Paragon of Sin

1943 Chapter 1935: Young Emperor Acquires A Star, Saves a Sword, and Readies Bait

As the truth was revealed, under the Utmost-Heaven Guardian Array's umbrella of concealment, only one question was privy to the public, soon to be known by all. While figures close and far remained unaware, the effects of which were set in place by the young emperor of a nascent empire had begun to ripple throughout the Holy Void of Fortune and beyond.

Most importantly, an existence that was blinded by a mysterious force originating from sin began to see, began to recalculate, and began to exert its machinations upon the small and large details beneath the heavens and before the great daos.

Meanwhile, within the Neo Zenith Tower designed after the Original Dawn Palace was an altar forged from pure, refined, Draconic-Paragon Void Energy. The altar was structured beautifully, resembling a grand archway of grey obsidian-like material possessing eighteen vivid and animated dragons of spirit and life danced within and around as central forces atop a white platform that showcased the gorgeous phenomenon of stellar birth and death. At the top of the archway was a luminescent pearl that was originally clear, perfectly exuding the clarity and perfection of Wei Wuyin's unified power of his entire cultivation base.

The once luminescent pearl changed as a distinct seven colored iridescent began to overwhelm its former brilliance. The seven colors were very slightly different, almost imperceptibly so for all but the most keen of the Alchemic Dao, from the colors of pure alchemy, as if it was imbued with the will, beliefs, and cultural rubric of others. It greatly resembled the immaculate colors of the Utmost-Heaven Guardian Array from outside and the Utmost Purity Mist surrounding the Utmost Purity Galaxy year-round.

The Utmost-Heaven Guardian Array was returned to its passive slumber. The misty veil of seven-colored radiance returned around the galactic border, signifying the end to the recent chaos.

The Dawning Day of Supreme Death concluded with the official, galaxy-wide announcement of the Neo-Dawn Alchemic Saint's permanent reinstatement as a recognized alchemist of the galaxy. To the whole speculative world, this directly and unequivocally eradicated the rumors of a grave injustice upon a young alchemist by an ancient soul.

As speculation was stamped out, opportunity was announced; the region just outside the galactic border housed the fortunes of two ruined formulation processes of a Dominion and a galaxy, leaving behind treasures that may assist the future pillars and elite experts of the Utmost Purity Galaxy, including rare materials that could be used to forge or concoct all manner of things. Those bright-eyed and ambitious naturally began to make plans for exploration and daring adventure.

While it might not happen immediately, within the coming years, numerous Blessed destinies would converge in a test for survival, fortune, and courage to seek out their own gains that would propel them to greater heights. To those keen on the mysterious fluctuations of the Heavenly Daos, the region became a nesting egg of future potential and subtle machinations. Matters of life and death were bound to be wildly fluctuating and utterly unpredictable.

Observing from a distance of extraordinary length, far, far away was the mysterious woman that Su Mei had met. She was eating a spherical object the size of a palm, devouring it with large, chewing bites. Her wildly beautiful eyes reflected the active image of a white-robed swordsman.

The white-robed swordsman had taken off from the Utmost Purity Galaxy, and while doing so, was undergoing his own tribulation as he and Chu Xing darted through the Dark Void alongside Superior Yujin's sealed body. They were running, fast and fiercely.

Enemies chased. They sought Superior Yujin. And while most were Avatars or Incarnations that hadn't gained permission to enter the Utmost Purity Galaxy, they were projected over or directly sent over to hunt the vulnerable leader of the Joy Boy Hunter Union. Whether they were enemies, opportunistic scoundrels, or simply joined in on the fun, they chased.

She took another hearty bite, relishing in the crunch with an elated hum. "Almost ready," her words lingered in the void with a hint of a smile, gluttonous and patient. The latter of which was uncharacteristically contradicting, showcasing a desire to not waste, or to be exact, a degree of self-control to act before the juiciest meal was completed.

Within the sphere, the harrowing squeals that were unfamiliar to the vast majority of living existences leaked out. It resembled the release of a distressed chemical and subtle vibrations stirring up the chemical's gaseous state, seemingly trying to communicate via those two interactions. It was the screams of fear from a starfish.

The erudite would know that these particular screams belonged to none other than a Star-Devourer!

She licked her light peach-colored lips after the chemicals were slurped into the openings of her smile.

