Paragon of Sin

Bai Xiu's enthusiasm was feverish, filled to the brim with vim and vigor as she gestured nigh-manically at the Neo-Dawn Ascension Cauldron. Wei Wuyin couldn't hold back his smile as her childish energy thrummed with untainted and unrestrained passion. 

"So annoying," the Heavenly War Spirit spat within his Sea of Consciousness, unamused by Bai Xiu's antics or suggestion. "Her first instinct after completing her merging process is to risk it all. How immature and short-sighted." 

Wei Wuyin didn't bother to respond to the Heavenly War Spirit's derision-fueled comment. It was a little hard to take her seriously as she spoke like an ancient senior with the voice of a little girl, but she had a decent point. Wei Wuyin knitted his brows and asked, "Don't you think that's a little too risky? If I failed in the concoction process, wouldn't we lose the Utmost Purity Mist I've developed over the decades?" 

The topic of Utmost Purity Mist possessing cauldrons was a hot subject among Alchemists. In the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region, these cauldrons needed an impeccably perfect record of successes without the slightest failure; therefore, the Alchemists would only concoct products they were certain of success, resorting to alternative cauldrons to test new products. This type of practice was safe, cautious-minded, and allowed great cauldrons to be birthed in even mediocre organizations. 

Bai Xiu pouted her lips, sitting down on the table, and swinging her legs playfully at the edges. "Is that what that old witch is saying?" Her tone contained a little bit of animosity and challenge, and all of it was directed toward the Heavenly War Spirit! "The old witch should stick to her own Dao. Hmph!" 

Wei Wuyin felt a tremor ripple from his Sea of Consciousness, and he couldn't help but bitterly smile. After Bai Xiu had officially taken him as her master, she similarly could connect with his Sea of Consciousness. As such, she and the Heavenly War Spirit knew of each other.

At first, their relationship was a little neutral and passive, but then the Heavenly War Spirit began to take the tone of a great and educated senior. The issue was that…she wasn't as knowledgeable about the Alchemic Dao as Bai Xiu, so her advice often fell flat or to the ears of a legitimate expert, oftentimes argued against and proven lacking. 

It wasn't that the Heavenly War Spirit wasn't knowledgeable, but simply that Bai Xiu knew more about her field of study that defined her existence. The dynamic was quite incredibly abrupt and Wei Wuyin didn't initially know why the argumentative challenges were even being dished out. Initially, that is. 

After a while, Wei Wuyin realized that the Heavenly War Spirit was jealous of Bai Xiu. Unfortunately, despite figuring out why, the Heavenly War Spirit violently rejected being named. She kept warning Wei Wuyin that doing so would make his cultivation path so absurdly difficult that he would certainly regret it. 

That said, she did passively aggressively suggest these words: "If you're going to name a Spirit of Dao, you should only do it after they've fully manifested and accepted you. Anyone with any knowledge would know that." 

Wei Wuyin took that as her current egg-like state was unsuitable for her to receive a name. He could only table it for now, but the dynamic had already formed, and they both were stubborn existences. 

"The overly excited child always wants to jump off the cliff to the warm waters, unbeknownst to them the sharp spikes beneath the sea. Go, try it and find out how to spell 'regret'." Despite it seeming as if the Heavenly War Spirit was exclusively talking to Wei Wuyin, Bai Xiu could hear the conversations, and simply acted as if she couldn't.

"Regret? You don't know anything!" Bai Xiu couldn't pretend any longer and directly called out. Then, she turned to Wei Wuyin, her eyes shimmering with a calculating light. She was clearly thinking of how to convince Wei Wuyin. "Master, trust me, the Neo-Dawn Ascension Cauldron is-"

"Okay, okay." Wei Wuyin waved his hand to silence her before she got going, not wanting to be in the middle of this contest of who can convince the best—he didn't need to be convinced. 

What neither of them knew, despite having a connection with his Sea of Consciousness, was that Wei Wuyin wasn't an inexperienced Alchemist when it came to Mystic-graded concoctions. The suave version of himself was an Alchemist, much the same as him. Furthermore, he had reached the fourth stage of the Mystic Ascendant Realm, Earthly Saint Phase, and had been an Alchemic Saint! 

A Prime Earthly Alchemic Saint! 

The Earthly Saint Alchemist level was skilled in the concoction of Mystic-Earth graded alchemical products, ranging from the suitability for those at the first stage of the Mystic Ascendant Realm, Mystic Star Phase, to the fourth stage, and he had been one for quite a while. 

Wei Wuyin had obtained not just his knowledge of events and the Way of Mysticism, including the Language of Mysticism, but he obtained his experiences with the Mystic Dao and Mystic-Earth graded concoctions. Unfortunately, despite the debonair disposition that made him seem elite, this version of himself had focused on cultivation, using alchemy as a sky-rising platform. 

Unlike him who treated the Alchemic Dao with equal importance as cultivation, not differentiating them in the slightest, and using one to maximize the other and vice versa, debonair Wei Wuyin couldn't hold a candle to Wei Wuyin's concoction knowledge of Mortal-Rank alchemical products, usage of Concoction Methods, or knowledge of them. 

Despite having the same degree of Alchemic Talent, it was clear that that version of himself had pursued speed over quality and strength, causing him to be considerably weaker. If Wei Wuyin had to make an estimation, the current him would absolutely kill that version of himself even if he was in the Soul of Mysticism Phase. 

Despite that, debonair Wei Wuyin was an extremely skilled Earthly Saint Alchemist that could certainly challenge on equal footing all existing Alchemic Saints of the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region. With all that knowledge and experience, Wei Wuyin was also at that level. The benefits of the River of Time Astral Tribulation were indescribably vast. 

