With meridians that can convert mana into any type of energy and handle the refinement of mystic-graded materials, Wei Wuyin had thoroughly excavated a layer of the Stellar-Paragon Physique and the Star Core Phase's profound abilities. But that was merely the first layer, as Innate talent was divided into three parts: Meridians, Physique, and Psyche.
Furthermore, his refinement ability was top-notch, essentially at the levels of a Heavenly Chosen, the highest recorded talent grade within the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region. Unfortunately, the Heavenly War Spirit purposefully withheld its knowledge, and he didn't have the memories or the fortune to obtain more information within the Sacred Library or Myriad Miles Academy.
When he tried to probe her for a reason, he was met with a wall of silence and refusal. The Heavenly War Spirit seemed adamant about not speaking, only allowing her previous words to linger as if to prevent his confidence from ballooning to an unreasonable extent.
Wei Wuyin's senses were quite keen, his experience far greater than when he was younger, and he knew that certain things, be it knowledge or actions, beyond one's cultivation or existence came with considerable consequences. This was true when he had named Bai Xiu or when he grasped his alternative version's self. Fuxi had assisted him in the latter, while the former was a situation that would certainly affect him in the future.
Since she hadn't spoken, he didn't pry further. Instead, he focused on his Astral Physique. Like the Meridians, the Physique had five generalized categories of talent: Absorption Rate of Essence, Energy Conversion of Essence, Speed of Outflow, Speed of Inflow, and Durability of Channels, and three unique categories: Blood Quality, Bone Purity, and Neural Network.
When he first exited the cocoon formed by the Neo-Dawn Paragon Forging Pill, Wei Wuyin's physical body had eighty quintillion synapses and a hundred trillion neurons! In contrast, the average human body had a quadrillion synapses and a hundred billion neurons! Additionally, each of his neuron was effectively better in every category. This represented the Neural Network and directly impacted the speed of thought, speed of action, and precision of bodily control.
"My bones were born anew, and my bone age changed with Nascent Energy," Wei Wuyin recalled that moment well, his inner emotions invigorated by his first feelings. It felt as if he was born again!
As for Blood Quality, that was long since at the maximum. The blood of a True Dragon could be considered a Heavenly Chosen talent level from the beginning. Wei Wuyin was no longer purely human but a hybrid in perfect harmony. His True Void Dragon Bloodline was a metaphysical bloodline born from Kratos, a fragment of his very own soul, so how could there possibly be disharmony?
Be it bones or blood, they emulated the qualities of a True Dragon born out of the Void Dao. "The most obvious advantage is my monstrous affinity with Spatial Energy and Time Energy, but the greatest advantage is the limitless potential."
Boundless strength and unlimited potential!
"If I wanted to, I could crush entire stars in my palm!" He softly spoke, but it was as if a true dragon had roared, and the room started quivering with chaotic yet forceful fluctuations.
"If you can't destroy stars with your current cultivation, you might as well end yourself! A total waste!" The Heavenly War Spirit snorted mockingly. Wei Wuyin felt a little embarrassed. He could fight against Ascended beings, even Earthly Saints, as a Timelord! Now that he reached the Star Core Phase, the Ninth Stage of the Astral Core Realm, and the pinnacle of the Mortal Realms, if he couldn't do something that Mystic Star Phase cultivators could do, he truly should end it then and there.
He changed the topic, "The Stellar-Paragon Physique has bolstered the individual properties of my synapses and neurons. They're at least three thousand times more effective than the average and extremely condensed. Moreover, my bones and blood could be considered immaculate regarding their cellular structure and purity. I wonder if I'm immune to poison?" Wei Wuyin deeply contemplated as a strong physique often came with resilience to foreign forces such as other cultivators' invasive powers, illnesses, and poisons.
"Focus on all its inner qualities!" The Heavenly War Spirit said sternly.
Wei Wuyin heaved a helpless sigh. He kept delving into the profound changes in his Blood Quality, Bone Purity, and Neutral Network. This was related to his quintessential talent, so he couldn't be careless.
