Paragon of Sin

'Did she visit Yue Songli due to our public connection? But…if what Trueborn said is true, their descent should herald a greater, more obvious change.' Wei Wuyin thoughtfully pondered as he comfortably sat in his Golden Council-exclusive chair with his right leg crossed, his right arm propping his chin, and his gaze increasingly growing distant. 

"You!" Someone gnashed their teeth and faintly growled. It was Yun Che! After arriving here under the possibility of an explanation and returning his Heretical Berserk Godsword, Ma Zheng, a dignified and powerful Earthly Saint, had forcefully ordered him to sit and wait. Now, a young mortal alchemist emerged from thin air and sat calmly without saying any words. 

Where is that featureless face-masked, black-robed cultivator?! Or was he supposed to just wait endlessly? 

His anger clouded his senses for a brief moment, but Yun Che had been alive for too long, experienced many things, and knew that in situations where one's control and understanding were lacking, the best course of action was remaining calm, cool, and alert. After his initial anger flashed, he regained his inner peace with a breath, inspected this new arrival, and observed the reactions of the others.

Ma Zheng, the Pavilion Master of the Golden Life Pavilion, and the other Incarnations of the Golden Council had respectful, reverential, and reserved attitudes while facing this white-robed Alchemist. 

"..." a distinct silence and order were forming in the room, all the attention and flow were being dictated by a single presence, and Yun Che felt that, undoubtedly, this mortal…was different. Suddenly, his eyes constricted slightly! White-robed mortal Alchemist with a connection with the Golden Life Pavilion, who possessed unbelievably good looks and strength that could touch upon the Mystic Ascendant Realm despite his Mortal Realm cultivation base! 

There was only one!

Wei Wuyin!

The Neo-Dawn Alchemic Sovereign!

Yun Che's eyes brightened considerably, his interest unconcealed by his eager expression. The Neo-Dawn Alchemic Sovereign was an existence of unpredictable greatness, forging a legacy and independent power that could rival top-tier organizations after emerging twenty years ago! He was referred to as Saintmaker! 

After recovering his Mystic Energy, Yun Che had made it a priority to learn about the recent news, and there was nowhere within the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region where the name 'Wei Wuyin' wasn't being avidly discussed by all generations. Even ordinary farmers and miners had heard about him through various channels. He was 'THE' hot topic of the century, only rivaled by Tian Yinwu. 

This Tian Yinwu was continuously escalating the feats of his younger years, displaying outstanding talent and combat prowess. Years ago, the Seventh Prince had defeated a Realmlord at the Sky Lord Phase using his ingenuity and methods generated by his own effort, and now he'd defeated a Demi-Mortal Lord while handicapped and at the Timelord Phase. 

There was a tinge of envy toward Tian Yinwu in Yun Che's heart, but when he faced Wei Wuyin, there was only respect. Wei Wuyin was the definition of an Alchemist exerting the greatest powers of one, and Yun Che wasn't an alchemist, so it was hard to be jealous. As for slaying a Venerable-level Incarnation or cultivator in the Mortal Realms, Yun Che had done the same with his Heretical Berserk Godsword when he temporarily unleashed its true strength. It wasn't impossible with the proper armaments, tools, or talismans. 

"You're Alchemic Sovereign Wei!" Yun Che might have been forced to sit, but he could speak. His voice brought Wei Wuyin out of his thoughts, his focus shifting to Yun Che. 

'Right. The Evil Blessed,' Wei Wuyin kept his other thoughts and focused on what was in front of him—the Evil Blessed. This figure had operated as a member of Trueborn, escaping Bai Lin's wrath prematurely, and then went missing. Wei Wuyin had tried to gather some information regarding his identity through spies and intelligence agents, but he hadn't found any success. Now that he realized that this Evil Blessed could alter his existence through a unique tool, this made him understand why there wasn't the slightest clue about his identity. 

"I am," Wei Wuyin nodded. Since he had worn his concealment mask and used Draconic Transformation, Yun Che was unaware that Wei Wuyin and the black-robed cultivator were one and the same. Well, even if he knew, it didn't matter to Wei Wuyin. 

