Paragon of Sin

"You..." A breathily sweet-sounding voice languidly spoke with a pinch of grievance. Defeated, Yang Chaoyue laid on her side, those exhausted eyes of hers observing the young mortal that had just sent her into a spiral of inescapable ecstasy. She was an Earthly Saint, her energies had been refined by thousands of years of continuous efforts, and her Yin Essence was as bombastic as one would expect, yet she found herself unable to last for longer than these short months before needing to recover.

How embarrassing was this? While she had suffered continuous, uninterrupted defeats since they first tussled on this exotic landscape, she had the strongly held belief that teaming with three others was enough to finally stand victorious. Unfortunately, she was given a breathtaking reminder as to why she could never win. Looking at her allies strewn everywhere in various positions, especially the newcomer Tian Lingyu, she sighed in her heart and allowed herself to be lulled into a rare sleep.

Triumphant, Wei Wuyin sat at the edge of the bed, where behind him were the collapsed figures of four exceptionally, drool-inducing, heart-palpitating, and blood-rushing bodies scattered about on top of, beneath, or wrapped around the satin sheets.

"He really awakened it," Wei Wuyin softly said as he exhaled a breath of frustrated air. With his Celestial Eyes, he could sense that the World's Trend had grown remarkably peaceful, no longer in a state of turmoil due to Evergod's threat. Essentially, the potential calamity had passed.

His silver gaze slightly lifted. From his Saint Ring, several transmissions were incoming from the various Earthly Saints within the Neo-Dawn Starfield. They were reports of an incoming object from the Dark Void. A colossus of a creature was slithering toward them silently. Some had tried to investigate, yet they were all hindered by the Soldiers of War without any answers.

Not everyone was aware of the Void Wyrm's existence or past, or even if they were, identifying it was a difficult task to do. In all its years, the Void Wyrm had seldom been seen clearly by observers. Moreover, it hadn't been awake for thousands of years. If it had been, then Wei Wuyin would've had a much more difficult time escaping from its clutches while using the Void Portals.

Additionally, the human schemer that Wei Wuyin met in the Stellar Nest utilized a Void Tool to achieve a hectic escape, and Yun Che would have suffered immensely after doing so. They were fortunate. The Void Wyrm's unawakened state had lackluster senses, acting on pre-driven instincts rather than active, sentient decision-making, so while it would investigate if the cause of the issue wasn't apparent or ongoing, it would swiftly depart.

"I hate having to clean up your ignorantly caused mess," Wei Wuyin remarked with slightly felt annoyance. Despite saying this, feeling annoyed, a satisfied grin was plastered on his face. It wasn't the result of the aftermath of the month-long battle here or his gains, but from having all his plans and calculations come to fruition accurately.

He looked around to find each of the four women and gave the plump tushy of Yang Chaoyue a hearty slap for good luck. He didn't forget to go around giving the other three the same treatment, enjoying the soft sensation on his palm.

"Ahn!~" Lin Xianxian sweetly moaned, her cheeks blushing fiercely after. She hugged the sheets as she bit her lips. Wei Wuyin was always awed by the sheer immersion of deep sleep beings went into after, especially since many forget that sensation. Unless they felt danger, they simply wouldn't wake. Even Yang Chaoyue who just passed out a few seconds ago was knocked into a deep state of slumber, and that slap only caused her to shiver lightly.

"Is it finally time?" Kratos asked with a small, deep roar of anticipation. The other three didn't speak, but from how they stirred, it was clear that they, too, were expectant.

"All that probing and prodding of that shameless tool was all for this. Of course, it's time," Wei Wuyin laughed as he rose, clothing himself in an instant in a mixed attire of martial and alchemist. The attire granted him a true feeling of his identity, both as a cultivator and an alchemist. At his waist, a saber rested in its scabbard formed from the Essence of War. It was Element.

Pop.

A Void Portal formed in front of him, and with a brisk gait, Wei Wuyin strode in.

