Chapter 1715: The Vast, The Pure, and the Utmost (1)
Chapter 1715: The Vast, The Pure, and the Utmost (1)
The first Alchemic Knight of the Neo-Dawn Alchemical Lineage was Wu Yu, the Grand Knight who continuously championed his causes and once reigned over the Everlore Starfield as its undisputed ruler.
The second Alchemic Knight of the Neo-Dawn Alchemical Lineage was Han Yuhei, the cousin of Divine King Han Xei, and Guardian of the Elements of the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region's True Element Sect.
The third Alchemic Knight of the Neo-Dawn Alchemical Lineage was Tian Muyang, an ancestor of the Tian Clan's lineage and the senior of the once invincible existence known as Tian Taizong.
They had all displayed loyalty to an extreme, each worthy of obtaining Wei Wuyin's admiration. Whether it was Wu Yu's decision to support him in his early years, assisting him in comprehending the true depth of cultivation and serving as a guiding light with the Myriad Monarch Canon, and his direct attitude of handling issues competently and completely, Han Yuhei's act of selfless defense against his cousin's actions to protect Wei Wuyin's interests without being asked, or Tian Muyang's shadowy support defying Tian Taizong at every step within the limits of his ability, they were all worthy enough in Wei Wuyin's recognition.
His fourth Alchemic Knight, Pakhet, was the first time that he had determined to accept someone based solely on their talent, heart, and soul that tied their personality together. With her brave heroic spirit to lay down everything for her galaxy after realizing her mess up, her intelligence to discover Wei Wuyin's involvement with the greatest heist in their galaxy's history, and her disgustingly high talent and fortune, Wei Wuyin respected all of it.
However, unlike Wu Yu, Han Yuhei, or Tian Muyang, Pakhet had no thought of becoming Wei Wuyin's Alchemic Knight. In truth, her lack of consideration for this possibility wasn't out of the ordinary given that Alchemic Knights served as loyal servants and great warriors, championing an Alchemist's cause with unyielding fortitude. This was an almost exclusive role to those nurtured from the very beginning of their cultivation journey, like Lu Xuanyu.
As for becoming a Dao Protector like Overlord Tigerheart, they were often of the older generation than the Alchemist and were recruited for the sake of protecting an alchemist, notably stronger than their Alchemists. White Sky was only a Heavenly Saint while Overlord Tigerheart was an Ascended Saint. While it was only a single stage of cultivation difference, the chasm between their fundamental strengths was enormous.
Pakhet was weaker than Wei Wuyin. This was thoroughly exposed after her thrashing back in the Battlefield of the Fallen Divine. How could she become a Dao Protector if her Alchemist could defeat her? How could she become an Alchemic Knight if her foundation had largely been determined and her path had already reached such lofty and advanced levels that were nigh-unchangeable?
She listened intently as Wei Wuyin introduced his other three Alchemic Knights and her heart rippled with incessant waves pounding inside her chest. The other three Sages, all of whom were utterly confused by Wei Wuyin's statement of declaring Pakhet as his fourth Alchemic Knight, found his choices to be inexplicable and confusing. While they didn't know the history behind each choice, they could tell that each was advanced in age and cultivation. The best time to select an Alchemic Knight was during their mortal years. This was baffling to them.
Wu Yu made sense to them after Wei Wuyin's emphasis on 'younger years,' while not every Dao Protector was an Alchemic Knight, every Alchemic Knight would eventually serve as Dao Protector if they thrived, and thus Wu Yu was, but Han Yuhei and Tian Muyang were oddities that didn't fit the norm. If Wei Wuyin wanted to award them for their merits and acts of loyalty, it would be better to act simply, directly bestowing them with alchemical products as compensation before sending them on their way. At most, appointing them as high-level members of his organization was a better option.
This was expected.
This was the typical way.
Wei Wuyin didn't care about their thoughts on the matter. His understanding of an Alchemic Knight wasn't based on the Utmost Purity Galaxy's widely known definition but by his own, and in his mind: the Alchemic Dao was limitless. This single phrase determined his mindset and approach, and while simple and readily said by many alchemists in veneration, Wei Wuyin's Heart of Cultivation carried this phrase in its purest form.
If not, how could he make continuous leaps in his Alchemic Dao, producing concoction methods that repeatedly defied conventional thinking and established standards?
White Sky sighed emotionally. She didn't know that Wei Wuyin was an alchemist but knew that he was interested in the Alchemic Dao. She genuinely didn't believe that Wei Wuyin was just a highly talented Alchemist as an auxiliary form of cultivation path given his ridiculous strength that defied common sense, and only believed he was an extremely aged expert that has had a good Alchemic Lineage thus far alongside great fortune in his concoctions. The ability to kill Enlightened Sage Springfield was no minor feat given his earth-shattering might and protective means.
