paragon of sin
The azure-colored pill shrouded by a layer of silvery light hovered in mid-air with subtle bounces and sways. The pencil-thin light rising above it was static, almost as if it wasn't directly linked to the pill, but a projection or illusion without an origin. It was a curious sight to witness. Yet upon moving the pill, the connection was undoubtedly there as it seemed to travel along with it.
"Is it possible that light there could be the Bridge of Immortality?" Wei Wuyin asked, not expecting an answer. He simply needed to get that out into the world.
"Bridge of Immortality? I've never heard of that before," The Heavenly War Spirit's inherent knowledge was far too inferior to know anything about this. If asked about all things war, she would have an answer at the ready, but when it came to advanced principles of cultivation and external Daos beyond the Dao of War, she was as ignorant as an infant.
Wei Wuyin didn't put too much credence into the mythological and fantastical stories of his original continent. They were numerous and varied, yet he was unable to dismiss those stories either.
"Master! I feel something strange happening!" The tiny Bai Xiu exclaimed as she looked around the forcefully expanded and fissure-ridden alchemical chamber. Her voice alerted Wei Wuyin as he focused. The world was shaking in an almost imperceptible manner. If it wasn't for his great spiritual sense that can feel the molecules within the room vibrating, he wouldn't have noticed this abnormality.
He didn't panic, however. While stark naked, he observed and waited. If his guess was correct, then…
"The Alchemic Dao is calculating," Wei Wuyin reinforced his belief with a few clues. Unlike before, there was a distinct lack of explosive phenomena such as the Earthly or Worldly Awakening. If he had to continue guessing, relying solely on the depth of his understanding of the Alchemic Dao, his current achievement of concocting a transcendent Mystic-Rank product hadn't just overturned the systemic levels previously determined by Alchemic Dao, but was certainly an unprecedented feat.
In a way, Wei Wuyin and his Astral Souls were at the crossroads of the Mortal Dao and Mystic Dao, yet he displayed what should have been the equivalent of the Immortal Dao in his alchemy. Just like his Neo-Dawn Paragon-Forging Pill had done inexplicably, obtaining the blessings of the great daos.
What was his achievement classified as?
If he had to go under the normal systematic classification, then Wei Wuyin had performed the equivalent of concocting a transcendent Mortal-Rank product by wilful design and intended purpose of intermixing mortal and mysticism, which was enough to qualify one to unlock the second level of the Alchemic Stars, the tier of Spiritual Transcendence. That was the second grade of what could be considered as Intent of the Alchemic Dao, an astonishing achievement that most Worldly Saint Alchemists hadn't reached in their lifetime! It was typical for them to wait until the non-Alchemic Soul cultivators to reach the Ascended Saint Phase with the first tier before awakening that second tier, already indicating how difficult it was to reach!
As for this? Intermixing mysticism with eternity, transcending far beyond the limits, and building a bridge of immortality was certainly unprecedented and unexpected! There was no wonder that the Mortal Dao and Mystic Dao had gathered, the Mortal Dao observing from within him and the Mystic Dao observing from outside, causing quite the commotion.
The Alchemic Dao was likely trying to decide if he had obtained that degree of mastery. If he had to make yet another guess, then this might be one of the ways to obtain the fifth level of Alchemic Stars, surpassing the fourth tier.
However, after an entire hour had passed, he realized there was an issue with this, and the Alchemic Dao might actually be saddled with a difficult problem.
"Right…how can I possibly obtain the fifth tier of recognition without the fourth? If the logic remained consistent, then for the fourth tier, one of the seven ways to attain required the unique creation of his own Mystic-Heaven grade product, and the fifth tier required a newly invented Mystic-Soul grade product. He would have to pioneer a legacy of that level!
Wei Wuyin had attained the Alchemic Stars of Spiritual Transcendence by the complete mortal mastery of wilful transcendent concoction and the Alchemic Stars of Transcendent Purity by creating the Mystic-World grade product, the Neo-Dawn World-Eclipsing Pill.
