All three women recognized the figure that was descending slowly with the splendor and presence of an immortal, carrying the auras of a saber-wielding hero, a dignified emperor, a grounded and honest martial artist, and a wise sage effusing the stimulating aroma of pills. None of these auras conflicted and melded into a perfect being enveloped by a potentially peerless visage.
They had each met him under different circumstances and had wildly different first impressions, but there was a single synonymous feeling they shared after associating with him: they were drawn by the veil of endless mystery of his existence and breathtaking qualities of his appearance and bearing.
"He's here!" Hu Meifang was a prominent World Emperor, not an easily excitable young girl in the springtime of her youth, having lived for tens of thousands of years, with the knowledge and intelligence sufficient to rightfully earn herself a position as a Silver Moon Librarian. Despite her power, her status, and her age, the feeling of inevitable death lifting was enough for her to act increasingly younger. Who wouldn't be excited?
As for reassuring Zhangjie Wushu and Liu Yinlan by exposing her future 'Dao Discussion' with this mysterious existence, she hadn't done so just for them but for herself as well. She wasn't a chaste woman nor was she inexperienced in matters of Dual Cultivation. Hu Meifang was fully aware that Wei Wuyin's invitation had implications and was fully willing to accept that outcome should she not end up ruined or killed by Tian Taizong.
Zhangjie Wushu's eyes shone with scholarly light that could only be displayed by the most erudite of cultivators. A soft glimmer of light from Wei Wuyin's silver eyes responded as his Enlightened Scholarly Mist produced a brief flicker of scholarly light as he steadily descended.
As scholars took upon their journey of a thousand miles, a single illuminated glance between two at the crossroads of enlightenment could reflect their thousand books of experience. Stumbling upon this opportunity, an erudite discussion can be held.
This was a tiny excerpt from a book titled 'A Thousand Miles of a Thousand Books' written by a Great Scholar of the Azure-Prime Galactic Zone's Exalted Republic. It highlighted the resonance of true Enlightened Scholarly Mist.
This small act and momentary sight brought endless relief to Zhangjie Wushu as she more or less verified that the Wei Wuyin that had met in the Endless Voyage Realm's Myriad Miles Library was one and the same. This type of resonance had once occurred while Zhangjie Wushu was under the pseudonym of Li Pei, the Librarian of the Myriad Miles Library, and she was taken aback that a mere mortal could grasp true Enlightened Scholarly Mist.
At that time, her disbelief was only the beginning as he provided enough points to seize enormous amounts of information from the library and seemed to be specifically searching for something. She didn't think he found it.
Liu Yinlan's heart trembled intensely as Wei Wuyin slowly approached from the skies, his body carried by the ambient mana as if it was in total reverence of his existence, and his silver eyes as calm and gorgeous as some of the most soul-stirring moons. She was once again reminded that, by some miracle, Wei Wuyin had avoided swearing any binding oaths and left the Endless Voyage Realm in a manner that none of the World Emperors could fathom. They thought he was dead then, but he hadn't suffered in the slightest.
Moreover, his legend in the Ancient Sealed Region was ever-growing and prominent, sufficient enough to attribute the next upcoming era of the region to his name. The most shocking aspect was that he was a mere mortal! Less than a hundred years old! While others might think of him as a hidden old monster, she was fully aware of his mortal background.
Hearing Hu Meifang say that Wei Wuyin would handle Tian Taizong hadn't bestowed her any confidence, but seeing Wei Wuyin, unharmed and exuding a peerless aura while entering Imperial Sky's Sky Judgment Mountain, she couldn't resist the impulse of her heart and mind from thinking that...maybe...just maybe...Tian Taizong was done for! Her tear-stained face slowly dried as her eyes no longer produced more tears. She mustered strength from who knows where and slowly brought her upper body upright.
Wei Wuyin landed before Hu Meifang with a faint smile.
Zhangjie Wushu's eyes were suffused with an illuminating light of hope and excitement.
Hu Meifang's anxiety got the better of her as she took two steps forward. "How's the others? Are they alive?" She wanted to ask about Jia Yang specifically, but she didn't dare to carelessly do so and cause misunderstandings. She didn't have a gauge of Wei Wuyin's powers, and if he saw Jia Yang as a threat and dealt with him because of her concern, how unfortunate would that be? She was aware that lustful men like Wei Wuyin had egos the size of solar stars.
Furthermore, since Wei Wuyin wanted her for 'Dao Discussion', she didn't feel the need to act like an ignorantly shy girl or care about general polite etiquette. From the jump, she questioned Wei Wuyin about the situation outside.
