Paragon of Sin

ROAR!!!

An infinitely fierce, thunderous sound reverberated throughout the immediate external world. It seemed to have originated from divine myths, erupting from within Wei Wuyin. He currently sat calmly within a newly hewn out cave within a mountain located within the Hidden Shadow Domain.

Because he wished to form the Draconic Heart of Blood with his greatest effort and focus, he settled down for a session of secluded cultivation. 

A few days ago, Su Mei left the Warring States Pagoda after undergoing the trial of Material Dao—Darkness. It was a complex, advanced energy-type and even with her sheer talent, she wasn't capable of birthing even the normal Darkness Qi. However, when she exited, she wasn't distraught or sullen at her failure. She was enthralled in the profundities of Darkness and felt even more willing to cultivate it.

As for her reward gained for her progress in the trial, she received a cultivation method called the Tenebrous Light of Night Method. It denoted the means and method to cultivate Darkness and Light Energy, and even Shadowlight Qi; a rare, incredibly difficult Qi that is even harder to cultivate than Elemental Qi.

Wei Wuyin supported her in this endeavour. Seeing her excitement for it only enhanced his desire to use whatever he could to support.

Furthermore, she had reached a critical point in her cultivation, nearing the Fifth Stage of Qi Condensation, Yang Growth Phase due to the benefits gained from the trial and her own efforts before.

With the resources and alchemic products he created, her cultivation base had already started to increase by leaps and bounds, allowing her to near the final refinement of yang energy. If she could reach this stage of cultivation, her strength would rise to a high level.

Su Mei had already given birth to a unique, high-level Wood Qi, and was working on her lightning qi. She decided to take a similar path to Wei Wuyin, birthing all nine elemental energies to supplement her physical, spiritual, and core energies.

Wei Wuyin, of course, supported her fully. As a wielder of Elemental Qi, he infused her body with the purest of elemental energies periodically earlier, so she was bound to succeed.

As for himself and his progress in creating a fourth and final Heart of Qi, the process of splitting his mind once more was a relatively easy feat. He believed it had to do with his Alchemic Heart of Eden Qi, which originates from the Mind Dao, and allowed him to apply the seven traits of alchemy.

In fact, the act of transforming his essence and rebirthing his physical matter was far easier with the support of the Alchemic Heart of Eden Qi. After all, the seven traits of alchemy included: Extraction, Growth, Containment, Refinement, Creation, Transformation, and Fusion.

After doing so, he tapped into the boundless lifeforce within the Tree of Eden's runic mark and forcefully refined the three drops of essence blood into a Divine Mark of Myth. 

He didn't know how much lifeforce was used exactly, but by a rough estimation, he believed it required about a thousand to two thousand years of pure, raw lifeforce energy. It radiated a unique draconic aura, overbearing and sovereign of creation. 

It felt mystical and was shaped like a runic formation with dense characters he couldn't read, thousands of interconnecting lines and symmetrical structure, and was crimson in color. Despite all these characteristics, it was only the size of a fingernail.

"The lifeforce washed out the bloodline of the gigantic scaled creature and left merely the purest of draconic aura." Marveling at the changes, he felt an intense desire to immediately absorb it, condensing his mind, matter, essence, and soul into a spirit. He realized that only untainted lifeforce like that which originated from the Mark of Eden could have this effect. 

He was startled to discover that it was entirely unrefined, making it relatively easy to make your own. If he had taken the Evil Cultivator route and extracted lifeforce from others, perhaps a single person's sixty-year cycle of lifeforce might not rival sixty days of the Mark of Eden's pure lifeforce.

"Fuse!" Wei Wuyin decisively started the process, drawing the Divine Mark of Myth into his body. It became like gas, seeping swiftly into every facet of his fleshy body, bones, sinews, meridians, arteries, veins, and even organs. 

It had begun!

The refinement process was much shorter than he expected. After a few hours, his entire body emitted a raw, unfettered aura of draconic power. When his eyes opened, his silver eyes were not circular pupils, but took the shape of a thick, sharp line. At the core of which radiated an azure light.

"Condense!" He felt the fundamental substructure of his body change, and he immediately condensed his entirety a fourth time. Without haste, he steadily merged his mind, essence, matter, and soul into a spirit. 

