Paragon of Sin

Chapter 1984: Another Another Bai Xiu

The sanguine sky loomed above as a bloody, savage scent permeated the air. The stench of excessive death was accompanied by a world at war.

The Outer Ascendant Battlefield encompassed the entirety of the Utmost Purity Galaxy's territory and a little beyond, involving countless organizations and independent forces dedicating time, lives, and wealth to excavating the incredible resources that was provided in the Soldier's List and Commander's List of rewards, or simply to acquire War Souls that could be refined to elevate one's general comprehension of all things cultivation.

The currency of War Souls itself was a wondrous object desired by many throughout the lesser and greater galaxies. Then, there were the Obelisks of War and practical combat experience that could generate true fighters, not greenhouse flowers that spent their time cultivating and reading books on other people's experiences.

This Outer Ascendant Battlefield was known as the Cosmic Zone and was divided into 3,000 Zones but only 108 Armies existed. Within each zone, there existed a range of armies from 20 to 30 occupying the territory. These armies clashed violently against each other, periodically.

Due to the difficulty of raising and killing Ascended beings, similar to the Battlefield of Order, many skirmishes were pre-planned and coordinated by leadership. Lives were lost, but it was civilized to a degree. In many cases, soldiers fought valiantly and brutally, yet they could lick their wounds and retreat in defeat if they weren't too unlucky and were killed by the enemy.

They could then digest their gains, recover, and join the next 'planned' skirmish against the enemy. Because of this dynamic and the development of bringing civilized cultivation and understanding to war, the armies of the Ascendant Battlefield of War eventually became chess pieces for the powerful, those at the True Sage Phase, True Soul Phase, and Resonant Soul Realm. These powerhouses would nurture or support armies, organize skirmishes, and launch wars from 'beyond' the Battlefield.

The Battlefield began to reflect mortal affairs, lulled into periodic clashes. When Wei Wuyin entered the Stellar Battlefield of War, he was unaware that this unwritten logic had permeated throughout the Battlefields, reflected even amongst the Stellar Battlefields. It was far easier to organize clashes with acceptable losses than sending bodies without knowing if they'd return with a single War Soul.

This largely contributed to Wei Wuyin's endless accumulation of merit that went unclaimed as he slaughtered across the battlefield without hesitation.

Moreover, this type of slow conflict breeds war and distrust, especially amongst those in the Outer Battlefields. This inevitably led to a no-trust environment amongst the mortals and Ascended beings in the Nexus Battlefield, eventually leading to the stalemate that was both out of fear and distrust in others, unable to accept relying wholeheartedly on a former enemy.

"That's why," Tilly concluded her explanation as she informed Wei Wuyin of the ongoing events regarding the Battlefield of War recently. The culture of the Battlefield had been engineered by the strong as a breeding ground for War Souls and a training ground for their geniuses.

Wei Wuyin mused with a hum. Supposedly, this tacit understanding pervaded without obstruction due to a single reason-interests. Considering it would be beneficial if cultivators, specifically those of great talent, were likely to survive, especially those hard-to-cultivate Ascended beings of great repute. While it might be an exaggeration to say that a stray arrow might claim their lives, it wasn't far off from the truth.

Wei Wuyin had witnessed that personally. A single moment of incaution, the fault of being sneak attacked while unprepared, or ambushed on the chaotic battlefield, was far too high, leading to an untimely and unjustified death. Taking this into consideration, he understood their justification.

But was that type of slow, grueling war what those who crafted the Battlefield of Order & War sought?

As the legion of Spirits of War led by Zhan Zheng swept all enemies with near-effortless technique and action, Wei Wuyin continued his conversation with Tilly. "The Daosparks...were they constantly a listed reward?"

"The Daosparks?" Tilly's eyes flashed with contemplation, shaking her head: "I don't know. Since I was born, the rewards have been the rewards."

Wei Wuyin didn't insist on her seeking an answer. He already had a hypothesis: the culture that developed was engineered due to the desire for War Souls while minimizing losses, so to incentivize those at power to influence the battlefield externally, rewards must have been added. It likely wasn't enough to see an immediate change, but there was a greater chance that conflict would intensify as interests clashed, especially as those neared acquiring the War Souls of the Stellar Battlefield or Ascendant Battlefield.

To prevent an outstanding cultivator or Creationist from acquiring enough War Souls to acquire a Daospark, there would be heavy aggression by their respective enemies and even their competitive allies, fueling the war of the soldiers and commanders under the 'true' generals. By deliberately adding irresistible meat to the pot, a race could be initiated and even lure those so-called powerhouses out of their homes and onto the bloody field of battle.

As he watched Zhan Zheng issue an order, sending a squad to decimate a contingent of the 63rd Army, he felt this was increasingly likely. Once again, not a single sinner amongst them, but a few Blessed. This congregation of Blessed was by design, likely wishing to galvanize the Heavenly Daos to aid, assist, or remain an impartial party.

The lack of sinners was suspicious.

