One-Shotting All the Way

Although most Celestial God True Immortals in the Three Realms are disciples under the Dao Ancestors, the resources one can access naturally differ depending on whether they study under Chiming Dao Ancestor or Daoist Three Pure Ones.

The most classic example is the Eight-Nine Profound Art.

If one were to study under the likes of Chiming Dao Ancestor or Holy Fire Dao Ancestor, they would simply never obtain such a divine ability.

"Your body refining technique uses the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Map created by Chiming, which is acceptable, but your Qi Refining Path technique is lacking. Let us switch it to the Three Pure Ones Qi Derivation Art of my Daoist Sect."

As Daoist Three Pure Ones spoke, the entire Dao Palace transformed. An infinitely vast world emerged, containing countless Daos, among which the ones Wu Yun primarily cultivated were the most prominent.

Ancestor Bodhi taught his disciples by letting them experience a thousand-year dream, allowing them to view the entire path of the sword in a fleeting glance.

Daoist Three Pure Ones, however, outlined the complete map of the Great Dao. His own realm of Dao comprehension was unimaginably high; he had fully understood many Heavenly Daos, and was proficient in almost all ordinary Great Daos.

Light, darkness, space, and the path of the staff all appeared directly before Wu Yun's eyes.

Daoist Three Pure Ones took on disciples with the hope that they would build a solid foundation, which is why he revealed so many Great Daos to Wu Yun, allowing him to advance in all of them simultaneously.

Of course, this also had to do with the era in which he taught his disciples. Ji Ning was born after the Wujian Gate and the Nuwa Faction had become sworn enemies, so he had to grow rapidly and had no time to slowly comprehend so many Daos.

Wu Yun was still in the God-Demon Era, so he had ample time. He already cultivated several Great Daos himself: streamer, space, the path of the staff, darkness, and other ordinary Daos.

That was why Daoist Three Pure Ones had outlined such a world.

"This..." Wu Yun's pupils constricted. His mind was quickly and completely immersed in his cultivation, as if he were swimming in an ocean of the Great Dao, leaving him intoxicated.

He did not know how much time had passed—it felt like an instant, yet also like tens of thousands of years. Wu Yun gained a clear understanding of the complete space Great Dao, the streamer Great Dao, and more.

This was something Ancestor Dongyan could never have achieved; at most, he could only let Wu Yun experience the Great Daos he himself cultivated.

"Stop." Daoist Three Pure Ones said softly, "Experiencing them once is enough. The true Great Dao is not that simple. When you cultivate in your daily life, it is best not to abandon body refining. True powerhouses almost always cultivate both."

"Yes." Wu Yun replied respectfully. He had been too intoxicated by the sight of the complete Great Dao, but in truth, that did not help his own realm.

It was merely an experience, acting like a guiding light.

"You shall reside in the Dao Palace for a hundred years before you finish your apprenticeship." Daoist Three Pure Ones solemnly reminded him, "With your talent, becoming a Celestial God True Immortal will be of little difficulty, but becoming a True God Dao Ancestor is still unlikely. You must continue to strive."

"Yes, I will certainly strive." Wu Yun knew that his years of cultivation were actually not short.

He belonged to that category in the Three Realms that was not quite at the top, but better than the bottom.

As for true monsters, Hou Yi was one; he had slain True God Dao Ancestors during his Celestial God period, and his years of cultivation were also terrifyingly short. In his later years, he could even slay peak Ancestral Gods.

However, Wu Yun was not discouraged. Talent is something divided into early and late stages. Was Luo Feng considered a monster at the very beginning?

On Earth, he could not compare to Hong or Thor, and in the genius battles, he could not compare to Bo Lan.

Yet, the one who eventually became a Hunyuan Overlord, and even the strongest in the Hunyuan Space, was Luo Feng.

"Master allowing me to live in the Dao Palace for a hundred years is a good thing." Wu Yun had an understanding of the Daoist Sect's rules; the Dao Palace was the most important place of all.

Aside from Daoist Three Pure Ones, other great powers of the Daoist Sect like Celestial Xiaoyao also resided here long-term. Occasionally, one could listen to them expound on the Dao. This place housed the very essence of the entire Daoist Sect.

