Young Master Shang's outburst caused Cao Cuifen and Cao Cao to shift their gaze his way. Neither thought his reaction was too out of place given Wei Wuyin's recent display of absolute dominance. The excitement in his eyes was attributed to his youthful zeal at the thought of meeting the era-defining Wei Wuyin.
The elderly man, however, had a different reaction as his pupils imperceptibly shrunk. He felt a terrifying gaze bore down upon him the moment that aura flared into existence. This feeling felt very, very similar to an earlier gaze. Furthermore, it was loaded with intangible warnings that distorted the mortal senses. If not for his original cultivation base and boundless experience, he felt that he would have been riddled with fear on an instinctual level.
At the edge of the Soul-Saint Domain's territory, Wei Wuyin bitterly smiled as he shifted his Celestial Eyes' gaze infused with his Spiritual Strength away from the elderly man, giving Bai Lin a look of 'helplessness'. The fiery phoenix had announced their arrival despite his intentions to do the exact opposite. Originally, he only wanted to give the elderly man a reminder that he was being watched so that he wouldn't do anything outrageous and restrain himself, for whatever reason he was here.
After doing so and ensuring that he knew Cao Cuifen was under his protection, he planned to find that hiding muscle head first and foremost. He had given the little knuckle-muncher enough time to act as willfully as he would allow. It was time to meet. Since this world was now his, his enemies such as Evergod, Trueborn, the Demonic Sovereign, and the World Beyond Invaders being dealt with or pacified, he could confidently ensure that he would protect his only family living member.
However, Bai Lin had other plans as she released a void-piercing clarion cry and unleashed her aura without the slightest indication beforehand. Her mischievous laughter echoed in Wei Wuyin's thoughts.
Clearly, she thought about a certain lovely lady who announced herself as his shortly after he 'declared' that he would pursue her openly in courtship all those years ago. Besides communication on a transmission-only basis, excluding that time that Wei Wuyin had swooped in and saved her from Trueborn's nefarious clutches before coming to those miscreants with Bai Lin, Wei Wuyin hadn't taken the time to properly court this former Number ONE Beauty of the world.
He sighed.
"Yue Songli will be here soon. And I'm not hiding from her!" Bai Lin strongly stated her intentions. Although Wei Wuyin could easily shift away, when was he ever afraid of meeting others? When had he ever hid from his women?
Just as he said that, Bai Lin seemed to catch a glimpse of his thoughts as she gave him a 'knowing' look. He could only chuckle in response and say, "I was planning to meet her, just that...the timing is a little off because she won't want to separate after so easily." He proceeded to explain the situation with the Heavenly War Spirit's deadline and his plans going forward.
"..." Bai Lin was taken aback as she circled the Dark Void in a small space, her eyes contemplative and her breathing even. She was considering things now from his perspective. In the end, she didn't feel the slightest guilt, "You promised her." That was her only response to all that new information. In her eyes, none of that mattered when it came to upholding one's original promises, and she refused to hide away.
"Yeah. Yeah, I know." Wei Wuyin rubbed his chin with closed eyes. Normally, this act of hers might be considered insubordination or betrayal, but Bai Lin wasn't Wei Wuyin's pet but his partner. The agency in each other's actions was far freer than a simple mount and rider. Wei Wuyin had long since considered Bai Lin as such, especially after the events of the Wall of Heaven and how she waited for a decade without ever thinking of abandoning him.
She waited a decade trusting him to return to her.
And he did!
"Hm?" Wei Wuyin expected Yue Songli to spatially shift to his location but that didn't happen. Instead, he felt that elderly man's gaze. It wasn't exactly piercing, but it was noticeable.
"This old guy's cultivation base is far stronger than he seems." While certain aspects of his cultivation base revealed themselves to be at the Earthly Saint Phase of the Mystic Ascendant Realm, the elderly man's aura was unfathomably vast and thick. There was also a hint of soulful presence that was hard to miss with his Celestial Gaze.
"World-Saint Wei, would you like to join us?" Cao Cuifen's voice resounded spiritually. She referred to him as World-Saint, the title used for Worldly Saint Alchemists, and not Ascendant Emperor Wei or Your Majesty. Additionally, Wei Wuyin could feel the hint of dissatisfaction in her tone, even if it wasn't something too substantial, it was still there.
"Look at the trouble you've caused," Wei Wuyin helplessly pointed out.
Bai Lin grumbled mentally. She wasn't going to leave until Yue Songli showed up, freely unleashing her aura into the Dark Void. She was there when Yue Songli was rescued, and when Wei Wuyin told her his intentions of pursuing her, and while he had won her heart and she declared herself his, the treatment she received was a little unfair in her eyes given the over half-a-dozen women that warmed his bed on the regular. If she had to take Wei Wuyin to task, then she'd do so.
She liked Yue Songli.
Wei Wuyin closed his eyes as he executed the False God Avatar Art. It was indistinguishable from the real individual, from the Sea of Consciousness to the aura of its soul, cultivation base, and mental fluctuations. Since he had Qing Qiumu in his arms, he couldn't just leave.
This False God Avatar's outfit was only an Alchemist's robe without the flair of the Ascendant Emperor or martial warrior. The Avatar soared toward the capital planet of the Soul-Saint Domain. It only took a few seconds before he arrived outside of a grand palace basking in the illusory manifestation of nine stars.
