1843 Chapter 1836: Final Act (10)
"Wh-what's that?!" Out of the four announcers, Mei Xiaoyang paid the most attention to Wei Wuyin despite his minimalistic preparations, so she immediately felt an unprecedentedly mysterious shift around him, originating from his aura to the fluctuation of the chaos mana within his limited operational area.
Her exclamation drew the attention of the others, especially the Supreme Sages who were marveling at their respective Zeniths' exquisite techniques.
Suo Haoran, the Golden Night Sovereign, the Palace Lord of the Incandescent Star Palace, the Elephant-Tigress Sovereign, and the others, all Supreme Existences, shifted their focus instantly as if a great disturbance had been brought to their attention.
Suo Haoran's pupils began to rapidly constrict against his will. "Eyes?!"
The Goliath Bird Sovereign's voice closely followed, "A unique alchemical-type ocular spiritual spell?" The Supreme Sage of the Arachnids known for intelligence gathering, espionage, and escape was unable to determine the origins of Wei Wuyin's ocular changes, merely throwing out a guess as if to have it confirmed by the others.
Yet no one confirmed her guess, only a great tension began to build as they observed those eyes that resembled the Utmost Purity Galaxy at its center.
No. It didn't just resemble the Utmost Purity Galaxy; it was as if the Utmost Purity Galaxy evolved into a greater and grander cosmos, as if it was created at the dawn of creation by unseen divinities, seemingly limitless with infinite potential. An utterly unparalleled sight.
They were all alchemists of varying skills and achievements, with many of the present Supreme Sages having the ability to concoct Mystic-World graded products, yet upon witnessing those profound eyes, they instinctively felt as if a superior will had descended far beyond their own. A deep yearning surged from the depths of their souls, subconsciously causing their Alchemic Stars to erupt to the forefront of their gazes.
"..." Violent waves of intense shock battered their hearts and minds as questions and reverence simultaneously emerged, unable to be quelled regardless of their depth of knowledge or cultivation base. They simply did not have the corresponding understanding in the Alchemic Dao to fully grasp the concept of the Alchemic Stars of Unparalleled Creation!
They were simply too weak! Too unaccomplished! Too insignificant!
Wei Wuyin had disguised his Alchemic Stars of Unparalleled Creation using his Alchemic Stars of Transcendent Purity, an ability that these eyes innately possessed. He could emulate any Alchemic Stars that he had achieved, acquiring their abilities.
Despite his actions of exceeding standards, generating Grade Five Utmost Purity Mist despite being an existence sharing qualities of Mortal and Mystic, allowing his concoctions to hold the aura of eternity to achieve the illustriously incredible transcendent Mystic-World grade products, he hadn't advanced to the next 'official' stage of the Alchemic Dao and its respective Intent after the Alchemic Stars of Transcendent Purity. Instead, he had acquired the Alchemic Stars of Unparalleled Creation, a unique Intent all to his own, capable of embodying all the conventional and common stages of the Alchemic Dao while retaining itself.
He was, by decree of the Alchemic Dao, a pioneer of a new branch of the Alchemic Dao. Officially recognized and greatly blessed!
Wei Wuyin had long since gained familiarity with the Alchemic Stars of Unparalleled Creation. After all, he'd rarely withdrawn its power since acquiring it while in the Utmost Purity Galaxy, only masquerading its outward appearance as the Alchemic Stars of Transcendent Purity. In truth, he no longer had the Alchemic Stars of Transcendent Purity, only the Alchemic Stars of Unparalleled Creation!
Despite this, he had only determined three out of its seven abilities; the first ability was the Alchemical Utilization of Will & Stars, which was the ability to acquire, utilize, and execute the abilities of all alchemic stars acquired prior and in the future, and the ability to absorb those blessings into itself, furthering its strength beyond normal standards. An example was the Phenomenon Manifestation, which could be created without any expenditure of energy or lifeforce.
The negation of the heavy costs was the most notable part of this ability as the seven base abilities of Alchemic Stars—Spirit Moulding, the Creation of Aberrant Souls, Annihilation of Alchemic Truths, Unity of the Alchemic Stars, Cessation of Concoction, Phenomenon Manifestation, and Curse of Nullified Alchemy—were extraordinary.
