Chapter 396 - 392: Auric Sea, Unstoppable Descent
The three groups' attention was brought away, looking at the elder that had abruptly appeared a fair distance away. Lin Ruyan and Qingye Yun frowned, their gazes exchanged for a moment before they turned to the San Emperor and his two Envoys. Their emotions at the moment were unreadable.
Everyone oddly felt on edge. The atmosphere was quite tense despite the complete lack of wind.
The figures of the Myriad Monarch Sect started to emerge out of thin air, clearly brought here via a Void Gate. They were unsurprised, but the first arriving elder was startled. He turned to see the three groups. Despite the distance, the elder's cultivation was at the fourth stage of the Astral Core Realm, granting his astonishing vision.
His expression became twisted as he immediately noticed the signature crimson mist and imperial attire of the San Clan's Envoys. It wasn't just him. As more elders arrived, their expressions betrayed their shock and hesitation. The San Emperor was a Realmlord, despite his methods of getting there, and has ruled the starfield for generations. Most of these elders were born under their rule, an innate sense of reverence swelled within their hearts.
After all, this man, alongside another, had thoroughly conquered the starfield and its hegemonic powers. In fact, it was the San Clan that had intervened, preventing the mutual destruction of the four hegemonic forces after the Myriad Monarch Sect was pushed into a corner by the other three.
Many of these elders were alive today due to that generosity, so they were feeling extremely complex. But they still kept their wits about them, knowing why they were present and why Tuo Bihan sent them first.
The first disciple of the younger generation emerged, his cultivation at the Sky Ruler Phase was quite powerful, but he released a yelp of panic as he felt an astonishingly powerful gravitational force exert itself upon his body. The yelp was accompanied by a dozen feet drop from the sky before the elders reacted, waving their hands to still his falling figure.
The disciple was covered in cold sweat as if he felt his life flash before his eyes. He couldn't help but stared at the azure surface below, feeling strange that the ground was a smooth azure-color. Just as he was questioning this, a female cry sounded by a heart-wrenching shriek of fear.
The elders hastily acted as they stabilized the falling figures of the newly arrived disciples. Despite being ten thousand feet high, the Auric Sea's gravity was incredibly strong. Unless one had sufficient strength, typically at the Soul Idol Phase, they would find themselves unable to self-stabilize in a short period of time.
Just as they expected, a Soul Idol disciple emerged soon and he was startled by the abrupt change of gravity, but a powerful spiritual force erupted from his body and stabilized his figure after a few feet. The person couldn't help but gawk at the azure surface below in shock.
He had never seen such a strange sight before.
The others soon followed, causing a few to scream out in shock. Those three groups were calmly watching, but they didn't feel schadenfreude, especially the disciples. They, too, felt that gravitational power and the horror that followed. There were mostly hints of pity in their eyes.
Wei Wuyin and Qing Qiumu's figures soon emerged out of thin air. When they did, Qing Qiumu felt the force, grabbing at Wei Wuyin. With a swift action, Wei Wuyin grabbed her slender waist and brought her close into his embrace. Her cultivation base may be impressive for her level, but she lacked the spiritual sense and swift reactions of a Soul Idol expert.
Therefore, he had held her hand when coming to avoid Qing Qiumu from experiencing the horror of falling downwards.
Qing Qiumu blushed, her hands pressed against Wei Wuyin's robes and grabbed him at him forcefully. She was truly given a fright at the abrupt shift of her weight. When she felt the muscles beneath Wei Wuyin's robes, her eyes widened slightly as she blushed.
Wei Wuyin was entirely unbothered by this contact, "Calm yourself. Circulate your astral force to lift yourself and forgo your Mana Control." The reason numerous cultivators had fallen was due to the Mana Control abilities granted by the Sky Ruler Phase which had become second-nature to them. While it enabled flight, in this environment it was quite deadly.
He inspected the ambient mana and felt its thin nature, making it nigh impossible to sustain flight. With his Celestial Eyes, he saw the flows of mana be drawn into the azure liquid below. This meant the only mana available was in transit to the bottom. If they tried to control it, it'd be like holding a mountain on your shoulders or being pulled down by a full-grown whale as a mortal—impossibly heavy.
Qing Qiumu blushed, feeling somewhat embarrassed by her thoughts. But she was still an extremely diligent cultivator and had a fair share of abrupt circumstances. Now that she knew the issue and solution, she started to circulate her cultivation base and drew upon the wind energies within her, empowering it with astral force, and she started to float on her own power.
She left Wei Wuyin's embrace, staying afloat on her own power. A beautiful smile that could bring light to the darkest times soon showed itself on her gorgeous countenance. Having achieved stability, she found the time to observe the azure surface like the others. Her emerald-colored eyes brightened as amazement flashed within.
"What is that?" To her, it was like a smooth surface, almost like a porcelain plate. There was no reflection, however.
