Paragon Of Sin

Chapter 1725: Resounding Echoes of Celestial Refinement! Unprecedented Pill!

Back in the Ancient Sealed Regions, the Echoing Stars of Vastness Pill had a rather complicated, dark, and bloody history marred in mystery and death. It was originally pioneered within the Ancient Sealed Regions by a founder of the Seven Sages Tower, the same founder in recorded history that was said to be the first to have comprehended Elemental Origin Intent.

It was the source of the Dark Stars Era and caused great catastrophe amongst the populace as Solar Stars were stolen or claimed by ambitious cultivators seeking greater, unfathomable heights and firmer, unmatched foundations incomparable to the past.

It was achieved.

The lives of trillions upon trillions were traded for a greater cultivation society as those ambitious fellows established foundations that granted them qualifications to enter the Mystic Ascendant Realm. The greater portion of the Ancient Sealed Regions was brought to utter ruin as the sole remaining and healthy stellar region, the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region, remained as the central gathering location for cultivators.

That dark era caused a severe depletion of natural Solar Stars, and that greatly affected the future potential of the Ancient Sealed Regions, preventing those extremely talented cultivators from establishing a complete foundation before ascending into the Mystic Ascendant Realm. The lack of a World-Bound Star Domain was too impactful, and the consequence of such hasty, self-destructive, short-term decisions had been felt throughout history.

While ignorant of that history, Mei Xiangyao had accurately warned of the severe consequences of it being left unchecked for a cultivation society. But while she was ignorant of its historical direction, she had mentioned something that made Wei Wuyin rather thoughtful and briefly dazed—the tactic of introducing this pill into a cultivation society was often used in games of Mystics…

"The Resounding Echoes of Celestial Refinement Pill!"

Mei Xiangyao's Dao Protector, the short and sturdy-looking Mystic Overlord, exclaimed loudly without caring for his image, genuinely unable to contain his surprise. The sight startled White Sky, who was listening attentively to what Mei Xiangyao would request from Wei Wuyin.

Everyone's gaze fell on the short Dao Protector. Then, and only then, did the Dao Protector realize that their current response was a little too excited. Seeing this, he coughed awkwardly and explained his disturbance of mind:

"The Resounding Echoes of Celestial Refinement Pill isn't an ordinary pill by any means. I was lucky enough to obtain a chance to enter the Primeval Athenaeum during my youth, long before I met you, Lady Mei. There, I chanced upon a scroll blessed by an Enlightened Scholar that described the pill and its effects.

"Within its contents were mentions of an apex pill for refinement of one's foundation. However, the pill described then was not Mystic-World, but the Mystic-Soul, yet it had the same name!"

The short Dao Protector's every word drew further curiosity and then, at the end, caused the faces of each one here to undergo drastic changes! Wei Wuyin was among them!

The Mystic-Rank Alchemical Products were divided into four categorical stages: Mystic-Earth, Mystic-World, Mystic-Heaven, and Mystic-Soul; each stage was said to encapsulate a profound portion of the Mystic Dao, and with the first-half determining the foundation for the Mystic Dao and the second-half determining the path to Immortal Ascension by connecting Mysticism with Eternity.

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At least, that was the simplest understanding. In terms of the Alchemic Dao itself, Mystic-Earth grade products were designed to cater to the needs and opportunities that could be grasped by Venerables, Highlords, and Rune Kings, while Mystic-World grade products contained profound effects for World Emperors, Original Magistrates, Mystic Overlords, and Sages. These two grades oversaw the Mystic Ascendant Realm, while the two abnormal stages—the Mystic Star Phase that contained the last vestiges of the Mortal Dao's influence and the True Soul Stage that touched the next realm—were excluded due to their uniqueness, often lacking qualities of the purest Mystic Dao.

The Mystic-Heaven and Mystic-Soul, if Wei Wuyin had to guess, were divided in half with each being relevant to the respective powers of a Superior Sage, Cardinal Sage, and Prime Sage. While uncertain, the fact that Mystic-Heaven's Soul Pill granted a blessed opportunity to ascend into the Resonant Soul Realm was very telling.

Pakhet chimed in solemnly, "It's not strange for products to have lesser derivatives." She wasn't a full-blown alchemist, but she dabbled in the arts to test her aptitude early on. Unfortunately, she wasn't very gifted, and her most suitable path was not to become an alchemist.

"But of the same name?" The Dao Protector questioned. Pakhet immediately went silent. It was unheard of for two products to have the same name, but who's to say that the concoction method that Mei Xiangyao's subordinate had found was the legitimate Resounding Echoes of Celestial Refinement? Who's to say that the scroll was correct in its original grade?

