Chapter 1624 1617: That Su Mei (4)
The abrupt crumbling of the Seed Tribulation Gate had no prior indication and, at first glance, had no immediate explanation. The hazy figure hadn't made a move, still frozen by the Fixed Soul Spell's effects nor had it said anything, and there wasn't a sudden eruption of unseen force that caused its collapse. It simply turned into mystic dust without warning, fluttering through the void as if carried by a gentle, unforgiving gust. And just like that, Wei Wuyin and Su Mei were both visibly stunned.
The former could sense that the Neo-Dawn Mystic-Genesis Pill's effects had ceased to exist altogether. With his Minor Law of Time and True Void Dragon Bloodline, despite being within the prohibition's strongest region, he could determine that there was no temporal regression that was applied. The pill itself seemed to have been erased from existence.
The latter sensed something entirely different; Su Mei felt a subtle ripple surge through her body like a wave of antibodies, and her Mystic Rune Seeds forged by the pill's effects vanished. It was as if her body was instinctively acting against a foreign material without her will, a feeling that mortals were extremely familiar with-the lack of control of their bodily functions-but not cultivators who strove upon this difficult path of cultivation.
Su Mei instinctively turned her head and body to Wei Wuyin. The sight of his calm visage shattering as panic began to swell within those normally gorgeous and imposing silver eyes was like thunder to her heart. She knew that any further attempts to challenge the tribulation would be met with abject failure. Since the beginning, she often possessed a stoic expression, and her trust in Wei Wuyin was undeniably the highest out of anyone in existence, but she was helpless and that visage of hers collapsed as well...she finally...revealed fear!
Wei Wuyin's gaze moved from the former location of the Seed Tribulation Gate to Su Mei. Their eyes met.
It was as if time itself froze. And only they, a young mortal man and a young mortal woman, two souls that had met by chance on a fateful day, only due to their lives and personalities did they find an opportunity to meet, and they've each changed ma.s.sively since then yet within each other's gaze, knew that the person they first met would never fade.
And they would never abandon the other.
"..."
Suddenly-
The hazy figure slowly regained its motion as if adjusting to the situation with astounding speed. Unlike before, its entire arm moved. When it did, as if similar by extension, the unseen force impacted Su Mei intensely. The Mark of Eden released a wail as Ori and King drove it to its limits once again. By now, it was exhausting its quintessential lifeforce and intrinsic energies const.i.tuting its existence and mystical powers of conversion and infusion.
Two seconds. That was all they had before the Mark of Eden would no longer be able to resist the unseen force. It would vanish-forever.
The two s.h.i.+fted their locked gaze toward the hazy figure in unison, and noticing the correlation between the unseen force's resuming its inexplicable rampage on Su Mei's body and soul and the hazy figure's movement, they could only deduce that this hazy figure was the cause. Regardless of the urging within Wei Wuyin's heart to flee, run, and escape as far away as possible, he refused to stand down here.
HE REFUSED TO GIVE UP!
Likewise, Su Mei was unwilling to surrender to this calamity. She could only do a single thing.
The two's minds synced in perfect harmony.
FIGHT!
s.h.i.+ng!
s.h.i.+ng!
Two saber howls erupted; Su Mei drew upon King, Ori, and her Darklight Divine Soul to their maximum while Wei Wuyin converted Eden and Kratos into Omega Saber Starforce. The two flashed like moving shadows, rus.h.i.+ng the hazy figure to the point that their forceful movements disturbed the celestial orbit of the Sky Heart Galaxy!
Wei Wuyin's thoughts were intensely focused on a single objective: Kill!
His older brother once said that should he unsheathe his saber, he must do so because of two things, and only two things-to kill or to protect. Moreover, with his saber in hand, he must always give it his all and beyond. Whenever a saber was drawn, the cultivator owed that to the saber, themselves, their loved ones, and their enemies.
Wei Wuyin's Saber Intent was born from this absolutist mentality of a saber cultivator. Should he draw his saber, the end would come, either to himself or to any calamity that existed. It was incredibly profound to the extent that his journey had given birth to the Omega Saber Soul Light, including Laws of Annihilation.
Su Mei's Saber Intent was steadfast and reliable, focused on being the fastest, never falling behind, and always present. It was as if it could engulf the entire world with a single thought and traverse worlds at light speed to always reach its target. It was all-encompa.s.sing and unforgettable. It carried her truest will and somehow perfectly accentuated Wei Wuyin's as if established by some intrinsic foundation of unity and harmony.
Perhaps...it was because the target that it wished to follow was the Omega Saber from the very beginning!
The two saber lights intertwined for millions of miles, illuminating the world in a silvery and dark light.
