Paragon Of Sin

Chapter 1916: Chapter 1908: Shedding the Mortal Shell

The evolution of their abuse of the conventional and worldly principles of cultivation continued.

As they had done before, the four Spirits of Cultivation leveraged the advantages and difficulties they faced in previous tribulations to devise a defiant strategy. They had defied the principle of Natural Amalgamation by hiding at a critical moment within his Mindʼs Eye, avoiding the typically irresistible merging force, maintaining their independence and individuality.

At the time, Ori’s desperation gave way to a spark of unrivaled genius. It relied on its understanding of augmentation, permutations, transformations, segregation, and amalgamation to separate the combined Astral Core, the very basis for the expansion of basic life, akin to cellular division and evolution.

Now, after all this time, they had obviously made extensive preparation to execute that technique again with deliberate intention—The Externalized Paragon Avatar Art. The process was smooth, unimaginably so, far greater than their original execution during the Seed Tribulation Gate’s ascension.

Wei Wuyin’s Existential Framework, True Soul, Soul, Mind’s Eye, Physique, Sea of Consciousness, Dantian, Meridians, Bloodline, Little Defiant, Bloodline of Sin, Blessings of the great daos, Mutated Major Authorities, even his Second Mind, and all his quintessential energy sources were seamlessly split into four exact copies just like before. However, this time, the division was thorough, encompassing the Mystic Dao—the 81 Mystic Runes were split and Mystic Cores.

By abusing the Mystic Dao’s obsession with completion, they created a gargantuan deficit that, if executed normally and left like this, could lead to Wei Wuyin’s existence collapsing altogether.

While extremely risky, the timing was flawless!

During the act of Mystic Ascension!

Only by leveraging the unfathomable principles of the Mystic Dao can this art be used without a total existential crisis.

While the tribulation gate for the Soul of Mysticism Phase went by many names, the Utmost Purity Galaxy and the Holy Void of Fortune’s cultivation galactic societies often used this specific name, and it was aptly named!

The Shedding Mortality Tribulation Gate!!

However, they had not stopped here. It was abundantly clear they had more to do!

The Externalized Paragon Avatar Art created four intrinsic copies of Wei Wuyin, embodied and piloted by each Spirit of Cultivation. But within each were four Mystic Cores, four Astral Forms, and every quality of Wei Wuyin’s existence, even his Ascended Existential Framework. They had executed an elementary form of this technique during the Seed Tribulation Gate, but while Wei Wuyin was taken aback by how developed the technique had become, he was even more shocked by what was about to happen!

Shooting upwards, still within the limits of the binding array, Wei Wuyin began to see their intent, and the meaning behind his Second Mind’s earlier question!

The four Mortal Shedding Tribulation Gates were heralding the next step of Mystic Ascension, but as he got closer, Wei Wuyin could feel each of his four consciousnesses experience a familiar sensation akin to his Seed Tribulation Gate’s Mystic Ascension!

“Perfect!” Wei Wuyin readied himself, assisting by not resisting in the slightest. Before his very eyes, all four pairs, the Mortal Shedding Tribulation Gates that manifested with unfathomable majesty far beyond the concept of mortality began to violently tremble with a chaotically unstable force. The unfathomable sound of its trembling could sunder the eardrums of Supreme Existences!

From the shadow of these gates, Wei Wuyin could sense an unexpected development as his blessing of the Mystic Dao became overwhelmingly hyperactive within each of his bodies.

The 81 Mystic Runes Seeds that were originally the keys to awakening the pathway to Mystic Ascension began to resonate. However, there weren’t only four sets as before, allowing each Spirit of Cultivation to create an Ascension Tribulation, but 324! In each Externalized Paragon Avatar!! And four Mystic Cores each within four Dantians, four Hearts, four Seas of Consciousness!

This was unable to be achieved during their last tribulation, only splitting Wei Wuyin’s and their own quintessential foundation, especially since Wei Wuyin and the others had deliberately chosen to fail their tribulation to enter the Mystic Star Phase. Aspects of the Mystic Dao, the Ways of Mysticism, were things his or their existence couldn’t affect or hadn’t properly integrated with, even with his blessing of the Mystic Dao!

Now, with an Ascended Existential Framework, they had split these Mystic Rune Seeds like all others! They didn’t just have four keys to Mystic Ascension but sixteen keys!!

From above, the trembling of the four tribulation gates became increasingly violent. It seemed that the space they occupied was being contested. The four Spirits of Cultivation had split themselves after calling forth their tribulation during the Seed Tribulation Gate, but this time, they were actively defying convention by calling twelve more!

