Chapter 696 - 691: The Arrow That Shot The Stars
Wei Wuyin's heart was suffused with anticipation. When he scoured the memories of that young-looking cultivator, he discovered something quite interesting. A dark, sinister operation that stealthily sold certain cultivators to an illicit organization, both men and women. However, the young-looking cultivator specialized in male cultivators, which was why Wei Wuyin was approached and tagged by an invisible insect.
In fact, the young-looking male cultivator had even established female-centric groups of vixens to attract males and place them in vulnerable situations. They were tasked to find loose and rogue cultivators who won't be missed, leading them into traps to be shipped off and sold.
Normally, Wei Wuyin wouldn't care much about such organizations. As long as cultivators existed, a differentiation of the weak and the strong, the exploitation of others will be a forever constant. The Everlore Starfield could've been the same, if not for the Myriad Transformations All-Alchemist who established the Alchemist Association.
The Four Extreme Continent was more blatant. The elves captured treasure seekers and resold them back to their human counterparts for a profit, causing them to be turned into Alchemic Proxies or Energy Converters. The dark side of cultivation was always present. If not this, then the uprooting of entire clans or cities for resources or revenge.
Death was abundant. Exploitation was endless.
Wei Wuyin indulged in this life as well, especially if he had forcefully extracted Na Xinyi of her yin energies that day. During that time, he led a group of cultivators who tracked down and slaughtered the weak, old, and young on orders of the Scarlet Solaris Sect.
The women who were marked for death were given to the men as reward, brutal and violent. The men were forced into life-bound servitude, killed if they resisted. Cultivation is difficult and the world is cruel. Two absolute truths that will never be eliminated, be it for humans or beasts, gods or ghosts.
It just didn't matter.
Even the Heavenly Daos saw nothing wrong with this. Bai Lin had just slaughtered millions yet would've been rewarded in her next life for doing so by the Heavenly Daos. Wei Wuyin was born into this world, and he wasn't ignorant of its primal laws. As long as he lived his life with a clear conscience, whether it followed the Bloodline of Sin's dogma or the Heavenly Daos' three thousand commandments, he wouldn't mind living in such a cruel world.
That being said, through the memories of the young-looking male cultivator, he discovered the faint hints of Heart of the World, World of the Heart Intent. Immediately, he decided to see if, by some chance, the man was still alive. If not, it was just a minor detour.
Wei Wuyin just hadn't expected that this so-called minor detour would end up being so fruitful. Not only did he find Yue Songli, gained copious amounts of Karmic Luck Value, he also learned how Blessed refueled their Karmic Luck Value and discovered answers to many of his long-standing questions. He had even learned of Fuxi's existence, obtained an artificial Yang Source Quintessence of a Yang Renewal Physique, and obtained an idea for a new alchemical product.
This little trip was so beneficial that Wei Wuyin had heartfelt suspicions that these events could've been linked to his Karmic Luck Value's recent deduction. However, there were no influential hints relating to any of it. This was just a product of his own decision and planning.
He had to once again remind himself that the Heavenly Daos were not responsible for all the benefits in life.
Yao Houyi felt incredibly confused. World Heart Intent? He was baffled and uncertain. What the hell was that? Let alone this, he had so many other questions, but he held them in for fear of angering Wei Wuyin.
Wei Wuyin noticed the baffled expression on Yao Houyi's face. "Right, you're a low-level cultivator." Nostalgia infused his thoughts; he had only learned about the World Heart Intent, the three divisions of Intent, after reaching the Astral Core Realm and obtaining the blueprint knowledge from the tribulation.
"Do you know what Intent is?" Wei Wuyin asked.
Yao Houyi was still a little befuddled by recent events, but he didn't sense any form of hostility from this outrageously handsome young man, so he nodded. As a cultivator who overcame the Elemental Birth Phase, he had birthed the four basic Intents to ascend to the Yin Form Phase. A feat that took him twenty years to do.
Wei Wuyin nodded and explained, "Intent is divided into three stages: Intent Seed, Awakened Intent, and World Heart Intent." He proceeded to explain their differences, how they interacted with the world as a form of Will, including the differences between Ethereal Intent and Material Intent.
Yao Houyi felt his thoughts expand after learning this knowledge, feeling as if a few things had become incredibly clear in his cultivation path. He had never had a teacher nor any formal studies in cultivation, not enrolling in any of those academies. He lacked foundational knowledge.
After processing all this information for a few minutes, he expelled out a breath of turbid air. He stood up suddenly, bending his back to Wei Wuyin in a bow, and in the most earnest voice he said: "Thank you, Senior."
He knew that Wei Wuyin was likely an old-aged cultivator despite his young appearance, which is why he had such vast knowledge. He held deep-respect to him, carrying his genuine thanks.
But Wei Wuyin chuckled, "I'm younger than you, by a few years actually. So its not really appropriate to call me Senior." If it was a random individual, he wouldn't mind it, but this man had caught his interest.
