Spiritualist!
A title that carried great, terrifying implications and meanings in the World Beyond. They were cultivators that had undergone the incredible transformation of Spiritualism Conversion, the process of developing a Spirit Core, replacing physical and mental with the spiritual. A cultivator entered a state of becoming a living embodiment of a Spirit of Cultivation but to a greater, highly intense state.
Bei Weiwei wasn't always a Spiritualist. In fact, her transformation was quite recent, shortly after the Neo-Dawn Alchemic Expo. Wei Wuyin had entered the boundary of a Worldly Alchemic Saint, and only then could he concoct an Elixir of Spiritualism to act as one of the initiators required to facilitate the conversion.
She was the only success after a few candidates.
Besides a select few, such as Xue Yifei who kept tabs on every potential threat, often asking her husband questions, Bei Weiwei's evolution was entirely unknown. Not even Su Mei, one of her mentors, was fully aware of this transformation's success.
As she soared across the ravaged skies of remnant solar mass and a blistering, blazing heatwave, her Spirit Core shone brilliantly within her Dantian. Her frigid Spiritual Force pulsed outwards with each hand-seal.
Tula Yi's eyes were squinted, her Spiritual Sense extremely strained, yet the feeling of a Spiritualist was extremely familiar to her. She recognized it immediately. It caused a figure to flash in her mind, a senior of hers that had recently risen to prominence after becoming a Spiritualist after coming back from the legendary Battlefield of War & Chaos.
Tambu Ma's titan heart shook. A Spiritualist was among the mortals here?! A genuine, bona-fide Spiritualist?!?!
Su Mei's eyes were a vicious battlefield as frigid light combated a dark radiance, contesting for supremacy of the territories-her Sea of Consciousness, her body, and her Star Core.
Clang!
She blocked Hong Chunhua's lethal swing toward her throat with two fingers. She was sent backward from the explosive contact, sending her backward as her momentum shattered once again. Stepping upon a platform of jet-black light, she regained her posture and continued clashing. The battle within her eyes grew increasingly intense.
Hong Chunhua struck violently and viciously, every last strike carried her will to win and to live. There wasn't a single ounce of herself not put into every attack. Each blow was a Spiritual Art, consuming copious quantities of her starforce. If not for the additional support from her World-Bound Star Domain, this expenditure would have long since left her dry fifty blows ago.
The cultivation foundations of each Ascendant allowed them to fight at their strongest longer, especially with the addition of the World-Bound Star Domain. With each strike, not only did Hong Chunhua push herself to the limits, but she also was extremely and disgustingly appalled by Su Mei's strength.
Su Mei was diverting a large portion of her strength dealing with Bei Weiwei's Spiritual Arts as a genuine Spiritualist, yet her all-out attacks were being rebuffed at every instance. While she had seized the initiative, Su Mei's defenses were immaculate. There was no flaw or opening to exploit. Was she holding back?
The thought almost caused a wisp of despair to cement itself in her heart and mind. But as it slowly tried to infect her heart, her eyes shone brilliantly with a swordlight that shattered through the horizon of her gaze, exposing her firm, unshakeable Heart of Cultivation.
Continue onwards!
Bei Weiwei kept her distance, launching repeated Spiritual Arts that were evolved versions of Spiritual Spells. They unleashed at speeds that exceeded light, and Su Mei was unable to properly conjure an Astral Ward to prevent their intrusive and pervasive powers. Hong Chunhua's attacks left her with no economy of time to allocate elsewhere!
With the two-fold assault, well-timed at the height of their battle, Su Mei was left in a passively defensive position that was difficult to extricate herself from. Unable to gather momentum, she faced Hong Chunhua's swift attacks at her peak momentum and resisted the invasive Spiritual Force from Bei Weiwei. The duo's synergy was near flawless.
Da Shan was astonished. "She's a Spiritualist?" She wasn't the only one. Unfortunately, no one had the luxury to relax.
Yao Huoyi glanced at Shui Fengbao. The Child of Fire who was the embodiment of literal fire at the moment felt this meaningful glance, and his eyes flashed with a little dread, before immediately summoning forth a degree of courage that was unprecedented.
Wu Baozhai glanced at Xue Yifei. The Dragonborn Saintess' draconic scales were dripping with sweat from head to toe, and her hands held that peculiar hand-seal from beginning to end. There was a deep furrow of her brows and incredibly demonic light effusing from her eyes.
Na Xinyi looked upwards at the Aurora Borealis.
09:02.
Time ticked on slowly.
Soon, the other Ascendants joined in. They weren't fast, but they had exceptional versatile skills. They followed from a distance, repeatedly launching Spiritual Spells targeted at Su Mei.
