"Move it!" An aggressive voice filled with rancor spat out, grunting out a forceful shove. Its target: Wei Wuyin. His hands and feet were bound with black rings that glowed with a restrictive spiritual power, runic markings sparkled from time to time. If a normal Gravity Emission Phase expert were placed in these restrictive bindings, they would find their Spirit of Cultivation suppressed to its limits, while their innate energies were in chaos.
The chaos would cause the body to experience jolting pain sporadically. Wei Wuyin felt the large hand press against his shoulders as he was ushered forward by three figures, two of which were unified guards in gray half-masks that covered the upper portion of their faces. The masks had a strange symbol at their glabella, an emblem designating their organization.
It was a three dimensional image of a slender hand with its palm upwards, its fingers facing up, and as if being grasped, a glaringly crimson sphere at its center. One of the strange thoughts that would surge into one's mind was how neatly trimmed the nails were, distinctively giving it a feminine charm.
The four were moving through the voidship's halls. With both guards in front, there was a short, portly middle-aged man with a heavy black beard. He didn't wear a mask, but had a bracer with the symbol, alongside a strange character that Wei Wuyin couldn't recognize.
Wei Wuyin glanced at the masks, his eyes recalling the memories of that young-looking cultivator. When he did, he kept a steady pace and walked as they did. They were currently docked in some building, likely a palace or castle within the Dark Void. It had ample shielding measures, both concealment and defensive.
It seemed heavily fortified. Just walking off the voidship, he was welcomed by a large docking area that housed several other voidships of similar design as the one he left. He knew the design of this voidship was high-end, something that requires sufficient resources and ingenuity to create. The one he possessed was archaic by comparison, lacking in means, efficiency, and quality.
Wei Wuyin first saw numerous men and women walking about, performing duties and en route to other areas of this building complex.
"Ayo! Settle down, beast!" A voice resounded behind him, followed by a light buzz of lightning energies flaring. Wei Wuyin glanced behind him to see Bai Lin being brought forward by a trolley with wheels. Her muzzle and chains were replaced, fixed after her nearly shattering them by accident.
There were seven guards surrounding her, with strange pole-like armaments that emitted lightning energies. The strength of such could incapacitate ordinary Light Reflection Phase cultivators with ease or those with fragile bodies. To them, it was enough as Bai Lin put on an act of whining pain with each jolt.
She glanced at Wei Wuyin, and he could see her wink at him. Inwardly smiling, he was pushed again by the impatient guard. "Shit! Do you not have ears? MOVE!"
Being shoved wasn't that unpleasant. The unpleasant feeling was having to react to it deliberately. Even if he stood perfectly still, this guard wouldn't even be able to move a strand of his hair.
The one leading them turned to the seven guards, "The beast likely consumed a Golden Phoenix Fruit, so take it to the Beast Extraction Room and take its essence blood."
"Yes, sir!" The guards shouted in acknowledgement. They took a different route as they pulled Bai Lin elsewhere. Wei Wuyin gave her one last glance before they separated. The path he walked was long, filled with cultivators with half-masks and uniformed attires. They were certainly of the same organization.
Recalling the details of the young-looking cultivator's memories, he inspected the location. This building complex was not stationary. Its location was constantly moving throughout the vast Ninestar Starfield. An elusive legend, some might say.
The headquarters of an organization said to operate in the shadows and have certain deals with certain cultivators. For example, the Darksword Starlord was in contact with this organization, trading vigorous men for certain resources. With his authority and strength, it would be easy to have some individuals just disappear, especially if they have no backing.
'It's a little unfortunate that oaths are so airtight and inviolable, or else organizations like these would collapse instantly. In fact,' Wei Wuyin thought as he traversed down a long, expansive corridor, 'If cultivators could investigate the mind effectively, organizations that hide in the shadows would vanish at the first transgression. Chaos would probably reign, though.'
The ability to infiltrate the memories of others wasn't just due to Eden, but the combination of his alchemical properties alongside Eden's specific mental energies. However, if others had access to this ability, there would be no secrets that could be kept, neither through sheer will or oath.
That being said, if it became commonplace, cultivators were certain to create defensive wards to protect themselves. Especially if it was something as valuable as their memories and mind.
Wei Wuyin's Celestial Eyes were in full effect as he searched. His eyes searched relentlessly, but to no avail. He slightly furrowed his brows, but remained incredibly patient. He had spent a month just to get here, what was a little longer?
As for Bai Lin, he didn't worry that she would grow restless. As for extracting her essence blood? That was laughable. Still, he knew this organization dealt in exotic animals with unique properties. To think that the Golden Phoenix Fruit was an item even in this stellar region.
