Kree!
A clarion cry echoed through the Sea of Consciousness of the trio. In the last two months, with Wei Wuyin's unrefined lifeforce and extracted energies from Draconic Blood Pearls, Bai Lin had almost fully recovered her fiery might. She was lively, glistening white and golden feathers, brilliant eyes infused with exuberant light, and a proud form.
She flew towards the asteroid from a distance. She had been testing her flight abilities and bodily condition on Wei Wuyin's orders, and she was elated at the results. Bai Lin's twenty-two-meter size was sufficient to allow the trio to ride her to any nearby destination.
Wei Wuyin looked over to see her approach and warmly smiled. He gestured with his hand, and her speed rapidly accelerated alongside another cry, and she wooshed over and landed before Wei Wuyin. The asteroid shook violently for a brief moment, bits of loose rock breaking away.
Wu Yu glanced at this avian creature. When he was at the Soul of Mysticism Phase, closely touching its limits, he felt a distinct fear towards Bai Lin. Her body contained a power that imbued caution in his survival instincts. When he realized that the sensation hadn't lessened despite becoming an Earthly Saint at the 8th Runic Ascendant state, he found himself baffled.
When he recalled learning about how she trounced Demi-Mortal Lords, killing two, he felt that she was definitely extraordinary. After all, when he first saw Bai Lin, she was roughly equivalent to a Qi Condensation Realm cultivator, but in less than two decades, she had leapt to rivaling Demi-Mortal Lords. While cultivation was difficult, beasts seemed to take another path that allowed rapid progression.
Even Wei Wuyin, with all his resources and talents, was unable to become an Ascended being, still lingering at the Sixth Stage of the Astral Core Realm, the Gravity Emission Phase. Yet when he saw Bai Lin move her head towards Wei Wuyin to rub with a gleeful smile in her eyes, he couldn't help but find Wei Wuyin more and more fascinating.
Wen Mingna was also surprised by Bai Lin when she met her again. She was different from when they were in the Myriad Monarch Sect, in size and appearance, but her body emitted an unfathomable aura as well. Bai Lin was at the level of an Ascended being, and Wen Mingna was deeply aware of the events of the Tang Clan's failed venture.
Such a powerful beast was happily allowing a mere mortal to pet her, not a single ounce of pride emitted while facing him. Bai Lin let loose a low cry as she walked toward Wen Mingna. Seeing this, Wen Mingna revealed a rare, beautiful smile as she reached out to rub Bai Lin's slender neck.
Bai Lin knew of the sacrifices that Wen Mingna made for Wei Wuyin, and had been quietly watching their interactions, with Wei Wuyin explaining everything on the side, such as the information about Hell and her saving their lives. She liked Wen Mingna. And it was clear that Wei Wuyin liked her too.
The two hit it off instantly.
Wei Wuyin sensed this with his spiritual sense, feeling warm inside as this moment of silence was rare in recent years. Since he arrived in the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region, he's been besieged with issue after issue. He knew the world wouldn't stop because he wanted it to. Everyone had their own thoughts, actions, and flow, and he was affected by some of it. But moments like this, beautiful and serene, were cherished.
"Young Lord," Wu Yu called out. Wei Wuyin's thoughts snapped back to focus, turning away from Bai Lin and Wen Mingna. Just earlier, he received a message from the three Ascended beings that he acquired shortly after arriving—Kun Yiming, Venerable Slayingsword, and Venerable Bluecloud. They were respectively a leader of a mystic-tier clan, a Void Hunter Organization leader called the Reaping Sword, and Pavilion Master of the Vast Cloud Pavilion.
Their relationship seemed to be interconnected, and they had discovered the rogue planet that housed the Terra-Mystic Ore. Wei Wuyin had snagged it beneath their notice, using Wu Yu as bait to lure away their attention but the plan shifted when Wu Yu inadvertently dominated the trio. They were captured and given a choice to live or die, later swearing allegiance and binding oaths towards Wei Wuyin.
