Lifeless, fading of warmth, and laying eerily still, Tang Xingyun's gaze only reflected the image of Lin Ming, her mind ravaged by disbelief and her body weakened by fear. She was unaware that two new existences had arrived, both focusing on her and her sole focus.
"Tian Yinwu?" Lin Ziyan instantly recognized the Seventh Prince and her eyes widened. He was here! Her assumption had more or less been verified, and that strange, oddly detached Yin Aura on Tang Xingyun's body alongside her current distraught state allowed Lin Ziyan to understand almost the full story.
This Seventh Prince of the Imperial Clan, rumored to be one of the most talented cultivators in the entire world, had taken to hunting down Tang Xingyun. For what purpose? Seeing how Tang Xingyun's love for Lin Ming was as incredible as the heavens' will-adultery and murder!
The mere thought that Tian Yinwu, such a renowned and exceptional figure, had lost out on love to the Archaic Chosen cascaded with scandals, lacking in looks, talent, and backing, made Lin Ziyan feel a wave of icy-cold disbelief. Lin Ming's inherent charm must have been heaven-shaking. Shockingly, she, who just felt killing intent toward Tang Xingyun, moved before the collapsed Tang Xingyun protectively, facing Tian Yinwu who was approaching with calm, settled steps and a curious gaze.
"Are you here to kill her?" Lin Ziyan asked with incomparable calm. She couldn't grasp why she was acting this way, at least not consciously. But subconsciously, Lin Ziyan had somehow appreciated Tang Xingyun's daring to love while pitying her harsh, pathetic fate.
Perhaps it was because she believed in finding her true love her entire life or perhaps it was something else entirely...
All she knew was that she didn't want Tang Xingyun to die to Tian Yinwu right this moment.
Tian Yinwu's steps came to a stop a few dozen meters away.
He looked beyond Lin Ziyan; he saw Zuhei whose mouth was dripping with white heart blood, the faint aura of laws emanating from his body, and Lin Ming's gradually cooling corpse. Then, his hazel-golden gaze of the Imperial Clan's rightful lineage turned toward the collapsed Tang Xingyun, whose entire focus was on Lin Ming. She laid there helplessly. Not the slightest iota of pity entered his gaze, simply a tinge of regret.
Towards what?
If only he had been the one to launch the killing blow.
Now he finally knew why Wei Wuyin would place importance on protecting Lin Ming and Tang Xingyun. The beastman cultivator of canine lineage was in the process of the Heavenly Resonance of Three Thousand Realms, forming a natural link with the force of laws, granting him an incomparably precious opportunity. From within that aura, Tian Yinwu felt the Awakened Intent of Predation, a Unique Intent often belonging to the apex of predators.
To think that while he was setting a cage, readying himself to hunt down his targets, a beast was lurking from the shadows, eyeing his prey with ravenous desire, all with the intent of consuming him for sustenance to the soul and self. Once again, Tian Yinwu was astonished by Wei Wuyin's methods and means.
Within his heart, Tian Yinwu shook his head, letting out a soft breath. "I'll send you off with your lover, Tang Xingyun." Those words carried faint wisps of emotions, past memories, and hardened determination. Before his unexpected adventure to the World Beyond and subsequent intense struggle to return, Tian Yinwu once fancied the idea of accepting Tang Xingyun as his wife. She was an undeniable beauty with potential and talent exceeding the Sealed Regions' typical standards. While he had strove to break apart the marriage agreement, this was solely because she looked unwilling and unhappy during their first encounter.
In his mind, at that time, he entertained the idea of possessing the right to sever their agreement, signed and accepted by his Royal Father, and presenting Tang Xingyun with a choice. She could then choose to stay with him as his first wife or go off and live her own destiny. He worked extremely hard to achieve that feat. Alas, his hard work and struggles were met with nearly becoming a cuckold. As a man, even Tian Yinwu was unwilling to accept such gargantuan levels of disrespect, especially since she even gave away her purity before reaching the Mystic Ascendant Realm, a grave taboo for any woman that strove for higher cultivation levels.
Moreover, all she had to do was one, very simple thing-wait. But not only did she not wait, she even tried to hide her illicit and irresponsible actions from the powerful Imperial Clan, not even trying to take accountability, as if it would work. If she had told the truth, while her reputation might have been irreparably damaged, her cultivation likely crippled, and her clan forced to pay a heavy price for her actions, Tian Yinwu would've pleaded with her for leniency, even if it meant including Lin Ming's life.
They both would have suffered greatly, but at the very least, the two of them could've been together in this life. Yet here they were...
How whimsical was fate?
He slowly began to walk toward Tang Xinyun.
Lin Ziyan's eyes constricted slightly. She stood protectively before Tang Xingyun, and while Tian Yinwu wasn't emitting any killing intent or bearing a vicious expression that was well within his rights to have, Lin Ziyan felt her heart enter a glacial field of utmost cold. Undoubtedly, he was here to kill!
"Stop!" Lin Ziyan pushed out her arm, the cracked bracelet on her wrist shone with a faint mystic light. As it did, the crack increased in depth and length.
Tian Jianghan was amused; while it was a real pity that Lin Ming died so easily, this Temporal Eye Phase woman was trying to protect Tang Xingyun with a damaged trinket. The sight was quite admirable.
"Pretty Fairy, you should move aside." Tian Jianghan calmly advised. If Lin Ziyan wasn't a peerlessly graceful beauty with an utterly heat-inducing figure, he might not have even given this little warning.
Lin Ziyan's eyes hardened, "Or?" She coldly asked, her bracelet exuding an increasingly bright radiance. The one thing she hated was being told what to do while being looked at by those patronizing eyes that only saw her outward visage, disgustingly assessing her.
