Aiding and Reuniting

"Xiwang Mu? Are you sure it's her?" Logean Wuji was, for the first time in a while, truly surprised. He stood up and walked across the water toward them, his eyes trained on Nephele as he measured her response. It was not that he thought she was lying, but that he had gotten all too used to paying close attention to people to be sure they were not lying.

"Yes. We personally saw the energy of the Mythical Realm's Jade Pond on her body as she fought against the instability within her. We do not know what caused it, but it is clearly cultivation deviation." Suddenly, Nephele pressed her head against the water and Selene quickly followed her actions without a word.

"Please, Sir. Help us save our sister."

Logean Wuji sighed, then glanced at Ye Hong, Ling Ji'er and Father Tang. "I will help her. Xiwang Mu can also be considered a friend of mine."

Nephele and Selene instantly brightened up, excitedly smiling as they hurried to be off.

"No need for that. I'll take us there."

Hearing that, Nephele was about to say that it was impossible for him to create a passageway to the Graikos Realm, but she realized that their surroundings had already changed. As she looked around again, she found that they were already within the Graikos Realm.

This was a rocky land of hills and mountains, filled with pillared structures and statues, scholarly temples and libraries. The skies were dull and grey, yet powerful fluctuations spread out from it. In the sky, a blazing sun much brighter and more potent than the one in the previous realm could be seen.

Logean Wuji did not even need to squint in order to see a giant of a man riding his fiery chariot through the sky. This man was actually the cause behind such a powerful sun, something that Logean Wuji already knew about.

'I see Helios' life is still as boring as ever.'

Nephele and Selene were on the verge of mental breakdowns. The fact that the man standing beside them had instantly brought them to their home realm, and without them even sensing anything, was beyond crazy. It was a nonsensical concept- there should normally be no way for someone to do this. To them, it felt like that man had already existed in the Graikos Realm and had merely transferred them over to that separate branch of his consciousness.

Yet, they could not believe this either. This was because, if that was truly what the man had done, it meant that he had already achieved omnipresence!

Omnipresence! This was a realm of existence that not even their King had been able to achieve after millions of years.

Nephele was now becoming terrified of the man beside her. With the utmost respect and humility, she said, "Young Master, would you be so kind as to tell this ignorant one your name?"

"In this realm you would call me Wuji the Logean but, please, call me Sir Wuji."

"Wuji... Logean..." If you could look at Nephele and Selene's brains, you would find multiple cracks spread out all over them. Though the Logean Clan had settled in one particular realm, it did not mean that knowledge of them was limited to that realm. After all, Logean Zi was once in charge of the United Sect, something that was not limited to one realm, but encompassed all of them when it was still around.

Additionally, after the Logean Clan left the realm, news of what they did also spread throughout the many Voids.

"Sir Wuji, I am so sorry for bothering you with this foolishness-" Nephele, who was now beginning to realize who she was dealing with, grew fearful. Selene, also, was breathing hard and fast.

Logean Wuji actually had to wave his hand and calm them with an enchantment. "Enough of that. I told you that Xiwang Mu is also a friend of mine. I am helping her of my own volition."

Nephele and Selene, now calm and thinking straight, apologized.

"It's quite alright. Take me to her, then."

"Yes, Sir Wuji!"

After that short bout, the women grew fearfully respectful of Logean Wuji. Flying through the air, both Nephele and Selene would occasionally glance back at him with awe and reverence. Logean Wuji did not seem to mind, nor did he seem to care. His focus now was on Xiwang Mu and her condition.

' With her unique constitution, there are few things that can cause her cultivation to destabilize. She must have done something rash again.'

While thinking such thoughts, Logean Wuji mindlessly kept up with the women and was not left behind. Soon enough, they arrived at a giant stone tower, narrow but solidly standing atop one of the many rocky mountains.

They entered from the top by way of a large platform, then an open doorway. Once they were inside, waves upon waves of vibrating pulses of energy beat at their bodies, causing the women to struggle. "It's gotten worse!"

They found it harder and harder to walk, so Logean Wuji had already passed them by and was walking toward the source of the energy.

Sitting on a mat in the very center of the wide space was a pale woman with a heavy blush on her face. She was breathing silently, but quickly and shallowly. Sweat formed and fell from her forehead in torrents, soaking her large, silky garments.

As Logean Wuji drew ever nearer, the malicious energy being released from Xiwang Mu assumed a distinct color that closely resembled the color of the Jade Pond's waters. That energy tried its very best to damage or affect Logean Wuji in any way, but it was simply unable to.

Logean Wuji noticed that, around the woman's neck, was a bead necklace with its pendant replaced by a small decorative gourd. Only, this gourd was not decorative.

Logean Wuji's eyes instantly pierced the veil, seeing exactly what that gourd truly was. Once he did, he frowned and stopped walking closer to Xiwang Mu. Instead, and much to the dismay of the two struggling women, he sat down and closed his eyes in meditation.

"What is Sir Wuji doing, Miss Nephele? Has he changed his mind about helping Sister Xiwang?" Selene anxiously tugged at Nephele's clothes, worried and panicking but still under immense pressure from Xiwang Mu's energy.

"You ask me, but who am I supposed to ask? We must wait and see, Selene. Sir Wuji knows what he is doing."

Logean Wuji heard their discussion from where he was. He sighed and, through that sigh, expressed his will. An unbreakable barrier then formed around Xiwang Mu, encasing her energy and not allowing it to extend more than a meter away from her. Nephele and Selene were now able to take it easy and calm their spirits, then walk over to stand near Logean Wuji.

