Paragon of Sin

At the ten thousand feet boundary, the Myriad Monarch Sect's entire group were staring at Wei Wuyin's distorting and descending figure. The unique gravitational force of the Auric Sea was twisting and contorting light in strange ways. There were times he seemed extremely close, exceptionally far, or simply vanished. Due to this same force, spiritual sense was extremely difficult to send outwards, leaving many of these powerful experts helpless in their hearts.

Wei Wuyin's level of importance was era-defining. There was absolutely nothing that could happen to him, let alone on their watch. But as an independent figure that could descend without anyone's consent, they could only stare. 

Qin Rui soon regained a semblance of her strength, capable of lifting herself by her own power. Leaving Tuo Bihan's grasp, she floated quietly by the side with a solemn expression. Her heart felt complex at the moment, unsure how to feel. 

After exerting the maximum amount of her effort, she had failed to lift Long Chen and Lian Yu out of their predicament, but Wei Wuyin had seemingly accomplished it with ease. Furthermore, it seemed their actions had only served to hinder his intentions to remedy the situation. Tuo Bihan had even stated it was a test of sorts, and while she wasn't sure if that was Wei Wuyin's original intentions, it certainly revealed much.

"..." The audience could only wait. Even the existence of the San Emperor in the distance had been relegated to a lesser priority, with many curious as to what Wei Wuyin was doing, how he was doing it, and praying for his safety. While many were unsure if Wei Wuyin would ever consider them anything important, just his presence had allowed numerous high-grade products to enter their hands. These products were heaven-sent, allowing their own cultivation bases or their descendants' to elevate to a higher standard. 

They didn't have to wait for long. For those who cultivated ocular arts that could enhance their visual perception, they noted that Wei Wuyin's descending figure started to rise. Yao Zhen was one of these individuals, his eye sockets held a pair of violet flames. 

"He's returning," he announced. The hearts of numerous individuals erupted with pounding relief at this moment, staring intently at the Auric Sea. 

Lian Yu's sapphire eyes rippled continuously. Her emotions were the most complex, feeling extremely awkward. Wei Wuyin had saved not just her life but Long Chen. This was not an action one would do for an enemy, so she was questioning whether Wei Wuyin actually cared for Long Chen or considered him important by any means. 

Even the former Grand Imperial Sages couldn't stop her from falling, only serving to delay it. If he just left it alone, eventually they would fall to their inevitable death. At least she would, the others would certainly act to save Long Chen if Wei Wuyin remained silent. After having her life saved, the bitterness and bias she held towards Wei Wuyin couldn't help but falter, as if she was now willing to view him in a different light to assess the truth. 

Was he truly deliberately acting against Long Chen? Was he trying to systematically take everything from him as Long Chen assumed or was it founded by his own imagination…

The seed of uncertainty was planted in her heart.

Qing Qiumu held a hand to her beating chest. The anxiety that swelled within her was numerous times greater than others. Moreover, she was feeling extremely guilty after having doubted Wei Wuyin. She knew him, and he would never deliberately act in such a way without reason. She felt she wanted, no, needed to apologize and hoped for his safe return. 

Wei Wuyin's ascent was relatively slow, but since there were only a hundred or so feet, he arrived rather quickly. When he finally re-entered that ten thousand feet line, his radiant silver eyes exuded an unfathomable light of calm. There was no evidence of his previous tears, his emotional state had regained its normalcy.

"I'm finished," he looked at Tuo Bihan and announced. His voice came off as calm, but in the depths of his tone was a steel-like desire. Tuo Bihan nodded, not asking how, why, or what had happened or discovered, merely turning his gaze towards the three groups from afar that were spectating audiences to this event.

When Tuo Bihan saw that misty veil and the clothing of the three men, his eyes sharpened. "We're going! Everyone, ready!" He ordered, causing the elders to guard their disciples and establish a flying formation with Tuo Bihan at the lead.

Wei Wuyin arrived beside Qing Qiumu, who's emerald eyes revealed her relief and guilt. Observing this, Wei Wuyin revealed a slight smile to her. "You were worried about me?" His eyes flashed with a teasing light.

Seeing that Wei Wuyin was about to make a joke, she pouted her lips and lightly snorted. "Who would worry about you? Even if you wanted to die, who would let you?" She hadn't even realized her guilty emotions and stress had been alleviated by that single sentence of his, but the next words left her heart quivering.

"Thank you." Wei Wuyin displayed a rare leak of emotion at that moment, looking into her eyes.

Qing Qiumu's heart kept quivering, and she wanted to say something. "I…I-" Her guilt may have lessened in her heart, but it was still there.