Tian Jianghan was unbothered by her tone, only gaining increased interest in this exceptionally fearless woman. "Or else," he said with a faint, genial smile.
Tian Yinwu didn't care about this exchange. He lifted his right hand-
"Else what?" An utterly glacial voice resounded, and Tian Jianghan's body felt extremely uncomfortable as his heart began to pound intensely. His eyes uncontrollably bulged as a hazy figure exited out of a state of Environmental Integration, seemingly merging with the illusory yin prevalent in the world. She stood between Lin Ziyan and the two Imperial Princes.
Tian Jianghan staggered a little backward, an unseemly sight for an Imperial Prince and a swordsman. If others saw him, they would be totally shaken by his current state.
Tian Yinwu was unsurprised by the new arrival, having sensed her long ago, but simply hadn't thought that she would interfere. The peerlessly beautiful Extreme Yin Saintess had made her appearance!
"Sister Xinyi!" Lin Ziyan was astonished and excited by Na Xinyi's arrival. Her form of address instantly caused Tian Jianghan to blanch.
Na Xinyi didn't look back, her gray eyes focused on Tian Yinwu. While she didn't wield any weapon, her eyes carried the intent to act should he continue.
Tian Yinwu halted his steps, "Are you protecting her or Tang Xingyun?" While he spoke, his tone was incredibly calm, undaunted by Na Xinyi's demeanor or intent.
"Does it matter?" Na Xinyi answered flatly.
Tian Yinwu glanced at Lin Ziyan who tried to protect Tang Xingyun and faintly smiled, saying: "I guess you're right-it doesn't."
Suddenly, Zuhei's aura expanded, enveloping tens of miles, whooshing through the sea of bitterness with bone-chilling presence!
Na Xinyi and Tian Yinwu both slightly flinched while Lin Ziyan was entirely unaffected and Tian Jianghan's eyes lost their colors for a brief moment, seemingly going unconscious. The aura was downright feral and savage, bloody and brutal, endlessly vicious as if it preludes the awakening of an apex predator of gods and ghosts!
HOWL!!!
Zuhei opened his bloody maw toward the sky, and unleashed a terrifyingly world-shaking howl of a wolf! No-of the Silver Wolf, Sirius!!! The will of his ancestor permeated the air, tainting the world in a hue of silver and blood-red, overwhelming the faint traces of black and violet that was once prevalent in the world.
"Ancestral Awakening?!" Tian Yinwu and Na Xinyi both said as they moved far away. The former took Tian Jianghan and fled a few miles away while Na Xinyi grabbed both Lin Ziyan and Tang Xingyun, gliding beautifully through the air as she took to the skies, her Mana Dominance exerting its profound might.
They were both stunned; Ancestral Awakenings were typically limited to beasts. It occurred typically when a Star Beast awakens their Ancestral Lineage's Bloodline and becomes a Genesis Beast.
Na Xinyi was aware of this because Bai Lin had undergone her Ancestral Awakening, becoming a Fire Phoenix from a White Crane. Tian Yinwu was aware of this because the World Beyond had numerous Genesis Beasts! Also, they too were called Genesis Beasts, shortened to Ascendant Beasts of Ancestral Genesis! It was the beginning of when a beast touched upon their ancestral lineage, and at that time, they could freely absorb and refine mystic-graded materials, so they were titled Ascendant Beasts!
Some referred to them as Genesis Beasts as well, depending on the era of their birth!
As the aura pervaded the air, Lin Ming's lifeless corpse was being washed by the Intent of Predation, slowly being consumed! Zuhei's aura was eating his body!
"NO!" Tang Xingyun, shockingly, was completely conscious as her focus was fully on Lin Ming, and even the aura of Zuhei hadn't broken her concentration or consciousness! The sheer might of this only showed how unwilling she was to lose him!
Na Xinyi frowned, but she didn't try to save Lin Ming's corpse. For some strange reason, she kept feeling an uneasiness pounding against her heart.
Tian Yinwu's eyes narrowed; Zuhei's current state was unexpected. How could a beastman undergo Ancestral Awakening? With a casual thrust of his palm, across several miles, a burst of condensed air and mana violently crashed into the 96th Wall!
SHATTER!
The wall, the 96th Wall with astounding durability, had been shattered by a mere palm! Tian Yinwu tossed the unconscious Tian Jianghan through the opening, turning him into a bolt of light. The wall swiftly repaired itself. His actions were incomparably swift and outrageously smooth, but his gaze never once left Tang Xingyun.
BOOM!
A thunderous boom erupted, taking both Na Xinyi and Tian Yinwu's attention away as they focused on Lin Ming's corpse.
Zuhei's aura was trying to eat away at it when a voice resounded alongside the thunderous boom.
"You bloody mutt!" A voice filled with indignation and rage resounded through the spirits and coursed into the mind for the entire sea of bitterness to hear! From Lin Ming's glabella, the Aegis of the Elements began to shine with a faint spiritual light. The predation aura surrounding Lin Ming shattered!
"The Spirit-Bound Lotus?" Both Tian Yinwu and Na Xinyi recognized the item as a lotus attached to a Divine Elemental Origin Soul that began to escape from Lin Ming's dantian area. There was a bloody claw on the white-colored soul, but it was slowly being erased by the Spirit-Bound Lotus.
Both of their pupils dilated. With their powers, they hadn't sensed the presence of Lin Ming's Astral Soul! They had thought it vanished in accordance with natural law. But then, as if struck by lightning, they both realized that there was a lack of the Star Ascension phenomenon earlier!
"Lin Ming! I'm only doing this once, so you better survive!" The voice was raging and forceful. Then, the Aegis of Elements shot out of Lin Ming's glabella, flying into the Astral Soul bound with a Spirit Lotus!
A profound, unexpected change began to take place!
