Yuan's Ascension-Chapter 1027: Completion, Ancestral Pagoda Archon (3)

Boom! Suddenly, a crimson glow erupted from Wu Yuan's body. Countless red particles flowed across his skin, enveloping him completely in a brilliant, radiant shroud.

Whoosh~ Within the hall on the second floor of the black pagoda, innumerable red motes of light materialized out of thin air, surging madly into his body. His aura grew increasingly terrifying, his imposing presence ever stronger.

These countless red motes began restoring Wu Yuan's body refiner self's nearly shattered Yuan Soul and spirit at an astonishing rate. His speed of recovery was boosted to a hundred, a thousand times faster than before.

Blissful. Truly blissful. Wu Yuan couldn't help but moan instinctively, the sensation overwhelmingly pleasant. The unprecedented pressure and torment rapidly dissipated, as if all suffering and bitterness had given way to pleasure and sweetness.

Have I succeeded? No, it's not completely over yet. Wu Yuan's body refiner self could finally spare some mental energy to ponder these matters.

In the thousands of years prior, he had been consumed with enduring the waves of crushing pressure and had no capacity for thought. Now, at last, he could think.

Even if I haven't succeeded, I must have passed through the most difficult phase. Wu Yuan mused silently, feeling no particular joy, but rather a profound calm.

Over fifteen thousand years, he had endured what felt like an eternity of agony. It was a veritable nightmare. For this very reason, Wu Yuan cherished his current state immensely, resolving not to rejoice until true success was achieved.

Many fell in the darkness before dawn.

...

Boom! The entire physical black pagoda trembled as waves of crimson light burst outward in all directions, so dazzling it seemed to transcend spacetime itself, surpassing heaven and earth and illuminating countless realms across spacetime.

But, the moment these lights erupted, strands of azure light materialized from the surrounding four walls of the hall, immediately blocking the spread of the red radiance and confining it within the hall.

He has borne more than fifty percent of the Archaea imprint! Haha! Finally, it’s close to completion. The Origin Spirit leapt to its feet the instant the black pagoda erupted with red light. Its four limbs trembled uncontrollably, its eyes glistening with unshed tears.

Unbelievable; to think he would actually succeed. The third successor of the Creation Dao Master has done it. With more than fifty percent of the imprint taking form, the Archaea imprint will now coalesce on its own. Nothing can stop the birth of an Ancestral Pagoda Archon now.

Nothing! The Origin Spirit was beside itself with excitement, staring intently at Wu Yuan. This is the final stage, nothing must go wrong.

With this in mind, the Origin Spirit's gaze swept over the azure light in the surrounding void, marveling. The Creation Dao Master prepared well indeed, establishing such measures here. Were it not for this, I fear eternal lifeforms would have already returned to the river of time, descending upon this place.

Without any obstruction, the light from the birth of an Ancestral Pagoda Archon would shine brilliantly enough to shake an entire universe, compelling countless lives across the universe to submit. The magnitude of such an event would be no less than an Overlord achieving eternity through Dao Breaking, certainly drawing the attention of the mightiest eternal existences.

However, the Creation Dao Master had made sufficient preparations, establishing the Creation Dao Realm and laying down layer upon layer of safeguards to ensure nothing went awry.

This ensured that if an Ancestral Pagoda Archon truly emerged one day, it would happen silently, avoiding any premature demise before the new Archon could grow to maturity.

Indeed! The eternal beings standing at the pinnacle rarely targeted sempiternal lifeforms, firstly because they were difficult to deal with. And secondly, because eternal existences deemed it beneath them.

Even with enmity as deep as that between the Eldritch Court and Immortal Court, they rarely resorted to slaughtering each other's sempiternal lifeforms.

Even the emergence of talents like Wu Yuan's body refiner self or Zhu Shan, despite their immense renown, wasn't enough to warrant such existences losing face or expending great effort to intervene.

But! If a truly monumental threat emerged, even those at the apex—Dao Masters, Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu, the Heavenly Imperator, and the like—wouldn't hesitate to act.

And an Ancestral Pagoda Archon certainly qualified as such a threat.

...

Time flowed on.

The red light emanating from the black pagoda grew ever stronger, while the azure light restraining it remained undiminished.

The Origin Spirit maintained its vigilant watch. Ten years, a hundred years, three hundred years... The Origin Spirit held its posture unchanged, feeling no fatigue.

You must succeed. The Origin Spirit prayed silently, filled with boundless anticipation.

Meanwhile, inside the black pagoda.

Ancestral Pagoda! Archon! The red light suffusing Wu Yuan's body grew increasingly intense, his aura becoming ever more vast.

At the same time, Wu Yuan began to grasp the truth of what it meant to be an Archon. The projection of the Ancestral Pagoda materialized in his mind. No longer was it merely a black pagoda imprint suspended in his upper dantian lobe. Now, it was gradually transforming into a true Archaea imprint. The projection of the Ancestral Pagoda was being etched into his Yuan Soul, his physical form, and even his spirit.

Upon closing his eyes, the projection of the Ancestral Pagoda would always appear.

It was a realm of infinite darkness, a boundless expanse of vast void, its breadth unknown, filled with strange and mysterious celestial bodies. Each of these celestial bodies warped space and distorted time unpredictably, each containing power far surpassing any celestial body Wu Yuan had ever encountered. And amidst these countless celestial bodies, in the infinite void, stood a towering black pagoda.

Ancestral Pagoda! Origin Pagoda? Wu Yuan murmured to himself.

He began to understand why, through countless samsara cycles of heaven and earth, myriad lives would call it the Ancestral Pagoda, the Origin Pagoda.

It stood there, as if spacetime itself stood still, as if spacetime ceased to exist. It represented everything, it embodied the Primordium... the origin of all things, the ultimate end of all things.

