Yun Che!
Wei Wuyin calmly faced Yun Che, the Evil Blessed, with a faint expression that was hard to decipher. It had been a long time since Wei Wuyin met Yun Che in person, usually having an intermediary handling their interactions.
The Evil Blessed no longer had an unconsolidated cultivation base at the Demi-Mortal Lord Phase. Instead, his aura was firm, vigorous, and oppressive without any attempt to exert any of it. This passive feeling was indicative of his startling growth during these past few decades.
Wei Wuyin didn't respond to his aggrieved comment, merely taking out a spatial ring and Spiritual Jade with a self-erasing formation inscribed within. "Get ready to leave within the hour," Wei Wuyin ordered flatly.
"..." Yun Che looked at the ring and jade, his eyes glinting lightly with a complex light. He couldn't help but ruefully recall his experiences since that fateful day of being lured into a trap, losing his mask and sword, including the Heavenly World Core in his possession. That day, he had devastated an entire planet, killed one of the women that had robbed him, and fought against an Earthly Saint.
However, he had gone after Xiao Bing's life out of greed and lost his Heretical Berserk Godsword, the Thousand Faces of Man, and the Heavenly World Core he had just obtained as a result when that scaled-humanoid interfered. It could be considered the worst day of his life.
Or the best day.
Throughout his life, he had to fight and scheme for resources and treasures. He lingered on the border of life and death at all times, playing multiple angles, and any slip-ups could've led to the end of his life. But the moment Wei Wuyin entered his life, he finally understood why having the backing of an alchemist was so important.
Wei Wuyin was absurdly wealthy; there was no resource he couldn't obtain, and even Mystic-Earth-grade products were things he could acquire. Throughout his entire life, he had only seen three Mystic-Earth-grade products, which were impure to low-quality. Moreover, these products originated from extremely ancient ruins that predated the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region's written history or were sold at shady auctions with dubious origins.
This was merely 'seen', not 'obtained'. Out of those three products, he had only refined a single one, which essentially elevated his attainments before his Mystic Ascension. It was that fortune that allowed him to formulate a 9th Rune Ascension.
Since obtaining Wei Wuyin's favor, he had taken eight Mystic-Earth products, all at least at the low-quality, and extraordinary eighth and ninth-grade products that caused him to be shaken in his boots. The paste that elevated his Mortal State into an Origin State had heavily changed his understanding of alchemy and its limitations.
After finding out this type of product existed, he stared at the blank wall for seven days and seven nights, contemplating how insane the difference was, reflecting on how the saying—frog in a well—perfectly described his situation. It nearly drove him insane.
All those decades spent planning to steal the Heavenly World Cores to cultivate the mysterious and heaven-defying Mana Dominance and Origin State from the ancient legacy of a long-deceased figure from an ancient civilization, only to find out that a better, quicker, and simpler alternative existed that was merely at the ninth-grade was quite hard to digest.
Ninth.
Freaking.
Grade!
Unfortunately, he was limited in his gains. He had to do 'assignments' for Wei Wuyin to obtain anything beyond the mortal grade. Each completed mission earned him a Mystic-Earth grade product or two, and a lavish treatment of high-quality mortal products followed to recoup his losses, but he hadn't received an assignment in over four years, causing him to receive only the lowly passive benefits. He was innately greedy, a personality trait that he didn't try to cover up or suppress, and he always wanted more, hence the grievance.
"What's the pay?" Typically, he spoke to Wei Wuyin's intermediary, not the man himself, and while his emotions were rolling fiercely from seeing him, he kept his outward calm with impeccable control.
Wei Wuyin simply looked at him, a silence forming that caused the atmosphere to tense almost instantly, and Yun Che's brows furrowed. "Within your ring is a replica of your Thousand Faces of Man. You'll need it. As for pay, it'll depend on how well you do."
Yun Che couldn't help but lift his eyebrows in surprise. A replica? How? But before he could say anything, Wei Wuyin added: "I've tweaked this replica, and it has additional functions within. All the information is in the spiritual jade. Make any and all preparations you need. If you have specific talismans, armaments, or products needed for the mission, send a request through the standard channels. I've already authorized all available resources to be put at your disposal, including any information you'd need."