-----

The commotion of near-Earthly Saint eclipsing Mystic Power had initially alerted those with the faintest connection to the flow of the world, but to those with acute senses that were observing the situation, those at the Earthly Saint Phase were alerted as well. Unfortunately, these beings were relatively ignorant of the ongoing situation.

San Luoyang, however, had been investigating the situation of the missing Everlore God Domain. Because of this, he had tasked himself to locate Everlore, find the remnant trails that he left behind, and used a mirror-like tool to display Evergod's soaring figure from afar. While he was unable to get too close, as Evergod emitted a strange fluctuation of extreme power, he bore witness to Evergod's violent collision with the initially unseen Void Wyrm.

"Those aren't the Hidden God Knights!"

When the Godforged Pill Knights showed themselves, San Luoyang was deeply stunned. He had never seen these Earthly Saints before. Despite being the Grand Secretariat of the Everlore Association, Evergod was not one to expose all his trump cards. As for the Hidden God Knights, they were a dozen of carefully trained experts at the Earthly Saint. They ranged from the ist to 4th Ascendant State and had been cultivated by the joint efforts of the Mortal Sovereign Alchemists of the Everlore Association in the last five thousand years.

They were the specially-trained hidden trump card against anyone with untoward intentions of the Everlore Association or its alchemists-the Association's Alchemic Knights. They would often pose as concealed guardians during the various Mortal Sovereign Alchemist's expeditions away from the Everlore Domain.Then, he saw a serpentine creature emerge, and Evergod's figure, including the eight Godforged Pill Knights of unimaginable power, were swallowed with a single, striking bite.

Gone.

Just like that.

The mirror fragmented and shattered instantly, blowing up and striking San Luoyang in the face with bits of sharp glass. It suffered a backlash as he tried to locate Evergod within the serpent.

At the moment, San Luoyang was frighteningly pale in the face with a quivering pair of terrified eyes. "1-im-impo-impossible!" He softly exclaimed in disbelief. After several seconds of standing there, his heart finally found the strength to pump again. As it did, his mind proceeded to try digesting what he had just witnessed. It took several minutes before his feet moved.

Woosh!

He rushed to a Void Gate, hurriedly inputting a set of coordinates, and activating it. With a hasty breath, he rushed right in and found himself in a temple of sorts. The design was gorgeous with candles lit and exceptional paintings, busts, and other art everywhere. Even the glass was multi-colored and beautiful, emitting a gorgeous radiance as it shone into the temple.

However, San Luoyang didn't stop to admire the scenery and immediately found a candle at the center of a large, ten-foot-wide altar. Atop this altar were several candles with a variety of colorful flames. He located a golden flame candle, and his eyes widened as a wave of relaxation swept across his body. His knees almost grew weak as he tumbled despite his incredible cultivation.

As he finally began to breathe, he never took his eyes off the candle.

"His Soul Candle is still lit-he's still alive," San Luoyang breathily said as if to manifest it into existence as reality. The Soul Candle was a fundamentally advanced tool that had a similar power to Life Talismans, but it was far more accurate. A life talisman could vanish from any number of circumstances, such as Tian Yinwu's due to distance or entering a strange area, but the Soul Candle was tethered to one's soul.

If one's soul was alive, it'll remain lit.

However, cultivating a Soul Candle was a difficult process, especially since it has other uses.

For example...

...summoning.

A cultivator getting trapped was a common occurrence during the chaotic years of the world, especially since killing Ascended cultivators was insidiously difficult and doing so was even unreliable, so they would resort to entrapping and properly refining one's entirety. A Soul Candle was devised to fight against this event, but the summoning was a complicated measure that required an extensive degree of materials and power.

"..." San Luoyang silently contemplated as he recalled that the Everlore Vault was cleaned out recently. There were no materials to conduct the summoning...

As for power, the Ever-Knights and Hidden God Knights should be sufficient to do so.

Just as he was about to think of ways to gather the wealth, he received a transmission. Upon reading the transmission, his expression changed as he urgently left the temple.

Evergod Domain.

