Wei Wuyin instantly recognized the voice that originated from the chandelier. Unfortunately, Da Shan was relentless and emotional, clutching onto him and burying her head into his chest. She wrapped her arms tightly around Wei Wuyin.
Wei Wuyin could feel that she felt scared during this period, causing him to frown. He lifted his gaze upwards, a flicker of killing intent within.
"Woah! I'm innocent," the voice seemed to read Wei Wuyin's intent, causing a shimmer of light to cascade downwards towards them. Directly before them, the figure of the old ghost, Wang Yutian, with his short stature, bald head, and aged countenance, appeared with a bright smile.
But Wei Wuyin disregarded Wang Yutian, caressing Da Shan's head while whispering in her ear. Her trembling calmed down as she found some support in this gesture. Only when her mental state had settled did Wei Wuyin ask, "What happened?"
Da Shan left his embrace, her golden irises were faintly wet. "I thought I was going to die." When she said this, she turned to face the old ghost who appeared, her eyes filled with a heavy grievance. To see a normally tough as mountain, fierce as a tigress woman as Da Shan reduced to such a state, Wei Wuyin grew even more curious.
Wang Yutian bitterly smiled as he placed his hand up in defense, "Why act like I did the unforgivable? All I did was tell the truth."
Lin Ming finally broke free from his stupor from this shocking event, recognizing the old man as well. He was there at the beginning of his journey twenty or so years ago. The Myriad Dao War Palace's spirit-based automaton. This was before he met Senior Sister Lin, obtained the legacy of the Divine King Han Xei, and embarked on his perilous journey to the peak!
But witnessing the ever-changing expression and vivid gestures of the spirit-based automaton had changed his understanding of events. The thing was alive! It was sentient!
"Explain," Wei Wuyin calmly demanded. Da Shan was his woman, even if gods, devils, or beings from beyond sought her life, he would still hold his saber stably in his hand. Da Shan saw this as she stood beside him, a faint smile of happiness at Wei Wuyin's domineering reaction. This was the Ascendant Emperor!
Wang Yutian sighed, "Your little lover here triggered the formations of the trial, nearly activating a ninth-grade pellet that could destabilize the World Realm. The rules state I should eliminate her, but I felt your aura on her and since, from the very beginning, I believed you would become the Chosen, I placed her in the Elementus Cache. I even allowed her to use your resources prematurely, or how else would she leap two levels in two years?
"She's a greedy one too. She took the absolute best resources for her cultivation level after learning it was yours." Wang Yutian bitterly laughed, giving Da Shan a strange look. Da Shan blushed, feeling a little guilty inside. Wei Wuyin grabbed her hand into his own, giving her a gentle smile to disperse her guilt.
As a Mortal Sovereign Alchemist, did he lack wealth? Resources? He had no issue being able to provide for his women, and the stronger they were, the better he felt.
A warm sensation suffused Da Shan's heart. She tightened her grip around Wei Wuyin's hand. If this wasn't an unknown area, perhaps she might've done something else to express her feelings.
After a brief moment, Wei Wuyin still had his doubts, "How did she activate pellets during the Season of Regression?"
Wang Yutian explained, "The Central Region of the Four Extreme Continent doesn't experience the same type of Season of Regression as the others. It's classified as a Safe Zone, so pellets and talismans can still be used."
Wei Wuyin nodded. He had given pellets and crafted talismans to Da Shan, the Ascendants, and others as a last measure to protect themselves. But if they were sent into the areas affected by the Season of Regression, unable to break those bindings, they would have to rely solely on themselves.
The earlier subtraction of his Karmic Luck Value was due to his inadvertent actions that nearly led to Da Shan's death, but brought her fortune. He was internally relieved, but as he eyed Wang Yutian, he realized that even an odd and ancient existence like himself can be influenced by the Heavenly Daos.
"Wait!" Lin Ming shouted in frustration. He was being ignored, and he had his own questions. "Who are you and why is he here?" The earlier words of the spirit-based automaton, or unique lifeform, had mentioned his expectations of Wei Wuyin becoming Chosen. Furthermore, this Da Shan woman was cultivating here for two years?! Wouldn't that mean that the lifeform always thought Wei Wuyin was going to succeed?!
