Paragon of Sin

"..." San Yongli hovered in the sky beneath the aurora borealis, her slender, gorgeous, and enviable figure washed by grey light and the four colors of the Alchemic Dao. She was beyond vexed. The urge to ragefully shout surged in her chest to dispel this frustration within her. Unfortunately, she couldn't be certain if Wei Wuyin received her message through this strange phenomenon of his or if she was simply talking to the clouds.

She decided to verbally make the request instead, eliciting the attention of some nearby figures from the World Beyond and Sealed Regions.

"Is that San Yongli?" A Chosen from the Sealed Regions asked in surprise. This person was an experienced cultivator at the Starlord level and had survived by relying on their defensive talismans and concealment tools given by his senior, a genuine Earthly Saint of the Great Desolate Starfield.

"San who?" A Chosen from the World Beyond asked. The two had recently met and, through the sudden changes of the circumstances, had allied for the sake of mutual survival. This wasn't an uncommon occurrence either as Chosen from both worlds were left distraught as their strongest pillars died or they were besieged by Evil Sentinels or those strangely powerful mortals.

"San Yongli-she's the adopted daughter of the Tri-Vision Alchemic Saint, an Earthly Saint Alchemist, and the Grand Secretariat of the Everlore Association. She's the top beauty of our Grand Cyclic Stellar Region, hands down." The Chosen from the Sealed Regions explained excitedly as if he were a die-hard fan.

"Everlore Association?!" The Chosen from the World Beyond exclaimed. The same Everlore as the King of Everlore? He was about to ask a follow-up question. After all, the King of Everlore was a prolific figure of the Azure-Prime Galactic Zone! Who didn't know about the illustrious Everlore Stellar Region?! It was a holy land for Alchemists and the dream of cultivators across the galactic zone.

"Hey, kids! Daddy's here! Hehehe!" A cruel, sinister, yet oddly warm voice resounded that instilled a light of confusion in the two Chosen's eyes. They subconsciously turned their heads, their hearts pounding with the desire to flee away from and run to the voice, conflicting within their minds as they stalled out in their position.

The two barely got a word in as an Evil Sentinel in their Demi-Mystic State swooped in and grasped both of their necks. They were instantly sealed.

"Daddy'll take care of you both! Real, real good! Hehehe!" The Evil Sentinel was a tall, thin man with long, ungodly nails that curved menacingly. He had green eyes, the right exuded a harsh chill and the other effused a gentle warmth.

The scenes across the vast lands were hectic and chaotic to an extreme, as Chosen fled and hid away from these new Evil Sentinels. Many were met with mismatched cultivation bases, unable to defend properly. Those who could resort to their defensive talismans, previously established protective formations, and concealment tools to escape calamity did so without hesitation. Not all were successful, but those who were began to pray to the heavens themselves.

San Yongli's eyebrows furrowed, her expression dark as night's lightless embrace. The green-eyed Evil Sentinel had captured both of those Chosen immediately below her, and she noticed this instantly. The green-eyed Evil Sentinel glanced at her, and their gazes met.

The green-eyed Evil Sentinel was an experienced thief of lives and reaper of souls, and he had lived for thousands upon thousands of years before being ruthlessly captured and unwillingly placed here by those dastardly bastards to serve as training fuel for these disgusting youths. He wanted nothing more than to devour all their youthful spirits and turn the world into chaos.

However, the feeling of impending danger swept his soul as he glanced at this white-haired woman with eyes that shone with the beauty of rubies and riches. She seemed to embody the essence of wealth and fortune. His instincts told him that she was a greater thief than he was, taking something ephemeral and unseen, and that terrified him.

Without any hesitation, he was about to take off.

"Stop!" A firm, a resounding voice thundered from above. The green-eyed Evil Sentinel immediately realized that he had gotten the attention of this unlucky scourge, and the fact that a mere mortal was demanding him, a Highlord, to stop caused his warning bells to ring so loudly that his True Soul felt it.

Once again, without the slightest hesitation, he imbued the two Chosen bodies with Mystic Power and then tossed them in two different directions. They were pulsating with power, on the verge of exploding. He performed a series of hand-seals and melded with the environment, executing tens of consecutive spatial shifts via a Minor Ascension Art.

He was gone.

San Yongli was swift; she reached out and conjured hands of astral force that seized both the Chosen and tapped into one of her Heavenly Rune-the Heavenly Rune of Infusion-and dispelled the power infused into the two's bodies by shunting it out violently.

"Tch," she clicked her tongue as she lost track of the green-eyed Evil Sentinel. When she glanced at the Chosen from the Sealed Region, she groaned inwardly. She didn't often act like a saint, but she would be lying to say that she wasn't influenced by his enthusiasm and confidence in declaring her the most beautiful. No man or woman didn't like earnest compliments, especially when others like Na Xinyi, Xue Yifei, Tang Xingyun, Yue Songli, and other Saintesses were in the running for the most beautiful.

