As he felt all of his injuries disappearing like nothing had even happened, his thoughts became a bit muddled as his brain seemed to slow down.
Wha—?
All of a sudden, the woman waved her hand a second time. His vision turned blurry for a few seconds before, all of a sudden, he was standing in the middle of the sky, thousands of feet away from the ground.
He saw the clouds beneath his feet; he felt the cold night breeze touching his cheeks, and he saw the full moon shining brightly in the sky as stars glittered on the horizon.
Just as his confusion had reached its peak, a voice suddenly sounded near his ears again, speaking in that same cold voice, but this time there seemed to be something else in it aside from the cold—something that he couldn't yet determine.
"Tell me what you think."
Huang Shi instantly looked to his left as he saw the woman in silver, her hair seemingly floating through the night sky, defying gravity as her silver eyes looked to the moon, her expression unreadable. He remained quiet for a few seconds, thinking of a response, before slowly opening his mouth and speaking his thoughts.
"It's beautiful, but also terrifying."
The woman didn't look at him; she just continued to stare at the moon in silence, and yet he still somehow heard a reply in that same cold and monotone voice.
"Why do you say so?"
Once again, golden flames appeared at his fingertips, trying to calm his nerves as he replied.
"It's beautiful because I have never seen the sky in this manner in all of my life. At this height, everything seems so small, like if I just stretched my fingers, I could reach out and pluck even the stars from the night sky..."
The woman, seemingly satisfied by his answer, nodded her head in approval before giving a short reply.
"Continue."
Huang Shi inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, as his outward calm seemed to be completely different from the turmoil of emotions he felt on the inside.
Good... this is good... keep up the good work, me...
After thinking for a few seconds more, he then opened his mouth again, continuing his explanation.
"It's terrifying because this is the kind of thing that humans are not supposed to be able to do. When humans are given the power of gods, the gods become detached from humanity down below. Everything then becomes a matter of interest, of who has the bigger fist; laws and order do not exist. "
"Cultivators have impunity in their actions because, at the end of the day, when a god one day decides that today is the day you die, if you are a mortal, you have no choice but to die."
The woman then tilted her head, looking straight into his golden eyes as he stared right back, before giving a smile. It was a beautiful smile, but all he felt was a terrifying sense of fear.
"Good choice of words. If a god wants you to die, then you have no choice but to die. Terrifying indeed..."
All of a sudden, something happened—something that, even with all of his imagination and all of the amazing and absurd things he had seen in his brief stint in this world, still left him with his mouth agape. His eyes narrowed into pinpricks as an expression of profound shock appeared on his face.
Why did he react this way, you ask? That is because the things he was currently seeing with his eyes seemed to be so unbelievable that he could find no words to explain them.
Right now, at this moment, it should have been right about midnight. He saw the moon, he saw the stars, and he even saw Reshi City in the distance, the lights of lanterns bringing a bit of light to the darkness of the night.
However, all of his common sense and all of his understanding of the world seemed to be upturned as, with a simple wave of her hand, the woman turned the sky from the middle of the night into a bright afternoon sun.
He felt the sunlight on his skin, warming up his body from the cold night breeze. He saw past the clouds and the trees, seeing numerous different kinds of spiritual beasts suddenly waking up and roaring, clearly startled by the sudden change in their environment.
He saw the people of Reshi City and the members of the Azure Dragon Sect suddenly screaming, rushing out of their houses and prostrating themselves on the ground as if they were praying to the heavens for mercy.
What they don't know is that the "heavens" they're asking for mercy from is standing right here next to me.
He shivered as he felt his world expand even further. It seemed to him that cultivators of this level were simply...
"It feels like omnipotence, doesn't it?"
She looked at the horizon, at the people on the ground screaming and at the spiritual beasts roaring at the sky, as if sensing something hidden in the clouds. Not bothering to wait for his response, she instantly snapped her fingers a second time.
The bright afternoon sun once again disappeared, turning back into midnight. The full moon returned to the sky with the stars, and the cool night breeze reappeared in earnest.
She turned her attention back towards him, speaking in that same monotone voice, but this time he clearly felt it: what he saw was a little interest and a bit of encouragement.
"I have learned everything there is to learn about you in these past couple of minutes, and I have come to a few conclusions. The most important of which is that you seem to be a person of decent moral character. Despite your previous transgressions, you have changed a lot these past few weeks. However..."
Her eyes, which had thus far been staring at the moon, suddenly snapped back to him, her silver gaze cold and piercing.
"Quite frankly, I do not much care if you are a devil in human skin. As long as you treat my daughter well, make sure she does not shed any tears, and ensure that you do not interfere in her cultivation, you and her can do whatever you want..."