Paragon of Sin

"An Incarnation?!" The elderly man was equal parts astonished and horrified after Wei Wuyin dispersed into white mist. "No? An Avatar? A Clone?" The elderly man's words slurred as he muttered in confusion and uncertainty. There were numerous arts out there that existed, including unfathomable methods such as cloning one's soul, splitting one's mind, or duplicating one's body, and each had its disadvantages and advantages.

The False God Avatar Art was profound. He could tell at a single glance that the 'Wei Wuyin' they had engaged with was a flawless copy of Wei Wuyin, down to the intrinsic nature of its life and soul aura. With his cultivation sealed, certain Ocular Spells he couldn't use, so being fooled wasn't an embarrassment for him, yet the fact he had no idea that the one before him was an Avatar or Incarnation was deeply disturbing.

Briefly, he contemplated the potential consequences of bringing that young man back. However, he was long since tasked with doing so for the sake of their galaxy. Moreover, it has to be absolute. If that stubborn Third Young Mistress decided to posthumously marry 'Wei Wuyin' out of sheer principle by swearing to the heavens and her soul, that would create a descent of unwanted cataclysmic events.

If not for that, his objective might have been to slay this young mortal rather than bring him back. This left options open. If they take him out of this sealed region, they could nurture him into an important pillar for their Blessed Yri Empire.

Cao Cuifen felt the lingering warmth of Wei Wuyin's hands and faintly revealed a silly smile, strongly containing the youthful flavor of springtime love. Many believed that age equaled maturity, but nothing could substitute for experience. In her lifetime, she had never felt romantic love or its distinct warmth before. It was...soothing and addictive.

As for Wei Wuyin vanishing? She didn't consider that as anything more than him being unfathomable. She didn't even try to think of why, attributing it solely to: "Wei Wuyin's power."

The young mortal, under the age of 100, could conquer Tian Taizong, a figure she feared madly within moments, and define an entire era. At this point in her life, unlike those like the elderly man's simple-minded thoughts and assumptions, she was fully aware of Wei Wuyin's heaven-defying feats and accepted them all without excuse.

Suddenly, her eyes lit with a light of great splendor and joy. Wei Wuyin wasn't just a powerful cultivator but also a Worldly Saint Alchemist! Moreover, he was very open about their relationship!

"Ugh..." A soft groan escaped Cao Cao's lips as his wounds slowly healed. He was rousing from unconsciousness. Cao Cuifen's eyes softened at observing Cao Cao's groggy movements. With a deft step, she moved over and helped him up with a tender lift.

Cao Cao lifted his head to see the face of his aunt, his most cherished family, and a wave of relief surged through his heart and spine as he found her unharmed. He had fallen unconscious from severe pain, and his aunt was weaker than him on a foundational level and comprehensive strength. If he became like this, he had feared what she would have become! Fortunately, that little silver-eyed monster could protect his lover properly.

...Lover?

"Little Cao..." Cao Cao, the illustrious Soul Saint King, felt an urge to vomit blood.

Young Master Shang's cultivation was too low to realize the intricate nature of Wei Wuyin's False God Avatar Art, so he simply dismissed it all. He was one-hit downed by Wei Wuyin, but he didn't, for a single second, expect ANYTHING less.

The man had slaughtered an entire Legion of War by himself decades ago! That was 10,000 Ascended beings under harsh, suppressive situations! His sister was a Demi-Mortal Lord at her peak in that Battlefield and she couldn't do the same thing! Not even close!!

He couldn't have defeated Wei Wuyin then, let alone now. But that didn't bother him in the slightest, and that's why he bounced back so swiftly with an untarnished Heart of Cultivation. Considering all of his sisters' absurdly high standards for partners, if any of them chose someone, they would only be better than him at all stages of cultivation. If not, they wouldn't survive his father's harsh scrutiny and mother's vicious brutality.

