Paragon of Sin

Long Chen's aura was ceaselessly rising. Resplendent white and sanguine light gushed out from his body, dying the world in its colors. A heart-lacerating feeling emerged in the hearts of many as if stepped back, bright red blood trickling from their lips. It didn't matter which side they originated from, they were all affected.

Wei Wuyin observed this change with a startled exclamation. He felt a sharp, piercing, and brutal intent circulate within his fleshy body and sea of consciousness, even his spirits were impacted. Fortunately, they were terrifying and sustained no damage. This held true for his fleshy body too.

Despite his body leaking a trace of blood from his mouth, dripping down the right side of his lip. This wasn't caused by external forces causing internal damage. This shocked him even more as it seemed his body was attacking itself with its own free will.

He turned to see Su Mei. Her face held a vivid grimace of pain and conflict as her eyes endlessly flashed with saber light. She seemed to be resisting something.

Wei Wuyin's eyes narrowed as he turned to see Long Chen, whose body was ravaged and tattered, stand upwards with a lazy push. His head sharply shot to look upwards. His eyes were calm, but an unnaturally fierce, ferocious, and fearsome light simmered within that gaze. It contained the purest sense of murder and death.

There were others who would often describe a scene of those above staring at others as if 'they were dead' but this was the absolute ultimate representation of it! Long Chen's eyes which looked upwards, staring at King Wu who levitated above all with a hint of shock, were staring at him as if he was already dead.

King Wu felt a shiver run down his spine as a tinge of fear flashed within his mind and heart. Immediately, he reeled as he felt this emotion that had long since been forgotten. Fortunately, he was still self-aware of his dignity and might. He breathed deeply, regaining his posture, and faced Long Chen.

"I was originally planning to spare your life, seeing your astonishing talent, but it seems that'll be no longer necessary." King Wu domineeringly spoke with a regal air, deciding life and death. He clenched his fist as the glow of silver light exploded, containing vast and destructive spiritual strength.

Long Chen's gaze remained unchanged, but his energy that towered to the heavens in a pillar had not decreased or withdrawn. It was constantly rising in the air, seemingly infinite and boundless. He lifted his arm casually upwards, palm facing that sky.

Those movements were slow and casual, yet not a single person could draw their gaze away. From the center of his palm, a power started to circulate. It was miniscule, barely noticeable by the senses, but it was absolutely present. An echo resounded in the world, one that caused all those present to have their mind descend into a world of imagination.

This was their sea of consciousness trying to process their power. It displayed to them what it could understand, and it was petrifying!

A world of blood and battle. The Myriad Yore Continent, all its citizens, from mortals to elite cultivators, were clashing with weapons of war and insanity. They cared not for their life as dealing death became the sole purpose of their existence. Heads flew, blood splashed, cries of agony resounded without end, and it only fueled the vividness of this world.

Then, the sky above was not the sky. No, it was an edge. The sharp edge of a sword pointed downwards. This sword was unfathomably massive and seemingly endless. It seemed to be slowly descending, ready to claim the life of all those below.

Wei Wuyin's eyes shook. "Sword Intent? Slaughter Intent?" He felt these images more vividly, and he had comprehended Saber Intent. At that time, he felt an invincible feeling of being able to bring all things to its inevitable end beneath its edge. It was dauntless, arrogant as the heavens, and fearless amongst gods.

He had never felt this feeling of absolute praise and reverence besides when he formed his Saber Intent. Furthermore, it was far weaker than this and not nearly as clear. If before was but a flash of a picture, then this was an entire movie.

Everyone was absorbed in this image. Wei Wuyin's eyes were the first to change, his awareness shattering that world. In his sea of consciousness, a saber arrived beside the sword, larger, stronger, grander, and infinite. It sliced downwards and a sword hymn resounded yet it was merciless. Like an intruder entering a forbidden area, the saber treated it with no mercy.

Furthermore, it continued and split the Myriad Yore Continent and all its inhabitants in half. It dealt death to everything!

Wei Wuyin's mind returned to the present. While it felt like several minutes, merely a second had passed. He was truly startled.

One must know that Intent was incredibly difficult to conjure. Even in the Scarlet Solaris Sect, only Yan Zhu, a top talent, had formed a Seed of Intent. This was merely a chance to birth Intent, not true Intent.

And what was Intent, exactly? Was it borne from the mind, the soul, the spirit, or the world? Why was it so significant? Why was it so powerful?

Wei Wuyin didn't know these answers very well, despite forming his own. All he knew was that it seemed to be able to affect essence, making refining saber energies far, far easier, purer, stronger, and compatible with his physical body. It was like comprehending a type of truth in the world and applying that truth to everything.

His spiritual sense, strength, and aura had been amplified due to this intent, and even his saber qi was frighteningly more powerful than normal saber qi, even if the person has the same cultivation base and a Spirit of Saber Qi. They would not be a match for him in terms of the saber.

