Paragon of Sin

The Elementus Domain's inhabitants had settled down with the powering down of the arrays and formations, heaving sighs of relief as their homes were no longer drained of their core energies, yet there was something that drew concern from those who could see beyond the Sky Layers of their planets.

The Domain-sealing formation hadn't dissipated! The entire Elementus Domain was sealed by this barrier, and many travelers and tourists were stuck in the Elementus Domain without a way to go home or communicate with their loved ones. While only a short while had passed, the True Element Sect was barraged by spiritually transmitted requests to drop the barrier. 

Those operating the formation were most tense. The resources were drawn from the True Element Sect's already strained reserves, but since orders hadn't come down to cease, they could only grit their teeth and persist. 

The Mystic Star Phase cultivator, a middle-aged man with a bald head, stern eyes, and round belly, who was in charge of this formation was sweating bullets. There was a continuous stream of transmitted messages from other departments, all demanding answers when or if the formation would be ended. Some of these came from powerful experts with high backing, and he was stressed to provide an answer. 

Unfortunately, he could only politely explain and tell others to simply be patient. 

He looked to the sky, his eyes solemn as he gauged their remaining resources, such as the astral stones and mystic stones. "We can only keep it open for three more days…then, we're…" He didn't want to say it, but those assisting him all understood.

The True Element Sect wouldn't just be in financial crisis, they would bottom out to nothing. They would be the first World Sect in history to become broke! 

While panic and impatience was setting in at various locations, fear and horror was being felt in two places: the True Element Sect's Life-Viewing Palace and the Gong Clan. They both contained Life Talismans of Gong Lau, and simultaneously, they experienced the same world-shaking event! The Life Talisman of Gong Lau had shattered!!! 

The Life-Viewing Palace's Soul of Mysticism expert in charge paled, hurriedly sending messages to Zhang Ziyi and Han Yuhei informing them of this event. After checking to ensure that both of their Life Talismans were stable, he sighed with relief. But when he received simultaneous messages from those Earthly Saints, his expression grew unbearably odd. 

"The criminal Gong Lau has been executed."

"That traitor has been removed from his position; resume your duties." 

The first was obviously from Zhang Ziyi, while the latter was from Han Yuhei. The first revealed far more information than the second, and the Soul of Mysticism expert felt like he was being forced to play a role. Considering his previous allegiance, he couldn't help but grab a transmission jade and sent a message to the Nansi Clan, the leader of the external forces.

It read: "Gong Lau has been deemed a traitor and executed!" 

The waves this caused for those external clans…unimaginably massive. 

-----

The Aeternal Sky Starfield wasn't blind; the vast majority of mystic forces realized the Elementus Domain had been sealed off. This was the second time a Domain had been sealed in under a year, so this event brought along numerous questions. The neighbors of the Elementus Domain, the Everlore Domain and Skyrend Domain were the first to notice, but neither reacted in any meaningful way. 

At first, there were some cursory investigations, but with the domain sealed, there was little they could do without breaching the barrier and causing additional conflict. This degree of response, however, was very short-lived. The barrier stayed open for an hour, and then this drew concern and interest from all over. 

What was happening? 

The Mystic Tier forces didn't hesitate to have their Seers calculate and divinate the events within or its outcome. Unfortunately, they were stumped and widely inconsistent. Some were certain with their responses: Nothing was happening!

Others were absolutely baffled: The Elementus Domain is being protected against Heavenly Sight! 

The conflict was egregiously random. Some powerful Seers of similar skill had two different responses, while weaker ones saw something that led to nothing, and stronger ones saw absolutely nothing due to being blocked! This drew confusion and escalated interest to the absolute limit.

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Of course, the reason they all had such different divinations was due to their subject to search rather than power or ability. With Wu Yu involved, those who inspected the True Element Sect couldn't calculate anything while being blocked off due to Wu Yu's own strength. With Wei Wuyin involved, if they calculated the Elementus Domain, they would see everything as normal. 

With their Seers' senses scrambled, the Elementus Domain garnered greater interest in an extremely short period of time. With enough motivation and energy, the intelligent and astute cultivators and Seers worked together to form a theory, and it was then that a conclusion was reached.

Wu Yu was in the True Element Sect!

While conflict or not was unable to be determined, this was the working theory as to why the True Element Sect was blocked from sight. There was no genuine proof of this being the case, so it was but one of a thousand theories. The Everlore Domain, however, didn't react to this possibility. They had agreed to openly stop any aggression toward Wu Yu and Wei Wuyin, so they didn't take action, but a force that no one expected began to see organized, swift movement!

The Imperial Clan! 

Three gigantic-sized Voidships with full combat-type modifications had begun to be fueled and stocked. They were seemingly preparing to make their way through the Aeternal Sky Starfield and to the Elementus Domain! No one knew how many experts were fielded in this or why they were being sent, but the Imperial Clan hadn't made any active moves like this in centuries! It drew the curiosity of all!

In the Ma Clan's Grand Horse Domain, Ma Zheng and Ma Sujiang were standing together by a beautiful, scenic lakeside. The water was fresh and clear, the air was sweet, and the environment had faint chirping of birds. 

Ma Zheng's complexion was infused with a darker shade of yellow, and there were a few darkened spots at his neck. His eyes were languidly observing the lake's surface, and his breathing was long, heavy, and fragile. 

"Father…" Ma Sujiang called out softly. It was rare for her to refer to Ma Zheng as father, but her emotions were swelling within her heart. She clenched her fists, viciously cursing those of the Main Life Branch of the Golden Life Pavilion in her mind. 

