The constant sounds of fighting and destruction was hectic, loud, and bone-shivering, yet the location that these three figures, Wei Wuyin, the sobbing Jiu Lang, and the darkly dressed Long Chen were isolated. They were far from the conflict, the perfect place to commit a murder.
Wei Wuyin's emotions were abnormally calm as he recalled the Black Skeleton, the scene of his alternative future of dying at the hands of Long Chen. Even to this day, he couldn't figure out exactly why he decided to protect Jiu Lang, not privileged to any of the details leading up to this event.
It had never felt correct. The him in this version of time hadn't just defended her, but he had abandoned his path of Heart of Elemental Qi, a superb qi of nine different elements, deciding to embark on the weaker path of the Heart of Scarlet Qi. It seemed against his nature to settle.
This scenario had plagued him quite a few times shortly after he regained his memories from the Wall of Heaven event. It was a befuddling conundrum that baffled him. That said, he trusted that the Black Skeleton had no reason to lie to a little Qi Condensation Cultivator. Moreover, after experiencing the abilities of Wen Mingna and traversing through time to escape from a sealing formation, it seemed more likely than ever that it was genuine.
Without the Bloodline of Sin, his death would be decided on this day. A wisp of emotion infected his heart. It would be a lie to say that he hadn't been scared of this event repeating. His calculative and cautious nature leading to decisive actions were fueled by this event.
This included his obsession with information. Because a single question couldn't be answered: How?
He knew why Long Chen tried to kill him, no, actually killed him on this day. It all was due to Na Xinyi. What was curious was how he allowed himself to fall here?
It might be a mystery he would never solve.
The figure of Long Chen released a righteous yet menacing aura, extremely similar to what he felt that day. There was a calm and awe-inspiring confidence in his every move. It seemed he was absolutely confident of killing him. Perhaps this was Long Chen's natural demeanor, but it made it difficult to muster a strong resistance.
Wei Wuyin, however, did not continue to pander to the illusion he was in. He looked upwards to the sealed sky, seeing the dome of emerald-colored qi.
"The Mind Dao…" Wei Wuyin was emotional. If he had to say which was the most terrifying ability he possessed, it wouldn't be his killing saber, his ability to transmute an entire planet, or his control over space and time, but Eden's ability to attune and alter the mind itself.
Unfortunately, this was merely an illusion. Wei Wuyin's silver eyes released a smoldering fiery light. The sky above began to crack apart, lines of spiritual light zipped through. The cracks seemed random, but as it grew, one could tell that it was forming a specific shape.
Eye of Illusion!
Without Eden, Wei Wuyin still had an avenue into the Mind Dao. The Celestial Eyes of Spiritual Divinity's Eye of Illusion was firmly lodged in his Sea of Consciousness, drawing upon his spiritual energies to emit mind-affecting waves of power.
"Your mistake was using an illusion," Wei Wuyin indifferently stated as the Eye of Illusion's spell formation took shape, overtaking the entire sky, shining upon them in a misty, spiritual light. The fiery light within his eyes was strengthened in intensity.
Suddenly, Long Chen's figure shot forward with sword in hand. He struck with vicious killing intent that perfectly matched the Worldly Avatars. Clearly, the Worldly Avatar of Eden had acted, disrupting the normal pace of events, knowing that Wei Wuyin was taking control of its illusionscape!
Jiu Lang also changed her sobbing tone, her eyes glinted with seven-colored light as she clawed towards Wei Wuyin with a shriek of aggression. She seemed willing to bite Wei Wuyin's flesh and claw out his heart.
Wei Wuyin used a single finger, tapping her forehead as her body froze instantly. Long Chen's sword shattered as Wei Wuyin's eyes looked towards him, becoming motes of gorgeous and gentle light. The 'Long Chen' there was startled. It released a guttural roar and lunged at Wei Wuyin like an apex predator, but Wei Wuyin was entirely unfazed.
