Chapter 665 - 660: In Your Absence
"..." In the void-blank space between the United Source Starfield and the Treasured Light Starfield, there was a spherical object floating through space. Sitting atop it was a silver-eyed youth. In front of this youth were three voidships shackled by numerous light-flowing spiritual chains and three unconscious, incomplete bodies.
Wei Wuyin was expressionless, quietly observing the smiling visage of the Grand Monarch of legend. The distinctively handsome and regal appearance befitting a king was currently a little irritating to behold.
Wu Yu heartedly laughed, hiding his exhaustion in his joyous tone. "I'm just being honest about my losses. Is there an issue, Young Lord?"
'Young Lord?' Wei Wuyin was amused in his heart, but his expression betrayed none of his emotions.
The shamelessness within Wu Yu's attitude was quite clear. The moment he arrived, he immediately began to recount the losses he so-called suffered capturing these three Voidships and Mystic Ascendants while waving them in front of him like an excited mortal. In a way, it was a briefing, but he held nothing back, even citing the ninth-grade pill he had to use and forcefully refine, unable to squeeze out all of its effects and somewhat wasting it.
Wei Wuyin was the one who bestowed him with the alchemical product to begin with. How shameless did one need to be to account that as a loss? With a resigned sigh, Wei Wuyin shook his head slightly. At least he didn't cry about being used as bait, accepting his role tactfully and even being happy to be used in such a manner.
In fact, Wei Wuyin has long since seen the advantages in developing Wu Yu as a subordinate. He just didn't think a cultivator who was a Grand Monarch, a literal ruler of an entire starfield, would be willing to reduce his status so directly. Even with Wu Baozhai, he didn't want to stagnate her insights as someone of the Grand Monarch Lineage and Imperial Soul cultivation base by limiting her potential as a leader.
Seeing Wu Yu act in such a way, Wei Wuyin realized his six-year stay in the new starfield had changed his mindset. Perhaps his previous failure to ascend as a Demi-Mortal Lord had contributed to his humble beliefs.
Wei Wuyin moved his gaze to the unconscious and dying Mystic Ascendants. They were all at the Soul of Mysticism Phase, the Second Stage, and according to Wu Yu, they weren't ordinary cultivators at their level. While the Grand Monarch didn't outright suggest turning them into subordinates, the option was readily available.
However, Wei Wuyin wasn't certain if his current abilities could lure in loyal subordinates at that level. He was unaware of almost everything about this stellar region, its upper limits of cultivators, the number of experts it had, the total size, number of Mortal Sovereign Alchemist, or those who exceeded the Mortal-Rank as Alchemists
If the cultivation society was extremely developed, his own worth would be decreased considerably. He would have to adjust his plans accordingly, unable to act in the same penetrative and swift way as he did in the Myriad Monarch Sect to establish himself without attracting so much attention that a little Gravity Emission Phase cultivator couldn't resist.
With bribery, reputation, networking, and reverence, he birthed his own legend. But this was a different league.
Just the mere shockwaves from the battle between Wu Yu and the three Ascended could've killed him a few times over. Their power and means were terrifying, and experts were eccentric, unpredictable.
"They might be of some use. But I'll need to understand their worth. I assume you have a good understanding of this new cultivation civilization? I just arrived in this space, so I'm unaware." Wei Wuyin calmly said, looking at Wu Yu.
Wu Yu's eyes brightened and he chuckled. He almost forgot that Wei Wuyin wasn't even in the Aeternal Sky Starfield. However, he now realized that Wei Wuyin wasn't even in the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region. He landed on the earthen shell and answered, "I do. I must say, Young Lord, you've truly shaken the entire Stellar Region. Let me tell you…"
Wu Yu began to explain the events from his perspective, including bits of news that had spread out outside his influence but learned later.
