Yang Qing stared deeply at the palm-sized silkworm, however, Green Cocoon didn't say another word again leaving Yang Qing awkwardly standing around wondering what to do next since even the spirit of both the Blue Universe enclave robe and the veiled destiny domain crystal went silent.
Luckily for Yang Qing, that awkward moment didn't last long as there was a sudden movement from one of the Daoist statues. It was from the statue Yang Qing felt was a little too life-like, and was also more slender than the rest and had insect-like wings on its back that had strange light blue scripts on it.
The statue waved one of its palms and a white platinum silver string was produced from its palm as it headed in the direction of the three Saint grade treasures and Yang Qing.
When the string was in the middle of the hallway it split into four and headed toward the blue universe enclave robe, the veiled destiny domain crystal, and the green cocoon.
"Is there a need for this? it's not like we would go back on our word and harm the young one," said Blue Universe in exasperation as he addressed that one statue.
"How long are we left with?" asked Veiled Destiny.
"By my count, we have 34,568 years left," said Blue Universe after he paused briefly to do a little mental calculation.
"Almost 400,000 years have passed by so fast. Have you thought about what you will do after?" asked Veiled Destiny.
Yang Qing detected a hint of melancholy coming from its tone as it asked that question.
"Probably go bet with Fei again, I almost won last time despite him clearly cheating," said Blue Universe as he clenched his fists with his eyes flashing with battle intent.
"It wouldn't hurt to get back at him, especially with that smug smile and foul mouth of his. I can't believe he spent a whole 9,000 years bragging," Veiled Destiny said in lamentation.
"Count.me.in.hateful.child," Green cocoon who had been silent all this while finally spoke up again.
"Good, it's a deal. After we finish the terms of the bet, we will challenge that bastard again. Just you wait, Fei," said Blue Universe with clear excitement in his tone.
Yang Qing who was trying to piece their conversation together was caught off guard when the slender Daoist statue with crystal wings on its back, suddenly spoke.
"I'll see you three in 34,568 years and don't be sore losers when the time comes. I've even been practicing my zither skills for the celebration I will hold after," said the statue.
The tone was gentle, ethereal with a hint of mystique to it. Yang Qing was even shocked to see Dao mist being produced as the statue spoke as if the words it was speaking had fundamental world truths to them.
He increasingly got curious about who this Fei character was. The statue gave no clue at all since he had never seen anyone who looked like that at the Order. About the only clue he had, was the dense qi he felt when the glyph produced from the Five Harmonies cultivation art combined with the wooden token he had.
That monstrous qi bared a bit of similarity with the clay platform he gave Dean Zhu Lao for his welcome-back party.
"Maybe after things have settled, I'll go see the Dean and check if he has made any progress," Yang Qing thought.
As Yang Qing was trying to find out the identity of the Fei person, he felt his mind buzz like it had been struck by lightning and a second later he felt an otherworldly sensation around him.
His body felt like it had been reformed and was a hundred times stronger. His thoughts were clearer, smoother, and faster. His vision had changed as he could see weird scrips floating around him. The mosaic glasses filled with auspicious beasts seemed like they had become alive.
"What's this?" Yang Qing wondered in shock as he felt the overwhelming power that coursed throughout his body. He felt like he could destroy 10,000 of his old self in the blink of an eye.
Just as Yang Qing was about to get swallowed over by the feeling of the monstrous power, he forcibly calmed himself down by circulating his cultivation art , the Universal duality indulgent of the myriad worlds. The art aimed at promoting both the body and soul, ensuring their growth was at equilibrium.
Yang Qing felt like cool water had been poured on his whole body, calming the power in his body. Even if he could still sense its immensity, the slave-like feeling he had gotten moments ago when he got exposed to It was slowly disappearing though even if he had managed to maintain his sanity, he felt like he was standing on a very tight rope, and it wouldn't take too much effort for him to tip over.
Just as he was wondering what to do, he felt the monstrous ocean-like qi fill him up and doused the overwhelming power within him, putting it at bay while also granting Yang Qing autonomous control over it.
Yang Qing finally felt like he could freely guide the power rather than fighting for dominance with it, which he would have surely lost had the earlier state of teetering on a thin rope, been maintained.
" Well done child. You're among the few people who have handled that transition smoothly," Blue Universe said in admiration.
Yang Qing's pupils shrunk when his gaze fell on the three Saint-grade artifacts.
The earlier experience had left him quickly overwhelmed so he didn't have the time to pay attention to anything else, but now when his gaze fell on the three treasures, his jaws hang loosely at the sight before him.
Blue Universe wasn't just a genial wizened old man anymore but was a never-ending blue universe filled with countless stars and planets, as for Veiled Destiny it was no longer a hooded figure but billions of golden-colored strings that had covered a whole world while the green cocoon could be considered the tamest since all Yang Qing could see was a never-ending green sky that could cover a whole planet and nourish it.
"Thank Veiled Destiny for your current vision, who knows, maybe you might gain some unexpected harvests.
Yang Qing let's have ourselves a good ceremony. We will do all we can to ensure your safety through it all," said Blue Universe as his voice turned distant.
Yang Qing could feel like he was being ejected from the dome hallway. When he came to, he found himself in the middle of his room and barely even five minutes had passed by.
"Was that a real dimension with its own time parameters?" wondered Yang Qing as he tried to sense the changes in his body.
He could now feel an intimate control over the three Saint-grade artifacts like they were an extension of his limbs.
"So this is what a domain realm expert feels like?" Yang Qing muttered as he sensed the strength coursing through his body.
The veiled destiny domain crystal among its effects, one of them was elevating some of his senses to that of a domain expert. Yang Qing wasn't sure to which level he was elevated at, but he could feel the monstrous gap between his palace realm strength and his current abilities. The difference was like a tiny pebble and an empire-sized mountain. The experience was humbling, especially considering all he had at the moment was just the senses of a domain expert and lacked the core features such as a domain filled with Dao runes.
Yang Qing couldn't help but chuckle bitterly when he remembered how smug he had felt when he broke through to the palace realm thinking he was at the top of the world. This experience had doused whatever arrogance he had left.
Yang Qing straightened his robes out of habit before he left his courtyard.
"Is it me or does this robe make me look even more dashing than I usually am?" Yang Qing smugly thought as he swaggered outside.
"It's just you."
Blue Universe's voice echoed in his mind immediately after which made him almost trip over.
"Senior is there a need for that?" asked Yang Qing in aggrievement.
After not getting any response he lethargically made his way out of his abode where he found Song Guozhi from the standard regulatory committee waiting for him, but he wasn't alone. Beside him was a middle-aged man with long flowing black hair that had been tied into a topknot with a dragon-coiled headband. He had just the same serious look Song Guozhi had. Yang Qing wondered if it was a trait all members of the Standard Regulatory Committee shared.
"It seems the assimilation went on smoothly," said the middle-aged man.
" Judge Yang Qing, this is the assistant head of our department, master Liang Wen," Song Guozhi dutifully said as he politely pointed to the middle-aged man beside him.
"Junior Yang Qing greets assistant head, Liang Wen," Yang Qing said as he cupped his fists in greeting.
"Nice to meet you Yang Qing, truly a name that matches the person. Your fame isn't undeserved. Time isn't with us we need to move."
Just before Yang Qing could process what Assistant Head Liang Wen meant with his statement, he felt his vision change as he was sucked into the domain of assistant head Liang Wen.
"Old Lei you fiend, just how far have you spread my name? Do all these people just sit around and gossip all day? I knew it, the domain realm is the true soft life," roared Yang Qing in his mind as he was being whisked away to the Star blooming mist valley.
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