Eternal Life: I Can Control My Essence Qi-Chapter 243 - 187: The Final Gambit (Continued)

Celestial Treasure Tower, Underground Palace.

Yu Wen Tai sat cross-legged, displaying a look of contemplation, still sorting through his own memories.

His memory synchronization remained at the last time his true self left the Celestial Treasure Tower, and that departure was to prepare to head south, seek out Lord Qingxu, and look for an opportunity to either kill or subdue him.

"As things stand, there are only three possibilities."

Yu Wen Tai quickly formed a hypothesis in his heart:

"First, that Wanchuan Ancestor, True Yang Ancestor, and others secretly ambushed me, wanting to eliminate a competitor first, resulting in my true self's death."

"Second, that there was someone formidable behind Lord Qingxu, perhaps hiding an unknown Golden Core Cultivator, who killed my true self in a surprise attack."

"Third, that I was unexpectedly defeated at the hands of Lord Qingxu..."

He carefully analyzed, quickly ruling out the first and second possibilities.

He was well aware of his own strength, with numerous trump cards, and possessing a third grade Secret Treasure, an ordinary Golden Core Realm opponent could definitely not kill him.

More importantly, he was always wary of Wanchuan Ancestor, True Yang Ancestor, and others, constantly monitoring their movements, making it unlikely that he was ambushed by them.

As for some Golden Core Ancestor from beyond Da Li hiding behind Lord Qingxu, such a possibility was very small and didn't align with many previous actions, and they might not have been able to kill him either.

That leaves only one possibility—

"Could it be that I really was unexpectedly defeated and died at the hands of Lord Qingxu?"

Thinking of this, Yu Wen Tai couldn't help but feel a surge of doubts in his heart:

"Even if both of us are cultivators of the 'Scripture of All Transformations and True Nature,' though we are in the same realm, his strength is worlds apart from mine, how could he have killed me?"

With the boundless resources of the Celestial Treasure Tower, and the century of accumulation with the help of the 'Array of the Six Harmonies and the Profound Abyss,' he was confident he stood at the absolute pinnacle of the Foundation Establishment Realm, invincible.

Merely his body, stronger than a top grade Spiritual Artifact, was enough to make many Cultivators at Foundation Establishment Perfection despair, even standing still they couldn't harm him in the slightest.

Not to mention, he was proficient in over a hundred kinds of Foundation Establishment Dao Techniques, with more than a dozen secret techniques saved for critical moments, forbidden techniques that could threaten the Golden Core Realm, and the potent third grade Secret Treasure, 'Four-direction Heaven-shaking Thunder'...among others.

How could he lose? How was it possible for him to lose?!

"Hoo..."

Yu Wen Tai took a deep breath, calming down, with deep and profound eyes:

"In any case, defeat is defeat."

"That Lord Qingxu not only had the means to kill my true self, but very likely also possessed all of my memories, undoubtedly the greatest adversary of my life!"

He was very clear about the final means of his true self.

But clearly, the method to corrupt intelligence and overwrite memory did not succeed, otherwise, he wouldn't have reincarnated into the Realm Breaker's body.

A formidable enemy who could kill his true self and understand him thoroughly was enough to make him feel as if on pins and needles, with a strong sense of threat always looming.

"Now that I've returned, my only advantage is that the enemy is in the light while I am in the shadow."

"I must be extremely cautious and leverage all of my advantages to have a chance of turning the tide..."

Yu Wen Tai was already calmly planning in his heart to regain all that was his.

Compared to his true self:

The Realm Breaker, although at a higher realm, lacked the century of accumulated support, and in terms of magical power, body, and divine soul, he was inferior to his true self, reducing his strength significantly to at most eighty percent of his peak strength.

But even this strength was enough to be invincible throughout the Foundation Establishment Stage, especially since he considered himself to have died once and returned, he would no longer be careless or reckless, repeating past mistakes.

"Swoosh..."

Yu Wen Tai extended his Divine Thought, making contact with the Array of the Underground Palace.

His Divine Thought silently and effortlessly penetrated into the array like silk-worms spinning silk, quickly integrating with the Spirit Pattern Array Veins, merging effortlessly.

Soon, Yu Wen Tai's Divine Thought directly bypassed the core authority, taking over the entire Array.

The main array of the Celestial Treasure Tower was all at the third grade level, originally set by a Golden Core Ancestor of the Pingdu Sect back in the day. After the demise of Pingdu Sect, there was no other Tier Three Array Master within the entire Da Li Capital who could modify it.

But no one would have expected:

Besides being a third grade Artifact Refining and Alchemy Master, Yu Wen Tai's true mastery of Array Dao far surpassed the ancestor of the Pingdu Sect back then, having already completely revamped the arrays of the Celestial Treasure Tower, only maintaining an outward appearance.

With his techniques, let alone True Yang Ancestor, Dugu Tianyi and others, even if the Golden Core Ancestor of the Pingdu Sect were to reincarnate, they probably wouldn't detect the slightest clue.

"Hm?"

Yu Wen Tai's expression shifted slightly, his eyes turning a bit subtle:

"To think I've been 'dead' for an entire year, and so much has happened..."

His Divine Thought, with the help of the Array's power, infiltrated like gentle spring rain, quietly sweeping through the Divine Soul memories of various Foundation Establishment Chiefs, quickly understanding all the events, big and small, that had occurred within the year.

Even True Yang Ancestor, Dugu Tianyi, and Three Mountains Ancestor, who were currently discussing matters regarding the Five Elements Secret Realm on the top floor, were completely unaware.

