The events at the Holy Summit had subverted the beliefs of everyone within the continent, and word of it spread at an outrageous speed. With Wei Wuyin, Tang Xingyun, He Yanglei, and Lin Ming's conversions being conducted verbally, the gossip mill had fuel for days.
In the minds of many, the Holy Summit was to be the determining factor of the continent and religious temple's future. It signified the likely unity of three, if not four, Holy Clans. However, what they received was the endgame knowledge of the Badges of Divinity and the search for the singular representative of the Four Extreme Continent's Divinities.
This brought both excitement and trepidation into the hearts of these experts, both humans and elves alike. Especially since Wei Wuyin, this devastating force that no one could underestimate, had claimed eight of nine. If it wasn't for that strange defensive barrier that erected to halt Wei Wuyin's movements, delaying his ascension for a year, this entire event might've had a conclusion.
At the time, Wei Wuyin soared through the skies alongside Grand Priestess Si De, Ai Yin, the other Grey Sands Elves, and the temple members. They were silent as they followed Wei Wuyin, even Ai Yin and Si De were quietly flying behind him. The nine Dragons of Origins had already been dispersed, their remaining astral force returning to Wei Wuyin's Astral Core.
After what seemed like an eternity, as they returned to the Desolate Lands borders, Wei Wuyin heaved a soft sigh of relief. He was quite stressed by everything that had happened, especially by this timed restriction of one year. Unfortunately, he had no alternative avenue to pursue. Whoever that woman was, her cultivation base exceeded the Mortal Limits to the point she could condense air particles into a solid structure, imbuing them with such power that his dragons couldn't even leave a tiny dent on its surface.
The level of power far exceeded his comprehension and abilities, forcing him to accept any and every condition under the threat of death. Considering the other old man had spared him in the end, for whatever reason, Wei Wuyin didn't wish to push his luck any further.
'Taking the aggressive route in my actions had to have changed any possible futures known by the Temporal Reincarnator in the Four Extreme Continent. If only I knew who this person was, I could take further measures.'
Since that day, the day the world stood still, Wei Wuyin had been constantly considering the influence and impact this Temporal Reincarnator might have on his life and future fortuitous encounters. Every decision he'd made since was made with caution and uncertainty, seeking the best way to disrupt anything and everything.
Even his decisions to establish Valkyrie, invest heavier into the Ascendants, and seek after the absolute apex of his cultivation path was heavily contributed by this unknown existence. This unseen, unknowable variable that was like a hidden dagger waiting to strike at his heart carried untold levels of stress within his mind. It robbed him of his sense of safety that he'd once had.
"Holy Son…" A voice resounded from behind Wei Wuyin, snapping him out of his thoughts. It belonged to Ai Yin. Her beautiful countenance carried a slight frown as she looked his way. Those eyes of hers revealed a trace of wariness and fear.
"Will you be okay?" She sent a spiritual transmission, unable to hold in her worries any longer. She had watched Wei Wuyin fight, suppress, and kill Realmlords with relative ease, revealing a thirty-two centimeter Astral Core, and unleash a Multi-Link Spiritual Astral Array that was unfathomable to imagine.
Ai Yin had also heard Lin Ming's words, accusing Wei Wuyin of using a self-harming method to evoke a greater power, likely taking advantage of the Season of Regression to sweep the world unchallenged. She was afraid that Wei Wuyin would suffer a tremendous backlash for such explosive, devastating power.
When he turned to see the soft, warm, and genuine concern reflected in the eyes of Ai Yin, Wei Wuyin felt his tense mind relax. He halted his flight, causing the other nine to stop with solemn concern on their faces. Grand Priestess Si De readied her astral force, to assist if necessary.
It wasn't just Ai Yin that believed he would suffer a tremendous backlash, but everyone else as well. It was impossible to them that a Light Reflection Phase Cultivator could unleash such carnage with ease.
"I understand your fear, so I won't lie to any of you. There is no backlash; there is no self-harming method. It was all made-up by a desperate mind seeking consolation for its weakness, and tagged on by those unwilling to believe in the certain truths. The unfathomable truth that there is someone stronger than them, younger than them, far outside of their reach." Wei Wuyin slowly explained via mental transmissions, ensuring this wasn't exposed to anyone else.
"What?! But two thirty-two centimeters!" A Grey Sands Elf was the first to echo their disbelief at his words. How could he have reached such limits, broken the standard of cultivation, without using some forbidden method? It was inconceivable!
Wei Wuyin merely shook his head, "While I said I won't lie, that doesn't mean I owe you an explanation. I just told you the truth." He didn't even look at that elf, floating towards Ai Yin and reached out to caress her face, cupping her delicate skin in his hand. "Don't allow others to influence your heart with their ignorance."
Ai Yin felt a warmth suffuse into her heart alongside a wave of relief. For some reason, despite a certain bubble in her thoughts firming keeping the belief that this shouldn't be possible, she felt trusting of Wei Wuyin's words. She didn't know if she was being blinded by her feelings, but it felt right.
