Paragon of Sin

San Luoyang's forehead began to sweat. There were signs of exhaustion in his eyes, complexion, and hasted breathing. "It's not easy using the Ever-Key Control Spell. I have to ensure each use counts." He softly remarked, wiping the sweat that dripped to his brow with the back of his fingers.

If the participants of the Everworld knew that San Yongli, or anyone for that matter, was receiving such one-sided advantages, there would certainly be harsh riots. However, Everworld Venture's principle was that all things matter, both self-cultivated, born, and gained through one's recognized talents such as a good master, support from a great organization, or wealth acquired through other forms of skills.

It was this rule that allowed He Yanglei to summon his Ancestor; it was this rule that allowed the usage of Mystic-graded tools, armaments, and pellets; it was this rule that allowed Lin Ziyan to unleash a heaven-devastating attack far beyond Mortal Limits.

San Luoyang lightly breathed as he formed a hand-seal, scouring for an even greater opportunity for San Yongli, his adopted daughter, to enjoy so that she can bring out the best of her talents.

-----

The trio was dumbstruck. He Yanglei's abrupt, inexplicable disappearance left their hearts both raging and pounding.

"Wasn't that Stellar Transit Light?" Na Xinyi asked with shock still lingering in her voice.

Wu Baozhai was a little calmer, nodding as she replied: "I think so." They were both top-tier experts that spent the majority of their time on cultivation and the aspects of cultivation, so this mixture of chaotic spatial energy, fixed spatial energy, and light energy was something they had both learned. Moreover, from the scrolls that Wei Wuyin had given them regarding the three dimensional layers of space, spatial arts, and spells of the spatial-attribute.

After giving each other glances, the trio went to scour for signs of He Yanglei's trail. While it seemed as if he was taken out of Everworld, they had to make sure that was the case before anything else. If he was simply sent elsewhere, they were already dead-set on giving chase.

Unfortunately, the trio concluded rather easily that the Stellar Transit Light had left the unique atmospheric limitations of the Everworld.

"Why is the space here different? It doesn't seem like we're in the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region." Lin Ziyan pointed out as she stared at the sky, lacking any sign of the Aeternal Sky Solar Star, and only a normal, dwarf-sized, yellow-colored solar star with no discernible special properties.

The two Saintesses exchange knowing and weary smiles. They knew that Lin Ziyan's decision to participate in the Chosen King Competition was entirely a spontaneous decision on the spot. She didn't have even the basic knowledge of this stage.

Wu Baozhai had always taken the role of the more knowledgeable sister of the group, so she comfortably slipped back into their previous dynamics as she once again began to explain to Lin Ziyan with a smile, just like old times.

"The Everworld is-"

-----

"-an interdependent World Realm; it's the first stage of the Chosen King Competition, referred to by most as the Everworld Venture or the Sifting Stage. It's inherently dangerous, with heavy, insidious environmental conditions, the possibility for collateral damage, and unrestrained usage or possession of various items." A white and gold-robed young woman sat upon a severed stump of a tree, talking to another young woman who was sitting quietly cross-legged while listening intently.

They were both Chosen, their ages slightly apart, with the white-robed woman being younger by a few decades. Still, she was patiently instructing the older Chosen.

"Interdependent World Realm? Sifting Stage?" The older Chosen woman muttered softly. She was Zeng Xiaohui, belonging to the Dark Genesis Starfield. Her master was a relatively decent Starlord, properly earning her a spot. Amongst her seventeen other Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters, she was the most talented.

When she arrived at the Everworld, she had gotten caught in a fly trap and nearly devoured whole. If she wasn't helped, she would've been part of the world's soil by now, decaying without a doubt.

Zeng Xiaohui was talented, and while the standards of the Chosen had risen, the environmental dangers of Everworld weren't cultivation specific like the Evil Sentinels. If you fall for any hazardous traps in any way, you'll face a lethal crisis immediately. While the difficulties to escape were dependent on the plant itself, including the Sentinel behind it, thousands had died in the first hour.

"Ah, right." The white and gold-robed woman knew that information about the Everworld was religiously sealed. It took a lot of effort to gather this information initially, and most of it was from the initial Chosen King Competition that was participated in that hadn't had any heavy restrictions like now.

Only ancient and relevant forces back then had glimpses of relevant information, and they kept it tightly sealed just as well. The Chosen King Competition was a competition after all. The knowledge was sufficient to gain an advantage. If those who had died in the first hour knew of the peculiarities of Everworld and its dangers, would they have died?

