Paragon of Sin

At the center of the three large-sized planet's orbit, there was a Gateway Door of exquisite design, coated in gold and silver, marked by large the 'Life' character at ite center, and divided into two doors that push away horizontally. It led to one of the eighty-one World Realms of the Endless Prosperity Domain, the most important one: Endless Prosperity. 

It wasn't tagged by the term 'Realm', referred to plainly as Endless Prosperity. If one delved into the ancient records of the Golden Life Pavilion, Endless Prosperity was the very first World Realm created at its initial establishment, it was 'the' starter realm that led to all they had now, a Domain of Endless Prosperity that expanded across an entire stellar region. 

And it wasn't the establishment of the Golden Life Pavilion, a name taken after a series of ownership changeovers and hostile acquisitions over millennia, but its original, initial identity when it was nothing more than an insignificant existence with a mere dream held up by  a cunning, intelligent, and optimistic owner. 

Within the Gateway Door, the entire World Realm awaited. Endless Prosperity wasn't an ordinary World Realm. Not only did it act as the central realm for the Golden Life Pavilion's leadership, the main headquarters of the entire pavilion, it was outrageously opulent in the grandest of manners. 

Despite only seemingly having a single entrance, the Gateway Door worked with a similar mechanism as the Four Extreme Continent's, having multiple tube-like spatial tunnels, allowing all entries to enter and be diverted to different locations. Unlike the Elementus Chosen Trial, the locations could be freely chosen as long as one has the correct permissions. 

Wu Yu and Ma Zheng arrived at the Gateway Door, giving this gorgeously designed Gateway Door an appraisal. Wu Yu was a little anxious. It had been four months since he left Wei Wuyin's side, and while he had secured Wu Baozhai and the Eternal Monarch Sect's members' safety in accordance with Wei Wuyin's orders, he felt a wave of agitation after sitting on his thumbs for so long. 

"What is it?" After a few seconds of waiting, Wu Yu gave Ma Zheng a look accompanied by a frown. He was already aware of the aspects of this Gateway Door, and had mentally prepared himself for various scenarios.

Ma Zheng sighed heavily, a little bit of emotion leaking through. As the Third Manager of the Golden Life Pavilion, he possessed an omni-key that allowed access to all spatial tunnels, capable of freely entering and exiting, having some control over the initial arrays and formations of Endless Prosperity. With a wave of his hand, he brought out a golden-colored key without any notches. 

Wu Yu saw this and prepared himself. If they were to be sieged immediately, if they fell into a trap, then he was ready to unleash his Third Grand Transformation instantly. 

However, Ma Zheng didn't use the key to open the Gateway Door. He instead shook his head slightly, saying with a wisp of ridicule: "I'm ten thousand years too old for this move to work on me, and you're twenty thousand years too young to try it." With a harsh crunch, Ma Zheng clenched his fist and crushed the golden key.

Wu Yu was shocked. 

"Their attitudes are now clear," Ma Zheng stated with an indifferent tone. Wu Yu was confused, giving the bits of flowing golden dust particles a look. Continuing, Ma Zheng looked off to the side with a smile, seeing a faint silver light approaching from afar, "Right on time." 

Wu Yu's attention was drawn towards the approaching silver light to see a middle-aged woman dressed in maroon robes with a strong, stable Mystic Aura. She was an Earthly Saint, her eyes exuded boundless serenity, and her posture was upright, proud, and noble. She was definitely an exceptional member of her gender, be it in looks, demeanor, or cultivation, and she looked quite familiar.

At the woman's right, another younger woman, very similar in appearance, sporting the same dark-grey hair color as the middle-aged woman. However, their demeanors were definitely dissimilar, one gave off the sensation of a noble grace while the other was more of a patient, diligent young woman.

That young woman was none other than Ma Sujiang! 

The two were riding a small-sized Voidship that emitted a strong, resonating silvery light that stirred the ambient spatial energies of the Dark Void. It seemed as if it was spatial shifting through the world yet also not. It was definitely unique. 

