Paragon of Sin

VOID BREATH!

ROAR!!!

A harsh bellowing roar shook the void, ferocious, savage, domineering, and ravenous. Formless Divinity Soul Light glimmered majestically across his draconic scales.

Sage Springfield's attention was immediately shifted as a sensation of danger impacted his conscious instincts, and his doubtful gaze turned to see a wide-mouthed Wei Wuyin millions of miles away.

"..."His first thought seeing such a stance was a Minor Ascension Art or Martial Art incorporated within a thunderous roar with the intent to affect his spirit or physical body. After all, it rang clearly through the inhospitable vacuum of the Dark Void indicative of its spiritual intensity.

Suddenly, burning sounds erupted around him without any prior indication, causing his expression to change as he inspected his Mystic Ward hidden within the folds of all three dimensions of space for the sake of fending off or noticing any sneak attacks occurring on those layers, a typical tactic used amongst skilled high-level cultivators, especially Sages.

'Burning?'He executed an Ocular-type Spiritual Spell to investigate the area. But he felt...nothing. Not even his Soul Perception caught a glimpse of the origins of this burning. But from his connection with his Mystic Ward, the mystic power used to conjure it was being rapidly incinerated. He felt no heat. He sensed no fluctuations within the void itself.

What the...

He calmly reinforced his Mystic Ward.

When Wei Wuyin was at the Gravity Emission Phase and the peak of the Mark of Mortal Myth, Soldiers of War could acutely sense the Void Flames, but with his current cultivation and achievement, not even Mystic Ascendant Realm experts at the peak of this realm could sense any hint of its existence. If not for Sage Springfield's precautions, he would have been overwhelmed by a swathe of void-burning flames!

Within Wei Wuyin's eyes, however, the Void Flames were a gargantuan deluge of grayish flames that was sweeping imposingly across the Dark Void and all layers of space. With a thought, the Void Flames swirled into a massive tempest with Sage Springfield at the center, besieging him with unprecedented hunger to devour him whole. A literal maelstrom of majestic flames that could easily engulf entire starfields whole!

Yet, none of that was able to breach the cultivated mystic power of Sage Springfield as he performed minor, almost inconsequential reinforcement of his existing Mystic Wards. Moreover, such a wide-range attack was difficult to concentrate on such a small target and was far more useful against hordes of enemies such as an army.

Wei Wuyin ceased his dragon's breath with great dissatisfaction within his gaze. It was frustrating to admit, but Kratos' strength did not lie in its offensive abilities, but in an overwhelmingly strong physical body and elusive tactics such as Void Shifting, Void Images, and Void Concealment.

However, against Sage Springfield, just against any Enlightened Sage that wasn't incompetent or caught by surprise, these abilities were as effective as a marshmallow smacking against a mountain.

"Hmph!"

Kratos could feel Wei Wuyin's dissatisfaction and thoughts as well as realization, but Kratos didn't feel remotely satisfied by that assessment. Wei Wuyin understood where the problem stemmed from, and that was Wei Wuyin's cultivation base and lack of comprehension of the greater profundities of Mysticism.

In its eyes, if Wei Wuyin had Draconic Void Mystic Power, its powers couldn't be so easily nullified by something like Soul Perception! Whether that was true or not, Wei Wuyin didn't know, so he could only set that aside.

'Eden's emotional alteration and emulation didn't work in conjunction with the Eye of Illusion either. Those attuned to their True Souls can't be deceived easily.' Wei Wuyin thoughtfully acknowledged as he began to form hand-seals. This was great information and allowed Wei Wuyin to grasp his limitations.

Eden's and Kratos' combat abilities were ineffective against an Enlightened Sage. If so, then his next move was determined.

Sage Springfield sensed the burning fade gradually as his mystic power corroded its strength. The Mystic Power of a Sage was far beyond the Mystic Power of a Mystic Overlord. Moreover, Sage Springfield was not an ordinary Sage nor simply just an Enlightened Sage. If one were to ask him to gauge his strength across the Utmost Purity Domain, he would confidently place himself firmly within the top ten of all Sages there, perhaps a contender for a solid top five.

Not only did he have three Heavenly Treasures that perfectly accentuated his cultivation base, but he grasped a Minor Authority alongside establishing a 'perfect' foundation during the Mortal Realms and lower stages of the Mystic Realm, achieving an Astral Idol and Domain of Mysticism.

Narrowing his eyes, his ever-present smile remained, and his investigations yielded certain results.

'No one?'

Sage Springfield found not the slightest trace of another Sage in the nearby area or Sky Heart Galaxy, and he had performed extensive exploration of the area with his Celestial Unity Whisk and Soul Perception, all while remaining stationary and focused. Then, his gaze focused on Wei Wuyin's scaly figure.

An exceedingly rare mortal-level existence that killed Teng Jiangwen, a Sage, and then arrived at the Sky Heart Galaxy, announcing themselves with the name of a recent, extraordinary Worldly Saint Alchemist with a proper lineage, luring him here. The insights of Prophetess Bai suggested that an attempt was made to infiltrate the Soul Cycle Array but inevitably failed, but only after a while had passed.

The sabotage of Easy Spring, the ability to shift in the chaotic fluctuations of space, and that invisible attack earlier.

Hasty?

Things begin to connect wondrously and mysteriously as if all the pieces were collectively slamming into his mind, establishing a timeline, motive, and reasoning behind all these strange events.

