Chapter 854: Paramount Jade Realm
'A maid?' Zhang Ziyi looked back at the shrinking Origin as the three Earthly Saints, Bai Lin, and the rest entered the Dark Void. While she was invigorated by greed earlier, her heart was a mess by Lin Xianxian's outrageous declaration to become the maid of Wei Wuyin. If word spread that the True Element Sect's Sect Master had willingly become the maid of another, their reputation may as well be in the toilet.
However, that was if the individual was normal. Wei Wuyin was an untethered figure with two Earthly Saints and an ancient, near-extinct beast, and a talent for alchemy. One of these Earthly Saints had the strength to take down the True Element Sect!
She was worried.
Back on the planet itself, in that scenic courtyard, Lin Xianxei had returned safely, and Lin Ming stared at the direction which Wei Wuyin and the rest departed in. Those grey-colored eyes of his were suffused with solemn emotions.
"Why did you do that?" Lin Xianxei held her mother's hand, inspecting the faint outline of the Mystic Rune embedded on her wrist by Wu Yu. She couldn't make out anything about this particular rune, but she knew it likely served as a tracker. She was deeply concerned.
"Why?" Lin Xianxian looked off into the same direction as Lin Ming, but her eyes contained a wisp of complex emotion that was hard to distinguish. She turned to her daughter, "Do you see that?" Using her slender fingers, she pointed towards the direction that Wei Wuyin left in.
"What?" Lin Xianxei was confused.
Lin Xianxian wryly smiled. "Where's Grand Elder Gong?"
"..." Lin Xianxei and Lin Ming's expressions changed a little. The latter looked towards the mother-daughter duo, curiosity burning through his gaze. The former had also wanted to ask this question, but there wasn't an appropriate time to speak to the two Earthly Saints. Her status wasn't high enough, and the flow of the conversation wasn't hers to dictate.
"Our sect had activated both arrays, the Main Planetary Array and the Domain Array. The reason? Because Wei Wuyin arrived alongside that Earthly Saint named Wu Yu. I know you felt the reverberations of battle. Yet after a short while, not only were the arrays mostly deactivated, but two out of the three Earthly Saints were escorting Wei Wuyin around like obedient dogs." Lin Xianxian didn't hold back in her last sentence, straight out explaining her thoughts.
Lin Xianxei knew she was right!
They hadn't taken a single action after she was kidnapped!
"They lost, and horribly at that. Grand Elder Gong is likely sealed or worse. I'd be a fool not to see it; all those unsubstantiated rumors about Wei Wuyin weren't rumors. They may have even been understated." Lin Xianxian moved her finger to Lin Ming, causing the latter to be taken aback.
"They're less than a decade apart in age, yet from what you told me, they came from the same little continent of the Everlore Starfield. But the difference isn't just small. He's a mortal that has the respect and obedience of our Earthly Saints, our strongest experts, and likely killed one, having at least two others at his beck and call alongside that Fire Phoenix. While the other is struggling to gain the recognition of myself and those beneath me. I hadn't even taken into account his status as a Grand Mortal Sovereign Alchemist at that age.
"I'd be utterly stupid if I said this was 'just' impressive. I've never seen a mortal wield such tremendous authority, causing all us Ascended beings to lower our heads. I saw my opportunity, so I took it." Lin Xianxian words rippled with emotion, revealing her honest thoughts.
"My little golden rose, if I stay by his side, then maybe there's a chance to avoid you being sent back to the Traceless Regret Valley." Lin Xianxian moved her hand to caress Lin Xianxei's face, her eyes softening by a considerable degree. She didn't just impulsively decide this course of action. While it had been a short window to grasp, she thoroughly considered the outcome.
Zhang Ziyi was unlikely to let this go. She hated the Lin Clan and wished to see them suffer, so she was bound to use their lies to manipulate the sect elders as an excuse to convince the others to put her daughter back in that damnable place. How could she not see the damage that place had done on her daughter's psyche? At least with this, Zhang Ziyi won't try to do anything to Lin Xianxei again. She had even tried to assassinate her once before. It was why she was injured and met Lin Ming.
"..." Lin Xianxei understood that her mother was making this sacrifice for her. She grabbed her mother's palm with both hands, her eyes growing wet.
"..." Lin Ming, on the other hand, had a sunken expression. Lin Xianxian had just insulted him, implying that he was little, if not downright nothing, when compared to Wei Wuyin. But what caused his chest to hurt, his fists to clench tightly, was that it wasn't false! Wei Wuyin had Wu Yu, and he was strutting around the sect as if he owned the place.
When he came here, he tiptoed across everywhere and was forced to earn the Earthly Saints and elders approval. He fought tooth and nail to earn what he had. Why was the difference so massive? When did this happen? When did he fall so behind? A strong feeling of reluctance emerged in his heart.
Lin Xianxei caught a glimpse at the trembling Lin Ming. He was disparaged by the difference, and it wasn't just a small one. "We need to go," Lin Xianxei's eyes grew firm, rippling with a steeled resolve.
