Chapter 1792 Chapter 1785: Silence; A Game of Mystics (16)
Chapter 1792 Chapter 1785: Silence; A Game of Mystics (16)
The anxiety and confusion within Dai Yangdao's voice transmitted through the Void-Soul Transmission Jade, a uniquely crafted Spiritual Transmission Jade that was soul-linked and profoundly communicated through the Void, ensuring that few formations could intercept or halt its communication, while the soul-linked aspect ensured that those communicating could transmit words using their Soul Energy, making it undetectable by anyone unless they had Soul Perception. The value of a Void-Soul Transmission Jade was higher than a single Mystic-Heaven grade essence stone and considerably rare.
Su Yi glanced surreptitiously at Wei Wuyin. He calmly replied, "If you're referring to the fact that the Mythical Contract isn't entirely karmically linked to me, then I already know."
"What?!" Dai Yangdao was shaken. He was using profound divination spells to locate the Mythical Contract, and after Guo Heng's failure had activated the conditions, eliciting Mythical Punishment, its location was exposed in the Void. Currently, the eight other spirits were working in tandem to rush toward the Mythical Contract.
There were several supremely powerful auras. From his vast and ancient experience, there were four, and each belonged to the Microheaven Envoy Phase of the Resonant Soul Realm! They wielded godly heavenly might, and he was overly anxious. By his fate-empowered calculations, however, they could reach the Mythical Contract before them with a very narrow margin.
Su Yi frowned. He thought for a moment, and then he could only sigh in his heart. Earlier, during the Mythical Contract signing, long before the spiritual projections were established, long before they discussed officially starting the game of Mystics with its early stages, the seven of them had signed the Mythical Contract with only the three Mythical Judges as witnesses.
This process was mostly swift unless any party sought to change the standard Mythical Contract.
No one objected.
However, Wei Wuyin decided to add a small, insignificant, and almost irrelevant detail as the host, as was his right. As long as it didn't break the contract or offer them any disadvantage in the upcoming game, there was no need to object. This was especially so since those present were all confident of their game plans and upcoming victory. Moreover, they represented supremely powerful organizations that stood at the peak of the galaxy.
What did they need to fear?
After all, even if they lost, only a Mythical Punishment on the level of an Original Magistrate or Mystic Overlord would threaten them, and they had godly backers that could sneeze those away. Albeit they would never defy and disgrace the game of Mystics, besmirching their reputation across all of the galaxy for a little wealth.
It was unexpected that Wei Wuyin would add that outrageous condition that was contingent on breaking the contract or establishing conditions on the chance of milestone failures! It was entirely fair! And it was far outside of anyone's expectations! If Wei Wuyin genuinely was at any of the stages of the Resonant Soul Realm, he would face an absolute lethal tribulation!
During this process, where there was an outstanding non-disclosure agreement regarding all details of the Mythical Contract, something that had long since been established by the Utmost Purity Galaxy's Mystics' culture to prevent exposure, Wei Wuyin had suggested individual Mythical Contracts.
This was almost entirely irrelevant and hard to debate against without exposing ill intentions. Considering that, and thinking on the implications, the people present, himself included, genuinely didn't feel anything wrong with agreeing. At most, Wei Wuyin would bear the cost of ten Mythical Contracts, as the three Mystic Judges had their own to ensure surface-level neutrality.
They all signed Mythical Contracts. Each of them.
So there wasn't one Mythical Contract out there.
THERE WERE TEN!
And seven of them were the participants!
Additionally, none of them could expose that fact without breaking the contract as discussing any details regarding the contract was against the oath of the contract! It was a little frustrating and convoluted, but Su Yi didn't think too much about it. After all, there wasn't a race for the contract until after the foreigner added that insane condition, riding the coattails of those violent conditions aimed at him, and creating a sense of calamity in these top-tier organizations.
Moreover, none of them could argue against it! And if any external power tried to interfere with the game on behalf of one of the participants, it would be no different than an auto-loss, so aiming for Wei Wuyin would do very little to alleviate their own impending calamity.
Su Yi sighed once again in his heart as he sent: "Be careful. Don't give up on finding the contract."
Dai Yangdao was anxious and in a hurry, yet he was keen enough to discern that Su Yi was trying to transmit something with his message. He was about to speak again when—
Suddenly, a thunderous explosion erupted within the Void. It was the result of two supremely terrifying existences, and he was immediately jaunted into a different time stream. The other spirits were tethered to him, so they followed.
