Paragon of Sin

"Heaven! Heaven!! HEAVEN!!!" Repeated ceaselessly, Young Master Shang was in a state of full-blown hysteria. His pointed fingers trembled and his flagon of wine leaked onto the grassy ground. His breathing became increasingly rushed and each utterance of 'heaven' was further exaggerated than the last as if even he was unable to believe what he was seeing. What they had discovered!

Tuo Bihan was uncertain how to react, a little disturbed and fearful even, but as his gaze sought solace in Wei Wuyin's eternal visage of calm and cool, his pupils trembled as his heart began to pound ferociously within his chest. Wei Wuyin's current appearance was dreamy and intense, mind-searing to the extreme, as a pair of silver eyes that were as glorious as the brightest lunar object was beaming with unrestrained desire, a primal hunger originating from the soul itself.

For a split second, Tuo Bihan questioned whether that gaze was upon him, even if only indirectly, would his orientation shift instantly. He could collapse absolutely, and give himself to that gaze. With an audible gulp, his breathing grew haggard and a single step back was taken. The world itself shook from this step.

Wei Wuyin's mind was in a turbulent state as the Heavenly War Spirit wiggled and twisted within his Sea of Consciousness as a golden mass, stirring his inner sea of mental energies into a frenzy, and was unaware of Tuo Bihan's hectic thoughts.

"It exists!" The Heavenly War Spirit was practically roaring. "Careful!" She hurriedly advised Wei Wuyin with the sound of a clap of heavenly thunder, stirring his mind in unfathomable ways.

"Uh," Wei Wuyin found himself shaken by the sound. He found himself at the edge of the lake, his footsteps on the verge of placing itself on its surface. He hadn't actively taken steps to get closer. Meanwhile, he turned to hear hasty, haggard breathing from Young Master Shang. The white-robed youth of the Blessed Yri Empire was crouched With his hands wrapped around his knees, his eyes bloodshot, and his teeth clenched so violently that his gums were bleeding.

The fixation of his gaze was absolute, and Young Master Shang kept whispering through his teeth a single word: "Heaven."

Halting his footsteps, Wei Wuyin didn't panic or act without thinking, but slowly adjusted his mental state, and sensed the origin of his forced actions without any conscious will behind it. "My soul?" After inspecting his body, he realized his soul was being beckoned by a low hum from the lake, specifically the golden cocoon that had ensnared his heart on the same level as Xue Yifei's beauty and elegance.

Tuo Bihan, however, was unaffected.

"It's the Laws," Eden answered the yet-to-be-asked question. The six Minor Laws encircling his Astral Souls were subtly throbbing, emitting that hum, and it was affecting his soul. It was clear that Young Master Shang was using a mental incantation to isolate his mind, seemingly on the verge of insanity, but was using his thoughts to recite an extraordinary mnemonic to bolster his mental strength. Wei Wuyin could vaguely sense it on repeat within him.

It was a miraculous incantation. However, the influence was extensive and invasive, so he could only hold himself with a tight grab to prevent any subconsciously forced actions, such as approaching the lake and entering against his will. How terrifying was that? How frightening was that?!

"I see," Wei Wuyin thoughtfully considered the situation. From what he gathered from this short period, this golden cocoon within the lake had something to do with Laws and was affecting them on a fundamental level, which in turn affected his soul, and consequently caused him to be controlled by an irresistible urge. When he thought up to here, he calmed down considerably and took a step back.

This single step back seemed to rob the golden cocoon of all its mental persuasion. Wei Wuyin had seized total control of his mind, body, and soul, while his Laws grew abnormally obedient. By the grace of his will, they seemed to have been looked on by an overbearing parent and were unable to cause any further trouble.

If Young Master Shang was aware of his surroundings and saw this sight, he would be thoroughly shaken by the degree of Wei Wuyin's control over his soul and all things connected to it. He had, after all, learned how to sense and interact with his soul since the Qi Condensation Realm, perfectly redefining the Haven Heart Qi Method, and had his soul tempered by the blades and flames of Hell itself.

