Paragon Of Sin

Chapter 1789  Chapter 1782: The Arbiter; A Game of Mystics (13)

Within the Original Dawn Palace, there existed a subspace room that was guarded and heavily protected by paragonic levels of Mystic Force, shrouded by a distinct aura of eternity, and spiritually linked to a grand projection screen depicting the game of Mystics occurring nearby and a variety of sights beyond. 

Cao Cuifen sat on an exceedingly comfortable couch alongside the rest of Wei Wuyinʼs entourage. She sat next to Xi Ning, who was holding her hand tightly, those bewitching violet-colored eyes with golden flecks of hers focused on Wei Wuyinʼs figure with great intensity. 

The initial stages of a game of Mystics was just as important, if not, significantly more important than the game itself. It was the first stage of moves made by the players, and it could establish an advantage or disrupt momentum. For example, both Yue Baoyue and Su Yi had issued non-destructive conditions that affected the game itself. 

Xi Ning was incredibly tense, her heart racing, and that was solely because of the conditions. In a way, she was considered Wei Wuyinʼs ally via karmic ties, and if he disastrously lost the game, she would be subjected to a Mythical Punishment of an utterly terrifying scale. She could die.

And this time, permanently. 

Cao Cuifen found Xi Ningʼs fear understandable. After all, she was under the belief that Wei Wuyin was a glorious Resonant Soul Realm expert. Additionally, the vicious condition held no bias toward him, so there was no room for his opponents to object. If he had limited Mythical Punishment to the very initial stage of a Resonant Soul Realm expert, there would have been objections lobbied by everyone, but instead, the Mythical Punishment would scale four stages beyond Wei Wuyinʼs current cultivation. 

If he lost, if he was genuinely a Resonant Soul Realm expert, he would have died beyond a shadow of a doubt. This also contributed to why those various forces were wading through the dangers of the Void to locate the Mythical Contract, to hold Wei Wuyinʼs life in their hands, and eventually force him to concede with concessions if he neared defeat. They could restrict and essentially own a Supreme Sage! And one who was an Exalted Worldly Saint Alchemist! 

Just as Guo Hengʼs proof of wealth process was about to begin, Cao Cuifen, Yue Songli, Liu Suyin, Qing Qiumu, Wei Si, Grey Rose, and the others who were there to absorb the paradoxical energies within the White Abyss felt their Temporal Eyes pulse wildly.

Throughout reality, an Enlightened Sage experienced Paradoxical Correction within an actualized past.

An existence wasnʼt just killed. 

They were corrected. 

Cao Cuifen and Yue Songli exchanged glances. They both recalled Wei Wuyinʼs words back then.

”Paradoxical Energy is the hardest of the five types of time energies to grasp, to sense, and even to create. It is, by its own nature, an impossibility that shouldnʼt exist. Its main purpose is to regulate and alert time itself of any errors within its flow that may corrupt or disrupt everything else to catastrophic extents.

”When these paradoxes exist, something called Paradoxical Correction unfolds. If you stepped out of this area as is, you would be corrected; you would be erased from the flow of time. If severe, your ʼactualized pastʼ might vanish, preventing a ʼsubstantial future.ʼ

”Should something like that happen, itʼll be no different than not existing. No one would remember you. No one can recall your birth, your first steps, your first words, or your death. Youʼll lose all your substance within the flow of time itself.”

It was a violation of the natural order, and few could resist such an outcome. However, those who had refined the most profound type of temporal energies into their Temporal Eye, could still remember. 

Back then, Wei Wuyin had helped them refine this energy into their Temporal Eye, turning an exceedingly dangerous event into an awe-inspiring, unique, and memorable experience. They couldnʼt pinpoint what, but they felt their Temporal Eye activate, resisting the erasure of some memory, perhaps a name or a feeling of an aura in the far stretches of the world that might have caught only a glimpse of a feeling they felt upon being spied on. Whatever was evidence of their existence, no matter how minute, was attempting to eliminate itself from reality as a whole. 

Cao Cuifenʼs heart grew a little heavy. The knowledge that someone out there, someone she knew to some degree, was erased as a paradox of time was hard to accept. She wasnʼt at the level of being able to determine who either. Only after physically ensuring that everyone was here, that Wei Wuyin was at the jade table with an eternal smile, did her heart relax. 