Wei Wuyin similarly inspected the azure liquid that seemed like a solid. He frowned for a moment, a trace of uncertainty emerged in his heart. He lifted his hand, feeling startled by something. Just as he was pondering this, the rest of the disciples emerged and Lian Yu, a World Sea Phase cultivator, released an extremely loud shriek.
The others turned their heads to see her falling figure and Long Chen grabbing her hand, but he seemed to be visibly struggling. The elders were startled. When they heard an unhealthy pull of Lian Yu's arm, as if it was about to rip, they acted.
An elder took action, the fastest amongst them, and circulated his spiritual force around the two, but his expression instantly changed. It was as if Lian Yu weighed like a mountain.
The elder threw away his pride and yelled, "Help me!" His cry prompted two elders, one male and one female, to take simultaneous action. They were all at the Spatial Resonance Phase, and were amongst the Earthly Generals. They exerted their powers in a brilliant display, ensnaring Long Chen and Lian Yu.
But with that, Long Chen's expression changed as Lian Yu's eyes revealed her horror and shock. These emotions reflected in the eyes of the elders as the weight was impossible. Even with all their powers, Lian Yu started to descend alongside Long Chen. A few feet, then a dozen.
Before long, she was already forty feet beneath everyone and the elders' expressions twisted as they shouted out in horror. "What the hell is happening?! Help us!!" The first elder shouted, completely shocked by events.
Qin Rui took action. She had merely been watching, but she understood the unique characteristics of the Auric Sea; the closer one got to the surface, the greater the gravitational force. This was why they were ten thousand feet away. She immediately exerted her astral force's astonishing powers, causing a surging wave of multicolored wind to erupt from her delicate fingers.
They swept under the falling duo, enshrouding them. With a faint grunt, she pulled. The elders breathed a sigh of relief resounded after witnessing a former Grand Imperial Sage, an existence at the Sixth Stage of the Astral Core Realm, the Gravity Emission Phase, take action to handle this event. But their sighs were premature, after Qin Rui's misty exterior seemed to abruptly vanish.
Her gorgeously exquisite face that many hadn't ever seen clearly, including her soul-snaring yin aura, was revealed to the crowd. But alongside this was her beautiful countenance had been twisted to betray the extreme effort she was exerting.
The duo kept descending, shocking Qin Rui. Ji Changkong and Yao Zhen's expressions revealed shock. It seemed Qin Rui was suffering the same amount of struggling effort as the others, as if the Auric Sea was adapting after her interference.
They descended for three more feet, and the weight became extremely unbearable to the elders.
"Lian Yu!" Qing Qiumu cried out. While she had her issues with Long Chen, and didn't improve Lian Yu insulting Wu Baozhai, they still lived and knew each other for years. Her cry was followed by the simultaneous actions of the two former Grand Imperial Sages.
They simultaneously brought out extremely oppressive demonic and sharp forces in support, wrapping around Qin Rui's initial wrap. They couldn't allow their Grand Prince to suffer without acting before others. But it did little to alleviate the situation, shocking everyone present.
At this moment, Tuo Bihan arrived and observed the powerful forces interacting in an attempt to save two disciples. He spotted the disciples, and his expression changed. He was about to evoke his Worldly Domain, but a shout halted him instantly.
"Tuo Bihan, stop!" Wei Wuyin roared, his voice held an unquestionable tone. Tuo Bihan was startled, but he stayed his hand without hesitation.
Qing Qiumu was shocked by that order, looking at Wei Wuyin. For a moment, she thought Wei Wuyin was going to let Long Chen and Lian Yu fall to their deaths because of their grudge, reminding herself of Long Chen's despicable behavior. Was he like that too? Her mind was on the collision course of becoming a mess.
But this thought could only float for a moment as Wei Wuyin stared at the duo intently, his expression revealed an extremely deep and thoughtful frown but soon relaxed. Instantly, he shot off. They weren't too far apart, a mere few dozen feet away, and he arrived before the two in a flash.
When everyone saw Wei Wuyin, the Ascendant Emperor of Neo-Dawn descend, they all cried out with voices of shock, surprise, horror, concern, and disbelief. They were far more intense than their reaction towards Lian Yu and Long Chen's possible demise. The Auric Sea became sharply stronger just a few feet down. At around thirty feet down from their current location, Sky Ruler could no longer support themselves.
When Wei Wuyin arrived, he looked at the various forces enshrouding the two's figures. At the moment, Long Chen's arms were incredibly straining, showing off thick veins as he kept a hold of Lian Yu with a double grip. Her arm seemed to have already been dislocated from her shoulder, and she was sweating cold bullets at her forehead.
When Long Chen saw Wei Wuyin through the veil of forces, his expression changed. Lian Yu similarly saw Wei Wuyin, a feeling of shock emerged in her heart, but also hope. If Wei Wuyin fell into their dilemma, then everyone would exert a thousandfold times more effort to save them.
But Wei Wuyin's next words caused her heart to sink.
"Everyone, stop your actions! Let them go," his silver eyes seemed to flash with a seemingly cold light as he said this, widening the eyes of the two in this unexpected predicament.