Paragon of Sin

Intricate and orderly, these two words were the perfect description of the Ninestar Starfield's societal structure, heavily placing emphasis on the number nine. Whether it was the number of Sainthalls, Solar Stars, or how they determine the passing of time and calendar dates, nine was quintessential to their society. 

The Ninestar Starfield had nine total governing leaders that ruled Nine Domains: the Soul-Rising Domain, Soul-Falling Domain, Soul-Creation Domain, Soul-Eruption Domain, Soul-Destruction Domain, Soul-Enlightening Domain, Soul-Rumble Domain, Soul-Martial Domain, and lastly, the strongest of the nine domains, the Soul-Saint Domain. 

These governing leaders were termed Sainthalls, and they each had Earthly Saints at their helm. Furthermore, the starfield's multileveled societal structure was divided into nine, from the highest and strongest Sainthall to the lowest Genesishall. However, the importance of nine did not cease there.

Each Sainthall ruled a Domain which had nine State Regions ruled by Lordhalls, forces that were controlled by elite Demi-Mortal Lords, and each State Region was a multi-planetary environment with exactly nine planets, and each of these nine planets were ruled by a Spirithall, forces that were controlled by elite Soul of Mysticism cultivators. The division still wouldn't stop, with the Genesishall each ruling one of nine areas of one of the nine established towns.

If someone were to observe this designed structure, they might be in utter disbelief how everything was perfectly curated to fit the number nine. Intricate and orderly, but clearly obsessively pushed. 

Despite this, they were still widely considered by many as the second strongest starfield in the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region, only inferior to the Aeternal Sky Starfield and their Supermassive-sized Mystic Radiance Belt.

The planet Blueglow was situated in the Soul-Rising Domain, governed by the Soul-Rising Sainthall, within the State Region of the Essencequake Lordhall, regulated by the Spiritwalker Spirithall, and assisted by the nine Mystichalls, the most important of them was the Skytaint Mystichall.

Therefore, when the Skytaint Mystichall sent out a panicked message regarding the white and golden feathered beast that easily shattered their planetary defenses, breaching their territory and seemingly unwilling to leave, the hall that received this message was the Spiritwalker Hall. 

The Spiritwalker Hall was not located on the planet. They ruled it from a small-sized World Realm that was tethered to one of its nine lunar satellites. The environment of that World Realm was far more suitable for cultivation, and they sent out Envoys such as Exalted Yu, the middle-aged Mystic Star Cultivator that had met Lin Xianxei and Lin Ming, to handle external matters.

Most Spirithalls did not act in this manner, staying upon their assigned planet and acting as the true governing force, but the Spiritwalker Hall had proxied their authority to the Skytaint Mystichall, hence why the power on the planet was unequal amongst Mystichalls, an unusual occurrence, yet expressive of the freedom these halls have over their assigned territories. 

The World Realm was called the Utmost Spirit Realm, and it was roughly the size of the Myriad Yore Continent, being relatively small, yet it was populated by hundreds of millions, as had the Myriad Yore Continent once been. Within this world realm, a grand azure palace was situated at its center. There were serpent-like spiritual lights coursing through the walls, being extremely animated and lively as they swam about like fishes. 

Outside of a abnormally large, metallic door within the palace, three figures stood protectively around in the hallway; their eyes reflected a variety of emotions. At times, these three figures would glance at the door briefly with complex emotions.

One of these figures was a middle-aged man dressed in grey and blue robes. The man had long hair tied into an orderly bun and a thick horseshoe mustache with signs of greying. This was none other than Exalted Yu, an Envoy of Venerable Spiritwalker! 

The other two figures were two females. One was dressed in palatial robes, carrying a naturally pale countenance and a pair of solemn blue-colored eyes. She was quite pretty with long black hair, but her blue eyes induced a chill in all that saw her. 

The other was ordinary-looking, middle-aged, and dressed in a modest dress that concealed every detail of her body. Her dark brown eyes and brown hair caused her to be unable to stand out amongst a crowd, yet she carried a serene, motherly aura about her that made it hard to feel ill-will against her. 

BOOM!

"Ahhhhh!" A feminine scream filled with anguish and pain resounded alongside an explosion of power from the room behind the door, causing the three Exalted beings at the Mystic Star Phase to tremble. Their gazes reflected various emotions, from concern, to hope, to indifference. The last of which belonged to the glacial-eyed woman. 

The middle-aged woman with an aura of motherly warmth couldn't hold her thoughts in, "Do you think Hallmaster Spiritwalker will succeed?" Her words carried with it a desire to be consoled, and with her bearing and aura, few would reject the opportunity. 

Yet the brown-haired female wasn't affected, "Just wait and see." Her reply lacked any form of emotion, seemingly uncaring or outright confident that the Hallmaster will succeed. 

Exalted Yu softly inhaled and exhaled out, trying to dissipate the tension built within his heart. Yet he was unable to ease it, so he decided to speak: "The Hallmaster has gained the assistance of one of the strongest Earthly Saints in the Aeternal Sky Starfield, the Guardian of the Elements—Han Yuhei—to help her perfectly refine Mystic Origin Liquid into her Spirit of Cultivation, an amazing acquisition she obtained from the Golden Life Pavilion after it was sold by Highlord Huang Xiaoming. She also got three Demi-Mortal Lords, two from the Tang Clan and one from the Golden Life Pavilion, to operate the Mystic-Integration Bodily Essence Formation, allowing her body and physique to be perfectly primed and adapted to the infusion of Mystic Intent.

