Chapter 270 - 267: A Step At A Time

After the event of Su Mei's tribulation, Wei Wuyin spent the next coming days recovering from his immense blood loss. Bedridden for so long, he was left feeling abnormally helpless. The only fortunate benefit was being taken care of by Su Mei. He was left stunned by her gentle and caring methods, and it was like being taken care of as a sick child. To some, this might be humiliating, but Wei Wuyin felt comforted beyond imagination.

She took up this task with the utmost diligence after learning that she had been somewhat to blame. Furthermore, she hadn't realized it. According to her, she had an uncomfortable feeling regarding the tribulation and initiated it, then a few seconds later, she succeeded. There was no Mortal Star Formation Tribulation, and her Natal Soul was currently undergoing its advancement to an Astral Soul.

Her Astral Core and World Sea were present and accounted for, slowly solidifying inside her dantian. She didn't feel any different nor did she comprehend any Intent or obtain the designs for greater Intent. It was as if she had just ascended without issue or warning, simply a success. If this was heard by all those who died assailing this tribulation, she might be drowned in ghosts for her entire life.

Wei Wuyin couldn't help but bitterly smile. He had used an Everlore Ascension Pill! This pill was worth planets, literally. Yet she didn't recall it or anything for that matter. He felt more bitter about this despite his immense loss in quintessential blood, physical, and mental energies.

Well, as long as she was okay, then everything was fine and his little sacrifice was nothing in comparison to her life. When he said those words mindlessly, Su Mei froze for a moment and left the room immediately after. When she returned, she was even more fervent and thorough.

In truth, he suffered greatly from this. His entire body was numb, his thoughts were a jumbled mess and he felt like a mortal, filled with turbidity and inconsistent memory, and he looked like a ghoul with an ashen complexion. This felt fundamentally mortifying to someone who had reached his level of cultivation, becoming close to what mortals would term as a god-like existence, yet reduced to the lowest level. It was close to being crippled.

After eating some meat soup made by Su Mei, he laid in his bed staring at the ceiling. While his thoughts were a mess, he could recall every matter that had happened with incredibly outstanding clarity. It was surreal. "My eyes nor the Celestial Eyes of Spiritual Divinity were capable of noticing anything. In fact, the Celestial Eyes seemed to have caused the fracturing effect of the world. It was as if it was telling me that what I was seeing was false, an illusion created by unfathomable means."

His Celestial Eyes were said to be able to see the trend of the world, an effect that he could utilize today, the laws of the world and unseen deities. This was merely the three most essential aspects of the strength of his Eye of Truth, but what he saw today seemed to be beyond that level. It was only when he unleashed the Alchemic Stars of Mortal Spirituality, that contained the intricate qualities of the Alchemic Dao and Mortal Dao, did he observe the truth before him.

Su Mei had evoked an event that siphoned the world of its mana and absorbed it, then she looked as if she was breaking apart at the seams. Even the Alchemic Spirit Remnant disappeared.

Despite this, her Astral Core was normal. She had a Divine Darklight Astral Soul. There were no irregularities. What happened to the mana she absorbed? The Alchemic Spirit Remnant? Why did this event happen? Was it because of him? Was it because of her? Was it something else entirely?!

He clutched softly at his hair. While he put on an outward appearance of calm and relaxation before Su Mei, his brain felt as if it was throbbing endlessly with unanswered questions. The cultivation world was so vast and expansive. He felt as if he had merely touched on its corners, and a very small corner of it at that. How weak was he?

"Hahaha, I'm acting like an idiot." He found it funny that his thoughts were diverging to such basic thoughts. He had never been someone who dwelled on being weak at the present, and always pressed forward for the future. The only time his thoughts had slipped was due to the Calamities pressing upon his heart.

Having not even found any clue to the Realm of Sages, how could he be strong? From the moment he was born, he's been weak; an ant. As an ant, he was cultivating to see how big he can be. He had long since lost his family, claimed his bloody revenge, and fought ferociously to do so. Now, he was on his own journey.