When they arrived a few tens of meters away, stopping at that point, the middle-aged woman didn't even give Ma Zheng a look as she calmly said while looking around: "No obstruction?" 

Ma Sujiang pouted a little, giving the middle-aged woman a look of dissatisfaction. However, the middle-aged woman didn't seem to care about her mood. 

Ma Zheng didn't seem bothered by her attitude, replying: "Those here have already decided on their side. They've left on my orders." 

The middle-aged woman faintly nodded as if it was expected. If Ma Zheng wasn't able to seize control of some measly guards, he might as well quit now. "Then why haven't you entered?" She finally looked in Ma Zheng's direction, noticing Wu Yu who released a strong Mystic Aura. At the moment, Wu Yu was wearing a concealing mask given to him by Ma Zheng to hide his identity, and while his distinct signature was hidden, his Mystic Aura wasn't. As for Ma Zheng, he gave off a distinct aura of a Demi-Mortal Lord. 

The middle-aged woman was unable to determine who Wu Yu was, just that he was an Earthly Saint. Still, the leaking curiosity was clear to detect within those serene eyes of hers. 

Ma Zheng didn't keep anyone in suspense, "the Gateway Door has some suspicious points. I discovered that it's been fitted with various hidden formations to seal, expel, or harm."

Wu Yu finally realized why Ma Zheng destroyed the key, releasing a soft sound of understanding. However, his eyes sparkled with spiritual light and he gazed at the Gateway Door. He found nothing nefarious or abnormal with the Gateway Door or the spatial tunnels that led into the depths. While he wasn't able to obtain a perfectly clear picture, he was an Earthly Saint who had a Spatial-grade Mystic Rune. 

At least, he should be able to detect formations embedded in the tunnels. He was baffled.

"I don't sense anything," the middle-aged woman flew over, inspecting the Gateway Door and stated plainly. She found Ma Zheng's statement to be without any visible merit. Moreover, why would they harm the entrance to Endless Prosperity when they were unable to determine the timeline of his arrival? 

It seemed like a stretch. What if someone else fell into it? It might even clash with some Mythical Oaths sworn by the Golden Life Pavilion's leadership. 

Ma Zheng didn't care if she believed or not, "We're going to use the Star-Hex." The Star-Hex was none other than the tiny ship that the middle-aged woman and Ma Sujiang had arrived on. It had tremendous infiltration and stealth capabilities, designed for war. That said, whether it was capable enough to bypass all the defensive and restrictive formations of the Endless Prosperity was uncertain.

"That's a very risky action," the middle-aged woman stated. If they failed and were caught by the Endless Prosperity's defensive formations, it would be quite unfortunate. 

"Yes, but we must; the meeting's today," Ma Zheng said as he flew to the Star-Hex. Wu Yu followed along. He didn't care if they used stealth or force, but he needed to enter. 

"The meeting is today?" The middle-aged woman's voice changed for the first time, revealing some surprise. "How do you know? They've temporarily removed you from your position so they have no obligation to inform you in accordance with the oaths, and I don't imagine they'll leave any opportunity for others to inform you. Moreover, it's spontaneous and unpredictable for a reason, and they wouldn't give this opening unless it was a world-changing scale of importance." She returned to the Star-Hex. 

Ma Zheng only gave a faint smile in response.

Ma Sujiang had wisps of pride in her eyes, fueled by her father's extraordinary foresight.

The middle-aged woman realized Ma Zheng wasn't going to reveal anything else, and much like the gaze Ma Sujiang sent her way earlier, she shot Ma Zheng a look of dissatisfaction. It was quite easy to determine they were mother and daughter, and while they seemed different, they had similar mannerisms. 

"Let's go," Ma Zheng took control of the Star-Hex. It instantly melded with space, vanishing from visual perception. If Wei Wuyin had seen this, he would be absolutely startled because this was Spatial Merging! An ability he had only gained after attaining the Spatial-Convergence Ripple! 

