Paragon of Sin

Wei Wuyin and Cao Cuifen sat side-by-side, shoulder-to-shoulder, no longer separated by any distance. For the last three hours, the duo exchanged words endlessly. Wei Wuyin was taken aback by how talkative Cao Cuifen became. 

Unbeknownst to Wei Wuyin, Cao Cuifen had spent the greater part of her twenty-thousand years of life essentially alone, unable to speak her mind and thoughts, even to her nephew. In his mind, she was calm, reserved, mysterious, capable, and strong. This was her grand image, not just in the eyes of her nephew but the entire world.

But while in Wei Wuyin's presence, she no longer needed to form an unassailable wall around her soul and self. She had told her story, revealed her emotions, and accepted her choices. From henceforth, she no longer had to hide herself entirely. Her feminine traits leaked out; the honest, truest traits that weren't a product of her acting or being driven by an alternative purpose or goal in mind.

For example, she had a giggling laugh—cute and childish.

For example, she loved to smile—wide and toothy. 

For example, she enjoyed being held by strong, firm-muscled arms—cuddling and snuggling. 

These traits that hadn't been shown to anyone before were fully on display. After the truth of her schemes, the depths of her desperation, and her honest hopes hadn't been shattered by Wei Wuyin in any way, she no longer had any reservations. She had lived for too long, suppressed herself too much, shouldered everything, and pursued all her dreams having to forgo the intimate connections that one should have. 

It wouldn't be wrong to say she had heavy baggage, that she was scar-ridden as a person, and that she had her deep-seated issues, but facing Wei Wuyin, she felt seen on every level imaginable. Even she was shaken by how close she felt to him as they talked more and more.

Wei Wuyin held nothing back; he told her of the Wei Clan of Red Dove City, his life before the Myriad Monarch Sect, his struggles as a disciple of the Scarlet Solaris Sect, and his realizations about life. Despite being under the age of a hundred, the level of mental maturity that Wei Wuyin possessed exceeded the concept of age.

He survived facing what anyone with a sane mind would consider certain death, and he did so brilliantly at that. His Heart of Cultivation was undeniably firm and resilient, forged by setbacks and challenges, and not even Hell or Heaven could shatter his will anymore. 

Soon, they found themselves in the bedroom. They were fully clothed, resting on the sheets; Wei Wuyin held Cao Cuifen while she placed her head on his chest, her hands caressing his neck while she listened to his heartbeat. Each beat was like thunder, yet the vigor within each of them left one feeling calm, as if they were falling into an unfathomable vastness of time and space. It seemed to contain everything and the possibility of anything.

"Did revenge help?" Cao Cuifen asked softly. 

"Yes, it did." Wei Wuyin answered honestly. When he claimed the heads of those responsible for his brother's death and the eradication of his clan, he reveled in the death, blood, and pain he inflicted. "While saints might say otherwise, I felt a sense of relief knowing that those who took my brother's life, all those responsible for my…loved one's death, no longer breathed the same air as myself. Some nights, it's the only thing that could put me to sleep."

"Do you relive it?" Cao Cuifen asked curiously.

"Every day." 

"..."

"While it helped, I was still plagued by my demons. Cultivation helped then. It was my peace, the pursuit of strength and freedom. At first, I did it to survive, as my older brother had paid his life for me to do just that. But after a certain point, I began to cultivate for myself. That's when my demons were transformed into my fuel. And in the process of cultivating, I found my new peace." Wei Wuyin softly said as he felt the four Astral Souls and Solar Star within him, and the images of Su Mei, Xue Yifei, Wen Mingna, Da Shan, Qing Qiumu, and the others all flashed across his mind.

Excluding Wei Si, he went from having no one to having a family again. He no longer wanted to survive simply because of his brother's sacrifice but to stay together with them for a moment longer. However long he could stretch that moment out for, he would do it. 

"..." Cao Cuifen closed her eyes. 'Perhaps that's why I never felt rejected by him. Were we the same from the start?' Her breathing steadied, and she felt deeply relaxed at this moment, more than she had in her entire life. She had started surviving for the sake of her clan early on, but after a while, she gained the desire to pursue greater heights for herself, no longer dominated by revenge, and that's why she sought freedom so desperately.

Unfortunately, she couldn't get revenge. In truth, she wasn't even sure if she wanted to. Tian Taizong fought against her clan and won fairly. They kicked an iron board and were crushed in return. Unlike Wei Wuyin's situation, where prejudice, racial discrimination, and bigotry played a significant part, it was her clan elders' fault for fighting against Tian Taizong after he experienced his Earthly Ascension successfully. 

It was hard to muster a strong enough will for revenge after so many years had passed, especially since she was so far removed from the situation when it happened. She could barely remember the faces of those elders. As for her parents, they had died before that happened; they hadn't been able to become Ascended beings, and she was already over five hundred years old when it happened. 

More importantly, she was one of three hundred and eighty-seven children, being number one hundred and thirty-seven out of the bunch. In the Dark Stars Era, clans essentially practiced forced breeding for warriors; she had minimal familial relations with her parents. To them, she was one of many, just slightly more valuable due to her alchemy skills. 

Cao Cao might still want revenge, but she wasn't sure if she wanted it. "Do you think it's wrong that I don't have the desire to kill Tian Taizong?" Cao Cuifen had never been able to say these words to anyone in her life, and when they flowed out, she felt as if a heavy mountain was being lifted ftom her shoulders, albeit temporarily.

Of course, Wei Wuyin hugged her tighter, and that mountain on her shoulders…

"Not at all; the world of cultivation is cruel, it always will be, and it's not your responsibility to get revenge for anyone except for yourself." 

…was blown away.