Bai Xiu was gnawing on a bundle of seven-colored mist with bright eyes as she blinked. She was highly observant of the world in this last hour. Her body seemed to have grown increasingly realistic, and she had already grown an inch in overall size. Additionally, there were signs of both cauldrons repairing themselves by absorbing the grade four mist in the surroundings.
The Heavenly War Spirit was swirling about in Wei Wuyin's Sea of Consciousness as a golden mass idly and anxiously. She had never thought that the mortal that bought her with War Souls all those days ago would grow into such an ungodly defiant existence to common sense. However, she was genuinely excited for what was to come. The only thing she was a little concerned with was her approaching deadline. The temporal acceleration was unable to affect it as it relied on the principles of the Dao of War externally, but the days in the world kept ticking.
She trusted him, however.
Wholeheartedly.
Eventually, four hours passed. Wei Wuyin had remained standing, not moving, while observing the world from different angles trying to sense the various fluctuations and changes within as if he were reading thoughts. While doing so, Wei Wuyin, still completely nude as he was born, received a spiritual transmission from Ming Shufeng. It carried an urgent tone, using a unique spell to enhance the priority of the message.
As the Neo-Dawn Emperor, building the Void Altars had multi-layered purposes, and one of those was to receive transmissions from the Onestar Galaxy. He kept in contact with Xue Yifei, Bai Yinyin, and others, including receiving various reports on the empire's developments, and this often caused him to form a queue during his secluded cultivation sessions. And so, he made sure to teach those of his followers a unique spell to up their priority just in case an incident that needed his attention or knowledge he had to be made aware of came to light.
It read: "Your Majesty, I've recently discovered through my arts of divinations and unsettling prophecies circulating about in the galaxy. The words are: 'Silence at the time of knights three—fortune, calamity, and fate's inevitable mystery awaits the Supreme and the Enlightened who dares speak, absent of fortune, acceptance of calamity, and indelible involvement of fate.'
"While it isn't publicly known, I have my concerns. I believe this prophecy might be connected to the Knightly Dao Pavilion's recent series of events. I couldn't delve into its origins, but through my spell that cost almost a century of my lifespan, I can conclude that a Heavenly Seer had divined it. Far, far, far stronger than me. I ask that, whether there's any credence to my concerns, that you remain vigilant and healthy."
Wei Wuyin's Alchemic Stars all concentrated like pupils in unison. Prophecies were not something he took lightly. They were either the Heavenly Daos' greatest series of machinations or predetermined and highly expected directions of the Worldly Trend. The prophecy of Young Master Shang's sister was one of three infants heralded by three Supreme Seers as entities of galactic fortune and misfortune was already telling of how far-reaching they could be.
This was an interesting development. An indirect prohibition of Enlightened Sages and Supreme Sages to be involved? What for? Moreover, it felt more like a warning to not intervene in the events that might occur. What could happen?! His interest was piqued instantly.
He spent the next two hours and fifty-nine minutes reading messages and sending replies. His vigilance waned. This wasn't directly letting his guard down, but the deliberation of a Dao was something he was unfamiliar with. If his guesses were correct or even roughly accurate, he didn't have any means of accelerating or assisting in the process.
He could only remain unmoving and respectfully wait.
Wei Wuyin thought about his two-year session, and he finally decided to recognize himself as an Exalted Worldly Saint Alchemist. He had concocted an extreme number of peak-tier Mystic-World graded products using the Thirty-Three Heavenly Concoction Method, justifying this title. It also validated his desire to attempt to concoct a Mystic-Heaven grade product in the near future.
Earlier, he hadn't dared to try.
He only wondered if the Soul Pill should be his first product or if he should try to gather Mystic-Heaven grade products and find inspiration to elevate his lineage properly. To be honest, his baseline of expectations was to concoct an original product as his entry into the ranks of the Mystic-Heaven grade.
He had done it with the Neo-Dawn World-Eclipsing Pill all those years ago, directly obtaining the most difficult path to the Alchemic Stars of Transcendent Purity, and the most powerful, and so his intent never wavered and expectations of himself couldn't be lowered.
"It'll likely be a Domain-type Pill," Ori huffed, hiding its giggles.
