Paragon of Sin

"..." The atmosphere instantly shifted in tone upon the simple mention of Divine King Han Xei. Zhang Ziyi's reaction was to turn to Han Yuhei, her eyes and facial expressions gleaming with endless interest. Divine King Han Xei was a legendary member of the True Element Sect, but he hadn't made a public appearance in over a thousand years. He didn't have a life talisman established either, so his life-and-death was incredibly uncertain.

If it wasn't for Han Yuhei's constant reassurance of him living elsewhere, still present within the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region, they would've announced his removal as an active member on various councils and tributes. While it might be beneficial to falsely rep an additional Earthly Saint towards the outsiders, it hurt a lot of their official proceedings and diverted a portion of their resources.

Furthermore, these resources supposedly reserved for Divine King Han Xei were sent and delivered to his disciple, Lin Xianxei. Neither of the two factions wanted the Lin Clan to become stronger, especially the Shattered Elements Faction that hated them with an aggrieved passion. Yet these resources greatly contributed to the Lin Clan having multiple Ascended beings, including their Clan Master, Lin Xianxian. 

If it wasn't for Divine King Han Xei's mandatory share, and Han Yuhei's guarantee, the Lin Clan would still be mulling about as a non-Mystic Clan. It was only this generation that the Lin Clan thrived beyond their years. The last three generations never became 'genuine' Ascended cultivators, entering the Soul of Mysticism Phase. 

They were easier to control then, reduced to true puppets meant to be what they were—shields against the Imperial Clan. 

Han Yuhei's surprise soon ended, replaced by an unsettling calm. Those nine-colored eyes of his were almost emotionless, and he responded dryly, "I have no way to contact the Nine-Divine Elementus King." 

"..." Both Wu Yu and Wei Wuyin exchanged 'looks' before returning their focus onto Han Yuhei. Wei Wuyin asked, "Is he dead?" 

Han Yuhei sighed. By this point, the two Earthly Saints had long since ended kneeling, and stood before Wei Wuyin and Wu Yu as if they were having a normal conversation. "He's not," he answered. 

"How can you be certain of this if you have no way to contact him?" Wei Wuyin continued his line of questioning. He needed to find Divine King Han Xei for answers regarding the Celestial Eyes of Spiritual Divinity, including the Everlasting Spirit of Nine Flames. The other alternative was to find the King of Everlore, and that was an extremely difficult goal. 

Han Yuhei looked at Wu Yu. Wu Yu warned, "Little Yu, it's best if you explain it all. I don't want to have to rip through the entire domain until I find him." 

"You think he's here?" Zhang Ziyi couldn't help but ask. They had tried many means to locate Divine King Han Xei, even using the Golden Gate Pavilion, but they discovered nothing useful. 

"I know he's here," Wu Yu stated confidently. Han Yuhei's eyebrows twitched slightly, but he hurriedly regained his calm. Yet this was enough to reveal the truth. Wu Yu added while staring at Han Yuhei, "If there's one thing I know about him, Divine King Han Xei doesn't abandon family." 

"..." Wu Yu's incredible confidence caused all eyes to look at Han Yuhei. Witnessing his unfazed reaction, it was impossible for doubts not to pop into Zhang Ziyi's mind. 

"I can't," Han Yuhei answered, his voice absolutely firm and unyielding. He didn't seem like anything would force him to speak. Wei Wuyin was considering everything at this moment, even weighing torture, or risking it by using Eden to sift through his memories after being subjugated. He would normally never resort to it, but it was a clue that could lead to more answers regarding the Celestial Eyes of Spiritual Divinity. 

"Don't," Eden interjected. This wasn't the first time. He had wanted to delve into the mind of Ascended beings for a long time, but Eden kept refusing to do so. While he felt that his foundation and powers might be enough to enter, Eden was vehemently against trying it at all. Unfortunately, it couldn't explain the reason why with any sort of clarity, simply that it was a terrible idea.  Do you want to read more chapters? Come to p a n d a - n ovel,c.o.m

Eden was far more aware of its limitations than he was, so he never tried it. Still, Han Yuhei seemed to be held back by more than loyalty. 

"A Mythical Oath?" Wei Wuyin asked.

"Several," Han Yuhei admitted. He didn't hide the fact that he swore to keep certain details a secret, so even if he wanted to speak, which he wouldn't even if tortured, he couldn't without suffering terrifying consequences. 

"How bothersome," Wu Yu scoffed. He sent to Wei Wuyin spiritually: "Do you need him?" If Wei Wuyin gave the order, he would search through the entire Elementus Domain without any hesitation, dragging him out of wherever he's hiding. It's not like they could stop him. 