As expected, the obsessiveness of the Mystic Dao for completion came into effect. These gates began to move with unfathomable momentum, pushed to the side, creating space for twelve additional tribulation gates.

The sight was indescribable. Wei Wuyin’s four avatars faced sixteen Absolute-sized Tribulation gates above him, their mystic radiance as blinding, and if not for the binding array’s suppressive effects, the entire Holy Void of Fortune would sense such immense fluctuations of unfathomable aura.

A single decision to ascend within this binding array yielded benefits that far exceeded his expectations!

Originally, Wei Wuyin wanted to harness the power of the Microheaven-like pillar imbued with the Law of War to gain a higher degree of attunement during the Edict of a Sage, but that didn’t matter as his soul had been directly transported to the real Heavenly Realm of War, not a simple condensation of its power. Also, he had an instinct thought to leverage its semi-permeable nature as a defense mechanism against the Spiritualist Supreme Existence he had liberated, and while this certainly served its purpose, he had not expected that the transcendent Edict Potion and his subsequent Mystic Ascension would be concealed by its power inadvertently.

“Can we do it?!” From his four Sea of Consciousness, united together in will and thought, his Second Mind’s voice echoed out with a wisp of madness and insanity. Wei Wuyin was extremely familiar with that emotion that he held in his heart when he thought about doing things that could defy all reason and toss aside caution.

He had this wisp of madness when he saved Su Mei or when he revisited Hell to claim each floor again. He had first developed this wisp of madness when he saw Phantom Rogue challenging the Astral Tribulation of a Mortal God after having her dantian shattered and her cultivation crippled, yet she still fought, still wished to defy it all! He had it when he battled against the Myriad Yore Continent and it had refined his Heart of Cultivation in its early stages, allowing him to face Hell as a mere mortal time and time again despite the despairing, overwhelmingly cold grip of fear that squeezed his heart.

For this wisp of madness to arrive here, he knew that his Second Mind was planning something outrageous!

All four pairs of his silver irises glistened with clear radiance. He roared in his heart, allowing that wisp to rise once again. He fully supported all of their efforts. Like a father cheering his children on, he supported them with his entire soul.

It carried the words: ”Donʼt hold back! SEIZE IT ALL!”

Unknowingly, this single roar eradicated the doubt that was rising within each of his Astral Souls as they were on the verge of receding their intention. They could sense that Wei Wuyin’s existential presence was teetering on the verge of collapse by the mere attempt of their plan. They feared entering the realm of no return.

This was unlike any of their other plans. They had almost no confidence in achieving beyond their original intention.

”—.” His Second Mind was shaken. Sensing Wei Wuyinʼs cheering will, he couldnʼt help but feel moved. While they were of the same mind, in terms of views, interests, and stances, they differed greatly in many ways.

His Second Mind was less interested in relationships or conquest, fame or glory, striving to acquire knowledge about all else, and seeing all other things as distractions. This could be attributed to when it was born, what it experienced while growing as an observer, or a number of things, but it established a difference in personality and mentality.

He often acted as a fifth Spirit of Cultivation rather than a second Wei Wuyin, leaving all decisions for Wei Wuyin to determine, and barely intervening unless critical. If he could, he would rather be a Spirit of Cultivation for the sake of his own research. And this distant mentality allowed it to be a little more reckless, and it barely felt any fear toward the Calamities of Hell, only sensing the paralysing intensity of that fear in Wei Wuyin’s heart whenever they linked for brief periods.

Sometimes, he was shaken by how terrified this defier of reason was in every waking moment of his life. How hyperactive his mind was, how considerate his thoughts and emotions were for those he loved, and how genuine those feelings could be. Despite challenging galaxies and Supreme Existences, potentially even a divinity, or facing the Heavenly Daos, despite feeling fear that could drive ghosts and devils insane, this man refused to stop taking even a single step forward.

And when it came to his family, he was an unstoppable force that feared neither heaven, Hell, The World, divinities, or manifestations of primordial forces. It was moving. More importantly, it was inspiring.

So inspiring that madness roared!!!

”Okay!” His Second Mind steeled its resolve, linking with the spirituality and will split amongst sixteen Mystic Cores, sixteen Astral Souls, and four True Souls.