Wei Wuyin had an urge to roll his eyes. There was already an ongoing joke amongst them that despite the variety of products in his lineage, he specialized in Domain-type pills. In a way, they weren't wrong.
The azure pill was the greatest evidence of his innate bias.
Pah!
A sound of air popping resounded that shook the immediate world within the chamber, and Wei Wuyin's entire demeanor changed as his alchemic stars released seven-colored light intermixed with mystic radiance.
The seventh hour.
The Alchemic Dao had finished its calculations!
What phenomenon will occur here?! Will it shake the entire galaxy? Alert everyone?!
Then, it happened.
Silently, the Alchemic Dao…
…left.
The trembling of the immediate world and its subtle vibrations ended.
There was no galactic-wide wave of praise or Spiritquake.
For several seconds, Wei Wuyin remained there, still nude, uncertain as he looked about. He looked to Bai Xiu who was anxiously looking at the room's four corners as if trying to find the Alchemic Dao. Her tiny body floated here and there with lightning speed. He didn't know what she was trying to do, but a faint warm smile surfaced on his face as he chuckled.
He drew her attention to him, turning around, as she complained, "How could that be it? You concocted a transcendent Mystic-World product using only your own abilities! That's not right! How could it not recognize yo—"
Her words came to an abrupt end as her aggrieved eyes landed on Wei Wuyin. She had long since grown used to Wei Wuyin's body, and while amazing, her reaction would not be like this.
"..."
"Yo-you! You! Your! YOUR! YOUR!!" Her voice went from hesitant to outright screaming. Wei Wuyin instantly inspected the surface of his body but found no changes on his skin or body.
"YOUR EYES!!!" Bai Xiu flew over and grabbed Wei Wuyin's cheeks as she stared almost obsessively into his eyes.
Wei Wuyin conjured a large body-size mirror. Then, he saw his reflection. The Alchemic Stars of Transcendent Purity, which were a four-pointed star-like existence that touched upon the edges of the iris, breaching the pupils' dark sea into his sclera, had vanished.
There was a seven-pointed star that had replaced his pupils, and within it was a cosmos of colorful stars that were creating, growing, transforming, fusion, and exhibiting the other principles of the Alchemic Dao endlessly and profoundly, while within his white sclera, seven-visible concentric rings were expanding outwards from his pupils of seven different colors.
However, unless he widened his eyes, only a few of them were completely visible, but the seven rings were certainly something anyone could see!
Wei Wuyin was stunned. Then, as if his discovery was the driving point, a song erupted from Eden!
It was exceedingly beautiful with seven ever-repeating notes, short yet extraordinary. Eden's Astral Form was glowing with intense light.
Then, Wei Wuyin's mental incarnation manifested within his Sea of Consciousness.
Above the leafy crown of Eden's head…
There was a static light ascending to the upper limits of his Sea of Consciousness, like a vertical bridge. The aura of eternity was prevalent! However, it was circulated by seven tiny stars that waned and flourished sporadically.
Wei Wuyin's mind was infused with information!
The Alchemic Dao was limitless!
This was what Wei Wuyin knew!
And this was what he learned after learning that it embodied creation and that creation and its inherent evolution was also limitless!
Wei Wuyin was instantly informed of the Alchemic Dao's decision at that moment! The grade four stage of the Alchemic Stars was known as the Alchemic Stars of Pure Enlightenment! It could be accomplished by concocting one's own Mystic-Heaven lineage!
As for the grade five stage of the Alchemic Stars, it was none other than the Alchemic Stars of Enlightened Soul!
However, this pair of Alchemic Stars did not belong to the Alchemic Stars of Pure Enlightenment or the Alchemic Stars of Enlightened Soul! Nor was it the sixth or seventh stage of the Alchemic Stars!
No!!
It was something else entirely!
It was Wei Wuyin's very own…unprecedented…
ALCHEMIC STARS!
"The Alchemic Stars of Unparalleled Creation!!!!!"
By the decree of the Alchemic Dao, his defiant path of convention was no longer worthy of being restrained by the Alchemic Dao's archaic standards! It would forge a new flourishing path alongside him!! It would prove itself…limitless!