Paragon of Sin

"Where?! WHERE IS IT?!" A thunderous, rage-fueled, manic-driven roar of outrage shook the very foundation of the Everlore God Realm! An outburst of Mystic Power exploded, and the regal and serene disposition of Evergod collapsed amidst fury and panic. The Alchemic Saint sped through the vault's originally gargantuan area filled to the brim with resources, treasures, products, and so much more.

The Everlore Vault was not just the simple storage of the association's mystic-graded materials and products, it housed the literature and legacies of the King of Everlore that was written with Mystic Ink infused with his very own refined Alchemic Power! Among these legacies was the legendary Concoction Methods of the Seven World Wonders of Everlore!! 

These were the early-stage theorized methods of seven Mystic-World graded products! The ONLY remnants of the King of Everlore's short stint as a Worldly Alchemic Saint before he departed from the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region.

Gone.

ALL GONE!

Evergod's sharp canine teeth were on full display as he executed endless spells! They were all sorts, ranging from invasive life-sensory spells to temporal perception spells! His desperation was concealed behind his fury, yet the Ever-Knights at the door were unable to control their expressions of disbelief, shock, uncertainty, and fear. 

After five whole minutes, a length of time that could be described as weeks in an Earthly Saint's rate of perception, Evergod finally calmed down as cracks and holes were littered across the vault's walls, ceiling, and ground. It was all tainted by a dim seven-colored glow.

Evergod's Mystic Power had bottomed out. However, despite his exhaustion, the Alchemic Saint moved toward the Ever-Knights with imposing momentum. 

"WHO?!" A single word from his lips felt like rolling thunder, and the Ever-Knights visibly trembled. While Evergod was an Alchemic Saint, his killing aura was heart-palpitating to these 3rd Runic Ascendants. While they were loyal to Evergod by right of oaths, they had never seen him fight since their birth to the present, or witnessed his aura erupt with any forceful intent, yet today they finally knew the truth—Evergod was powerful.

These Ever-Knights were simply too young to know about the prestige of the Godpill Emperor—Association Master of the Godpill Association, a cultivator that was born and thrived within the chaotic Dark Stars Era!

"W-we don't know," the Ever-Knight with tangerine eyes answered quiveringly. Despite being an Earthly Saint, the fear that flowed through his soul when he opened the vault was hell-rising and heart-stopping. Fortunately, neither of them hadn't instinctively tried to find the culprit. If they had, their aura would've littered the vault and they might be seen as colluding, even if they hadn't. 

The other Ever-Knight lowered his eyes to the ground, meek and fearful. The implications of the vault's disappearance were unimaginable. The wealth stored inside was the accumulation of the Everlore Association's glory years and dominance of the market, containing rare mystic-graded treasures, precious materials, and exceptional products that couldn't be stored in ordinary spatial rings.

But the Ever-Knight couldn't fathom how the Everlore Vault was broken into without anyone noticing. While the Everlore Vault wasn't regularly entered, it was guarded by several powerful restrictive and guardian formations and a world-shaking sealing array, hidden within the Central World Realm of the Everlore Association, and engulfed by a molten planetary core! 

In a way, it had five layers of protection. The first layer was the Everlore Domain's cultivators and the last layer was the vault itself! A large vault constructed with walls forged with Mystic Steel, the lowest form of Mystic-Earth graded metal Ore, but when refined and molded appropriately, even Earthly Saints would need a long time to penetrate through its thickness. Not to mention, it would require an absurd amount of power to penetrate and that would alert everyone! 

"Fuck." Evergod vulgarly spat, completely unlike his normally composed self. His voice was chilling, seething, and deep. He didn't have time to pursue a shadow. Additionally, he couldn't just default guess who was responsible because doing so could lead to cataclysmic consequences by targeting the wrong organization.

But if he had to guess who…

It would either be that dastardly WEI WUYIN! Or…Trueborn.

As for the Imperial Clan, they had outstanding oaths, further reinforced during the King of Everlore's era. They couldn't infiltrate the Everlore Vault even if they wanted to. In fact, the Tian Clan wouldn't be able to enter the Everlore Domain without his explicitly granted permission in any circumstance. Unless, of course, the Divine Emperor had broken free of his binding oaths. Should that happen, the entire world would plunge into chaos without a shadow of a doubt.