Even the personal disciples of ordinary True God Dao Ancestors were not qualified to live in this place, let alone for a hundred years. Wu Yun had to seize this opportunity well.

"My avatar in the Swallowed Star world and I cannot share memories, so I must cultivate even harder to increase the strength of my soul."

The main body in the Swallowed Star world had the help of a cheat, but here in the Desolate Era world, he truly had to rely on his own efforts. At most, his knowledge of the plot could help him avoid some detours.

The Dao Palace was infinitely vast. From the outside, it appeared to be only tens of thousands of feet in circumference, but upon entering, it was a world of its own.

For instance, outside the great hall where Wu Yun and Daoist Three Pure Ones spoke, there were small worlds, though they did not give birth to living beings; instead, they were planted with a large number of immortal materials for alchemy.

To the left of the great hall was the essence of the entire Dao Palace, housing countless divine abilities and secret manuals. Daoist Three Pure Ones was very fair to his disciples; registered disciples could all choose one divine ability and one Qi Refining Path secret manual.

The same applied to personal disciples, and anything beyond that required strength.

A wooden stake was placed at the entrance, crafted by Daoist Three Pure Ones himself. Those who reached the Pure Yang True Immortal level could choose two more, while for Celestial God True Immortals, it was judged based on their level of power.

For example, those with three levels of space-time power could choose one, and four levels would grant another.

If a Celestial God True Immortal could reach the threshold of a Dao Ancestor's power, or if they were an existence like Hou Yi, they could choose anything inside.

"Junior Brother Wu Yun." A middle-aged man wearing green robes and carrying an immortal sword walked in. He looked extremely dashing, making one feel a natural sense of goodwill toward him.

"You must be Senior Brother Lu Dongbin." Wu Yun cupped his hands and replied, "I have long heard of your great name, and today I have finally met you."

Ancestor Lu's image in the Three Realms was no secret.

Before his reincarnation, he was Emperor Donghua, and after his reincarnation, he became Lu Dongbin. He had studied under two masters: one was Daoist Three Pure Ones, and the other was Celestial Xiaoyao.

"I heard Master took in a little junior brother, so I came to take a look." Lu Dongbin said with great familiarity, "You're going to choose divine abilities, right? I'll help you with some references."

Although Wu Yun already had a plan in mind, it was not appropriate to slight Lu Dongbin, so he replied immediately, "I would appreciate your guidance, Senior Brother."

Lu Dongbin smiled, clearly pleased. He had no airs, his temper was excellent, and he was willing to make friends with everyone. Upon hearing he had a new junior brother, he had rushed over immediately.

That was why his friends could be found all over the Three Realms; among the level of Celestial God True Immortals, there was almost no one who could compare to him.

"Junior Brother, your progress in God-Demon Body Refining is very slow. You have only just reached the perfection of the Primordial Spirit. If you do not intend to give up dual cultivation, I suggest you choose the Eight-Nine Profound Art."

Lu Dongbin led Wu Yun into the Dao Treasury Pavilion and, relying entirely on his memory, took out a scroll of divine ability: "You probably haven't heard of this before. This is the strongest divine ability below the level of a True God Dao Ancestor."

Wu Yun pretended to be shocked as he took it, indicating that he would definitely choose it.

As for the Qi Refining Path secret manual, having Lu Dongbin's advice was indeed helpful. In addition, Wu Yun planned to choose a movement technique and an explosive divine ability.

He did covet the Star-Plucking Hand, but at the moment, Immortal Juhua had not yet died. Even if he were dead, Wu Yun would have no way to deal with the Star-Plucking Mansion with seven Celestial Gods guarding it, unless he possessed the strength of a True God Dao Ancestor.

On the other side, before the cultivation period ended, Wu Yun arrived silently at the Universe Heavenly Bridge plane within the Virtual Universe.

Bafen, dressed in a red robe, looked up at Wu Yun. He was no stranger to this "notorious" World Lord, who had only attempted the Universe Heavenly Bridge a few times in total.

The entire upper echelon of the Giant Axe Arena was completely unclear about Wu Yun's true strength, and no one held high expectations for him; he would have to leave the Giant Axe Secret Realm after the next qualification battle.