This disconnected the connection between the two Void-Soul Transmission Jades. Not even souls can easily communicate across different streams of time.
Su Yi felt the disconnection as the jade vibrated. He grew increasingly concerned.
Yue Baoyue was stunned that Wei Wuyin sent Guo Heng away. None of them were privy to their mental discussion and subsequent deal, but Guo Heng's shifting expression of despair and then hope was visible to each of them. Wei Wuyin's movements were unpredictable and profound, and if it wasn't for her observing him intently, she wouldn't have noticed him disappear and reappear.
Since Wei Wuyin's voice rang in her ear, she immediately realized that her fate was almost Guo Heng's if not for his interference. But what happened? Where did her treasures go?! Her heart was besieged by these questions, but she couldn't do much except accept her circumstances. And stare at Wei Wuyin, of course.
Qin Yingyin was surreptitiously observing Wei Wuyin as well. When he disappeared earlier, her eyes glinted with discovery. She had her suspicions before, but now, she was almost certain that Wei Wuyin was relying on an inferior form of Mystic Power—Mystic Force.
This belief wasn't due to her Spiritual Sense or Sensory Spells. She had a physique that made her extremely sensitive to different types of energies. It has assisted her greatly in completing dangerous tasks, cultivating intelligently, and identifying rare and obscure treasures that Enlightened Sages could miss with their Soul Perception.
But it didn't make sense; Mystic Force should never be able to serve as a foundation for such extraordinary feats such as negating the spatial and temporal sealing imposed by Mythical Punishment.
Stories foretold of the various consequences of breaking oaths.
The Spiritual Oath led to Spiritual Consequence. It was plainly named because the effects were largely internal, yet the subsequent result could either lead to devastatingly violent effects or a silent affliction. The Spirit of Cultivation would collapse upon itself.
The wisp of the soul used to form it since its inception would experience decay. That wisp of soul had been cultivated into a Natal Soul, Astral Soul, or Mystic Soul, and its decay and the effects were dependent on the spirit in question. If the Spirit of Cultivation contained a lot of impure and volatile energy, unrefined, then its decay would lead to Spiritual Detonation. Meanwhile, if a Spirit of Cultivation was mostly pure, and gentle in energies, then the decay would induce a Spiritual Collapse.
The former was destructive, violent, and on par with Cultivation Deviation. The latter was silent, on par with Cultivation Dissipation, a phenomenon that would typically occur as lifespans and soulspans reached their limits.
Heavenly Tribulation, on the other hand, was blindly ferocious and vicious. Aimed at the oathbreaker, yet uncaring of those surrounding it as it was brutal and violent, like a woman scorned. It sought to kill with no chance at life. Additionally, Heavenly Tribulation can arbitrarily escalate or deescalate for reasons unknown, and if any interfered, the tribulation would almost always amplify its strength to eradicate all parties.
Entire planets have been implicated by Heavenly Tribulation before, this was especially so if the target was a ruler or creator of that planet. Karmic ties were both clear and vague at times, and rulers had karmic ties with every living thing within their reigning boundary. So even an entire galaxy could be implicated.
That said, those blessed by the Heavenly Daos would find immense benefit in experiencing Heavenly Tribulation and overcoming its rage, and it would link those who broke its oath with that Blessed's fate, shockingly forgiving them.
Mythical Punishment, however, was fair and focused. It was silent. It was lethal. It was indifferent.
Wei Wuyin waved his hand. The spiritual projections shifted into three perspectives. The hundreds of billions of spectators, many of which existed within the bounds of the Refining Skies Galactic Zone, recognized the three different viewpoints.
The first viewpoint was the Zenith Refinement Tower. Standing atop it were two figures. They were the chubby female Supreme Sage and Guo Heng.
The second viewpoint was further out, displaying the stellar region where the Zenith Refinement Tower was located.
The third viewpoint was even further out! The entirety of the Refining Skies Galactic Zone was shown. The azure-esque misty shroud was familiar to countless spectators as they gasped. They saw, within the mist, churning and swirling on par with the phenomenon of hurricanes upon the clouds.
Wei Wuyin casually formed a hand-seal. Various spiritual lights flashed as the spots on each of the churning and swirling areas were marked with Stellar Region or planet names. It wasn't too accurate in terms of placement, yet anyone who observed could tell that these were the locations where the chaos was gathering.