But Wei Wuyin interrupted her, "It's okay." He said just two simple words yet Qing Qiumu felt his meaning in the depths of her heart. When she saw his smile, she knew that her thoughts had been seen through and forgiven without any exchange of words. There was no reason to dwell as long as he knew the truth, that she would no longer think of him in such a light. This caused her to reveal a smile so beautiful that it could enrapture the hearts of gods, devils, and heros of all ages.

Long Chen was observing them silently, and when he saw that smile his heart didn't quiver, but felt as if it was being twisted and crushed. He gritted his teeth, clenched his fist, and closed his eyes. Lian Yu felt the animosity emanating from Long Chen, and she hesitated after realizing his attention was on Wei Wuyin. While she felt conflicted, she still held onto Long Chen's hand.

The other groups were dozens of miles away, so the Myriad Monarch Sect elders and disciples had to travel for quite some time to arrive. When they did, the Elemental Heaven Pavilion and Alchemist Association's disciples' focus were on Wei Wuyin. While the elders were looking to Tuo Bihan, shifting over to the San Emperor from time to time.

A youth was among the Elemental Heaven Pavilion group. He had a nine-colored dot on his glabella, a pair of exquisite grey eyes, and an outstanding aura that set him apart from the normal crowd. With his handsome face and heroic demeanor, he emanated the scent of a demon-tier genius. 

Lin Ming had been observing everything from the on-set. He had an inkling as to what happened, but he couldn't quite understand how Wei Wuyin prevented Lian Yu's descent. This gave Wei Wuyin a more enigmatic feeling. He also couldn't tell how far Wei Wuyin traveled downwards, so he couldn't gauge his strength. The distance alongside the distortion effects made his figure vanish to them and just reappear suddenly.

'Senior Sister Lin said that Wei Wuyin wasn't anything impressive, and that the starfield was merely hyping him up on their ignorance. But that still doesn't mean I should underestimate him, and that I should consider him a competitor, especially if he enters the trial.' He recalled the words of his senior sister, his grey eyes rippling with white light. As someone who could obtain Zuhei's loyalty and discover his potential, he never once underestimated Wei Wuyin in terms of his insights, perception, and intelligence. 

As for combat prowess, he didn't feel that Wei Wuyin could eclipse Zuhei. Furthermore, his Elemental Origin Intent that he felt in the Grand Spirit Trials felt disordered and false, so he didn't believe it could match his own. Regardless, he turned to the San Emperor and felt a sensation of foreboding in his heart.

Tuo Bihan soon arrived, his eyes focusing on the San Emperor. While he didn't fear the San Emperor, this was the Auric Sea. There was absolutely no reason to fight in such a dangerous location, and even a World Sea Phase expert could bring a Spatial Resonance Phase expert down with them if they wanted, let alone a False Realmlord. 

While he had no animosity towards the San Clan, in fact, he even felt grateful for their help after the Hegemonic War, but still kept his guard up. 

Tuo Bihan asked Lin Ruyan, "What happened here?" The reason why he had left a day before their scheduled date was due to finding out that the Elemental Heaven Pavilion and Alchemist Association had already left to the Auric Sea via the sect's spies. He wasn't certain if they were going to pull some tricks, trying to exclude the Myriad Monarch Sect from the exploration group.

Lin Ruyan had a faintly helpless expression as she gazed at the San Emperor. She sighed, explaining everything that had happened. The expressions of the elders and disciples of the Myriad Monarch Sect became unsightly while the Elemental Heaven Pavilion and Alchemist Association's members revealed odd expressions.

Their gazes inevitably turned to the San Emperor and his two companions.

Tuo Bihan's expressions darkened. This was an expedition that only the three forces leaders knew about. They had cordoned off every single piece of information from others, even keeping the disciples in the dark until the day before. Even if the San Clan investigated, they should've been sent for a loop with no way to gain answers. Yet they had arrived at this very moment as if they already knew about the Gateway Door.

If the leaders hadn't betrayed them, then who? They had all taken airtight Spirit Oaths. Even if they leaked somehow, their cultivation bases would essentially shatter. This wasn't an Oath of a Qi Condensation Realm cultivator but those at the Astral Core Realm, it wasn't something anything less than a Timelord could prevent from happening. 

Furthermore, according to Lin Ruyan, they had only learned of this fact and arrived here thanks to a spy in the Alchemist Association leaking the information that the San Clan was intending to travel to the Auric Sea. They had just arrived when the San Emperor was seemingly waiting for them. 

This left the group feeling helpless. But there was an even more shocking piece of information!

The San Emperor had arrived before them and had even sent in a group already! And that was already several hours ago!!