It froze in mid-air.
Wei Wuyin stared at the twisted and contorted facial expression of this frozen 'Long Chen' and then turned to see the frozen Jiu Lang. When he saw her vicious expression, his eyes dimmed slightly.
"Was I schemed against?" This was the first time he felt as if an inkling of a clarity was given about this event. He couldn't help but look at his palms as he allowed the scarlet qi to gather in his palm, exhibiting the cultivation base bestowed to him by the Worldly Avatar of Eden.
"I always thought Jiu Lang was his target because of Qing Qiumu as well, but what if…he hadn't known her yet? What if…" Wei Wuyin felt as if he was on the verge of a breakthrough. Had Jiu Lang joined together with Long Chen in a bid to save herself, luring him here, deceiving him, and causing his death?
"..." Wei Wuyin softly sighed. The Eye of Illusion's spell formation fully formed overhead, completely taking over this illusionscape. "All of it doesn't matter now. Take it for what it is, Wuyin: A lesson."
Wei Wuyin reminded himself to always be vigilant. With that, he brought his middle-finger and thumb together, and released a wonderful snapping noise. The entire world broke down, revealing his Sea of Consciousness and the waters that represented his mental energies. At the moment, seven-colored tendril-like roots were burrowing into the foundation of his Sea of Consciousness from beyond the boundaries of this space, tainting his mental energies.
However, Eden was there. It protected the core parts of his Sea of Consciousness, such as his memories and personality, ensuring that it remained coherent and clear. Wei Wuyin glanced at the gargantuan-sized Eden that stood tall inside his Sea of Consciousness as a protective guardian.
He faintly smiled.
"Thank you," Wei Wuyin honestly said. The crown of Eden's grand form shook slightly. It was as if it was telling him to continue.
Wei Wuyin faintly smiled. He hadn't thanked Eden for saving him, but thanked it for allowing him to break the illusion himself. At the moment, he was a mental incarnation, floating within the waters of his mental energies. He formed a few hand-seals in swift and consecutive fashion, his Eye of Illusion's spell formation manifested entirely, engulfing his entire Sea of Consciousness.
Wei Wuyin's real body opened his eyes, his entire body was encased in metal origin material transmuted from the surrounding earthen energies. He was sealed in miles of thick metal, and the metal was heating up aggressively, attempting to melt Wei Wuyin down into nothing.
But his body was a little too powerful. Its efforts did little to harm him, even his clothes formed from Essence of War were unharmed. As someone who refined his physical body with Absolute Hot and Absolute Ice Energies, extreme temperatures were something he was immune to.
Wei Wuyin tapped into his tenth-ripple Spatial Resonance power, utilizing Void Force to empower it, and spatially shifted away. The metal cage was unable to hinder him as he traversed through fixed space, seemingly as ethereal as Kratos' Worldly Avatar.
He arrived above ground, floating a few feet off the metallic surface, and he slowly reached to touch his head. The thirteen-meter-sized, gorgeous tree form of Worldly Avatar of Eden was wiggling madly, trying to struggle free from Wei Wuyin's Sea of Consciousness by pulling its roots out of Wei Wuyin's head. It was releasing boundless mental power to alter Wei Wuyin's mind, but it achieved very little.
Wei Wuyin realized that this Worldly Avatar of Eden had 100% of Eden's powers. He didn't know how these Astral Souls manipulated the Worldly Forces Tribulation to change so drastically, but they were outright copies with greater mana, energy, and gravitational control than him. It seemed they could convert the world into their power, allowing them to have potentially limitless strength! A miraculous quality of a Worldly Doman.
He was truly facing versions of them formed from the world itself!
Rustle! Rustle! Rustle!
The Worldly Avatar of Eden was in a twisted fury. It began to summon forth endless ambient mana to be brought over, fully attempting to crush Wei Wuyin in its cascading waves of power.