Unfortunately, whether it was Wei Wuyin or Trueborn, he couldn't interrogate either; Trueborn was too powerful with a leading figure that can utilize Mystic Heart Intent, and Wei Wuyin was similarly an alchemist with great rallying strength and unfathomable means. While he furiously hated both of them, if it was the result of a third party trying to instigate a conflict, the Everlore Association would be foolish to allow themselves to be led by the nose like a horse to tainted water. 

Evergod stood within an empty vault that once possessed the greatest, single-concentrated degree of wealth in the known world, yet he was able to retain his calm after fifteen minutes of fruitless searching. It was this trait of his, the ability to calmly think in almost any situation, no matter how disastrous, that allowed him to climb to his current position.

"..." He silently contemplated, not trying to rush to any conclusion or decision. Others would be pulling out their hair and cursing the heavens in madness!

°Despite my best efforts, I'm unable to find any clues. This was done by a skilled cultivator, and if I had to guess a potentially responsible party, I'd say the Void Voyage Sect is the likeliest candidate outside of the initial suspects. However, sometimes, the simplest answer is the right one. Wei Wuyin—this entire situation could've been orchestrated by him, from the missing vault to the Heaven Relic. 

°The Ninestar Sainthall's arrival was too timely given the distance between the two starfields; the Ninestar Sainthall had to have been notified earlier than the rest.° Evergod began to briskly pace within the empty vault under the cautious eyes of his Ever-Knight, his arms folded behind his back. When he thought about the exact circumstances surrounding everything, from the Soul Saint King's usage of Oath 46, to the global descent of starfield-wide pressure—instigating a hasty desire for a swift conclusion, he began to see the lines of the culprit's intent. 

Pressured from all sides…

Ninestar Sainthall's arrival…

The Mythical Oath…

Two days…

450,000 Mystic Earth Stones…

"..." Evergod's eyes grew colder by the passing second. Regardless of who was involved, it was no understatement to say that he had been driven into a lonely corner like a pathetic beast. 

"Seal the area!" Evergod ordered. The two Ever-Knights gave two heavy nods, rampant anxiety running recklessly within their hearts and minds as they began to activate the various formations and the sealing array. As for Evergod, he left unhindered. 

Evergod returned to the palace's main hall in less than a minute, receiving the curious gazes of the Mortal Sovereign Alchemists here, his gait was calm, steady, and even-paced without any indication of the horrendous crime scene that he had just left from or whirlwind of emotions he had just experienced.

"Vice-President!" The elderly Alchemist greeted his return, but Evergod directly ignored him. He stood before the cracked mirror, looking at the two Earthly Saints depicted on its surface. The Soul Saint King was solemn, yet his excitement wasn't hard to figure out. As for the Imperial Advisor, she looked innocent and waiting, like a diligent mediator curious of the treasures she would appraise. 

Neither of them received the benefit of exclusions in his suspicions. Unfortunately, it didn't matter as his pressing Mythical Oath was sworn and in effect. If he hadn't paid within two days, the interest would have grown by 5% every single day—22,500 Mystic Earth Stones a day. And if he was unable to pay within a week, he would be in direct violation of the oath.

He would experience the dreaded punishment of violating a Mythical Oath that all those in the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region, even the Divine Emperor, feared with their very souls. 

Fortunately, none of that would happen. The simplest solution solves the greatest of problems—Evergod brought out the Heaven Relic's storage container. 

"Hm?" The Soul Saint King was instantly confused. 

"The compensation is 450,000 Mystic Earth Stones, but the Heaven Relic is valued at 530,000 Mystic Earth Stones. I offer the Heaven Relic as compensation," Evergod calmly stated.

"What?!"

"You don't mean!?" 

"...!" 

The Mortal Sovereign Alchemists, Soul Saint King, and Imperial Advisor were all taken aback! 

"Is this a joke?" The Soul Saint King deeply furrowed his brow, his excitement dissipated and a faint anger lingered between his brows. His lime-green eyes exuded a fierce spiritual radiance that shook the spirit of everyone under the Earthly Saint level. 

