Yuan's Ascension

Chapter 598: Thousand Year Goal (1)

The Blazing Fire Immortal Troops was a thousand-man battalion. It was an elite unit led by an Immortal General, followed by eighty Immortal Warriors. Under them were eight ordinary squads, each composed of three Immortal Warriors and seventy-eight Immortal Soldiers. In total, 729 immortal troops.

Such a thousand-man unit could annihilate most low-tier eldritch tribes, and even contend with many of the weaker mid-tier tribes.

Yu Yue, the Immortal General, had received orders that an Archeldritch bloodline bearer had been born in the eldritch Zhu Fu Tribe. Her strength was still weak, making it the perfect opportunity to strangle her in the cradle, so he led his army forth.

Earth Eldritch phase? Across the entire Huanggu, Earth Eldritch powerhouses are rare, mostly concentrated on the main battlefield. They won’t easily take action. But for a group of peak-stage Eldritch Warriors to arrive so quickly, it's likely a high-tier tribe, with a small chance of them being from the eldritch army of a mid-tier tribe. Immortal General Yu Yue swiftly deduced.

The possibility of encountering an Eldritch General? Also not high.

This region was not the core battlefield of the eldritch-immortal war, though the fighting was still quite intense. The fall of a low-tier tribe wouldn't cause too large a commotion.

An Eldritch General was regarded as a key figure in high-tier eldritch tribes. However, even if one or two of them showed up, Yu Yue remained completely unfazed. As a battle-hardened veteran who had fought alongside the Immortal Court's main force against Earth Eldritches at Heavenly Pillar Mountain, there was no situation he hadn't encountered before.

Annihilating a low-tier tribe? Killing some Eldritch Warriors? Mere child's play. Immortal General Yu Yue was confident.

Besides, according to the final message transmitted by the Fifth Company before their demise, they had already discovered the remnants of the Zhu Fu Tribe. The Archeldritch bloodline bearer is most likely in this group. Immortal General Yu Yue continued analyzing.

He believed he had a thorough understanding of the enemy's movements and strength.

Once this mission is accomplished, I should have sufficient merits to apply for a one-time entry into the Creation Divine Hall. Immortal General Yu Yue muttered to himself, his heart full of longing.

In all my years of cultivation, I've only entered the Creation Divine Hall once. That single opportunity allowed me to break through my bottleneck and become an Immortal General.

If I enter a few more times, perhaps I'd truly have a chance of becoming an Earth Immortal. Yu Yue thought to himself.

He was well aware of how the eldritch race had dominated the land in the past. They were truly the overlords of heaven and earth, causing all other races to tremble in fear.

It was the three Imperial Majesties who wielded the Creation Divine Artifacts, occupied Heavenly Pillar Mountain, established the Immortal Court, and opened the Creation Divine Hall, truly initiating the era of the eldritch-immortal struggle for supremacy.

And now, the tides were gradually turning in the Immortal Court’s favor, as they sounded the horn of conquest over the land.

...

Amidst towering peaks and rolling mountains, a group of over a thousand people continued to advance through the forests, moving at a considerably rapid pace. After all, even the few children in the group were at the first-stage Communion phase.

The six Eldritch Warriors and Wu Yuan were merely providing protection, not assisting these Zhu Fu Tribe members.

Firstly, this was the custom of the eldritch race. Living in Great Huang, one had to rely on one's own strength. Secondly, while the eldritch race was extremely strong in combat, their methods of equipment forging, pill refining, and other such arts were rather crude and primitive. They didn't possess many powerful artifacts for travel.

The battleship artifact they had just acquired was still in the process of having its controls deciphered by Hou Quan.

As for Wu Yuan? He didn’t have any battleship artifacts with him. Even if he had one, he wouldn't flaunt it at this moment.

"Brother Hou Feng, you needn't worry too much," Hou Quan flashed a reassuring grin. "We've slain that hundred-man company. If their Immortal General superior learns of this, he would know to retreat. After all, continuing to linger here will be dangerous for them."

"Mm." Wu Yuan nodded.

