A stifled, deathly silence invaded. It was preceded by the crisp sound of a saber entering its scabbard, hiding its edge and concealing its howl.
"That felt good! So good!" The Heavenly War Spirit exclaimed with excited vigor. Her golden mass of a body rippled alongside her young, feminine voice. A thick tone of bloodlust and greed could be heard within, enough to shiver the spine.
While the enemy had weakened himself, enabling his subsequent suppression within the Neo-Dawn Starfield, his inability to mount a defense at full strength, and to be taken by surprise to lose access to his various preservation tools after the Endless Void Mirror's Minor Spatial Law assisted sanction of spatial interaction, the fact remained that Wei Wuyin, a mere mortal had slayed a Sage with his saber! It was thoroughly invigorating! Because all of it was only possible because of Wei Wuyin's power! This allowed the Nexus War Flag to fully activate its profound abilities, laying claim to everything without any consequence as spoils of war.
"A Sage! A real Sage!" Her attitude was far different than before when she shook with great apprehension at the prospect of this thin elderly man's cultivation reaching the Resonant Soul Realm. The greed in the Heavenly War Spirit's voice was fully warranted, however. She was currently experiencing a critical state of transformation and needed the soul of an Ascendant Saint!
"An Ascendant Saint was a Mystic Ascendant Realm cultivator at the Seventh Stage, the very beginning of its later stages, but this scrawny one-armed elderly man was a genuine Sage! Those at the True Sage Phase were a step further, at the Eighth Stage of the Mystic Ascendant Realm, and the difference was not small at all! NOT AT ALL!
As cultivation bases grew, each stage of cultivation generated an utter chasm of despair in regards to differences between each. Whether it was their understanding of cultivation, potential lifespan, comprehensive strength, or mystical means, all of them took a qualitative leap to an extreme degree!
If a hundred disorganized, ordinary Earthly Saints, otherwise known as Rune Kings, were to face an ordinary World Emperor, they would be wiped out with relative ease. The cavalier attitude of Zhan You, formerly Xu You, after seeing an organized army of a thousand Ascended beings led by a half-dozen highly trained soldiers all those years ago was very telling of this! This difference was only greater, not lesser. Similarly, cultivating to those levels was equally as difficult.
The Heavenly War Spirit had never even considered that Wei Wuyin could claim a True Sage. She hadn't even thought he could kill one! However, he did! She was still baffled, with all her knowledge of cultivation, she just didn't understand how!
However, the Nexus War Flag's powers derived from the Law of War activated, so she understood that! And that was enough!
She wasn't the only one shaken with vividly rampant and explosive emotions.
Young Master Shang's eyes slowly widened to their limits as he sobered up in an instant, his jaws slowly lowering, his body leaning forward as if to get a better look at the rolling severed head, gradually digesting the scene he had just witnessed.
"A mortal. A mere mortal. Did he just...kill a Sage?!"
°Wait, no! This isn't real. Just destroying the physical body isn't enough. But...° Young Master Shang slowly calmed down as his reason tried to win against his instinctual feeling that the elderly man was dead. In the end, reason won out.
To the others, the elderly man had just been executed. Yao Houyi, Shui Fengbao, and Tuo Bihan were relatively indifferent. They saw this man's fate after seeing him vehemently respond to his Majesty. Ming Shufeng was frowning deeply as if considering a difficult problem, her face somewhat pale as a result. Liu Suyin's indifferent expression was icy and uncaring. Instead, she subtly eyed Yue Songli with shifting glances.
Yue Songli's heart was pounding as warmth suffused her soul and body. Her belief in Wei Wuyin and her sense of safety was strongly reinforced after Young Master Shang stated that this person couldn't die in such a definite tone only for that despicable man to be directly executed by a single swing of Wei Wuyin's saber. Her passionate and artistic heart was infused with inspiration.
Cao Cuifen's reaction was the most euphoric as a smile that she hadn't even realized was there, large and bright. This man had killed her in that illusion. Seeing Wei Wuyin end him only brought memories of his words to her just a few days earlier.
"Cao Cuifen, do you consider yourself my woman?"
"Then do you think I can't protect you? In my world? In our world?"
