In this vast expanse of total darkness, Eden's seven-colored brilliance served as the only beacon of light, life, direction, and comfort. Wei Wuyin's awareness slowly returned, "Where are we?"
The first thing he prioritized was to inspect his physical body, and he discovered that this Mortal Star Eradication Tribulation was consistent with the provided details of countless others' experiences; there wasn't a shred of astral force within his body, only innate energies stored within his cells, Sea of Consciousness, and meridians.
There was no spiritual energy of any sort either, so he was essentially relying on his purest form of cultivated essential energies.
ROAR!
From his heart was an intense draconic roar that caused his blood to boil.
"Finally! You're awake." Kratos' powerful and thunderous voice filled with a tinge of annoyance erupted within his chest. Wei Wuyin placed his hand gently over his chest to feel the deeply vigorous pounding of his heart. Elation flowed through his mind, cooling his worries as he felt the presence of the Mystic Dao.
The last twenty-six years were not without notable advancements in Wei Wuyin's cultivation and skills as an alchemist. The most notable feat and success were concocting a paste that could temporarily bridge the gap between the Mortal and Mystic Dao for his physical body, thereby allowing his Mark of Mortal Myth to transform into a Mark of Mystic Myth. While it was only at the first level, it had changed Kratos' intrinsic quality.
Unfortunately, Wei Wuyin could only temporarily bridge the gap for a brief period without changing his Existential Framework to a point of no return, so when his soul and Kratos itself interacted with their heart, there was a disconnect between them, and neither of them was able to utilize any of his advanced abilities of a Mystic-graded Bloodline.
However, the innate energies of his heart's refined and elevated bloodline increased his physical body to an absurd limit. He feared that the tribulation might seal away Kratos, because while a majority of it was at the Mortal level, which was its most essential existential quality of itself, a relative small portion of it was at the Mystic level.
Eden hovered before Wei Wuyin's eyes, continuing to bask him in its gentle, invigorating radiance. As it did, Wei Wuyin could feel his mental awareness improve with each passing second.
"This tribulation has qualities similar to the first," Eden said as it proceeded to answer Wei Wuyin's question: "We're currently located in the Star Ascension's unique Void Space—Samsara of the Stars." The concept of Star Ascension was the peak of the Mortal Dao, revolving around the recycling of the Mortal Dao's energies by reclaiming what it bestowed to cultivators, and then refining it to a state of perfect harmony before placing it back into the world and creating starfields.
This was how the Mortal Dao kept life going despite the continued plundering of cultivators. It took what was taken by those who failed to escape its boundaries.
"So this is Samsara of the Stars?" Wei Wuyin had experienced this space once before through the debonair Wei Wuyin's memories, but the feeling of being here himself was fundamentally different. He could feel that, in this life, this wasn't his first time viewing this unique space.
"When we challenged the Mortal Star Formation Tribulation, King and Ori's stars were distant yet close. Was this where they were?" Wei Wuyin questioned as he began to exert some mobility by moving his limbs and body to adjust. There was an omnipresent gravitational pull that could rip apart entire worlds, but Wei Wuyin only felt the slightest pinch that was barely noticeable. His body was so strong, refined to its utter limits, that this level of pulling gravity was insignificant.
"Yes," Eden answered.
Wei Wuyin realized that, just like the first tribulation, Eden and Kratos' path to success was different. He didn't know what Eden had experienced, but Kratos had certainly traversed time and space and grasped profound concepts relating to the River of Time and the Body of Space, two of the manifestations of law.
While it hadn't met them directly, it had certainly relied on the Mortal Dao's connection with them to tap into their respective powers and then brought him along for the journey. Since Kratos experienced its first Astral Tribulation, it reflected that onto Wei Wuyin and had him experience every 'first' tribulation he had experienced in his life, from the challenges of birth, to losing his first time, to learning his first lesson. The concept of tribulation was simply too broad.
"Wait…I understand?" Wei Wuyin was baffled that he now understood the profound reasons for his traversal through time. It was as if it was always there in his soul, present and eternal.