"It is not; since it's over the agreed-upon compensation limit, as per the rules, you'll have to provide the difference in other materials, products, or items." Despite the stunned audience, Evergod said words that were extremely shameless! 

"Oh? You're using 'that' loophole. And here I thought you'd willingly suffer a loss." The Imperial Advisor commented with a faint smile. Typically, compensation estimates were lower than the value of the items. This was mostly due to a variety of factors that were included, such as wear and tear of items as well as those who were in this situation often broke a rule to begin with. It was a type of reduction benefiting the reserved party, allowing them to keep any spoils without any losses. 

However, this could be done too. Some organizations had abused this a few times as well, but it had never been rectified as it was deliberately left in by tactful agreement during the swearing of oaths. 

The Soul Saint King's eyes chilled. The cost of 80,000 Mystic Earth Stones was not small by any means. He didn't know if he could afford it given the Ninestar Sainthall financial situation without giving up an absurd amount of critical things. Unlike Evergod, he didn't have the authority or possession of Ennea-Hall Alchemic Saint's product stash. There was no inflated valuation that he could lean on!

"If needed, the Skylight Bank can offer a loan."  The Imperial Advisor hopped in with a smile, but that smile sent shivers down the Soul Saint King's spine. That loan would certainly have absurdly high interest, and he didn't dare to carelessly agree. He snorted lightly, "I'd rather go to the Golden Life Bank." The Golden Life Pavilion's dedicated bank had fair-in-interest loans, so he didn't have to worry about being scammed. 

Considering how he was thinking here, the Soul Saint King realized that he had already agreed to accept this unfair situation and reclaim the Heaven Relic. With his heart settled, he'll stifle the loss and see if he could recoup the investment later. Regardless, the Heaven Relic was extremely valuable, so the losses wouldn't be much. 

The Imperial Advisor didn't take his comment to heart, her smile not lessening for a moment. 

"..." Evergod simply watched.

The Soul Saint King was naturally frustrated, but given the situation, he decided to double-check and do his due diligence to ensure that he wasn't being scammed by these two. "Let me inspect the Heaven Relic." He hadn't felt the need to inspect it before given the outrageous valuation, but now that it was coming out of his pocket, he was less careless.

"You don't trust my appraisal?" The Imperial Advisor asked.

"Don't try to provoke me, since the situation has changed, I'll inspect the item myself." The Soul Saint King refused to clash with the Imperial Advisor on this topic. She was very particular about others questioning her skills. 

"..." Evergod's mood wasn't good, so he didn't want to even talk to these two longer than necessary. With a simple motion, he opened the jade box as he had done once before. 

"..." The Mortal Sovereign Alchemists' pupils constricted.

"..." The Soul Saint King frowned.

"..." The Imperial Advisor's smile dropped. 

As for the reason for the varied reactions?

The box was…

EMPTY!

"What?" Evergod's colorful eyes bulged almost out of his sockets!

Suddenly, the mana within the hall began to stir! An outburst of Spiritual Pressure exploded, causing the eyes of everyone present to constrict to their limits. 

At the edge of the Everlore Domain, the Boundless Martial High King's aura was seething as he was ignored for the last eight minutes! If it wasn't for certain restrictions, there was little doubt in anyone Mind's that this Earthly Saint would've launched into a frenzied slaughter.

WOOSH!

An abnormal spiritual pressure dispelled the Boundless Martial High King's rage as swiftly as it did his aura, and the hearts of everyone began to shake. For those who weren't Ascended, they couldn't sense it, but the Mystic Intent latent within the world began to rapidly stir. 

Within the vast expanse of the Dark Void, stretching the entirety of the Everlore Domain and its neighbors, Mystic Runes began to manifest. They embodied the nine Ways of Mysticism, fragmented and completed, and they spun, twisted, throbbed, and glowed unpredictably! 

Then, before the eyes of even mortals, they saw the faint outlines of runes form. The Mystic Intent that they were unable to sense on any spectrum was condensing to the point where even they could see them! 

Han Yuhei's eyes widened as he stood at the bow of his ship, looking at the Everlore Domain with a thunderously beating heart. This was something he had only experienced three times in his nearly eight thousand years of life…

THE EARTHLY AWAKENING OF A SAINT!