He went back to eating and drinking wholeheartedly. They had already completed the initial stages of their mission, so all that was left was bringing Wei Wuyin back to the Blessed Yri Empire. Why not eat and enjoy himself in this strange world?

Cao Cuifen brought Cao Cao away and left behind attendants to serve the two until Wei Wuyin returned. While the elderly man was standing with his brows furrowed as if he was struggling to solve a difficult issue. He stayed like this for three days without moving a single inch.

The Ninestar Sainthall had nine divisions that oversaw nine domains. The most recent domain was the Soul-Breaking Domain, the former Soul-Rising Domain, overseen by the World Breaker Soul Queen.

There was an incident that happened that shook the domain a few years ago. That was the death of the Would Breaker Soul Queen's husband. His cause of death was reportedly due to cultivation deviation while trying to practice an insidiously difficult art. There, however, were unverifiable rumors that the World Breaker Soul Queen, otherwise known by the natives of the starfield as the Soul-Breaking Saint, had a direct hand in the incident.

Of course, there was no evidence of that.

Within a gorgeous palatial courtyard with a serenely clear pond diffusing a pleasant aroma, located in the Soul-Breaking Saint's Shattered World Palace which was relocated from the Shattered World Moon, the former stomping grounds of the World Breaker Soul Queen prior to her advancement in cultivation and status, there was a figure standing at the below eaves of a doorway to a residence built upon its land.

With a single glance, there wasn't a single soul of the past few generations that wouldn't recognize this figure. It was lovely to an excessive level, especially the two stupendously proud and heavy mounds that were as legendary as an immortal's breath.

She wore a rose and white-colored dress that naturally hugged her slender waist, flawlessly accentuating her figure, while her wide bust was lifted by a world-envied brassiere, and while there was no cleavage shown, no excessive skin displayed by the dress, even containing a modest design, the sheer sensual presence was irrepressible by gods or ghosts.

The Rose Quartz Saintess, the former Number ONE Beauty by unanimous decision of the past generation's Saintess-Yue Songli!

While her body was unparalleled, it was her countenance that was stirring to the soul, a feast to the eyes, a true picturesque depiction of feminine beauty and grace that unanimously won the title of Number ONE beauty. However, at this very moment, her facial features which were enough to spiral the ordinary woman into maddening envy, were twisted into a frown and a cloudy gaze. She stood there, unable to take a single step forward beyond her doorway.

Earlier, she was brimming with energy and expectation as she rushed forth after sensing Wei Wuyin's aura and hearing that familiar sound of his Fire Phoenix, his partner in the vast sky, Bai Lin. The two had saved her twice in this short lifetime of hers. Without them, she might have been enslaved even to now...or worse.

However, with each step she took forward, memories flashed and she couldn't help but settle on the imagery of Wei Wuyin holding Xue Yifei, proudly declaring her his fiancé to the entire world. Meanwhile, she...

Was it natural to feel jealous of another woman? Yes! She also understood the blanket and widely accepted reality that a great man had a heart to house many wives. Normally, she wouldn't feel remotely stressed by this, as Wei Wuyin was rumored to have numerous lovers before she had even met him, and even a concubine that he adored deeply, but she couldn't help but think...

What if...?

All those years ago, Wei Wuyin had descended into her heart and unburied her hope. He sauntered into her life with that handsomely charming smile and clearly spoken words that reached her soul. It was the first time that she felt 'seen' and 'understood' and also...she felt that she couldn't be hidden from his gaze. Since young, her outlet of thought had been placed into her painting. She painted her feelings and exposed none of her thoughts.

The feeling of expectation and growing fear of being regarded as the Number ONE Beauty of the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region without her consent. The feeling of burden by the expectations of her parents. The feeling of...everything.

All of it was buried in her paintings.

"I'm the hope you're looking for..." Those words meant everything to her.