"Our tribulations are different from the others—we've already passed ours," Eden answered as it continued to release its radiance. Wei Wuyin was taken aback almost immediately. They had already completed their tribulation? However, after thinking about it, they were indeed two different tribulations.
"Hmph! My tribulation was too easy, just exert a little authority and it acquiesced beneath my claws." Kratos bragged, and Wei Wuyin's left eye twitched slightly. Then, his pupils shrunk slightly. He could feel the Minor Authority of Time Law within his soul, but alongside it was the Minor Authority of Space Law!
When?!
Despite continuously pondering and infusing the seed for twenty-six years with Soul Light, it hadn't sprouted into a genuine law! However, while undergoing this tribulation, Kratos had taken that leap and brought its Spatial Law to the Minor Authority level? He didn't dare to complain as nurturing a Seed of Law wasn't easy nor was allowing it to birth into a genuine authority.
"Roar!" Kratos let loose a prideful roar filled with excitement. As a True Void Dragon, Kratos was the embodiment of the Void Dao intermixed with the lineage of a True Dragon, and its grasp of Space, Time, Astrological, and Draconic forces was at its peak.
Wei Wuyin smiled with the pride of a parent, especially seeing how happy Kratos was. He pressed his palm against his chest, feeling each heartbeat, "You're amazing as always."
"..." Kratos.
"Are you blushing?" Eden ousted Kratos brutally.
"Shut it!" Kratos roared, but its voice was rather strange as if it was unable to contain its smile and feelings. What better enjoyment was there than to receive the love and praise of your parents? Especially if that person was both your mother and your father, in a way.
"Hehe," Eden tapped into its inner Ori.
Seeing how they both were acting differently, definitely a result of an abundance of happiness after a bitter, intense struggle that they hadn't elaborated on, he asked: "What about you? How did you overcome your tribulation?"
"As a soul forged along the path of the Alchemic Dao and Mind Dao, I simply needed to prove myself in alchemy and knowledge of alchemy. That was simple and easy, given that I possess the knowledge of you, a Mortal Saint Alchemist, and our other self, the Earthly Saint Alchemist, and we have the Alchemic Stars of Spiritual Transcendence. It wasn't too difficult," Eden explained calmly, downplaying its achievement a little.
"Haha, you're amazing as well!" Wei Wuyin exclaimed as his smile grew to its limits. For an Alchemic Soul to prove itself in the Dao of Alchemy had many implications, and considering the joy from Eden, it wasn't easy as it had explained. This might be because the tribulation they experienced had been amplified in difficulties due to their interference, otherwise, Eden would've easily overcome the basic tribulation that others might face.
In his original Mortal Star Formation Tribulation, Eden might have faced a tribulation at the difficulty of an Alchemic King, those adept at concocting seventh-grade products suitable for Astral Core Realm cultivators.
It was clear that their tribulations were different due to their respective Dao domains; Eden was an Alchemic Soul and was therefore tested by the Alchemic Dao through the Mortal Daos' willingness, and Kratos was a Draconic Soul and was therefore tested similarly as a True Dragon would, or a Genesis Beast might experience and faced the foundations of its bloodline power—the Void Dao. The former had overcome with its skills while the latter had overcome with its sheer power and intensity, befitting their respective souls' paths.
"Where's King and Ori?" Wei Wuyin soon settled his excitement after heaping a little bit of additional praise on both of his Astral Souls until they grew shy and silent. When he mentioned those two, there was a seriousness born within both of them.
"..." Wei Wuyin's expressions grew dignified as he observed the world. He noticed Eden had 'turned around' and Kratos' senses had peered beyond his body into the Samsara of the Stars' unique space. There was an eerie atmosphere forming.
In perfect harmony and synchronization, they both said: "They're coming."
Wei Wuyin's eyes sharply narrowed; this aligned with the challenge of the Mortal Star Eradication Tribulation that he was familiar with, and he could feel Kratos and Eden react anxiously. Unlike the Mortal Star Formation Tribulation where cultivators received the blessing of their Mortal Stars, as they were granted different degrees of blueprints to power that was within their Mortal Dao path, and given a chance to pursue the limits of cultivation within the Mortal Realms, this tribulation was the personification of lethality and death.
