1926 Chapter 1918: Greed
Wei Wuyin's heart, mind, and soul entered a hyper-focused state of concentration.
'I can't figure out why they're taking action,” Wei Wuyin's thoughts were rapid, digesting every interaction thus far, including all the messages sent to him by the Ascendants’ efforts of intelligence gathering. This lingering question made things rather difficult to navigate. If he knew why, it would be easy to diffuse or overturn the situation.
Initially, he thought it was due to his existence as a Magi was exposed without his knowledge. However, the mental waves of shock emanating from those who witnessed his silver eyes enough to garner speculation suggested otherwise, especially from Enforcer Shizi, who was certainly complicit in what was happening.
Moreover, after his answer was given, enough to enforce a pause on his status, something he had predicted and determined as unavoidable, Enforcer Shizi withdrew without any further inquisition. The absence of further action was a clue in and of itself. “The Zeniths are not directly involved in this move against me. They're only complicit in distancing themselves, acting as bystanders. But what drives this?"
With all his knowledge and information from the hidden pieces within the Utmost Purity Galaxy that he had developed in what little time he had, he was unable to come to any solid or reasonable conclusion. It was definitely not for revenge.
Too large in scale.
Moreover, he couldn't erase an individual on an existential level, so they were able to be revived with Supreme Sage-level support. Su Yi had encountered this same problem due to his limited cultivation base, unable to kill Sovereign Vilesnow's female companion for good, allowing her to be revived.
A bounty was out of the question. The vast majority would rather aid a newly ascended Heavenly Saint Alchemist than act against them when they hear of enemies looming against them. It made issuing a bounty an extremely unreliable move that could lead to the reverse effect, where the alchemist gained additional supporters, most of whom would be those opportunists hired to kill them.
If personal grudge and personal profit were eliminated, then what?
Only if the Zeniths were acting against him could he understand an alternative possibility. However, Enforcer Shizi and those hiding nearby under extensively profound concealment spells, none of whom were Dao Enforcers, eliminated their involvement. Furthermore, Enforcer Shizi had plainly snitched on the Peerless Shadow Pavilion without blinking an eye. It was downright vicious, overtly condemning them for their cowardly actions without caring for a backlash. And this was another clue. All of which led to only eliminating possibilities, not adding to them.
So...why?
why...
He was actively missing a critical piece of information, or perhaps he was overlooking something important. A detail. A trigger. The spark to the dry stack of grass.
"You're overthinking it," King's voice echoed in his soul.
"King's right! King's right!" Ori growled, anger suffused its voice with every syllable. "The why isn't important," Eden firmly added.
The javelin shattered into shards of condensed resonant gi of darkness, sharp and piercing, and they were imbued with Sword Intent as they froze for a brief moment before darting toward Kang Min-ji. Tens of thousands of sword shards constructed out of darkness sliced through space, time, mana, and light toward the frail elderly visage of Kang Min-ji.
She held the cane before her, taking defensive measures with a ward of resonant i. She was enveloped in an egg-like barrier constructed of fiery crimson resonant gj, exuding a distinctly blazing fire intent. The shards wasted no time, clashing with the egg with ruthless precision, slicing every area countless times over. She found herself in a tight shredder of darkness.
The outside world was immediately concealed from her Soul Perception via absorbing and shredding every iota of her perception that dared to venture outwards. She was effectively trapped. Her disdain intensified in her eyes. Then, she contemplated her options. After a brief moment, she decided to escape.
Gripping her cane a little tighter, she brought it high, ready to slam the tip into her barrier. Just as she was about to do so, her eyes widened with surprise. Suddenly, she noticed through all the chaos and rampaging sword intent was a glistening translucent pearl enveloped with golden chains the size of a marble. Those chains were etched with Resonance Runes, a mixture of incomplete Heavenly Runes and Mystic Runes. The runes were the unique creation of the Resonant Soul Realm. After all, a single Heavenly Rune was key to the heavens, and the path of Supreme Sages was to comprehend and resonate with the heavens!
"Soul-Sigil Chained Pearl?!" She was surprised as the pearl hid almost perfectly within the fusion of sword intent and darkness, noticing it only as it was remarkably close to her. Dangerously close. As her body tensed, hair standing up, and her pupils shrinking briefly, an unwelcoming explosion of trauma erupted within her mind as she was briefly stunned. It was only for a microsecond but it was enough.
