As one teetered on the edge of life and death, on the verge of experiencing an eternal, everlasting sleep, the mind often unleashed all sorts of memorable scenes of one's past, unprecedented thoughts, and exposed several truths about oneself that were buried in one's heart throughout life.
Xiao Yanyue felt a coarse, burnt palm clutch at her neck, bringing with it an irresistible will, and she was subjected to this phenomenon. Slowly, her mind began to unleash scenes of her past, both happy and sorrowful. It began with...
SWORD HOWL!!
A white sword sliced through the air, cutting through space and time to reach an unprecedentedly mind-boggling speed! It sliced toward the two!
The charcoal-skinned Evil Sentinel's eyes constricted as he felt a deeply discomforting aura of yin assail his Spiritual Senses. For the briefest of moments, his eyes lost their focus. The strength in his grip loosened. The mystic will he was unleashing halted its overwhelming flow and momentum.
From the beginning, the soul referred to as Miss Laolin within Xiao Yanyue was trying to seek out an opportunity! Any opportunity! And this moment was a good opportunity! She didn't hesitate to muster the little bit of unyielding strength that remained within her fragmented soul, barely being kept alive by Xiao Yanyue's unique physique, and summoned most of it.
A series of thin rays of soulful radiance erupted from Xiao Yanyue's Dantian, aiming to blast forth and slam into the charcoal-skinned Evil Sentinel! Meanwhile, the white sword cut toward the Evil Sentinel as well!
This was a critical moment!
Unfortunately, life was often filled with unexpected occurrences.
"Hmph!"
The charcoal-skinned Evil Sentinel abruptly regained focus. Their grip around Xiao Yanyue's neck tightened, and his Mystic Heart Intent redoubled its effect. The soulful light about to blast forth was ruthlessly shoved back into Xiao Yanyue's Dantian.
Simultaneously, he brought his other arm up and punched forth without holding back! Space itself began to fissure around him, and the force of that world-shattering fist slammed against the white sword viciously attempting to cut its way over!
Once again, it was blasted backward!
The charcoal-skinned Evil Sentinel viciously furrowed his brows and scowled malevolent. "You little witch! DIE!!" His words rippled with unrestrained killing intent and Mystic Aura seemed ready to retaliate against a certain location in the far distance, and the white sword readjusted itself at a startling speed and flew over toward that location in defense.
WHOOSH!!!
The charcoal-skinned Evil Sentinel which seemed ready to attack with his all once again suddenly flew away!
Yes!
FLED!
The charcoal-skinned Evil Sentinel gathered his strength, not to fight, but to run away without any signs of the slightest hesitation. Within a single breath of time, he had already vanished into the vast distance and unleashed a series of spatial shifts as his Mystic Heart Intent cascaded across the surrounding lands for thousands upon thousands of miles, obscuring all signs of his presence by scattering his aura. Additionally, silver rain fell upon these lands, making it very difficult, if not outright impossible for most, to locate any spatial fluctuations.
"..." Na Xinyi's physical form emerged from the environment, dispelling her Concealment Spell and Environmental Integration Spell, as she looked at the horizon that had faint signs of silvery light scattering about, visibly taken aback. Did this Earthly Saint just...leave?
The Extreme Yin Saintess was speechless.
Na Xinyi was a Mortal; the Spiritual Senses of a Mortal had a fatal flaw: the auras of Mystic Ascendants were unable to be sensed! Without possessing extremely special methods, this was simply the reality of their different existential states! Yet this Evil Sentinel hadn't just fled, he obscured his aura and spatially shifted away. It was super effective!
Na Xinyi lost track of the Evil Sentinel instantly. Not just her, almost everyone observing has too. Regardless of their strength, weapons, or means, the Ascendants were all mortals. There was only the exception with some Mortal Sovereign Alchemists of the Hepta-Dawn Corps, but their cultivation bases were too low to follow after the charcoal-skinned Evil Sentinel!
Lin Ziyan's eyes widened as, in her senses, the charcoal-skinned Evil Sentinel and Xiao Yanyue had just vanished suddenly. Just like that?
Bo Kay sighed in his heart. Evil Cultivators...