"It's said that Everworld, the planet and the space itself, is located between the crossroads of two worlds. While it's never been verified, it's always been referred to as an Interdependent Realm, the only one of its kind throughout the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region. Well, that's not true." The young woman thoughtfully recalled as she said with a slight nod, "The Stellar Nests of the Stellar Rain could be said to be an Interdependent Realm as well."

"Stellar Nests?" Zeng Xiaohui tilted her head to the side. All of this felt strange to her. She knew she was ignorant, but she felt incredibly ignorant. "Sister Ma, what is the Everworld Venture, this stage, supposed to sift? Us?"

The woman referred to as Sister Ma, otherwise known as Ma Luling, smiled. Seeing the light of curiosity and having the ability to alleviate gave Ma Luling the feeling that all her exhausting study efforts were worth it.

"It's never confirmed, but largely believed that the Everworld Venture's goal is to sift out those who lack the aspects of a Chosen-cultivation, fortune, intelligence, wisdom, and survival instincts. These five aspects are absolutely vital to the cultivation of a proper Chosen, let alone the one who would claim the title of Chosen King. Right?" Ma Luling asked.

Zeng Xiaohui nodded, "Yeah." If one didn't have cultivation, they lacked means and strength; if one didn't have fortune, they likely lacked a good master, good innate talents, a good environment, and good luck in general; if one didn't have intelligence, they were bound to ignorantly die along the arduous path of cultivation; if one didn't have wisdom, they were bound to be schemed against by others; if one didn't have survival instincts, how can one possibly survive?

These were crucial attributes needed for any Chosen, especially cultivation, fortune, and survival instincts.

"What else is there in the Everworld?" Zeng Xiaohui asked.

Ma Luling's eyes brightened. "Well, there's the Tri-Sentinels, the World Sentinels, as well as Zones of Earthly Treasures-Fortune Zones for short. The Everworld has twelve roaming Sentinels, four of each type, and stationary World Sentinels that control the various plants to a certain extent. The Tri-Sentinels are the Life Sentinels, the Fortune Sentinels, and Evil Sentinels, and they each have a single member at the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth stages of the Astral Core Realm."

"Oh?!" Zeng Xiaohui's interest was piqued.

Ma Luling continued, "The Life Sentinels roam the Everworld and they assist cultivators who are in life-or-death circumstances. Moreover, they have some control over Everworld, and they can assist you even if a trap that could kill a Starlord snags you. Unfortunately, they are limited to assisting only those at their cultivation bases or lower. So if you're a Timelord about to die, and the Gravity Emission Phase Life Sentinel shows up, while they could save you, you can consider yourself unlucky.

"But Evil Sentinels are different, they have similar limitations, but they roam about finding those who emit killing intent or have killed in Everworld. They are vile, brutal existences designed to kill. Fortunately, they can only act against those at or higher than their cultivation bases. None of them are weak, and they have mystic-graded armaments at their disposal. Of course, killing them has rewards, not only do you obtain their armaments, they often have the resources of those they killed. It's also said they have a token that can be used to exchange for resources after the Everworld Venture's conclusion.

"As for Fortune Sentinels, they are strange entities. If you can catch them, they will guide you to a Fortune Zone before vanishing. They have different cultivation bases too, and anyone can catch them. But they only guide you to Fortune Zones relative to their strength. And that causes each Fortune Zone to be graded, going from one to five, from lowest to highest.

"Each grade of the zone gets increasingly better, and it's said that grade three zones are useful to those at the Star Core Phase. But I guess that's subjective, depending on what's in the zone itself."

"The Gravity Emission Phase Fortune Sentinel can only take cultivators to a grade one zone, while the Star Core Phase Fortune Sentinel is limited to grade four." After Ma Luling reached this point, she furrowed her brows slightly as a silvery light subtly flickered in through her pupils.

Zeng Xiaohui didn't notice her change, enthralled by the lesson. She asked excitedly, "What about grade five Fortune Zones?"

"Oh? Right!" Ma Luling laughed as she regained her former brightness, "They can only be chanced upon and found, a testament to being fortunate. You can, of course, stumble across any of the other Fortune Zones yourself without a Sentinel to guide you."

