Imminent changes loomed over the galactic horizon as the curtain for the final act of a masterful series of plans, negotiations, and exceptional manipulation of information unfolded, and at its center were none other than the Zeniths that heralded themselves as the primary authority of an entire galaxy's proper and unrivaled Alchemic Dao.
Unbeknownst to them, as the final act entered its initial phases of commencement, the treasure trove of secrets had finished an unexpectedly gentle journey through the unpredictable and vast Void. Under Wei Wuyin's Draconic Void Mystic Force, navigating through the Void was second nature, and ushering two humans was easily done.
After what felt like days but was closer to a few minutes, Su Yi and Yue Baoyue had arrived here via Wei Wuyin's Void Shifting Formation.
"Where are we?" Yue Baoyue asked cautiously. She inspected the ground she stood on. It was entirely of an obsidian-like material, glossy and jagged. If not for her refined body, her feet would have been lacerated by the sharp edges.
Fortunately, she found somewhat uneven yet flat areas to awkwardly step on and steady herself to absorb her surroundings.
Above her was a starless sky, covered in ash-grey clouds that released a dusky white light that had a refreshing, cool temperature. The aesthetic of the region was dry, while the taste of the air resembled rock salt and sulfur. In the distance were dark-grey mountains with white snowy tops, resembling arctic mountains, but the 'snow' was certainly white-colored ash.
Yue Baoyue had never encountered a region like this. She attempted to expand her spiritual sense by instinct, yet she found that her spiritual energies were subjected to a destructive form of combustion, and she winced in pain.
Fortunately, Su Yi released a timely comforting wave of energy into her damaged Sea of Consciousness, eliminating her pain.
"What in the heavens?!" She grumbled under her breath in frustration. Her Spiritual Sense had combusted without warning. What type of power was this?
"..." Su Yi stayed silent, his gaze solemn and his stance alert as his eyes swiveled here and there, as if expecting immediate danger. Withdrawing a seven-colored war banner, Su Yi channeled his mystic power into it, activating the banner's intricate formations before plunging the pole into the hard ground. A soft glow of seven-colored alchemical light enshrouded the two. The seven-colored light was slowly overwhelmed by a greenish hue, seemingly refining the essence, energy, light, and mana that it came into contact with. This was the Refined Aegis Banner, a unique Mystic-World grade treasure specially crafted by the Refinement Zone's Great Aegis Pavilion. It was one of the items he received after blackmailing the Zenith Refinement Tower with Suo Haoran and the Golden Night Sovereign.
Only after the banner had enveloped them and the region of thirty or so meters did Su Yu visibly relax. After close observation, he discovered there was nothing untoward emerging. They were transported to a calm region. Only then did he answer Yue Baoyue's question, his tone heavy yet nostalgic: "The Incinerated Dominion."
"Wh-What?!" Yue Baoyue's eyes grew wide as she subconsciously moved closer to Su Yu, her heart pounding in her chest. THE INCINERATED DOMINION! Her eyes darted about anxiously.
The Incinerated Dominion was one of the forbidden zones within the Utmost Purity Galaxy, an area that was enveloped in countless tales of caution and death. Not even Sages would dare to enter this region!
Su Yi grew increasingly nostalgic as this was exactly how Qing Wan had acted when they arrived here all those years ago. His gaze softened as he held Yue Baoyue's hand. "The Incinerated Dominion is in its dormant state. At the very least, it's not nearly as dangerous as it could be. Even if it was fully in its eruption state, I have the means to handle it all."
Yue Baoyue's anxious eyes focused on Su Yi, and his words immediately calmed her rising emotions of fear. That was right! Even if the heavens were to fall, Su Yi wouldn't lose heart. Since he wanted to be brought here, he must have had ways to handle all the dangers that could follow, including dealing with those chasing him.
After calming down, she observed the ash-grey clouds with a sharper eye. 'So this is the Incinerated Dominion?'
According to the books she had studied in her earlier years, the Incinerated Dominion was the Internal World of a Supreme Sage that had survived after their failure to ascend a higher stage, formulating a condensed spatial region that was akin to a Microheaven.
No—it would be accurate to say that it is a Microheaven. The last vestiges of a fallen Supreme Sage.
It was then taken over by a Supreme Existence that wasn't a cultivator, with multiple guesses out there regarding its identity, which included a demon born from an item within the Internal World and a Void Creature that was attracted by the forces within, settling it as their nest. The only thing she was certain of was that it was by far one of the most dangerous forbidden regions within the galaxy.