Yaa Houyi's eyes widened, lifting to find the bright, playful smile on Wei Wuyin's face. He was in disbelief. Younger than him? "I…" He felt an urge to call Wei Wuyin on his bullsh*t, but he remembered that his standards were not 'the' standard.
"I apologize if I was disrespectful," Yao Houyi said.
Wei Wuyin's smile widened, "An agile mind. No wonder you could comprehend such profound Intent."
"I don't…" Yao Houyi was still unsure how to respond to Wei Wuyin. He didn't believe he had this World Heart Intent. Just as he was about to speak his mind, Wei Wuyin's hand moved, a single index finger outstretched and it tapped Yao Houyi's glabella.
When that happened, Yao Houyi felt his mind expand greatly. His Sea of Consciousness must've expanded by three times in a single moment, increasing the amount of mental energies he could contain within. He felt as if he was having an out-of-body experience.
To him, he was observing Wei Wuyin touching his forehead, and his eyes were erupting with scintillating light that engulfed the entire deck. He was awed by what he witnessed. Images of himself! From a young child to an adult, firing out arrows with his bow in hand.
At times he was smiling, other times he was frustrated, others he was fixing broken arrows, or cleaning his bow. As he fired out arrows and swung his bow in different angles, he was as lively and animated as real life. He could barely distinguish it from himself.
Suddenly, he was brought back to his body. He felt unsteady and nearly toppled to the floor, barely catching his balance. The spiritual images vanished, but he could still see silhouettes of himself in shadows and flickers of light. When he looked at his palms, he felt as if he held a bow and arrow in his hands.
If before he was confused, if before he was baffled, then now he was deeply questioning everything in life. When his gaze finally lifted, trying to find answers, he discovered Wei Wuyin's handsome visage carrying a dignified gaze unlike his smiling expression from earlier.
"What…did you do to me?" Yao Houyi felt different. Completely different.
Wei Wuyin calmly said, "I suspected that limited mental energy prevented you from processing the Will inside the Intent, so I just expanded your mind a little. But I never expected…" Halting his words, that dignified gaze fixed on Yao Houyi, staring into his eyes.
Wei Wuyin had discovered something frightening. Yao Houyi hadn't comprehended a single World Heart Intent, but two. A type of Bow Intent and Arrow Intent, and these two Intents merged together into one with perfect synchronicity.
In the world of cultivation, bows were not limited to just hand-pulled bows, but crossbows with elastic launching devices and their ammo wasn't just arrows, but rocks, metal bullets used for hunting animals, bolts and canisters of liquid such as oil or adhesives. He was well-aware of this, having deployed some of these means himself during his battles in the Scarlet Solaris Sect.
However, the bow and arrow as a whole wasn't very well-used, oftentimes considered archaic. When a cultivator reached a certain level, comprehending wind energies and capable of birthing it, projectiles of this nature became obsolete. After all, a ward of wind could easily alter the trajectory.
In fact, he had never seen a single archer in his entire life beyond the Elemental Birth Phase. While some tools were used in the defense of cities, many of these warbows were substituted with cannons that can fire out compressed forms of destructive energies as societies advanced to such means.
He hadn't expected that this man had comprehended two Intents to the World Heart Level, merged them into one, and it originates from such an obsolete weapon. While talented, outrageously so, impossibly so, unfathomably so, it was also quite tempting.
Wei Wuyin had been trying to get Zuhei to merge his Battle and Slaughter Intent, believing its form would rival his Elemental Origin Intent. Yet this man, a Yang Growth Phase cultivator, had accomplished it with two Intents and brought them to the World Heart Intent level?
If brought to a certain level of strength, what feats could he accomplish with just a single bow and single arrow?
Yao Houyi was fiercely shaken. Wei Wuyin expanded his mind with a touch? What type of cultivation level could accomplish such an incredible feat?! A deep-seated curiosity was nestled in his heart.
Wei Wuyin and Yao Houyi stared at each other for a very long moment, as if connected by some unseen force.
Wei Wuyin broke this silence first, "Are you hun-"
But before his words could be finished, Yao Houyu kneeled directly with a harsh thud, startling even Wei Wuyin. "Let me, Yao Houyi, follow you. If asked, I'll be your arrow that shoots the stars if need be!"
"…" Wei Wuyin was taken aback by the initiative. With a hearty laughter, he couldn't help but amusingly said: "My arrow? The one that shoots the stars, huh? You don't even know if I have good intentions, yet you're willing to kneel before me and pledge your allegiance? Isn't that a little careless and unreliable?"
Yao Houyi's heart tightened. But he remembered his parent's words, and the last regret he had told that conniving woman. If one day, he could shoot down the stars in the sky, he would be able to be satisfied with life.
"I don't want to live my life with any regrets, so no matter what," Yao Houyi lifted his gaze to discover Wei Wuyin's silver eyes, "I'm willing to follow you with all my heart."
"…" Wei Wuyin was silent for a long moment, those words striking a heavy cord in his heart. Then, a bright smile overtook his expression, and with a hearty laugh… "Then, the arrow who promises to shoot the stars, I can't let your heart be disappointed."