Paragon Of Sin

1837 Chapter 1830: Final Act (4)

Everything had been solidly established, meticulously planned from the outset, much to the immediate surprise of the Zeniths and denizens of the Utmost Purity Galaxy; the Incandescent Star Palace had taken the initiative to invite guests from several galaxies of lesser standard, generating an incoming gorgeous array of mesmerizing stellar transit lights.

They each carried prominent figures, their disciples, companions, and more, ranging from Dao Companions to guardian knights. The invitation of the Incandescent Star Palace, fully paid for, including the guarantees of safety and remuneration upon arrival, was far too tantalizing to reject.

”You say what now?!” Zenith Fusion questioned with a baffled expression. ”Already?!” He followed with, seemingly shaken to their core.

The target of his questioning was an elderly woman in a pomegranate dress embroidered with golden larks perched across intricate branches, some seemingly on the verge of taking flight, others cleaning themselves, or chirping to the heavens. She looked rather eerie, her eyes hollowed out, her skin was abnormally taut, and she stood ramrod straight with flawless posture. She emanated an aura of a True Sage, and by no means was she beneath the sixth-tier, indicating her outstanding strength.

If placed before the Sages of the Resolute Dusk Galaxy, whose ten Sages had never exceeded the third-tier, one could easily determine that her foundation was phenomenal and establishing an instant degree of superiority, worthy of being a subordinate of a Heavenly Saint Alchemist, a true Zenith of a galactic-level Alchemic Dao.

She was Sage Motherlark, and she was not an ordinary cultivator—her fluctuations showed signs of remarkable Spiritual Strength. She was a Spiritualist! Despite her hollowed pair of eyes, her perception was renowned across the galaxyʼs upper echelon.

She spoke in a raspy voice laced with a monotone tone of respectfulness and far distance: ”The Incandescent Star Palace has invited the six lesser galaxies, our direct neighbors, for an event theyʼre hosting. After learning about our conflict with the foreigner, intrigued, their Vice-Palace Master—Zhou Yiyin has inquired about granting spectator rights.”

”...” Zenith Fusion was stunned by the suddenness. Originally, they intended to invite prestigious alchemists, promising talents, and prominent cultivators with exceptional reputations alongside startling combat abilities, within the Utmost Purity Galaxy to serve as witnesses, yet coincidentally, the Incandescent Star Palace had invited six galaxies for an event?

Hm?
”What event?” He rubbed his chin contemplatively as he asked.

Sage Motherlark answered without missing a beat, seemingly anticipating the question due to experience, ”According to the Vice-Palace Master, itʼs a celebration in honor of World-Saint Neo-Dawn in regards to union, prosperity, and cultures. Theyʼve been invited to bring along their finest chefs and various aspects of their galactic culture to expand the horizons of his wives and wives-to-be.

”However, upon investigation, they seemed to have been unaware that the main subject of the event was World-Saint Neo-Dawn, and they were under the impression that they were called upon by the Incandescent Star Palaceʼs Palace Lordʼs most recent disciple alongside whispering of an unveiling of a new proposition regarding the Star Bridges.”

Zenith Fusionʼs eyes shone with a lively light, and all sorts of thoughts flitted across his gaze. ”Unaware? New proposition? Could it be that disc that World-Saint Neo-Dawn was using? Oh! Were we not invited?”

”Regarding our invitation to this event, we were indeed invited roughly several weeks ago, but due to its objective of celebration, I had intended to wait until after the fiasco with Daoist Su Yi and World-Saint Neo-Dawn, since tensions were at an all-time high. But our spots were reserved beforehand.” Sage Motherlark informed concisely.

”I see. I see. Weeks? That means that Su Yiʼs matter hadnʼt occurred yet. Before the game of Mystics?” Instinctually, he dismissed the coincidental nature of it all, seemingly accepting that it was pure chance that allowed these events to miraculously align. After all, was it not they who slyly directed Wei Wuyin to unwillingly participate in an unwinnable Alchemic Clash, extending his desired battle for a better promising route to maximize their gains?

”Which six galaxies are attending?” Zenith Fusion was curious about this matter. The galactic cluster had thirty-three active galaxies, which consisted of twenty-five lesser galaxies, six greater galaxies, and two restricted galaxies.

The two restricted galaxies were the Onestar Galaxy and the Fallenheart Galaxy, the former of which was the homeland of Wei Wuyin!

The six greater galaxies were the Prosperous Ruin Galaxy, Treasured Vale Galaxy, Utmost Purity Galaxy, and Thriving Prohibition Galaxy; all four were part of a quad-cluster of neighboring galaxies, with the final two situated at the edges of the cluster, and they were named Galaxy-X and Brightburn Sunlight Galaxy.