"I see," Zeng Xiaohui wished in her heart to find a grade-five zone. "So this Everworld is supposed to promote adventure through risk and unknown dangers! How marvelous." She couldn't help but think this competition was greatly different than any other she was a part of. Then, as the thought abruptly hit her, she asked: "How long does it last?"

"Hm?" Ma Muling was absent-minded for a second. She came back to Zeng Xiaohui and asked that question. "The Everworld lasts eighty-one days, every stage does." After saying that, she smiled at Zeng Xiaohui. "I'll be right back." Just as she spoke, her body flashed a silvery brilliance and instantly vanished.

"Wha-?" Zeng Xiaohui was stunned. She couldn't help but grow a little tense, her heart beating a little faster, and her sense of security fading as she realized that the surroundings were oddly silent. There wasn't even the sound of grass whistling with the wind.

The tension began to grow in her mind as panic set in. She had just escaped death, and now she was alone. The feeling was so abrupt and terrifying that her heartbeat could be heard in her ears. She gulped as she softly whispered, "Sis-Sister Ma?"

An uncomfortable crawling sensation began to spread within her skin. She jumped to a standing position! Was the grass trying to kill her? The air? She held her breath. Perhaps it was the entire world?!

The fear began to erupt. The urge to run swelled. To run far, far, far away.

Run.

Run!

RUN!!!

Her legs trembled as they began to move.

Suddenly, the feeling vanished.

Woosh!

A silvery light flashed beside her, startling her as she jumped. She launched an attack out of sheer fear, unleashing her Gravity Emission-level Astral Force with unimaginably chaotic force. But a soft hand gripped her wrist, diffusing the power as easily as a hurricane snuffing a candle's flame.

"Sorry about that," the bright, beautiful smile of Ma Luling was all Zeng Xiaohui could see as her focus honed in. When she fully processed what happened, her heart was soothed instantly. When her vision finally expanded to include the rest of the world, she noticed Ma Luling was holding a strange-looking squirrel by the throat. Its eyes were like jewels and its fury looked smoky.

The way she clenched was violent, and the squirrel was struggling to escape, yet it could only futilely waste its energy within her grip.

"What...was that?" Zeng Xiaohui realized her feelings were far too intense to be normal.

"That was likely this thing's fault. It's a Realm World Fortune Sentinel. Each Sentinel has ways to prevent others from finding it as well as escape. This one should be the Terror-type Fortune, a creature that can stimulate the sensation of fear as it directs you to your death." Ma Luling casually explained as she lifted the struggling squirrel-like creature. She knew what Zeng Xiaohui meant because she had silently shielded her from the effects earlier.

"What?!" To one's death? Zeng Xiaohui was terrified. She had thought that Fortune Sentinels were creatures that ran away, to be caught by the swift and cunning. Wasn't that too evil?

Ma Luling could understand her shock, saying seriously: "All fortune conies with its own challenges, risks, obligations, or difficulties. If you can't overcome them, you die, or worse- you succumb and lose yourself. The Everworld Venture is the first journey to proving your qualities as a Chosen." After explaining, Ma Luling exerted strength in her fingers. While her hands were delicate, she crushed the Fortune Sentinel with a brutal crack. It exploded into golden dust.

Then, the golden dust transformed into a twenty-foot-tall twister as it began to move along the world. The golden tornado gave off a rich aura of high-grade astral essence.

"...Wouldn't that cause others to notice?" Zeng Xiaohui asked.

Ma Luling gently smiled, "That's the point. Do you want to come with me? The chances of encountering environmental danger are extremely low unless you move around recklessly. I can't say for cultivator dangers though. But I'll come back after if you want to stay, help set up some safeguards for you."

Zeng Xiaohui nodded. She didn't want to stay! Moreover, she wanted to see the fortune! At the very least, she had the heart of a Chosen. Ma Luling was satisfied with this as she grabbed her hand, following the golden tornado as it sped toward the fortune zone.

-----

Within an underground chamber, several dozen black-robed cultivators were cultivating in cross-legged positions. Suddenly, one of them glowed with a bright-red light.

"Oh? One of us died so early? The idiot." The one glowing said with a sneer, rising as his robes changed from black to blood-red. They placed a necklace sporting a cross on their neck, allowing it to freely dangle for all to see.

"Let's see how incredible these little brats are!" The glowing cultivator unleashed a burst of silvery spatial light, vanishing from the underground chamber.

The Starlord Evil Sentinel had been replaced!

-----

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