Paragon of Sin

As man and spirit returned to the Heptasage Pillar Stellar Region, the wake of the former's recent actions kept reverberating throughout the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region. The first wave that was left was none other than the devastation of the Bing Clan's planet, Ice Jade, and the rumors of an assassination that claimed the life of the Highlord Frostwind and Bing Jingru, the Matriarch of the Bing Clan.

The news was like wildfire, spread like an infectious disease, especially since the attack was witnessed by any who could peer beyond their planet's Sky Layer within the Truefrost Domain. Within this horror was a hero that acted, saving countless lives while exerting his god-like powers, saving them and staving off the attackers in a hectic and hasty escape before further damage could be inflicted. 

He was He Bojing, the He Clan's Earthly Saint. 

While those at the top of the pyramid of status, power, and authority knew of He Bojing's true personality, those who heard the news were awed, especially the Bing Clan's members and their governed citizens, who believed that He Bojing was a hidden ally. This granted a steady sense of comfort to countless souls as they could now rest without fear as an Earthly Saint acted as the Domain's guardian angel. 

Further shocking news was the status of Bing Jingru and how she was revived by the tireless efforts of several Earthly Saints led by Tian Muyang, once again bestowing unmatched awe across the hearts of everyone, once more basking in the god-like power of the true elites. 

In the Bing Clan's Main Council Hall.

BANG!

"Who the hell is spreading all this?!" An elder of the Bing Clan raged as she slammed her palm against the table. The Bing Clan was exasperated as news spread so swiftly that they couldn't catch their breath before the little farmers in the Qi Condensation Realm were aware. 

Tian Muyang sat in the seat of highest honor while he maintained a stoic expression, his thoughts unreadable. The Bing Clan was currently distraught, losing two Demi-Mortal Lords, and this was a heavy blow to their strength and prestige. It was clear that whoever was spreading this information might be doing so under the guise of elevating his and He Bojing's reputation, but it was instead a form of information detailing the Bing Clan's weakened state. 

Bing Tian was dead. 

Bing Jingru was killed, but barely brought back by the efforts of numerous Earthly Saints! Moreover, the news had hidden barbs indicating that Bing Jingru might be out of commission for centuries due to her revival. It was as if they knew that her revival was limited, so her strength was at an all-time low. Considering she was a Demi-Mortal Lord without a Mystic Physique or Dantian, this was undeniably true. 

"They're informing our competitors! We need to find these people and hunt them down!" The elder raged as she glanced at Tian Muyang, not hoping to see an equally livid response. She was elated to see blank and unreadable indifference. Her heart roared with joy.

The Truefrost Domain, just like the Elementus Domain, was not as peaceful as one would expect. The competition for resources was fierce amongst every faction in the Domain, and there were some with extraordinary ambition. While there had never been an incident of a Noble Clan being replaced by another, they could be reduced to puppets by a stronger power. The only reason why the Bing Clan had a greater sense of security was their intermarriage relationships with the Imperial Clan.

However, there was an even more complicated threat happening within the clan's internal structure, outside of the direct lineage. Not every wife was a direct descendant of the Bing Clan's lineage, many were like Xiao Bing, brought into the Bing Clan due to their talents, and this established a network of extremely complicated marriages that caused many of the Imperial Clan husbands to simply stay far removed from any internal conflict except clan-threatening incidents. 

Tian Muyang was a prime example of this. The Earthly Saint of peerless might had a wife of the Bing Clan's direct lineage, yet they would stay away from the politics of the clan unless necessary.

The direct Bing Clan's lineage just experienced a catastrophic hit, and they only had Soul of Mysticism cultivators in their ranks at this point, and some of the non-direct lineages still had living Demi-Mortal Lords or a greater number of Soul of Mysticism Phase cultivators. A fierce contest for resources and authority was bound to arise with the loss of Bing Tian and Bing Jingru, both internal and external. 

Tian Muyang watched as the elders of the Bing Clan argued skillfully, but it was obvious that they were the ones that had leaked the information. Moreover, they did it with the assistance of several information organizations. He was an Earthly Saint, did they think their hidden transmissions could escape his gaze? They didn't have Wei Wuyin's unique transmission crystals. 