Yue Songli petted Dakaraiʼs dark fur. He was nestled on her lap, enjoying the soft sensation with closed eyes. ”Do you think…?” 

”Weʼll leave it all to him,” Cao Cuifen confidently said. She had long since trusted Wei Wuyin wholeheartedly. Yue Songli felt the same. Xi Ning was unaware that an extraordinary cultivator with outstanding legends, a Grand Seer no less, had been wiped from the flows of time. She was someone who would have known that person, perhaps not personally, but surely by name. Now, if mentioned, Xi Ning wouldnʼt even recall anything of their existence. 

Moreover, the process was natural. It was as if they existed yet never existed. Strange as it was, nothing felt out of place to those unaware. As for those aware, they would only shudder at the power of the River of Timeʼs Paradoxical Corrections, and gather greater levels of reverence towards its profound might within their souls.

”WORLD-SAINT INVERSETOXIN!” A harsh shout directed all focus toward the jade table. The deathly pale Guo Heng was blankly holding his egg—an empty egg. He was the very picture of despair.

Su Yi smiled. Guo Heng hadnʼt just descended into despondency without recourse. Despite his personality, he had a Heart of Cultivation that allowed him to develop from a Junior to an Exalted Worldly Saint Alchemist within twenty thousand years, an extraordinary feat, even if it was fueled by an inner ego and a need for petty vengeance. 

Just a few minutes ago, he tried to hastily bring out all the contents of his Saint Ring. But despite spatial fluctuations erupting giving signs of withdrawal, nothing came out. This caused those at the table to observe him curiously. What was Guo Heng playing at?

As his face contorted into an ugly sight, he began to offer his Inversetoxin Alchemical Lineage, an utterly shocking discovery that caused everyone to tremble. Something was wrong! 
The Mystical Judges, especially Sun Jiazhen, respected the game of Mystics to its highest degree, and while Guo Heng was acting erratic, he performed his duty unbiasedly. Guo Hengʼs Alchemical Lineage was put onto display, but it barely reached the high-tier Mystic-Earth grade. Even if all the Concoction Methods were calculated together, they couldnʼt compare at all. They barely matched a few Arising Sage Elixirs in value.

While he had established himself as an Exalted Worldly Saint Alchemist, creating your own Mystic-World grade lineage was an extraordinarily difficult feat that was considered the greatest of the seven ways to develop oneʼs Alchemic Stars to the Transcendent Purity stage. He wasnʼt even at that stage! 

”I will remind you, World-Saint Inversetoxin, that you must equal your ʼstayedʼ bid, and it must be with things currently in your possession. That is fifty-three Mystic-Heaven Essence Stones of value. While your Alchemical Lineage is considered in your possession at all times, unless you have a verifiable physical object of a Concoction Method outside of it, such as a scroll, book, or tome, other alchemical lineages are not enough.” Lady Missulena informed as she got the gist of Guo Hengʼs panic, and while she spoke, her own heart was racing with a ferocity of a thousand thunderclaps. Was this happening?

Su Yi looked at the ceiling, his pupils constricting slightly. 

Out of those present, excluding Wei Wuyin, only Su Yi had a Soul Perception-esque spell active that could sense it. Actually, there was one other—Qin Yingyinʼs skin formed goosebumps. 

Something was awakening. 

Beyond the Utmost Purity Galaxy, rumbling was incessant. Moreover, a strange focus was placed almost entirely on a specific region—the Refinement Zone. Not even secret realms, world realms, subspace realms, or the Void were excluded from its focus. All of time and space was observed.

There was a tiny wisp attracted here. This was what Su Yi sensed. It was only a tiny wisp of this focus, yet it was enough to feel a stifling sensation within his True Soul. He didnʼt resist its focus nor did he have to. He knew what was happening.

It was the very beginning stages of the Trial of the Arbiter. 

Guo Heng offered the egg as a second-to-last resort. This was a pinnacle Mystic-World spatial treasure that possessed various Spatial and Temporal-Restricting Runes that could exclude it from space and time interference, including a variety of anti-scrying spells imbued within to prevent external divinations from determining its contents. 

