Unable to contain himself, Wei Wuyin heartily chuckled, his smile brilliant and his eyes glimmering with visible happiness. "Let me see you first," Wei Wuyin replied as he floated closer to the border. He was already staring at a specific location, yet he still said those words.
"..." For a long moment, there was no response. Eventually, a soft sigh echoed out. From the depths of the Dark Void, a portion of fixed space began to ripple vigorously as a slender figure waded through it, arriving at the edge of the border, a mere few tens of meters away from Wei Wuyin.
The slender figure soon appeared; it was a young woman roughly in her early twenties in appearance; her long, shoulder-length hair flowed like a pristine waterfall, garbed in a white alchemist robe with a flavorful Daoist design and nine colorful stars, and she had an exquisite face that seemed to have been painted by a grandmaster artist. She remained petite, as she had long ago in her sixteen-year-old appearance, yet her proud twin peaks were firmer, her curves more prominent, and her allure contained a greater degree of maturity and inherent charm.
She was beautiful, not the slightest bit inferior to Wu Baozhai or Lin Ziyan. While she was still a notch lower than Qing Qiumu, Xue Yifei, Yue Songli, or Tian Xiaolu, she carried a type of bearing and disposition that made her a fierce competitor in the beauty ranking. It was her experience; it was that breadth of expanded mind and the spark of intelligence and wily cunning in her willow leaf-shaped eyes that set her apart.
Those luscious green eyes of hers fixated on Wei Wuyin, and while she concealed it well, they held deep emotions alongside an unmistakable wisp of grievance.
"Cao Cuifen," Wei Wuyin called out her name softly. She trembled for a brief moment and hastily halted as she narrowed her eyes. She looked different than she did in the Endless Voyage Realm—older, but that bodily figure was something he had seen once before and it was impossible for him to forget.
"You've seen enough?" Cao Cuifen asked indifferently.
"Never." Wei Wuyin responded instantly, without the slightest time to think. She was simply too beautiful. The more one looked at her, the more they would appreciate her features. She was a strange type of beauty that beguiled the heart ceaselessly and slowly exceeded his initial impression.
"..." Cao Cuifen's extraordinary facial features instantly experienced a slight change in expression. After a while, her eyes softened uncontrollably, and she could only sigh softly. The grievance she held in her heart melted away silently.
"I knew we'd meet again, but not like this," Wei Wuyin said. To think Cao Cuifen was the legendary, elusive, and mysterious Ennea-Hall Alchemic Saint! Even with his alternative life's memories, this was entirely new information to him. There were a few figures with whom the other him hadn't interacted due to his reclusive nature, focusing wholeheartedly on cultivation and later being entrapped in the Endless Voyage Realm by Liu Yinlan's machinations.
These figures included the Moonfall Lunar Queen and the Ennea-Hall Alchemic Saint, among others. He finally realized that during his lifetime, Cao Cuifen likely stayed disguised in the World Between the Fold. His alternate self had only lived for a hundred and twenty-eight years, not very long for cultivators.
"I know," Cao Cuifen softly replied. She remembered his last words before he departed. It was clear that he was pressed for time, wanting to stay and relish in their passions, but was unable to do so. She hadn't completely understood, but when the World Between the Fold was sealed off, she knew. Fortunately, she had used her long-prepared escape route and returned silently to the Sealed Regions.
She had taken a Mortal Returning Pellet, a Mystic-graded pellet, and it had taken away her grand Ascended powers; that's why she could only flee for fear of being abused or taken advantage of in her state. With her backdoor used, she knew that her identity as a non-native of the Endless Voyage Realm would thoroughly be revealed, and she would forever be unable to safely enter the World Between the Fold again.
Her risky gamble, her centuries of planning, accumulation, and execution had been mercilessly flushed because of Wei Wuyin's sudden departure. Without his protection, she couldn't stay.
At the time, she couldn't fathom why he would end his life by diving into the Time Vortex. She had felt a sadness that had never existed in her over ten thousand years of life, and the purity and innocence she had been saving for so, so very long, had been taken without any repayment. She was also profoundly angered, but who could she vent on?
