Paragon of Sin

Matriarch Vermillion's eyes were thoughtful, flashing with a calculating light, and then they solidified into resolve and determination. "Alchemic Sovereign Wei, Hong Ru is located in a special realm that normally outsiders aren't allowed. However, considering your relationship with Junior Hong, I'll bring y-"

Her words were viciously interrupted! 

"WATCH OUT!!!" The Volcanic Fist True King roared. 

Wei Wuyin's eyes constricted; the Traceless Emptiness Void Queen sent a spiritual transmission while Matriarch Vermillion was talking, and it said: "Apologies, Alchemic Sovereign Wei. Forgive my rudeness…" 

Those words triggered Wei Wuyin's mental warning bell, and his Celestial Eyes shifted to the apologetic Earthly Saint, and he bore witness to an abrupt explosive surge of unfathomable power. It was as tyrannical and terrifying as a thousand volcanoes erupting all at once! 

"Vitality Ignition Art!" 

The force of the eruption sent Tuo Bihan and Xiao Bing's Voidship tumbling backward uncontrollably, creaking and cracking on the verge of collapse. The Highlords of the Tang Clan barely reacted as they were blown away like severed kites in the wind, traversing thousands of miles as blood leaked from their orifices, and the Volcanic Fist True King unleashed a domineering fiery fist in an attempt to resist the sudden explosive power. 

While he wasn't sent flying, he was stalled for a brief moment amidst a torrential spatial storm. Despite a second roar of blistering rage, he was unable to move. The frustration in his eyes was palpable, and his senses darted and honed onto Matriarch Vermillion who was sent flying. 

The Traceless Emptiness Void Queen surfed across the Dark Void elegantly as her face had bulging veins and pulsing bursts of light from her pores, and she was racing toward the Matriarch Vermillion with killing intent in her eyes. She had used a self-damaging art to enhance her powers, burning through her mystic-graded lifeforce to acquire a burst of horrifically powerful strength.

"ARGH!" Matriarch Vermillion screamed in pain as her body was blasted by vigorous power. Unfortunately, she was simply a Highlord, and her Demi-Mystic State wasn't unleashed, so she was deeply caught off-guard. She wanted to bring out her Armament to defend against any follow-up, but her reaction was slightly delayed as her body was wracked with pain and power, interfering with her ability to react. 

"NO!" She struggled to spread out her Spiritual Sense, and she caught the murderous Traceless Emptiness Void Queen rushing toward her with single-minded focus. °She's going to kill me!° If she died, this coup was all but half-finished. Given that her sister had the Tang Clan's core bloodline within her, she could seize her position as Matriarch while maintaining all the protective oaths. 

She cursed in her heart at those traitors or assisted her sister in launching this sneak attack, in hindering the activation of the Domain Array through sabotage, and if it wasn't for her grandfather-in-law's presence and support, she might have already been buried and forgotten. 

She cursed the Tian Clan for not helping immediately, albeit she understood why, she cursed them nonetheless. 

She cursed her idiocy for believing that Wei Wuyin's reputation would be enough to protect her, settling the situation, and lowering her guard as a result. 

She cursed Wei Wuyin too. 

This was all his fault! 

As she faced her blood relative's murderous charge, she didn't realize how much fear she had toward death. She didn't want to die. In her long life, she thought she would be able to accept her death, but now that it was her time, she desperately wanted to cling to life! The regrets she had were all rushing toward her thoughts, and the edges of her eyes formed unshed tears. 

The urge to beg for her sister to spare her was followed by an instant flashback of their lives and what led them here…

From the beginning of their shared birth, to her sister's disownment, to being driven out, hunted down, and announced deceased. Who would've thought she was still alive and that she cultivated to this extent? If she had known…she would've used all her means to kill her for certain!

