The vocal shockwave amplified by raw power caused the grass to be uplifted and the wind to rage. Wei Wuyin's thoughts were forcefully interrupted. His silver eyes moved seemingly slowly towards the incoming wave. His next movements were the epitome of casual and serenity. He simply used his hand to perform a shoo'ing motion.
The surging wave that could topple a brick house into dust was met with a similarly powerful air current that smashed it.
Pow!
An air versus air explosion occurred followed by a brief spell of rumbling gust that was harmless to the environment. This startled the Imperial Guards and Entry Guardians. Wei Wuyin's actions were only capable of being accomplished by a superior cultivation base. Furthermore, his action wasn't accompanied by the slightest trace of qi. It was pure physical power.
The armored woman's expression drastically changed, becoming slightly vigilant. The young Godlord, however, merely frowned. With a soft stride, he flashed before Wei Wuyin, traveling hundreds of meters instantly.
His green eyes were fixated on Wei Wuyin. "Identify yourself," the young-looking man's voice was reverberating with a concealed force and open threat. His aura may seem steady, but his Spiritual Qi needed but a moment to erupt into a disastrous, earth-shaking storm.
Wei Wuyin lifted his gaze to observe his surroundings. These men were all wearing armor with the identifying sigils of the Imperial Clan. "They must be the Imperial Guard sent to investigate." According to Han Bo, the Imperial Clan had sealed off the spread of information regarding the incident and even sent the Imperial Guard to handle the matter.
It seems they were taking this seriously. If they were, then this incident must be something they're invested in. It was highly unlikely for them to send a Godlord to investigate the disappearance of a few farmers and lowly cultivators, no matter if it was within their borders or not. Even the Scarlet Solaris Sect only took action after tens of thousands of people vanished, and merely because they were requested to. At that time, they sent one Core Elder, a Fourth Phase expert.
They must be here for a specific reason.
"So it's not the Black Skeleton?" He didn't believe the lowly Imperial Clan, who had one Astral Core Realm expert and no one at the Realm of Sages, to be aware of the Bloodline of Sin, its envoy, or the First Sinner. This was his earnest belief.
However, the severity at which they treated this merely eliminated the possibility of the Black Skeleton taking action. This meant there were only three possibilities left.
The Imperial Guards and Entry Guardians were shocked by Wei Wuyin's lack of urgency and response. He merely looked at them calmly one by one, the light of contemplation flashing within his gaze.
"Haaa...it seems this trip will be concluded quicker than I originally thought," the young-looking man spoke as he sighed with a little disappointment. From those words, it seemed Wei Wuyin was pinned with the crime of being the person responsible for the disappearances.
Therefore, his Spiritual Qi started to roar to life. The ground beneath his feet exploded and was depressed downwards, creating a deep crater that extended to Wei Wuyin's feet. However, as it tried to expand beyond that point, the crater's growth abruptly ceased.
The young-looking man's eyes twitched minutely, but his intent to kill was still there. However, Wei Wuyin unmoved. His eyes were calm as he continued to think, ignoring the threatening gesture of a Mortal Godlord.
"So they think a cultivator is responsible. That leaves only two possibilities." This was all that was in Wei Wuyin's mind at the moment, not the awe-inspiring and storm-inducing cultivator before him. The dimensional space was likely, but only if someone brought them away.
The information he obtained from Han Bo was truly limited as it merely stated what had happened and the location of the sealed-off area, not the number taken or incident reports from witnesses. Hence why he was acting off of very little information, trying to gather as much as before.
In truth, he felt his original purpose to be here—the Black Skeleton—had already been removed as a possibility. So, he could simply leave. Actually, that was his intention.
He smiled in the face of the raging, battering storm of Spiritual Aura that wished to exert a pressure upon him. "I'm simply passing through," was his response. That smile accompanied by his complete disregard for these Imperial Guards and Entry Guardians made these elites somewhat anxious. While their status was high, they similarly understood that there were cultivators beyond them.
This was especially so for the young-looking man. While his confidence in his cultivation base was absolute, he knew that Godkings existed. They were Kings of Mortal Gods, and their Spiritual Qi was empowered by Qi Essence. An iota of their strength might rival his full-powered strike.
Furthermore, even now, Wei Wuyin was unfazed by his actions and treated him like an afterthought. He couldn't determine his cultivation base, so it was best to act with prudence.
Therefore, when Wei Wuyin's words were said, he calmed down and reined in his killing intent. He inspected Wei Wuyin and tried to figure out his identity. When he observed his robe, his eyes shrunk slightly.
"Yang-Aegis Robe?" That was a peak eighth-rank Qi Armament. It could strengthen the physical body by absorbing yang energies from sunlight and funneling it into the body, and had a defensive quality that somewhat rivaled ninth-rank Qi Armaments. It was hellishly expensive and required a decade of effort and a top-tier tailor and Formation Master.