"Good. When you threaten others in the future, either to stand down or lower their head, don't use some nonsense Ninestar Sainthall from far, far away. I'm enough."
Wei Wuyin proved that he could protect her in a way that was absolute, and his existence held tremendous weight. With soul-stirring, glistening eyes, Cao Cuifen focused on Wei Wuyin's moving figure with every last iota of her attention. Her fears of exploring the depths of the starry skies had all vanished right then and there.
Meanwhile, Wei Wuyin walked toward and grabbed Yue Songli's hand. Her entire body trembled a little as she revealed an unforgettable, soul-enchanting smile. He pulled her with him as he moved to Cao Cuifen.
"He's dead." Wei Wuyin confirmed. Cao Cuifen focused on Wei Wuyin's silver eyes and the urge to do things that would embarrass any innocent soul swelled within her chest. Her eyes revealed it all.
Wei Wuyin revealed a helpless smile, "Later."
Cao Cuifen nodded. Liu Suyin saw this and her indifferent eyes betrayed a hint of emotion. She moved toward Cao Cuifen and stood beside her, openly sending a series of spiritual transmissions. No one here tried to glean into its contents, acting rather respectable toward Wei Wuyin's women's privacy.
The Prime Ascendants didn't mind at all, but the unassuming, big-breasted young woman sighed in her heart repeatedly. Was this the ability of the Ascendant Emperor of Neo-Dawn? She couldn't help but think of that beautiful woman waiting back in the Neo-Dawn Starfield and her tender, loving gaze.
Su Mei collected the corpse. It was bereft of physical, mental, spiritual, and essence energies, and only the headless corpse with the sturdiness of a body refined over a hundred thousand years was left. There was still value to this, such as feeding it to beasts. She also collected the severed head.
There wasn't a single trace of his Sea of Consciousness, Mind's Eye, or Internal World, not even a single iota of soul aura either. This person could be declared an artificial puppet that looked like a corpse and no one would think otherwise. After doing so, she thought of using the tempered bones to sharpen her saber or as the foundation of an Avatar. Wei Wuyin didn't mind her doing either.
"Will a True Sage soul be too much?" Wei Wuyin asked the Heavenly War Spirit as he approached Young Master Shang with Yue Songli in tow. He was concerned that the Heavenly War Spirit would need an Ascended Saint's soul specifically for her transformation.
"TOO MUCH?! It's perfect!" A childlike laughter filled with joy echoed in Wei Wuyin's Sea of Consciousness for the first time. The Heavenly War Spirit was almost always solemn or instructing in tone, rarely showcasing a youthful side like this despite the age of her voice. But then her laughter trailed off slightly, coming to a calm, and she said: "You still need to conceive a Law Seed of War, then I should be able to handle the rest from there."
Not even she thought that Wei Wuyin would obtain a Sage's soul. They were notoriously unkillable for cultivators beneath that stage of cultivation. It was a testament to their strength.
Fortunately for her, Wei Wuyin had done it, and her transformation would exceed any common Heavenly War Spirit.
Wei Wuyin felt a rush of relief. He wasn't absolutely certain that he could kill, but after tapping into a wisp of that eternal latent and the sharpness of his saber within his Stellar-Paragon Physique, he was capable of slicing apart the protection of the laws.
The Stellar-Paragon Physique's eternal aura, the six laws, and his preternatural understanding of souls coalesced so naturally within his mind, guided by his will in perfect harmony. It felt sublime as it was all channeled into his saber, resonating on an incomprehensible level.
In her excitement, the Heavenly War Spirit was unable to grasp the toll that single sword swing placed on Wei Wuyin's soul and body. If it wasn't for the Stellar-Paragon Physique's extraordinary recovery abilities, he might have broken down into a puddle of bloody mush-every bone, every muscle, and every organ, except his eyes.
As for his soul? Manipulating all six laws at once to their fullest extent was wondrous but to strain was extreme. The Stellar-Paragon Physique was showcasing its fantastical properties once again. It was genuinely the best creation of his to date. There was no equal.
Young Master Shang eyed Su Mei intensely. He was trying to find signs of the elderly man's revival or his resurgence back into the world. This would verify his beliefs. He couldn't be truly dead...right?
Tuo Bihan tapped him on the forehead, "Big Boss is here."