The theme of nine stars was slightly overdone in his opinion. Within a breath of time, Wei Wuyin arrived in the grand hall under the watchful gazes of the elderly man, Cao Cao, and the young man. However, Cao Cuifen didn't look his way. She was clearly a little angry, showcasing it in small ways. A tone here. A refusal to look there. It was quite cute.
"Haha, I hope I didn't disturb anything important." Wei Wuyin exhibited a free-spirited attitude as if the two unknown individuals from the World Beyond here didn't bother him much or didn't shock him either. Cao Cuifen was unaware that Wei Wuyin had kept his eye on her since the beginning. He had also given the elderly man a direct warning of sorts to act properly, doing his due diligence to protect her from the shadows.
"We search far and wide,
chasing elusive promise.
We found the debtor."
Young Master Shang rose from his seat and he stared at Wei Wuyin. He pulled out a leathery wine flagon from his waist, wiped the oil from his lips, and took a sip. The alcoholic fragrance permeated throughout the hall. The poetic structure of his words and their clear meaning caused both Cao Cuifen and Cao Cao's expressions to change dramatically.
"What?" Cao Cuifen was the first to react, clearly on guard against these two. She seemed on edge instantly, ready to fight if need be. Meanwhile, Cao Cao was tense yet didn't make any overt actions outside of looking shocked. The elderly man and Wei Wuyin were too unfathomable to him, so he didn't feel like anything other than a spectator.
"Oh?" Wei Wuyin was caught off-guard too by those words and the strange formatting of the young man's sentences. "You're looking for me?" The elderly man remained silent as he allowed Young Master Shang to take the lead.
"I am. Fortunately, we found you. I once thought this was a plot by our enemies, as unbelievable as it sounded. Hm?" Young Master Shang's attention was focused on Wei Wuyin's silver eyes. "You're not blind. Hm. No matter, this is good I guess." He glanced at the old man, "We didn't need the All-Seeing Truesight Method after all. She went through so much trouble for it. I actually feel a little angry at that, especially after I told her not to."
The elderly man smiled faintly.
"..." Cao Cuifen's pupils constricted suddenly.
The air was still. The ambient mana froze. The flow of energies stagnated.
Young Master Shang's aura slowly unfurled from his body.
Mystic Star Phase! The first stage of the Mystic Ascendant Realm!
It was so intense that Cao Cao felt his entire body shiver intensely and his soul shrivel slightly. The Soul Saint King was intimidated! By someone three stages below him!
Wei Wuyin was unfazed outwardly, but internally, his thoughts were circulating rapidly from the grand hall and atop Bai Lin. He already had an idea who this individual was! However, he wasn't 100% certain.
Before he could ask any questions, Young Master Shang calmly said: "Survive three swings from my sword. If you do, I'll let you live to fulfill your debt."
Cao Cuifen's heart raced wildly. "What's the meaning of this?!" She didn't expect these individuals would try to attack Wei Wuyin. "You are guests of the Ninestar Sainthall! Are you intending to make us an enemy by attacking another of our guests that I invited here?"
The elderly man smiled gently, "Lady Cao, it's best you just sit this one out and not involve your Ninestar Sainthall. If the Stellaris Sage knew of your actions, your Sainthall branch might be stripped of its qualifications. Or...outright removed from the records of history."
"Hm," Wei Wuyin hummed slightly as he stared at Young Master Shang. A wisp of amusement surged in his heart. Fortunately for Young Master Shang, Wei Wuyin could tell his outward killing intent had no substance despite its intensity. After inspecting the Young Master Shang a little, Wei Wuyin agreed with a nod.
His outfit transformed into a black-colored martial attire with two silver vambraces and battle greaves.
Seeing Wei Wuyin's readiness to fight, Young Master Shang was slightly satisfied. "This hall is good enough."
The elderly man waved his hand and all the tables vanished. He was about to send Cao Cuifen and Cao Cao away, but as his power neared, a terrifyingly hellish sensation jolted through his spine, and he was unable to not look towards Wei Wuyin. The silver-eyed mortal was looking at him calmly yet there was a deadly feeling.
He instinctively retracted his power, only removing the tables and chairs as well as any other objects that could get in the way. Cao Cuifen and Cao Cao were untouched.
"Wei Wuyin..." Cao Cuifen wanted to warn Wei Wuyin through a Spiritual Transmission, urging him to be careful of that elderly man. She also wanted to hint at their origins.
"It's okay," Wei Wuyin said openly. "I'm curious how strong the true talents from the world beyond truly are." Cao Cuifen could only hold her tongue, eyeing the elderly man, and then back up with her nephew. This strange series of events was inexplicable, but she nevertheless trusted Wei Wuyin to handle it.
"Good spirit!" The Young Master Shang took another sip from his flagon. With a wave of his hand, the flagon transformed into a three-foot-long sword with etchings of glistening green esoteric runes along both sides of the flat of the blade. That wine flagon had transformative properties like the Myriad Monarch Canon!
"Ready?" Young Master Shang asked. He moved to a location in the hall, allowing fifty meters of distance to be established between the two. While this small distance might seem negligible, it was enough for top-tier experts to establish a defense or offense with time to spare.
Wei Wuyin didn't bring out any armament or unfurl his aura. "Whenever you are."
