Chapter 1698: The Invitation
Original Dawn Palace, Resolute Dusk Galaxy.
Wei Xiaotian dried her wet hands with a kitchen towel before draping it over her shoulder and then began to organize the variety of dishes that were steaming and releasing a fragrant aroma, including a kettle of tea. They consisted of Resolute Dusk Galaxy"s dishes and some foods from Sky Heart Galaxy"s human cities. She carefully placed each dish on a large circular plate before bringing it away with great attentiveness.
She arrived outside of Pakhet"s room. Behind the door, sounds of soft grunts could be heard. When Wei Xiaotian reached the door, the door"s formations activated with a soft, warm glow before unlocking. Wei Xiaotian walked right in.
"It"s time to eat."
Within the room, Pakhet was dressed in a tight-fitting black crop top and form-fit pants, shoeless with her hair tied in a short ponytail. Her body was parallel to the ground as she lifted her body off the ground using the most basic method of bodily exercise—push-ups. However, her sweat-drenched body was subjected to anything but an ordinary amount of weight as levitating above her was a dark brown and black orb that released a disturbing amount of gravitational force.
She was performing each push-up with a weight that could be considered mountainous! This was in the quintillions of kilograms!
Pakhet was in the zone. Her muscles were bulging and active as she dropped down, and then with single-minded determination, lifted herself with undoubtedly proper form.
"Eight thousand and thirty-three…"
Wei Xiaotian moved to a nearby table, giving her enough s.p.a.ce. She unleashed a little bit of warm qi to maintain the proper temperature of the food and waited for Pakhet to finish her set.
Only after ten thousand was reached did Pakhet deactivate the orb weighing upon her. Despite her sweaty body, glistening with the warm glow from the orb, she didn"t seem remotely tired. She leapt right up, right as rain, and stretched a little as she tested the consistency of her body throughout. The sweat from her body rapidly evaporated and she was cleansed by an aquamarine glow emanating from the floor.
Wei Xiaotian repeated, "It"s time to eat."
Only then was Pakhet"s attention caught, and her nostrils were a.s.saulted by the food"s delicious aroma and her eyes sparkled.
"Is that Kofta?"
She was already upon the meals like a lioness reaching her prey, picking up a piece of meat, and eating it without holding back in the slightest.
"This is good!"
Wei Xiaotian smiled. Being praised for your food was never uncomfortable, and she enjoyed seeing her creations being enjoyed.
"How are you feeling?"
Pakhet was already seated, placed a bowl before her, and began to pick off the dishes. The question barely stopped her from eating.
"My body has been feeling better over this last year. I feel stronger, physically, without using any mystic power to supplement myself."
She remarked quietly. She had been in an accelerated flow of time this entire time, and after initially waking up, Wei Xiaotian started to bring in elixirs, pills, incense, and creams (pastes) that she would have to take and be applied.
Wei Xiaotian had already seen every ounce of her body and touched even more, but she wasn"t too caring about those things, especially when she thought about when she was unconscious and on the verge of soul and body death yet was kept alive by Wei Wuyin initially and then Wei Xiaotian for years after.
"Makes sense. His Majesty has been providing you with Mystic-Earth and Mystic-World graded products. You must have consumed seventy-three types of different products, and due to your situation, many of them several dozen times," Wei Xiaotian didn"t find Pakhet"s stronger body strange after Wei Wuyin had given her so many resources and even used various ways to help her body refine and properly metastasize all of it at a rapid and incredibly effective manner.
Pakhet was in the middle of eating a spoonful of rice when she stopped for a split second, and then she continued to eat.
Wei Xiaotian looked at her, smiled, and said: "Every last product you consumed was at least high-quality, not a single one was impure. You don"t have to worry about any issues."
Pakhet"s eyes lowered as she chewed. High-quality? Not a single impure? She couldn"t imagine the cost.
"His Majesty was very attentive in that regard. I don"t think he wanted you to suffer the slightest by having your future cultivation prospects affected," Wei Xiaotian mentioned as she delved into the meal before her too. She didn"t just cook for Pakhet alone.
"..." Pakhet had long since found her situation incredibly abnormal given the price he was willing to pay to secure her life and ensure she had no issues for the future. They barely knew each other. And the only thing he had promised was that he would ensure she didn"t die, not support her cultivation. In fact, she initially wanted to leave early, but when Wei Xiaotian brought in a high-tier Mystic-World grade paste known for healing hidden injuries and improving one"s physical cellular strength and durability, she stayed silent. Then, the products didn"t stop coming.
Pills!
Elixirs!
They just kept coming! All of which were at least at the Mystic-Earth grade, and if they were at the Mystic-Earth grade, then they were always peak-quality, and if they were Mystic-World Grade, then they were at least at the high-quality!
She ended up staying for another year after waking up solely because of the incredible environment conducive to cultivation and refinement and those provided products. She was even feeling a little guilty after a while. The vast majority of products out there were impure-grade of varying impurities. The majority of cultivators would fight and kill for an impure product suitable for their cultivation base that was only 10% or less impure, while low-quality products might be considered "low" but they were perfect products without the slightest impurity.
These impurities affect a cultivator"s strength, foundation, talents, and lifespan, but cultivators would still refine them because the benefits often exceed the detrimental effects such as a reduced lifespan.
This treatment wasn"t even close to how Dao Protectors or Alchemic Knights were treated by their Alchemists. It wasn"t an exaggeration to say that she had already fully covered and then some, especially after consuming a portion of a Soul Pill. She already sensed her True Soul.
