Paragon of Sin

Qingye Yun could only watch from afar along the other Alchemist Association members as Wei Wuyin left via the Void Gate, his emotions complex. While he didn't have much hope that he'd agree, it was good that their relationship was still decent. They had already discussed the branch that will be constructed in the Myriad Monarch Sect, including the elders that would be taking leave and their respective jobs while there.

As for the tome left behind by the Envoy, Wei Wuyin had taken it with him with a gleeful smile. It was extremely thick, containing millions of characters and would require some intense reading. With him departing, Qingye Yun had simply allowed him to take it. The Alchemist Association already had it for thousands of years, so it was almost useless in their hands.

After several minutes of staring at the deactivated Void Gate, he sighed and left back into the Myriad Transformations Tower. He soon found Qingye Ying in her room, her eyes blank as he laid sprayed out on her bed. She seemed to be questioning life, not even wearing her veil.

Seeing this prideful young woman so defeated and in despair, he could only helplessly sigh. He felt that he sighed more today than he'd done in his lifetime, feeling quite shocked by his own reaction.

"Grandfather...do you think I'm beautiful?" She absentmindedly touched her face, a precious aspect of her that she held in the utmost confidence.

"Of course you are," Qingye Yun wryly smiled. "Your beauty is in the top ten of the entire starfield, no doubt. This was likely even greater amongst us elves." He could only comfort her using these vain-like compliments.

Qingye Ying's eyes seemed to regain some light, and that light soon grew bitter as she thought about Wei Wuyin's incredibly handsome face, feeling frustration swell within her heart. But when she thought about his scathing insult, her eyes became dejected.

He wasn't entirely wrong.

Her cultivation had been crippled by her own risky actions, leading to her path of the Alchemic Dao coming to an end at the First Stage of the Astral Core Realm. While she might be able to eventually concoct a ninth-grade product in the far-off future, becoming an Mortal Sovereign Alchemist, she would likely be unable to touch upon the Mystic-Rank or further.

She could only grunt in helplessness.

Qingye Yun remained standing, unsure of what to say. Just as he was about to spout more consoling words, his storage ring started to glow with a faint radiance. He inspected the transmission message and his expression started to rapidly and wildly change.

Intrigued by her many-great grandfather's reaction, she turned over in her bed and lifted a curious brow. "Something's wrong?"

At the end of his myriad of expressions, a hint of skepticism and joy emerged on his face as he glanced at Qingye Ying. He only said, "All hope isn't lost yet." With those words, he pulled up this young girl of his and departed in a hurry. Being carried off so quickly caught Qingye Ying by surprise.

They soon descended the shuttle and arrived at the first floor. She had already straightened herself out, her eyes regaining its innate pride. When the doors opened, they walked to the main hall and saw a high-ranking elder standing behind a cloaked figure.

There was faint golden mist that encapsulated the figure, making it uncertain if they were male or female. That mist was beguilingly majestic, as if it contained secrets of the heavens. The elder was unable to draw his eyes away from it.

When Qingye Yun saw this, his eyes brightened considerably. He stepped forward and graciously bowed with genuine respect. "Greetings, Heavenly Seer. Is...is what you say true? Is there really a way?"

Qingye Ying's expression changed and she was fiercely shaken. This was a Seer?! She had only heard legends of them depicted from ancient times. It described their ability to peer into heavenly secrets, capable of finding the truth outside of the present era. They could predict the future and seize fortune! Her heart was wildly racing.

The cloaked figure's hood shifted a little, as if they were staring at Qingye Ying. In a voice that was neither male or female, quite androgynous and ambigious, they answered: "It is as true as the heaven's boundless will."

A surge of happiness painted Qingye Yun's expression. "Then please, let us discuss this inside." The Seer didn't reject him, following along as they ascended the tower with Qingye Ying in tow.

After they left, including the elder, at an ordinary corner of the main hall, a faint shadow of a statue shifted slightly. With its movement, prompted by no shifting of light, the shadow slowly started to bulge, revealing a darkly dressed figure. The aged eyes concealed beneath a black, nondescript mask betrayed a trace of surprise as it looked at the shuttle's entrance. Then, it merged back into the shadow, seemingly vanishing from the world.