The second viewpoint's names were not planets or stellar regions, but the names of various organizations such as institutes and academies.
The first viewpoint only exposed Guo Heng's name and the Zenith Refinement Tower. Nothing else. The chubby female Supreme Sage wasn't given a name, and while numerous elite figures recognized her, the vast majority were unaware as to who this person was.
She looked chubby and harmless, but she gave off a grand aura as if she were representative of the heavens. She thrummed with heavenly might. Her eyes flickered as she looked straight at the projection for a moment, a flash of confusion in her eyes, immediately followed by realization, and she was seething with a tinge of anger. Anyone could see that she was about to act against the source of the projection, likely destroying it.
Su Yi's eyes widened slightly. Wei Wuyin's spiritual projections were unfathomably detailed and capable of exuding the auras through spiritual sense. This was incredible!
Wei Wuyin's voice echoed throughout the spiritual senses of all spectators as the focus was drawn to the first viewpoint. "Do something. I dare you."
They were five words, yet they seemed intent on causing trouble as it was a blatant threat backed by a pulse of insanely powerful Spiritual Strength and a flash of Soul Light.
The chubby female Supreme Sage's expression drastically changed. Weighing whether to act or not, she snorted coldly. The chubby female Supreme Sage didn't do anything in the end. She didn't want to add to her existing crisis to her life by offending an enemy that might kick her while she was down.
She cursed Guo Heng in her heart.
Guo Heng did what the Zenith Refinement Alchemic Saint was doing. He hid behind the chubby female Supreme Sage. Of course, the Zenith Refinement Alchemic Saint was hiding in the tower. It was sealed off, so Guo Heng could only do the next best thing.
Qin Yingyin's eyes glowed intensely! Her gaze was focused entirely on Wei Wuyin! Her guess in her heart was fully confirmed! It was as if a hazy fog was uplifted over her mind and she could see the world!
Wei Wuyin glanced at her, causing her entire soul to shiver. She was fearless, however. The Mythical Contracts signed earlier prohibited players from physically acting against each other using their cultivation. Unfortunately for Guo Heng, there was nothing that saved his spatial treasure from being invaded.
Wei Wuyin was slightly saddened that his invasive and thieving actions had led to the treasure being ruined, but the spatial and temporal defenses established by the Zenith Refinement Tower were profound and well-placed, and only by using force was it possible. If not, he might have taken the treasure for himself after sending Guo Heng away.
"It's happening!" Tianshi Ya finally spoke. She was originally silent out of shock, but after seeing the three different viewpoints of the Refining Skies Galactic Zone, her interest, just like hundreds of billions of others, skyrocketed to an extreme.
Imentet and Hao Chengxue were previously commenting on what was happening, including Guo Heng's failure to match the bid. This led to an instant loss and the subsequent punishment was set just a few minutes earlier.
They explained that they weren't viewing things in real-time, and that things were deliberately slowed down, but if they pushed their Spiritual Sense a little, they could fast-forward and view it in real-time. They also warned that the speed of events will likely be fast, so beware of doing so.
Their commentary helped countless souls understand. Meanwhile, those in the Refining Skies Galactic Zone rushed out to view their azure-esque sky, and some of them could visibly observe the phenomenal changes to their world. However, most rushed back to view the spiritual projections. Their point of view was far too limited.
They were all shaken by how wondrous this foreigner's Spiritual Network was and how extensively it connected them, even to the point they could observe with friends from across galactic zones. The only restriction was a certain level of Spiritual Strength and Spiritual Sense, hence why most were Ascended beings.
They were all shaken by how wondrous this foreigner's Spiritual Network was and how extensively it connected them, even to the point they could observe with friends from across galactic zones. The only restriction was a certain level of Spiritual Strength and Spiritual Sense, hence why most were Ascended beings.
Of course, without the Incandescent Star Palace's prestige and neutral reputation, including the extraordinary hype around the game of Mystics, Wei Wuyin wouldn't have been able to convince the various forces to establish the network.
Su Yi watched the first few seconds; his eyes were the picture of calm.
Su Yi watched the first dozen seconds; his eyes slightly widened.
Su Yi watched the first thirty seconds; his breathing was haggard and his eyes were so wide they seemed to lack eyelids.
Su Yi watched the first minute; his fists were clenched and his heart pounded so furiously that those here could hear every beat.
