A sunlit sky scorched land, glorious and radiant. A dwarf-sized, yellow-colored solar star was the source of this radiance, and it shone brilliantly upon twelve sky layers of this beautiful continent surrounded by the walls of isolated space. The land here was grass-filled, green, uneven at times, possessing no sky-piercing mountains or unfathomably deep chasms, only more humble dirt mounds.
Two figures entered this realm from the surface, exiting from a spatial gateway that twisted and distorted a small area. Their bodies had streams of gossamer-like wisps of spatial energies hugging at their limbs and torso, granting them an ethereal appearance of unity with the surrounding world.
"How did it feel?" One of the figures asked, and then paused slightly as if realizing their unintended vagueness, adding between a gulp and a light, satisfied breath: "The prohibition-how did it feel to you?"
The inquirer was none other than Young Master Shang. His curiosity was piqued after they charged into the Sky Heart Galaxy and Wei Wuyin showed little to no reaction. Considering Teng Jiangwen's face distorted with a tinge of pain and stifled suppression, Wei Wuyin who grasped at least two Minor Authorities of terrifying Laws should have a much greater reaction.
Unfortunately for Young Master Shang's expectations, Wei Wuyin was a mortal whose cultivation base hadn't integrated with his Minor Laws like Teng Jiangwen, a True Sage. They existed outside of True Soul and Astral Souls, so while the manifestation of the Laws themselves trembled slightly, he and his Astral Souls suffered no ill effects.
Wei Wuyin shrugged indifferently. He didn't have a good response to that question. Young Master Shang shook his head with dissatisfaction, once again elevating his sense of admiration and shock toward Wei Wuyin's abnormal powers.
BOOSH!!
"WHO ARE YOU?! HOW DID YOU GET HERE?!" Explosive auras towered upwards the sky, exerting significant presence on the surrounding mana-Sky Pressure! Wei Wuyin and Young Master Shang looked over, entirely unaffected by the forceful pressure exerted onto their bodies by the newcomers. While those at the Fourth Stage of the Astral Core Realm, the Spatial Resonance Phase, might feel stifled by this pressure, even brought to their knees, it was like a gust of gentle wind to these two.
The incoming auras belonged to a group of four guards. They wielded wooden spears with exquisite carvings on the shafts, which were astral-grade runes without substance. This was a primitive method called Rune Molding that had long since been surpassed in both of their societies by Runic Inscription for weapons. The former allowed cultivators to use their astral force to create runes with minimum effort or understanding, while the latter had the runes already fully etched, allowing immediate usage requiring only activation.
Wei Wuyin was enlightened on the state of their cultivation society at this point. The guards' attires were as primitive and simple as their weapons, formed from leathery plant-based material and hardened tree bark as armor. Their outfits emanated a faint mahogany fragrance. Even the tips of their spears were only made of sharpened stone, no signs of any metalwork.
The guards had tanned skin, likely due to incessant solar exposure, and were of the human race. Pure-blooded, in fact. Their leg and arm muscles were bulging and strong, signifying a strong physique backed by physical effort, but the refinement of their physical energies was significantly lacking-stature without substance.
This further illustrated their lack of proper cultivation methods, especially Martial Arts. Their outward auras were slightly inferior to those of the Myriad Monarch Sect in terms of standards of impurities and refinement, while their cultivation bases were higher. These were all signs of the world being bereft of high-grade resources.
Wei Wuyin eyed the dwarf-sized solar star and felt its solar essence output was deliberately diverted into certain regions of this isolated world realm.
Young Master Shang took a swig as he eyed these guards who surrounded them from four directions, weapons pointed, eyes sharp, and hearts pounding. They were all men. When he came here before, he had snuck in as a salvation seeker out of curiosity. This guise allowed him to enter and experience how the world treated newcomers and humans directly and their lifestyles without suffering any distrust, only pity and care.
"STATE YOUR IDENTITY! OR WE WILL USE LETHAL FORCE!" One of the guards, seemingly the leader of the four, shouted bravely as he tightened his grip on his spear. They could acutely sense that their Sky Pressure hadn't affected either of them, and that both of them exuded an extraordinary, mysterious aura. One was unfathomable to an extreme while the other was as mysterious as the void itself. The guard could only bark loudly to muster some miniscule amount of courage to perform his duties.
Young Master Shang faintly smiled. "We're just visitors," he replied in their native language in their regional dialect, shocking the guards immediately. Wei Wuyin and Young Master Shang were dressed in robes and unique outfits that made it difficult to determine their origins, so they hadn't expected them to speak in their dialect.