"You're okay?" The Heavenly War Spirit was stunned. Wei wuyin had shrugged off the influence of the golden cocoon just like that? Was her knowledge lacking or something? Was this even possible? But when she thought of his Stellar-Paragon Physique, his status as a Worldly Saint Alchemist as a mortal, and being the progenitor of the Defiant-sized Solar Star that redefined the limits of the Mortal Dao, she no longer felt too surprised. When it came to Wei Wuyin, what could be surprising at this point?

"I am," Wei Wuyin replied. He flickered next to Young Master Shang, placing his palm on the top of his head, and allowed his Alchemic Eden Starforce to pour into his Sea of Consciousness, amplifying the effectiveness of his Incantation, enough to break him from the tempting influence of the golden cocoon.

"Huh?" Young Master Shang blinked as he felt his nails had dug deeply into his legs' flesh, drawing blood and ripping skin. "What happened?" He looked at Wei Wuyin to see a warm hand placed firmly atop his head, a rather precarious position that most cultivators would dread. However, he didn't feel any issue or fear with Wei Wuyin's actions.

If the young mortal wanted to slay him or harm him, that would have long since been done!

"The golden cocoon in the lake seemed to have caused various changes to our psyche and souls. You were fighting against it and, well, here you are." After explaining this, Wei WuYin eyed the lake calmly.

"Oh!" Young Master Shang perked up, "That's right." After doing so, he slowly rose as his wounds healed in the blink of an eye. He waved his hand and the flagon on the ground was summoned to his hand in a manner that even baffled Wei Wuyin slightly. "That thing..." He took a sip.

"Seems like you've reinforced my Mental Incantation by a considerable degree. What miraculous means you have," Young Master Shang said, praising openly with a lackadaisical air. He then eyed Tuo Bihan and faintly smiled, "That tracks." The mortal was unaffected as he didn't have a developed Law within him. However, Young Master Shang and Wei Wuyin were different.

"So this is a day of great fortune for you. If you're lucky, you might get another wife." Young Master Shang chuckled as he already segregated himself from possessing this fortune, not wanting to contest Wei Wuyin at all for it.

"You mind filling in the details?" While the Heavenly War Spirit was trying her best to explain from her limited memories what this thing was, her explanation was rather lacking and only surface level. She had only mentioned that this was a shard of heaven. Moreover, the Heavenly Daos had urged him to bring Young Master Shang along, so him being the mouthpiece of exposition was likely necessary for this Rite of Sin.

"Right," Young Master Shang took a few more sips of his wine, and felt the burning sensation in his chest, calming his nerves and feeling free. With good alcohol, all one's worries and troubles can be washed away. He exemplified that saying unapologetically. "That thing should be a heavenly treasure that could and would incite entire intergalactic wars. Without a doubt. To think that it would be located in a world where the heavens are prohibited. How mysterious, huh?

"You know about the Impartations of the Heavens, correct?" Young Master Shang asked but answered himself: "It's the phenomenon associated with the birth of strange lifeforms beyond normal means, the bestowal of a soul upon an object-any object. This object could be a drop of blood, a speck of mud, a tree, or an entire planet. They are referred to as demons, often considered a flaw or abhorrent development of the heavens by some societies. This is especially so since demons seem to be directly against the natural order and cultivate intrinsic power that infects, corrupts, and mutates.

"Some cultivators, worlds, realms, even celestial objects have been corrupted by this phenomenon, becoming demonic. Have you ever heard of the tale of the largest Solar Star in existence that was born as a demon-the Immortal Solar Demon? It was detailed in vague myth to have given birth to a swathe of fire-attributed beasts."

"Like the Fire Phoenix?" Wei Wuyin's eyebrows raised. In mythological stories of the Myriad Yore Continent and the Ancient Sealed Regions, the Fire Phoenix was a direct descendant of the primordial origin of all avian creatures having mated with an Immortal Solar Demon, the largest Solar Star in existence. The Fire Phoenix later mated with a strange floral demon that only bloomed during the summer season of the Immortal Realms, thereby producing the Vermilion Bird.

Young Master Shang nodded, "Indeed. Just like the Fire Phoenix. There are many more stories of the Immortal Solar Demon. But that aside, the Impartations of the Heavens is a grand phenomenon that was extraordinary, capable of giving birth to life without undergoing the process of creating life. This golden cocoon could be said to be a part of that phenomenon, but slightly different."

"Different?" Tuo Bihan was listening to all this from the side attentively.

