From time to time, Young Master Shang's broken body spasmed weakly. This wasn't the only indication of his continued existence amongst the living, but it was the most eye-catching. Cao Cuifen's luscious green eyes settled on the broken body of that carefree young man and did not feel the slightest pity or the faintest fear, the warmth of Wei Wuyin's hand was enough to erase all her worries and suppress all her doubts. For a long, long time, she had lived having to constantly consider things carefully and deliberately, especially as she struggled to survive during the darkest of eras, but this feeling of enjoying one's breath with a certainty of absolute safety was satisfying and indescribably comfortable.
Just earlier, she was chronically worried despite her outward calm. The presence of that elderly man was enough to stifle her thoughts and movements, and she had to devote a considerable degree of mental strength to devise ways to placate this event. When Wei Wuyin showed him by revealing his aura, it was the elderly man who suggested she invite him here, and while she was angry and concerned, she didn't feel like she had a choice. She could only think of ways to rely on Ninestar Sainthall's illustrious name and reputation outside this sealed world to suppress the elderly man, and even that didn't work!
Moreover, while Wei Wuyin was renowned as being abnormally powerful, he was only a mortal, and even she, just like the quintillions of others, believed that despite his cultivation talents and feats performed thus far, they heavily relied on high-level treasures and tools. It was hard to possess the mindset as an Ascended being of a mere mortal capable of exerting enough strength to force The Spirit to retreat with a single word or defeat Tian Taizong so resoundingly.
However, she no longer had those silly thoughts, and this allowed her heart to grow truly relaxed. She finally believed that Wei Wuyin was the main cause of everything, and his strength was peerless. Truly peerless.
She gazed intently at Wei Wuyin's side profile as he held her hand, and she felt her body begin to heat up. Flashes of intense memories from the Endless Voyage Realm and the Original Dawn Palace within the Absolute Void Region. She faintly blushed.
The sight was captured entirely by the Soul Saint King. It could be imagined how shocked he was given how much he knew about this Aunt of his. She was never the type to blush and she rarely gave any men a second glance, focused almost obsessively over the Alchemic Dao and furthering her and his cultivation, solidifying their positions in this chaotic world that could easily descend into another dark era.
Now, she was exuding the charm of a beautifully young woman in her springtime, openly holding Wei Wuyin's hands, and blushing at the mere sight of him. Then again, when he recalled those words said to her, he couldn't resist the urge to feel charmed as well. Every word seemed to strike the heart and remind the soul of a heaven-holding pillar in their life. How could one not blush at such badassery as a woman?!
The Soul Saint King inadvertently focused on the elderly man, and his body was trembling as if restrained. He could distinctly feel as if the elderly man was holding back yet unable to do anything. While the light in his eyes was calmer than a dead sea, his body seemed to be on the verge of erupting into a frenzy of cataclysmic levels.
The elderly man glanced at his young master's broken body and took an incomparably deep breath. He seemed to have decided something.
At this moment, Wei Wuyin spoke. His voice was clear and his tone was serene, "If you undo your seal, do know that your Young Master will be the first to die. I'll obliterate his True Soul to the extent that, unless you sacrifice your life within an instant of his death, you'd never revive him. Then, after you do so, I'll annihilate him again."
The threat reverberated in the hall with such clarity that everyone present heard every syllable. The broken body of Young Master Shang spasmed a few times consecutively as if responding.
The elderly man's pupils focused on Wei Wuyin. The feeling of the power of Laws and that strange aura of annihilation enveloped in his invisible chains was distinctly amplified at this moment.
Meanwhile, within Wei Wuyin's Sea of Consciousness, a golden mass was exclaiming in a frenzy of excitement and killing intent, "Kill him! He has a Soul Lock of Lawful Authority imposed on him! He's definitely at the True Sage Phase! Perhaps even a True Soul!! TOO Perfect for my transformation!" The Heavenly War Spirit saw this as an extraordinary opportunity as the opponent had sealed themselves through a profound spell.
Additionally, Wei Wuyin had the absolute geological advantage with Little Defiant and the Minor Authority of the Imperial Law permeating throughout the Neo-Dawn Stellar Region! All he needed to do was bring forth his saber!
"Calm down," Wei Wuyin mentally advised. He could 'see' that Young Master Shang and the elderly man had heavenly treasures intricately fused into their Spirits of Cultivation with the Celestial Eyes. If he had acted with the intent to kill earlier, there would be numerous uncertain variables that would occur. He might succeed, but who knows what other situation could develop?
"..." The Heavenly War Spirit might be a little manic at the moment from the promising opportunity, but her emotions settled swiftly with Wei Wuyin's words. She might not admit it directly, but she had long since wholeheartedly considered Wei Wuyin as her 'Master' in many ways. He was unfathomable and far too heaven-defying. Under the age of a hundred, he had grasped six Laws and developed them for the Minor Authority level, concocted a product that received the acceptance of multiple Daos, possessed a World-Bound Star Domain that broke the preconceived limitations of Absolute of the Mortal Dao, had a bloodline of an ancient, progenitor-level beast, and was a Worldly Saint Alchemist with the full acknowledgment of the Alchemic Dao.