Wei Wuyin grasped their native language with a single look into their minds, replying flatly: "I am Wei Wuyin, the Emperor of the Neo-Dawn Empire. You can tell your leaders that I'm only here temporarily, and not to cause too much of a commotion because of it. If they wish to meet, they can come find me. I won't hide my aura within your territory, and will deliver compensation later for my intrusion."
Wei Wuyin and Young Master Shang didn't wait for them to respond, and began to walk off into the distance, leaving the guards utterly and abnormally baffled. They exchanged glances as if trying to gather something from the others, but only confusion abounded. Seeing the duo walk off beneath their combined Sky Pressure, they weren't stupid enough to throw themselves to death after their statement.
They could only make their reports back to their superiors in haste. To report the arrival of this Emperor of the Neo-Dawn Empire! Wei Wuyin!
Each step the two took allowed them to traverse hundreds of meters. They were like shadows amongst the radiant world.
Young Master Shang was taken aback by Wei Wuyin's openness in this matter, originally thinking that he was planning to sneakily investigate or operate within their territory, but he was giving them proper respect. This was way beyond his expectations. He couldn't help but say, "No wonder you didn't just enter directly. Are you planning to establish a formal relationship?"
A tinge of hope was emanating from his tone.
Wei Wuyin replied calmly, "As the founding Emperor of the Neo-Dawn Empire, personally acting sneaky within someone else's territory, especially a weaker world, is beneath my status and reflects poorly on my empire and my people. This is especially since I have no ill intentions toward this world. If it wasn't due to the situation, I would have met the leaders of this world before anything else."
"..." Young Master Shang took a swig from his flagon. Was it like that? When he thought about the White Abyssal Galaxy, Wei Wuyin could have just directly entered and explored it himself, likely remaining entirely unknown to the inhabitants within. Instead, he halted at the border of the galaxy, and even near an outpost. Was that deliberate?
Was this an act of pride?
He pouted. Wei Wuyin had no issue throwing unexpected and unpredictable challenges his subordinates' way or showcasing miraculous, world-envying scenes to his 'wives'. He sent Shui Fengbao directly into the fray and caused an incident that was still ongoing. Even from where they were, he could see entire planets burning in iridescent light. It seemed he only applied that to himself. No wonder he just flew through the galaxy's layer itself rather than Void Portal within.
It was a subtle detail yet it displayed his attitude as a possessor of the Minor Authority of Imperial Law perfectly. Wei Wuyin acted openly and conquered openly. It was admirable, a sign of a honed will and a strong sense of self.
"You're right. Only thieves and sinisterly scheming old foxes act that way," Young Master Shang smiled brilliantly.
"..." Wei Wuyin didn't mind those sly words, because while he could act this way, he was also able to scheme rather efficiently as well. In a way that could make old foxes with countless years of deceit on their belts be shaken. It was simply a matter of attitude and intent.
"Dawnlord!" The two soon arrived where Tuo Bihan was resting, a high grassy mound overlooking a city constructed of wood and earth. Nearby was a glistening, small lake. He stood up and bowed toward Wei Wuyin, yet his form of address caused Young Master Shang to eye him curiously. This old man had an incredibly strange naming habit...
Wei Wuyin arrived beside Tuo Bihan and observed the city below. It wasn't too small or too large, containing over 400,000 in terms of population, and roughly extending for a few hundred miles. At the center was a temple-like structure that seemed to have an air of worship and mystic aura. When he peered into it, he found an expert at the Soul of Mysticism Phase dressed in ceremonial attire. It was a tall elderly man who was meditating cross-legged, his spiritual sense spread throughout the city as if to observe the world like a divinity.
Since arriving, he hadn't gotten any pings of influence toward the Heavenly Daos. He had a feeling that the Heavenly Daos could no longer 'see' him. It was vague. Lifting his left arm, his eyes narrowed.
First Calamity: --
He could feel an abnormal degree of activity from the Bloodline of Sin. It was certainly doing 'something'. This gave Wei Wuyin additional confidence in trusting his instincts. He was someone who dared to stare directly at the Heavenly Daos' secrets as a mere mortal, and that defying act was enough to establish an unprecedented sense of familiarity that went beyond the Bloodline of Sin, at least at this stage.
The encounter with Yuan Longshi was worth it, not just for meeting Xue Yifei but for allowing him to affirm his Heart of Cultivation toward performing reckless acts to gain exceptional means, such as this sensitivity.
"Your Majesty, the thing I discovered isn't within the city. Allow me to bring you there," Tuo Bihan respectfully said.
Wei Wuyin nodded, following Tuo Bihan with slow and steady steps. Young Master Shang dared not stay too far behind for fear of missing out. They began to walk down the mound like mortals, on the opposite side of the city.
