V4C52: Seeing the Luo District

Her attainment in her bloodline power further brought up everything she did, and thus, as she stood on a Superior Aerial Platform while attempting to understand just how the fifth realm permitted walking in the air, she was able to see just what her physique development brought her.

Aside from the pure improvement in strength, which was to be expected, she found that nothing about her physique energy itself was changed by a significant degree. It was still full of absolute yang and yin, which was brighter and more vivid but hardly fundamentally separate from what it had been before, but the physique abilities within her collection had indeed changed quite significantly, at least in her eyes.

None of them had broken through to a new level during her cultivation, and yet she distinctly felt all of her physique abilities being far more powerful.

For example, her Sun’s Regalia looked no different from what it had been in the past, being just as bright and impactful as before, and yet it was at the same level that she expected the next quality, the Greater Sun’s Regalia version. Her Immortal Mortal ability didn’t make much of a difference to her meridians from their state prior to this morning, and yet each meridian was filled to a far greater level.

From that, she was able to presume the effect of the Superior Yin-Yang Ascendant physique with ease. If the initial state of it allowed her to absorb all physiques and adapt their abilities for her own use, what the next rank permitted was for all of the physique abilities to exist at the rank after their current state, without actually making that development. It not only meant that it would apply to everything, but also offered an immense opportunity to her due to the existence of some physiques that had very specific and separate ranks.

For example, there was a gemstone physique that changed its name with every individual rank, ending up at the Diamond Skin physique once it reached its peak. However, if Wei Yi was to get her hands on it, she might be able to elevate it to that level and then have the Superior Yin-Yang Ascendant physique bring it to something beyond diamond, and, if there were more ranks to the Yin-Yang Ascendant… Her potential gains could be absolutely enormous.

Already, her True Titanic Conqueror would be able to demonstrate the power of the Red Titanic Conqueror without a single change occurring to the physique itself, thus permitting her to experience just how powerful such a physique could be one step away from the peak.

If she managed to bring it up to the highest rank of Awakened Titanic Conqueror, then brought her Superior Yin-Yang Ascendant to the rank of Absolute Yin-Yang Ascendant, then she might have as many as three additional ranks on top of the three ranks of the Titanic Conqueror. At that point, it would essentially be a double Awakened Titanic Conqueror (perhaps an Awakened Awakened Titanic Conqueror, if one wanted to call the physique something silly) and the power would also be multiplied. Every single chunk of ice would be incredibly dense and heavy, every drop of toxin would melt through star metal, any banner would be able to weaken an Imperfect Rift cultivator to the Energy Condensation realm in terms of power, and every single rune could have as much pure power as a dragon.

Since the Titanic Conqueror physique interacted well with her Obliteration method, it would also mean that it would be boosted immensely.

This made her far more confident in approaching the Luo District without bothering to hide a single thing about herself. So long as she could make use of all of these physique abilities at the increased stage, her confidence in protecting herself from unexpected attacks and in solving any kind of odd issue that might arise would naturally be significantly higher.

In fact, she appreciated this improvement almost right away, as she came across such an issue quickly.

As she was travelling towards the south, crossing miles so quickly that the expedition from the Yi District to the abandoned Kong District could have been done in a few hours, she made a significant portion of the journey in just an hour. She was not letting down her guard about anything around her, and she was thus able to notice a figure far in the distance that emerged from a small gap in the ground as she got close, fleeing quickly.

This alone wasn’t strange. There were plenty of odd figures out there that came and went from all kinds of places, and almost everything in the world contained something of interest so long as one searched long enough.

No, the issue wasn’t with that at all, but instead the appearance of this figure, and the energy within her. In terms of her physical features, she could almost be said to be an inverted version of Wei Yi, for she shared the vibrant crimson hair, piercing silver eyes, and a strong figure, except that her aura was cold, her body was shorter, with less muscle and explicit strength in her limbs, and her skin was also blatantly paler, as if she had awakened the opposite of the True Ascendant physique back when she had attempted to attain one.