Unfortunately, it wasnʼt Void-Restricting Runes, such as the ones on Grand Seer Rippledarkʼs spatial container. 

Sun Jiazhen inspected the egg alongside Shang Liu and Lady Missulena, and they immediately disqualified it as an equivalent object, much to Guo Hengʼs surprise, as they cited the obvious decay of runic energies within, making it highly vulnerable. If he wanted to offer it as a treasure, it would barely be worth less than a few tens of thousands of Mystic-World Essence Stones, and mostly as an object for the younger generation to play with and contemplate upon. 

It wouldnʼt be an understatement to say that at this point, Guo Hengʼs mind was on the verge of complete collapse. ”I can offer my servitude! I can offer my lifespan!” Desperation was an unsightly thing, and Guo Heng clamped onto any sort of hope.

Unfortunately, he was met with a brutal reply. ”As an Exalted Worldly Saint Alchemist, your service is an extraordinary treasure. However, it must be something accepted by those present. If you wish, you can begin a bid on yourself to those here, excluding the Mystical Judges. Itʼll follow the same rules as the wager bid for the sake of fairness. Additionally, to accommodate for this, your ʼstayedʼ bid will be required to be equal to the highest bid.”

This was not something that hadnʼt happened before. Bids can get far out of Alchemistsʼ and cultivatorsʼ expectations, So they often offered their service to play the game. If they won, they could make a counteroffer to erase the contract of service.

Guo Heng turned to each of them. Despair painted his soul as he was hopeful, just a tiny bit. It was enough to have his eyes glow beautifully. 

However, the value of 795 Mystic-Heaven grade essence stones was not a small amount. To any of them here. 

Su Yi bid with a smile not much unlike Guo Hengʼs a few minutes ago as Yue Baoyue was on the verge of suffering a similar fate, ”One Qi-grade essence stone.”

”...” The others watched silently. 

Wei Wuyin, however, chuckled with pure amusement. Why would anyone bid for him? Even if he was successful, the others all intended to win this game of Mystics. According to the rules, Guo Heng would be a cripple who may or may not survive the punishment that was to follow. They would be fools to bid.

It was enough to bring reality back to Guo Heng, and he had gone stiff in body and soul. That was it. Thatʼs when Sun Jiazhen shouted out his name, calling him out of his justified daze.

”WORLD-SAINT INVERSETOXIN!”

”...”

”If you do not show proof of wealth, I, Sun Jiazhen, as a Mystical Judge of this game will begin to vote to grant you a loss!” Sun Jiazhen was fearless and impartial. Shang Liu and Lady Missulena might not have the courage to deliver such words. After all, they belonged to organizations, one the current leader and the other an active elder, and the Zenith Refinement Tower was a pinnacle-tier superpower of the Utmost Purity Galaxy!

Su Yi could only sigh in the end. He had an idea of what happened, and he was happy that he took adequate precautions. Guo Heng was checkmated within two moves. He was a true fool. 

”Wait,” Guo Heng held out his hands anxiously. ”Wait. Wait. Just wait!” He hoarsely voiced, his eyes shifting with all of his cunning and intelligence. 

”JUST WAIT!” He screamed out. The rumbling within him as the sensation of feeling observed was growing intense to an unnatural degree. At the rims of his eyes, wetness began to surface. ”Please. Please, please, just wait!!” 
”...”

At this point, they all realized that Guo Heng wasnʼt talking just to the judgesʼ panel. He was talking to someone else—something else. 

Suddenly, a burst of clarity surged within Guo Hengʼs eyes as a light bloomed within. His Heart of Cultivation was staunchly forged from his years of ridicule, training, failures, and success. He recalled his first humiliation. 

He had a marriage agreement with a young woman. She wasnʼt too beautiful, but her origins were equivalent to his clan. Unfortunately, his Clan Lord had reached the end of his lifespan, and upon his death, their marriage agreement was indefinitely postponed. He wasnʼt very talented in cultivation, and so he never reached the heights to remove the postponement, and eventually, it was only natural for it to end as they grew older and their statuses kept getting further and further apart.

