Yuan’s Ascension

Inside the world residence, within the meditation chamber.

Qi sea! Wu Yuan focused intently on the mysterious place within his body that appeared real yet felt slightly illusory. Within this qi sea, streams of essentia and mana flowed steadily around a brilliantly shining Golden Core, polished to its absolute limit.

The ninth-stage Golden Core phase! The pinnacle of the qi sea.

Simultaneously, nine lifebound flying swords, shrunk into sword pellets, revolved around the Golden Core, resembling nine miniature silver pills.

This qi sea differed from the soul chamber. The soul chamber, originating from the lower dantian lobe, was derived from flesh and blood, a true space opened within the body capable of storing items. As the shambhala transformed step by step, it would eventually turn into a real world.

Meanwhile, the qi sea, originating from the middle dantian lobe, straddled the line between reality and illusion.

It appeared to reside within Wu Yuan's body, yet it wasn't entirely inside. It was partially located in an unknown place.

As the soul chamber transforms step by step into the shambhala, one reaches the Shambhala phase. Similarly, when the qi sea transforms into the amethyst cradle, it signifies one’s transition to the Amethyst Cradle phase.

These two phases were immensely important junctures of the two cultivation systems, from which many magical-like abilities stemmed.

Wu Yuan finally finished claiming ownership over the Greenmist Crystal Wood.

Time to break through. He had consolidated his insights long enough; it was time to move on from the ninth-stage Golden Core phase. As High Immortal Nan Yin had said, he had been ready to break through for a while now. There was no need to delay any longer.

However, as wonderful as a third-degree immortal root might be to other cultivators at the Amethyst Cradle phase, Wu Yuan had always been unsatisfied. The earlier a strong immortal root was established, the better.

Now that he had acquired and owned the Greenmist Crystal Wood, a semi-legendary treasure, the time was ripe.

With a buzz, the Greenmist Crystal Wood flew into his qi sea. Under the command of Wu Yuan's powerful soul, it merged directly into the dazzling Golden Core.

Boom! In the next instant, the previously calm essentia suddenly erupted, followed by the explosion of the Golden Core, which released its majestic power. It was as if an explosion on a universal scale was taking place. However, this explosion unfolded in an orderly manner.

Condense! Wu Yuan's soul, working in tandem with the Dao's profundities, observed every detail of the qi sea's explosion, controlling it with precision.

Why must one be at the seventh-level Domain stage to enter the Amethyst Cradle phase with confidence? If one's Dao comprehension was not deep enough, they would lose control during the explosion process in the first step and perish.

Whoosh~ His mana, already close to the level of an Amethyst Cradle cultivator, swept across the vast qi sea in an instant. This immense power then struck the sky above the qi sea, piercing through it!

Rip~ This mysterious, vast sky was instantly shredded open, revealing a hole. Hazy purple light shone through, and an invisible yet mysterious force quickly calmed the boiling qi sea.

Streams of purple light illuminated a new world that stretched endlessly in all directions, disappearing into the void. The purified essentia gathered below to form a lake, its surface glowing with hazy purple light.

On the lake, Wu Yuan's soul sat, bathed by the rays of purple light shining through the mysterious hole in the sky. He felt an unprecedented comfort and warmth!

Breaking the barrier between real and virtual, linking the qi sea to the Destiny Voidscape. Through this mysterious small hole, Wu Yuan faintly glimpsed that vast and mysterious place, as if an endless ocean was flowing past.

These strands of purple light were merely the drips of power seeping out from this endless ocean. And it was this mysterious power that had constructed the foundation of the amethyst cradle.

The amethyst cradle is light as a feather. Through the Destiny Voidscape, I can easily extend my Soul Force. Wu Yuan realized.

Wu Yuan's soul proceeded to merge with these strands of purple light, not to enhance the soul, but to imbue it with a mysterious trait—the trait of the Destiny Voidscape!

Finally, Wu Yuan's soul completely metamorphosed, adapting to the strands of purple light. His Soul Force obediently entered the mysterious Destiny Voidscape through the small hole.

In the real world, there were the Material Spatial Layer, the Fragmentary Spatial Layer, and higher spatial dimensions. Regardless of the spatial dimension, it fundamentally existed.

Yet, how could two true selves be connected across the endless space, ignoring distance? Why was the voidrealm so inscrutable?

All of it stemmed from consciousness, the soul. On the flip side of the real world, there existed a virtual world—the Destiny Voidscape!

This was a higher dimension of consciousness, also known as a higher void dimension.

If one is powerful enough and comprehends the Law of Space, one can ascend to higher spatial dimensions. Wu Yuan thought.

Only with a strong soul, along with the amethyst cradle as the foundation and nourishment from the Destiny Voidscape, can one's consciousness easily enter the Destiny Voidscape.

Swoosh! Through the small gap, Wu Yuan's consciousness entered the vast, mysterious Destiny Voidscape.

Boom! With this small gap as the nucleus, a monumental power began to expand rapidly. Eventually, it expanded to a radius of hundreds of li.

The size of the Voidspace that immortal cultivators establish in the Destiny Voidscape is related to the Amethyst Cradle and soul. Wu Yuan realized.

A cultivator with a normal third-degree immortal root usually only established a Voidspace of about thirty to forty li. The fact that Wu Yuan could establish such a large one was all due to his strong soul.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Suddenly, wisps of green grass sprouted in the Voidspace that Wu Yuan had just established. Then, the entire Voidspace continued to expand outward.

