Chapter 1009: Spirit, Endless, & Strength
Since they began their hours-long trek to the passenger-exclusive Skyship and boarded it, Liu Suyin remained entirely silent, eyes closed, and her expression unchanging as an eternal iceberg awaiting its victims. Wei Wuyin picked up a grape that glistened with astral-grade wood and water essence and ate it.
"Venerable Liu Suyin, so this fascinating city is called the City of Endless?" Wei Wuyin decided to break the ice with this conversation topic. He didn't know what she was allowed to say or not, so he started with harmless topics.
Liu Suyin opened her eyes, revealing those emotional orbs of hers that felt slightly uncomfortable to look into despite their gorgeous and enchanting color. "Yes."
"Hm. Who are those beings with star-shaped pupils and irises like the night sky?" Wei Wuyin inquired about the Celestials as if he was ignorant of them. But the look he received from Liu Suyin felt as if she was skeptical of his question.
Regardless, she flatly answered: "They're called Celestials."
"Celestials, huh?" Wei Wuyin mused, scratching his chin lightly as he glanced at the swiftly passing world below. "Why the tails? Are they Beastmen?" Every Celestial had slender bodies like elves, but furry tails like squirrels or foxes and they differed in age, gender, and even color.
Jing Jiu knew that they were linked to a secret of the Celestials, and he was searching for the answer, yet never reached a high enough level to gain access to information regarding the histories of Celestials. It was better to say that he wasn't at the point of his life where that was relevant. Besides being taught about the basic information of Celestials due to the Battlefield's restrictions limiting them, Jing Jiu grew up in a predominantly human-ruled area, so he wasn't exposed to Celestials.
It was like how those raised in mortal countries weren't very educated about other countries' histories. While the information was there, in the world of cultivation, information was power, so it was costly to learn it without adequate status. Moreover, who wanted their young talents to waste dozens of years absorbing millions of years of another race's history?
"No; they're Celestials," Liu Suyin answered in the most infuriating manner. If it wasn't for her overall demeanor, Wei Wuyin would think she was being sarcastic.
"And the tails?" Wei Wuyin sought further clarification.
"Do you ask why Elves have sharp ears?" Liu Suyin's apathetic gaze felt as if it was reflecting words such as: "It's a racial characteristic. How am I supposed to know?" And Wei Wuyin felt shut down, deflated by her deflections brought about by ignorance. However, he couldn't fault her for using this tactic to not outright oust her ignorance.
Why did Elves have sharp ears? Slender bodies? Supple waists? His idle thoughts inevitably brought him to Ai Yin, Ai Juling, and Jiang Feilan—the Sacred Light Palace's Sect Master with a Yin Renewal Physique. Their ears were quite sensitive. Were the tails of Celestials similar?
Wei Wuyin's mind drifted off.
When he was brought back to reality, they had stopped at another landing pad, picking up additional passengers. "How long is this trip going to be?" Wei Wuyin was stunned at how time-consuming this trip was, already lasting three hours. If it wasn't for the enriched foods, he would be horrifically bored, and as a being with a True Void Dragon Bloodline, this was against their intrinsic nature.
Was this a part of their culture and traditions? Long ass freaking rides? What a culture!
Dissatisfaction aside, Liu Suyin said words that almost caused Wei Wuyin to spit out the water he drank two hours ago. "It'll take thirty-two days."
The City of Endless?
More like the City of Endless Travel!
"Why?!" Wei Wuyin spat in exasperation. But seeing Liu Suyin blankly stare at him, he realized he was being a little rude. He coughed lightly in his fist, "I mean, why not use Void Gates?" There's a reason Skyships were mostly used for short-distance travels in the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region.
"Void Gates can not be used in the World Between The Fold, neither can Spatial Shifting." Liu Suyin flatly explained.
"Why?" Wei Wuyin was immediately interested. If that was true, it greatly justified why the City of Endless culture was so travel-heavy with Skyships filling the sky and its namesake. The distance from one location to another must be unimaginable. Moreover, it made sense why they incorporated cultivation into their meals, due to the horrific downtimes between locations.
"The Endless Void Mirror," was all she said as an answer, refusing to elaborate. Wei Wuyin knitted his brows lightly, knowing this touched upon taboo knowledge so he didn't push. This naming sense of 'Endless' was quite common it seems. The city and the strange item that served as the world's foundation had 'Endless' in its name.
Wei Wuyin absentmindedly glanced outside the window. 'Unable to use Void Gates or Spatial Shifting. Huh?' Instantly, he was confused. "We arrived here via two spatial formations. If the Endless Void Mirror doesn't allow these things, how did we get here? In the World Between the Folds, I mean."
Liu Suyin didn't conceal this detail, shockingly: "There are special formations that utilize a type of power that can bypass this restriction, but it's extremely costly to use. They require using Void Energy as fuel, difficult to cultivate and store. Those formations are called quasi-Void Formations."
Wei Wuyin's eyes brightened, "Void Energy as fuel? How do you create this type of energy?" He was curious if she knew of his Draconic Void Energy, or if she assumed he was using a Void Treasure like that masked figure used in the Stellar Nest. However, this explained why he sensed the familiar sound of Void Forces being used both times.
Of course, he knew how Void Energy was created, he transformed his Spatial Jade Crystal into a Void Variant and merged it into his heart, but he wondered if there was another way.