Startled, Young Master Shang found Wei Wuyin standing before him with a stony look. He didn't speak, but his expression said it all. With a big gulp, he felt thirsty. A drink would be good right about now.
"You have no fear of death?" Yue Songli was curious as Young Master Shang didn't have any signs of being fearful of losing his life.
"Death?" Young Master Shang looked at Tuo Bihan and his flagon of endless wine in yearning.
"Yes-death! You lied to us, even tried to kill us!" Yue Songli voiced her frustration. While holding Wei Wuyin's hand, she felt at ease but still angry enough to shout.
"I didn't try to kill you," Young Master Shang shrugged. "Can I get another sip?" He smacked his lips.
"After you answer the question," Tuo Bihan said as he shook the leather flagon. He was curious too. His guardian had just been executed and this white-robed man's attitude was unbothered beyond the initial shock. Even if he thought the elderly man hadn't died, he wasn't here to protect him.
Young Master Shang swallowed and tilted his chin in Wei Wuyin's direction. "Given that I'm still breathing, I imagine your Big Boss already knows my intentions. Probably for a long time now."
Wei Wuyin waved his hands and the shackles restricting Young Master Shang were released.
Seeing this, Young Master Shang stretched. His hands were deft and swift as a flagon was already being gulped. Tuo Bihan's eyes flickered as he felt the flagon was no longer in his hands. It felt as if it hadn't moved but faded out of existence entirely.
"Well," he finished three big gulps, "I guess I'll tell you this much. Even if you killed me in body and soul, unless you destroyed my True Soul, I'd just be revived. As for destroying my True Soul, it's protected by a treasure forged by my grandfather, a Resonant Soul Realm cultivator. None of you could breach it even if you tried for a thousand years.
"So what I fear the least is threats to my life by those not of that realm," Young Master Shang felt relaxed after regaining the flow of his cultivation base. Circulating it a few times, he was full of energy.
"...!" They were all stunned. Was he telling the truth? They couldn't tell.
"And even if, EVEN IF, you tried to kill me, my mother would have descended here and slaughtered everyone here. Well, maybe not everyone immediately, but most of you for sure. She's the unreasonable sort." After saying this confidently, he took another sip. "The benefits of having a powerful figure behind you feels good, huh?"
Young Master Shang gave Cao Cuifen a look by repeatedly lowering and raising his eyebrows. It was as if he was saying: "You know exactly what I'm saying, right?"
"..."
Wei Wuyin shook his head, uninterested in all that for now. "Tell me everything about your purpose for finding me and the truth with your Third Young Mistress."
"Of course!" Young Master Shang didn't try to hide anything. At least, the things he could tell.
He began by confirming that the situation with the Third Young Mistress was true; this all started when his Third Young Mistress had returned from the Nexus Battlefield and vehemently announced her relationship with a 'blind' young man who freed her from the Nexus Battlefield. Her background of being born as one of three infants with the prophecy of deciding another Galactic Zone's fate other than their own under three different situations was also true.
Unfortunately, even still, Young Master Shang was unable to articulate the exact details of these prophecies. Wei Wuyin didn't hold back in trying to scour Young Master Shang's memories earlier, but he couldn't find anything. Not just anything relating to the prophecies. He couldn't find ANYTHING!
The Young Master Shang's Sea of Consciousness had no link to any memory, not short, long, or suppressed memories. While his Sea of Consciousness still exhibited signs of creating new memories, Wei Wuyin couldn't locate or find them at all. While he didn't know before, he now knew that it likely had to do with his grandfather and that treasure made with his Resonant Soul Realm cultivation.
He thought about the Moonfall Lunar Queen and Tang Xingyun almost immediately and realized this was likely designed as a way to guard against anyone eradicating his personality and sense of self. No wonder he was so indifferent before death.
As for bringing Wei Wuyin back to reject their Third Young Mistress-untrue. The elderly young man had already knocked out Young Master Shang before spewing out that lie. Moreover, they weren't on any mission given by the Blessed Yri Empire. Young Master Shang had come here alone.
He had braved the dangers of the vast Dark Void to findwarnyin and warning him as a reward for saving his sister.