Xue Yifei shook her head. "Evil Cultivators have methods upon methods and all sorts of strange tactics to escape with their lives intact at the slightest sign of danger. If not, they definitely wouldn't live for long." Her words echoed Wu Baozhai's thoughts. She couldn't help but think that while they were powerful, this world had all sorts of people.
An Earthly Saint with Mystic Heart Intent fleeing from a mortal without any hesitation was one of them!
"Can you find him, Brother Yao?" Shui Fengbao asked as he pouted. This situation was very similar to Mae Min-Ji's escape. He resonated deeply with Na Xinyi at the moment.
Yao Huoyi didn't reply.
"You've never lost a target you've set your eyes on, right? That's what His Majesty told me once." Shui Fengbao egged on trying to get a response, but Yao Huoyi wasn't biting the bait at all, remaining mysteriously silent. Shui Fengbao inwardly sighed.
San Yongli had been observing from a distance, trying to find an opportunity to act while hidden by her Null Cloak. The moment the charcoal-skinned Evil Sentinel fled, she had lost all traces of him as well!
"What?! Where did he go?" She tried searching, but all her methods were ineffective.
She had special means, but how was an Earthly Saint-level Evil Cultivator with 'incomplete' Mystic Heart Intent so easily discovered if they devoted themselves to hiding? Not even a Worldly Saint could do so without extraordinary spells!
"Xiao Yanyue!" San Yongli panickedly exclaimed in her heart as she cursed. Xiao Yanyue's future was brilliant. She was one of the few with a faint hint of becoming a Mystic Overlord in the future! Moreover, the Book of Heaven Path's pages on her were incomplete, not including many of her future opportunities as if they were yet to be firmly established by the Heavenly Daos.
"Huh." Wen Mingna was also watching as all this unfolded, her thoughts contemplative to an extreme. Her eyes faintly glowed a golden color, containing time and fate intermixed within. "So many inconsistencies. Anti-Scrying Methods?" She realized that this Evil Sentinel was thorough. He must have deployed an umbrella of Concealment Spells, one of which obscured the mysterious scrying methods of Heavenly Seers.
Who was teaching these Evil Sentinels such methods? To even hide from the gazes of Heavenly Seers? Unfortunately, it was only because Wen Mingna's cultivation base was too low and Ascended beings were many times more difficult to scry than mortals.
WHOOSH!
San Yongli spatially shifted by Wen Mingna. She looked urgent. "Seer Wen!"
Wen Mingna sighed and gave her a look. "I can't find him. I tried," she explained firmly. San Yongli's expression drastically changed as she saw the helpless look in Wen Mingna's eyes. Her instincts were telling her that Wen Mingna truly couldn't find her!
"What about her?" San Yongli, however, was quick-witted and immediately asked after realizing that Wen Mingna said 'him' and not 'her'.
Wen Mingna shook her head, "She's obscured too."
"Is there no way?" San Yongli asked with clenched fists. She had saved Yi Yun, knowing that Xiao Yanyue had a trump card that could instantly change the situation and that she wouldn't remain watching if she was in danger, especially to a vile, ill-minded Evil Cultivator. That was just how kind-hearted she was.
In her eyes, Xiao Yanyue had a far greater potential than Yi Yun. If she had a choice, she would choose to have Xiao Yanyue rather than Yi Yun! Did she lose the bull trying to save a donkey?
"If I had enough time, but-" Wen Mingna looked at the sky.
28:08!
The third aspect's brilliance was reaching a peak! The next light was about to be born!
"It'll be long after the Evercrown Ceremony ends," Wen Mingna added. Most of a Heavenly Seer's powerful methods were ritualistic, requiring time and uninterrupted focus to gleam into the heavens and the will of the Heavenly Daos. Her currently deployed method was the most fast-acting spells and arts, not nearly as strong as executing means that require twenty-four hours or nine days. The most powerful divination spell required nine years and the Grand Domain-wide array overseeing the Golden Gate Pavilion's Domain.
