Paragon of Sin

The machinations of the heavens were unknowable and incalculable. This was a staunch belief, an often-used phase propagated by Oracles, Heavenly Seers, and Fortune Tellers. This, of course, was merely a belief filled with light air-carrying very little weight. This was because the heavens they referred to were none other than the Heavenly Daos, not the true heavens that govern all creation, and that were not only knowable but could be manipulated.

Heavenly Seers cultivated this path to extraordinary ends. Ming Shufeng relied on the Heavenly Daos' intentions to grasp opportunities to ascend beyond the small continent of the Myriad Yore Continent on the back of Long Chen, a Blessed existence of the Heavenly Daos.

Wei Wuyin was another exception beyond those three paths, having been exposed to the Heavenly Daos for decades, even going as far as to boldly gaze upon the Heavenly Daos' secrets. He wasn't simply an exception but a keen observer aware of the when, how, and why of the Heavenly Daos' plans for Blessed existences. He had a front-row seat on many occasions.

For example, today. Wei Wuyin had entered the Sky Heart Galaxy under the subtle influence of a fortuitous encounter. By all extents and purposes, a normal cultivator would have been besieged with joy at the sheer convenience and lucky opportunity. Moreover, it would be an opportunity curated to them and only they could obtain it. The sensation of destiny would be incredibly high.

Moreover, the Heavenly Daos had structured it in a way to avoid bypassing his bottom line or previously conceived principles. To save a nascent life, all it took was to seize this opportunity and repay it going forward.

Simple.

Right?

The aging and maturation of her body and mind caused a severe deficit of all yang and its source, an extraordinary anomaly, and the awareness and unwillingness within the subject's mind and heart. The timing of her birth, the third-party mouthpiece that was Young Master Shang, and even the urgency of her situation that couldn't be delayed by the power of the Minor Time Law.

It was all deliberately orchestrated by a brilliantly subtle hand, and it was easy to be blinded by the situation and see only the advantages. There seemed to be no downside, and even the moral implication was minimized to the extreme limit to accommodate for his own principles, beliefs, and past regrets. After using the limited amount of time one had to think things through, there seemed to be no other immediate solution.

Additionally, this was all thinly veiled under the premise of fortuitous encounters. Wei Wuyin had very little doubt that Yuan Longshi, Long Chen, Jing Jiu, and Yun Che, those Blessed existences with numerous encounters would have taken this opportunity without a second thought, attributing it to destiny, and the act of saving a life that only they could complete.

The Heavenly Daos were insidiously devious. A trap with no escape was crafted with the most delectable, irresistible lure-cultivation. Dangled deliciously by the Heavenly Daos, who could resist? Who could throw away this chance to save a life and rise to the heavens in a single go? Even if only to save a life, most men would 'begrudgingly' accept their responsibility and sleep with this perfect beauty!

But who was Wei Wuyin if not knowledgeable of the Heavenly Daos' ways? Of the Rite of Sin? Of the fundamentals of the Sin of Lust? He had two things no one else would have had-knowledge and experience.

The Rite of a Sinner's trial was a test against newly determined Inheritors of Sin, staged by the Heavenly Daos and subtly poisoned by the heavens. He had faced the Rite of Sin: Pride's Wall of Heaven. Looking back, he hadn't understood the context of the Wall of Heaven or why it was a challenge before. But after seeing and feeling the Rite of Sin: Lust's trial was enough to formulate a starting point to understand.

It was a challenge of wills.

From the onset, Wei Wuyin had always thought that the Wall of Heaven was meant for him. That it was an unbeatable obstacle and that only running away was the sole answer. He thought that perhaps it meant putting down his pride and fleeing, throwing away his unshakeable conviction and such. Initially, this was the most likely possibility, and given that Wei Wuyin wasn't originally the Inheritor of Sin for pride, then his actions of discarding it weren't too difficult to do.

Holding the necklace that housed the evolving Bai Lin, Wei Wuyin finally understood that it was never about discarding his pride but upholding it! It was about whether he was willing to abandon Bai Lin to save himself! Whether he would remain excessively selfish in the face of unbeatable odds and consider himself above the life of a loved one.

The Wall of Heaven wasn't too slow or too fast. Bai Lin was simply slower.

He didn't know the fundamentals of pride, but he knew, just like lust, pride wasn't simply an excessive ego or self-important belief in one's self and one's dignity. It was far more profound. Unfortunately, he had inherited the Sin of Pride and hadn't undergone any of the selection process itself, and that's why he was capable of personally being chosen by lust over pride-the former suited him far more than the latter.

The challenge of wills to put one's sin into proper practice, a Rite of Sin as you might say, finally made sense to him.

Then, what was the success condition for this Rite of Sin? The Rite of Sin: Lust? To indulge? Was this all a trap? Was this a poisoned apple? If so, what was the failing condition?

The past will not be today.

A simple statement with an undeniable truth, both incredibly simple and indescribably complex. The Wei Wuyin of the past was not the Wei Wuyin of today, and so his choices would never align with his earlier mentality, infringing on his principles and beliefs with a shoddy, fragile compromise.