Within a few moments, he conceived an outrageous idea: 'Initially, the Neo-Dawn Alchemic Saint slayed Teng Jiangwen due to a conflict and stole his ship while somehow learning that something incredible was occurring within the Sky Heart Galaxy and sought to share benefits via peaceful discussion. He inadvertently discovered the Soul Cycle Array and the Galaxy's Galactic Shell's oddity through this person's bloodline abilities, bestial senses, or a sensory-type Heavenly Treasure, investigated and then found out the existence of my Soul-Bound Treasure.

'Realizing the value of the treasure or perhaps he found the properties of the Soul Cycle Array as vile and decided to interfere out of righteousness, regardless of which, he definitely wouldn't leave the treasure unclaimed. So he sought to greedily monopolize the Soul-Bound Treasure but couldn't retrieve it or destroy the array before I arrived. Whatever the case, he changed tactics on the fly and resorted to dastardly sabotage with haste aiming for my and my companions' lives by relying on this aberrant hybrid cultivator's abilities to affect the void, perhaps even hide within it. Unless one is specifically looking for it, even I wouldn't be able to learn of their existence easily.'

'This must be the Dao Protector of that Neo-Dawn Alchemic Saint, and he specializes in bloodline cultivation, creating an unprecedented existence with the essence blood of a True Dragon, or it was simply a lucky encounter that led to finding this aberrant hybrid cultivator.

'If so, then this Neo-Dawn Alchemic Saint must be hiding within the Sky Heart Galaxy hoping this aberrant hybrid cultivator deals with me or perhaps causes me to flee. Unfortunately, and quite clearly, this person was ignorant of the true power of a Sage let alone an Enlightened Sage who's acquired attunement to their True Soul. Otherwise, why waste energy on something that all Enlightened Sages possess-Soul Perception?'

Sage Springfield's intelligence was incredibly high, and while he had incomplete information and internal biases hindering him, he more or less guessed the sequence of events and the motives behind them. Furthermore, he thought of the most critical piece of information!

'That aberrant hybrid cultivator is definitely the alchemist's strongest reliance! Furthermore, his lack of intelligence and experience with fighting genuine Sages suggests that this Neo-Dawn Alchemic Saint is at most at the Original Magistrate or Mystic Overlord level!' His conclusion, while mostly incorrect, was correct on one thing!

Wei Wuyin's best reliance in this world was none other than Wei Wuyin!! And he had no experience fighting Sages, with his knowledge almost shortening at his personalized exposure to the highest level, which has only been Mystic Overlords within the White Abyssal Galaxy. Not only was this his first time fighting a Sage, Sage Springfield was no ordinary Sage!

After coming to this astonishing realization, it was as if all the anxiety within Sage Springfield's chest washed away. He gazed at World Prophetess Bai's location within the Sky Heart Galaxy establishing several formations and arrays with his Soul Perception, he sighed with internal relief. Then, he found an unsteadily weak aura of a Mystic Overlord within the Sky Heart Galaxy and felt that must be the Neo-Dawn Alchemic Saint observing, unaware of his Soul Perception's senses capabilities of honing on him with ease. He marked that person's aura within his heart.

Then, a glint of killing intent flashed as he returned his attention to the aberrant hybrid cultivator! Given his ability to conceal himself and shift even in the chaotic and violent fluctuations of space, if he wanted to prevent any escape opportunities, he had to slay this person first.

While this took time to explain, Wei Wuyin barely finished two hand-seals before he felt the raw, disturbing emotional fluctuation of killing intent and relief. All the tension and anxiety within Sage Springfield had vanished alongside the overwhelming sensation of caution and fear.

Wei Wuyin's heart felt an abnormal chill develop. 'He's set aside his reservations about fighting me all out. What extraordinary means to eliminate the possibility of reinforcements or an ambush. It doesn't seem false either, and given his thoughts were rapid earlier, he must've concluded with a 90% or higher degree of certainty.' Wei Wuyin sighed within his heart as his testing period was forcefully ended.

"Tch!"

King's voice echoed in his mind.

"I know. I know," Wei Wuyin replied as he lowered his hands.

"Ah! But I wanted to try!" Ori cried with a little frustration. Kratos and Eden had an opportunity to launch an offensive, but it was left in the lurch.

Wei Wuyin laughed, "No worries, Ori. You're still going to get a chance. In fact, you all are." With that remark, Wei Wuyin resolved to not die out of arrogant carelessness or some stupidity like testing his various powers. Earlier, Sage Springfield was concentrating less than a tenth of his focus on him while preparing defensively and devoting mental energy to flee against any unexpected abnormalities, so slaying this Enlightened Sage like that was as difficult as cracking a turtle's shell with a baby's fist. This allowed him to act freely without worrying too much about receiving consequences while gauging the means and strength of a Sage, he just had to amplify all potential offensive and defensive by ten-fold to create an estimate.

And with all that, he knew that there was no chance of victory without resorting to his plan earlier or going all-out. So...

Wei Wuyin's eyes became focused to an apex as he interfaced with Little Defiant's soul, grabbing the hilt of his saber, and slowly unsheathing it.

'Ready?'

The replies Wei Wuyin received were a harmonious thrum from each Astral Soul, Little Defiant, and the saber he held-containing Element!

The entire space began to quiver!

Sage Springfield circulated his Mystic Power as he brought out a wooden slave with a sleek shaft and blackened wooden blade that pulsated with the aura of Law! Another Heavenly Treasure! Moreover, as he held it, his Mystic Aura reached unprecedented heights as he readied himself to attack!

But just then, as he was ready to launch a devastating offensive without any words prior, his heart began to palpitate uncontrollably! And his smile, that ever-present smile on his face, was wiped clean off his face!

[Author's Note: will be OH BOY! >=D]