"..." San Yongli wasn't unaware of these limitations, but she thought Wen Mingna was significantly more powerful than typical Heavenly Seers. She thought: "Even if she's stronger, it's an Earthly Saint with 'incomplete' Mystic Heart Intent. I'm asking for too much." She eventually reasoned with a sullen sigh.
A shiver coursed through her spine as she once again felt a type of helplessness in her heart. It reminded her of that fateful day when she could only stand there as her world was blown to smithereens-her included. Her two fists tightly clenched, her nails violently digging into her palm as blood trickled down.
No!
"I won't give up!" San Yongli stated as she took off. She refused to feel that way again! She'll save everyone she wanted to save!
SHE WILL!!
"Huh." Wei Wuyin's response was exactly the same as Wen Mingna's. There was a lukewarm shock within. The charcoal-skinned Evil Sentinel's actions were oddly praise-worthy. The man was decisive, at the very least. Moreover, he kept a reserve of power at every available opportunity. He was EXTREMELY cautious.
He had even cordoned off a portion of his Sea of Consciousness with his Spiritual Sense. When Na Xinyi attacked his Sea of Consciousness with her quasi-Spiritualist Spell, Extreme Yin Force, and Sword Force, that portion had activated to seize control of his focus and immediately took action.
Splitting one's Sea of Consciousness in any capacity was incredibly painful and came at the risk of Cultivation Deviation, regardless if one was a Mortal or an Ascended being. But it was extremely critical if your Sea of Consciousness was blasted by a terrifying disrupting or restrictive force like from Na Xinyi.
With her armament that was at the quasi Mystic-World grade formed from the Essence of War, her Spiritual Strength that could put Highlord Bluecloud to shame, and her Extreme Yin Force's strange properties, the charcoal-skinned Evil Sentinel should have died under her full strength in his opinion.
He was strong, but Na Xinyi was extremely odd among the Valkyrie. She could create circumstances of inattentiveness due to her powers, causing her enemies to struggle to exert their full strength or remain focused. However, experience and the will to survive could often beat any type of strength that wasn't absolute.
"It is what it is," Wei Wuyin shrugged. No one said Blessed were invincible. They were prone to slipping up too. And this was a prime example of such a situation! After all, he had been killed at one point and he had killed that Commander long, long ago who had slaughtered a Blessed and became a Sinner.
They die sometimes.
And almost always by the choices that they made. The Heavenly Daos' assistance could only go so far before bad and risky choices were met with failure.
Wei Wuyin would just make a note to reap the benefits of the charcoal-skinned Evil Sentinel's newfound Sinner status. A hefty heap of Karmic Luck was on its way, and he might be able to estimate if the gains he acquired from slaying a Sinner who killed a Blessed would be roughly equal to what he estimated he would receive based on the intensity of their Blessed aura.
Good gains.
"Wei Wuyin!" A frantic voice echoed out from his Saint Ring-Spiritual Transmission!
The voice belonged to none other than Lin Ziyan!
"Xiao Yanyue is my friend! Can you save her? Please." A pleading tone was present in her voice that dripped with panic.
"..." Wei Wuyin was just about to reply, denying that request outright with a prepared and reasonable excuse, when another Spiritual Strength roared into the skies, blasting the aurora borealis and causing it to tremble.
"Oh?" Wei Wuyin looked over and found San Yongli attacking the aurora borealis with her Spiritual Strength. Was she trying to send a Spiritual Transmission through the aurora borealis? Did she think he was in the clouds like some great divinity or something? He couldn't help but shake his head.
He raised his palm skyward and interconnected his Spiritual Sense with the aurora borealis, reforming the Spiritual Strength scattered throughout to obtain a spiritual message:
"I'm willing to trade for Xiao Yanyue's life!"
San Yongli could tell that the Evil Sentinels were part of this portion of Wei Wuyin's hijacked Chosen King Competition, and so he was definitely observing everything! She had wanted to avoid him until she gathered sufficient strength and confidence, but she couldn't do so now as Xiao Yanyue's life hung in the balance.
"Oh! Now this...is interesting." Wei Wuyin's silver eyes shone with an intrigued light!
[Author's Note: I'm changing the titles! You guys convinced me! BUT! There is still a lot more Valkyrie to be had!
