Paragon of Sin

Chapter 1182 1176:History Of Stars;World-Bound

Long ago, four eras past, a group of cultivators were born, and their cultivation, bearing, and ambition led to the Imperial System, becoming the first Imperial Clan of the Sealed Regions. This ruling system led to a revolution of cultivation and aggressive changes in societal standards, bringing together a once segregated and cautious World under a single banner, creating a connective, expansive multi-Stellar Region society of cultivation.

This era was riddled with innumerable difficulties and hectic struggles, especially as Ascended beings, those who've entered the Mystic Ascendant Realm, were continuously born. These new beings that exceeded Mortal Limits could traverse further, exert strength greater, and perform feats beyond anything conceivable by mere mortals.

This era was called the Mystic Enlightenment Era; this glorious era began fifty-eight thousand years ago, and this glorious era ended fifty-six thousand years later. In two thousand years, the era came to an abrupt end.

Why?

Unity—It was a simple word, typically given positive connotations, and even praised as helpful to society, but in a Cultivation society where there were clear lines of the weak and the strong, the helpless and the greedy, and the poor and the wealthy, it collapsed within a short period. The unity of 'interests' inevitably led to conflicts and desire, and the raw, destructive power of the Ascended was far, far too terrifying for mere mortals, alongside their ability to traverse vast distances, observe entire starfields, and hoard resources.

The Imperial Clan of that time had united the world under their flag with compassion for communication and growth, and after their strength grew too weak to regulate the behavior of those wanting more, it collapsed in on itself and fell into an endless chasm of death and destruction. Yet, the Imperial System survived by the grace of their efforts, continuing onwards to the next era.

In the end, they became puppets of the strong, the voice of the weak, and the negotiators for peace and a hopeful yet unlikely future. Unfortunately, the beginnings of the War of Fallen Stars were a sign that this Imperial Clan of three eras past was too weak to truly protect anyone in the face of ravenous and ambitious cultivators. The deaths of countless lives as their life sources were taken, as they froze to death without the heated radiance of their stars, died in agony and pain as the Chill of the Dark Void slithered into their bodies and reaped their lives ruthlessly.

The once vast and lively multi-Stellar Region World was reduced to desolate lands everywhere, lifeless and destitute. In return, the Ascended beings developed environments that allowed them to become Demi-Mortal Lords, the third stage of the Mystic Ascendant Realm, and a new world of horrific power were opened to cultivators.

Despite this, the Imperial System survived; the voice of the weak and dying was answered against the greed of the powerful, talented, and ambitious by a talented, mighty cultivator. A cultivator that could slay this new stage of cultivation—Demi-Mortal Lords—with absurd ease. They represented the will of heaven, the will of the people, and the will of the Imperial Authority on the basis of unity.

The people named this hero and his clansmen, calling them by the title: "Wu." In a certain esoteric language popularized during that era, it meant: 'Savior'. The Imperial Clan soon adopted the name and became the Wu Clan. While the weak of the world had received the support and stability they prayed for, it was those who were once weak that later brought an end to this very era, the era named the Heaven-Bound Imperial Era.

In the history of the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region, depending on who you asked within the Sealed Regions, the Wu Clan was either a tyrannical Imperial Clan that cared very little for the world, sought after their own goals, and was vilified for their greed and tyranny or great leaders praised for their cultivation-focused nature and greatest accomplishment: the Supermassive Solar Star!

While few liked the Wu Clan's history of tyranny, their contributions to the society of cultivation were undeniable, and they cemented the Imperial Clan's most important rule: "Only the strongest can rule."

What few realized was that the Wu Clan's tyrannical past was rewritten by the winners, by those who overthrew them, skewing history and what truly happened. The Supermassive Solar Star was the greatest evidence of their altruistic style of ruling, placing the future of the world before themselves, so much so that they were so heavily weakened by the creation of the Supermassive Solar Star that they were overthrown by the weak that they toiled for, that they sacrificed for, and they were shuttled into the annals of history as despotic villains that ruled with a might, ruthless fist in uncertain times, not as a clan that was once labeled as 'saviors' by the entire world.

