Wei Wuyin was so engrossed by this welcoming that he hadn't noticed the gorgeously tall mountain behind these cultivators, protected by a circular black steel-forged wall etched with silver-colored runes that formed a beautiful image resembling a well-crafted painting. At times, one might feel like these characters formed depictions of grand battles or breathtaking sceneries from certain angles.
Surrounding this mountain were thousands of palaces of varying sizes, towers, those ranging from sky-reaching to barely three stories, fields and gardens filled with various plants, areas that had cascading waterfalls, deep valleys, and caves hewed into the mountain's surface. It felt extremely natural with a rich earthy atmosphere.
It heavily resembled the mythical depiction of an Immortal Sect from Wei Wuyin's homeland.
"Wow." Wei Wuyin felt awed, to say the least, and thoroughly shaken by the Void Voyage Sect's display of power. And this silver-robed woman that resembled an Empress, while still inferior to Empress Xiaocheng in terms of looks by a large margin, vastly eclipsed the Tian Empress in aura and demeanor. Was she a Worldly Saint?
Her aura felt strangely familiar; his mind sensed a strong World Heart Intent from her. From Wu Yu's words, the Mystic Rune in his heart carried an aura similar to his World Heart Intents, and it seemed to be directed towards Mysticism. Wei Wuyin had surmised that to reach the Worldly Saint Phase naturally, one had to comprehend Heart of the World, World of the Mystic Intent, elevating their Awakened Mystic Intent to the next level.
The Void Voyage Sect had a Worldly Saint?!
This changes things.
Many things.
"Hmmh," Despite shielding Ye Ziling, she still woke up, finding her body lifted by a pair of powerful arms in a bridal carry, and feeling the close contact of another's warm skin. Her eyes fluttered open to see a familiar set of robes and the sensation of her fingers tightly clenching around it. Confused, she looked up to find a pair of alluring silver eyes that soon focused themselves on her.
Finally, she caught sight of the entire face. 'So handsome...' Was her first thought, and her second was a memory of clarity: 'Wei Wuyin!'
"It's good you're awake," Wei Wuyin gently smiled. "You've missed your grand welcome."
"Grand welcome?" She whispered amidst her confusion, not realizing that she instinctively didn't jump out of Wei Wuyin's embrace at the first moment as she would any other man she had just met three days ago. She turned to see a crowd of cultivators bowing and kneeling, and those at the forefront had auras that caused her scalp to tingle and her heart to race.
She was extremely familiar with who each of these Earthly Saints were, so her mind reacted vastly differently than Wei Wuyin, as she began to panic from being in the line of a bow. It didn't take her long before she discovered the beautiful woman that seemed to draw the world's charm to her.
"S-Se-Sect Master!" She scrambled slightly, and Wei Wuyin accommodated, allowing her to stand upright on her own two feet. She almost toppled downwards, but Wei Wuyin held her hips to ensure she didn't embarrass herself. She hurriedly tried to kneel and pay her respects, but Wei Wuyin once again stopped her with a gentle yet firm tug.
She turned around, stunned at Wei Wuyin's intervention. "It'll be quite humiliating for others if you kneel to those already bowing and kneeling to you," Wei Wuyin warned her through a transmission. Only then did Ye Ziling's mind begin to process the situation. These Earthly Saints, all these Ascended beings, and tens of millions of cultivators were all paying their respects to me?!
She felt it to be completely and utterly impossible.
"Who else if not you?" Wei Wuyin chuckled amusingly. He had no intention of taking the True Destined Voyager title, but since Ye Ziling similarly passed the three voyages, was already a member of the sect, and received a similar baptism as him, he received their reverence without them knowing of his harvests from it, then this meant she was also a True Destined Voyager.
Ye Ziling blinked. Did she…pass the Voyage of the Wanderer perfectly? Did she…open the Endless Spatial Channel? Oh my heavens! Sh-she was a True Destined Voyager!
Her heart began to rapidly race so fast that she felt her vision go black. If it wasn't for Wei Wuyin holding her, she would've fallen to the ground from the shock of it all.
"There can only be one True Destined Voyager," Liu Suyin spoke out from the side. It was as if she was reminding Ye Ziling of how she passed solely with Wei Wuyin's support, to bring her back to reality.
But Wei Wuyin ruined that, gleefully smiling: "That's perfect; Ye Ziling, accept their respects." He urged her, causing the thirty-four Earthly Saints, numerous Ascended beings, and tens of millions of cultivators to feel confused. Ye Ziling was unconscious and she wore the outfit of a Spiritual Destined, a far cry from a True Destined Voyager.
Even Liu Suyin's brows furrowed to the tiniest degree, entirely imperceptible to the eye. It was abundantly clear to her that Wei Wuyin didn't consider himself a Destined, nor was he remotely entertaining the idea of being a part of the Void Voyage Sect.
Ye Ziling was stunned but reacted nonetheless. She loudly and respectfully thanked the crowd for their gracious welcome, despite missing it from sleeping. An awkward silence instantly formed that grew to be slightly uncomfortable.
Wei Wuyin hadn't noticed, but his Celestial Jade Key had changed after experiencing the baptism from the radiance of the Artificial Link of Law. It had greatly leaped into being the basic Ripple Jade Crystal to elevating instantly to the purest form of Spatial Jade Crystal. It was even greater than Liu Suyin's.
