Paragon of Sin

The female Realmlord might be hundreds of kilometers away, but her speed was by no means slow, even during the Season of Regression! At her current pace, she would reach Wei Wuyin's current location in roughly two minutes! This was one hundred and twenty seconds!

The four Astral Souls were ceaselessly pouring their energies into Eden, reinforcing Wei Wuyin, replenishing his mental energies through rapid conversion via Eden. It was only because of Eden's unique abilities that it could substitute mental energies with its own, absorbing and converting the wildly different energies the others had to offer, fueling Wei Wuyin's mental prowess.

"..." They were all silent, but they knew that these two minutes was all Wei Wuyin had. If he couldn't comprehend the Origin of All Light during this time, then they might suffer capture or death. This was a Realmlord! A genuine Realmlord that used their own cultivation base to surpass the seventh astral tribulation!

Three seconds…

Seven seconds…

Twenty-three seconds…

Time ticked on, but Wei Wuyin was still in his state of comprehension, with blood leaking from his nose, eyes, and a dark pair of eyes with merely a faint light of insight flickering within. If it wasn't for that light, Wei Wuyin could be mistaken for someone already a corpse!

"We need to externalize!" Kratos exclaimed, feeling the approach of the female Realmlord. Unlike the others, it was well aware of the immediate changes in space even if it wasn't focused on it. The Realmlord was using spatial force to traverse the world, and she should've been faster, but somehow the Season of Regression's unique environment was slowing down her movements.

"No! No! No!" Ori angrily repeated, continuously sending its energies without saying anything else. It was unhesitatingly giving 120% of its effort, unwilling to distract itself.

If they externalized, they could use their powers to resist the Realmlord without Wei Wuyin. Unfortunately, this would only buy more time. They didn't think about using their powers to run, they would never get far as they couldn't execute arts, spells, or establish formations without Wei Wuyin. They wouldn't get very far.

Eden interjected with a strained voice, taking the leadership role at this moment. "Can't! Externalizing destabilizes the Sea of Consciousness! Focus!!" Its explanation sent Kratos into silence again, recalling all the time they left Wei Wuyin's body.

While he had gotten used to it, that was attributed to his strengthened mental and physical state with time. There were numerous times where he nearly lost consciousness, felt dizzy, or had an abrupt surge of weakness. This was indicative of the heavy stress his body and mind had to withstand to externalize any of them at any time.

The act of externalizing already defies common sense, but it didn't come without its negative aspects! If they externalized now, not only would the other three lose their support, but the stress might spiral Wei Wuyin's current precarious state into the absolute unknown.

Without any other options, the four started to fully converge their efforts in hopes that Wei Wuyin comprehension was sufficient to grasp the Origin of All Light in less than two minutes! He needed to wake up or else…

Or else they might very well die today!!!

When the sixty seconds mark was hit, the horizon was experiencing chaotic surges of wind currents and an oppressive air. The female Realmlord had sped up! She must've noticed Wei Wuyin was currently staying still!

They had even less time!

"YOU...CAN…" Ori struggled out some mental messages, in naive hope that Wei Wuyin could hear it. It wasn't a warning, but the sound of a supportive voice.

Before Ori could finish, Wei Wuyin's black eyes brightened with his signature silver radiance! The light of insight and profound thought flashed within those eyes of his, revealing a sign of intellectual resurgence!

"...Fascinating!" Wei Wuyin breathily exclaimed with awe and astonishment trembling within his voice. He soon felt the wetness of his grey blood leaking from his nose, eyes, and traces of saliva spewing from his lips.

Touching the warm blood, his expression changed! A trace of bewilderment flitted through his eyes as he inspected his body. He was horrified! He observed the struggling states of his heart, which had expanded and torn in thinner layers of flesh from overexertion. His dantian held two quivering Astral Cores that were filled with spider web-like cracks.

He tried to inspect Eden, but he couldn't even enter, being completely blocked from entering by some strange force. He frowned, thinking for a moment before his expression changed once more!

