Paragon of Sin

Within the Sacred Library, for the last seven days, a figure swept through the halls and shelves like a flickering shadow. No area within Free Study was left untouched by this shadow, like a ravenous wolf ensuring not the slightest scrap eluded it. 

Wei Wuyin's antics were obviously noticed by others. The Free Study of the Sacred Library can be considered the first level of the building, and numerous cultivators of the City of Guardians would enter to find a specific book, scroll, or spiritual jade that contained visual or auditory instructions from scholars and experts. 

The rumor of the silver-eyed youth scouring for a specific book began to spread. Wei Wuyin didn't so much as hold any item for longer than five seconds, flipping through pages like a whirlwind or unfurling scrolls like surging waves, before placing them back and finding another. 

"An antsy youth," Chi Yongyuan said as he stuffed his mouth with marble-sized, aquamarine-colored berries that greatly resemble raspberries. He had replaced his jar of nuts with a paper bag of fruits, these berries emanating enriched water energies. For the last seven days, Wei Wuyin's spree caused quite the commotion, but he knew that Wei Wuyin was limited by time and access, so he was likely looking for material that suited his cultivation.

While he, the 327th Azure Moon Librarian of the Sacred Library, offered his incredible services, he was politely brushed off with a swift thanks and goodbye combo. However, he didn't feel any misgivings about Wei Wuyin's conduct. The goal was likely to find anything useful and depart to the next levels, especially the Voyage Tower. While he could only access three materials of knowledge there, it would definitely be endlessly beneficial to him. 

Woosh!

Wei Wuyin flickered to the front desk, his eyes had faint dark circles around them, and his breathing was slightly chaotic. Chi Yongyuan saw this and smiled, "Found what you're looking for?" 

Wei Wuyin's expression was slightly strange. If Chi Yongyuan knew that he had just copied all materials of knowledge into his Sea of Consciousness' materialized library, which will thereby be referred to as the Palace of Eden, then he didn't know how he'd react. Especially since even the spiritual jades of scholars and experts had their recordings copied, a difficult feat to accomplish even at his level. 

Wei Wuyin heaved a soft sigh, reaching over and reaching into Chi Yongyuan's bag with a practiced motion. Chi Yongyuan's eyebrow twitched as Wei Wuyin pulled out a handful of berries as if he owned the bag and the berries. Without even blinking an eye, Wei Wuyin popped one in his mouth and chewed, enjoying the juicy flavor and gushing fleeing instantly. A soothing watery chill coursed through his body and relaxed his mind. 

"No more Heavy Autumn Pecans?" Wei Wuyin asked as he ate another. The Heavy Autumn Pecans were the nuts filled with extremely heavy earth energies, carrying with it Heavy Earth Intent, a mid-level Intent. 

Chi Yongyuan helplessly sighed, "You ate the last of it. Your appetite is even worse than mine." The comment was filled with dissatisfaction, but Wei Wuyin could see that Chi Yongyuan didn't really mind it. In fact, it was extremely rare to find someone who can eat these types of materials. Some Ascended beings would stay away from them due to their hard-to-process nature. Only those with exceptionally strong bodies would refine solid and raw materials through eating, with most being purposefully farmed and refined specifically for alchemy or its other derivative form—cooking.

To him, Wei Wuyin was a kindred spirit. 

"Ah." Wei Wuyin ate his handful and reached for another. The bag or jars that Chi Yongyuan had were independent spatial dimensions that could hold copious amounts of raw materials and foods. Wei Wuyin swore to make a few for himself. One of the greatest pastimes, when he was at the Scarlet Solaris Sect, was eating great food and drinking incredible wine, an act that dwindled as his cultivation base increased and his reliance on grown sustenance diminished to a non-existent level.

He survived six years in the Dark Void, and he barely ate or drank anything during that time, if alchemical products were excluded. A truly heart-wrenching monotonous existence that was. 

"You're going to the Sealed Tower next?" Chi Yongyuan asked as the two ate, watched by numerous curious eyes. Wei Wuyin nodded; he swept the Free Study completely clean, and right now his Second Mind was taking its time to read each material with a passion. It'll segregate the useless from the relevant, sending only the profundities and interesting topics his way. 

If he ever needed a more thorough explanation, it would be easy to connect with his Second Mind and receive it, so he had no worries of never being able to access information. If Chi Yongyuan knew that he was using this type of method to learn, it would likely send him spiraling into total disbelief. 

