Paragon of Sin

The explosion resulting from the detonation of a high-level void vessel was unprecedentedly powerful, rivaling the self-detonation of an Original Magistrate's Mystic Core, a true-blue Heavenly Saint! Without extraordinary means or great luck, surviving was but a distant dream, especially when one was at the very center of the explosion.

The interim captain had survived due to an overwhelming obsession with collecting defensive treasures that could passively activate. On his path to cultivation, he had been the target of many assassinations due to offending a terrifying organization, and so his paranoia fueled his desire for such protective means.

However, the crew of the Easy Spring was not fortunate to possess such excessive means. With the internal eruption, they bore the brunt of the explosion, and their entirety was eradicated, including their souls, allowing their True Souls to enter the process of samsara instantly. Without an existence that can distort such a natural process of the heavens or exert enough power to reverse causality, they were as dead as dead could ever be.

Unfortunately for them, the War Talisman, or the Nexus War Flag, had the power of the Law of War, and the natural, heavenly law of claiming spoils of the Battlefield. Wei Wuyin was the direct causality of their deaths, so their scattered souls, Mystic Souls, and powdery Mystic Cores were all within its domain. Even such a violent demise was not enough to prevent the Nexus War Flag from claiming its spoils.

Wei Wuyin briefly inspected the Nexus War Flag. Based on the fluctuations in terms of quality and quantity, Wei Wuyin could tell that he had gathered tens of thousands of new Spirits of War, and the interim captain was the brightest claim of them all.

'Only four World Emperors,' Wei Wuyin remarked thoughtfully. While the brightest of the newly claimed spoils in terms of potential was the interim captain, the others were welcomed additions. While he still needed to provide the resources and energy to nourish their Spirit of War's body and reclaim their original cultivation bases. The only benefit was that he wouldn't need to worry much about their path of cultivation until their former peak and with enough resources, he could elevate them back to their peak with abnormal quickness.

After estimating his immediate gains, Wei Wuyin vanished from the Dark Void with a shadowy flicker of his body. The ambient space within tens of millions of miles was heavily disturbed, so Spatial Shifting was abnormally difficult for all involved, especially those within the Sky Heart Galaxy's affected region.

WHOOSH!

Roughly two million miles away from the explosion, a black and golden spherical object blasted through the Dark Void with an unsettling speed. The surface of the spherical object was hairy as if it were fur, and there were signs of missing patches of fur that leaked bits of scarlet blood all around it.

Suddenly, the ambient mana that was heavily disturbed by the explosion began to gather around the spherical object hurtling through the Dark Void and started to rapidly solidify with extraordinary speed, transforming into a net of mana that tethered itself to certain points of the Dark Void and held firm. The net stretched for thousands of miles and elongated for tens of thousands of miles before growing taut and immediately halting the spherical object's momentum.

The manipulation of mana was on the level of Mana Dominance! Moreover, it was intrinsically high level and was reinforced by physical power emanating from the sphere. Eventually, after stopping, the sphere wiggled as the fur regenerated until the furry sphere was flawless.

With an abnormal speed, it began to recede and shrink until a shirtless, hulking figure with metallic leggings and shoes revealed itself. Within his bulging arms and large hands was an alabaster-skinned young girl whose expressions carried hints of terrifying fear.

"Did the Easy Spring explode?" Alchemic Saint White Sky asked with a quivering voice as she felt a brief sensation of death. If not for her Dao Protector, Martial Overlord Tigerheart, she would have been obliterated. Unlike the interim captain who had a habit of expending exorbitant amounts of his wealth on excessive one-time defensive treasures to the point it was obsessive, even a Mystic Overlord would find it difficult to one-shot him, she didn't have numerous passive-activated defensive treasures.

She had one-a high-grade Mystic-World talisman, capable of tanking a full-powered blow from a Mystic Overlord. The value of that talisman was enough to buy a stellar region or two, and it had a spatial component that would send her far away, but the hectic explosion had disrupted space and made it impossible to activate.

And that protective talisman shattered almost instantly. The point-blank detonation of a Heavenly Saint was not insignificant at all, and the Easy Spring's core contained a considerably greater quantity of energy than an ordinary Heavenly Saint could ever have, hence why the explosion's range was so far-reaching!

Martial Overlord Tigerheart heavily frowned with his thick eyebrows. He had expended a considerable amount of mystic power and his injuries might seem to have healed, but they were very, very severe. Given the smallest amount of time he had to react, he could only choose to protect Alchemic Saint White Sky or erect a Mystic Ward-he chose the former. Additionally, if not for her protective treasures buying enough time for him to engulf her small frame, she would have suffered significant damage as an alchemist! They didn't have the strongest foundation for defensive or offensive means!

