The incident stirred all the experts which cascaded into alerting everyone else. Before long, everyone in the sect had realized that an event had occurred. Unfortunately, all details of this event were kept under complete suppression. But they knew that the sect had a rule of transparency, so the details would be revealed soon.
Wei Wuyin was in the eighth level of the sky layer, in the same location that the five Grand Imperial Sages had held their meeting. Now, they were gathered once more but with a new addition: Wei Wuyin. He was fully clothed, adorning his Heavenly King attire fitted to the Extreme Creation Mountain's color—black.
Every last one of these experts stared at Wei Wuyin with an intentful gaze. Their minds were filled with questions. This was especially so for Ji Changkong, Yao Zhen, and Qin Rui. Their main question wasn't about Wei Wuyin, but to Tuo Bihan. He seemed ready to fight to the death, so what was he expecting?
The usually old, auraless man that seemed lazy had revealed his superior cultivation strength. They were all curious about his actions.
Wei Wuyin spoke first, "I found an ancient Void Gate on the Bloodforge Continent. I used my own methods to breach the void and connect with the Myriad Void Gate. The skeleton was indeed me, but it was likely an illusion created by an odd interaction with my method and the void gate. I'm completely fine."
"..." The four Grand Imperial Sages remained silent. But their spiritual senses and instincts were fiercely honed onto every syllable of Wei Wuyin. They could easily deduce if an individual was lying, and even Wei Wuyin couldn't avoid such abilities. Due to this, he didn't lie.
Instead, he said only the truth.
The Grand Imperial Sages were smart and knew that while what he said was true, he omitted too many details. As such, they were filled with suspicion. Fortunately, they didn't have to pry. After all, Wei Wuyin was a member of their sect and was deeply invested within. Furthermore, he was a talent that rivaled the King of Everlore and had exceptional potential.
They heard about his battle on the Bloodforge Continent. He ascended the Astral Core Realm and had strength that could rival the third stage at the jump. This meant he likely had made countless preparations to reinforce his cultivation base the moment he ascended.
They didn't doubt it. After all, Wei Wuyin had given them ten Astral Sea Pills and ten other cultivation reinforcement pills. If he could give them peak-tier seventh-grade pills like that, then he must have a stock of his own. While it was somewhat unbelievable to possess such a fantastic cultivation base at the beginning, which one of them couldn't overcome a cultivation level without such top-tier resources?
Zuhei, for example, could fight those at the Third Stage while at the Second Stage. He comprehended two Intents, Battle and Slaughter, but which one of them hadn't comprehended multiple intents? For example, Ji Changkong was renowned for his Dual Blade Arts, using Sword and Saber. Yao Zhen's unique bloodline contains a rare Fire Intent, and he's comprehended Fist Intent.
The most notable was Zen, she comprehended Water, Ice, and Aquatic Intent with an exceptional bloodline lineage. Despite that, Tuo Bihan, the one who comprehended no Intents, was the undisputed strongest because he had the Dao of Alchemy supporting him. With enough foundational cultivation products bolstering your potential, your Soul Idol and Spatial Resonance would be higher than everyone else.
That was the difference!
Therefore, they didn't question it.
As long as Wei Wuyin was safe, they didn't need to nor did they dare to. Which one of them wasn't aware of how shocking Wei Wuyin's development has been for the last four years? He pretty much had half the sect within his pocket and the other worshipping his name. It was shocking to the extreme. The fact that even they were bribed, one could imagine how much they valued Wei Wuyin and his products.
It was these products that would one day allow them to have the confidence to tackle the Seventh Astral Tribulation. Even Tuo Bihan, the strongest human expert in the starfield, wasn't certain of surpassing the Seventh Astral Tribulation. One could clearly see the immense difficulty within it. It was like crossing a heavenly chasm.
Tuo Bihan sighed inwardly. These grand figures accepted his explanation and didn't grill this little lass to the bone. Was his potential that scary? He shook his head. If the others knew what he was thinking, they would rage.
