Paragon of Sin

WOOSH! WOOSH! WOOSH!

A torrent of spiritual aura clashed against the world like cascading, crushing waves upon an earthen shore. A storm of spiritual aura was produced, and the Stellar Rain knew of its ferocity. They, like before, retreated in the face of such overbearing power. The onslaught they felt ceased their cries for reinforcements and all their acts of aggression. 

They grew docile and silent. The horizon was filled with them, tens of trillions was a soft estimate, and their numbers felt infinite. This was truly their nest! They had such high numbers that gods, ghosts, and devils might feel their scalp tingle in fear at the sight.

Yet two beings with distinctively clear mortal auras stood at the eye of their gathered storm, unphased and interacting as if they were as insignificant as pebbles by the side of the road. Two dressed in black, one open, one hidden, yet they both stood upright, stable, and firm. 

Wei Wuyin's reaction was that of surprise. The outpour of spiritual aura slammed against his body, similarly causing his martial robes to flutter as if besieged by a great storm, yet his face, his skin, seemed unaffected by the strong force. He hadn't even taken a single step backwards. A benefit of his overbearingly physical body refined by the Battlefield, the Bloodline of a True Void Dragon, and his own efforts. 

There was no mortal being in the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region that could contend against Wei Wuyin for the title of possessing the sturdiest, strongest, and most resilient physical body. 

Be that as it may, as the possessor of four Spirits of Cultivation, his spiritual aspects were unfathomably impressive for his stage, each of them further enhanced by his physical, mental, and essence energies that have been pushed to the utmost limits. There was no disunity in their combination of spiritual power, jointed and bolstered with exceptional synergy. 

Although he had suffered a heavy hit in his overall cultivation base from sacrificing a portion for Wen Mingna's recovery, it was still shocking to discover that there was a mortal being with a stronger Spiritual Aura than himself. It caused him to halt, his heart jolting with surprise.

His reaction didn't escape the masked figure's notice, "Do you wish to surrender, Mister Ascended?" Clearly, the masked figure was still under the assumption that Wei Wuyin was a suppressed Ascended being that had bypassed the limits of the backdoor and Stellar Nest, entering through the means of an Earthly Saint. 

Wei Wuyin hadn't recalled the last time he was postured for intimidation, finding it amusing all the same. But after the initial shock wore off in the matter of milliseconds, he discovered that the spiritual aura unleashed by this figure was certainly stronger than his, but…

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

His four Astral Souls linked, their spiritual strength gathered within and erupted as a single unit, bringing forth the benefits of his thirteen Soul Rings times four, pushing his spiritual energy to the utmost limits. In milliseconds, thousands of miles of space was washed with a spiritual aura that pushed back even the air particulates, heat, and light of the entire world for the briefest of moments.

Those Stellar Rain lifeforms couldn't even react, and tens of millions of them were crushed out of existence. The rest, they were beaten back until the limits of spiritual aura's reach. For thousands of miles, no Stellar Rain lifeforms were present, and the dazzling scenery they generated collapsed in a haphazard manner. 

"...!" The masked figure hastily condensed his spiritual aura into a cocoon, defending against the incoming wave. If the masked figure's aura could be considered a freshwater lake, then Wei Wuyin's was a vast salty ocean! 

Whoever this cultivator was, he cultivated a method akin to the Imperial Heaven Qi Method, producing a unique Spiritual Aura like the Imperial Heaven Aura that allowed Wu Yu to dominate at his cultivation level, executing a variety of unique arts, spells, and restraining his opponent through various forces and transformations. While this masked figure's aura was stronger, in terms of quantity, Wei Wuyin was unmatched!

"Who are you?!" The masked figure asked again in their shock. Spiritual Aura was an expression of one's spiritual energy and qualities of one's spirit of cultivation, so for it to reach such high levels, a cultivator must have a monstrous amount of spiritual energy! 

Wei Wuyin didn't answer their question, merely replying with: "Do you wish to surrender, masked schemer?" 

"..." A moment of silence was born between the two, but their thoughts were likely vastly different. 

'This person definitely cultivates something similar to the Imperial Heaven Aura, but I can't determine its exact qualities. They must be concealing it somehow. Still, their strength and energy reserves aren't at my level. If I unleashed my Soul Idols…' Wei Wuyin couldn't discern any of their Spiritual Aura's intrinsic qualities. It was as thoroughly concealed as their figure, gender, race, and cultivation level. 

The two hadn't made a move, merely stood and observed the other. 

"So you're a Spiritualist," The masked figure seemed to have come to a conclusion, their tone of voice had dissipated their shock, revealing a stable serenity of realization and acceptance. 

"..." Wei Wuyin found it funny how cultivators kept mistaking him for a Spiritualist. Furthermore, this seemed to be incorrect. If he was…

"Wait, that's not it? How could you have such spiritual powers without being a Spiritualist?" The masked figure spoke out, seemingly catching themselves from conflicting thoughts, but it also felt as if they were having a debate or conversation with someone else.

Wei Wuyin couldn't help but instinctively look for a ring of sorts that might contain the soul of an ancient expert like Wu Yu. He tried to sense any foreign mental fluctuations from any objects on their person, or any that might leak outside, but he discovered nothing. It might be easier if he had his Celestial Eyes. 

Despite that, he knew the masked figure had come to correct his original conclusion. After all, a Spiritualist had substituted all their mental and physical energies for spiritual energy, becoming a spirit-like existence. They had no ice origin astral force, but ice origin spiritual force. 

