Chapter 1696: Resolute Dusk

Chapter 1696: Resolute Dusk

The Resolute Dusk Galaxy
After the galaxy's renaming, the situation within the world didn't undergo a large shift in function or purpose, and the recent tragedy was all but solved. The Neo-Dawn Alchemic Saint's first initiative to remedy the catastrophic situation was a temporary plug by delivering hoards of third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth-grade Alchemical Products at the Mortal-rank to the various factions, handled and delivered by Sage Hathor's Prosperous Union Major Region's forces. This largely stymied doubts regarding Wei Wuyin's ability to deliver on his promise.
The subsequent delivery of cultivation resources would be handled by the joint efforts of Sage Nepri and Sage Khonshu's forces trickling in yearly and in a timely, organized manner. After receiving the schedule, the vast majority of the galaxy's top-tier forces breathed sighs of relief. The future was once again bright.
Original Dawn Palace
Wei Wuyin stood before a table littered with tablets, scrolls, and spiritual jades that were highly organized. At the center of which was the Neo-Dawn Ascension Cauldron, and there was a green liquid brewing within, exuding a dense alchemical scent with manifestations of rapidly floating and dissipating Mystic Runes.
At the edge of the cauldron was Bai Xiu in her small form, leaning over excitedly, with a bedeviled and obsessive expression that could tug at the hearts of any observer.
"You were right," Wei Wuyin pursed his lips, casually placing his palm over the bubbling green liquid, executing the final stages of the Alchemical Process, fusing the floating runes into the liquid. The green liquid instantly changed into a lime-green color, the runes became like a school of fish that swam majestically within and vivid as if solid, exuding a strong aura of mana.
Bai Xiu's grip on the edge of the cauldron tightened as her eyes shone beautifully with alchemical light, excitement dominated her expression, and her little legs stood on their tippy toes to get a closer look. This was a high-tier, Mystic-World grade product that Original Magistrates and Mystic Overlords would kill. It was widely known as the Sky Origin of Nine Waves Elixir. Its main properties assisted in the nurturing and development of one's Origin State.
The Heavenly Saint Alchemical Lineage, the one referred to as an 'inferior' lineage by Sage Khonshu, had a Mystic-Heaven graded Concoction Method called the Heaven Origin's True Breath Elixir that had a similar effect to this widely known and commonly shared product amongst high-level alchemical products.
The Alchemic Stars of Transcendent Purity receded from his gaze, and then Wei Wuyin shook his head. He had initially had some doubts, but after obtaining the alchemical lineages themselves, he could verify more or less that the Mystic-Heaven graded product had weaker effects but greater difficulty than this product, yet the product still existed and was used as a platform for some cultivators to dare ascend as Heavenly Saint Alchemists.
It was shameless, really.
"It seems there's a sad side to the alchemy world out among the galaxies…" Wei Wuyin couldn't imagine how many cultivators obtained their status by concocting inferior products and parading around using that to elevate their platform and reputation. That said, the feat of concocting a Mystic-Heaven grade product was worthy of great applause beyond a shadow of a doubt.
"They're pathetic, Master!" Bai Xiu excitedly exclaimed as she dipped her finger into the elixir. When she pulled out her tiny finger, a swirl of dense seven-colored mist was extracted, and her gaze turned increasingly fervent.
Utmost Purity Mist.
So high level!
"Go on," Wei Wuyin urged with a helpless smile. Bai Xiu yelped slightly in excitement and began suckling her finger like a baby, devouring the mist with an expression of ecstasy. Her moans were…quite suspect.
The Utmost Purity Mist generated by a successful thirty-three portions of high-tier Mystic-World elixir at the high-quality was extremely thick and incredibly rich to a Spirit of the Alchemic Dao like Bai Xiu. She didn't hold back as she cupped her little hands and scooped out the Utmost Purity Mist, slurping by the literal handful.
