"The audacity to invade MY Starfield?! WHO DARES?!"
Just eight words, yet it caused the Spirits of Cultivation of each and everyone present to quiver uncontrollably. Their eyes widened as they directed their fullest attention to the pulsating power being unleashed, the figure stood imposingly in the Dark Void, gazing at the Shattered World Moon and all its nearby cultivators.
Instinctively, Wu Yu and the War Commander Zhan Zheng moved defiantly towards Wei Wuyin, unleashing their Mystic Ward to shield him from external threats. Han Yuhei was a little slow to react, his heart still shivering from the strength he felt, but he eventually followed up consciously, standing beside the other two to erect a strong, unified ward of protection.
The figure that had arrived was a good-looking male, an exceptional member of his gender, having a tall stature of six feet and three inches, a well-built physique with defined muscles through his white and gold-colored robe's sleeves, and a pair of glistening lime-green eyes that set him distinctively apart from most.
The most noticeable feature of his was an accessory that granted him a kingly demeanor, almost like a genuine monarch of the ages, and it was a golden crown with nine different colored Solar Stars that were miniature, roughly the size of marbles. Each Solar Star was releasing a soul-like energy, having a strictly non-physical form, and in some angles, they seemed ghastly with wisps of spirituality leaking out like solar flares. The soul quality bore a high resemblance to Nascent Souls.
If one looked closely, they would notice that each Solar Star bore a strong resemblance to the nine Solar Stars of the Ninestar Starfield.
From one glance, everyone instantly recognized this powerful being!
The Soul Saint King! The leader of the Ninestar Sainthall, represented as the strongest Earthly Saint throughout the starfield with an undisputed streak, whilst also being amongst the widely accepted top three Earthly Saints of the entire Grand Cyclic Stellar Region.
His reputation was enough to make others fearfully tremble outside of the Ninestar Starfield let alone while within!
The Soul Saint King's lime-green eyes swept the scene after the spatial cage had collapsed. While he stood pulsated with waves of mystic power, his eyes slightly narrowed with a tinge of shock leaking out. Taken aback by the scene of twelve Earthly Saints! Furthermore, there was the Fire Phoenix with a mortal riding it.
Wei Wuyin was the only mortal in this group of terrifying existences, yet he was amongst the calmest of them all. His silver eyes began to gauge the Soul Saint King, harnessing a combination of his Celestial Eyes and proxy vision with Bai Lin. He could see streams of raw energy pouring into the Soul Saint King's crown, converted into his own power, increasingly elevating his own strength while sealing the area.
Faye Liying's scepter flickered as the nine Solar Stars dimmed considerably. The shadows within each Solar Star grew depressingly low in opacity, seemingly at the edge of disappearing entirely. She gripped it tightly, reinforcing it through various spells.
There was a period of silence between parties. The masked Earthly Saints had been thoroughly sealed, so they were unable to take any initiative, but they seemed to be particularly terrified by the Soul Saint King's arrival.
Suddenly: "Do you think you can escape me?" The Soul Saint King's words caused the hearts of the Earthly Saints present to clench. They were in his territory, so there was an innate fear within their hearts ravaging inside.
However, the Soul Saint King's attention was drawn elsewhere. He looked at an empty patch of the Dark Void, causing everyone else to look in that direction. The Soul Saint King calmly reached out. The nine Solar Stars responded in kind, releasing vibrant brilliance into the world.
When he clenched his hand into a fist, the surrounding fixed space stilled. The flow of time, space, and Chaos Mana within a ten mile range, far away from everyone else, began to distort and contort.
"Ugh!" A grunt of horrific pain resounded that caused the heart to feel gripped by an inescapable palm. A figure began to shimmer into existence, releasing bursts of temporal power as mystic power gathered into a Mystic Soul, seemingly reversing its original state of an explosive defeat!
Sun Li was deeply baffled, gawking as she saw her recently deceased opponent begin to manifest whole once more! From Mystic Soul, to bones, to blood, to flesh, all things regathered with surprising quickness and resumed its state as a powerful masked Earthly Saint.
While the masked Earthly Saint had escaped others' notice, they were unable to escape the sight of the Soul Saint King. With a mere thrust of his fist, a crushing power containing the might of the Ninestar Starfield sealed the Earthly Saint. Their current state was extremely vulnerable it seemed, and after being caught off-guard, they were unable to muster up any meaningful resistance.
The War Commander Zhan Zheng was the only cultivator present that was unsurprised by this development.
Wei Wuyin was a cultivator with a True Void Dragon Bloodline, but his comprehension of time was still nestled within Mortal Limits. He couldn't quite comprehend what had happened, and while he had some educated guesses, nothing quite made sense.
He calmly sent the Legion Commander a spiritual message inquiring answers.
