Paragon of Sin

"..." Ma Sujiang's expression was unnaturally solemn. The sequence of events had been outside of her understanding, and as an Ascended, this troubled her heart slightly. A wisp of unfathomable curiosity surfaced within her heart, flowing freely through her mind. 

'Who is this silver-eyed alchemist exactly?' This question boggled her mind until she was strapped by an inner desire to meet this individual. And if Ma Zheng was right, did this silver-eyed alchemist truly have a connection with that person?

Ma Ru's eyes brightened with a dense, pulsating spiritual light. She observed the silver liquid that surrounded Xue Yifei and Tuo Bihan. "Refined spatial energies? Liquidized? It's quite pure. It contains traces of time energies too…" 

Her words were said softly yet it snapped Ma Sujiang out of her thoughts, turning towards Xue Yifei who was standing tall, looking at the spatial ring with a determined, steel-like stare. Slowly, Xue Yifei clenched her hand around the spatial ring and faintly smiled. 

"Thank you, Grand Sage Tuo." She politely offered her thanks with a slight bow, despite her status in Tuo Bihan's heart, she did not lose her manners and gave him an earnest showing.

Tuo Bihan nodded, carrying a faint smile. This young woman was quite something, and seeing how worried Wei Wuyin had been for her, to the point he defied the concept of time and space, he could understand a little. 

"It's my pleasure to be of use," he had already lost the identity of a Grand Imperial Sage in his heart. Since deciding on that fateful day to follow Wei Wuyin, he was more an Ascendant than a Grand Imperial Sage. 

With his thoughts for pursuing further into cultivation resurfacing, his Heart of Cultivation strengthened with Wei Wuyin's support, he had his sights set beyond. Far beyond. 

Ma Sujiang had a burning curiosity as she observed Xue Yifei's clenched fist with interest. What type of thing would that silver-eyed alchemist leave his concubine? Was it equal to his fiancé? Could there be…

Was that miraculous alchemical product also in that ring? If so, obtaining it, they could reverse engineer the product and hopefully reproduce it. The idea of forming a Domain Seed at the Soul Idol Phase was stupendously outrageous, so much so that the principles of cultivation would shatter within the minds of even Ascended. 

It would reshape the entire Grand Cyclic Stellar Region, especially the Aeternal Sky Starfield. Whichever force could produce that product would dominate the world in the coming millennia. It guarantees the growth of a Realmlord.

The Everlore Association would likely kill for it. Or perhaps they had the product's recipe, but not the materials or alchemists to concoct it? Considering something like that might be a mystic-rank alchemical product, it made sense. 

Her imaginative thoughts led to her body involuntarily moving. She found herself before Xue Yifei, her back facing Tuo Bihan. Those light-brown eyes of hers fixated on the spatial ring. There was no Wu Yu to halt her this time, and her desire won out in the end. She reached out. 

Xue Yifei gasped, shocked by Ma Sujiang's sudden appearance. She tried to move away, but she found her body frozen by an unseen force. Even her voice was snuffed out before it could be unleashed. Those hazel eyes of hers trembled. 

Tuo Bihan saw this and instinctively acted, his Worldly Domain manifested! Yet Ma Sujiang, despite being enveloped in it, was unaffected by his World Pressure. The dark-grey haired Assistant Manager merely breathed out. A muffled explosion occurred!

Tuo Bihan's Worldly Domain's edges fractured like glass and then directly shattered! He was sent flying backwards for several miles, his eyes, ears, and mouth spewing out blood. Before he could even hit the ground, he went unconscious. His body skidded and rolled across the ground like a sack of sand.

"ROAR!" Anu's reaction was the slowest, yet his response was unfathomably swift! He opened his mouth towards Ma Sujiang and Xue Yifei! A suction force was born, drawing dust, dirt, rocks, and air towards his giant maw! He wanted to pull Xue Yifei into his Internal World!

Xue Yifei could barely react before her body felt weightless and she started to float. But Ma Sujiang's hand was swift, unfathomably so, and grasped Xue Yifei's wrist. Her other hand casually waved towards the thirty-thousand meter tall dragon.

An unseen force pressed against Anu, his eyes bulged and his body contorted as he was lifted and explosively sent hundreds of miles into the distance. His wings unfurled yet it did no good as he crushed against the ground like a falling mountain. With just a wave, Anu was tossed away like trash!

By this time, Ma Sujiang had already grasped Xue Yifei's wrist, and exerted a little force. Xue Yifei's clenched hand was opened, revealing the spatial ring. She used her free hand to move towards it. Ma Sujiang hesitated for a moment, but her desire won out in the end. She touched the spatial ring, but as she did, her trimmed eyebrows lifted.

She vanished on the spot!

A hand with five incomparably sharp nails became a claw and pierced towards where her head was. The tip of the claws were flowing with faint black, red, and silver light. Zuhei had acted! His movements were incredibly smooth as he grabbed Xue Yifei's slender waist and retreated.