As Wu Yuan gazed upon that majestic tower, it seemed that all answers, known and unknown, could be found within its form.

Boom! Like the heavens were splitting, the earth cracking, and the universe itself was ending, when the Archaea imprint finally completely coalesced, Wu Yuan at last felt the faint, almost imperceptible connection between himself and the Ancestral Pagoda standing tall in the endless void. The link was weak, yet undeniably real.

Archon? At last, success! Wu Yuan murmured to himself. From this day forward, I have replaced the Creation Dao Master, becoming a new Ancestral Pagoda Archon.

...

The black pagoda, once standing proudly in the grand hall, had transformed into countless motes of light, merging into Wu Yuan's body refiner self.

The process was complete. The myriad crimson rays emanating from Wu Yuan's body likewise dissipated, his vital aura returning entirely to normal.

Exhaling, Wu Yuan slowly opened his eyes. His gaze immediately fell upon the Origin Spirit standing not far away.

At this moment, the Origin Spirit was crouched on all fours, wearing an enigmatic smile.

"Origin Spirit?" Wu Yuan asked softly.

"Very good, Archon Wu Yuan. Congratulations," the Origin Spirit's face broke into a grin. Though it was a beast, its toothy smile conveyed a palpable joy.

"Among the eight Archons of the Ancestral Pagoda - finally, another position has been filled," the Origin Spirit said with a smile.

"Another position filled? Haven’t all eight Archons been chosen?" Wu Yuan couldn't help but ask.

"No," the Origin Spirit shook its head gently. "You cannot sense it yet because your power is insufficient, but there's no harm in telling you now.

"When you become an eternal being, you will be able to sense it. Including you, there should only be three Archons at present," the Origin Spirit explained. "Although other eternal beings are unaware that you have been successfully chosen, the other two Ancestral Pagoda Archons will vaguely sense it."

Including me? Three? Wu Yuan silently noted this information.

"Of course, you need not worry. The other Ancestral Pagoda Archons can only sense your existence, but they cannot pinpoint your location," the Origin Spirit assured him.

Wu Yuan nodded slightly.

"You should now understand some information about Ancestral Pagoda Archons, correct?" the Origin Spirit inquired.

"I do," Wu Yuan replied.

"Good," the Origin Spirit nodded. "You have your responsibilities and aspirations. I too have recalled many lost and jumbled memories, and now understand my own duty.

“It's time for me to leave," the Origin Spirit said with a smile.

"Origin Spirit, you've recovered much of your memories? What exactly is the purpose of the Ancestral Pagoda?" Wu Yuan quickly asked.

Endless eons. Countless Ancestral Pagoda imprint bearers. An ongoing selection process for eight Ancestral Pagoda Archons. What was the ultimate goal?

Though Wu Yuan had become an Ancestral Pagoda Archon, he had only established a connection with the Ancestral Pagoda beyond the endless spacetime dimensions. As for the Ancestral Pagoda's true purpose? He remained completely in the dark.

“The purpose of the Ancestral Pagoda? In the future, if you achieve eternity and reach the level of the Creation Dao Master, able to truly see the Ancestral Pagoda, you may attempt to explore that question," the Origin Spirit said with a smile. "That is destined to be a matter for the distant future.

“I can tell you only one thing. The Ancestral Pagoda was brought here by the Origin Saint.

“The 'Saint' in Origin Saint doesn't refer to the title of ‘True Saint’, but rather a Saint Emperor! The Emperor among Saints! The highest of all Saints!

“I hope we will meet again someday," the Origin Spirit said with a smile.

Whoosh~ Its body instantly shattered into countless shards of light, dispersing into nothingness.

Origin Saint? The Ancestral Pagoda was brought by the Origin Saint? Wu Yuan was momentarily stunned.

His mind stirred, as if suddenly understanding many things.

Why had the Creation Dao Master encountered the Origin Saint in such a coincidental manner? Why did he address the Origin Saint as 'Master'? And later, the Creation Dao Master became an Ancestral Pagoda Archon... It was as if invisible threads were connecting everything together.

The Origin Saint, the highest of all Saints? Could it be that the master of the Ancestral Pagoda is the Origin Saint? But as far as I know, the three supreme divine objects shouldn't have owners. At least, none have been clearly identified.

Many of the eternal beings standing at the pinnacle seem to only suspect that the three supreme divine objects are man-made. Wu Yuan pondered silently.

However, if we assume this to be true, then the Creation Dao Master must have been chosen by the Origin Saint? But if the Creation Dao Master revered the Origin Saint so deeply, why would he abandon this position?

In an instant, countless questions flooded Wu Yuan's mind. There was too little information to draw any conclusions. But two things could be confirmed:

First, the Origin Saint – this invincible being mentioned by True Saint Taiyuan, the 'Master' spoken of by the Creation Dao Master – was far more powerful than Wu Yuan had previously estimated.

Second, the Ancestral Pagoda indeed possessed immeasurable power.

If I only had a ten percent chance of achieving eternity before, I now have a ninety percent chance. Wu Yuan mused to himself. However, the ordinary path to eternity is not what I seek.

Eternity? At the very least, I should rival the Heavenly Imperator.

Whoosh~ Silently, Wu Yuan vanished from the great hall.

...

In the forbidden area of the Creation Dao Realm, a white-robed boy and a red-robed girl had been waiting patiently.

Suddenly, a glimmer flashed through their eyes.

"Success?"

"He's passed the third stage."

They weren't clear on the specifics of the third stage's test, but as the overseers of the Creation Dao Realm, they could roughly determine Wu Yuan's location.

"The final struggle begins," the red-robed girl mused.

"The Great Dao's Authority," the white-robed boy said softly. "Failure is not an option."