"Well, this just got dangerous." Wei Wuyin's casual demeanor was discarded as a sharp seriousness surfaced within his eyes. A solemn light emerged and his heart was no longer steady and without ripple. That was because of the environmental shift!
He felt the atmosphere be enveloped by a world-halting force that brought everything to a stop. His eyes looked upwards, but he saw nothing above besides darkness. Yet he knew that there was something there, gathering and condensing! It was formless, invisible to outsiders, but it definitely existed.
He saw the black-robed Phantom Robe floating in the sky like a ghostly immortal, surrounded by rampant Evernight Qi. His Spiritual Evernight Qi was erupting with astonishingly forceful power.
"Kekekekeke! I've been waiting for you!" Phantom Rogue cackled and roared at the skies, the darkness energy of the world started to converge towards him like a magnet. Despite this, the world didn't brighten but became even darker. An abyss-like darkness was influencing the flow of light in the immediate area, barring its invasive nature.
"What...what's happening?!" Sheng Xinmei held Wei Wuyin as her injuries seemed to force her body to be without strength. She could only grip onto his shoulder and arm in an attempt to stand.
"He's assailing the Astral Core Realm, facing Astral Tribulation." Wei Wuyin explained. Sheng Xinmei's face turned deathly pale as ash.
As a Ninth Phase expert, even though he was an Evil Cultivator, he still had the qualification to challenge the Astral Tribulation. His cultivation base was like an endless well of Evernight Qi. All his life's cultivation was condensed around his Spirit of Qi, and with this, he would fight for his chance to stand at the top of the world.
"Stop him!" Sheng Xinmei screamed in horror.
Wei Wuyin softly sighed. He infused Sheng Xinmei with elemental wood qi with dense vitality within. She started as a foreign qi entered her body. But it was warm and gentle, her body lapped up every last drop to help promote her healing.
With that, he let her stand on her own strength.
Sheng Xinmei's eyes glowed as hope filled her heart. If Wei Wuyin was a true expert, perhaps he could stop Phantom Rogue from ascending!
However, what happened next shocked her. Wei Wuyin didn't rush forward with ferocity or attack from afar. Instead, he flashed away and disappeared from her sight. Within this world of darkness, she couldn't see him.
Indeed, Wei Wuyin had directly left. He left her and those people to their own devices and fate.
He wasn't a saint nor did he have a grudge with Phantom Rogue. Why would he interfere? The reason he stayed was because of the little possibility of courting Sheng Xinmei, but the moment he would refuse to act the hero was the collapse of that wishful thinking.
He observed the incoming Astral Tribulation with rapt attention from the edge of the Spiritual Qi Array. If Phantom Rogue succeeded, he would retreat without hesitation.
There was another reason why he didn't interfere. At the moment, Phantom Rogue's strength was condensed and gathered, his entire lifetime's worth of cultivation was being shown today. It was as if he was fully igniting his Spirit of Qi and detonating himself all at once, without the consequence of death or cultivation decrease.
His current strength was beyond the Qi Condensation and just below the Astral Core Realm! It's possible that only Astral Core Realm experts would have a chance to interfere with this tribulation. As for him? If Phantom Rogue decided to truly put his life on the line, he wasn't confident of leaving without injury. While he could ensure his life, who knew if this arriving Royal Commander might take advantage of this?
"Kekekeke! Come!' Phantom Rogue was invigorated as he faced his astral tribulation. The first Astral Tribulation was called the Mortal Star Formation Tribulation, and was the first tribulation one faced in their entire life of cultivation.
BOOM!!
Wei Wuyin's eyes widened as Phantom Rogue's body erupted with a spiraling tsunami of darkness. It was as if a black ocean was raging about, clashing endlessly with another force above. If Wei Wuyin didn't see the darkness be obliterated and dispersed after reaching a certain point, he would truly think Phantom Rogue was going batshit crazy fighting the sky.
The repeated collisions of darkness and this unseen force was vicious and explosive, causing the surrounding kilometer of distance beneath them to become a hundred meter deep crater, eradicating all life in that area.
"Is the tribulation this fierce?" It was merely thirteen seconds in, yet Phantom Rogue's aura had dropped seventy percent. However, the aura of the world that he felt had barely subsided. It seemed unconquerable!
