Paragon of Sin

Everworld-the tiny-sized planet that was held synonymous with the Chosen King Competition. It only appeared once every eighty-one years, but its location was always the same. Because of this, the Dark Void spatial coordinates were publicly known to all. It was anchored to a specific location, spun on its axis, and followed no solar orbit.

In a way, it was a completely independent planet. The miraculous peculiarity of Everworld didn't stop there. Surrounding the planet was an invisible yet absolute barrier that prevented anyone and everyone above the age of five hundred years old from entering. There was no restriction to cultivation, only age.

The planet had no defensive or offensive power, but should anyone beyond the age of five hundred try to step onto its surface, even entering its atmospheric perimeter, it would enrage the entire world!

Mortal Annihilation!

Oddly enough, those violating this rule were automatically granted 'absolute rejection' by the Mortal Dao. Due to its ferocious strength and endlessness, Mortal Annihilation was terrifyingly horrific to Ascended beings. As for actual mortals, they would unquestionably die.

As beings of the Mortal Realms, their very strength relied on the Mortal Dao. How could they possibly survive?!

As for the arbitrary restrictions established by the Everlore Association, those 'standards' were simply to prevent needless deaths and countless youngsters occupying Everworld's space. It was needed after the initial years that sparked outrage as countless hopeful youths pining for resources and challenges met their untimely ends out of either ignorance, hubris, or the carelessness of their seniors.

There was no way to prevent anyone from entering Everworld! Yet the restrictions were readily accepted mostly because the Everlore Association was an unrivaled and terrifying existence that few wanted to openly offend, while those kind-hearted wanted to avoid unnecessary deaths, and the elites wished to monopolize the resources given out.

Because of this, the Chosen of the New World would all make their way to Everworld through Void Gates or Voidships, depending on their backings and strength. There were a few talented youths that took to the Dark Void as a Realmlord, traveling by themselves without permission or a Chosen title. They rightfully believed themselves Chosen, and they were titled Dark Chosen, inspired by the term Dark Horse.

Some of these individuals were extremely heaven-defying for their time. An example of that was Feng Qingchu, who would eventually become an Earthly Saint of a relatively high caliber and leader of the United Source Clear Palace, who was a Dark Chosen! One of the legendary few! She made her name known throughout the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region after her outstanding performance and had refused to join the Imperial Clan as a Sky Knight, a young candidate for Sky Monarch!

Ye Mufeng was also a Dark Chosen. Despite his tyrannical title as the Sanguine Demon Evil King and fearsomely brutal reputation, Ye Mufeng was extremely young for an Earthly Saint, nearly 5,500 years old!

The most notable, recognizable, and prominent Dark Chosen throughout the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region was the Number ONE Beauty of the Aeternal Sky Starfield, the current Empress of the Imperial Clan!!

After her talent was exposed alongside her outstanding looks, the Divine Emperor invited her personally to the Imperial Clan, an extremely rare occurrence that was, in hindsight, an obvious indicator of his interest in her.

The King of Everlore's legendary status couldn't be abolished solely due to the sheer impact he had on the cultivation world both present and absent. The majority of Earthly Saints greatly relied on his trailblazing feats to develop and reach their current heights. The respect, reverence, and worship they had for the man was unquestionable, and reasonably so.

He defined an entire generation and then some.

If he hadn't departed so soon, the Aeternal Sky Era may have been changed already, renamed to the Everlore Era. Named after a single man...

While Earthly Saints had existed for over thirteen thousand years before his arrival, the number of Earthly Saints was barely a tenth of today's current numbers. A shockingly blatant fact that revealed the sheer difficulty of cultivation. Moreover, the number of Ascended beings overall was far greater than a tenth.

Now, the world was coming together once again to acquire the remnants of his legacy, continuing his defining impact across this era and its younger generation, or what's left of it.

Everworld was a luscious vegetation-rich haven. There was no extremely tall flora about or the presence of wild fauna, as grass, flowers, and trees were mostly all there was. But it was undeniably beautiful. An idyllic paradise that heavily resembled a garden, the largest garden in existence.