Moreover, at this point, they all heard their thunderous heartbeats!
The first Mythical Punishment descended.
This was a punishment designed not to harm Resonant Soul Realm experts, but to kill conventionally peak Resonant Soul Realm experts at the first stage, the Microheaven Envoy Phase!
Throughout all of history, this has likely happened less than half a dozen times, and each time, there were no witnesses. It either occurred too fast or the Resonant Soul Realm expert would make their last stand in some sealed world, fully aware that they would be breaking their oaths and having tremendous amounts of preparation to do so.
The most publicly known high-profile Mythical Punishment was only a Mystic Overlord after they betrayed their master, and a Resonant Soul Realm expert had inferred, saving them from death. It was a startling event, but to those at the peak, a conventional peak Mystic Overlord wasn't worth much. This was an ancient standard without armaments, arts, spells, and a variety of profound combat power-enhancing Cultivation Methods. Most elite Mystic Overlords with a decent background and a peak Mystic-World Armament had a good chance to be able to survive with severe injuries.
However, this wasn't so simple.
The first thing they witnessed was the light. It was a prismatic light dyed in a shroud of gold. It appeared from the Void, as if its origins were the River of Time and the Initial Singularity, the very embodiments and regulators of all time and space, and blasted toward the Zenith Refinement Tower without any harsh sound or strange fluctuations.
It was like a laser, beaming down to a surface, etching itself into all of space and time and heaven.
Every thought naturally merged into a single thought: This can kill supreme existences.
Even the weakest Mystic Star Phase expert observing had this inexplicable thought.
Meanwhile, they all visibly watched as the chubby cheeks of the Supreme Sage went absurdly wide and fear surged within her pupils. It was specifically highlighted.
They saw her unleash her power. A half-dome ward of azure-esque color, resembling the boundless skies, infused with the Law of Water as a Heaven's Gate was conjured by the Zenith Refinement Tower, leading to the depths of the Heavenly Water Realm, one of the Three Thousand Realms of Heavenly Law, and extracted copious amounts of Heavenly Radiance.
The ward was massive, enough to shield not just the tower, but the entirety of those within its Stellar Region's territorial boundary.
They all saw from the second viewpoint how large it was. They saw how it met with the prismatic light dyed in a shroud of gold. The result was immediate.
The prismatic light dyed in a shroud of gold pierced through as if the ward was a sheet of flimsy paper. It didn't offer the slightest resistance as one would expect.
They saw the chubby female Supreme Sage shout viciously, seemingly cursing in excess, as she waved her hand and directly killed Guo Heng in body and soul, eradicating his chances of reincarnating before everything was engulfed by prismatic light dyed in a shroud of gold.
The very next moment…
The light vanished.
It was so swift and simple that if not for the Spiritual Projections of the Spiritual Network and the incredibly slowed-down display, they would have all missed it.
The Zenith Refinement Tower remained, unharmed externally. But with a close inspection, the aura it emanated prior that was of the Mystic-Heaven grade, capable of conjuring a Heaven's Gate, no longer existed. It was an ordinary tower without a single scratch on it.
Meanwhile, there was a single lone figure that was heaving violently, their clothes in tatters, their hair was an utter mess, and their aura waning. They bled from every orifice, leaking Soul Light-infused blood that pulsed with an alluring aura.
It was the chubby female Supreme Sage!
She was extremely skinny, as if all the reserves of her power stored as fat had been exhausted and forced her to slim down! But she survived! SURVIVED!!
From the second and third viewpoints, they noted that the names that were originally exuding brilliant spiritual radiance were greyed out. This was because the churning and swirling of the sky was over in those regions.
Not a single name was exuding any life. Countless forces that had backed and allied with Guo Heng had been vanquished from the world. That said, it was only to suggest that those targeted were dealt with, not that everyone and everything within those planets had died.
Moreover, the churning and swirling seemed to be focused entirely on the Supreme Sage and the Zenith Refinement Tower. Within the tower, there were still signs of life projected through the screen with great clarity.
There were still other survivors!
But they saw that the fear within the skinny female Supreme Sage had intensified to an extreme as she struggled to look up atop the tower.
The second Mythical Punishment.
Within her eyes, they could all see how hopeless she felt. There was intense regret. There was intense hatred. There was intense yearning!
Throughout heaven and earth, a silence reigned—
—a beam of prismatic light shrouded in gold blasted toward the tower, stronger and larger than before!