As he inspected his bones and blood further, he realized that they had changed! Moreover, it wasn't by a little.
"My bones and blood no longer contain only the Void Dao…" Wei Wuyin's pupils constricted to a limit as his heart pounded with shocking realization! While the True Dragon aspects remained, Wei Wuyin could now sense an aura of Origin, Void, Alchemy, and Saber within each cell, including Eden, Imperial, Annihilation, the four basic elements, the five advanced elements, light, yin, yang and a unique spiritual connectivity.
"My Stellar-Paragon Physique possesses all the qualities of my four Astral Souls!" Wei Wuyin was startled into speechlessness. Was his physical body still a True Void Dragon? Or was it a reflection of his Spirits of Cultivation? Shockingly, the most prevalent aura was the Dao of Void and Draconic fluctuations, as if they served as guides for the others, so he should still have the foundation of a True Dragon.
"..." He was initially unable to truly understand the implications of this, but he was certain that this had amplified his affinity to these energies to an outrageous and unprecedented level and was the reason why his various talents had reached the Heavenly Chosen level. Perhaps he would develop Bloodline Abilities relating to them in the future!
After a long, long while, Wei Wuyin heaved another sigh. "My True Dragon Bloodline has already reached the Mystic level, so I wonder what'll happen when my Existential Framework fully ascends." He could only wait for that day to fully manifest his True Dragon Bloodline abilities and his newfound talents.
"My Psyche," Wei Wuyin slowly said as he moved on to the last of his innate talents. Similar to the Meridians and Physique, the Psyche had five generalized categories shared between them and three unique categories. These were: the Sea of Consciousness, Well of Thoughts, and Mental Fortitude.
Qing Qiumu had a Violet Forestry Palace of the Psyche, and her Well of Thoughts could connect with plant life and the Law of Wood on an instinctual and intuitive level, communicating with plants or Wood Energy without issue, granting her peerless talent in wood cultivation. Her Sea of Consciousness generated a type of wood-attributed mental energies that created unique neurons in her Neural Network; if her brain were to be dissected, they would find special neurons! Lastly, she had a formidable mental fortress that protected her memories, thoughts, and Mind's Eye from invaders.
Wei Wuyin's Psyche had gained an aura of inexhaustible eternity, and it was this quality that assisted him in surviving the shared fallout of Hellfire's mental backlash after connecting with his Second Mind. All his planned contingencies had been made pointless by the effectiveness of its stability and recovery abilities.
"My Sea of Consciousness can convert mana into Mental Energy, and my Mental Fortitude, the protection of my mind, can similarly recover through this power. My Well of Thoughts…" Wei Wuyin already could sense other thoughts, one of Eden's abilities, so he hadn't grasped anything new; at most, it was simply stronger and clearer.
After assessing all levels of his talent and abilities, Wei Wuyin felt refreshed. The entire act took nearly a week, and while it might seem simple, it was anything but to thoroughly explore every aspect of his Stellar-Paragon Physique.
"These traits and abilities will only grow stronger as you do, know this." The Heavenly War Spirit reminded him solemnly, and Wei Wuyin nodded. For some reason, he felt as if the Heavenly War Spirit was growing increasingly concerned the more she discovered.
"Is there something you want to tell me?" After finishing the inspection, he could now tackle this strange feeling he had felt since the beginning. She had been urging him to consolidate his cultivation and grasp his newfound abilities since he finished his Astral Tribulation.
"..." The Heavenly War Spirit went silent once again. However, Wei Wuyin refused to let this one go. "Whatever you're worried about, if I'm ignorant of it, I won't be able to prepare. But if I know of it, I can try to handle it. Of course, if it's something taboo-"
"It's not," she softly interrupted. It was clear that while she was being rather pushy, she didn't want to or couldn't lie to Wei Wuyin.
