Paragon of Sin

Chapter 1708: War Within The Void (6)

Time heals all wounds.

This phrase wasn't propagated throughout cultivation societies due to mortals or their emotional and physical healing process but the existence of a single power—Temporal Reversion!

A stifling, heavy pressure descended upon the isolated realm as the four respective geniuses were stunned speechless at Wei Si's tyrannical body slam. It was brutal and direct to the utmost, a true representation of a Juggernaut of legends, those extreme cultivators that took bodily refinement and physique cultivation to unreal, inestimable limits.

Chen Minghui's cry of horror echoed in the ears of everyone present as the gruesomely violent scene of Sui You's crushed body was slowly digested in their minds. A single body bash and a talented Original Magistrate had been defeated!

Wei Si's strength had only been at the rough equivalent of a Highlord when he reunited with Wei Wuyin, but since then he had made drastic improvements and seized a few extraordinary opportunities. The most notable was Wei Wuyin's nurturing, which was borderline excessive, and unlike the others that required extensive refinement and processing of products, his Spartan Physique was unique in that it was like a bottomless chasm of endlessly churning refinement, especially for Yang Energies. He didn't need to actively cultivate to enjoy astonishing, world-shaking benefits.

Wei Wuyin had devised his training and cultivation regimen during their travels to fit this, feeding him in a way that Bai Lin had, constantly consuming the relevant pills, elixirs, and slathered with paste. Additionally, his body could withstand mystic-graded products with understated ease despite being a mortal. The unique properties of a Spartan were incredibly heaven-defying, to say the least.

Right now, his raw physical strength was likely capable of exchanging blow for blow against non-art surges of Mystic Overlord level of Mystic Power, and his durable, muscly body that resembled a humanoid titan was exceedingly tough.

Chen Minghui's shock was immediately overwhelmed by a sense of urgency. Closing his book, he executed an Ascension Movement Art that placed him directly by the remnants of Sui You's physical form. While his facial expression was covered by his mask, his anxiety could be felt from thousands of miles away as his hands formed a single, strange hand-seal.

From his body, a geyser of Enlightened Scholarly Mist erupted upwards and slowly formed the vague outline of an hourglass. A thunderclap resounded as a whirring sound emanated from the hourglass as it spun slowly. It was a vague manifestation, misty and indistinct, not created by simple Spiritual Energy or pure Mystic Power. It was a complex manifestation of Mental Power, a combination of the four mystic-graded energies with Mental Energy as the main core. The power of a Scholarly Cultivator.

This was a Mental Incantation!

A swirling mass of hundreds of thousands of Mystic Runes erupted from Chen Minghui's Mystic Aura, most of them were Temporal-type Mystic Runes, and they slowly integrated into a single rune that was beautifully complex while emitting three distinct glows—Heavenly Radiance, the ardent white glow of blazing lifeforce, and the clear light of scholarly knowledge.

This was an Ascension Incantation Art!

"One said, the future is better than the present.

One said, the present is far worse than the past.

One said, what?

I say, I found the past better—

go back to my palace in the heavens,

my haven in the sky,

my home in my heart."

"Reverse!"

The flow of time around Sui You's mangled body began to rapidly reverse, slowly regaining form as flesh and bone melded together and limbs reattached. Even the tattered bits of her robe, which was certainly a powerful defensive armament, began to 'repair' itself. As it did, the life aura of Chen Minghui steadily declined. While his face was concealed by a mask, his hands notably aged.

Wei Si stopped a few thousand miles after the explosive rebound of that clash, and his eyes were wide as he observed Chen Minghui execute an advanced Temporal Reversion that defied his current knowledge. While it exceeded his understanding, Wei Si wasn't ignorant of his powers or the might of his Spartan lineage, and those he killed were enveloped by a force no inferior to a Minor Law. He hadn't just smashed into Sui You; he crushed her Sea of Consciousness, Mystic Core, and Mystic Soul all at once. It was so thorough that only her mangled physical body was left. There wasn't a trace of her alive.

Even if Wei Wuyin were here, while he might not be confused by what was happening, he would certainly be astonished by Chen Minghui's actions. It wasn't simple. Not simple at all! It wasn't a plain sacrifice of lifeforce, but a greater sacrifice of his Enlightened Scholarly Mist and cultivation base!

"So this is possible too?" Wei Wuyin observed from afar, and his Second Mind was thoroughly intrigued by this discovery. They had an excessive amount of Enlightened Scholarly Mist, yet they didn't cultivate any true Mental Incantations or advanced incantations that relied on Enlightened Scholarly Mist, mostly developing Utmost Purity Mist spells such as the Eighth Source Transcendence Spell.

The other three geniuses were experiencing varying emotions. They stared at Chen Minghui execute a forbidden art without hesitation, and Wei Yinan had a strange expression as she eyed Cao Zhulian, whose expression was so wondrously complex. Chen Minghui had unhesitatingly executed that art. Moreover, if he delayed it by a second or two, the cost might exponentially increase in difficulty for Temporal Reversion, and Sui You might have been lost forever without the interference of a powerful figure.

Lu Xuanyu's brows furrowed. He focused on the earthy planet hovering at the center of the isolated realm, and his eyes glinted with a decisive light. He clenched his spear tightly as he quietly gathered his power.