San Luoyang was in the Dark Void directly above Third Sky, his eyes exuding a ray of impeccable calm. A golden light flashed from the distance, approaching at high speeds, and then revealed itself as it arrived a few hundred feet away.

"Earth-Saint Tri-Vision," The golden light revealed itself to be the Grand Seer, her pure white eyes focused on San Luoyang as she greeted him with a tinge of respect. Regardless of her position, San Luoyang had entered the Alchemic Saint stage at a very, very young age. He was less than ten thousand years old currently while Evergod had remained at the Mortal Sovereign Alchemist stage for over twenty thousand years despite running the Godpill Association of his time.

While there was the abnormal Wei Wuyin, whether it was him or the King of Everlore, it was best not to compare those heaven-shaking monsters. But ordinarily, even in the World Beyond, San Luoyang's achievements would've been worthy of celebration, especially since he was a non-Alchemic Soul cultivator, a sign of his astounding talent.

"Grand Seer," San Luoyang replied calmly. He didn't know why the Golden Gate Pavilion was making an appearance now.

"You must be aware of Evergod's situation," Grand Seer said probingly.

San Luoyang stifled his change of expression, simply staring calmly at Grand Seer. The Grand Seer nodded emotionlessly, "You don't have to worry about his life-of-death; he's still alive-for now. He's simply paying the price for his recklessness. As for why I'm here: to deliver this," she didn't dally as she retrieved the Ever-Key, and sent it his way.

"Protect it at all costs." The Grand Seer turned away and proceeded to leave. She didn't feel the need to explain his responsibility and San Luoyang didn't need it. Retrieving the Ever-Key, San Luoyang's expression couldn't help but change. If they have the Ever-Key, then that must mean that the Golden Gate Pavilion must've known that Evergod would find himself in this predicament. He gripped the skeleton key tightly, and a wave of complex emotion swept against his heart and mind.

Just before Grand Seer left, she sent a transmission that only they could hear. "I recommend that you don't try to free him. It'll be a pointless endeavor. But if you don't wish to heed my advice, then do so only after the Chosen King Competition finishes."

"..." San Luoyang stared at the disappearing golden light. Even if he wanted to stage a summoning, he would need time to gather the materials. Given the time remaining, he didn't think he could gather the materials unless he made promises for loans.

"...I see," San Luoyang couldn't hold back his wry smile. The Grand Seer predicted his actions of making promises on Evergod's behalf to free him quickly. However, this allowed him to realize that his estimation of needed materials and power might not be enough.

He decided to run a few calculations. Suddenly, he stopped. Looking back, his eyes flickered. Did the Grand Seer tell him this to ensure that he didn't waste this opportunity? The Golden Gate Pavilion's goals and objectives... were always so difficult to discern.

He gazed at the Ever-Key for a long, long moment before returning.

-----

While Wei Wuyin was making his move and San Luoyang was receiving a duty to uphold, San Yongli was clenching her teeth in aggravation as the voice in her head was going wild. "We need to go! We need to hide! NOW!!"

San Yongli was confused at the urgency of the discarnate soul, unable to be certain of what could cause this. "Wait! Explain to me clearly," San Yongli urged."THERE ISN'T ENOUGH TIME!" The woman screamed.

"What? Time? BE CLEAR!" San Yongli hated being ignorant of a situation, and she devised acting carelessly. She demanded an answer.

The woman bellowed out a roar of frustration, but her position within San Yongli's Sea of Consciousness was one where she couldn't freely leave. And if she did do so desperately, the Spirit would sense her immediately. In fact, being here within her Sea of Consciousness might be her saving grace. Only after her thoughts reached this point did she struggle to calm herself down.

"...The Spirit has been awakened. If it senses my presence, it'll seal me into the Endless Purgatory again, and you along with me." The woman explained with a swift cadence. She was rushing through each syllable despite calming down.

"Endless Purgatory? The Spirit? I don't understand any of this. What has awakened? Start from the beginning!" San Yongli felt her heart pounding, and a cold fear encased her mind suddenly.

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