"What about a variable concoction recipe?" Luo Ning initially wasn't going to speak, but her thoughts couldn't be contained. A Variable Concoction Recipe was a specific, multi-graded recipe of the same pill designed to deliberately be lesser with the same grade. It wasn't unknown. In fact, there was one known throughout every civilization with the Alchemic Dao—Essence Pills.

White Sky shook her head, "I can understand why you'd have that assumption, but Essence Pills require consistent materials with no additional changes. Moreover, if it was as you say, how could the Echoing Stars of Vastness Pill exist? Taking a step back, something that cultivated the foundation of each stage of the Mystic Ascendant Realm, exceeding its defined grade, would require vastly different materials. Unlike the Essence Pill whose materials are anything with essence and energy, the concoction method for it was exactly the same from the first-grade of the mortal-rank to the Mystic-Heaven grade, exemplifying simplicity. Furthermore, it doesn't require any specific spell or art to concoct."

White Sky spewed out an entire list of reasons why the Essence Pill and the Resounding Echoes of Celestial Refinement Pill couldn't be remotely the same.

Eventually, Mei Xiangyao was confused as well. The Primeval Athenaeum was a legendary library that only those under the age of 1,500, the average limit of a mortal's lifespan, could enter that carried the deepest, purest, and untainted history of the Utmost Purity Galaxy and its neighbors. However, knowledge there required extensive effort and sufficient cost to obtain. There were rumors that it was built by an ancient power of chroniclers tasked with keeping history alive and true.

Its location was not fixed, but when it showed itself, all the galaxies would be alerted.

No one could explain what this library was, but it was said to contain answers to anything that happened 1,500 years in the past or further since its appearance, regardless of who or what it was about.

For the short Dao Protector to have an opportunity to enter, and even read about that specific pill, Wei Wuyin was no fool.

This was the deep schemes and nigh-unfathomable machinations of the Heavenly Daos!

While he had long since bottomed out in Karmic Luck Value and was no longer receiving any stinging clues or mental hints, he was fully aware that White Sky was a karmic encounter for a Blessed or potentially, an Empyrean! Despite losing his karmic luck, he still possessed the black and gold tattoo signifying his status as an Empyrean.

When he considered this from that point of view, he knew that sparing White Sky was simply a segue to meeting Mei Xiangyao. Given that White Sky was complicit in Enlightened Sage Springfield's antics of defying the Heavenly Daos' commandments, avoiding the accruing of sin, but still an accomplice, the Heavenly Daos were not going to ignore her hand and intended to use her.

Whose opportunity was this? Tian Xiaolu? Or perhaps…

Someone else?

Wei Wuyin could have obtained this opportunity in many ways, either by delivering White Sky to complete her sentence of enslavement, forming a connection with Mei Xiangyao, or using force by challenging Mei Xiangyao in an Alchemic Clash, which was his plan b, and overturning her punishment then. If so, Mei Xiangyao may or may not have come to her himself, offering the product for an exchange to reach a higher tier of the Alchemic Dao or to advance her cultivation base.

There was even a possibility that he could have seduced her, relying on his innate charm of lust and looks to seize her heart completely, especially considering that, from their first interaction, Wei Wuyin did not doubt that he could pull this married woman into his bed with a few select words with every ounce of willingness in her bones.

After some thought, Wei Wuyin had already figured that this product was most certainly a piece that would eventually lead to the true Resounding Echoes of Celestial Refinement Pill that was Mystic-Soul grade, and this was the first step, but the amount of Karmic Luck Value deducted initially wasn't enough for a Mystic-Soul grade Concoction Method. He was certain of that.

"Let's see it," Wei Wuyin didn't argue what it could be and directly asked to view it. Even Mei Xiangyao was doubtful whether the concoction method was legitimate or not. Her Dao Protector had whittled her desire to negotiate conditions to view, not wanting to look too foolish by asking for too much. Moreover, she just needed to give the contents of the recipe, not the entire Concoction Method.

And as Wei Wuyin had expected, when Mei Xiangyao brought out the ancient animal skin page that had the written contents, it was indeed consistent with a Mystic-World grade product. It was unknown whether it was designed to be concocted into a pill, potion (elixir), pellet, or paste with the basis of the seven aspects of concoction usually listed in the method.

Mei Xiangyao blinked anxiously.

Everyone couldn't help but look. White Sky could tell too that it was a Mystic-World grade product based on the materials. For example, it required several well-known Mystic-World graded materials, even a leaf of a Soul-Bound Flower or an entire Spirit-Bound Flower was listed alongside nine drops of condensed Heaven's Essence Liquid.