"Shuixian is already dead..."

Yu Wen Tai's expression suddenly turned grim, his eyes blazing with fury.

"Lord Qingxu... I will definitely make you pay the price, leaving you to seek life without success, and death without relief!!"

Li Shuixian, was the last descendant of the Five Elements Wanderer, with no children.

Her death, in some sense, amounted to 'his' lineage coming to an end.

And after discovering the tragedy in the conference hall, unlike the misguided True Yang Ancestor and others, he instantly targeted Lord Qingxu.

"Deliberately guiding clues and framing me, truly a clever trick."

"And my Secret Vault has also been completely ransacked by that guy..."

Yu Wen Tai's divine thought swept across the spaces of the Celestial Treasure Tower, his expression growing increasingly somber.

"Hmm..."

His divine thought cautiously swept over the top floor, hesitated for a moment, and finally sat down slowly.

"What a pity."

There was a hint of regret in Yu Wen Tai's expression.

He knew that the Fuhai Sect had been expelled from Da Li, and the remaining three Golden Core Ancestors were gathered together, presenting a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

If his true self were here, combined with the numerous Third level Arrays of the Celestial Treasure Tower, he would be fully confident in keeping True Yang Ancestor and the others here, sweeping away all opposing forces and seizing the supremacy of Da Li.

But with his current state as a Realm Breaker, his strength was still lacking, with at most sixty to seventy percent chance of success.

After rebirth, he became increasingly cautious and unwilling to take this risk.

"If I'm not mistaken, then Lord Qingxu must be hiding in the Five Elements Secret Realm at this moment, trying to follow my path, gathering resources to ascend to the Golden Core."

Yu Wen Tai squinted slightly, the corners of his mouth lifting into a faint, elusive smile:

"If you were elsewhere, I might indeed have a hard time finding you, but you greedily went to the Five Elements Secret Realm, that's a dead end!"

"Just waiting for the Secret Realm to reopen is your doom!!"

......

On the top floor of the Celestial Treasure Tower.

True Yang Ancestor and the other two, who were intensely discussing matters of the Five Elements Secret Realm, were unaware that they had narrowly escaped the gates of death.

"I disagree!"

True Yang Ancestor's face was grim as he refuted:

"To burn bridges after crossing, the demeanor is exceedingly unseemly!"

"Besides, apart from our three families, the remaining second-rate forces' Foundation Establishment masters are numerous. If they all kick up a fuss, it would be a colossal problem!"

The focus of their discussion was whether to turn against others and exclude the numerous second-rate forces, barring them from entering the Secret Realm.

This was undoubtedly a blatant act of burning bridges, as without the strong support of the various families back then, even after heavy losses, the four major families would not have been able to consolidate Da Li's strength and seek a Realm Breaker across the Southwest Countries.

Now, seeing the Realm Breaker reaching Perfection, it was harvest time, and some were unwilling to dutifully share the rewards.

"What kind of trouble?"

Three Mountains Ancestor snorted, speaking leisurely:

"Whatever decisions we three families make, would they dare to have any objections?"

"With us three Golden Core cultivators in charge, they won't be able to stir any waves; reducing a large number of competitors is beneficial to us."

True Yang Ancestor frowned, turning to look at the nearby Dugu Tianyi, asking:

"Brother Tianyi, what's your opinion?"

Three Mountains Ancestor also turned towards Dugu Tianyi upon hearing the words.

"This..."

Dugu Tianyi looked hesitant, a sign of inner conflict.

All three of them knew that with this reopening of the Secret Realm, a decisive battle was at hand. All three families aimed for the core of the Secret Realm, with the most important 'Innate Pure Essence Pill' as their goal, leaving no room for compromise.

This discussion seemed like it was about excluding competitors, but it was actually an obscure game between the three families.

Among the three families:

The Lingyang Sect's subsidiary forces were the strongest, with three families, adding up to several dozen Foundation Establishment masters, making it a considerable assistance, naturally unwilling to exclude Foundation Establishment masters outside the three main families.

Conversely, the Shanhe Sect's subsidiary forces were the weakest, with only a middle-level loose alliance; naturally, they supported limiting the competition to the three families to avoid falling into a disadvantage.

The Dugu Family was in an awkward position.

They had two subsidiary forces, stronger than the Shanhe Sect but not as strong as the Lingyang Sect. Agreeing or disagreeing seemed to incur losses either way.

"I support Daoist Brother Zhenyang's decision!"

Ultimately, Dugu Tianyi made a decision, siding with True Yang Ancestor:

"If we burn bridges at this moment, our reputation will be completely ruined, greatly detrimental to future development."

"You..."

Three Mountains Ancestor looked displeased, but in the end, he couldn't say anything, having to tacitly agree to the two's decision.

Soon, under the joint directive of the three, the news of the Realm Breaker's Merit reaching Perfection spread rapidly, sweeping through the Da Li Territory like a storm and causing a massive sensation.

The three Golden Core Ancestors announced that one month later, they would officially reopen the Five Elements Secret Realm, which had been closed for over a hundred years, and simultaneously open it to selected Foundation Establishment members.

Various Foundation Establishment forces were eagerly gearing up, anxiously awaiting the day of the Secret Realm's reopening.

......

Days later.

In the Fubo Sea, the remote Eastern Sea Region.

A wrecked island drifted aimlessly on the sea, carried by the waves.

Lord Haihe, wearing a sea-blue long robe and of slender build, stood on the top floor of the pavilion at the island's center, gazing at the western sky, his expression filled with worry:

"This can't go on..."