They were his first subordinates acquired in the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region. And they all resided or operated near the United Source Starfield, one of the formerly twenty-three, now twenty-two starfields, of the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region.
They were all genuine Ascended, rare individuals of incredible talent relative to the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region. Since he was busy with all sorts of matters, he was unable to properly handle those three. Now, they had sent him a spiritual transmission.
"Those three said that they've discovered a strange realm that might contain unimaginable benefits. Unfortunately, they were being stonewalled by the United Source Starfield's upper-tier mystic organizations, restricting their access." Wei Wuyin explained, rubbing his chin slightly in thought and consideration. His main priority was finding a solution for his Celestial Eyes of Spiritual Divinity, but he had never been one to forgo an opportunity that presented itself.
If it was enough to get the various forces to restrict them, and for the three to leak the details to him, he felt curious enough to investigate.
Wen Mingna walked closer with Bai Lin following, "A strange realm?"
Wu Yu was now an Earthly Saint, his cultivation consolidated, and his confidence at an all-time high. He didn't even mind going up against the Everlore Association, so snatching things from a weaker starfield wasn't an issue. "How far?" He was aware that Wei Wuyin had other plans, so he smartly considered the time that it'll take for this detour.
He also added, "If you want, I can handle it myself. Bring back whatever they found." His words emanated arrogance, believing that if Wei Wuyin wanted it, it was his. Who knew how many in the United Source Starfield would be fuming mad at this attitude.
Wei Wuyin shook his head, "Distance isn't an issue."
Wu Yu's eyes shone vibrantly, recalling Wei Wuyin's miraculous abilities to generate strange Void Portals. "Right."
Wei Wuyin replied to Wen Mingna, "They only said a strange realm, nothing more about it." A strange realm reminded him of the Elementus Chosen Trial and the Gateway Door that led to the unknown. The Myriad Monarch Sect had sent their juniors inside to investigate, many risking their lives and dying as a result.
However, since Ascended beings of the United Source Starfield were involved in this, it shouldn't be ordinary by any stretch of the imagination.
"Fine, let's go find out what this is about. From their spiritual coordinates, they're in the Void-Blank Space, so traveling there and back won't take long." Wei Wuyin decided after taking into account his abilities to open Void Portals. He traveled through the Void-Blank Space from the Desolate Dragnet Stellar Region to the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region without much difficulty, and this was a far shorter journey. Despite Kratos' slumbering state, resisting the so-called Paradoxical Correction, he could still make full use of his Draconic Void Force.
The four gathered together, and a Void Portal opened, linking to the location of Venerable Bluecloud's spatial ring.
The United Source Starfield was a mid-grade starfield relative to the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region. They were ruled by the United Source True Queen. The 'true' moniker was reserved for leaders of Starfields at the middle-tier, such as the Ravenous True King and World Prison True Queen of the Ravenous Edge Starfield. This signified the strength of their starfield, and while still lower than the Ravenous Edge Starfield, they had an Earthly Saint of respectable power.
At the moment, at the edge of the United Source Starfield, slightly beyond its borders, there was a hectic array of activity that involved dozens of high-grade Voidships. Each of these Voidships was of a grade that only gold and mystic-tier forces could afford.
Unlike the Aeternal Sky Starfield with predetermined borders, most starfields allowed for mystic-tier forces to grow unhesitatingly and fight for territory as long as the fallout didn't extend beyond a certain point. This brought about chaos and growth that allowed these Starfields to eventually grow their own Earthly Saints.
The Aeternal Sky Starfield was relatively peaceful and too established. Since the age of the Tian Clan's rise as the Imperial Clan and leader of the starfield, not a single of the sixteen mystic-tier forces has changed. Whenever an Ascended being wished to develop, they either had to join those forces or leave with their family, clan, or force.
Most joined the Imperial Clan without hesitation, unwilling to throw away the precious and greatest environment that the Aeternal Sky Starfield provided. This was one of the main reasons why the Imperial Clan's growth was remarkably higher than the others, including having the highest number of Ascended beings at all levels. Even the Tang Clan's Highlord numbers paled in comparison.
