Paragon Of Sin

Chapter 1929: Chapter 1921: Executed

Words were unable to describe the sheer destruction unleashed within a single instant. Unforgettable was its result, and only that could be described, translated into words to reflect the power released within Long Shiya’s detonation of his Resonant Soul.

Souls were shaken as they beheld a blindingly fierce brilliance. There was no need to physically see the explosion. Whether they were newborns or ancient existences, they all felt the explosive shockwave sweep across their True Souls. It was harmless, yet eternally imprinting.

The Utmost-Heaven Guardian Array surrounding the Utmost Purity Galaxy was impacted by a golden, white, and cyan radiance. It lasted a full seven seconds before a hole was punctured within the eastern galactic region. The remnant force that had been able to surpass the maximum threshold of containment and refinement within a single moment bled through as a geysering wave of raw, existential-annihilation power.

Within those seven seconds, the six Mystic-Heaven graded treasures and seven Dao Enforcers worked in complete tandem. Soul-shattering roars resounded as Heavenly Force, Resonant Qi, and Alchemic Energy, guided by specialized Resonating Soul Arts of the Dao Enforcer,s were unleashed in unison, all with the intention of negating the remnant force that had gotten through. The soul-quaking roars were angry, intense, and unyielding in their resolve.

Their unimaginably quick response allowed them to prevent a single loss of life. Well, at least the life within the Utmost Purity Galaxy; they were its protectors, after all. If not for the Utmost Purity Galaxy’s seven seconds of defense, there was no telling the result. At the very least, countless existences would have been wiped out forever, no different than Guo Heng’s disastrous fate at Dongfang Yue’s hands.

Meanwhile, Superior Yijun, who was mid-attack, unleashing a Resonating Soul Art to strike at Wei Wuyin, had instinctively felt a wave of crisis besiege his True Soul, and he reacted with an exceptionally decisive precision. He suffered a backlash upon his soul as he switched arts, converting offensive to a full defense. His body belched out a torrential storm of semi-solid cloudy material, akin to cotton as it expanded up to ten thousand miles. He had transformed into a miniature planet of a semi-solid cloud.

The explosive wave crashed into the cloud planet without mercy. If not for the distance Superior Yujin had established by madly racing toward Wei Wuyin to engage in mid-range to close-range combat, he might not have even a picosecond worth of time to react. However, he didn’t have time to praise his fortune or question what had just happened.

Upon contact, his cloud-like planetary barrier absorbed a significant portion of the destructive force, yet it was obliterated in a near-instant, instantly smashing into his true body as a heaven-shaking yell swept across the Dark Void. As the aggrieved yell lingered, a cloudy comet of heavenly, soulful, and mystic radiance blasted out at indescribable speeds.

SOULGUARD ABSCONDING!!

Wei Wuyin observed all this as he calmly took a step back. A Void Portal conjured immediately behind him, enveloping him within its black void. He vanished within. It was hit by the destructive wave and was shattered into countless specks of refined Void Energy.

The speed of the shockwave was unprecedentedly fast, far exceeding anything Wei Wuyin had witnessed on a scale of speed. It exceeded Superior Yujin’s full-force dash to close the distance by a margin that would be akin to comparing a snail to a lightning bolt.

If not for his ample preparations prior, he would have had to defend against the shockwave despite being billions of miles away. However, he didn’t just leave the battlefield or the range of the existential-eradicating explosion that could threaten the stability of an entire greater galaxy. No—Wei Wuyin didn’t retreat.

He moved forward!

Wading through the chaos that was erupting throughout the Void, he stabilized the situation by relying on his triple mutated Major Laws—Space, Time, and Origin. The Void, dimensions of space, and flows of time that were being ruthlessly destroyed by the explosion, albeit temporarily, were artificially recreated and heavily reinforced. It was akin to creating a one-off bridge to conduct a single transportation effort of a convoy.

This ingenuity was the result of Magus, a result of Pakhet forcing him out of the Void all those years ago. If he could be pushed out of the Void, then what if he could reinforce his strength, making it so external forces had to exert greater levels of strength to do so? As such, Original Void Creation Ascension Art was born.