The final step to reach the peak of the Mortal Dao, the greatest trial one faced as a mortal!
"You were unconscious for so long due to Kratos' tribulation," Eden explained before continuing: "I feared you wouldn't wake up."
"What?" Wei Wuyin was shocked. No wonder the Path of Mortal Remembrance was so familiar and surreal, down to the temperature and smell. Did he travel through time and space again? Fortunately, he didn't do anything out of the norm. Or did he? He shook his head, dismissing those thoughts, and focused on the situation before him.
Eden had been clearing his mind thus far, so he had regained himself swiftly thanks to that. "Can I access your powers?" Wei Wuyin immediately asked to verify. Despite Kratos being within his heart, he didn't feel any Spiritual Energy, so he wanted to confirm.
"We're not physically here," Eden clarified. The sly Alchemic Soul had breached through using their soul connection to view events and communicate, but the Mortal Dao was strict and clear in its rules and warning—Spirits were not allowed to interfere! In a way, both Kratos and Eden weren't interfering but were stimulating Wei Wuyin's already existing power to achieve a few things thanks to their soul connection. They could 'act' for Wei Wuyin without violating anything!
Wei Wuyin moved his body and felt the raw power it possessed, and he knew that Eden was telling the truth. This was why the Mortal Star Eradication Tribulation had the greatest mortality rate among the three later-stage tribulations! Fortunately, Wei Wuyin had made ample preparations.
Within his Mind's Eye, a silver-colored Solar Star spun quietly. While this had certainly increased the difficulties of the tribulation itself, this was his greatest trump card!
Suddenly, the world trembled!
Wei Wuyin's eyes effused a silvery brilliance and he readied himself.
During the seventh Astral Tribulation, he had to face 'The World' and survive!
During the eighth Astral Tribulation, he had to face himself and survive!
During the ninth Astral Tribulation, he has to face…
From far, far away, two brilliant lights began to come into sight. They exuded the charm of stars, newly born and exuding a divine radiance at harmony with the world itself. They were enlarging by the second, albeit minutely, but certainly growing bigger!
"They're getting closer," Kratos growled deeply.
"Perhaps…we went a little too far," Eden softly said in a dark voice.
Wei Wuyin knew what both of them meant, but he didn't agree with Eden. They took this path knowing the eventuality, so there was no reason to back down. This was his final challenge to reach the limits of the Mortal Dao! What greater challenge than the totality of his cultivation efforts?
WOOSH!!!
WOOSH!!!
The two lights sped up, and Wei Wuyin felt an extremely terrifying gravitational force pull at his body. Despite them being so far away, he could feel that extreme gravity on every part of his body. With clenched fists, he didn't hesitate!
"Go!" From his Mind's Eye, a bright solar radiance sparkled and pierced through his glabella. Instantly, the light began to expand! Wei Wuyin was engulfed by the light, settling himself at its center, and it began to continuously expand!
Soon, a gargantuan Solar Star about 900 times larger than the minimum Supermassive Solar Star manifested! A blistering radiance painted the world and heat roared to life!
The Neo-Dawn Star!
"Oh…" Wei Wuyin, from the center of the Solar Star, had his eyes bulging uncontrollably as the lights grew closer.
"My…" the two lights came into view, and those who were outside would find that these two lights were exuding a range of radiance that vastly, easily, unimaginably exceeded the range of the Neo-Dawn Star!
"Heavens…" Kratos, Eden, and Wei Wuyin said in perfect harmony as they seemingly looked up from their position, trying to grasp the entirety of the two new arrivals.
Two Solar Stars!
TWO PEAK ABSOLUTE-SIZED SOLAR STARS!
They were 9,999 times LARGER than the minimum limits of an Absolute Solar Star!!!
Wei Wuyin had never felt truly small before, even when he faced the Tiangou whose hairs resembled continents, there wasn't this sensation of feeling insignificant before her, but this…
"...!!!" Wei Wuyin was speechless!
These were his two Astral Souls' Star Forms!
And they were his opponents!!
