Paragon of Sin

The Earthly Saints of the Saint Cyclic Renewal Summit had left the secret realm of the summit that had nearly collapsed without their joint effort to stabilize the situation. Han Yuhei was the first among them to do so, his eyes effusing nine-colored spiritual light to observe the situation. 

'What is this?' Han Yuhei's heart throbbed fiercely as he felt rippling waves spread across the Dark Void. While his ear hadn't heard anything, his Mystic Soul perfectly relayed the stimulation as a rapid, rhythmic sound. His heart subconsciously matched its pace, and this stimulated his blood and soul as he felt the urge to resist and struggle surface in his thoughts. He didn't know what he should resist or how he should struggle, but he felt that he needed to.

In the distance, beyond the borders of the Aeternal Sky Starfield, three intense silvery lights were rising in intensity steadily.

Woosh! Woosh! Woosh!

Soon, the other Earthly Saints followed. They had properly stabilized the situation by reinforcing the secret realm with their united mystic power. 

"Music?"

The Number ONE beauty of the Aeternal Sky Starfield, Empress Xiaocheng, curiously spoke out. She was just as thunderstruck as everyone else. They easily realized that the near collapse of the secret realm of the summit was solely due to their full-seal method of restricting chaos mana from entering. 

Most secret realms had semi-permeable formations established during secret realm creations, allowing chaos mana to enter and be refined through pseudo-atmospheric layers, generating a field of refined mana that cultivators were most familiar with, but the Saint Cyclic Renewal Summit had elected to remove this, pouring their own type of refined mana that improved the natural cultivation environment and conditions for the eventual geniuses that would define the future Era. 

This decision led to the chaos mana crashing against the secret realm with violent intensity, nearly causing its collapse and destruction. 

Ma Zheng concluded this too. He lifted his hand and waved it across the flowing chaos mana, his eyes gleaming with interest. The waves formed a sound that stimulated his Mystic Soul, urging him to act against the oppressors. It was a call to arms. 

"Star Implosion?" The Soul Saint King stood beside Ma Zheng, his eyes narrowed as he noticed the origin of the light. This was a prelude to a Star Implosion, a unique power harnessed by Star Core Phase cultivators that could replicate the celestial phenomenon of a supernova. 

"Trueborn," the Imperial Advisor of the Tian Clan, the Imperial Clan of the Aeternal Sky Starfield, said solemnly with the softest of breathy whispers.

These were all beings at the Earthly Saint Phase, possessing unfathomably great powers that mortals could only worship, so they all noticed her whisper of realization and suspicion. The expressions of everyone changed in some way, some were shocked, some frowning, some with killing intent, and others with an unsettled calm. 

"I don't think we sh-" Pope Huoyan was about to suggest they don't jump to wild conclusions, but he was interrupted. 

BOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!

The explosion caught every Earthly Saint off-guard, their eyes widening as the explosive wave of the triple supernova vastly exceeded their expectations. The ability of Star Implosion was the peak power of a mortal, nothing they should fear even if the strongest Starlord in existence was to unleash it, so they hadn't felt any type of danger.

Until the explosion!

The condensed power was like a gust of torrential thunderous wind that swept across the Aeternal Sky Starfield! 

"Shit!" San Luoyang was amongst the Earthly Saints, largely going unnoticed as everyone focused on the music produced by the chaos mana and the imploding solar stars in the distance. 

The condensed power was merely a shockwave of the explosion, most of its power was concentrated elsewhere, but it would be enough to directly obliterate some of the planets at the edge of the starfield if it hit. Even they would be affected! 

If it hit the Everlore Domain, billions of weaker lives could end in an instant.

If before was the core of the symphony at play, then this was its crescendo—the finale! 

San Luoyang hurriedly tapped into the Everlore Association's Earth-Sky-Heaven Mystic Array, executing the Sky Shell Formation of the array. Despite the oaths in place, San Luoyang had made ample preparations due to the volatility of Wu Yu and the unknown. He wouldn't be the Grand Secretariat of the Everlore Association if he lacked predictive foresight. While his decision was fueled largely by his animosity and desire to put Wu Yu in his place, he still did so to defend against the unexpected.

And this was THE unexpected!

However, this was the greatest extent that San Luoyang could do—protect the Everlore Domain.

"What about the other Domains?" The sole Earthly Saint of the Rainbow World Starfield's greatest force asked calmly, seemingly unconcerned, mostly curious. The eyes of the other foreign Earthly Saints also turned to San Luoyang now that he activated the array.

The Earthly Saints of the other forces in the Aeternal Sky Starfield, except the Imperial Empress, had ugly expressions, especially Han Yuhei. The Sky Shell Formation would protect the Everlore Domain, but it would also isolate them entirely and prevent the Earthly Saints from leaving.