He remembered the day of the postponement. The smell of incoming rain and the weight of the heavy air. The sounds of his eldersʼ voices accepting it all. And he saw the disdain she had in her eyes. No, it was indifference. Which stung worse. 

It was minor to most, perhaps not as important in the eyes of others, but to him, he swore to himself to never allow anyone to look at him with indifference as if he was irrelevant as if he didnʼt matter, as if his voice and words and sincerity was worth the same as dirt. 

He rose in the ranks with startling momentum as an Alchemist, soon becoming a member of the Zenith Refinement Tower. He could still remember Sui Yuanʼs disrespect, her indifference to him as if telling the entire world that he, a Junior Worldly Saint Alchemist, was irrelevant to her. That his invitation was nothing, the same as dirt.

Since then, a grudge has been formed. Not only for her but for others. He had dealt with many, many others. Some men, others women, but all deserving of their fate in his eyes—an express ticket to Hell. 

Wei Wuyin watched as Guo Heng settled his heart and primed himself for his inevitable fate, accepting his circumstance entirely. It was a shocking scene. He looked to the ceiling.

Unlike the others, Wei Wuyin saw it. It was on par with an Unseen Divinity and his Celestial Eyes of Spiritual Divinity saw it all. From outside the Utmost Purity Galaxy, two slits formed between Heaven and the Void. It slowly rumbled until it split apart, exposing a gargantuan eye. It was billions upon trillions upon quintillions upon sextillions of miles wide, bearing down on the entirety of the Utmost Purity Galaxy shrouded by Utmost Purity Mist.

An eye of pure gold. 

This gold was different from other gold. Others might not notice, but Wei Wuyinʼs eyes widened as he felt a sense of familiarity. It wasnʼt exactly, but it had the aura of Order! Creation, Order, and Security! It wasnʼt the same, but it was remarkably close! 

Mythical Punishment! 

Was that…

Su Yi audibly voiced as if hearing Wei Wuyinʼs thoughts, ”The Artiber.” 

When those two words were spoken, all of Guo Hengʼs strength deflated. 

Every Heavenly Saint Alchemist, Supreme Sage, and Enlightened Sage simultaneously looked in the direction of the Arbiter. 

Sun Jiazhen conferred with Shang Liu and Lady Missulena at lightning speed. In the end, he announced with a steely tone: 

”World-Saint Inversetoxin has shown an inability to match the wagered bid. In accordance with the rules of the Mythical Contract and the game of Mystics: Royale, he will be subjected to all negative effects equivalent to losing all Chosen and the game itself. Furthermore, he will be beholden to repay the winner the full bid of 795 Mystic-Heaven Essence Stones or that of equivalent value within seven days or be subjected to punishment.” 

”...” 

The eye swept across the galaxy.

The chubby Supreme Sage exited the Void at this point, arriving at the Zenith Refinement Tower, and her eyes constricted violently. She felt that her True Soul was homed onto! 

Guo Heng was being observed! The Arbiter was deciding the fate of the Mythical Contract and whether there were oathsworn who failed to uphold their oath and determine who should receive punishment for violating these oaths and to what degree!

If all players Chosen suffer death, the respective player will cripple their cultivation base immediately, abolish their Spirits of Cultivation, and dissipate all quintessential sources of energy, essence, and cultivation, which must be sworn using the Seven Utmost Towerʼs Supreme Heavenly Treasure, the Divine Scepter of Seven Fortunes.

If a Chosen dies, the player who chose them receives Mythical Punishment equal to their cultivation base.

The death of a Chosen results in a Mythical Punishment of the highest strength relative to the cultivation of its respective player that the player suffers.

The untimely demise of a Chosen results in Mythical Punishment matching the playerʼs cultivation base, unleashed upon that player.

And lastly, All Mythical Punishments Conditions will be increased in severity by four stages of cultivation. If it exceeds the current realm of their cultivation base, then itʼll settle for the next realm of cultivation, halting at the first stage of the subsequent realm, and will extend to the respective forces aligned and supporting the player in this game, including all prior to the moment of this announced condition.

This was not one Mythical Punishment—THIS WAS NINE!

NINE! 

ALL AT THE RESONANT SOUL REALM!!!