Paragon of Sin

The female greeter's directions were truly spot-on. It took merely a few glances and steps to arrive before a counter that reached upto the torso of the average man. Wei Wuyin's swept his gaze over this area casually and noticed a sign hung above. It read: "Jin Hao - Alchemic Appraiser". 

"Jin Hao…" Quietly muttering, Wei Wuyin saw a skinny old man with a dark-grey beard and hair on the other side. He was sitting in a grandfather rocking chair that squeaked everytime it leaned back. Dressed in a set of dull grey robes, he seemed to be an ordinary old man that didn't release a speck of aura, but Wei Wuyin's instincts told him that this man was exceptional and dangerous.

Casually leaning on the counter, Wei Wuyin noticed that the old man was having a snooze, his eyes closed and his mouth slightly opened. "Alchemic Appraiser, Jin Hao!" Wei Wuyin wasn't polite, directly shouting at the man.

"Jus...lik...dat..." The old man trembled awake while mumbling something nearly indistinct, but felt perverted. After the old man gained his bearings, he looked around and a glint in his eyes seemed ready to rip, shred, and murder someone's existence. 

Wei Wuyin coughed loudly, causing the dull grey eyes of the old man to focus on him instantly, but he didn't feel any fear at this piercing gaze that seemed to contain injustice and grievance. 

"I'm here to submit products." Wei Wuyin's words and intent was clear.

The old man was taken aback, looking around for a second as if unsure if this was the right place he slept. When he finally realized that he hadn't been kidnapped and placed elsewhere as a prank, he turned towards Wei Wuyin. He said with a shrug of his shoulders, "You have the wrong place, little boy. This is the Alchemic Dao Palace at sixth level, only Lord and King Alchemists are accepted here."

Wei Wuyin didn't feel offended. He understood that many forwent the opportunity to formulate a Alchemic Natal Soul, thus they had to cultivate the Dao of Alchemy with second-hand means. This disparity kept the Alchemic skills ceiling rather low, the age to skill ratio quite high, but it was acceptable in the end. After all, choosing this path meant forgoing the ability to cultivate according to the Heavenly Daos. 

As for him, while he had an Alchemic Natal Soul, it was concealed. Therefore, he was seen as a thirty-seven year old alchemist based on his life aura and outfit. To those of this old man's cultivation, that would be an easy thing to determine, and it was rightfully to assume he wasn't an exception.

He didn't bother explaining and directly retrieved his token and placed it on the counter, pushing it to the edge so the old man could see. Clearly the old man was curious as he eyed Wei Wuyin, but he was also lazy. He waved his hand from his chair and the token flew into his palm.

"Hmm...Sky Noble?" His eyebrows lifted, looking at Wei Wuyin. Then, he said something that took Wei Wuyin completely by surprise: "You have silver eyes."

Wei Wuyin didn't expect that comment and merely responded succinctly, "I do."

"..." The old man was quiet for a moment and looked at the token. He finally got up from his chair and stretched for a moment, causing his bones to creak and crack. 

Pop!

A particularly satisfying pop resounded as he reached his lower back and let out a moan of relief. He walked over to the counter slowly and pushed the token across the counter towards Wei Wuyin. "If you get a chance, you should visit the Martial King's Dao Pavillion. There, you'll find a Cultivation Method called Celestial Eyes of Spiritual Divinity. You should cultivate it if you can, and if you can't, then that's fine too."

Wei Wuyin frowned slightly. Celestial Eyes of Spiritual Divinity? That's quite an arrogant and lofty name.

Ornn!

A sharp pain stung his right arm, his eyes lifted his right sleeve as he saw the shifting characters. While he still didn't visually understand these characters, he knew what they meant. It was still a strange feeling to know yet not know.

Karmic Luck Value: 585.7→565.7.

First Calamity: Survived - 7/7.

Second Calamity: Suppressed - 40 Years.

'A full twenty?' He had lost twenty karmic luck in a single moment. He tried to sense the changes and influence of the Heavenly Daos, but it didn't exist. What did that mean? While he was ignorant of its particular sensation before, he was quite familiar with its distinct touch now. It felt like an echo in the mind, leading one to a compass which led to something else.

As he thought this, the old man walked forward and said, "Boy, what would you like me to appraise?" 

Wei Wuyin recalled that there was a time where he hadn't felt anything personally, and that was when it was used to influence someone else. Did the Heavenly Daos just influence this old man to do something that would present me with an opportunity? Was it something he wouldn't ordinarily do? 

Wei Wuyin's frown deepened. 

He decided to not hold anything back. If this man was judging him and would offer him an opportunity based on his skills, then he had to bet it all. He couldn't determine this old man's cultivation, so he might as well. Without hesitation, he brought out four seventh-grade products, of four different product types—Pill, Pellet, Paste, and Elixir. They were stored in clear jade bottles that were tinted in color by their unique auras.

The old man frowned slightly as he looked at Wei Wuyin curiously. From the moment those bottles appeared, he saw their types. Typical alchemists generally had one type of specialization, not four. This was quite peculiar.

In fact, dividing your time between products was ill-advised. Most Alchemists were given exceptional titles based on their specialties, such as the Diamond Pill King or Yin Elixir Empress followed by their surname. This would look like: Yin Elixir Empress Xiao, a female Alchemic Emperor.

"The young are truly rash," the old man commented aloud before picking up a bottle. It contained a seventh-grade pill called the Sky World Pill. It was peak-tier amongst the seventh-grade, but the pill itself was merely low-quality. Wei Wuyin hadn't experimented enough to improve its quality, but it was his highest tiered pill concocted thus far.

