Wei Wuyin felt immensely relieved after seeing Qing Qiumu's intact personality. Her radiant smile, the shimmering light in her eyes, her hearty laughter, and that resonating spirit were unbroken despite her struggles. It was as refreshing as a cool breeze in the sweltering summer heat.
Bai Lin's eyes were slightly wet. Unlike others, Wei Wuyin didn't hide Qing Qiumu's circumstances or his tasks from her. She was completely aware that Qing Qiumu had been captured fairly early on and that Wei Wuyin had been unable to locate her all this while. With a single look at her current circumstances, the fragility of her breath, the weakness in her eyes, the bound limbs, and her scrawny body, Bai Lin could tell her days were not easy in the slightest.
Those eyes moistened by her emotions were accompanied by a blazing scarlet-gold flame of rage and fury. She wanted to kill!
In Wei Wuyin's alternative lifepath, Qing Qiumu's death was divined by a Heavenly Seer and verified through several channels. He hadn't seen her corpse, only learned of the potential location of her death, and the perpetrator after exhausting a lot of resources and lifeforce.
That version of himself was burdened by regret and indescribable loss. Su Mei. Kratos. Qing Qiumu. Wei Wuyin swore to himself that he wouldn't follow the same path of regret that was burdened by inaction, weighed down by selective indifference, and perpetually suffering the consequences that followed. When he recalled that version of himself, specifically the moment when he ended his life, the relief within his soul far outweighed his fear of death. It was enough to realize that...everyone had a breaking point, and that version of himself... was at the precipice of that cliff of no return.
Seeing Qing Qiumu after such a long time, Wei Wuyin realized that, despite all of his relationships-intimate and platonic, there were only a few that were indescribably precious to him to an extent where he could, under no circumstance, accept losing them. They included those three.
Bai Lin drew closer to Qing Qiumu, startling the other captives as they dared not speak. They were afraid this man of unearthly, handsome look and this fantastically gorgeous beast was with that devilishly cruel woman that brought them all here, some under the pretense of glory and cultivation, others forcefully against their will.
Bai Lin sunk her talons into the bark of the tree and leaned closer to Qing Qiumu. The trunk was like paper to her claws, piercing into it with ease and comfortably stabilizing her position. She leaned toward Qing Qiumu, bringing her partner in the sky closer to the smiling elf.
When Wei Wuyin got closer, the image of himself reflected in Qing Qiumu's pupils seemed mystifyingly distant and hazily unfocused. Despite her earlier words, there was clearly some belief that all this was nothing but a delusional conjugation of the mind. A comforting image to sustain her whittled will.
The sight allowed him to grasp that she was definitely, certainly, and perfectly okay. The will to dream was a manifestation of hope and strength. It didn't matter if she thought this was a dream or a hallucination. Since it wasn't, she'll have plenty of time to revel in the delightful reality. He'll make sure of that.
"Shatter."
An aura far greater than Tian Taizong's Imperial Law rippled across the stagnant yet chaotic air of the world, invoking a power impressed upon the world as absolute as the official laws of an empire. The golden chains lit ablaze with fiery metallic light as esoteric runes manifested across its surface in resistance. Unfortunately-
-RESISTANCE WAS FUTILE!
The golden chains enveloping and imprisoning Qing Qiumu shattered into fragments of dim, lifeless metal.
"Oh." Qing Qiumu's eyes widened slightly as the weighty feeling that she had adjusted to after decades had abruptly vanished. The feeling left her unable to process this feeling as her dreams were unable to ever effectively simulate in the slightest. Before she could, however, a warm, firm, gentle feeling accompanied by a flagrantly masculine scent snared him. Her entire body which was originally unnaturally tensed out of instinctive fear contested by unyielding will was embraced by a pair of arms.
"Woah there! We can't have you fall from here, y'know?" As those words entered her ears like music, her eyes subconsciously looked down as a new view that was as surreal to an extreme welcomed her. The tree's truly gargantuan roots could be seen.
"I..." Was this how this dream of hers will go? Just like she imagined? Will the sky part and the stars reveal themselves? What type of sight would that be? How far will this dream take her?
"Qing Qiumu, while the stars are certainly waiting for you to see, they'll have to wait." Wei Wuyin was finely attuned to mental fluctuations. At such a close range, in direct contact, he could decipher her thoughts on the same level as mind-reading. He held her up in a bridal carry, her eyes turned towards him, slowly as a long-suppressed light of life began to be born anew. He gently and slowly, very slowly, was infusing her body with nourishing energies.
"Wait?" At this point, she was almost certain she was in a dream. Moreover, she was feeling far better than ever before! Moreover, she was welcomed by a feast for the eyes that were Wei Wuyin's heart-seizing silver eyes.
