Amidst the raucous of excitement and cheer, the unconscious Bai Lin was ushered away by members of the Beast-Taming Sect on a large, rectangular metallic platform. It was pushed forward, carrying her huge body, using their joined qi.
Her shackled wings, beak, and body casted an pitiful feeling to the ambient atmosphere.
-----
A few minutes earlier.
Wei Wuyin calmly waited for Su Mei to complete her trial, earning whatever rewards she could. While he was a little peeved knowing that the Warring States Pagoda was merely an entrance to the Myriad War Dao Palace, he felt happy for Su Mei. Her innate talent was spectacular, and even when he was a Core Disciple, he was shocked at how buried she was.
If he had to truly compare talents, he simply had more beneficial opportunities than her. He didn't think she lacked in the talent department in the slightest when compared to himself. Whether that was true or not, it was his honest belief.
"Hm?" His silver eyes roamed towards the direction Bai Lin had flown off to. His eyebrows furrowed slightly as he felt the spiritual presence of several cultivators gathering, especially one with a rather powerful aura. They were far, moving in unison, and in the exact direction as Bai Lin.
One must know that Wei Wuyin's spiritual sense was absolutely incredible. When he first ascended to the Eighth Phase, he could perceive sixty-six kilometers of distance with the utmost clarity. If he focused, it was capable of even 'viewing' this distance as if he was literally there. As for his ambient sensory prowess, his awareness was remarkable. And this was before, now that he'd consolidated his cultivation base, his senses could touch a hundred kilometers with ease.
With a little focus, his spiritual sense flashed until it reached Bai Lin. She was currently flying about, and the mass of cultivators weren't too far behind. They were concealed, but his spiritual senses were far too pervasive for such elementary-like concealments.
"Beast-Taming Sect?" A trace of anger flashed within his eyes as he recognized the emblem etched into their uniforms. From there, he deduced their purpose—Bai Lin. His hand subconsciously moved to extract his saber, a vivid massacre blazing in his gaze.
Ohn!
He felt a tick of pain in his right arm. He pulled up the sleeve of his right arm and witnessed the mystic writings on the tattoo, that only he could see and in characters he still couldn't recognize yet understood, began to rapidly change.
Karmic Luck Value: 602.8 -> 585.7.
First Calamity: Survived - 7/7.
Second Calamity: Suppressed - 41 Years.
His karmic luck value decreased by 17.1. Almost immediately, he felt a whisper in his heart. However, instead of being lulled into ignorant complacency, he felt the details that the Heavenly Daos wished to convey. His instincts to kill was to be suppressed, followed by an urge to investigate the Beast-Taming Sect.
The core sparking thought that should've triggered this urge was a faint belief that the Beast-Taming Sect, a sect with a renown comprehension of beasts would understand what had caused Bai Lin to change and how to capitalize on it.
His eyes focused on the black tattoo, feeling its mysteries. Was this how the Heavenly Daos led others to their lucky chances? While he had felt a subtle influence before, such as in Dragon Ash City, this was the first time it was so clear. It was like a sage giving him wise advice.
Could it be that the Bloodline of Sin's abilities or resilience against the Heavenly Daos influence increased alongside his cultivation base or was it a benefit of overcoming the first calamity? He felt that it leaned towards the latter than the former, but the former still mattered.
Calming his murderous intentions, he decided to follow along. He truly wished to learn more about Bai Lin's current state, and with the Heavenly Daos essentially directing him there, how could it lack what he desired? Furthermore, a lucky chance depended on your own actions, perhaps he could excavate far more than 17.1 value out of this.
While it pained him to observe Bai Lin be restrained by experts focusing on subduing beasts, it also opened his eyes to the variant methods of the world. These Beast-Taming Sect members were not particularly strong, but with a combined effort and specialty means, they subdued Bai Lin.
Her strength was apparent. There wasn't a single person amongst them that could withstand her concentrated beams of fiery golden light, yet they still emerged victorious with only a few losses.
He remained concealed, following closely behind as he merged with the natural elemental energies signature. He was like wind as he moved.