Only after a year of grieving and existing with frustration, including a wad of regret in her heart, did she learn that Wei Wuyin was alive! More importantly, he was doing extremely well as he had established standards for the future Chosen of the upcoming era! How ridiculous was this?
Were her tears and anger pointless?!
Looking at Wei Wuyin's incredible handsomeness, joyous smile, and excited eyes, she couldn't even muster her accumulated feelings for the last few decades. The things she had practiced to herself saying after she met him again had all fallen flat, entirely pointless and unable to be expressed.
"Let's go talk elsewhere," Wei Wuyin calmly said. There wasn't a question in that sentence, and Wei Wuyin reached out his hand toward Cao Cuifen, beckoning her to take it with his silver eyes.
"..." Cao Cuifen was immediately stunned. Did Wei Wuyin think that he was her husband with that tone? While it wasn't a command, it also wasn't seeking her opinion! Despite her thoughts, she still reached out, and the barrier of the border was breached. Wei Wuyin pulled slightly as he touched her soft hand, and she found herself astonished as she felt her waist being held, her face near Wei Wuyin's, and their eyes meeting.
As an Earthly Saint, as an Alchemic Saint, she was a powerful and prestigious figure that no one would dare disrespect, yet Wei Wuyin hadn't held back as he grabbed her with a sly, brilliant smile. Her lips which were as soft as water, warm as the morning sun, and enticing as a rose in bloom, were met by a fiercely masculine pair that was equally as warm.
Her memories of 'that' night flashed in her mind, and her slender body and proud bones began to loosen and relax. In the Dark Void, under the glow of Baby Defiant's radiance, they exchanged a long-lasting kiss containing nearly three decades of longing.
An hour later.
Desolate Dragnet Stellar Region, Absolute Void Region.
Within the uniquely condensed region of chaos mana, the Original Dawn Palace was still present. While the Neo-Dawn Starfield was Wei Wuyin's newly established home, the Original Dawn Palace was simply the best environment for Bai Lin to live in, so he decided to maintain it there for her sake. Moreover, the stark absence of the Daos was strangely peaceful.
Kree!
"So this is the legendary Fire Phoenix?" Cao Cuifen stood beside Bai Lin, her hands softly caressing the surface of Bai Lin's white and golden feathers. "She's breathtakingly gorgeous!" Cao Cuifen earnestly praised.
Kree!
Bai Lin held her head high with pride. Her smug smile was impossible to miss, and she used her right wing to move Cao Cuifen closer to her. With her golden eyes, she urged Cao Cuifen to continue.
Cao Cuifen couldn't help but smile, "Even amongst the Fire Phoenixes of legends I've seen depicted in paintings, she's by far the most beautiful. Even the heavens must envy her." Unfortunately for Cao Cuifen, Bai Lin's prideful ego was further inflated, and she urged again and again. For thirty whole minutes, Cao Cuifen had to continuously shoot off compliments to the point her mouth was becoming dry.
Wei Wuyin watched from the side, leaning against the wall with his shoulder and a warm expression on his face. Eventually, Cao Cuifen was running out of outlandish praise, and Wei Wuyin saw her give him a look. He couldn't help but laugh, "Alright. Enough of your fishing expedition; you should've had your fill by now. You have a Nirvanic Transformation to prepare for."
Bai Lin pouted as she flapped her wings, clearly saying her fishing expedition for praises wasn't finished. She could still get a bit more! But when she saw Wei Wuyin's eyes, she sighed and used the tip of her wing to caress Cao Cuifen's face. It also served as a poke.
"She seems like a cunning woman, but there's a certain warmth about her. I like her a little," Bai Lin communicated via a mental link. Wei Wuyin knew that Bai Lin was warning him to be careful, and he nodded in acknowledgment, transmitting: "A little is better than not."
Bai Lin soon left for the Void Gate leading to the Blazing Graveyard of Blessed Vermilions. The Original Dawn Palace was established by a multi-linked Void Gate that could traverse anywhere within the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region and, soon, anywhere in the Neo-Dawn Starfield.
Wei Wuyin had to set that up, so his trip here wasn't simply to have Cao Cuifen meet Bai Lin or find a place for privacy.
