Ma Zheng found himself in a space similar to the Third Voyage, the Voyage of the Wanderer. The entire fixed space was overtaken by chaotic spatial energies, warping and distorting the normally calm space. It was now a world of silver fuzziness, indistinct and endlessly changing. He couldn't grasp a sense of direction or distance, had no sense of color or form, and as far as the eyes could see, there was only endless chaos.
It was extremely disorienting. However, he possessed an acute sense toward spatial energy and a high degree of resonance with it, so he hurriedly stabilized himself and fixed his position with tentacles of Spatial Power. Unfortunately, he couldn't find the Great Sea Oceanic Queen.
He lifted both hands to his face, realizing that the waves of chaotic power contained traces of terrifying solar energy empowered by a type of uniquely rich mana. It was eating away at his passive defenses, ripping away at his skin without any sign of pain or discomfort. In a way, it was shedding him.
Ma Zheng conjured a Mystic Ward; then, without wasting time, began to formulate a series of hand-seals while circulating his Mystic Power into his Mystic Soul, seeking to amplify his Spiritual Sense. Since he had taken it upon himself to act, he'll do so cleanly and attempt to save the Great Sea Oceanic Queen using his greatest effort.
Just as his Spiritual Sense was about to spread far and wide, a voice resounded from every direction.
"Stop."
Normally, Ma Zheng wouldn't listen to such an abrupt, unexplained answer, but the voice rippled through the chaos and arrived before him, and it was an incomparably familiar voice that he could never disregard—Wei Wuyin!
Instantly, he halted the circulation of his Mystic Power and stayed where he was. It was difficult to discern the passing of time in this sea of literal chaos, but Ma Zheng wasn't the slightest concerned about that. Since Wei Wuyin's arrival, the degree of trust and belief in his means, ability, and intelligence was unparalleled. If he says stop, then he'll stop until told to go.
He owed him at least that much. Moreover, he was in an unexplored region, recently contacted Wei Wuyin, and was now receiving a message from him here. The situation screamed that something was occurring that he was ignorant of.
"You should have waited for my message," Wei Wuyin's voice boomed all around once again, causing Ma Zheng to gently nod. "Apologies," he directly said sincerely. The old man had experienced such much, so he could hear that there was a wisp of exhaustion in Wei Wuyin's voice, followed by a bit of irritation.
He had jumped the gun to save a fellow Earthly Saint, and even Huoyan Liulan didn't wish for him to risk himself. In truth, he felt that he could enter and exit, face any dangers due to his various means of survival, and profoundly cultivated Spatial Power. Unfortunately, his thoughts were hubris that often led one to death.
Wasn't the Great Sea Oceanic Queen not the same type of person? Her confidence was endless, and she risked herself to explore the unknown, entering this space that was like an inescapable cage. "I had to come, there's a fellow Daoist of mine that I have some relations with here, and I'm concerned about her."
It wouldn't be wrong to say that the Great Sea Oceanic Queen and him had some business dealings. She wasn't overly powerful, but she had definitely helped sustain the Golden Life Pavilion's Third Branch's external branches in various areas. She wasn't tethered to the interest of her starfield, so her values were more loosely based on individual profits and benefits. She was easier to deal with than the Eighth Sea Grand King and his bloated arrogance.
"She's dead."
Wei Wuyin's voice responded flatly.
Ma Zheng felt his heart quiver. Dead? How? He frowned, and his aura began to rapidly recede.
"Don't!" Now, Wei Wuyin's voice sounded urgent. Ma Zheng hastily halted his execution of his concealment spell mid-usage. He suffered a backlash as his meridians and Mystic Soul trembled violently, the pain suffused his entire body and Sea of Consciousness, yet he stifled his throaty grunt.
