Paragon of Sin
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chapter-1272-14051349
Throughout the World of Eden, quite a few realized that relying solely on their Mental Energy was a recipe for disaster. Moreover, when their minds were breached, their Spirits seemed to have been provoked, and they received a type of instinctive defense that assisted them. This reaction would occur as long as their minds hadn't shattered in the first thirty seconds,allowing countless youngsters to resist the threatening power.
The seniors soon inspected the various strands of invasive mental pressure that besieged their juniors and realized that it was varied; those of a higher cultivation base and age experienced far greater mental pressure than those of a lower cultivation base and who were younger.
Moreover, countless breathed sighs of relief after realizing that the life that was draining from some of the earlier failures had stopped and been reversed. They noted that Earthly Saints were taking action behind the scene. While they were prohibited from taking action or assisting, those deployed by the Neo-Dawn Alchemic Sovereign were not.
"Huu...haa..." Tian Lingyu breathed out a breath of relief. She then faintly smiled, feeling a little embarrassed about doubting Wei Wuyin.
The voice of the Sky Zenith Alchemic Saint resounded, "The Neo-Dawn Alchemic Sovereign wouldn't risk his reputation by slaughtering such vast numbers. All of your worries were unfounded from the very beginning."While she was speaking mostly to the Imperial Clan, who lowered their heads with embarrassment, everyone was reminded that this was Wei Wuyin's Alchemic Expo! No alchemist in their right mind would unleash a slaughter during their greatest event celebrating their brilliance and achievements. That would be insane!
During the third minute, Lin Ming's Mental Incarnation was surrounded by illusory flames as he condensed his Sea of Consciousness and enveloped it protectively using his Spiritual Force. He was relying on everything now!
Despite being a Mental Incarnation, he was sweating furiously with strained, bloodshot eyes. His breathing was labored and his body seemed as if it was growing increasingly transparent.
"He's trying to kill me!" Lin Ming couldn't help but question Wei Wuyin's motives, as this level of difficulty was utterly impossible for the average cultivator! Not even the vast majority of top-tier Chosen could withstand such violent assaults and ferocious flames! He doubted that Tian Yinwu could withstand it!
Of course, whether that was true or not was something he couldn't gauge, but it helped ease his ego.
"He might actually be trying..." Even the voice was doubtful.
By the seventh second into the third minute, the flames were beginning to boil Lin Ming's condensed Sea of Consciousness, trying to affect his Well of Thoughts that was protected at the center."ARGH!" The pain was hellish to the extreme! By now, his mind was breached, and he felt as if he was being roasted by solar-burning heat and planet-busting explosions. He was almost in tatters as his actual body was seizing and screaming violently.
Lin Xianxei had genuine, heart-wrenching terror in her eyes as she watched him squirm like a dying worm! "Stop! He can't handle it anymore!" She screamed out into the World of Eden. Normally, she would've toughened it out and allowed Lin Ming to face this challenge, but his body was reflecting the pain of his mind, and his skin was cracked all over, leaking bits of innate energy and lifeforce. He was dying!
She could only think that Lin Ming was refusing to surrender, given his stubborn personality and reluctance to fail the test. She blamed herself for telling him to acquire the pill at all costs! She should've said to retreat if he couldn't withstand it any longer! Unfortunately, no one responded to her cries.
"Mom!" She called out tearfully. By this point, Lin Ming's real body was leaking even bodily fluids. The stench was something else.
In Lin Ming's mind, he was wondering how to end this damn test! However, like many others before him, he realized there were no instructions on how to end it. Panic began to set in, and his heart pounded at a dangerous rate. Was Wei Wuyin genuinely trying to kill him? The thought started to make him spiral into a chasm of despair.
"Haaaa..." A sigh resounded in Lin Ming's mind as a strand of incomparably pure spiritual energy began to flow into Lin Ming's mind, but not before engulfing and destroying all the threats to the walls, snuffing out the flames, and reaching his condensed Sea of Consciousness.
"I'll assist you from the shadows. Focus!" The voice boomed loudly as Lin Ming's thoughts and emotions cleared. He was momentarily taken aback before he regained his sense of awareness. He gnashed his teeth like a cornered beast, looking at the continuous incoming flaming asteroids with killing intent. He was going to survive!
No matter what!
San Yongli was in an equally rough situation. By this point, she was already using the soul-containing, mind-nurturing jade's power to withstand the impact. "How can anyone possibly survive this?!" She was just as taken aback as Lin Ming but slightly calmer. After all, she had experienced death once before. That was a moment of true despair as she could only watch as her body was destroyed.
"Aren't you surviving now?" The woman said as if rolling her eyes. What a childish and nonsensical question.
"..." San Yongli was stunned for a moment. The woman wasn't wrong, so she had no grounds to refute.
"But given the rate of its increasing intensity, you won't last a minute more." The woman remarked as if the situation had little to do with her.
San Yongli frowned slightly. She made a one-handed seal that was extremely strange. "Then, I'll have to ask you to forgive me."
