Anu's eyes pulsed with ravenously seething hatred and desire to kill, reinforced by the memory of thousands upon thousands of years of his dragon lineage's agony-filled suffering. All his feelings were completely valid.
Zhang Ziyi felt the pulsating murderous intent and felt stifled in breath and thought. Anu wasn't outrageously strong in comparison to her, but that desire to kill was palpable beyond the comprehension of realms or strength. Even a mere mortal could cause an Ascended being to skip a beat if they possessed the same degree of killing intent!
Wei Wuyin was unaffected by Anu's aura. His words, however, caused Zhang Ziyi to react despite the oppressive atmosphere. "Han...Xei?" When those two words reached her ears, her inner emotions stirred and grew increasingly complex. She hadn't expected that Han Xei would be hiding in the Paramount Jade Realm! This was the location overseen and regarded as the most important by the remnants of the Jade Element Sect! By her Zhang Clan!
Wei Wuyin eyed this mature-looking Earthly Saint. He knew her backstop entirely; the Zhang Clan was a part of the various forces that established the Jade Element Sect alongside the Lin Clan and had been with the sect since the beginning, with the Lin Clan slowly gaining dominance with their support and eventually becoming the leaders.
During the Dark Stars Era, the period of abhorrent chaos and destruction, they fought against all enemies together as staunch allies, fighting alongside the Aeternal Sky Divine King during his unstoppable rise to supremacy. This changed when the Jade Element Sect made oaths with those parasitic external clans and Tian Taizong by the Lin Clan's lead despite the Zhang Clan's and others' fierce resistance. But the Lin Clan was adamant, and they were loyal, so the situation eventually led to the Jade Element Sect suffering considerably.
To change this after much regret, trying to game the Mythical Oaths established with Tian Taizong, the Jade Element Sect's Lin Clan allied with the Divine King Han Xei and his Elementus Sect, deciding to merge as one, another decision that the Zhang Clan had vehemently resisted. In the end, the Jade Element Sect was changed to the True Element Sect, and this instigated a fierce civil war between the parasitic external clans and the sect.
Despite the strength of the Divine King Han Xei, they lost.
They lost thoroughly.
The Lin Clan was spared due to the Mythical Oaths needing them to be at the head of the True Element Sect to remain in effect. But the other clans suffered incredibly disastrous losses. Zhang Ziyi had lost her family then, and she was only a tiny, significant lower-stage Astral Core Realm cultivator at the time. She was just a young cultivator with no right to change the situation.
To barely survive, the Zhang Clan and the other Clans once again tethered themselves to the Lin Clan despite their reluctance and hatred. The hatred toward the Lin Clan stemmed from their series of decisions that had all failed horribly. Zhang Ziyi had tried many times to plot against the Lin Clan, secretly causing some of their deaths, and even tried to get rid of Lin Xianxei. This scheme led to her suffering severe injuries in the Everlore Starfield during her stint as a Guardian of the Devil War Realm, eventually meeting a young Blessed in a small Myriad Yore Continent.
Wei Wuyin was well aware that Zhang Ziyi's desire for revenge had fueled her seething desire to become powerful, to become an Earthly Saint, albeit a 1st Runic Ascendant State Earthly Saint. She suppressed the Lin Clan at every potential moment, forcing them to be increasingly weak over time. If not for Han Yuhei's daughter's connection to the Lin Clan's Lin Xianxian, there was no way Lin Xianxian would have ever reached the Mystic Ascendant Realm in her lifetime or enjoyed such lofty conditions as a Sect Leader. She would have long since been replaced and died in some mysterious way in the vast Dark Void somewhere.
"Let's go," Wei Wuyin directed Bai Lin and Anu to move forward, arriving at the eastern edge of the Paramount Jade Realm where there existed a secret realm within a secret realm. A secret realm established during the Grand Cyclic Titanic Emperor's reign. Zhang Ziyi hesitated for a moment before following along, her eyes shining with uncertain light. While she had never dared to do so, she had no good feelings toward Han Xei. The man was a large portion of the reason why the civil war began, and then he hadn't lifted a finger during the war, causing them to lose horribly.