Wei Wuyin pondered for a long moment, asking spiritually: "If he's hiding, injured or in a precarious state, your actions could lead to his death or a forceful retaliation. What I'm really concerned about is if he's recovering from an injury, heavily protected by formations, tools, or pellets which could lead to our deaths." 

"Pellets?" Wu Yu's eyes brightened instantly, suffused with a little bit of weariness. He recalled how the King of Everlore had bestowed them protective pellets to face off against the rampaging beasts during their growth period. At that time, those pellets were devastating. If after the King of Everlore became a Worldly Saint Alchemist, he left behind some protective pellets for those in his entourage, then finding Divine King Han Xei could lead to disastrous consequences. 

"I might not need him," Wei Wuyin carefully considered his options. Wen Mingna might be able to help do this with her various divination powers as long as he knew what he was trying to find. 

"Little Yu, do you have a copy of the Everlasting Spirit of Nine Flames?" Wei Wuyin asked Han Yuhei, but he immediately realized that he had called Han Yuhei 'little Yu' after the expressions of the two Earthly Saints changed. Wu Yu chuckled loudly, clearly amused. 

"...The sect does." Han Yuhei's eyes narrowed as he sent a scathing gaze towards Wu Yu. To be called 'Little Yu' by a mortal that was a hundred of times younger than him was as humiliating as it sounded. "It should be in the sect's library. I'll send someone to get it." 

Han Yuhei and Zhang Ziyi's cultivation bases were unsealed after swearing their oaths, but they were still greatly drained. As for their spatial rings, they were claimed by Wu Yu earlier, offered to Wei Wuyin. Shockingly, Han Yuhei did not have an Internal World of his own. But the wealth within these rings were insignificant to Wei Wuyin, besides carefully sealed mystic-graded armaments, everything else was below mystic-grade. 

The true wealth of the sect belonged inside a specially-crafted vault protected by so many layers and redundancies that Earthly Saints would find it impossible to breach safely without years of arduous effort. It was similar to the Soul-Rising Domain's vault that was robbed by the Soul-Rising Saint, it stored the majority of the sect's mystic-graded resources. 

While they waited, Zhang Ziyi was quite talkative. She engaged with Wu Yu in a few topics regarding mysticism, and Wu Yu had snagged her interest. Before long, she was avidly listening to him with a starstruck gaze. 

Han Yuhei was silent, but from the faint light sparking from time to time in his eyes, one could tell he was listening from the side. Wei Wuyin was quite surprised by Wu Yu. Even the United Source True Queen had been intrigued and amazed by his words. Of course, Wei Wuyin couldn't understand 99% of it, as they spoke in Mysticism. 

'Could it be that the Language of Mysticism helps or does comprehending a Mystic Rune bears a similarity to ascending beyond a realm?' Of course, if Wei Wuyin knew that Wu Yu was just talking loose details about the Blood Origin Method, he wouldn't know whether to laugh or cry. After all, the cultivation methods of the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region were clearly insufficient in terms of profoundness and grade.

Suddenly, Zhang Ziyi asked as if enlightened: "Alchemic Sovereign Wei, while Han Yuhei has no way to contact the Nine-Divine Elementus King, your fiancée is his disciple. She's bound to have a way."

Han Yuhei's expression changed.

Wei Wuyin lifted his brows. Fiancée? Na Xinyi is in the Dark Yin Palace. Wait. There shouldn't be anyone besides those in Na Xinyi's close friendship, mostly Valkyries, that were aware of their relationship. She should be developing with just a friendly association, not with that label. Only Xue Yifei was well-known as his concubine.

Wu Yu reminded, "The Saintess of this sect, Young Lord." 

"Oh, right." Wei Wuyin recalled the rumor that was used to better the True Element Sect's relations with others, creating a further connection beyond Chosen. He knew that the rumor was circulating, but he didn't think the Earthly Saint of the sect would genuinely think that would be the case. Wasn't it a scheme by them? Why did Zhang Ziyi truly seem genuine in her reminder?

Han Yuhei was also strange, as if he was trying to read Wei Wuyin's expressions. 

"Well, we have time. Let's do that," Wei Wuyin didn't expect anything out of it, because if Han Yuhei had oaths, there's no way the other wouldn't have oaths to protect her. However, towards this Saintess that he never met or seen, he was extremely curious about her. 

"If she's a mortal, let's search her memories," Eden outright suggested without any hesitation. It had no issues sifting through mortal beings' minds. 

Wei Wuyin faintly smiled, "Sure." He gestured towards Zhang Ziyi, "Lead the way to this fiancée of mine."

Kree!

Bai Lin's wings unfurled with excitement. She wanted to know who had the audacity to think they were worthy enough to pretend to be Wei Wuyin's fiancée!