Chapter 535: What If... |
Swoosh!
A figure blitzed through the world with agile swiftness. Every step took them several hundred meters, and the ground beneath their pressing feet was crushed and cracked. The figure sported a black martial outfit, tight and fitted, regaining their normally domineering grace outside of the holy white color.
The figure was Wei Wuyin!
Traveling through the Desolate Lands, he was making his way to the nearby city that had an established Void Gate. With his bloodline source exhausted, his World Seas used dry, he was left with using his physical strength to traverse the world. He didn't wish to overly stress out his Astral Souls, and the running allowed him to contemplate at his own pace.
He was reminded of when he was younger, weaker, and how he'd use the training field to run laps to clear his thoughts. It was oddly invigorating and mind-freeing. To relive that feeling once more at his current cultivation where he could leap through the Void, shift through fixed space, and fly was incredibly unexpected and rare.
"Are you certain?" Wei Wuyin's words flowed slowly, and there was a serene tone within. If anyone had just been told the details of the future ruin of the starfield, they would be sent into a massive panic and enter a state of utter despair. However, Wei Wuyin was under the daily pressure of facing the Calamities of Hell, his ability to remain calm under pressure was unrivaled amongst those his age.
Wang Yutian was similarly shocked by the calmness exuded by Wei Wuyin, but considering how strange and otherworldly this youth was, be in looks, foundation, or intelligence, it wasn't that out of expectations.
"I am," Wang Yutian replied.
Wei Wuyin closed his eyes, feeling the rushing wind brush against his skin. With a few breaths and a moment, his eyes widened as a firm, stable resolve remained in his gaze.
"You won't be able to have the hundreds of trillions of lifeforms inhabiting this continent leave, including humanoid lifeforms and intelligent beasts." Wang Yutian instantly responded with this truth.
"I know. I'll take all those important to me and escape. If this is as unstoppable as you say, then I can only resort to this." Wei Wuyin acknowledged, clarifying his declaration. If he had to take those important to him, then he'll have to take his women and those who were friends of his.
The moment he said those words, he halted his steps and momentum with a sudden stomp. A soft explosion occurred beneath his feet as he looked towards the sky. Several years ago, when he had reached the Third Stage of the Astral Core Realm, the Soul Idol Phase, his Eye of Truth had reached a higher level and he peered into the worldly trend of the starfield.
He observed one thing: its eventual ruins.
He didn't know when. He didn't know how. Without that information, he was unable to act against it. He didn't know how harsh this event of ruination was or how intensive it'll take place. It could take the form of a civil war, of a foreign invasion from another starfield, the collapse of one of three Solar Stars, or from something else entirely.
But when he reached the Fifth Stage of the Astral Core Realm, the Light Reflection Phase, aspects of the event had revealed itself through the Eye of Truth. The one thing, the only thing, was time. He knew when.
13 days.
In less than two weeks, the entire starfield and all its inhabitants will suffer devastating ruin. Wei Wuyin's first instinct was to figure out why he hadn't sensed anything in the World Realm. He later learned that the actual location of the World Realm wasn't in the Starfield, but merely had a connection to it through spatial tunnels. This was how they entered.
If the entire starfield vanished one day, those inside the World Realm would suffer absolutely no damage. The only issue will be their ability to return. They wouldn't even feel it happening from the safety of the World Realm.
He also learned from this that his Eye of Truth was limited to specific environments. He couldn't observe the starfield's worldly trend due to being elsewhere. This wasn't a severe limitation, but it served to act as a renewed reminder that the Celestial Eyes of Spiritual Divinity might be incredible, but every method, every art, every spell had limitations and restrictions.
"How do you plan to do that?" Wang Yutian questioned his plan. He was nothing more than a connective will, so besides conversing, he had no power to take action. He was merely here because Wei Wuyin couldn't hold back from taking the Chandelier that housed a portion of his consciousness within. But even that wasn't going to last long, but this was exciting.
Wang Yutian was reminded of the time he was a cultivator, fighting against time and enemies of unfathomable means. He was living vicariously through Wei Wuyin, and it made his thoughts very lively.
"If I was going to leave, there's an Ancient Void Gate that likely leads out of the Starfield," Wei Wuyin clutched at the Crescent Moon Necklace that he'd obtained from that unnamed Commander long ago. This was the only option he had in hopes of escaping the starfield.
"Oh that? That wouldn't wo-" Wang Yutian's words paused mid-sentence, "Wait, you said: If I was going to leave?"
Wei Wuyin inhaled a breath of fresh air, expelling out his turbid thoughts with a sharp exhale. "I expected it wouldn't work. This thing seemed to be limited in its function, likely only able to bring one person. I discovered as much when I learned about the limited Void Gate in the Alchemist Association's Headquarters. This starfield seemed to be filled with mysteries.
"I have no intent to leave my home on another's terms. Even if I couldn't stop it, I would still try. Where my parents found their love; my birthplace; the place where my brother and Dai Lin are buried; where Bai Lin will return to. To abandon it, to leave it to be devastated like the other starfields, I can't." Wei Wuyin's Heart of Cultivation was firm, but what was even more firmer was his resolve in setting and following his principles. Even in the face of death, he'll use his saber to uphold himself with dignity.
He was not cultivating just to survive, but to thrive. To thrive as his own individual, and to live in the fashion he wished. Unless it was truly hopeless, until he exhausted every last possibility and means within his repertoire, he'll never surrender.
"Do you understand what I told you? What's coming to this starfield? It exceeds all things mortal, and even those who've Ascended avoid it." Wang Yutian warned, but his voice wasn't filled with caution and concern, but expectant excitement.
"I do." Wei Wuyin's silver eyes glinted with a radiance, as if all things concealed and unseen by mortal eyes couldn't hide from it. Like a pair of moons, they pierced through the Sky Layer of Planet Wuyu, to outside the Starfield, and his eyes narrowed.
"What do you plan to do?" The bubbling energy within his tone was rising with every syllable.
Wei Wuyin didn't respond. From his dark pupils, an image of a silhouette emerged. It resembled a dog without irises or pupils, merely a sea of crystalline sclera that seemed to be filled with stars. Its head swirled until they lined up with Wei Wuyin's pupils, as if it saw him as well.
"..." His heart trembled, a thought emerged in his mind. A frightening thought that seemed to carry some substantial weight. What if…
What if this trend of inevitable ruination was his fault?
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