In the end, he didn't care about the Jade Element Sect or the True Element Sect's fate, having already vanished for more than a thousand years from the public eye.
The realm hidden within a realm had a profound history that dated long back before the Ancient Sealed Region was established by the Sovereigns of the Azure-Prime Galactic Region, and it belonged to the Titans. To be specific, it belonged to a human-titan hybrid cultivator that was absurdly talented and powerful and could etch out a corner of history for themselves despite the discrimination of possessing human lineage.
They cultivated the path of a Spiritualist. They contributed to the fearsome reputation Spiritualists possess, heavily popularizing the Spiritualist Path for Titans and Humans. Unfortunately, the hybrid cultivator met an untimely end during the epic battle between the Sovereigns that eventually led to the creation of the Ancient Sealed Region.
Wei Wuyin had learned from Lin Xianxian's memories with Divine King Han Xei the truth of this realm, including the existence of a different version of the Celestial Eyes of Spiritual Divinity that contained the Eye of Immortality, the Eye of Truth, and finally-the Eye of Creation! This discovery led to Wei Wuyin finding an additional outlet for his overbearing Spiritual Strength, solving his pseudo-blinded issues all those decades ago.
The secret realm contained all sorts of methods, arts, and spells. Wei Wuyin had long since suspected that Han Xei, this Hegemon of the Everlore Starfield, had discovered a key to enter the secret realm left unattended and forgotten by history, and he had only allied with the Jade Element Sect to justifiably enter the Paramount Jade Realm without difficulty. A scheme that led to a civil war and the loss of countless lives.
However, none of that mattered. Wei Wuyin wasn't here to explore the reasoning behind Han Xei's actions then. He wasn't here to get an explanation. He wasn't here to hear excuses.
"What are you doing, Yuhei?!" An enraged voice thundered as Spiritual Power roared.
The realm was a single jade palace that towered into the heavens, glistening with silver and golden lights. These scattered lights were wisps of spiritual flames that illuminated the entire world. There was no star in the sky. There were no clouds. The vast expanse beyond was composed solely of spiritual energy, refined and permanent. Beyond the layer of cyan-colored spiritual energy was spatial energy generated by the Paramount Jade Realm. This realm felt more like an Internal World of a Spiritualist than a legitimate Secret Realm.
The size of the palace was enormous. It covered thousands of miles in every direction with intricately interconnected buildings, paved roads, and wide alleys. There was clearly a civilization here, or perhaps the potential to house one. This was without a doubt a realm meant to harbor the last remnants of one's family, lineage, or legacy. It was a safe haven, disguised perfectly by another realm.
Without the right key or means, this area would have forever been undiscovered. Moreover, the remnant aura from the palace was incredibly high level, emulating rays of radiance similar to Solar Essence. The realm it was contained within was bound to enjoy great good fortune. The Jade Paramount Realm's Mystic-World graded Purity Jade Quintessence that could eliminate impurities was born due to this palace and its aura!
Nine-colored elemental light flourished wildly as Han Yuhei launched fist after fist above the palace of utmost purity.
The quad of two beasts and two cultivators arrived to see a scene of Han Yuhei and a cyan-colored silhouette fighting above the sky, unleashing Spiritual Arts without holding back an ounce of power.
"WHY ARE YOU BEING SO FOOLISH?!"
The voice shook Zhang Ziyi's heart and Anu's entire soul quivered. That voice was one they would never forget! Especially Anu, not even if he was burned to ash and sent to Hell, reborn a thousand times! He would still remember this voice!!!
DIVINE KING HAN XEI!
Behind Han Yuhei were two orbs of nine-colored light. They housed two distinctive auras. The beautifully slender silhouettes of Lin Xianxian and Lin Xianxei were within. Han Yuhei's Mystic Ward was thoroughly reinforced so that not even the faintest of fluctuations reached them. The Guardian of the Elements' momentum was steady and stable as tens of thousands of Mystic Runes flowed into the air, revealing seven distinctive runes amongst them.
