Paragon of Sin

A cloud of sin.

It was a mixture of bloody sanguine, pale violet, and hellish black. The shape was undefined, shifting and changing with every passing second as if it were a living entity breathing gleefully within the world. To those not Inheritors of Sin, immersion would generate a sinister, sickening feeling within the pit of one's stomach. A natural aversion would develop, yet this distaste would swiftly vanish as if it was purely born of one's idle imagination.

To those Inheritors of Sin, the sight bestowed a heavy feeling that stimulated their True Soul, their Bloodline of Sin, which originated from their Primordial Seed of Sin that had merged within them. This feeling embodied their respective domains of sin. Wei Wuyin felt two different feelings pulsate within him as the cloud of sin grew closer-anticipation and deep hunger. The former originated from his Primordial Seed of Sin: Pride, while the latter emanated entirely from his Primordial Seed of Sin: Lust. The two feelings intermingled together and had notable similarities, both driving him to want to associate himself with this individual.

As for the influence bearing down on those Blessed by the Heavenly Daos, those who've conquered stages of the Calamities of Hell in their previous lives, would feel a pounding anxiety that couldn't quite be pinpointed. It subtly instigated feelings of caution and distrust, exacerbating these qualities to an extreme level.

It was a survival instinct being triggered.

However, what one did as these feelings developed within them was solely up to them. The Heavenly Daos didn't even directly point out the source, only generating those feelings within the Blessed themselves. If not for Wei Wuyin's Bloodline of Sin, he wouldn't have even been able to see the cloud of sin's arrival, and this would place him in a vulnerable situation where he wouldn't know where to run, hide, or who to fight and be wary against.

Wei Wuyin had these two conflicting feelings intermingled within him as an Inheritor of Sin and a Blessed. However, this only amplified the significance of a cloud of sin enveloping a single person.

This was the first time Wei Wuyin had ever encountered such a gargantuan amassment of sin. Observing, he realized that the cloud of sin's maximum range was 64.8 meters in radius. He wasn't able to determine its other dimensions, only the greatest reach in its breathing mass before it inevitably withdrew back into itself.

Of course, Wei Wuyin's first thought was the ever-crucial question: 'How much Karmic Luck Value was this person's life worth?' He didn't initially consider the weighty sins that had to be committed against the Heavenly Daos' three thousand commandments or the abnormal amount of Blessed they might have had to slaughter, but how much this 64.8 meters limit cloud of sin was worth!

As expected of an Exploitative Blessed!

As expected of an Inheritor of Lust!

[RIGHT ARM]

Karmic Luck Value: 167,824.2.

First Calamity: Survived - 7/7.

Second Calamity: Claimed - 1/1.

Third Calamity: Claimed - 3/3.

Fourth Calamity: Suppressed - 1 Year.

[LEFT ARM]

Karmic Luck Value: 74,740.

First Calamity: Claimed - 7/7.

Second Calamity: Claimed - 1/1.

Third Calamity: Claimed - 3/3.

Fourth Calamity: Suppressed - 1 Year.

'But how do I...?' Wei Wuyin's two minds were thinking up a literal storm.

"What's wrong?" The Heavenly War Spirit could acutely feel Wei Wuyin's abnormal usage of mental energies, causing a swirling storm of mental energy within his Sea of Consciousness as well as a flowing river rushing into the Palace of Eden.

"Wrong?" Wei Wuyin responded with a soft voice. "Nothing's wrong, exactly. But I do have a dilemma."

"Oh?" The Heavenly War Spirit oddly perked up upon hearing Wei Wuyin. She had been feeling rather Idle lately, only waiting for the Seed of War to be born to begin her transformation. "If you have an issue, then I can definitely help!"

"Then, how can I kill an Enlightened Sage?" Wei Wuyin asked directly.

"..." The Heavenly War Spirit went silent, her entire golden mass froze on the spot, and a dreary air exuded from her. Kill an Enlightened Sage? "You want to kill Sage Springfield?!"

The Heavenly War Spirit had the memories of Teng Jiangwen, so she and Wei Wuyin were acutely aware of the Enlightened Sage Springfield. He was an ultimate powerhouse of the Utmost Purity Galaxy, the galaxy that Teng Jiangwen had visited after leaving the Treasured Vale Galaxy.