"The issue isn't if I should try it or whether it's worth the risk; the issue is: why should I risk it?" Wei Wuyin said as he eyed the mass of dense mist inside the Neo-Dawn Ascension Cauldron. The implications of possessing fragmented Mystic Seeds were extremely far-reaching, and Wei Wuyin now had the confidence that many would believe to be utterly inconceivable!

The confidence to concoct a Mystic-Earth product!

But the question was still: Why?!

Even if Wei Wuyin could concoct these products, they would not affect his cultivation. After all, Timelords couldn't consume Mystic-graded products. There was an existential disparity present. The concoction process and refinement time were bound to be greater as well, and he was already left with only a single year before the Third Calamity descended. He wanted to rest and relax after verifying his battle prowess. 

With seven beauties in his bedroom, why not indulge for a little while? He was already at the pinnacle of the Temporal Eye Phase in terms of foundation, the Seeds of Law all needed Soul Light nurturing which was happening passively through his sentient, self-cultivating Astral Souls, and his subordinates were mostly all cultivating in a separate realm or conducting missions. Furthermore, he didn't dare to challenge the Star Core Phase yet, not until he completed the final design of 'that' pill, something that has been in development for almost three decades. 

Right now, his Second Mind was pouring over all sorts of alchemical knowledge in the Palace of Eden's library and actively organizing everything, putting the finishing touches, and conducting various mental simulations. The current Wei Wuyin was the definition of idle, awaiting the results in a waiting room. And the room he selected was his bedroom, with seven beauties with varied personalities and soft, hot bodies. 

He was extremely happy and content, so why concoct a Mystic-Earth grade product now? Why waste the time or take the risk of potential failure? 

Bai Xiu's eyes grew sullen. 

Wei Wuyin wryly smiled, "I made a promise, so I'll keep it. But it was towards conducting transcendent-quality products. That's easier, especially given the fragmented Mystic Seeds."

Heavenly War Spirit gave a victorious snort, then went silent. To her, she had won. Wei Wuyin wasn't without reason. 

"But Master…you don't want the heaven-defying, world-shaking, convention-breaking, and era-defining product for your cultivation base?" Bai Xiu softly said, defeated and listless. She lowered her head, hiding her expression as she sounded quite teary.

"Hm?" Wei Wuyin's ears perked. "Heaven-defying?" 

"Mhm." Bai Xiu nodded while glum. 

"World-shaking?" Wei Wuyin's left eyebrow lifted. 

"Yeh." Bai Xiu lowered her head more.

"Convention-breaking?" At this point, Wei Wuyin's eyes birthed a bright radiance of irresistible interest. 

"Breaking all the conventions there is." Bai Xiu's tone grew even softer. 

"What era?" Wei Wuyin was now in front of Bai Xiu, her tiny body shivering as if she was going to cry. 

"The One-Star Era. A little, old one…" Bai Xiu's body even seemed to grow fainter. 

But Wei Wuyin's eyes brightened to the absolute limits. The memories of his past life and the vast knowledge in the Palace of Eden's library thrummed in his Sea of Consciousness. The One-Star Era was mentioned in a few Academic History Notebooks belonging to some Alchemists. 

It was a long, long ago era that almost exclusively exists in theory, said to have happened roughly two million years ago! Not much was known except that during the era, a single Solar Star, an Absolute Solar Star, oversaw an entire Stellar Region by its lonesome, causing it to be widely considered as the largest Starfield in history. An Absolute Solar Star was a thousand times larger than the largest Supermassive Solar Star, and it could bring radiance to an entire Galactic Zone!

The Aeternal Sky Solar Star was a Supermassive Solar Star, and it could be seen from outside the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region, yet amongst Supermassive-sized Solar Stars, it was firmly categorized as one of the smallest in existence. 

According to debonair Wei Wuyin's curious efforts after becoming the Void Voyage Sect's Sect Master by force, who learned far more than the notebooks of those history buffs, knowing that the World Beyond the Fold often described as a byproduct of the One-Star Era, only occurring after its end. 

Wei Wuyin probed the Heavenly War Spirit, and considering how shaken she seemed, it was clear that she recognized the product as well.

And WEI WUYIN DID TOO! 

"The Mystic-Refined Divinity-Forging Pill?" Wei Wuyin guessed with bated breaths.

"...!" Bai Xiu's head whipped up disbelievingly, and her feigning of emotional crying and dejection was revealed. "You know of it?" 

"How do you know about it?!" Wei Wuyin asked instead, feeling deeply shaken but equally as intrigued and hopeful.

"Me? Well, I was there when it was invented!" Bai Xiu proudly exclaimed, not a tear could be seen in her eyes. 

"You know the concoction method?" 

"I know the concoction method!" Bai Xiu didn't keep Wei Wuyin in suspense, transmitting the pill's concoction method to him through their connection. She held nothing back! 

The Heavenly War Spirit exclaimed, "Impossible!" Despite her origins and knowledge, even she was taken aback by this revelation! 

Why was this product so special? So heaven-defying? So world-shaking? So convention-breaking? So era-defining?!

In the Dao of Alchemy, it was often said that it was limitless. This was hard to disprove, so many took it as true. But while it seemingly had no tangible limitations, there were a few forbidden taboos that were difficult to overcome, but not impossible to accomplish. 

The Mystic-Refining Divinity-Forging Pill was one of those forbidden pills that had its difficulties in concoction and requirements that must be met. This pill had one effect! And ONLY one effect!

It could evolve a cultivator's Mortal Existential Framework into an Ascended Existential Framework! 

In Wei Wuyin's Palace of Eden, his Second Mind received a copy of the concoction method, and immediately halted everything it was doing. After a short while, it roared out in enlightened disbelief: "THAT'S IT!"