A stinging bitter sensation itched at her teeth, and she glared at her would-be killer. Hatred. Pure, unadulterated hatred. For the world, to the heavens, to the fool who announced her dead, to the traitors, to the Golden Life Pavilion's one-sided exile, to Wei Wuyin for his grudge that caused it, to Bai Lin who resisted so strongly, to her ancestors for being stupid fools who cultivated a flawed method, and to herself for allowing this all to happen.

"Sister." The Traceless Emptiness Void Queen was a mass of surging energy, and she appeared before the Matriarch of the Tang Clan, her fists clenched while fixed space quivered, and she threw her fist with the ferocity of a thrown Lance! She wanted to obliterate her sister down to the tiniest molecules!

Within her eyes, behind the veil, was pure, unadulterated hatred paired with glacial killing intent. "Go to hell." Her voice was like a trigger to both of their memories. Shortly before she was hunted down, her sister had told her those exact words, and she gnashed her teeth and ran away while being pursued like a scared doe. She had never forgotten those delightful words from her lips. 

She could never forget.

Today will be the day it all comes to an end. 

"Haaa." A sigh resounded. It was heavy, omnipresent, and extremely domineering. It existed throughout time and space, distorting the senses, and the next words came into the mind of everyone present. 

It sounded like an irresistible command; it sounded dimensionally foreign; it sounded potentially endless.

It sounded like...za...waru...do...

Then, as if the world bleched in a deep bass, a torrential wave swept across the twin sisters and everyone else. They both were mere inches from each other, the fist of the Traceless Emptiness Void Queen was only two inches from coming in direct contact with Matriarch Vermillion's chest. If it hit, she would unravel from every conceivable point, bursting into a terrifying death that other Earthly Saints would find extremely difficult to reverse.

They stared at each other. 

What…was…this? 

The entire world had…stopped?! 

A white-robed figure arrived slowly beside the two. Their eyes wanted to constrict, but they couldn't even generate the slightest movement. While their ability to form conscious thought had remained intact, their power and body had all frozen completely. 

But their thoughts were unified: "WEI WUYIN?!" 

Wei Wuyin was holding onto a grey-colored talisman that exuded endless Temporal Power, reminiscent of an Earthly Saint, but it exuded the profound aura of the Minor Authority of Time. It was burning rapidly with Void Flames. 

Wei Wuyin looked at the Traceless Emptiness Void Queen, his silver eyes bore upon her with cold indifference. "Should I kill you?"

"...!" The two sisters both had their hearts clenched violently as if seized by a gigantic, forceful hand. What was this? What the hell was this?!

The world was frozen! They couldn't even fathom the level of Temporal Power needed to halt a Highlord and an Earthly Saint, let alone if everyone else in the vicinity was frozen. For the first time since she had been hunted like a dog, the Traceless Emptiness Void Queen was terrified. Deeply terrified. 

Wei Wuyin gently touched the Traceless Emptiness Void Queen's hand, and then pushed lightly. Her body felt as if all resistance had been bypassed, and she was pushed across fixed space at unthinkable speeds. This was Spatial Shifting! 

Wei Wuyin was forcefully Spatial Shifting her! An Earthly Saint! Her thoughts were chaos and fear. 

Then, he reached out to grab the Matriarch's slender waist and moved away from the original path of the fist. 

A pop resounded. 

The world regained its sense of normalcy! 

The raging power that the Traceless Emptiness Void Queen had unleashed barreled toward Matriarch Vermillion's original location, tearing apart fixed space and borrowing a hole into it. A sporadic burst of multicolored light flashed, a sign of chaotic space leaking out! 

Then, by natural law, space repaired itself and regained normalcy.

But not a single person here dared to move; the Volcanic Fist True King's eyes were wide and his body was intensely shivering. He had never experienced such unimaginable terrifying circumstances, a sensation of weakness and helplessness surged into his heart as he recalled the feeling of being frozen. He couldn't even breathe. 

"..."

Matriarch Vermillion was in Wei Wuyin's embrace, resembling a confused damsel who had just been saved, her eyes wide and shaken, her hands clutching Wei Wuyin's robes, and her mouth agape. 