Yue Baoyue wanted to observe the latent heavenly energies or aura of Laws within the air, as they were said to be absent, but she feared her spiritual sense would combust again. As per her studies, during dormant periods, there was a clear lack of all things between heaven and earth, which included the aura of heavenly laws and heavenly aspects like radiance, essence, and force.
While dusky white light could be a form of destitute heavenly radiance, she couldn't be certain after Su Yi established his defensive perimeter, sealing off all fluctuations.
"Why are we here?" she asked. Su Yi was intent on having Wei Wuyin transport them to this forbidden zone, even going as far as trading his Sands of Time amongst other things.
"While here, external divination spells can be said to be effectively blocked. It would be no different than trying to ascertain the location and heavenly secrets of a Supreme Sage, and there's no tangible way to scry for one without finding the other, because we're technically inside a Supreme Sage's Heavenly World. Any Seer or Oracle, even those Supreme Existences of those professions, would find it lethal or costly to try."
While Supreme Sages all had Internal Worlds, with most having more than just one or two, with a few even existing externally, a Heavenly World was an Internal World housing their Microheaven as its core. It was similar to a mixture of a Dantian and the Mind's Eye for cultivators, one of their greatest sources of strength.
There were arts in the world that could emulate smaller and inferior versions of Heavenly Worlds while in or after ascending beyond the Heavenly Saint Phase, but it was only something achieved by demonically talented cultivators with great resources. This was one of the main contributors to comprehensive combat strength that often exceeded a cultivator's current stage of cultivation, a true sign of a Chosen.
A Heavenly World not only housed treasures and nurtured them, naturally creating Mystic-World graded items and later as Supreme Sages, create Mystic-Heaven graded items, but Heavenly Treasures had to be refined within a Heavenly World, and through their Heavenly Worlds, either inferior or standard, they can utilize their Heavenly Treasures' true power.
It was only because of this particular aspect of power that Heavenly Saints, Ascended Saints, True Sage, and True Soul cultivators could create Heavenly Treasures and utilize them. The other exception was possessing the respective authority of the Heavenly Treasure, which was far more uncommon, such as Wei Wuyin controlling the Endless Void Mirror through Space and Time Laws.
Yue Baoyue breathed a sigh of relief and awe as she understood why this region was important for them,
allowing them to hide from piercing gazes. Suddenly, her mind grew wary. "What if...World-Saint Neo-Dawn decides to expose our location?"
While she understood that Wei Wuyin had desired her, and as a man who traverses the path of the Imperial Dao, it was unlikely that he would disregard his pride for her, which wasn't outside the realm of possibility. Especially after she chose Su Yi, Yue Baoyue held reservations about whether Wei Wuyin would still want to protect her after. It would be delusional to think she held any importance in his eyes.
Additionally, there were bound to be ways for him to profit by divulging their location.
"I accounted for that, too. World-Saint Neo-Dawn doesn't know the full characteristics of the Incinerated Dominion, so he's unaware that Supreme Sages would suffer tremendously trying to breach or enter the Heavenly World of a Supreme Sage, even if it's no longer a part of a Supreme Sage. They would be forced to send in only a portion of their will or their subordinates at the Mystic Overlord-level or lower." Su Yi checked on the banner and then nodded to himself, continuing: "When I came here before, I encountered a certain something that owes me a favor. I think it's time for me to collect."
He performed a hand-seal, and his soul released soft fluctuations. Yue Baoyue's eyes widened with shock.
RUMBLED! The entire Incinerated Dominion was shaking!
Far away from Su Yi and Yue Baoyue's location, a Void Portal manifested stealthily without any fluctuations. Four figures exited. They included a fiery red-haired young man, a blindfolded middle-aged man, a black-haired young woman with a saber at his waist, and a woman with a valiant animalistic presence with a profoundly mystical aura.
"This is an opportunity for you," the woman spoke out, giving the fiery red-haired young man a stern look. He replied with a nod, not a single bit of carelessness could be seen in his eyes.
Just then, the entire world began to rumble!
After an avid and thorough discussion on the various conditions and rules of the upcoming All-Alchemic Clash between Wei Wuyin and the Zeniths, the eight of them all agreed to perform this clash away from the public eye, and maintain a form of secrecy as to the content of their agreement. Since all seven Zeniths were participating, it would cause too much turmoil even if they weren't competing against each other, should word spread too far.
That said, there had to be an audience. This was a non-negotiable condition as they were all prideful, confident creatures.