The Soul-Sigil Chained Pearl smashed against her ward, siphoned a tiny portion of its aura like a glutton, and then began to exude a heavenly radiance. It blotted out her Soul Perception and Spiritual Sense, effectively blinding her, then— ---SHE VANISHED!
The shredding shards of darkness remained, but her egg-like ward had disappeared. What remained in her place was a tiny marble, serving as a Gateway Door to a spatial realm. The Gateway Door exuded an aura of heavenly prohibition. The Gateway Door led to an isolated spatial region, not just isolated from space, but from all things. Including time.
Wei Wuyin calmly observed all this as he stayed in place, hoping to observe Kang Min- ji's powers in action. She was potentially a Cardinal Sage, a Spiritualist that was simultaneously a Supreme Sage, and her abilities should be wondrous and terrifying despite her lies earlier.
No assault came his way yet. Kang Min-ji was the target. They used a Heavenly Treasure of Darkness backed fully by Resonant Qi of the Heavens to strike at her from the shadows. Clearly, the Peerless Shadow Pavilion was no longer trying to hide its involvement after Enforcer Shizi outed them.
In their eyes, Kang Min-ji must be one of his hidden trump cards, potentially his Alchemic Knight or Dao Protector trusted enough to accompany him during his seclusion. She was an unknown Supreme Sage, so her threat level was higher than his. He was slightly amused by this assumption. Only slightly.
However, even he was taken aback by the Soul-Sigil Chained Pearl. She was surprised by how Kang Min-Ji, a Spiritualist, was unable to sense it. But as he observed it closer out of curiosity, his eyes glowed with distinct realization. There was a faint divine mist that was gradually dissipating from its surface, expended entirely.
They had used the qualities of the Unseen Divinities to add another layer of profound concealment. This discovery had him recall those hiding nearby, realizing their concealment contained faint traces of divine mist. So this likely meant that Kang Min-ji was unable to sense them either.
As for his Celestial Eyes, it was designed specifically with the ability to see Unseen Divinities. Even when he was a mortal, he could perceive Kratos' true appearance within him. He finally understood that his True Void Dragon Bloodline made his body nearly impossible to observe because of the faint traces present, not just due to its void qualities. It was an addition.
He finally understood why Supreme Sages were unable to determine the truth of his body despite his weak cultivation base and bloodline abilities. It was simply far beyond their means to observe. Only when he actively circulated his aura and bloodline powers could they discover details that the primordial divine mist was unable to hide.
An idea was instantly born within his heart.
While that idea was planted, those Incarnations and Avatars that launched the attack from the shadows broke their concealment and made their presence known. They were a quintet, their identities concealed by esoterically designed masks of porcelain and dark robes, and they stayed tens of billions of miles away in safety.
The leader of the quintet, a tall, slender male, spoke confidently at this moment: "Neo-Dawn Ascendant Emperor, if you su—"
Wei Wuyin lifted a single finger. A glint of white that was emitted at the genesis of creation formed, containing all aspects of the material, infinite permutations, and endless transformations. With a gentle point toward the trio, the glint flared to life.
ROAR!
A draconic roar resounded!
From afar, those watching saw a scene they would never, ever, ever forget!
A dragon's hide the size of an Supermassive-sized Solar Star, vicious and primordial, with starry eyes exuding the dawn of the creation of all things material, formed without warning in a literal and absolutely truest form of an “instant’.
a
The trio was unaware as the words from their leader were still on the way to be transmitted spiritually when the dragon's maw that could swallow a stellar region with ease chomped them with the force to distort this tiny region of the grand omniverse.
The majestic dragon's head chomped down and vanished, merging flawlessly with the material, fading into the world without any trace.
The Avatars and Incarnations were destroyed in an instant.
Nothing remained.
Wei Wuyin's head directly turned to the real location of the Supreme Sage's true bodies, his silver eyes as radiant as a divinity descending upon the world. With his full Spiritual Strength, he spoke to the entire world watching, targeted at those five scheming Supreme Sages: "Your greed has determined your fates. Don't run—you won't escape. Fight—die with your desires fading eternally on your tongue, forever unsated."
Wei Wuyin's body erupted with clear paragonic light, overflowing with nearly five billion illusory Mystic Runes!
The Mystic Dao began to sing a hymn to the world, echoing out like a battle cry, welcoming an unprecedented, never-before-seen individual who could be classified as truly invincible in his stage of cultivation!
Erdiul's Note: My glorious Emperor Wei Wuyin. It's finally time.