A second…
Thirty seconds…
A minute…
Seven minutes and thirty-two seconds…
Ma Zheng couldn't tell whether he was up or down, distinguish colors, or determine distance, especially with his Spiritual Sense contained, so he couldn't tell where anything was. He didn't know there was a shroud of grey energy in a sphere shielding him, blending in with the chaos.
This was Void Force.
However, he suddenly felt a hand grasp his shoulder. Then, his body felt as if it was thrown out of a high-speed vehicle, and his surroundings instantly changed. Ma Zheng's senses still functioned, so he swiftly figured out that he was extracted from the chaos-filled fixed space, and brought back to the vast Dark Void.
He followed the palm on his shoulder to find a white-robed young man with silver eyes, on his impossibly handsome visage that could affect anyone's orientation was a bitter smile. On the other side of him, nestled beneath his armpit, was the body of an unconscious female, her clothes were completely gone, and her hair was a total mess. On her face were two streaks of dried tears that were tainted by dreadful feelings.
Wei Wuyin was a mere mortal, yet the way he carried two Earthly Saints, genuine Ascended beings, like children that needed to be saved left Ma Zheng with all sorts of uncertain feelings. The smile on his face revealed the degree of danger that Ma Zheng was in, and his aged heart shivered.
"If your luck wasn't good, you'd be dead right now." Wei Wuyin casually said as he let Ma Zheng go, lifting the Great Sea Oceanic Queen and tossing her into his arms. Her body was unharmed but her innate energies felt as if it was sucked dry by some strange power.
She was alive!
"You saved her?" Ma Zheng said after inspecting her condition. She was stable.
"Haaa…" Wei Wuyin heaved a heavily exhausted sigh, his silver eyes looking at the vast Dark Void, his draconic eyes that were vertical returned to normal. "That thing from earlier is exploring the chaos within that area of fixed space at the moment. I was lucky that I could evade its notice."
That thing?
Ma Zheng recalled the time they fled at the fastest speed by Wei Wuyin's order without warning. A strange spatial creature within fixed space was perceived as a threat to Wei Wuyin, and he had never heard of or seen it before. Fortunately, he had experienced so much and was able to contain his stress.
"Do you know what it is?" Ma Zheng said as he imbued the Great Sea Oceanic Queen with life-sustaining energies to further stabilize her condition. Moreover, he'll be able to leave evidence that he was the one who saved her, not Wei Wuyin. It was best if the world didn't know that a mere mortal had just saved an Earthly Saint from a terrifying being of unknown origins living amongst them.
Wei Wuyin shrugged, "I do."
"..." Ma Zheng tacitly didn't follow with more questions. Since Wei Wuyin said only those two words in response, then explaining it was not within his agenda today. Instead, he inspected Wei Wuyin and his eyes brightened.
"Congratulations on your successful breakthrough," Ma Zheng noticed that Wei Wuyin's eyes contained a wisp of refined time energies, exuding a type of temporal radiance unique to the Temporal Eye. This signified the successful ascension to the Temporal Eye Phase, the Eighth Stage of the Astral Core Realm. This was heaven-shaking as Wei Wuyin was only sixty years old with multi-Astral Souls.
"Mhm," Wei Wuyin nodded absentmindedly. "Thank you," he faintly frowned as his gaze never left the Dark Void as if seeing the activity beyond many folds of space. After a long while, his frown lessened and he sighed with relief. "Life really can't be predicted."
Wei Wuyin had thought that he'd find a safe and secure location to settle down, cultivate, concoct, consolidate, and plan, yet he was almost instantly met with an exceedingly dangerous event that could've cost his life. But if he hadn't acted, Ma Zheng's life and death would've been up in the air. He chuckled as he reminded himself that the world didn't revolve around his schedule.
"It really can't," Ma Zheng said as he lifted the Great Sea Oceanic Queen slightly.
"Also," Wei Wuyin suddenly turned away and looked at the unconscious woman in Ma Zheng's hand, saying: "Involve yourself in the politics of the Great Blue Starfield, have her become the Ninth Sea Grand Queen."