In just a moment, the Voidspace expanded to cover three hundred li. The power it could absorb from the Destiny Voidscape also increased.

The Voidspace began to nourish itself, causing the Amethyst Cradle, located in real space, to expand further. The mana it nurtured grew stronger and more refined!

Second-degree immortal root. Wu Yuan could already feel the transformation of his own immortal root. Silently, the third-degree immortal root had been upgraded to the second-degree.

It appeared effortless, but in reality, it was because Wu Yuan's soul was strong enough, and the Greenmist Crystal Wood was sufficiently effective.

At present, I've only opened up the most superficial layer of the Voidspace, which can be considered the Surface Void Layer, Wu Yuan realized.

To truly enter the higher void dimensions, one typically needs to be an Archimmortal. One would need to be an extremely powerful High Immortal at least to have a chance of success.

The Destiny Voidscape represented the virtual side of the real heaven and earth. The real and the virtual intertwined, opposing and complementing each other, embodying the fundamental power of heaven and earth.

Within the vastness of heaven and earth, the animus of all living beings were housed in the boundless Destiny Voidscape, originating from the endless River of Destiny.

Without the real world, the Destiny Voidscape could not exist. Yet without the Destiny Voidscape, the existence of the real world would be meaningless.

Throughout the long ages, countless qi refiners had established their Voidspaces. Essentially, they merged their consciousness into the Destiny Voidscape, gradually gaining control over its power.

The process of continuously merging with the Destiny Voidscape would gradually unlock the essence of heaven and earth.

This process would not be obstructed by heaven and earth. On the contrary, it would be welcomed by the boundless essence of heaven and earth.

This was because the Voidspace established by a qi refiner was a part of the Destiny Voidscape. The stronger they became, the stronger and more stable the Destiny Voidscape would be.

Body refiners seek to control a real world independently and determine their own destiny. Therefore, they are repelled by heaven and earth. Wu Yuan thought silently. Qi refiners, on the other hand, merge with the Destiny Voidscape, gradually mastering the profundities of its essence.

A path independent of heaven and earth.

A path merging with heaven and earth.

Two completely different routes ultimately led to different results, and the means of forging them naturally also differed.

Numerous miraculous abilities were made possible within the Voidspace.

…

Voidspace reflection. With a thought, Wu Yuan felt his consciousness spread effortlessly across the entire Voidspace. After which, it was reflected onto reality.

The Voidspace, initially only three hundred li wide, rapidly expanded to thirty thousand li in width once reflected in the real world.

This real-world region spanning thirty thousand li was completely within the range of his Soul Force, as if he was personally there.

This is just the Surface Void Layer. Wu Yuan marveled inwardly. If I truly enter a higher void dimension, even if it's just the first layer, my consciousness can spread across three million li once projected into reality.

The higher void dimension expanded greatly once reflected onto reality. And this was just the first layer; there were still higher layers.

How were some great beings able to learn of the various secrets throughout the vast spacetime with a thought, their immortal consciousness even covering the entire macrocosm? Was it really their Soul Force traveling through the Material Spatial Layer?

Of course not! In essence, their consciousness entered an extremely high dimension of Destiny Voidscape, which then expanded as it descended to lower dimensions, reflecting an inconceivably large region of the real world.

Knowing of everything that was happening in the macrocosm with a single thought; this was no exaggeration.

Body refiners have powerful bodies and can form the Shambhala Domain. They can shatter laws with pure strength, making it easier for them to break through to the higher dimensions.

As for qi refiners, their consciousness originates from the Voidspace. Like the roots of a tree, they can easily break through to the higher void dimensions. This grants them astonishing perceptual abilities that allow them to kill others across endless spacetimes through karma and destiny! Wu Yuan understood the advantages and disadvantages of the two systems.

What people called the infinite expanse of spacetime referred solely to the Material Spatial Layer, not the higher void dimensions.

Perhaps, a mere two steps in the higher spatial dimension, once reflected onto the real world, was equivalent to crossing billions of li of spacetime.

Almost all great beings of qi refining sects were adept at karma and destiny, due to the creation of their Voidspaces in the higher void dimensions.

Body refiners are repelled and suppressed by heaven and earth. Due to their relatively weaker perception, they are rarely aware of any destiny-based threats. They may seem full of vitality, but their probability of death is relatively higher.

Thus in this vast heaven and earth, the powerful qi refiners grow in numbers, and over ninety percent of those who overcome the Immortal Tribulations are Archimmortals, Wu Yuan mused.

Even in the eldritch world, qi refiners might only account for fifty to sixty percent of immortal cultivators in the initial cultivation phases, but in the end, the number of Archimmortals made up more than eighty percent of the Archimmortals and Archeldritch born.

Whysee's Thoughts

For reference:

Cultivation Phases

Phases

Title/other names

Lifespan (years)

Qi Refiner

Qi Sea

Heavenly Ranker, land deity

Golden Core

Superior

Amethyst Cradle [WY's current phase]

Reverand

Void Refiner

Eminence

10,000

Divided Soul

Earth Immortal (pseudo-immortal)

90,000

Tribulation

High Immortal (pseudo-immortal)

1,000,000

Archimmortal

Heavenly Immortal (complete 7-8 Tribulations)

100,000,000+

Astral Lord (complete 9 Tribulations)

Billions

Astral Monarch

Immortal Sovereign