"..." Wu Yu was grimly silent as he listened. The gleam in his eyes grew increasingly solemn. Every now and then, Wu Yu would slowly nod, conveying his understanding of every syllable that Wei Wuyin said. After eight minutes, when Wei Wuyin finished speaking, Wu Yu's aura faintly roused with a barely concealed excitement.
"Go," Wei Wuyin said.
Wu Yu took a single step back and found himself subconsciously bowing out of respect and gratitude; then, explosively, he flew off as a starry comet with effective stellar-traversing speeds. His direction? The Grand Cyclic Stellar Region!
When he traveled roughly three hundred thousand miles out, Wu Yu's mind caught up with his subconsciously performed bow, and his eyes widened with shocked disbelief. Fearfully, he immediately halted mid-flight, formed a hand-seal, and readied himself for Cultivation Deviation!
As a cultivator of the Imperial Heaven Qi Method, he thoroughly understood the taboos of the Imperial Heaven Aura, and showing absolute subservience to a single person was forbidden. It was why he was capable of and willingly decided to stay behind when the King of Everlore left back then unlike the others. It was also why Long Chen often found himself in easily avoided conflicts, a high-level formless will defined their cultivation base, and it granted them their imposing strength and innate dominance.
While you needed a strong base and personality to fit, it bolstered those traits to another level. Since he started acting as Wei Wuyin's Alchemic Knight, he considered it a service of equivalent exchange. He had the utmost respect for Wei Wuyin yet never considered him his superior in his heart. The show that he put on for others as his loyal dog was merely that—a performance. He often questioned in private and acted in accordance with his own will, such as slaying the Bing Clan's disciple. This mutually beneficial exchange of services was borderline testing the Imperial Heaven Aura's limits, but it was acceptable. Even Monarchs needed medical sages for their health, teachers for their strength and knowledge, and an open mind for their advisors.
Despite saying this, the Imperial Heaven Qi Method was incredibly domineering with clearly defined limits, and there was a reason why there was only a single cultivator of the method each generation, creating a Grand Monarch that rules above all others.
"..." Wu Yu's panic was visceral, reflected by his rapidly pounding heart, dilated pupils, and fright-filled thoughts. But…
After two whole hours, not a single change occurred. He stood up, his expression distorted by confusion. Instinctively, he turned to look in the far distance, several hundred thousand miles away, discovering the lone figure with radiant silver eyes, observing him curiously in silence.
Wei Wuyin was intimately familiar with the Imperial Heaven Qi Method, even capable of replicating the Imperial Heaven Aura to a certain extent, so Wu Yu immediately knew that he was also curious about his fate and expected something to happen. Yet, despite both of their expectations, Wu Yu's cultivation had not deviated from the defiance of Imperial Heaven's profound will. This didn't make sense.
'It must be the Imperial Law Seed; Wu Yu would've never bowed otherwise with no outside witnesses present.' Wei Wuyin's eyes thoughtfully shone as he inspected Wu Yu's unchanged state.
Wu Yu, despite his confusion, no longer delayed and shot off while thinking about this event, pondering the implications.
"..." While this event might seem relatively small with how it concluded, Wei Wuyin's mind was rapidly moving as all sorts of thoughts circulated. Then, he couldn't hold back his grin. Once again, just like all those years ago, Wei Wuyin deeply gazed in the direction of the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region, reinvigorated about his goals.
-----
While the fighting had concluded nearly three hours ago, the seven women didn't move from their spot. They witnessed Wu Yu's arrival, heaving a breath of relief, and then Wu Yu's efforts to revive the three Ascended beings. Then, those Ascended beings received something and left shortly after while being seen off.
"What?" Mei Yang was unable to comprehend what was happening exactly. Those three Ascended beings tried to kill Wei Wuyin, yet after being slain by him in return, they were resurrected and left untouched? The rest was equally as perplexed. Not even Lin Xianxian was an exception.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that these events left their brains lagging, bewilderment painting their beautiful expressions.