They clearly wanted to reshuffle authority, likely ensuring that Bing Jingru's recovery would receive very little support from the Bing Clan. As Tian Muyang thought, the elders began to speak about the matter of damage and the cost of repairs. They shamelessly elevated the cost explosively, even blaming the incident on the direct lineage branch, so they should pay out of pocket to assist. It was frightening to see in real-time how the direct lineage had already lost access to their reserves of finances, while accused of these funds being tied up elsewhere. It was frightening to see how the opportunistic dredges of the other Bing Clan branches tore away at the fallen and weakened direct lineage branch. In real-time, Tian Muyang witnessed them lose access to their own wealth under the justification that the clan's finances were tied up in other, more critical, projects.

What insidiously greedy and opportunistic cultivators. 

If they could use these few centuries effectively, they may grow stronger than the direct lineage branch and retain their authority. From henceforth, the Bing Clan would never be the same.

However, Tian Muyang wasn't too caring about the Bing Clan's situation. Saving his wife's sister was enough in his book, especially given the price he paid to do so. If she complained about involving herself further, he would have to teach her a lesson between the sheets. Yes, just teach her a lesson.

-----

The wake of waves left behind kept raging; He Bojing had tried to hide the existence of the Heaven Relic by distorting time, but the Jiang Clan had actively hired the Golden Gate Pavilion to inspect the temporal event. The Jiang Clan may have paid the price, but the Golden Gate Pavilion had still released the details of the fight to the Aeternal Sky Starfield's mystic forces. There was a reason why so many people had ill feelings toward the Golden Gate Pavilion, and it was that they never had a confidentiality agreement for their tasks.

When the Heaven Relic was openly exposed, the Jiang Clan couldn't capitalize on this by hunting down those responsible, and now they had to compete with others who were driven to an absolute frenzy. The entire Aeternal Sky Starfield began hunting the two, especially since Yun Che had revealed his true aura to the world.

More importantly, they were posted as wanted men. A vile, evil cultivator and a human that cultivated a strange body method that used lizard essence blood that may contain faint traces of the dragon lineage. The hunt was world-shakingly fierce. 

But suddenly, after a single day, the lizard essence blood cultivator was no longer deemed a wanted man. The Aeternal Sky Starfield was only hunting the Evil Cultivator who launched the assassination.

Then, in mind-boggling fashion, the entire hunt ended.

There was not a single inkling of news that was released as to why the frenzied search concluded as the Noble Clans, World Sects, Mystic Associations, and Imperial Clan had simply stopped. 

However, this all began when investigations into Xiao Bing started. The Bing Clan was forcefully grilled, and then like dominoes, the event just came to an end. That said, many of these Mystic Forces began to abruptly visit the Tang Clan, but they left soon after. Their downcast, sullen atmosphere as they left was very telling. 

The chase for the Heaven Relic that should have overturned the world had been given up on without the slightest statement. The grey-scaled body cultivator and the evil assassin had been selectively forgotten, and not a single one of the forces issued any response as to why. They just stopped.

-----

"How terrifyingly impressive," Yang Chaoyue lazily sat on a comfortable couch in Tian Muyang's Grand Hall located in his World Realm, the Grand Sky Realm. It seemed out of place with the regal and luxurious decor, clearly, she brought it herself. 

Tian Muyang sat on his throne, eight miniaturized Solar Stars hovering profoundly above his head, his eyes closed as he had a wisp of exasperation between his brows, tugging them into a slight frown. 

Yang Chaoyue, on the other hand, was extremely amused with a faint smile of elation. "Alchemic Sovereign Wei's influence is truly a scary sight. Just knowing that this so-called Xiao Bing was his woman, and likely was saved by him, was enough to topple the entire hunt for a verified Heaven Relic. Isn't this simply pathetically conceding? When did the peak powers of our starfield become so meek?" 

Tian Muyang didn't open his eyes, "I hate this." 

"Haha, I know." Yang Chaoyue would usually never visit Tian Muyang's ego-glorified, love-den of a World Realm if not ordered here by the clan. She and Tian Muyang were given the task of negotiating with Wei Wuyin regarding the secrets of the Heaven Relic. This was an order given by the Divine Emperor—absolute. 

