Far from the troubled Feng Zhiming, a ship much bigger than Dolly’s set sail in the sky and was moving towards the Heart.
Each spiritual inscription was assigned to a disciple, the ship carried 100 people, seventy of which were actively concentrating on the functioning of the ship.
Krimin Stood at the front of the ship looking out at the open sky in the distance, still thinking about just how he would slay the beast, and what he would do if he came across the swordswoman and her lord again.
He quickly shifted his head to the side as a rock flew by.
It had not been more than a few hours since they departed and the discrimination had already begun.
He turned his head to find Orion, alongside a few other disciples smirking as they looked at him.
“Did you throw the rock?” Krimin asked bluntly.
Orion shrugged his shoulders.
“Must have been the heavens trying to smite you.” he replied in a sarcastic tone.
Krimin felt his hand move towards his blade but restrained himself forcibly.
He took a deep breath in before turning his head, he could not fight everyone on the ship, his situation was still extremely dangerous as is.
“Turn your head, coward, it makes sense all demonic bastards can only fight in numbers or by surprise.”
Orion continued to provoke him, Krimin shut his eyes and continued to ignore the taunts.
“Is that how your father raised you?” Orion said something that should not be said.
Krimin unsheathed his saber almost instinctively and was about to swing at Orion when someone got in his way.
Daiyu, who was still wearing a veil over her face, stood between the two.
“The Grand Elder has summoned you two to the captain's quarters.” she looked at Orion with eyes that displayed disappointment.
The three entered a room that looked like the quarters of the captain, Daiyu stood between the two to prevent anything from happening before they entered.
On a long couch in the middle of the room, the Grand Elder lay horizontally on top of soft silk as he gazed at the three who stood before him, a middle aged looking man with a scar ridden face adorned in the finest of Cultivator robes.
“Forgive me Grand Elder, but how can the sect leader allow this?”
Orion looked over at Krimin with a disdainful expression on his face.
“After all that talk about war on the unorthodox factions we’re actually working alongside a demonic bastard.”
Krimin stood there unfazed by the insults.
“Are you questioning the sect leader's command? You have been speaking out of turn quite frequently these days. Now you have the gall to speak up to Grand Elder.” Daiyu spoke up, not able to tolerate such disrespect.
Orion was clearly annoyed by the statement, his brows furrowed in response.
“Someone like you who can’t even think for hersel-”
An aura belonging to a person at the Actualized stage of the Heavenly Eye realm covered the room, stopping any further conversation, it was Grand Elder sitting before the three.
“Orion, it is true that you are one of the star disciples of the sect, achieving spiritual awakening at only 200 years of age.” the Grand Elder spoke in a deep voice.
Orion smirked as he looked at Daiyu.
However the pride he felt was short-lived, when the pressure from the Grand Elder concentrated on him.
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He fell to his knees promptly and looked up in disbelief.
“However, that does not grant you the right to insult your fellow disciples, and more importantly it does not grant you the right to question the Sect Leader.”
“How can you side with this demonic bastard? He drew his sword first.”
His voice sounded like he had been wronged.
The Grand Elder got up and walked over to the kneeling Orion.
“Just when did you develop the thought that you could talk back to me.”
Orion’s expression devolved into fear as he felt the powerful presence before him, it bordered on a mystical line between two great boundaries.
“I will let it go this once, if this ever happens again…. Well, I’m sure you can guess.”
He looked over at Krimin who had respectfully lowered his head.
“And you, Krimin of the Kallen Clan. Go sit in a room until we arrive, no need to agitate the disciples with your presence.”
He waved his hand and dismissed the three.
"Just what the hell is the sect Leader thinking?" he spoke to himself as he went back to his couch.
…
“Ok Dolly, you need to find the strand of Qi that is connecting him to the Astra realm.”
Lyra slowly gave Dolly instructions on how to cut the strand, Anissa and Ellia stood to the side.
Anissa’s hands were shaking ever so slightly, still unsure about what to do, she could only watch.
If Dolly cut the wrong strand or cut too many it could have a number of negative effects, he could become trapped in the Astra realm or even die.
Dolly shut her eyes as she focused on the Qi surrounding her.
“Look closely, the hippocampus should be close to the brain stem, near where the spine and the brain meet each other.”
Lyra continued to walk Dolly through the process.
This was extremely difficult and taxing on both Lyra and Dolly, it was akin to a blind doctor walking a random person through neurosurgery.
“I think I see what you are talking about.” Dolly spoke as she saw what she thought was the hippocampus.
“Good, now get closer and look for a strand that is slightly more ethereal than the rest. It is the property associated with the Astra realm.”
She could not describe it in any more detail, that was the only description she had read on the matter. She didn’t want to admit it but the descriptor ethereal was something she was unable to define properly.
“I found it.”
“Yes yes take your time it's difficu-”
Lyra’s mouth hung open as she processed Dolly’s words.
“You found it?”
She asked in a daze.
Dolly nodded.
Anissa’s expression suddenly became hopeful, Ellia was visibly surprised as well, he had been with Lyra a long time and he knew how difficult of a feat this was to accomplish.
…
Feng Zhiming was still contemplating what the scholar had said, one of the hundred pieces of a hegemony, it made sense with the assembly gathering a hundred cultivators.
"But that doesn't suit you, Demonic Crow of the Heavens. You have a deep fire in your eyes. You are not meant to be a pawn in another's game. You are a player and my lord will give you the strength befitting such a personality.”
The scholar continued to speak.
“Arrive at the heart of the Wildlands.”
The scholar's expression began to reflect his excitement.
“Pray at the altar and drink the black blood.”
His smirk turned into a big smile.
“Become the herald of Truth and Veracity.”
The room fell into silence for a moment.
The Scholar believed he had him, the entire conversation he had tailored, led up to this point.
But then it was Feng Zhiming’s turn to burst out in laughter, he clutched his stomach as he laughed, almost tearing up.
“I thought you knew everything about me, oh great Scholar. But it seems I was wrong.”
He stood up and stretched his head left and right, as if he was sorting out a deep stiffness in his neck.
“F*ck you, F*ck the being that sent you here, F*ck your plan, F*ck your holier than thou attitude.”
He sat down on the ground of the library with his legs crossed.
“Trying to scare me with the idea of being a pawn by making me the pawn of another. Do you think I have subhuman levels of thinking or do you think I’m mentally challenged?”
He looked up at the scholar who was in shock at the turn of events.
“You’re right I am looking for God, because I have some questions to be answered. But don’t you know there's always the old fashioned way of meeting the first cause.”
He took his thumb and pointed it to his chest.
“I could always die.”
He was sitting and yet the scholar who towered over him felt as though he was the one being looked down on.
“So to summarize, no I will not be going to the heart to bow before this so called great one, I will go because I want to go, I will go because I find it entertaining and I find it useful.”
He stretched his arms and yawned.
“While I appreciate the information session, I could not care less about becoming a servant, Now you can kill me if you want.”