Paragon of Sin

The vast lands were thoroughly bathed in scintillating golden light infused with Illuminating Gold World Intent. The Illuminating Gold World Rune had infused its pervasive, overbearing power with the Mystic Dao's World Heart Intent, combining two worlds into a unique and terrifying whole of synergy and fusion.

Mystic World Intent!The nigh-invincible power of Worldly Saints. This thoroughly set them apart from Earthly Saints by no small margin, giving them a level of power that fully justified the difference in their cultivation stages, establishing a defining chasm of power. Those who had and those who didn't.

Illuminating Gold World intent!A single thought suppressed these vast lands and their youthful inhabitants, bestowing the golden-bodied Evil Sentinel dominion on the life and death of countless young, talented Chosen from both worlds. Aghast, they could only wait as Illuminating Gold Mystic Energy formed, enveloping them whole in the blink of an Ascended's eye.

SHIING!

A saber howl resounded; the golden light wavered intensely as fluctuations distorted every fabric of its existence, targeting the latent will within. The saber howl was as pervasive as light itself, as tainting and everlasting as darkness, yet there was an irresistible will that defied reason and logic that could barely be explained.

"Huh?" The golden-bodied Evil Sentinel stood there, astonished and shaken. He could feel the fabric of his Mystic Will sever. Briefly, his connection with his Mystic Heart Intent and the Illuminating Gold World Rune was cut apart.

From his eyes of fleshy gold, liquid of heated gold of a lighter, brighter shade than his skin leaked like freshly shed tears. The golden light enveloping the world dimmed significantly in a flash as if touched by darkness itself.

If the Chosen were aghast before, it was now the golden-bodied Evil Sentinel's turn! What type of heretical power was this?! He didn't hesitate to violently unfurl his Mystic Aura, erupting fiercely as undulations of Worldly Mystic Power surged forth, seizing the world's strength once again for his use. Once again, he was filled with a feeling reminiscent of being a divinity of a specific domain.

However, that brief severance of World Rune and Mystic Heart Intent within his Dantian and Sea of Consciousness led to the abrupt freedom of the Chosen below. And they were not happy. Not at all!

Neither were they useless; the Ascendants were all given strict, precise training when it came to facing enemies, and they were no less terrifying than a highly trained army together.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!Above the sky, dozens upon dozens of Solar Stars manifested, exuding fiercely scorching radiance of solar light. World-Bound Star Domains! The Starlords of the Ascendants unleashed their World-Bound Star Domains instantly!

There was no longer a divide between them. There was no need for transmissions, no need for any verbal exchange, or looks of notable meaning, they simply did one thing and one thing only-acted.

As if of one mind, one soul, they all understood the assignment without any further instruction.

Among the various Solar Stars, there were several that were incomparably noticeable, outshining the others by no small degree.

A colossus-sized, silver-colored Solar Star that contained countless other colorful, brilliant stars within flourished, enveloped by fiery flames that inevitably instilled hints of reverence and worship, as if in the presence of a Grand Monarch of the Ages! The urge to kneel, to kowtow, to seek service and servitude to a cause greater than oneself would pound the hearts of any who bathed within its radiance.

A colossus-sized, violet-colored Solar Star that exuded a mighty, weighty, demonically mountainous radiance!

A colossus-sized, perfectly balanced black and white-colored Solar Star that had a coat of violet, demonic fiery flames on its exterior roared to vibrant life. Just bathing within its radiance instilled the sensation of draconic roars coursing through one's heart, mind, and body.

A colossus-sized, grey-colored Solar Star that felt ethereal, enveloped in smoky light that chilled one's bones and comforted one's soul. The diametrically opposing sensations conflicted, causing one to feel as if the Solar Star wasn't real. Yet when those of strong yang felt it, they were left with a pounding sensation that was indescribable. Was it desirous? Was it frightening? It was difficult to tell!

A colossus-sized, auburn-colored Solar Star exuded a fragrant light, strangely exciting the senses as flowers of fire of all types manifested erratically on its fiery surface. It resembled a sunflower from a distance, yet each flower felt incomparably sharp and vibrant as if it could slice through darkness and bring forth an eternal dawn!