"He's going to fail?" This thought entered his mind. But Phantom Rogue removed his hood, revealing a wrinkled brown-skinned face with bright eyed and pearly white teeth. His forehead was drenched with fresh blood and he looked ghastly as his body trembled, but his eyes were fearless!
"Did you think I'm this useless?! Kekeke, I'm an EVIL Cultivator! Do you understand?! We fight against fate and forge our own path on the corpses of others. I will not fall today! YOU WILL LOSE!!" Those words were spoken with a dauntless air, invigorated by an unbreakable belief in one's cultivation.
Evil Cultivators cultivated methods deemed 'evil' by normal standard. Unlike typical cultivation which refined energies from the essence of heaven and earth, Evil Cultivators refined energies from other living creatures. They used beasts, humans, demons, or elf! It did not matter.
They used their yin, yang, physical, mental, spiritual, and elemental energies for themselves. The act of stealing Yin from females and Yang from males was deemed an act of evil.
Ming Li's sister had her unique physique stolen by Evil Methods. To others, it was horrifying and malicious, deserving death and damnation. They were worse than beasts, but to these so-called Evil Cultivators, they were cultivators willing to climb upon the bodies of others to achieve their goals! Many lacked innate talent or supporting background, left with this choice, how could they not choose to do so?
Wei Wuyin's eyes glimmered with inspired light as he realized that even those who stooped to being cannibals and monsters were cultivators at heart, with the belief to press forward for cultivation!
Did he not have the same heart before? Since learning of his nearly impossible to complete Calamity, his Heart of Cultivation had dwindled greatly, seeking excitement and satisfaction in the present rather than the possibilities of the future.
Yet, he still could not remove this shackle.
At least, not now.
There was no hope in his heart for success, and whenever it was birthed, it would be doused by reality. Only those who cultivate the Soul of True Sin could survive failing a Calamity, and even they failed often. These were experts at the Realm of Sages! Perhaps to them, an Astral Core Realm expert was an ant.
Luck played a factor before, but will it again? Can he rely on this and pray for luck? The Heavens could not help him in the Calamity of Hell, after all...it doesn't even know he's an Inheritor of Sin. And even if it did, perhaps it would help eradicate him instead.
He sighed, but he didn't allow his eyes to lower as he witnessed Phantom Rogue fight with his everything. The Phantom Rogue waved his sleeves and tens of thousands of lights emerged before him. They were shaped as orbs and were a variety of different lights, sizes, and intensity.
Wei Wuyin's eyes widened. "Hearts of Qi!" This madman had brought out tens of thousands of extracted Hearts of Qi! Within this massive number of Hearts of Qi were three Spirit of Qi. Among these three was Sheng Jiu's Spirit of Wind Qi!
"This is my life's worth! I've gathered countless Hearts of Qi for this moment. Kekeke, take this!" Phantom Rogue laughed brilliantly as he pushed forward. Each Heart of Qi contained a trace of refined spiritual strength that belonged to Phantom Rogue. They listened to his commands as they shot forth to face the Astral Tribulation.
"Explode! Explode! Explode!!!"
BOOM! BOOM!! BOOM!!!
The world shook as devastating explosions started to occur above the skies. A colorful sheet of violent qi and energies blanketed the sky and pushed upwards against the invisible force that was the Astral Tribulation. This continued for an entire minute of ceaseless explosions.
When it all ended, Wei Wuyin's eyes widened even further. "Impossible!" That assault was capable of severely injuring or even killing him, yet the Astral Tribulation was still present and merely reduced in presence by half.
"Terrifying!" Wei Wuyin felt his heart genuinely shiver with soul-shaking awe and mind-numbing terror. This was the Mortal Star Formation Tribulation?! How ferocious, how incredible!
"..." The Phantom Rogue no longer cackled or revealed courage befitting a valiant warrior fighting tirelessly against fate. His entire aura became destitute and his eyes were wide, fear, disbelief, and hopelessness were the only emotions present within. Wait, no, there was unwillingness.
"Thi-" Wei Wuyin wanted to speak, but a whistling force ripped through the sky and headed towards Phantom Rogue. He saw the visible depression of space from this force. It was terrifyingly powerful!!
Phantom Rogue didn't even get a chance to gather his strength once more in retaliation. The force collided with his fleshy body and he met a mournful, soundless death. His demise was only evidenced by the burst of blood, bone, and brain matter that splashed and fell.
"..." Wei Wuyin stilled.