0:59
The Evercrown's spherical light exuded an aura of peerless holiness, utmost purity, and dignified presence. With the Evercrown present, the birth of this generation's Chosen King was destined to occur. Countless Seers, Oracles, and Fortune Tellers had delved into the circumstances of this particular Chosen King Competition, and they had all come to a very similar conclusion-this competition was fated to be heaven-defying, redefining an entire generation, and establishing an era-altering lineage of cultivators.
Due to this, the Ascendant Sovereigns had made moves; the nine Earthly Saints, three from each racial lineage, were created by their hands.
Since the Evercrown Ceremony began, those from the World Beyond understood that those old, bright-eyed foxes of fate-scrying were not lying! From the unusual arrival of abnormal, heaven-shaking mortals, to the descent of three Evil Sentinels, all with Mystic Heart Intent, and even to the emergence of a strange, mysterious figure that had hijacked the competition, the mortal Worldly Saint Alchemist heralded by those mortal youths-the Neo-Dawn Ascendant Emperor, Wei Wuyin!
Nothing was standard in this competition, and the deaths were unnaturally high, incredibly explosive, and entirely unexpected. The 76th Noble Prince's arrival and then swift demise had shaken their hearts. The Bloodforge Canine's hunt brought horror to their souls. The clash of mortal gods of ultimate excellence weighed upon their minds.
Some were inspired. Others had their Hearts of Cultivation fragmented into pieces. A few met individuals who would alter the course of their futures.
And now, the fight for the 'reasonable' wish of the Neo-Dawn Alchemic Saint was on the verge of concluding. All schemes, open and hidden, had been set. But there was one last obstacle-
The Evercrown.
0:58
Everyone made attempts to probe the spherical orb of light that encapsulated the Evercrown, trying to gauge the extent of its holy aura and intrinsic properties. Unfortunately, there was a majestic, pure emission of light that made it difficult for any form of sensory spell or raw spiritual sense to penetrate.
"Gah!"
"My eyes!"
Grunts of pain, agony, and terror erupted from all over as several cultivators held their eyes, their heads, or their hearts as they suffered a backlash from the resplendent holy light from their attempts at sensing. Those too careless were immediately knocked unconscious, their life and death was no longer theirs to decide.
Shockingly, no one rushed toward the Evercrown foolishly. This only went to show that those who survived thus far were not the common, thoughtless, greedy, and wretched riff-raff. They were intelligent and cautious. While a few had suffered earlier, this was not a direct result of their lack of intelligence. Even the Ascendants, such as Xue Yifei and Wu Baozhai, had experienced slight backlash.
The act of casual probes was cemented in most people's instincts and few could resist if the aura wasn't openly demonic and thus corrosive.
A wave of mental unease swept the vast lands. However, this was to be expected; the majestic voice had said once before: "Only evil can corrode the brilliance of the Evercrown." If what he said was true, then only evil could breach this particular brilliance!
The Mystic Souls and Mystic Cores that had been snatched forcefully from the Evil Sentinels were held tightly. The issue was...how to do this?
0:57
They didn't have much time left. However, the first to stand out was often the first to suffer. It was hard to suppress their innate caution born from their cultivation and struggles. Moreover, none of them was genuinely careless like ordinary cultivators who were a little unintelligent, believing first-come, first-serve rules among the brutality that was the laws of the cultivation world.
0:56
Xue Yifei anxiously clenched her hands into fists. There were a few layers to this simple countdown, and she didn't dare to be too direct in her approach. Additionally, while that holy light seemed boundlessly pure and carried unsurpassed majesty that could inspire an immortal reverence within the soul, she knew that it was undoubtedly her husband's power.
There was a twang of fear in her heart at the sight of it. Wei Wuyin wasn't just a genius of the highest order, a mortal who became a Worldly Saint Alchemist, thereby surpassing the legends of the King of Everlore, but he was a genuine cultivator of the Martial Dao who possessed unfathomable powers that could cause The Serpent to retreat and push Trueborn to its knees with a few moves.
"We'll go first."
Shockingly, the An Sisters took a united step forth. Their movements were in unison as their auras were melded in perfect harmony, exuding the presence of miraculous flames and bountiful water. Their joint Star Domain up above brightened considerably, yet before the great brilliance of the Evercrown, it was thoroughly eclipsed.
Xue Yifei gave the sisters a look. They replied on their own. Few knew, but the An Sisters were part of her faction. They had been born in the Bloodforge Continent and were a clan that served the Xue Family. While they were Ascendants of the Third Legion, they were also members of her Ascendant-specific faction.