-----

Wei Wuyin was currently soaring through the sky, about to pierce through the Sky Layer and return to his Sky Palace. Just as he reached the sixth level with a giant and thick book in hand, his spatial ring glowed with a spiritual radiance. After receiving its contents, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Interesting. What are you planning exactly, little girl?" Wei Wuyin faintly smiled as he recalled a figure in his memories. With his Eye of Truth, he felt as if his decision had prompted interference from an uncertain yet familiar figure. A worldly trend that the Alchemist Association, and Qingye Ying, might receive a surprising boon of hope. While this might not lead to much, it still intrigued him enough.

He hadn't arrived at the Alchemist Association alone, but with Ying in tow. With his unique Shadow Force and Shadow Intent, he could exquisitely merge with any shadow-like existence, including Wei Wuyin's. He had simply remained entirely hidden, concealed beneath Wei Wuyin's own aura. No one was capable of even noticing his presence, allowing Wei Wuyin to understand the danger of a high-tier assassin. Fortunately, he had his Celestial Eyes that could perceive such hidden things.

But what truly prompted his actions were the feeling of unease that a ruinous fate of the starfield was approaching, and it seemed this ruin might come with complex pieces segregated until the very end; he was unable to determine what they were from his Eye of Truth. He didn't know how or why, but seeing the trend of the world inch closer with each passing day, he felt a pressure envelope his heart.

He had his speculations, mostly that it had something to do with the Blessed Temporal Reincarnator having regressed from the alternate future to the present with foreknowledge of events. While he'd decidedly started to shift his actions to combat this advantage, there were certain events he couldn't change. For example, his meeting with the Alchemist Association was bound to happen and likely end in the same way.

He was unwilling to sacrifice himself to change that outcome. There was also his entry into the Gateway Door and the secret or world realm that hid behind it. He felt that there was something he sorely needed there, unable to be obtained anywhere else in the starfield. He could only sigh at this, uncertain what other events were fixed.

He didn't even know how far the foreknowledge of this Blessed extended, making him uncertain if the ruin led to their untimely demise. But he knew that knowing of one's eventual outcome held untold advantages.

Narrowing his eyes with a dangerous glint, he erupted with explosive speed and pierced through the Sky Layer. It didn't take him long to reach the eighth-level, arriving at the entrance of his Sky Palace.

When he arrived, he was greeted by an unexpected individual at the gates. "You cultivated it?" A hint of joyful expectation fueled his voice as he stared at the shapely and womanly figure who revealed a warm smile. Her aura was something that Wei Wuyin was quite familiar with.

As she radiated a faintly golden glow, shimmering with a heavenly light, she nodded with a solemn expression. "I have, and I've seen something."

This was Wen Mingna!

She had been cultivating an ancient Seer technique left for those capable of peering into Heavenly Fate. It was named the Ritualistic Fate of Nine Worlds Method, and it was the greatest Seer cultivation method he could acquire with his wealth and connections in the starfield.

It originated from the Nine Worlds Fate Seer, a prestigious figure that had developed after the King of Everlore Era. It was rumored that he was the first figure that, by himself, ascended to the Mystic Ascendant Realm without the King of Everlore's explicit support. His legacy method was left to his descendants, but they were unqualified to cultivate it, lacking a talent with Fate Energies. They graciously handed over this Mystic Ascendant-level Method for a hefty sum.

While he could see the trend of the world, origin of all things, and even unseen divinities with his Eye of Truth from the Celestial Eyes of Spiritual Divinity, this wasn't aimed at the Heavenly Daos. He knew there was a distinctive difference between them. One dealt more in likely probability extrapolated from present and past events to the possible future and the other was influenced by an unseen will. The latter could change the world's trend at a whim.

Seeing her Fate Qi become rather developed, being robust and holy-like, he felt that, just like Alchemic Qi, one's cultivation base truly affected one's abilities. But her words caused him to frown slightly, "What did you see?"

Wen Mingna was still at the Qi Condensation Realm, only having practiced her fate method for a short period, but with his high-level of cultivation support, she was already capable of gleaning into the heaven's elusive intentions.

She solemnly said with a tinge of undisguised panic, "I saw the end…of everything."