"Su Nianzu, Jia Yang, Zhen Yang, and Peng Yue are all alive and well. The two Dao Companions suffered some damage to their cultivated foundations fighting against Tian Taizong, but they kept their lives. They're all within the Twin Beacon Territory with the others from the Endless Voyage Realm's three cities and deciding their next move." Wei Wuyin didn't hold back the truth from Hu Meifang.
Hu Meifang heaved a great sigh of relief as she pressed her hand against her chest. Despite her modest clothing, her actions generated ripples that could attract any gaze. Wei Wuyin didn't mind taking an eyeful either. Normally, she would have punished anyone who dared be so openly disrespectful with their wandering eyes given her status and strength. But today, she was pushing her chest out a little more than ever before.
Zhangjie Wushu walked over, "How did you enter this place when it's blocked by the aura of Laws?" Her tone contained the interest and curiosity of a scholar. She, too, didn't feel any urgency or fear after Wei Wuyin arrived. As long as it wasn't Tian Taizong, the situation wasn't unsalvageable even if Wei Wuyin had ill intentions. It was much easier to negotiate with a scholar than a tyrant.
Zhangjie Wushu was similarly a beautiful woman with a mature elegance. She and Hu Meifang both were studious cultivators of knowledge and learning, so they had somewhat similar auras and demeanors.
"It's my restrictions. It'll be quite comical if I can't enter and exit freely, don't you think?" Wei Wuyin chuckled as his hands slowly clapped together. The Sky Judgment Mountain's barrier of Imperial Law aura gradually dissipated. Meanwhile, the imposed restrictions on spatial tools and Internal Worlds were lifted.
The trio of women were given back their protective means and no longer caged by the Imperial Sky's atmosphere or reinforced crust. They were all World Emperors of higher-than-average standards, so they swiftly felt the changes in the environment and their own Internal Worlds.
"Your restrictions?" Zhangjie Wushu grew doubtful.
Wei Wuyin didn't explain immediately. "If you want, we can have an Enlightened Discussion regarding the intricate nature of its deployment and principles," he offered.
Zhangjie Wushu's eyes brightened. The difference between a Dao Discussion and an Enlightened Discussion was the same as an invitation to enter someone's house and inviting someone to a library. While there was no explicit sexual connotation implied, there was always an open possibility, especially among a female and male scholar. However, the main purpose was to discuss and debate various topics.
Hu Meifang was a Silver Moon Librarian and similarly, a female scholar, so she knew the difference intimately.
Liu Yinlan's eyes dazed as she slowly turned toward Sky Judgment Mountain whose barrier had been brought down by a single move of Wei Wuyin's. Her heart was unquestionably conflicted.
In her weakened, hoarse voice, she asked while her eyes remained affixed to the base of Sky Judgment Mountain: "What happened...to Tian Taizong?"
Wei Wuyin proceeded to walk toward Liu Yinlan's body, whose legs were parallel to the ground while her upright body was perpendicular. He arrived a few feet beside her after passing a contemplating Zhangjie Wushu and a relieved Hu Meifang.
He glanced downwards. Within his chest, Kratos throbbed. Within his mind, the memory and suffering of his alternative version were extremely clear. The pain he felt then as Liu Yinlan selfishly rode his body as she brought herself to peak climax again and again as Kratos roared vehemently and miserably against death... It was indescribable.
Only those who experienced the death of a loved one right in front of their eyes could understand.
The hatred in his heart was as thunderous as a lightning storm of world-ending might.
Liu Yinlan, in her exhausted state, suddenly felt a washing wave of killing intent and imminent death. Her entire chest felt stifled and her soul shook so violently that her Sea of Consciousness and Mind's Eye tethered on the verge of collapse. She didn't even get a chance to say a single word but she lost consciousness.
"..." Zhangjie Wushu and Hu Meifang were immediately taken aback and their spines shivered as the killing intent cascaded upon the world like a torrent of calamitous force. It felt world-ending and absolute. If they weren't World Emperors, they might have passed their pants!
Wei Wuyin spoke before they could properly react, "Tian Taizong is dead." Then, he waved his hand as a Spiritual Projection formed depicting the events of Su Nianzu, Jia Yang, Zhen Yang, and Peng Yue from start to finish. They saw with accurate replication of the aura, intensity, and power of Tian Taizong's dominance and their allies' struggles.
They saw how Zhen Yang and Peng Yue caused Tian Taizong to come forth and be nearly destroyed within a few moves. They saw how Su Nianzu and Jia Yang unfurled their Domain of Mysticisms against a newly ascended Tian Taizong and was being beaten back again and again. They saw how in the entire fight Tian Taizong had never taken a single loss.