Teng Jiangwen hadn't met him during his visit to the Utmost Purity Galaxy, but he had met his subordinate on his visit to the Sky Heart Galaxy by chance and communicated for a short period. Given Teng Jiangwen's strength as a Sage, Enlightened Sage Springfield had no choice but to explain his objective here and prevent any disturbances, including protecting his subordinates who had a valuable void vessel and essential tools.

Fortunately for Enlightened Sage Springfield, Teng Jiangwen was with Young Master Shang and decided against acting greedily toward the Sky Heart Galaxy. He was a Vagabond by origins and had no true roots so feared no retaliation, capable of traversing the vast galaxies without any worry. As such, he didn't fear any Enlightened Sage, especially as a wielder of the Minor Authority of Momentum.

He was already terrifyingly strong among Sages and Enlightened Sages despite his lack of dignified background. In fact, his achievements of reaching his level despite his situation were admirable to an extreme. It was a pity his end was so sudden.

"You can't! You absolutely can't even try!" The Heavenly War Spirit hastily warned against doing so. Her voice contained a tinge of genuine panic. "Unlike Teng Jiangwen, Sage Springfield's cultivation is not restricted and he has full access to his True Soul, so illusions would...they might not work against him. You got lucky with Teng Jiangwen, but a genuine Sage's power is unfathomable!"

The Heavenly War Spirit wasn't wrong about Teng Jiangwen as his death was solely due to sealing his own cultivation base and being unable to unseal it before his death. It was no different than a human adult chopping off their arms and legs-they were essentially useless.

"When did you become so pessimistic all of a sudden?" Wei Wuyin smiled with mirth. The Heavenly War Spirit didn't have a cowardly side, but she certainly had a cautious side. It was clear that she cared about Wei Wuyin far more than before. Just the idea of risking his life like an egg thrown against a rock or a grasshopper trying to stop a chariot left her panicking to convince him to dodge.

"Are you playing around?! Don't scare me like that! Sage Springfield isn't an ordinary Sage. Since he originates from the Utmost Purity Galaxy, his foundation should be slightly greater than average, and his wealth shouldn't be low either. Even without a Minor Authority, he should still have a Heavenly Treasure, perhaps even a Supreme Heavenly Treasure." The Heavenly War Spirit explanation made sense given that the Utmost Purity Galaxy was renowned for its Alchemic Dao, so those who could develop within that galaxy were bound to be slightly greater than the standard average.

"You mustn't forget!" The Heavenly War Spirit added, "You're still a mortal. Not even that Mystic Overlord Grey Rose would last more than a few blows. Each subsequent cultivation stage had a great chasm of power and means. You're still in the Astral Core Realm! And this Sage Springfield is unlikely to be alone, likely possessing a group of high-level subordinates! You saw those who arrived, there were at least three Heavenly Saints if you include the one we met before."

"...What if I can even the playing field?" Wei Wuyin stared at the triangular Void Vessel that housed Sage Springfield and his entourage.

"You're thinking about using the Prohibition of Heaven surrounding the Sky Heart Galaxy to prevent him from using laws? Lure him in? Don't be silly! A Sage's strength isn't only in their grasp of laws. Their grasp of the Mystic Dao is at its pinnacle! Comprehension of Laws are merely distinctions between monstrous Sages with the promise of reaching the Resonant Soul Realm and those without! Even within the Prohibition of the Heavens, they can still use their Domain of Mysticism and such at full strength.

"Furthermore, your greatest strength, your Minor Laws, will be restricted too!" The Heavenly War Spirit was knowledgeable to an excessive degree when it came to combat qualities, and her grasp of the differences in strengths between realms was incredible.

Her words held significant truth as most Sages didn't have Minor Authority over any Laws and relied largely on their grasp of the Ways of Mysticism that was pushed to the apex, only supplemented by Laws. If not for the requirement for Laws to act as a bridge between stages of the Mystic Ascendant Realm, a way to steady to soul and develop resilience to bear the overbearing strength of the Mystic Dao, Laws would have far less relevance in the Mystic Ascendant Realm.