When Wei Wuyin first achieved the Alchemic Stars of Mortal Spirituality, he had learned the incomplete names of these abilities such as Mortal Spirit Moulding, Creation of Fragmented Souls, Mortal Annihilation, and the Curse of Alchemic Stars. As one progressed in the Alchemic Dao, these changed into Mystic Spirit Moulding, Creation of Nascent Souls, etc., but they rarely changed, only were amplified, including their cost to execute.
Their original names were more general, and they were consistent throughout all stages, only elevating the domain they affected much akin to how Intent or Cultivation functioned. However, the Alchemic Stars of Unparalleled Creation was an entirely new path, creating seven new abilities.
After the Alchemical Utilization of Will & Stars, the next ability that Wei Wuyin had deduced was the Generation of Ancient Mist. This ability was heaven-defying to the utmost, beyond a shadow of a doubt!
Why exactly? BECAUSE IT COULD PRODUCE GRADE FIVE UTMOST PURITY MIST!!!
Much like how Phenomenon Manifestation can recreate hollow Alchemical Phenomena created upon successful creation of a product, and with a price, capable of recreating their wondrous effects for those to witness, with the only requirement being that one had successfully created that phenomena, the Generation of Ancient Mist allowed Wei Wuyin to, at a cost, conjure Utmost Purity Mist from the world.
This mist, however, was limited; it could only be created to assist the concoction process of a product or alchemical spells, and a cultivator had to have created the grade of mist themselves. This effectively gave him a potentially limitless supply of grade five mist.
It perfectly encapsulated the name: Unparalleled Creation!
That said, Wei Wuyin couldn't create a single iota of grade five mist using this ability. Indeed! The cost was far beyond his limits! Regardless of what, he was only a Mystic Star Phase cultivator with a lifespan far greater than average Exalted, but still insufficient to pay such a ridiculous cost.
He could, however, create grade three mist by substituting his lifeforce with his Akashic Alchemic Energy which was ridiculously powerful and pure. Moreover, he could extract this grade of mist to use for anything, including alchemical spells.
This was how Luo Ning gained a familiarity with Grade Three Mist. Wei Wuyin had sent a few wisps over to see if she could determine the difference between his Utmost Purity Mist created by his Alchemic Stars of Unparalleled Creation and his typical concoction process.
She couldn't. They were identical. The first two abilities were extraordinarily unique, but the third ability was by no means inferior. Wei Wuyin had recently discovered its effects after Suo Kai-Ming tried to failingly suppress his Alchemic Dao. It was named: Prohibition of Alchemy.
The Curse of the Alchemic Stars was a unique ability of the Alchemic Stars that could reduce the effectiveness of Alchemical Products on a cultivator's body while creating a flawless nullification effect on all products that the curse-giver creates. This ability escalated as the Alchemic Stars grew, as Mortal Spirituality couldn't affect mystic-tier products even if they belonged to the curse-giver, Spiritual Transcendence worked on Mystic-Earth grade only and lower, and Transcendent Purity affected Mystic-World grade and lower.
However, the Prohibition of Alchemy was the incarnation of brutality within the Alchemic Dao; it involved the complete isolation of alchemy. Not just from the curse-giver.
From everyone. From everything.
Additionally, it'll cause a regression and rejection of existing effects of the Alchemic Dao. To put it plainly, that first-grade Essence Pill product you consumed as a youth would vanish. Slowly but surely, you'd lose every ounce of benefit gained directly by alchemy, potentially destabilizing your cultivation base or reducing your lifeforce.
Wei Wuyin could only isolate Mystic-World grade products or lower, and while the effects weren't super fast, he could tell that it was the greatest type of curse akin to the Prohibition of Heaven's Resonance, and the absolute bane of any cultivator.
This ability terrified even Wei Wuyin. Fortunately, it was his ability, and as an Alchemist possessing Alchemic Stars, he always had the means to fight these alchemical curses and annihilation effects.
He was still discovering the other four abilities. They seemed to be in development.
Just the Generation of Ancient Mist was enough preparation as grade three mist would have a significantly beneficial effect during any concoction process. Unfortunately, he couldn't use this ability without exposing his Alchemic Stars of Unparalleled Creation's true form.
