Paragon of Sin

Runes manifested and danced across both worlds like fluttering doves. They were free and agile. They were beautiful and mesmerizing. It was a sight that caught the fleshy heart, seized the true soul, and inspired the unenlightened mind.

Tian Xiaocheng's voice rose a few octaves as she lifted her hands to the air, her emotions flying as high as all the runes, and she shouted energetically: "Ladies and Gentlemen of the Neo-Dawn Alchemic Expo, I present to you: the Sixth Fortune, THE BIRTH OF THE LAVENDER-DAWN ALCHEMIC SAINT!!!"

She could scarcely believe her own words as the faint runes began to solidify, a sign of Luo Ning approaching the final steps of the alchemical process-FUSION!

Wei Wuyin formed a hand-seal; as he did, a strange, incredible, and overwhelming power that connected the senses of the various cultivators in all stages and realms with the World of Eden was invoked!

Deep gasps resounded as the various cultivators were astonished, their breaths literally taken away, as the sensation of interfacing with a Worldly Domain enveloped them. Those in the Qi Condensation Realm were experiencing an unfathomable power as their senses towards the energies, essences, and mana of the world were clearer than ever before. Those in the Astral Core Realm, especially those in the lower and middle stages, were equally shaken.

They were confused, yet they didn't need to take any further action to sense the miraculous formation of one of the greatest phenomena of cultivation-the Earthly Awakening of a True Saint!

Luo Ning's expression was extremely somber; she was entirely focused on the task at hand, executing the fusion art that Wei Wuyin had taught her, deriving great experience from various fragments of detailed memories that she tried to process into her own. Sweat covered her forehead and neck as faint veins popped from her delicate hands and temple. Her jaw was tightly clenched, and her eyes exuded rays of mental energy, trying to avoid using her Spiritual Sense to dilute the product in creation.

Wei Wuyin had finished establishing the miraculous link of the World of Eden, and he diverted some attention to inspecting Luo Ning. Cao Cuifen had already investigated the extent of her success. This was her thirteenth try using Neo-Dawn Vortex-Zone Pellets at the transcendent level, amplifying the Temporal ratio from 10:1 to 108:1; for every day in the real world, she experienced a hundred and eight days!

Luo Ning had begun concocting since the announcement of the Neo-Dawn Alchemic Expo nearly five months ago. To translate, she had been concocting for the past forty-odd years! During these forty-odd years, she failed twelve times in a row at various stages for various reasons and intermittently received Cao Cuifen's instructions after each.

At times, Wei Wuyin had to exert his Minor Time Law to cure her temporal sickness caused by the dissonance she was experiencing due to overexposure to a divergent flow' of time. If she w'as an Earthly Saint with a Temporal Rune, she might be able to handle this excessive usage of divergent time flows; fortunately, she had Wei Wuyin, an even better alternative!

Cao Cuifen arrived by Wei Wuyin's side. "If she succeeds, this will be quite a generous gift." She softly commented as she gazed at the runes dancing upon the World of Eden and the real world simultaneously, fixing on the cause of it all. The Aeternal Sky Starfield had the majority of Earthly Saints and Ascended beings, mostly due to the exposure of three True Earthly Recognitions in the past. They had experienced a fourth recently due to San Luoyang, and it was clear that the recent years had a much better ascension ratio than past years.

Wei Wuyin nodded silently; he w'as fully aware that this was a great fortune. Most people would try to hog the phenomenon for themselves. But Wei Wuyin didn't find this to be anything of importance; this was but one of many, many more to come. In his eyes, the True Earthly Recognition wasn't too exceptional.

"Uh!" Luo Ning grunted softly as she focused on completing the last step to fuse the materials into one of the perfect states of existence! The process was extremely difficult, and her previous failures w'ere hard to forget. She knew* that if she failed this, she would greatly disappoint Wei Wuyin. While she didn't know the specifics, she knew that this thirteenth try was crucial.

When she was abandoned by the Alchemic World, she lost hope in finding any form of success. She firmly believed that she would forever be at the Emperor Alchemist level, never anything more! This belief cemented into her soul, and she lost her confidence as she struggled pathetically while pounded by the mockery and sneers from others.

To others, she was a cautionary tale meant to remind them to be humble despite their talent; to others, she was a lost cause that couldn't achieve anything due to her personality; to others, she was abandoned trash.

To herself, she was an eternal virgin with no future. An old lady with too much pride to put down, with a grudge against the world, and the willingness to strive for perfection. She had demanded that from others when she was younger, and they saw her as arrogant and disrespectful, so they challenged her and lost. They lost. And lost. And lost!