"What?" The woman's shocked voice came out as the jade began to release strands of condensed spiritual power that easily exceeded a typical Earthly Saint. "You little brat! You're using my reserve of Spiritual Power! That reserve is meant for me to protect myself!"
"I'll help you recover it," San Yongli said before directing the power to obliterate the asteroids and invasive flames before enveloping her mind in a protective layer. The outside forces could no longer penetrate.
"Tsk! You better."
Wei Wuyin stood calmly in the World of Eden as he observed various strange auras emitting from multiple youngsters. "The Heavenly Daos truly are unoriginal," he remarked as he noted each individual with a discarnate soul of an ancient expert within their bodies. They were similar to Wu Yu. Some were weaker, some were considerably stronger.
"This All-Ending Stellar Calamity truly is meant to destroy the Sealed Regions, huh? But where did all these souls originate from?" The Sealed Region comprised eighteen Stellar Regions sealed within the Titan Race's territory, but some of these auras didn't feel like Titans.
His best guess?
"Could they be fallen experts from the Galactic Zone's ruling forces who tried to kill that existence?" This would explain the diverse lineages and inheritances spread across the Sealed Regions. Wei Wuyin didn't think the three Ascended Sovereigns' first instinct was to seal that existence, and he knew the frightening difficulty of killing an Ascended being.
The stronger their cultivation base becomes, the older they get, and the harder it is to kill them as their survival methods accumulate. If not for the Time Vortex's assistance and favorable environment, Wei Wuyin wouldn't have had the confidence to kill a Worldly Saint of Xu You's standard. Moreover, Xu You had underestimated the Legion, and rightfully so, given his prodigious strength. Unfortunately, that led to his downfall.
"Well, I'll be able to find out." Wei Wuyin chuckled as he waved his hand, marking those who received external assistance from internal forces. He'd have to study the origins of these auras and perhaps make some personal visits to get some answers. Since he intended to exploit the situation, it was best to consider all potential variables.
"Oh?" His eyes focused as he noticed that his mark had been discovered despite his intentions to keep it secret. To discover it required an absurdly potent Spiritual Sense.
"A Spiritualist?" He waved his hand and the sight of a wet-pants Lin Ming held by Lin Xianxei emerged surrounded by a cloudy haze. "The aura isn't exactly like how my other self remembers it. Incomplete? Corrupted?" He pondered for a short while before moving his gaze to see the beautiful Cao Cuifen walk toward him.
"Is she ready?" He asked.
"About an eighty-nine percent chance of success," Cao Cuifen answered with a nod. She glanced at the image of a golden- haired peerless beauty with tearful eyes holding the collapsed body of a handsome young man. Her eyes glinted imperceptibly before she looked away.
"A good chance," Wei Wuyin smiled, not taking Cao Cuifen's reaction seriously. As this was his world, no reaction couldescape his gaze. Even the hint of anger that she emitted. This anger wasn't born out of jealousy but out of righteous indignation on his behalf.
She easily recognized Lin Xianxei as the woman who falsely spread rumors of their engagements. It wouldn't have mattered before, but now that Wei Wuyin was a part of her life, she felt a trace of belated dislike toward such a conniving young woman.
Wei Wuyin could feel that Cao Cuifen was new to love, and her thoughts had already formed a bias toward him, and he had no issue with that. Wasn't that the same for him? He had a bias toward all of his women and friends without a shadow of a doubt.
"Did you find everything you wanted?" Cao Cuifen asked. Wei Wuyin didn't keep his intentions of locating certain signs of the upcoming calamity here. While he didn't go in-depth, the overall situation was explained.
"More, actually." Wei Wuyin couldn't hide his smile of satisfaction. "Let's move on to the next stage," Wei Wuyin waved his hand, and Tian Xiaocheng's gorgeous image replaced Lin Xianxei and Lin Ming's.
On stage, Tian Xiaocheng announced: "The five minutes are over! We'll now begin bestowing the second half of the fifth fortune!"
Second half?
Once again, before anyone could react properly, a gushing outpour of refined mental energy drowned the world. Suddenly, everyone felt as if they were underwater in a Sea of Consciousness!
Pure Mental Energy!" An expert exclaimed.
Those who collapsed throughout the five minutes, especially the first few seconds, were surrounded by whirlpools of mental energy and lifted majestically upwards in the World of Eden.
The bodies of those who generated wraith- like demons of Mental energy began to tremble as the demons shrieked soundlessly, devoured by the pure mental energy whirlpool without the slightest mercy shown. The seniors could only watch in amazement as those who fell unconscious began to receive strands of this energy in an even greater refined state than what they were submerged in!
The signs of their mental collapse began to dissipate as the light in their eyes gradually returned. Their minds were being repaired!
"This is Pure Dream Liquid, a rare mental- attributed material that was refined through special techniques devised by the Neo-Dawn Alchemic Sovereign. It can help repair damage to the Psyche as well as increase the levels of the three unique talents: the Sea of Consciousness, Mental Fortitude, and We'll of Thoughts. You may absorb and refine as much as you can through your Avatars within the next five minutes."
As if staying true to the theme of generalized fortune, the Pure Dream Liquid was given out!