As he followed, he recalled the various details he knew about the Beast-Taming Sect. The Beast-Taming Sect's headquarter's location was unknown, but it was rumored to be based in the Hidden Shadow Domain. Seeing as they could gather these experts that exceeded a hundred in number, this was likely the truth.
The Beast-Taming Sect wasn't officially a part of Wu Country. It was the type of sect based in many different countries under the same banner without any clear allegiance. It was said they controlled one of the seven countries of the Myriad Yore Continent, but even that country wasn't its main base. This painted them with all sorts of mysteries. Furthermore, they were members of the alliance in the Hidden Shadow Domain.
As they had their hands in the proverbial pot of every country, their strength was truly an unknown. However, the theme of their sect was not. They nurtured, controlled, and used beasts for all sorts of tasks. They earned money by breeding powerful beasts such as the species of crane that Bai Lin originated from or the variant eagles. It was believed that started the concept of beast mounts in the Myriad Yore Continent, and even provided Alchemists with a means to defend themselves.
Their unique spiritual brands could render a beast completely under their control, like lifeless slaves. While off-shot methods of spiritual brands were devised, the Beast-Taming Sects means were still unique and nearly impossible to truly copy. It was said each indoctrinated member similarly had spiritual brands that detonated if their minds were controlled for interrogation or extraction of memories.
The most unique spiritual brand was the one they used. Unlike the complete control, they had a spiritual brand that linked beast with cultivator, allowing them to dual cultivate with their beasts. While it may sound odd, to clarify, the act of dual cultivation between tamer and beast was not sexual. It related towards the exchange of energies to enhance each other.
Cultivators had all sorts of elemental energies that beasts couldn't absorb and beasts had powerful physical energies that could benefit the cultivator's physique, growth, and strength. It allowed both beast and tamer to have a complete understanding and even a telepathic link.
This miraculous method truly made their legacy irreplaceable and famous.
As Wei Wuyin revisited all this information, a desire for their secrets was borne within his heart. If he could obtain that method, his ability to bond with Bai Lin would support both of their strengths and abilities.
Maybe a 17.1 karmic luck value drop would truly be worth it.
The group continued onwards until they arrived at the base of a seemingly common mountain. When Wei Wuyin arrived, he immediately felt something off as there was a strange spiritual strength that seemed to wish to permeate his senses and mind, distorting them. Luckily, his sea of consciousness and senses were stabilized by his Alchemic Heart of Eden Qi making it nearly unshakeable.
Elder Kai took the lead. He started to perform handseals at a slow, careful pace. Those hands of his would cycle through handseals, stopping and resuming at random intervals, yet each handseal seemed to have a purpose.
Wei Wuyin realized they were incredibly careful. By mixing truth with falsehood, those spying with recording devices would be unable to determine the requisite art or spell used to reveal the entrance of their sect. There could theoretically be millions of combinations that worked, or it could simply just be the first and last handseal used.
After several minutes of this, Elder Kai finally finished and placed his palm on the surface of the mountain. A howl echoed. A surge of qi erupted causing the mountain to rumble and the earth to quake as various changes were taking place within the mountain.
It took a while for all the hidden mechanisms to unlock as the ground ceaselessly trembled, and when it did, the mountain's surface layer started to push inward and then after a large 'chunk!', it rose to reveal an entrance that led to darkness.
The entrance was at least a hundred meters tall and fifty meters wide.
"Let's go!" Elder Kai ordered. He and his fellow members brought Bai Lin inside. The doors mechanisms started to reinitiate as the mountain's surface started to experience yet another change, likely signifying its closing.
Woosh!
Wei Wuyin's body remained concealed as he flashed into the gaping hole as it started to close. His heart had a lot of curiosity towards this sect, and he wondered what awaited him. His heart throbbed slightly in anticipation.
-----
As Wei Wuyin entered, in the depths of the mountain, buried below, an eye capable of rivaling a mountain in size opened, revealing its sharpness and golden colors.
"Lifeforce!" A voice that sounded as if it was at the edge of death, yet majestic throughout the various ages, echoed quietly.