Both Wei Wuyins, naked and clothed, looked at each other with surprise before zipping towards the southwest, their silver eyes pulsing with the full might of their respective Celestial Eyes. The third voice that resembled Wei Wuyin felt uncultured, ruffled, and rife with violence and aggression.
When they saw the naked Wei Wuyin, his body riddled with old saber scars, his face marred by a deep, vicious diagonal cut that went from his right forehead to his left chin, slicing even his lips, their hearts shook in unison. The silver-eyed Wei Wuyin turned to face them, his eyes as bright as stars, yet his expression was sunken with exhaustion and weakness. Despite that, the rowdy energy and violent temperament were clear for all of them to see.
The clothed Wei Wuyin slowly stood up; his suave temperament and dignified air of an Immortal served as a sharp contrast to this newcomer. As for the nude Wei Wuyin, his aura was very nascent, fresh, and young, which showed by the vast difference in their age.
The two stood side by side, staring at the scarred Wei Wuyin with curiosity in their gazes. Both had their cultivation in full, and they served to grant them the greatest degree of confidence, so neither showed the slightest iota of fear. But the frown on the clothed Wei Wuyin was still present.
He muttered, "Another Temporal Apparition?"
"..." The nude Wei Wuyin gave the clothed Wei Wuyin a sidelong glance, then returned to the scarred Wei Wuyin. What in the hell was this? It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he was shaking with surprise from his very soul. And it seemed that this older Wei Wuyin had a greater clue as to why this was happening, likely believing himself to be the cause.
"Ugh! Where the fuck am I?" The scarred Wei Wuyin asked with a soft snort. Eventually, he turned to find things familiar; nostalgia flowed through his silver eyes, granting his menacing face a wisp of gentleness and melancholy. "The Demon Mountains?"
He finally spotted the two Wei Wuyins. A glint of surprise in his eyes as they went back and forth. Then, shocking the nude Wei Wuyin, this one shrugged and sighed; he wasn't the slightest surprised at their existence. He walked over with something between his legs flopping in the wind without care. When he arrived beside them, he glanced at his hands and noticed the energy manifesting within his flesh.
"Takes a little too long," the scarred Wei Wuyin spat, clenching his fist as his muscles bulged. While he lacked the pure power of refined physical energies, his physique was phenomenal. It was a body meant for battle.
"Tell me about it," the nude Wei Wuyin remarked disgruntledly. He had to wait quite a while in mortal flesh, and it took some time before his cultivation returned.
The scarred Wei Wuyin glanced at the nude Wei Wuyin, his eyes rippling with surprise. "So you're both my Temporal Apparitions? Didn't expect two. Well, Paradoxical Power is quite something."
"..." The clothed Wei Wuyin's gaze went from nude Wei Wuyin to scarred Wei Wuyin, switching curiously between them.
"Whatever," the scarred Wei Wuyin went on one knee, his posture and expression identical to the clothed Wei Wuyin as he lovingly caressed the petals of the Deep-Violet Lunar Rose, "we can begin whenever either of you wants." By this point, his cultivation had already exceeded the Mortal Limits, reaching the Mystic Ascendant Realm.
"..." The clothed Wei Wuyin's eyebrows furrowed deeper, becoming nearly vertical. "How old are you?" He directed this question at the scarred Wei Wuyin, his tone calm and even.
"Hm?" The scarred Wei Wuyin's left eyebrow lifted questioningly, looking at the clothed Wei Wuyin. "One hundred and twenty-eight years this year."
"..." The clothed Wei Wuyin looked at the nude, no, young Wei Wuyin, and his brows lifted slightly. The silver sheen of his iris was tainted by uncertainty and confusion. This only grew as the scarred Wei Wuyin reached the Third Stage of the Mystic Ascendant Realm, the Demi-Mortal Lord Phase! He was just shy of reaching the Earthly Saint Phase, fully awakening his Mystic Intent and grasping a portion of the Mystic Dao's grand powers.
"What's a Temporal Apparition?" By this point, the young Wei Wuyin could not keep his ignorance hidden. He was completely unaware of the changes that his Astral Souls had evoked. But regardless, it was clear that something was amiss here.