Her clothing differed, as did her cultivation technique, but what did catch Wei Yi’s eye was that this seeming copy of her, or of someone from the Yi family that happened to share the build and characteristics of her, also happened to possess multiple meridian networks.

It wasn’t as impressive as her own set of five, but, despite her best attempts to come up with something for her troops, she still hadn’t been able to create a safe way to attain three sets within one body. This person, whoever she was, did, and now housed a most interesting combination of energies within these networks.

In the first, as one might expect, was planar energy, with a high degree of purity and the element of water, an anchor standing tall in the planar pool that was surrounded with a core. Then, in the second, physique energy of the first realm filled her meridians, pumping throughout them alongside the beats of her heart. Her third network was actually home to bloodline power, but it was of the second realm, causing a notable degree of suspicion and interest to spring up within Wei Yi’s mind. Even she had taken a long time to discover a way to awaken a bloodline, and that required most of her other methods to achieve. This person had not only done it as well, but also reached the second realm in a short amount of time.

As for why she presumed that this didn’t take long, it was all due to the lifeforce of the person.

Having spent plenty of time around all kinds of people with physiques that interact with lifeforce, she understood that simply having it wasn’t enough to allow one to live forever, or to keep them perfectly young. Just like anything, lifeforce also had a degree of quality and difference, and this could be used to distinguish between something old and something new even when something else hid any usual methods of perceiving age.

The person before her, and that was rapidly heading away from her, was not old at all, being no older than thirty, if even that. It meant that she had reached the fourth realm of planar cultivation, first realm of physique cultivation and second realm of bloodline cultivation in less than eighteen years at most.

Although she wouldn’t call a matter like this suspicious, she would call it unlikely. Even if the woman’s coincidental features weren’t anything important, then the matter of her unique cultivation state made her worth looking into, although that would hardly involve any of Wei Yi’s preferred activities. Still, she seemed to be heading south, and thus she would stop at the Luo District even if she would continue on. Rather than blindly following her, it would be better to understand the reason that she had just been inside some kind of small cave.

‘A time like this is making me wish I had some kind of marking skill, just to be sure that this person won’t run off without me being able to track them. She shouldn’t be fast enough to outrun me, not at that speed, but still…’ Wei Yi was wary of strange figures, including this one, so she didn’t wish to underestimate her due to her current speed and appearance.

There was always a chance that this woman was more capable than she looked.

As such, she intended to not spend a moment longer within the small gap in the ground than necessary, then follow the antithetical reflection of her.

With a few stealth methods being activated to prevent detection from either the woman or anyone else that might be in the area, Wei Yi leapt straight down into the gap, finding herself within a small yet natural underground pocket of air that wasn’t much bigger than a few metres. It looked mostly ordinary, but, with her spiritual perception always looking around, she quickly noticed a place where the earth had been shifted.

She displaced the earth with her spiritual will as to affect her surroundings the least, and confirmed the presence of a small passageway that was just barely large enough for her to be able to fit through it.

There were footprints there, and they correlated perfectly to the feet of the woman that had just left.

‘So, it appears that she had found something of interest here. The footprints in were slower than those out, so perhaps she had been excited by something. I wonder whether there’s still anything for me to loot, or if I will be left with an empty room,’ Wei Yi thought, proceeding down this passage with as much speed as she could manage with the restrictive size of the tunnel. If she wasn’t concerned about damaging something accidentally or causing a complete collapse of the terrain above, she might have broken through, but since she didn’t, she could only slow herself down.

Fortunately for her, the end of the tunnel wasn’t that far away, and she got to it in just a few minutes, emerging into another small space, this time one made with stone slabs surrounding a small raised platform with a coffin lying on top of it.

It was open, and a yellow skeleton lay within, its bones clearly disturbed by someone with no care for the proper treatment of the dead, nor proper tomb looting, since many items left behind in the coffin were still present, just tossed haphazardly around the coffin’s interior. To be fair to the strange woman, most items had lost their value due to their effects having decayed over time.

There were some pills of five-star quality, but their medicinal essence had long decayed leaving them as nothing more than pill-shaped masses of waste.