If her skin wasn't so white, most would see that Alchemic Saint White Sky's complexion was ghastly pale from fear. She hurriedly brought out her non-passive defensive armaments, and her body was enveloped in white-colored armor from head to toe that perfectly fit her petite form by design. This was a peak Mystic-World grade defensive armor that could resist the imposing power of a Mystic Overlord and even a Sage for a while. Then, and only then, was she able to relax her thunderous heartbeats.

"What happened?" She asked Mystic Overlord Tigerheart as she tried to look for the others in the Dark Void. She knew the crew was all dead given the extent of that explosion. She wanted to find Sage Springfield. He had the highest cultivation base and was a true Enlightened Sage, a peak Ascended being. She would only feel safe after finding him.

"Someone detonated the core of the Easy Spring," Overlord Tigerheart explained as his tiger eyes inspected the Dark Void. Where were the others? He could tell that they all got blasted away, and despite being so close, when two objects blown away in slightly different directional angles got further away in a straight line, the distance between those objects would grow as well.

Even if they started near each other, as they got sent flying back further and further, they were likely hundreds of thousands if not millions of miles away from each other in unpredictable directions. With the explosive waves and energy disturbing space, it made it difficult to use Ocular Spiritual Spells or Spiritual Sense to gather any sort of information.

"How?!" Alchemic Saint White Sky asked anxiously. Easy Spring was Sage Springfield's void vessel and they were all present. Could they have tampered with the ship before they arrived? Thinking up to this point, her pupils constricted as realization dawned on her.

!

"The Neo-Dawn Alchemic Saint?!" Her suspicions resonated with Overlord Tigerheart's thoughts as well. It only made sense given the fact that he had left the area and entered the Sky Heart Galaxy. They had fallen for that bastard's scheme! Teng Jiangwen and this Neo-Dawn Alchemic Saint might be working in tandem!

"Should we run, Tiger?" Sage Springfield was likely the target. Given the fact that this Neo-Dawn Alchemic Saint had a developed lineage, he might have recruited multiple Sages to target Sage Springfield after he suffered injuries. Since he wasn't seen, he could already be in conflict in something like an independent and isolated space such as a Shell World created by the Shell World Pearl.

This was the best chance to get away.

But Overlord Tigerheart thought differently. If this Neo-Dawn Alchemic Saint gathered Sages to attack, he wouldn't leave any loose ends. And given this premeditated nature of things, there would be at least three Sages and something to prevent them from escaping. He was considering finding Sage Springfield and hopefully relying on him to turn the situation around rather than walk into the edges of a cage.

As if sensing Overlord Tigerheart's unease and disagreement with her suggestion, Alchemic Saint White Sky hurriedly said: "I can negotiate for our lives if the situation demands it." Her words brought some comfort to Overlord Tigerheart, but it wasn't enough to settle all his unease with this unexpected situation.

These damn violent fluctuations made it difficult to discern any Shell Worlds established or locate anything's aura beyond a certain point, and he didn't want to move around recklessly and get ensnared in some Sage-level array.

Alchemic Saint White Sky's anxiety kept increasing with each passing picosecond. She wasn't adept at strategic thinking in terms of battles and conflict resolution. The majority of her attention and talent was focused on the Alchemic Dao and developing her wealth, prestige, and faction. She left all that to those more capable than her, such as Tiger. Still, she wanted to be useful.

"Tiger, how about we-"

BOOSH!

Alchemic Saint White Sky's voice was cut off by Overlord Tigerheart pressing his foot against a small platform of solidified mana and kicking off directly vertically! He moved with such suddenness that Alchemic Saint White Sky yelped with horror.

BOOSH!!

BOOSH!!

Overlord Tigerheart stomped his feet and explosively moved tens of thousands of miles with each stomp like a pouncing tiger while holding the Alchemic Saint White Sky. His expression was dark and gloomy as he moved! No! As he dodged!

BOOSH!!

He was dodging!

Alchemic Saint White Sky was unable to sense anything, but the urgency with each Overlord Tigerheart held her and moved, even the bulging veins of his legs and arms were indicative of him pushing himself beyond his limits.

Suddenly, he performed a front flip, pulled back his legs, kicked off as if drop-kicking the space, and propelled himself in an entirely different direction!

Alchemic Saint White Sky was holding tightly. However, she felt a drop of hot liquid plop on her face. She opened her eyes and noticed a nasty, bone-deep gash on Tiger's right cheek. He was gritting his teeth in pain as blood leaked like a river. He didn't stop however, rushing violently about, twisting and kicking off from many angles, and ping-ponged across the Dark Void without holding back any of his mystic power.