"Has it been confirmed?" Tian Muyang asked Yang Chaoyue who playfully stroked a strand of her burgundy hair. Since her relationship with Wei Wuyin had grown closer, this once obedient and quiet Sky Monarch started exerting a bearing fit for a queen. Her actions were increasingly casual, and she was putting very little in her eyes. Just her attitude was reflective of how Wei Wuyin's name was impactful to even the Imperial Clan.

Especially since most in the Imperial Clan's upper echelon were slaving away for his favor, like Tian Muyang. While these pitiful men and prideful females struggled, she had already long since tasted his favor in more ways than one. 

"Pretty much; the Golden Life Pavilion isn't hiding the fact that the Evil Assassin is in their possession, serving as their prisoner under the orders of their Golden Council." Yang Chaoyue answered.

"Under Golden Council's orders? So pretty much it's 'his' orders." Tian Muyang lightly sighed in his heart, not because Wei Wuyin had captured the Evil Assassin, but this more or less confirmed the Heaven Relic was in his possession and the Evil Assassin's attempt on his woman's life was his crime. The task of negotiating was now unavoidable. Given the stance he was instructed to take, to be forceful, it was clear that the Divine Emperor or Imperial Advisor wanted to impede his relationship with Wei Wuyin. 

"Who else? They basically openly declared they had it. Even if it wasn't his, who would pressure the Golden Life Pavilion with its current status? At most, a united effort to force a Golden Auction would happen." Yang Chaoyue was seemingly unbothered by her orders. She wasn't like Tian Muyang, and she could easily resolve any ill feelings within a night or two.

Suddenly, Tian Muyang and Yang Chaoyue's rings glowed with spiritual light. They received a transmission. They hurriedly inspected the content and they both started.

Yang Chaoyue smiled brilliantly, "Great! With this, we don't have to continue with this sabotage attempt." 

Tian Muyang slumped slightly on his throne, a breath of relief leaving expelled from his chest. "A new product…" 

They had just received news from a stellar region-wide network of information that Wei Wuyin will be using the Heaven Relic to assist in the concoction of his next product! Furthermore, this product will be unveiled upon completion in a Neo-Dawn Alchemic Expo, the first exhibition of the Neo-Dawn Alchemic Sovereign!

An Alchemic Expo was typically a rite of passage for established Mortal Sovereign Alchemists to showcase their personally concocted products, but generally, it was done as a coordinated event by multiple Mortal Sovereign Alchemists, each displaying a single of their products that would soon hit the market while basking in the surge of reputation! 

Wei Wuyin was too young, and his status had only been recognized by exception due to his Alchemic Stars of Mortal Spirituality reveal, so he hadn't had an Alchemic Expo in his name despite being regarded as a Grand Alchemic Sovereign.

Now?

He was about to expose not one but four different products! 

"Upon completion, huh? This could take centuries, well, given his age and talent, perhaps decades." Tian Muyang realized the implications, and he felt slightly warm in his heart. They had already sent Wei Wuyin a message in an aggressive, forceful tone, and while Tian Muyang had tried to alert him of his unwillingness, it wasn't certain that Wei Wuyin wouldn't mentally mark this as a demerit. It was hard to peg the mental decisions of people like Wei Wuyin. But this had essentially acknowledged their reluctance and shattered any possible rift in their relationship.

Now, they had reason to wait since the entire world knew that the Heaven Relic was being used for a concoction, and any negotiation would be flat-out denied regardless until completion of this possibly heaven-defying, convention-shattering product! With one move, the entire incident was settled. 

"The Neo-Dawn Alchemic Expo," Yang Chaoyue's tone grew lighter with each word, and she rose from her couch, keeping it in her Spatial Ring. "I guess our business is done," she said.

Tian Muyang opened a spatial exit for her, and she spatially shifted without exchanging another word. Tian Muyang was left alone, but his eyes grew increasingly bright as time passed. 

Then, he received another message. But this time, it was from Wei Wuyin's transmission crystal.