He sensed the various intense and curious gazes observing him, especially his unique eyes that exceeded their comprehension. However, amongst these gazes was one filled with extreme disbelief and uncertainty.
It belonged to none other than the youngest Heavenly Saint Alchemist of this generation of Zeniths—Heaven-Saint Transforming Worlds! The alchemist who was coated with karmic fortune by association with a Blessed, potentially Su Yi!
He had inadvertently looked over out of sheer instinct. As he did, his entire body's internal fluctuations went into chaos, nearly disrupting his Spiritual Spell as flaws began to surface. With widened eyes, his lips trembled.
"Y-you...!"
Others immediately noticed this reaction, but Zeniths were unable to be communicated with during the preparatory stages, so while they witnessed his recognition of Wei Wuyin's unique pair of eyes, they were unable to inquire about it.
Wei Wuyin, on the other hand, was taken aback by Heaven-Saint Transforming Worlds' reaction. Did he know about the Alchemic Stars of Unparalleled Creation? No. That was impossible. Then, could he be aware of the origins of such a unique pair of Alchemic Stars? That was likely.
Regardless, he set aside that matter as he began to inspect the Neo-Dawn Ascension Cauldron. Both Bai Xius were in harmony with each other, sharing a single body without discordant fluctuations. Their conditions were slowly reaching a peak, prime for concocting.
-----
The shock of Wei Wuyin's Alchemic Stars of Unparalleled Creation aside, the process of the predatory stage went off without any issue, completing after seven whole days in the extreme temporal acceleration region. In the outside world, only a few seconds had passed.
The temporal acceleration was 1 to 10,000, far greater than Wei Wuyin's 1 to 500. The effects were intense. Despite only a few days having passed, Wei Wuyin could already feel the sinking of temporal dissonance emerge within his thoughts and the motion of his body.
Fortunately, with a simple circulation of his bloodline energies, the discomforting sensations of dissonance were rapidly dispelled. This was the first obstacle the Zeniths had to overcome. They had each deployed various temporal treasures or executed Ascension Arts to negate the temporal dissonance. They were wealthy with a wide array of tools.
However, there were certain disparities as a few of their treasures were of lesser quality. It was easy to see that temporal treasures were a rarity even amongst them. And while they had the treasures or arts to execute, it was expected that their grades or ability might not suffice towards such egregious acceleration.
Heaven-Saint Fusing Souls relied on three different sets of established arrays and an Ocular Spell to enhance his Temporal Eye. The resources used to power these arrays were unnaturally valuable, amongst them was a Mystic-Heaven grade stone.
This was the wealth of an alchemist! A single Mystic-Heaven grade stone was enough for Supreme Sages to fight over, yet he casually used them to power an array for this Alchemic Clash without any heartbreak. They weren't just wealthy, they were stupid wealthy.
The others showed no less degree of riches. Heaven-Saint Zenith Creation brought out a Mystic-Heaven grade spiritual talisman to create a spherical dome around his region, not only bolstering his own Mystic Power but diffusing ambient energies of the mystic-grade into the air. He had used a valuable talisman that created a superior zone of advantageous cultivation and concoction without blinking an eye.
Suo Kai-Ming had a pair of bracelets that were Heavenly Treasures—one of space and one of time. They pulsed with continuous regulation of her internalized sense of space and time, perfect for countering dissonance or relocation and disruption of space. This type of treasure would not only help combat those types of arts, spells, and treasures, but also assist in creating a stable space to flee without being hindered.
Wei Wuyin was unable to hide his disbelief here. And it wasn't because she had two Heavenly Treasures of Spatial Law and Time Law, but that she had four other jewelry pieces of similar design, two anklets and two earrings that were each Heavenly Treasures.
Moreover, she used a proxy talisman of the peak Mystic-World grade to fuel them, plastered on her back that exuded a distinct glow of mysticism and worldly light. She had a talisman act as a secondary dantian, much like Wu Yu's Blood Origin Method to replace her external usage of treasures.
While he had collected many treasures from the Resolute Dusk Galaxy, only the natural resources unused were capable of matching the value of these artificially-crafted treasures.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say that these methods barely covered a tenth of what they were using, especially the variety of formations and arrays they were deploying around their cauldrons. While not all of them had Mystic-Heaven grade cauldrons, they all had the means to elevate their cauldrons to levels no less effective... What in the actual f...