However, this spirit did not nestle itself in his dantian, but concentrated itself within his flesh and blood heart. He expected a strange turn of events, so he didn't panic. Instead, he believed that it related to his bloodline, it made sense to settle itself at the origin of his blood.

After three full days, his spirit was birthed within his heart! However, when it nestled itself into his heart, it did not create a cyclone of qi or formulate a metaphysical core that could store energies of various types. Instead, strings of blood exited the spirit, connected with his heart, and created various changes.

Newly produced veins and arteries were birthed, seeping through the entirety of his body. A wave of pain erupted as he started to seizure. He couldn't control himself as his body spasmed uncontrollably, his eyes going to the back of his head, and his body closing up its motor functions.

For several minutes, he spasmed without end on the cave's floor, his mouth filled with drool and his eyes at the back of his head. 

"Gasp!" When he finally regained control over his body, he inhaled heavily as he regained his ability to control his muscles, rectifying his eyes location and his lack of motor functions. 

His pupils were no longer the thick, sharp, vertical line familiar with the lizard species. Instead, they returned to normal.

"That was intense!" He hastily checked his heart, inspecting his current state.

"What!" He exclaimed, his mouth agape in wonder. His body now had additional sets of veins and arteries that were connected to the heart. Not only that, his heart's flesh was shiny. It had been refined thoroughly, emitting metaphysical energy that shrouded it like a gaseous cloud. As for his heart, it contained the Divine Mark of Myth and a dense trace of draconic bloodline energy!

His heart had become his core! Moreover, it was surrounded by a cloud of bloodline power, akin to a Heart of Qi surrounded by a qi cyclone. 

He gulped slightly, his mind surging with amazement at the various unexpected changes. 

"It's at the First Stage of Qi? No, Blood Condensation?" He felt that the cultivation path of this was similar, but not the same. The critical point for Qi Condensation Realm was to evolve the state of qi, accumulate energy of the world until it can become one. But this one seemed to be to evolve one's bloodline.

That's right! The Divine Mark of Myth had transformed his innate bloodline. If he spilled a drop of blood, it would contain draconic aura. While he wasn't a dragon, he had the bloodline of one.

And he had the opportunity to increase its strength through cultivation!

"According to the True Dragon Transmutation Method, the third method of establishing a Draconic Heart relies on two aspects of cultivation: Bloodline Energy and Bloodline Purity. I need to find essence blood or items that can increase the purity of my Divine Mark of Myth. 

"At the moment, it can be classified as nearly the lowest degree of purity, formed from three drops of that gigantic scaled creature's essence blood. It's currently a Divine Mark of Mortal Myth, Second Level. 

"There are three grades, each divided into seven levels, Mortal Myth, Mystic Myth, and Immortal Myth." As he repeated this information, his expression grew stern. The naming sense of these grades matched the grade of alchemical products. However, one is not accepted or rejected by the Heavenly Daos while the other...he wasn't quite sure.

"I guess all things in cultivation have connections. With this, I've established my fourth Heart of Cultivation. I can no longer renew my flesh unless I discard my bloodline entirely." 

He clenched his fist, causing the world to tremble and the air to rumble chaotically. This was just the sheer force of his fleshy body. The changes to his body were immediately apparent. 

"My fleshy body has jumped in power and quality, but I've only reached the First Stage of the Blood Condensation Realm. If it follows the same logic as Qi Cultivation, then I'll need to use the Essence of Heaven and Earth to strengthen the bloodline power with worldly energies. The first through ninth phases." He slowly determined as he formulated a plan. 

Su Mei was cultivating nearby, likely going to require at least a full month before she reached the next phase. With his alchemical products, he could cultivate both his Alchemic Heart of Eden Qi and Draconic Heart of Blood to the Fifth Phase as well. 

His cultivation speed was far, far faster because he possessed his self-created Externalize Heart Qi Method. With it, he could bypass the refinement and time-consuming parts of cultivation, and directly have his Hearts/Spirits directly absorb pure essence and energy. 

With the vast resources claimed from the Beast-Taming Sect, this should be easier than cultivating before.

"Let's start."

-----

Twenty-eight days later.