This could be sensed by everyone present, so they knew who the real True Destined Voyager was. It was how all those who saw him walking without ever seeing him before knew who he was. As for Ye Ziling, her Celestial Jade Key was off the mark by a considerable degree. This was mostly due to the focus of the radiance being diverted mid-way, focusing on Wei Wuyin.
The Void Voyage Sect's Sect Master faintly smiled; she waved her hand, and then Ye Ziling, Wei Wuyin, and Liu Suyin vanished in a splash of silvery light. She was spatial shifting without a complicated formation!
The grand crowd of welcome soon began to disperse, returning to their lives and cultivation. While this was a somewhat awkward end to a major event, it didn't change the facts of the situation. A True Destined Voyager had arrived!
Woosh!
Wei Wuyin, Ye Ziling, and Liu Suyin arrived in a dark room decorated with candles lit with silver flames.
Snap!
The snapping of fingers resounded. The various walls generated white stones that emanated a type of natural solar light that instantly brightened the entire room.
Wei Wuyin had mixed feelings about being spatially shifted everywhere. As a cultivator with the True Void Dragon Bloodline, it felt extremely uncomfortable. Kratos kept roaring disgruntledly about the situation, tirelessly causing Wei Wuyin to feel frustrated.
Kratos kept urging Wei Wuyin to leave. Since they got what they came for, Kratos didn't feel the need to stay a moment longer in this frustrating location where its freedom was restrained. Eden, however, suggested otherwise. There were bound to be more benefits in this strange sect, so it felt that while it might not be a part of the Karmic Surge, it was still an opportunity!
The other two abstained from this topic, not caring either way. Divided by his heart and mind—literally, Wei Wuyin kept feeling a degree of discomfort. And this involuntary shifting didn't help at all. Regardless, he refused to simply leave without first understanding some things about the Void Voyage Sect.
He took the initiative and asked, "You're the Sect Master of the Void Voyage Sect, correct?"
The blue-eyed woman nodded. "My name's Liu Yinlan."
Wei Wuyin's heart groaned slightly. He felt that Liu Yinlan wanted him to refer to her as Sect Master Liu or some similar designation, so he could only bitterly smile. That aside, it seemed Liu Suyin and Liu Yinlan were indeed related, their facial features carried distinct similarities, and they shared the same surname.
"I was brought here without much information, and against my will, so I was wondering if you can enlighten me regarding the Void Voyage Sect." Wei Wuyin skillfully avoided calling her Sect Master.
"Of course," Liu Yinlan agreed with ease. She brought out a spiritual jade and tossed it toward Wei Wuyin. He caught it; this was a spiritual jade that contained a dense text of information. This was an easy way to transfer a load of information without a long, lengthy conversation.
And Wei Wuyin glanced at the three women in the room before delving into the contained information.
Liu Suyin looked towards her Sect Master, who gave her a small smile filled with a gentle look of reproach, and she knew why. That spiritual jade was meant to be given to all newly arrived Destined, and it contained all the essential information, including the series of Mythical Oaths they were meant to swear prior to taking the Trial of the Three Voyages, but it had entirely slipped her mind because this was her first time recruiting someone and acting as Overseer of a trial.
Despite that, the Sect Master wasn't too angered. It was just mistimed and mismanaged, but eventually, all things would fall into place as they should.
Ye Ziling was shocked that Wei Wuyin had just received this spiritual jade. Did this mean he hadn't sworn any oath before taking the trial? No wonder he was ignorant of being unable to leave! No wonder he was so confident in doing so!
"..." Wei Wuyin's heart sank into an inconceivable depth. The introduction of the Void Voyage Sect explained where they were at the moment, causing him to be shaken, but what came next caused his mind to rumble. After reading the entirety of the text, his fingers subtly clenched the spiritual jade, and his breathing grew heavier.
This type of reaction caused Ye Ziling to recall how she felt when she first read that spiritual jade, when the elders, who were leading her through her training for the first Trial of the Three Voyages, explained all of it to her while she was frozen in abject disbelief.
She sighed in her heart. Whether this status as a Destined was a blessing or a calamity, who knew? But it was absolutely necessary!
Wei Wuyin closed his eyes, his internal emotions were quite turbulent. He learned the main purpose of the Void Voyage Sect; it was to act as an eternal cage for a Monstrous Being that could wipe out all life by devouring the endless stars!
A Star-Devourer!
Creatures that sustained their existence by eating Solar Stars!
As for the World Between the Fold, it was the cage that segregated eighteen stellar regions, the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region and Desolate Dragnet Stellar Region, from the rest of a grander Galactic Zone! These eighteen stellar regions were collectively referred to as the Sealed Regions.
Effectively quarantined off, those Destined are all innately gifted in Spatial Energies meant to continuously infuse the Endless Void Mirror with energies to sustain themselves, an activity that had lasted for eighty thousand years to this day, while guarding against those that wish to shatter the cage from within and without.
Only a True Destined Voyager, born from within the Sealed Regions and a cultivator that has received the baptism of the Endless Spatial Channel, after reaching the Grand Convergence Spatial Resonance, can cultivate the method to control the Endless Void Mirror, and take the duty of the Master of the Void Voyage Sect and Supreme Protector of the Sealed Regions!
If the Endless Void Mirror had no master, all life inside the Sealed Regions and beyond would be destroyed by this Star-Devourer and those who seek to cause the end of the entire world!
This was their mission.
This was their purpose.
And this was their destiny.