"This tribulation Xiwang Mu faces, think nothing of it. It is nothing more than inescapable punishment for her idiotic actions. I shall let her stew in it, just a while longer."

Logean Wuji did not look at them. He kept his eyes closed and his mind focused on whatever it was he was thinking about. Nephele and Selene did not know what he meant, but they could tell that the rampant energy around Xiwang Mu's body was already calming. Inside the barrier, they could see flashes of jade light as Xiwang Mu's energy tried to break free of its confinement. Unfortunately, Logean Wuji would not allow it.

"What do you two know of the Mythical Realm?" Suddenly, Logean Wuji opened his mouth and initiated conversation. Their worry for their sister diminishing with each passing moment, the women were glad for some conversation to pass the time.

"I heard from the King- though he was unaware I was listening- that the Mythical Realm was the world of the Gods, the Devils, the Divine Beasts, the Primordial Entities and the Sovereign Gods. It was a world created by and for them, specially suited to their own unique needs. It was like a paradise, growing with each fated soul that successfully ascended to it." Selene had actually taken the initiative to say this, a sense of pride in her knowledge that had not been able to shine through before. She froze for a moment when she realized what happened and smiled shyly after lowering her head.

"You have, indeed, learned well. The Mythical Realm was precisely this. So, it goes without saying that Xiwang Mu here falls into one of those aforementioned categories, right?"

The women nodded, seeming to have long considered this possibility.

"I would not expect you to know, but her role in the Mythical Realm was quite an important one. You see, not only was she one of the Five-Fang Demon Lords in her early life, she is also one of the Human Progenitors. Humanity, in large part, exists because of her."

Hearing this, Nephele and Selene felt their minds quake, shiver and shatter all at once. Had they known that, those few months ago when they found Xiwang Mu, she was a Human Progenitor, they would have treated her with the utmost deference and respect. Perhaps this was why she did not inform them.

"I guess I should also mention that, for a long time, she was the Wife of the Jade Emperor and looked after the palace gardens; namely the Peaches of Immortality. Of course, those are simply Divine Flat Peaches of the transcendent grade, but let's not get into that for now."

Selene and Nephele were at a loss from the start, slack-jawed and awestruck. Who could care about the peaches? She was the Wife of the Jade Emperor, someone who ruled over an entire subdivision of the Mythical Realm- precisely the subdivision that Nephele and Selene would fall under.

This woman, Xiwang Mu, was not only their ancestor but their Empress. How could they not be speechless?

Logean Wuji remained seated, continuing without acknowledging their expressions. "After ...certain things happened... the Mythical Realm was never the same. The division of karmic powers grew unstable and unequal as legions fought for control of the entire realm and all those in it. The United Sect was disbanded, my Logean Clan descended to the Qin Realm and the rest is history."

While he was speaking, he yet again cast an enchantment to calm the women down. Nephele, while wiping some drool from the side of her mouth, said, "So, from then till now, the violence in the Mythical Realm has continued. If the Empress descended only a few months ago, it could mean that, all this time, the Jade Emperor and his forces had been able to last."

"That makes sense to someone ignorant of the big picture," Logean Wuji nonchalantly remarked. "When my Logean Clan chose to leave the Qin Realm, it was because the war in the Mythical Realm had reached a peak. Entire races had been brought to extinction, their cultures forever lost. Our arrival was meant to bring an end to it all."

"Instead..." As Logean Wuji reached this point, faintly discernible tendrils of shadow grew around his own shadow, dancing and swerving, writhing about like worms in a festering wound. His aura became heavy, weighing down on their souls especially.

Nephele and Selene took unconscious steps backward, reeling in sudden terror of the man sitting before them.

"Anyway, enough about that." Just as sudden as it started, the oppressive exposure of aura ended and Logean Wuji went back to his dormant state. His shadow was also just as normal, without anything out of the ordinary. Seeing that they could breathe again- and that their souls were no longer slowly shriveling- the women let out long-held breaths and reveled in their rapid-onset-relief.

"At that time, the Jade Emperor and Xiwang Mu were amongst those thought to be lost forever. Their corpses were never found, but their subordinates and confidantes had all fallen. The Jade Heaven was torn apart, reduced to a formless void. For her to appear now is nothing short of a miracle."

Logean Wuji then stood up, evoking soft gasps from the women who hurried to move away from him, just in case. He walked over to Xiwang Mu and into the confines of the barrier, uncaring of the rampaging energy. He walked in unbothered and put a hand on the pale smooth skin of her forehead.

"Any longer and this tribulation will begin to have negative effects. Time to wake up, Peach-Lover."

By the law of his word, it was so. Xiwang Mu's energy vanished, returning to her body and eliminating the need for a barrier, which quickly dispersed. Logean Wuji removed his hand from her forehead, after which she regained her color and looked to be instantly recovered.

Nephele and Selene were virtually tiptoeing as they anticipated her awakening. She looked even healthier than she did when they found her, which was an exciting observation for them.

"To think you would actually let me suffer instead of immediately helping me out. Young Master Logean, you have not changed."

Xiwang Mu opened her verdant eyes, which reflected the splendor of the Jade Pond and all its energy. She gave a friendly smile in Nephele and Selene's direction, then bowed her head to Logean Wuji. As the women were squealing inwardly in delight, a simple action brought them to greater heights of shock than anything else.

Logean Wuji lifted his hand into the air, slowly. Xiwang Mu saw this and became petrified, trying to move out of the way but finding that the very space around her was frozen solid. His hand came down slowly as well, but Xiwang Mu could not move.

Pow!

Nephele sputtered madness and Selene directly fainted.

Logean Wuji had just slapped Xiwang Mu, the Empress- a Human Progenitor- across the face!