Paragon of Sin

Wei Wuyin and Ai Juling hastily left the city soon after obtaining a decent rest. This lasted shorter than a day, and their movements were stealthily and swift, leaving no evidence of their abrupt departure.

Having obtained the information he required and the wealth of the city, he had little reason to remain. He never intended to rule over a foreign city by force. Moreover, the female Realmlord was right! His time in Grandquake City was extremely limited. Unable to restrict others from arriving nearby using a Void Gate, he was at the mercy of new arrivals. Once news fully spread to those elite experts, reinforcements would eventually arrive with the deactivation method in tow.

Wei Wuyin would be left helpless and surrounded!

Even the city would be useless.

Unwilling to endure such a fate, he observed the worldly trend and discovered their retaliatory arrival was coming far swifter than he originally estimated. He escaped with sufficient time left, intending to return to the underground city that Ai Juling originated from.

He wanted to send her home, focusing on cultivating and escaping any pursuit of those three forces. He had robbed them blind, so it was unlikely they would simply accept this heavy loss with a sigh and a bitter smile. He just hoped that the evidence of internal collusion he had deliberately left behind was enough to delay them and bring sufficient questioning to the City Lord and female Realmlord.

They would also try to discover his origins, so he had sent Li Wang, Chu Leitao, and Huang Yu specific orders to depart. They were startled for a moment, but he gave them resources and told them to leave the city for another one. After a period, Huang Yu could return. As for Chu Leitao and Huang Yu, they weren't natives of Grandquake City, with the latter originating from the Central Region.

He didn't know if they had aura trackers, so sending them away was the best—the further, the better. A more cautious man would simply end their lives to prevent any unnecessary developments, but Wei Wuyin wasn't that vicious. Well, perhaps he was, but his instincts told him that doing so was rather detrimental. This wasn't the Eye of Truth or the Heavenly Daos influence, merely his own thoughts on the matter. If he was willing to do this, then his mind would be overly paranoid and violent, resorting to violence to solve every issue.

Fortunately for them, when they saw the resources filled with high-level alchemical products, they joyfully accepted his order with bright smiles and racing hearts. They had even left before he had. Since the city was still operating as normal, no one suspected a thing. After all, the only individual that could link them was eviscerated.

When Ai Juling learned of his intent to depart, she pouted with a little disgruntled emotion. She had thought they would enter a honeymoon phase, indulging in each other's bodies for several days and intimately learning about each other, but they had to quickly leave. She wanted to know more about Wei Wuyin.

Of course, when he told her about the circumstances, her expression fixed instantly and betrayed the deep fear she felt. They had slept together in a location that could've been besieged by numerous experts at any time? Her heart raced of knowledge treading the line of inevitable lethal danger. But it was also somewhat...stimulating.

Wei Wuyin found her reaction quite cute, stealing a few kisses en route to the underground city. As for his background? It was best she remained ignorant. That would make it more difficult for others to act against her if they located her. But if he revealed his true identity, perhaps the other party might piss themselves in fear and panic.

Not even his starfield knew of his true abilities as a Mortal Sovereign Alchemist nor his strength to fight and kill a Gravity Emission Phase expert. That coupled with Wei Wuyin's incredibly young age, they might be terrified and unable to sleep at night as long as he lived.

While they flew, Ai Juling was watching Wei Wuyin's side profile as they flew, feeling that his existence was extremely mysterious. He went against common sense, using his Soul Idol Phase cultivation to defeat a Gravity Emission Phase expert, taking a city over, and leaving with a radiant smile.

She felt as if this was truly all a hazy dream. To add to the unfathomable mysteries, their...session...had left her feeling energized and empowered. She felt at least twice as powerful as before, and that was an unbelievable feat. She understood the principles of Dual Cultivation, so how vast was the difference between them for her to experience such a sharp jump?

Moreover, why her?!

She bit her lower lip slightly, still unsure how to properly process these events. While lost in her own thoughts, they soon arrived at the location of Ai Shanyuan and Wei Wuyin's battle. The durable and dense ground was uplifted in certain areas, depressed in others, and had dragon-shaped drag marks littering it. There was white mist lingering about, clearly remnant elemental energies.

"We're here," Wei Wuyin announced while softly landing. He swiftly inspected the area, thinking about a few things at remarkable speeds, he waved his hand and brought out a small box.