Wei Wuyin's words struck a chord, and they resonated deeply with her inner thoughts. She might not seem very filial to outsiders due to her feelings, but the Cao Clan had already been re-established quietly by Cao Cao, and she had helped him reach an unimaginable peak in his cultivation. If not for his fear of the Divine Emperor, he would've brought the Cao Clan back into the spotlight, as was his dream. 

"If I become a Worldly Saint Alchemist, I'll bring the Cao Clan out of this cage and experience the greater world," Cao Cuifen whispered. In truth, that was more valuable than getting revenge would do for the Cao Clan. The promise of the Ascendant Sovereigns allowed others to join, but the King of Everlore only brought a few cultivators along with him.

Wei Wuyin also wished to restart the Wei Clan lineage, but the Calamity of Hell was still hanging over his head like a guillotine, and unless he could escape that threat, he couldn't allow himself to have children. He would never forgive himself if he left them behind, unable to see them grow, even if his entire soul was eradicated.

'I refuse to leave my children behind,' Wei Wuyin thought of his mother and father, of his unborn child, of Dai Lyn…

They stayed just like that, laying together, for a long, long time. 

-----

Wei Wuyin and Cao Cuifen stood in the Alchemical Chamber of the Original Dawn Palace. On the concoction table, there was a low Mystic-Earth-graded cauldron. It lacked any Utmost Purity Mist, a brand-new cauldron without any unique attributes or formations added. In fact, besides the materials used to forge it and the basic regulation formations of a typical cauldron, it had nothing else. 

Cao Cuifen eyed Wei Wuyin curiously, "Didn't you say that you hadn't obtained the Inherited Spiritual Wisdom Rune?"

Wei Wuyin grinned, "I didn't; I, however, have something a little better."

"Better?" Cao Cuifen's interest was instantly piqued. While she had accepted that her dreams were dashed, that was only referring to the Myriad Transformations Alchemic Saint's legacy. She wasn't the type to give up; otherwise, she would've died without reaching the Demi-Mortal Lord Phase. "What do you mean?"

"Your clan has a spell that can transfer knowledge, but knowledge is more or less…flimsy. After all, even if you have the contents of a textbook copied and brought to you, it doesn't mean you know anything about the textbook. You still have to gain an understanding of its contents. Essentially, you have to acquire 'insights' into the contents." Wei Wuyin explained, and Cao Cuifen nodded with a raised brow.

"Cultivation is difficult—this phrase exists heavily due to this limitation. It's impossible to pass along insights effectively; they originate from one's soul, not one's memories or knowledge. That's why guidance is crucial to cultivators, more valuable than resources." Cao Cuifen added to his explanation, but she couldn't quite understand what Wei Wuyin was driving at. Even her knowledge transference spell was simply copying the contents of a legacy, not a person's insights. In fact, it was a spell of thieves to steal a person's knowledge.

Wei Wuyin couldn't help but nostalgically recall Wu Jiao's lecture in the Myriad Yore Continent. He had given extraordinary insights into the Qi Condensation Realm because he had completely surpassed it, allowing numerous cultivators to ascend to the next cultivation stage right then and there. 

Or the Myriad Monarch Canon, which contained insights into the entire Astral Core Realm, and Wei Wuyin had very few difficulties obtaining sufficient qualifications to initiate the next Astral Tribulation. 

As for the last part of Cao Cuifen's sentence, this wasn't factoring in alchemical products that could help stimulate one's ability to gain insights or generate the best conditions to do so. For example, the Mystic-Earth grade Mystic-Will Convergence Pills sold at the Golden Auction; the pill could converge and condense Mystic Intent of one of the Ways of Mysticism, typically at random, or more if it was greater than low-quality.

The high-quality version could converge two Ways of Mysticism out of the nine—Mana, Spirit, Radiant, Spatial, Temporal, Oceanic, Infusion, Permanence, and Conversion—and peak-quality could converge four. 

It was heaven-defyingly beneficial to Star Core Phase cultivators and contributed to the majority of top-tier Ascended beings in the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region, and was extremely beneficial to Demi-Mortal Lords to elevate their Runic Ascendant State. Even Earthly Saints could use it to grasp additional Mystic Runes. Unfortunately, the pill worked based on affinity, so while random, every cultivator refining one would always experience the same Mystic Intent over and over again. 

If it wasn't for this glaring limitation, the cultivation standards of the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region would be much, much higher in terms of the quality of Ascended beings.

"I've devised a spell that can transfer my personal insights," Wei Wuyin smiled triumphantly. This spell had been tested on Du Ling and Luo Ning; with it, Du Ling had been able to comprehend a genuine Spiritual Art to a certain level, and Luo Ning grasped a higher level of skill in the Alchemic Methods.

"What?!" Cao Cuifen was instantly skeptical.

Wei Wuyin laughed heartily, "Yeah! Unfortunately, insights are just insights—my insights using my powers, you still need to digest and convert them with your powers. If it was an art or spell, it wouldn't be hard to replicate a certain level without having practiced it, but the Alchemic Dao is complex and difficult to comprehend. While you can use it to find great success as an Earthly Saint Alchemist concocting the same products, you have to make them your own and fully understand them if you truly wish to develop them into something more. For example, to concoct a Mystic-World grade product." 

At this moment, Wei Wuyin's silver eyes shone excitedly. 

Cao Cuifen's eyes were wide, her facial expression reflecting her disbelief, and she was still doubtful! Despite that, her heart of hearts was telling her that Wei Wuyin wasn't lying! 

"Shall we begin?" Wei Wuyin said as he began to use the Neo-Fruits of Eden Spell! Today, Wei Wuyin intended to obtain the final piece for his alchemy corps. With a faint smile, he said: "You should decide on your Valkyrie title."

"My what?"