Paragon of Sin

Cao Cuifen had no qualms about exposing key secrets to the one she acknowledged enough to grant her most valuable assets, even if there was an underlying reason for doing so. Considering Wei Wuyin's status, feats, and talents, it would be foolish not to devote herself to the one she had chosen wholeheartedly. 

As such, she began at the very, very beginning: "I'm a descendant of a Firstborn, to be exact—my great-grandmother was a Firstborn." 

Wei Wuyin's eyebrows lifted slightly. Firstborn were those born from Destined, the natives of the Sealed Regions given the task of defending the nodes from all threats, and their Soul Auras suffered no suppression from the Sealing Array.

Highlord Higheater, otherwise known as Azure Moon Librarian Higheater, was a member of this minority. The gluttonous Ascended often interacted with both worlds under the guise of a vagabond. 

To hear that Cao Cuifen was a Firstborn's descendant was quite shocking, and many questions that had bewildered him were seemingly answered right then and there. Despite his slight surprise, he continued to listen patiently without interruption. 

Seeing Wei Wuyin digest this truth quickly, Cao Cuifen continued: "I was born to the Cao Clan during the later stages of the Dark Stars Era. The Cao Clan, my family, lost the war for supremacy to Tian Taizong, and most of them were slaughtered, with only a few surviving. During that time, many clans had gathered together to fight against his Earthly Saint-level cultivation. They, heh…they felt confident in being able to deal with him.

"How could anyone know that he would be so terrifying? He faced all opposition and crushed the entire world with his strength. Nothing worked, and even detonating an entire starfield after trapping him only caused him to…bleed slightly." Cao Cuifen spoke with ridiculing mirth as she stared at the floor, shaking her head as nostalgia flashed through her eyes, filled with defeat, despair, and trauma. 

Wei Wuyin felt the urge to console her, knowing that during that chaotic time, she faced her darkest hour and lost her family. Before he knew it, his chair was already before her, and he firmly held her hand in his own, causing her to look up to find a warm look and understanding eyes. She found herself gripping his hand as well.

That gaze of his spoke as if he understood her pain. 

"He was powerful?" Wei Wuyin had only heard rumors of the Divine Emperor's might, but history was written by the victor, and stories were often exaggerated to elevate their status. He was, however, the first Earthly Saint native to the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region. This was a major feat.

"Powerful?" Cao Cuifen sighed, "He was invincible. Even your Alchemic Knight, the one named Wu Yu, was inferior to him from the moment he ascended."

"Inferior?" Wei Wuyin instantly grew curious. While he had sought out information about the Divine Emperor's cultivation base, he had never gotten anything concrete, substantial, or verifiable; even Ma Zheng had implied long ago that he was unable to say exactly what he knew. It was clear information had been heavily restricted via oaths. 

However, Cao Cuifen was likely not subjected to the same restrictions. And her following words proved his point, "Yes, I heard your Alchemic Knight was an 8th Runic Ascendant from the beginning. This is world-shaking, of course, but Tian Taizong had reached the 9th Runic Ascendant level the moment he completed his Earthly Ascension. At the time, no one amongst the natives knew how massive of a difference that was to grasp all nine Ways of Mysticism. Even the subsequent Earthly Saints at much lower Runic Ascendant States felt they had a chance due to their ignorance. The tragedy of the Liu Clan was brought about by that mistake." 

"..." Wei Wuyin's brows furrowed slightly in contemplation. Tian Taizong had reached the 9th Runic Ascendant and was the first Earthly Saint of the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region. It was a little unbelievable. In terms of cultivation talent, he likely rivaled the trailblazing King of Everlore. The Divine Emperor had divine-level talent! 

Only then did Wei Wuyin realize why the Divine Emperor's name carried so much unimaginable weight in the hearts of the true Earthly Saint powerhouses! That was over twenty thousand years ago! What about now? After twenty thousand years of occupying the Aeternal Sky Star's ample resources and enriched radiance? 

Wei Wuyin wanted to hear more about Cao Cuifen's story, but he had a question that he couldn't resist asking, a conundrum that puzzled him to this day: "If the Divine Emperor was so strong, why did the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region evolve into this oath-ridden society?" 

This was the question! If Tian Taizong was invincible, why concede at every step which later caused him to be shackled? Now, he could only be seen within his starfield.

"..." Cao Cuifen smiled slightly, a trace of schadenfreude leaked from her eyes, "He killed the Vice-Sect Master of the Void Dao Palace. The Void Dao Palace is presently the Void Voyage Sect."

"Dao Palace?" It was a World Sect in the Aeternal Sky Starfield, but it was originally a palace? It seemed things had changed a lot! "He killed the Vice-Sect Master? The Void Dao Palace suppressed him?" 

