Ekspresi Pakhet yang berdiri di belakang Wei Wuyin secara langsung menggambarkan aura titanik Wei Wuyin yang memancar keluar. Saat Wei Wuyin pertama kali berpindah ke hadapannya dari Void, hal itu sempat membuatnya sangat terkejut hingga matanya melebar maksimal. Ia hanya bisa segera menyesuaikan diri berkat basis kultivasi True Sage miliknya yang sudah berada di ambang Fase True Soul.
Namun, dua Alkemis Duniawi itu tidak memiliki tingkat kultivasi setinggi dirinya, dan mereka langsung membeku karena tekanan murni dari kehadirannya!
"Wo-World-Saint Ne-Neo-Dawn!" Hao Chengxue terbata-bata seperti orang bodoh dengan kaki yang gemetar. Pemandangan itu sungguh memalukan, sama sekali tidak pantas bagi seorang Manajer Balai dari cabang Utmost Purity Hall yang bergengsi. Untungnya bagi dirinya dan White Sky, reaksi mereka membuat Wei Wuyin segera menyadari ada sesuatu yang tidak beres. Saat ia mengandalkan kemampuannya untuk merasakan dan menguraikan fluktuasi mental, umpan balik yang ia terima adalah ketakutan yang mendalam dan penekanan mental.
White Sky hampir mengompol. Ia sudah memiliki rasa takut dan hormat yang besar terhadap Wei Wuyin, dan kejadian ini memperkuat perasaan tersebut secara ekstrem. Naluri bertahan hidupnya hampir muncul saat bibirnya mencoba merintih memohon, namun hanya gumaman yang berani keluar.
Seketika, ia menemukan sumber masalahnya; perluasan Mind's Eye yang tiba-tiba menciptakan ketidakstabilan antara fluktuasi mental dan jiwanya, menyebabkan aura True Soul miliknya bocor keluar. Kemudian, ia menyadari bahwa jiwanya telah meningkat ke tingkat yang cukup signifikan.
'Apakah ini manfaat yang diperoleh dengan menaklukkan Malapetaka Keputusasaan Fana?' Wei Wuyin merenung sambil dengan ahli menciptakan sumbatan menggunakan Energi Spiritualnya. Itu hanya tindakan sementara, dilakukan dengan terburu-buru meskipun berhasil menyelesaikan masalah sepenuhnya. Untungnya, Garis Keturunan Naga Void mengambil alih dan menyembunyikan detail kultivasi serta auranya sekali lagi. Baru setelah itu, kedua Alkemis Santo Duniawi tersebut sedikit berkurang gemetarnya.
Mereka terpengaruh pada tingkat eksistensial.
"Mohon maaf. Aku baru saja mencapai tingkat baru dalam kultivasiku, yang menyebabkan ketidakstabilan dalam pelepasan auraku." Meskipun Wei Wuyin biasanya tidak meminta maaf, ia sangat sadar bahwa ia mungkin telah membuat trauma seumur hidup pada keduanya. White Sky mengangguk tanpa sadar dengan pupil melebar seolah menerima apa pun yang dikatakan Wei Wuyin, bahkan permintaan maafnya yang tulus.
Hao Chengxue menelan ludah dengan keras, hampir tidak mampu menahan napasnya yang berat. Beruntung ia adalah Manajer Balai dari Utmost Purity Hall dan pernah bertemu beberapa Sage Tercerahkan serta merasakan aura dominan dari beberapa Sage Tertinggi dari kejauhan. Ia masih bisa menyusun kalimat yang koheren, meskipun dengan suara yang sedikit lebih tinggi dari sebelumnya.
"T-tidak perlu meminta maaf! Seharusnya aku yang meminta maaf atas penampilan menyedihkan tadi."
"..." Wei Wuyin tersenyum tenang dengan tatapan penuh pertimbangan. Hao Chengxue ini orang yang cukup menarik.
'Tingkat apa yang telah ia capai di Alam Jiwa Resonan?! Aura jiwa yang mengerikan!' pikir Hao Chengxue, sepenuhnya mengabaikan fakta bahwa jiwa Wei Wuyin tidak memiliki kualitas khas Sage Tertinggi, seperti penyatuan dengan langit dan bumi—sejenis Resonansi. 'Aku harus mendapatkan sisi baiknya apa pun yang terjadi!' Itulah tekadnya saat ia menilai kembali status dan nilai Wei Wuyin.