Wei Wuyin couldn't help but sigh in his heart. This was what having a proper Mystic-Heaven grade alchemical lineage and accumulation of wealth over thousands upon thousands of years granted. It was truly enviable. And he was no less in awe than the audience as they observed this deployment of means that far exceeded the depths of their pockets or access.
Moreover, the Zeniths weren't all high in cultivation either. There were quite a few that vastly surpassed them in terms of cultivation yet they struggled for every ounce of resource. Meanwhile, these alchemists could afford anything they wanted after they fought and killed to acquire it for a few products.
It was so outlandish and terrifying that they couldn't even harbor any malice or frustration in their hearts. This was simply how things were.
"The preparation stage has come to an end!" The Palace Lord announced with a thunderous boom. The Zeniths have long since finished their preparations. As for Heaven-Saint Transforming Worlds, he stared at Wei Wuyin for a full day, his mind seemingly in chaos and confusion. Only after doing so did he stop and contemplate, coming to some conclusion that even Wei Wuyin wasn't able to sense.
This Heaven-Saint Transforming Worlds had some type of mental guard, similar to Young Master Shang, and while he could read his mental fluctuations, it was very difficult to try to extract exact words or images.
"We will begin with the selection stage next! To the audience, the challenged party will select one out of four products in alchemy, and then the other party will select one out of the remaining ones. This will continue until all four products are selected.
"World-Saint Neo-Dawn, have you made your selection?"
Wei Wuyin was technically the challenged party here since they had suggested an All-Alchemic Clash, so he had the opportunity to pick first.
Without hesitation, Wei Wuyin replied: "Yes. I've chosen—Paste."
The choice took many by surprise, but those who were alchemists immediately felt that this was the correct decision. Suo Haoran thought so too. Wei Wuyin was at a great disadvantage, so picking the easiest product would increase his chances of claiming a single type.
After all, pastes were the easiest to create out of the four. If the Zeniths could pick pastes, they would certainly pick an extraordinarily difficult and obscure paste that would leave him flailing in distress. As long as four or more did better than him, they would claim the round.
Now, he had the ability to pick the paste recipe, allowing him to select the grade as well.
That said, this meant he would certainly forfeit the next type. At least, in their minds!
Nodding acceptingly, the Palace Lord continued: "By the witness of the Alchemic Dao, let it be known to all that World-Saint Neo-Dawn has selected paste." His words thrummed as those with Alchemic Souls sensed a pulsating of power, finalizing the selection.
Wei Wuyin was a little taken aback by this development. While he knew about it through Enlightened Sage Springfield, experiencing what could be considered the equivalent of an Alchemic Oath enforced binding agreement was strange. Essentially, there was no way for him to take back his selection.
"Zeniths of the Zenith Towers, your selection?"
The Zeniths had already discussed this long before, and they had even predicted that Wei Wuyin would choose paste, not surprised at all.
They all simultaneously spoke out: "Yes. We've chosen—Potions." Ooh!
The majority expected pills to be selected, but potions(Elixirs) were an unexpected pick for the common audience. To alchemists, especially those wily old foxes, this was similarly expected. In fact, if Wei Wuyin selected pills, he would fall for their trap. Pills were the most common, most practiced product, and it was a category they were certain of winning. If Wei Wuyin chose pills, he would likely pick a recipe at the Mystic-World grade, making it extremely easy for them.
BUT! If he did let them choose both potions and pills, he would have forfeited two out of the four selections by default. His best bet was to aim for a tiebreaker, hoping to eke out a victory by virtue of quality and speed.
To the Zeniths, Wei Wuyin was dancing in the palm of their hands. But Wei Wuyin couldn't help but feel amused by this result.
"By the witness of the Alchemic Dao, let it be known to all that Zeniths of the Zenith Tower have selected potions."
Once again, the thrumming could be felt, but targeted toward the Zeniths.
"World-Saint Neo-Dawn, your final selection?"
"Yes. I've chosen—Pills."
"..."
"..."
"..."
This was unexpected! Far too unexpected!

Comments

Loading...