"Thank you, Myriad Treasures Saintess!" The Chosen hurriedly offered thanks after seeing that his life was saved by his idol.

San Yongli frowned slightly. Myriad Treasures Saintess was the name that she earned shortly after San Yongli became an Earthly Saint Alchemist and showcased a little bit of her tools to handle some unsavory characters, gaining a reputation for using external weapons while she was trying to hide her true strength from others. The title was cemented in the listing on the Immortal Monarch Ranking, the combined list of the Immortal Saintess Ranking, and the Immortal Heroes Ranking by the Golden Gate Pavilion.

She didn't like it, but she didn't exactly dislike it either.

"It fits, haha." The soul in the jade chimed in with a fit of boisterous laughter.

"This isn't the time," San Yongli remarked as she nodded to the Chosen from the Sealed Region. "Stay safe. It's going to get increasingly chaotic." She warned as the second wave of Evil Sentinels was already blitzing across the vast lands, sowing the seeds of death and pain.

"Ah! Wait!" The Chosen was stunned. San Yongli cared about his safety enough to give him a warning? His heart was moved. Just as she was about to leave, the Chosen called out to her in a hurry.

San Yongli's frown deepened. She didn't have time for this. However, she didn't leave immediately, turning around and hovering in the sky, her robes hugged her figure, accentuating her beauty as the light cascaded downwards, granting her an incomparably unmatched grace.

The Chosen was dazed. Both were. This woman was far too gorgeous with an allure of heavenly elegance as if she possessed a trace of heaven's beauty itself.

"Ah-you were trying to trade for Xiao Yanyue's life?" The Chosen from the Sealed Region broke himself out of his stupor enough to ask this question.

"..." San Yongli stared at him. The light in her eyes showed a gradually shifting light from indifference to displeasure. This terrified the Chosen as he didn't want his idol in his heart to despise him. He hurriedly said, "No! I mean, I just...uhm-I know Xiao Yanyue! Was she the one captured by that darkly-skinned demon?"

He wasn't entirely certain if it was her, but had caught sight of the capture and escape at the end.

"You know her?" San Yongli was taken aback.

"Yeah!" The Chosen was excited to have his idol's attention. "She saved my life from an Evil Sentinel after I...well, I opened a container. The person was a Venerable. I thought I was dead without the shadow of a doubt, but she came and slayed that vile she-demon." He gulped thinking of that memory.

"..." San Yongli felt like this guy needed to be saved too often.

"Is she alive?" The Chosen asked.

San Yongli didn't know if she was, but she had hope. That was enough. She simply nodded. The Chosen's eyes brightened. "Then she was just captured! Thank god. I can't imagine what that Evil Sentinel intends to do to her."

"..." San Yongli was about to leave. This was only wasting time.

"Uhm, Myriad Treasures Saintess?" The Chosen from the World Beyond suddenly spoke at this moment with a respectful tone. His life had been saved by this woman, so he didn't mind being respectful to a mortal despite his Ascended being status.

"You can't find her, right? Do you have anything of hers?" The Chosen asked.

San Yongli's brows gradually lifted from her frown. Was this Chosen a Heavenly Seer? Was he going to try to scry for her? "I do," she said as she pulled out a glistening violet pearl that exuded a demonic allure. This was a treasure that Xiao Yanyue had refined from demonic miasma, an obstacle that led to a blessed ground for cultivation. She had refined four of these and had given San Yongli one. It was enveloped in her aura.

She was aware that Heavenly Seers often needed certain things for the target, and this contained her aura.

"That should work!" The Chosen from the World Beyond stepped back a little. That pearl could erode him thoroughly and he felt the tremendous power within. It could deal with any cultivator at the Soul of Mysticism.

"Work? You're a Heavenly Seer?" San Yongli's hope was ignited.

"No, I'm not." The Chosen from the World Beyond answered without much thought, not noticing San Yongli's expression shift. He continued: "I was a part of Lin Kang's group. We had once hunted a mortal with a special ability; the mortal could smell and track things to an absurd degree. He avoided our attempts at capturing him by smelling our presence beforehand. I don't know if he's still alive, but if you can find him, he might be able to use that to track her. I know finding a cultivator like that Evil Sentinel before it's too late would be far too difficult."

San Yongli's eyes widened. She instantly knew who they were referring to.

RIGHT!RIGHT!!THAT'S RIGHT!!!Her eyes gleamed with a radiantly bright glint as she realized that she didn't lose the bull for the donkey because the donkey could always find the bull! Her heart was fiercely pounding. As a result, she unfurled her aura intensely, stirring the world's mana.

She flew away in a blast! She had ways of finding Yi Yun! Many, many ways!