"Reward?" Cao Cuifen sneered when she heard that part. The first thing Young Master Shang had done was challenge Wei Wuyin to a fight. Was that a reward?!
Young Master Shang was not blind to her contemptuous look, but he wasn't too bothered and continued to explain with a helpless look as if to say: "You'll understand soon enough."
When he proceeded to explain the true circumstances of the Blessed Yri Empire and their attitude toward Wei Wuyin's existence, not a single person on the ship didn't experience a drastic change in facial expression and emotion.
The matter of Wei Wuyin saving the Third Young Mistress from the imprisonment of that ancient chaos realm was a widely celebrated achievement that many thought should receive 'immense' rewards. Some amongst the upper echelon suggested recruiting him as a Dao Servant for the Third Young Mistress, a few felt that giving him a low-tier Mystic-World product, armament, and tool was enough, while others felt that he should be conscripted into the army to fight for the Blessed Yri Empire and act as a pillar.
Their considerations for a reward were so insane that Wei Wuyin couldn't help but deeply frown. These were rewards? A servant, a set of three Mystic-World items, or becoming a soldier to fight for you?
"What the shit! What type of backward-ass rewards are these?" Shui Fengbao was unable to prevent himself from voicing his feelings. He felt angry at just the thought.
When Young Master Shang agreed and said that the Dao Servant and soldier conscription were currently the ones with the highest support while the triple items were more just there, even Su Mei felt the urge to draw her saber and fight them all.
However, all those options went away after the Third Young Mistress announced her decision toward this 'blind' young man, and the options became sinister after she refused to rescind her decision.
Rewards were off the table as they were now deliberating whether to kill the young man, capture and cripple him, or leave him alone. This didn't last for long as the Empress of the Blessed Yri Empire had locked the Third Young Mistress away in forceful seclusion to cultivate and make up for lost years while discussing the situation with the true leaders of the involved Galactic Zones.
They were still in deliberation.
"Don't mind those idiots from our Blessed Yri Empire though. They're just greedy old two-faced foxes, and most of them don't even know about the details of the prophecies. That said, the reason they changed their attitudes so quickly was due to a profitable arrangement that your existence had stopped after my sister's return."
"Marriage?" Yue Songli frowned.
"Something like that," Young Master Shang shrugged awkwardly. "You can call it that."
"So she can get married?" Cao Cuifen was confused.
"Kind of..." Young Master Shang couldn't quite find the words. However, just his tone revealed how complicated that specific situation was. The entire matter was interwoven with various complexities that made it hard to navigate.
"Anyways, I was planning to reward you by defeating you and having you swear a Heavenly Oath for your life, solving this entire thing by preventing you and her from ever meeting again. I'll admit, it wasn't the greatest plan. It was a long shot even. Some might even call it stupid...haaaaa...
"But when I noticed your Imperial Law aura, and that you've taken the more domineering approach to conceptualizing and nurturing it, I immediately realized that was impossible. I still had to try though.
"But my defeat meant I had come here all for naught. I was planning to leave, but I was told you were going to come to the Blessed Yri Empire of your own volition. Imagine my surprise. It was only after I saw her," he pointed toward Yue Songli, "that I realized Teng Jianwen was likely going to act against you. I didn't think he would kill..." Young Master Shang heaved a sigh. Teng Jianwen had broken his word so decisively to seize Yue Songli without any strange events.
He had already decided not to hire vagabond cultivators again for protection. They were unpredictable. Unfortunately, many dangers in the Dark Void needed powerful cultivators to deal with, and he needed someone to help navigate through and overcome them while searching for Wei Wuyin without alerting anyone.
Seeing his pilot and protector were out of commission, he was concerned about how he would get home without alerting his parents to avoid being punished.
"I see," Wei Wuyin pondered before asking for a few more details.
"So what do you plan to do now?" Cao Cuifen asked with a hint of concern. Powerful existences were deciding Wei Wuyin's fate from afar due to the selfishness of a single woman. Who knew when they would come? If they would? What they would decide?
This was no different than a ticking time bomb. A calamity with unknown effects!
Fortunately, Wei Wuyin was very familiar with those.
Wei Wuyin's eyes flickered as he looked at the vast stretch of stars, "Nothing's changed. We leave today."