Wei Wuyin could feel the forceful gravitational power press against his head, trying to push him down, restraining him while the mana waves were incoming. He smashed against the transmuted earth, causing a deep metallic thud to resound, and his legs created deep indentations. But he didn't panic in the slightest. In fact, his eyes seemed to exude a wisp of boundless confidence.
Wei Wuyin was initially shocked, bewildered by the limits of their powers and their various means, but after facing them, allowing each to freely assault him, he had already determined how to defeat each and every one of them!
With a heavy lift and huff, the hand at his head violently grabbed the roots browing into his head from the Worldly Avatar of Eden.
"You're first," Wei Wuyin gruntly muttered under the immense gravitational pressure. His hand pulsed with seven-colored light. The Worldly Avatar of Eden jolted, its efforts to break free began to slowly die down. Wei Wuyin clenched his fists and the Worldly Avatar of Eden began to shrink into his head, slowly minimizing until it completely entered his Sea of Consciousness.
Woosh!
Wei Wuyin was about to finish the Worldly Avatar of Eden off when a white sphere flew forward, becoming a blazing comet that smashed against his chest with lightning-like speeds. It nearly speared through his body, his insides rumbled as he was blown away at an extremely explosive speed.
He skidded across tens of miles, his body enveloped in white light that transformed everything it came across into flames. Instantly, the streak white fire grew until he was completely engulfed that stretched for miles, scorching the world!
ROAR!
A misty silhouette abruptly emerged above the growing streak of fire, releasing a violently explosive roar that caused the fires to freeze for a brief moment. Then, it shot into the mass of flames. A figure was once again pushed into the earth, causing mountains to crumble, oceans to shake, and the skies to rumble.
Wei Wuyin was relatively unharmed, but he was still shocked by the absurd speed these Worldly Avatars could move at. Frustratingly enough, the Worldly Avatar of Ori could integrate perfectly with the environment that even his Spiritual Sense was only able to catch a brief glimpse of before it struck him.
Its concealment powers weren't beneath the Worldly Avatar of Kratos! In truth, he couldn't help but feel a surge of pride swell in his chest after experiencing their powers first-hand.
The Worldly Avatar of Kratos seemed intent on dragging Wei Wuyin into the planet's core. Its burning intensity might actually harm Wei Wuyin, so he didn't hesitate but to resist. From the silhouette, it felt as if the killing intent contained a wisp of a disdainful grin.
"Destroy the IMPOSTER! ROAR!!" Kratos was the first to speak after the assaults began, feeling fed up with how this 'Kratos' was so arrogant.
Wei Wuyin was still being dragged across endless earth, smashing violently into everything as a deep tunnel was made using his back as a shovel. But he couldn't help but laugh, "That was the plan!"
TRUE DRAGON TRANSFORMATION!
Wei Wuyin tapped into the truest powers of Kratos, a joint unity between himself and his Astral Soul. While these Worldly Avatars contained 100% of their power, they lacked what it means to be a true 100%—him!
Entering his hexagonal-scaled form, his sharpened nails and hand reached into the misty cloud. It seemed about to go ethereal, and the arrogance within its eyes was clearly reflecting a tinge of ridicule. Unfortunately for it, that ridicule lasted all but a few milliseconds as his hand touched the physical form of the being within the mist cloud, eliciting a confused roar.
Wei Wuyin didn't even give it time to react, bring both hands on its head, and with a violent roar that caused the entire planet to crack, volcanoes to erupt, mountains to shatter, and tsunamis to form, entire world-ending calamities to ensure, it had its head violently ripped from its torso!
A portion of gravitational power immediately dispersed from Wei Wuyin.
Roar!
A triumphant roar resounded from within Wei Wuyin's heart. Then, his Sea of Consciousness was a ravaging battle between two trees with whipping roots. Eden's original form was fueled by his refined mental energies, and within this space, the Worldly Avatar of Eden was unable to draw upon the world's full strength.