Su Yi and Chu Xing rode upon the Sword of the Transient Realm as they darted far away from the Utmost Purity Galaxy. Behind them was the pursuit of several experts, almost all were Avatars or Incarnations of Supreme Sages from various Void Hunter organizations that were drawn over to the events occurring near the Utmost Purity Galaxy. Upon sensing Superior Yujin's disastrous state, they swiftly formed a coalition of allies with the unified goals of retrieving Superior Yujin's treasures or outright ending him.

When experts who have fought and contended for over a million years or far longer were beaten down, there were always numerous individuals seeking to take advantage of that weakness, kicking them down further, potentially to the point of never standing up again.

Not even Su Yi had expected such an expeditedly gathered force to launch an assault. This was not a matter of himself, but of the grudges formed by Superior Yujin. He was now forced to withstand the weight of his companion's sins. Perhaps given all the help Superior Yujin had given him over the years, this was bound to occur, only needing an impetus to boil to the surface explosively.

Unfortunately, Chu Xing was with him. While fleeing and fighting, she had taken a few blows on his behalf, suffering injury upon injury. The issue was the overwhelming number and their tactics, all of whom possessed some degree of resonant qi or Resonant Soul Realm grade of innate energies.

While his cultivation base was extraordinarily profound, his strength reached slightly above the average consolidated Microheaven Envoy, and barely beyond that. While rightfully impressive, enough to cleave against this situation, the shamelessness of these Avatars and Incarnations was ridiculous.

They blocked off his return route to the galaxy while keeping him at bay, not engaging fully, and dragging them into a battle of attrition. They retreated as one, defended as one, and struck from multiple, cunning angles. They didn't strike with lethal intent, only careful precision.

They wanted to exhaust Su Yi and Chu Xing.

More importantly, they wanted to buy time. Very distinctly, he could sense that the true bodies of these Supreme Sages, likely with an army of cultivators in tow, were blazing their way towards them upon the Dark Void, and they were being limited to a specific fleeing region like sheep. If at first they were after Superior Yujin, perhaps they decided to take this opportunity to aim for his secrets too. At least, some of them.

The sins of his companion were being compounded by his own sins, the sin of possessing treasure and knowledge wanted by most. Even after he tried to threaten them with Superior Yujin's status as the subordinate of the Neo-Dawn Alchemic Saint, these greedy individuals didn't yield in the slightest.

As they flew further and further away from the Utmost Purity Galaxy, the situation was growing increasingly grim. Su Yi had tried numerous times to escape, only to fail time and time again. There was a difference between fighting, killing, and fleeing. He was an expert at the first two.

"Contact Yue Baoyue!" Superior Yujin communicated to Su Yi urgently.

"..." The young swordsman's expression was steel-like, but the glint in his eyes was unyielding. Yue Baoyue was favored by the Neo-Dawn Alchemic Saint, Wei Wuyin, and this was a fact that no one could deny. He had taken action multiple times on her behalf to save Su Yi. Moreover, she was openly protected by him.

If Yue Baoyue were here, after the Dawning Day of Supreme Death, not even a Superior Sage would be disrespectful to her in the slightest! She was their lifeline!

"Chu Xing!" Superior Yujin shouted to the injured Chu Xing. She was covering the rear as Su Yi piloted the Sword of the Transient Realm, slicing across the Dark Void while maneuvering to avoid attacks and obstacles designed to slow them down or redirect them. At this moment, these Supreme Sages showcased their profound tactics and vast experience, corralling them into a limited space with precision. They couldn't even use any treasures to break out, either disrupted or outright countered, even if it meant sacrificing an Incarnation, Avatar, or a significant amount of resonant qi.

Chu Xing ignored Superior Yujin. She was too focused on blocking attacks. Witnessing this, Superior Yujin wanted to cry but no longer had the body to do so. If nothing was done, they would inevitably be surrounded and captured, their fates...no longer theirs to decide.

Su Yi's eyes glinted. There was a ruin in the far distance, likely half a year or more away by maximum flight, and if he entered a warped region of space, a natural portal of void, there was a shortcut. It would only take two weeks! If he could get there, he might be able to leverage the strength of that strange voice to navigate this problem. He expended great effort and risked injury to expand his range of motion, eventually locating the spatial region where there was once a fragmented ruin housing a strange entity.

