En route to the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region, Wei Wuyin flew on Bai Lin's back. She left a trail of gorgeous scarlet-gold flames in her wake, cutting a majestic figure as she streaked across the Dark Void. Bai Lin's flight speed was astonishing to see, and as a mount, she was top-class amongst Genesis Beasts at her level.
While her aura often gave Earthly Saint's a dangerous feeling, Bai Lin's flight prowess was one of her greatest attributes. When she had just entered the Second Stage of the Nirvanic Rebirth Realm, she had combat strength exceeding the average Grand Cyclic Stellar Region's Highlord and top speeds that could match the casual pace of a traveling Earthly Saint, and after refining the Phoenix Feather acquired from Huoyan Liulan, her bloodline strength had peaked at the Second Stage. This significantly increased her strength and speed, and now, she was even faster than Ma Zheng and Wu Yu.
Moreover, she relied solely on her physical body for momentum, suffering very little resistance from the Chaos Mana of the Dark Void, and could maintain this speed for very long periods. While Bai Lin might not be fast enough to outrun the average Worldly Saint, she could undoubtedly outlast them.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call Bai Lin the fastest flying existence in the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region, barring beings beyond the Earthly Saint Phase and Voidships that could open Void Gates.
Despite her speed, the journey was bound to be a long one, so Wei Wuyin began to cultivate. While he had adjusted to his newly established body after these two weeks of flight, after returning to a location that possessed the Mortal Dao's and Mystic Dao's presence, he could finally cultivate normally.
Firstly, he brought out Element, merging it with King to begin refining its Saber Energy using the Profound Saber Meridian, an acquired ability of its Level Three state. Shockingly, when the Profound Saber Meridian activated, Wei Wuyin's body began to open its pores discreetly, almost unnoticeable, and then started to siphon Chaos Mana from the Dark Void.
Typically, this type of absorption was lethal to Mortals, but Wei Wuyin, who barely noticed it due to his extreme sensitivity towards Mana due to his Zenith Origin State Astral Souls and their Spiritual Sense, found that his body was entirely unaffected by the Chill of the Dark Void. Instead, the Chaos Mana was drawn over and began to exert a unique aura.
Profound Saber Energy!
The Chaos Mana began to subtly change as it made its way towards his Profound Saber Meridian, but it only changed its aura, not its composition. When it entered the Profound Saber Meridian, he realized that it was naturally producing Profound Saber Energy without any additional assistance!
"..." Wei Wuyin's eyebrows furrowed slightly as he inspected the Profound Saber Meridian. The Profound Saber Meridian did not appear out of nowhere but used the foundation of an existing meridian to transform itself. This state was temporary as it was an external transformation provoked by merging with Element, a Level Three Nascent Saber Soul.
The pre-existing meridian had the innately imbued aura of eternal inexhaustibility just like the rest. Suddenly, Wei Wuyin's eyes constricted. Without hesitation, he tapped his finger at key parts of his body, and his body began to exude explosive bursts of colorful energy. There was Soul-tier Light Energy, Spatial Energy, Time Energy, Physical Energy, Mental Energy, Bloodline Energy, and Yang Energy.
During his two-week-long journey to escape the Absolute Void Region of the Desolate Dragnet Stellar Region, Wei Wuyin had refined all sorts of ninth-grade replenishing products to completely recover any exhausted innate energies, astral force, or lifespan and could be considered to be in peak condition at the moment.
However, the introduction of the Profound Saber Meridian had caused a change, and he wanted to immediately test this theory. After a few seconds, Wei Wuyin discovered that the rate at which his body absorbed the ambient Chaos Mana of the Dark Void began to accelerate.
He closely observed ten strands of Chaos Mana congregating within him through an invisible system; no, it was ten different complex systems, each heavily resembling the blood circulation system, but they were uniquely structured systems that overlapped on his vital systems seamlessly and without any indication otherwise. If he hadn't looked closely, he wouldn't have noticed these systems.
The Chaos Mana flowing within these systems were granted various auras. He sensed a Light Energy aura from four and a Bloodline Energy aura from one of them, and they were all generalized, as indistinguishable and fundamental as these energies could be. They each had final destinations, much like a heart to the blood circulatory system.
The Light Energy mana strands entered his four Primary Light Sources, and as if galvanized by some mystical force, his Primary Light Sources began to process and refine this Light Energy Mana strand until it transformed into Soul Light. The Soul Light perfectly adhered to the standards of his Astral Souls.
"What's this?!" Ori was startled for a moment as it noticed its yet-to-be-named Soul Light was slowly recovering after being expelled by Wei Wuyin. The other three had similar reactions. Wei Wuyin quietly observed, and he gleaned some truths from this.
"So that's how the Renewal Physiques work," Wei Wuyin had investigated the Yin Renewal Physique in-depth, but he couldn't find these strands. In his perception, Jiang Feilan's physique simply produced Yin Energy at the Primal Yin Energy level magically. Additionally, it expelled the Yang Energy gathering upon her Primal Yin. All his original theories were wrong!
"My Yang Energy is at the level of Primal Yang Energy, too, as if I've yet to taint it with any Yin Energy. If others inspected me, I could be mistaken for a virgin." Wei Wuyin had experienced a rebirth through that cocoon, and his bone age and Primal Yang Source were reset.
"But how exactly? I can't even convert Mana into energy even with World Heart Intent, but my body can?" Wei Wuyin curiously exerted his Minor Authority of Time Law, trying to impose his will into the Chaos Mana to infuse an aura of time within. Alas, he failed his dozens of tries.
"Is my authority too low? Am I being rejected? But I don't feel a sense of rejection. Is my strength so low that I can't even notice the rejection?" Wei Wuyin wryly smiled as he thought of this, almost forgetting that his cultivation was still within Mortal Limits, regardless of how much he shattered conventions.