A manifestation of the Original Dawn Palace constituted from the Major Laws' power on the foundation of all nine Ways of Mysticism. Inadvertently, Magus had created by sheer ingenuity of mind the equivalent of a Quasi-Resonating Soul Art, otherwise known by the greater galaxies as the absolute trump card of demonic geniuses and True Soul Phase cultivators: Ascending Soul Art.

Requiring only Soul Energy-infused Law power and a profound understanding of the Ways of Mysticism!

This invention allowed Wei Wuyin to surf upon the chaos of the explosion, navigating the turbulent Void under the protection of the Original Dawn Palace’s manifestation: Original Void Creation Ascending Soul Art!

As he did, he unleashed his Celestial Eyes to their fullest extent, weaving through the chaos as he sought to find two distinct auras, either in the Void, the three dimensions of space, or hiding elsewhere.

He wasn’t a fool; both Superior Duan and Heaven-Saint Thunderhaven were established figures, likely having countless treasures to defend against threats. This was the case for mortals, especially well-established cultivators, so this should be even more true for these Supreme Existences.

...or so he thought.

Exerting his Eye of Truth, which could view the end of the world, origin of all things, and allowed him to see Unseen Divinities, or better described as see-through the Divine Mist that enveloped them, he discovered the faint remnants of a fragmented Microheaven that was being saved by the efforts of an extraordinarily profound worldly power that vastly exceeded his understanding despite surgically studying Hong Xuannu. If not for his and Magus’ knowledge gained from that incident, he wouldn’t have had the know-how or the wherewithal to appropriately seize control of the array remotely and command its activation.

This was actually due to a critical flaw of the array, albeit it was hard to consider it a legitimate flaw per se. It had a formation designed for remote detonation, not by personal detonation. Therefore, there was an almost-certain chance that Long Shiya was unaware of the array due to the divine mist engulfing it. If Kang Min-ji was any indicator of the stringent requirements to observe divine mist, a potential Cardinal Sage, and certainly a Supreme Sage Spiritualist, then the weakened Long Shiya definitely had no idea, despite the array surrounding his Resonant Soul.

If so, then it was likely neither Heaven-Saint Thunderhaven nor Superior Duan was aware. That was extremely sinister. But if they were, they definitely didn't expect it to be detonated so prematurely.

‘A Dominion formation process?’ He could see through the Eye of Truth that the world was experiencing a drastic worldly change to create a Dominion, as if trying to reclaim a portion of cultivated and accumulated power that Supreme Sages had taken from the heavens and the world.

Microheavens were indescribably more difficult to destroy than Resonant Souls or Quintessential Threads of Existential Self, so this made sense. But they became rather fragile after becoming Dominions, a natural result of expended energy and expansion into the material world. Since Microheavens were inside a Resonant Soul, if a Microheaven was undergoing this heavenly process, then the Resonant Soul had already been completely obliterated. ŗ𝙖ℕỘβĚŚ

However, there was only one.

‘Where’s the other?’ Wei Wuyin’s eyes scourred the region for traces. Using his Temporal Eye, he tried to glimpse into events that had transpired to track traces, but had failed. The chaos from the destruction had ruined all traces of time here, even if he reinforced the flow, it would only artificially replace a different yet synergistic flow that conveyed nothing of the other.

He spent twelve seconds searching before he found a trace. Using the Original Void Creation Ascending Art, he continued to navigate the chaos that could annihilate any ordinary True Sage. There were still aftershocks occurring at sporadic locations as the world tried to stabilize the situation, experiencing significant resistance from the explosive energy. It was as if the Void had explosive spatial mines that were being continuously triggered.

The three dimensions of space would only be worse. There was a chance that a Dominion might not form properly. However, he couldn’t pay attention to these things—he had found him!

Within one of the dimensions of space, roughly ten trillion miles away from the epicenter of the destruction within the folds of Fixed Space, a black seashell resembling a nautilus shell was releasing soft, nigh-indistinct heavenly radiance that melded perfectly with the Heavenly Laws of Space. It was remarkably far.