Wei Wuyin revealed a bright smile as he made sure Qing Qiumu's focus was on him and her body wasn't rejecting the Infusion of energies. From what he could gather at a glance, Qing Qiumu's innate talents-the Wood Yin Essence Physique, Innate Meridians of the Nine Meadows, and Violet Forestry Palace of the Psyche-had been stripped down almost completely, only the quintessential structure of her talents inscribed on her soul remained.
This was similar to how the Yang Renewal Quintessence was extracted. Moreover, the process she underwent was slow, incredibly profound, and extremely cruel as it didn't require any consent from the owner of that talent.
He looked at the tree and his Celestial Eyes operated at full strength. Within a single glance, he understood everything.
The tree was a parasite that grew by siphoning the innate talents of cultivators and slowly transitioning it into their own body, slowly acclimating the aura, and at the final hour, it would be able to fully extract the quintessence of these talents. This would effectively end the cultivator's life. The process, however, would take a long, long time.
It could be considered an Evil Method.
"There's a lot more!" Bai Lin could guess what Wei Wuyin was thinking while inspecting the tree, so she chimed in and pointed out the other trees. Moreover, there were other people tied to the trees by chains. The chains were of a different color. For example, the magma tree with flowing lava had icy-blue crystalline chains that exuded a frosty mist. Using ice energy to suppress magma energy-a basic concept on the same level as using fire to suppress water.
There were trees representing all the basic elements-earth, water, wind, and fire-and all the advanced elements-metal, lightning, wood, ice, and magma. That wasn't all. There was a tree that was ghastly and ghostly, nigh-transparent with chilly mist circulating throughout its branches, and a golden tree that exuded extreme brightness and warmth.
A tree of yin and one of yang.
Wei Wuyin's gaze was capable of viewing all within the Void Nestling Realm at a whim, including its chaotic parts. If he was beyond its borders, this might be slightly difficult to do in detail, but within, as a True Void Dragon, this was no different than his favored terrain.
There was a tree that absorbed all light and allowed nothing to escape. It was so dark and black that it seemed as if it was nothing yet contained everything. The feeling was eerie to an extreme. This was a tree of darkness.
As for the dimly lit radiance exerting itself on a world with no star and no source of light, this all originated from a single tree of gushing radiance. Unfortunately, the light could only reach a few hundred feet before becoming consistently dim light throughout the entire world as if suppressed by some unseen force within the Void Nestling Realm. However, the fact that it could reach the entire world was a testament to its exceptional brightness. A tree of light!
The sharp-eared individuals were all different too; those tethered to the tree of darkness were all charcoal-skinned. While they had different colored hair, some silvery like the luster of the moon and others as fiery as a blazing sun, they were all of the same skin tone.
Those on the tree of light resembled the leading elves from the Elven Sanctuary. They embodied light and beauty as well as purity. Their skin was like white jade, their bodies thin, and their innate temperaments were holy as white light often flowed within their veins, Illuminating their insides.
Moreover, Wei Wuyin could find Desolate Grey Sands Elves too! Tied firmly to the tree of earth's trunk. Those at the center resembled Ai Juling and Ai Yin. The Navy River Elves, Black Mountain Elves, and Verdant Forest Elves all were here as well in their respective trees.
There were elves he hadn't seen before too.
What was all this? Even if he invoked the memories of his alternative self, there was nothing about this. Was this a farm? A farm for talent-siphoning? But...why? As he thought about this, his Second Mind illuminated with a theory: Edicts of the Sage! This was the term used to summon forth the power to establish a link between an individual and the Laws. This was called the Heavenly Resonance of the Three Thousand Realms!
This theory was both sinister and ingenious.
"But it seems far more ingenious than that," Wei Wuyin concluded as he glanced at the translucent tree.
Qing Qiumu had just now reacted. She was always smart and strong-willed, and while she was yearning for this dream to be real, the concept that this 'might' not be a dream was dawning on her as energy continued to rise within her. While her talent was siphoned, Wei Wuyin's methods were unfathomably fantastic, and she felt reinvigorated within moments in both mind and body.
Moreover, Wei Wuyin used a spell to force her to focus on him and only him. This was stimulating her thoughts and shaking her soul, similar to the cultivation of the Ascendant's Mental Incantation, the Neo-Dawn Visualization Method. It was briefly exerted with no genuine lasting effects on her thoughts, just mild enough to nudge her consciousness awake to reality.
"You..." Her voice choked up slightly. "Is that...you? Is that really you?!" Her grip tightened around Wei Wuyin's arms. If she was at her strongest, this could crumble a large boulder, but now she could barely exert the strength of a young mortal woman.
Wei Wuyin slowly dispelled his Celestial Eyes spiritual light and gave Qing Qiumu a look, and with a teasing smile, he joked: "The princess has finally seen me? How blessed am I? I can now die without any regrets knowing this. Haha."