He realized that the dense Chaos Mana within the Absolute Void Region was unable to be absorbed. He didn't know if it was because his physique was too weak to do so or if it simply had a density limit.
After inspecting the process for three whole hours until his energies had recovered, Wei Wuyin closed his eyes and softly said aloud despite being in the Dark Void where air particulates didn't exist. "Mortal Dao! Mystic Dao!" Wei Wuyin called out in a tone resembling praying. "I ask that you allow my bloodline to ascend!"
"..."
"..."
There was no response.
Wei Wuyin took a deep breath of Chaos Mana, stimulating his bloodline as he touched the shackles that he hadn't sensed before.
ROAR!
Kratos went wild! It unleashed a draconic roar so explosive that the chaos mana in the area stirred into a storm, and then a faint Mystic Aura exuded from it!
Wei Wuyin's eyebrows twitched, and then he hurriedly settled Kratos' attempt to instigate the Divine Mark of Mystic Myth's evolution! After knowing where the shackle was, it wasn't hard to push through it.
"I ask that you allow my bloodline to ascend!"
ROAR! ROAR!
Kratos resumed its efforts, exerting a greater degree of power that violently stimulated Wei Wuyin's bloodline, automatically evoking the Draconic Transformation! In his scaled state, Wei Wuyin looked increasingly imposing and domineering, and his expression contained a wisp of savagery that perfectly encapsulated the insanity of a feral beast.
Then, Kratos halted its attempt at the cusp, just as the Divine Mark of Mortal Myth was illuminating, and it felt the surging tide of Mystic Essence that lingered in the area approaching. For a brief moment, it sensed Mystic Essence! This should be impossible, given Wei Wuyin's Mortal Existential Framework.
"If you do, I, Wei Wuyin, will owe you a single favor!" Wei Wuyin greeted his teeth with closed eyes, and then his Law Seeds began to thrum chaotically, exuding a fascinatingly profound aura! If the world knew that a mortal was trying to bargain with the Daos, those supreme experts would laugh at the nonsensical hubris of it all!
This was what Wei Wuyin had decided to do! He didn't wish to offend the Mortal and Mystic Daos by shattering their imposed limitations without reason, but Kratos was the only Astral Soul of his that hadn't evolved, and he increasingly felt that evolving all his Astral Souls before the Star Core Phase would generate unimaginably, heaven-defying effects that would set him on a path of a…
This feeling might have simply started as a hopeful idea that grew with maddening quickness after a long period of thought, but he had promised to take every risk! As for changing his Existential Framework, that was a heavy violation, disrespectful to the utmost! However, Kratos' Mark of Myth wouldn't change his Existential Framework, merely change its bloodline quality and purity.
Kratos had a unique path of cultivation that was a hybrid of a Genesis Beast and a Spirit of Cultivation, so it should be fine, right?
Wei Wuyin's gritted teeth ground against each other as his expression grew increasingly intense. He didn't know if the Mortal Dao or Mystic Dao could even hear him, but he was mustering the will to push through, and all of his Astral Souls were behind him.
"I'm doing it!" Wei Wuyin violently roared. Bai Lin's head turned as she eyed Wei Wuyin; seeing his aggressively ferocious expression, her eyes glowed with a mysterious light.
"..." Wei Wuyin suddenly came to a halt. The aggressive aura and ferocious expression he wore changed to one of confusion and then to stupefied amazement, lastly changing and settling onto contemplation. Without hesitation, he canceled his Draconic Transformation.
"What happened?" Bai Lin didn't feel anything, so she was unsure if Wei Wuyin had succeeded or not.
Wei Wuyin couldn't help but wryly smile, "I was mistaken."
Mistaken? Bai Lin's curiosity grew.
Wei Wuyin heaved a soft sigh as he sat cross-legged on Bai Lin's back, his eyes slowly opening as he gazed at his two hands. "I was wrong," Wei Wuyin admitted. "The shackle isn't something imposed by the Mortal Dao and Mystic Dao to restrain, but to protect."
Wei Wuyin had used the Eyes of Fated Avoidance Spell at the cusp of shattering the shackle. He saw his body absorbing the Mystic Essence of the world at an absurdly fast pace, but he didn't see the phenomenon that consuming the Mystic-Refined Divinity-Forging Pill would create, the admonishing of the Mortal and Mystic Daos. Instead, his soul shattered.
It just…shattered.
He died.
Instantly!
Wei Wuyin realized that the shackle there hadn't been set to prevent him from reaching a high level beyond his time but to protect those who enter this hybrid path of cultivation, a benevolent gesture of the Mortal and Mystic Daos! His Existential Framework was still within Mortal Limits, so his soul couldn't handle the full process of a Mystic Evolution.
If he had tried to elevate his bloodline in the Absolute Void Region, he would've died! Without a shadow of a doubt!
At first, it seemed that this path was strictly bloodline-focused, but Kratos' Divine Mark of Myth was the foundation of its Spirit of Cultivation's existence. If the Spirit of Cultivation, his soul, or fleshy body couldn't withstand the transformation, it would fail and lead to his demise.
Wei Wuyin did not doubt that Kratos and his physical body could withstand the evolutionary transformation given their highly refined state, especially Kratos, whose Astral Core already harnessed Mystic Rune Seeds, but his soul was still too fragile.
"What now?" Kratos asked sullenly, feeling despondent after the discovery. If this was true, then they'll have to wait until Wei Wuyin reached the Mystic Ascendant Realm and acquired an Ascended Existential Framework to withstand the Mystic Dao's power.
"Well, there's only one path forward: Alchemy!" Wei Wuyin clenched his hands into fists, his silver eyes exuding a wisp of brilliant radiance.
