Paragon of Sin

Several hours later, Wei Wuyin found himself isolated within another mountain infused with desolate power. After his discussion with Ai Shenwu, the bearded elf of the Ai Clan, he had departed. He, however, didn't just leave.

He had deliberately caused the deaths of numerous innocent elves in his attempt to escape, using them to buy him crucial time and consuming Qu Xiaoying's astral force reserves until she was forced to escape for fear of being in a precarious position. While he had gotten revenge for those departed souls, that simply wasn't enough in his book.

While he wasn't a saint, he knew how to repay debts. He owed the Grey Sand Elves that fought for precious seconds, regardless if they knew or not, for him. As a man of principle, he could only leave them what he could. After stealthily entering the cities, he cautiously discovered their families or spouses, leaving behind packages of alchemical resources.

He felt like a folklore character, descending upon a tragic world to deliver presents. As for those who were still alive, lingering tragically between life and death, a little bit of recuperative products, and they were brought back to this side of the world, firmly and with certainty.

This was the least he could do. Not for the sake of assuaging his conscience or ego, because he would do so a thousand times again and cause a thousand times more casualties if it meant his own survival, but merely to repay them for their actions.

"Four months and twelve days, True Desolate." The holy city of the Desolate Lands will likely be the gathering of other competitors. He wondered if Lin Ming would be there or the other Holy Daughter or Son that inherited the Badge of Divinity from earlier trials. If so, his objective would be so much easier.

That being said, he had four months and twelve days left. He intended to maximize his cultivation base, expanding his Astral Cores, increasing the quality of his innate energies, and more during this period of time.

Setting up his Saber Formation to isolate his alchemical manifestations, he intended to use the remaining time to concoct ninth-grade products. When he finished his secluded cultivation, he felt that even Realmlords might no longer be crucial threats to himself.

-----

The Four Extreme Continent was divided into five regions, spanning a total of 810,000 miles from east to west, north to south, in a perfect balance. These regions were the Desolate Lands, the Zephyr Plains, the Noxious Seas, the Scorched Skies, and the Central Region—The Holy Land of Elements.

They were each 156,000 miles in all directions. The lands, besides the Holy Land of Elements, all had their innate dangers in their environment, such as the Desolate Lands' anbient desolate power threatening to siphon the lively energies and moisture from any living being.

Within one of these regions, the Scorched Mountains, the sky was a congregation of darkly colored clouds that prevented rays of light from piercing through. But the faint black mountains in the distance were like bright lanterns, fiery and burning as they emitted their own light that brightened the environment.

The bleak skies rain down dark ash as if water, clearly indicating the unique environment of this world. These drops of ash were the innate danger of this region, the Scorched Mountains. They burned with a high heat, melting anything they touched with a scorching intensity.

Beneath these disastrous skies, within this hazardous environment, two figures walked through while protected by a fiery red astral ward that seemed to be immune to the scorching intensity of the ash. In fact, it seemed to siphon off the ash to empower itself.

Among these two figures was a golden-haired, blue-eyed beauty that seemed to be faintly exhausted with soft pants escaping her delicate lips. Ming Shufeng was a Heavenly Seer, and she rarely experienced several months within such a tense and dangerous environment. If it wasn't for the tall, exquisitely shaped female figure beside her, she might never be here personally.

The cloaked female figure turned to Ming Shufeng, "We're close." Her voice was filled with an indifferent tone, but Ming Shufeng could tell the woman was excited. They were trekking towards one of the numerous volcanic mountains that existed in the Scorched Mountains, but this one was quite special.

After sneaking into Rising Ash City, awaiting for a disturbance to happen, they infiltrated the main central building of the city during the chaos, timely entering and obtaining documents that would lead to a specific location. This location was quite special because it was filled with treasure!

Ming Shufeng softly complained, "Wouldn't it be easier to obtain the key to it?" They had risked their lives venturing into hostile territory and snatched away vital records sealed for a reason, and they obtained clues that, with her Heavenly Sight, allowed her to determine its location. But she also understood that there was a key required to enter.

This world's inhabitants referred to it as a Badge of Divinity.

The cloaked woman was quiet for a while, but spoke. "We can't. In a month, the True Elemental Emperor will reach this location, using the badge to claim all its contents." Her words caused Ming Shufeng to frown, knowing that this 'True Elemental Emperor' was likely that handsome young man that caused the disturbance at Rising Ash City.

"So he has the badge?" Ming Shufeng questioned, understanding a little more. If so, it made sense. That young man was terrifying, facing the elites of the city and being chased about yet still escaping and surviving. To try to steal the badge from someone like that, it was far too risky.

"..." The cloaked woman didn't answer. She only spoke again as they arrived a few hundred meters from the base of a volcanic mountain, "We're here."

Ming Shufeng lifted her ocean-like eyes, seeing the unfathomably tall volcanic mountain burning a blazing light, releasing blistering heat she couldn't feel behind the fiery-red astral ward.

The cloaked woman glanced upward, then down, thinking of something. Then, she whispered something under her breath. Beneath her hood, bright crimson light flared outwards. She formed a few handseals, causing the world to quake.

Ming Shufeng started, swiftly adjusting her balance to not embarrass herself with a fall. "What's happening?" She asked, a silly thing for a Heavenly Seer. They were regarded as knowing many things others couldn't fathom, but since meeting this woman, she understood there was always someone who knew more.

The woman softly spoke, "The badges are merely keys, but there are other ways to enter these caches. To obtain what is inside without a badge." As she said this, her brightly lit crimson eyes effused bursting light, piercing into the blackened ground.

Ming Shufeng felt her heart trembling non-stop. "How?!" She asked, the trembling becoming more and more intense.

"If you've opened one before, you would know how to open it again." She said, a faint smile leaking from her voice.

Ming Shufeng wasn't certain what that meant. After all, they spent months trying to find this location. When has she ever been here before? If she knew where it was, what was the point of the risk? Moreover, why visit a cache of treasure twice? Wouldn't you claim it all the first time around?!

Her questions were endless.

"Haha," The cloaked woman chuckled, performing more and more rapid handseals that intensified the quaking of the ground.

Chink! Kink! Tiss! Bam!

A sound of a door being forcefully opened alongside revolving gears resounded. This lasted for several minutes until the ground beneath their feet started to lit up with runic characters that burned brightly with a warm light. The light of these characters shot into the sky, twisted and melded together and vanished into the sky.

Ming Shufeng gawked, looking at the bleak skies above.

Shoom!

A ray of light shot out from the darkly colored clouds, piercing the base of the volcanic mountains. An opening enough to fit a human revealed itself, leading to an unfathomable darkness.

The cloaked woman didn't hesitate, grabbing Ming Shufeng and shooting towards the opening.

-----

A month later, a haggard and beaten handsome youth arrived at that very location once visited by two women. His eyes were calm, but brimming with killing intent. He murmured to himself, holding a badge that emitted a distinct heat, "So there are other caches left behind by the Divine King. Good. Unlike the others, this should all be left for a single person. After this, we'll see if I can make you regret it or not Zhang Yu!" Despite his calm expression, his voice was like a knife to the throat.

He activated the token, a light pierced into the sky, and descended soon after. An opening formed at the base of the volcanic mountain. He slowly walked towards the opening with tightened fists.