"One step at a time." At the end of his road, wherever it may be, either the answers will have been discovered or he'll fade away after living his life to his fullest. Despite his mind being filled with a turbid quality, his Heart of Cultivation remained as strong as ever. For now, it was fine that Su Mei was okay.

If she experienced this again during her next breakthrough, he'll see if another Everlore Ascension Pill will be sufficient to deal with it once again.

"King, Ori, are you okay?" Wei Wuyin asked these two Astral Souls who were sealed within his dantian. Since he had regained some strength, they've remained entirely silent. He could feel a heavy emotion of sulking within them, and it caused him to feel anxious and curious.

They were acting against their personalities. Well, at least Ori was. It was the most talkative out of the four.

"We...we…we couldn't help! We wanted to help! We wanted to!!" Ori cried, its voice filled with the sound of crying. Wei Wuyin was startled by this. They can cry? While it was merely the sound tainting its voice, it felt genuine.

"Tch!" King released his signature sound, but it was similarly filled with sadness. This normally arrogant and domineering Astral Soul was feeling distressed.

Wei Wuyin's eyelids lowered, a wisp of helplessness within. He hadn't known how the four felt about him until Kratos slipped during the event. He had referred to him as 'father' and roared it with the utmost urgency. He couldn't sense or see the mysterious force that was invading his body and mind, but they could, so they knew of its dangers.

From Eden, he learned that Kratos and Eden shielded them both from the mysterious force. While they were shielded, they were also sealed within their Astral Cores. This prevented them from being invaded by the mysterious force. According to it, the mysterious force had infected them by a small iota and it nearly caused them to be snuffed out of existence.

If it wasn't for their immediate response, the two would've been annihilated entirely. They didn't know why the force was attracted to them, but Eden had said it was likely due to his and Kratos's unique bodies and composition. They consistently shared energies and connected, so they were attacked as well.

"I'm fine as long as you're both perfectly okay. Sometimes you have to let your siblings handle certain matters that they can. You'll have your turn." Wei Wuyin comforted the two, unbeknownst to him when he referred to them as 'siblings'. He could feel a little discontent from King, but Ori was pacified by his words. Its fluctuations became considerably calmer and he could feel a sense of determination within it.

In truth, these two were the majority of his offensive strength. Whenever he entered a conflict, they were at the forefront of supporting him in fighting or healing, so it was quite interesting to see that they felt useless from this single matter. Just thinking this made him uncertain if he should laugh or cry.

"First my Bloodline Source is exhausted then my bloodline energies are exhausted too. With my mind like this, I can't even concoct the products to help me recover. If only wood energies would work," Wei Wuyin shook his head. The Mark of Eden was quite mysterious. It had enough wood energies to match its lifeforce. Furthermore, he had no idea how much lifeforce was within.

He only knew that the Mark of Eden that was condensed by the unique lifeform that was the Tree of Eden could refine lifeforce. He had a sneaky suspicion that it could convert wood energies into lifeforce. This was only a guess. It was still uncertain how much lifeforce it had, but he knew it wasn't small. There's a high possibility it had hundreds of millions of years of lifeforce within, perhaps even more.

It might even be infinite.

This only reinforced his belief in tackling the Second Calamity of Hell.

Karmic Luck Value: 1,432.3.

First Calamity: Survived - 7/7.

Second Calamity: Suppressed - 8 Years.

"Eight more years…" The deadline had shortened considerably due to his killing of Yuan Longshi, a Blessed. In the future, he'll have to balance out eliminating Blessed with his timeline. After all, he needed to ensure the maximum amount of time to reach the Realm of Sages, cultivating a Soul of True Sin, and ensure he had another card to survive a failed calamity.

Ohn!

Just as he thought this, a familiar feeling bit into his mind and right arm. His eyes brightened considerably.

Karmic Luck Value: 1,432.3 → 1,356.7.

First Calamity: Survived - 7/7.

Second Calamity: Suppressed - 8 Years.