Wei Wuyin, however, might not consider her the same. The feeling left her with emotions that were cloudy and dark, hard to describe, like a stifling vortex. She felt 'seen', but maybe she wanted to also feel that...to feel...

He wasn't here for her...

She lifted her foot and turned around. She walked inside her residence, and returned to her room, her feet heavy and slow, yet she never once looked back. She found her chair and waved her hand, summoning forth a white canvas and carefully placing it with a gentle hand. When she set it down properly, her brush glinted as manifested a color palette of paint with Mystic Power's force of Creation.

She dipped her brush in two blobs of paint. Her eyes were unfocused as she moved her wrist with broad strokes. The thoughts buried in her heart were being brought forth.

Unbeknownst to her, two figures appeared behind her. They were Wei Wuyin and a small version of Bai Lin, only three meters in height, and she observed Yue Songli with her golden eyes. There were flashes of emotions as she observed the process.

Wei Wuyin calmly watched Yue Songli paint.

Within three hours, an illustration depicting a silver crane flying away from a white rose into the bright and shining sky. Surrounding the rose were shattered pieces of glass as if from a display. The rays of nourishing radiance and fertile ground that were clearly healthy were unable to sustain the rose as it withered gradually.

Carried by the mouth of the silver crane was a young, bright-eyed dragon infant. The infant was silly smiling, clearly as if they were unaware of their fortune of being brought to the vast sky. Wrapped around the talons of the crane were multicolored ribbons by the dozens, each waving gracefully in the wind, some short, some long, others thin or thick, and each different.

The beauty of the rose was forgotten before the light and earth, ignored by the silver crane, as they flew off into the vast, exciting unknown of the world.

Bai Lin's eyes narrowed as she turned to Wei Wuyin. She didn't hide her frustration or anger. From the moment she met Yue Songli, she liked her. There was just something about her. How could she be happy about this?

Wei Wuyin sighed in his heart. How could he not understand this illustration of hers?

Did he neglect her?

No.

Wei Wuyin was not an inconsiderate fool who was unable to understand how to keep in contact with his lovers, women, or friends. His cultivation path was unique. He had spare time to do things as King, Kratos, Eden, and Ori handled the primarily time-consuming aspects of cultivation such as refinement. This allowed him to delve into the Alchemic Dao wholeheartedly while studying other arts, spells, and subjects to improve his breadth of mind and strength.

With his Second Mind, he didn't have to actively decipher or organize information himself. The Second Mind had equal parts his intelligence and means and was far more suited to organizing and constructing information given its purely mental state. This meant besides concocting, training arts, spells, or methods, he didn't have to be too busy. With the Neo-Fruits of Eden Spell and the Hepta-Dawn Alchemic Corps, he didn't have to do much in regards to concocting for the majority of Ascendants either, only Prime Ascendants and special rewards.

He communicated with Yue Songli constantly over the last few years.

But sometimes communication wasn't enough. Just being there wasn't enough. Her feelings and emotions were valid. It was shared by Su Mei, although she had never spoken a single word about it and likely never would. It was a feeling that Qing Qiumu had felt in her imprisonment.

He sighed once again.

The reason he refrained from doing anything more or involving her too closely was because he felt that...she deserved a little better.

"Don't give me 'that' look. I've already decided to improve how I handle things," Wei Wuyin shot back a glare at Bai Lin.

With a fading of their figures, the two entirely vanished from the room.

Kree!

Bai Lin announced herself. Yue Songli's brush paused.

From outside, a majestic voice thundered resoundingly.

"Yue Songli! I've come for you!"

Yue Songli's eyes widened. Turning swiftly, she saw that silver-eyed figure at the door, with a large Fire Phoenix peeking in under his arm, its golden gaze staring at her with a radiant smile.

"I guess I should say, 'we' came for you." Wei Wuyin smiled, "It's time for me to get your mother's acceptance. Then, I'll make you mine. I'm still excited to see what painting you will leave then."

Yue Songli's fingers and lips trembled.