"Are we going home? Finally!" A young female Chosen who hadn't completed the Blue Path exclaimed cheerfully.
"Did Saintess Na become the Chosen King?" Long Gua asked as he sensed the fluctuations of rippling spatial power enveloping him. The competition was at its end, typically coming to a conclusion on the eighty-first day of the Everpath Voyage. According to past accounts, this was how it's always been, just prior would be a stage of randomly given rewards and a list of rewards each Chosen could obtain by expending their acquired points gathered throughout the two stages.
The selection of rewards was where the hype settled in everyone's minds, especially those who had completed the White Path, completely dominating the past generations' records. While they weren't the fastest, they were bound to receive unimaginably great rewards far surpassing those who challenged the Everpath before them.
"Will I have earned enough to get a Vitalfire Lotus for grandmother?" A few Chosen had come with certain products in mind, either for themselves or others. Some were given lists to obtain from their respective factions, and many of these materials were mystic-graded ones that could greatly help Ascended beings in their cultivation.
It was rewards of that value and purpose that greatly inspired Ascendants to give it their all to impart juniors with their knowledge and skills for the last few thousand years, hopefully earning a hefty share from their success. The foresight of the King of Everlore was impeccable as without proper motivation, juniors not of one's direct lineage or descent would be largely ignored, like uncut gems lost in the sands. Yet this small potential gain for seniors of the Mystic Dao with their absurd lifespans to acquire materials beneficial to their cultivation had heavily fueled the growth of young talents from all over throughout the years. This was especially so for Alchemists as the young Alchemic Knight culture flourished wildly.
Many of the Chosen present were junior Alchemic Knights of Mortal Sovereign Alchemists. While only a few were capable of breaching the White Path, mostly attributed to Wei Wuyin's products' effects, they showcased the great benefits of having a dedicated Alchemist at your disposal.
"This feels different." Almost immediately, a few experienced Chosen felt as if the spatial fluctuations from the surrounding world were noticeably different from past competitions. It felt stronger. It felt overwhelming. It was definitely different than before!
"..." Yi Yun had completed the White Path as well, an astonishing feat for a Realmlord, but he, too, was an Ascendant, so his success was not one of too much surprise. He looked at the changing world, a flutter of silver and verdant green lights swirled beautifully around him and the others. It was like a mass of butterflies or sprites.
Suddenly, these lights bore themselves into the pores of everyone present. Even those who had not passed the White Path were affected.
"What is this?!" A Chosen cried out fearfully, not expecting this strange event. Soon, verdant green marks formed on their skin all over carrying an esoteric beauty and a gentle glow. It provided a strangely comfortable cooling sensation. A few even tried resisting by circulating their astral force and starforce but to no avail. They could only watch on as the marks manifested on their skin, from their hands, palms, thighs, necks, and stomachs.
Meanwhile, San Luoyang was pouring seemingly endless amounts of his precious Mystic Power into the Ever-Key. He was straining as his eyes slowly grew bloodshot and veins protruded from his hands and temple.
San Luoyang felt the familiar aura within the verdant green marks manifesting across her skin, her eyes flashed strangely as she looked at the sky. It was as if her treasured ruby-like eyes could see across the void, seeing her adopted father struggle. She couldn't help but think that San Luoyang never changed, regardless of this time or the other. The enchanting light within her eyes grew softer, warmer, and carried a wisp of thankfulness.
The verdant green marks began to rapidly fade away across everyone's skin as the silvery light grew increasingly intense.
VANISH!
In a mere blink of a mortal's eye, the Docking Stage of the Everpath Voyage, the second stage of the Chosen King Competition, was left empty with not a soul left behind.
At the Everclash Platform, Wei Wuyin was quietly eating a few Heavy Autumn Pecans as he observed Tian Xiaolu and Qingye Ying cultivate. The former's expression was quite sullen and dark as she appeared to be gravely dissatisfied with her results. As expected, the duo made it to the final stage, but after reaching the stage, Qingye Ying bowed out while Tian Xiaolu agreed to the challenge of the final step.
She failed.
Tian Xiaolu fully put forth a commendable display of effort and skill, even the assigned effect she received was slightly easier than his own, aligning perfectly with her specialty. Unfortunately, as she tried to inventively concoct the product in question, something was lacking as her cauldron failed her at the last moment, turning her materials into ash-
utterly worthless.
"It wasn't Bai Xiu," Wei Wuyin couldn't help but think that, at this time, Bai Xiu would not have allowed Tian Xiaolu to use her even if she had obtained her. Moreover, she simply didn't have the skills or strength to properly use her original body. It would've been more detrimental to use her than beneficial, almost guaranteeing her failure.
"If she had a better cauldron, she would've had a much greater chance." Wei Wuyin commented lightly as he stuffed his mouth with delicious pecans with a particularly flavorful earthen taste. He couldn't quite pinpoint it, but as he recalled the concoction process that Tian Xiaolu underwent, he felt that if she had a Rune of Transcendence or something similar imbued into the cauldron's formations, her product wouldn't have been reduced to ash due to impurity build-up.
It was as if she was missing that single crucial piece of the puzzle.
Her failure was an unchangeable outcome, however. She had lost all her rewards in her reckless overestimation of her ability while Qingye Ying had obtained seven random items with jubilation plastered on her face. The golden-eyed elf was breathtakingly beautiful with her earnest and bright smile. It was hard to not fall for such a sight for common men.
