Paragon Of Sin

Chapter 146 - 144: The Uncertain Future

A sharp, electrifying, and uncontrollably intense shiver ran down the backs of most of the crowd. Those words of Xiang Ling caused their eyes to constrict and their hearts to nearly cease beating.

These were all elites renowned for their intelligence and talent back in the Myriad Yore Continent, so how could they not fully and immediately understand these words and their implications? If they failed and survived somehow, they would likely never return home; they would never see their families; they would die here.

They all had varying expressions as their eyes subconsciously lifted to the Myriad Nascent Dao Palace. This was their first step on their road to a greater life, but if they tripped here, then their lives might be incomparably wretched! They would have no status, no power, and no backing here.

They would be all alone.

This feeling took awhile to truly sink in, so several minutes of silence inevitably followed. Shockingly, Xiang Ling allowed them to gasp for breath and formulate their own thoughts towards this new reality. She added nothing else.

Long Chenʼs hands tightly clenched into a fist. Unlike these others, his battle intent and blazing will roared to life at this challenge. He was unafraid. In the future, he will not be ordinary and if he desired, returning to the Myriad Yore Continent will be a mere thought away.

This was the start of his true journey, and with the spirit in the ring guiding him on this path, and his unyielding will, this journey will usher him into a grander world!

Surrounding him were Qing Qiumu, Na Xinyi, Wu Baozhai, Lian Yu, Lin Ziyan, and Ming Shufeng. Except Ming Shufeng, they all had worried looks on their faces and the possibility of failure weighed heavily on their hearts. But they merely had to look at Long Chenʼs trace of a confident smile and excitement overflowing from his eyes to calm down. Anticipation replaced that worry, and a wisp of like-minded excitement was born in their hearts.

If he believed in himself, so must they!

Ming Shufeng was the only one who stared at Wei Wuyinʼs back and had a deep frown on her beautiful face. She was a Seer, a person that could perceive the trend of the Heavenly Daos. But unlike Long Chen, who she couldnʼt entirely perceive the fate of, Wei Wuyinʼs fate was entirely unpredictable. She saw his death, yet he hadnʼt died. It was him who killed Hu Jiwei and saved Prince Zhen altering her plans, and she didnʼt even see her own capture.

His actions at the previous gathering shocked her with every passing second and she was still unable to perceive anything relating to him with an ounce of accuracy. Furthermore, in this world where Astral Core Realm experts were gathered en masse, her abilities were deeply lacking. Her ability to perceive the trend was based on her own strength, her own cultivation, and those stronger were more resilient to resisting or affecting the trend of the heavens.

If she didnʼt similarly get to that realm, she would be essentially blind in this new world. This was why she hadnʼt left Long Chenʼs group and needed to follow a Blessed individual upwards. Most Seers werenʼt ambitious and acted as calm and gentle guides for others, but she was different; she had goals.

In the future, she felt Wei Wuyin would be her greatest obstacle to any and all of her future plans. This caused her eyes to flash a glint of a mysterious light.

Xiang Ling had waited enough. ”Qing Qiumu, letʼs go.” Her words brought everyoneʼs attention away and they focused on Xiang Ling, then shifted to Qing Qiumi in an almost concerted motion. How could they not know who she was at this point? The gathering had her as the main focus for a short period before and she arrived with Xiang Ling earlier.

Qing Qiumu, from beneath her veil, trembled slightly. Thatʼs right…

Long Chen frowned. ”Go? Go where?” He turned to seek an answer from Qing Qiumu, only to see her shoulders faintly tremble as she averted her eyes from Long Chenʼs gaze. He could sense her reluctance.

Xiang Ling was impatient. ʼI interfered to save this dastardly and useless Long Chen for you, so you better not try to follow his footsteps. Iʼll receive great merit for bringing you to the Extreme Creation Mountain for her.ʼ Her thoughts were filled with irritation and expectation.

Qing Qiumu bit her lips beneath her veil. Earlier, when Long Chen was being besieged by Wei Wuyin and seemed to be on the verge of being killed, she seeked Xiang Lingʼs help to defuse the situation. She agreed on one condition: She had to follow her to the Myriad Monarch Sect directly.

This was obviously a benefit to her, but this meant leaving Long Chen behind. With her talent, itʼs very likely her elven ancestor who stayed in the sect will want to train her personally, and she might be taken away from Long Chen for who knows how long.

In the end, she could only tell Long Chen the truth. His expression changed slightly, but in the end, his eyes effused happiness. ”Go. Iʼll catch up soon.” Was all he said. To him, her leaving and meeting up with her ancestor to cultivate at the sect was beneficial. In fact, everyone here had to thank Qing Qiumu. If it wasnʼt for her and Long Chen, would Xiang Ling bring them along to have this opportunity?

After a heartfelt goodbye, Qing Qiumu left the group and arrived by Xiang Lingʼs side.

Xiang Ling nodded. ”As I said before, you can challenge the pagoda as long as youʼre below two hundred in age and anytime you wish. Good luck.”