"Wu Baozhai, that little girl, changed the Myriad Monarch Sect to the Eternal Monarch Sect and…"
"That Ma Zheng, he…"
"Your Neo-Dawn Pill created a…"
"There was a Grand Demonstration and Golden Auction. The price of the Neo-Dawn Pill was set, and these people bid according to the rules. It was…"
Wei Wuyin intervened at times. "Mystic Stones? How much are they worth?"
Wu Yu's eyes would brighten each time. There was a time where his expression, however, turned unsightly and a little frustrated.
"Han Yuhei? Divine King Han Xei's cousin is alive? And he's now an Earthly Saint?" Wei Wuyin was caught off-guard by some things mentioned by Wu Yu. Such as the world-wide announcement by the True Element Sect that stated his identity as a Chosen of their sect. According to Wu Yu, this was 'purposefully' leaked, so it wasn't an official announcement.
Yet the tremor it caused was substantially felt. The various elite forces throughout the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region changed their attitude slightly towards the divided and fragile True Element Sect. Most didn't act to ingratiate themselves, but there was a considerable amount of disrespect that had dissipated from their tone and general interactions.
Some that were outright hostile towards some of their factions decided to adopt a wait-and-see attitude because they feared that he would join their sect, changing their destiny in the coming millennia. There were rumors that he and the Saintess of the True Element Sect were engaged.
No one knew who spread this rumor, but there were some speculations that it was the Lin Clan themselves.
Wei Wuyin was notably confused. Who the hell was this Saintess? What even was a Saintess? A female Chosen? And he was their Chosen? They had some fantastical ideas, that's for sure.
He sneered at the idea. But when he learned that Divine King Han Xei wasn't an active part of the True Element Sect, having been outside of the public eye for a long time, he decided to consider the benefits of being their Chosen. Just considering though.
There was an innate rejection in his heart. Their conduct was quite poor. Furthermore, he didn't want another Long Chen situation with Lin Ming.
There was more that shook him. The Golden Life Pavilion seemed to be having some internal conflicts at the moment. While most of a certain status and cultivation might be unaware, those like Wu Yu could sense the undercurrents rumbling. Something was happening after the Neo-Dawn Eclipse Pill's reveal. Something major.
All of this seemed to originate from him.
There was even more!
The most shocking news was that the Everlore Association had invented and put out a product on the market called the Ever-Domain Pill four years ago. It was marketed as being a replacement to the Neo-Dawn Eclipse Pill. It wasn't peak-tier, but high-tier.
It was reported to be able to give birth to a Purist-like Domain Seed that could be used by cultivators, mimicking the Neo-Dawn Eclipse Pill's effects and providing similar benefits. At first, the outburst it caused was absolutely amazing and joyful, especially the numerous geniuses that had wealth and didn't want to fall behind. All soon heralded the Everlore Association as worth their title as the greatest alchemist association with the best alchemists.
For a few months…
Until the pill was released to the public and what was a joyous outburst became a flaming outrage! The pill indeed produced a Domain Seed, capable of generating a False Worldly Domain, but that was it. Even the peak-quality product merely allowed the usage of spatial force, while low and high-quality only manifested a small False Worldly Domain.
To frustratingly add for consumers, the Domain Seed wasn't synchronized with a cultivator's Astral Soul, but an external object that acted more like a tool than an aspect of their cultivation. While the Worldly Domain's benefits of sensing energies were present, the ability to comprehend the secrets held within the Domain Seed itself, those of Spatial Resonance, Light Reflection, and Gravity Emission was completely absent. They were lied to! Their expectations shattered like glass.
Furthermore, it took far too long to refine!
It took two full-freaking years! While this was normal in most circumstances, the issue was that there was a comparison right there to set a standard, and in the eyes of the average consumer, Everlore Association should meet or exceed that standard. The Everlore Association's praise went silent. While no one publicly derided them for such a comparatively flawed product that only served to really increase a cultivator's combat prowess for fear of hidden retaliation, the damage to their reputation was done.
Wei Wuyin speculated that it was a slightly lesser version to Lin Ming's Worldly Domain. It was still impressive nevertheless.