A colossus-sized, violet and green-colored Solar Star appeared, stirring the ambient wind energies into a frenzy, generating sporadic formations of tornadoes and twisters. Despite its heavy size, the feeling that one could lift it was unhesitatingly formed within one's heart. It subtly produced a feeling of closeness, infecting the mind like a demonic thought.

Two peak titan-sized Solar Stars, one ocean blue and the other blazingly red, shone brightly with watery light and fiery light. They orbited each other in a type of unified harmony, rotating together, sharing a single space and a single heart, yet they exuded a type of intermingled radiance that was no less terrifying than any of the colossus-sized Solar Stars!

Accompanying these colossus-sized Solar Stars were dozens upon dozens, easily exceeding a hundred, dwarf-sized and titan-sized Solar Stars of all sorts of varieties and radiant colors! They shone in the sky, littering it like a Stellar Region!

They all brightened to an extreme! Their radiant solar light cascaded from high above, heavily smashing against the world of golden light and radiance, painting it in a diverse array of colors. Throughout the vast lands of the Evercrown Ceremony, hectic explosions erupted as laser-like fiery solar light sundered across the surface, obliterating portions of Illuminating Gold Mystic Energy!

Those enveloped by Illuminating Golden Mystic Energy were freed by these radiant solar rays of light!

The golden-bodied Evil Sentinel reeled slightly, taking a heavy step back. His eyes of solid gold widened as the tears that leaked from his sockets were wiped away ferociously by his hand, and his facial expression became malevolent to an unholy extreme as he felt his entrapped prey free themselves.

When he looked up and saw over a hundred Solar Stars littering the sky, his heart raced despite his terrifying cultivation base!

"What in the fu-GAH!"

KRRRRR!! BOOOOOOOOSSSSHHHHHH!!!

Just as the golden-bodied Evil Sentinel was about to roar with unrestrained rage and a flurry of furious curses, multiple beams of concentrated fiery rays of radiance pierced through the sky, slamming against his golden body without any disharmony between them at speeds rivaling light itself! His figure vanished instantly in a brilliant array of multicolored solar light.

The Gold Illuminating World Intent waned.

The series of events happened faster than the blink of an Ascended's eye. The Ascendants worked in perfect tandem, seizing the slightest opening as if doing so had been etched in their bones, branded within their blood, and poured into their souls.

Unfortunately...

...they were not up against an ordinary cultivator.

BOOM!!

A world-shaking, heaven-quivering explosion occurred, dispersing the cascading rays of light, dispersing their powers, and distorting the sky and Solar Stars above! Illuminating Gold Power roared to life with unmatched exuberance!

Beams of golden light shot at every Solar Star! It was intent on obliterating them whole!

Without needing orders, the Ascendants seemed experienced in dealing with this tactic, the Solar Stars were all in the process of being recalled into their Mind's Eye, slowly growing fainter in both brilliance and substance.

"LIKE HELL!" Enraged and blistering with burning hate, the golden-bodied Evil Sentinel's voice was followed by a pulse of Illuminating Gold World Intent! The process of recalling was forcefully interrupted as portions of Solar Stars up above erupted with chaotically exploding solar flares, each flare was subsequently followed by a significant decrease in size!

A few titan-sized Solar Stars regressed to dwarf-sized in a few flares.

These solar flares were innate defensive means of a World-Bound Solar Star, meant to deflect any attacks, yet they barely resisted the golden-bodied Evil Sentinel's power.

BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!

"Argh!" An Ascendant cried out in agony as his World-Bound Solar Star was invaded by the Illuminating Golden World Intent, forcefully detonating against their will. Their body twisted, contorted, expanded, and then directly exploded into a gush of bloody mist!

DEAD!The golden-bodied Evil Sentinel rose like a golden divinity, his Illuminating Gold World Intent radiated intense strength, dominating the world with every breath! He was unscathed!

Whoosh!A white sword sliced across the golden light, leaving behind a wake of yin light. It stood out in a world tainted by a golden hue. This sword had once caused the charcoal-skinned Evil Sentinel to flee out of fear, yet the sword only elicited the briefest of glances from the golden-bodied Evil Sentinel.

The Spiritual Spell that accompanied it tried to invade his Sea of Consciousness, hoping to disrupt his momentum and produce an opening. Unfortunately, the Spiritual Force clashed with a fortress of gold known as the Illuminating Golden World Intent, crashing heavily and failing into its defenses.