Soulguard Absconding.

After doing so, the Superior Sage had hidden themselves here. Not even ordinary Soul Perception would have been able to locate it. In fact, if not for Wei Wuyin’s mutated Major Authority of Space, Celestial Eyes, and the True Void Dragon Bloodline, he wouldn’t have been able to find it. Even if he was missing one, it would have required far more than twelve seconds.

Moreover, it was subtly getting further and further. If given an hour, it would be outside the range of anyone’s perception within the Utmost Purity Galaxy. Long Shiya likely used a similar method to hide his Resonant Soul.

Wei Wuyin leapt out of the chaotic void and into the fixed spatial dimension with incredible ease. Executing Spatial Shift, he traversed a long distance within a short while, a minute or so eclipsed. The seashell trembled, sensing his arrival. It quivered before attempting to flee with an outburst of swords of darkness.

Wei Wuyin waved his hand, conjuring a draconinc claw of white, engulfing the swords and shell. All the swords of darkness were crushed. The black seashell was captured as the claw shrank, gripping it tightly. The size of the seashell was not small by any mortal imagination.

It was about the size of a tiny Lunar Satellite.

Holding it, Wei Wuyin coldly observed the seashell as he sensed the intricacies of the treasure.

"H-HOLD ON! EMPEROR WEI!" A voice tried to eke out spiritually with desperation, seeking to reach with Wei Wuyin. Wei Wuyin directly ignored it, but he now knew who had survived: Superior Duan, the Pavilion Master of the Peerless Shadow Pavilion!

The voice continued frantically, practically shouting, "I-I UNDERSTAND MY ACTIONS WERE WRONG! PLEASE! WE WERE BOTH SCHEMED AGAINST!!"

Wei Wuyin’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. But it made sense, from Superior Duan’s perspective, Long Shiya had detonated as soon as their guard was down. Considering who created the body of Long Shiya and instructed him to accompany them, he would think that he was being schemed against. It was outlandishly unrealistic to think Wei Wuyin had a hand in it.

Incidentally, Heaven-Saint Thunderhaven was the one who had participated in the construction of the Minor Prohibition of Heaven’s Resonance for the Imperial Law. He was clueless as to its activation mere moments before the detonation. And even if he were alive, perhaps he wouldn’t think that Wei Wuyin had forced Long Shiya to detonate from several billion miles away under the protection of two genuine Superior Sages.

"I CAN HELP YOU GET REVENGE! I KNOW SECRETS!" Superior Duan cried out as he sensed Wei Wuyin’s Spiritual Strength probe the seashell. He was in full panic mode. "I KNOW MANY SORDID SECRETS OF THE GALAXY! MANY!"

"..." Wei Wuyin’s Spiritual Strength began to integrate into a billion illusory Mystic Runes, all embodying the concept of Way of Mysticism: Spirit. They began to siege the seashell, attempting to merge within.

Sensing this, the fear was unreal. When had a Superior Sage ever felt such fear? If the shell were broken, his entire existence would be at peril. "IF YOU CONTINUE! I’LL DETONATE MY RESONANT SOUL!!!!!" The black seashell began to pulse with black soul light.

Wei Wuyin halted his actions. Seeing this, Superior Duan was overwhelmed with relief. He began to speak with a renewed sense of calm, as if he regained some sense of control: "If you can destroy my Mythical Contract, I can tell you everything."

"..." Wei Wuyin silently observed, a deep light of contemplation and calculation flickering within his gaze. The illusory Mystic Runes retreated. Superior Duan was able to feel excitement again. While he didn’t think Wei Wuyin was that powerful, only winning due to the betrayal of that wicked, untrustworthy witch who had placed a bomb by their side, the man had the strength to rival a Superior Sage at the Microheaven Envoy Phase. This could be seen by his quick destruction of Superior Yushi’s Avatar.