"Alright, let me send a notice." Chi Yongyuan said as he touched his Azure Moon emblem. It briefly lit with a soft glow. "My replacement will be here in a bit," Chi Yongyuan explained after seeing Wei Wuyin's curiosity flare. 

"Oh. Actually, I've been meaning to ask you a few things." Wei Wuyin had scoured through the Free Study yet the topic of advanced knowledge of the three cities and their inhabitants, purpose, and hierarchy wasn't present. Perhaps this type of information simply wasn't included or unnecessary, since most living here were inhabitants, but he couldn't find anything related to its supposed eighty thousand years of history. 

"Go right ahead," Chi Yongyuan was assigned to Wei Wuyin by chance, meant to service his needs and questions within a defined limit. After all, he was an Azure Moon Librarian, not a normal staffer that handled basic matters. He was an Ascended being and a Demi-Mortal Lord at that. 

"What's an Azure Moon Librarian?" Wei Wuyin asked the first question that a million sources of information within the Free Study had no insight into. Not even the Spiritual Jade given to him by Liu Yinlan had information regarding this particular status. 

"I thought you knew," Chi Yongyuan chuckled. "We're the keepers and organizers of the Sacred Library. We vet the information and reject forms of knowledge that have too many errors or don't meet the proper requirements in their category, such as having a fresh perspective. We decide what goes into the Free Study and Sealed Tower. Not the Voyage or Guardian Tower, however. The Voyage Tower is handled by the Crimson Moon Librarians and the Guardian Tower is handled by the Silver Moon Librarians.

"If a piece of material is too valuable, we send it upwards to be vetted by the Crimson Moon Librarians. If they deem it too valuable or sensitive, they'll send it to the Silver Moon Librarians." Chi Yongyuan's explanation was easy enough to understand. Wei Wuyin realized why he was given the task of showing him the Free Study and Sealed Tower, mostly because he has the authority over it.

"There's 327 of you?" Before, Wei Wuyin heard that Chi Yongyuan was a recent hire of seven years, so he assumed that he was the newest addition. 

"There were," Chi Yongyuan said with a flickering expression. 

"Were?"

"Haha, yeah. You've met mister 328 actually, the most recent hire of five years ago. Tch, tch." Chi Yongyuan said with a little bitterness as if his freshman status lasted far too short for his licking. 

"I have?" Wei Wuyin was stunned. 

"Yeah, he's about-" Chi Yongyuan began to describe the person. Instantly, Wei Wuyin recalled the skinny old man that was He Yanglei's Dharma Protector in the Devil War Realm. The man had saved He Yanglei's life and was nearly about to end his, but he abruptly left and Wei Wuyin never saw or heard from him again. It's been a while, and Wei Wuyin didn't mind it. Unlike the shameless Venerable Spiritwalker, the skinny old man had only done his job—protect his charge.

"All of you are at the Demi-Mortal Lord Phase?" Wei Wuyin was stunned if that was the case. If so, were all Crimson Moon Librarians Earthly Saints? What about Silver Moon Librarians? Worldly Saints?!

"Yeah; it's one of the bare minimums to become an Azure Moon Librarian. All those beneath are called Pages, and they are the basic staff. But don't look down on them, they are all Ascended beings, and all at the Soul of Mysticism Phase. I was a Page before, they have a lot of free time due to being so numerous." Chi Yongyuan's expression was filled with joyful nostalgia. 

Wei Wuyin and Chi Yongyuan discussed a little more about Librarians, and Wei Wuyin learned that the Crimson Moon Librarians had to be Earthly Saints, but there were only eight of them. As for the Silver Moon Librarian, there was only one. Moreover, the qualifications to become a Silver Moon Librarian weren't to be a Worldly Saint, but to have robust experience within the Sacred Library for a long period, a test of knowledge, and a vote held by all the lesser librarians and certain members from the three cities.

Liu Yinlan was included in this voting process. 

"There's something that's bothered me since I saw you," Wei Wuyin frowned as he eyed Chi Yongyuan. 

"Oh?" The ever-eating librarian was intrigued. "Let me guess: You're wondering how I was in the War Devil Realm, huh?" 

Wei Wuyin nodded. After reading the spiritual jade provided by Liu Yinlan, he was aware of how difficult it was for beings such as Destined and Seekers to leave the World Between the Fold, considering Celestials were entirely absent from the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region's history despite the Void Voyage Sect being a part of the Aeternal Sky Starfield's Three World Sects, it meant leaving was extremely difficult, if not outright impossible.