This wasn’t what interested her the most, however. A cursory glance through the remains of whoever lay in this tomb led her to find a small stone item that had the diameter roughly equivalent to the length of her hand at its longest. It had a spherical jewel embedded in the middle, at the front, and some engravings around it. Although she couldn’t figure out what it was for from a casual glance alone, she was able to tell that it had a lot of energy around and within it not long ago.

‘Interesting… The woman took something from this, but there is no trace of it? Wait…’

She carefully probed the item with her spiritual perception and found that it wasn’t actually as ordinary as she had assumed it to be. The surface looked to be slightly melted, as if someone had kept it near the edge of the Glass Wastes for a little while. It looked to be concentrated on a portion of the item, although the difference was incredibly slight, and was shaped almost like someone had taken a spherical object not unlike the gemstone at the front. Combined with the presence of energy around it, the theory of something being extracted seemed even more likely.

That was also rather odd, since Wei Yi knew of no method to extract something without damaging the item in her hand. It may be possible to break an item apart and then put it back together once something was extracted, and it was feasible to open up something and remove a piece without damaging it too significantly, but to simply melt something through an item was much less feasible.

‘I might lack the knowledge of how to do it, but a figure at the fourth, first and second realms managing something significantly beyond my understanding points to a few possibilities,’ she noted, storing the item in the House of Gold.

The spatial storage had now grown by a whole ten metres with just the first stage of the fifth realm, and so she now had plenty of space to fit in any random object just to make sure that she wasn’t missing something or leaving behind an item that would be incredibly useful to her later. Whether or not the circular object had any use for her, and whether or not it could be remade if the former part of the object was returned to it, she could always just throw the object away if she didn’t need it. Nobody would be able to perceive the fact that she had it, since her House of Gold was an otherworldly gift and thus imperceptible to anyone but the owner of the otherworldly gift, so there was little risk to it.

After checking on everything else within the small tomb, finding nothing of note to keep for herself or to investigate later, she left the area as quickly as possible, departing from the tomb with greater speed than she had entered by making use of her Mortal World’s Echo, which was now able to travel for longer distances, with greater precision, and more quickly than before.

She left quickly, leapt out of the gap in the ground, and leapt into the air before momentarily stopping on a platform in the air. Looking around carefully, she tried to find her target of pursuit.

‘Well, I had been afraid of this. I see some traces, but she’s essentially absent already… That woman either has some yin-type physique abilities already, since she could have a yin-type Ascendant physique, potentially letting her absorb something like the Frozen Step physique ability to travel more quickly while bypassing terrain, or she might have just hidden herself away somewhere…’ Wei Yi frowned, looking in the direction of the Luo District, ‘I guess I’ll have to look for her over there. If I find her, a few questions might be in order.’

The physiques that a yin-type Ascendant physique would be able to absorb were actually incredibly powerful in terms of traversing the terrain and even going underground, as something like the Hidden Passage physique permits for a creation of a temporary underground tunnel like the Mystical Bridge creates a route through the air. If she was able to get her hands on them, then she could easily accelerate her own movement by a significant degree by diversifying the types of routes she could take.

So far as she was aware, there were no interactions between the yin and yang variations of a certain concept like there were with the four physiques of the Conqueror’s Eye, but if there were, then there would be yet another excellent reason for accumulating more of them. If the Hidden Passage and Mystical Bridge could be united into some kind of Absolute Passage, or a Distant Wormhole, whether through their natural interaction or some purposeful combination of their energies, then she could simply bring herself from district to district through naught but these passageways. If they could then be stabilised permanently, or for a long period of time at least, she would have roads between districts without needing to construct them properly, enhancing trade right away.

Before that could be possible, even if everything worked in the unusual best-case scenario, she would need to bring the district that she had arrived at after some time into the alliance of the Ascendant’s Arbiters.

She had been at the Luo District not that long ago, and much of what she had remembered of it looked nearly the same. Some structures had changed in appearance, some of the talismans on the outer barriers had obviously been replaced, but the most notable result of her presence remained essentially as it had been a month ago after her departure.