"Since she succeeded in the latter, and had made ample preparations, more than I've seen before in my entire lifetime, she should succeed. She will succeed." Exalted Yu's words seemed more to console himself rather than the middle-aged woman. However, his tensed fists that revealed protruding veins betrayed his turbulent emotions. 

The Hallmaster's success was of paramount importance. She had been preparing for the Third Ascension for over two thousand years. They weren't even born yet when she started making preparations, compiling wealth and resources, so they could only wait in hopes of her success.

The screams and explosions never ceased. The rippling of mystic power was apparent, and if the entire palace hadn't been thoroughly reinforced prior, the entire thing would have collapsed in on itself. This continued for an hour without end. Those shrieking howls only grew more and more bloodcurdling, making these Mystic Star Phase experts' expressions become grim and tense. 

Twiing!

Suddenly, the middle-aged woman received a spiritual transmission as her spatial ring lit with radiant spiritual light. This drew away the focus on the group as they looked her way. 

The middle-aged woman felt that curious gazes, and she faintly smiled apologetically. She had informed her subordinates not to message her for anything during this crucial period, yet they still disobeyed. While she was annoyed inwardly, her outward reply was still that warm smile. 

However, her expression stilled and grew increasingly unnatural. She turned to Exalted Yu, "It's about a gold and white feathered avian beast that has wings of scarlet-gold flames." 

Exalted Yu was taken aback that she was directing those words towards him, but then his eyes revealed a dawn of realization. "The Fire Phoenix?!" He hollered out in shock, his eyes bulging a little. Roughly half a year ago, a flaming bird had been sighted by flying in the Dark Void. A few Mystic Star Phase cultivators had observed its form and noted its appearance, including the scarlet-gold flames and its extremely large, twenty-two thousand meter-sized form.

It was almost impossible to miss. 

From various reports, a base of Trueborn had been eliminated by this Fire Phoenix for unknown reasons, including its existence. Immediately, various figures tried to find it, including a variety of Heavenly Seers but to no avail. They didn't know if it was due to its power being extraordinary or being hidden away by some powerful means, but they couldn't grasp any details about it. 

Still, the scene of the Trueborn's Shadow Egg being destroyed was viewed through special temporal reviewing spells, allowing the majority of the Ascended beings in the Ninestar Starfield to be aware of its existence. There were even rumors that Trueborn was actively seeking it out, wanting to capture it for their own goals or vengeance. This clandestine organization that remained silent and hidden was taking an active role!

Considering its power, many speculated that it was at the Soul of Mysticism level, amongst the elite of the elite. When Exalted Yu's thought leapt to the Fire Phoenix, his heart raced. He had only casually mentioned a bird of flames after hearing Spiritwalker talk about the beneficial potential extracting its Nirvanic Flames and Bloodline had towards increasing a cultivator's lifespan. As Mystic Star Phase experts, they needed to recoup 800 years of lifeforce to obtain another shot at ascending fully, but that was much easier said than done. 

"What about it? Do you have news?!" Exalted Yu anxiously asked. The entire Ninestar Starfield was looking for this beast, so he was feeling agitated.

"AHHHHHH!" The screaming in the room intensified, clearly reaching a climax! This caused the trio to grow silent. An extended period of time passed before the intermittent screams ceased, the explosive booms ended, and the ripple of mystic power settled down.

Exalted Yu gulped, his fists tightened to their limits, and his eyes focused heavily on the door. Was it a success? Was it a failure? His aged heart could barely take it. And it wasn't just him, as personal disciples of their Hallmaster, if she became a Demi-Mortal Lord, her lifespan would rapidly explode, and she could easily obtain with her newfound power and status or sacrifice her personally refined lifeforce to allow them a chance to assail their Second Ascension once more.

Her success was tethered to their future. How could they not be anxious? Even the glacial-eyed woman had ripples within her gaze, the indifference vanishing gradually, replaced with the light of hope. 

An hour passed with no response.

Then...

Creak!

The metal door opened! Their eyes unhesitatingly focused on the figure behind this movement. Even Exalted Yu had forgotten about the news of the Fire Phoenix, solely focused on the outcome of this moment! 

When it opened, a beautiful woman with brunette hair and scarlet highlights was revealed. She was dressed in vermillion red robes with white trim, and at her heart area was the character for 'Tang' written in golden characters. There were traces of sweat formed on her forehead, and her breathing was disorderly. 

The beautiful woman looked at the three figures who stared at her with intense anxiety. She revealed a smile, "Your master, Highlord Spiritwalker, wishes to see you." 

Exalted Yu's eyes widened slightly as he realized the meaning behind that smile and those words. He hurriedly bowed and said with all his heart, "Thank you, Highlord Scarletflame." The glee in his voice was unable to be concealed, and he didn't want it to be. 

It didn't take long before the three paid their respects to the Highlord, giving abundant thanks, and venturing into the room. 

The Demi-Mortal Lord from the Tang Clan, Highlord Scarletflame, frowned slightly as she watched them enter. She glanced at her spatial ring that flickered with faint spiritual light, her eyes glowing with greed. "The Fire Phoenix is still here?" She didn't hesitate to send out a message to her clan. 

After doing this, she went back into the room with a smile and gently closed the door. 

Back at the Tang Clan, several Voidships were being primed and deployed to the edge of the Ninestar Starfield via Void Gates, no matter the cost.