If so, Bai Lin was definitely not the only phoenix-transformed avian. However, with their relevance reduced due to technological developments, perhaps only niche forces and unique cultivators nurtured or required essence blood. He heard from Wu Yu that there was a specific mystic-tier force in the Aeternal Sky Starfield, one of the eight Noble Clans—Liu Clan—that specialized in beast breeding, mining, and farming.
They were supposedly a powerful clan that was relegated to a lower standard after their Earthly Saint was defeated, so they took up these arduous tasks and redefined themselves, bringing themselves back up.
After several minutes, Wei Wuyin was escorted through what seemed like a maze to a hallway which led to a five meter high double door at the end that was constructed from some unique oak wood variant. The wood energies within were quite pure, and even Wei Wuyin had to give it another glance.
The tall, portly middle-aged man looked back, his sharp eyes narrowed further into a sinister sneer. "You should be happy; you'll experience utter bliss in a bit." The man gestured to the guards who collapsed the link that bound Wei Wuyin's arms and legs together. While the restrictive shackles around his ankle and wrists remained, he was given full mobility.
Wei Wuyin lifted his left eyebrow a little.
Seeing the curious expression from Wei Wuyin, the man laughed and added: "Enough to die for." Then he pressed against the door. It lit up in brilliant runes. The man's spatial ring released spiritual light that emitted a unique fluctuation. Wei Wuyin noticed this.
'A key?'
A series of runes flashed briefly across the door's surface. Then, the middle-aged man stepped aside gingerly, his expression dignified. The doors proceeded to open with a brisk sound, pushing inward to reveal the beige walls and a portion of the opulent decor within.
"Go," the middle-aged man gestured. Wei Wuyin's curiosity was stoked. He walked forward and gave the man a glance, which was only met with an expression filled with schadenfreude. Such an expression was quite unsightly.
Ignoring that, he entered the doors.
BAM!
When he crossed completely, the doors slammed shut with a heavy thud, menacing and forceful. Unbothered by the abrupt act, Wei Wuyin unhurriedly inspected the room to see the beige-colored walls adorned with exquisite paintings detailing thrilling environments. The most notable was one that seemed to depict a forest ablaze. At the center was a woman with a willowy figure dressed in white holding a black umbrella, her back facing the observer while she watched the forest burn.
There were other paintings with strange, thrilling environments. Such as a drained, heat-ridden ocean floor. There were marine life laying flat or flopping in midair, struggling to live. That location will certainly become scorched, dry land or a desert in the future.
Wei Wuyin felt that he needed to obtain these two paintings. He brushed his messy hair aside, getting a closer look at the paintings. He was thoroughly enchanted by them. It was as if he was experiencing calamities captured forever in these images.
"Quite impressive, aren't they?" A lovely, music-like voice as smooth and soothing as silk on one's skin resounded. Wei Wuyin turned, taken aback by the figure that had avoided his senses.
When he saw the figure, his eyes widened and his heart raced.
He saw a woman. And what a woman she was. She was fair-skinned, with light-pink irises, as enchanting as a peony in bloom, pink lips with a cupid's bow, full and soft as water, thin eyelashes, sharp nose, and an hourglass figure that defined every curve as if meticulously designed by the divine.
The most notable feature, an impossible to miss for anyone with eyes, was those two mounds of proud flesh at her chest that were outrageously large, firmly placed on her upper torso, and seemingly as soft and delicious as marshmallows. Just those two weapons were lethal to the sane mind of any man.
She was dressed in a tight-fitting, deep cleavage revealing black dress that revealed her long, smooth legs, slender waist, and bare feet with white-painted toenails, standing with her head slightly tilted as if to inspect Wei Wuyin's everything.
Wei Wuyin's eyes were absent-minded as if thoroughly entranced, but his thoughts were circulating swiftly. 'She's an Ascended!'
The woman smiled, bright and enchanting as a full moon. She slowly walked towards Wei Wuyin, her steps were gentle yet seemed to cause the heart to beat according to her movements. When she arrived beside Wei Wuyin, she swiftly circled him with her eyes tracing him up and down, ending on his face.
"I must say, I've never seen a man as handsome as you. I wonder what else you have," she glanced down teasingly.
"…" Wei Wuyin stayed absent-minded, at a loss for words as his eyes followed her movements.
"Let's see, shall we? Take them off," she walked back to her bed, sat and looked at Wei Wuyin expectantly.
Wei Wuyin asked with a lifted brow, "Off?"
The beautiful woman nodded slightly, twirling her finger while tracing Wei Wuyin from bottom to top. She said: "Your clothes."
Wei Wuyin thought for a moment, seriously considering this scenario, and his eyes lit.