All as a Mortal, and all under the age of a hundred!If he said to calm down, she didn't feel she had the right to do anything but calm herself and think things through clearly. And she did, realizing that she was rash the very next second. Apologetically, she softly said: "I was a little too excited."
Wei Wuyin was satisfied with this reaction as he told her of his discovery.
"Yeah! Right...they would have those." She finally remembered that killing those at the True Sage, True Soul, or Resonant Soul Realm was notoriously difficult. And then, and ONLY then, did she realize that this elderly man could have been a Resonant Soul Realm expert! Her golden mass writhed in abject fear at the possibility.
Wei Wuyin could easily determine her thoughts and assured her, "If he was at the Resonant Soul Realm, he would have no need to seal himself." The Resonant Soul Realm was the cultivation stage beyond the Mystic Ascendant Realm, and it was incredibly profound!
The elderly man's eyes honed onto Wei Wuyin's figure. This young mortal genuinely was a monster. Even more so than what the Fourth Young Mistress had said! Far! Far! MORE!He slowly took a deep breath, and a faint smile surfaced on his face. "She didn't choose wrong." When he said that, he glanced at Cao Cuifen and Wei Wuyin's hands interlocked with each other, and he revealed a flash of concern that Wei Wuyin instantly picked up on.
"She?" The Soul Saint King was unable to properly follow everything that happened. He was wondering if he was going to have to call this mortal that was old enough to be his great-great-great-great-great...a hundred great later-grandson. Strangely enough, even his built-up tension and concern were melted away by Wei Wuyin's presence. Well, he did suffer defeat at just one of his subordinates decades ago.
"She?" Cao Cuifen's blushing cheeks slowly faded as her eyes narrowed. She was reminded of her recent bout of anger at Wei Wuyin for declaring a fiancée to the world without any warning. Moreover, she wanted to originally voice her feelings towards that matter. But now, thinking about it, feeling the warmth of that hand, her anger was hard to summon, but she was still a little vigilant towards other women. It wasn't inherently in her nature, but she knew that many women would whisper into the ears of their men to abandon other women, and those men would discard those other women for their 'favorite'.
While Wei Wuyin didn't seem like that, it didn't mean others wouldn't try. Wei Wuyin was simply too outstanding, and she had even considered doing this!
Wei Wuyin waved his hand as his soul interacted with the five Laws he was deploying, retracting them, and freeing the elderly man's body. Then, he pointed a finger and a wisp of pure lifeforce appeared within Young Master Shang's body, swiftly healing his internal injuries and broken bones.
A series of hacking coughs of clogged blood and stifled lungs echoed out. Young Master Shang was slowly rising.
"Your means are varied and incredible," the elderly man praised without holding anything back. He wasn't too afraid of his Young Master dying here. He was also keen of mind and hearing despite his aged appearance, and knew that Wei Wuyin had recognized who they were.
He took it a step further, "I apologize for my Young Master's disrespect. And if I caused any harm to Lady Cao's emotional or mental state with my earlier words, I do hope you can forgive me." From his perspective, he considered himself a home invader who had thrown his weight around and suppressed Cao Cuifen, and her husband seeing her visibly uncomfortable in his presence. He was lucky that Wei Wuyin wasn't irrationally vicious, otherwise the Fourth Young Mistress would never forgive him.
"Weren't, ugh, you blind?" Young Master Shang spoke in between coughs. He didn't seem to be a stranger to beatings. Moreover, his tone carried a subconscious degree of respect. In fact, there was a tinge of happiness in his voice!
Cao Cuifen and the Soul Saint King frowned. Did they mistake Wei Wuyin for someone else?
Wei Wuyin bitterly smiled in his heart. This only confirmed his guesses. The days of his blindness were quite something. Fortunately, he had experienced such issues and it served as an urgent reason for his Stellar Paragon Physique's Neo-Dawn Paragon-Forging Pill's creation.
"I was, for a while." Wei Wuyin answered succinctly.
The elderly man nodded. Cultivation was long and difficult, during which, many ailments could be inflicted upon a cultivator, and going blind from practicing Ocular-type Spiritual Spells or Cultivation Methods was common. Sometimes these last a lifetime, other times they last a short while.
There was once a time he had accidentally destroyed his sense of smell. Even through his Spiritual Sense, he couldn't smell anything. Be it delicious food or cow dung on the street. A friend of his had destroyed their sense of spatial direction, and this caused them to get lost endlessly. Their home was chaotic.
Cultivation deviation could allow you to lose something physical, mental, or spiritual. It was all abnormal and erratic. It could even include your life. If Wei Wuyin had lost his 'sight' in cultivation, he wouldn't have been able to 'see' using his Spiritual Sense either! Fortunately, his affliction was different.