"Hm?" The scarred Wei Wuyin slowly rose, exercising his shoulder and neck as if readying for a great bout, but he couldn't help but look at the young Wei Wuyin with confusion. "Your cultivation base hasn't risen yet. Is there an issue now that there's two instead of one?" After saying this, the scarred Wei Wuyin eyed the clothed Wei Wuyin with his stylish and competent air, finding it quite confusing that this Wei Wuyin was an Earthly Saint but the other wasn't.
"...I'm not an Ascended being," Wei Wuyin bluntly stated. He knew that this situation was geared toward combat, but he wasn't an Ascended being, and he didn't understand what was happening in the slightest.
"I see." The clothed Wei Wuyin remarked with a soft sigh. "This Wei Wuyin here is only sixty years old," he pointed out.
"What?!" The scarred Wei Wuyin gave the young Wei Wuyin an astonished look. "Sixty? What did those little bastards do to screw with my Earthly Ascension? God dammit, if I can't properly ascend because of them! I swear!" With gritted teeth, the scarred Wei Wuyin openly cursed his Spirits of Cultivation's hectic and unpredictable antics. He spat, "I'll wring their little spirit necks until they're thoroughly juiced!"
"I didn't think I'd see my younger self. Haha! In the River of freaking Time! HAHA!!" the clothed Wei Wuyin laughed, and he laughed incredibly hard as if he was nearing insanity. Then, the insanity faded into one infused with acceptance and joy; satisfaction was written all over his face. The scarred Wei Wuyin frowned; his expression became gloomy, and his Celestial Eyes surged with tremendous spiritual light.
The young Wei Wuyin was temporarily blinded. When he regained his sense of sight, the scarred Wei Wuyin was utterly silent and had a frightening expression that could kill. He said coldly, "But this is my Earthly Ascension."
"Doesn't matter—you've failed." The clothed Wei Wuyin halted his laughter and said, while stretching his arms out. He turned to the young Wei Wuyin, "a Temporal Apparition of an Avatar of the River of Time, it's a manifestation of another you, taking another path, a result of Paradoxical and Isolated Time."
"...This shouldn't be happening. How can he be younger?!" The scarred Wei Wuyin snarled, his silver eyes tainted by a bloody color, and rich bloodline power began to ripple outwards. However, the young Wei Wuyin didn't feel the slightest bit of pressure. It merely seemed impressive, yet couldn't do a thing.
The clothed Wei Wuyin ignored the scarred Wei Wuyin, holding a smile as he continued: "You don't face the River of Time, typically, until you try to resonate your True Soul with the Law of Time. But as you've likely figured out, our Spirits of Cultivations are haters of the ordinary and simple, and they often leapfrog us into problems that vastly exceed our abilities."
The scarred Wei Wuyin growled, discontent written on his face, and deep, unsettled frustration contained in his every breath. With clenched, trembling teeth, he balled his hands into fists and quivered with barely contained rage.
Wei Wuyin eyed the scarred Wei Wuyin that was undergoing a meltdown. He couldn't comprehend why. But he had a question and asked the clothed, suave version of himself: "Are we all Temporal Apparitions or just you? Or me? Or both of us?" This was something he didn't understand.
Was he here to face the scarred Wei Wuyin in his tribulation? Or was he here by accident? Why was he here?
"We're all Temporal Apparitions; we can't exist in the same Time and Space without suffering from Paradoxical Correction. The entire world, the three true Daos of the heavens—Mortal, Mystic, and Immortal— will retaliate by ridding itself of this abhorrent development to protect the 'Core Timeline'. So we're all existing as Avatars of Time imbued with our cultivation by the River of Time. Our Spirits aren't here, just us—our True Souls."
Core Timeline? River of Time? True Souls?
Kratos had once mentioned Paradoxical Correction after they briefly traversed through time. It was a terrifying force…
Wei Wuyin was baffled. He was just a mere mortal, yet he was exposed to these heavenly secrets. He felt that he shouldn't be able to even grasp what this clothed Wei Wuyin was saying; it was far beyond Mortal Limits. In fact, he now realized that his words weren't aligning with his lips. It created odd surrealism.