Ma Sujiang reappeared a few tens of meters away. She stared at Zuhei for a very, very long moment. Zuhei stood before Xue Yifei, his mouth revealing sharp, incisive fangs and the sharp contours of his narrowed eyes was utterly lethal.

"You don't give off any aura resembling cultivation, how can you…" Ma Sujiang slightly frowned. She couldn't sense Zuhei's cultivation state, so she assumed he had none, and with the glaring wound at his chest, it made sense he was crippled and thus unable to cultivate, even after regrowing a new heart. After all, the new heart would be artificial at most, and he'll lose the greatest source of his bloodline powers.

Yet somehow, Zuhei's movements were not just faster than some Realmlords but also outside her senses. It wasn't that he was too fast, but she hadn't sensed his aura at all! She looked at the flowing light around his fingers, "Intent? Slaughter? Battle? There's a third…" 

Before she could contemplate the uneasy feeling the void black light gave her, Ma Ru arrived beside her. The petite woman hadn't expected her cousin to act so suddenly. At the moment, she still couldn't understand why. 

"Cousin…" She was deeply concerned. After all, they were given explicit orders to ensure their continued safety. While she didn't harm Xue Yifei, Zuhei, and Anu was far too strong to be hurt by a small fall, that old man in grey had his Worldly Domain shattered. If handled improperly, that old man's strength would be severely affected, as that damage will certainly reflect upon his cultivation base as a whole.

Ma Sujiang glanced at Ma Ru, then looked at her hand. There was a spatial ring within it with the etchings 'Xue Yifei' on it. She had clearly obtained what she wanted. She was about to send her spiritual sense into it to see if that product was there. An quake of excitement rumbled within her heart.

To her, there was no way any alchemist would ever freely give this type of product to anyone. It was just too important. If she could reverse engineer the product, she would be able to usher the Ma Clan to the limits. This starfield, in a few thousand years, might be changed from Aeternal Sky Starfield to Grand Horse Starfield. 

She didn't care much about the Golden Life Pavilion, caring more about her own clan's future. The Golden Life Pavilion would eventually be theirs to control with absolute strength, and they were in the perfect situation to do so. As the head clan of the Third Branch, this was an opportunity she couldn't resist.

While she held back before because of Wu Yu, this was her territory, and she didn't fear offending Wei Wuyin. Moreover, the alchemical product might be untouched, not already refined like with Na Xinyi.

"Sujiang…" A soft, ancient voice echoed throughout the surroundings. It contained the vicissitudes of life, the essence of age, and clearly belonged to someone who's lived through too much. 

Ma Sujiang's body froze. 

She then hurriedly straightened her posture, respectfully greeting: "Patriarch!" Ma Ru joined in, her expression tense. They both knew that Ma Zheng was called for before, and that was also his orders, to be alerted if any changes occurred to the beasts or involved the one named Wei Wuyin. 

Since Tuo Bihan had come on Wei Wuyin's order, of course Ma Zheng was alerted with the greatest possible speed. 

As if emerging from a Void Portal, an elderly man with pale skin, numerous wrinkles, yellowing spots on his arms and legs arrived. Those limpid and lazy eyes seemed to belong to a man unconcerned by many things. He wore a black taoist robe with golden embroidery.

The Third Manager of the Golden Life Pavilion! The Patriarch of the Ma Clan! The strongest expert of the Grand Horse Realm! He had all those exceptional titles, and despite his appearance, his every breath commanded respect. 

Softly smacking his lips, he walked slowly towards Ma Sujiang until he reached a few feet from her. She had her head lowered deeply, her eyes concealed. 

"I don't blame you," Ma Zheng slowly said. 

Ma Sujiang felt her heart seize up. Despite his words that were seemingly comforting her, siding with her, she knew that this was anything but. 

"Your position as Assistant Manager of the Third Branch will be removed from henceforth; you'll stay as a Realm Guardian of the Grand Horse Realm for the next five hundred years." Those words were slowly said yet each one was as clear as a thunderous drum of war. It chilled the soul, especially Ma Sujiang's.

"Patriarch! I-"

Ma Zheng gave her a lazy look.

"..." Her next words were caught in her throat, unable to escape. She clenched her hand around the spatial ring, but she didn't exert crushing force. Instead, she breathed in and out to relax herself before handing the spatial ring to Ma Ru. She bowed deeply, and waited to be excused.

Ma Zheng said, "You'll do well to remember that we're not simple rulers, our ambitions aren't on that path. Dynasties rise and thrive, but eventually, they'll always fall. A business is a belief that'll never fade from the hearts of the earnest and hardworking, the strong or the weak, everlasting and worshipped without fleeting might."

Ma Sujiang's heart started to race.

She allowed her greed to overwhelm her heart. With an even deeper bow, she replied: "I know my wrong."

Ma Zheng faintly nodded. Ma Sujiang vanished from everyone's sight. 

ROAR!

Anu was enraged!