Eventually, Wei Wuyin was alone with Cao Cuifen in a spacious hall, and they sat opposite from each other on chairs without any table between them. They stared at each other, their gazes containing many, many questions.
"Let me begin," Wei Wuyin said. Since Cao Cuifen had given herself to him, trusted him enough to come here, and Bai Lin had no issues with her, he didn't hold back the truth of what happened. He didn't start at the Time Vortex but at the very beginning when he first learned about the World Between the Fold.
"I was invited into the World Between the Fold by Liu Suyin…" As he began recounting his experiences, Cao Cuifen's eyes tried to maintain their calm but were unable to do so. She was astonishment to realize that he hadn't been oath-bound as she expected! What an oversight!
Additionally, and even more astonishingly, he had used the Time Vortex as a impetus to breakthrough to the Temporal Eye Phase!
Wei Wuyin had gained all those benefits from the Endless Voyage Realm without giving anything back. Then he left as the ultimate champion, not only melting Liu Suyin's indifferent heart but also taking Cao Cuifen's purity and receiving her acknowledgement.
After a while, Cao Cuifen halted mid-way Wei Wuyin and honestly confessed, "I knew who you were before we met."
Wei Wuyin's eyebrow lifted slightly, "You approached me knowing I was their True Destined Voyager?"
Cao Cuifen shook her head, "I knew you were the Neo-Dawn Alchemic Sovereign before that. Despite being in the Endless Voyage Realm, I kept myself abreast of the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region's events, including the rise of a possible second-coming of the King of Everlore or the arrival of his descendant." She looked at his silver eyes, the last possibility had been more or less discarded in the inhabitants of the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region due to how antagonistic Evergod was toward Wei Wuyin, but this had been a speculation for quite a long time.
Seeing how they had similar eyes, a rare color of glistening and alluring silver, it was clear they had some relation.
"We're likely of the same lineage and cultivate an extremely similar Ocular Spiritual Method " Wei Wuyin didn't try to hide it. In fact, besides Su Mei, who he trusted with almost everything except matters he couldn't speak of, there was no one else who knew for certain that he was of the same lineage as the King of Everlore.
Magi!
"Makes sense," Cao Cuifen said thoughtfully. It was too much of a coincidence for two heaven-defying talents of the Alchemic Dao to emerge from the Everlore Starfield and bear similar eyes. At the very least, they should have some relation, no matter how distant. While it was said that the King of Everlore never had any descendants, that didn't mean he didn't have brothers or sisters who did.
"So because you knew I was talented in the Dao of Alchemy, that day you approached me, you were seeking something. Right?" Wei Wuyin had felt various mental fluctuations from Cao Cuifen that pointed to her having alternative goals. He could not figure out what they were, and by the time they shared that night of extraordinary passion, he had the sudden irrepressible urgency to leave immediately.
Fortunately, too, because the debonair Wei Wuyin's fate of being trapped and restrained by the Endless Voyage Realm and the title of 'True Destined Voyager' would've been his own. He avoided those shackles and the death of Kratos.
"The legacy," Cao Cuifen slowly said.
"The Alchemic Clash? You were after the legacy?" Wei Wuyin's assumption was more or less this, but if she was aware of the legacy's peculiarities, then she would know that even if Wei Wuyin had obtained it, there would be too many restrictions preventing him from spreading it recklessly. She wouldn't be able to get the legacy, no matter what.
Moreover, he was late to the clash. How could she have predicted that Tian Xiaolu and Qingye Ying would have a tie, allowing a third to challenge for the legacy via shared property laws?
Taking a step back, Cao Cuifen was a Earthly Saint Alchemist, she could easily triumph against Qingye Ying'er or Tian Xiaolu. Was she trying to prevent her identity from being leaked or was there certain safeguards in place that made it inconvenient?
"I should start from the beginning then," Cao Cuifen took a deep breath as she closed her bright green eyes. When she opened them again, they exuded a unique brilliance. There was an intense light of will within her eyes, carrying a lifetime of schemes, struggles, failures, successes, and ambition.
"Please do," Wei Wuyin wanted to know the whole story behind that gaze.
"Then, I'll start from the very beginning…"