But given that sinners were often the 'food' sent by the Heavenly Daos to Blessed, plagued by bad karmic fortune, it would make sense that squads, battalions, and legions lacked them. They were no different than blazing flares in the dead of night that could turn into a grenade for their unit, and was a scrumptious meal for Blessed.

'If I came earlier, I might have met some before they...'

Wei Wuyin often found corpses that were quite old, decorating the battlefield as decaying soldiers, a sign of a possible outcome for failures. These corpses were stripped bare, looted of everything but the damage etched on their bones. However, the 'old' wasn't too ancient. It was only a few years, and by his estimation, roughly a few weeks after he acquired Athena.

The race had begun the moment he acquired the Heavenly War Spirit, this Daospark that was desired by Supreme Sages. Some had taken action early. Very early.

If this was happening in the Utmost Purity Galaxy's territory, then the other greater galaxies must be equally as intense and brutal, if not more. The last Daospark was far too precious. As he had Athena, he naturally understood the significance of her existence.

Taking a deep breath, Wei Wuyin no longer dwelled on the deeper secrets hidden in the Battlefield. Instead, he internally turned to a pair of sullen sisters. Bai Xiu and her sister were pouting, one was feisty and the other gloomy. They had found the alchemical aura of Bai Xiu's innate spells on one of the defeated alchemists belonging to an alchemist of the Severing Core Pavilion, an alchemist organization from the Prosperous Ruin Galaxy, but it belonged to a small-time Earthly Saint Alchemist that was given an Alchemic Rune infused with the aura.

According to that alchemist, the owner of the cauldron was in the Outer Galactic Battlefield of War.

This meant that her sister had to wait. It was so frustrating that both of them stopped consuming his Utmost Purity Mist. After all, their sister was likely starving. Was it right for them to be gorging themselves on the highest quality food while she starved?

Wei Wuyin didn't know whether to laugh or cry at this. However, he felt their earnest emotions.

"We'll find her when we arrive. It'll be priority number one. But if you don't refine as much Utmost Purity Mist as possible, what if I'm forced to enter an Alchemic Clash for her ownership rights? I need you both as your strongest possible state," Wei Wuyin informed.

The two pouted harder, not believing such a reason in the slightest, yet when he brought over some grade five mist, they couldn't help but open their tiny mouths and chomp.

"Only for her," Bai Xiu said after swallowing a mouthful, and to feel less guilty, she began to refine the mist to make it easier to digest for her sister later. Wei Wuyin smiled, his heart warmed by that small action. Familial love was precious.

"Where are we going?" Tilly lightly tugged at Wei Wuyin's robe. They were roaming the battlefield, capturing, killing, or releasing elites. By this point, Wei Wuyin had more than enough War Souls of the Ascendant-grade to enter the Galactic Battlefield as a soldier. Those battalions and squads had accumulated a lot of War Souls via merit and then stored it within their Identity Runes.

By now, Wei Wuyin already had 118 captured soldiers. The legion was unstoppable. A full 10,000 Heavenly Saints were invincible, especially as they each wielded the Minor Authority of War with every action they took. This force could conquer a lesser galaxy!

"Going to? Haha," Wei Wuyin laughed as he eyed the sanguine sky that dyed the battlefield in its bloody hue, "I'm sending out an alert."

"An alert?" Tilly was confused. "An alert for who?"

Wei Wuyin didn't answer, his gaze piercing the veil of distance and space to land upon a group of individuals that were now gathered together, surrounding the pillar of pulsating blood light.

At the base of the blood pillar was a tiny camp of individuals, all were gazing at a single direction as they bathed in the bloody aura without being affected by its savage influences.

7th Army's Entry Zone.

Sitting on a half-burnt boulder, a youthful-looking, fiery-red head young man scratched his head with both hands, ruffling his hair to become increasingly chaotic. He grunted as if he had a dilemma that could crush worlds.

"WE'RE SCREWED!" The youthful-looking, fiery-red young man exclaimed helplessly.

"Enough of that, Fengfeng. We'll be alright," an aged voice resounded as a tall, slender male figure who had a large, bandaged item behind his back tried calming down the fiery-red young man.

"My name's not Fengfeng! It's Fengbao, Senior Tuo!" Shui Fengbao exhaled in vexation.

"Oh? Okay, Little Bao. I got it," Tuo Bihan looked profoundly enlightened as he 'acknowledged' his mistake.

Shui Fengbao huffed in exhaustion.

A middle-aged man with a blindfold over his eyes and two empty quivers, one on his hip and the other on his back, stood not too far away, glancing in the same direction as everyone else. He didn't say anything, but his entire body radiated a ready intensity as if primed to engage in battle.

Yao Houyi.

Soundlessly and inexplicably, a dark-haired, dark-eyed young woman stood among them. She was effortlessly valiant, reminiscent of a battle goddess of twilight as she stared at the same direction.

"Lady Su!" Shui Fengbao stood upright; his mood of gloom was thrown away, replaced by a stern, focused posture and gaze. He resembled a young fiery spark, ready to flare into an all-consuming flame.

Su Mei didn't glance his way, only saying softly: "Ten thousand...is this what we must overcome to enter the Galactic Battlefield? So be it."