Paragon of Sin

Liu Suyin?

"From the Liu Clan? One of the Eight Noble Clans?" The name 'Liu' carried the prestige and infamy of the Liu Clan. The clan was both a terrifying power and a constant reminder to the citizens of the Aeternal Sky Starfield. According to past records, the Aeternal Sky Divine Emperor was the first Earthly Saint to advance in a time of war and chaos, gaining a degree of absolutely irresistible power that swept the starfield, suppressing all forces with an iron fist and even their turtle shells of the top forces were deemed useless.

To prevent a state of mutual destruction in the face of an invincible powerhouse, the Aeternal Sky Divine Emperor laid conditions and the various mystic-tier forces of that time capitulated in favor of their own survival. Appeased and pacified, they developed the current societal hierarchy.

This was taught to the citizens and justified by the Imperial Clan's modus operandi. They were not the totalitarians the former tyrannical Imperial Clan was known as. This gathered universal support, allowing a peaceful period that further advanced the Tian Clan's rule, stabilizing their existence as a ruling bloodline.

The Liu Clan had infamy dating back to the beginning of the most prosperous era of the Aeternal Sky Starfield. In this agreed-upon peace, the Liu Clan's Matriarch at the time had become the 3rd Earthly Saint of the entire stellar region, and her initial actions shook the world—she challenged for the right to rule! Perhaps she were aware that if the situation continued in this direction, with the Tian Clan continuing to monopolize the majority of the high-end resources of the starfield with a Supermassive Solar Star, her chances to usurp power would decrease.

She had…failed.

The Liu Clan's Matriarch was devastated by the Aeternal Sky Divine Emperor with prejudice. Near crippled, she was sealed away and tortured as an example for anyone with rebellious thoughts. It told a story, a simple story: the Tian Clan was INVINCIBLE!

And that wasn't going to change.

Wei Wuyin knew that the Liu Clan's Matriarch was still sealed as of today in the Aeternal Sky Domain. This was a publicly recognized fact; it was said that she was imprisoned for a set term of 20,000 years. Yet shockingly, the Liu Clan remained as one of the Eight Noble Clans despite trying to overthrow the ruling bloodline.

They struggled for thousands of years in their Skyrend Domain until they made a gradual comeback by developing themselves as beast ranchers and miners, providing the beast materials needed for certain cultivation methods, concoction methods, and providing various ores to the starfield. They found their niche and tethered to its teat for survival, milking it until they grew as strong as some of the lesser Noble Clans.

"Are you a member of the Liu Clan?" Wei Wuyin asked. Could it be that the necklace has a connection to the Liu Clan? However, the indifferent silver-robed woman's expression was unchanging. There was no sign of her willingness to answer this question. Wu Yu's Mystic Aura flared as if he were ready to strike at the slightest order. He didn't know why this silver-robed woman was stalking about and hiding from their view in this time of forced peace, but her intentions were dubious, and her emotions were unreadable.

Liu Suyin fully focused those vacant eyes on Wei Wuyin, ignoring Wu Yu's posturing. She spoke calmly, devoid of emotion, irritating and teeth-clenching, "How did you sense my presence?"

Wei Wuyin furrowed his brows slightly. After a moment of silence, he thought about it and sighed. "Let's go." He decided not to delay his trip, especially with time ticking down. There was still a few things he had to prepare, just in case.

Seeing Wei Wuyin about to leave, Liu Suyin gently lifted her hand and tapped the empty space before her. A ripple of spatial power manifested. It expanded for tens of miles.

Wu Yu hurriedly protected Wei Wuyin in his Mystic Aura, while Zhan Zheng turned his head slightly towards Liu Suyin. When he did, the ripples stopped spreading.

RUMBLE!

A heavy quake shook Wei Wuyin's body through Wu Yu's protective aura. Wu Yu's expression grew solemn as he stared at Zhan Zheng. Suddenly, the ripples seemed to have been reversed by an ungodly power, retracting back into Liu Suyin's finger. When it did, her emotionless expression grew rosy and tense. From the left side of her lips, a streak of silver-colored blood leaked outwards. She wiped it away without expression.

Zhan Zheng's eyes through the openings of his dragonhead helmet suffused a silvery light. It was enchantingly gorgeous as if it contained the essence of space and time.

"A warning, child." Zhan Zheng's voice was heavy and it thundered throughout the world. Despite her injury, her expression was still devoid of emotions, as if she wasn't injured or insulted for being called a child. Still, her eyes changed focus from Wei Wuyin to Zhan Zheng.

Wei Wuyin couldn't tell what had happened; his Celestial Eyes were unable to perceive the Mystic Dao's forces; he merely felt a rumble and then saw Liu Suyin bleed. However, he did catch Zhan Zheng's comment calling her a 'child'. Was she an Earthly Saint genius of the younger generation? Under five hundred years old?

Wei Wuyin immediately sent a mental message to Zhan Zheng for clarification, and the reply shook him. "She's not at the fourth stage but a second stage Ascended." He was instantly shaken. Liu Suyin was merely at the Soul of Mysticism Phase, yet she could avoid Wu Yu's senses and was fearless, trying to take action before two Earthly Saints?

