Paragon of Sin

'Is this the source or product of Lin Ming's karmic luck?' Wei Wuyin halted his flight, hovering at the border of the Zephyr Plains. He sensed the vast, raging, and vigorous energies gush chaotically from the Sky Zephyr Temple. The energies were infused with strange light, twisting gravitational forces, and a strange worldly power. All of this power seemed to originate from the Sky Zephyr Temple, not from the external world.

'What is this? Worldly Domain?' Wei Wuyin frowned in contemplation, considering the possibilities. However, ignorant of the greater rules in the trial, Wei Wuyin was unable to figure out the objective for this phenomenon. While intelligent, information and good instincts were still required to determine a logical conclusion.

The only conclusion he could come across was the broad effects: this will ensure Lin Ming's acquisition of the Chosen title. He didn't believe Lin Ming could strengthen himself in this short period of time to fight him on equal footing, even if he was granted a Worldly Domain or infused external cultivation. With less than two hours left, any effort would be unstable and unreliable.

A frontal clash wasn't likely the intention of the Heavenly Daos. There was too much variability in it.

After taking a short breath, he pressed his palm against his chest. A surge of explosive power erupted! With a boom, Wei Wuyin's body shook, his flesh rippled, and his bones crackled. There were tears in his skin, even the blood vessels in his eyes had become strained, one of which exploded in his left eye. Even with that red pond in an ocean of white, Wei Wuyin wasn't satisfied.

He clenched his fingers, sending a more explosive burst of power into his body. His body bent over, his lips quivering as grey blood sprayed out of his lips. With his internal organs damaged to nearly falling into an absolute state of disarray, threatening to shut down, he moved his hand and pressed a finger to his glabella.

With a sharp, piercing sound, the silver eyes of his dimmed until it became dull grey. A severe result of damage to his Sea of Consciousness was reflected, even his thoughts were slower and unstable.

With a deep breath, he pressed his index finger into core points of his meridians, causing them to crack and a few directly ruptured. His pores leaked out colorful blood, clearly containing his innate energies mixed with his grey blood. His hair became disheveled, but he fixed it.

'I've damaged my fleshy body, my Sea of Consciousness, and meridians. This should be enough.' With a faint smile, he was now satisfied.

"Wait! Wait! Wait!" Ori's voice shouted out, causing Wei Wuyin to halt his movements.

King followed up hastily, seemingly a little panicked. "Tch!" That sound was clearly directed towards Ori, telling it to be silent. But when has Ori ever been a silent mouth?

"Us next! Us next! Us next!" Ori excitedly shouted, as if invigorated by the possibility of self-harm. King didn't say anything, but Wei Wuyin could clearly feel the surge of dissatisfaction emitting from it.

"Thorough," Eden added.

Wei Wuyin unhesitatingly nodded, placing his hand on his dantian as he pressed. A silent, but shattering explosion erupted! The two Astral Cores within his dantian suffered devastating cracks, bits and pieces even fell off into the bottom of his dantian. Their sizes dropped by a few centimeters.

Wei Wuyin didn't react to this damage, but blood leaked out of his mouth like a faucet. He had to close his mouth, yet it continued to accumulate without end. He just swallowed it. Those dim grey eyes of his had lowered his response to pain, but even still, he wouldn't have even grunted a single bit.

"...Y-yeah…" Ori's voice became weakened. It was dealt a disastrous blow, yet it was still exuding a hint of excitement within its voice. Its optimism was unending.

"Tch…" King wanted to curse, but it couldn't even form the correct tone for it. If it was measuring fragility of Astral Cores, it was the weakest of the four, and its form had the least amount of protection. Ori, this Divine Elemental Astral Soul, was infused with endless elemental power, but all his saber power was honed, focused onto its edge, so it held little to no external protection.

Its greatest protective means was also its greatest power: its edge!

With a damaged body, both external and internal, Wei Wuyin urged his astral force infused with Elemental Origin Intent, overcoming the external suppression in a blatant fashion. With a slow step, he turned into a comet of white after a brief delay.

In the Sky Zephyr Temple, there were three girls surrounding a single male figure. His eyes were shut, his body positioned in the lotus position, and his aura was slowly flaring as streams of power were being sent into his orifices in a colorful display.

Around him were three layers of perfect circle outlines that seemed to ripple away, each circle larger than the last. The lines of each circle weren't drawn by white chalk or paint, but strange runic symbols that were extremely lively, releasing spirituality that cultivators within the Mortal Limits had never seen or could see before. They were tiny, with millions of runic markings in the first circle, tens of millions in the second, and billions in the third.

At the edge of each circle, a female was seated directly facing the male figure. The other females faced the back of the other female, leading to a straight line of people.