However, he had just unleashed an attack against the Stellar Rain using astral force, and the masked figure had been affected by it. While this misunderstanding could hold up in a location like the Battlefield where his astral force was suppressed, unable to be used, it wasn't an assumption that could hold up in the outside world. 

"Who are you…?" The masked figure asked a third time, this time their voice was low and dangerous. It seemed this discovery began to overturn his thoughts that the United Source True Queen had sent Wei Wuyin here as insurance despite all of his previous, vague confirmations and statements. 

"You think asking three times will summon the answer fairy? Because it won't. I assure you, I've tried. Many times." Wei Wuyin gave a faint grin, reeling in his spiritual aura swiftly, causing the affected air, light, and heat to resume to normal. A true battle between experts is rarely ever decided by Spiritual Aura unless the difference was utterly massive or a cultivator was like the masked figure or Wu Yu, cultivating unique Auric Methods. 

The masked figure similarly reeled theirs in, dissipating the protective cocoon. "You're right; the answer isn't going to fall into my lap. I should just find out myself," the voice seemed to also be smiling despite its androgynous tone. A wisp of amusement dangled in the air. 

These two beings faced each other without a care In the world. The dangerous environment they were in, the Stellar Rain that were regrouping, emitting a lower, almost screeching cry that was filled with bloodlust. They clearly did not like their fellow lifeforms being destroyed, yet their hostility towards Wei Wuyin and the masked figure was disproportionate. The latter was an enemy they seemed to be unable to exist with, while the former was an object of their justified vengeance. 

The two received different levels of killing intent, but the masked figure had Wei Wuyin beat by miles in a race of only a single mile. That multicolored miniaturized solar star must be the cause for such extreme hatred. If these things were like bees, then this masked figure must have not shown restraint in claiming their honey, and took far, far too much to rile them up to this degree. 

"I agree; can't imagine you'll simply tell me what you have in your hand, so I might as well take it and find out for myself." Wei Wuyin no longer decided to prolong this. All his attempts to gather information about this cultivator using his spiritual sense had come up empty. He hated acting without complete information or some information, but he was left with no choice here. 

If it wasn't for his caution regarding the stability of the Stellar Nest, he would have acted long ago. But he had tested this with his Spiritual Aura. There was no adverse reaction to his level of power towards the spatial stability of the world. He felt as if the masked figure was testing it too early. 

Neither of them wanted to cause the Stellar Nest to collapse. While they likely had different reasons for it, their thoughts were certainly the same. And with this confirmation, they no longer had any reservations about conflict.

'Since I'm here, this entire Stellar Nest is mine.' Wei Wuyin had firm set his heart and sights on the Stellar Nest. If it was anyone else, they would be unable to re-enter this nest after leaving, but not Wei Wuyin. All he had to do was leave a beacon of sorts, and he would be able to come here to farm Stellar Rain as freely as he wished via a Void Portal. 

This entire Stellar Nest and their lifeforms was his. He had no intention of losing it like how he lost the War Devil Realm. 

"This?" The masked figure lifted the miniaturized solar star in his hand, appraising it with a slight spin. It shone with gorgeously glamorous light that could attain any mortal being's heart. "This is an Astralis Ultimate Star," the masked figure shockingly revealed its name with no hesitation. Furthermore, he continued: "It can be used to cultivate an Astral Idol. An Ultimate Astral Idol, in fact." 

"...!" Wei Wuyin's mind felt as if thunder had erupted within his Sea of Consciousness, not at the name, but its use! He had only heard of Astral Idols from Guan Yu, and it was the representation of reaching the true limits of the Star Core Phase. There were different levels of it, and those with greater foundations needed greater effort to generate one. 

Like a meteorite of apocalyptic levels crashing against a small planet, Wei Wuyin's mind was overwhelmed by this Astralis Ultimate Star. It wasn't just due to its effects, but a wave of profound insight, of adroit thinking, of creative designing, and it all accumulated into a single moment that could be described in a single word: 

Eureka! 

He knew what his next product would be. 

"I'm going to have to take that off your hands," Wei Wuyin apologetically said, but there wasn't a wisp of genuine apology within it. He was already walking towards the masked figure, slowly shortening the mile long distance.

"This little thing?" The masked figure twirled it within their palm, and said in amusement, "Come get it then, mysterious stranger." 

Without warning, the masked figure explosively shot backward, traversing at an explosive speed that would baffle even Starlords. They became a shadow of a shadow!

WOOSH! 

BOOOM!!!

A heavy, devastating, thunderous thud echoed through the world that sent the wind currents running amok in disorder and chaos. The masked figure's retreat halted from the surging force in his escape path. When the masked figure looked ahead, they witnessed something that sent their heart into a rippling state of pounding shock. 

Wei Wuyin stood before them, no more than a few meters away, standing upon the chilly yet smooth surface with a serene expression. "It wasn't a request." 

Suddenly, the masked figure's empty hand became a clenched fist. With speed that caused Wei Wuyin's eyes to widen, unable to react, that fist impacted his torso with unerring accuracy. A surge of tremendous power erupted! 

Boom!

An explosive burst of air produced a sonic boom, and Wei Wuyin was sent flying at speeds that even low-level Ascended beings might find difficult to follow. 

"Didn't think it was," the masked figure replied, "but it isn't for sale, and we're not close enough for me to give it."