Chapter 677 - 672: Mark Of War
"That is so beautiful!" The femininely youthful voice that was upbeat yet smooth like silk exclaimed with abundant wonder and awe. Wei Wuyin felt the genuine astonishment within, forming a gentle smile as he noddingly agreed.
"It is. Quite beautiful." The two, man and beast, had just arrived at the outskirts of the Ninestar Starfield's border through a well-established Void Portal. They hadn't yet entered the sphere of entry, the edge of a starfield where light, essence, and matter from the Solar Stars comes to an abrupt end, leading to the void-blank space's unique environmental conditions.
Wei Wuyin originally sought to enter directly, but his actions had been halted by some unfathomable force, a pushback that restrained his Void Connections between two points of fixed space. This was the first time ever that he's experienced such a denying boundary, not even the Aeternal Sky Starfield had it.
Unable to manifest the Void Portal and connect to his desired destination, he could only arrive at the very edge of the starfield while riding Bai Lin as the next best alternative. At first, he thought this was due to his weak cultivation base and a powerful protective formation that prevented invasion-by-portals, and while it might contribute to the reason, it wasn't the main obstacle.
'I don't have an anchor to connect to, so I can't bypass the restrictive formation.' Was his conclusion as he admired the scene of the nine solar stars and the nearly a thousand planets of varied sizes circulating in a strange, gorgeous manner. Before, he had Wu Yu or Ying, but this location was barren of any of his spatial rings he had left behind.
However, he realized that this fault wasn't one, but a discovery. Despite the protective restrictions against abrupt invasions of foreign forces, if he could send an anchor into the territory beforehand, he could directly bypass such restrictions. The prospects of using it in a war or thieving-like manner left him with a wide-array of thoughts.
The two floated while observing the starfield. Wei Wuyin was quite emotional. He had never been to another thriving starfield before, only a single one. In fact, he's only ever been to two civilizations and cultivation societies—the Everlore Starfield and the Four Extreme Continent.
There was a novel feeling to exploring a new world, stepping foot into an entirely new environment with individuals with different forms of common sense, thoughts on certain topics, and beliefs. A sensation of raw anticipation fueled every one of his pounding heartbeats.
He wasn't the only one.
"I wonder if there's other beasts here? What about the food? I haven't eaten in so long!" Bai Lin was invigorated just as much as him. While her thoughts were on other topics, it still bore the same level of anticipation.
Wei Wuyin's anticipatory thoughts and speculations were interrupted by an intrusive glance at his right arm, causing him to lift its sleeves and inspect the Bloodline of Sin tattoo that was etched into his skin.
Karmic Luck Value: 14,220.5.
First Calamity: Survived - 7/7.
Second Calamity: Claimed - 1/1.
Third Calamity: Suppressed - 43 Years.
Before his last deduction, his Karmic Luck Value was 15,138.1. With this recent deduction, the total Karmic Luck used was 917.6. This was borderline close to a full-blown karmic surge, but just barely lacking. When he received this, he was thoroughly shaken.
Since his rise in the Myriad Monarch Sect, he'd received very little deductions, and what was deducted was insignificant in comparison to his current karmic luck usages. He knew this was because the Heavenly Daos was limited in how it could support him in a starfield that could be considered declining, and backwater, especially since he had no needs that couldn't be filled by his backing. While it couldn't read into him, his circumstances were certainly things he was aware of.
Such as wealth and reach.
In a way, he had orchestrated situations and an established favorable environment where the Heavenly Daos couldn't do anything. Considering his thorough bribery, proper networking, ample wealth, sufficient backing, and limited risks, there truly was very little that could be done. Even the mere utterance of his name, at one point, stopped an execution and the entire Knights of Enforcement Department was in an hectic uproar, shivering with fear.
Now that he's expressed a desire to enter a new civilization, an entirely new stage, the Heavenly Daos seemed ready to present any and every opportunity it could, as if fearful of being accused of neglect. It even took into account his Void Portal movements, bringing him to a piece of Terra-Mystic Ore. If it wasn't for his Bloodline of Sin's warning, he would've thought it was just a beginner's failure at using a Void Portal to cross stellar regions.
To him, this was an indication of his perceived weakness to the Heavenly Daos. It was clearly attempting to ramp him up for things that might involve him. A preparation of sorts. For what?
He wasn't certain.
Wei Wuyin inhaled, exhaling shortly after. Lifting his gray-scaled hands, he glanced at his palm to find a unique symbol, a strange series of multicolored runes that formed the character: "War."
The runes were lively, swimming like fishes searching for food, and the character gave off a faint Battle Aura that stimulated the physical, mental, and spiritual senses. Within his vertical eyes, saberlight seethed vigorously.