Suddenly, Wei Wuyin felt a surreal sensation of division unlike anything he’d felt before. Before, during the Seed Tribulation, his Existential Framework had been split temporarily and reemerged to establish an expansive foundation to build from, so he was intimately familiar with this concept as it was a part of their original plan, only the Externalized Paragon Avatar Art had been a shocker. He was quite proud of their efforts to refine the art and incorporate their Externalization Method into it, creating a heaven-shaking path for their cultivation.

However, this feeling was simply unreal. A soft groan echoed out from his Ascended Existential Frameworks and True Souls. Wei Wuyin instinctively surrendered control of himself to the Second Mind, sensing that he was seeking complete and total control. At this point, his Second Mind could seize complete and total control, becoming the primary consciousness to his True Soul without issue.

”—.” The Second Mind felt complete control granted without protest. It was briefly taken aback, but hurriedly settled all distractions. Wei Wuyin once said that the cultivation paths of Ori, King, Eden, and Kratos were theirs to traverse, and he had his own path of cultivation, and that he trusted them completely to handle their business when it mattered. He was there to support whenever possible.

While this was true in many ways, his Second Mind had a completely different approach to the cultivation of these four mischievous spirits—this was his path of cultivation too. And throughout the years, it clearly showed. He worked in tandem with them on every aspect, to the point where Wei Wuyin was ignorant of many details. Wei Wuyin was often caught off-guard, but he never was. He always side by side with them in planning and taking action. During the Seed Tribulation, his Second Mind had taken the lead.

Earlier, it had asked how many to the Spirits of Cultivation. It was vague, but the four of them responded with one word: four.

After ascending to the Soul of Mysticism Phase, the cultivated foundation of a cultivator was set. While some minor changes might exist, they were set without change. Only by relying on the Mortal Daoʼs obsessiveness over growth, change, accumulation, and development was the link between the Mortal Realms and the Mystic Ascendant Realm, the Mystic Star Phase, born to cross-connect and allow a further building of oneʼs foundation one last time.

This was their final chance.

All four Wei Wuyins became somber.

But there was a small opportunity to defy the entire worldʼs understanding, and his Second Mind was willing to risk it.

”—.” Eden remained silent.

”Tch,” Kingʼs voice howled like a saber.

”Roar!” Kratos unleashed a heaven-shaking roar.

Suddenly, the pupilsʼ colors of each Wei Wuyin, which were defined by the secondary controller, changed in unison. They became black. They regained their original depth of darkness that Wei Wuyin had, surrounded by a silvery ring of beauty defining the ancient qualities of Creation. The qualities of a Magi.

An even more violent trembling unfolded as the tribulation gates bloomed with mystic radiance unlike ever before. Then, each Wei Wuyin, totaling four, executed an unimaginable feat—they divided AGAIN!

Four became sixteen in the blink of an eye!

Wei Wuyinʼs Ascended Existential Framework, True Soul, Bloodline of Sin, and even Little Defiant within his Mindʼs Eye, were split into sixteen!

Each of their skin was pale, their lifespan and soulspan feeling hollow and fragile. Everything was on the verge of collapse. EVERYTHING!

As sixteen Wei Wuyins were created, each Spirit of Cultivation possessed sixteen keys, a total of 1,296 Mystic Rune Seeds, and even the Mystic Rune Seeds were incomparably dim, covered in fractures and fissures, seemingly ready to burst into dust at the slightest touch.

With a thunderous boom, the sixteen Mortal Shedding Tribulation Gates split further, and not just split, they enlarged to levels incomparable! Growing four times their original size! And they no longer were in a single cardinal direction, but surrounded him to the point that everything was engulfed by mystic radiance.

If the tribulation were visible to anyone else, they would be shaken to their core!

”Are you…sure?” Ori asked with clear emotional hesitation in its voice. And that question was directed at a single person: the Second Mind!

All sixteen Wei Wuyins carried neutral expressions, losing their somber emotional features, gazing upon the tribulation gates with complete calm. Suddenly, they each displayed a lifting of their lips, forming a calm grin similar yet different from Wei Wuyin’s signature calm smile!

This sixteen Wei Wuyins was always the original plan, to defy the convention of cultivation to create a finalized foundation that would be worthy of a paragon as he soared through the Mystic Ascendant Realm. The madness that stirred within him had nothing to do with this.

”If I asked him if I should, what do you think heʼll say?” All sixteen Wei Wuyins spoke at the same time, asking this question to the Astral Souls that were assisting him.

And they didnʼt even reply.

The answer was obvious.

”I have a hunger that this state of existence could never satiate. And while Iʼm him, Iʼm not him. So why not take that step? That final step? Why not try?” The Second Mind was determined, and after Wei Wuyin roared with complete trust, he was further reinforced by his desire to pursue this path.