Young Master Shang nodded, "Different. You can say that this is the Descent of the Heavens. But you must ask yourself, where is the power coming from to bestow this miraculous life to inanimate objects without a soul? Giving them the ability to create life itself."

"The heavens, obviously." Tuo Bihan answered instinctively.

Snap! Young Master Shang snapped his fingers and pointed at Tuo Bihan, "Indeed. But what heavens?"

"What heavens?" Tuo Bihan was unable to answer. What did that mean? There were other heavens?

"The Three Thousand Realms? The same three thousand realms resonated by Heavenly Saints?" Wei Wuyin recalled the Heavenly War Spirit's saying that this golden cocoon was a shard of heaven. He couldn't help but think of the Heavenly Daos initially. However, he was aware that the Heavenly Daos and the heavens were two different things that were often mistaken for each other. This was similar to how The World and the Heavenly Daos were often mistaken for each other by ignorant seers, oracles, and cultivators.

For example, the heavens enveloped all great daos and all living things. Meanwhile, the Heavenly Daos could be considered an overseer and manipulator. The Heavenly Daos' actions can alter the trend of the world but not vice versa.

"So this is not like the piece of the Heavenly Daos that San Yongli has," Wei Wuyin thought as he observed the lake a little closer. Instead, it was a shard of the Three Thousand Realms of Laws that the heavens govern.

"The heavens impart the souls, and these souls are often fragments of Law power. Do you know why demons are a rarity in advanced societies? It's because they are often used as cultivation resources, especially for the younger generation. And most civilizations regulate where they can be born to prevent an exhaustion of heaven's power, hindering the Heavenly Resonance of Three Thousand Realms. I will say this, and I've grasped a little about your personality and principles so you might not like this, but the Treasured Vale Continent's demons are more or less servants, borderline slaves, and fought over as valuable resources. Your Ancient Sealed Region doesn't even understand the depths of your treasures walking about that Sages would fight for.

"The Sages of your world explicitly forbade Teng Jiangwen from taking any demons of the isolated world. They're fully aware of their value but likely due to their own circumstances, they can't seize them all yet. That said, it's not exactly easy to use demons as a cultivation resource without a cultivation base at the True Sage or higher. Even then, your galaxy still considers them as a lesser race."

"..." Wei Wuyin and Tuo Bihan both went silent. This wasn't news for Wei Wuyin who grasped Teng Jiangwen's knowledge. Despite that, he was slowly understanding the significance of this golden cocoon. The only detail he couldn't quite grasp was that he didn't know why it was his Rite of Sin for the Sin of Lust.

Wait...

"Before, you said: another wife? Why?" He couldn't quite grasp the insides of the golden cocoon. Even with his Celestial Eyes, only a vague figure could be seen within, yet this figure could move his heart on a visceral level.

"Yeah...like I said, the Impartation of the Heavens bestows souls to objects. But that's not its original intention. Once in a while, the heavens get it correct and find a perfect vessel for this soul that matches the portion of the heaven it's derived from, and an entity born from the heavens descends. A complete, harmonized soul with the body of a human, forged entirely by the powers of Law. A perfect being. Some call it a Shard of Heaven, others call them Heavenly Infants.

"From the fact that it was born in a lake, a yin-aligned location, it'll certainly be a female. Oh yeah!" Young Master Shang slapped his forehead, and Wei Wuyin could faintly feel the influence of the Heavenly Daos in the air, "There's another name most civilizations call it. They call it: the first Apple."

"..." Wei Wuyin's heart pounded violently as images of his life flashed within his mind.

"You hungry?"

"You hungry?"

"You hungry?"

Words that he had spoken on an instinctual level since he was young. He often used apples as his first invitation to those he offered those two words to. He gulped instinctively.

"If you dual cultivate with a Heavenly Infant, your path of resonating with the heavens will be eternally set. Your path to entering the True Sage would be absolute, while your cultivation in the Resonant Soul Realm, at least relating to the matter of Laws, will be an unhindered path-flawless. And it's said that every Heavenly Infant possesses beauty or handsome qualities that could ensnare Divinities and inspire envy from Sages."

As he said that last word, a whirling series of pulsating sounds emanated from the lake as if perfectly timed!

"The cocoon is finished constructing the body!" Young Master Shang exclaimed.