"So this is Everworld!" Voices of awe, exclamations of excitement, and silent gazes filled with vigilance and uncertainty began to manifest.

From thin air, youths from all over began to appear. They found themselves near flower beds smelling exotic and fragrant scents or in an open field of grass with fresh air and gorgeous, thick, and healthy trees of all sorts of varieties. There was no specific limitation on what was seen, from white oak to mokryeon trees, or amaryllis to pansy flowers, and even coconut trees to strawberry bushes!

There was endless variety regardless of season, truly a planet of greenery and life. Just the air itself brimmed with a unique life that felt energizing to simply breathe. If one lived here, even if they never cultivated, they could outlive all Qi Condensation Realm cultivators, as long as their Soulspan was elevated as well.

"Beautiful!" A young woman sniffed lavender, her eyes closed and her body felt abnormally relaxed. It was so comfortable! "And it smells amazing," she reached out to grab the flower, wanting to pick it and study it, perhaps even learn how to grow this type of planet to extract its scent.

"Don't!" A hand reached out and clasped her wrist. She was startled, nearly jumping in fright. If it was not for the fact this was her Senior Brother, also a Chosen, she would've sent him flying with a palm.

"What?!" She pouted angrily as she tried to slyly extract her arm. Her Senior Brother was so panicked that he had forgotten all sense of distance and the fact that his Junior Sister refused every last one of his advances. He was simply concerned for her well-being as well as his own.

"You can smell, you can touch, but do not try to take anything! Okay?" He hurriedly explained himself after seeing her struggle away from his grip.

"Why not?" After freeing herself, she rubbed her wrist and glared at him.

"Everworld isn't an ordinary planet. Just...don't, okay? Didn't your Master tell you that?" He could not explain it, merely saw it, and learned from that lesson.

"Fine!" She rolled her eyes, but as a Chosen of a Mystic-Rank force, she was acutely aware of the mortal dangers present in the Chosen King Competition. Her Master had told her to be wary of everything, but he explained absolutely nothing else.

Her Senior Brother had almost forgotten in his fright that the Everlore Association actively prevented information from circulating about the Chosen King Competition. He had even sworn an oath to not talk about any details regarding the Chosen King Competition, and it was a Heavenly Oath, not a Mystic Oath, so there was no chance of survival should one even conceive the thought of breaking it.

"Let's wait patiently. It'll begin soon," The young man announced as he took a deep breath to enjoy the experience.

"Begin soon?" The young woman frowned, but she didn't say anything else.

Soon, tens of thousands of Chosens from all over began to appear. If they arrived together, they would be positioned together. Before long, the numbers reached hundreds of thousands. The tiny-sized planet was still extremely spacious, so few met each other outside of their primary groupings.

Within a certain area of Everworld, there were three gorgeous women. At the lead was a woman that caused the other two to seem dull in comparison. Not only were her looks, body, and aura considerably greater, her demeanor and temperament exuded an innate pride and imperialistic demeanor that was endlessly attractive to the opposite sex, especially those with the desire for conquest.

With her signature grey-colored eyes, she swept the surroundings with a curious eye.

The Extreme Yin Saintess!

"Will he be here?" Na Xinyi searched as she softly muttered to herself.

Soon, a single day passed. A full twenty-four hours since Everworld appeared. By now, cultivators littered the surface of the planet. There were millions! All Chosen or Dark Chosen! Within the new standards set by Wei Wuyin!

None of them were ordinary. None!

Soon, Everworld vanished.

Suddenly, without any prior indication, a grand voice erupted throughout the world as a large skeleton key manifested beyond the atmodimension of Everworld."As the holder of the Ever-Key, I, San Luoyang, announce the beginning of the Chosen King Competition! Chosen! MAY THE HEAVENS BE BY YOUR SIDE!"

San Luoyang's voice was like thunder, reaching every single region within the eighteen regions, including the Neo-Dawn Starfield. Then, the gigantic skeleton key that resembled a lunar satellite pushed into the planet slightly, entering its atmosphere, before turning ninety degrees!

CLICK!

It vanished.

No one could see it from anywhere.

As strange as it appeared, it disappeared with equal mysteriousness.