He turned to the horizon and felt the pressing aura pushing towards his location with a determined pace, rapid and fierce! "Her?!" Wei Wuyin exclaimed a little, feeling startled that he was discovered without warning. He hurriedly tried to use the Celestial Eyes to gaze into events of the world, but he couldn't use it!

His Celestial Eyes had deactivated somehow!

How did he not notice her before though? Despite the pressing situation, he didn't panic and remained unfathomably calm and collected. While he often planned matters too thoroughly, he would never panic in moments of crisis. His silver eyes reflected his calm state as he contemplated for a brief moment, and without hesitation, ran!

He used his physical body and blurred with large, impactful steps as he blazed through the grey dirt lands with frightening speed! With a quick swipe of his hand, he wiped off the blood stains, interacting with his Astral Souls to see what their states were.

But he became solemn as he noticed their states were exhausted, with King suffering the most damage somehow. Its coremost innate energies were almost completely exhausted! While Eden was unable to be observed currently, Ori was heavily exhausted as well. As for Kratos, its Bloodline Source was intact, untouched, but his heart suffered heavily and even stretched out and thinned as a result.

As he saw this, his heart was rippling with unfathomable warmth and awed emotions. He wasn't an idiot, realizing what they had done to ensure his survival. Furthermore, they didn't try to break him out of his state of comprehension, which would've been too easy to do! They trusted him, believing he would finish before the female Realmlord arrived!

This level of trust was dangerous but also heartwarming to the utmost limits! He couldn't let down their faith, his eyes brimming with determination and resolve. Therefore, he exploded with further speed!

Several dozen kilometers away, the female Realmlord arrived at Wei Wuyin's previous location. She observed the crumbled mountains, spreading her spiritual sense to inspect the area. She noticed the specks of grey blood that carried a unique aura that caused her heart to tremble.

"What's this aura?" She questioned for a moment, but checked her glowing parchment soon after. She grinned, "Running? Too late." With a stomp, she blurred towards Wei Wuyin's direction!

Wei Wuyin didn't look back, but he felt her approach. "She's locking onto my aura somehow! But how?" He started to think, and with a few handseals, he was about to conjure a few clones to mislead his pursuer, but he grimaced in pain. This caused his expression to become slightly unsightly!

His spiritual energies, astral force, and various powers gave a scathing feedback, making him realize his astral souls were not just exhausted, but heavily damaged. They had pushed themselves so far so quickly, causing him to feel a little frustrated, but after realizing the gains he had obtained, he sighed with thankfulness in his heart.

He hurriedly tried other avenues, but even his bloodline abilities had no fuel to use. While his Bloodline Source was fully intact, he had no forces to activate it! He needed to use pills and elixirs to help their recovery, but in their current states, how could they externalize and rapidly digest the products?

At this rate, she would reach him in a minute or so! Considering the vast open field and her status, he didn't have the time to find a city and hijack the city-wide array! While his cultivation had risen, his power had skyrocketed, who could've guessed he would be in this type of situation?

"Fine! Then, I'll just kill her." Wei Wuyin declared to himself, stopping on the spot. He didn't like being hunted nor being passive either, so if she wanted to court death, then he would give it to her in full!

He turned around, his aura changing imperceptibly. He no longer drew upon their powers, deciding to rely on his other identity! A Mortal Sovereign Alchemist!

With a wave of his hand, two large pellets the size of baby's fist emerged in his palms. With a sharp, lethal light in his eyes, he was going to risk it all!

Just as he withdrew the ninth-grade pellets, his eyebrows rose as he inspected the pellets, and his expression twisted fiercely! They were being suppressed by some strange power emitting from the continent!

He didn't hesitate to spin around, speeding away once more! He couldn't use pellets if they were being suppressed! Maybe he could resist the force or tweak it if he was at full strength, but now? He didn't hesitate to keep his pellets and run! It seemed if he used these pellets, it wouldn't be the female Realmlord courting death but himself!

Ten or so kilometers away from Wei Wuyin, the female Realmlord finally spotted Wei Wuyin running swiftly with her spiritual sense. With a cold and sinister smile, she chuckled and explosively accelerated! In less than ten seconds, she would catch up to Wei Wuyin!