"Tiger..." She felt a wave of terror engulf her heart alongside deep concern. The veins on Tiger's neck were becoming increasingly prominent. It was clear his injuries might have been settled on the surface, but his body, meridians, and such were damaged and pushed to their limits. Not even a Mystic Overlord can take a point-blank self-detonation of a Heavenly Saint and walk away scot-free.

"Lady White Sky, don't panic." Overlord Tigerheart said through his gritted teeth, his voice abnormally strained. Alchemic Saint White Sky's heart pounded violently to the point she could hear it through her ears.

PSSSHH!

She saw another nasty gash appear on his arm and the sound of metal being scraped. Her entire body trembled as she felt a power impact her armor. She was aghast.

Suddenly, Tiger spun a full 180° and a torrential splash of blood erupted from his back. She saw a river of his blood flow outwards as he growled with an animalistic ferocity, but he never once stopped moving as he kicked off again at faster speeds.

She couldn't see but she would be an idiot to not understand that they were under attack and she was being targeted! Tiger was protecting her!

"I..." She found herself stifled and breathless. It was infuriating. However, she was still an Original Magistrate! She hurriedly brought out a blood-red pellet and looked at Tiger with resolved eyes. "Send me into your Internal World and take this. Then, retaliate!" She refused to just be a burden and die. As for negotiating for her life? If this was premeditated, then this action of targeting her was enough to reveal that the person knew of her identity and status, and was still trying to kill her!

There would be no negotiation! She might look like a child, but she was not helpless nor a child!

Overlord Tigerheart sensed the aura from the pellet and knew it was the Blood Calamity Pellet, an extremely terrifying, fast-acting, life-saving Mystic-World pellet that could rapidly heal his injuries and elevate his physical power by igniting his refined blood. The effects were greater than typical blood ignition arts and the backlash was lesser as well.

The value was incredible. With this, he would temporarily gain the strength to challenge a Sage! The Dao of Alchemy was wondrous and limitless! He didn't even hesitate to make a choice. He chomped down on the pellet as he flipped to dodge a strike and then sent Alchemic Saint White Sky into his Internal World.

BOOM!!!

Suddenly, his physical aura increased three-fold!

ROAR!!!

With a tiger-like bellow, the world's flow of mana for hundreds of thousands of miles ceased motion and the violent energy fluctuations scattered from its power. Despite being in the Dark Void, the soundwaves defied logic and pierced through space itself.

A richly blood-scented sanguine aura of savage energy enveloped his hulking body as he grew three sizes larger, his musculature hardened, nasty gashes healed in the blink of an Ascended's eye, and his teeth elongated within his mouth into sharp tiger fangs. Those tiger eyes of his locked on to a specific location. After scattering the violent residual fluctuations, he was capable of finding his attacker!

Wei Wuyin's form appeared a few hundred miles away. His silver eyes contained only calm. His gait was incomparably relaxed. He seemed to have just walked out of a garden and into his own home. The ease of his demeanor was unnerving.

"So you're the one sent to deal with me?" Overlord Tigerheart was a little surprised that only a single person was revealed after his roar, expecting to sniff out a few Mystic Overlords or a Sage. Moreover, he couldn't quite determine the strength of this cultivator due to his aura which seemed as vast and bottomless as the void itself. But his instincts told him this person was dangerous!

As for his appearance being exactly the same as described by the interim captain as the Neo-Dawn Alchemic Saint? He immediately dismissed that and considered him as a Dao Protector acting as a proxy to hide the saint's true identity.

Still operating on the assumption of this being a premeditated, calculated plan, Overlord Tigerheart readied himself for combat and the unexpected. He could only pray that Sage Springfield could resolve his situation and come immediately for the sake of Alchemic Saint White Sky.

Meanwhile, Wei Wuyin eyed Overlord Tigerheart up and down. To think his first Mystic Overlord opponent would be a Martial Cultivator. Moreover, his physical energy seemed to have been bolstered to levels beyond that by an external power.

As for Sage Springfield?

Wei Wuyin could sense him hiding using a heavenly treasure, inspecting the surroundings. Clearly, he was under a similar assumption as Overlord Tigerheart and he wouldn't reveal himself so easily to be targeted by a swarm of Sages lying in wait. This allowed Wei Wuyin to take his time with each one. But if they did act together, it wouldn't make any difference to him.

He took a step forward.

DRACONIC TRANSFORMATION!!