Tang Xingyun was at the first circle, her body wrapped around floating runic symbols that seemed to extract her light energies, funneling them into Lin Ming after a small period of precise and exquisite refinement. Her face was pale, yet her eyes were extremely calm as her Primary Light Source was being drawn out, refined, and given to Lin Ming.

Within her clear eyes, she revealed extreme determination, not resisting the extracting power even a little. Despite the extraction of her Primary Light Source, this could be regained through some special elixirs and pills, alongside a few special materials. It wouldn't harm her foundation.

The only issue was the traces of soul energies that were following it. The pain she felt from this was unimaginable, like being slowly picked apart by vicious, sharp-beaked crows. She could only watch as they were carried out, infused into Lin Ming.

If Lin Ming was going to generate a Worldly Domain, he needed complete control over its composited powers, such as the spatial energies, Primary Light energies, gravitation forces, and spiritual energies. Since he was obtaining the light energies from her, he also needed bits of her soul to control it perfectly lest it rebelled, forcing his body to expel it.

While her eyes were calm, her expression displayed an utmost determination, yet her white teeth grinded against each other without restraint. She would have to perform dental repairs after this.

Grand Priest Zi Gu was also present, just watching over the process. While Venerable Spiritwalker was performing the spell personally, he was there in case of an emergency. As for what emergency and what for? He didn't dare ask. From how exquisite this formation was, exceeding his own understanding, it was highly likely Lin Ming will soon become his THE Holy Son after his depressing loss.

Just as he tried to gleam into the extraordinary process and formation, he received a spiritual transmission. His eyes flitted with the light of disbelieving surprise, turning to Bai Yuxi who was mentally preparing for her turn. "Divine Envoy, I've just received word that the Holy Son of Octa-Elementus has arrived outside the temple." He spoke verbally, not daring to transmit his spiritual sense over for fear of disrupting the formation.

"What?!" Bai Yuxi's expression drastically changed, reflecting her endless surprise. She even felt that she had misheard the Grand Priest.

"...!" Tang Xingyun was similarly shocked, but unable to speak as light energies flowed out ceaselessly from his mouth. Why was Wei Wuyin back? To challenge? Her heart raced with trepidation.

Unlike Tang Xingyun, Bai Yuxi dismissed this possibility instantly. Wei Wuyin could challenge anyone from anywhere. Why would he arrive personally? But even if he challenged anywhere, the challenge would still have three hours of time to prepare or regulate their cultivation base to its peak state, so there was no issue with this.

Before that time limit was reached, they would have succeeded and this trial would conclude. She frowningly asked, "Why is he here?"

Grand Priest Zi Gu nodded, closing his eyes as he sent transmissions out for further information. After a few seconds, his eyes opened and he had an oddly strange light within them. Witnessing this reaction, Bai Yuxi and Tang Xingyun were anxious.

At this moment, Venerable Spiritwalker was fully focused on this task. There would be no chance to halt it. Wei Wuyin should be the only eligible Chosen Candidate, still in full control of his various powers. If he launched an attack, they would definitely be unable to stop him.

Of course, if Wei Wuyin did interrupt them, they might suffer, but perhaps Venerable Spiritwalker's rage would erupt, eliminating Wei Wuyin on impulse. This would solve their issue. In fact, Bai Yuxi hoped for it. The pain of soul extraction, no matter how slow or little, was utterly horrifying to experience, and even she didn't have full confidence in its recovery. While she was fairly confident, she wasn't completely.

But Grand Priest Zi Gu's words shook from out of their thoughts, sending them into a disarray of thoughts and surprise!

"He's come to talk to the for-, I mean, Holy Son; from what was mentioned from those observing him, he's suffering horribly from a backlash. His body, mind, and cultivation has severely weakened…"

"Backlash!" Tang Xingyun thought and Bai Yuxi shouted out loud. They were all under this assumption that Wei Wuyin had used a self-damaging method, increasing his Astral Cores' size and Spiritual Strength. Still, they weren't fully committed to the idea. While they spouted it out recklessly, they still held the faintest possibility in their hearts and minds that Wei Wuyin was just a terrifyingly heaven-defying existence!

But alas, he was not!

Bai Yuxi's eyes brightened. He felt a desire to cancel the spell formation, moving to have Lin Ming challenge Wei Wuyin, claiming victory. Just as her words were about to escape her lips, Tang Xingyun grunted out a sound and shook her head viciously. She was currently unable to speak or move, but her actions caused Bai Yuxi to think.

"What if he's faking it?" Bai Yuxi questioningly said, realizing the issue. It led Tang Xingyun to grunt with an approving sound. If Wei Wuyin was faking, they sent a challenge out, then they'd fall directly into his trap! What if his cultivation base was still intact?! If the self-harming method was still active?!