It took them quite a while and a lot of discussions before they concluded that those Ascended beings might have submitted to Wei Wuyin after their defeat, and he turned around and decided to use them. Their conclusion wasn't far from the truth.
Da Shan, however, was adamant about her theory: "He used them for Life-and-Death training." Her golden eyes glittered brilliantly. This explained why Wu Yu wasn't present, why Bai Lin never took action, and why Wei Wuyin was solemn while facing them, knowing there was a possibility that he would die. This meant he was testing his limits!
"Life-and-Death training?" Xiang Ling was instantly stumped. How can training be a matter of life and death?
Da Shan pouted at Xiang Ling's ignorance. "It's training for Chosen—a hardcore, sadistic type of training. An instructor or Master will place their student or disciple in an environment with genuine threats that could claim the Chosen's life. It's typically used to stimulate a cultivator's potential and grind away any rough edges in a Chosen's demeanor, especially their unrestrained haughtiness and arrogance."
Xiang Ling paled. "Sounds cruel! What if they died?"
Da Shan snorted derisively, "Then, they died." She was also given this kind of test by the Titanic Hell-Crushing Queen, her master, and had overcome it. However, the opponents she faced and threats she met were not nearly at this level.
Two Venerables and a Highlord? This was insanity for a mere Timelord, essentially a death sentence. But Wei Wuyin, ahem, her man, had succeeded!
"Typically, this is used to unearth true Chosen from the prospective candidates. The Chosen King Competition and that status aren't meant for the fragile or weak-willed." Lin Xianxian added to Da Shan's explanation, her eyes never once leaving Wei Wuyin's figure, who stood there, observing the direction Wu Yu left in without moving.
Moreover, only Ascended beings practiced this training due to their vast powers, capable of Temporal Reversion. This even allowed cultivators to experience death a few times to reinforce their willpower.
Their discussion continued until Wei Wuyin returned with a bright smile on his face. When he landed, Da Shan wasted little time moving to hug Wei Wuyin, yet she was too slow!
Nyla Shur was like a swift feline; her legs were wrapped around Wei Wuyin's waist as she buried her head in his neck. She whsipered words in his ear. Also, Si De was next to him, speaking some sort of prayer. Da Shan saw this, and with a yank, she pulled Nyla Shur away, and Wei Wuyin opened his arms to embrace her.
Before long, they each expressed their happiness in different ways, either with smiles, hugs, a straightforward kiss, or an indecent rub. The last was Mei Yang, whose eyes were extremely suggestive.
Wei Wuyin didn't even have time to explain anything to them before Ai Yin quietly grabbed him by the hand, led him into the Original Dawn Palace with a blushing expression, and the rest readily followed. Lin Xianxian sighed; she had unsealed her cultivation base and needed time to cleanse herself of her Mystic Aura and reseal her cultivation again, so she could only do genuine housework as a maid.
The heated moans and trembling of the Original Dawn Palace caused her to do a relatively poor job. It was only after a full day that she received a spiritual transmission and joined, finding herself experiencing things she hadn't before, the same things that Liu Suyin had.
-----
Fifteen days later.
Wei Wuyin entered his Alchemic Chambers. Sitting on his rectangular desk, a dainty figure with limpid eyes, cyan-colored skin, and a third the size of an average woman dangled her feet at the table's edge. She resembled a mortal kingdom's princess with her seven-colored hanfu, one that was looked like a pixie fairy of myths and legends.
She was Bai Xiu, the Spiritform of the Pure Excellence Cauldron. Well, former Spiritform of the Pure Excellence Cauldron. The Pure Excellence Cauldron had been fused with the All-Elemental Eclipse Cauldron, transforming the pinnacle Astral-graded Cauldron into a true Mystic Cauldron.
