Conscripted into an eternal obligation to protect the lives of those from one's home world and beyond. An exceptionally righteous duty filled with the brilliance of self-sacrifice for the greater good. After learning of this mission, of its long-held tradition lasting for eighty thousand years, it was hard to not feel pressured to ensure its continued stability.
After all, you're the only one who can.
The rare few amongst quadrillions of others.
It was hard not to feel special; It was hard not to feel an elevated and entitled sense of importance, duty, and righteousness. Honor your destiny—ensure the survival of your world and the lives of countless others!
"Huuuu!" Wei Wuyin deeply inhaled. Whether it was Eden, Kratos, Ori, or King, they were all abnormally silent. They, too, felt his current trembling emotions, as complex and complicated as one could possibly imagine.
Ye Ziling's eyes flashed with remembrance, recalling the first time she learned of this truth. She reacted like most had, like the other Destined, with disbelief and unacceptance. But that refusal hadn't lasted for long—they were Destined, the only ones capable of fighting against the internal foes and providing power to the Endless Void Mirror, while those beyond the Sealed Regions were called the Seekers.
Those within the Sealed Regions were brought here by their destiny to defend their home, but those beyond sought after theirs—they chose it.
Wei Wuyin once again read the information within the spiritual jade as if to better understand it all. He reached the part that detailed the two factions that Ye Ziling was thinking of, the Seekers and Destined. The nearest cluster of Stellar Regions was ruled by a mixture of humans and celestials as the majority populace, and they were tasked with guarding the Sealed Region against the outside. Unlike the Battlefield, the real world wasn't restricted by pure racial alliances.
The Sealed Regions had a powerful internal array established by three supreme experts encapsulating it that restricted all but a specific type of soul signature, impeding the cultivation of foreigners, and as such, only those born inside the Sealed Regions can cultivate, reproduce, and operate, and only those who were abnormally talented in the aspects of the Law of Space can properly repair and move within the World Between the Fold.
This was what the spiritual jade detailed.
"Haaaa!" Wei Wuyin finally released that heavy breath.
'Those in the City of Endless are descendants of Seekers that joined this mission from the Azure-Prime Galactic Zone, given a rare opportunity to cultivate here before returning to their original world or staying here and building a life, acting as a reserve strength for Seekers or Destined. A great benefit. However, they can only exert their full cultivation base in this World Between the Fold here and outside…the area that is not the Sealed Regions.' Wei Wuyin mused, his thoughts heavy, and his eyes effused a solemn, dim light.
The two leaders of the Void Voyage Sect stood patiently by as they observed Wei Wuyin process the information, and Liu Suyin was already primed to answer any additional questions he may have. While her thoughts towards Wei Wuyin were rather complicated, this was her duty. She, too, was a Destined!
Liu Yinlan, the Void Voyage Sect's Sect Master, was silently watching with a dignified expression, yet the smile within her eyes was hard to conceal from Wei Wuyin's keen mental fluctuation senses. After learning of Wei Wuyin's True Destined Voyager status, how could she not be happy? In her eyes, Wei Wuyin was the key to her shackles, long-awaited for the last twenty thousand years. So if he needed a few more minutes, an hour, even days to process this new reality of his, she didn't mind.
Wei Wuyin gripped the spiritual jade a little tighter. Unlike what they were thinking about, his thoughts were on something else entirely—the Tiangou! It was inexplicably linked to his Celestial Eyes of Spiritual Divinity, allowing Wei Wuyin to understand her as she cried for help before consuming the three Solar Stars of the Everlore Starfield.
He could still remember its titanic form that exceeded the imagination, a gorgeous gargantuan beast that could devour stars and walk upon the Dark Void.
Her eyes set it apart from every single species that Wei Wuyin had ever seen in his lifetime. Those eyes were without pupils, without irises, containing only a gorgeous, expansive sea of crystalline sclera with an infinite number of stars existing within. It was as if one looked to the night sky, cloudless, observing the millions of stars that existed in the Dark Void, that represented the vastness of the entire world.
Her entire form had taken his breath away that day. A beauty that was unmatched amongst beasts. Even Bai Lin was slightly, just slightly, inferior to it.
The Tiangou was a Star-Devourer! Was she the same Star-Devourer encaged by the Sealed Region? Did she cry for help to escape her prison? Her hunger? Her loneliness? Wang Yutian mentioned that there were other Tiangou, smaller in stature.