At least for now, unless it was shown otherwise, she would believe in Wei Wuyin. The members of True Desolate Temple were conditioned to listen to their Holy Son, to believe in their every word, to suppress any and all doubts they had towards them, so they didn't question it. The words of the Holy Son were almost the same as the words of their Divinity, it was inviolable and sacred.
This was why Grand Priestess Si De didn't need any further convincing, her heart had decided the truth the moment Wei Wuyin had spoken.
—–
In the Sky Zephyr Temple, a figure was in deep meditation while in the lotus position. From time to time, bursts of spiritual strength would emit from every pore of that figure. Surrounding him were a few Sky Zephyr Temple members who had awkward expressions, and Grand Priest Zi Gu who was frowning heavily.
The figure was Lin Ming, their former Holy Son of Grandgale!
The bursts of spiritual strength was the result of an intense circulation of spiritual energy unleashed by Lin Ming. He was currently trying to undo Wei Wuyin's spiritual restrictions imposed on his body, and had been doing so for several hours.
Grand Priest Zi Gu's eyes suffused with a dark and impatient glow. The Holy Summit was Lin Ming's idea, and not only did he lose in a Holy Challenge, losing his rights as a Holy Son, but this decision led to the deaths of several Realmlords and the utter devastation of Sky Zephyr City.
He hated the fact they were harboring such a prolific and useless sinner of their beliefs. In fact, they should have shifted their loyalties instantly, becoming followers of Wei Wuyin, yet the existence of that mysterious woman held them back.
He feared that pledging loyalties to Wei Wuyin would only anger her, leading to their demise either way. So he could only accept this with a begrudging frown and hope that the new Holy Son would not hold it against them.
If he had acted immediately after Lin Ming lost, expressing his loyalties to the new Holy Son, Wei Wuyin wouldn't have had thoughts of wiping them out because of their uncertain allegiances. Because of that delay, anyone would believe they had sentimental affection towards Lin Ming, even protecting him in their Sky Zephyr Temple.
But Grand Priest Zi Gu knew the truth. The Divinities did not move Lin Ming inside the temple, but that mysterious young woman. He intended to tell Wei Wuyin everything at the first chance. As for killing those temple members? They were irrelevant; their lives belonged to the Holy Son of Grandgale regardless.
Lin Ming's expression contorted as his eyes opened, revealing a dimly lit pair of grey irises. A flash of discomfort flitted through his expression alongside frustration. Wei Wuyin's restrictions were terrifyingly powerful, locking down every ounce of his cultivation base.
Lin Ming turned to Grand Priest Zi Gu helplessly, "Do you have any way to lift these spiritual restrictions?" In each of his acupuncture points and meridians were spiritual spell formations that sealed the flow of his innate energies, his World Sea, and the higher functions of his Sea of Consciousness. He could only use some spiritual strength, nothing more.
He couldn't even open his spatial ring, leaving him utterly helpless.
The Grand Priest Zi Gu's frown deepened. He was about to decline without even considering if he did or didn't, but a spiritual transmission caused him to heave an internal sigh. "I can try," with that, he approached Lin Ming and touched his shoulder.
After sending his spiritual sense in, Grand Priest Zi Gu was appalled. What type of spiritual restriction was this? This was unbelievable! Curious, he tested a wisp of his spiritual strength to impact the restrictions.
BOOM!
CRASH!
A sudden burst of power was unleashed from Lin Ming's shoulder, catching him off guard as he was sent like a cannonball to the otherside of the room. He slammed into the wall and it collapsed! A groan of pain and cloud of dust was all his actions resulted in. After a long while, Grand Priest Zi Gu lifted himself out of the collapsed wall with a series of coughs.
"What type of Spiritual Restriction Spell is that?! How could it have such terrifying spiritual strength?!" In utter disbelief, he exclaimed with fear! While it wasn't massive, each spell formation was like an impregnable fortress! Not even him, a Timelord, could even handle the small retaliatory reaction from a portion of those spell formations.
A Sky Zephyr Temple revealed a trace of horror in his voice as he said, "Grand Priest, you're bleeding!"
Only when this was said did Grand Priest Zi Gu touch beneath his nose, seeing the blood on his fingers. At the moment, his face was numb and his Sea of Consciousness was heavily impacted. Even his vision was blurry, let alone his sense of touch.
But he wasn't just bleeding from his nose, but all seven orifices!
Lin Ming couldn't spare any thoughts towards Grand Priest Zi Gu's condition as he kept using his internal spiritual strength to slowly whittle away at these restrictive spell formations. If he couldn't remove these bindings, how could he cultivate in the future?!
The mysterious young woman frowned, looking at Lin Ming from the shadows. Her brows were furrowed to their utmost limits, "That spiritual strength isn't normal, vastly exceeding the 50,000 Spirit Unit. I don't think I can break it without causing damage to him." She thought for a long while before settling on her only course of action, "One of those Dharma Protectors can unravel it."
Her figure vanished as soon as she came to this conclusion.