The golden-bodied Evil Sentinel scoffed as he reached out and grasped the sword with a simple movement. It thrummed with a sword howl, but it was in an inescapable grip. With a clench of his golden fingers, the blade screeched painfully as it violently distorted in shape.

"Oh?" The sword seemed hard but as the golden-bodied Evil Sentinel tried to shatter it, it felt like a flexible soft sword instead. The shift caused him to be unable to destroy it with a single move.

But if one wouldn't do-just try two!

WHOOSH!

A crescent-bladed halberd shot through the skies, cutting across the golden world as well. The speed of which was unimaginable!

Not even moving, the world that was enveloped in his power, the energy converted by the Illuminating Golden World Intent, acted. Thousands upon thousands of hands the size of marbles grasped at every inch of the halberd. When it destroyed one, two more formed. Eventually, it was seized by countless tiny hands, eventually, these hands melded together, transforming into a globe of solid gold.

It was trapped!

"What a terrifying halberd," the golden-bodied Evil Sentinel had taken note of this halberd many times before, and easily devised a way to grind away its unique aura and seal it away. He didn't dare try to conjure a Mystic Ward to defend or a defensive Ascension Art. The peculiar aura it emitted was too strange, suppressing other forces. It was best to use the ambient energies converted to handle it.

Wu Baozhai spat out a mouthful of starry blood. She had unleashed the 2nd Grand Transformation, but her body experienced a drastic backlash from constant over-usage! She couldn't help but be visibly shaken. Was this the power of a Worldly Saint?! Even if this guy's cultivation base was still an Earthly Saint, just a single difference felt as if she was facing heaven rather than earth.

She kept pouring down solar light from her World-Bound Star Domain to fend off the enclosing golden energy that sought to envelop her again. The Eternal Monarch Saintess didn't back down, her eyes glittering with fighting Intent. Can she enter the 3rd Grand Transformation again?

Na Xinyi's expression was pale as she tried to seize back her sword to no avail. The Extreme Yin Saintess gritted her teeth, her eyes flared with killing intent.

Suddenly, several explosions happened both above and below. Over a dozen Solar Stars exploded alongside their owners. The golden-bodied Evil Sentinel used a single power to fight on multiple fronts.

"So powerful..." Xue Yifei watched as their joint attack of World-Bound Star Domains inflicted little to no damage. This was genuine Mystic Heart Intent! They were no longer fighting just him, but every iota of energy, essence, and mana in the world. Moreover, the extent of their World Heart Intents was far too weak to contest, powered only by their mortal-tier cultivation bases.

Na Xinyi formed a hand-seal just as the golden-bodied Evil Sentinel was about to unleash their second attack, intending to shatter the sword entirely. As his fingers dug into its metallic surface, the sword dispersed into a grey chilly mist.

"Return!" Na Xinyi exclaimed as she held her hand out. The mist slithered out of the golden-bodied Evil Sentinel's grasp in a profoundly strange way as if it no longer existed on a physical spectrum. Not even the golden-bodied Evil Sentinel could do anything but watch as the mist returned, the mist flowing through his fingers.

"What an incredibly profound Yin Force!" He commented with abundant praise.

Na Xinyi grasped the white sword's hilt, and her body exuded a resplendent yin light. She began to exude the bearing of a yin divinity that had descended upon the mortal world, unrestrained and terrifying. If the golden-bodied Evil Sentinel was like a greater divinity then Na Xinyi was like a lesser divinity!

"Oh? You have a World Rune Seed!" The golden-bodied Evil Sentinel was astonished. The World Rune Seed was being infused with a type of Yin Heart Intent, and it was replicating a power that strongly resembled World Intent!

"She's not the only one," Wu Baozhai calmly stated through her labored, pained breathing.

"Don't!" Xue Yifei hurriedly exclaimed. Wu Baozhai's aura was thrumming on the verge of complete eruption, but she abruptly halted her rising aura, giving Xue Yifei a glance through the sea of gold.

It wasn't just her-several rising auras throughout the vast lands halted.

"He's mine," Na Xinyi's eyes burned with yin light. Her Extreme Yin Solar Star pulsed from the sky!