"I know I was right," the Heavenly War Spirit continued their previous conversation. They had been, mid-concoction, discussing the results of Wei Wuyin's cultivation path. She had repeatedly warned Wei Wuyin that relying on Laws at this stage of his cultivation was highly detrimental. There were many reasons for this, but largely was that the Mortal Realms and early Mystic Ascension Realm were designed to consolidate one's identity as a cultivator, and relying on Laws would deter that.
While extremely powerful, they were too linear and suppressed his unique qualities as a cultivator. The Laws, in her words, should be tools to enhance his existing foundation of power, not the main factor of his strength. At the time, Wei Wuyin understood but he didn't genuinely feel that there was too much of an issue with it, simply that moving away from Laws would assist in exploring his strength a little, so he wasn't against it.
Now, after that fight with the eight Sages, especially Pakhet, Wei Wuyin completely understood the Heavenly War Spirit's kind intentions and great advice.
Kratos.
The Spirit of Draconic Void had multiple layers of wondrous powers that Wei Wuyin had neglected and remained unexplored, underdeveloped, and almost forgotten. There were the changes to his physical cells and energy, the properties of Draconic Void Mystic Force, Draconic Energy, Void Energy, and lastly, the Bloodline of a True Dragon.
Wei Wuyin explored and excavated an ungodly, disastrous level of physical strength within him. Despite his current cultivation at the First Level of Mystic Myth, he could go toe-to-toe against Sages wielding Heavenly Treasures. The might of a True Dragon was extraordinary.
There were limitations to Void Shifting and Void Concealment, and he more importantly learned that he could be pushed out of the Void through the usage of a Domain. Not just understanding his strengths, but potential vulnerabilities showed his weakness.
At the moment, his opponents were only devilishly talented and demonically strong cultivators at the True Sage, True Soul, and potentially the Resonant Soul Realm, and a True Sage had found a way to prevent him from escaping or hiding. His confidence inevitably took a hit, initially.
His innate bloodline defenses that could devour foreign heavenly aura, radiance, and power were quite a surprise. Wei Wuyin was curious if this was an ability of his True Dragon Bloodline or did Beasts' of all types had this innate predation of heaven ability? They already could digest, absorb, and subsist solely on mana, which was no different than the world's glue. It wasn't too strange they could take that a single step further, consuming Laws.
Surprisingly, the Heaven War Spirit couldn't provide any answers, nor any of his stolen memories. Besides the Jiaolong that was said to have failed its ascension to Immortality, there wasn't a single beast at the Resonant Soul Realm with concrete proof of their existence. Supposedly, the Prosperous Ruin Galaxy had Guardian Beasts, and there's a chance that the Guardian Divinity of the Land of Manu was one, but Wei Wuyin couldn't verify either.
Not even Zhang Jiangwen, the former Vagabond Sage who traveled across galaxies, had memories of Supreme Sage-level beasts, only vague stories of Void Creatures with similar strength that were haunting existences at his level like a nightmare.
For now, he decided to consider that ability as a general one, and he had developed it considerably early due to his metaphysical cultivation that didn't adhere to typical bestial cultivation. This felt right. After all, the cultivation of beasts wasn't inferior to the cultivation of spirits.
And then there was his True Dragon Ascension. Despite using it, his victory over Pakhet was not absolute. Due to his inexperience, he was essentially tossing around a sledgehammer with thin arms and hoping it worked. Fortunately, Pakhet was not a Supreme Sage or an Enlightened Sage. If she had been, even Draconic Ascension would have failed. The power of a Major Authority of a Law was significantly higher than he originally anticipated. Too high.
If not for her unique circumstances of absorbing the Law of Metal with her physical body, if she used Ascension Arts and combined her Law with her Mystic Power expertly, there was no chance of his victory without going all out, relying on his own Minor Authorities to balance out the difference.
It wasn't that Wei Wuyin was weak, but his cultivation base was simply too low. This further solidified that Supreme Sages were likely far stronger than he originally guessed. This…wasn't a good development even if it was reasonable in hindsight. After all, he was about to enter the stage of Supreme Sages in the Treasured Vale Galaxy.