There was still a clear damaged structure near the centre of the region in which various mercenary groups gathered, and although there wasn’t any smoke rising from it, it was not being repaired.

She hadn’t been too attached to anything in the Luo District, so it wasn’t much of a concern for her, but she was able to appreciate the fact that her sight now permitted her to look into such a great distance without much strain or effort. It still didn’t let her find the mysterious inverted replica of herself, but that was to be expected with everything present at the district. If someone like her just happened to be outside, wandering about in a way that made her easy to notice, that would just be too lucky.

Wei Yi fell from the air and landed on the ground some distance from the external barrier, standing tall and without any attempts to hide herself while she waited for someone to notice her presence, since she was intending to enter clearly and proudly.

To help with that effect, she even went beyond simply allowing her energy to be clearly perceived, and instead allowed her vast cosmic energy to radiate outwards, instantly incinerating several of the weaker talismans nearby due to the sheer force within her energy. If she was to say that she didn’t put some effort into ensuring the incineration of these items, she would not be speaking the truth, but even without the contribution of a searing mark, she could easily destroy third and fourth realm defences.

That ignition immediately attracted attention, soon bringing over several guards who all trembled the moment that the next minor fluctuation of her energy hit them.

“Who ar-” one was about to ask, but he suddenly felt his lungs being forced to release all of the air within, causing him to spit out a piece of planar grass that he was chewing on before nearly falling over. His companion quickly supported him, making sure to use the minimal amount of strength necessary to not give the wrong idea about herself.

“Who are you, intruder?” the female guard asked for him.

“My name is Wei Yi, leader of the Ascendant’s Arbiters, and I am here on behalf of that faction, as well as the Chao and Bai Districts. You likely don’t have the authority, but do let the Luo Patriarch know I’m here,” Wei Yi replied.

“P-Patriarch?” the woman repeated, her eyes widening, “No, I won’t… You’re only in the fifth realm-”

“You won’t do what, let me in? I don’t need you to do that kind of thing for me, since these are just sixth realm talismans at most. They’re not that challenging for me to overcome,” she stated casually.

Her intention in revealing herself was to show that she and the Ascendant’s Arbiters were capable opponents to the Greats, and that she was not someone that could be pushed around even by the current leaders of Yi City. In order to do that, she would naturally need to make an impact, and the best way to start that before even setting foot in the district would be by first setting herself apart from the image of the previous Wei Yi that the Luo District had come to know, whether or not they remembered her.

As such, while she had come in her favourite set of garments and kept her appearance as it truly was, she did make the effort of tidying up her clothing a little more than usual as she took a step forward. It brought her straight into the range of the first layer of talismans, but she didn’t delay and just kept on walking forward.

She wasn’t foolish enough to simply take every single talisman that would activate head on, since that would just open her up to being attacked by something made by an oddity like her. Instead, Wei Yi activated the Conqueror’s Eye, instantly feeling the improvement that the false True Conqueror’s Eye bequeathed onto her. Although she was hardly considered to rule the Luo District, the fact that two guards had witnessed her capability was suddenly amplified immensely.

The blackened crimson spread out and flooded the area, quickly enveloping many of the weaker talismans around her and simply prevented them from even noticing her presence.

Those that had more strength, or, more precisely, those that were created by individuals to whom a significant prowess in talisman creation was assigned by the people of the Luo District, were less affected by her Conqueror’s Eye, as she expected. With them, she instead used the Mortal World’s Echo to destabilise her presence just enough to make herself invisible to most of the talismans, as they were intended only to target foes through a rudimentary adaptation of the properties of the net of talismans. Unless one had been intended for this from the start, which most of these talismans weren’t, they wouldn’t be able to target a figure that didn’t really exist.

“W-Wait, no, don’t… These talismans are all-” the female guard was barely able to form a single proper sentence while she tried to bring her partner away from the rapidly approaching figure of the Ascendant. There might be some kind of misunderstanding occurring, but she didn’t care to correct it.