However, reality was often cruel and unforgiving.

The next era, the Dark Stars Era, was one filled with growing societal issues and rife with violent conflict; the lack of a ruler and the existence of the greatest cultivation resource in the entire world caused an untold degree of hectic wars and indescribable deaths on a scale that would rival the War of Fallen Stars. It was brutal to the utmost limits of the imagination.

Then, a lone Earthly Saint emerged and a new era was ushered in as the chaos quietened before their invincible might. The Divine Emperor was crowned; the Aeternal Sky Starfield was established; the Tian Clan ruled as its leaders into a new era of compromise, oaths, and peace—the Aeternal Sky Era.

The Sealed Regions had undergone so much in the last sixty thousand years that over a dozen stellar regions had been reduced to only a single, lively Stellar Region that was the collection of countless starfields. While there was still activity of life all over, even in desolate and abandoned stellar regions or debris-ridden, lifeless starfields, the Supermassive Solar Star's existence helped nurture the strongest set of cultivators and was therefore seen as the greatest location to live and thrive in the world of cultivation.

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Within the former Heptasage Pillar Stellar Region, the location that caused the beginnings of the Dark Stars Era, the greatest congregation of effort, power, ingenuity, and authority was being exerted!

"INCREDIBLE!" Wu Yu mentally exclaimed with unrestrained awe in his heart as he stood amongst ten thousand Earthly Saints. In tandem, they were under the lead of the Armored Saint, referred to as the Legion Commander by the others, and they gathered together in a tight-knit location. They were all spread out and they formed a spherical shape while looking at its center.

At the center, each Earthly Saint, him included, was cautiously and skillfully pouring Mystic Power infused with Star Creation properties—Star Power, into a small ball of brightly lit energy. Mystic Ascendants exceeded the Mortal Dao, and they've grasped the Mystic Dao that allows them to emulate greater feats than those in the Mortal Dao by intermixing the two. It was well-known that those at the peak of the Mortal Dao, the Ninth Stage of the Astral Core Realm, the Star Core Phase, were extremely powerful; however, they couldn't 'create' Solar Stars.

After all, they 'were' Solar Stars; their Star Core was the Seed of a Solar Star, and when they died, the Mortal Dao reclaimed this seed that was grown through their effort and its power to perform Star Ascension, the process of birthing stars. It was this reason why Solar Stars were endless in the vast Dark Void and will remain so unless the Mortal Dao collapses.

However, transcending Mortal Limits allowed one to create Seeds of a Solar Star. When Wei Wuyin asked Ma Zheng to create a Solar Star's infrastructure, he generated an ordinary 'seed'. Additionally, he infused this Seed of a Solar Star with Star Power to bring it to life, emulating the phenomenon of Star Ascension at the cost of Mystic Power, introducing elemental, spatial, light energies, gravitational forces, and a variety of other components.

The Seed of a Solar Star determined its intrinsic qualities such as solar essence and radiance emissions, and the infusion of Star Power determined its size. Unfortunately, the seed produced this way was considered 'tainted' and referred to by society as 'artificial'.

Why exactly?

The Solar Stars created by this process were out of alignment, unable to properly operate in accordance with a typical orbit or spin properly on their axis while effusing radiance following the laws of heaven because it was rejected by the Mortal Dao! The Dark Void's Chaos Mana had little affinity with these Solar Stars and without proper formations and arrays etched within, most Solar Stars would simply be blobs of solar energy without purpose.

And this was because the process used the power of the Mystic Dao! It wasn't that the Mortal Dao couldn't accept it, but not even the Immortal Dao or the heavens can accept it! Because these 'Solar Stars' were created by the effort solely of the Mystic Dao!

