Paragon of Sin

Wei Wuyin handed the matter of the fifteen remaining Spirits of War and their buried locations to the woman. Fortunately, he buried them shallowly, so it would take very little effort for Ascended beings to dig them up. 

Guan Yu was overly excited, cheerful, and lively. With the emergence of the Mark of War, he felt that not only did he contribute to the Nexus War, thereby allowing him to survive, but obtain the right to observe the Obelisk of War amidst Wei Wuyin's victory. Earlier, he had the thought that remaining with Wei Wuyin was going to be incredibly beneficial. He certainly wasn't wrong. 

When Guan Yu glanced at the fleeting figure of the blurred-faced woman, he couldn't help but say, "She certainly changed her tune." 

Wei Wuyin decided to just sit on the ground, lying with his back to the ground and his face towards the sky. The rippling pain and incredible exhaustion he felt was almost too much. While he had just accomplished an extraordinarily unimaginable feat by challenging and claiming victory against 10,000 Ascended beings, the cost wasn't small. His refined physique had hairline fractures throughout his entire skeleton from the stress his spiritual strength imposed on him. 

The thirteenth-ring Soul Idols were the very reason why his spiritual strength had elevated to such unnatural limits that his Celestial Eyes of Spiritual Divinity was pushed far beyond its limits, causing his currently ocular-sealed state. 

'Primary Soul Light, inactive Mystic Runes, and Thirteen Soul Rings...' The Alchemic Dao truly broke the conventional limits of cultivation. These aspects of cultivation were the direct effect of consuming three different transcendent Mortal-Rank alchemical products. He had directly jumped beyond True Light, comprehending the Origin of All Light that didn't come from the stars or some unseen divinity but the soul itself. 

He had Mystic Runes in his World Seas, a total of twenty-four, despite being a mere mortal. And, he had leapt past eleven and twelve Soul Rings, jumping to thirteen. His mind was wistfully thinking about all the possibilities that transcendent-quality products brought, and what could Mystic-Rank alchemical products bring?

But according to Wu Yu, mystic-graded products were unable to be refined by Mortals, and this was a tried and true tested theory that almost always led to the mortal refiners' death or crippling, no matter the product's effect. So perhaps transcendent-quality was the true limit of the Mortal Dao.

Fortunately, even his four Astral Souls, as reckless as they were, refused to even entertain the idea of consuming a Mystic-Rank Product. This was greatly attributed to Eden's verification that their current spirit states were thoroughly unsuited for refining products of this level. 

Guan Yu noticed that Wei Wuyin was within his own thoughts. So he moved over and sat beside him, holding his bident within arms in an upright seated position.

"She certainly changed her tune," Guan Yu repeated, giving Wei Wuyin a curious glance.

Wei Wuyin groaned inwardly. He didn't even bother moving an inch due to his condition, slowly saying: "Is there something you want to tell me?" 

Guan Yu's eyes lit momentarily, then became a little sly as he looked in the mysterious woman's direction to ensure she was far enough. After verifying this, he said in a soft voice, "She was willing to give herself to you as a mortal earlier, but now, she wants you to ascend? Don't you find that strange?" 

Wei Wuyin deeply inhaled, then softly exhaled out his response: "Is there something you want to tell me? There seems to be something you want to tell me." How could Wei Wuyin not notice the strangeness of her change? But that was likely due to her situation changing as well. After all, she was definitely seeking to make an irreversible choice after she had lost her virginity, fulfilling a life-goal of hers. Now, she had hopes to leave and regain her life; why would she make the same choice? 

Guan Yu glanced in the mysterious woman's direction again, seeing her having conversations with the jubilant Commanders of War from afar, and he gulped slightly. "I-" 

"Wait," Wei Wuyin interrupted, "I don't care." He slowed his breathing and tried to rest. He wished he could use the Mark of Eden's lifeforce and wood energies to heal; then, he wouldn't have to deal with this extremely slow process. 

His response took Guan Yu by surprise. "You really don't want to know?" 

"...Know?" Wei Wuyin asked rhetorically. "Know that she's someone you recognized? Respect? Fear? Know that her status isn't small outside the Battlefield? No. I don't really want to know. Because: I don't care." After saying this, he directly focused all his attention on recovering. 

"..." Guan Yu was speechless. 

An hour passed before things started to settle down. There were still some jubilant figures in the distance waiting for Wei Wuyin to recover, observing his almost-sleeping state with rapt attention, but they remained observers. The woman's discussions and negotiations soon concluded, and the fifteen Spirits of War soon met their inevitable end. 

There was zero left. 

She made her way over with fourteen Commanders of War, all of which, including herself, had pulsating Marks of War on their palms, indicating their participation in the Nexus War. They had earned their right to leave; if the instructing words of the War Spirit were to be believed.

Amongst these fourteen Commanders of War was an extremely aged figure that seemed to embody the image of death. Guan Yu saw this figure that was almost all skin and bones and felt a cold shiver course down his spine. 

The woman's eyes seemed to glint as she observed Guan Yu, causing the latter's face to gradually become ashen. Clearly, she was aware of his attempts to inform Wei Wuyin about her origins. He had almost forgotten that Ascended beings' hearing was far more impressive than his own. Lucky for him, she ignored him after a brief look. 

The woman saw Wei Wuyin's sprawled figure, lazily basking in the artificial light of the Nexus Battlefield. She was amused that such a powerful figure was willing to show such a side. Typically, experts and geniuses refused to look weak or exhausted, even feigning good health for the sake of their image. 

"I'm done," she said.

Wei Wuyin sleepily moaned out a response, "Five more minutes." 

The expressions of her entourage of Ascended had varied reactions to this, finding this somewhat surreal. Was the mortal who took down 10,000 Ascended beings, gave them a chance at life, like this? 

The mysterious woman was clearly rendered speechless, but she only walked forward and sat next to Wei Wuyin. Then, without hesitation, sprawled next to him in a similar manner. "You can rest for as long as you like." She, too, closed her eyes and seemingly rested on the spot.

Guan Yu was taken aback by this, but he sighed in the end. He was on the other side of Wei Wuyin, so he sprawled on the ground as well, deciding to go with the flow. 

"..." The Ascended glanced at each other. 

"Seems fun," an aged voice resounded. The extremely aged Ascended stepped forward and stood beside Guan Yu, causing the latter to shiver slightly, and he slowly laid flat on the ground too, closing his eyes as if sleeping. A few might even be afraid that he won't open his eyes after. 

The fourteen Ascended were all taken aback, but after a while, a pretty female amongst them, petite and spry looking, walked next to the mysterious woman and performed the same thing with a soft chuckle. Like a domino effect, almost as if peer pressured, they all started to find spots to lay down at, resting without any rhyme or reason.

Just because.

The onlookers were disturbed. Why were these people all lying down? Was this a ritual or something? 

"Is this how one observes the Obelisk of War?" The Soldier of War asked curiously. Considering they were all within the sights of the Obelisk of War, this made some sense. Why else would these Ascended beings and that incredible mortal man lay down on the dirt like mortals? Almost everyone caught that question as discussions began. An excited Soldier of War decided to test it.

That person found a place not too far or too close from the eighteen lying down and laid down alongside them in the same sprawled out position. A larger domino effect began at that moment. Several waves of individuals from all directions began to walk up to a respectful distance and began to lay down.

After three minutes, almost every last Soldier and Commander of War was on the ground, their eyes closed, and their breathing smooth as if trying to comprehend the secrets of the heavens in their dreams.

Wei Wuyin's rest went undisturbed, so he naturally just slept.. It was the most comfortable, relaxing, and peaceful sleep he had ever had in recent years.