Wei Wuyin had settled Ying, his shadow. At the moment, Ying was in the midst of cultivating within the thatched hut. Wei Wuyin had long since known of Ying's issue with old age, and as a Qi Condensation Realm cultivator, he was approaching the end of his natural lifespan. Fortunately, there were numerous products that can help bolster longevity, nourishing one's life energies and vitality.
He had prepared a seventh-grade pill called the Life Granting Pill. Its name was rather simplistic, and so was its effects. It was exceptionally straightforward. By consuming and refining the vital energies within it, one could gain up to ten years of additional life. Of course, the stronger one's cultivation base, the lesser the effectiveness of this pill and its vital energies. For Astral Core Realm experts, they'll be fortunate to be granted a single month of additional life.
However, for Qi Condensation cultivators, it was highly effective and capable of providing several additional years.
This wasn't the only product he received. He had devised an entire cultivation regimen to return Ying back to his former strength, while simultaneously allowing his cultivation base to improve by leaps and bounds. If he can reach the Astral Core Realm, his age would no longer be a factor that restricted his potential strength and ability. He'll have several hundred natural years added to his lifespan.
"Haaa…" He sighed with a heavy exhaustion revealed in his eyes. His head lifted to view the sky contained three suns. 'I miss you…' His thoughts roamed as he recalled that proud crane that brightly lit up the night. She wasn't simply a mount to be ridden, or a sky partner to soar the skies with, but his friend who listened and accepted. In the cultivation world, this was a rare relationship to have. While idling, his innermost thoughts would be heard by her, and his emotions would be accepted as well.
When he used the Eye of Illusion on Ying, bringing him into an illusionscape, he had never thought about the immense burden peering into another's mind would cause him. It was different from emotionlessly sweeping through Jiao Ning's mind for selective memories and performing a surgical removal while melding any damage. This time, it was as if he was Ying. Every shiver and thought, emotion and want, he felt it all.
The feeling of drinking an infant's warm blood as its cries of pain and agony slowly ceased into an eternal slumber. A life snuffed out before it could even begin. The despair of losing everything and wanting to so desperately live. The feeling…the feeling of causing his entire family's death. Wei Wuyin's hands slowly clenched into fists, tightening until his knuckles became white as ash.
Perhaps that's what triggered him. For some reason, he felt that guilt and it perfectly matched his own. A resonance between two individuals of far apart generations likely formed some bond between the two. An invisible bond that could not be removed because their memories and emotions could not be removed.
He couldn't help but think: °If I was in his situation, forced to rely on any method to avenge my family…would I?°
And the answer was easy…yes.
Only those who knew how it felt to be the reason for their loved ones' lives to end horrifically, stripped away because of their decision, could possibly understand what they would be willing to do after. The answer to that question would never change.
Fortunately, he had talent, he had a chance, and grasped it entirely. He entered the Scarlet Solaris Sect as an Honorary Disciple, struggled his way to the top, and obtained his revenge with the support of allies, such as Bai Lin, Mei Mei, and the Jiang Brothers. He had a support system that others didn't have, that Ying didn't have.
All those responsible, their children, their brothers, their mothers and fathers…he killed them all to alleviate his seething hatred. In the end, it didn't bring them back. But, if he died and met his family in the afterlife, he would be able to beg for forgiveness with his heart strong and his mind clear. At least some form of justice and accounting was held towards those responsible.
"I can't use the Eye of Illusion to interject myself into someone else's mind anymore. It's going to slowly make me lose a sense of myself," the lingering effects of the Eye of Illusion was causing his memories, thoughts, emotions, and beliefs to undergo a slight upheaval and even transforming based on Ying's experiences.
The Eye of Illusion of the Celestial Eyes of Spiritual Divinity was an extraordinary ability. It originated from the unique formation etched within his sea of consciousness, and he can project his mental energies directly into those who visually perceived his eyes. They would descend into an illusory world of his making or theirs. However, using the latter required using his own mental projection to enter their sea of consciousness. This was an incredibly dangerous act. The sea of consciousness contained the memories, emotions, and will of an individual. It shaped one's personality.
It was like drowning himself in their everything. With that, he would dredge up those memories while simultaneously tainting himself with it. It was better to create projections based on his own thoughts. It was one part removed, and merely needed him to send mental energies to influence their perceptions rather than directly affecting their sea of consciousness.
Furthermore, it consumed an immense amount of mental energy. Thanks to his cultivation base increase, he could now interface and activate the formation with his refined Astral Core level mental energies. While it also consumed spiritual energies, it wasn't nearly as much as raw mental energies.
"If the Eye of Illusion is this troublesome, what about the other two?" He tried to interface with the Eye of Immortality, but it seemed to already be silently activated, and it didn't consume any energy he could see or feel at the moment. However, it was passively active.
The Eye of Truth was still a complete mystery. He couldn't even activate it with all or any of his various energies of forces. It seemed to require something very specific. However, he felt that he could activate it in the Astral Core Realm, just not now. This feeling was very mysterious, like an invisible guide on his shoulder slowly informing him of it.
Shaking his head slightly, his eyes revealed a level of mental exhaustion. He needed to rest.
Just as he was about to do so, he received a transmission. It was from An Biru. It read:
"Senior, the clash will begin two days from now at noon in Blood Titan City. I hope you can make it."
After reading this, Wei Wuyin finally recalled his earlier agreement to help those two sisters and their clan in an All-Alchemic Clash. He had forgotten. This wasn't due to his memory being shoddy, but the level of mental exhaustion had caused him to forget most things. The Eye of Illusion was truly a disastrous consumption of his mental energies.
As someone who had Eden reinforce and enhance the quality and quantity of his mental energies as well as a secondary sea of consciousness, he was truly shocked to his core. At the moment, he felt nearly mortal. It was a novel feeling.
"I'll rest for now. Later, I'll have to concoct some products suitable for furthering my mental limits." After deciding this, he walked towards the lake and walked on its surface. With a flick of his finger, elemental force emerged and a smaller-sized replica of his Sky Palace was formed with the lake's surface as the foundation.
With his ability of permanence, after creating anything, it would last until destroyed or caused by time. With a light breath, he entered the palace and brought out his own bed from his storage ring.