This growth was also why the possibility of wiping out oaths was increasingly problematic to these other forces.
The United Source Starfield was not like this. The contest for resources, talents, and territory hyper-charged the forces with invigorating energy and motivation to develop. This was further reinforced by the strongest force's binding restraints, allowing them to not worry about being conquered without the ability to resist.
That said, those oaths were clearly in feccect due to the Earthly Saints presence. The Ravenous Edge Starfield was the gruesome reality of starfields that lost their leaders, divided by the various forces, and eliminated as a starfield.
At the edge of the activity, three Voidships lingered closer than the others, with the center one sporting the 'Kun' character at its hull. There, three auras of genuine Ascended beings were gathered.
If one looked closely, a thin film of translucent spherical barrier encapsulated all these Voidships. They were all trapped by this barrier, unable to escape as they looked out into the distance to see a foggy mess.
Kun Yiming, Venerable Bluecloud, and Venerable Slayingsword were all present. Their bodily states were perfectly fine, even healthier than before, despite being previously devastated by Wu Yu.
"Can he even get the transmission?" Venerable Slayingsword questioned with disbelief, eyeing the thin barrier established by the United Source True Queen. The various gold-tier and mystic-tier forces brought over by the phenomenon were suppressed and restrained, only able to look on helplessly.
"You were the one who suggested we send the message, and now you ask this?" Venerable Bluecloud wanted to bonk this little brat on the head. It was already a risk to send out a message, but if they were caught doing such, they might suffer from the United Source Clear Palace, the greatest force within the United Source Starfield ruled by the United Source True Queen herself.
Venerable Slayingsword snorted dismissively, "We're supposed to act in his interest, and it's in his best interest to learn of this." While he defended himself with this reasoning, he received a faint pinch on his hip that caused him to grimace. He glanced at Kun Yiming, who gave him a look, causing him to go silent.
Venerable Bluecloud sighed, "You and I know that we didn't send this message out for that. While this phenomenon can draw some attention, who knows if it'll attract a Mortal Sovereign Alchemist's interest, but if we didn't, we might be silenced here."
Kun Yiming agreed with a soft nod, "If it's like what we found before, our lives are indeed in danger." She was aware that it had only been a short while since they've sworn their oaths of silence and loyalty towards Wei Wuyin, but they hadn't received any orders besides their initial one.
It wasn't abnormal to have entire forces go missing due to discovering rare treasures. They were fully intent on eliminating Wu Yu the moment he found them, and clearly, the United Source Clear Palace had triggered something they sought to avoid but couldn't. When these gold and mystic-tier forces went to investigate, they were sealed with minimum explanation.
The lingering premonition of death was present. It caused all their skins to crawl. As Ascended beings, their instincts were typically correct.
"Even if something happened, I'll be sure to cut open a path for you," Venerable Slayingsword said in a soft voice, his hand on the hilt of his sword. Kun Yiming's eyes grew warm, and she took a deep breath before exhaling softly. She was the strongest and fastest out of the three, so it'll be on her shoulders to attempt an escape.
"Enough, little hero. If something happens, we smartly navigate the situation. If all goes well, maybe Lord Wei pays a price for our lives." Venerable Bluecloud was more experienced, and while they swore oaths of silence not to reveal the details of the Terra-Mystic Ore or his involvement, they were free to bring out Wei Wuyin's name in a desperate situation.
This soothed their hearts a little.
Outside the barrier, six Voidships were gathered together not too far away, all belonging to a single force and painted in a tri-blend design of red, blue, and green colors. On their hulls were white characters that read: Clear Palace.
At the center of these ships, concentric ripples of space kept occurring upwards to ten meters.
At the bow of the largest ship, a feminine figure looked at the ripples with a bright gaze. "I finally found you."
At that figure's side was a masked figure, emitting an indeterminate mortal aura, and they stared at the ripples too.