Cao Cuifen elaborated with a smile, "Not exactly. I don't know the full story, but I know his actions led to him having to suffer some extensive oaths and punishments. Otherwise, how could there possibly be any starfields besides the Aeternal Sky Starfield in the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region? It would've long since been renamed the Aeternal Sky Stellar Region. You should know the limited influence those in the World Between the Fold can exert here. And during that time, the Void Dao Palace's Sect Master wasn't at the Earthly Saint Phase, but at the Demi-Mortal Lord Phase."

"Demi-Mortal Lord?" He knew the complex situation of the Void Voyage Sect's Sect Master position, how they had to be selected from Destined members born in the Sealed Region, and how little support they received from the others. As one who possessed the memories of a Sect Master, the disrespect and ostracization were clear. 

Liu Yinlan was an abnormal demonic talent, reaching the Worldly Saint Phase. Considering her scheming nature, he couldn't begin to fathom how she had gained such means. She even had Destined at the Earthly Saint level. At the very least, in her hands, the Void Voyage Sect had prospered massively. 

However, Wei Wuyin truly couldn't correlate how killing a Vice-Sect Master led to the Divine Emperor's current circumstances, especially if the leader was only at the Demi-Mortal Lord Phase at that time. 

"I tried to look into it before, but all I learned was that the Zhangjie Clan was involved. Unfortunately, I could never find much information about them." Cao Cuifen shook her head in disappointment.

"Them? Zhangjie Wushu?" Wei Wuyin recalled that foxy librarian that possessed an aura of Enlightened Scholarly Mist. She had secretly informed him of her name after he bought the entire Alchemy Section of the Myriad Miles Library. 

"Wushu?" Cao Cuifen looked a little confused. "Who's he?"

Wei Wuyin instantly realized that Cao Cuifen was unaware of her existence despite showing abnormal mental fluctuations during their visit. This was why his mental sensing powers granted by the Alchemic Eden Soul weren't truly mind-reading; there was too much guesswork in it. 

"She," Wei Wuyin corrected, "she's the librarian at the Myriad Miles Library that went by Li Pei; her true name is Zhangjie Wushu, and she should be a Worldly Saint.." Wei Wuyin held nothing back.

"What?!" Cao Cuifen was taken aback, clearly shaken by this information. After a long while, she calmed down and thought with her eyes lowered. She muttered, "I knew she was disguising her cultivation base, that she was a hidden expert, but I didn't know she was a part of the Zhangjie Clan."

"Do you know anything else about the Zhangjie Clan?" Wei Wuyin asked.

Cao Cuifen immediately responded without much thought, "Just that they are a massively influential clan connected to the Ascended Sovereign of the Human Race." 

"Ascended Sovereign…do you know what's the cultivation base of the three Ascended Sovereigns that created the Sealed Regions?" Wei Wuyin didn't have much hope because even the debonair version of him that became the Void Voyage Sect's Sect Master wasn't able to determine their cultivation base. 

"I…I don't know exactly. I know that they exceed the Ascended Saint Phase. They call those at the Ascended Saint level 'Mystic Overlords' in the World Beyond, so they must be of a higher level. But it's been a hundred thousand years since they've been called that way, so who knows how strong they are now and if the information I obtained is reliable." Cao Cuifen replied thoughtfully, but this was information that Wei Wuyin was already aware of. 

"I'm sorry for causing you to go off-track. Please, continue." Wei Wuyin leaned back to resume his position as a listener. 

Cao Cuifen took a deep breath before exhaling. "You're not at fault. A few of my questions have been answered too. As I said, my Clan, the Cao Clan, lost during the Dark Stars Era and the surviving remnants was forced to hide away. At the time, I was an Emperor Alchemist and had to run and hide with my little nephew, my sister's child. We struggled in the dark, terrifyingly cruel world that the Dark Stars Era had left behind, relying on my alchemical skills and each other to survive." While she hadn't elaborated, the quivering of her lips alluded to the intense, deadly struggles she had to face as a woman and cultivator in those trying times, especially one who lost their greatest support—their family! 

Grandnephew? Wei Wuyin was curious about this person. He had also survived with only a single family member, albeit adopted—Wei Si!

Cao Cuifen paused as the memories flashed into her mind, and she glanced at Wei Wuyin to see the curious light in his eyes. She then realized that she hadn't told him yet. She had already tried to stay on topic but was now veering off again. 

"My nephew is someone you know."

"I know?" 

Cao Cuifen nodded with a genuine smile filled with warmth and a little frustration, "He likes to go by the name: Soul Saint King, but my sister named him Cao Cao, and I call him little Cao." The laughter in her tone was irrepressible!