Paragon of Sin

In the void-blank space between the United Source Starfield and Treasured Light Starfield, the union of three mystic-tier forces with a deeply intertwined relationship through their Ascended, their founders, had formed under the banner of the Grand Mortal Sovereign Alchemist that had overturned the conventions of cultivation, its rate and pacing, and redefined what it'll soon mean to be a genius. 

Wei Wuyin handled the matter of the three Ascended, establishing a basic, mutually beneficial agreement between them. He was reluctant to place them under any restriction, refusing to allow them to swear oaths of silence. In his words, it simply wasn't important.

Despite this attitude of his, the three were tactful and swore Mythical Oaths of silence and trust, displaying their convictions to Wei Wuyin. Wu Yu found them quite intelligent despite their greed. As long as they know how to seize an opportunity, their futures will be bright.

Wei Wuyin was helpless before their assertive behavior, allowing them to do as they pleased. However, in this manner, they were unable to pressure Wei Wuyin to swear an oath of a similar restriction. Clearly, their relationship was defined as a lopsided one. 

With them taking every step, Wei Wuyin had truly obtained a few forces at the mystic-tier with very little effort. While the Kun Clan and Vast Cloud Pavilion wasn't solely his, he had their founders under his belt. With sufficient time, he'll drive their cultivation bases upwards and allow them to firmly sit at the top.

For now, their forces were meant to act for his interests. This timely obtaining of their aid will go a long way in any plans he would have in the future. 

Wei Wuyin didn't act immediately. The damages to their bodies were quite extensive. He had learned from Wu Yu that they could use a bit of their cultivation and lifespan to revert the damage, but the cost was not small. This was echoed by the duo, absent Venerable Slayingsword whose body was almost completely destroyed. Without the Ever-Rebirth Pill, he was lost.

Still, the body of a Mystic Ascendant wasn't easy to repair. Wei Wuyin only had the Ever-Rebirth Pill that could work, but that was a full-body replacement, not partial. Therefore, they'll just have to exhaust some of their lifespan.

Curious about this ability, Time Reversion, Wei Wuyin asked Wu Yu about it as the Venerables handled their own subordinates, including the harsh in-fighting for his transmuted wind energies. While shocked by the sudden existence of this pure wind energy, they didn't ask as Wei Wuyin wasn't willing to speak on it. 

They did gather the remaining wind energies with glee. With a quick inspection, they found it incredibly useful and vast, being highly beneficial to wind cultivators. It had to be peak astral-graded wind energies infused with high-level intent aura. They didn't hesitate to gather what they could, distributing it to their subordinates while keeping some for themselves. 

Wu Yu explained Time Reversion as best he could, explaining that it was a form of self-inflicted time manipulation that was born from the fusion of mystic energy, time energy, and spiritual energy. It allowed them to impose a strange type of reversion of events, and while it can heal, it wasn't actually healing. 

The strain of it exhausted the lifespan of the user, noting his damage was so extensive that he had lost two hundred years. Further bringing up his sufferings and losses, still being a little shameless. Furthermore, it can't affect energies or various forces, only physical mass or mental consciousness. Therefore, an Ascended can't just regain all their power after exhausting it. 

It could be used on others, but the cost is typically heavier. Moreover, the stronger the cultivator's body, the weaker their innate time energies, the longer the reversion needed, the greater the exhaustion of energies and lifespan.

Wei Wuyin pondered this heavily. He hadn't understood how that skinny Ascended in the Four Extreme Continent had saved He Yanglei before, but now he did. That was a miraculous life-saving ability. How peculiar yet fantastical. 

When asked if this lifespan can be recovered, Wu Yu had said some of it could be. The lifespan that is exhausted from the body can be restored, but the lifespan of a cultivator's core being, their soul, is reduced by a small margin that can't be easily recovered without the proper resources. 

After asking about a few other abilities of Mystic Ascendants, Wei Wuyin sent Wu Yu to oversee the Ascended, get their information and other details, such as cultivation needs. He needed to make a record of what they needed. However, he emphasized that they should keep it restricted to low-tier, ninth-grade products.

Wei Wuyin didn't wish to spend too much time on Mystic Ascendants when he had others to supply. Their cultivation needs will likely be absolutely horrific. He couldn't imagine supporting four Ascended, genuine ones too. 

Wu Yu, however, told him a bit of information that shook him. According to him, Wei Wuyin had a reserve of wealth sitting in the Golden Life Pavilion's vault. Just waiting for him to claim it. Wu Yu even knew the exact amount, totaling 2,167 Mystic Stones and 665,725 astral stones. This was after the 13.2% deducted from his total earnings for his legal relatives. The Golden Life Pavilion had bestowed Wei Wuyin a sizable amount, absolutely astronomical. 