"..." Wei Wuyin had already thought of that possibility. He had even thought of using the beasts to his advantage, but given their intelligent nature that he observed, it was unlikely that those beasts at that level of power would fall for any simple ploy.

Wei Wuyin had devised sixty-seven potential schemes during the Heavenly War Spirit's warnings with the help of his Second Mind, yet all sixty-seven were defeated by overwhelming strength and too many variables.

Seeing that Wei Wuyin was seriously considering confronting Sage Springfield at this moment, she couldn't help but say: "You can just wait until you break through into the Mystic Ascendant Realm, no? At that time, you'll have a greater chance of defeating a Sage after entering the Mystic Dao. You don't have to do anything now."

Wei Wuyin had already reached his pinnacle state of cultivation as a mortal and was ready to take that next step. Normally, Wei Wuyin would agree. He was capable of waiting to set up undefeatable schemes. However, he had a faint feeling that this was a turning point in his life.

This was an opportunity.

It was vague and uncertain, but he knew it didn't originate from the Bloodline of Sin or the Heavenly Daos. This was something that originated from within his soul, as if it came from the basis of his existence.

Unbeknownst to Wei Wuyin, two existences were silently watching, diligently observing this development. One of them was gentle and filled with anticipation, but the other was stern and filled with confidence.

At this point, the Heavenly War Spirit could feel something wasn't quite right. "You're a peak Mortal, but he's a peak Ascended! Just wait until you've grasped the Ways of Mysticism and then if you must kill Sage Springfield, we can plan it out slowly with absolute certainty. I'll give it my all, and with the War Talisman, all your subordinates, and Bai Lin after her successful transformation, you'll be in a great position to establish an inescapable trap." She didn't even bother to ask why Wei Wuyin wanted to kill Sage Springfield. It simply didn't matter. Whether it was out of sheer impulse or to seize the countless years of efforts he had invested into the Sky Heart Galaxy, none of that mattered.

"..." Wei Wuyin lowered his gaze to the rocky asteroid beneath his feet. He softly muttered, "Peak Mortal? Peak Ascended...?"

By this point, the Second Mind had already devised and thrown away forty-two other plans. There was one that was particularly close to having a decent success rate, but the consequences were likely to destroy a large portion of the Sky Heart Galaxy. However, there were life-saving variables to consider, and it was best to use this as an urgent backup rather than the main plan.

Young Master Shang remained quiet after sensing the somber mood. He was of the thought that Wei Wuyin would begin establishing initial connections with Sage Springfield as a Worldly Saint Alchemist to ease the entrance into the Utmost Purity Galaxy.

In actuality, Wei Wuyin intended to use the Utmost Purity Galaxy as the stage to complete his grand promise to Yue Songli and host a great banquet, hoping to rapidly develop his reputation by word of mouth by using Sage Springfield's prestige and invite top-tier figures far beyond their cultivation base from even other galaxies by using a pretense of selling Mystic-World products, and even have them bring foreign gifts and delicacies from their place of origin. Unfortunately, a cloud of sin had changed all of that.

"Tch," King's voice suddenly resounded.

"Oh?" Wei Wuyin's eyes brightened.

"Roar!" Kratos added, inducing heart-pounding waves within his chest.

The light within Wei Wuyin's eyes intensified by a level.

"Sure! Sure! Sure, why not?! Let's do it!" Ori excitedly chimed in.

That light within his silver eyes was on the verge of spewing out, almost as if his Spiritual Strength was reaching its limits as before!

"...If something's too complex, just simplify it. Isn't that what you said before?" Eden sighed softly as it advised. It was difficult to tell if it was agreeing with its siblings or not.

"You're all right," Wei Wuyin lifted his gaze. The intensification of its radiance had coalesced and condensed into his irises, granting his silver eyes a boundlessly mystifying charm.

"What are you thinking about doing?" The Heavenly War Spirit's golden mass of a body began to feel an inexplicable tingling sensation.

Wei Wuyin revealed a smile suffused with the simplicity of confidence and resolve, he replied: "Keeping it simple."

"..." The Heavenly War Spirit.

Within the triangular void vessel, a gentle voice resounded with the air of innate majesty and elegance: "Where is this...Neo-Dawn Alchemic Saint?"