Before long, dozens upon dozens of Ascendants had joined in. They were all soaring across the vast lands, following Hong Chunhua and Su Mei's epic clashes throughout the world. With Bei Weiwei as the lead, they worked in tandem to suppress Su Mei.
"What a monster!" San Yongli exclaimed in shock. In actuality, they were all monsters, but Su Mei was a monster among monsters. She held her own against so many attacks aimed at her spirit while maintaining a defensive melee against a cultivator that struck with speeds that would leave Ascended beings baffled. The fact she could retain her life at this moment was evidence of her strength.
"Don't let her draw her saber!" Bei Weiwei took command, exhibiting the innate quality of the Fourth Commander. The Ascendants listened without hesitation as various spiritual fetters jetted through the air, such as chains, silk, ropes, and all manner of restraints that bound her scabbard. They needed Bei Weiwei's direction and guidance to follow and tether to the scabbard and Su Mejor herself as many could barely follow their incredible speed.
However, Bei Weiwei was a Spiritualist. Her abnormal Spiritual Sense would put Earthly Saints to shame. She guided them skillfully, further hindering Su Mei's movements. If not for her, it would be like trying to hit a full-speed cheetah with a thrown rock. Still, the First Ascendant used two outstretched fingers to retaliate against Hong Chunhua, exerted strength in her hand to pull the scabbard with her, and resisted the spiritual attacks all at once.
"Can she last?" Tula Yi was utterly amazed by the ongoing battle. These mortals were vicious and coordinated. It was almost as if they were an army designed to slaughter stronger opponents. Their timing, tactics, and means shook her to the core.
Xue Yifei observed all of it, her heart throbbing intensely, and she clenched her pearly white teeth. "Close..."
"..." Hong Chunhua felt that something was off. Her attacks suddenly felt sluggish. It was brief. Extremely brief. But she felt as if a darkness of unimaginable origins grasped her heart.
BOOM! WHOOSH!!
An explosive, fiery blast erupted as Shui Fengbao moved! He was rocketing toward the battle at speeds that were utterly inconceivable for a mere mortal. All his accumulated strength since his transformation was expended at once!
Bei Weiwei's frigid eyes darkened as if grasped by an irresistible darkness from an ancient, heretical lineage, capable of seizing gods, ghosts, and devils with a single squeeze. Her Spirit Core violently spun as her mind almost crumbled to ash.
Shiing!
A saber howl resounded!
Su Mei's constantly retreating figure halted at that moment. She shot forward, expertly maneuvering her body, barely dodging Hong Chunhua's sword swing, causing her side to be nicked by its tip. Stunned, Hong Chunhua and Su Mei's face was instantly near, barely separated by two inches of distance.
Hong Chunhua could visibly feel her breath. And she could see every spiritual clash within her gaze. They were fierce, but suddenly, these clashes seemed to exit from her pure eyes as if expelled, and they entered her own.
"..." Hong Chunhua held in her agonized shriek with gritted teeth. She didn't dare to react, focusing solely on guarding her life as a saber light caused her spine to shiver. She didn't try to detonate her blooming star roses either. That required Spiritual Strength, and the transference of spiritual battlefields would delay their activation.
Hong Chunhua, the First Commander, was incredibly decisive. Her decision was made instantly, and in a world where a billion different moves or any sort of hesitation led to death, she squeaked out that billion and one move that sought salvation and life.
Her sword fragmented into thousands of dazzlingly brilliant floral petals that carried her away while defending her! Su Mei's strike only returned a bloody nick to her neck. She flew away at speeds that would vastly exceed an Ever-Starlight Pellet but contained its intrinsic qualities.
She vanished in a flurry of light.
Even Su Mei was briefly taken aback by the pre-prepared escape art, but she didn't dwell as her finger moved at blinding speeds. Heads flew into the air, bloody and unwilling.
Then, the fetters on her saber were shattered with a slight shake. Su Mei spun in mid-air, facing Bei Weiwei who was already retreating. There was a glint of surprise in her eyes. The abilities of a Spirit Core were quite incredible. Unlike normal cultivators, every fabric of a Spiritualist, from their every cell to their meridians could act as a Sea of Consciousness. They barely had any distinction as they were unified by Spiritual Energy.
Bei Weiwei's primary Sea of Consciousness had certainly been deeply affected by Su Mei's Spiritual Art, but her body acted as if she had a Sea of Consciousness still active. She moved skillfully, pushing a Spiritual Movement Art to its limits. It was almost impossible to shake a Spiritualist's focus or mind.