"If it's not, then don't hold back telling me your concerns. We're in this together," Wei Wuyin firmly yet warmly announced. The Heavenly War Spirit had subsisted on his mental energies since the beginning, and it was deeply intertwined with his Sea of Consciousness. If he died, she died. They were genuinely in this together!
After a long moment of silence, she began: "I worry about you; your current body, from your flesh, blood, and bones to your mind and soul, everything is a peerless heaven-defying treasure that has continuously broken the cultivation conventions. Right now, in this Sealed Region, you can be considered to be in an invincible position, so you're safe. But the outside world isn't safe; there are cultivators beyond the Mystic Ascendant Realm that would love to study you, refine you, or worse—enslave you. I worry that…
"...I worry that you're too outstanding and ambitious, and you'll be unable to escape their greedy clutches in the end." The Heavenly War Spirit's words were laced with genuine and heartfelt concern. She was extremely aware of the cruelty of the world, and her understanding of it far surpassed Wei Wuyin, but he was simply a mere mortal right now.
Her words struck a chord in the depths of Wei Wuyin's soul. Her concerns were not without valid reasoning, and he had already experienced it once before—Liu Yinlan. He wasn't simply enslaved, but he lost Kratos as well. The memory was seared into his brain, and his teeth clenched alongside his fists.
RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
The Absolute Void Region outside was stirred into a frenzy! Mana Dominance! All four of his Astral Souls were riled up, once again forced to remember the fate they had suffered in another timeline.
The debonair version of himself had also been ambitious, pursuing greater heights with rapid speed to face the Calamities of Hell, and he landed in Liu Yinlan's devious clutches as a result. Wei Wuyin knew that his ambitions were much, much greater than his alternate self. He was also far, far more out in the open than his other self.
"The All-Ending Stellar Calamity foretold the end of the Sealed Regions. Typically, prophecies are extremely difficult to prevent, if not outright impossible, as they are the inevitable trend of the world or the will of the heavens. You need to grow stronger," she finally revealed the source of her worries, what prompted her feelings of urgency, and why she was saying all of this.
If the Sealed Regions collapsed or vanished and Wei Wuyin survived, then he could only travel to the world beyond for his absurdly high cultivation needs. He would come in contact with a stronger world, stronger forces, and likely stronger enemies! Moreover, his talents and powers weren't something others could simply ignore.
The Nexus War Flag might be impressive, but it wasn't enough to dominate the world she knew. After all, it was merely a treasure of the world she knew! There were countless treasures out there that were similar or outright better! Far, far better!
"...Thank you," Wei Wuyin abruptly said.
"For?" The Heavenly War Spirit was taken aback.
"For reminding me that my obstacles and challenges include cultivators. Since I started on this cultivation path, I've faced very few setbacks, and my sights were always far ahead of anything the Sealed Regions could show. My only enemies were the heavens, the world, and my ambitions; I hadn't feared anyone or anything.
"When I was in the Myriad Yore Continent and at the Qi Condensation Realm, I fearlessly acted against Wu Jiao, a Sky Ruler. When I entered the Myriad Monarch Sect, I had the place dancing in my palms in only a few years. When I entered the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region, I marked it from the very first step while I was only at the Gravity Emission Phase.
"I've never truly taken any cultivator in the Sealed Regions seriously as my horizons were simply that much greater. How could they possibly compare? After all, in the face of Hell's terror and the will of the heavens, what were they, if not tiny, insignificant blips in my life? In another life, this outlook cost me everything—I will not make that same mistake."
Those words came from Wei Wuyin's heart as he reflected on his mental state. His Heart of Cultivation was already firm, but it was also too far-sighted. Unlike the Heavenly War Spirit, whose horizons were within the world of cultivation, he was facing the Calamities of Hell, Unseen Divinities, the Heavenly Daos, and Manifestations of Laws. Now, he was lowering his gaze to take everything down below with the utmost seriousness.
Taking this moment to remind himself that everything could be a threat to his future and that he could never be careless.