They were one of her very concealed trump cards. Unfortunately, she couldn't keep them too hidden given their abnormal strength and talents. When they gained profound insight from the Obelisk of War, their talents and futures changed drastically.
The An Sisters didn't return the look to Xue Yifei and just jetted forth while tightly holding each other's hands wrapped in purplish fiery light. Aquaflame Intent!
Fused Intent! Unique Intent!
When they flew into the sky, the holy radiance was seven hundred meters away.
Sizzle!
Their conjoined auras began to sizzle and burn as if being purified by the light itself! The two beautiful countenances immediately became pale. This was the first step! A thousand meters away! While for cultivators of their strength, seven hundred meters wasn't very far, yet it felt as if a great wall was placed before them.
They reeled a few steps back.
The hearts of those watching were seized by shock.
0:55
"Sister!" An Biru called out. An Feijin nodded strongly, their auras began to erupt with great strength. Aquaflame Intent! Two Star Core cultivation bases! Two Star Domains! They invoked a wisp of their World Rune Seed's power!
They pushed forward with thunderous steps. Each step was like a boom of the heavens and a clap to the mind.
699 Meters!
A single meter, and they slowly grew aghast in expression, consternation enveloped their hearts. It was too difficult!
The expressions of everyone who watched changed in varying degrees, some dramatically and others slightly, but most darkened considerably. The two sisters were in a state of strength where they could rival Earthly Saints, perhaps even using exquisite methods to slaughter Demi-Mortal Lords with ease, yet they couldn't take more than a few steps forward!
San Yongli was appalled at the sight. What type of radiance was this? Moreover, those two women were interesting! She set aside her awe and fear, taking a deep breath as she realized that there was no way that, besides fulfilling a certain condition, there was no way to approach the Evercrown. Wei Wuyin's investment into this hijacked competition was unimaginable.
Wu Baozhai clenched her halberd's shaft. "Another variable," she slowly said.
None of them thought it would be easy! But this added another layer of complication! After all, the moment the radiance fell, the one who sent their cores last would have an advantage.
The An Sisters didn't hesitate to change tactics after failing to push more than a single foot of distance. They hurriedly brought out a few Mystic Star Mystic Cores and Mystic Souls. When they held them out, the cores and souls began to emit faint wisps of smoky light that were abnormally dark and horrifying as a lightless night. If one looked closely, one could see the screaming faces of cultivators of many races, all shouting in anguish, tormented by the moments before their deaths, filled with endless grievances and unfulfilled dreams.
The faces weren't small. They were utterly gargantuan, roughly hundreds of feet high, painting the sky. A particular face was a thousand and three hundred feet high, and they cried tears of black blood that fell. The holy radiance purified the black blood before it could reach the ground, tainting it with an unimaginable degree of deathly grievance.
It was as if it contained the cries of the victims of the Evil Sentinels, projecting their dying faces to the world. There were titans, humans, and celestials.
"..."
Some of these faces were recognized by those from the Sealed Region...
Some were once heralded as genius talents 81 years ago or 162 years ago...or even 243 years ago!
Past participants of the Chosen King Competition!
"But how?!" Immediately, a few quick-thinking individuals were utterly baffled after recognizing these faces. These Evil Sentinels were all Ascended beings, and those Chosen from the Sealed Region had never reached the Evercrown Ceremony before!
"Wait..." Almost immediately, a sullen light of realization flashed across many of their eyes. The Chosen King Competition...they fed the losers to these Evil Sentinels...to bolster their strength.
Strange emotions emerged in their hearts.
As the holy radiance shone brightly upon these faces, their contorted, vicious, or crying faces suddenly twitched. Gradually, as they were slowly burned away, a look of unimaginable relief flashed within their eyes and bright, contented smiles filled with endless gratitude and happiness could be seen. They mouthed their thanks, but no sound was heard.
Then, they were gone.
"..."
The holy radiance around the Evercrown slightly lessened in intensity.
Evil Cultivators cultivate by extracting everything from others, from flesh, blood, bone, spirit, mind, and even soul. They devoured it all to bolster their path. It was why it was defined as Evil Cultivation. There was an ongoing debate whether being an Evil Cultivator constituted being the definitive evil, as cultivators slaughtered viciously and stole all the time, they simply used methods to take the efforts of others.
Most of the time, it wasn't too vile. But there were always the radical ones on both sides of the spectrum. The cultivator that had no qualms glassing a planet and its countless inhabitants to try to get rid of a single man such as Evergod that never touched any Evil Methods or these 'evil' cultivators that captured souls, used it to fuel their strength even if it was against natural law, preventing rebirth.
The most shocking thing was...the Heavenly Daos had no issue with one, but viciously labeled and punished the other.