She was a single step from entering the True Soul Phase, the ninth and final stage of the Mystic Ascendant Realm, and all she needed to do was call forth her tribulation gate and guide her True Soul to enlightenment. Pakhet was 80% certain of success.
The last four years, despite nearly three of those being consciousness, exceeded her last ten thousand years of cultivation. That type of difference was hard to describe in her heart without feeling lost. Her current emotional state could be described.
Wei Xiaotian couldn"t hold back her grin seeing the turmoil that Pakhet was experiencing. She had educated herself on certain things, and after learning about the history of the Valkyries and their treatment, she felt that countless experts would be punching the air after learning of how well taken care of they were.
"What?" Pakhet noticed Wei Xiaotian"s grin, pursing her lips as she drank a cup of tea.
"Don"t be so concerned about trivial things like price. If His Majesty didn"t want to, no one could force him to do so." When she thought about how Wei Wuyin sacrificed his Primal Yang Source despite having an opportunity to seize her and indulge in her body, refusing to take her by force despite the great opportunity, her heart rippled with a gentle and comfortable warmth.
Even if the Heavens presented the perfect opportunity, it was still something Wei Wuyin had to choose to take, and he would certainly do so his own way.
There was no reason to invest so much into Pakhet, yet he did so without hesitation.
Pakhet"s mind flashed with the image of Wei Wuyin"s impressive figure, both normally and within his draconically-empowered state, and she knew that Wei Xiaotian was telling the truth. Then, she thought about the price of all those products and then Wei Wuyin"s cunning schemes.
Wei Xiaotian reached over and gently touched her hand, drawing Pakhet"s attention.
"Don"t stress out about those insignificant things. His Majesty doesn"t have any schemes against you nor does he want you to pay him back a single coin. He even said that he owes you."
She smiled beautifully.
"Owes me?" Pakhet was taken aback.
Wei Xiaotian nodded, "When you fought him with everything you had back then, you helped him in ways you couldn"t imagine. That"s what he said. He owes you." After saying that, she leaned back and continued to eat, leaving Pakhet contemplating those words in her heart.
"Oh yeah!" Wei Xiaotian exclaimed. "He also said don"t worry about your cultivation art, your cultivation won"t be negatively affected, and the other seven will not hinder you if you accept his invitation. He"ll also send you back whenever you wish."
"Utmost Purity Galaxy?" Stunned, Pakhet questioned aloud. The Utmost Purity Galaxy was incredibly far away, and she had never actually traveled outside the galaxy due to her circ.u.mstances. The other seven Sages didn"t want to risk losing any of their cultivation companions, experiencing an irreversible flaw in their cultivation art. This was primarily why Sage River Oasis was the only one to leave the galaxy among the ten Sages of the Resolute Dusk Galaxy.
"The Utmost Purity Galaxy, yes." Wei Xiaotian confirmed with a smile. "Also, he said don"t worry about your cultivation art, your cultivation won"t be negatively affected, and the other seven will not hinder you if you accept his invitation. He"ll also send you back whenever you wish."
"..." Pakhet wasn"t sure how she should respond. Her initial reasonings for refusing were stomped out before she could voice them. She was already tempted and wanted to explore the depths of the Dark Void and other galaxies, especially the Utmost Purity Galaxy. Circ.u.mstances forbade it, but if she was given the opportunity…
Something in her mind nudged her, and her brows furrowed. Initially, she didn"t think there was an inkling of a possibility, but she wasn"t foolish to think that Wei Wuyin"s invitation was so good-intended, regardless of how much he declared he owed her.
"What is World-Saint Neo-Dawn trying to do here? Inviting me away like this? After all this?" How could she not be skeptical? Wei Wuyin had played an entire galaxy as an unseen hand, and in an extremely short period of time, turned three entire galaxies into his va.s.sals.
The White Abyssal Galaxy.
The Sky Heart Galaxy.
The Resolute Dusk Galaxy.
Wei Xiaotian was now taken aback. It took her a while before she realized something.
"You think he"s inviting you with ill intentions? Or do you think he"s doing so out of admiration, and this is a thinly veiled attempt to court you? I can see why you would be skeptical, but His Majesty has always been direct in his intentions. If he wants to court you, he"ll do so openly until you can"t help but agree. And if he wanted to do anything negative against you, he had literal years to do so. And you already can"t fight him, even when you had used everything and more against him."
"Court?" Pakhet hadn"t thought about that possibility. She was temporarily lulled into surprise by that statement, but Wei Xiaotian"s other words had broken her out of her stupor. She shook her head.
No, she was thinking of something else.
"What is it then?" Wei Xiaotian was confused.
"You say he"s direct with his intentions repeatedly, but I feel that he has other unspoken ideas…forget it. I"ll ask him myself. I"ll go with him to the Utmost Purity Galaxy." After declaring her intent, Pakhet went back to enjoying her meal.
Meanwhile, her thoughts were focused on that starry-eyed figure. Wei Xiaotian was happy to hear she accepted it. As for Wei Wuyin"s plans, she didn"t know anything beyond what she was told. However, she didn"t think anyone would waste so many resources for nothing but grat.i.tude.
"We"re leaving tomorrow," Wei Wuyin received confirmation from Wei Xiaotian of Pakhet"s acceptance. With that, he had finished all his objectives for this galaxy. It was time to travel to the Utmost Purity Mist and fulfill one of his promises for his two-year date.