Sublime Ascension was a phenomenon formed when a cultivator fully refined their Hearts of Qi to its maximum. Unlike all other phases, the Sublime Qi phase was a milestone and a critical point in one's cultivation. It solidified one's foundation!
It signified the future of a cultivator and thereby was followed by telling the world that today: I, cultivator, have truly started my journey!
Wei Wuyin felt this and knew his spirits were changing. His cores were transforming, no longer ovals or orb-like structures protectively shrouded by a cyclone of qi. His Divine Heart of Elemental Qi became a white mist of chaos, constantly becoming a world of flames, a world of water, a world of earth, a world of wind, a world of metal, a world of lightning, a world of wood, a world of magma, and a world of ice!
At times, they would all become one, become a true world within the white mist!
His Divine Heart of Saber Qi became a single saber, resembling Element, and within its depths were countless other sabers of all shapes and sizes. They flew about without restraint, suffused with killing intent, haughtiness, and domineeringness!
A profound sensation emerged in his own heart. He felt an inkling of the next path, the path of Infused Spirituality, the Eighth Phase of Qi Condensation Realm!
"Merge spirit and heart into one!"
The spirit was a brain center, the Heart of Qi, or the core, was its body! Essentially, it was the concept of merging mind with body!
In the cultivation realms, the Qi Condensation could be said to be a Realm of Accumulation, absorbing and creating various forms of energies. However, in critical areas, it was defined by comprehension and talent.
The first phase, condensing one's mind, matter, essence, and spirit into one to establish a metaphysical Heart of Qi.
The third phase, outside of the four basic elements, all advanced elements required an in-depth understanding to generate from the core endlessly and without restraint from pure essence. This is often done by absorbing the energy and comprehending it with one's mind and spirit.
The sixth phase, required comprehending the world's innate force that could merge energy together, producing yin-yang energy. There were too many ways to do this and one relied almost solely on their own comprehension.
The last phase of comprehension: The eighth phase, Infused Spirituality, required one to merge spirit with core. The act of fusion that was akin to merging mind and body into a perfect cohesive whole. It relied solely on comprehension and gated many Mortal Gods, but if one reached this level, they would be Lords of Mortal Gods - Godlords!
Wei Wuyin's eyes became brilliantly bright.
"Is this it?" As he thought about the circumstances of ascending to the Infused Spiritual Phase, he felt it wasn't difficult. In fact, he had already done it.
What was the concept of a Divine Heart? It is a refinement of the core to be better suited to the inherent energies within. It influenced the four aspects of cultivation at a higher level: Mind, Matter, Essence, and Spirit.
The crucial point that couldn't be overlooked was spirit! His spiritual sense, the sixth sense produced from the combination of his Mind, Matter, and Essence, had been refined by their respective qi qualities - Elemental and Saber.
Now that his cores were worlds of Elemental and Saber energy, was there any real difference between the two?
Of course not!
There was a reason why Divine King Han Xei was renowned in his time, capable of classifying Mortal Gods, Godlords, and even Godkings! Because he had reached those phases first!!!
This was why he had the title: Divine King!
The Divine Heart was beyond extraordinary, its inherent characteristics allowing a near-perfect synchronization between core and spirit.
Gruuuum!
The world started to violently tremble. Wei Wuyin stood up, his sense of enlightenment was like a child understanding that two plus two equated to four. It was easy and simple, without any misunderstandings!
He looked at his two Hearts of Qi and felt a sensation of transformation from them. His eyes glowed brilliantly. They no longer had cyclones of qi surrounding them, but were a white mist and saber. A powerful trace of spirituality surged from within.
His spirits had already entered their respective cores! They were infusing energy with spirit, becoming one with their cores!
His spiritual sense started to rapidly expand.
Ten meters.
One hundred meters.
One kilometer!
Three kilometers!
Thirty kilometers!
Sixty-six kilometers!
He could 'feel' and 'see' everything within range! The clarity was so extraordinary that he could feel an ant breathing oxygen, its inherent flow of blood was like rushing rivers as he focused! This degree of clarity and distance exceeded his previous spiritual sense by a hundred fold!
The world felt as if it was opened. Before, he felt blind but now he could see. He could see the world's force that had been nearly invisible before, penetrate formations that once blocked his senses, and could touch the clouds with his spiritual sense!
"Was this what it meant to be a cultivator! An existence unwilling to be ordinary, unwilling to die an ordinary death, and unwilling to be unable to control their own fate! This was what it meant, this utter sense of freedom and light!" As he muttered these words to himself, his eyes became brighter with a glow of enlightenment.
Much like the transformation of the Sixth Phase, the Eighth Phase was subtle and difficult to sense unless one exerted their qi. There was no accompanying phenomenon that signified this milestone. After all, while the Seventh Phase determined the end of foundation building, the Eighth Phase was just the start of a true cultivator!
His eyes flickered as he looked towards a direction, his sense penetrating Bai Lin's body easily as he saw a group of figures flying towards his area with various mounts.