Ai Juling stepped out of his control, moving about with her own two feet. When she felt the earth beneath her, she became somewhat emotional. As a Grey Sands Elf, flight was a luxury she hadn't experienced much in her life. During the Season of Regression, the mana was too thin and the energy expenditure was too high for long sustained flights. As for during the Season of Devils, there was no possibility to fly in the outside world without fighting hordes of them.

Before she could gather her emotions, she saw a small jade box enter her vision and her eyes sparkled. She thought it was quite incredibly beautiful, reaching out and touching its soft and cold surface. Turning to Wei Wuyin, she grew curious. "What's this?"

"Resources. Its sealed, so only your aura will be able to unlock it. It contains alchemical products of the seventh and eighth-grade. There's labels and descriptions of each, use them wisely. Whether you decide to use them for yourself or share, that's your decision." Wei Wuyin explained with a warm smile. He wouldn't be able to attend to her cultivation needs for a while, and he might not see her again for a long while, so he decided to leave behind her some cultivation resources.

Startled, Ai Juling stammered. "...E...eighth-grade?" Her heart was racing, her first instinct was to call Wei Wuyin a liar, but when the thought emerged in her mind, she halted and looked at Wei Wuyin's warm and handsome smile. She knew in her heart that he wouldn't lie to her nor was there any reason to.

She didn't hesitate. She dived into his embrace, kissing him with her full weight.

It was Wei Wuyin's turn to be startled for a brief moment, but he didn't let the opportunity slip. He thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of her touch, using his hands to roam about her soft body with excited movements.

She quickly grew redder and hotter, but her eyes flashed with a faint burst of abrupt light. She jumped, leaving Wei Wuyin's embrace and looking away. Her parents' aura was approaching, and she felt them.

"It's not goodbye…" She heard Wei Wuyin's voice and turned back, but his figure had vanished. She hastily scanned the world, but she couldn't sense any trace of him. After failing repeatedly, she stared at the jade box that was seemingly left in her hands and felt like crying. The past week was a hurricane of events and emotions, causing her to be unable to react.

A short distance from her, two figures burrowed out from underground and appeared atop lizard-like creatures. They were Ai Juling's mother and father! An emotional light flashed from Ai Juling's mother's eyes as tears formed at the edge of her eyes. She flashed over to Ai Juling, hugging her fiercely.

Ai Juling could barely react before she was smothered by those familiar mounds of flesh. She felt a warmth and comfort only a mother could give a child. Her father appeared too, inspecting the world vigilantly. Then, he turned to Ai Juling and hastily asked her what happened to her and Ai Shanyuan.

While this reunion was happening, Wei Wuyin was already gone, flying away with a contemplative expression. If he was sufficient to handle any and all future threats, he wouldn't have returned Ai Juling back to her parents so hastily. He would've used this time to explore the world and enjoy her company more, but after learning about the extent of this world's strength, he understood that protecting her would add an additional burden to himself.

That's if he even had the ability to protect her.

"According to the City Lord, those tokens were referred to as the Badges of Divinity by the natives of this world, signifying the six religious deities of this world. There were two that were passed down by inheritance, and these heirs were called Holy Sons and Daughters of the Elemental Truth. They harnessed the great power of Metal and Lightning, and they belonged to the Central Region.

"There wasn't much information about who they were or their cultivation base, but that they were always amongst the younger generation. They belonged to two of the strongest forces in this world, already putting everyone else at a disadvantage. As for the other four, the City Lord only knew their sacred locations and not much else.

"Whatever these trials are, whoever guards them, this might prove to be quite difficult. Furthermore, I have to face these so-called Holy Sons and Daughters who are supported by top-tier forces. Whether they intend to interfere or not will determine if that part of the trial will be easy or extremely difficult." Wei Wuyin sighed in his heart, recalling the location of the suspected trial within The Desolate Lands.

Wei Wuyin soon found a lone mountain nearby, burrowing a hole inside and fashioning a makeshift cavern within. After hewing out a suitable area to cultivate, he sat down and inspected his spatial ring.

He had long since emptied out the other ring, placing all the items inside his own, and then sent the ring elsewhere. If they had a method to locate the ring, this would delay them even further. When he inspected it, his eyes gleamed with a solemn brilliance.

He needed to collect Desolate Pearls, objects that contained draconic blood energies within, and use them to restore his Bloodline Source. His estimation based on the desolate pearl that he obtained from Huang Yu left him needing roughly twenty thousand.

But when he looked at the ring, there weren't just twenty thousand, there were over six million...