The twenty-five lesser galaxies were numerous, scattered across the cluster. Galaxies such as the Sky Heart Galaxy, White Abyssal Galaxy, and the newly renamed Resolute Dusk Galaxy were all lesser galaxies denoted as such due to their special circumstances that prevented galactic assimilation, either due to a restrictive prohibition, a forbidding guardian, or strange oddities like the White Abyss.

Every active lesser galaxy was special in a way, unable to be assimilated as the thousands upon thousands of other galaxies had been into Galactic Zones of the greater galaxies. As for the restricted galaxies, Wei Wuyin had speculated they were territorial domains of former existences that dared to attempt to exceed the Mystic Dao in their cultivation, failing in the end. The origin of the True Ether Jiao, otherwise referred to by the denizens of the Onestar Domain as the Jiaolong, which was rumored to be the gargantuan body of the Absolute-sized Solar Star seized by the Ascended Sovereigns after failing its ascension.

Sage Motherlark cleared her throat as she listed off, ”The Scarlet Firestorm Galaxy, True Rembrandt Galaxy, Subaqueous Wave Galaxy, Tenebrous Horizon Galaxy, and lastly, the Buried Sword Galaxy.” When she finished listing them off, for a brief moment, the expression of ʼas I expectedʼ flashed across Zenith Fusionʼs face before giving way to a bewildered glint in his eyes.

”The Buried Sword Galaxy?” Each lesser galaxy was miraculously special, evidenced by their ability to forgo integration, either due to inhospitable conditions, such as the Sky Heart Galaxyʼs Prohibition of Heavenʼs Resonance, which severely affected Spirit of Cultivation-possessing cultivators negatively. However, the Buried Sword Galaxy was exceedingly strange in its reclusive, anti-social societal dynamic regarding foreign galaxies and its interactions with them.

To put it bluntly, it was excessively xenophobic on a galactic scale, and only outsiders who had grasped Sword Intent had permission to enter, and even then, they were suppressed in cultivation and freedom during their stay. Additionally, it had a Divine Guardian on the same level as the Protector of the Duat from the Resolute Dusk Galaxy—Horus. This Divine Guardian, however, was a demon, born from the body of a Mystic-Heaven graded Sword.

It was born with the strength between the True Soul Phase and a Resonant Soul Realm expert, and later became an official Supreme Existence in its maturity, yet due to its particular characteristics, mostly its passive nature like Horus, the Buried Sword Galaxy remained a lesser galaxy. Zenith Fusion did not expect the Buried Sword Galaxy to be invited, let alone accept an invitation from the Incandescent Star Palace.

The Three Sword Sovereigns of the Buried Sword Galaxy were renowned despite their closed-off nature, all of whom were True Sages. They were known as the Earthbound Sword Sovereign, the Skyward Sword Sovereign, and the Voidborn Sword Sovereign. Zenith Fusion had some dealings with the Earthbound Sword Sovereign, mostly hiring to retrieve materials in the dangers of the Void-Blank Space for alchemy.

He could only hope the Skyward Sword Sovereign wasnʼt attending. That troublesome little wench.

With a wrinkly pucker of his lips, Zenith Fusion could only stifle his rising dissatisfaction and unease. A particular sword-wielding cultivator flashed across his thoughts. ʼCould this be because of Su Yi?ʼ He thought about this for a while but felt disinclined to believe it to be true. The invitations were sent before all the chaos, but there was always a possibility.

As if reading his mind, he received a message from another Zenith:

”We may be able to find Daoist Su…”

Zenith Fusionʼs eyes glowed with an extraordinary right gleam of Realization. While finding the forbidden region that Su Yi went to via Wei Wuyinʼs loss was preferred, this clash has long since transcended Su Yiʼs importance, becoming a little more than an afterthought to the Zeniths. None of them had any grudges against Su Yi that couldnʼt be buried with alchemy and exchange of resources or deals.

Profit above all, after all.

They were more concerned with obtaining his secrets of cultivation reinitiation than killing him outright. It was clear from their recent financial disaster which made them lose a significant amount of wealth in the recent game of Mystics and the subsequent fallout was sufficient to display that the Zeniths were relatively indifferent to other matters not involving the Alchemic Dao or competition or self-interest, not known for throwing hands at the first signs of a lost.

To them, they were wealth personified. What they lost could easily be regained with time, so why issue war declarations like some Sages or Supreme Existences would over a lost treasure or an essence stone lode?

”Well, this should be quite interesting,” caressing his chin, Zenith Fusionʼs lips formed an excited smile.