"Sacrifice," Liu Suyin answered.
"..." Wei Wuyin knew that Liu Suyin was referring to using lifeforce to enrich spatial materials. This elevated the intrinsic nature of these materials, transforming them into Void Materials.
"Can you condense Spatial Energy to a high enough level to create this Void Energy?" Wei Wuyin probed.
Liu Suyin's response was concise, "No."
This answered more questions in Wei Wuyin's heart than he expected, bringing him slight relief as he felt she was ignorant of his Void Energy.
The Void Dao involved four different aspects—Space, Time, Astrological Forces, and Void Energy, each extremely comprehensive and profound. For example, the Spatial Energies derived from the Spatial Resonance Phase were limited to Fixed Space, but there was Stable and Chaotic Space as a part of this aspect. Only when one reaches the Realm World Phase can they harness externalized stable-type spatial energies to create Secret Realms and World Realms.
The Nexus Battlefield involved Chaotic Space, including the Rainbow Bridge that he traveled in to get to the original Battlefield. To traverse exceedingly far distances involved bringing chaos to space, and Void Gates producing Void Portals were the manipulation of Chaotic Space and its energies, not Void Energy.
Still, they were all part of the Void Dao, so it was easy to intermingle the two. When the Void Dao was involved in the process, Void Portals became two-way existences, having both a stable spatial connection through fixed space while using chaos to enable it, combining these two normally segregated locations across a vast distance.
Wei Wuyin already knew this long ago, but this answer clarified a question he had about the Void Voyage Sect and Void Gates. Thinking about it, whoever created storage rings that were used to transport items from one physical location to another was a bonafide genius! They even allowed Qi Condensation Realm Cultivators to easily use it, even forge it for themselves, set up the formations to act as the storage space, and so much more!
An absolutely ingenious invention.
In the end, he heaved a sigh. Thirty-two days? That was extremely long for someone like him who barely lived sixty years, over ten of which was in a disembodied state, trapped within his own Mind's Eye.
"What about this Trial of the Three Voyages? Does it have something to do with this?" Wei Wuyin scoured his ring and brought out a book with only three thick pages. These pages were mostly blank. The front cover had a description:
"To those who are fearless. To those who wish to be free amongst the starry skies. To those who are willing to die for that freedom. Those without bravery, concede and depart. You are not chosen."
However, after entering the Grand Cyclic Stellar Regions and learning the minute differences in written language of the Mortal Dao, he learned that he read it mostly wrong. It truly read:
"To those who are unyielding. To those who wish to traverse amongst the endless vastness. To those who are willing to fall for that voyage. Those without fortune, abandon and depart. You are not destined."
When he was updated on this translation, he felt it was pointless, and after learning it was connected to the Void Voyage Sect, it all connected.
The three thick pages had titles and nothing else. He originally saw them as Will, Void, and Weapon, but they were Spirit, Endless, and Strength.
It was extremely easy to mistake those three in the textual language, having extreme similarities to each other. He wondered why the Myriad Yore Continent's language was so underdeveloped, but he expected it was due to the brief and unintentional integration of Mysticism into the Mortal Language. Perhaps an attempt to have later generations understand it easier to comprehend Mystic Rune Seeds?
If Wei Wuyin knew that he was spot-on with his deduction, he would certainly respect his ancestors a little more.
Long ago, when Earthly Saints began to emerge tens of thousands of years ago in the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region, the mortal language had been changed slightly. This had long since occurred in the Azure-Prime Galactic Region. An example, the 'Spirit' character had traces of the Spirit-type Mystic Rune and the 'Endless' character had traces of the Spatial-type Mystic Runes.
Liu Suyin didn't react to the book. "Every Celestial Jade Key comes with a spatial ring of three layers; the book is one of them."
"Yeah, I figured that out. But I can't read it." Wei Wuyin exasperatedly pouted. His Celestial Eyes couldn't comprehend the mysteries of this book to this very day.
Liu Suyin waved her hand, bringing the book into her grasp. She lightly held it, her apathetic eyes gave it a glimpse. "It seems you didn't lie; you killed the one who killed the original Destined." She seemingly glimpsed at the truth, only verifying it now.
Wei Wuyin now knew that his theory about the Unnamed Commander being a Sinner who slayed a Blessed was right. But the Blessed must've been worth little, or his luck was expended, and the Unnamed Commander had slayed him in his weakness, claiming the book for his own.
"The book has been soul-bound. Only the one who has their Soul's Aura on it can read the contents." She returned the book with a flick of her slender finger.
"Soul-bound? This…" Wei Wuyin retrieved the book, and his gaze was exceedingly strange. Liu Suyin didn't notice, continuing: "We'll give you a book of your own."
Suddenly, a white-colored elemental light flared in the room.
"Well, that was easier than I thought," Wei Wuyin remarked while holding a book with black characters filling the page. All three thick pages were now compacted with words and symbols, including various formation diagrams.
Liu Suyin couldn't see it, but her eyes slightly widened. "Soul Light?!" She was nonplussed by this discovery.
Wei Wuyin ignored her reactions, curiosity about the book's contents had been raging in his heart for three decades!
Liu Suyin calmed down, her eyes reflecting Wei Wuyin's visage. "Soul Light…"