The An Sisters looked sad and distraught as they realized the fate of those unlucky souls. No wonder these Evil Sentinels were so strong. They looked at each other, seeing the gazes within them.
Then, they didn't care about being cautious or the Evercrown for this moment. They brought out all of their Mystic Cores and Mystic Souls. Without hesitating, they stood 700 meters away, throwing them into the radiance.
Dark faces manifested and they melted, purified by the light-freed.
Whoosh!
An Biru looked to her left.
Xue Yifei arrived beside the sisters. She gave them a look, her eyes gentle and warm, filled with a tinge of melancholy. An Biru could see that all of Xue Yifei's plans were slowly pushed aside. She brought out her numerous Mystic Souls and Mystic Cores, tossing them one by one.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Wu Baozhai arrived. She, too, didn't hesitate to toss her Mystic Cores and Mystic Souls. The souls within were freed by the holy radiance.
Bei Weiwei was there too. She tossed her cores and souls in as well without blinking alongside Wu Baozhai.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
One by one, Chosen arrived around the holy light from every direction from below and around.
Before long, countless Ascendants and Chosen who had seized cores and souls began to send them into the light. The holy radiance rapidly lessened as faces birthed and smiled brightly as the stars in the night sky.
A Demi-Mortal Lord Celestial Chosen stared at a particular face of a female. She was beautiful to the point that it hurt him, and she gazed upon him intently. The pain and suffering she had in her expression eased.
He didn't know when or how, but he heard a voice in his mind as if transmitted from the face.
"In our next life."
Hot tears poured from his ears, his shoulders trembled and his heart was somehow lighter. No one knew of their story, but from the way he looked at her, with endless reminiscing and love, it was certainly an interesting one.
A few others had similar situations. Even if they didn't cause the faces to manifest by tossing in a specific core, the face would find them as long as they were participating, and a mental transmission would flow into their minds.
"Be sure to brush your teeth and eat well. And don't frown, you don't want wrinkles." A young man's dark face chuckled and looked warmly at a young woman. His face slowly vanished. And her snotty nose and tears flowed as if she was a three-year-old.
Some of these Chosen from the World Beyond had brothers, sisters, best friends, lovers, and due to the age situation and their knowingly taking risks, they had children that were raised within prestigious families, and taken care of by those left behind in their stead.
Slowly, a melancholic air overwhelmed the world. There was a wave of relief, happiness, depression, excitement, and hope sweeping the world. Some kowtowed in the air. Others bowed deeply. A few who asked for forgiveness. And most just stood there, crying or looking on into the radiance with unshed tears contained in their eyes, putting on a strong front.
Not many Chosen had survived the rampant slaughter since the Evercrown Ceremony started, but there were plenty who were present.
Wei Wuyin silently watched.
First Calamity: Survived - 7/7.
Second Calamity: Claimed - 1/1.
Third Calamity: Claimed - 3/3.
Fourth Calamity: Suppressed - 19 Years.
Karmic Luck Value: 195,754.0 â 195,872.2.
***
First Calamity: Survived - 7/7.
Second Calamity: Claimed - 1/1.
Third Calamity: Claimed - 3/3.
Fourth Calamity: Suppressed - 19 Years.
Karmic Luck Value: 195,872.2 â 197,420.8.
Slowly, Wei Wuyin's Karmic Luck Value was steadily rising. Meanwhile, he was tapping into a tremendous amount of starforce to facilitate this event each second. He nodded with contentment. Besides the sealed Su Mei, every Ascendant was offering their cores and souls, not caring in the slightest about the potential advantages of withholding their cores and souls.
As for Su Mei, she had already halted her pulsating power, not creating any sort of disturbance as the scene unfolded.
Despite the intensity allowing others to enter within 120 meters, no one moved further than seven hundred meters as the large faces, some reaching thousands of feet, manifested and were slowly purified by the holy radiance.
"As expected, this works." Wei Wuyin thought as he realized that his 'proactive' act was causing a heavenly aura to churn in the far-off sky, slowly breaching the realm. The aura was slowly focused on him, intensifying by the moment as his power facilitated the entrapped, tormented souls' escape into the Heavenly Daos.
Instead of just slaying the Evil Sentinels, taking only their Karmic Luck Value from their accumulated sin, Wei Wuyin knew that his action directly freeing the souls from their binds was extracting both fortunes from the Evil Sentinels' death and the souls' freedom. It wasn't a simple two-fold as the Heavenly Daos seemed to be making a move. He was interested in what this would bring, intending to exploit this a little more. Who would have thought that Scripture of Sin and the Three Thousand Commandments had this extra layer to them?
