Paragon of Sin

The ambience of the Dark Void in this area of the Elementus Domain was quite tense. The continuous fluctuations from Ma Zheng's Earthly Ascension kept a grip on the hearts and minds of everyone present. The only one that seemed calm, collected, and confident was none other than Wei Wuyin.

He stood upright, his arms folded behind his back, his eyes shimmering with an excited light, and he wore a grin of anticipation. At this point, he was at the edge of Si De's Worldly Domain, in full view of all these Ascended beings and Earthly Saints.

The process of an Earthly Ascension was typically a long one, capable of taking anywhere from days to weeks to years, being relatively random. That being said, there were notable exceptions. Wu Yu's Earthly Ascension had taken an extremely short period of time.

This was Ma Zheng's opportunity; he had to succeed within a timespan of three hours. There was nothing else but this, and if he failed, chances are he would die while undergoing the ascension process. It was a harsh reality, but an incredibly likely one that none of them could deny.

Could Ma Zheng, one of the oldest cultivators in the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region, ascend with such a tight deadline? This question was on every Earthly Saints' lips. They discussed spiritually, shooting glances at Wei Wuyin, and seeing that grin, they felt as if Wei Wuyin was absolutely certain of his success.

Tian Muyang wasn't focused too much on Ma Zheng's outcome. He was staring at the silver-eyed figure that stood proudly in the Dark Void. All his theories and assumptions, all his doubts and concerns, they were all washed away as Wei Wuyin brought out that elixir!

It wasn't a Mystic-Earth grade alchemical product, but a Mystic-World grade alchemical product! While there wasn't a way to truly verify its effectiveness or grade, the fact that Wei Wuyin decided to use this to stimulate a breakthrough for Ma Zheng, forcefully initiating an Earthly Ascension, was an undeniable fact.

"What do we do?" Tian Lingyu sent to Tian Muyang. This had all but confirmed that Wei Wuyin was connected to a Worldly Saint Alchemist, likely the King of Everlore himself! Not only that, but he had a similar pair of silver-colored eyes, two Earthly Saints at his beck and call, an ancient Fire Phoenix, and access to a Rainbow Bridge!

Moreover, he was just a mere mortal at the Sixth Stage of the Gravity Emission Phase! There was no doubt that his background was equally as unimaginable and unfathomable. More importantly, if he was here, then he was here for a purpose.

Tian Lingyu was a woman of practical thinking and realistic beliefs, and while she found Yang Chaoyue's actions of pandering to Wei Wuyin's ego and one-sidedly attempting to gain his attention as pathetic and lowly, it was well within reason but also cause for great concern. Because she knew that Wei Wuyin wasn't the target of Yang Chaoyue's shamelessness, the force behind him was!

How could a mortal have access to a Mystic-World grade product?! The entire Grand Cyclic Stellar Region likely had only a few, and those were mostly impure-qualities, outright failures of group effort, or left behind by the King of Everlore thousands of years ago, cherished by whoever had them.

Tian Muyang fully understood what Tian Lingyu felt. He looked at the Myriad Monarch Canon in his hand. The experts of their clan had come to a conclusion based on various recordings that this Myriad Monarch Canon and the cultivation method within might be the ancient origins of their Aeternal Sky Scripture's cultivation method—Ruler of the Aeternal Sky Method. While it was unlikely to rival it after thousands of years of continuous improvements by the Tian Clan's experts, it could offer unique insights long thought lost.

But when he recalled how dismissive Wei Wuyin was towards its existence, he felt as if the clan's hopes for continued growth were laughable. How far behind were they in his eyes? Even Wu Yu, a recent Earthly Saint, didn't seem to care about it.

He could only deeply inhale all his thoughts, mulling them over, and expelling them in a heavy breath. When he finished, he felt lighter. "We'll wait and see; the Imperial Clan will discuss this and decide. For now, we avoid entering conflict with Wei Wuyin. We can't afford to handle the consequences if he belongs to the King of Everlore, especially if he's his son or grandson."

"..." Tian Lingyu felt an urge to swallow a wad of saliva. The son or grandson of the King of Everlore! The first Alchemic Saint of the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region, and the first Worldly Saint Alchemist as well! He was a prestigious Alchemic Talent of the highest degree, being worshipped long after his disappearance. Even today, he was still defining the flow of the stellar region!

"We'll see what His Majesty thinks," Tian Muyang added with a low voice. It was clearly a reminder to Tian Lingyu to be patient and calm, not throw her cards into a single pot without knowing if the fire was lit beneath or not.

However, these were clearly the thoughts of a few others. The King of Everlore was rumored to have the secret to becoming a Worldly Saint and to breaking out of Mythical Oaths, and if they grasped that, these Sky Monarchs like Yang Chaoyue, could regain their freedom. They weren't of the Royal Bloodline, but they were subjected to various oaths as a result of association and allegiances.

They definitely weren't as free as one would expect.

Han Yuhei was the one that was truly surprised. He never expected that Wei Wuyin was in possession of a Mystic-World grade elixir, nor had the means to use it so freely. He had to reevaluate everything, including why someone as proud and domineering as Wu Yu decided to become an Alchemic Knight.