"Go? Go where?" Lin Xianxian asked.
"To the Paramount Jade Realm!" Lin Xianxei strongly announced. Lin Ming snapped out of his thoughts. He recalled Lin Xianxei's words about the legacy that could lead him to becoming the strongest expert of the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region. The light in his eyes carrying his courageous will to push forward was reignited.
-----
An hour later.
The Paramount Jade Realm was the first secret realm of the Jade Element Sect. It had become a cornerstone of its legacy. The world itself was dimly lit, its once rich jade-colored light was tainted with a sense of deprivation. The Paramount Jade, Ultimate Elementus Array had severely depleted its stored energies, leaving it in a very weakened state.
It wasn't a very large secret realm, spanning roughly ten thousand miles long in every direction. But it had hundreds of palaces that served as gravestones and legacy formations of fallen or past experts for the future generation.
A lone figure walked the paved roads of the Paramount Jade Sect that led to each palace. There were small palaces, large palaces, opulently designed palaces, simplistic palaces, some that levitated off the ground, others that were entrenched half-way, and even some encapsulated by a half-dome. At the entrance of each palace was a signboard with a statue. The statues were extremely well-crafted, shaped in the exact image of the legacy's origins.
These palaces might contain certain trials or certain tests that led to unique cultivation methods, spells, arts, cultivation experiences, armaments, or cultivation environments that defined them. The signboards above the palaces were all beautifully written, detailing the achievements, cultivation base, and status of the figure that left the palace behind.
At the moment, with the low emissions of light, the secret realm felt more like an extremely complicated cemetery rather than a haven of legacies and growth.
The lone figure looked here and there curiously, inspecting the signboards. At times, they would enter a palace. After a few minutes, they would come out.
"These seniors had very rich experiences. Most of them were at the Mystic Star Phase. Makes sense…" The lone figure remarked as they walked further along the roads, seemingly without purpose or direction. This was none other than Wei Wuyin!
As he experienced the trials and tests these cultivators left behind, Wei Wuyin was deeply intrigued. They tested control of energies, sturdiness of the body, spiritual strength, Elemental Intent, or a variety of other factors that contributed to a cultivator's strength. When he completed one, there would always be a jade or obelisk with inscriptions detailing these experts' lifetime of cultivation, their stories and challenges, all transmitted through various mediums.
He obtained an art that allowed his Grand Earth Intent to extract energies from planets throughout the Dark Void, using them to conjure a planet that can be hurled at an enemy. The greater the various sources of earthen energies, the stronger the art's power, the larger the planet became.
A Mystic Star Phase cultivator had devised this art based on their lifetime of using Earth Intent. The thought of hurtling entire planets at his enemies reminded him of when he thought of chucking Solar Stars as a viable strategy. A cultivator after his own heart. It might sound outlandish, but if done right, one could generate a terrifying gravitational force that made escaping it's orbit even through spatial arts almost impossible.
They would be forced to take it, drawn to its mass.
It could also be used as a cage. The usage was limited to one's creativity. This was but one of many different methods, arts, and spells.
There was a Lightning Cultivation Method that used Lightning Intent to refine one's latent bloodline energies into lightning energies, turning them into an embodiment of living lightning. Due to humans often lacking a definitive bloodline or means to cultivate it, this was another avenue of extreme power.
An Ice Cultivation Method that can be used to effectively slow down physical aging, while simultaneously allowing imaginative, conscious-based cultivation. While this did little to limit soulspan, most cultivators perished due to their lifespan's end rather than their soulspan reaching its limits. It was useful to conserve lifeforce if their age was nearing the limits to ascend. With the absolute need of eight hundred years, this cultivator devised this method ingeniously. Although they still only peaked at Mystic Star Phase, that didn't discount their achievements.
The variety was endless!
"I have an urge to cultivate," Wei Wuyin exclaimed emotionally. He had gone without teachers for so long, yet these palaces contained lifetimes of experiences and learned mistakes that these experts left behind. This was the benefit of a long-lasting sect.
He had used the King of Everlore's legacy before to establish himself a foundation, but besides alchemy, his other forms of power were without any stable guidance. There weren't enough individuals with experiences of Elemental Intents or their usages. The power base of the Myriad Monarch Sect was too diverse, embarrassing as that might be to say. There wasn't a single specialization, so their advancements were lacking without a doubt.
Soon, Wei Wuyin arrived at the eastern spatial wall of the Paramount Jade Realm. It was the end of the secret realm. He touched it lightly, feeling it ooze out spatial energies.
"A secret realm hidden within a secret realm. Fascinating," Wei Wuyin's entire body glowed with grey light. With his Draconic Void Force enveloping him, he began to phase into the wall.
At the same time, two figures arrived in the Paramount Jade Realm as if they appeared out of thin air.
"We're actually here!" One of them exclaimed in awe.