With just a few steps, she was through the first layer of the talisman defensive barriers, and was onto the second. Meanwhile, the guards had barely gotten back to the third, making use of their talisman to be free from the barrage of talismans that they would have otherwise suffered from. They were retreating behind the range of the third line of defences, where they could relax, but also where they wouldn’t be able to go much further.

Unlike the first line of defence, the second was typically made up of talismans with a clearer intention to be placed on the trees and stones of the outer edge of the district, rather than simply being thrown in for good measure. As such, while the combination of tricks was still successful against most of the talismans, it wasn’t sufficient to entirely bypass the talismans.

Fortunately enough for her, she wasn’t expecting to actually make it through with nothing but her physique abilities. This was merely a distraction for the guards and those observing her, since it would naturally make them believe that she was able to make use of a strange method to bypass their carefully arranged security measures, whereas the reality was significantly simpler than they think, and as they would have assumed had she approached normally. There was a safe way of preventing any of the talismans from striking, and while she could show it outright, it would make her more concerning in the eyes of the Luo District, as well as putting up an unnecessary connection between the two versions of herself.

As she drew into the second layer of defences, she kept herself in an unstable, half-absent state, but inside of her body, she prompted her energy to surge out of her meridians and arrange itself according to the talisman that she had personally held before, as well as the ones owned by the guards. The exact security talisman likely changed since her last visit, so she made sure to be careful.

The moment that it formed fully, and as soon as she activated it, she felt the suppression of the talismans around her vanish. It had been getting a little intense, but it instantly nullified that sensation.

“I may be in the fifth realm, but that doesn’t mean that I am insignificant,” Wei Yi said, pausing, then deciding that the two opposite her really were a little too nervous, “I also don’t intend to do anything to either of you. Just don’t stand in the way.”

“Sister Yun, do you-”

“Not your sister, you moron!” the female guard spoke far louder than she likely intended, realising this immediately and taking another step back as she whispered, “… What?”

“Do you think that she might be related to that woman from before?”

He may not have stated exactly who the woman was, what she looked like, or anything else about her, but that alone was enough to prompt the appropriate memories within his mind, allowing Wei Yi to view them through her persistent spiritual will threads that had plunged into the heads of the two guards some time ago.

Due to the low level of mental cultivation of the male guard, not to mention his general mental quality that she perceived within him, the image wasn’t that clear, but there were a few details. Red hair, silver eyes, small figure covered in dark silk – there was no doubt who he was talking about.

Wei Yi pondered the matter for a moment, then decided that discovering her nature and identity might be more important than making as bombastic an entrance as possible. She had considered a few methods of entry, of course, so she wasn’t going to switch to something entirely inefficient and ineffective, but it would still be less optimal than she would have preferred. She didn’t disperse the talisman inside her immediately, but she did activate her World’s Echo physique to the fullest, instantly bringing her past the third layer of talismans before she had even gotten close to it.

“That figure is also relevant. Mind describing her to me in detail?” she asked, before they had the chance to realise that she had breached the defences just like that.

Still, no matter how she might want them to pay attention to her question instead of other matters, even the power of Law couldn’t overcome her sudden appearance next to them, despite their belief that she should have been unable to pass through all layers of the talismans without a scratch. It was too strange, and thus the guards attempted to flee a few steps back. The woman was accidentally tripped up by the man, although neither of them made much progress as Wei Yi blocked both of them.

“Speak to me, you two. You tried doing so at first, didn’t you?” she said again.

Although she intended to bring one of them up to not speak to them while they were in the ground, she was forced to take a step back quickly as a blade made of talisman light struck down upon her position, carving right into the ground.

It was powerful, sufficient to pierce several dozen metres into the dirt beneath her, and the stone beneath that. The energy was of the upper sixth realm, and the wielder descended from the sky only a moment later, landing in front of the guards. He wore a large cloak made up of countless talismans joined together, with which he obscured the two guards and stared upon her.

“You said your name was Wei Yi? I am Luo Huang, guardian of the Luo District. State your intentions!”