"Good! I don't think a cripple would have been good." Young Master Shang said leisurely as he cracked his neck and a sharp 'CRACK' and then recalled his sword. It transformed back into a flagon and he unhesitatingly took a few sips.
Cao Cuifen and the Soul Saint King were stunned at this young master's composure. He was just sent flying into a wall, and yet he was throwing compliments and drinking as if it didn't happen? Where was his terrifying presence earlier?
"Let's sit and talk," Wei Wuyin suggested. They soon found themselves back at a table, a spread of delicious food, and Wei Wuyin was observing the elderly man's gaze who hadn't left him for a moment.
"I'll be direct," the elderly man stated.
"I didn't expect you to be anything else," Wei Wuyin responded with a faint smile.
The elderly man nodded, "We've come all his way to find you. That said, we didn't have much information to go off of, only your aura we extracted from a Spatial Ring."
"Why did you come here?" The Soul Saint King was still slightly ignorant of the elderly man's origins, only knowing what Cao Cuifen had briefly said about them being guests with connections to the Ninestar Sainthall beyond this world of theirs. They were to be treated with the utmost respect.
Young Master Shang ate a few dishes, munching freely, and said with a mouthful of food and dripping wine, "The Treasured Vale Galaxy's Blessed Yri Empire. Yri is the Word of Virtue left by our Ancestor carrying the dual meaning of 'Obsession' and 'Time'. It's often said our Blessed Yri Empire cultivators are obsessed with cultivation and blessed with time. We house the Yri River in our lands, said to be a drop of water from the River of Time itself."
The young man bragged and explained every detail regarding the Treasured Vale Stellar Region's Blessed Yri Empire.
The Soul Saint King was shaken by the description. Just the word 'River of Time' felt indescribably terrifying to him, bringing him a type of latent fear. Those who grasped the Mystic Dao Rune of Time, the Temporal Rune, would have come into the briefest contact with the River of Time.
By sacrificing their lifespan of arduously cultivated power, they could revert, slow down, or hasten the flow of time! As an Earthly Saint, he intimately felt familiarity with those three words.
"Word of Virtue!" The Heavenly War Spirit exclaimed in shock. Wei Wuyin turned his gaze inward as he stared at the Heavenly War Spirit. Normally, she might avoid speaking of this matter, but since Wei Wuyin birthed his Stellar-Paragon Physique, he attuned intimately with the Mortal and Mystic Dao and could speak, understand, and decipher Mysticism, the language.
"The Words of Virtue is a manifestation of phenomenal mystery. It can only be left behind by a Virtue of Dao, a legendary existence. I can't be certain, as my knowledge is deliberately vague on the matter, but it's said that those who are a Virtue of Dao have caught a glimpse of the aura of the Grand Dao."
The two words 'Grand Dao' left Wei Wuyin shaken slightly, but his soul and body were fundamentally different than before, and he was blessed by not simply a single Dao, so the impact wasn't too intense. Any other mortal might have crumbled from their souls from the mere mention of it. He finally understood why she avoided it so harshly before.
"Is it a cultivation stage? Like the Realm of Sages?" Wei Wuyin inquired. The Realm of Sages was the 'bare minimum' needed to undergo and survive the Calamites of Hell and cultivate a True Soul of Sin.
"...Maybe?" The Heavenly War Spirit answered with a tone full of uncertainty.
Young Master Shang continued with a mouthful of food, "Your Ninestar Sainthall has a Main Branch in our Galactic Zone. And the Ninestar Galaxy isn't too far away from ours."
"Why are you looking for Wei Wuyin?" Cao Cuifen asked, still a little sensitive to the Third Young Mistress title.
"..." Young Master Shang went quiet.
"We're here selfishly. Our Third Young Mistress met with an unforeseen calamity by being trapped inside the Battlefield for centuries. We knew she was alive yet all our continued efforts were met with repeated failures. While we could confirm she was alive through the Supreme Heavenhold's Divination, costly as they were, we couldn't find a way to bring her home. Until recently, a few decades ago, she returned from that place and resumed her rightful spot." The elderly man explained as he told the misfortunes of all those who got caught in the Nexus Battlefield for centuries or millennia.
At this moment, Young Master Shang spoke up, interrupting the elderly man. "Because of him, we're on the verge of a intergalactic war."
Wei Wuyin's silver eyes were brightly lit with keen interest.
The Heavenly War Spirit was even more direct, her voice leaking with excitement and dripping unnatural, instinctual desire. "Did he just say war?!"
[Author's Note: I'd like to remind yall!
Wei Wuyin wasn't supposed to be in the Battlefield's battlefield but an alchemy chamber. Late Blessed Jing Jiu was destined to do all this. Lol.
But you can rest assured, Wei Wuyin will do everything his way, definitely better than the typical. >=D]