"...?" Ma Zheng was taken aback.
"The Eighth Sea Grand King-" Wei Wuyin was about to explain, but Ma Zheng interrupted.
"Will do. She'll be the Ninth Sea Grand Queen within the decade. Is that fast enough?" Ma Zheng confidently said without any hesitation. He didn't need to know the reason, trusting Wei Wuyin entirely.
Wei Wuyin gave Ma Zheng a long look. A soft warmth emerged in his heart. When the alternative version of Wei Wuyin entered the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region, despite not participating in the Devil War Realm and attracting Ma Zheng's attention and confidence then and there, he was still a reliable ally that helped establish himself as an alchemist.
Unfortunately, he died.
It was an ambush organized by Sheng Jizi using his connections with Trueborn. Ma Zheng had experienced the same ambush in this timeline, yet he survived with very little breath in his lungs.
Ma Sujiang had taken his place and their relationship continued somewhat. This was mostly due to Huoyan Liulan's Inferno Solaris Church's deal regarding business with Sheng Jizi, established after Ma Zheng's passing.
Eventually, Ma Sujiang began to follow Tian Yinwu, and she abdicated from her position as a Third Manager despite her mother's protests.
The suave version of himself felt indebted to Ma Zheng and helped Ma Sujiang from the shadows with Mystic-Rank alchemical products after he became an Earthly Saint Alchemist. While he was relatively low-key, he still possessed similar principles that Wei Wuyin had.
It was hard not to get overly emotional because, without Ma Zheng, many things would've been extremely difficult in both lives. He was unimaginably reliable.
Wei Wuyin nodded, "It's fast enough. I'll send Wu Yu to assist. It'll be best if it's known that I'm backing her." The benefits of foreknowledge were tremendously advantageous because he knew that the Eighth Sea Grand King would eventually become an enemy of his, considering he was a part of Trueborn. It was best to sever his power and authority before making his move to clean up the starfield, Shadow Egg and all.
? "Understood," Ma Zheng replied.
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Wei Wuyin thought about the World Between the Fold; they most likely believed that he was dead by suicide in the Time Vortex, and Liu Yinlan must think that Wu Yu and Zhan Zheng were avatars if everything worked out perfectly. However, he didn't want to be thought of as dead. If it was before his Temporal Eye Astral Tribulation, then he would like nothing more, but after…he couldn't.
Liu Suyin.
Cao Cuifen.
He needed to make sure they knew he was alive. While he was quite vicious at times, he never treated his lovers with anything but respect, care, and thoughtfulness. While he wasn't always present, he couldn't accept his lovers' thinking he was dead. For an hour, a day, let alone an entire year as it was.
If it wasn't for the feeling of encroaching dread, that he now knew originated from Liu Yinlan, he wouldn't have left so suddenly before. He had told them that they'll meet again, but he couldn't be certain if they understood him.
"Contact the Void Voyage Sect, and tell them to send a message to their Vice-Sect Master and Sect Master: The Time Vortex was a nice swim, my sincerest apologies for not being able to stay for long. But if you want, you can come to my homeland to visit." Wei Wuyin said with a tinge of an icy chill. It was downright dreadful that Ma Zheng felt a shiver down his spine.
"..." Ma Zheng nodded.
Wei Wuyin knew that Liu Yinlan wouldn't be able to come to the Sealed Regions, but she'll send Liu Suyin to bring him back, especially if she thought that his Earthly Saints were mere decoys. Predicting her personality and intentions, she'll send a stealth unit to bring him back.
"One day," Wei Wuyin calmly said with a sharp light in his eyes.
Unfortunately, Wei Wuyin was unaware that Liu Yinlan no longer needed him for her plans. The Spatial Vortex was a variable that no one could predict, and the consequences of its existence will cause one of the greatest events in the Sealed Regions, heavily affecting the World Beyond the Fold!