Paragon of Sin

Little Cao? 

Wei Wuyin was stunned; the Soul Saint King was blood-related to the Ennea-Hall Alchemic Saint, Cao Cuifen! He focused on her bright green eyes, he subconsciously compared them to the Soul Saint King's lime-green eyes. 

Noticing Wei Wuyin's comparing gaze, she smilingly answered the unsaid question: "The Cao Clan's greatest distinctive feature is our green irises, and he purposefully hides it from the public to avoid being discovered. He's not very imaginative, though, only changing its color slightly. Well…I think it's because he doesn't wish to truly erase his past after having to change his birth name." 

Since the Cao Clan had been destroyed by Tian Taizong during his invincible rise, it made sense for them to hide their lineage's origins out of fear. If it was ever exposed, who knew if Tian Taizong could use this information to act against them or leverage a way to break free from his shackles. Cao Cuifen hiding herself until everyone had left felt more reasonable now, including how mysterious her existence was to the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region.

As for why she suddenly showed herself without any visual concealment, wasn't that a complete display of trust in Wei Wuyin? 

"..." Wei Wuyin remained silent as he recalled the fierce beating he ordered Legion Commander Zhan Zheng to give the Soul Saint King, and he felt a little awkward in his heart. Moreover, Little Cao was forced into certain oaths. 

Since Cao Cuifen was his lover, he didn't know how to answer that if it was brought up. Plead ignorance? That was his best bet. Fortunately, he didn't kill the Soul Saint King, or Cao Cuifen might have thrown caution to the wind and tried to assassinate him in the Endless Voyage Realm. That would've been a scary development.

Cao Cuifen couldn't resist the urge to smile, seeing Wei Wuyin's embarrassment. This was a mortal that charged into the Born True Starfield with only himself and his phoenix, and then waltzed out with indescribable swagger before cutting off Xun Yicao's head; albeit, it was still up to debate whether he was dead or not. And this mortal was feeling embarrassed before her?

While she didn't dare say it aloud, it was quite cute. There was a gentle warmth forming within her heart as she finally realized that despite their short time together, Wei Wuyin already considered her his and cared about her thoughts. Some men as heaven-defying as him often considered themselves the prime element of their lives, and everything else was secondary besides reputation and strength, especially beautiful women who were seen as trophies representing their conquests and desirability. 

Her eyes gradually grew gentler, but her heart stirred slightly with a sense of guilt. After all, she hadn't approached Wei Wuyin without selfish intent. Eventually, she heaved a sigh, not bringing up her nephew's circumstances. 

"At the end of the Dark Stars Era, Tian Taizong was forced to relent. The Aeternal Sky Starfield was formed, and hundreds of starfields followed. Eventually, the Aeternal Sky Era began, starting on the foundation of compromise, oaths, and peace that everyone was all too excited to agree to. As cultivators grew, conflict arose, and clashes of starfields raged. 

"While the Aeternal Sky Era started peacefully, gradually, wars were fought, some won, some lost, and starfields dwindled in number. Ascended beings became increasingly common, and a Soul of Mysticism cultivation became the minimum requirement needed to build and claim a starfield. While I was talented in the Dao of Alchemy, my strength was middling at best. 

"Fortunately, the Cao Clan's bloodline ran strong in Cao Cao, and he swiftly began to showcase his genius talents and combat strength. We joined the Ninestar Sainthall," she paused for a moment, then added: "We didn't create the Ninestar Sainthall or the Ninestar Starfield." 

Wei Wuyin faintly smiled; he was already aware of the Ninestar Starfield's mysterious origins and why Cao Cuifen highlighted it by emphasizing that fact. The Ninestar Starfield's origins were linked to the World Beyond. 

After seeing that Wei Wuyin wasn't interested, she didn't delve into it and continued: "We sliced out a solid living for ourselves then, hiding our lineage while doing so. Cao Cao was presented as my Alchemic Knight, and our familial ties were kept secret. I fostered his cultivation with all my might but soon reached my limits. Despite my origins as a descendant of a Firstborn, I had no access to the World Between the Fold or the Endless Voyage Realm. 

"I struggled to reach the Mortal Sovereign Alchemist level after spending over ten thousand years studying while Cao Cao became a Demi-Mortal Lord, becoming one of the elites at the time. My cultivation hadn't reached the Demi-Mortal Lord stage, and I was approaching the end of my lifespan. I pushed it as far as I could using alchemical products, but even that had its limits. I was ready to depart from this world, accepting my limitations." Cao Cuifen grew emotional, and her eyes grew distant as she recalled that tragic time. 

The tragedy of cultivation was the unspoken failures and deaths brought about by the inability to continue on its road. Countless failed their tribulations; countless met their untimely end in the pursuit of treasures and resources; countless cultivated themselves into deviation by practicing a complicated spell or art; countless reached the end of their lifespan, turning into mortal dust. Some died aggrieved deaths due to the impulsive desires of a stronger party, unreasonably and unfairly. 

Not everyone had a smooth road of cultivation, and this happened far too often, but those unable to progress, halted by death, were often forgotten in the river of time.

Cao Cuifen had stepped on the precipice of that unfathomable abyss and had, at one point, accepted her failures. As long as Cao Cao could flourish, she would do it all over again without hesitation.