”But…it might not work,” Ori said solemnly. ”If it doesnʼt, youʼll…vanish.”

”And if it does, then Iʼll just be part of the family! Haha! This is my only chance. If not now, then itʼs never.” Imbued with resolution that could shake the heavens, this Second Mind dared to challenge convention unlike anything.

”One last time. Letʼs break all the rules, okay?”

”—.” Ori, King, Eden, Kratos, and Little Defiant.

In the world of cultivation, there was an ironclad rule that couldnʼt be violated: the True Soul can only be extracted four times.

Only four.

Wei Wuyin had inadvertently stumbled upon this after awakening access to his True Soul very early, allowing him to cultivate four complete Spirits of Cultivation. Normally, the typical method was to divide the True Soul strand that created their spirituality that existed in a Spirit of Cultivation to create a second one, or a third one such as the Sacred Elven Queen, thereby weakening the foundation temporarily until the merging process granted one an expanded foundational potential.

There was a potential for a fourth or a fifth or a sixth, but the True Soul’s quintessence could only be divided four times.

Only four.

Wei Wuyin wasnʼt the first person to achieve four Spirits of Cultivation. He wouldnʼt be the last. Nor was he the first person to do so by dividing their True Soulʼs quintessence rather than splitting their Spirit of Cultivationʼs spirituality. In this manner, he had never defied convention or broken any rules. He had only chanced upon the rule, instinctively realizing that this was the limit.

Earlier, the Second Mind had asked how many. This was not related to how many avatars nor was it related to how many splits, no…

”Five, okay?” The Second Mind asked with a gentle voice, only to the point of being a whisper.

A brief, overwhelming silence pervaded as the sixteen Mortal Shedding Tribulate Gates surrounded them, seeking to be completed by the ascendant, desiring completion of the Mystic Evolutionary Process. To usher the ascendant into becoming a true Ascended being without any ounce of mortality within them.

To complete them.

”Five,” Eden echoed.

”Five!” Kratos roared.

”—.” Five, Ori agreed with a nod.

”We donʼt fail,” King stated firmly, and then added: ”Five.”

Little Defiantʼs sixteen forms that were hollow and dim despite each keeping their immense original size after the repeated division shone with warm light, flickering in and out five times.

The grin on Wei Wuyin’s face grew three times its size, showcasing all of his teeth in glee.

The Second Mind spread out its arms, and with a thunderous grunt, slammed its palms together. As it did, the Library of Eden took form outside their bodies, manifesting in a substantial form.

”Mental!”

Then, creating a double-fist, all sixteen Wei Wuyins slammed them into its glabella. A mark manifested outwards, etching itself on the Palace of Eden’s palatial structure, expanding outward containing boundless unrefined lifeforce. This was the Mark of Eden!

”Physical!”

The Library of Eden emanated rich mental and physical energies, containing every ounce of liquid Scholarly Enlightened Mist within. While somewhat hollow in essence, they were intrinsically of the grade five quality!

Then, all sixteen Wei Wuyins reached into their Dantians, going incredibly deep, and located their Yang Source Quintessence. The same method that Wei Wuyin had used to imbue Wei Xiaotian with a Yang Source, the Second Mind was executing it here without hesitation.

Within this Yang Source Quintessence was Wei Wuyin’s innate bloodlines and yang essence, including the Magi Royalty Bloodline, Anima-Devourer Bloodline, and True Void Dragon Bloodline. These three core bloodlines would certainly affect his descendants, even if they weren’t true Magi.

”Essence!”

With a slamming motion, all sixteen Library of Edens, Mark of Edens, and Yang Source Quintessence were merged into five forms.

Observing this bundle of mental, physical, and essence principles, the Second Mind was quite satisfied despite blood leaking profusely from each of their lips.

”Only here. Only in this moment when the Mystic Dao wonʼt allow an incomplete state can this be possible. Only here…” Muttering to himself, the Second Mind no longer hesitated. With a request, he asked Wei Wuyin to open his True Soul. He was asking for a single strand of his True Soul’s quintessence.

Asking it would lead to Wei Wuyinʼs potential demise. He knew this, but he still asked.

While there was no verbal response, Wei Wuyin actively opened his True Soul and once again executed the technique to extract a strand of his True Soul via the modified Haven Heart Qi Method that can only be taken four times in a single lifetime.

Only four.

And this time, a fifth was taken.