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Within the World Realm of Endless Prosperity, the world was bathed in golden and white light originating from a golden solar star, titan-sized, and two strange circular halos above and below, emitting wisps of white light. These two halos were broken apart into uneven segments, but they spiraled consistently without scattering, as if controlled by a unique power.

They strongly resemble Mystic Radiance Belts, yet there was a strangeness to them. That said, they diffused outwards mystic essence and light that was refined from the astral essence from the Solar Star, enriching the World Realm, but not all of it. 

The World Realm was a mixture of astral and mystic-graded light, the golden and white lights respectively. Therefore, there was a distinct lack of consistency that complete Mystic Radiance Belts had.

Endless Prosperity was home to billions, the size of it was greatly disproportionate to its population, capable of housing trillions, but it seemed abnormally clustered, with every piece of land used or occupied by large Sky Palaces, grounded mansions, mining efforts, or active farming. Even Endless Prosperity was a sign of endless generation of wealth. 

The entire World Realm seemed endlessly active. There was a network of Sky Palaces and grounded mansions, interconnected through bridges of sleek light that were being used by ships. They traversed these bridges, exiting or entering through various Void Gates that either led to the other eighty World Realms of the Endless Prosperity Domain or other branches of Golden Life Pavilion throughout the stellar region while carrying various goods. 

The Endless Prosperity wasn't just the central territory of the Golden Life Pavilion, the capital of the Endless Prosperity Domain, but it was the main spatial port of their business. The bridges that overlapped through a complex network were not without its purpose, and each bridge led to a different territory with different rights throughout the stellar region.

Some of these Void Gates could directly bypass the spatial sealing arrays of certain Starfields, Domains, or Territories to deliver or retrieve goods. Of course, these Void Gates were all pre-determined and limited, restricting those of a certain cultivation level from entering or only arriving at a heavily-guarded area of that territory. 

This mostly depended on what the forces' preferences were, and the Golden Life Pavilion would freely accommodate their needs. 

Within this vast territory, there was a huge palace that was grandly designed, outfitted with various formations and arrays to drastically improve quality of life. There was a large, expansive area of grassland within this palace with an artificial sky. 

Situated atop an azure-scaled beast, a young woman dressed in a black cheongsam with violet-colored dragons beautifully embroidered on its surface stared at the artificial sky. She had a supremely calm expression, her hazel eyes with navy-blue flecks shone brightly beneath the light. 

"Gruuuu…" The beast beneath her released a soft, earth-rumbling breath. Xue Yifei revealed a gentle smile, caressing the large scales of the Horned-Firmament Azure Dragon beneath her. Anu had stayed beside her through it all over the last couple of months. 

Recalling the last eight years, Xue Yifei sighed. 

"Lady Xue, is there anything you need?" A voice politely asked.

Xue Yifei kept her eyes towards the artificial sky, not looking in the voice's direction even a little. "Anything I need?" There was a hint of amusement and mockery in her tone, but she didn't lash out. She simply ignored the voice right after.

"If there's anything you need, as our most honored guest,  I'm here to serve you to the fullest extent of my capabilities.." The voice said, as polite as humanly possible. Xue Yifei couldn't help but frown. As steps began to get further, Xue Yifei moved. She turned her head to see a well-dressed middle-aged woman with short brown hair. Her entire body gave off an physical aura of unfathomableness, very distinct to Highlords, or those at the Demi-Mortal Lord Phase. 

"Wait,"Xue Yifei called out. The footsteps ceased immediately, the middle-aged woman turning with a faint smile of friendliness. "Has my offer been accepted?" 

The middle-aged woman wasn't shocked by this, saying calmly: "Something so important requires the deliberation of all Managers. The Pavilion Master, Branch Managers, and the Golden Council have all gathered in haste to consider it now. It won't be long until a conclusion is reached, I assure you, Lady Xue." 

Xue Yifei nodded slightly, not even looking in the middle-aged woman's direction. When the woman finally left, Xue Yifei released another sigh. 

'Just a little more.'