"All except Pavilion Master Ma, take your leave." Wei Wuyin's words were calm, absolute, and resonant. The entire room was met with Incarnations silently gesturing respectfully while acknowledging Wei Wuyin before dissipating elsewhere. Within three seconds, only three figures remained here.

Yun Che's heart throbbed slightly. Some of those figures were Earthly Saints, Branch Managers, or World-Class Creationists, yet a single sentence sent them away without deferring to Ma Zheng, their Pavilion Master! It was clear that Wei Wuyin wielded an unimaginable authority over the Golden Life Pavilion, and not a single person dared to resist it. 

Yun Che took a deep breath. It seemed that the black-robed cultivator was part of Wei Wuyin's hidden force, and he was sent here to meet the Alchemic Sovereign to determine his fate. Suddenly, his eyes became gloomy. He hadn't assumed the identity of the Bing Clan's upper echelon, and the memories of Bing Jialun were extremely limited due to not taking part in the Bing Clan's internal affairs, so he was ignorant of Xiao Bing's backing.

However, looking back, she had an Earthly Saint-level Protection Rune and a hidden guardian that could hide and go toe-to-toe against He Bojing, a dignified Earthly Saint, and exerted a degree of Spatial Arts that baffled him. Xiao Bing was sent out of He Bojing's World Prison! Taking all this in, he felt an increasingly pressing panic emerge in his mind.

"May I ask if lady Xiao Bing is related to Alchemic Sovereign Wei?" Yun Che calmly asked, his tone a little deep and solemn. 

Wei Wuyin keenly noticed that Yun Che was unaware of their connection, so Xiao Bing must not have been his intended target, only Bing Tian or Bing Jingru. Despite that, he was ravenous in his pursuit, no? With a faint smile, he replied honestly: "Yes, she's important to me." Wei Wuyin didn't label her as a lover, his woman, or a critical part of his Valkyries, but that she was important to him. 

"..." Yun Che once again deeply inhaled and exhaled, his eyes quickly regaining their calm. Yun Che realized that he was brought here by the black-robed figure for his transgression of trying to aim for Xiao Bing. But considering that his cultivation base wasn't restrained and he wasn't placed in shackles to await trial, this might still be an opportunity for him. 

"Then, I'll have to ask the Alchemic Sovereign for forgiveness. If I had known, I wouldn't have made any moves." Yun Che was smart and also keenly aware of who he could and could not offend, and this list wasn't very long. It included: the Aeternal Sky Divine Emperor, the Soul Saint King, the Boundless Martial High King, the Imperial Advisor, the Golden Gate Pavilion, the Everlore Association, the three Alchemic Saints, Trueborn, the Starfield Rulers of the top six ranks, and Wei Wuyin! 

These were figures or organizations that had profound depths and exceptional power, either personal or external. Regardless, they were genuinely terrifying to face. 

And this was why.

"I know," Wei Wuyin confidently acknowledged Yun Che's intellect as well as his own fiercely intimidating reputation. "Why else do you think you're still alive?" A faint smile infused with amusement surfaced on his expression.

"...!" Yun Che's heart violently throbbed. A mere mortal had brought him an indescribable fear. What type of person was Wei Wuyin? 

"As for forgiveness, that'll be determined by your next actions. Let's see if you can earn it." Wei Wuyin unfurled his legs and leaned forward; his silver eyes glinted with spiritual light as he observed Yun Che. This Evil Blessed was the first he had ever encountered. A Blessed with a predominantly vile Aura. It felt contradictory, but the 3,000 Commandments of the Heavenly Daos were convoluted and easy to navigate or avoid breaking if one was assisted by the Heavenly Daos itself. 

While not all Evil Cultivators were sinners, there was a fine line between them that could be easily crossed. It was much easier than non-Evil Cultivators and extremely tempting to do so. After all, Evil Methods were designed to plunder others ruthlessly and viciously. 

Huangfu Jinwei used an Evil Spell that plundered conscious control by affecting the soul, causing dissipation, and thereby accruing sin. His carelessness labeled him an irredeemable sinner that Long Chen would've harvested for Karmic Luck Value if Wei Wuyin hadn't interfered. It was easy to see how things classified as 'Evil' could push the boundary.