It was hard to overstate the level of Enlightened Sage Springfield's strength, and most of what she knew was largely speculative to begin with, but he was heralded as one of the strongest experts beneath the Resonant Soul Realm. In the eyes of some Oracles, Heavenly Seers, and elite cultivators, he was an apex-tier expert of a cultivation stage.
There were very, very, very few who knew that Enlightened Sage Springfield, this Sage wreathed in dreadful sin, was a genuine expert at the apex of the Mystic Dao's Mystic Ascendant Realm, possessing enough might and talent to be classified as peak by the Mystic Dao itself, enough to wager against another Dao!
She was also underestimating Wei Wuyin's feat despite giving it her highest imaginable praise and respect, solely due to her own limits of imagination!
In the end, she looked at her home, the Utmost Purity Mist, and said:
"Congratulations on obtaining a fine Alchemic Knight, World-Saint Neo-Dawn."
Her words flowed with earnest feelings. To alchemists, obtaining an Alchemic Knight was of paramount importance. Given Wei Wuyin's strength, by the standards of the Utmost Purity Mist, while the three Sages were unable to understand, she fully understood that a plain old Sage was sufficient to be considered an Alchemic Knight to him.
Wei Wuyin acknowledged her with a nod, politely accepting her words with a smile. White Sky was baffled for a moment. She had forgotten how handsome Wei Wuyin was, nearly losing herself in fantastical thoughts from a simple smile. Overlord Tigerheart could only watch silently as she broke out of her stupor with a shake of her head.
"How much does World-Saint Neo-Dawn know of the Utmost Purity Galaxy?"
White Sky asked as she indirectly offered herself as a guide.
Wei Wuyin's smile deepened. He hadn't just brought her out to verify a few things, but he always intended to use her as an entry point into the Utmost Purity Galaxy. Therefore, her acting as a guide perfectly matched his intentions, and while he had Enlightened Sage Springfield's memories, perhaps knowing slightly more than White Sky when it involved more undercurrents in the Utmost Purity Mist, White Sky's status enabled her to have a network of rich information.
He didn't refuse her,
"I only know a little."
White Sky bounced slightly with a tinge of excitement. She hurriedly walked beside Wei Wuyin, gazing at the slowly approaching Utmost Purity Galaxy's Utmost Purity Mist boundary layer, and began to display her talents as a guide. The Sages and Ming Shufeng opened their ears as they fell completely silent, listening intently to her every syllable as if fearing they might miss something.
While they dealt with the Utmost Purity Galaxy on many occasions, only Sage River Oasis had ever entered and explored its depths, serving as their ambassador. While she and the others were often repeatedly scammed with overly expensive products, they didn't dare to make the trip for fear of losing any of their numbers, producing an incomplete Cultivation Art and sealing their potential to traverse further down the difficult and treacherous road of cultivation.
"You should first know that the Utmost Purity Galaxy is divided into seven Galactic Zones. Each Galactic Zone is named after one of the seven aspects of the Alchemic Dao—Extraction, Growth, Containment, Refinement, Creation, Transformation, and Fusion. They are the Extracting Divinity, Growing Immortality, Containing Creation, Refining Skies, Transforming Worlds, and Fusing Souls."
"Ah!"
White Sky's words caused Ming Shufeng to exclaim both verbally and in her heart, as she found her heart beating furiously, and her Mystic Soul cried out yearningly. She felt an unprecedented sensation of desire and hope, exceeding anything that she had ever felt. Her eyes glazed over and her focus was pulled to the Utmost Purity Galaxy.
Wei Wuyin snapped his finger lightly. While it was soft, it was like thunder to Ming Shufeng's mind. When she awoke from her stupor, she found her back, palms, and forehead drenched in sweat while her bladder was on the verge of unleashing a filthy flood. If not for Wei Wuyin's timely interference, she would have humiliated herself.
White Sky looked over at Ming Shufeng and was taken aback, then her expression reflected her understanding as she was slightly apologetic to Wei Wuyin.
"I was careless, apologies."
However, her eyes still shone brilliantly after seeing Wei Wuyin's dispelling spell.
"Wha-what just happened?!"
Ming Shufeng's hoarse voice echoed throughout the ship as she demanded an answer.
Nepri looked her way and bitterly smiled,
"Names have power; true names grasp divine destiny; the heavens stand tall to observe. It's a strange phrase that only alludes to the truth that, without a Heavenly Saint cultivation base, the names of certain beings, existences, or locations can wreak havoc on your soul, mind, and body unguarded by heaven's power. It could cripple or kill."
Ming Shufeng was not an ignorant cultivator unaware that names have power; she knew of the Ascended Saints, but White Sky had only mentioned names of Galactic Zones. How could Galactic Zones have such terrifying strength enough to mesmerize so deeply?
