Paragon of Sin

"Heh," despite the torrential downpour of killing intent that seeped into every facet of the world, raining upon his shoulders with disastrous intensity, Ori's words lightened Wei Wuyin's thoughts, eliciting a genuine chuckle. It was hard to feel fear or panic when you faced every adversity with those you trusted. 

Wei Wuyin's Celestial Eyes glinted with a silver brilliance, staring at the thirteen-meter-sized manifestations that mimicked his four Astral Souls. They stood high above, looking down with inhuman savagery, but also a sort of high-held haughtiness that befitted the grandest of the world. 

"Huuuu!" Wei Wuyin deeply inhaled, his body exerting a wisp of physical strength as he lifted himself out of the sunken holes his legs made. He floated a few inches above the ground, the gravitational force was unable to halt his rise. 

"Haaaa!" Wei Wuyin exhaled out a burst of thickly enriched air, containing his pent-up emotions and thoughts. Faced with this development, he didn't wish to be distracted by idle thoughts. 

"Be careful," Eden warned. 

The four Astral Souls strangely released a solemn intensity, even Ori. Just from their reactions, Wei Wuyin knew that whatever they did, these avatars were not things that could be casually dismissed. 

Wei Wuyin gave them another look, sternly observing their bodies and unique states. He discovered that these four Avatars of the World, or Worldly Avatars, contained an unfathomable amount of mana, gravitational forces, light energies, and other worldly forces. Somehow, they embodied these forces perfectly. 

Wei Wuyin felt that this might be a way to slay these beings, so he tapped into the Mana Dominance of his Zenith Origin State, exerting his extreme control over mana, attempting to control these four Worldly Avatars. 

Shiing!

Roar!

Woosh!

Rustle!

The four Worldly Avatars reacted aggressively, moving about chaotically as they twisted slightly. Suddenly, Wei Wuyin felt himself besieged by a surge of ambient mana. His eyes widened slightly as he was violently blasted back, crashing heavily into the cultivation room. An absurd amount of force pressed against him.

"They have our powers," Eden warned again. 

Kree!

Bai Lin had long since left on Wei Wuyin's command when the tribulation had been initiated. She watched from outside the planet's Sky Layer, hovering in the Dark Void with a wisp of concern within her gaze. 

Wei Wuyin's body formed a deep depression, going further than thirty meters into the ground before he switched from using Sky Pressure and Mana Dominance to his astral force and physical strength, viciously destroying the mana that crashed against him like endless tidal waves.

Wei Wuyin shot upwards, his eyes a little more serious. How was this possible? These Worldly Avatars also had Mana Dominance? Furthermore, their control was stronger than his! He was absolutely baffled. 

"All of your powers?" Wei Wuyin asked with a tinge of frustration. 

"Only our foundational ones," Eden answered strangely.

"Foundational ones?" Wei Wuyin was immediately curious. But he wasn't given time to assess the possibilities of this as the four Worldly Avatars seemed to no longer act passively. They released world-shaking sounds! 

From outside, Bai Lin was startled as she shot further away from the planet, a coat of multicolored light enveloped the entire planet, seemingly engulfing it whole! She distinctively recognized these light rays; these lights belonged to Wei Wuyin! 

Wei Wuyin was on the surface of Origin, so when he looked upwards and saw an aurora borealis that painted the entire sky with various gorgeous multicolored lights, he immediately realized what 'foundational powers' meant! 

The Worldly Forces Astral Tribulation was mimicking not just their spiritual forms, but their Spirit State, Soul Light, and Gravitational Central Mass! 

"This…" Wei Wuyin barely got out a single word before all the light energies within the world began to change. This was something even Wei Wuyin couldn't do! Without warning, he was attacked from his right by Annihilation Saber Soul Light, and his right hand was sliced as the mana and energies of the world became saber light!

From his left, the rampage of pure white light was upon him. The Shifting Elemental Soul Light infused with the mana and ambient energies of the world, becoming elemental origin energy that crashed against his left hand. He felt as if he was freezing, absurdly hot, and stiff as a heavy, dense feeling invaded him. 

The Soul Light was trying to convert his innate elemental energies into earth origin energies! It was trying to petrify him!

A wisp of shock emerged in his heart, but he wasn't terrified. He exerted his own Elemental Heart Intent, exerting a greater will upon these energies, outright nullifying them, bringing them under his control. 

With a wave of his right hand, all the saber light was tamed and gathered into a saber that he grabbed with a smile. The Saber Heart Intent exerted its strength at this moment! 

Woosh!

Handling the situation with relative ease, he was shocked when a formless figure emerged behind him. A surge of torrential strength smashed against his back, snapping his refined spine with terrifying force. 

Wei Wuyin's eyes widened as he was sent tens of miles forward, smashing against numerous buildings, and devastating large swathes of land as he bounced repeatedly. He instinctively tried to use ambient mana to realign himself despite the devastating pain he felt.

Woosh!

