Yuan's Ascension
Chapter 1144: Samsara Sword? A Xuanhuang Dao Treasure (2)

Chapter 1144: Samsara Sword? A Xuanhuang Dao Treasure (2)

It wasn't that Wu Yuan didn't want to believe it. It was simply too outrageous a claim.

True Saint Taiyuan had made it very clear before. A Xuanhuang Dao Treasure was an ultimate treasure desperately coveted by numerous Dao Zenithels, the most powerful and wondrous artifact in the vast cosmic sea.

Take the Eternal Register for example. How miraculous was it? Anything written in it could be sensed by countless True Saints across the boundless cosmic sea.

This was the nature of a Xuanhuang Dao Treasure, incomparable to any Chaos Treasure.

And now, this purple-robed elderly man was telling him that the Samsara Sword was a Xuanhuang Dao Treasure? Instinctively, Wu Yuan felt it must be false.

"It's true," the purple-robed elderly man Ba You sighed, shaking his head. "Very well, I'll transfer part of the Samsara Sword’s information to you, along with some measure of control.

"I won't give it all to you now. When you achieve eternity, you'll receive it anyway."

As he spoke, a flood of information silently materialized in Wu Yuan's mind.

"You and the Samsara Sword are now inseparable, so the information can be transmitted directly to you," said the purple-robed elderly man.

Wu Yuan was too preoccupied to pay attention to the purple-robed elderly man. He was frantically processing the information, understanding the various aspects of the Samsara Sword.

At the same time, Wu Yuan began to faintly sense something with a vast and boundless aura forming an unbreakable connection with him from the endless reaches of spacetime. Its aura was immense, supreme and limitless. The sensation was hazy yet clear, its aura identical to the Samsara Sword within Wu Yuan's internal space, only infinitely more powerful.

For a long while, Wu Yuan remained silent.

"My future master, do you believe me now?" The purple-robed elderly man grinned, his white beard fluttering.

Wu Yuan let out a long breath, a hint of shock flashing in his eyes before he quickly regained his composure. "Ba You, tell me more."

Through the information and authority he had gained, Wu Yuan had essentially confirmed the other's identity. He was indeed the spirit of the Samsara Sword. Of course, not the Samsara Sword in his upper dantian lobe, but the true Samsara Sword. The spirit of the Xuanhuang Dao Treasure Samsara Sword.

"Do you know, while most Chaos Treasures are nurtured into existence by the Primordium, some exceptionally capable Dao Zenithels can barely manage to forge them," the purple-robed elderly man smiled. "Like the Spacetime Dao Master, who has forged more than one Chaos Treasure over the long ages. However, Xuanhuang Dao Treasures are truly limited in number."

"Limited in number?" Wu Yuan murmured to himself.

"Yes." The purple-robed elderly man nodded emphatically. "This is something every spirit of a Xuanhuang Dao Treasure can sense. In essence, Xuanhuang Dao Treasures contain a strand of essence from the Primordial Rules.

"Each Xuanhuang Dao Treasure represents a strand of the will and authority of the Primordium. They can act on behalf of the Primordium in the world.

"Just as the number of Dao Masters is limited, with only ten Dao Masters ever existing because there are only ten eternal Great Daos, the same principle applies to Xuanhuang Dao Treasures. For instance, the Central Megaverse can only nurture twelve Xuanhuang Dao Treasures at most.

"As for the other eight megaverses, each can spawn at most three Xuanhuang Dao Treasures.

"In total, thirty-six Xuanhuang Dao Treasures will ever exist - that's the theoretical limit," the purple-robed elderly man explained. "In reality, many of the Xuanhuang Dao Treasures have yet to emerge."

Wu Yuan listened silently.

This information was absolutely top-secret, something most True Saints wouldn’t know. After all, the number of Xuanhuang Dao Treasures was far fewer than the number of Dao Zenithels. Currently, only about a dozen Xuanhuang Dao Treasures were widely known in the cosmic sea. The Samsara Sword was not among them.

"The Samsara Sword, in terms of the Primordial Order, belongs to the Great Dao of Spacetime," the purple-robed elderly man continued. "The Spacetime Dao Master's methods are heaven-defying. He went to great lengths to acquire all three Xuanhuang Dao Treasures affiliated with the Spacetime lineage."

"He got all of them?" Wu Yuan was inwardly shocked.

Three! Having even one Xuanhuang Dao Treasure was enough to elevate any Dao Zenithel to the peak. For those already incredibly powerful, it would be like a tiger growing wings. Yet the Spacetime Dao Master had acquired all three? It was madness.

"He certainly doesn't want me telling you these secrets. Unfortunately, he can't become my master," the purple-robed elderly man's face showed a hint of mockery. "He can only seal me away. If I want to tell you something, he can't stop me."

Wu Yuan understood.

The power of a Xuanhuang Dao Treasure was heaven-defying, representing a facet of the Primordial Order. Even a Dao Zenithel probably couldn't destroy it, only seal it away at most.

"A Xuanhuang Dao Treasure represents the pinnacle of Dao power. Each one has heaven-defying abilities, but equally, the burden on the user is immense," Ba You explained. "So after he claimed ownership of two, he couldn't use me anymore."

Wu Yuan nodded slightly.

"After sealing me away for eons, he seemed to have researched a formidable secret art some time ago, separating a tiny trace of essence imprint from my true form." The purple-robed elderly man pointed at the Samsara Sword not far away. "There, that little thing."

Wu Yuan smiled bitterly.