Whether it was Pakhet, Imentet, Nepri, Nepit, or any of the Sages, they all used their Daoist, Buddhist, publicly given, or Divine names, etc., depending on your cultivation society. Similarly, their current names were something akin to the Exalted Sovereign, Infernal Sovereign, Cosmic Sovereign, and Demonic Sovereign. They could be freely said by individuals of all cultivations.
San Yongli had once been saved and warned by the woman in the jade to never try to speak the Exalted Sovereign's name—Stormheaven. Despite speaking only half a name, she had almost lost everything. Fortunately, Ming Shufeng had only heard the names, not spoken them directly.
White Sky continued off Nepri's explanation,
"Names and titles can be bestowed power. For cultivators, it's natural. For locations, they are often given by another party or an object on par with a Supreme Heavenly Treasure or greater. Never repeat those names. You must call each galactic zone differently. For the common cultivator that is aware of multiple zones, they refer to their respective Galactic Zones as the Extraction Galactic Zone or the Extraction Zone for short."
"..."
Ming Shufeng absorbed that warning completely. She was deeply horrified by this discovery that mere locations could contain extraordinary power that could cripple or kill!
"Don't be careless either. Some particularly sinister existences bestow their names with power that could outright kill Heavenly Saints. This is also a form of defense against divinations or observation by other cultivators."
Nepri sternly warned.
Ming Shufeng accepted Nepri's kind warning with a heavy nod.
White Sky once again continued,
"Unlike what others might think, the Utmost Purity Galaxy is rife with incessant and furious competition. There are three main forms of organizational establishments: Towers, Institutes, and Academies. There is no hierarchy of priests, priestesses, or acolytes divided by cultivation, merits, and titles that the No-Name Galaxy uses or sects, empires, kingdoms, and nobility that the Treasured Vale Galaxy uses.
"While palaces and pavilions exist, they are strictly limited to non-Alchemist organizations. Palaces refer to a group of forces or a large entity, like a sect in some cases, while Pavilions are usually represented by a singular entity or a small group of individuals. For example, the Gentle Spring Pavilion that was ruled over by the… late Sage Springfield.
"The three establishments—Towers, Institutes, and Academies—are not determined by the level of one's cultivation base, but by the heights of one's Alchemic Dao and depths of their Alchemical Lineage. There are only seven towers throughout each galactic zone, and while they each have their own names, the commoner refers to them as Zenith Towers. They represent the peak of the Alchemic Dao for that zone."
While making their way over to the Utmost Purity Galaxy by flight, White Sky had explained the origins of each of those young Original Magistrates, and the Zenith Creation Tower's Azureriver had come up when Lu Xuanyu was identified. This meant Exalted World-Saint Azureriver was a part of the peak Alchemical Organization of an entire galactic zone!
"The Zenith Towers are heralded as the peak, while the Institutes are first-rate organizations, and Academies is everything beneath," White Sky glanced at Wei Wuyin who was earnestly piloting, unaware that Wei Wuyin wasn't listening, but felt that flying a Void Vessel was an enjoyable experience.
"For example, World Prophetess Bai was a part of the Crystal Guidance Institute. They are an Alchemist Organization mainly, but they focus on alchemical lineages that raise Oracles."
She wanted to probe to see if World Prophetess Bai had somehow survived, but seeing Wei Wuyin's lack of response, she could only sigh.
"If these organizations are not determined by cultivation base but alchemical lineages, then how are they classified? What level of the Alchemic Dao must one reach or achieve to be considered?"
Ming Shufeng was invested.
White Sky pouted her lips, she clarified:
"While cultivation base doesn't determine these things directly, they usually have correlation given that Dao Protectors and fully-developed Alchemic Knights exist. An Exalted Worldly Saint Alchemist would have no issue acquiring a Sage to serve as a Dao Protector and perhaps even a Supreme Sage under unique circumstances, let alone an army to fight for them. The world of cultivation doesn't become peaceful just because of the Alchemic Dao's influence. They need the means to defend themselves or fight for resources."
Only after explaining that and seeing Ming Shufeng understand with a light of realization sparking behind her pupils did she say,
"Academies require a Junior-tier Earthly Saint Alchemist at the helm to establish themselves, Institutes require a Junior-tier Worldly Saint Alchemist, and Towers require a Junior-tier Heavenly Saint Alchemist."
"WHAT?! Seven Heavenly Saint Alchemists exist in a single galaxy?!"
Ming Shufeng's mind was blowing up while the Sages, even Imentet who was listening on the Hidden Wind, felt extremely bitter. It was impossible to explain their complex feelings. Mostly because of Ming Shufeng's incorrect understanding.
"At least," Nepit spat gloomily.
Those standards have existed for far, far too long, and there were only seven towers.
It wasn't an exaggeration by any means when they say that the Utmost Purity Galaxy was the richest galaxy in countless miles.
Wei Wuyin triumphantly smiled as he dodged a bit of floating debris brilliantly, becoming increasingly proficient in piloting Minor Elysium.
'This is quite fun.'