Yun Che was taken aback as he had never thought that Wei Wuyin would speak so much to him. Only after seeing his eyes that felt stifling and oppressive did he realize that this mission was more important than any other mission prior! Solemnly, he no longer asked questions and examined the insides of the spatial ring, finding the replica of the Thousand Faces of Man.
His heart shook as he felt Spatial and Time Power greatly exceeding his comprehension. It seemed this mission was bound to be extremely dangerous, and as if reading his mind, Wei Wuyin added: "There's a Mythical Oath within that you'll have to swear before proceeding. It's non-negotiable."
"..." Yun Che was familiar with these pre-sworn oaths, as he had sworn a fair bit for each mission given, but when he caught sight of the contents, he couldn't help but feel his soul shiver. By the time he gained himself, Wei Wuyin was already walking away with his back to him.
If this was decades prior, Yun Che might have used this opportunity to seize Wei Wuyin and try to regain his sword and mask while extorting benefits. He couldn't help but self-mockingly laugh when he dismissed the chances of that happening, not because of his weakness but because he could not see a better path ahead than by Wei Wuyin's side.
Moreover, he was still useful despite Wei Wuyin's title as Saintmaker and eighty-plus Earthly Saints in his sphere of control, an unprecedentedly fearful number of elites. It was clear that he was a wild card with precious skills that Wei Wuyin couldn't easily obtain from others, and this value meant his future path was brighter than ever before.
After inspecting the contents of the mission once more, he lightly breathed out with an air of acceptance and resolve. He turned back and entered his residence. After doing so, he couldn't help but slightly mutter. "The Rainbow World Starfield, huh? This should be interesting."
Two days later.
Wei Wuyin had personally visited several locations throughout the Neo-Dawn Starfield, including various connected Secret and World Realms within the Realm Region beneath the surface of the starfield. It was quite an interesting journey, as he met several Blessed cultivators that had been acquired through his recruitment efforts thus far.
Despite their varied cultivation, each of these figures was elite amongst elites with outstanding natural talents or gifts. It was quite interesting how most had at least two innate talents that reached the Overlord level, such as their Physique or Meridians. Moreover, they had acquired certain opportunities that painted an interesting picture and a startling realization.
Wei Wuyin sat in a forest on the hump of a dirt mound, his silver eyes observing the beautiful flora and active fauna around him. 'The Heavenly Daos is taking hasty actions to bring forth the remnants of the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region's ancient titan civilization.'
Wei Wuyin took particular note of this phenomenon. The Grand Cyclic Stellar Region was once ruled by the Grand Cyclic Titanic Emperor, a Worldly Saint of outstanding talent and reputation, and the neighboring Stellar Regions were somewhat inferior, barely of any true value. The Desolate Dragnet Stellar Region, for example, was, as its name suggested—desolate. Before the Sealed Regions was created by the three Ascended Sovereigns, it was more or less a beast wildcard with the vast majority of its occupants being dragons.
The other Stellar Regions near the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region had similar environmental conditions, only slightly better or slightly worse than the Desolate Dragnet Stellar Region. It seemed that eighty-thousand years ago, the past civilization hadn't grasped complete control over the Stellar Regions. To be fair, it was difficult to cultivate Stellar Regions, and elevating them to a high level required absurd amounts of effort, resources, and terrifyingly strong and accomplished cultivators.
'Recruiting those Blessed was as helpful as I thought. As long as I monitor their growth and individual gains, I can gather a clearer understanding of the Heavenly Daos' intent and find out certain mysteries.' Wei Wuyin contemplated as he closed his eyes; his mind absorbed quite a few spatial recordings of each Blessed experience over the last month or so through their Ascendant-granted Spatial Rings. They were all directed to the Palace of Eden's extensive library, and the Second Mind was tasked with sorting through them and finding relevant critical points.