Casually and unafraid, the War Commander Zhan Zheng responded promptly: "An advanced application of the Temporal and Infusion-type Mystic Runes called Reversion Substitution; it's not too difficult to do if planned beforehand or to see through if one is aware." Zhan Zheng went into a full ten paragraph summary explaining it in terms a mortal could understand, extremely detailed and patient, yet the exchange lasted less than a second in reality.
It seemed Zhan Zheng had already seen through the Reversion Substitution, but hadn't taken action because the Earthly Saint was overtly obvious, so he thought the others had already known. After all, the Earthly Saint was openingly, yes 'openingly', preparing to use it in front of everyone's face. In his opinion, the skill was incredibly subpar in the Earthly Saint's hands because he couldn't hide it.
Since he was fighting Sun Li, he was essentially oozing temporal power. A tell of the highest degree.
According to Zhan Zheng, there were records of Ascended beings capable of using this to fake their demise for a thousand years. Then, spontaneously revert time until they were in good condition to live on. A delayed Temporal Reversion, simply enough. That said, their Mystic Power would be thoroughly exhausted and their state precarious.
If no one had taken action, Zhan Zheng would've dealt with it, using far less power than this so-called Soul Saint King. The fact he had to use a warhammer to draw out a hiding mouse was a little embarrassing.
Wei Wuyin faintly smiled hearing the thinly veiled disregard and contempt for the Soul Saint King and the others. When he recalled how ignorant Lady Clearwind was of Astral Idols, it was clear that the stellar region was severely lacking in some areas, even amongst its top elites.
Wei Wuyin was awed by the varied powers within an Earthly Saint's hands. The Ways of Mysticism was not limited to the base powers of the Mystic Rune types such as World Prison, an advanced version of Spatial Prison, but their combinations could generate Mystic Wards and Reversion Substitution.
While the two engaged in a teacher and student moment, the others felt tremendous pressure from the Soul Saint King.
The Soul Saint King had already sealed the Ninestar Starfield, blocked off all foreign interference. There would be no other new arrivals as long as he was here. Despite gaining control of the situation, he was still shaken by the existence and brazenness of thirteen Earthly Saints engaging in fierce battle in his Soul-Saint Domain!
He had left the starfield a few days ago, trekking with his subordinates and disciples to the Aeternal Sky Starfield. But when he received a message from a subordinate that a spatial cage had formed in the starfield, he had rushed back personally. He was really far away, so he thought by the time he returned, the situation would've already concluded and those responsible would've vanished.
With Highlord Worldbreaker watching over the Soul-Saint Domain, one of his most trusted subordinates, he assumed she would be absolutely safe from any of the threats of Trueborn as long as she stayed put. After all, this was the Ninestar Starfield ruled by the Ninestar Sainthall, the second strongest starfield in the stellar region, and layered with dense protections.
Who would be foolish enough to strike here? How was he to expect that Trueborn was so disgustingly brazen?
Since Highlord Worldbreaker wasn't an Earthly Saint, she didn't need to be there at the Saint Cyclic Renewal Summit, so he allowed her to stay behind under the threat of Trueborn's ill-intentions. However, his eyes widened slightly as he found the injured Yue Lixiang!
She was releasing unfathomable emissions of Mystic Intent, indicating her perpetual Demi-Mystic State! She was an EARTHLY SAINT?! When? How? WHEN?!
Then, the ruler of the United Source Starfield was here.
The granddaughter of the Hexaflame World King, Huoyan Liulan, was here.
First Branch Manager of the Golden Life Pavilion, Sun Li, was here.
Guardian of the Elements and Grand Elder of the True Element Sect, Han Yuhei, was here!
Grand Knight of Neo-Dawn and Alchemic Knight of the mysterious and elusive Wei Wuyin, Wu Yu, was here!!
Formerly known as the Soul-Rising Saint, Faye Liying, WAS HERE!!!
And they were ALL in his Domain?!
With each passing breath, his eyes grew increasingly dark, and Yue Lixiang fully understood his reaction as hers wasn't anything less. She flew forward, wanting to speak out in explanation. After all, she was the one who asked her daughter to call for Wei Wuyin's assistance. She didn't think he would bring so many elites.
In truth, her heart was extremely moved by Wei Wuyin's actions, saving her and her daughter's life. She even looked over at the Fire Phoenix before moving with a hint of warmth. A mere mortal had rallied so many top-tier figures and swiftly wrapped up the threat with ease. Sensational.
"Soul Saint King, I-"
"No need," The Soul Saint King interrupted her with a gesture of his hand. Yue Lixiang's words were caught in her throat, unable to escape but wanting to. The Soul Saint King looked at Faye Liying, his eyes glinting with mysterious light.
The Earthly Saints present all sensed an exchange of spiritual energies in the form of transmissions through the Dark Void. They were conversing! Faye Liying's facial expression changed rapidly as the transmissions occurred. Since it lasted for three seconds, many, many words must've been exchanged.