Long ago, Wei Wuyin discovered Na Xinyi and took the path of least resistance for the sake of power without regrets. The act itself was never up for regret in his mind, simply the decision to half-heartedly compromise. That was what his idealistic and undefined force of will had decided that day.

The Wei Wuyin of today would have either made Na Xinyi a Valkyrie until she willingly became a dual cultivation partner with prospects, capable of being of use and worthy of trust, or exploited Na Xinyi for every last ounce of her worth through any means necessary.

He was no longer as wishy-washy as before.

Just like today, facing such a delectable choice free of regret and filled with justified reasoning, the best solution to take was the most obvious-Dual Cultivation. If he seized this opportunity, his path forward would be flawlessly forged beyond a shadow of a doubt.

However, why was Wei Wuyin of all people chosen by the Sin of Lust? It wasn't due to a single individual aspect of himself, but all of his experiences, beliefs, principles, and established personality qualified him to be chosen. Every last one of his experiences and memories, even those from beyond his timeline, were considered. This was what he believed. After all, to existences like the Heavenly Daos and the Bloodline of Sin, what was time but not something that could be played with?

All of him, every last decision and every last karmic tie he formed, was sufficient to acquire the approval of the Primordial Seed of Sin: Lust. So his hunger, his lust, would never go against his own values for short-term benefits nor exploit something half-heartedly. And to stay true to himself, he would never take another regretful step, but delve into all potential outcomes to find the best for him.

The failing conditions were simple to understand after reaching that conclusion. The first is to indulge selfishly and thoughtlessly. The second is to ignore and waste. They were both compromises to his beliefs. And so he took the only path that he would ever take-

Ripping out his Yang Source, Wei Wuyin held the convulsing Shard of Heaven in his arms. She was impossibly soft and warm, her skin as smooth as silk, her lips were inviting as the greatest treasure, and those eyes were as bewitching as a first love's smile.

"Fuse."

Young Master Shang's eyes widened as he saw Wei Wuyin's body erupt with an alchemical aura that far exceeded a typical Worldly Saint Alchemist. It was unbearably pure, supported by an unfathomably pure Utmost Purity Mist. For seven seconds, he observed the wondrous Alchemic Dao as Wei Wuyin used his Yang Source and the Shard of Heaven's body as material to concoct.

In the end, he witnessed the miraculous process of a body devoid of yang precisely fused and transformed by an external Yang Source, completing its birthing process into the world.

BOOSH!

A surge of heavenly wind and a burst of golden light erupted violently outwards, engulfing a tenth of the Sky Heart Galaxy in a heavenly light and aura for a picosecond. It was brief to an extreme, yet Young Master Shang felt as if it was dozens of minutes long. Throughout the process, he was breathless and thoughtless.

When it all concluded, he witnessed Wei Wuyin carrying an unconscious black-haired, slender young woman with glistening golden highlights in a bridal carry, her hair was far longer than before, reaching all the way to her thighs, it was fuller than before as well. Moreover, she no longer had an aura of perfection and seemed entirely different than what he had seen earlier. That being said, her slumbering face was undeniably beautiful. She was garbed in a black robe that seemed to belong to Wei Wuyin, likely a replacement robe.

"Y-you..." Young Master Shang couldn't understand what Wei Wuyin was doing. Did he...cripple himself for this...woman?!

Wei Wuyin didn't bother with Young Master Shang's thoughts and slowly stepped onto the golden lake, using a thin platform of mana to emulate the scene of walking on water. He gazed unblinkingly at the sleeping face of this apple sent by the heavens. This wasn't an apple to him, but an apple tree. Why settle for just a single bite? Could hunger be satiated with a single bite? No-it could never be sated.

Internally, his Yang Source was already regenerating. The Stellar-Paragon Physique was designed to be inexhaustible and capable of handling unimaginable tasks such as a stupendous level of Spiritual Strength, a Mystic-tier Bloodline, a Defiant-sized Solar Star, and four rowdy yet peerless Astral Souls unleashing their full strength.

As long as its quintessential structure wasn't damaged, it could always rejuvenate to its most perfect state.

[LEFT ARM]

Karmic Luck Value: Sealed; Bloodline Located - ONGOING ??? COMPLETED Rite of Sin.

First Calamity: --

His left arm's tattoo began to undergo a drastic shift, rearrangement, and expansion of characters. The first four words and the last three words gave birth to a nostalgic memory. He had once cursed Heaven, Hell, and the First Sinner all in one breath all those years ago.

Rite of a Sinner, Successful. Calculating karmic ties; Initiating karmic bonding; fusing Primordial Seed of Sin: Lust with True Soul, flawless compatibility.

Karmic Luck Value: Sealed; COMPLETED Rite of Sin ??? Unsealed.

First Calamity: Awakened.

With a faint grin, Wei Wuyin felt the entire world swirl about as his body and soul were being transported...

...back to Hell.

[Author's Note: Ah sh*t. Here we go again.]