"Wu Yun, are you planning to clear another level this time?" Bafen teased. "I remember that the person who entered at the same time as you, the World Lord in the Taiwu Secret Realm, is progressing much faster than you now."

"I'm about to head out for some real-world experience, so I'll just clear a few more levels this time," Wu Yun said with a smile. "The Universe Heavenly Bridge should be empty right now, right?"

"It's empty, go ahead." Bafen shrugged. Since the higher-ups barely paid attention to Wu Yun anymore, he couldn't be bothered to send emails to that group of King-Level Immortals and Venerables.

If Wu Yun just cleared one level and left again, it would be a waste of time to disturb those big shots.

Wu Yun quickly cleared the first ten levels. Only then did Bafen start to pay some attention, calculating that he would send an email to the big shots once Wu Yun finished his run.

Bafen estimated that Wu Yun clearing the thirteenth or fourteenth level would be his absolute limit, as the fifteenth level was the passing threshold for the Giant Axe Secret Realm and the Original Secret Realm.

"I chose to fight as a warrior, but in truth, I would probably be best suited for the path of a Spirit Reader." Wu Yun defeated his eleventh-level opponent with a single strike of his staff and strode forward.

The twelfth-level opponent was also dispatched with a single strike.

The thirteenth level was another instant kill. There wasn't even much profound technique involved, yet the opponent simply couldn't dodge; the long staff seemed to be everywhere, shrouding the entire area.

The fourteenth level was another instant kill. Wu Yun's attacks weren't flashy, but the moment he swung his staff, his opponent had nowhere to escape.

The jump in difficulty between the twelfth and thirteenth levels of the Universe Heavenly Bridge was immense, yet Wu Yun defeated his opponent with ease. The upcoming fifteenth level, however, represented another massive spike in difficulty.

The fourteenth level of the Universe Heavenly Bridge was at the Army Lord Immortal level.

The fifteenth level was at the Marquis-Level Immortal tier. While the two seemed only one level apart, their status was worlds apart; possessing an undying body meant one could completely crush any Army Lord.

You could shatter a Marquis-Level Immortal a billion times, and they would lose nothing.

"He's already at the fifteenth level?" Bafen finally reacted, stunned by the sheer speed of Wu Yun's progress.

Every level was cleared with a single strike, and he would fly to the next level immediately after. In just a few short minutes, he had already reached the fifteenth level, the Marquis-Level Immortal tier.

If he could clear this, it would mean Wu Yun had reached the passing threshold for the Giant Axe Secret Realm.

The vast majority of World Lords in the Giant Axe Secret Realm and the Original Secret Realm were stuck at this level, and every level beyond it was incredibly difficult.

The top three to five individuals could almost all reach the eighteenth level of the Universe Heavenly Bridge; as soon as they broke through, they would immediately become King-Level Immortals. However, those who reached the nineteenth or twentieth levels were few and far between.

Only by reaching the twentieth level of the Universe Heavenly Bridge at the World Lord stage could one be hailed as a genius born once every tens of millions of epochs.

Bafen still didn't notify the big shots. He waited to see how Wu Yun would perform at the fifteenth level, intending to send a mass email only after he cleared it.

If he could clear it, it would mean Wu Yun would be taken seriously, and he might even be taken as a disciple by a Universe Overlord. All the previous talk of him being lazy and arrogant would vanish into thin air.

The fifteenth level of the Universe Heavenly Bridge was set on the surface of a star.

After choosing the warrior path, the opponent used the exact same weapon as Wu Yun: a black long staff. He wore dark gold armor and was bathed in flames.

"To reach this step as a World Lord, your future is promising," the gatekeeper said coldly. "But clearing this level won't be so easy."

With that, the gatekeeper took the initiative to attack Wu Yun. The techniques he displayed had changed drastically from the fourteenth level; time itself seemed to invert at that moment.

Wu Yun, however, simply swung his staff in a straightforward motion. The vast area shattered, completely suppressing all of his opponent's attacks.

BOOM!

With a deafening roar, the gatekeeper was smashed directly until his divine body disintegrated.