WHOOSH!
Wei Wuyin melambaikan tangannya ke arah White Sky. Alkemis Santo Duniawi yang sedang linglung itu langsung ditempatkan di Saint Ring miliknya sekali lagi. Wanita itu baru saja kehilangan kendali penuh atas kandung kemihnya. Beruntung pikiran Hao Chengxue sedang sepenuhnya teralihkan.
'Apakah ini sebabnya Sage Tertinggi jarang muncul?' Ini adalah pemikiran yang relatif tidak masuk akal, karena semakin kuat seorang ahli, semakin terlibat mereka dengan kultivasi, mengembangkan warisan mereka, atau bertindak dalam skala yang lebih besar. Mereka sering kali terlalu fokus pada diri sendiri dan ambisius untuk sering muncul. Mungkin hanya Kaisar atau Permaisuri dari sebuah kekaisaran yang akan sering menunjukkan diri kepada rakyatnya demi moral dan keberuntungan secara keseluruhan.
Setelah sedikit basa-basi untuk menenangkan suasana, Wei Wuyin kembali duduk, menikmati anggur Hao Chengxue seolah-olah ia tidak pernah pergi. Hao Chengxue sangat rajin hingga ke tingkat ekstrem.
"World-Saint Neo-Dawn, bolehkah aku berbicara terus terang?" tanya Hao Chengxue.
"Aku tidak pernah meminta untuk berbicara dengan cara lain," jawab Wei Wuyin, menyesap anggur dengan penuh kenikmatan. "Aku cukup tertarik mengapa kau mengirim pesan melalui perantara." Sejak awal, Hao Chengxue menolak untuk mengakui bahwa White Sky tiba-tiba menghilang. Karena sifat hilangnya yang benar-benar lenyap tanpa jejak, ia tidak bisa memastikan apakah Wei Wuyin mengirimnya pergi atau menghancurkannya hingga ke tingkat atom dalam sepersekian detik!
"Kalau begitu, aku akan mengakhiri basa-basi percakapan kita. Begini, World-Saint Neo-Dawn, ada peristiwa besar yang akan terjadi di seluruh Zona Galaksi Refining Skies di Galaksi Utmost Purity, perayaan seorang tokoh sejarah yang agung dan kaya. Sebuah trifecta peristiwa: Upacara pernikahan milenium, peringatan seratus ribu tahun kelahiran, dan kompetisi pendekatan akbar untuk putri mereka yang paling berharga," jelas Hao Chengxue dengan khidmat, menekankan ketiga peristiwa tersebut dengan nada berat, menandakan betapa pentingnya hal itu.
Alis Pakhet terangkat. Kompetisi pendekatan? Ia familiar dengan upacara pernikahan milenium, dan biasanya itu dilakukan oleh tokoh-tokoh yang berumur sangat panjang dan sangat subur. Baik pria maupun wanita, individu-individu ini memiliki 999 istri atau suami lainnya. Namun, ada makna khusus pada yang ke-10, ke-100, dan ke-1.000, dengan kepercayaan takhayul aneh yang beredar di seluruh Galaksi Utmost Purity, tidak—termasuk sebagian besar galaksi tetangganya, bahwa pernikahan ini akan menentukan keberuntungan masa depan seorang kultivator.
Selain itu, istri atau suami ke-1.000 memiliki makna yang lebih besar daripada yang sebelumnya karena itu mirip dengan pasangan terakhir. Sembilan dari sepuluh kali, kultivator akan menemukan Pendamping Dao di sini. Ini berarti... ini sering berarti... 999 istri atau suami lainnya itu akan... jika mereka belum mati, mereka kemungkinan besar akan...
Wei Wuyin pernah menghadapi situasi ini dengan Mei Mei di Sekte Scarlet Solaris. Namun dari apa yang diketahui Pakhet, istri ke-1.000 biasanya baru diambil setelah pasangan lainnya telah menjalani masa hidup alami mereka. Mengingat ini juga merupakan peringatan seratus ribu tahun kelahiran, pada dasarnya tahun kelahiran seseorang yang berusia 100.000 tahun, kultivator ini sangatlah tua.