For the briefest of moments, the ambient mana heeded his command, but only for that briefest of moments. A wave of saber light, elemental origin light, and formless divinity light seemingly swept against him, seizing control of the ambient mana, and every ounce of it began to emit violent killing intent.

Before Wei Wuyin could adapt to his mistake, an ocean's worth of mana condensed into solid form, shocking him as his Celestial Eyes noticed that wisps of mystic-graded mana were within it! It took the form of unrecognizable and unclear wisps, so it was easily noticeable. It was this type of control that allowed him to inadvertently concoct the transcendent World-Light Refraction Elixir! 

He could barely let out a breath before the mana imprisoned him, pressing against him from all sides like the powers of Sky Pressure. He felt suffocated as the air in his lungs was slowly turned into ice origin energies. His body heat lowered instantly. 

The annihilating saber light wasn't idle, slicing against his body, attempting to slice his clothing. If it wasn't for his mystic-graded materials made from the Essence of War, he would've likely suffered unimaginable injuries. The sharpness of Annihilation Saber Light couldn't be underestimated, still leaving scars within the fabric.

"Why were they so strong?!" The thought couldn't help but pass through Wei Wuyin's mind. When he learned long ago that the tribulation was lethal, in truth, he didn't quite believe it. According to cultivators, the Mortal Star Formation Tribulation was deadly, but it was merely a way to pass alongside details of their cultivated powers, to lay the bricking foundation for their future cultivation.

He felt the 'lethality' of the Seventh Astral Tribulation must also be grossly misunderstood. Why would the heavens decide that cultivation needed such a violent gatekeeper? It must be a trick that could be capitalized by cultivators.

He wasn't afraid to admit it: he was absolutely wrong! 

He tried to use his astral force to stabilize himself. It worked for a tad bit, but a pair of sharp claws within the mist emerged before him without any warning or prior indication, even his spiritual sense wasn't able to notice them, and it pressed against him. 

He was slammed into the earth, and it dragged him with such absurd speed that it felt as if he was spatially shifting. In milliseconds, he was dragged tens of thousands of miles, his head and body smashing against every mountain, reinforced building, and obstacle in the way! 

Kratos' Worldly Avatar was merciless, treating him like a dirty rag cleaning up spills. Just dragging him along! 

He used his astral force to directly reconnect his severed spine, regaining his motor functions as he tried to seize the mist with a violent grasp, but when his hand entered the mist, the silhouette and owner of the two claws had seemingly become ethereal. It was formless! 

However, his Celestial Eyes saw it clearly. The savage aggression reflected within its eyes was pure, and when his hand fully passed through it, the claws seemed to regain its substance, and smashed Wei Wuyin downwards, causing him to burrow thousands of miles deep, entering the searing border of the World's Core.

It was trying to send him into the planet's core!

Wei Wuyin's eyes bulged as he felt a terrifyingly fierce gravity descend upon his body. He couldn't even lift his toes or fingers, forced to go further and further. These Worldly Avatars each had the same intense gravitational force as his Black Hole! Moreover, there were four!

"ROAR!" Wei Wuyin roared as he felt his skin burn from the planet core's unique heat. It was matched by his beating true dragon heart pounding with vigorous effort. An absurd amount of Draconic Void Force exploded outwards, forcing the claws to break away, sending Kratos' Worldly Avatar burrowing elsewhere. 

Wei Wuyin's Celestial Eyes instantly lost track of it. But he didn't have time to locate it, as endless roots of seven-colors were emerging from the edges of his vision. He instantly transitioned to Alchemic Eden Force, exploding just like earlier.

However, his thoughts stilled as the roots within his vision engulfed the majority of his visual perception.

"My Sea of Consciousness!" He immediately determined the roots weren't trying to invade him from outside, but that they were already inside! The unique Mind Dao of Eden was unfathomable. Its original sentience had invaded Wei Wuyin's mind before, attempting to take over his body. It seemed to be deploying similar means, but far, far more profound and powerful.

It didn't need his permission to enter his mind like before!

Wei Wuyin was suddenly plunged into a world of seven colors. 

The colors soon dispersed.

When Wei Wuyin could see once again, he saw a figure dressed entirely in black. He could hear sobbing sounds, looking behind him. There was a clutching and shivering hand on his robes, and a beautiful girl in fearful tears that he could never forget! The most impactful schemer during his earlier years. It was none other than Jiu Lang! 

"Scarlet Solaris Mountain?" He instantly recognized the familiar scarlet glow emitting from the ground and air. Beyond the mountain, a barrier of qi was formed that sealed off every avenue of escape. The sounds of qi arts and deathly howls kept resounding endlessly. The light of emerald was dominating the scarlet glow.

He felt that this scene was extremely familiar—undeniably familiar.

Then, he turned to the black-robed figure with a knowing look. This man was the one who would take his life on this day. And he, being who he was, grasped his saber to defend against the woman that had schemed against him for years. He wouldn't have realized that the man wasn't here for her…but for him.

"Long Chen."