Paragon of Sin

"Yes!" Wei Wuyin reveled in the sensation of his success. 

He was a true King Alchemist!

He looked at the nine finished Astral Dipper Fountain Pills, a seventh-grade low-tier pill. Not only that, thanks to his powerful alchemic qi, they were all at the high-quality. While he had failed a few times prior, this was his first time succeeding in performing the Earthly Nine Concoction Method, where one concocts nine pills simultaneously.

According to the Eden Earth Sect's Sect Master, to perform this successfully was a sign of one reaching great heights in the dao of alchemy, becoming a true King Alchemist. In fact, he had dozens of other single concocted pills, a few failed, but most were a resounding success.

But he never doubted that he could succeed where his predecessor failed. He wanted to perfect the Earthly Nine Concoction Method. Even the Sect Master couldn't perform this method successfully. It was why he never publicly declared himself as a King Alchemist. While this was an arbitrary limitation he had placed on himself, it was an admirable one.

Now that he had finished this exceptional milestone, he felt deeply refreshed in his heart and soul. 

WHOOP!

Abruptly, a faint pdd sound occurred as he felt his hand become noticeably lighter. With a curious glance, he looked at the pills that should've been next to him and his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets!

"What the fuck?" He nearly flipped the cauldron as he looked for the pills. They were just there! Even the low-quality ones!!

As he inspected everywhere outside, his eyes widened as he turned his senses inward. He saw his Spirits, outside of his Alchemic Spirit, were ravaging something using their spiritual forms. It was his pills! There were exactly 48 pills, most were low-quality, and a few were high-quality! He wanted to wail and cry, seeing his hard-work vanish almost instantly.

How did they devour it all in such a small amount of time? It's been only six days since he started concocting?! Did they devour them the moment they came out?! He felt as if he was about to kill someone. 

He felt robbed, yet he wasn't robbed. It was a very odd, strange, and unnatural feeling. Did he rob himself? No...well, yes? No! 

...YES?!

In the end of his constant flipping of answers, he bitterly sighed. He could feel his Spirits held no remorse, as if they knew that it was meant for them. In fact, he should be happy, but he wanted to wallow in his pride for a second longer.

At least he wasn't alone in his burning anger. The Alchemic Eden Spirit was raging mad. It spent its energy to make these pills and they were taken by others, they were all meant for it!

Bah!

It wanted to leave his sea of consciousness and bite the others. The trembling caused Wei Wuyin to be unsure if he should laugh or cry. If others knew of his situation, who knew how they'd feel?

He sighed as he looked at the nine high-quality Astral Dipper Fountain Pills. He inspected the progress of his Draconic and Divine Spirits.

When he did, he was startled! It was obvious they hadn't devoured an equal amount, some low, others high quality, and indivisible by three, but he was truly shocked by the progress.

According to the recipe, even a low-quality pill was sufficient for seven motes of qi essence, while high-quality could only mean more, never less.

48 should, at minimum, register as 336 motes.

However…

His eyebrow twitched.

They were nearly done with the pills, but they were not even close to that number.

Divine Saber Spirit: 13 Motes.

Divine Elemental Spirit: 6 Motes.

Draconic Blood Spirit: 4 Motes.

The shocking thing was that it was obvious that the Divine Elemental Spirit had consumed at least half of the 48, its innate refinement speed exceeded the other two greatly. While the Draconic Blood Spirit was second, so it must've devoured more than saber, but less than Elemental. 

He could only sigh but he was also happy, Saber required less expenditure than the other two. This meant less money needed.

However, he immediately became gloomy again. There was still the Alchemic Heart.

Alchemic Eden Spirit: 0 Motes.

"I don't even need to absorb world force, they do it naturally. That is incredibly shocking. Am I even cultivating or are they?" Now, he truly didn't know if he should laugh or cry. If he wasn't actually cultivating, did that mean his duty was relegated to pill dispenser? 

At least he wasn't alone, right Alchemic Eden Spirit?

Bah!

The Alchemic Heart could no longer restrain its anger as it directly left Wei Wuyin's sea of consciousness, a strand of eden qi reached into his dantian and pulled out the two still eating Divine Spirits. 

They were startled, dragged out before they could even react.

Two condensed strands of eden qi were produced by the Alchemic Spirit.

Pah!!

Pah!!

It slapped both spirits, sending them flying for nearly half a mile. It trembled and started producing an odd noise but flew after them.

Wei Wuyin's eyes widened in utter, unfathomable disbelief as he felt life had turned upside down. When did his spirits become this sentient and intelligent? Holy shit, it was about to deliver an ass-whooping! Proper and deserving, hmph.

Go Alchemic Spirit!

His Draconic Spirit wasn't touched, but he didn't know why. Maybe the Alchemic Heart gave its junior permission to eat, but not the other two, his seniors?!

Luckily, otherwise, if it was also pulled out, Wei Wuyin would undergo qi deviation and explode.

It was only after a while, and likely quite a mouthful, did they return. He realized that the pressung time limit for externalizing for the Alchemic Eden Spirit had been dealt with. Perhaps its the combination of spirit and core into one that allowed it to do so.