Could Wei Wuyin actually be a descendant of the King of Everlore? There was no other possibility, right?

This thought was infectious, propagating amongst every Earthly Saint present.

Wu Yu was even doubting whether Wei Wuyin was actually a descendant, despite knowing the absolute truth about the King of Everlore's preferences. The fact that he received confirmation from the source himself that he wasn't, seeing him grow from nothing to something slowly but miraculously, it was truly a mind-blowing feeling.

Not only did Wu Yu know of Wei Wuyin's history shortly before the Myriad Monarch Sect, but Long Chen had obsessed over finding him years ago, finding his sect, learning of his tragic life before the Scarlet Solaris Sect, his talent, the various rumors, and much more. This was all for the sake of pursuing revenge for Na Xinyi.

That boy was looking for an opportunity to sneak into the Scarlet Solaris Sect and slay Wei Wuyin before, only coming to a complete stop because he had left, gone missing likely from cultivation deviation with a strange treasure. Wei Wuyin avoided the fate that the Black Skeleton had shown him due to its interference.

To have even Wu Yu doubt this, Wei Wuyin's act and means was absolutely convincing.

As for Wei Wuyin himself, he was a mess and a half. His entire body was in tremendous pain, forcefully using Wu Yu's spiritual strength to rapidly break down the War Souls for Ma Zheng, helping him refine it with his Alchemic Eden Force. He didn't know how much it would help, likely wasting a thousand War Souls, but it was his only alternative to nourishing and stabilizing Ma Zheng's soul at the crucial moment.

Moreover, he had exhausted a considerable amount of his mental energies. He felt tired. Incredibly tired. Unfortunately, he could only keep up his full-of-energy, full-of-confidence act for the audience of elite powerhouses.

Time soon slipped away.

An hour passed.

Ma Sujiang hadn't moved her gaze away from where Ma Zheng vanished. Her nerves were extremely taut. She would be lying if she said she expected this. No one here thought Wei Wuyin would force Ma Zheng into a breakthrough. They had no idea whether someone in his state would be able to do anything! They didn't even know if he'll last the three hours beyond his soulspan while he underwent the ascension.

Two hours…

The tension in the air was extremely thick. Fortunately, there wasn't an ever-growing audience of elite figures. Wu Yu had sealed the Domain-sealing array shortly before Ma Zheng was given the elixir. Besides the Earthly Saints here, no fluctuations leaked outwards to other Domains or Starfields.

The eight Earthly Saints were all tethered to the changes of the Earthly Ascension, counting the seconds until three hours would hit. Will Ma Zheng die then? Will he fail because of it?

No one rarely tries to attempt an ascension at the edge of their soulspan before, so this was a new experience for them all. In fact, few would even have the means to live a few centuries beyond their set lifespan determined by their refined lifeforce. The amount of wealth needed was absurd, to say the least.

The Golden Life Pavilion was quite the hub for wealth and resources.

Just on the cusp of three hours, just as the hearts of everyone had reached the greatest limits of tightness in their chests, the Earthly Ascension's fluctuations began to wane! Then, it vanished entirely!

Ma Sujiang's eyes widened as despair flooded her entire existence, seeping into her soul. She slumped, her legs grew weak, and she closed her eyes and tucked her chin to her chest. The feeling of the three hour arriving and the waning aura was enough to devastate all her hopes.

She had prepared herself so long for her father's death, knowing his life was coming to an end for a long, long time, yet when facing it, all of her steeled resolve crumbled. Maybe it was because she felt there was hope that her resolve to accept the situation had grown brittle, or maybe watching her father die was just too much for her, for anyone.

Wu Yu sighed. If Wei Wuyin had succeeded here, he would have certainly been known as the man who could create Earthly Saints. Even if others thought it was due to an imaginary backing, it was sufficient to give them an unquestionable degree of respect.

Tian Lingyu shook her head. 'What a waste.' Whatever that Mystic-World grade elixir was meant for, it was entirely wasted on a half-dead Ma Zheng.

They all felt a surge of raw emotion. Sometimes, one's road was destined to end. Such were the difficulties of cultivation. One day, wouldn't they either meet an untimely end in the desire to fight, seize, and prosper, or their inevitable one? Either way, the fate of Ma Zheng reminded them that time was incredibly precious, but they wanted to live longer, reach higher, and pursue their dreams.

Clap.

Clap.

Clap!

Clap! Clap!

Clap! Clap! Clap!

The sounds of slow yet gradually increasing pace of claps, burst of spiritual pulses, was enough to draw their attention. They all found Wei Wuyin, whose eyes were absolutely brilliant, shining brightly with excitement and joy.

"Huh?" Ma Sujiang questioned herself for a moment. Why was he smiling? Why was he excited?

RUMBLE!!!

The entire Elementus Domain felt it. It was a ripple throughout space. To some, it was just a random shiver. To others, it was as if their entire existence was being affected. They jumped in fear, turtling into themselves, trying to seek out a sense of safety. Some ran away. To where? They didn't know! They just ran!

Through Kratos, Wei Wuyin felt it all! Far clearer than everyone else, and he knew one undeniable fact:

Ma Zheng had succeeded!