"...oh?" He Bojing curiously observed the raging flow of Mystic Aura from Yun Che.
The aura was considerably nascent in stability and strength. The level of refinement of Mystic Energy equated to the Soul of Mysticism level; this imposter had certainly made his breakthrough recently, likely within a few months. This type of unrefined Mystic Energy that was weaker than one's cultivation base was the same that Wu Yu had faced against the Ever-Knights.
While Yun Che had the profound abilities of a Demi-Mystic Lord, a fully refined Mystic Physique, the principles of the Demi-Mystic State etched into his body, and intrinsic foundation at the Demi-Mortal Lord Phase, he hadn't fully consolidated his newfound cultivation. The estimated average period of Demi-Mortal Lord consolidation without the support of Alchemical Products or hoards of Mystic Stones was roughly eighty to a hundred years.
A full century!
There was a reason why Demi-Mortal Lords and especially Earthly Saints valued their Mystic Power with obsessive stinginess that was borderline scourge-like behavior.
"Such a strange concealment," Wei Wuyin muttered to himself. While his Celestial Eyes were exceptionally powerful and unique, possessing top-class visual piercing abilities, the type of concealment that Yun Che used was odd. Extremely odd. It was hard to describe in words, but despite piercing the mask's veil, he wasn't capable of getting a 'clear' picture of Yun Che or his aura—it felt as if he was a different person. He felt an irresistible urge to learn more about it.
"I agree," He Bojing casually echoed Wei Wuyin's mutterings with an amused smile. He shook his hand lightly, watery mystic light flowed through his fingers beautifully. The lacerations on his hand and forearm were rapidly healing at visible speeds.
The He Clan's Earthly Saint watched as Yun Che and Wei Wuyin contested for the Heavenly World Core. The former unleashed dark reddish light to envelop the core, violently pulling it towards him with a scowl, while the latter could be mistaken for a bystander given how relaxed he looked. Moreover, Wei Wuyin's grey light was indescribably weak. In his eyes, it felt as if the core was going towards Wei Wuyin of its own free will, using its own power to fly, not Wei Wuyin actively pulling it.
Such an absurd sight baffled him.
That said, he scrunched his brows thoughtfully.
He lightly stepped on the Dark Void, kicking off with such power that space for tens of miles violently rippled and distorted. Within a blink of a mortal's eyes, he was beside Yun Che. He Bojing launched a simple palm at Yun Che's chest!
"Shit!" Yun Che's eyes constricted violently; the Heretical Berserk Godsword moved according to his will, positioning itself before his chest with exceptional quickness, and He Bojing's palm fell heavily upon the blade's flat surface. There was a soft explosion resembling a cannonball smashing against water, and the entire world quaked.
Yun Che gritted his teeth, but his body refused to move. Those dark eyes of his oozed spiritual light.
"..." He Bojing took a spirit-crushing spell point-blank. Besides a slight grimace on his aged expression, there was little change. With a soft breath, he pulled back his palm and launched it once again at lightning speed!
Yun Che's focus was diverted as his reddish Mystic Power was pulled back from the Heaven World Core! Using his hunk of metal that could barely be called a sword, he kept defending while nullifying He Bojing's strength with it.
°He's not using any Mystic Power!° Yun Che instantly realized that, like most cultivators, He Bojing was exceptionally stingy with his Mystic Power. He struck solely using his refined body's physical strength. However, even this much was terrifying!
Yun Che was pushed into a corner by He Bojing's casual strikes within two blows.
This caused him to instinctively remember the warnings he'd received from that old spirit: "Don't overestimate yourself by thinking jumping stages to fight can always be done. Remember, a single Earthly Saint had conquered the Dark Stars Era, bringing to heel all chaos to instilling unquestionable order. All bowed."
He cursed in his heart! At the time, he had dismissed those words because they described the Aeternal Sky Divine Emperor! The strongest expert in the world! However, only now, as he faced the third strike of He Bojing, did he realize that those words had greater meaning, especially: "All bowed."