Wei Wuyin swung. He swung at the hazy figure with everything he had! His True Dragon Transformed was pushed to its limits and Little Defiant was sending copious amounts of power, far exceeding its limits into Wei Wuyin's body, to the point where the Stellar-Paragon Physique that hadn't been perfected was on the verge of fracturing at its foundation. His cells shrieked in agony yet it didn't stop him as he pushed him to swing the hardest and move the fastest.
Su Mei didn't hold back either. Inexplicably, an Astral Soul unbeknownst to her released its starforce into her saber. Killing Intent raged! She sliced her saber with her entire soul behind it!
They didn't swing just once! They s.h.i.+fted places and twisted their bodies, one forceful and heavy and the other beautiful and light, and they exchanged locations again and again, their sabers swinging through the hazy figure with unquestionable resolve.
Crisscrossing lights could be seen across the Sky Heart Galaxy as silvery and dark saber light danced in the starry skies. They danced a tango of soul and body and will. The unity between the two was unprecedented, and shockingly, with Ori and King supporting her, Su Mei wasn't lacking in strength or speed when compared to Wei Wuyin at all! Their attack touched upon an extremely indistinct law, the Law of Duality.
The Law of Duality was as profound as the Law of Origin, and enveloped concepts such as the Law of Yin and Yang, War and Peace, Life and Death, and many more that could be inexplicably grasped while immersed within it.
Unfortunately, the Prohibition of Heaven forbade its formation and resonance! Not even seeds were born.
Two seconds.
When that time finally eclipsed, no new saber light was born after.
And no new saber light of such mortal duality and unity would be born in this galaxy again.
"NO!!!"
A heaven-rending cry that could shake the soul erupted throughout the Sky Heart Galaxy and beyond. It extended an unfathomable distance across the void, further etched into every particle within the Sky Heart Galaxy with an eternal might. When the light faded, two figures were intertwined.
Wei Wuyin's arms clenched tightly around an unmoving body...there was no strength in its limbs or life in its blank eyes.
The Mark of Eden...had faded...
The cracks that extended across her body had reached her True Soul and the unseen pleted its objective.
Her beautiful complexion was rosy and still contained incredible warmth. Hot tears dripped onto her soft cheeks and black robes.
A hazy figure stood just a few meters away. They observed the duo with an indifferent gaze. However, it was not without some damage. Several saber scars were emitting darklight radiance on its body that wasn't healing and seemed to have cut extraordinarily deep, yet it contained no pain or frustration. If one observed the wounds, one would notice that only Su Mei's saber inflicted any harm to its hazy, indistinct form, and each emitted a strange aura.
Not once did the hazy figure fight back, only standing there nearby, taking every attack sent its way. From beginning to end, besides a few sentences and destroying Su Mei's initial, personally achieved Seed Tribulation Gate, it did little else as if it was an observer that was simply ensuring a particular outcome.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
"??????. ???, ?????."
When those words resounded, Wei Wuyin's tears halted as his expression s.h.i.+fted drastically.
It said: "Your cunning is pointless. She's no longer of this world, not in life or death."
After saying this the hazy figure turned around.
Wei Wuyin hurriedly checked the World-Defying Celestial Heart. His last contingency. When refined by Soul Light, it could give one a second chance at life in death. After realizing the figure was unable to be harmed and Su Mei didn't have enough time or power to kill this existence, he could only rely on this treasure given to him by the heavens!
He could only hope!
All his other plans and tactics required more time! Time Su Mei simply didn't have! Time he couldn't gain! If he left the Prohibition of Heaven then the hazy figure and unseen force would return at full force and they would have less time! Less time! LESS TIME!
With a pounding heart, the clear uncut crystal that was the World-Defying Celestial Heart had been refined by Su Mei a day earlier. However...her soul light...
It wasn't there.
It was as if she had never refined it, to begin with.
Blank-faced, Wei Wuyin felt the entire world pause. What was this? This...this couldn't be it, right? When that blank gaze turned toward the flawless and lifeless body of Su Mei as if she had the most peaceful ending in the universe, it gradually transformed into one of unwillingness.
It's not over yet!
"More time! Just need more time!"
Wei Wuyin held Su Mei tight in a bridal carry, her head resting softly on his shoulder, causing the hazy figure to pause its steps. With a flap of his Infinite Void Wings, Wei Wuyin brought Su Mei out of the Sky Heart Galaxy with his fastest speed.
"Su Mei. My Su Mei. It's 'We' until the end." When he exited the void, he floated within the Dark Void with a soft gaze. The hazy figure inexplicably followed once again. It hadn't turned around.