Karena penasaran, Pakhet bertanya: "Peringatan pertama atau kedua?"
Masa hidup kultivator di Alam Ascendant Mistis sangat panjang jika dibandingkan dengan manusia biasa. Tentu saja, masa hidup mereka cukup kecil bagi entitas seperti bentuk masa lalu Eden, Benda Celestial, atau Bintang Solar.
"Kedua," jawab Hao Chengxue kepada Pakhet.
"..." Pakhet terdiam. Kultivator ini berusia 200.000 tahun!
Hao Chengxue melihat Pakhet yang terdiam dan melihat matanya bersinar dengan cahaya kontemplatif, dan ia segera mengklarifikasi: "Orang ini bukan Sage Tertinggi. Ia bahkan bukan seorang Sage, apalagi Sage Tercerahkan. Namun, ia memiliki reputasi yang cukup baik sebagai guru meskipun tidak berasal dari Galaksi Utmost Purity. Ia telah mengajar banyak ahli sejati di Zona Galaksi Refining Skies selama hidupnya yang panjang, dan beberapa ahli ini telah pergi untuk menjelajahi jalan keberuntungan lain, memperluas reputasi dan pengaruhnya di beberapa zona galaksi. Yang paling menonjol, ia adalah guru bagi calon Ksatria Alkimia yang menjanjikan, terkenal karena eksekusi seni mendalam dan mantra mistisnya.
"Tentu saja, ia bukan seperti yang kau pikirkan. Meskipun bertahun-tahun, ia tidak pernah menginstruksikan kultivator yang kemudian menjadi Sage Tertinggi di bawah seorang Alkemis atau secara mandiri. Tapi, ia memang mengajar tiga Sage sampai tingkat tertentu, dan mereka semua memiliki hubungan baik dengan organisasi terkemuka, salah satunya milik Zona Galaksi Growing Immortality kita."
Pakhet sedikit terguncang. Guru legendaris macam apa ini?! Meskipun kultivasinya berada di Fase True Sage, ia lebih memahami daripada kebanyakan orang bahwa mencapai tahap kultivasi ini bukanlah masalah sumber daya atau bakat bawaan yang sederhana. Jika bukan karena upaya bersama dari delapan kultivator yang sangat berbakat yang mengikat jiwa mereka bersama-sama, ada kemungkinan besar tidak ada Sage di Galaksi Resolute Dusk yang akan berada di posisi mereka sekarang!
Galaksi White Abyss yang memiliki sejarah jutaan tahun tidak pernah menghasilkan seorang Sage... sekali pun.
TIDAK PERNAH!
"Selain itu, putrinya ada di Daftar Kecantikan Bencana, daftar kecantikan terkemuka di seluruh galaksi yang berpusat pada wanita, mitra langsung dari Daftar Pahlawan Luminositas yang kau, uhm, peringkat ketiga," Hao Chengxue berkedip sebelum menatap Wei Wuyin secara langsung seolah-olah ia harus menyampaikan seluruh maknanya ke dalam pentingnya kata-kata berikutnya, memberikan penekanan berat pada setiap kata: "Dia peringkat KETIGA!"
Seolah-olah ia ingin, tidak, perlu Wei Wuyin memahami tingkat kegilaan yang akan segera dilepaskan, termasuk implikasi tersembunyi bahwa ia memiliki sesuatu yang dapat menyebabkan bencana dalam skala galaksi!
Kompetisi pendekatan itu kemungkinan akan melibatkan banyak talenta tingkat atas!
"Begitu ya," Wei Wuyin mencerna semua ini dengan senyum tenang.
"Dan kau, World-Saint Neo-Dawn, telah menerima undangan langsung dengan kehormatan tertinggi! Kau pasti akan sangat dihargai di sana! Kau dapat membangun segala macam koneksi dengan mudah dan mungkin secara intim mendiskusikan Dao Alkimia dengan orang lain!" Mata Hao Chengxue bersinar cukup terang!