In the end, the former Soul-Rising Saint heaved a sigh of defeat. She loosened her grip of the scepter and it flew like lightning towards the Soul Saint King until it stopped right before him. A single wave of his hand and the Soul-Rising Saint began to cough heavily as her connection with it was forcefully severed.
Shockingly, there was no animosity or anger in the Soul Saint King's gaze. The lack of killing intent caused the expressions of many to experience curious changes. They expected a different result. Even Wei Wuyin had, and this only reinforced his trust in Ma Zheng. Before planning all this, Ma Zheng had informed him that entering the Ninestar Starfield wasn't outside the realm of possibility, and hinted that Faye Liying's situation wasn't exactly black and white.
Witnessing this, Ma Zheng's words were more or less verified.
It seemed he might be able to resolve without destabilizing the entire starfield. As long as the hidden Earthly Saint wasn't the Soul Saint King. His timing was a little suspect, right after the masked Earthly Saints were defeated, so Wei Wuyin remained vigilant.
That said, it wasn't very likely since he exposed a masked Earthly Saint cultivator without hesitation, viciously capturing him in one move. This brought him a little comfort, but not enough to lower his guard even a little. It was best to proceed with his original plan.
"You must be Wei Wuyin?" The Soul Saint King's attention focused solely on Wei Wuyin. Within his territory, he was absolute, so he took his time, acting at his own pace. None of them would be able to escape should he desire to keep them here.
Wei Wuyin carefreely smiled, staring at the overbearing figure of the Soul Saint King. "I am," he openly admitted.
The Soul Saint King's eyes radiated a forceful light, his disposition elevating to a greater kingly state as he seemed about to say some domineering words and issue out harsh, irrefutable orders. Clearly, all the Earthly Saints knew their life and death would descend into the Soul Saint King's hands. It was uncomfortable, but an accepted risk.
Huoyan Liulan was the least bothered. At most, she would be ransomed back safely by her grandfather. And the Golden Life Pavilion had already agreed to reimburse all losses from this mission, so she truly wasn't worried.
Sun Li was relatively calm. She knew that this was a risk, but since it was Ma Zheng's wish, she decided to follow through with it and experience a thrilling battle. This was always the likely outcome. They would be sealed, captured, and held until their forces ransomed them back for a hefty price. After all, killing them would only cause war and no Ninestar Sainthall existences were harmed by them. Most importantly, there were too many important figures here.
Only Lady Clearwind was genuinely at risk of death here. But the fact she was here meant she was given certain assurances of her safety. She wasn't an idiot.
Han Yuhei internally shrugged. Wei Wuyin had long since said that any price from the fallout would be shouldered by him and the Golden Life Pavilion, he wasn't really worried. Since the external clans were dealt with and Zhang Ziyi was outside, the True Element Sect would remain stable even if he was absent for a while.
"Han-" Just as the Soul Saint King was about to unleash a flurry of absolute demands, barely a single word escaped his lips before Wei Wuyin interrupted him with a spiritual outburst. The action caused all the Earthly Saints, even the sealed ones, to look over with shock.
To rudely interrupt the Soul Saint King at this moment, how large were these mortal's balls?!
Even Wu Yu was feeling concerned at this point. He was fully aware that Wei Wuyin's backing was imaginary; there was no mysterious power that could swoop in and handle all matters. The play here was definitely not to lean on this non-existent force. If the Soul Saint King demanded they retrieve him, what would happen?
All of his carefully gained prestige would collapse. The truth about the Legion Commander's uniqueness would be revealed and the rest of those hyped assumptions would fall along with it. The resulting catastrophe would be unrecoverable.
Wu Yu could only hope that Wei Wuyin had the means to escape despite the Soul Saint King locking down the entire starfield personally with his unique spatial abilities.
However, Wei Wuyin seemed entirely unconcerned about that possibility. Suddenly, War Commander Zhan Zheng, Legion Commander of 9,999 Spirits of War, stepped forward in front of Wei Wuyin. The dragon-head helmet and exquisite armor granted him a terrifying presence.
"Soul Saint King, all these Earthly Saints are under my protection. Step aside until I've concluded my business, then I'll leave." Wei Wuyin calmly said.
"..." Everyone.
Leave?
Under YOUR protection?!
A mere mortal!
Without a joking tone, a mortal simply demanded the Soul Saint King to step aside! In his own Domain!
Outrageous!
With all of these great figures present, this was a great slap to the face!
The Soul Saint King frowned and it seemed as if the nine Solar Stars were trembling with seething rage in response. "Oh? Then, I'll have to see what level of protection you offer them." The enraged words were kept at a low volume yet it was felt by everyone present.
Wei Wuyin shrugged. He suspected that the Soul Saint King could be a member of Trueborn. In fact, he might very well be its leader with how openly they had operated recently in the Ninestar Starfield. So he might as well follow through to eliminate that possibility.
He brought out the Nexus War Flag!