6th Runic Ascendant State!
Compared to Zhang Ziyi who cultivated three additional Mystic Runes in the last few decades, Han Yuhei had leapt upwards by two! While it might seem lesser, Han Yuhei's achievement could be considered greater! After all, Han Yuhei had reached the 4th Rune Ascension, so grasping two additional Mystic Runes without innate blueprints from the Mystic Dao was indescribably difficult!
"..." Han Yuhei remained calm. He wielded all nine types of elemental power-Fire, Earth, Wind, Water, Metal, Lightning, Wood, Ice, and Magma-with precision and unity, amplifying each of their characteristics by synergy rather than completely merging their origins. With fire and lightning, his blows were explosively fast and ravenously devouring. With water and wind, his Elemental Power moved with unseen flexibility and maneuverability across the skies in each dodge or deflection. With earth and metal, his defenses were durable to an extreme and easily malleable to his will.
On the other side, the cyan-colored silhouette that was indistinct and hazy unleashed Spells that were difficult to perceive and even more difficult to block. However, Han Yuhei seemed to be extremely aware of his cousin's powers! He reinforced his Mystic Soul, Sea of Consciousness, and Meridians first and foremost, prioritizing those three aspects while defending. Whenever a Spiritual Spell was unleashed, Han Yuhei would fully focus on defense, protecting himself and the two unconscious women.
"GIVE THEM TO ME OR DIE!!" Han Xei was borderline reaching insanity as he launched lethal blows against this cousin of his. The traitorous, ungrateful whelp!
ROAR!!!
A booming dragon's roar erupted, shaking the sky, and producing ripples across the expanse of spiritual energy. The sturdiness of that spiritual sky was indescribable as the roar could only elicit the smallest of ripples.
The two Han clansmen halted their battle immediately. Han Xei's hazy form shook as the dragon's roar impacted him on a fundamental level.
Han Yuhei was hit. A splash of nine-colored blood gushed out of his mouth. However, he didn't hesitate to push through the extreme pain he felt in his Mystic Soul, rushing toward the origin of the voice with the two orbs in tow.
Wei Wuyin's eyes shone with void light as the area around the two orbs grew increasingly hazy. They spatially shifted immediately after, arriving by his side, one to the left and one to the right, in the blink of an eye. The orbs themselves popped like a bubble as the two golden-haired women who could be sisters but were mother and daughter were revealed.
Boosh!
Han Yuhei smashed heavily into the ground, landing just a few dozen meters away from Bai Lin. He coughed up a few mouthfuls of nine-colored blood laced with aggressively foreign spiritual strength. The calmness earlier dissipated as his expression grew ash pale. It wasn't due to Anu but Han Xei!
"Lord Wei!" Han Yuhei exclaimed with heaps of excitement. "You've made it..." Just as he said those words left his lips, his eyes lost their light as intense foreign spiritual strength overwhelmed him, sending him into an unconscious state. His body fell with a thud.
Wei Wuyin silently gazed at Han Yuhei for a brief moment. "Haaa..." He sighed softly to himself, waving his hand and sending Han Yuhei into his Saint Ring. The Guardian of the Elements was quite something.
"You!" The hazy figure with the voice of Han Xei shouted with indignation. However, there was also a tinge of fear within his voice. There was a faint build-up of spiritual power from within.
Kree!
Roar!
Bai Lin and Anu sent their voices forth, shaking the void, and the hazy figure was intensely trembling. It seemed on the verge of dissipation.
Anu violently clawed the ground and surrounding space, holding himself back from rushing forth and devouring that figure whole with every last ounce of his willpower.
"Han Xei," Wei Wuyin's eyes shone with a nostalgic and emotional light. There was a time long ago that he wished to become like him, to become the next Divine King Han Xei, the one who gave titles of Mortal God, Mortal Godlord, and Mortal GodKing! Although he was well aware of the disdainful mocking contained within those titles, it did little to diminish the impact the man's legacy had on him during his younger years.
At that exact moment, the two women's eyelids fluttered as if on the verge of opening. They were waking up!