-----
Six days prior to Wu Yu's return, roughly ten days from the present, he was cultivating, studying principles of alchemy and writing down his thoughts on certain alchemical methods. He had a habit of jotting down his mental musings. While in the Scarlet Solaris Sect, it remained as such, and even reaching his current levels and attainments, he still maintained this trait of his.
While delving into the possibilities of new interactions of materials, including the imperfections or gaps of established principles and methods left behind by ancient Alchemic Emperors, he received the familiar sting in his head. At that very moment, he felt an explosive ripple in fixed space that stimulated his innate spatial energies. Even Bai Lin was alarmed.
They noticed and discovered an object was coursing through the Dark Void as a comet surrounded by icy light at remarkable speeds. Wei Wuyin felt the Heavenly Daos influence telling him to investigate, to lower his caution towards the unknown. Curious, he acted and approached the comet.
Before he could even react, it started to glow with a radiance brighter than even a Solar Star, and then twisted in an odd manner, zooming towards him at breakneck speeds. He could only instinctively push out his hands to block, trying to surge his astral force in defense.
It did little as the comet blew through his defensive wards and smashed into him. He went unconscious. Bai Lin hurriedly engulfed him in her life-infusing Nirvanic Flames to protect him, but he was already sent into a dream.
The dream was of a crimson tinted world. There were the endless sounds of metal clashing with metal, flesh meeting metal, flesh meeting ground, and screams of pain, insanity, rage, excitement, and death. It was endless.
As he looked down, he found a battlefield with faceless humanoid soldiers in translucent armor. There were no distinctions between enemy and ally, and he was unable to tell race, gender, or cultivation base. There was only a violently bloody battlefield where kill or be killed ruled the land.
He was sent coursing through this battlefield, surfing through the events and saw the hectic chaos of war. There was a soldier that struck with unfathomable ferocity, killing enemies to his left and right, but a random arrow that wasn't even targeting them had inadvertently pierced their helmet, exiting their skull and halting the glorious momentum of battle with a gurgle of death and rage.
There was a battle between two individuals that were incredibly intense, their skills equal. They clashed and killed those around them while trying to kill each other. In the end, a fallen soldier that had been wounded, not killed, maliciously sliced at the ankle of one of the soldiers, leading to a jerky, unexpected strike that left his enemy unable to react to such a strange action. A head flew and the injured soldier had won the long-fought battle in such a manner.
Astonished and stunned, the wounded soldier forgot himself for but a moment and a blade entered the thick of his neck, gushing out blood like a broken fountain. His life soon ended with a violent twist.
Wei Wuyin looked at these events with an unerring calm. He looked upwards and saw that the world wasn't naturally crimson, but that there were blood clouds formed above from the lengthy battle and blood-drenched battlefield. None of this shook his heart or surprised him the slightest, however.
Soon, his perception was brought to a thirteen meter high monolith of black with silver characters etched in it. It was at the very center of the battlefield, untainted by even the slightest splash of blood.
After seeing this monolith, the world experienced a drastic earthquake that shook his mind and awoke him from his unconscious state. Engulfed by Bai Lin's nirvanic flames, he calmly steadied his breathing and collected his thoughts. He felt an itchy sensation in his right hand and lifted it, finding the character for 'war' on it.
-----
At the edge of the Ninestar Starfield, Wei Wuyin's eyes remained utterly calm. When he received the character, he was also given a mental stellar map that revealed his current location and his target. This was the reason why he could accurately arrive at the Ninestar Starfield despite not knowing its location prior. Whatever this character was leading him to, whatever the Heavenly Daos wanted to present him as an opportunity, was here.
"Will we battle here?" Bai Lin asked excitedly. Her golden eyes reflected the beautiful scene of the nine solar stars, thriving with a battle will. She felt as if she was brought back to the old times with Wei Wuyin. They fought and killed with only three things: saber, man, and crane. Unstoppable.
"Likely," Wei Wuyin smilingly answered.
"Can we kill here?" A seething killing intent surged into Bai Lin's eyes. She knew that Wei Wuyin was cautious, not killing unless necessary, especially as of recent. He had let Long Chen live before, didn't outright slaughter the Jade Lotus Sect, or violently plunder that hidden clan. While these events happened in the Myriad Yore Continent, she knew that Wei Wuyin had lessened his usage of outright violence in favor of strategic advantages.
She knew his goals were more lofty, driven by a greater desire. She wasn't a dimwitted beast that lacked awareness. She knew that his thoughts, concerns, and priorities had changed. At one point, he had put down his saber entirely in favor of enjoying life, losing his will to struggle and fight. While this later changed, it had only evolved him, not returned him to his previous self.
"If we fight, we can kill." Wei Wuyin coldly stated, his eyes flowing with saber light, and his heart throbbing with faint draconic roars. That dream was unlikely to result in a calm, peaceful opportunity. If he wanted to grasp it fully, he needed to be prepared for everything.
"Let's go."