Chapter 1693: No-Name (23)
Ascension.
The core foundation of this word comprised the entirety of the Mystic Dao"s arduous path; the ascension of the mortal into the mystical, grasping concepts that push the boundaries of imaginations beyond all exceptions, including grasping the mystical elements of the heavens that we"re unfathomably, unquestionably profound.
As a mortal being, cultivators grasp the basic principles of the world, such as its general foundations of the world like elemental energy, yin, yang, yin-yang, creation, permanence, mana, consciousness, light, heat, s.p.a.ce, time, gravity, celestial phenomena, life, and unity. As an Ascended being, cultivators grasp advanced principles of each, pus.h.i.+ng from comprehension and understanding to full-blown manipulation, distortion, and alteration.
Great examples of this were none other than Temporal Reversion, the ability to reverse causality of the flow of time, and the creation of lifeforms, such as Aberrant Demons like the Demonic Abyss Master and Gao Tingyu, who were born from the will of the Demonic Sovereign.
It was exceeding the norm, trespa.s.sing into a domain far surpa.s.sing mortal limitations, and harnessing tremendous, unquantifiable potential.
Wei Wuyin always had the ability to access his humanoid form of a True Dragon, but this was nothing more than a mere manifestation, a minor mutation of his flesh, bone, skin, and organs to emulate the domineering qualities of a True Dragon. This was done by overlaying, albeit temporarily, his original bloodline with the True Dragon"s. It was also why he wasn"t constantly under a state of b.e.s.t.i.a.l-likeness similar to natural-born Beastmen or transformed into a complete beast.
The Mark of Myth contained and regulated the quintessence of its unique bloodline, and expended bloodline energies to overlay, attach, and mutate his existing physical cells, but similarly regressed them back when inactive or unable to maintain the consumption of energies.
These details and functionalities of the Mark of Myth were what made Wei Wuyin and Xue Yifei notably different from Beastmen, why they could be considered as "hybrids", and why the Mark of Myth was absolutely essential to cultivating and maintaining themselves. For them, cultivation deviation could lead to a complete mutation similar to one of the processes described in the True Dragon Trans.m.u.tation Method, becoming a genuine half-human, half-beast, far more beastly than a beastman.
Now, that metaphysical bloodline infused with the principles of the Void Dao reached the stage of Mysticism, the stage of manipulation, distorting, and altering that foundation to a mystical extreme! The next level evolution of the True Dragon Transformation!
TRUE DRAGON ASCENSION!!!
Sage Pakhet"s golden form resembling a divinity of a greater heaven had frozen beneath a quiet, all-encompa.s.sing, and primordial pressure. Her eyes were almost entirely gold with very little distinction, yet the pupils of her eyes became unnaturally apparent as they violently constricted!
Before her was an unbelievable sight, almost incomprehensible to her, but using those eyes overflowing with heavenly metal power, she could see the figure before her with some clarity.
It stood thirteen feet in height. The flexible scales that interconnected with each other were tridecagon with sharp edges, and they were like a mesmerizing, flawless bridge that connected each other into the firmest set of exoskeletal protection, serving as its skin. Fantastical silvery brilliance flowed between the almost imperceptible gaps of the marvelous gray scales.
A body as upright as a pillar of heaven, two legs thick yet slender with defined musculature, seemingly capable of racing light itself, with a pair of arms that were lengthy and chiseled with enough power to carry stars. Just above its temple were two horns that resembled branches with small, fledgling branches running down its thirteen-inch length, yet the horns themselves resembled the vast astronomical phenomenon of an existing universe, cosmically charged and endless in depth.
Eyes of a True Dragon, as penetrating as the gazes of ancient divinities of myth and exuding limitless tyranny and dominance. The intensity of its gaze distorted reality and reshaped perception as if it could create a universe and destroy one with equal ease. The silver color was prominent within, exerting a will of supreme creation to its limits.
Wei Wuyin"s feet, which were a five-claw draconic talon, dug into time and s.p.a.ce as if they were solid ground. Surrounding his body were thin silvery whisker-like objects that appeared and disappeared into the Void as if tethering him and the Void as one. He lifted his hand slightly as ripples emanated from a single movement. This was purely physical presence, the simple action of moving, that distorted light and seized mana.
Behind him, four wings existed. Four Infinite Void Wings! They stretched for only thirteen miles each, yet they seemed to engulf the entirety of the realm. A single flap of any one of them could carry him into any location within its territory. The feeling of this power was as clear as his tyrannical breath.
She had but only a single word to describe her first impression: Dangerous.
Her heart raced and her breathing grew hurried; she wasn"t scared at all, but instead, the beating of her heart was like war drums and her breathing was a bugle for a call to action. Her cells imbued with the raw power of the Law of Metal, constantly metastasizing greater and greater levels of power far beyond her bodily limitations, reaching untold levels of insane power, began to pulse with fighting spirit and killing intent.
She wanted…to fight!
Even if it cost her her life!
EVEN IF THIS WAS THE LAST FEW SECONDS OF HER LIFE!!!
She mustered her greatest strength. Her glistening, dazzling, and beautiful golden form bulged as her muscles grew taut, then flexed, and then moved!
SHATTER!!
She tapped into her Major Authority"s power and harnessed an excessive amount of heavenly metal radiance, the absolute limits to what her soul would allow and her physical body could contain! She not only freed herself, but her aura had risen to its highest level yet!
Wei Wuyin and Kratos stared at Sage Pakhet with a tinge of shock and a hefty amount of admiration. His current form was no different than exhibiting traits of an Unseen Divinity, a True Dragon! While this was merely the First Level of his Draconic Ascension, he had never felt this powerful before—EVER!!