"You need to continue cultivating your various cultivated powers, explore your limitations, understand your weaknesses, and grasp your strengths." The Heavenly War Spirit advised yet again. She was doing so for Wei Wuyin's own good.
Wei Wuyin gently pinched Bai Xiu's puffed-up cheeks filled with Utmost Purity Mist, causing her to pout and spit out a little mist, and she desperately tried to grab at it and bring it back to her mouth, not willing to lose anything. Her faux angry expression calmed Wei Wuyin's anxious heart.
"I know." The anxiety was not brought about by his weakness, but because…
[LEFT ARM: Lust]
Karmic Luck Value: 0.
First Calamity: Survived - 7/7.
Second Calamity: Claimed - 1/1.
Third Calamity: Claimed - 3/3.
Fourth Calamity: Suppressed - 1 Year.
[LEFT ARM: Pride]
Karmic Luck Value: 0.
First Calamity: Survived - 7/7.
Second Calamity: Claimed - 1/1.
Third Calamity: Claimed - 3/3.
Fourth Calamity: Suppressed - 1 Year.
…it was coming.
The Fourth Calamity was approaching faster and faster, and he could already feel that it was only a few months away. Moreover, he had lost hundreds of thousands of Karmic Luck Value earlier, losing on the chance of obtaining any fortuitous heavenly-orchestrated encounters in the near future.
"Master!" Bai Xiu finished swallowing a mouthful of mist with one side of her cheeks a pinkish red. "Are we going to the Utmost Purity Galaxy next?"
Wei Wuyin looked away from his right and left arms. "That's our next step. What? Don't tell me you're planning to steal Utmost Purity Mist from other alchemists? If you consume too much, you might lose that slender figure of yours." A sly smile and a chuckle and Wei Wuyin couldn't afford to tease.
Bai Xiu pouted. "No!" Then, her eyes lowered as her expression visibly changed. A solemn light effused from her eyes and her voice was a near whisper, "I think…I feel…there's something out there, and we're…"
Wei Wuyin's brows furrowed. "We're?"
Bai Xiu was silent for a while, and then lifted her tiny face, gazing at Wei Wuyin deeply. Wei Wuyin didn't interrupt, only matched her gaze. "I feel we're getting closer."
Closer? Wei Wuyin was taken aback. "Closer to what?" This was the first time Bai Xiu had said something so suspiciously mysterious.
"I don't know. Just…closer." Bai Xiu only said this before returning to devouring mist. The ambiance had suddenly felt heavier than earlier, and Wei Wuyin's tense and anxious heart was distracted.
"..." Heavenly War Spirit.
In the end, Wei Wuyin couldn't get anything more out of Bai Xiu despite trying. She was too vague, and it was like a feeling that was indistinct and uncertain. But Wei Wuyin thrived on these indistinct and uncertain feelings, having lived and survived by deciphering the Heavenly Daos' vague desires, learning, listening, and observing.
Perhaps if he had Karmic Luck Value, the Heavenly Daos may have given her a sensation or a direction, and his thoughts allowed him to realize that he had relied on the Heavenly Daos for directions many times over. So he decided to slowly think about this here. The only thing that Bai Xiu's words could indicate was something personal, linked to her by the soul.
Her origins.
Taking a thousand steps back, Bai Xiu was a fortuitous alchemical opportunity for Tian Xiaolu and Qingye Ying. If so, perhaps in the far-off future, she was destined to reach the Utmost Purity Galaxy for further cultivation and discover Bai Xiu's origins.
Was he rapidly approaching that encounter?
If not for his decades of experience dealing with these vague clues, Wei Wuyin wouldn't have so clearly made such reasonable logical leaps here.
"That's fine. With or without Karmic Luck Value, I'll seize every opportunity to the fullest." Wei Wuyin's thoughts were steady and firm in conviction. Heavenly Daos or not, Karmic Luck Value or none, he was going to take any opportunity put before him without holding back.
Gently, he caressed Mystic Yore Crystal hanging around his neck.
Soon, she'll be back too.