The two Chosen from different worlds watched as San Yongli left. Her exceptional beauty, figure, and presence left an unerasable make on their souls.

"Thank you," San Yongli's voice rippled in their ears, gentle and sweet that it could melt the soul. They were swooning, their cheeks blushing. Then, two ripples formed in space, and two talismans came out, both of equal quality and appearance. "These should keep you alive."

After that, she was gone.

The two Chosen grabbed the life-saving talismans and felt their innate power. It could defend against Demi-Mortal Lords. What an astonishing treasure!

Throughout that entire encounter, Wen Mingna observed with golden eyes. She didn't interfere here, but she was deeply awed.

"You sure work fast, and you're prepared." Wen Mingna remarked as she began to calculate when the first stone was cast in that cascade of heavenly dominoes. Was it when she brought to the Evil Sentinel's attention the sultry and beautiful woman beside Yi Yun, prompting him to attack, or was it far before then?

"A contingency..." Wen Mingna's thoughts flowed smoothly as she considered that potential possibility. The Heavenly Daos was showcasing its far-sighted nature, and Wen Mingna felt as if she was exposed to some extreme level of consideration. Moreover, she couldn't find the Evil Sentinel to change the eventual outcome due to his concealment. No doubt the Heavenly Daos were working overtime to keep Xiao Yanyue alive by influencing that charcoal-skinned Evil Sentinel.

Did the Heavenly Daos always account for her potential failure or was it orchestrated at the moment she was captured? Wen Mingna started to perform various hand-seals, but she suddenly stopped as her golden eyes faded back to their original color.

San Yongli landed before her. "We need to go," she urgently said. Wen Mingna nodded, "You found a way?" The two were already flying through the sky.

San Yongli nodded, "There's a young man by the name of Yi Yun, the one I tried to save earlier, who has a unique innate ability that almost no one else has. He should be able to find her."

Wen Mingna nodded. Of course she already knew about Yi Yun. Not only was he an Ascendant, but he was one of those blessed by a heavenly presence. Wei Wuyin had targeted several of those with such characteristics and added them to his Ascendants to better bolster their fortunes. There had already been a few times where Ascendants had gained great benefits by simple association.

As for his innate special ability, she knew of that too. She just didn't say anything earlier. Just like Wei Wuyin, she knew the solution the moment the problem arose. She simply didn't say anything. However, this development allowed her to see the Heavenly Daos' patterns of planning a little. It was greatly beneficial to her cultivation.

"Good," she said with a relieved sigh. "We have to hurry. I sense that Xiao Yanyue is on the cusp of experiencing permanent tragedy. I'm doing my best to alter it a little, delaying its outcome, but the targets' cultivations are too high. It won't last for long." Wen Mingna urged as she once again took credit for the Heavenly Daos' work. She didn't know how the Heavenly Daos was doing it, but it was working hard!

San Yongli nodded, feeling grateful in her eyes and heart. She knew Heavenly Seers could delay calamities or evade them in mysterious, unfathomable ways. Wen Mingna was much more powerful than Ming Shufeng in that regard. It was best to keep such a powerful Heavenly Seer by her side, especially considering the Book of Heaven's Path often led to erratic changes, such as Yun Che taking all the Heavenly World Cores rather than a single one.

The two blitzed across the sky as San Yongli brought out a tool to track Yi Yun's position. They often used this tool to meet up and discuss the various information that Yi Yun had obtained about Wei Wuyin and the inner workings of the Ascendants. This was how she was certain that Wei Wuyin was trying to acquire blessed individuals as well, furthering her belief that he was a Temporal Reincarnator of some form, likely even having another piece of the Book of Heaven's Path.

Perhaps it foretold different things!

Wei Wuyin watched all this unfold and couldn't help but faintly smile. That interaction was a little tedious to watch and a little unbelievable given the bloody chaos unfolding everywhere, but the Heavenly Daos were clearly working overtime to influence the Evil Sentinels to stay away from San Yongli and the two Chosen, giving them breathing room.

If San Yongli had chosen to leave, the Heavenly Daos' plans would have failed. Wei Wuyin was once again exposed to the fact that a Blessed could ruin their own chances. A little impatience and this would have never happened.

But he didn't know if it was consuming San Yongli or Xiao Yanyue's Karmic Luck. Or...were two Blessed together sharing the burden of fortune? The thought inspired a new avenue of thought toward potential outcomes. From his life, he knew that Blessed conflict was often deliberately avoided by the Heavenly Daos, but what about alliances?

"Is this why those particular Ascendants experienced greater fortunes? Because they were part of a whole?" Wei Wuyin needed to give his Blessed Ascendants another look and observe their fortunes more.

San Yongli and Wen Mingna found Yi Yun and the Highlord woman by his side. Shockingly, they saw a young woman fuming beside them.

"She saved your life! Are you just going to abandon her?!"