She inhaled slightly and Wei Wuyin, Bai Lin, Su Mei, and Qing Qiumu felt the mana from earlier engulf them tightly. In the matter of seconds, they were swiftly lifted upwards and soared away at speeds that left the little elites shocked with gaped mouths. In another few seconds, Xiang Lingʼs and Bai Linʼs humongous figure was no longer capable of being seen.

Long Chen clenched his fists even harder. ʼWeʼll definitely meet again, so wait for me.ʼ

Na Xinyiʼs eyes were quietly flashing with an indeterminate light as her gaze imperceptibly shifted from the horizon to Long Chen. Her hesitation earlier and her lack of making a choice still weighed on her mind. Perhaps in the future, sheʼll be forced to make a choice.

She can only hope that she doesnʼt regret it.

-----

Flying without wings was a novel feeling, and flying without any form of exertion on your part felt absolutely mystical. Xiang Ling could control the worldʼs mana, allowing her to rule the sky, flying swiftly within without need for any type of personal energy. This meant she could theoretically fly without limit as long as she had the mental capacity to control the worldʼs mana.

They were remarkably fast, blazing through the sky. Her speed easily exceeded Bai Linʼs as they traveled several kilometers in the span of a few seconds.

Wei Wuyin took this opportunity to inspect the rapidly passing scenery. He noticed that as one looked higher, the density of the essence of heaven and earth seemed to become thicker and purer, faintly even turning into mist. This discovery fascinated him. ʼDoes the essence of heaven and earth not originate from the continent...or planet? Does it originate from the starry skies or even sunlight?ʼ

He was unsure, but he felt that this phenomenon was evidence of its possibility. Did that mean traveling beyond the sky could allow one to absorb the purest of essence? He was truly curious to give it a try, see what laid beyond those clouds above.

There were grassy knolls, plains, plateaus, mountains, and forests littering the vast area just like the Myriad Yore Continent. There were signs of people living nearby in thatched, brick, and stone houses. They look rather primitive in materials, but their designs were exquisite and seemed to exude spiritual auras.

There was even a tall wall surrounding a city that seemed like a cascading reverse waterfall of liquid essence. It overturned his thoughts on what was imaginable. There were far, far too many things to observe and describe that he simply took all of it in and would ponder them later.

He was excited to explore this new world!

His eyes also noticed Qing Qiumu who seemed oddly silent, her aura felt distracted and chaotic. Thinking for a second, he tried to wiggle around and realized it was possible to move even while flying. He shifted his body and arrived beside Qing Qiumu, startling her.

”You know, this reminds me of my hometown. The people in primitive huts, the mortals working hard. It makes me realize that this place isnʼt so much different.” He started to speak, causing Qing Qiumu to be speechless.

In truth, towards this young man before her, she was truly unable to discern her feelings, but she knew that she didnʼt want to take him to be an enemy in her heart. She didnʼt know why, despite being friendʼs with Long Chen, and should be biased towards his enemies, but thatʼs how it was. In the end, she merely listened.

But that didnʼt last for long.

At first, Qing Qiumu felt unsettled and uneasy after leaving Long Chen and entering a new world, but as Wei Wuyin was casually speaking his thoughts, she slowly started to relax her heart and mind. Before she knew it, whether it was because his words were engaging or something else entirely, she started to mindlessly reply.

Her words were a little stiff in the beginning, but gradually reached an unprecedented comfort zone as even smiles and her own thoughts seeped through.

Covering her mouth, she giggled softly as she smiled with her eyes. ”No way, no way. You really think itʼll be like that?”

”Yep, yep. Absolutely!” Wei Wuyin nodded fervently like a chicken pecking grains, his eyes filled with certainty. ”Those villagers will definitely be like my own! Chicken lovers, I swear!”

Qing Qiumu couldnʼt hold in her laughter and let loose a long and loud one with trembling shoulders. Realizing her loss of composure, she blushed slightly but didnʼt feel the least bit uncomfortable or odd. Her earlier thoughts and worries seemed to have been swept away.

Xiang Ling was watching all this and couldnʼt help but think, ʼThese two have such good chemistry. Itʼs so unfortunate that a rotten weed is obstructing the way.ʼ She truly felt Long Chen was impeding Qing Qiumuʼs potential and future, but as she quietly observed their lighthearted engagements, she couldnʼt help but form a warm smile. ʼBut this is fine too.ʼ

Long Tingyu pouted from within Xiang Lingʼs embrace, and asked, unwilling to see her big brotherʼs woman just laughing it up with another man. Thatʼs improper! Her juvenile thoughts immediately tried to throw a wrench into this and change the subject, ”Can you tell us more about the Myriad Monarch Sect and this world?”

Xiang Lingʼs eyes brightened, and the conversation between Qing Qiumu and Wei Wuyin actually ceased. They turned towards her, similarly curious. Despite hearing about it from her father, and learning that the elven race existed there, including her ancestor, Qing Qiumu was largely ignorant.

Wei Wuyinʼs curiosity was also incredibly explosive! He truly wanted to learn more.

Xiang Ling nodded, ”Okay.”