He conversed with Hou Quan, Hou Ming, and the others along the way. As Eldritch Warriors from a high-tier tribe, they naturally knew a wealth of intelligence and information, especially Hou Quan who held an even higher position than most.

Perhaps some tidbits of information they casually dropped would help Wu Yuan gain much deeper insights into this new world.

Creation Divine Hall. The three Imperial Majesties of the Immortal Court? Wu Yuan gradually learned of this intelligence, which was common knowledge among the upper echelons of Huanggu.

The Creation Divine Hall, the most miraculous place in the whole of Huanggu, was also the Immortal Court's primary sacred ground and treasure land.

As for the three Imperial Majesties, each wielded a Creation Divine Artifact, empowered by the authority of heaven and earth, granting them unimaginable power.

"The authority of heaven and earth?" Wu Yuan was stunned when he heard this term. The last time he heard this phrase was when he first learned of the legend of Eldritch Progenitor Hou Tu.

"Indeed!" Hou Quan's face turned serious. "When the Immortal Court was first established, the number of Earth Eldritches and High Eldritches in our ranks outnumbered the Immortal Court’s counterparts tenfold."

"Originally, the strengths of the three Imperial Majesties of the Immortal Court were ordinary among High Immortals. But empowered by the authority of heaven and earth, they possess nearly invincible strength within Heavenly Pillar Mountain, able to fight ten-to-one." Hou Quan sighed emotionally. "In that battle, countless Earth Eldritches and High Eldritches of our eldritch race perished."

Wu Yuan nodded slightly.

Though he didn't know of that battle, he could imagine its brutality. For Huanggu, High Eldritches and High Immortals were the pinnacle of combat strength. Even the three Imperial Majesties of the Immortal Court were essentially High Immortals.

Archeldritch? Archimmortal? Those were legends! With the disappearance of Immortal Tribulations, no one in Huanggu could break through.

Are the Creation Divine Artifacts considered celestial equipment? Or Dao Treasures? Wu Yuan mused to himself. And what exactly is the authority of heaven and earth?

Wu Yuan had a feeling that his arrival at Huanggu was likely related to the so-called Creation Divine Hall.

However, even High Eldritches can’t defeat the three Imperial Majesties of the Immortal Court. How am I, a member of the eldritch race, supposed to enter the Creation Divine Hall?

Currently, my strength is only comparable to peak-level Immortal Generals and Eldritch Generals. Even if I break through in mana again, reaching the ninth-stage Elysian Field phase, I'd only be on par with ordinary Earth Immortals and Earth Eldritches. Wu Yuan realized the difficulty.

Without the aid of external treasures, it was extremely challenging to fight enemies from several cultivation phases higher than him.

No wonder I was given a thousand years. Wu Yuan thought to himself, while continuing to converse with Hou Quan and the others.

At the same time, he continued to cultivate, deducing the Law of Life.

He never slacked off on cultivation. Only through perseverance could one hope to reach the end.

...

“Eldritch tribes are all established on various spirit veins throughout the land.” Wu Yuan gained another tidbit of knowledge.

“Mm. This isn't really a secret. Although Huanggu is vast and rich in spiritual qi, those spirit veins are truly where the spiritual qi is most concentrated, worthy of being called grotto-heavens." Hou Quan smiled and said, "Of course, Brother Hou Feng, you've been wandering across the land all this time, so you might not have paid much attention to this."

Wu Yuan nodded slightly.

"As far as I know, the spirit veins of the land can be roughly divided into low-grade, mid-grade, high-grade, and heaven-grade!" Hou Quan smiled and explained, "As you’ve probably guessed, they basically correspond to the four levels of our eldritch tribes.

The four Archeldritch tribes are established on four heaven-grade spirit veins, and high-tier tribes are basically established on high-grade spirit veins.

A single spirit vein can only nurture and support a limited number of lives. If they are overpopulated, it will lead to a decrease in talent and potential among newborns." Hou Quan said.

“Therefore, Archeldritch tribes to mid-tier tribes all encourage its strong members to venture out, leading some ordinary tribe members to establish new eldritch tribes."