He had exhausted himself trying to manifest the Samsara Sword in the real world, only to find it was merely a tiny trace of essence imprint from the true Samsara Sword?

But thinking carefully, it made sense. This was a Xuanhuang Dao Treasure. Even a mere trace of its imprint would hold heaven-defying power.

"I know what he wants to do. Though I can't move, I can sense that he placed this trace of my essence along with the essences of many other Chaos Treasures in one place, letting numerous mortal lifeforms come to choose in turn," said the purple-robed elderly man. "To attempt to claim ownership."

Wu Yuan's mind stirred.

He immediately thought of the numerous treasures laid out in that inheritance ground within the Spacetime Dao Realm. So the original forms of those treasures were at least Chaos Treasures!

"But I didn’t care. I just waited and waited!" said the purple-robed elderly man. "I waited and waited, and finally, you arrived."

"Me?" Wu Yuan was startled.

"Ordinary powerhouses can’t catch my eye at all. That successor of his, Meng Guan, was quite the monstrous prodigy back then," the purple-robed elderly man shook his head. "But I didn't care."

"Until you, Ming Jian. When I sensed you, I felt a mysterious affinity... Of course, it was also because of your talent and strength that you ultimately gained the recognition of this trace of essence.

"Later, I watched as you strengthened this trace of essence... That's how I was able to gradually transmit to you some methods of using the Samsara Sword."

Wu Yuan sighed inwardly.

So his journey of strengthening the Samsara Sword had been under Ba You's observation all along. Moreover, he had long wondered why the Samsara Sword would occasionally transmit cultivation information to him out of nowhere. It turned out, it was all from Ba You.

At the same time, Wu Yuan began to understand why the Spacetime Dao Master didn't leave any instructions on how to use the Samsara Sword.

I fear that the old Dao Master truly doesn't know how to use the Samsara Sword. Wu Yuan mused silently.

“Finally, in just a few hundred thousand years, you've actually reached the minimum standard to claim ownership.” the purple-robed elderly man marveled.

"Minimum standard?" Wu Yuan was taken aback.

"Yes," the purple-robed elderly man nodded. "You manifested this imprint created from a trace of essence. The so-called manifestation is actually the process of mastering the imprint... To manifest it in full, there were two major requirements.

"First, you needed to find a sufficiently powerful treasure. That essence stone you found was very strong, but most of the energy it contained was absorbed by me," the purple-robed elderly man said matter-of-factly.

Wu Yuan's eyes widened.

So that's how it was. No wonder the Samsara Sword's transformation had slowed so much in the final stages.

"Second was an Eternal Psyche," the purple-robed elderly man looked at Wu Yuan. "Without an Eternal Psyche, you wouldn’t even have the minimum qualification to claim ownership."

Eternal Psyche?

Wu Yuan nodded inwardly. The requirements were indeed high– nearly no sempiternal lifeforms had any hope of achieving it.

"You've met the minimum requirements. I, Ba You, can finally leave the sword’s true form and come to you, gaining a bit of freedom.

"That undying old Spacetime Dao Master actually buried the great Ba You for 267 full samsara cycles of heaven and earth!!" The purple-robed elderly man seemed to grit his teeth as he said this.

Wu Yuan was speechless.

Over two hundred samsara cycles? That was truly a long time! Moreover, Wu Yuan had a feeling that Ba You was very different from many artifact spirits. He seemed just like a true cultivator, with his own independent thoughts.

After venting about the Spacetime Dao Master, the purple-robed elderly man's mood seemed to improve considerably. He continued, "So, Ming Jian, you need to work hard from now on. Master me as soon as possible so I can see the light of day again."

"I can't take the Samsara Sword yet?" Wu Yuan couldn't help but ask.

"Take me?" The purple-robed elderly man glared. "How do you plan to take me? What are you now? Just a sempiternal lifeform. Can an ant move a star? If you were to appear before my true form, a mere wisp of my aura would annihilate you."

Wu Yuan smiled helplessly. He became even more acutely aware of the Samsara Sword's immense power.

"Of course, this strand of my essence, now fully under your control, is indeed at your disposal," the purple-robed elderly man said, gesturing towards the nearby Samsara Sword. "It would be the ideal vessel for a psyche weapon.

"In the future, when you become a True Saint and are qualified to wield me, I can merge with this essence, saving you countless years of cultivation," the purple-robed elderly man explained.

"Psyche weapon?" Wu Yuan was taken aback.

Among eternal powerhouses, the soul class was roughly divided into two categories: the Psyche Arsenal class and the Psyche Dream class. His current specialty was the Psyche Dream class.

"I've already established a Dream World," Wu Yuan shook his head. "I fear it would be difficult to forge a psyche weapon."

"Nonsense. These so-called cultivation schools are merely constraints for mediocre talents," the purple-robed elderly man scoffed. "What do they know? Whether it's psyche weapons or psyche dreams, the crux lies in one's psyche.

"Most people simply lack the soul strength to maintain both a Dream World and a psyche weapon simultaneously, so they're forced to choose one or the other.

"But what do you hold in your hand? A Xuanhuang Dao Treasure! It can inherently transform into a psyche weapon," the purple-robed elderly man huffed. "You need only refine this sword using the methods of psyche weapon cultivation."

"Then it will become the mightiest psyche weapon sword, even capable of reinforcing your Dream World's stability.

"Have faith! With me by your side, you will undoubtedly become the most formidable soul-class powerhouse in the entire cosmic sea. Rivaling the legendary Goddess Nüwa is no mere fantasy," the purple-robed elderly man declared with unwavering confidence.