Su Mei sat in her cave, closed eyes, in a well-balanced lotus stance, as she fiercely cultivated.

She was rapidly absorbing the yang energy she obtained from Wei Wuyin's Yang Blazing Elixir, a sixth-grade alchemical product. In fact, this was her fifth one. She had absorbed five bottles of Yang Blazing Elixir and had yet to ascend to the Fifth Phase of Yang Growth. 

The difficulty of cultivation was often underestimated by geniuses, but those who aren't exceptionally talented required resources and cultivation grounds to better develop or reach the same level. In comparison, Wei Wuyin could've ascended by the first bottle, but Su Mei had consumed five and had yet to do so.

She was also exceptionally talented. It was merely her innate bodily compatibility with yang energies that hindered her progress. It was this vast difficulty that hindered people of different genders at the Yin Form or Yang Growth Phases, unless their background was astonishing. 

Luckily, her aura started to rapidly shift and heighten as the build-up of yang energy reached a zenith state, slowly allowing her Heart of Qi to naturally contain yang energies. A dense, lively aura of vitality started to surface from her body as she cultivated. 

This was the first sign of ascending, allowing one's core and qi to contain innate yang energies. Her fleshy body would also benefit, growing her lifespan, extending her youthful appearances, and strengthening her bodily functions. 

"Haaaa! Huuuuuu!" She inhaled deeply and exhaled the same, releasing a wad of turbid qi. The world faintly trembled. When she opened her eyes, various images emerged from nothing and they were filled with innate vitality, a fresh and lively feeling effused from each and every one of those images.

"I did it!" Her heart was elated as she finally accomplished her goal of ascending to the Fifth Stage of Qi Condensation. Now, she was a step closer to becoming a Mortal God, and standing above hundreds of millions of cultivators in the world.

While Wei Wuyin was a Godlord, as his soldier, his servant, she deeply desired to not fall too behind. Luckily, Wei Wuyin had exceptional alchemy skills. Not only was he fiercely powerful, monstrously talented, breathtakingly handsome, but he was profoundly skilled in the most difficult profession known to man - alchemy.

A single sixth-grade alchemical product like the Yang Blazing Elixir could induce wars amongst second and third-tier forces - let alone six. Yet, she had access to it without question. If she wasn't numb to Wei Wuyin's achievements, she would've lost her mind long ago.

She used another hour to quickly consolidate her cultivation base, fortifying her yang energy, and integrating it thoroughly with her qi. After some mild testing, she left the cavern. 

Shockingly, Wei Wuyin and Bai Lin were right outside. Wei Wuyin and Bai Lin were playing some sort of game reminiscent of catch, but slightly different. They seemed to be having fun, her heart suddenly warmed at the sight. 

Kree!

Bai Lin noticed Su Mei's exit first, or at least acknowledged it first, and cried joyfully. Her tone made it sound like she was congratulating her. 

A tinge of pink surfaced on Su Mei's cheeks, highlighting her feminine traits, as she bowed in thanks. Despite Bai Lin being Wei Wuyin's mount, Su Mei knew that the crane could devastate Mortal Gods like they were trash, and thus treated her with equal respect. 

Bai Lin's eyes revealed a smile as she flew over, her large body eclipsing the sunlight and immediately shrouding Su Mei in her shadow. She used her wing to rub Su Mei's arm. It was some form of communication, like a pat on the back. As if saying: "You don't need to be so formal."

Wei Wuyin laughed, striding over with carefree steps. His aura was restrained, but when Su Mei saw him, she felt that he had changed fundamentally. 

"Congratulations on your breakthrough. It isn't easy, but you achieved it," Wei Wuyin warmly said. 

"Thank you, Lord Wei." Su Mei once more bowed formally, but Wei Wuyin didn't mind her attitude, unlike Bai Lin whose intelligence and human-like thoughts became greater and greater by the day. Her human-like considerations truly was reaching new pinnacles each day. Not only that, her growth seem to still be occurring. 

Before, when Wei Wuyin first met her as a child all those years ago, she was barely ten meters in height. Barely capable of carrying three people. But now, she was forty-three meters in height. As for her wingspan, it was massive!