Ma Zheng lifted his eyes and looked to the beautiful sky of their Grand Horse Domain. Since meeting Wei Wuyin, so many things had changed wildly, cascading with torrential floods of uncertainty. At first, he was just a talented junior that he wanted to invest in.

Then, he became the youngest Grand Mortal Sovereign Alchemist. The invention and introduction of the Neo-Dawn Eclipse Pill was revolutionary, and the standards of the entire Grand Cyclic Stellar Region would soon be overturned from it.

The potential and talent of this young man had infused him with enough confidence to take strides in regaining the Ma Clan's rightful position as the Head Branch Clan, and he was already seeing stellar results. Everything was going as planned, and with them lulled into a false sense of security, he would soon obtain the leverage to retake his position. 

But this fortunate star had also induced desperation into others. So much so that their reactions had completely changed, removing their complacency and instilling outright fear. 

It all started with informing the Ninestar Sainthall about the possible connection that Wei Wuyin had with the Fire Phoenix. This was meant to halt them from offending him, hopefully saving Wei Wuyin some trouble or ensuring the Fire Phoenix wasn't killed by accident. The information worked, but it eventually leaked out, and the situation hadn't gone as expected.

A foreign Earthly Saint arrived via a Rainbow Bridge and outright devastated the Tang Clan, killing an Earthly Saint, offending Trueborn, and left without issue. A good result then, but the waves that followed smashed against the shores of his plans.

The Main Life Branch had started to become nervous. How could he be the only one that sees faint shifts in worldly dynamics? They urged him to reveal Wei Wuyin's location or the means to communicate with him. He refused. For one, he was ignorant of where Wei Wuyin was and didn't have any way to communicate with him. Even if he could find a way, he wouldn't give it up.

Yet panic went into full-blown fear all due to one person: Wu Yu!

The newly ascended Earthly Saint without any tethers was born, and he wasn't weak. Just after ascending, he fought two Ever-Knights which could be considered elites with strong foundations and powerful armaments, and one was severely injured while the other lost their physical body—a partial death. He later escaped the Everlore Association. 

Wei Wuyin had already formed a strong relationship with the Ma Clan in the eyes of everyone, and with his subtle movements of trying to inch for more power and authority with the upcoming contest, what was just a laughable attempt to them before had become a serious, terrifying threat that they couldn't ignore. The thought of a future Alchemic Saint and an unchained Earthly Saint aligning with the ambitious Ma Clan was too scary.

So the Main Life Branch acted. Or to be clear, Trueborn acted. They ambushed him after he was drawn out for a meeting by the 1st Branch, his so-called allies, and they severely injured him. While he had means to protect himself and escape, he suffered damage that reduced his remaining Lifespan and Soulspan. He had already pushed his life to the limits that he could and nothing else worked.

His time was coming to an end… 

"A shining star burns bright and hot," Ma Zheng softly stated. Ma Sujiang clenched her fists so tightly that blood leaked from her palms. Ma Zheng once said that when Wei Wuyin arrived, all these troubles would be like dust in the wind. But he was here now, and his actions ruined everything! 

Ma Sujiang was angry, and she knew she was being unreasonable. No one told Ma Zheng to act to seize more power, setting a foundation to eventually regain the Golden Life Pavilion. But she still felt that Wei Wuyin was to blame! 

Since his name was known, he'd caused far too many changes! She found it unbelievable that a mere mortal that wasn't even a hundred years old was causing all sorts of events and changes. The originally clam Grand Cyclic Stellar Region had been jumping up and down like fucking rabbits on drugs since. 

Suddenly, her spatial ring glowed with spiritual light. It wasn't just hers, but Ma Zheng's. They read the information reports instinctively despite their emotions, and when they read it all, their eyes widened. 

Ma Sujiang looked at Ma Zheng, seeing his fragile and dying state. She gritted her teeth, "If his backing is as amazing as you think, he should have a way to help you." 

Ma Zheng closed his eyes. "The Imperial Clan is taking action; there isn't any time."

"They can't invade the Elementus Domain, so what does it matter?" Ma Sujiang didn't feel it was relevant. The Mythical Oaths established prevented the Imperial Clan from invading a territory without first being provoked or betrayed, and with the Lin Clan still present, the oaths were still in effect.

"No, they can't. But they can send reinforcements if they believe, within reason, that the Elementus Domain is under attack by a foreign force. In fact, they must." Ma Zheng reminded her with a slow verbal cadence.

"...But…" Ma Sujiang's beautiful eyes widened abruptly, remembering a few details of the Mythical Oaths. She couldn't help but give Ma Zheng a deep look, her emotions changing to righteous indignation.

"Who cares?! No matter what, we have to tell him about his fiancée and the Main Life Branch! We're going!" Ma Sujiang grabbed Ma Zheng. The once grand Demi-Mortal Lord couldn't resist as his daughter took him into the skies, vanishing in a flash of silver light. 

"She's fine, so we-" Ma Zheng's voice lingered before abruptly cutting off. 

-----

Back at the True Element Sect, Wei Wuyin and Wen Mingna rode Bai Lin as they flew towards the True Element Sect. Wu Yu, Han Yuhei, and Zhang Ziyi flew on their own power, guiding the way to the sect.

Zhang Ziyi had a neutral expression, but her inner heart was entirely different. There was a brilliant light of joy and schadenfreude within her heart, fueled by anticipation. 

'Finally, the Lin Clan will finally end, and how befitting it'll be at your own hands.'