Paragon of Sin

"Holy Summit?" Ming Shufeng slowly asked. In the Zephyr Plains, she was adorned in a green-colored tight-fitting outfit that accentuated her curves, displaying her slender body to the world. At the moment, gusts were blowing against her, sending her golden hair fluttering in the wind. A truly picturesque moment.

San Yongli was garbed in a cloak that hid her features, and even the blowing wind failed to reveal even a hint of her curves or bodily features. As if angered by its inability, a gust blew her way, yet she remained entirely unaffected. 

They both floated a few inches above the Zephyr Plains grass, not touching the ground. Just a few hundred miles behind them, the hue of violet was present. They had just left the Noxious Seas, venturing into the Zephyr Plains. 

"Are we going?" Ming Shufeng asked. They had received some information from a still-active docking station. The news of a Holy Summit held in the Zephyr Plains by the Holy Son of Grandgale, who they knew as the True Elemental Emperor, was being widely discussed. 

A few weren't certain if the Season of Devils had truly ended, but this announcement had verified this development. The people were all excited, no longer feeling pressured to leave their homes, and some elven tribes had even left the clash in the Central Regions, returning to their cities. Without the impending threat of death, no one felt in a rush to claim a spot in the Central Region.

There were even negotiations being held among the world's powerhouses, deciding how to divide the treasured locations. A few even suggested a healthy division of resources based on competitions amongst juniors. Down the line, perhaps entire resource deposits will be determined by the relative strength of geniuses.

Of course, this was to prevent war amongst top-tier experts, devastating the world. If it wasn't for the Season of Regression suppressing Realmlords and Timelords, this continent might've suffered irreparable damage already.

San Yongli's crimson eyes flashed a radiant glow. "What do you see?" She didn't answer Ming Shufeng, but asked this question instead.

Ming Shufeng started, almost forgetting she was a Heavenly Seer. With a faint smile, she started to perform a series of handseals as her fate force released a heavenly hymn within her, forming a thin divine ring that circulated around her body like a planetary ring. She emitted a heavenly light, instilling a sense of awe in all who saw it. Her ocean-blue eyes erupted in rays of heavenly light.

This change only lasted for a few minutes before the scene vanished, returning to normal. When it all ended, Ming Shufeng was frowning with colorless eyes. Her cultivation had experienced leaps and bounds of advancement, so her ability to commune with the heavens and glimpse into its Intent was far greater than before.

"..." San Yongli waited for her to digest the details of her vision.

After an hour, Ming Shufeng finally breathed out a relaxed breath as her brows unfurrowed, her colorless eyes regained their gorgeous blue. "Three Children Gather; One Watches Afar. The Outsiders Supports; The Insiders Clash. End of Regression; War Abound!" Those words were said in a strange, holy tone.

San Yongli frowned, digesting these visions and their cryptic meanings. But when she matched it with the events detailed in the Book of Heaven's Path, she nodded. This matched. 

According to the Book of Heaven's Path, the True Elemental Emperor proposes a Holy Summit. He meets two youths from the Aeternal Sky Starfield, similarly Holy Children. They discuss unclear things, deciding to act against the Ascendant Emperor of Neo-Dawn in the end. 

War is unleashed, and the powerhouses of the continent just watch as three Temples fight one. The Ascendant Emperor of Neo-Dawn loses the Badges of Divinity, and the True Elemental Emperor obtains them, including the other two from the Holy Children. He becomes a Chosen of the True Element Sect, where he starts as the lowest Chosen and slowly begins his monumental charge to the top.

This was a crucial point that had changed in the modified Book of Heaven Path, and this was written long before the other Holy Children was determined, so she felt confident in this outcome.

The only issue was that she couldn't gain any benefits from their clash. As San Yongli pondered this point, Ming Shufeng caught her breath. "San Yongli?"

Breaking away from her thoughts, she replied: "We'll watch and wait, for now." 

-----

The Sky Zephyr Temple was as majestic and large as the True Desolate Temple, except for one detail: It floated in the sky. There was no foundation of a Sky Layer, just a casual floating with the utmost stability. It was more than a thousand meters high.

Similar to the True Desolate City, there was a city below. The city inhabited those of both races, humans and elves equally, and they lived in harmony. While at first glance the scenery seemed to match the True Desolate Temple, there was a faint air that gave one a strange feeling.

If one looked closer, inspected the lively members of the city below, they would find the humans with bright smiles, comfortable homes, and brimming with energy. But the elves, they were not of the same level. It was as if they were lower members of this society, their houses not as large, as complex.

If one ignored this strange detail that might be overlooked by the casual observer, they would discover numerous holes embedded in various locations in the city. These holes erupted with geysers of air that twisted and turned, entering another hole elsewhere in the city.

There were humans riding these geysers of air to travel throughout the city. No elves, however, could be seen. There were jets of constant airstreams that touched the temple above, allowing travel to and from the temple. 

"Big Sister Qing! Come, play with us!" The energetic and lively sounds resounded from a group of elven children, Verdant Forest Elves, exulted at the appearance of a young elven woman. 

She was extremely beautiful, as if she was sculpted from the purest hands of the world, conforming to the natural environment to the greatest imaginable limit. Her slender figure, radiantly emerald-eyes, and sleek, long, and straight emerald-hair gave her an exceptional warm and gentle appearance. 

Qing Qiumu smiled, not refusing. She played with these elven children who were roughly eight to ten years of age, laughing and joking as she felt. Her bright and genuine smile dazzled those who watched, with many struck dumb by her extraordinary looks. A few of these children blushed, likely experiencing their first feelings of blooming love.

After a period, she was defeated by their endless energy as she playfully left with a reluctant expression. When she finally escaped their clutches, her smile remained until she had left their sights. It slowly fell, her emerald-colored eyes swept the airstreams above with a cold light. 

After leaving the Desolate Lands, she sought to see the elves said to look like her. When she arrived, she had met the lingering Verdant Forest Elves who hadn't traveled to the Central Regions. They had similarities to her, but they weren't exactly like her. Still, they were all accepting, friendly, and united.

But she later learned the truth. A truth that even the Sky Zephyr Temple and its 'holy' members allowed and participated in. When she recalled her own past, her eyes grew colder. Unlike the other elves, Verdant Forest Elves had a unique essence blood that was useful in enhancing longevity of cultivators and nourishing herbs.

When cultivators reach a new stage or realm of cultivation, their lifespans are increased by a specific amount. This specific amount is highly dependent on the cultivator's foundation, cultivation, and innate energies. You could say their cultivation base refined their lifeforce, allowing that lifeforce to last for longer before its eventual depletion.

Wood Cultivators were renowned for their extremely long lives, so the weakness of a weak offensive, defensive, and speed of their powers were supplemented by longer lives. The average Astral Core Realm Cultivator at the first stage, the World Sea Phase, had roughly a thousand years of life. 

She had nearly two thousand.

Of course, she was an abnormality amongst Wood Cultivators, but an additional hundred or two years was still extremely impactful. A mortal would give anything or could do unspeakable things to extend their lives and prime state for ten or twenty years, let alone cultivators.

Furthermore, this would continue to become greater as they ascend further and further along their cultivation.

The inhabitants of this world, specifically the Zephyr Plains, used these Verdant Forest Elves' essence blood to refine their bodies, to extend their lifespans! 

Those eyes of hers that rarely displayed hate, showed a strong, extremely terrifying killing intent.