It felt like a seed of a law in this world, governed as a Dao. If he had to describe it out of pure instinct, then it was a profound understanding, a truth of the world, a portion of a law, and embodied a Dao.

His understanding of the saber reinforced his internal, external, and other factors of the saber. If he wished, he could use this to suppress others using Saber Qi. This was what he felt, and even then, it was obscure and uncertain.

Despite all this mystery, the fact of the matter was Intent was a power in this world that heightened cultivation aspects to an incredible limit. Right now, Long Chen had somehow given birth to the true Intent of Sword and Slaughter. His energies were wildly responding in joyful cheer, causing his overall spiritual strength to jump at least ten-fold.

Cultivators at the Eighth Stage of Qi Condensation Realm, Infused Spirituality Phase, had qi and energies that were heavily affected by their Spiritual Strength. In fact, it was a deciding factor of battle power.

Long Chen's palm contained saber and slaughter intent and seemed to be galvanizing the worldly force he could draw upon. As he did, the world that was aware, mostly Wei Wuyin at the moment, could see why this invisible force was being manipulated to Long Chen's will.

His Spirits of Qi! They seemed to have had a unique transformation, similar to his 'Divine' state. It seemed to be able to actively control the ambient world force that helped cultivators reach the Sixth Stage of Qi Condensation, False Reality Phase, by merging yin and yang energies perfectly. Furthermore, this was ambient world force, not refined world force of those at the Astral Core Realm.

Those in the Astral Core Realm seemed to be able to control this force, creating Yin-Yang God Spheres.

This deeply shook Wei Wuyin to the core. His cultivation base was irregular and exceptional, possessing four Spirits of Qi, a True Dragon Bloodline, and a unique Mind Qi, yet he couldn't bypass the limitations of cultivation and overstep his ability.

Yet, Long Chen could.

Should he...

He took a deep breath to collect himself. A desire to see the end result of this power emerged in his heart.

Just as that thought flashed in his mind, a prick of pain entered his thoughts. Immediately, he snapped his head to his right arm. His lips twitched as he realized that his desire to kill Long Chen was suppressed by the Heavenly Daos.

Even he could be affected? His thoughts swirled as this feeling was similar to every other interaction with Heavenly Daos had to him, leading him to clues to fortunate opportunities and lucky chances. It seemed this type of influence ran in line with manipulating his thoughts.

His eyes burned with vigorous killing intent. He turned towards Long Chen, but a figure emerged in his mind. It was of a natural beauty with emerald features. Her beauty and aura was soft and gentle. When this thought entered his mind, his head turned to look outside the entrapping barrier. He smelled her and…

His expression changed a little as he smelled a familiar scent. If it was who he thought it was, then killing Long Chen would be impossible without severe consequences. It seemed the Heavenly Daos covered all their bases for a Blessed! He sneered inwardly. He forcefully calmed his burning heart.

Wei Wuyin's desire to kill Long Chen stemmed from him experiencing his alternative fate of another time where his head was severed from shoulder by his blade. While the situation was different, and he was undoubtedly stronger, the desire for self preservation was always there. If, by some chance, Long Chen grew stronger than him, would events repeat itself?

That ability to use might beyond his realm was truly a frustrating and undeniable threat. Who could be comfortable with that? However, this had also enlightened his plan.

If Long Chen was here for Lin Ziyan, would 'that' person outside the barrier act if he absconded with her.

His eyebrow twitched.

Shit.

His mind swirled with all sorts of thoughts and plans. As it did, Long Chen finished his preparations and everyone snapped out of their daze. They saw Long Chen's upward palm and at the center of this palm was a sanguine sword emitting blindingly bloody light. It seemed to embody battle, death, and misery produced by slaughter.

"Sword of True Slaughter!"

Long Chen spoke in a soft voice, yet these words exploded in the sea of consciousness of everyone present. This sword was purely made from spiritual energies and contained vast spiritual strength.

King Wu's face turned ashen as this spiritual construct pointed towards him. His every physical cell, spirit, ounce of his consciousness, and instincts screamed severely. They all said:

"FLEE!"

But he was a King! A King of a country, so he would never retreat in the face of an enemy from fear. He rather died where he stood, standing straight and true. He would never run away from his enemies within his Capital. While this seemed foolish, it was this belief of regal dignity that would be the straw that gave him the right to live.

Shoo!

The bloody sword zoomed forward with prodigious speed. It created a trail of bloody light that contained the beauty of battle and death.

King Wu clenched his teeth, his heart roaring endlessly as he used his palms to push forward an invisible wall. This was a Spiritual Spell, so he could act appropriately in response—with his own!

「Royal Wu Spell: Fortress Gate of the Spirit」