Paragon of Sin

"Little Boss?! Who?" Xiao Bing started. Who dared to call Wei Wuyin, the Neo-Dawn Alchemic Sovereign, whispered by the elites as the Oathless Calamity, leader of the Ascendants, and a mortal that could slay Ascended beings as little boss?! She had kept herself deeply apprised of all Wei Wuyin's unimaginable feats since she regained her freedom in the Bing Clan, so this greeting startled her. 

Wei Wuyin was unable to contain his warm smile that leaked with unconcerned elation. The only existence in this world that still had the gumption to refer to him as anything other than his Majesty, Young Lord, Young Master, or Alchemic Sovereign Wei was only that endlessly familiar grey-bearded old man. 

Wei Wuyin turned to see him—Tuo Bihan! The old man was stylish with a moon-white robe, his long hair tied back, and his grey beard was trimmed. He had changed considerably from before, regaining some of his youthful exuberance and handsomeness of his past. Yet despite that, the casual air of an elder that slept at random places carelessly remained. Despite being in contact, Wei Wuyin hadn't personally met Tuo Bihan since he gave him the assignment to distribute those spiritual letters.

He had performed this task astonishingly. 

"Old man," Wei Wuyin called out. Xiao Bing was instantly stunned, she instantly recognized Tuo Bihan, the former Grand Imperial Sage of the Myriad Monarch Sect! After the World-Shifting Net's secret realm, she hadn't seen him or heard of him since. 

Tuo Bihan arrived before them, his sporadic naming sense aside, he was utterly flawless with his respectful greeting and gesture. The old man had been one of Wei Wuyin's first subordinates, amongst the first of the Ascendants, and he had operated as such since obtaining the title. 

"Are you our escort?" Wei Wuyin inquired curiously. He had thought it would be an Ascended being of the Ma Clan, this minor branch's manager, but Tuo Bihan had arrived instead. 

"Haha, I am." Tuo Bihan laughed boisterously. After having his Worldly Domain crushed by Ma Sujiang, the Golden Life Pavilion provided him with a rich environment, resources, and a variety of other tools to recover and grow stronger. It was Ma Zheng's way to appease Wei Wuyin's possible resentment toward the event. After all, attacking the messenger was a deeply disrespectful act.

"You're this minor branch's manager?" Xiao Bing asked, her astonishment fading as she regarded Tuo Bihan as one of Wei Wuyin's subordinates. This was the branch established to oversee the operations within the Vermillion Domain. It was rare for an Ascended being to not head the department. 

"Temporarily," Tuo Bihan said mysteriously with a sly look in his eyes. "The Vermillion Domain's minor branch has more or less been closed down, so there's not much to it." 

"Closed down?" 

"Yeah. Since their assault on Bai Lin in the Ninestars Starfield, business with the Tang Clan has been plummeting. The Golden Life Pavilion first elevated all prices of their merchandise, and then various shipments to resupply were diverted elsewhere. After Pavilion Master Ma gained the seat, the branch is a mere shadow of its original brilliance, with all imports stalled or stupidly overpriced." Tuo Bihan chuckled. "You wanted information about the Vermillion Domain?" 

Wei Wuyin hadn't kept himself informed of the Golden Life Pavilion and Tang Clan's relations, so he was a little shocked by the development, albeit he expected it. Ma Zheng was very proactive in handling his matters and establishing firm lines even when he was just a Branch Manager. 

The trio soon left, entering a Voidship as they shot towards the Vermillion Domain's capital planet, Unity. It gave off a reddish hue that felt as if it would be naturally hot. 

During their journey, Xiao Bing and Wei Wuyin learned a lot about the Vermillion Domain. It was rife with internal conflicts and battles. After their failed attempt at seizing Bai Lin, they suffered monstrous losses, and many elite members were severely injured, killed, or crippled. This caused the power balance among the upper echelon of the Tang Clan to go berserk.

Furthermore, the Tang Clan had subordinate clans, sects, and associations throughout their lands like most Domains of the Aeternal Sky Starfield, and these organizations further divided the Tang Clan into various elites by siding with various members. The fight for resources grew, and the Golden Life Pavilion's stance of reducing their business further crushed the morale of the Vermillion Domain.

While the Tang Clan was tethered to the Imperial Clan, they had been suffering cold shoulders recently from the latter. 

"Why? Aren't they interconnected with various marriages and blood relations?" Xiao Bing couldn't help but ask. Given the Tang Clan's history with the Imperial Clan, it should be difficult for them to receive any form of a cold shoulder. 

Tuo Bihan shook his head, "It's because of the various marriages and blood relations that their relationship had grown awkward. It has to do with the Young Mistress of the Tang Clan, Tang Xingyun, and the current leader of the Tang Clan—the Seventh Generation Matriarch."

"Oh?" Xiao Bing's interest was instantly piqued. 

Tuo Bihan explained: "Unlike the Bing Clan, the Tang Clan's marriages have more or less been refused." 

"Trying to break away from their destiny as Yin Cauldrons?" Wei Wuyin said.

"Yes," Tuo Bihan confirmed, "and this has been going on for a while. The Tang Clan's currently established marriages are all exceptionally old, with many having died due to cultivation difficulties or age. The last marriage between the Tang Clan and Imperial Clan dated back about six thousand years. Since then, there have been no other engagements. Except one, Tang Xingyun." 