Qing Qiumu's eyes glowed. "It's you! IT'S REALLY YOU!" Those words were an inside joke of theirs, only due to their folklore-filled past of novels and stories where the valiant hero finally receives the princess's acknowledgment, but typically only after saving her life or her kingdoms.
Wei Wuyin's tone softened. "It's really me."
Kree!
"Right!" Wei Wuyin shifted Qing Qiumu slightly to see Bai Lin's elated eyes and beautiful head. "Bai Lin's here too. She's been worried about you. She said never sending a spiritual message or letter was an act of neglecting your friends. Unable to tolerate it, she wanted to teach you a lesson so you'll never forget to send one again. So here we are."
"Ay! I didn't say that!" Bai Lin protested as she established a mental link with Qing Qiumu. She was originally hesitant due to her state, afraid the link could damage her consciousness, so only Wei Wuyin could hear her words. However, how could she let Wei Wuyin misrepresent her words?
"..." Qing Qiumu was stunned by the voice in her head. It sounded fierce, valiant, lively, and comfortingly warm. It was quite hard to describe. However, she couldn't quite understand why Bai Lin would view her in such a good light. They only interacted briefly. What she didn't know was that Bai Lin was the type to form strong impressions of someone at first glance and they typically stuck forever.
Just like how Wei Wuyin felt at peace with Qing Qiumu, Bai Lin felt that she was like a gentle mother who was kind, strong, and reliable. Moreover, she was the type to fight for her friends even if she could die. This was enough to cement her opinion of the elven princess.
"It was because he missed you! He would always talk about you while in the shattered remains of our starfield! Wondering where you are! What you might be doing! All HIM!" Bai Lin directly snitched with no remorse.
Wei Wuyin coughed with a smile. "Traitor,' he jokingly whispered.
But her next words were far too appropriate and far too true, "He's been trying his best to locate you! One of the reasons he conquered the entire world was for you! He's the one that couldn't bear...losing you...ah-wait! Did I say something wrong?"
By this point, Qing Qiumu's tears flowed more smoothly than ever before. It was as natural as breathing and equally as relaxing to the body, soul, and mind.
"This is real." Three words backed by the strongest emotion Qing Qiumu could muster were uttered between warm tears and a somewhat embarrassing smile. Those words, the tone, and the way she had the urge to laugh were all storming through her mind.
"This is real." Three words backed by the strongest emotion Qing Qiumu could muster were uttered between warm tears and a somewhat embarrassing smile. Those words, the tone, and the way she had the urge to laugh were all storming through her mind.
Wei Wuyin held Qing Qiumu a little tighter after seeing this. This prompted her to dig further into his embrace in her carried position, allowing her tears, snot, and emotions to flow freely. Only a few would understand the brutal torture she had endured these past few decades and no one would ever understand the strength it took to keep hope alive until now.
The words: "I should've been here sooner," were words that Wei Wuyin would never utter and words that Qing Qiumu definitely didn't need to hear. What mattered now wasn't words, simply silence and feelings. That was enough. That was the best medicine.
Qing Qiumu soon exhausted herself on a fundamental level and fell asleep, a silly smile on her tear-stained face as she was buried in Wei Wuyin's chest. He slowly and carefully positioned her head to a more comfortable position, keeping her in his embrace. Moreover, her arm was unwilling to unwrap around his neck. So he was left without a choice in the matter.
"Should I burn it all?" Bai Lin's eyes blazed with vicious flames.
Wei Wuyin swept his gaze at the numerous cultivators caught and tortured, including the trees that seemed to be an amalgamation of innate talent and elemental forces.
"Do you think I'm a saint, Bai Lin?" Wei Wuyin asked.
"Absolutely not. And neither am I," Bai Lin didn't care about the lives of any of those captured here. None of them was worth a single hair from Qing Qiumu's head in her eyes. This was largely because she didn't know them.
"Good," Wei Wuyin faintly smiled. "Because these trees... they're mine now." While he wouldn't go as far as to kill these individuals personally, the fact that the trees were likely near-completion meant they were extremely valuable resources. At most, he would ensure they lived and give them a second chance in the Neo-Dawn Starfield.
Moreover, was there a chance that he could copy the final forms of these trees with the Eye of Creation? The thought inspired a sequence of ideas. An idea for a product... Suddenly, his silver eyes darted in a specific direction. In a location near the outskirts of this carved-out, consistent space within the Void Nestling Realm. There was an existence within fixed space, deeply concealed and idly watching everything like a spectator. They've been there since the beginning, and Wei Wuyin had known just as long.
"Sacred Elven Queen?" Wei Wuyin's eyes glowed as they erupted with spatial force. The world was instantaneously enveloped in Minor Spatial Law aura!