Moreover, the Zeniths had Wei Wuyin extensively prove that there was a talent of that caliber in the Alchemic Dao in his empire, and that was a hassle that took a significant portion of the conversation. They refused to be bamboozled by wordplay, so Wei Wuyin had no choice but to openly admit via Mythical oaths that the person existed and, should he lose, would not negatively interfere with the completion of the wager, allowing the person in question to make their own choice. They were exceedingly elated after all was said and done, not caring that Wei Wuyin wanted to keep the identity of this person a secret until after the contest. They fully understood why, especially given their ravenous greed for another competent alchemist to expand their legacy.
Due to their insistence, Wei Wuyin also had them each swear Mythical Oaths, not just the Zeniths, but their respective Dao Enforcers. This would make it so that their Dao Enforcers would be incentivized to uphold the wager as well, even placing egregious time constraints.
The actual details of where Wei Wuyin would establish his territory were decided alongside the extent of its protections. Not a single corner was left unsettled in terms of details, and even potential crevices were filled with conditions and mutual understanding.
The Zeniths were extraordinarily experienced in regards to handling these matters. Clearly, the culture of Mystics forced them to be abnormally detail-oriented and sly, refusing to suffer a loss in the slightest. As for the dealings between themselves, such as how to decide who this talent will succeed, Wei Wuyin was absent from inputting any decision on that aside from eavesdropping on their believed-to-be secure conversation.
"You actually achieved your goal," the Heavenly War Spirit was in wonder at how Wei Wuyin navigated the situation, perfectly landing on the result he desired. She knew these Zeniths or Dao Enforcers weren't idiots. How could they possibly be? The reason they fell into his schemes perfectly was twofold.
Firstly, they were unaware that Wei Wuyin wasn't delusional or too arrogant to think he could win against Heavenly Saint Alchemists despite his talent in an All-Alchemic Clash. They were Heavenly Saint Alchemists for a reason. Instead, his main goal was to lose.
That's right! TO LOSE!!
Wei Wuyin never thought about winning from the very beginning, especially since he needed all seven Zeniths to agree to obtain his objective, which was an unlikely possibility since their pride would never leave their fate up to those they believed themselves to be superior to.
Regardless of the scenario, he would be up against all seven Alchemists to acquire their permission, either one by one or all at once. Both situations were disadvantageous to his chances of victory. Losing was counterintuitive to an Imperialistic style. Unfortunately for them, Wei Wuyin's imperial path was as abnormal as himself.
Furthermore, he had no hope of victory before. He was only a Grand-tier Worldly Saint Alchemist at the time of conceiving this goal, and barely that, but alchemical clashes did little to adjust to accommodate the weaker party, especially since he would be facing Heavenly Saint Alchemists in their field of specialty. It wasn't a matter of faith or fortune, simply a difference in skill, cultivation, and ability.
While Su Yi had granted him an unprecedented opportunity to expedite his plans, serving as a critical impetus to set the stage for this final act, he was planning for another way to come here even before then. Antagonizing Supreme Sages, acting supremely arrogant and aggressive with all the eyes of the galaxy on him as his entire existence remained shrouded in mystery, and showcasing his talents in the Alchemic Dao during the Knightly Dao Pavilion and game of Mystics were all groundwork for his plan to flourish.
While he decidedly remained flexible in ideas and calculations based on existing results, his original goal from the time he absorbed Enlightened Sage Springfield's memories remained largely unchanged. Everything in between was the act of bravely calculating and plowing through obstacles to that end, with a masterclass of adapting to circumstances to suit the best of his interests.
As for winning? After Bai Xiu's cauldron body suffered tremendous damage concocting transcendent Mystic-World graded pills, she was put out of commission, and a significant part of an alchemist's strength in any Alchemic Clash was their cauldron. After that, he conceded to his intended loss without any fanciful ideas.
Until... Yue Baoyue showed up!
After the second Bai Xiu showed up, the variable of unpredictability was reignited, especially after he achieved the Alchemic Stars of Unparalleled Creation. He had a chance, no matter how minor, to win that all his plans before entering the Utmost Purity Galaxy could never have accounted for!
To fully maximize his gains! As everything settled, Wei Wuyin observed the boundless Dark Void as countless stellar translit lights began to arrive in the Utmost Purity Galaxy from beyond the galaxy.
His true objective wasn't just for this, but to complete the list for that promised two-year date.
After all, Yue Songli was the type of woman he could never neglect or forget.

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