"Good! When my contract is destroyed, I’ll be able to tell you everything! Anything you wish to know. But what I can tell you now," Superior Duan wanted to wet Wei Wuyin’s appetite, "is that there’s more Supreme Sages involved. We’re only the first wave. There’s more. There’s even the Avatar of a Daoseed Seeker involved in this."

"..." Wei Wuyin’s eyes glowed, not with realization at the dire circumstances alluded to, but with pure satisfaction of an extraordinary achievement.

Superior Duan was unable to tell the difference, only feeling relieved by this reaction. Hopefully, Wei Wuyin saw his earnest actions of offering vital information on future threats. This would show that he was throwing his lot with him and that he sought his survival amidst the coming storm. As for his true intentions, as a Resonant Soul Realm expert and a Superior Sage, as long as he was alive, he could seek revenge, likely in the form of compensation for his destroyed physical body.

Wei Wuyin flashed toward the giant seashell. He phased through the draconinc claw and touched the seashell directly.

Finally, he spoke to the existence within the shell. With a cold voice that seemed to originate from the depths of Hell: "When you ordered the attacks on my women, did you feel fear? Did you feel pain? Did you feel regret?"

"What?!" Superior Duan was aback.

Wei Wuyin continued, his voice even colder, laced with raw, unadulterated killing intent: "You will."

BAM!

Lifting his hand, he viciously slammed his palm into the seashell. Within an instant, the entire seashell was engulfed in white hellish fire!

ORIGINFIRE!

A hell-raising shriek of agonizing pain equivalent to the burning of a True Soul resounded throughout fixed space, creating endless ripples across the Dark Void. Superior Duan was besieged by an unimaginably, indescribably, horrific pain that he could barely gather a single thought. His Resonant Soul was in extreme agony, unable to find any balance as it fluctuated chaotically. While it wouldn’t last forever, it lasted just long enough.

Wei Wuyin pulled back his palm, clenched it into a fist alongside his other hand, and then struck with tyrannical fists. A total of seven strikes were unleashed. He relied on his knowledge of Hong Xuannu’s surgery, using his Alchemic Power that was the equivalent of a Resonant Soul Realm in terms of profound strength.

At the end of the seven fists, the Resonant Soul and Microheaven were segregated—the Microheaven within it was EXTRACTED!

In the world of cultivation, it was unthinkable for a Supreme Sage to be crippled; only injured, but if crippling one’s cultivation base was given a theorized form, then the extraction of one’s Microheaven from the Resonant Soul was the purest form of crippling!

A glob of golden radiance, etched with striations of darkness the size of a dwarf star, was pulled out from the seashell. Wei Wuyin couldn’t do anything as a heavenly force instantly began to reclaim its power as if exerting its rightful claim. He instinctively felt that attempting to fight against it would lead to severe consequences.

However, who was he?

Wei Wuyin unleashed Void Crystallization!

Shockingly, as the glob of golden radiance was sealed in the void crystal, the heavenly force had ceased attempting to claim it. Witnessing this mysterious sight, Wei Wuyin somewhat understood what happened by the outrageous hunger emanating from Kratos. A desire to consume the crystal bloomed quite literally within his heart, manifesting as draconinc roars of elation and salivation.

Was this the way True Dragons ate?

Setting that aside for now, he focused on the wailing Superior Duan that was within the seashell.

"I only regret that I couldn’t kill you more than once," Wei Wuyin didn’t have the power to eradicate the Resonant Soul of a cultivator during his fight with Long Shiya, allowing him to escape, but after acquiring the Major Law of Annihilation, further bolstered and mutated by heaven-defying division and fusion, he wanted to give it a try again.

"Wait! Let me!" Athena’s voice echoed out, causing Wei Wuyin’s eyes to brighten. A golden saber flashed from his glabella, piercing into the seashell with ruthless precision, carrying all six of his Major Laws under the lead of the Law of War. The wails of extreme agony that were capable of drowning the soul abruptly ceased. The seashell’s radiance went dim.

On this day, Athena executed her first Supreme Sage.

And it would not be her last.