"I can see the world force within them?!" He could determine who was a Mortal God and to what extent. He had always been under the assumption that Wu Xinghong and Godlord Lin couldn't tell.
Wait, if they could tell, then Godlord Lin wouldn't have made that mistake in the Surabhi Emporium. Then, is it because of my Divine Hearts?
As he recalled the penetrative aspect of his saber energy, he realized that this was an effect of his overly powerful spiritual sense.
"Not only can I tell their cultivation bases, but even the faint aura of their elemental energies are revealed. I can tell what advanced qi they birthed!" As he explored this ability of his more, excitement grew. This degree of discernment was useful on so many levels.
Taking a deep breath, he turned towards his Hearts of Qi. Should he even call them that? Were they Hearts of Qi any longer?
As he thought about this, his eyes lit up in excitement.
"Divine Spirits of Qi!"
As he turned towards his Divine Spirits, he beckoned them to return. They responded swiftly, re-entering his body. They didn't do so by mouth, but directly merged with his body as if they were ghosts. He could feel them congregating at his dantian and resting there.
Strands and strands of refined qi replaced his old, weaker qi. As they were replaced, he felt his body become empowered by an extraordinary force. Clenching his fist, a powerful sensation emerged.
"Ascending to a Godlord so suddenly! Haha!" He laughed in joy. He felt far too powerful at the moment. It was as if the entire world was at his beck and call, and with a thought, he could crush worlds. While he likely couldn't, he truly understood the saying: "Feeling like a god."
"Bai Lin!" He communicated with Bai Lin. She immediately understood and unfurled her body to reveal Wei Wuyin.
His silver eyes looked at this doorless building of his and smiled. "Stay here. I'm going to stretch my limbs a little." A feeling of absolute confidence emerged in his heart.
As he walked out, he finally saw the group of eleven arriving with Su Lanyi at the lead.
Her eyes were solemn, but she knew what she had to do, and Wei Wuyin was just a newly ascending Seventh Stage Qi Condensation expert. To her, who has been in that realm for decades, she had confidence in her abilities. With ten Mortal Gods as support, she felt reaffirmed in her belief.
"Oh?" Wei Wuyin turned his gaze away from the eleven and looked at a spot not too far away. A person stood there, shrouded by a spiritual concealment spell. He hadn't noticed this person before, but now, she was clearly revealed. From the person's ability and aura, he knew who it was.
"Hm?" Godlord Mei was stunned when she saw Wei Wuyin stare at her location. She couldn't help but wonder if his new breakthrough allowed his sensitively to increase by that much. It didn't even cross her mind that she was fully exposed.
"I never got to say this," he said, speaking directly to Godlord Mei who stood in the distance. His words weren't loud but it carried with the wind and entered her ears. He continued, "Thank you for saving Mei Mei."
"!" Godlord Mei was shocked, her heart trembling as the wind carried Wei Wuyin's voice to her. He knew she was here or was it just an assumption?
Wei Wuyin could feel from her aura that she was shocked. He shook his head, turned back towards the group of eleven, and his gaze relaxed. His Divine Spirits were converting their energy into sublime qi infused with spirituality, and pushing out his weaker qi. However, that would still take time before he had enough to execute qi arts.
He knew that this was the consequence of a recent breakthrough. They were often at their weakest in their phase, with the new replacing the old.
Still, he felt immensely powerful. For now, his physical body was sufficient.
He removed a top-tier pill meant for expediting the process of consolidation and consumed it. Taking a deep breath, he waited.
Before long, they arrived, jumping down from their mounts. The mounts flew away quickly as if understanding a deadly battle was about to erupt. Bai Lin was the same, hiding all the way in the back of the building.
Su Lanyi watched Wei Wuyin, but didn't immediately take action. A grand elder, a short, bearded middle-aged man shouted, "Wei Wuyin! Due to consideration of the council as to your future status in the sect, we have revisited your term as a disciple and discovered numerous crimes performed by you! Including the murder and cover-up of Inner Disciple Chu Yan, the freeing of prisoners of war, insubordination, abandoning a critical mission, and many more!
"Your order of arrest has been issued. If you come obediently, we'll take that into consideration as to your sentencing and those who colluded with you!"
Wei Wuyin coldly laughed! When that last sentence was said, his heart became enraged. He knew the implications and how, if he resisted, his subordinates and Wei Si, would be tried for his crimes. Even if he did readily give himself up, those truly loyal to him would be removed systematically to prevent future issues.
That's how the cultivation world worked. While they may keep their lives if the sect felt benevolent, but they would be crippled thoroughly! A crippled life was worse than staying a mortal! With a portion of one's mind, body, essence, and soul destroyed, the resulting years would be horrendous.
He didn't have roads of retreat and any action he did would implicate his friends and family. He knew this.
Therefore, he had only one option: Fight!
Fight and prove that offending him wasn't worth a measly Wu Chen!
His gaze was cold like the frozen tundra. He exclaimed with the utmost calm, "The first one to act against me will be the first one to die!"