In their entire lives that spanned for hundreds of years, they might've consumed a hundred or so seventh-grade products. As for eighth-grade, only Yao Zhen and Qin Rui received such benefits and they were concocted and given to them by Tuo Bihan! Even still, they merely consumed one. Tuo Bihan was exceptionally stingy too.
But Wei Wuyin was like a factory. He concocted thousands of seventh-grade products and distributed them to the sect in just four years. From how he's making 'connections' and 'alliances' left and right, he likely was giving out numerous more on the down-low.
Seventh-grade products might be designed for lower-tier Astral Core Realm experts, but an Astral Sea Pill can still expand their Astral Cores and enhance their meridian structure. There were numerous other products that can benefit them, strengthening them by a notch.
They treated his thoughts and impressions even greater than Tuo Bihan. In fact, they felt he was more important than Long Chen and the Grand Monarch Lineage. After all, Wu Yu wouldn't have existed if it wasn't for the King of Everlore. Actually, none of these legendary names would.
Whether it's the Divine King Han Xei, Sacred Elven Queen, or the Abyss Master of Demons, none of them would have reached their phenomenal heights without his influence. After all, cultivation was difficult. The fact that thousands of years after his departure, the decline of the starfield was steady.
Before, those at the Mystic Ascendant Realm ruled. Realmlords, Timelords, and Starlords were abundant and renowned. The number of Astral Core Realm experts were in the hundreds of millions. Now, five million.
And only two Realmlords exist.
In fact, they only existed because of the shadow of the King of Everlore.
It was quite telling.
If Wei Wuyin lived up to his namesake, the Prince of Everlore, then wouldn't they soon become the new Grand Monarch Wu Yu? Sacred Elven Queen? Divine King? Abyss Master of Demons?! How would they grill him and worsen their impression of themselves in his mind.
After sweeping his gaze around, Tuo Bihan realized the conversation was said and done off a few sentences. He could only sigh. Just like before, trouble didn't exist for Wei Wuyin.
"You should refine that method, Heavenly King Wei. You breached the Planetary Spatial Array. If you can master it, there would be no place you couldn't enter." Zen's words caused the thoughts of everyone to thunder. That was right, Wei Wuyin had breached the array and arrived. However he did it, it was a priceless and fearful method.
"We'll keep the details to ourselves and say that you found an ancient and half-functioning Void Gate in the Bloodforge Continent. You attempted to use it and it worked. By luck, you arrived safely back to the planet." Zen established a story for the public. It was filled with truth. While there were uncertainties, facts spoke louder than rumors. Wei Wuyin arrived via the Void Gate in a unique and odd fashion, and he was here. That was enough.
In the end, there wasn't much to discuss. They didn't pry into what method Wei Wuyin used.
Tuo Bihan coughed, "Let's resume our discussions. Specifically, the Gateway." Since they were all still here, this would be best. As for Wei Wuyin's presence, this wasn't a bad thing for them.
Qin Rui and Ji Changkong's eyes simultaneously glowed. They seemed to be very energetic for some reason. Wei Wuyin's silver eyes roamed, noticing Qin Rui's misty veil. His Celestial Eyes were exceptionally powerful and he saw her gorgeous, alluring, and attractive features.
She looked like Qing Qiumu, in terms of countenance, bodily curves, and proud twin mounds. But she was an older version by a few years and with long black hair that had four colorful streaks of highlights. Each color seemed to embody a basic element. It was exquisite. She looked like a painting as her eyes emitted an attractive yin quality that exceeded Na Xinyi.
While Na Xinyi definitely overwhelmed Qin Rui in quantity, as her Three-Point Yin Physique bestowed her three Primal Yins, but Qin Rui outrageously blew her away in quality. He had never seen such powerful, dense, and potent yin energies before. His own yang essence was quivering, his True Dragon Bloodline was burning slightly.