"...Sebuah undangan, ya?" Wei Wuyin tidak tahu apakah harus tertawa atau menangis. Bagaimanapun, ini adalah upaya terselubung oleh seluruh galaksi untuk membawa Wei Wuyin ke mata publik tanpa langsung mencegatnya dan menyebabkan pelanggaran. Tentu saja, ia tidak akan menolak undangan ini begitu saja. Ia cukup penasaran dengan guru yang sangat tua ini.
"Aku akan memikirkannya," hanya itu yang dijawab Wei Wuyin. Secara tidak sadar, ia melihat Nilai Keberuntungan Karma miliknya yang baru saja disegarkan. Tidak ada indikasi keberuntungan besar yang terjadi di sana. Namun, ia tidak keberatan menggunakannya untuk membangun koneksi dan dengan cepat menyelesaikan beberapa tujuannya di sini.
"Tolong lakukan!" Hao Chengxue memohon dengan penuh semangat.
Sambil mengangguk, Wei Wuyin sedikit mengernyit saat ia menyesap anggurnya. "Kau bilang guru ini tidak lahir di Galaksi Utmost Purity?"
Hao Chengxue terkejut dengan pertanyaan itu sejenak sebelum ia tersenyum, "Memang. Ia lahir di Galaksi Treasured Vale. Aku dengar ia berasal dari garis keturunan yang cukup luar biasa di sana."
"Hm? Treasured Vale... dan siapa nama guru ini?" Wei Wuyin memiliki firasat bahwa ada sesuatu yang penting di sini.
"Oh? Benar! Aku belum memberitahumu siapa! Kalau begitu izinkan aku menjelaskan dengan benar: Master Paviliun dari Paviliun Dao Ksatria, Shang Liu!"
"Shang?!" Wei Wuyin, untuk pertama kalinya, menunjukkan ketertarikan!
Pakhet's expression behind Wei Wuyin directly told the story of Wei Wuyin's impressively titanic aura exuding outwards. When Wei Wuyin had initially shifted to her from the Void, shocking her quite thoroughly earlier, her eyes had widened to their utmost limits. She was only able to quickly adjust due to her True Sage cultivation base on the verge of the True Soul Phase.
However, the duo of Worldly Alchemists were nowhere near her level of cultivation, and they immediately froze out of sheer oppression of his presence!
"Wo-World-Saint Ne-Neo-Dawn!" Hao Chengxue stuttered like a fool with wobbly legs. It was quite embarrassing to witness, completely unbefitting of a Hall Manager of a prestigious Utmost Purity Hall branch. Fortunately for him and White Sky, their reaction allowed Wei Wuyin to immediately notice that something was amiss. When he relied on his ability to sense and decipher mental fluctuations, the feedback he received was abject fear and mental suppression.
White Sky was on the verge of urinating. She already had a healthy dose of fear and reverence toward Wei Wuyin, and this greatly amplified those feelings to an extreme. Her survival instincts were nearly kicking in as her lips tried quivering out a pleading sentence, but only mumbles dared to come out.
Immediately, he found the source of the issue; the sudden expansion of his Mind's Eye also created an instability between his mental fluctuations and his soul, causing his True Soul's aura to leak outwards. Then, he discovered that his soul had improved by a considerable degree.
'Was this the benefit acquired by conquering the Calamity of Mortal Despair?' Wei Wuyin contemplated as he expertly crafted a blockage using his Spiritual Energy. It was only a stopgap, hastily done despite solving the issue completely. Fortunately, the Draconic Void Bloodline took effect and concealed details of his cultivation and aura once again. Then and only then did the two Worldly Saint Alchemists tremble slightly less.
They were affected on an existential level.
"My apologies. I'd just finished achieving a new level in my cultivation, causing some instability in the release of my aura." While Wei Wuyin didn't typically apologize, he was well aware that he had likely scarred the duo for life. White Sky was mindlessly nodding with dilated pupils as if accepting whatever Wei Wuyin said, even his earnest apology.
Hao Chengxue gulped heavily, barely able to contain his heavy breathing. It was lucky that he was the Hall Manager of an Utmost Purity Hall and had met a few Enlightened Sages and felt a few Supreme Sage's soulfully domineering auras from afar. He was still able to form coherent sentences, albeit with a voice that was of a slightly higher octave than before.
"N-no need to apologize! I should be apologizing for that pathetic display there."