According to its description, it can infuse the Sea of Consciousness with a flood of unique mana that sharpens one's senses towards it. This unique mana would temporarily change one's senses and perception of the world, allowing them to observe and analyze the ambient mana of the world.

This state was similar to enlightened or a short-cut to understanding and comprehending the world's mana to grasp its profoundness. Unlike the Qi Condensation Realm, which is often referred to as a Realm of Accumulation, the Astral Core Realm required comprehension of the next stage to ascend, and then one needed to overcome the subsequent Astral Tribulation to finalize the advancement.

The Sky Ruler Phase, or otherwise the Second Stage of the Astral Core Realm, required one to grasp the world's mana, to feel it, to sense it to another level from the Sixth Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm, the False Reality Phase. This pill essentially guaranteed this state, and unless one was a complete idiot, it would be able to create a Sky Ruler!

"...This is?!" The old man clearly recognized this pill and his expression vividly shifted into one suffused with shock. "A Sky World Pill?!" His heart was racing, and it was so loud that one could hear it.

He carefully withdrew the pill and rolled it in his palm. After feeling its unique aura emissions, he shouted: "This is truly that pill!" 

Not even looking at Wei Wuyin, he hurriedly checked the three other products. "A Yin Nether Tears? That's a high-tier elixir capable of enhancing a female's innate yin energies, strengthening their sea of consciousness, and heightening perception! This can alter female talent entirely!

"The Boundless Rejuvenating Paste? This...this can heal most external injuries, and it can even heal hidden injuries that may affect battle prowess or cultivation efforts!" This was a paste that emanated an immense amount of life energies suited for healing. It was entirely white but shone like there was colorful glitter embedded into it.

"The Volcanic End Pellet?!" Besides the first two, the paste and pellet were merely low-tier, but their grades were peak-quality. 

Wei Wuyin observed his startled expressions and felt that he had done the best he could. In truth, these were his best products to date with the most practical and widely wanted effects. For example, the Volcanic End Pellet can cause injury to a lower-phase Astral Core Realm expert if used right, and if used absolutely right, it can even kill one!

The old man stared at these products for a moment, his eyes returned to their usual calm. This shift was quite quick and unexpected, and he returned each product to their respective bottle. He turned his gaze to Wei Wuyin and those dull grey eyes of his were in a haze. 

"Silver eyes...ha...haha...hahahaha…" He started to slowly laugh until it became full-blown. His eyes were smiling, and with a grin, he said to Wei Wuyin, "I'll take these products and mark in your token that you've earned 10,000 Imperial Merits." He waved his hand and the token that Wei Wuyin had yet to retrieve returned to his palm. A flash of light later, he threw it towards Wei Wuyin.

When Wei Wuyin found it, his eyes twitched a little. His token was no longer the standard silver, but a golden. Furthermore, the title "Sky Noble" had changed to "Heavenly King" with a spiritual mark that stated his Imperial Merits. 

"Were the products worth ten thousand merits?" He asked with a bit of hesitation. It hadn't said this in a way of someone looking a gift horse in the mouth, but moreso as someone who felt cheated. A high-tier sixth-grade product was worth a single point, but a low-tier seventh-grade product was worth at least a thousand merits, and this was the lowest quality of those products. Let alone a peak-tier product.

He should have a few thousand more, no? Maybe ten thousand morem

The old man frowned and waved him off, "Little fellow, you've turned in your products. There's a rule, you can only earn ten thousand Imperial Merits maximum a year."

"I…"

Woosh!

Before Wei Wuyin could protest, feeling somewhat cheated, his vision flashed and he arrived outside the Alchemic Dao Palace. Calmly looking around, he shrugged a little. Did his luck backfire? After all, just the existence of those pills were enough to give him a Heavenly King status. He was just waiting to take the examination to become an officially recognized Alchemic King.

'I guess not all lucky chances can lead to better gains.' Wei Wuyin shrugged, whistling and calling forth to pegasus as he rode off. He hadn't noticed that no one was outside the entrance as he did, his mind focused on his plans of establishing a faction.

-----

After Wei Wuyin was sent off, the male and female greeter arrived in a fuss. They saw the old man at the corner and directly ignored him, they looked left and right to find sight of the young woman or at least the new Sky Noble of their mountain. Finding him was the same as finding her.

The old man yawned, returning to his rocking chair and started to sleep again.

Step!

At that moment, a middle-aged man with a proud expression arrived adorned in a luxurious alchemist robe with decorative images of pills made from golden fabric. He arrived at the corner and ignored the old man, he turned his gaze towards the two greeters who seemed to be scanning the world with ill-Intent.

"What are you two doing? Stop littering around my work station." He casually tried to shoo them away.

The two greeters saw the middle-aged man and birthed respectful expressions and postures. "Apologies Goldlight Pill Lord Jin, we're simply looking for a customer that came over." The young girl explained with a tense expression.

Jin Hao was a renown individual amongst the disciples and elders and was a high-level Alchemic Lord. If he developed ill-feelings towards them, they'd lose their jobs and more. It totally wasn't worth it.

Jin Hao swept his gaze carelessly, "No one's here. So leave." He didn't say anything more as he stood at the counter and simply waited while standing. 

The two greeters frowned, but didn't dare talk back. They left with slow footsteps. The male greeter sent a spiritual transmission: "Are you sure you gave him the right directions?"

The female greeter truly thought she gave him the right directions. Could she have made a mistake or was he directionally challenged? In any case, they had to find him and then that thief! With hot vigor, she increased her walking speed.