Heaven's Essence Liquid was exceedingly difficult to procure, mostly because it could take a Heavenly Saint Phase cultivator, an Original Magistrate, roughly ten thousand years to condense a single drop, and that was often used for high-tier Mystic-World grade products. It could also be extracted from an Edict Seed.

Those weren't even the core material! A Colossal 'natural-born' and 'naturally grown' Solar Star was required. Moreover, it had to be refined by the Nine Ways of Mysticism, a genuine Mystic Star! And that was a feat only achievable by a Mystic Overlord or dozens of Original Magistrates.

They were absurdly, ridiculously, stupendously rare! Moreover, you needed one just for a single attempt. FOR EACH ATTEMPT!

Pakhet's expression turned ugly as her eyes shifted to Wei Wuyin's thoughtful figure.

If a cultivation society were to learn of this that was as advanced as the Resolute Dusk Galaxy, which had Solar Stars that met that condition, hence why it had such egregious levels of resources, the galaxy could fall apart. At the very least, if Wei Wuyin decided to wantonly use those stars, it wasn't an exaggeration to say that the Resolute Dusk Galaxy would lose 60% of its resource generation. While they had the power to prevent a death calamity of epic proportions via mass relocation, the future of their youths would experience an extreme decline.

It was just a recipe, but just like the Echoing Stars of Vastness Pill, Pakhet and everyone here could tell that even an impure-quality product would produce an unfathomable benefit to one's cultivated foundation that could be equivalent to ten thousand years of cultivation for a Sage.

This wasn't to be underestimated!

"I won't," Wei Wuyin softly said those two words.

Pakhet's heart, which was violently squeezing with worry, inexplicably relaxed. Those two words were enough for her to throw away all her worries. Mostly because she was Wei Wuyin's Alchemic Knight; he had no reason to lie to her.

"It seems like it could be the pill…" White Sky knew the recipe of the Echoing Stars of Vastness Pill and felt that this recipe aligned well. It might be the legendary Resounding Echoes of Celestial Refinement.

Wei Wuyin's Alchemic Stars gazed intently at the recipe. His expression turned strange. The shift caught everyone's eye.

"What is it?" Mei Xiangyao was besieged by worry.

"The Alchemic Stars can glimpse into certain details of the Alchemic Dao, one of these abilities includes knowing the name of a product's legacy name with a single glance," Wei Wuyin said. This was also how the King of Everlore grasped his product names later, not daring to place his 'Ever' prefix despite pioneering the product.

Mei Xiangyao knew this ability; they all did, but she hadn't grasped the Alchemic Stars of Spiritual Transcendence yet. This wasn't an embarrassing matter either, even if Luo Ning, a Junior Earthly Saint Alchemist, had achieved it before her. Because Luo Ning had Wei Wuyin AND an Alchemic Soul.

Her Alchemic Stars of Mortal Spirituality was only effective on Mortal-Rank Alchemical Products. She hadn't dared to show anyone else the recipe yet, treating it as her greatest opportunity. However, she wasn't bothered by the name before because she didn't know that it was a Mystic-Soul graded product in the records of history.

"It is the Resounding Echoes of Celestial Refinement Pill!" Wei Wuyin stated directly.

"It is!" White Sky exclaimed.

The short Dao Protector was in utter disbelief. The Primeval Athenaeum contained information that was never wrong, right? The Resounding Echoes of Celestial Refinement Pill had to be a Mystic-Soul product!

"I think I know the issue here," Wei Wuyin speculated as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully with one hand and touched the animal skin page with his other. "But to obtain a certain answer, I'd need to do some more research."

While he said that to the others, Wei Wuyin had more or less understood what this was by the Heavenly Daos' unseen hands on the matter extending thousands upon thousands of years in the past. A True Mystic-Rank Alchemical Product!

An extreme rarity among Alchemical Lineages: a single product that spans across the Mystic-Earth, Mystic-World, Mystic-Heaven, and Mystic-Soul grades, different recipes, and different effects, but compiled together under a single name! His Infinite Variations were very similar, yet of the same grade, different effects.

It was also the ultimate protection; any attempt to rely on divination arts to discern any information regarding even the Mystic-Earth graded recipe or concoction method would require as much effort and power as determining a Mystic-Soul graded recipe.

The powerful alchemist who created this product must have gone to great lengths so that lesser cultivation civilizations would find it impossible to discover this product except by inadvertently pioneering it themselves as the King of Everlore or the Founding Alchemist of the Seven Sages Tower had done before. They knew the dangers of their creation.

That said, Wei Wuyin was sure that this page was torn from the complete book that contained all four recipes. The Heavenly Daos had laid the puzzle pieces before him, and now it would be his opportunity to seek it out.

"The Primeval Athenaeum…"

The library might be the next step to finding out more.