To recoup their reputation and save face, the Everlore Association started to sell these pills in massive quantities to forces at a cheaper cost, flooding the market. With their numerous alchemists, this was a relatively easy feat to produce. This overturned some thoughts towards the pill. After all, Gravity Emission Phase cultivators could use it to ensure their chances to become Realmlords! Right?
...Right?
Wu Yu laughed loudly with schadenfreude while telling Wei Wuyin of the incident that happened a year ago. A cultivator tried to challenge the Realm World Astral Tribulation, but his foundation was so lacking that he still died with the False Worldly Domain unleashed. It wasn't considered a lethal tribulation for nothing.
The Neo-Dawn Eclipse Pill's effect was highlighted as a result. Most of those who took the pill reached eight or nine ripples in Spatial Resonance and indigo, violet, or white-colored Primary Light, and their cultivation bases soared! It helped at the beginning, not assisted near the end. A trash cultivator will still be a trash cultivator, external tools did nothing to change talent.
The one used in the Grand Demonstration, Ma Luling, in five years had reached the Gravity Emission Phase with a 'perfect' nine-ring, nine-ripple, white-colored cultivation foundation. Five years!
What might've taken one to two hundred years, reduced to five years! With this out of the way, she had those years to now establish the firmest foundation possible, not having to spend vast amounts of time trying to comprehend insights into the next phase while on a ticking timer.
Wei Wuyin, however, was frowning after hearing this story. For some reason, he felt that the Everlore Association was competing against him. They might even be hostile. After learning that they hadn't even bid for the Neo-Dawn Eclipse Pill, he realized that they likely had been developing the Concoction Method for a similar pill, which was possibly the Ever-Domain Pill, so they didn't believe they needed it.
He soon grasped the overall details of the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region, including its twenty-three Starfields names and publicly recognized strengths. He learned of the sixteen mystic forces that control the Aeternal Sky Starfield, divided into sixteen domains, including the notable Gold-tier forces with potential. This was clearly Wu Yu's attempt to give Wei Wuyin some ideas.
"Ma Zheng and his clan has been quite active," Wei Wuyin commented. They had forged a planet for demons after they suffered discrimination. This elevated his opinion of them greatly.
"You've put into action some monumental things," Wu Yu softly laughed, but his smiling expression tittered off into a solemn one. Wei Wuyin had shaken the Aeternal Sky Starfield, and the effects were still being felt. It had only been just five years, but his name has singlehandedly changed some of the dynamics of an entire Stellar Region and caused forces to sweat.
Wu Yu suddenly had a thought, his expression changing. "Young Lord, you didn't just shake the stars, but you've created some world-shaking monsters. And...some problems too."
"Oh?" Wei Wuyin was in the midst of pondering his next sequence of moves, but those words drew his immediate attention.
Wu Yu nodded, his eyes faintly dark, "Your fiancé is something else. There's a ranking list of female cultivators based on beauty and talent, potential and strength, their backing and origins, devised by the Golden Gate Pavilion. It is called the Immortal Saintess Ranking. It renews every three years, and she instantly reached the top ten two years ago."
"Oh?!" Wei Wuyin's eyes lit.
Wu Yu added, "Not only that. Your concubine was given free reign to act as she pleased, and she has been developing her own force with beasts with the support of the Ma Clan. She's known as the Dragonborn Saintess, one of unfathomable wealth, and she too...has taken a top ten position on the Immortal Saintess Ranking, bringing a once thought extinct race to the starfield."
Wei Wuyin's interest piqued.
Wu Yu continued, "That Su Mei of yours is sweeping across the geniuses everywhere. She's become a Chosen of a Gold-tier force, the Solitary Saber Sect. Not only has she comprehended Saber Heart Intent, her cultivation base is...a little too terrifying."
Wei Wuyin brightly smiled, genuine joy in his eyes.
"...Also, there's that demonic lover of yours…"
"...Also…"
Wei Wuyin realized that...Wu Yu might not be stopping anytime soon....