Some of it was from the entrant fees for both the Grand Demonstration and Golden Auction. After all, the final bid was 1,500 mystic stones. While Sacrificial Bids were a thing, it couldn't cover a little over 2,500 mystic stones. 

Wei Wuyin went into a period of deep contemplation after learning this fact. The value of a mystic stone was equivalent to one million astral stones, so this was not a small number. After Wu Yu told him that most gold-tier forces had the value of less than ten mystic stones, and that ordinary mystic forces in the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region might have upper hundreds to lower thousands, he found this to be a little too expensive. 

Did the Golden Life Pavilion give him a vast majority of the total profits? There should be no way that was ideal. They must certainly wish for him to claim it, or to paint that his value was that high. 

Regardless, the value of those mystic pills that won the auction allowed him to reduce the awe in his heart. He was confident in concocting mystic-rank alchemical products in the future, and when he did, just ten pills on the level of the Mystic-Will Convergence Pill would exceed his total earnings. 

He decided to leave a permitted note for Wu Yu to use his wealth for himself, including to distribute it to the others, such as his new subordinates or the Ascendants. He didn't believe the Golden Life Pavilion would hold the funds if he gave them the order. Moreover, the products he had given out six years ago were definitely about to be or had been exhausted. 

Unfortunately, he too was exhausted of alchemical materials and he wasn't able to unload his excess of products for replacement materials. The Elementus Cache was unable to sustain his outrageous concoction and refinement speed, and his cultivation base's needs grew explosively with each stage. Even ninth-grade products had minimal effect towards pushing him to the maximum. 

Not because of diminishing usage, but simply because his cultivation base was simply too great. If he reached the Realm World Phase, the Seventh Stage of the Astral Core Realm, if he survived whatever shenanigans his astral cores start, he would find it increasingly difficult to progress towards his ideal maximum. Furthermore, with his Gravitational Central Mass was an abnormal black hole, and it was likely the compressive abilities it had, including its uniqueness, will elevate the maximum his cultivation base would reach. 

This depressing thought led to him once again realizing he needed not just materials but concoction methods and better products. However, he refused to use other alchemists' products for his cultivation. Not just him, but his own astral souls refuse it. 

Since he started cultivating with this ideal goal, his astral souls had only settled for the best of the best. In fact, they refused to take a Neo-Dawn Eclipse Pill. This made him quite confused. Even though he had concocted the peak-tier version successfully, they had refused!

Their reasoning? It wasn't good enough!

Outrageous!

Since they were linked to him, they felt his every ambition and desire, including the likelihood of concocting transcendent-quality alchemical products! It was just a harebrained idea of his, an idle thought in passing, yet they latched onto it like leeches! 

Left with no choice, he could only seek out a means to normalize transcendent-quality products. However, even after half a decade of rumination and study, he was unable to replicate the feat again. However, the absence of success was not the absence of progression. The way of discovery can be a stable and steady process of elimination. He believed he could try more experiments in a mystic essence rich environment.

Thinking up to here, he touched the earthen shell beneath him that contained all the mystic-graded material of a planetary mine within. As he did, he felt faint vibrations from within. 

"Are you done yet?" Wei Wuyin asked seemingly no one, still within Wu Yu's pseudo-atmospheric area. 

Click! Clack! Clack!

Wei Wuyin noted the cracks beneath him, a wry smile on his face. With a 'boosh' sound, a white and golden head of Bai Lin emerged. Between her beak was a piece of rock. She chewed and with a hearty crunch, she swallowed with ecstasy in her eyes. She had been eating the mystic-graded ore since the beginning.

With a wave of his hand, the earthen shell opened up and Bai Lin exited with ease, her belly almost twice as big. This caused Wei Wuyin's eyes to bulge a little. "How much did you eat?"

Bai Lin didn't answer, only sprawling on the floor angel-style and burped out a hefty mist. She turned her contented gaze towards Wei Wuyin, and while she didn't speak, her words were clear: "Not enough." 

Wei Wuyin couldn't help but laugh. "I fear if you ate anymore, I'd have to let you ride me," he quipped. 

Bai Lin's eyes went stern. She lifted her body up with astonishing quickness and pranced around, as if ready to fight ghosts, devils, and gods. "No one takes my spot! I am the soaring legend in the sky!" 

Wei Wuyin was taken aback, "Not even me?" 

Bai Lin huffed, looking Wei Wuyin dead in the eye, "Not even you!" 

Wei Wuyin was baffled. To refuse to be the rider, only the mount, he didn't know what to say. Only Bai Lin would be like this! He lifted an eyebrow, staring at her bulging belly, then back into her eyes curiously. 

Bai Lin noticed this and sucked in her gut. "I'm fine! See?" But it only lasted for a few seconds before she breathed out, regaining that noticeable bulge. 

"..." Wei Wuyin stared at her.

"..." Bai Lin stared back.