Even if he paid his entire wealth, it was unlikely he could acquire one.
It was then that he realized that Wei Wuyin had to be a Godking!
However, Wei Wuyin didn't care. He was just about to leave without interacting with these individuals, returning back to the Royal Capital.
But, fate had other plans.
As his spiritual sense swept the area once more for a last time, his heart throbbed as he noticed a very, very familiar aura within one of the Common Growth Villages. This aura was hurdled with others, so it required him to do a more thorough sweep to discern it. Also, he hadn't felt this aura in so long.
His eyes shifted as a complex light emerged in his eyes. Without bothering with these elites, he lightly shot off. He wasn't fast, simply traveling casually towards the village. The Imperial Guards and Entry Guardians were startled by Wei Wuyin abrupt departure.
Even the young-looking man was taken aback. This was truly the first time in his life that he was truly ignored! Yet while his heart raged, his brain wouldn't act to address this without proper information. Cultivation was difficult, and reaching this point required endless resources, time, and blood. If it all came to an end due to his need for face, how unfortunate would that be?
That being said, he couldn't simply allow Wei Wuyin to act wilfully. He was still a suspect. He would report this to the Imperial Commander, the Mortal Godking of the Imperial Military and their undisputed leader. He sent a transmission out.
Then, he looked towards the female who shouted earlier, "Follow him."
"En!" The armored female Imperial Guard assented and shot off to follow Wei Wuyin. Her eyes were filled with vigilance and anger towards Wei Wuyin's disregard of their authority and presence.
Wei Wuyin soon arrived at the village, fully ignoring his tail. His silver eyes were fixated on a Common Growth Village with a population of three thousand. They seemed to have been developing for a decade or so.
A glimmer of complex emotions surfaced within those eyes of his. A tinge of bitterness leaked from his heart as he softly said, "...Dai Lin?"
Dai Lin!
In the village, there was a middle-aged woman who seemed to be in her mid-thirties. Her cultivation base was at the Foundation Establishment Realm, the Dantian Establishment Phase. She was donned in a humble dress, a light blue that matched her eyes. Her hands were calloused hands produced from diligent work with those hands.
Her blonde hair was tied into a modest pony-tail, but her hair merely reached her neck, but her bangs covered her forehead perfectly. She wasn't a beauty at her age, but she could still be considered pretty.
"Dai Lin?" The armored woman heard Wei Wuyin speak and echoed in uncertainty. This brought Wei Wuyin's attention to her, his eyes caused her heart to shiver. She halted her attempts to get closer, remaining a dozen or so meters away.
With a sigh, Wei Wuyin ignored her. He simply stood there as his memories emerged one by one like a cinematic film.
-----
A young girl, no more than eight years old, with blonde hair, blue eyes, and dimples smiled and giggled."You really think you can do it?" Her words were soft and comforting to hear, but the teasing tone in it echoed clearly.
"Of course I can! I'll one day travel the country, see all the sights and become like Big Bro!" A young voice resounded, originating from a silver-eyed and black hair young boy. He was merely ten years old this year, but his ambitions weren't small.
"Are you going to do it alone?" The girl asked.
Rubbing his nose, he evaded her gaze as he softly said, "I wouldn't mind having a companion."
"A companion? You aren't going to take your wife?"
"M-my wife?! O-of course I'll take my wife!" The boy was flustered as he spoke.
The young girl slyly smiled, "Then, what about taking me?"
"...!" The boy was rendered speechless.
"Hehe, just kidding!" The young girl stuck out her tongue and giggled, walking away with skips.
-----
"Dai Lin, I don't believe they're all bad." A teenager spoke, his resplendent silver eyes and black hair was more defined in his features as the making of an unearthly handsome appearance was emerging.
"Wei Wuyin, I...they hurt people! They...they look like monsters, how can they be good?" The young girl had now transformed into a budding woman, her eyes clear and alluring. But her words were tinged with disbelief and a hint of anxiety.
"I…" the young man was speechless, uncertain how to respond.
-----
"I love you, Wei Wuyin!" The young girl had become a young woman and she laid naked in the bed, sheets on her sweaty body. Her blue eyes gazed at the eyes of the young man's with intensity.
"I…" the young man was once more rendered speechless.
-----
"I hate you! You disgust me!!" The young woman shouted, throwing objects as she pushed herself away. "I never want to see you again! It's all your fault, your fault!!"
-----
Back in the present, Wei Wuyin returned mentally to the present. Those events the past marred the light within his eyes with turbidity. An unfathomably deep sigh left his throat, and he turned to leave.
He shouldn't be here.
"Kekekeke! The prey have finally arrived!" An eerie laughed erupted and the skies darkened abruptly.