One of those many strange laws stipulated that killing those without the slightest karmic ties could incur grave sin, and Evil Methods often needed to indiscriminately slaughter innocents without the slightest relation. However, if a King of a country threw you a dirty, condescending look and you felt humiliated, you had the right to slaughter all the country's citizens without accumulating the slightest sin. You could slaughter children, infants, pregnant mothers, and the elderly indiscriminately. 

Wei Wuyin always felt indescribable emotions recalling these laws. 

Regardless of his opinions, this Evil Blessed had a vile aura but not the slightest trace of sin in his body—a sign of following the laws despite practicing Evil Methods to this level. In fact, the Sanguine Demon Evil King was an abnormality as well. 

Wei Wuyin had intended to use him and then kill him, but the Earthly Saint didn't have the slightest Sinful Aura despite his absurdly high cultivation. So it was entirely reasonable for a Blessed to take this path as well and find amazing success. 

Yun Che digested Wei Wuyin's words and decided to navigate this situation the best he could. He had a feeling that, should he fail, his life might end here. "I will do what I can to earn your forgiveness." Yun Che wasn't a meek person, especially not one who would obediently let his fate be decided by others, but he was in an extremely disadvantageous situation, and he saw no way out but through. 

"Good," Wei Wuyin smiled. "Then, tell me…" He brought out the Heavenly World Core, "Where did you find this? And why did Bing Tian have it?" 

"..." Yun Che stared at the Heavenly World Core. That was an item of exceptional value, capable of moving any Earthly Saint or Worldly Saint of ancient times into madness, especially if they knew what it could accomplish. Yun Che decided not to hide the information or try to negotiate, unwilling to risk his life by dangling upon a thread of hope and truthfully answered. 

"It came from the phenomenon that occurred outside the Aeternal Sky Starfield's border about a decade ago." 

"The Chaosnova," Wei Wuyin said.

Yun Che firmly nodded, not shaken by Wei Wuyin's knowledge after hearing him go up against Trueborn, "the Chaosnova. It was a planned attack by Trueborn against one of the Void Voyage Sect's hidden bases. I…"

Yun Che began to describe what he knew, and Wei Wuyin realized that this Evil Blessed was unaware of the Sealed Regions and the World Between the Fold or Nodes that Trueborn targeted. Instead, it was described as a targeted attack against the Void Voyage Sect, the greatest enemy of Trueborn. According to Shun Bao's memories, they had been fighting for millennia.

"Your concealment artifact…" Wei Wuyin inquired.

"It's called the Thousand Faces of Man. It's uniquely tied to my soul, so it can't…" Yun Che revealed his greatest fortune without hesitating, especially since it was useless without him. Unfortunately for him, his knowledge of the soul was vastly inferior to Wei Wuyin's. 

"Your large sword…" 

"A remnant of an ancient era…" 

The two exchanged a series of back-and-forth questions and answers, and Wei Wuyin grasped Yun Che's identity and means. A wisp of admiration emerged in his pupils, especially given how fearless he was to infiltrate Trueborn. Although Wei Wuyin had also forged a network of spies of Trueborn and presumed Trueborn members. It was quite disconcerting how traitors could emerge in a clandestine organization, even with Mythical Oaths. It merely showed that oaths weren't an invincible defense.

Wei Wuyin even believed that oaths would eventually be phased out of any advanced civilization societies, and only societies such as the restricted Sealed Regions would formulate and maintain such reliant precautions and protections. If the King of Everlore's product was ever released, the Sealed Regions would collapse instantly as no one could trust oaths anymore. 

But there were many different methods to achieve anything under the heavens. There were bound to be Cultivation Methods that could fool, erase, temporarily seal, or transfer Mythical Oaths to another. The cultivator who had been able to deceive Tang Baibai's life talisman was a sign of this possibility. 

In fact, Wei Wuyin felt that just the Alchemic Dao's aspect of Containment might have methods that could be used. 

"If you want, Alchemic Sovereign Wei, I can find out where to find the other two Heavenly World Cores." Yun Che's eyes lit with a blazing brilliance of greed.