The old man licked his lips, staring at Ai Juling's exquisite face and slender body with a surge of heated interest. His body even shivered in delight. It was quite disturbing to watch.
Even Ai Juling subconsciously buried herself deeper into Wei Wuyin's arms, hiding her face in his neck. Her soft skin rubbing against Wei Wuyin was quite a pleasant experience. But he noticed her fluttering eyelash, a faint sense of discomfort flowing through her body, making it stiff.
Chu Leitao wanted to say something, but Li Wang interfered. "Yes, it is a Grey Sands Elf. You have a keen eye." His words sounded as if he was praising the old man, but his eyes revealed a chaotic gleam that betrayed other intentions.
Wei Wuyin glanced at Li Wang, realizing the situation instantly. But before he could speak, Li Wang continued to speak uncharacteristically: "The Void Gate's entrance fee is paid after one uses it, not before."
When he said that, Haung Yu and Chu Leitao's expressions changed. He was clearly hinting at Wei Wuyin that the man intended to extort them unfairly for an astral diamond, just like that other fellow. He likely had to pay twice, then pay again to stay per hour, and then pay again to leave.
When Wei Wuyin realized his implicative words, his expression couldn't help but twist slightly. They were true extortionists! Who knew what else they charged for?
The old man seemed to not care, after scanning their cultivation bases, he sneered. He was at the Fourth Stage of the Astral Core Realm, the Spatial Resonance Phase, so he wouldn't care about the schemes of this group with the highest being a Soul Idol Phase cultivator. The old man sneered, he looked at Ai Juling, realizing her light-bronze skin signified her status as a Ai Clan member, and his body trembled with excitement.
"I have to oversee any suspicious individuals; let me inspect this Grey Sands Elf." He didn't even bother trying to give a proper reason, only half-hearted and half-assed. He reached out with his armored hand towards Wei Wuyin, circulating his astral force to form a gigantic palm that reached to engulf the group of five.
He intended to take Ai Juling away, then kill the rest. That way, he could enjoy this Grey Sands Elf of the Ai Clan himself without any witnesses or troubles coming his way. If his enemies knew he defiled an Ai Clan member, they would certainly snitch and his life would be forfeit. So he couldn't have anyone live.
As if expecting this, Li Wang hid behind Wei Wuyin with a cold smile. Huang Yu and Chu Leitao were startled, but they also smiled, but with pity.
The old man found that something felt wrong, but he couldn't place his finger on it. Still, he didn't intend to stay his hand, his groins already hot and hard at the thought.
Wei Wuyin frowned slightly. He didn't bother showing restraint, his eyes flickering with a saber light.
Suddenly, the astral hand vanished. The old man was still smiling with expectations. The three were uncertain what happened, but what occurred next caused their spines to nearly jump out of their bodies.
The old man's armor started to turn into glistening dust, then his clothes underneath vanished, then his skin, leaving his muscle fibers visible. He was flayed! But he didn't react, his smile still apparent with his lipless mouth. Then his flesh disintegrated, leaving a skeleton with organs that were still pumping and functioning.
The skull of the man still had quivering and heated eyes filled with emotions, and his throbbing brain was faintly visible. Then, a soft saber howl resounded and the rest of his body vanished as if it was never there. There was no blood, no flesh, no aura of life! Everything was brought to an end.
Li Wang and the others felt his heart sink into the depths of unfathomable fear, their eyes widened until they nearly popped out of their skulls!
They gulped, silent for several seconds. But those several seconds felt like days. Was that how someone should die? Did he even die?
Wei Wuyin was startled. What the hell just happened? He was the one who should be the least surprised, but he was the most surprised! He felt as if that man was lagging out of existence, dying after being eviscerated by his saber force in the slowest fashion possible.
Wei Wuyin recalled the stories of legendary swordsmen striking and only allowing the cut to manifest after their swords had been sheathed.
He intended to obliterate the man in a direct fashion, but he didn't think he'd be cut in layers...and lag as well in his death. It felt like the opposite of what he experienced when he traveled through the void. His eyelids twitched.
"..." Everyone was unnaturally silent.