They weren"t just accessing a True Dragon"s ascended power, but they were mixing the Magi"s innate qualities within, which dated back to the creation of literally everything! These were two exceedingly ancient bloodlines merging as a perfect whole, both changed drastically by the metaphysical influence of their cultivation and the Void Dao!
"We can win." Wei Wuyin and Kratos" voices which had never been heard by another person before resounded together into a harmonized singularity of will and intent, causing the entire realm to quiver!
It was as if only the two of them existed within his body.
Ori, King, and Eden had given themselves to Kratos. Unknowingly, they had merged with Kratos" Mystic Core, and an unbelievable amount of Draconic Void Mystic Force and Mark of Mystic Myth"s Bloodline Energies was being exhausted. If not for all four Mystic Cores exhausting their energies, becoming a singular type of mystic force, this transformation…no, this ascension might have been impossible!
At this moment, Wei Wuyin was a pure-blooded Martial Cultivator.
Sage Pakhet didn"t care about any of that. She allowed her wildness to explode! With blindingly fast speed, she cut through the tyrannical draconic pressure of Wei Wuyin and Kratos fearlessly, launching a flurry of lightning-quick claws aimed to lacerate them into b.l.o.o.d.y ribbons.
Wei Wuyin wasn"t pa.s.sive like before; with a s.h.i.+ft of his gaze, his hands moved as punched out with two clenched fists, matching the flurry with his own.
BOOM!
BOOOM!!!
BOOOOOOOM!!!!!
They both exhibited unnatural speed that exceeded imagination. If Sage Pakhet was a sprinter blitzing forward with supernatural movements, then Wei Wuyin was a ghost whose fists simply met her claws as if they teleported there at full strength, bypa.s.sing the limitations of time and s.p.a.ce!
By all right and imagination, Wei Wuyin should be faster! He was essentially teleporting with a fist thrown, yet Sage Pakhet matched him flawlessly. Her speed was simply too fast. Wei Wuyin had to react, and that single gap was enough for her to match him at every attack!
Wei Wuyin"s draconic eyes glowed a bright, majestic silver as he began to s.h.i.+ft through the void with a single movement of his four wings. He s.h.i.+fted a hundred thousand miles away, ready to launch a long-range offensive, but by the time he appeared in almost an instant, she was right before him carrying an excited, furious look.
She clawed! Kicked! And spun!
He punched! Clawed! And flipped!
They vanished across the landscape of the Battlefield of Fallen Divine. There was not a single inch of the realm that was untouched. Shockingly, the Ascendants and unconscious or trapped Sages had been relocated by their respective leaders! Wei Wuyin sent them away with a thought while Sage Pakhet enveloped them in her incomplete overflow of a Heavenly Domain, sending them out of the realm forcefully through the fissures.
Their actions were exceedingly fast, and they immediately completed this before engaging.
The desert terrain of the Battlefield of Fallen Divine no longer existed as spatial vortexes, temporal vortexes, and mountains and continents of gold existed in its place. This was a location that once held the might of two Supreme Sages horrifically changed by two cultivators of the Mystic Ascendant Realm!
If any Supreme Sage learned of this, they would be unable to believe such absurdity!
But neither of them was ordinary! Especially not Sage Pakhet! She was channeling the very power of the heavens through her body!
SHE WAS HEAVEN"S STRENGTH!!!
Wei Wuyin and Kratos embodied the most ancient of bloodlines, pushed to their extremes by the Alchemic Dao and an unprecedented foundation! Their battle consisted of technique and the purest form of close combat! These were two pure-blooded Martial Cultivators!
Wei Wuyin"s scales were fracturing despite their defense. Sage Pakhet"s golden skin contained cracks and fissures through, leaking raw heavenly radiance, yet on her savage expression, on her golden form, there was a glint of genuine happiness and excitement originating from her True Soul!
Wei Wuyin and Kratos were widely smiling as well, unleas.h.i.+ng brutal fists that shook every spatial dimension and the very flow of time itself! This was the best outlet!
Was this not to see the very limits of their power?!
Unfortunately, a winner has to be decided…
The eighth second of the fight.
Sage Pakhet had exceeded her estimations! And she was fighting with greater vigor as if her very essence wasn"t currently degrading into nothing resembling her former self, a.s.similating the heavenly aura and becoming one with it. A true golden G.o.ddess of heaven!
"Thank you," Wei Wuyin and Kratos earnestly said.
Sage Pakhet"s eyes glistened with a dazzling golden sparkle but she could no longer speak or communicate with her Sea of Consciousness. By this point, her body and soul were almost entirely heavenly essence, almost a complete physical manifestation of the Heavenly Realm of Metal Law.
However, this was by far her strongest state. Perhaps some Supreme Sages might not dare fight her in this state!
Wei Wuyin"s four Infinite Void Wings sprayed open, and then they expanded until they enveloped the entire realm. Then, with a single fist, he threw it as a cosmic phenomenon formed. Within that fist, it was almost as if a million stars exploded and the weight of a limitless expanse was brought upon her body.
"Celestial Void-Infinity Fist!" A simple name yet utterly true its name.
Sage Pakhet froze as an endless pressure descended upon her. Her Heavenly Domain was sealed, and her strength lowered considerably. Her golden eyes watched as a scaled fist seemingly containing the weight of the void and the creation of destructive celestial phenomena crashed upon her body.
There was no thunderous explosion or chaotic disruption of the realm.
Her golden body shattered into trillions of golden dust.
Yet as it landed on her heavenly body, her golden eyes still blazed with that same, unyielding and satisfied light with an excited and wild smile.