But the light in her eyes sparkled vibrantly, with reverent awe, "Then, the King of Everlore arrived; he was like a scorching sun to the world, and he shone so brilliantly that no one else could match him. The Alchemic Dao was breached and countless flooded into it. I was among the lucky few, extending my life a few more decades to reach the Demi-Mortal Lord Phase."

"Lucky few?" Wei Wuyin was curious about that statement. He couldn't help but recall Wu Yu's past relations with the King of Everlore and the rumors about his 'proclivities' towards those he showed favor toward. 

Cao Cuifen was unaware of his thoughts, however. She answered proudly, "The King of Everlore hosted the first Earthly Saint Alchemic Expo. That day, he took over the Everlore Association and guided 33 Mortal Sovereign Alchemists and 108 Emperor Alchemists. While we weren't his disciples, he expounded on the Alchemic Dao to us."

Wei Wuyin exclaimed lightly, relieved. 

"Evergod, Xun Yicao, and most of the current Mortal Sovereign Alchemists above the Official level were there too," Cao Cuifen said softly. Out of the four Alchemic Saints, not a single one hadn't been born due to the King of Everlore's direct influence. She was no exception. He was simply that impactful. 

At the time, Xun Yicao was a peak Emperor Alchemist, not even a Mortal Sovereign Alchemist. Despite that, he rose to become a Grand Mortal Sovereign Alchemist and is widely considered one of the top Mortal Sovereign Alchemist of the current generation. 

"A pioneer of the Alchemic Dao, the greatest and indisputable heaviest contributor to the Sealed Region's growth. Just two thousand years of his presence was enough to ignite a wave of Earthly Saints. To be honest, seven thousand years ago, the number of Earthly Saints could be counted on one's fingers, and they were almost all limited to the Tian Clan. Tian Muyang was among the original Earthly Saints before the wave." 

Wei Wuyin had heard this before from Ma Zheng; at that time, he was rather shocked to realize how impactful the King of Everlore's presence was despite his relatively short period in the Sealed Regions. The introduction of Mystic-Earth products had certainly shaken the standards of the Mystic Ascendant Realm, but it was mostly the King of Everlore's high-level products that generated such astonishing results. 

But most importantly, it was the implementation of the Chosen system and the Chosen King Competition. The majority of Ascended beings, especially the recent Earthly Saints, attributed their success to the King of Everlore's products given during the Chosen King Competition. It was for this reason that there was an ungodly level of focus on the competition and continued worship of the King of Everlore.

Tian Lingyu was an example of this; she had reached the Earthly Saint level primarily due to the King of Everlore and the Sky Zenith Alchemic Saint's investments. 

"However, the King of Everlore left after he became a Worldly Saint Alchemist. It sent the world into turmoil for a while, but it later calmed down after news of his departure spread. He wasn't dead; he simply left for greater pastures. This was expected, given his talents, so not many people made a fuss over it. Still, I couldn't help but grow curious about how he left the Sealed Regions or if he was in the Endless Voyage Realm. 

"As you know, only those natively born in the World Between the Fold have permission to leave as Earthly Saint Alchemists, and there was no precedent for Earthly Saint Alchemists inside the Sealed Regions. After much investigation, I learned that the three Ascended Sovereigns all noticed the King of Everlore's brilliance after he attained the Alchemic Dao's approval as a Worldly Saint Alchemist.

"They set new rules due to his existence: any Worldly Saint Alchemist born in the Sealed Regions was permitted to leave to the World Beyond. Moreover, they'll receive a neutral territory not ruled by any of the Ascended Sovereigns and be allowed to develop freely. They…would obtain their freedom!" Cao Cuifen's eyes brightened, and her breathing grew increasingly heavy. 

"Unfortunately, Earthly Saint Alchemists of the Sealed Regions could, at most, be allowed to enter the Myriad Miles Academy of the Endless Voyage Realm as an External Dao Instructor. Moreover, they would be under severely stringent obligations for quotas and oaths if they entered. If they failed to complete these obligations, they were at risk of losing their freedom instead. It was…brutal and unfair, but likely meant to combat the threat of Trueborn trying something." Cao Cuifen looked a little despondent, but then she slyly smiled. 

"That's why I entered under the guise of a native—Cao Cuifen, my real name and my real lineage, which still had some roots in the Endless Voyage Realm. I had to meticulously conceal my cultivation base and restrict myself, avoiding keen eyes and bribing certain individuals, and I infiltrated with very few restrictions imposed on me. I grew as a native Dao Instructor, my obligations small, and my freedom relatively maintained." After confessing this, she felt a little lighter, but the wisps of pride in her eyes were evident for all to see. 

She had fooled the Endless Voyage Realm, a testament to her exceptional skills in espionage and cunning. 

"Unfortunately, I couldn't gain access to any high-level resources. You saw the obscenely high paywall established by the Myriad Miles Library for their Alchemy Section; even with my true skills in concoction, I wouldn't be able to obtain anything worthwhile, and my lifespan is not unlimited."

Wei Wuyin could now feel that she was getting to the crux of the matter, why she approached him, and why she decided to give herself to him that night. 

She took a deep breath, her smile fading, and she solemnly said: "Then, Qingye Ying, that elf, arrived in the Endless Voyage Realm, and my chance was here—a chance for true freedom!"