Wei Wuyin had to break this awkward silence. "Well, shall we move on?" His words broke them out of their stupor, and even Ai Juling stealthily lifted her eyelids and twisted her head a little to see what happened. Unfortunately or fortunately, she didn't see anything.
Huang Yu gulped, "Yes! Let's!"
As if to add, to calm his racing heart, Chu Leitao reminded: "The fee to enter is three astral diamonds per person. Do you have the fee or shall I pay it for you?" He realized that Wei Wuyin was somewhat ignorant of the matters of The Desolate Lands with all his questions, so he wasn't certain if he carried astral diamonds or not.
Wei Wuyin thought for a moment, then he looked at the cracked wall. "I don't intend to pay any fee," he stated casually but his words caused the trio to be taken aback. What did he mean by that?
Wei Wuyin didn't bother elaborating, merely inspecting the prism as he held Ai Juling. This was a Void Gate? When he examined it, he realized it truly had similarities to a Void Gate, but it was short-ranged and individualistic. It formed a portal around the individual, not a permanent connection between two spaces. This severely reduced consumption, but limited range. Moreover, there were set coordinates installed within it, so it could only send a traveler to one location.
He looked at Ai Juling's closed eyes and gentle expression.
"You guys take this Void Gate, I'll find you inside." Wei Wuyin didn't wait for them to speak, but started to circulate his astral force as he slowly levitated upwards. As he ascended, he calmly stared at the top of the wall, his intentions clear.
The trio gawked, their eyes exploding with disbelief! He was going to scale the wall?! But...but!
Chu Leitao was the first to regain himself, touching the prism and vanishing in a flash of light. Huang Yu realized things weren't going to go peacefully and easily with Wei Wuyin, so he followed along with a touch, sending his spiritual strength through the prism and activating it. He, too, vanished.
Li Wang was the most dazed, gazing at Wei Wuyin's ascending figure. A glimmer of admiration and deep respect flashed through his eyes. He felt that a true expert should live according to their desires, acting as they pleased, killing who they disliked, and taking what they wanted. And Wei Wuyin currently embodied his ideology of an fearless expert. Whether Wei Wuyin would agree that he matched that image, that was another matter altogether.
Getting another eyeful of Wei Wuyin's extraordinary figure, Li Wang touched the prism and vanished with a bright smile.
At this moment, Ai Juling noticed their ascent and her eyes broke open a little. Seeing them rising against the city wall, her eyes opened wildly. She couldn't help but shout, "What are you doing?!" The concept of scaling the city walls of a human city had been banged into her hard since young as an action to never attempt. This triggered her memories of those lessons, and her heart raced endlessly.
But Wei Wuyin merely grinned at her, "Awake now? You had a good nap?" With a chuckle, he kept rising.
Ai Juling wanted to retort, but when she looked directly at Wei Wuyin's unearthly handsome face up-close, her words were caught within her throat, and her expression reddened. She wasn't normally disturbed by appearances, not attaching much importance to them, but she couldn't help but consider Wei Wuyin far too attractive for a human, especially when he exuded that unrestrained aura of his.
"We'll talk later. I need answers to questions, and the best way to ensure the most thorough and complete answer is to ask those with power." Wei Wuyin's words held some truth that even Ai Juling couldn't deny, but what type of questions? And why scale the wall?
And then it hit her, and her expression turned ash pale. They soon hit the top of the wall, and Wei Wuyin started to fly even higher in an imposing fashion, his silver eyes observing the city within the walls. He wanted to appreciate the architecture and unique civilization traditions within, but a voice resounded that quaked throughout the world.
"Who dares?!"
Wei Wuyin's eyes narrowed. The best way to gain reputation and prestige, to reach the important individuals of the world, was either to have importance to them, such as an alchemist, or have greater strength. If it was normal times, he might slowly work his way through the world and handle matters quietly and with various elaborate schemes, but it wasn't.
There was a lurking variable that had foreknowledge of all his typical decisions, likely details about all his fortuitous encounters or events. To flip that on its head, he decided to act as he would when he was once without any care, unrestrained and free.
He decided to use his fist to carve his new future path.
With a grin, he amplified his voice with spiritual force: "I do!"