And no Dao would accept such lopsided infringement on its territory, and asking them to do so would be the same as asking it to surrender its authority!

However, the latent will of the Mystic Dao originating from the Solar Star's creator could be expunged from the Star's Core! Wei Wuyin had infused his Elemental Heart Intent, which wasn't rejected by the Mortal Dao, Mystic Dao, heavens, or Chaos Mana, and 'overwrote' the latent will. The Elemental Heart Intent was part of the Law of Origin, allowing it to be possible as it was readily accepted by 'all' the energies within the 'artificial' Solar Star, thereby allowing him to do so without facing any form of resistance.

Otherwise, the Solar Core would've simply detonated. It was this retaliatory reaction that caused many Ascended beings to die during the creation of the Supermassive Solar Star as they had to resist the backlash of using their Mystic Power to 'merge' natural Solar Stars as one. The solar flares of such a powerful Solar Star of that size claimed the lives of even Demi-Mortal Lords.

After expelling the latent will from Ma Zheng's Solar Star, Wei Wuyin infused his own will, which was the Elemental Heart Intent, allowing the Solar Star to exist in supreme harmony with the Mortal, Mystic, and Immortal Dao through the Law of Origin. There was no longer an infringement of authority, facing no rejection from any of the Daos.

Intent outside of the stages of cultivation had no differentiation of Daos; All Intents can be infused with the Energy of all Daos equally, a clear sign of this undeniable truth.

At the moment, ten thousand Earthly Saints plus one were infusing their Star Power into a single point, creating the infrastructure of a Solar Seed. This grand sight was something that had never once been seen before in the Sealed Regions!

And within this Seed of a Star, there was a naked body immersed in the incoming Star Power…

A silver-eyed youth with his hands held steady into a single hand-seal, his eyes closed, his breathing steady, and his Elemental Heart Intent explosively pulsating through the Solar Star!

Wu Yu was completely mesmerized into a state of awe, not because of Wei Wuyin's utterly impressive, almost god-like body or endowments, but his focus and ability to withstand the presence of ten thousand and one Earthly Saints! He could feel that, as he infused his Star Power into the seed, his control of that energy was instantly taken away, controlled by a new will that regulated its flow and existence.

Not only was Wei Wuyin existing in a world of Star Power as a mortal, but he was skillfully controlling Star Power after seizing it to emulate Star Creation! This was unimaginable! Wei Wuyin wasn't in the Star Core Phase, and had never experienced the process of creating a Star Core before, so how could he so perfectly control that power?

Quantity aside, this should be impossible!

Wu Yu was unaware that not only did Wei Wuyin know how to control Starforce, Star Power, and the properties of Star Creation, but he had experienced them all himself at one point, even creating a few Solar Stars in his alternative life! The experiences of his suave alternate self were still paying endless dividends!

While he immersed himself in the seed, using his Elemental Heart Intent to expunge the Mystic Intent of ten thousand Earthly Saints, Wei Wuyin was currently facing a mental barrage of advice in his Sea of Consciousness.

"You can't!" Bai Xiu pleaded aggressively, "It's too reckless!"

"I agree with her," the Heavenly War Spirit echoed, "this is no different from suicide. Even if you want to create a World-Bound Star Domain, doing so using Star Power and not Starforce isn't just reckless-"

"It's stupid!" Bai Xiu hastily interrupted. The concern in her eyes was filled with genuineness and a little frightening to witness.

"..." Wei Wuyin just listened silently; the World-Bound Star Domain was a unique, one-time cultivation opportunity that could only be properly grasped and cultivated 'during' the Star Core Astral Tribulation. He had grasped this from debonair Wei Wuyin's memories; furthermore, it was one of that version's greatest regrets after rushing forward for the sake of reaching the Realm of Sages.

Wei Wuyin refused to experience the same regret.

And given his Astral Souls' ambitious nature, they would refuse to settle for anything else than the best.