All bowed!
Every organization; every powerhouse; every demonic talent; every cultivator! THEY ALL BOWED!
The Earthly Saint Phase might be known as the fourth stage of the Mystic Ascendant Realm, but the difference between it and the Demi-Mortal Lord Phase was as vast as a mortal facing an Ascended being!
If Wei Wuyin knew Yun Che's thoughts, he would find it quite amusing. After all, wasn't he a mortal? Fighting an Ascended being?
"...!" Wei Wuyin's hands moved and the core was beckoned. Without Yun Che's interference, the Heavenly World Core streaked across the Dark Void as fast as lightning. Wei Wuyin briefly contemplated sending it into the Void or Void Crystallizing it and storing it, but his eyes instantly shifted.
WOOSH!
He Bojing sent a third strike toward Yun Che. But abruptly, he vanished!
Wei Wuyin instantly drew upon the Draconic Transformation's latent strength! He executed the Martial Art of the True Dragon Transmutation Method: True Dragon's Armor! An overflow of domineering Draconic Force raged!
When Wei Wuyin executed this Martial Art against Kun Yiming and the others, it amplified his dragon scales' defensive strength eighteen-fold! Now, with his newly established physique, the limits of every type of his cultivated Astral Force were miraculously lifted!
Six hundred…
SIX HUNDREDFOLD!
He Bojing's figure was like a ghost of water, emerging from fixed space with a ghastly haze of a state, yet when he struck out with his palm, his figure solidified as it crashed heavily toward Wei Wuyin's chest. There was no doubt that this single palm could bring an end to entire planets.
Facing this palm, he now realized the terrifying power that Yun Che faced. It genuinely was incomparable to anything he'd faced from a cultivator before! The constant and eternal Demi-Mystic States of Earthly Saints were truly not to be underestimated!
Wei Wuyin didn't shriek back; his stance exquisitely and skillfully shifted as he threw a punch toward the palm carrying his full weight. His scaled hand was clenched violently, and reinforced by True Dragon Armor, his newly refined physique, and the result of maximized cultivation of energies, it slammed against the palm!
PAH!!
BOOSH!
An explosion sent chaos mana in all directions away from the two. The two figures, a grey-scaled masked young man and an aged aquamarine-robed old man, stayed in a single location without moving!
"YOU?!" He Bojing's eyes widened with shock, "Y-"
PAH!!!
Wei Wuyin's follow-up was swift to the apex, like the flow of light, it smacked against He Bojing's right cheek with frightening accuracy. The Earthly Saint's eyes that had widened nearly bulged out of his sockets as he was sent backward, saliva spewing out of his mouth.
"Yo-"
PAH! PAH! PAH!
Wei Wuyin had never been one for talking unless it suited his needs. Unfortunately for He Bojing, this World Prison and the Evil Blessed planetary assault had alerted several cultivators at the Earthly Saint level; he didn't have time to waste. He launched a barrage of maddening swift blows, striking twice at He Bojing's body and three times in his face!
Woosh!
BAM!
The Earthly Saint flew backward like a rocket, crashing against his World Prison, inducing countless ripples and a few cracks.
"FINALLY!" Kratos roared excitedly within his heart, fueling Wei Wuyin's strength further.
WOOSH!
Yun Che didn't expect that Wei Wuyin would be weak, so he wasn't shocked in the slightest. However, he was cunning, and he didn't hesitate to seize this slight delay. His body rushed toward the Heavenly World Core that had stalled after He Bojing's attack! He reached out and seemingly activated a strange rune in his palm.
The Heavenly World Core's shadowy mist glowed with a dazzling brilliance before rushing towards Yun Che with speed even faster than Wei Wuyin's Mana Dominance. In a blink, the core was in his palm, and he turned around and was about to cut his way free. He, too, knew the urgency of the situation.
