

As time flowed on, a massive ethereal figure gradually materialized behind Wu Yuan. Towering ten thousand zhangs tall, it was unmistakably an enlarged version of Wu Yuan himself.

This was his Dharma Body.

At 60, I reached the ninth-stage Shambhala phase. At 140, I entered the Elysian Field phase. Wu Yuan mused inwardly. And after three more centuries, I've finally advanced to the Dharma Body phase.