Paragon of Sin

The Sealed Regions, Desolate Dragnet Region.

Within the deserted, desolate Dark Void that was originally the homeworld of great beasts, three figures stood upon a rogue piece of planetary debris amidst a cluster of others. They traversed along the natural pull and push of the Dark Void's celestial bodies, traveling without purpose. They were all looking at a distant location in the Dark Void, the faintest of silvery light emanating from there. 

Despite it being millions upon millions of miles away, they could still observe it. If they concentrated, they could feel the faintest of ripples in the Chaos Mana of the Dark Void through their spiritual senses.

"Young Lord, that's…" Wu Yu's brows were furrowed in a deep frown, his eyes containing deeply rich spiritual light and reflected the endless stars blanketing the night sky, absolutely beautiful and vast. 

"A Chaosnova," Zhan Zheng softly pointed out. 

"Chaosnova?" Wu Yu was taken aback by the term, only knowing about supernovas, a result of the direct explosion of a Solar Star. A natural phenomenon that every Star Core Phase cultivator had grasped. It was their strongest means of power, extremely exhausting, and said to be the only power that could be used to threaten legitimate Ascended beings in various records.

It wasn't the last ability granted by cultivating to the peak of the Mortal Dao without reason. 

"Chaosnovas are artificial supernovas that are enhanced by the Law of Space and specially refined Heavenly Mana," Wei Wuyin explained as he observed the ongoing devastation that Chaosnova was unleashing. While Wu Yu's attention was grasped by interest, Wei Wuyin continued: "It's an ability that those at the Heavenly Saint level can unleash. These three are considerably weaker than the genuine article, however." 

"Heavenly Saints?" Wu Yu was deeply ignorant of the stages beyond his cultivation, only knowing the bare minimum to strive for the next stage, a natural gift of knowledge after succeeding in his Earthly Ascension. The Heavenly Saint Phase was two stages above them, preceded by the Worldly Saint Phase, the Fifth Stage of the Mystic Ascendant Realm.

"So they're mystic-graded Supernovas?" Wu Yu inquired. 

Wei Wuyin shook his head and elaborated, "No; they're Chaosnovas. Fundamentally, they're different. Chaosnovas aren't natural abilities of cultivation, but a devised art that can infuse both Mortal and Mystic Dao. To clarify, Chaosnovas, unlike Supernovas, aren't something that can naturally occur as a celestial phenomenon." 

"..." Wu Yu soaked this in as he turned to see Wei Wuyin, his expression flat and calm as he explained. There was a trace of scholarly intelligence emanating from his eyes, breath, and demeanor. Since his stay in the Stasis Field, Wei Wuyin seemed to have matured in a way that he couldn't quite pinpoint. "I see." 

"Is it only restricted to Heavenly Saints?" Wu Yu knew the answer, but he still felt the need to ask. This power felt domineering and he sought to grasp it.

Wei Wuyin's silver eyes flashed with vigorous light.

"It's not," Zhan Zheng answered on Wei Wuyin's behalf. He then spoke in the Language of Mysticism: "Grasp the Origin State, seize Heavenly Chaos, Infuse Heavenly Chaos with Mana of Mysticism and Conjure a Solar Star's Quintessence, then you can execute this ability with the right art by combining the two. Even Mortals can do so if they're abnormal." 

"Heavenly Chaos…." Wu Yu grew absent-minded. He knew that Wei Wuyin couldn't say 'Heavenly Chaos' in mortal language so Zhan Zheng had explained on his behalf. But that last sentence caused Wu Yu's heart to shake. Even Mortals can do so if they're abnormal? 

He knew that this dragon-head Earthly Saint that served Wei Wuyin like a loyal subordinate was speaking about Wei Wuyin. The term abnormal probably couldn't do this Young Lord of his justice. The feats he accomplished as a mere mortal were utterly mind-blowing. 

However, what Wu Yu didn't know was that his innocently genuine questioning gave birth to grand inspiration. 

'I have all the materials to concoct a pellet that can replicate this power.' Wei Wuyin had concocted countless offensive pellets just in case he needed to face another Cai Liuyun, and he intended to concoct some more to face that creature hunting him, but now…his plans had changed.

After the silvery light dissipated, and the Aeternal Sky Divine Emperor took action to defend his starfield, the trio stayed silent for several minutes until Wu Yu broke the silence. 

"Was that the power of a Worldly Saint? How terrifying," Despite being millions of miles away, his Mystic Soul still shook slightly from bearing witness to Mystic Heart Intent.

Behind his helmet, Zhan Zheng couldn't contain his disdainful smirk from forming. They had just ambushed and slaughtered a true Worldly Saint, and this power might seem awe-inspiring to the plebians and the ignorant, but he knew the truth of the situation just from a single glimpse.

"Just a display of false and temporary power," Wei Wuyin dismissed casually. He had learned of the truth of the Sealed Regions after scouring the memories of his alternative self and thus no longer felt threatened by the Imperial Clan's Divine Emperor. That said, there were forces and individuals in the Sealed Regions he had to be cautious of. 

The Firstborns.

Trueborn.

Rainbow World Starfield's Sole Earthly Saint, Xia Jia.

Imperial Clan's Tian Yinwu.

Sacred Elven Queen, Jiang Feilan. 

Demonic Abyss Master, Gao Zi. 

Divine King Han Xei.

Everlore Association's Evergod.

Golden Gate Sect's Grand Sage.

And lastly, the Temporal Reincarntor. 