"..." Wei Wuyin calmly smiled with a thoughtful gaze. This Hao Chengxue was quite an interesting fellow.
'What stage has he reached in the Resonant Soul Realm?! What a terrifying soul aura!' Hao Chengxue thought, completely neglecting the fact that Wei Wuyin's soul lacked distinct qualities of a Supreme Sage, such as oneness with the heavens and earth—a type of Resonance. 'I must get on his good side no matter what!' Was his resolved thought as he assessed Wei Wuyin's status and value yet again.
WHOOSH!
Wei Wuyin waved his hand toward White Sky. The out-of-it Worldly Saint Alchemist was directly placed in his Saint Ring yet again. She had just lost complete control of her bladder. It was lucky that Hao Chengxue's thoughts were completely occupied.
'Is this why Supreme Sages rarely make appearances?' This was a relatively nonsensical thought of his, as the stronger an expert becomes, the more involved they would become with cultivation, developing their legacies, or acting on a grander scale. They were often far too self-focused and ambitious to make regular appearances. Perhaps only an Emperor or Empress of an empire would make frequent showings to their citizens for the sake of overall morale and fortune.
After a bit of small talk to settle the atmosphere, Wei Wuyin once again found himself sitting down, enjoying Hao Chengxue's wine as if he had never left. Hao Chengxue was diligent to an extreme.
"World-Saint Neo-Dawn, shall I speak frankly?" Hao Chengxue asked.
"I've never asked to speak anything less," Wei Wuyin replied, sipping on the wine with great relish. "I'm quite interested as to why you sent a message via proxy." Since the beginning, Hao Chengxue had refused to acknowledge that White Sky had abruptly vanished. Due to the nature of her disappearance which was a genuine vanishing act with no traces, he was unable to tell if Wei Wuyin sent her away or just obliterated her on an atomic level within a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a second!
"Then, I'll end the pleasant pleasantries of our conversation. You see, World-Saint Neo-Dawn, there's a major event about to occur throughout the Utmost Purity Galaxy's Refining Skies Galactic Zone, the celebration of a great and rich historical figure. A trifecta of events: A millennium wedding ceremony, a centamillennial anniversary of birth, and a grand courtship competition for their most treasured daughter." Hao Chengxue explained solemnly, emphasizing the three events with a heavy tone, signifying their utmost importance.
Pakhet's eyebrows rose. A courtship competition? She was familiar with a millennium wedding ceremony, and it was usually those exceptionally long-living and highly virile figures. Whether male or female, these individuals had 999 other wives or husbands. However, there was a special significance to the 10th, 100th, and 1,000th, with a strange superstitious belief circulating throughout the Utmost Purity Galaxy, no—including most of its neighboring galaxies, that these marriages would define a cultivator's future fortune.
Additionally, the 1,000th wife or husband had a greater significance than the others before them because it was akin to the final partner. Nine times out of ten, the cultivator would find a Dao Companion here. This meant…this often meant…those 999 other wives or husbands would…if they were not dead yet they were likely to be…
Wei Wuyin had faced this situation with Mei Mei before in the Scarlet Solaris Sect. But from what Pakhet knew, the 1,000th wife was usually only taken after the other companions had lived out their natural lifespans. Considering this was also a centamillennial anniversary of birth, essentially one's birth year of 100,000 years, this cultivator was stupendously old.
As if by curiosity, Pakhet asked: "First or second anniversary?"
The lifespan of cultivators at the Mystic Ascendant Realm was exceedingly long when compared to mere mortals. Of course, their lifespans were rather puny to entities such as Eden's past form, Celestial Objects, or Solar Stars.
The lifespans of cultivators were extraordinary; Soul of Mysticism Phase Venerables lived about 10,000 years, Demi-Mortal Lord Phase Highlords could live an astonishing 30,000 years, Earthly Saint Phase's Rune Kings were only a few thousand years higher than that, while Worldly Saint Phase World Emperors had a solid 40,000 or so thousand years, and Heavenly Saint Phase Original Magistrates jumped slightly at about 55,000 years.
None of these cultivators could hope to experience a centamillennial anniversary of their birth without placing themselves in stasis or inadvertently traveling into the future, even if they cultivated Life or Wood Spirits of Cultivations!