Then, when they finally realized they couldn't defeat her while standing on the same stage, they kicked her off ruthlessly. By doing so, they rose while she muddled beneath the stage for scraps. As she was malnourished and starving, they had enough strength to beat her then and only then.

Today, she could acknowledge her hubris at the time, having a lot of time to reflect on her decisions, her actions, and her regrets. Even still, she wouldn't have done a single thing differently! Maybe it was her stubborn personality, but she didn't want to be a concubine, she didn't want to bow her head, and she didn't want to accede to anyone she didn't personally respect!

This was her chance.

And this chance was slipping through her fingers as her past rummaged through her mind, her constant failure, her lack of belief in herself, and despite rising to the Mortal Sovereign Alchemist level, she didn't know if it was enough to do what she was trying to do!

Her mind became a total mess, turbulent and chaotic to the maximum. The already faint runes in the air became fainter, seemingly on the verge of complete demanifestation.

Evergod's eyes brightened considerably. She was on the verge of failing! A sense of joy sparked in his heart. When Luo Ning showed up, and signs of the True Earthly Recognition appeared, Evergod felt as if the world was topsy-turvy all of a sudden. The amount of sacrifice in both dignity and body that he had to do to obtain his current status was about to be achieved by an arrogant and pitiful loser of a woman! How could he accept that?

"She can't receive any help either," Evergod knew that the Alchemic Dao was extremely strict when it came to delivering its recognition. If there was even the slightest wisp of intentional assistance, it would instantly recede its approval! Luo Ning failing disastrously was the best thing that could happen.

San Luoyang, however, didn't feel the same way as Evergod. Not the part about Luo Ning but about her failing being the best thing. In his heart, Wei Wuyin had already proved that his legacy's lineage could help a cultivator reach the very limits of the alchemical process of a Mystic-Rank product! That was enough!

San Yongli was wide-eyed; she instinctively searched for Luo Ning's name in the Book of Heaven's Path, but she discovered not the slightest indication of her existence. She felt she was now witnessing proof that Wei Wuyin was an old monster from her first life's timeline. A Temporal Reincarnator!

While others were experiencing all sorts of varied thoughts, Luo Ning was struggling to maintain the fusion. The radiance quivered like rippling oceanic waves on the verge of collapse. At the corner of her eyes, clear liquid flowed out. This wasn't blood but cranial fluid! She was violently overexerting her mental energies and suffering a severe backlash as her mind, and therefore its catalyst-the brain-was experiencing all sorts of damage.

She could feel her mind growing hazy. If concocting a Mystic-Rank product was so easy, wouldn't everyone do it?

"I'm sorry," she softly said as she was about to let it all go.

"You have nothing to apologize for."

Suddenly, she felt a warm touch on her shoulder. She felt a strange warmth that stimulated her thoughts. Luo Ning turned to see the faint visage of an indescribable handsome young man. Within his alluring eyes, eight Alchemic Stars circulated beautifully."I can at most do this. Show the world that YOU, Luo Ning, are destined for greatness. And always was. This is only the first step." The voice was gentle and fading.

By the time it fully disappeared, Luo Ning found that her brain was healed and she could think clearly. Her body had regained an ounce of strength as her heart pounded with power. "AHH!" She screamed as she formulated another hand-seal, finalizing the process as her Alchemic Power poured into the radiance emitting from her cauldrons.

WOOSH!

A feeling of a great gale swept the World of Eden as the faint runes solidified instantly.

"Wha-?" Evergod took a step back.

"She! She succeeded!!" Cao Cuifen exclaimed as she noticed the solidification of the True Earthly Recognition phenomenon! She turned to Wei Wuyin, but her heart was instantly crushed with horror.

Wei Wuyin was bleeding grey blood from all seven of his orifices; however, he had a grin of delight and satisfaction on his terrifyingly bloody face.

"You!" Cao Cuifen was about to render immediate assistance when Wei Wuyin stopped her with a hand gesture.

"I'm fine. I only interfered slightly," Wei Wuyin said casually as the blood dissipated entirely, regaining his calm and composed image. Despite his nonchalant tone, Cao Cuifen's heart went through endless waves from that single statement! Interfered?!

Wei Wuyin stared at Luo Ning's trembling figure. He had paid a small price to infuse a bit of energy into her, skirting across the very edge of what the Alchemic Dao would allow'. He didn't infuse his own energy but extracted innate energies from her previously and re-infused it through one of the assisting formations she was already using. Barely, just barely, he had circumvented the laws of interference, yet he still suffered a backlash.

Tian Xiaocheng received a transmission as she was awed by the ongoing sight. Her expression changed as she took a deep breath and announced with barely suppressed complex emotions: "Welcome the Fifth Alchemic Saint of our WORLD!"