The entirety of Wei Wuyin’s consciousness grew hazy and undefined, and even his True Soul began to lose its defined shape, seemingly ready to depart to Hell.

Taking this strand, his Second Mind leapt out of the sixteen bodies as a Mental Incarnation of the purest form. Meanwhile, the Stellar-Paragon Physique rapidly restored his Yang Source Quintessence; one of the core designs of its primary power was to do just that! Fortunately, it was divided into sixteen copies, reducing the strain of restoring his Yang Source Quintessence by a considerable degree, allowing it to be hollow and viable.

The five watched as the Second Mind entered the palatial structure that was the basis of its Heart of Qi.

They looked on with hope in their hearts. The raw radiance of the mystic aura shone upon Wei Wuyin, turning this place into the domain of the Mystic Dao. No other great dao or dao in general could observe. Not the Mortal Dao. Not the Heavenly Daos. None.

The lively feeling that Wei Wuyin had gotten earlier whenever the Mystic Dao had personally focused its attention here was present and intense. It was watching, beyond the shadow of a doubt! And this was what all of them were relying on!

Wei Wuyin should be dead, but the obsessiveness of the Mystic Dao abhorred the incomplete. Wei Wuyin was still technically complete, only divided, and it assisted them when they merged into one whole before. They were risking it all on this single bet. A bet that the Mystic Dao would act!

If they failed here, Wei Wuyin’s True Soul would collapse even without the Calamity of Hell.

And…

AND INDEED IT WAS ACTING!

Wei Wuyin teetered on the edge yet the mystic radiance surrounding him, cascading upon him, kept his True Soul completely intact. This was a feat that not even a Cardinal Sage could achieve.

It desired nothing more for Wei Wuyin to enter his tribulation.

The palatial structure that the Second Mind entered completed the process in almost an instant. A hazy mortal qi was born.

A Heart of Qi!

Not one but five!

Suddenly, Little Defiant took action.

This new Heart of Qi was nascent, needing to be cultivated. Since Wei Wuyin’s True Soul’s quintessence and Ascended Existential Framework already exists in the Mystic Ascendant Realm, similar to Wu Yu and the Moonfall Lunar Sovereign, servant of the Demonic Sovereign, whose cultivation had been entirely stripped, re-entering the Mystic Ascendant Realm was the only path, and without any tribulation.

Little Defiant provided each Heart of Qi with an infusion of Solar Essence to digest and refine. The speed was incomparably swift.

Qi Creation Phase, External Flow Phase, Elemental Birth Phase, Yin Form Phase, Yang Growth Phase, False Reality Phase, Infused Spirituality Phase, Sublime Qi Phase, Essence Qi Phase.

The Mortal State, the Zenith Mortal State, the Origin State, the Zenith Origin State.

World Sea Phase, Sky Ruler Phase, Soul Idol Phase, Spatial Resonance Phase, Light Reflection Phase, Gravity Emission Phase, Realm World Phase, Temporal Eye Phase, Star Core Phase.

All levels of foundation were consistent, including the thirteen Soul-Rings, Grand Convergence Spatial Resonance, and the Primary Soul Light Source birth.

The Eden Insight Soul Light.

With the foundation of Scholarly Enlightened Mist, an Enlightened Spirit of Cultivation.

The Enlightened Everlasting Spirit of Cultivation!

An Enlightened Everlasting Astral Soul!!

Mystic Star Phase!

RUMBLE!!!

As the Second Mind’s conversion reached a peak, the tribulation gates began to tremble yet again!

Not only was the cultivation of the five palatial Astral Forms of the Enlightened Everlasting Astral Soul restored to the Mystic Star Phase, but each gained 81 Mystic Rune Seeds! And as they formed, each Enlightened Everlasting Astral Soul birthed a pale-skinned version of Wei Wuyin!

Inexplicably, as if to adjust properly, the four Astral Souls and Little Defiant forced themselves to split once again! Melding to a state of synchronized harmony of foundation.

No longer were there sixteen Wei Wuyins!

There were TWENTY-FIVE!

And the same number of Tribulation Gates now existed! Increasing the Mystic Radiance by almost twofold!

”Letʼs go!” The Second Mind roared. They had one chance to ensure that they could re-merge as a single whole, and that was by overcoming the Shedding Mortality Tribulation Gate!! They absolutely can not fail!

Twenty-five Wei Wuyins were drawn into twenty-five Tribulation Gates!!!

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Erdulʼs Note: Damn… We thought he was OP now… After this tribulation, I donʼt even think OP is the right description.