2nd Grand Transformation!!
Wu Baozhai tapped into the depths of her Imperial Heaven Aura, generating a raging explosion of Imperial Pressure. Her eyes transformed into the vast, endless starry sky, as beautiful and majestic as the great and boundless Dark Void.
"All out!" The Ascendants facing her immediately entered their most vigilant state. They weren't too familiar with the Imperial Heaven Qi Method, but they were incredibly astonished that Wu Baozhai could unleash such domineering power from her tiny body, sufficient to shatter worlds and snuff out stars.
"Ha!" Wu Baozhai shouted out a breath filled with extreme forcefulness, jetting forth with halberd in hand and slaying left and right without mercy. The Ascendants fought valiantly, but those beneath the Starlord-level couldn't withstand more than three moves before losing their heads to its crescent blade. Those at the Starlord-level were harder to deal with. With their World-Bound Star Domain fully invoked, they drew upon its stellar powers to defend and attack with a type of coordination that could shake armies that had trained for centuries together.
Wu Baozhai's vicious assault was met and countered in impeccable ways, and even with her three World Heart Intents, while her current position was invincible, it was by no means irresistible to these Ascendants. Although they resisted with a brilliant display that befitted a glorious member of a legion nurtured by Wei Wuyin, in the end, they were dealt with.
None of them ran. They knew that Wu Baozhai's fighting style shone against fleeing enemies. If they didn't hunker down and scatter like panicked cockroaches, this would only make the Eternal Monarch Saintess have an easier time, and they were no fools to allow that.
Xue Yifei observed Wu Baozhai's battle and couldn't help but nod approvingly at the fierce retaliation of the Ascendants, especially their awareness. The combat instinct and battle sense of each one were well-developed. Some of them dodged lethal strikes despite being under the restraints of Imperial Pressure, World Pressure, and while facing ambient forces with close cutting efficiency, expending the least amount of energy to complete their task.
Even she was awed by their training. Wei Wuyin taught the Ascendants differently than the Valkyrie, often giving each Valkyrie the right to their own decisions on cultivation, but granting them any and every request they sought that was within reasonable limits. For example, Xue Yifei had trained under several Mystic Ascendant Realms that specialized in Martial Arts and Blood-type Methods, such as Highlord Bloodtorrent.
Of course, she had other reasons as to why she decided to seek out Highlord Bloodtorrent's instruction. Regardless, the Ascendants were trained and nurtured in a way similar to an army, cohesive and competitive. Seeing their teamwork despite being from different legions only showcased their versatility and similar training practices. Even in death, they unleashed great strength and exchanged for the slightest injury to help their allies. Such tactics weren't something people could do unless they faced death many times, cared for their allies, and hated their enemies.
Eventually, Wu Baozhai finished off every Ascendant that had challenged her earlier, completely fulfilling her own self-declared prophecy-none of them was left alive. She left her 2nd Grand Transformation stare. Her aura immediately returned to normal, and her eyes gained their typical color, but her breathing, while subtle, was a little labored and strained.
Meanwhile, Na Xinyi's strength and means were appealing to face, and the Ascendants smartly retreated. While Na Xinyi was terrifying to face, they recognized that her Extreme Yin Force was greatly amplified by stronger resistance. They calmly scattered.
The difference in tactics exposed Wu Baozhai and Na Xinyi's different styles of fighting. Moreover, Na Xinyi wasn't too aggressive with her slaughtering. After smacking them around with apparent ease and gracefulness, she freely let them leave with an air of benevolence. When the Ascendants flew away, their eyes carried the light of respect that Na Xinyi had firmly earned in their hearts.
The three women soon gathered together shoulder to shoulder with Na Xinyi in the middle. The Mystic Heart Intent that carried strings of black presence was still wildly surging as if in a dreadful warning of what was to come, but the third aspect color hadn't lit within the aurora borealis above yet.
"You're okay?" Na Xinyi asked as she felt Wu Baozhai's aura. There was some instability within. She had clearly spent a considerable amount of starforce to deal with the Ascendants. They were by no means easy opponents. Wu Baozhai didn't answer directly as she nodded, downing an elixir that resembled an azure-colored starry sky almost immediately after. Her complexion improved slightly almost immediately.