Then, they saw Wei Wuyin arrive on the scene with Bai Lin. Tian Taizong's abrupt and absolute loss as if decreed by the heavens! Tian Taizong's body was turned into dust and his death was as fading as his era. Moreover, he unleashed a form of astonishing power that vastly exceeded their expectations! Despite all his strength, he kneeled before Wei Wuyin with a bowed head and was left with no choice but to die.
Zhangjie Wushu's eyes flickered erratically as she analyzed the fight with all her mental strength. Meanwhile, Hu Meifang was rendered into a daze where her eyes were affixed to the screen and her breathing was increasingly heavy. The two women's reactions were wildly different, but their thoughts were equally as rampant as the other.
Tian Taizong felt invincible.
However, Wei Wuyin was able to rip apart that invincible image in a way that was as absolute as life and death. It was unquestionable!
They wanted to form some disbelief, but their common sense told them that the powers of Su Nianzu, Jia Yang, Zhen Yang, and Peng Yue couldn't be so perfectly replicated so easily.
Several minutes passed. During that time, Wei Wuyin stared at Liu Yinlan's unconscious body. The murder in his eyes gradually faded.
Time was mysterious.
Wei Wuyin wanted nothing more than to slaughter Liu Yinlan most brutally. To let her experience death again and again and again without end. The number of torture methods his alternative self had conjured in his grieving mind was sickening and vicious enough to cause a genocidal maniac to throw up their gastric fluid until their stomach was empty in terror and disgust.
However, that version of himself was not him. This was clear and essential to understand. If not, he could lose his sense of identity. By relying on that belief, the current Liu Yinlan was not 'that' Liu Yinlan.
The Liu Yinlan that indulged in his body without caring about his thoughts or feelings and stole a member of his family from him.
The paths the two took were fundamentally different. Wei Wuyin met Liu Yinlan under different circumstances at a different time of her life while his alternative version met Liu Yinlan later and was schemed against at the Mystic Ascendant Realm. The choices she would have made could potentially be entirely different from the other one!
Even after all that consideration, the urge to kill was still there.
"Should I just...?" He muttered. There was always a chance that Liu Yinlan might try something, even if the chances of success were infinitesimally low, the potential act itself was enough to bother his soul and heart. He could kill her with a thought. It would be no different than snapping a chicken's neck in her unconscious and exhausted state. He could add her to his Nexus War Flag and have the addition of another Worldly Saint.
Sensing his intentions, neither Zhangjie Wushu nor Hu Meifang spoke on Liu Yinlan's behalf. They didn't know why Wei Wuyin was exuding such dense killing intent, but they didn't dare try to convince him to spare her or make a move. While they wouldn't openly admit it, Wei Wuyin's projection had placed a seed of fear in their hearts.
"Is Liu Yinlan's sister on the mountain?" Zhangjie Wushu tried to change the subject. While she didn't personally like Liu Yinlan, they were still allies at the end of the day.
Wei Wuyin nodded, "She's there."
Liu Yinlan's sister was indeed on Sky Judgment Mountain. In fact, she was observing the entire incident, including the spiritual projection.
Wei Wuyin gazed at Liu Yinlan. He grabbed the air and Liu Yinlan's body was lifted from the ground. With a gentle motion, Liu Yinlan was lifted upright with her feet barely hovering from the ground and brought before him. Her pale countenance, slumbering face, and fluttering eyelashes could aspire mercy in any hot-blooded male, but Wei Wuyin was mostly indifferent.
Within his gaze, the faint image of an indifferent-faced woman that looked extremely similar to Liu Yinlan appeared like a shadow behind her. Wei Wuyin could feel Liu Suyin's aura from Liu Yinlan's Internal World.
"I'll give you a chance," Wei Wuyin calmly asserted. "Only one."
Within Wei Wuyin's silver eyes, exquisite spiritual formations revolved as the Celestial Eyes of Spiritual Divinity was activated. Liu Yinlan's eyelids were lifted as her dim gaze met Wei Wuyin's eyes that exuded limitless illusory potential.
Eye of Illusion!
"Let's see what choice you make," Wei Wuyin said slowly as it was transmitted hazily into Liu Yinlan's mind.
Endless Voyage Realm, City of Endless.
Liu Yinlan's head was groggy as she listened to the silver-eyed youth speak.
"If you find it so great, then do it yourself. You, the heavens, hell, or the gods themselves will never decide what MY destiny is!"