By this point, they were covered in injuries with exhausted energy. Hot on their tail were three unconsolidated Microheaven Envoys, their true bodies, alongside several Void Vessels, and Avatars and Incarnations of those who were still trying to arrive.

However, when he arrived here after two weeks of danger, expecting that strange existence promising servitude for freedom all those years ago, he was besieged by shock as the spatial region was empty.

All his plans melted away at the sight. After several weeks of intense struggling, he was met with failure. Chu Xing was bloodied, barely conscious. Even Superior Yujin had to expend his power to cut a path. A feeling of loss erupted from his chest as if something was taken from him.

"Surrender, Daoist Tyrant Sword!" Several voices echoed out from behind, chasing with great zeal. They were about to strike the final blows.

"SU YI!" Superior Yujin cried.

Eventually, Chu Xing, who was barely conscious, expelled a silvery pearl gleaming with solar radiance from her chest. Unbeknownst to anyone, Wei Wuyin had subtly given her this pearl when he had invited her over, placing it within her. She looked at Su Yi, whose eyes were swirling with thoughts and plans as he tried to devise a way out of this, and gently said: "I'm...sorry."

Her words caused Su Yi to look over, seeing the pearl clenched within her bloodied palm, slowly shatter with a deep crunch. When the crunch occurred, an imposing Spiritual Aura erupted!

The crew of the Void Vessels found their formations and arrays no longer reacting to their will and the Supreme Sages felt an oppressive aura, their spines tingling, and cold sweat began to form on their brow that defied temperature or reason.

"You've accepted my proposal?" A voice laced with a grand majesty of flawless perfection, genuinely paragonic in essence, thundered out with a soft excitement.

Chu Xing weakly responded: "Yes..."

Then, she lost consciousness.

Su Yi's eyes widened as a figure arrived. A young figure emerged from seemingly nowhere. It was as if distance were a word not in his vocabulary.

When he arrived, the situation changed as every Incarnation, Avatar, and the true bodies of these Supreme Sages present shifted attitudes. Their bloodthirsty spirits flipped to pleasant, welcoming ones meant to ingratiate themselves before him.

He didn't even look towards them, arriving calmly upon the sputtering sword light that formed a platform, lifting Chu Xing into a bridal carry. Her pained expression immediately melted away, giving way to a relaxed smile as she rested her head upon his shoulder, nuzzling it slightly to find warmth and comfort.

The figure's smile was incredibly gentle as he observed the extraordinary beauty hiding behind a coat of shining blood. He then glanced at Su Yi and the curved bottle.

Superior Yujin hurriedly flew forward, seeking refuge. The figure's eyes were glacially cold. With a soft snort, Superior Yujin was tossed into a tiny Void Portal that was conjured out of nowhere. He couldn't even resist before it closed, sending him off to the Utmost Purity Galaxy in a single move. A location that was an ungodly distance away.

Eventually, only the two remained before the crowd of awkwardly smiling Supreme Sages. Su Yi's heart was in complete turmoil. This figure was none other than...

...Wei Wuyin!

"You're not a damsel in distress. I'll give you an opportunity. Don't disappoint me," Wei Wuyin ignored the various Supreme Sages, yet they could only stay silent. Finally, he turned to the Supreme Sages.

"I won't interfere with your hunt or punish you for your disrespect after being informed of Superior Yujin's subordination to me. Instead, you all will stay here. Su Yi will be given a single full day to rest and recover. You can duke it out amongst yourselves. If he survives, he survives. If he dies, he dies."

Wei Wuyin tossed a pellet toward Su Yi. The pellet erupted, placing him in an extreme temporal acceleration zone. Within were heavenly treasures, all non-alchemic, naturally beneficial for cultivation and recovery.

Without waiting for their opinions, he said: "A full day. Not a second more. Not a second less. If violated, you all will have bounties by the end of the hour. If followed, you can come to the Neo Zenith Tower after killing Su Yi. I'll reward you all, handsomely."

After saying these tantalizing words, Wei Wuyin departed with Chu Xing in a Void Portal, vanishing without a trace.

Su Yi was given a chance.

A very last chance.

'You can't falter now as bait. Unfortunately, your fortuitous chance of overturning the

situation was Kang Min-ji. Just don't fail me.'