However, more curiously, it was clear that the Void Voyage Sect wasn't a genuinely core component of the World Between the Fold. It seemed more like a limited City of Endless status, and even then, it wasn't very important. The proclaimed Vice-Sect Master received very little attention or admiration as one might expect from a city with a sect built in. 

"Haha, yeah." Chi Yongyuan felt as if he could read Wei Wuyin's thoughts. "The World Between the Fold's situation is incredibly complex, near chaos if it wasn't for the Ascended Sovereigns from beyond. No one disregards their orders, and no one dares to." A wisp of emotion emerged in his eyes.

"..." Wei Wuyin waited for Chi Yongyuan to explain. 

"Well, it's simple, I guess. You see, those born in the World Between the Fold can not enter the Sealed Regions, and they can only leave the World Between the Fold into the outside world under a certain set of…extreme circumstances. But this mostly has to do with the Ascended Sovereigns' unwillingness to dilute the natural Soul Aura of the population below."

"The Sealing Array?" 

"Mhm. The Sealing Array is designed to suppress those not born in the Sealed Regions indiscriminately. It's extremely powerful and incredibly consistent. If an Earthly Saint were to descend to the Sealed Regions, their cultivation base would be restricted by two stages. If a Demi-Mortal Lord did, the same held true—Mystic Star Phase limitation. And those at the Soul of Mysticism and lower would outright die. It's impossible to regress to a mortal state without an extended period of carefulness and alchemic assistance, and the array doesn't care to be gentle, so mortals are obliterated on contact."

"But why?" Wei Wuyin asked in puzzlement. These so-called Ascended Sovereigns did this to prevent the intermingling of Soul Auras? 

"The mixture of Soul Auras weakens this limitation. If done enough, after tens of generations, those newly born existences will have the natural Soul Aura that is unaffected by the array. While it might not seem so at first glance, this is a great danger to the Sealed Regions and the outside world, especially if you know why it's sealed in the first place." Chi Yongyuan grimly explained.

"..." Wei Wuyin's thoughts flared. "Those born in the World Between the Fold have a different Soul Aura?" 

"Yeah, they do." Chi Yongyuan confirmed. "However, there's a group of minority cultivators that are exceptions to this rule, and they are mostly free to travel to the Sealed Regions and World Between the Fold after paying a cost. In fact, we're given missions and collect certain resources that others can't from the Sealed Regions. These cultivators were born from Destined, but not within the World Between the Fold. They are sons and daughters of high-level Destined at least at the Unyielding Destined level.

"Those cultivators are fully unsuppressed by the formation and have no consequences with procreating and intermingling Soul Auras with the natives of the Sealed Regions. I'm a part of that group, and we're called Firstborn." 

Wei Wuyin's body trembled slightly from the name. He felt as if it was linked to something incredible. 

"I was born in the Aeternal Sky Starfield roughly eight thousand years ago, so was the other one you met, that grumpy guy is quite something. We've done a lot of missions for the Golden Life Pavilion over the years, including for the Eight Noble Clans. Of course, most don't know of our true origins, believing us to be Vagabonds that have a friendship or something." Chi Yongyuan formed an amused smile.

When he thought of that feisty woman of the Ming Clan, he couldn't help but feel a little heat within his body. It was too bad that he was an Azure Moon Librarian and couldn't get time off soon or he'll visit with his Demi-Mortal Lord cultivation base in full glory. The night they'd have. 

"Uhm," he cleared his throat after realizing his thoughts had become indecent. If Ming Yuling knew his thoughts towards her grandmother, who knew what she'd think? 

"The Firstborn…" Wei Wuyin kept focusing on this title. He couldn't help but ask, "What about Trueborn?" 

Chi Yongyuan's expression was filled with joy, pity, and faint blush immediately darkened, growing somber and sharp. 

"..." Wei Wuyin could hear steps behind him from eavesdroppers becoming eerily silent. He immediately realized that many had stopped, staring his way, and their eyes all carried a solemn light. 

At this moment, Chi Yongyuan's emblem glowed once again. Then, he faintly smiled: "Let's not talk about that until you become an official Destined. My replacement is here, so let's go." 

"..." Before Wei Wuyin could even seek out an answer, Chi Yongyuan was already near the stairs and traveling upwards. Wei Wuyin glanced at the dark gazes around him and thoughtfully followed along. He knew that this was a topic he couldn't ask about casually.