Moreover, the Heavenly Daos was clearly giving certain Blessed faint connections to the World Beyond, seemingly preparing them to integrate with the greater society. This allowed Wei Wuyin to discover a few things. Firstly, the Heavenly Daos had some escape routes planned for the future. Secondly, the Calamity was fast approaching, and the Heavenly Daos' subtlety was lessening. Lastly…
'The All-Ending Stellar Calamity seems to be linked to the Sealing Array's compromise and history.' Wei Wuyin opened his eyes, a mysterious light flickering in his eyes, and he gathered a lot of intel. The bits of information that each of his Blessed Ascendants acquired through obscure legacies and fragmented wills were forming a picture, albeit extremely slowly.
He had effectively ruled out that the Endless Voyage Realm's descent was the main trigger to the All-Ending Stellar Calamity. No, he still had the firm belief that his existence and awareness of the calamity was the greatest reason for its beginning due to the Eye of Truth's timing and abilities.
Fortunately, this suited his goals as he didn't like others being the key initiator of the event. This made it unpredictable and hard to control, and he had already set himself to exploit the situation. By being at the center of it all, he could obtain a lot more benefits.
Suddenly, a figure blurred before him. The handsome and regal Grand Knight of Neo-Dawn bowed slightly, "Young Lord, the intruder has begun making their way deeper into the Neo-Dawn Starfield's territory."
Wei Wuyin inhaled slightly before expelling a breath of stifled air; his aura underwent a change as a heaven-shaking imperialistic dominance took over, making Wu Yu bow a few inches deeper. Wei Wuyin looked at Wu Yu, slightly apologetic for using him as a grindstone to better refine his usage of the Minor Authority of Imperial Law. It was similar to how an Emperor couldn't hold back their majesty toward a King or Duke of theirs.
"Purpose?" Wei Wuyin asked.
"She's been quietly attempting to hide her identity and aura while establishing various Solar Absorption Formations. While it's only because we allowed her through, she's growing increasingly brazen." Wu Yu said with a little disdain and discontent.
Wei Wuyin furrowed his brow as he thought of that silver-haired beauty, the Moonfall Lunar Queen that had previously tried to stealthily enter the Neo-Dawn Starfield. She had redoubled her efforts over the last month. The Spirits of War and Wu Yu had spotted her instantly, especially the Legion Commander, but Wei Wuyin had given the order to observe and wait, allowing her to breach the Neo-Dawn Starfield while under strict surveillance.
He was curious as to what her purpose was. The Moonfall Lunar Queen was one of the few figures that he had no knowledge of or experience with, and there was little to no evidence of her involvement in any of the events that happened in the Sealed Regions, like a ghost. Even information about her from other forces including from within the Imperial Clan, was sparse and not very detailed.
She was an unknown variable which made Wei Wuyin take her a bit more seriously. Fortunately, she greatly desired entry into his sphere of control, so he didn't have to put much effort into discovering her purpose.
But Solar Absorption Formations? They were formations that absorbed and stored the Solar Essence of a Solar Star. He couldn't quite understand why she was going to such lengths to infiltrate the Neo-Dawn Starfield to simply place these formations. This type of formation wasn't too high-level or particular; almost every force had them in some capacity.
"In the last twenty-two days, she's established over two thousand formations across three different lunar satellites." Wu Yu pointed out.
Wei Wuyin's eyes widened slightly. Over two thousand in twenty-two days?
"Interesting." It was hard for anything to truly pique Wei Wuyin's interest, but a mysterious beauty with an unknown history performing strange actions certainly was on that list.
"Shall I apprehend her?" Wu Yu asked. In his mind, this woman was asking for death. Despite knowing that the Neo-Dawn Starfield had at least over eighty Earthly Saints, she still invaded it fearlessly.
Wei Wuyin faintly smiled, "No need." He rose from his seated position and gazed at the sky above, his silver eyes flickering with majestic light. "I'll do it myself."
Wu Yu was taken aback, but then he nodded respectfully and vanished in a blip of silver light. Wei Wuyin took a step forward and disappeared as well, seemingly melding with the void!