Wu Yuan nodded in understanding.

Simply put, when the population reached the limit a spirit vein could support, new resource points had to be developed. Otherwise, it would lead to the deterioration of the living environment. And controlling a large number of spirit veins meant controlling the vast land.

"Of course, there's a place in this world that surpasses heaven-grade spirit veins." Hou Quan said in a low voice, "It's Heavenly Pillar Mountain, where countless spirit veins of the entire land converge. It was discovered by the three Imperial Majesties of the Immortal Court.

The concentration and quantity of spiritual qi there surpasses heaven-grade spirit veins.

The realm created at Heavenly Pillar Mountain has allowed the Immortal Court to produce numerous powerhouses over the long years. Now, they've begun to wage war on the land, emigrating members of the immortal race out of Heavenly Pillar Mountain." There was killing intent in Hou Quan's eyes.

"However, once they leave the range of Heavenly Pillar Mountain, the Immortal Court is far inferior to our eldritch race."

Wu Yuan listened attentively.

Through their conversations so far, he had basically sorted out the grievances between the eldritch and immortal races.

In earlier years, the four Archeldritches descended to propagate the Dao, allowing the eldritch race to flourish and dominate the entire land. The countless races on this land were thus suppressed.

Later, three Imperial Majesties emerged from the myriad races, obtaining Creation Divine Artifacts from somewhere, and created the Immortal Realm at Heavenly Pillar Mountain.

They united the myriad races, spread a unified cultivation method, and merged them into a single race called the immortal race.

The original demons made up the majority of the immortal race, and some special races such as plant lineages, rock life forms, and peculiar life forms made up the minority.

At the beginning of the eldritch-immortal struggle for supremacy, the immortal race was at an absolute disadvantage.

However, the immortal race had the Immortal Realm as their foundation, equivalent to an impregnable home base. After many long years, they finally had the ability to counterattack.

In the current era, the immortal race had gradually expanded their territory beyond the Immortal Realm, annihilating a large number of eldritch tribes around Heavenly Pillar Mountain, and establishing one immortal city after another on the land.

It seems the eldritch race is the antagonist in this story? This immortal race's journey of struggle and resistance sounds more like a passionate, underdog protagonist. Wu Yuan thought to himself, then shook his head and smiled.

As heaven maintains vigor through movements, a noble person should constantly strive for self-improvement. [1]

Survival in the world followed the law of the jungle. To the heavens, all the myriad races of intelligent life born were indistinguishable.

There was no such thing as fairness or justice to speak of. Nor was there a distinction between protagonist and antagonist.

Heaven won't reward you for saving billions of lives, nor will it punish you for slaughtering billions.

The eldritch race is essentially the human race. Is the eldritch race wrong to want to continue being the leader of all beings? No. Wu Yuan silently mused.

Is the immortal race wrong to rebel, to yearn to completely rid themselves of the fate of being suppressed and enslaved by the eldritch race? No.

There is no inherent right or wrong, only strong and weak!

Since I'm here, I should naturally do my utmost to help the eldritch race win this eldritch-immortal struggle for supremacy, to ensure the eldritch race flourishes eternally in this world. Wu Yuan thought to himself. By helping the eldritch race, I’m also helping myself.

Only if the eldritch race wins, do I have a chance at obtaining some of the most important opportunities in this world. Wu Yuan thought with crystal clarity.

I'll give it my all. Since I no longer have the aid of external treasures, I'll cultivate slowly, relying purely on my own strength to battle the powerhouses of the Immortal Court one by one, fighting those Immortal Generals and Earth Immortals.

Hundreds of years from now, I should strive to face the so-called three Imperial Majesties of the immortal race head-on. My goal is to stand at the pinnacle of the entire Huanggu World within a thousand years. This, if nothing else, is a challenge. A gleam of light shone in Wu Yuan's eyes.

Since he wasn’t sure what opportunities he could gain in this world, he would climb to the peak of strength in Huanggu. When he got to that point, all secrets would likely be revealed to him.

1. quote from the 易经, Book of Changes ☜