This was the reason for his Astral Souls' silence. They weren't silent simply because they had nothing to say. They were furious! ABSOLUTELY FURIOUS! This anger originated from the depths of his soul, reflecting onto theirs, as the image of those eyes that resembled endless stars flashed in his memory.
"Wei Wuyin, I understand how you feel." Ye Ziling approached, touching Wei Wuyin's shoulder with a consoling and gentle tone. Her eyes abruptly widened, and then grew softer and warmer. Her hand had begun to shake from Wei Wuyin's body subtly trembling. She thought this was from fear and unwillingness, her heart pained at seeing him struggle. "This is a heaven-sent opportunity; you'll enter a world that can help you reach untold heights and protect the entire world as a result. I promise you, you'll find it amazing."
Wei Wuyin's silver eyes flickered, lifting to meet Ye Ziling's comforting gaze. He didn't respond, merely smiled back. With a swift move of his arm, he tossed the spiritual jade to Liu Yinlan. She caught it, her gaze fixed on Wei Wuyin. It was as if she was waiting for him to sweat the necessary oaths, but she was willing to be patient.
"I'm this True Destined Voyager, right?" Wei Wuyin finally spoke, and Liu Yinlan noddingly replied: "You are."
"So if I can reach the Grand Convergence Spatial Resonance, I'm qualified to become the Void Voyage Sect's Sect Master, hm?" Wei Wuyin inquired, to which Lin Yinlan once again replied: "That's right—if you can." She resisted the urge to brightly smile.
"Becoming the Sect Master requires more than just the Grand Convergence Spatial Resonance," Liu Suyin intervened. While her tone remained devoid of all emotions, it wasn't hard to denote a wisp of jealousy within. Wei Wuyin's eyes lit, looking at Liu Yinlan.
Liu Yinlan eyed Liu Suyin but elaborated nevertheless: "Vice-Sect Master Liu is right; you must obtain the acceptance of the Endless Void Mirror's Spiritform, and be accepted by the Envoys of the three Ascended Sovereigns. This requires rigorous testing and several additional oaths, including a soul-binding treasure that will link your life to the stability of the Endless Void Mirror.
"If you die, the Endless Void Mirror will unleash a protocol to find your replacement within a century, deploying its strongest defenses in the meantime. If the World Between the Fold is compromised to a sufficient degree, your soul will be obliterated." Liu Yinlan hid nothing, explaining everything upfront. This slightly shocked Wei Wuyin, but he could already tell that she was completely confident that he'll swear these oaths in the end.
It was entirely possible that she would threaten his life, or imprison him as a defector of his duty. Those that ruled or wielded power often refused to accept refusals. Moreover, he had this distinct feeling that she wanted nothing more for him to become Sect Master. He could leverage this.
As for the Envoys of the three Ascended Sovereigns, this confirmed that the outside world was the Azure-Prime Galactic Zone. Wei Wuyin relaxed at knowing this, while he was always 99.9% certain before, the Stellar Transit Light sent him to a Chaos Realm, a world that could've and likely existed beyond just the Azure-Prime Galactic Zone. A fact learned after he entered the Nexus Battlefield.
Wei Wuyin lowered his gaze, his eyes exuding a ponderous light. "I don't swear oaths lightly." When those words escaped his lips, Liu Suyin's thin eyebrows twitched slightly.
However, Liu Yinlan was unbothered, saying: "No one should." While no one should, Wei Wuyin definitely must.
Wei Wuyin nodded agreeingly, lifting his head to meet Liu Yinlan's gaze. "Then show me."
"Show you?" Liu Suyin said in bafflement. Liu Yinlan similarly was confused by those two words.
"Yes, show me; prove to me that this mission is why I should give up my promising future, my personally chosen destiny of ruling the Sealed Regions in the next thousand years, for this opportunity to be a willing turtle sealed within a jar for life, forever restrained by an oath that'll never allow me to escape it, placed with restrictions that'll restrain my freedoms. Prove this to me, show me what the Void Voyage Sect has to offer—everything.
"If you can show me that the sect can grant me greater fortune than my life would've obtained otherwise, I'll swear these oaths of yours, become the new Void Voyage Sect's Sect Master. If the Void Voyage Sect can't, you might as well forget about this True Destined Voyager title or simply kill me now, because I refuse to do anything without sufficient benefits to myself." Wei Wuyin's tone was calmer than an eye of the storm, yet his words were unimaginably direct, fierce, and carried his firm will.
"..." Liu Yinlan, Liu Suyin, and Ye Ziling were brought to complete silence!