Han Yuhei glared at San Luoyang, but he and everyone else knew that their anger was misplaced. While they were speaking and reacting with relative ease, this was due to their absurdly high speed of perception. They, however, knew that even at their fastest, they wouldn't be able to reach their Domains in time.

As for those Demi-Mortal Lords who were still exiting the secret realm of the summit, their movements in their eyes like snails, they wouldn't be able to do anything. Considering how sluggish the Demi-Mortal Lords were in reacting as the shockwave approached, it was likely their own Demi-Mortal Lord protectors left behind wouldn't be able to do so either unless they acted cautiously.

But a quick sweep of the starfield revealed that no other Domain had reacted.

Ma Zheng swiftly acted, his hand forming a hand-seal as silver light flowed into the Dark Void from his skin, vanishing.

Suddenly, the Endless Prosperous Domain's planets erupted with golden light, shielding the entire Domain in a trapezoid of gold Mystic Energy! 

The expressions of the other Earthly Saints of the Aeternal Sky Starfield drastically changed. He can activate his Domain-wide Array remotely?! Moreover, while the Sky Shell Formation was active. This caused them to realize that Ma Zheng was not ordinary nor did he lack preparations. 

The losses the other Domains would suffer might not be heavy relative to the total population of the starfield, and the vast majority would be protected by passive shielding formations, but those weak lifeforms and cultivators would undoubtedly suffer. 

Those who would be affected were extremely tense. It wasn't just the lives, but the cultivation fields and grounds would be disrupted if chaos mana leaked into the planets, secret realms, or world realms of theirs. It could ruin thousands upon thousands of years of effort in a single moment.

They despaired. 

As Earthly Saints, they needed absurd levels of cultivation resources, and if a single mystic-level cultivation ground stopped producing wealth and materials, they would have to experience thousands of years of lost benefits. 

"It's fine," Empress Xiaocheng said. Her words were spoken with the most confidence and calm as if their worries were entirely unfounded. 

They looked at this outrageously beautiful woman with disbelief. Then, they found the Imperial Advsior's expression was equally as calm, her closed eyes lent her a greater sense of unfathomability than the typical Earthly Saint.

"It's here," Pope Huoyan pointed out.

The shockwave had reached the borders of the Aeternal Sky Starfield, pushing in a violent flood of chaos mana and thunderous power that sought to ravage everything it came across. 

Weng!

"What?!"

The Mystic Souls of every Earthly Saint, Demi-Mortal Lord, and Soul of Mysticism cultivator in the Aeternal Sky Starfield trembled! The eyes of the Soul Saint King, Boundless Martial High King, Rainbow World Starfield's Earthly Saint, Ma Zheng, and several others who were unordinary amongst the Earthly Saint, began to flicker incessantly with spiritual light.

An intense wave of World Pressure surged forth and swept across the entire Aeternal Sky Starfield at the speed of light, encapsulating the entire starfield. A bubble of an invisible-like power shielded the Aeternal Sky Starfield. 

The shockwave crashed against this bubble, unleashing a deep, screeching sound that only those with Mystic Souls could hear. Their hearts thumped fiercely as they witnessed the sheer enormity and swiftness of this protection!

It wasn't a Domain-wide Array, but it felt like one.

It wasn't fueled by Mystic Power, but the Mystic Energy within it wasn't the slightest bit inferior! 

There was a peerless will containing a worldly charm that shook their hearts.

Ma Zheng's eyes glinted, 'Mystic Heart Intent.'

With but a thought and a blink, the Aeternal Sky Starfield was safe. 

This was true power.

After the shockwave dissipated, the music came to an end, and the bubble collapsed gently into non-existence. There was no evidence of a bubble once existing, even to their senses, it was as if the world itself was moved to protect the Aeternal Sky Starfield. 

They all knew that it wasn't the world, but a figure they all dreaded—the Aeternal Sky Divine Emperor.

Empress Xiaocheng had the faintest of smiles on her face, aiding her beauty by several levels, causing even some of the stunned Earthly Saints to look her way and become intoxicated. 

-----

At the same time, the World Between the Fold was undergoing world-shaking events as the Solar Star with three Mystic Radiance Belts began to expand and contract erratically, unleashing fierce solar rays of light that beamed across the vast landscape, eviscerating anything it came in contact with.

As for the world environment, the once flourishing space grew extremely barren! The energies, essence, and mana that once poured into it were redirected to maintain its other functions to prevent a collapse of the Sealing Array. There was no more excess given to them to enjoy!

Endless wails of despair erupted as the scene that happened nearly a decade ago was happening again! Moreover, they had no preparations for this unlike before.

The terror and fear in everyone's hearts roared in madness! These roars were the final piece of the grandest symphony that Trueborn had ever unleashed.