Behind her was the fusion of the two cauldrons. It no longer had either of their designs, becoming a pristinely white-colored cauldron. Within the sea of white, at sporadic times, the formation of a Solar Star would form and then experience a Supernova of flamboyant color that would slowly subside and regain its pure whiteness, temporarily granting the cauldron an ethereal beauty. These Solar Stars were of seven colors, perfectly matching the Seven Aspects of the Alchemic Dao.
"Master!" Bai Xiu called out gleefully, her eyes smiling. Wei Wuyin found his seat, comfortably sitting, contentment in his expression.
Bai Xiu pouted. She didn't voice her thoughts, but Wei Wuyin knew what they were. From the beginning of their relationship as Master and Spirit, she questioned why Wei Wuyin was willing to be with so many women that were utterly unqualified to warm his bed. Wasn't it just a waste of his Yang Essence? And boy, did they greedily desire his Yang Essence.
Bai Xiu rolled her eyes after sensing Wei Wuyin's knowing gaze. She instead lightly jumped, excitedly saying: "Master, I've fully condensed all the Utmost Purity Mist and finished my transition!" During these nine years, Bai Xiu had been continuously putting in effort to merge the two cauldrons while compressing the Utmost Purity Mist of the All-Elemental Eclipse Cauldron. Even she hadn't expected it to take so long!
But considering the Utmost Purity Mist's excessive quantity and quality, it was fortunate that she completed it in only nine years, a sign of her great abilities. It was hard to genuinely describe the level of Utmost Purity Mist that Wei Wuyin had accumulated in his over two decades of continuously successful concoctions.
Her success was reflected in her size, jumping from a tenth of the size of an average woman to a third. This was a tremendous leap in her Existential Framework as a Spiritform.
"Great." Wei Wuyin only spoke one word, still immersed in the joyful memories of recent events.
"Master!" Bai Xiu called out, her body floating as she pulled at Wei Wuyin's hands. But she was unable to move his absurdly heavy body. It was refined by so much energy that it was dense enough to pierce through a planet if left unchecked, so she struggled yet was unable to shift him an inch.
"Master! Master! Concoct! You PROMISED!!" Bai Xiu was relentless in her fruitless attempts. Wei Wuyin had said he'd concoct as soon as she finished. It was why his session was cut short.
Wei Wuyin lightly sighed; he allowed himself to be pulled into a standing position and dragged to the newly transformed cauldron.
"The Neo-Dawn Ascension Cauldron is ready!" Bai Xiu cried out excitedly, causing Wei Wuyin to look over and see into its opening. There was a surging mass of Utmost Purity Mist condensed within, swirling about inside. This was ALL the Utmost Purity Mist he'd ever refined. The Domain was no longer external but was now the center stage of the concoction process.
This would typically be extremely difficult to concoct in if not for his Celestial Eyes, Alchemic Stars of Spiritual Transcendence, and Eden.
"See!" Bai Xiu exclaimed.
"..." Wei Wuyin was silent, intently observing all changes. He didn't see anything out of the ordinary. "Mystic Essence?" He guessed.
"YES!" Bai Xiu's excitement reached a new height. In her jubilation, she rubbed the surface of her new body lovingly. "It formed fragmented Mystic Seeds! Do you know what that means? Huh? Huh?!"
"..." Wei Wuyin knitted his brows, not fully understanding why she was so excited. Then, his eyes burst with unimaginable brilliance as her crazy thoughts finally dawned on him. "You don't mean…?" Flabbergasted, he couldn't help but ask with disbelief.
"Yes! Yes! YES!!"
Wei Wuyin couldn't help but find her thoughts ludicrous. "But isn't it impossible? I'm still a Mortal."
"You have an Alchemic Soul! Additionally, Master, you have the Alchemic Stars of Spiritual Transcendence and me! Your talent in concocting transcendent products already exceeds many Alchemic Saints I've seen in my lifetime! And I've lived a long time!"
"..."
Bai Xiu could no longer hold her wild rush of emotions in, knowing that her new Master's Alchemic Talent was superb and his potential had yet to be fully tapped into. "Let's try to make a Mystic-Earth grade product!"