Paragon of Sin

A chaotic trembling reverberated beneath his feet as a unique rhythm of the collapsed pieces of the Tree of Eden smashed into the earth. An utter cataclysmic wave of dust and loose rocks formed like an oceanic wave after an earthquake.

He could see the dust cloud approach at speeds that left him bewildered. Before he could even garner a reaction, him, who stood tens of miles away, was battered by the resulting clouds of dust and dirt. He didn't even bother shielding himself as he simply felt the force from the collapse.

The quaking of the earth lasted several minutes before it ceased. He didn't hear any screams or see any rays of light soar away from the destruction. All soon subsided into silence.

He felt a distinct lack of life.

He watched millions of lives end in mere minutes.

"..."

Wei Wuyin wasn't someone with a saint's conscience and felt a need to blame himself for matters like this. After all, while he was partially responsible, the situation could've happened with anyone.

Not to mention, even if he did tell all those people the circumstances of what happened, would they believe him? Who knows? The Godlord might have locked him up and searched his memories. If that happened, he would've definitely either been a retard or died alongside them.

Pause for a moment and think what would happen if they did believe him, could they evacuate millions of people in the span of an hour? The majority of which were low-leveled cultivators or mortals.

Absolutely not.

Therefore, he only felt it was a pity that the Tree of Eden felt that this was necessary. However, when he recalled its memories, even he felt some hatred for humans, their irresponsibility, and penchant for abusing things they consider beneath them. When they discovered the tree had gained a mind, they enslaved it for generations and forced it to help them.

That was incredibly selfish.

He couldn't help but think if the Scarlet Solaris Mountain had similar thoughts. Did a mountain or every plant have memories as vivid as the Tree of Eden or was it just a special circumstance due to it forming a mind of its own?

When he recalled those memories, he felt that the incident of blood splashing on it as a sapling was why and how it gained a mind. Whoever bled must've had an incredible bloodline to give a tree sentience. At that moment, it seemed like it gained an intelligence, and as time passed, it questioned things around it and watched intently through a unique form of perception.

He looked at the destruction in the distance and sat down. He was going to wait for the crane to return. If it didn't, then its death was fated.

He sighed as he inspected himself. Due to the sequence of events and unique circumstances, he now had three Hearts of Qi: Divine Heart of Elemental Qi, Divine Heart of Saber Qi, and Alchemic Heart of...wait what?

He frowned. The third Heart of Qi was...missing?!

He started to panic. With haste, he searched his dantian deeply, trying to find his third formed Heart of Qi!

He found nothing.

"I…" he was speechless. He tried to recall the events.

He knew that, from his understanding of time gauged from his memories, he was thirty-six years old. He had spent over seven years studying the Alchemic Dao in the Eden Earth Sect, practicing the signature Eden Creation Method. It incorporated top-tier refining, concoction, and creation techniques for alchemy.

He had over one thousand and thirty-one recipes of pills, three hundred and ninety pastes, eight hundred and seventy-seven elixirs, and one hundred and eight pellets in his mind. They included the very core of the Eden Earth Sect's legacy.

According to his memories, due to his Alchemic Heart of Qi and natural talent in alchemy, he had risen quickly through the Eden Earth Sect. He had even met the Sect Leader, and was given personal instruction from him.

He had fashioned top-tier pills, pellets, elixirs, and pastes for the sect. His former name was quite well-known as even the surrounding sects wished to meet and exchange pointers with him.

Supposedly, he had engaged in several high-level competitions amongst alchemists and always placed in the top three. Someone had even tried to kill him, but his tempered body was far too difficult to handle. After all, with his body alone, he could face Mortal Gods. This wasn't something that could be dismissed by his lack of 'self'.

He had entered the roots of the Tree of Eden for training as it contained a deep wood energy, and they wanted him to birth wood qi, but he couldn't do so. The reason was simple: All the wood energy would subtly be absorbed by the Divine Heart of Elemental Qi to help recover itself.

While both of his Hearts of Qi had been restored, they remained dormant and in hiding. Even if the previous 'him' tried to control them, it couldn't. After all, they were connected to one of his 'his' two minds, not its.

Since he devoured the other self's mind, he now had the ability to control all three Hearts of Qi. While he was still only two minds merged, he had devoured countless smaller 'selves'.

Giving a deep sigh, he felt completely out of tune with his body. It's been ten years since he'd had full control, and many things had happened since then. It was like he watched others live his life in his body. It was horrifying!

Even if he lost his third Heart of Qi, it was fine. As long as he was himself.

Bop!

Just as he thought that, he felt a smashing sensation in his head. His eyes widened as he grew horrified. His first thoughts were that he would be sealed again, so he hastily entered his sea of consciousness, within his Mind's Eye, and felt the situation with absolute caution.

"What?!" He exclaimed in shock. In his Mind's Eye, he saw something that shouldn't be there!

His Heart of Qi!