Su Mei, however, had no intention of letting a threat like a Spiritualist survive. If she had known, if any competent cultivator had known a Spiritualist was on the battlefield, even a Spiritual Cultivator, their first priority was to eliminate them. Even before healers.
She raised her two fingers. The dark, sharp saber light pulsed intensely. With a light, airy breath, she swung her hand down! If the earth bore the weight of this swing, it would collapse into an endless chasm, yet this power was all channeled into a single saber strike!
SHIIING!
A howl screeched through the skies! A gargantuan line of saber light pierced through the void and firmament of the sky and earth as if linking them as one, slicing across endless distances at speeds unimaginable, slicing toward Bei Weiwei!
Bei Weiwei felt honed in. She couldn't escape this strike! This was what her everything was telling her, and so she took defensive maneuvers.
Simultaneously, Yao Huoyi pulled back his bow. A black arrow forged of mystic steel was now present on his bow. It was gently pulled fully back by his hands, forming a crescent shape as ripples blasted the nearby space he occupied.
RELEASE!
Simultaneously, Shui Fengbao was a streaming line of fiery flames. He arrived before Bei Weiwei as the embodiment of fire! With a heavy, heaven-shaking grunt, he-
-EXPLODED!
The explosion was front-loaded, engulfing the saber light whole, burning it intensely to the point sizzling sounds resounded endlessly. Some force caused Bei Weiwei to be pushed back. The angle was well-calculated, and a gigantic violet hand reached out and grabbed her after she went tens of thousands of miles through the air, safely dispelling the flames on her body.
Bei Weiwei was caught by Da Shan's right hand!
The explosion caught Su Mei by surprise as she retreated. She didn't expect Shui Fengbao to detonate himself! Her expression suddenly changed as the explosion closed off her avenue of pressing forward. Not even she dared to enter a maelstrom of flames empowered by the Law of Fire's aura. Her expression suddenly changed.
WHOOSH!
Simultaneously, a halberd was already racing through the sky, trailing a trail of starry lights, depicting an endless starry sky. It was fast to an extreme!
Su Mei hurriedly formed a defense, swatting at the halberd with her scabbard. The saber light of her two fingers had been expended on Bei Weiwei, requiring further accumulation to reform.
BOOSH!!
An explosion sent her backward, reeling as she skidded across a jet-black platform of light. The power contained in that throw was enough to throw her off-balance!
SWOOSH!!
As if timed perfectly, a black arrow pierced through the veil of flames as if it were disguised. Su Mei's pure black eyes focused intensely as she felt her scabbard-holding hand was numb, engulfed by Imperial Heaven Aura.
For a moment, she couldn't help but faintly smile as she spun, using her leg as a saber, she kicked the arrow at its point.
BOOM!
The arrow fragmented and exploded upon contact! Shaken by the impact, she reeled a large distance away as she looked up. Her heart palpitated as she felt a lightness in her scabbard-holding hand.
A whirring sound was coming from the skies as a bronze war hammer spun toward her. It wasn't particularly fast, but it was disgustingly massive. In a way, it was like a mountain!
Su Mei gathered her breath, then took a step forward to dodge its impact zone. Her movement was swift and agile, and she narrowly dodged the thunderous impact by a hair's breadth. She found herself hovering above an evaporated sea region as she noticed her saber had been taken away from its scabbard. Immediately, she tracked it down with a glance.
"Finally," Xue Yifei spat out wearily. Then, she let loose the hand-seal she held. Her eyes exploded with demonic radiance.
From far beneath Su Mei, a horned head dug out of the bottom of the earthen layer. It was Ernu! She opened her mouth as a silvery light glistened from within.
Eight cubes formed of esoteric runes were swiftly expelled. They were faster than light itself. Within a time that was difficult to react to, the eight cubes formed the edges of a cube as they flashed around Su Mei.
Su Mei's eyes brightened as she was about to react. After all, it might be difficult but not impossible! Then-
-ROAR!!!
Xue Yifei opened her mouth and roared into her Saint Ring! Demonic Dragon Roar! Shockingly, it wasn't coming out of her mouth, but strangely came out of Ernu's silvery mouth! Sound waves rippled violently toward Su Mei from below!
Su Mei's eyes glistened with violet light as corruption invaded her Sea of Consciousness. It wasn't very strong, but enough to cause a microsecond lapse of reaction, and that was enough!
MORE THAN ENOUGH!
The cubes ignited in silvery flames as they formed a wall of indistinct light, establishing a cubical structure around Su Mei! No sound, no signs of life, and no emissions of energy exited the cube! Not even air could enter or escape!
SEALED!