Meanwhile, Sui You was rebuilt. No, she was reverted to her original state prior to being smashed by the hulking Wei Si. It was as if she had never experienced the causality of Wei Si's killer blow.

When her eyes regained the presence of light, awareness, and intelligence, the first thing she observed was Chen Minghui, whose life aura was teetering on the edge of exhaustion. In her eyes, he had aged tens of thousands of years in the blink of an eye while his Mystic Aura was significantly less dense, pure, and stable. It was as if he took a critical hit to his cultivation base and lifespan.

She wasn't a foolish idiot or ignorant of the sights before her at all, but her first action after revival was looking around and finding Cao Zhulian, whose eyes radiated relief but also complicated feelings floating in the sky. She turned her sharp gaze back to Chen Minghui.

"You can't leave me just yet," Chen Minghui's words came out, considerably deeper, aged, and weaker, but with raw emotions exposing his happiness. Then he chuckled through a bout of coughs, continuing: "Both of us haven't seen the Nine Serenity River. How about we see it now?" He was clearly implying that they both would see this so-called Nine Serenity River together, no different than a date.

Sui You's eyes narrowed. She seemed like she wanted to say something and stopped herself, but despite her reservations, she decided to say it anyway.

"I've already told you: I have no interest in you. I never will."

Then, she grabbed her intact sword and flew into the sky as sword light surrounded her body. Even her Mystic Power that had been expended had recovered before her attack. She would now be prepared, so killing her in a single blow wouldn't be so easy.

"..." Wei Yinan shook her head. Out of the five of them, despite being a Sword Cultivator, Sui You was the weakest, and she had been targeted many times, while Chen Minghui was by far the second strongest, not too far away from Lu Xuanyu. They had only injured Lu Xuanyu due to his efforts, and the others almost jointly decided to suppress Chen Minghui by attacking Sui You due to his incessant protective efforts. If not for that, she would have died several times over by now.

Now, in his current state, he was no longer qualified to participate in the battle for the Edict Seed. Moreover, he certainly knew that already and had invited Sui You to exit the Shell World together, willing to give up the Edict Seed. However, Sui You's stubbornness was highlighted here, and her blunt honesty was heart-shattering.

His weak figure seemed particularly lonely and desolate at this moment. Moreover, he should have left this battlefield, but he refused to do so. Why? Obviously, he was staying for Sui You.

Wei Si didn't understand much of romance, and honestly, while he felt that it was a little unfortunate that this masked man had given up his future for nothing in return, he didn't particularly care.

However, not everyone was heartless. Wei Yinan growled at Sui You. She turned to Chen Minghui, and while she should have kept it to the transmission, she yelled it aloud instead:

"Faceless Idiot! Can't you see that the witch and Cao Zhulian are hidden lovers?!"

Just as her words rippled through the air, Lu Xuanyu exploded with Mystic Power! He transformed into a dark-red shooting star of light that raced toward the earthy planet containing the Edict Seed. However, a thunderous crushing sound of earth, air, mana, and space erupted just as well, and a raging figure cut through the void with their hulking mass, traveling to the earthy planet as well!

Cao Zhulian and Sui You were temporarily stunned by Wei Yinan's words, and their reaction was slightly delayed. This small timing issue disqualified four of the six here for a chance to reach for the Edict Seed. By the time they reacted, a boom resounded that shook the isolated realm.

Wei Si and Lu Xuanyu jointly shattered the earthy planet that acted as a shell for the Edict Seed, with neither being faster nor slower than the other, and a rapid exchange of raw Mystic Power and physical strength unfolded.

A grunt of pain and horror resounded as a dark-red light blasted out of the shattered debris and dust of the planet, and flew towards the Shell World's boundary at the fastest speed. Lu Xuanyu's pathetic figure was rushing out desperately, his dark-red spear no longer in his hands, and his forearms no longer existing as they seemed to have been obliterated.

Wei Si gingerly held the Edict Seed with both hands. It was a brownish jewel of light without a distinct form, but it vaguely resembled a tiny mountain, at times a planet, at times a continent, an island, a peninsula, a volcano, a mountain range, a boulder, and every earthly representation beneath the heavens.

He was stunned by the beauty of the Edict Seed as the void ring on his finger released a unique suppressive power. Capturing an Edict Seed wasn't easy, and doing so recklessly could lead to catastrophic results, so one needed a unique tool or means to handle it. Fortunately, Wei Wuyin came prepared.

Wei Si's eyes raged with battle intent, ready to sweep up the rest, but the void ring activated by itself. Before he could do anything, a Void Portal was conjured behind him with stormy edges, and he was pulled in with a yank. He vanished as the portal closed in an instant.

"..." The talented Original Magistrates watched in shock. They were already plotting to team up against the person who obtained the seed first…

Near Pakhet, as she unleashed a massacre, a Void Portal manifested, startling her as Wei Si appeared beside her with a rough tumble while using his large body to cover the Edict Seed of Earth protectively.

Wei Wuyin had an urge to roll his eyes. He instructed Wei Si to obtain the Edict Seed, not battle the others to the death. If not for Lu Xuanyu, he might have wasted more time dealing with small fries due to his Spartan lineage's thirst for battle.

Author's Note: Still can't believe we're 1700 chapters in!

We went from a small town on a floating continent to a ruler of three galaxies! What a journey!

I'm happy that every last one of you are on this journey with me. <3