Tuo Bihan explained, "When I first arrived, I was curious about the people here. I hadn't expected that there would be a developed civilization with signs of a Mystic Ascendant Realm expert present in a galaxy ruled by beasts, especially in a World Realm. However, here it is! Of course, you must have already known that. Haha.
"Curiosity overtook me, and I thought about exploring this world a little to find any interesting things that might broaden my horizons. I discovered that they were mostly primitive to an extreme. They lack a lot of essential technology such as Void Gates, Skyships, and advanced formations and arrays. They lack any form of established legacy or lineage. In fact, they're relying on just their cultivated powers in the most fundamental sense.
"Given their situation, I don't blame them; however, there's a clear lack of aspirations amongst the general populace. Many of them are satisfied with the status quo and don't wish to make any changes, enjoying safety from the tyrants and monsters in the world beyond. They call the Sky Heart Galaxy the 'Realm of Monsters'. At first, I thought this was simply human nature and those in power want to maintain that power by restraining the ambitious and talented youths. However, I discovered something that caused my suspicion to rise.
"This world and its various cities have abnormally high birth rates, great birth expectations for women and men, and ridiculously high death rates of infants after the birthing process. Many children were declared stillborn by our classification and understandings, but known as having been cursed by theirs. These curses originated from the beasts, blamed upon them without a clear reason why. The infants are then obliterated by throwing them into a portal to give them a proper burial so their souls can 'rest' and they can reincarnate as purified infants in the future. It was all quite strange.
At that point, Young Master Shang was drinking a whole lot, his eyes gloomy and his eyebrows wrinkled with a grim twist.
"A few infants born in recent days were given that classification and I thought it was strange given that cultivation could greatly alleviate the birthing process and its natural difficulties, even if the fundamentals were solely relied upon. So I did a little investigation. I discovered that these infants were still alive, falsely declared cursed or stillborn, and the portal they are thrown into leads to some world led by the Rocs.
"These Rocs gather these infants and bring mature humans to house and feed them, raise them while transporting them to other areas of the galaxy for various purposes. This is...a human farm," Tuo Bihan said with a solemn tone. There was a hint of anger in his voice. He had a faint human bias that was hard to eradicate, but his bias extended to elves too, especially given he considered Qin Rui as his daughter.
When he thought of the principles of true equality by Wei Wuyin, that all races and all things, be it plants, beasts, or humans were the same, whether they were being showered with good fortune or slaughtered by droves, could only take a deep breath and expel the turbid air gathered in his lungs. Fortunately, Wei Wuyin understood bias and allowed leeway to act freely, not restraining any of the Ascendants, but just to the point that it wasn't excessive or unreasonable. Additionally, he didn't preach unity and enforced tolerance.
No matter your race, you can be killed all the same.
Tuo Bihan knew that if he or anyone decided to act and free these humans of their fates and slaughter those complicit humans amongst them, Wei Wuyin wouldn't give it any thought as long as they had the power to do so. If not for this, he could feel a lot of individuals having issues with Wei Wuyin's beliefs, but beliefs and understanding allowed it to flow as smoothly as water and slowly guided individuals to understand a point of view that they might not have considered otherwise in their lifetimes.
For example: If one replaced humans here with the beasts. They continued to walk as Tuo Bihan detailed this isolated world realm that was salvation disguising the truth of a human farm for beasts. The two listened as the old man spoke, eventually reaching the small lake.
"While I was investigating, I discovered this lake. The lake itself doesn't matter, but what was swimming within it."
"What was swimming within it?" Young Master Shang's curiosity was stroked. He didn't remember this lake before. Maybe? Did he miss it? He had to have missed it...right? His head hurt slightly just trying to recall.
Wei Wuyin inspected the glistening lake's surface with his Celestial Eyes, and as he did...
His eyes stopped. Those eyes of his caught the sight of a particular figure. The sensation that he had only felt from Xue Yifei felt as if it was replicated at this moment, and he felt as if his breath was taken away. Like only once before, his eyes brightened to the excessively extreme limits.
Seeing Wei Wuyin's immediate reaction, Tuo Bihan felt as if his decision was correct to inform him.
Within the lake, there was a golden cocoon! However, while Wei Wuyin was in a breathless state, Young Master Shang's eyes bulged as his Ocular Spell observed the golden cocoon and the faint silhouette within.
He exclaimed in disbelief and shock that none of them had ever seen, even causing him to drop his flagon, with lines of undrunk wine dripping out of his mouth. With eyes so unbelievably wide that it seemed the edges were disappearing, he pointed with both hands and cried out: "Heaven! Heaven! Heaven!!"

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