Eden's Astral Core was a full eighty-one centimeters in size, but in the Sea of Consciousness, its spirit form was 108,000 meters tall! It had thirteen soul rings surrounding it and seemed absolutely godly!
This was its domain!
The Worldly Avatar of Eden couldn't resist as it was crushed into seven-colored bits.
Wei Wuyin felt another portion of gravitational force lift from his body, lightening him considerably.
Wei Wuyin's eyes became pure white, evoking the Elemental Heart Intent, and with it, he sensed the Worldly Avatar of Ori observing from afar, following his descent as it transmuted the earth he passed into metal, trying to seal his escape routes. It was carefully concealed within the earth and metal, its aura indistinguishable from others.
Even his Celestial Eye might not be able to discern its location without being in close proximity. With a slight grin, he grasped towards the Worldly Avatar of Ori.
"Yes! Yes! My turn! Kill me next!" Ori's excitement was infectious, but Wei Wuyin's eyebrows couldn't help but twitch. He genuinely didn't know whether to laugh or cry as he shot towards Ori, shifting through space. The Worldly Avatar of Ori tried to retreat, but it was hindered by walls of metal that it couldn't control.
It took time to transmute it, so it was delayed. Wei Wuyin didn't hesitate to stomp on its true form, causing hundreds of miles of crust and earth to form a decompression, and an entire city above fell into the chasm formed.
Yet the Worldly Avatar of Ori was smashed into bits by the sheer violent power of his draconic transformation infused with Elemental Origin Force.
Wei Wuyin lifted his head to see the crumbling city and buildings fall down. He shot upwards and dodged every falling debris with ease, once again arriving above ground. As he did, he saw a lone thirteen-meter-sized saber floating above the clouds. It was peerless.
It had only assaulted him once, but after that, it hadn't attacked again. When he looked at the Worldly Avatar of King, he couldn't help but remark with a little shock: "Is it challenging me to a duel?"
"Tch," King replied with contempt.
"You want to do this?" Wei Wuyin eyed the saber as it gathered tremendous power, a storm of saber light manifesting around its edge. It was seemingly intended to end everything in one strike.
It was gathering all the mana, all the gravity, and all the world's energies into a single strike. At this point, Wei Wuyin could feel the ambient mana, worldly energies, and gravitational forces gather at its edge, converting it all into annihilation saber light.
"Tch!" King instantly fully externalized, feeling challenged, how could it not come forth?
Element!
King called out, and Element shot out from Wei Wuyin's glabella. Its body of elemental and saber energies was once again utilized and King entered it with its eighty-one-centimeter-sized Astral Core, directly merging with it entirely!
"Oh! Oh! Get'em King! Get'em!" Ori cheered.
Wei Wuyin shook his head slightly. Well, at least it didn't say-
"Kill yourself good! You can do it!"
…nevermind.
Wei Wuyin reached to grab the hilt of Element, feeling all of King's immense power within. If the Nascent Saber Soul hadn't evolved recently, it might not have been able to handle such tremendous power.
After six seconds of charging, the Worldly Avatar of King seemed to be ready to strike. It had reached its limits of drawing upon the power of the world. However, the entire planet was devoid of any energy, the seas had dried up, the mountains had grown brittle, and the plants had become lifeless. It had ruined the world.
Right now, only Annihilation Saber Energies existed.
Wei Wuyin gripped King tightly. While he would've dealt with it before it fully charged, the challenge wasn't something he nor King and their Saber Intent could ever refuse. King was the saber that brought an end to everything with its edge! Even itself!
Wei Wuyin felt as if doing this, achieving this victory, might instigate a change in King somehow. It was a faint feeling, but it was definitely there.
SHIIING!
SHIING!
Two almost identical saber howls shook the planet.
The Worldly Avatar of King moved its edge!
Wei Wuyin, King, and Element became one! Together, they sliced forward!