"Taking the path of the Imperial must be quite frustrating," Xue Yifei commented lightly. She knew that those who cultivated the Imperial Heaven Qi Method often developed certain natural dispositions. Whether it was Grand Knight Wu Yu who refused to allow Wei Wuyin to suffer any loss, leading him to assassinate a young master without being ordered and subsequently being hunted by those far above his cultivation base fearlessly, or that strange late ex-lover of Wu Baozhai, they had strange, erratic dispositions for dominance and staying true to their word.
Despite her comment toward Wu Baozhai, she would never admit that Wei Wuyin slaying Xun Yicao was one of her favorite memories. She still found it stimulating to watch and had a recording of it. Wu Baozhai didn't reply; the Imperial Heaven Qi Method only exemplifies one's personality as a ruler and a cultivator, not outright dictate it. But it did have some drawbacks, such as keeping true to your word as a Grand Monarch, and it could even be used as a driving force to improve.
She had watched Long Chen use this method on many individuals throughout his years on the Myriad Yore Continent and Myriad Monarch Sect, challenging them with a few months or a few years' date. He had even tried to use that tactic on Wei Wuyin who rightfully shut that down. However, if she had failed to slay the Ascendants or Long Chen failed to overcome an obstacle, there was a chance that their oath to develop a Seed of Imperial Law would cease then and there-forever.
She was currently building her imperious momentum, and after completing this task efficiently, she felt a unique power swell within her soul, on the verge of giving birth to something astonishing. It was purely a droplet of resonance with the heavens, but if nurtured, if properly maintained, that resonance may conceive a force beyond mortal imagination.
This was one of the uniqueness of the Imperial Heaven Qi Method! It was one of the few methods out there that could naturally resonate with the Three Thousand Worlds of Heaven! After all, it was called the 'Imperial' and 'Heaven' Qi Method! Before, only Long Chen had been fortunate to resonate with the heavens!
But now, the Eternal Monarch Saintess might become the second! Wu Baozhai's eyes glinted brightly as she felt her path forward become extremely clear. She tightly clenched her hand around the shaft of her halberd as her Heart of Cultivation experienced a subtle, profound advancement.
Xue Yifei frowned slightly; Wu Baozhai's reaction left her with a worrying feeling as if this rival of hers had made a huge leap forward, and she felt a pressure descend upon her heart. Not even Wu Baozhai's three World Heart Intents was enough to unsettle her. After all, she had her own trump cards and products of her exceptional talents. But this feeling...it was deeply foreboding.
Na Xinyi was carefully inspecting her new state birthed from refining the Spirit Core with Divine Origin. She could be considered a quasi-Spiritualist, and she felt it when she fought. Barely any Spiritual Spells of the Ascendants could disrupt her focus or harm her. Only those from dedicated Spiritual Cultivators who specialize in cultivating their Spiritual Strength and Spiritual Spells like Highlord Bluecloud could. Gleefully smiled as she assessed her current strength.
Unfortunately, the three women weren't the current focus of the world. If they were, the scene of three heaven-envying beauties displaying a forcefully valiant expression of clarity, a concerned frown with endless contemplation and consideration, and an elated, satisfied smile might have inspired endless amorous feelings.
The current focus was the Mystic Heart Intent that was blaring from the distance. The Chosen of the Sealed Region, the World Beyond, and the Ascendants all eyed its origins with varied expressions, some lightly tense, some indifferent, and others fearful to an extreme.
Was that a Worldly Saint?!
"Brother Yao, this Mystic Heart Intent seems similar to the one his Majesty had us resist in pressure training. Does that mean it's a false Mystic Heart Intent?" Shui Fengbao asked curiously. Wei Wuyin had Shui Fengbao undergo tempering training that far exceeded normal standards, having him refine his control of his Fire Heart Intent and wisps of his Law of Fire against Mystic Heart Intent.