The two Divine Spirits were sullen, but the trace of energies made them look like two kids receiving the belt for stealing cookies, but still had the half-eaten cookies in their mouth as they returned. 

"Hahaha!" He laughed wildly. 

They made a soft,whimpering-like sound and re-entered his body and sea of consciousness. 

He shook his head as he carefully kept the nine pills and looked at the surrounding area. When one creates seventh-grade pills, various phenomena occur. The most notable was the aurora borealis that lingered nearby like mist. It was also vanishing, but the thickness would still last an hour due to the high volume of pills he created.

He sighed as he started to recover. Only after the manifestation faded did he remove the spiritual ward that prevented leakage of energy and inspection. Stretching, he felt refreshed. Having officially reached the King Alchemist level, he felt the desire to treat himself.

"I should've brought Jiao Ning or Bai Fei," he licked his lips slightly as he remarked. 

It's been a month since he'd last enjoyed a woman's touch. As a man of principle, he disliked sleeping with those he had authority over, or stood in a position that influenced their decisions. For example, there were maids waiting at the snap of the finger as long as he just said the word. While it wasn't their explicit job, they weren't in a position to reject him for fear of a bad fate.

The thought of doing something like that was unappealing. 

Jiao Ning was originally a mutual exchange and Dai Fei had offered herself. He held no power over their decisions or lives, and as long as he didn't make any menacing threats, he was fine with accepting them.

In fact, he preferred women who knew what they wanted. Mei Mei, Xing Fu, and Bai Fei were all women who knew what they wanted and went for it. He respected that greatly.

"But my position is special…" He felt a headache. 

"Lord Wei," Su Mei called out.

Wei Wuyin turned towards Su Mei, inspecting her state, he smiled. "You've established a good foundation." He could feel her yin-yang energy was purer than normal. While it couldn't reach Yin-Yang God Sphere levels, it was remarkably close.

She was also cultivating a Divine Heart of Qi, so her strength was not to be underestimated.

"Have you thought of your Heart of Qi attribute?" He asked, walking towards her. 

Su Mei nodded, "Saber Qi."

Wei Wuyin nodded. Saber Qi was not a bad choice, but it required saber intent. She hadn't developed it yet, so she'll need to work hard. Regardless, she'll possess a Divine Heart of Saber Qi when she matures. Her strength will be extraordinary.

Not only that, she had already condensed metal qi. He had Elemental Origin Energy, and with it, he could bestow various elemental energies to his allies, increasing their chances of birthing the qi. This benefit was boundless and one of the reasons Wei Wuyin decided to embark on the Elemental Qi path.

With enough time, she'll birth the other elemental energies as well. With Saber Qi backed by elemental energies, her strength would be top-notch within her phase. While it may seem as if she was following his steps, that wasn't by any means a bad thing.

In fact, it made her own path easier, as he could offer guidance and support where needed. 

Of his four hearts, he knew his Divine Spirit of Saber was the weakest. As for the strongest, he wasn't sure.

Elemental Origin, Draconic, Saber, and Eden were Material, Beast/Bloodline/Myth, Ethereal, and Mind respectively. He wasn't sure of Draconic, but he knew it wasn't either of the three, Ethereal, Material, or Mind. 

He also knew his saber intent could elevate, thereby enhancing his saber energy quality and purity. He just didn't know what was after saber intent or how to develop it further.

Su Mei felt a surge of fervor in her heart due to Wei Wuyin's praise. She was going to go for excellence. 

Just as Wei Wuyin was about to give her further instructions on cultivation, his eyes flashed. He turned towards the north and he frowned.

"I'll be back," he calmly said before vanishing like a shadow. Su Mei couldn't even catch his figure as he left. Her heart nearly jumped.

So fast!

Wei Wuyin was fast. Bypassing the various spiritual formations within the Royal Palace with a single dash, he arrived outside the Royal Palace and his eyes focused on a nearby public street. His eyes were sharp, saber intent flickering within.

"Jiu Lang?" With narrowed eyes, he felt her aura. That aura was unmistakable. She contained a unique wood essence and yin aura that made her unforgettable. 

"She should've been enslaved by the Elven Race, likely dead by now. Especially after what she did!" He clenched his teeth as he felt murderous desire swell up in his heart. Regardless of whether he was far, far above her in power, he will not blink in slaying her in the most horrific manner imaginable!

In his years in the Scarlet Solaris Sect, she was responsible for many of his troubles and even his friends and allies fell to her machinations. He hoped to cripple her and send her to the dirtiest brothel he could find, and have her service men for free for years!

Others may not know the things she had done, but he was acutely aware. He was far too aware!!

With eyes filled with murder, he waltzed towards the street and silently followed her trace aura. He followed it slowly, allowing himself to feel the chase and build up his many cruel ideas. When he approached a corner that entered an alley, he turned to see a young woman shrouded by a veil and standing with her back to him.

An unfathomably pure and chaotic desire to commit all sorts of vengeance emerged in his heart. He was not above anything when it came to Jiu Lang!

He clenched his right fist tightly enough for creaks to resound from his bones.

"Why are you following me?" A serene voice filled with a natural flavor resounded. It was unfamiliar to his ears.

"Huh?"