He constantly marveled at her still-developing size without end. He was curious as to what height she'd reach at the end of her maturity. The only inconvenience was entering a city with flight-restrictions or small housing areas unable to give her room to breathe. She was bigger and larger than most city walls and buildings. Bai Lin simply stood out with her golden eyes, golden beak, and elegant yet powerful aura.

"You're ready?" Wei Wuyin asked Su Mei. While it wasn't entirely appropriate to regard the opinion of a subordinate if she or he was ready to depart, he still did so. This was because in Wei Wuyin's heart, Su Mei was more important than any ordinary subordinate. The day she decided to leave the Scarlet Solaris Sect with him was a day he'd never forget, even in death.

"Mn," Su Mei responded swiftly with a clear nod of her head.

"Good!" Wei Wuyin calmly smiled. He had reached the Sixth Stage of Qi/Blood Condensation with his Alchemic Heart of Eden Qi and Draconic Heart of Blood, infusing them with all nine elemental, yin, yang, and yin-yang energies. The force of the world had assimilated perfectly. He now understood that the Blood and Qi Condensation Realms were two different carriages on the same road.

They were now refining his fleshy body, bloodline, and sea of consciousness with elemental energy, giving all these traits unique benefits, and furthering his overall strength. Therefore, he was ready to depart.

The last stop on his list was the Wu Astral Tower, and he wished to see one of the top three beauties of the entire country! 

In the Wu Country, there was a lifestyle-type force that ranked cultivators of prominent renown and status. It included any force that had a Mortal God-level figure standing behind it. One of these ranking lists was a beauty ranking.

According to the list, the top three beauties of Wu Country were the Granddaughter of the Aqua Siren, who was the descendant of the Godlord of the Aqua Echo Sect, the Bai Clan's White Holy Priestess, who was a Mortal God, and the Youngest Princess of Wu: Wu Baozhai.

He wanted to witness the majesty of the Imperial Capital City, visit the Wu Astral Tower, and observe the beauty of Wu Baozhai! He was determined to cross each of these off his list.

Bai Lin readied herself, leaning her body so they could easily ride on her back. The duo did so, and the trio once more took off, heading for the Imperial Capital City, otherwise known as Heavenly Wu City!

-----

In Heavenly Wu City, in the Imperial Palace. There was a room designed with a noble and elegant decor. In this room were two individuals. These two individuals were people Wei Wuyin would instantly recognize.

One of them had ocean blue eyes that seemed to contain a dense spirituality, long, brunette hair cascaded down her back like a perfectly gentle waterfall and split at her shoulders. Those strands of hair seemed to be perfect, and they led one's gaze to an utterly mesmerizing valley that was her chest.

Her height wasn't impressive, being average, but her slim, bottle-like frame, incredible curves, and flawless jade skin left one breathless and desiring to see more. Her long, thin eyelashes and phoenix-like eyes that seemed to carry profound truths of the world drew one in.

The other a beauty with short blonde hair, resplendent blue eyes, wearing a pure white gown, and a shapely physique from top to bottom. Her arms were clearly firm and tone, indicating a strong body beneath that gown. 

A holy, fate-like aura shrouded her, and her light pink lips seemed to be the softest pieces of flesh in the world.

They were Godlord Lin and the Seer!

Godlord Lin's expression was calm as she spoke, "I'll stay. I hope you're right about this." 

The seer had an excited expression, "I am! Not only will he come for you, you'll benefit greatly from this!" 

Godlord Lin's eyes sparkled with ambition, and a hint of...love?

-----

In the Wu Central Lands, there was a handsome man. He wore a black martial robe, wore a sheathe of a sword on his back, and a calm expression. His clear, unfathomable black eyes and short black hair fluttered with the wind as he stared ahead.

Next to the man was a woman. She had emerald-colored hair and eyes, they were clear and filled with an innate sensation of nature. She was astonishingly beautiful and seemed to be one with the world as she walked. 

They walked side by side, hand to hand, one could tell their relationship was intimate and true. 

"Long Chen…" the woman gently called out to the young, handsome man as if she wanted to say something.

He turned around, and gently held her jade-like hands. With a smile, he comforted, "It'll be fine. I'll save her, no matter what."

If Wei Wuyin saw him or her, he would be deeply shocked!