Directly below his mental avatar of a saber, he saw a cyclone of metaphysical qi with a rainbow color rotating calmly. It was far more ghostly looking than any of his other Hearts of Qi.

"A Heart of Qi can exist in one's sea of consciousness? When?!" As he questioned this, he inspected his Heart of Qi and came to an understanding.

"I can't believe it. My Alchemic Heart of Qi seemed to have a unique Qi quality that is similar to the aura of the Tree of Eden. Was it because I absorbed it that the Heart of Qi changed or was it changed by the Tree of Eden unintentionally when it entered my mind or established that runic mark?"

As he pondered this, he sighed. The memories he had allowed him to know that the Tree of Eden did not intend to do this.

Since it had the Tree of Eden's aura and was mind-based, he would call this new Heart of Qi the Alchemic Heart of Eden Qi.

"So...what does this mean for my qi?" As he focused his mind to connect with this new Alchemic Heart of Eden Qi, he suddenly felt a rumble. A strand of qi exited his mind and entered his body at a speed similar to the electrical impulses sent from the brain to the body. It was faster than his other Hearts of Qi by quite a bit.

This qi strand was soon externalized into the air, and he felt that it had an alchemical aura, one suitable for the seven traits of alchemy, and contained a unique mental force.

"My Heart of Qi is normal...but its cultivation base isn't shared by my other Hearts of Qi?" As he thought of that, he realized he would need to raise his cultivation base once more.

Unfortunately, because of the Divine Heart of Elemental Qi quietly absorbing all elemental energies, it couldn't reach the Third Phase of Qi Condensation, Elemental Birth.

However, now that he had regained control over his other hearts, he should be able to use the Divine Heart of Elemental Qi and its pure elemental energies to infuse it with various energies and birth the elements.

He still needed fresh yin and yang energy...however…

He sighed, sitting down and started to cultivate. He was curious how his Divine Heart of Elemental Qi could bestow his other Alchemic Heart of Eden Qi.

He extracted a small portion of elemental energy and tried to send it to his Mind's Eye, but the moment it tried to enter his fleshy brain, his eyes flashed with bright lights and he nearly fainted.

Gritting his teeth, he realized sending pure elemental energy to the brain in such a direct manner was like stabbing it with a needle. It induced horrific pain.

"Of course...elemental energies aren't metaphysical, but a flow of energy. It can't just enter the Mind's Eye. If that's the case, does it mean...my Alchemic Heart of Qi is stuck at the Second Phase of Qi Condensation?" These mutterings caused his heart to drop. If that was the case, that would truly be unfortunate.

"Wait!" His eyes lit up as he started executing the Externalize Heart Qi Method. His Divine Heart of Elemental Qi left his body through his mouth and hovered there. It was lively and pulsated excitement. Wei Wuyin warmly smiled, "Good to see you too."

For some reason, he felt that his spirits had their own consciousness. They were like clones that could deeply communicate with him. With them by his side, he never felt alone.

Wei Wuyin then tried to use the Externalize Heart Qi Method on the Alchemic Heart of Eden Qi. With barely any difficulty, it exited smoothly from his Mind's Eye, leaving from his glabella. When it left, it trembled as it 'faced' the sky, looking at the sun.

The cyclone gave off a sense of melancholy. Wei Wuyin took a deep breath and felt even more so that Eden had influenced it and his spirit somehow. He sent it a thought, and it 'faced' him.

"Let's exchange energies here!" He said, but when the Divine Heart of Elemental Qi sent a strand of elemental energy over, the Alchemic Heart of Eden Qi dodged it swiftly. It floated around, expressing its disapproval of this type of action.

"What's wrong?" Wei Wuyin frowned as he questioned. He realized this Heart of Qi was far more intelligent than the others.

The Alchemic Heart of Eden Qi communicated with him, and he immediately understood. He directed the Divine Heart of Elemental Qi to enter his Mind's Eye. It revealed 'confusion' but didn't refuse. It sped towards his glabella and vanished.

"This!" Wei Wuyin didn't think it would work, but it did! His Heart of Qi was surrounded by Metaphysical Qi, which was both false and true, but moreso, they were constructed from his mind and had ease of access and influence. They could enter and exit as they pleased.

The Alchemic Heart of Eden Qi gave a 'happy' shake and hurriedly entered his Mind's Eye. An exchange of energy immediately occurred. Since the energy wasn't directed towards his brain or flesh, there was no obstruction within his sea of consciousness.

They exchanged energy freely, but it was much slower than before. In fact, the cultivation speed of the Alchemic Heart of Eden Qi was about as fast as his normal refinement speed before he gave birth to two Hearts of Qi.

"I see...this is different as it's true cultivation. It'll take time, so it couldn't just stay outside without protection. This thing is smart." He commented after realizing the awareness of this spirit.

Kree!!

His eyes suddenly opened and he smiled with elation.

"You're alive!"