"You must be wondering how you can understand me. Well, you can say it's a unique power of the Magi." He pointed towards his silver eyes. Only then did Wei Wuyin realize that the silver irises of this clothed Wei Wuyin were flashing with an intricate network of miniaturized spiritual formations so tiny that they were microscopic, and there were millions of them.
Magi?
"Right, you're so young. My heavens, truly fascinating." The clothed Wei Wuyin remarked thoughtfully with an emotional chuckle and said: "I won't say more about this. You'll learn of it as long as he wishes you to."
"..." Wei Wuyin subconsciously nodded. For some reason, he felt that learning more would be dangerous after he escaped. What type of feeling was this? However, he couldn't quite figure out why he had a faint hint of distrust towards this clothed Wei Wuyin. There was just something…off.
Suddenly, a spark of realization ignited in his thoughts. "If we're in the River of Time, why are we in the Myriad Yore Continent? Why were you surprised that I was here?" His eyes narrowed.
The clothed Wei Wuyin wasn't taken aback or startled by Wei Wuyin's questions, only saying: "It seems I'm a little smarter than I was before, haha. Right now, you're in my timeline, and we're Isolated in this moment of my existence. So, you're in my reality, and I didn't nor could expect it. One day, perhaps you'll face your Temporal Apparition and be equally as surprised. Let's hope that doesn't happen, though."
"I don't understand," Wei Wuyin still couldn't quite understand everything he was talking about. It was like he lacked crucial information, and it was simply because he did. As a mere mortal, his comprehension of time and space wasn't at the Mystic-level. There were profundities there that allowed the active regression of time and various other powers that Wei Wuyin hadn't come in contact with.
While he was one with the Void Dao, Kratos' explanations were as clear as frosted glass. He was just now obtaining his Temporal Eye, yet to explore the benefits of being able to physically observe the existence of time flow and interactions. Not even his Celestial Eyes or Draconic Eyes could clearly perceive this.
"How can you be so fucking slow?!" The scarred Wei Wuyin spat out irritably. The tension within his bloody eyes was tangible, and his rage was hell-rising.
To be complimented by one and insulted by the other, Wei Wuyin couldn't help but bitterly smile at his 'Seniors'. He shrugged; it is what it is; his age and cultivation base were just too low.
Moreover, they were discussing topics that exceeded the Mystic Ascendant Realm, so how the hell could he even begin to grasp it?
"Ahhh! Fucking Heavenly Daos! Fuck you! You shitty fucking piece of shit!" The scarred Wei Wuyin howled at the sky, causing both Wei Wuyins to jump slightly. The clothed Wei Wuyin amusingly smiled, a wisp of pity in his eyes.
"Let's deal with us first, alright?" The clothed Wei Wuyin said to the scarred Wei Wuyin. The violence and rage of the scarred Wei Wuyin finally found a tangible target!
"Fine! But before we do us," he was teeming with rage but surprisingly calmed down for a moment. After a series of heavy breaths, he turned to the young Wei Wuyin, and his eyes grew extremely emotional. "I want to know, no, I have to know: is Su Mei alive?"
Wei Wuyin was taken aback. Su Mei?
The clothed Wei Wuyin turned his gaze to the young Wei Wuyin, and his eyes grew equally as emotional.
Wei Wuyin could feel the tension rising, the desperation and desire within the scarred version of himself's eyes. He answered solemnly, "Yes, she is."
The scarred Wei Wuyin's entire body seemingly relaxed, his arms fell weakly to his sides, and his head lifted upwards as he gazed at the sky. The clothed Wei Wuyin's eyes widened slightly, but he didn't speak.
After a long while, the scarred Wei Wuyin smiled, regaining a trace of his unearthly handsomeness despite his horrific scar. "No matter what, don't lose her. Okay?" While he was saying this, it felt like he was begging.
Wei Wuyin instantly replied with the utmost seriousness, "I never intended to."
"Let's begin," the clothed Wei Wuyin interrupted as he started to float into the sky.
"Alright!" The scarred Wei Wuyin roared with renewed vigor; his anger had dissipated by a substantial amount. He seemed strangely…content.
"..."