It was as if it was trying to inform him that if he dual cultivated with Qin Rui, used such yin energies to reinforce his bloodline, he would jump a level or two instantly. Desire flashed in his eyes, and this desire was unintentional and instinctive, but the beginning discussions ceased.
Who were these five people? They were Grand Imperial Sages who've cultivated for hundreds of years and their senses were incredibly acute. They noticed Wei Wuyin's yang aura flare, a sign of arousal for men. Qin Rui stilled. Ji Changkong and Yao Zhen turned to Wei Wuyin, with the former holding a frown and the latter with an intrigued gaze.
Tuo Bihan remained impassive while Zen revealed an expression of realization. There's no way Qin Rui would've met Wei Wuyin personally before. She was the most mysterious of the five, keeping mostly to herself and avoided men. If it wasn't for Tuo Bihan viewing her as a niece, she might've not revealed herself before him.
After all, he was terrifyingly strong with exceptional skill as an Emperor Alchemist. Despite his old age, he had all the features one would want in a husband or Dao Companion. Unfortunately and fortunately, Tuo Bihan had one love who long since passed due to old age. Since then, he's remained unavailable to all.
However, Wei Wuyin was vigorous and filled with potential. He would definitely be attracted to Qin Rui's innate aura that even she couldn't conceal. If he desired her, what would she do?
A frown emerged on Zen's face now, realizing the situation might not end so well. If it was anyone else, it might not matter, even if it was Long Chen, but if its Wei Wuyin…
Several seconds passed in awkward silence.
Wei Wuyin's eyes moved, turning away from Qin Rui and to Zen. "Grand Imperial Sage Zen, please continue. I'm curious about this gateway." His abrupt change in subject was shocking, and the yang flaring had subsided. Somehow, Wei Wuyin had completely suppressed his natural male instincts. How frightening must his willpower be for this?
Zen, Yao Zhen, and Ji Changkong simultaneously revealed expressions of surprise. Especially Ji Changkong. When he first met Qin Rui, he had lost his will and was beaten by Tuo Bihan due to it. This was before he became an official Grand Imperial Sage, and far before Qin Rui did. Now that they reached this level, weren't her attractive powers far, far greater?
Zen didn't look a gift horse in the mouth and continued, "At the border of our territory, at the Auric Sea, one of our subordinate sects discovered a Gateway Door."
Wei Wuyin's heart raced. Gateway Doors were names meant for spatial entrances. They led to secret realms. Those at the Realmlord Phase were said to be able to slice into space and fit a tiny world within its layers. These tiny worlds were called realms, and could be classified as secret realms and world realms. Secret realms were usually locations that Realmlords and those above stored their treasures and the location of their Storage Rings.
As for world realms, they were oftentimes like continental flat earths and needed an immense amount of resources, strength, and time to create. Most of these Gateway Doors were concealed by various formations and arrays.
This was because a storage ring can be destroyed, and the Gateway Door allowed the user to gain access to it. According to old records, these realms were often for descendants and lineages to survive and thrive in. The Myriad Monarch Sect had a training-type world realm, but it suffered damage due to the earlier war between the other three sects.
The Myriad Monarch Sect also had several Gateway Doors established by Wu Yu and the other Grand Monarchs, and the secret realm stored all their most valuable treasures, legacies, and even descendants. If the sect was besieged and destroyed one day, they could retreat within and survive in secret.
Finding Gateway Doors was exceptionally difficult. It required a little bit of luck and a sufficient cultivation base that rivaled its creator. Even then, it might take a century of search to accurately pinpoint. Only those who have the means to find it or knew its location could find it with ease.
Therefore, for a Gateway Door to be discovered was incredible. Regardless if it was a secret realm or world realm, the benefits within can't be little. After all, at minimum, a Realmlord had to have created it. The resources they planted, tools they left, legacies, and the environment left behind might be beneficial for cultivation.
And if it was a secret realm created by a Timelord or Starlord…
Oh boy.
Ji Changkong and Qin Rui's excitement was well justified.
With something like this before him, Wei Wuyin knew he had to participate.