Wei Wuyin looked at her, his silver eyes locking with her astonished eyes, and he said: "Bring me to Hong Ru." 

"O…kay." There was no disobedience or reluctance in her voice. She no longer dared to have any thoughts as she stared up close at this breathtakingly handsome man. The absolute charm he exuded as he stopped her sister and brought her away had ignited a strange feeling in her heart. 

Since young, she had always been domineering and arrogant, forceful and aggressive, but for the first time in her life, her freely tyrannical spirit was tamed by five words and a look. What power…

If she knew that her sister felt a similar feeling but from four words, not five, she wouldn't even be surprised. 

The Traceless Emptiness Void Queen just stood there, her eyes shaking intensely, and her breathing was heavy as can be. She didn't even dare to run. Could she even run? 

"You, come with us." Wei Wuyin glanced at the Earthly Saint and commanded. The twin sisters were being ordered around! Moreover, the Traceless Emptiness Void Queen canceled her Vitality Ignition Art, and then slowly approached with the most docile aura imaginable. There was not the slightest indication that she would attack, only bright curiosity behind her fearful gaze. 

"Lead the way," Wei Wuyin instructed and Matriarch Vermillion nodded softly. She was released from Wei Wuyin's embrace, gave her sister a strange look, and then quietly flew toward Unity. 

The twins, one in front and one behind, followed Wei Wuyin as a Voidship trailed them from behind. The ship had survived, albeit just barely. 

-----

They soon arrived before a strange Void Gate within the Tang Clan's gorgeous palace. It was said to be where the Ancestor of the Tang Clan had Ascended to the Mystic Ascendant Realm, and the location had a searingly hot climate, but there was an accompanying wind of air that made it oddly comfortable. 

The Void Gate had two Vermillion Birds depicted in an artistic design, and it glowed scarlet red. With Xiao Bing and Tuo Bihan, Wei Wuyin was escorted by Matriarch Vermillion to his left and the Traceless Emptiness Void Queen to his right. Xiao Bing was directly to his right, holding his hand while eyeing the two Ascended beings. 

The way their gazes shifted toward Wei Wuyin brought her a sense of discomfort, and she didn't know why. But considering how calm Wei Wuyin was, they certainly weren't a threat. She had to resist the urge to ask Wei Wuyin about that strange temporal change, and that was extremely difficult. 

Wei Wuyin inspected the Void Gate and his eyes brightened. "What a strange Void Gate. I can't even sense where it leads…No wonder I couldn't sense Hong Ru's ring," Wei Wuyin thought to himself. He had presumed Hong Ru's ring was destroyed during the conflict, which wasn't an unlikely scenario, and one of the core reasons he decided to act swiftly to find her. 

If she was dead, he could hope that it was recent so it could be reversed. But facing this Void Gate, he realized that this Secret Realm of the Tang Clan was unordinary. As a True Void Dragon, this invigorated his curiosity. 

"Was this made with the Minor Authority of Space?" Wei Wuyin inspected the Void Gate deeply, and he more or less gauged how it was structured, and this answered why he was unable to pierce through it with his bloodline and comprehension of space. 

"This is the Blazing Graveyard of Blessed Vermillions, our greatest secret, and reason for the Tang Clan's prominence." The Traceless Emptiness Void Queen softly said as her eyes became emotional while observing the gaze. Her eyes told a deep, painful story, but she held it back as she gulped. Thinking of Wei Wuyin's earlier words, her spine shivered and she went silent.

"The Vermillion Graveyard is where we placed our greatest disciples to prepare for the upcoming Chosen King Competition. Junior Hong Ru was placed here alongside our other Saintesses, Heroes, and Geniuses to finalize our Chosen," Vermillion Matriarch explained calmly. 

This was where Wei Wuyin had always wanted to visit! He intended to bring Bai Lin here after kidnapping Tang Xingyun and blackmailing the Tang Clan for information, but it seemed that he needn't resort to such sordid matters. They were going to lead him directly in!