Wang Yutian turned to Lin Ming with his signature bright smile he usually carried as he pretended to be non-sentient and robotic. "I'm the Primary Overseer of the Elementus Chosen Trial. You both have been chosen as Chosens due to unique circumstances, due to the similarities of timing and absence of explicit rules in regards to this, you both have gained the qualification to become Chosen by my decision."
Da Shan looked towards Lin Ming, now finding him familiar. Wasn't he the cultivator that fought against Zuhei, Wei Wuyin's left-hand, and nearly ended his life at the Grand Spirit Trials?
Lin Ming was stupefied for a moment. He turned to Wei Wuyin, shocked by this explanation. Unique circumstances? Timing? They were both Chosens? "What does this mean, exactly? I thought the True Element Sect can only bestow the title of Chosen once a centennial generation, unless it's different trials." He recalled what Senior Sister Lin had informed him.
According to her, the original Secondary Overseer, the Chosen title can only be determined once a century, and it belonged to the most outstanding member of that generation. There wasn't just a single Chosen in the True Element Sect, and the various forces would typically have thirteen at most.
Wang Yutian shrugged, "They can settle that mess themselves." Within his heart, he didn't really care about this flawed trial. The reason he wanted Wei Wuyin to claim the title was due to the Elementus Cache. He bonked his forehead with his palm, realizing his lapse of thought.
"Since you both are considered Chosen, you both have access to the Elementus Cache, the final cache given to the Chosen of the trial." As he said this, he clapped his hands while the three were still in their own thoughts and emotions.
The room that was empty, with four-sided closed walls, a small space, and only that strange chandelier above started to undergo a miraculous change. A cascading wave of energy brushed against the three, with both Wei Wuyin and Lin Ming inspecting the world with their respective ocular spells.
Da Shan seemed familiar with this scene, an expectant glint within her eyes.
The room's walls transformed into a white liquid that started to bubble and surge around them like a cage of water. The water started to move and twist around them, forming a whirlpool that kept spinning at faster and faster speeds. Wwi Wuyin realized that some spell was being undone, and his Celestial Eyes observed with scrutiny.
Da Shan exclaimed to Wei Wuyin, "Here we go!" The joy and excitement on her face was vivid, highlighting her beauty even more. Unfortunately, no one could appreciate it as the three were swarmed by the whirlpool of white liquid, being submerged.
After a second, the room returned to normal as if they were never there.
A few seconds later, Wei Wuyin found himself transported to an entirely different space, gargantuan and wide. The sky above had hexagonal outlines, just like the Myriad Dao Palaces he had met before. But the sky was divided into nine colors, each emitting their own unique light. When they cascaded downwards, the light was not multicolored, but white.
Wei Wuyin felt the environment was immersed in dense elemental origin energies and essences. While it was artificial, it was extremely high level and could be cultivated to reinforce the physical body or the aspects of an Astral Core. This was the greatest cultivation environment that he'd ever experienced.
"…!" He was welcomed by hundreds of thousands of pillars, all sky-reaching, and holding the sky as the foundation. At the center of each pillar was at least a space of roughly fifty cubic meters, and they stored a variety of objects, scrolls, bottles, and even entire rooms that seemed empty at first glance.
The largest pillar was utterly gigantic, the size of a medium-sized city, and at the center was a levitating Voidship with twenty-meter tall cannons mounted on the deck towards all sides, with outlines of door flaps on its sides. The Voidships from the earlier caches were all transport-focused, but this one seemed to be battle-ready.
It wasn't designed like a freighter, and more like a white and golden-colored flagship with four floor levels, each outfitted with their own cannons. The bottom of the Voidship had a strange silver ring that lifted it off the ground, giving off strong spatial fluctuations.
"There's so many rare resources here!" Lin Ming exclaimed with intense shock, noticing that each pillar contained various resources sufficient to establish one's own force. There were even pill bottles, elixir vials, and paste containers! These products were at least in seventh-grade!
Da Shan had only been sent here a few times, but the resources were enough for her to advance to the Light Reflection Phase in two years, and form a Primary Light at the White-Level! She was excited to be here again!
Wang Yutian didn't appear again, but his booming voice resounded throughout the entire space. "Welcome to the Elementus Cache!"