Meanwhile, the next stage of cultivation within the Mystic Ascendant Realm had an insane jump that dwarfed the great vitality boost of Highlords. Those Ascended Saint Phase Mystic Overlords could live to a ripe age of 220,000 years and some change! This was if they hadn't diluted their lifespan and vitality through battles, injuries, cultivating with volatile materials, or tainted themselves with impure products.
Since this historic figure could be spoken of with such solemnity by a Hall Manager of an Utmost Purity Hall, then this cultivator must be extraordinary!
As for True Sage Phase Sages, their lifespans weren't much different, only gaining ten thousand or some years of additional vitality.
"Second," Hao Chengxue answered Pakhet.
"..." Pakhet went silent. This cultivator was 200,000 years old!
Hao Chengxue looked at the silent Pakhet and saw her eyes glow with a contemplative light, and he immediately clarified: "This person is not a Supreme Sage. He's not even a Sage, let alone an Enlightened Sage. However, he has quite the reputation as a teacher despite not originating from the Utmost Purity Galaxy. He's taught many true-blue experts within the Refining Skies Galactic Zone over his long life, and some of these experts had left to explore other avenues of fortune, expanding his reputation and influence across a few galactic zones. Most notably, he's a teacher of promising Alchemic Knights-to-be, renowned for his execution of profound arts and mystical spells.
"Of course, he's not what you may think. Despite his many years, he'd never instructed a cultivator that later became a Supreme Sage under an Alchemist or by themselves. But, he did teach to some extent three Sages, and they were all well-connected to prominent organizations, one of which belongs to our Growing Immortality Galactic Zone."
Pakhet was slightly shaken. What type of legendary teacher was this?! While her cultivation was at the True Sage Phase, she understood more than most that reaching this stage of cultivation was not a simple matter of resources or Innate talent. If not for the joint efforts of eight exceedingly talented cultivators binding their souls together, there was a great chance that none of the Sages of the Resolute Dusk Galaxy would be where they were now!
The White Abyss Galaxy which had millions upon millions of years of history had never produced a Sage… once.
NOT ONCE!
"Moreover, his daughter is on the Beauties of Catastrophe Rankings, the female-centric list of prominent beauties throughout the galaxy, a direct counterpart to the Heroes of Luminosity Rankings that you, uhm, ranked third in." Hao Chengxue blinked before staring at Wei Wuyin directly as if he had to convey his entire meaning into the importance of his next words, placing heavy emphasis on each word, signifying the importance of his next words: "She's ranked THIRD!"
It was as if he wanted to, no, needed Wei Wuyin to understand the level of batshit frenzy that was about to be unleashed, including the hidden implication that she possessed something that could cause a catastrophe on a galactic scale!
The courtship competition would likely involve many top-tier talents!
"I see," Wei Wuyin digested all this with a calm smile.
"And you, World-Saint Neo-Dawn, have received a direct invitation of highest honors! You'll certainly be held in high regard there! You can establish all sorts of connections with ease and perhaps intimately discuss the Alchemic Dao with others!" Hao Chengxue's eyes brightened considerably!
"...An invitation, huh?" Wei Wuyin didn't know whether to laugh or cry. After all, this was a thinly veiled attempt by the entire galaxy to bring Wei Wuyin to the public eye without directly intercepting him and causing offense. Of course, he wouldn't just reject this invitation. He was quite curious about this supremely old teacher.
"I'll think about it," was all Wei Wuyin replied with. Subconsciously, he looked at his refreshed Karmic Luck Value. There was no indication of a great fortune occurring there. Still, he wouldn't mind using it to establish connections and swiftly complete some of his objectives here.
"Please do!" Hao Chengxue excitedly pleaded.
Nodding, Wei Wuyin frowned slightly as he took a sip of his wine. "You said this teacher wasn't born in the Utmost Purity Galaxy?"
Hao Chengxue was taken aback by that question for a brief moment before he smiled, "Indeed. He was born in the Treasured Vale Galaxy. I heard he originated from a rather extraordinary lineage there."
Komentar Chapter (0)
Login buat ikut berkomentar.
Belum ada komentar di chapter ini. Jadi yang pertama!