What brazenness! What spirit! Wei Wuyin actually felt as if this woman was gradually rising as an interesting existence. As for the 'child' remark, Zhan Zheng said her life aura indicated she was barely three hundred years old! She was the most talented cultivator that Wei Wuyin had ever seen.

Moreover, she wasn't a Blessed.

Terrifying.

"..." Liu Suyin silently observed Zhan Zheng. Wei Wuyin was certain that her heart was thoroughly shaken by the latter's power despite no outward change. He expected that with her cultivation base, her confidence came from her understanding of Spatial Forces, tapping into the Void Dao by a tiny bit, thereby bringing it to a profound realm of means. Since Wu Yu, someone with a Spatial-type Mystic Rune, was unable to sense her, then her abilities might grant her the means to face or elude Earthly Saints.

It made sense why her attitude was fearless. If it wasn't for Zhan Zheng's lack of a violent, decisive response to protect him, eliminating all enemies, he might think she tried to kill him just now. But her actions must not have contained any killing or ill-intent. Perhaps she wanted to forcefully relocate him and discuss at an advantage?

When Liu Suyin finally turned away from Zhan Zheng, refocusing on Wei Wuyin, she said: "I'm the Vice-Sect Master of the Void Voyage Sect." She pointed at her necklace, "This is a Crescent Jade Key; it's made from Spatial Jade Crystal. Yours is made out of Ripple Jade Crystal, a lesser form of it." She touched her necklace and silvery light flowed out of her fingertips into it.

Silver-colored gossamer-like strings shot out from its surface and slowly slithered towards Wei Wuyin. Wu Yu was swift to react, repelling these strings, but Wei Wuyin halted him. Zhan Zheng didn't act, completely impassive to these events. Those strings soon touched the Mystic Aura that was slowly dissipated by Wu Yu, reaching Wei Wuyin and entering his own crescent moon necklace.

Beautifully, it began to glow a similar silvery radiance. Wei Wuyin could feel the purity of its materials start to elevate. Then, Liu Suyin retrieved the strings back to her necklace, and the breathtakingly beautiful radiance dimmed until it vanished entirely.

Wei Wuyin was awed, touching his necklace with strange feelings. This necklace had accompanied him for far too many years, carrying with it a mystery that spawned during the beginnings of his journey to fight against the Calamities of Hell. To survive as a mere mortal—a nigh-impossible feat.

"The necklace isn't yours," Liu Suyin indifferently stated.

Wei Wuyin bluntly nodded, not denying that he obtained it from someone else. "I believed I took it from someone who took it from someone else. Or at the very least, I took it from the one it belonged to—I killed him." Answering with the truth, Wei Wuyin recalled his speculations that the Unknown Commander that day was a sinner, not a Blessed, but he took the fortune of a Blessed.

Liu Suyin was quiet for a long moment, clearly processing Wei Wuyin's honest statement. Then she said, "Since it landed in your hands in the end, it must be fated. Your prowess in the Laws of Space is evidence of that."

Laws of Space? Wei Wuyin was instantly perked by the mention of Laws. He had found two genuine Seeds of Law, one from Jing Jiu and another from Long Chen, two Blessed, and they were highly desired by the Azure-Prime Galactic Zone. The Battlefield's Soldier & Commander lists had 'uniquely refined' Seeds of Law called Seed of War. It was worth 1,500 War Souls.

They were described as having the ability to elevate one's comprehension of the Dao of War and World Heart Intent, simultaneously heightening soul sensitivity towards the Mystic Dao. There were a lot of things he didn't understand about it. He was waiting until he ascended to the Star Core Phase before attempting to refine one since only then, at the peak of the Mortal Dao, can he comprehend the Mystic Dao.

Wei Wuyin carelessly nodded; he wasn't going to return it anyways. At the moment, it carried more sentimental value than actual value. He asked, "You're the Vice-Sect Master of the Void Voyage Sect? What's the purpose of this…Crescent Jade Key? What do you want?"

Liu Suyin seemed to be unaccustomed to being questioned in this manner by a mortal, someone vastly inferior to her in strength and age, as she glanced at Zhan Zheng for a brief moment. "It's how our Void Voyage Sect recruits destined members. We send them out into the Dark Void, and they find those with innately high talent in the Law of Space, giving them the chance to come to the Void Voyage Sect and become a Chosen."

Wei Wuyin's heart shook; he instantly recalled the promising Ascendant candidate with talents in Spatial Arts before reaching the Spatial Resonance Phase that he sought to recruit. Following her last steps before her disappearance, Su Mei found an ancient Void Gate that led to an unknown location. It had a notch that perfectly fit the crescent necklace.

Wei Wuyin had felt that using it was too uncertain to use it, refraining from risking himself by traversing to an unknown location without a return route. If his Astral Souls or Karmic Luck weren't involved, Wei Wuyin was overly cautious concerning his life's safety. The most difficult calamities to overcome are the ones you placed yourself in.

"I've been looking for you the last few years. Come with me; you're a 'destined' cultivator and therefore qualify to become a disciple of the Void Voyage Sect." Finally, Liu Suyin revealed her true goal!