Since arriving in the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region, Wei Wuyin had never relented in pursuing the identity of this unknown variable that the Black Skeleton warned him of. It haunted him, thinking his fortune could be seized by others at any moment, that he could die from another's schemes, forcing him to take greater risks to face possible danger. 

He had scoured and scoured using his agents of information and he had tens of thousands of candidates in the Aeternal Sky Starfield alone.

Normally, this list wouldn't be worth the paper it was written on, because it was impossible to determine the Temporal Reincarnator from a typical Blessed. If Wei Wuyin's guess was right, roughly 80% of those on the list were Blessed of varying degrees. Most likely contained small values of Karmic Luck like he had in the beginning, experiencing fortune and great reputation as they slowly rose to become prominent figures, slaying sinners as they came.

But now…

After obtaining the memories of the older, suave Wei Wuyin, he pinpointed the extreme outliers of the two timelines, the nine most likely candidates out of the list.

"Hao Meifen, Long Gua, Yi Mingxa, Yi Yun, Wan Lanying, San Yongli, Lin Tian, and Yang Yongzheng." 

One of them was the Temporal Reincarnator—he could feel it.

"What's next, Young Lord?" Wu Yu asked after digesting Zhan Zheng's explanation. 

"I need to consolidate my cultivation, the Ascendants, and the Valkyrie. Especially the Valkyrie, I'll need them." Wei Wuyin said seriously.

"Need them?" Wu Yu was briefly taken aback. What did he need the Valkyrie, those mix of female lovers and subordinates for? He had two Earthly Saints.

"..." Wei Wuyin's eyes shone. The Valkyrie was essential in completing many goals of his, especially Hong Ru and grasping Nirvanic Flames, a critical power against Trueborn. Additionally, he had to settle the Tang Clan once and for all.

And…

"The Chosen King Competition." Wei Wuyin indirectly answered what Wu Yu hadn't asked. 

The trio would be busy for a long time.

-----

"WOW!" Unable to contain her amazement, Highlord Spiritwalker exclaimed from the Voidship. Just now, a majestic power manifested as fast as light, shielding them a few miles ahead, and blocking the world-ending power that she felt was going to end their lives.

She could only perceive it, but her physical speed was far, far too slow to react. She could only stare blankly as she felt death approaching. In her heart, she cursed this white-haired pretty bitch of a princess a million times. However, all those curses vanished as the barrier formed and blocked the fierce wave of devastating power.

When she turned her head, she saw faint sweat drops on Bing Tian's forehead. She was clenching her fists so hard that they bled, releasing an icy-blue liquid that turned into ice as it clinked against the deck. 

The fear in her eyes was extremely genuine. Due to her own heightened sensitivity, Highlord Spiritwalker could hear the pounding beat of Bing Tian's heart. But when she turned to San Yongli, not only were her eyes exceedingly serene like a still sea, but her heartbeat was beating at only a slightly elevated rhythm. This was understood as growing excitement or anticipation rather than fear in her eyes.

'What a freak.' 

Despite the fear, she calmed down as she felt her confidence in San Yongli grow considerably. She had perfectly calculated the safest distance to observe with the Aeternal Sky Divine Emperor's likely interference. This was a degree of knowledge that was terrifying to behold.

However, San Yongli was familiar with the Aeternal Sky Divine Emperor's border of influence, something she learned from her past life. Moreover, there was no minimum or maximum, so they couldn't be excluded where they were. Just like in her past, this world's future, the chaosnova's aftermath was defended by the Aeternal Sky Divine Emperor.

This was just the benefit of foreknowledge of motivations and behavior.

That said, she was stunned that there were three chaosnovas unleashed simultaneously here unlike what was reported in her time. 

Bing Tian steadied her breathing after a long time. She regained her composure, suppressed that bloated sensation of fear in the depths of her Sea of Consciousness, and focused. "When do we go?"

"Not yet," San Yongli said. 

The current epicenter of the chaosnovas were a mess of space and time, and will be for a brief period. If she was right in predicting the Book of Heaven's Path prediction of this cultivator's fortune, then he'll settle it for them. 

After thirteen minutes, a lone figure flashed over using an empowered-Spatial Shift harnessing Void Energy. The figure held a crumbling necklace of grey radiance. With its final bit of radiance, the figure tossed it into the distorted space where the chaosnovas was unleashed. 

The rippling, lingering power and heat seethed for a bit before dissipating, forming a large tube-like tunnel of white energy. The figure shot into the tunnel without hesitation, unaware of the Voidship that slowly made its approach. 

"When he leaves, we'll go in." She said with a faint smile, satisfied that everything was going according to plan. 

This figure should take out a single Shadow Egg Core, for whatever reason, and then depart with the utmost swiftness. They can reinforce the remaining power and take one of the remaining two.

Three minutes later.

The figure shot out of the white tunnel.

"...!" San Yongli's eyes widened.

One.

Two.

Three!

Floating before the figure were three cores emitting a unique type of mana, granting it a misty appearance. 

"Shit!" She internally screamed. 

The figure was about to leave. And with him, the three cores! 

Fortunately, she had made ample preparations. With a light of urgency, she pointed at the figure, "Stop him!" 

The two female Demi-Mortal Lords didn't even need San Yongli to speak, instantly understanding as they glanced at each other before a single syllable of San Yongli completed, and burst forward with violent momentum. 

They rushed the figure!

The figure responded with a shock, his Mystic Ward conjured instinctively.

If Wei Wuyin was here, he would recognize the aura of this figure. This cultivator had escaped the death sentence that Bai Lin was dishing out to Trueborn in their first encounter! 

The Evil Blessed!