"Mana Dominance!" Wei Wuyin instantly sensed the profound powers the rune was emulating. Moreover, this type of Mana Dominance exceeded his own. Why? Because it was at the level of the Mystic Dao! Wei Wuyin's Astral Souls were still that just that, only Astral Souls, so their Zenith Origin State was still at the Mortal Dao level. If he had to guess, this was a Mystic Rune left behind by a Heavenly Saint!
If Bing Tian knew that this was how the Heavenly World Core was remotely activated, she might be able to accept it.
Yun Che was already mid-flight, ready to cut a path out and escape.
"Where are you going? Stay. I have some questions." Those words were like a ghost, and Yun Che's eyes constricted instantly. He Bojing was directly to his left, his figure as ghastly as before, but his eyes were brimming with spiritual light!
"Shit!"
Yun Che's Mystic Ward flared as his eyes exuded a similar brightly lit radiance of spiritual light. He was fiercely resisting a spell! Instinctively, he positioned the Heretical Berserk Godsword before him. But his defensive maneuver left the Heavenly World Core undefeated, and He Bojing reached out and grabbed the core.
"...!"
BAM!
Wei Wuyin rocketed in, unleashing a fierce dropkick toward He Bojing's ribs. The Earthly Saint erected his Mystic Ward, but his eyes instantly shook as he realized that the Heavenly World Core couldn't be brought into his Spatial Ring or captured by his Mystic Aura.
The kick sent him a few miles away! Leaving the core behind! The saliva spewing out into the Dark Void aside, Wei Wuyin twisted his figure elegantly, reaching for the Heavenly World Core. This thing, the complete version, was drastically different from the piece he'd obtained before.
SWOSH!
A sword cut his way, aiming for his outstretched arm. Unhesitatingly, Wei Wuyin pulled his hand back. The Heretical Berserk Godsword sliced a few inches away from his face, and his mask trembled.
Yun Che wildly unleashed his Mystic Aura! This attempt to push Wei Wuyin away was violent and explosive! Wei Wuyin didn't retreat; with a kick aimed at Yun Che's stomach, Wei Wuyin cut through the Mystic Aura with tyrannical strength and crashed against the Heretical Berserk Godsword.
"An automated-defensive treasure? That's a sword? What?" Wei Wuyin had seen Yun Che defend against He Bojing, but experiencing it himself, he instantly realized why Yun Che's sword kept moving to block He Bojing's attacks. He had only heard of shield-type armaments with this feature, and it was limited by the cultivator's power.
Suddenly, they both looked up!
He Bojing was there, two palms out, and he was falling towards both of their heads!
BOOM!
Wei Wuyin kicked against Yun Che's sword and Yun Che pushed against Wei Wuyin's leg, they both were sent backward in opposing directions, dodging He Bojing's attack.
The He Clan's Earthly Saint seized the core in his palm as he sank to the edge of his World Prison without stopping his momentum. Only when he touched the walls of solidified space did he stop, his eyes shining with greed. He finally knew what this was!
"The Heaven Relic!"
In a way, it was slightly more valuable than Bing Tian in his eyes! Only slightly. Of course, his information of its existence was limited, otherwise, it wouldn't be only 'slightly' more.
Yun Che and Wei Wuyin both glanced at each other.
"I wasn't using any of my true strength because I needed to capture you alive, and I didn't want to damage this, but with this-"
WOOSH! WOOSH!
He Bojing's monologue resembling a storybook villain was cut short; the two Blessed were unimaginably fast, and they arrived at He Bojing's right and left at the same time! He Bojing's eyes shook slightly!
Wei Wuyin's right hand became flat, his nails' grew a full three inches, and his scaled hand resembled a blade. He sliced toward He Bojing's neck!
Yun Che's Heretical Berserk Godsword's power was pushed beyond its Soul of Mysticism limits! At the Demi-Mortal Lord Phase, he unleashed a newfound swing!
"!!!" He Bojing's arms moved!
BOOOOOM!!!