"…" The group of nine were silent as they flew towards Sky Zephyr City. The Grey Sands Elves within the ground had tense expressions, uncertain if they had heard Wei Wuyin right or not. They couldn't help but glance at the True Desolate Temple members, but they were unsure if they were just unaffected, hid their thoughts, or just suicidal.
A few wanted to voice out their want for clarification, some sent messages to Ai Yin, but they either couldn't or received no response. So they remained silent on the remaining distance to Sky Zephyr City.
While they flew, Wei Wuyin was feeling the ambient Zephyr Power that lingered in the air. It was normally gentle and soft, but when acted upon, it became extremely ferocious and sharp. But the continuous and endless gust of wind was not without its dangers. If the Zephyr Power accumulated within one's body, it would eventually erupt. That was an extremely lethal outcome.
As long as one avoided touching the grass, filtered out the Zephyr Power, they would remain safe.
Ori had absorbed a portion of Zephyr Power, extracting its qualities and profoundities. It was a high-level Wind Intent. In the time they took to fly, Ori had already disassembled the power, extracted the bare Intent, and allowed Wei Wuyin to comprehend it. It wasn't difficult.
With this, he took another step towards completing his Elemental Origin Intent, advancing it to the next level. All he lacked was water and fire Intent at the high-level or greater. But he still aspired to birth an Elemental Origin Intent with nine Apex-level Intents. He only had three, but the increase of his Intent was not minor.
As they reached the city, there were a group of a dozen armored men at the border of the city, a welcoming party. At the lead was a Timelord, clearly belonging to the Sky Zephyr City. It was a middle-aged man with a slim physique, Grand Priest Zi Gu. He had the same status as Grand Priestess Si De, the head of the temple and strongest member.
Wei Wuyin faintly smiled, "What a welcome! Eleven Realmlords and a Timelord. Incredible." His words were said with amusement, much to the consternation of the Grey Sands Elves. While they had two Timelords in their line-up, they didn't believe they would obtain any advantage in a fight.
As they neared, the dozen men that were fully armored, seemingly ready for war, tightly clenched their astral weapons. These individuals didn't know why their Holy Son had given aggressive orders towards the Holy Son of Tri-Elementus and not the other two, but they were primed and ready.
Ai Yin frowned, "You were right."
Wei Wuyin halted a few hundred meters away, having not yet crossed the border into the city. "Isn't this a Holy Summit? Am I, the Holy Son of Tri-Elementus, not welcomed?" He asked, his voice explosive as it reached the ears of everyone in the city, temple, and vicinity. All those powerhouses observing the events perked up, not expecting this development.
The old man sat with the young woman, a grin on his face, "See."
The young woman pouted, spat out with a shrug: "Yeah? Well, what will the idiot do? Fight? He didn't even bring an army."
The old man merely kept his grin, his eyes brighter than ever before.
Grand Priest Zi Gu slightly frowned. The Holy Summit was supposed to be a gathering of four Holy Children to decide the future of the continent, so even he wasn't certain as to why the hostile reception. But he was loyal to the Holy Bloodline, to the Holy Son of Grandgale, all else mattered very little.
"If you-" he was about to spout out the words instructed to say, but a loud laugh of joy cut him off. He was startled as he glared at Wei Wuyin. He was a Grand Priest, who dared to interrupt him?
Those who were watching were caught off-guard as well, unsure what Wei Wuyin intended to do or these Sky Zephyr Temple Members.
Wei Wuyin couldn't care less about this Grand Priest's nonsense. He had noticed a familiar aura within the city! When his Celestial Eyes scoured the city, he found a gorgeous emerald-haired elf who was startled, a light of concern in her gaze as she watched them from afar.
When she noticed his gaze, she was caught off-guard.
Wei Wuyin cheerfully waved, excited to see Qing Qiumu. She was the first individual that he'd met that originated from his starfield, besides Lian Yu's corpse. He was extremely excited, his laughter of joy was extremely genuine, originating from the depths of his heart.
Seeing Wei Wuyin wave so exuberantly, Qing Qiumu couldn't help but smile, a faint blush on his face. He never allowed anything serious to take away his joy, acting as he wished and however he wished. But she loved that about him. Even when he fought three Gold-Starred Beast in the Grand Spirit Trials, he was filled with a warm smile and a calm attitude.
When she was facing her own execution, fearful and lost, his bright smile was the strongest hand that wrenched away her stress, fear, and sadness.
Now, facing the hostile Grand Priest, he was laughing and smiling without restraint, ignoring the Grand Priest as she was prioritized. A warmth suffused her heart. She couldn't even be concerned any longer, feeling as if everything was going to be okay.
Ai Yin and Si De glanced at the city, observing Qing Qiumu who waved back with a faint blush. Seeing this Verdant Forest Elf, her gorgeous appearance, they realized Wei Wuyin was truly all-inclusive. But considering his looks and abilities, it made sense.
But suddenly, Wei Wuyin shouted with a bright smile, "Run!"
"…"
What?
Wei Wuyin repeated to Qing Qiumu, smiling and laughing, "Run!"
Qing Qiumu froze for a brief moment, her pupils shrunk. Without any hesitation, she shot away, her astral force pressed against the ground, vines emerging and snatching up the powerless elven children and adults, transporting them with extremely fast speed. They couldn't even resist, her wood force far too resilient and unexpected.
She didn't even try to leave through any normal exit, the vines directly plunging into the ground they emerged from alongside those they seized. For tens of miles, she extracted everyone she could, leaving herself directly after, entering into the ground while resisting the Zephyr Power. Her movements were incredibly swift, fiercely decisive, and outrageously unexpected!
Her actions were just watched by everyone, no one understanding what she was doing, even the experts on watch just observed in confusion. Was she taking hostages? A few roared in rage, shooting forward to chase, but they all halted before they could pursue into the ground. Without warning, they lost all signs of life, collapsing.
"…!" Seeing the corpses of these experts thud with a soft, dreadful crash left everyone shocked. These experts were at the Astral Core Realm, and while they were all lower-phase experts, they still died without warning! How?! Who?!
The old man saw this, turning to the young woman who was just as confused, "You asked why. Here's why: Negotiate? Hide? Wait? We are cultivators, if we have strength, what do we need to follow any conventional thinking? Seize the initiative!"
The young woman snapped to the old man, still confused.
The old man laughed with heart, "Let's run too." With a blur, the two vanished from their seats and reappeared far away, looking at the scene from afar. The old man exclaimed for a moment, noticing a gaze had followed him. He saw Wei Wuyin giving his direction a sidelong glance.
"…How terrifying."
Wei Wuyin stopped laughing, his mood instantly ruined by the old man's vanishing act, causing him to instantly become serious and cautious. But after noticing who it was, he relaxed. The old man wasn't a threat. He could even be considered an ally.
With this in mind, he no longer held back. He stepped forward, waving for his group of nine elites to step back. Grand Priestess Si De acted without hesitation, the other members of the temple following soon after. The Grey Sands Elves saw them retreat, so they did too.
Ai Yin was the last one, she softly said: "Be careful."
Wei Wuyin didn't reply. Seeing this, Ai Yin retreated.
The scene brought confusion, even more than before, to all those watching and the Grand Priest's welcoming party. They were still wondering how those experts below died, and now they had to react to Wei Wuyin's lone walk forward, ditching his guardians.
"…"
「Elemental Spiritual Art: World of Origin」
An Astral Core revealed itself within his dantian, revealing its existence to the entire world.
The young woman's eyes widened and exclaimed in awe, shock, and wonder: "IT'S SO BIG!"