Unable to determine this, Bai Yuxi went silent. It was best for Lin Ming to obtain the Chosen Candidate's Automatic Victory Condition. With a soft exhale, she ignored this.

But a voice spoke from the surroundings, "I just inspected him. His cultivation foundation has fractured, his meridians are damaged nearly beyond repair, and his Sea of Consciousness is heavily shaken." A quick sweep of her sensory prowess, and Venerable Spiritwalker was capable of seeing the result. It was also a result of his own strength, so it was consistent with a backlash.

It was a little fortunate for Wei Wuyin that her focus was thoroughly attached to the spell formation, not sparing a single thought outside of it. It was only because of her curiosity that she swept her senses outward, verifying his condition.

"...!" Bai Yuxi's eyes lit up with an unprecedented brightness. It was so bright, so radiant, that it seemed to eclipse the shine of lunar satellites. This alongside her natural beauty highlighted an irresistible charm to the opposite and same sex.

"We can't stop the formation once it begins, however. If we do, Lin Ming will suffer a backlash so horrible that his cultivation might as well be completely abolished, along with every morsel of his bodily and comprehensive talent." Venerable Spiritwalker's voice resounded once more, explaining the situation. This was the consequences of an Evil Method; there was no retreat when started.

"..." Bai Yuxi and Tang Xingyun's eyes dulled simultaneously. This was their decision, and it was one they couldn't retreat from.

Venerable Spiritwalker carelessly added, "This procedure also isn't a 100% success rate. At most, it's roughly 30%. That's with me helping." Within her voice was a little begrudging tone, suffusing a hint of anger. This Evil Method might be fantastical, but the issue was these women, not her.

Specifically, it was the newly ascended Gravity Emission Phase attendant. Her cultivation base was terribly unstable, as if she had rushed her breakthrough and fractured her foundation alongside it. If she was stable, the chances would exceed 70% with her at the helm. If these girls' entire souls and forces could be wildly extracted for Lin Ming's usage, it would be 100%.

After all, it was an Evil Method, not a method designed for joint effort. It was designed to plunder everything!

"It's not certain?" Bai Yuxi's heart quaked.

With a faint sigh, Venerable Spiritwalker said: "Bring him in. See why he's here. You can decide then." With Wei Wuyin's current state, he wasn't much of a threat nor could he disrupt such an exquisite formation that she controlled.

Bai Yuxi realized what Venerable Spiritwalker meant, so she nodded. "Bring him in," the voice of Venerable Spiritwalker wasn't heard by anyone but Tang Xingyun and Bai Yuxi, the only two that knew of her existence. Even Lin Ming was unaware of her presence.

Grand Priest Zi Gu was shocked for a moment. What could the Divine Envoy be thinking? What if Wei Wuyin decided to shatter the formation or was faking his injuries? But despite his doubts, he unhesitatingly sent the order.

After a few minutes, two figures arrived at the entrance to the Main Hall. Wei Wuyin walked in, fresh grey blood leaking from his mouth from time to time, being wiped off by his thoroughly stained right hand. His normally silver eyes were dull grey, and his skin was dry and cracking. The damage was extensive.

Bai Yuxi and Tang Xingyun both released an exclamation of surprise. Their thoughts were unified: Such a terrifying backlash! If they knew this would happen, this entire procedure would be useless.

Wei Wuyin's eyes glanced at the spell formation and Lin Ming, who had his eyes closed, was absorbing the Primary Light energies expelled from Tang Xingyun. He seemed like a gluttonous child, devouring quietly yet endlessly. While his Celestial Eyes were weakened, he could see the traces of soul energy flowing as well. This energy was invisible on most spectrums of sensory perception, to the point that other Astral Core Realm cultivators still couldn't sense their souls outside of that first time they formed their Spirit of Cultivation.

As he swept his gaze, he recognized two girls. The first was the Holy Daughter and the next was the mysterious woman he had pretended to be the Holy Daughter in the illusion that caused Lin Ming to surrender.

'Why is it that it's always women that benefit male Blessed in expressions of Karmic Luck? Is it a gender thing? Is it the exact opposite for female Blessed?' His thoughts wandered for a moment, before he was shaken by a cold voice.

"What do you want?" Bai Yuxi's voice sounded out, truly the example of coldness.

Wei Wuyin turned to her, then looked at Lin Ming: "Lin Ming, I've come to bargain."

SPLASH!

Just as those words were spoken out, Wei Wuyin coughed out a bucket of blood, his legs trembled as his body bent slightly. He hacked out more grey blood from his throat, splashing the floor, and his dull grey eyes became even duller.