Wei Wuyin took a deep breath. His wings unfurled to their limits, expanding hundreds of thousands of meters in wingspan. The Minor Law of Time, s.p.a.ce, Imperial, and Origin began to whirl intensely as King and Ori returned to his body. Kratos didn't say a single thing nor roared. None of them did.
"More time." Wei Wuyin muttered these two words as he thought back to San Yongli. If she could go back in time, then...so could he! He had done it once before during Kratos' Mortal Star Formation Tribulation. He could do it again! He...he had to.
There were many other things he could try. There were many plans left unused.
Suddenly, the Mortal Dao's blessing, Mystic Dao's blessing, and the eternal aura within his Stellar-Paragon Physique grew abnormally active as they sent vivid warnings of critical danger and for riddance. However, how could Wei Wuyin care?
"I'll have to forcefully use this. It'll only be for a moment," Wei Wuyin said to the four Astral Souls with a hint of an apology. They didn't reply, but their silence was a tacit agreement to do whatever it took!
WHATEVER IT TAKES!
Wei Wuyin released Little Defiant! COMPLETELY! ENTIRELY!
The Solar Star was summoned to this world in full-blown. Its silvery radiance was capable of illuminating galaxies as its brilliance reached the nearby galaxies, from the White Abyssal Galaxy, Sky Heart Galaxy, No-Name Galaxy, Utmost Purity Galaxy, Prosperous Ruin Galaxy, Treasured Vale Galaxy and many others!
Numerous existences beyond the Mystic Ascendant Realm felt its presence as it emerged in full force. Little Defiant was dazzling to an absolute extreme, defying the common sense of any existing star.
Within its Star Core, two incredibly small figures in comparison existed alongside a hazy figure that was enveloped in blazing heat. It seemed unharmed, but it turned around. Its gaze stared at Wei Wuyin.
"Let's try again..." Wei Wuyin said as he brought Su Mei closer to him.
Idol of the Stellar Paragon!
Eighteen different colored lights swirled about and the silvery radiance of Little Defiant morphed instantly into an amalgamation of those colors. Wei Wuyin drew upon all six of his Laws and focused on his True Void Dragon Bloodline. There was nothing that could constrain them! Not even time!
The hazy figure's gaze lowered lightly and Wei Wuyin could feel a mental fluctuation of pity. It was infuriating to feel. But when he came back, just a few minutes before, he would...he would...it would be different! He swore that afterward, he would kill this b.a.s.t.a.r.d no matter what!
"AHHHHH!!! I WON'T LET YOU END LIKE THIS!!!!!" Wei Wuyin didn't know how to traverse through time, but he was relying on raw power to achieve it! He had to! Not only will he have children and a future with Mei Mei and the others, but he will also have a life with Su Mei! He will have a future with his wife!
"HELP ME HEAVENLY DAOS!" Within his True Soul, he cried out.
[RIGHT ARM]
Karmic Luck Value: 212,530.5.
First Calamity: Survived - 7/7.
Second Calamity: Claimed - 1/1.
Third Calamity: Claimed - 3/3.
Fourth Calamity: Suppressed - 18 Year....
Yet, despite his staunch will, an incomplete Stellar-Paragon Physique, an elementary True Void Dragon Bloodline, and a forced Astral Physique could do little. As for actively controlling his Karmic Luck, no miracle came. Even if he could, the Karmic Luck Value was not enough for the Heavenly Daos to harm the River of Time, lacking...quite a bit.
Su Mei died; the consequences of Wei Wuyin's reckless attempt were incalculable and yet...
That Su Mei's fate was decided.
-----
After mulling the matter of location for several minutes, Wei Wuyin's eyes closed for a moment. When they reopened, a light of decisiveness effused.
"Within."
He slowly rose as Cao Cuifen was seamlessly s.h.i.+fted onto the bed, her hands and body hugged and clenched around the remnant warmth of Wei Wuyin's body. She lightly breathed his scent and her s.h.i.+fting expression relaxed before she woke up. With the rise of her recent cultivation base, her sensitivity was heightened.
"You're leaving already?" Cao Cuifen asked in a seductively low voice.
Turning back to her gorgeous looks of this dazzling woman born and raised in an unforgiving time yet survived, her features enhanced by her renewed sense of cultivation and bright Heart of Cultivation bleeding through her aura, Wei Wuyin couldn't resist his urge to smile.
"I'll be back in a few days. Promise," that smile turned into a cheek grin, "and then I'll bring Suyin out too."
-----
Erdiul's Note: Hm, so it's the other WW, the one who married all of his women (?). But what does this mean for Main timeline WW and Su Mei in the marriage department, author baited us I guess. Hopefully not. I personaly hate alternate timelines and reality shenaningens. Reminds me of all the s.h.i.+t Marvel comics like to do.