The Ascendants that he brought along were also cheering. Unlike Tian Xiaolu, they had their Ascendant Emperor who could transmit the knowledge of the last step before they could challenge it. None of them recklessly charged ahead, taking the rewards. This shocked him slightly, but then he felt gratified that he nurtured individuals who understood their limits. While they were skilled, inventive theory and concoctions were none of their fortes.
The act of creating a new product was absurdly difficult, let alone a ninth-grade product. Some of them would struggle with seventh-grade inventions, not due to a lack of skill, but simply creating something new was insidiously difficult, especially alongside the rules for the last step with a time limit set.
"It's time." Wang Yutian alerted Wei Wuyin in a spiritual transmission. Wei Wuyin stuffed another handful of pecans into his mouth, chewing with relish, entirely unconcerned about the next stage. He silently cursed Higheater for causing him to develop a habit of eating mystic-graded foods. The act of cultivating while eating delicious things was extremely addicting.
"Evercrown," Wei Wuyin recalled the memories of the next event. This was the final stage of the Chosen King Competition. If the first stage was a sieve meant to remove the scattered dirt from gold, then the second stage was meant to test one's willpower, estimation of power, and strength under adversity. As for the third and final stage?
A bloody battle.
A mad scramble for the crown.
Wang Yutian appeared beside Wei Wuyin as he was weaving his bluish hands into various seals, conjuring up the formation's power to begin the spatial shuttling process.
"Are you aware of the next stage's details?" Wang Yutian curiously, not wanting to do something superfluous like repeat what Wei Wuyin already knew.
While Wei Wuyin was aware of some details, he hadn't participated in it before, and a few things could have been omitted deliberately, so he thoughtfully said: "Tell me." He offered a few pecans.
Wang Yutian's eyes became brightly lit. He looked at the pecans and was about to refuse, as he was a Spiritform was didn't need to eat, but when he saw the pecans themselves, his eyes widened in disbelief. There was Manifested Spirit Energy within these, refined through some unfathomable method, and they were greatly beneficial in improving things like Soul Idols, Soul Rings, Spirits, and Spiritual beings like himself!
For the first time since his transformation, he felt a pang of hunger. Before he knew it, he had reached out and eaten a few. The earthen flavor was extremely delicious as bits of earthen brown light flashed across his skin as if flowing through invisible veins on his bluish form. He relished in it as the light slowly vanished as if it had been properly digested.
Oddly enough, his form felt increasingly tangible and had a very faint earthly aura emitting outwards.
Wei Wuyin inspected the changes closely and nodded to himself. In the Library of Eden, his Second Mind was curiously recording the entire process and various theories in a scroll. Meanwhile, the Heavenly War Spirit exclaimed softly in his Sea of Consciousness as if shaken by the changes.
When Wang Yutian opened his eyes, the desire for more flooded outwards in a gush of overly excited brilliance.
Wei Wuyin ignored the feverish look, "Details?"
"Mm!" Wang Yutian cleared out his throat after realizing that he almost lost him, steadily regaining his composure as he licked his bluish lips subconsciously. "Right. The Evercrown Ceremony is the last event of the competition set by the King of Everlore. You might not have heard of it because the Sealed Regions had never earned the qualifications to participate. To do so, as decreed by the King of Everlore himself, the Chosen of the Sealed Regions have to complete the White Path.
"Then, and only then, will the stage be unlocked for Sealed Regions going forward. You probably already know that those you sent and helped nurture had all completed their voyages. Still, the Evercrown Ceremony is a bloody affair. The goal of the stage is to obtain all seven fragments of the Evercrown within a given time limit, combine them at the ceremonial altar, and then place them on one's head. The entire process is a little more complex than that, but it's essentially each of the steps.
"The Chosen King will be named then." Wang Yutian explained through spiritual transmission, so all of this was said in the span of a breath.
"And our side?" Wei Wuyin asked, knowing that those in the Everclash Platform were given a role to participate.
Wang Yutian bitterly smiled, seemingly realizing that Wei Wuyin would likely be annoyed. "You'll be fought over."
"Fought over?" What strange wording. Wei Wuyin's eyebrows lifted as he ate something. Unknowingly, not even Wang Yutian noticed when, but the items in his hands were no longer pecans but golden ripe grapes. They were abnormally juicy with a hearty crunch to them.
Wang Yutian suddenly felt as if his saliva glands had returned. The sound was stomach-teasing. He held his strange new urges in, "The competition isn't simple at all. Each crown is sealed in a unique shrine. Only an Alchemist can set foot on these shrines and only an Alchemist can merge the crown pieces with their Alchemical Energies. Also-"
"-only an Alchemist can place the crown on a Chosen's head?" Wei Wuyin finished Wang Yutian's sentence as he shoved a grape toward him. The Spiritform immediately reached out to grab it, looking cautiously at Wei Wuyin, seeing him down another one, and popped it into his mouth. The juicy fruit splashed in his mouth as a watery rich flavor engulfed his senses. It was oddly refreshing.
In the Library of Eden, the sounds of violently fast writing took place as Wang Yutian's changes were projected on a large tablet in extremely slow motion. There was an air of madness within.
Wei Wuyin stared at Wang Yutian, "As expected."
Before he could ask another question, the power built up was too intense and he felt himself shift through space. Everything vanished before his eyes, but before then, he saw Wang Yutian coming to his senses, looking a little apologetic as the spatial power went into effect.
Shortly after...
Wei Wuyin found himself in a limited space, surrounded by four opaque walls that distorted light and spiritual sense.
He looked all around, finding himself on a square-shaped platform with each wall about five meters away from him.
...was he...
...in a box?