"Why?" Xiao Bing couldn't fathom this. She hadn't heard anything about this at all. During her studies, the Bing Clan's instructor had referred to the Tang Clan as being in the same situation as them, tethered to the Imperial Clan by marriage. The Bing Clan has insanely deep interconnected marriages and even sought out actively entering into the Tian Clan's harem. 

Wei Wuyin decided to throw out a guess, "the King of Everlore?" Xiao Bing started. What does he have to do with this?

"Oh!" Tuo Bihan was ecstatic by Wei Wuyin's intellect once more. The breadcrumbs here and there were almost always grasped by this young man, and it was borderline terrifying. "You're correct, the King of Everlore had interfered with the process. I don't know why or how exactly, but after the King of Everlore grew in prominence, the Tang Clan gained the freedom to decide their fate as a whole and the Imperial Clan allowed it. The only exception was Tang Xingyun." 

"Why her?" 

"She's the firstborn of the Seventh Generation Vermillion, the Matriarch of the Tang Clan, and this was an agreement the Divine Emperor himself had orchestrated. His Seventh 'officially recognized' son would be engaged to her firstborn. I also heard that the Divine Emperor had originally intended to not recognize a seventh son, but Tian Yinwu was simply too outstanding. As for the Seventh Generation Vermillion, she had similarly sworn off from having children to avoid that situation, but love and desire for partnership weren't something one can resist so easily, and she had a child. It's almost as if it was-"

"..heavenly fate," Xiao Bing interrupted Tuo Bihan, who solemnly nodded and bitterly smiled. 

"I always thought the Tang Clan and Bing Clan had similar situations. To think the Tang Clan had shed off their status as Yin Cauldrons for the Imperial Elites long ago." Wei Wuyin thoughtfully and admirably said. He could guess that the Tang Clan had offered something to the King of Everlore to gain their independence. 

"But why wouldn't they willingly agree? The Imperial Clan is outstanding, it's rare for women to choose to marry down when they have the chance to marry up, right?" Xiao Bing instantly keyed into a critical point.

"Perceptive! The answer is relatively simple when you think about it, little lass: the Tang Clan isn't the only one that's refusing to marry; the Imperial Clan has decided to sever their relations as well, likely forbidden by the Divine Emperor himself. It might have to do with the King of Everlore's interference or the utter disrespect they displayed by trying to distance themselves after receiving support using an outside force." Tuo Bihan thoughtfully explained as he considered which was more likely.

"How come you know about it? Why isn't this information well-known throughout the world?" Xiao Bing was unable to figure out why she was taught otherwise. 

"The Tang Clan wants to be protected," Wei Wuyin answered instead. 

"Correct!" Tuo Bihan exclaimed admiringly. "Little Lass, the Tang Clan, or any of the factions of the Aeternal Sky Starfield, do not operate solely in this starfield. The Imperial Clan's alliance is a shield of unimaginable value. The world outside is dangerous with little protection, especially when it comes to a contest for resources. If you take away the Imperial Clan, the Tang Clan is certainly powerful, but not enough to contend for high-end resources, perhaps they would struggle for resources in its own territory. If the Parasitic Clans of the True Element Sect tells you anything, it's not hard to make the Tang Clan a puppet for benefits.

"Recently, the Ravenous Edge Starfield's division of territory and resources could be used as a perfect example. If it wasn't for this false protection, the Tang Clan or its subordinates wouldn't have been able to involve themselves in it. Only forces with backings of Earthly Saints could've participated and taken a tiny piece of such a delicious pie.

"As for why you don't know and I do? Well, the organizations who do know are all under oaths. I, Tuo Bihan, am under no oath; I am an Ascendant." The old man rubbed his beard as he looked at Wei Wuyin smilingly. There was a reason why the world feared Wei Wuyin as an Oathless Calamity, just Wu Yu was enough to instill fear and insecurity, but the unregulated information was likely more terrifying. 

Wei Wuyin could, without hesitation, leak this information and the Tang Clan's area of operation would shrink after learning of how distant they were from the Imperial Clan.

"This explains why the Tang Clan received no help from any force when they hunted Bai Lin and why every force waited with bated breath for their failure," Wei Wuyin remarked with a tinge of amusement in his tone. If all the elite forces knew of their situation, why would they help? They had no real support, and offending the behemoth that was the Ninestar Starfield or an Earthly Saint, why would they? 

It was as if an invisible piece of a puzzle had suddenly lost all its concealments enabling one to see the greater picture. Why hadn't the Imperial Clan assisted the Tang Clan during their operation? If they grew in strength, as Yin Cauldrons, wouldn't they also receive an explosive boost? Now it was clear as to the reason why.

"So the Tang Clan's situation must be increasingly worsening," Xiao Bing concluded with a tone rife with concern. Hong Ru was with the Tang Clan…

"Indeed, it has. Indeed…it has…" Tuo Bihan said as they neared Unity. The planet's atmosphere was chaotic, seething, and exuded a heat that affected the Dark Void. 

"This…" All three of them were stunned. 

The planet was at war!