However, Wei Wuyin always said that genuine Mystic Heart Intent could cause issues in the current environment, so they had to settle with this essenceless form. When he spoke this, Shui Fengbao could still recall the sullen tone in his Majesty's tone, as if he wanted them to face genuine Mystic Heart Intent at full strength, and how woeful it was that they couldn't. But when Shui Fengbao first faced such a power, he was stumped to the floor, unable to think, breathe, or speak. He couldn't even scream in pain. And he was in so much pain!
After several years, he had grown accustomed to it. By now, instinctively, his Fire Heart Intent unfurled around him, generating a faint fiery radiance layer around his body. Despite his Timelord cultivation base, he was entirely unaffected by the Mystic Heart Intent's aura.
Yao Huoyi similarly emitted dual World Heart Intents. It was hard to determine what they were, however.
"Yeah. Just someone who comprehended Mystic Heart Intent without overcoming the Fifth Ascension-simply an Earthly Saint." After answering, Yao Huoyi turned in a different direction from the origins of the Mystic Heart Intent.
"Like Grand Knight Wu Yu?" Shui Fengbao sought further confirmation, a crafty light glinted in his eyes. Yao Huoyi didn't pay attention to Shui Fengbao's antics in trying to get the truth about the Grand Knight's cultivation, not responding to it at all.
"Get ready," he suddenly warned. Shui Fengbao pouted as he wasn't able to get the truth about Wu Yu's cultivation base. Instead, he circulated his innate energies and readied his astral force. The Aspect of Growth's light was reaching a limit! Seeing its rate of brilliance, the vast participants of the competition all now had a proper sense of when the Evercrown was going to launch! Each light would reach its peak after seven minutes!
13:58.
13:59.
14:00!
14:01!!
The Aspect of Containment's unique light was birthed!
Within the minds of every last participant aiming for the Evercrown, the clocks flipped in their heads.
34:59!!!
The official time of its descent had been determined!
BOOSH!!!!!
A heaven-shaking explosion erupted, blazing toward the sky, crashing heavily against the aurora borealis. It carried a vile, malicious, and evil aura that sought to taint and corrode all living beings.
The charcoal-skinned Evil Sentinel with teeth of a bloody color grinned devilishly as they brought along sixty-three Evil Sentinels ranging from the Mystic Ascendant Realm's first stages to the third stage. Their auras were utterly devastating, far stronger than their cultivation bases suggest!
These Evil Sentinels seemed to be buffed up on something ungodly and unholy, their vile auras toppling the senses with dark, corrupting flashes that bore sharply into the Sea of Consciousness. A few immediately vomited and others bled from their seven orifices.
"Can't make this easy, huh?" Xue Yifei chuckled as her eyes flashed with killing intent.
"Roar." Ernu unleashed a cute roar in her tiny form that could soften the heart yet shake the soul. Her eyes released torrential draconic might, ready to fight!
"Don't ignore the others; everyone's our enemy," Wu Baozhai reminded Na Xinyi lest she be taken advantage of. Na Xinyi obviously knew this and rolled her eyes. The Evil Sentinels were an obstacle, a distraction, and a necessity to 'corrode the brilliance of the Evercrown'.
Na Xinyi added, "Don't destroy their Mystic Souls."
"Haha, of course." Xue Yifei was already aware of the alluded to clue hidden within Wei Wuyin's earlier majestic words, and she was already hell-bent on collecting a few Evil Sentinels for her goals.
The Evil Sentinels arrived forcefully into the world and proceeded to rapidly scatter into groups. At the head of one of the largest groups, the charcoal-skinned Egil Sentinel eyed a particularly ripe and sultry young woman standing with a shocked expression a few tens of thousands of miles away.
"You seem delicious! I'll have you first! Hahahaha!" The charcoal-skinned Evil Sentinel had set his target and with two cultivators at the Demi-Mortal Lords, four at the Soul of Mysticism, and four at the Mystic Star cultivators, he flew brazenly through the air as his Mystic Heart Intent dominated the world's ambient mystic energies and essence.
"RUN!" Yi Yun blanched as the woman beside him was targeted by this ferocious Evil Sentinel's Spiritual Sense.
