Qing Wan's life and death hung on Wei Wuyin's swaying emotions; her confidence in her generational dominating beauty and the importance of yin physique dwindled to non-existence. She gulped at her every instinct and screamed that this moment would determine her future.
Qing Wang stuttered with a quivering breath, "I-I..."
"Take it slow. We have time," Wei Wuyin consoled as he waited for her to collect her thoughts and steady her emotional state. She was strong-willed enough to take a mission to assassinate a Sage, so her mental strength was not fragile.
Qing Wan didn't haggle or negotiate her release, understanding after some heavy deliberating internal thoughts that honesty was the best step forward here, and anything less would likely end with calamity. Her internal debate was guided gently by Wei Wuyin's mental strength. "His Excellency..."
She began slowly before picking up, the reverence in her tone deepened by the passing second, yet the first two words caused Wei Wuyin's interest to pique
immensely. That title 'His Excellency' carried significant meaning.
It was a title used to refer to Supreme Sages, those Resonant Soul Realm experts. It was quite similar to World-Saint for Alchemists, however a tad bit more generic. The full title was Superior Excellence; an example of this title was if Supreme Sage Dao Enforcer of the Zenith Creation Tower, a genuine and
battle-tested Resonant Soul Realm powerhouse, was referred to by others, they would be called Superior Excellence Suo Haoran by his peers and Superior
Excellence Chained Horizon by those within the sphere of power. Other layers added to the complexity, such as other lesser cultivation referring to him as the Chained Sovereign of the Suo Clan.
Wei Wuyin had learned of the three subdivisions of Supreme Sages—Superior Sage, Cardinal Sage, and Prime Sage, and their respective titles of Superior Excellence, Cardinal Eminence, and Prime Luminary, especially since titles were imbued with power that could kill.
For Qing Wan to refer to Su Yi as His Excellency, not His Eminence or Primarch, she was under the impression that this Heavenly Saint Phase expert was a Resonant Soul Realm Superior Sage! If his understanding was correct, Superior Sages were lower to middle-stage Resonant Soul Realm experts, those within the Mystic-Heaven grade of the Alchemic Dao!
She held nothing back as she began to explain her connection with Su Yi. After thinking about it, she realized these events and secrets paled in comparison to her life, her thoughts as practical as could be.
Su Yi and her had met early, roughly forty years ago, shortly before she was scouted for this mission. She was being hunted after her master's death by a group of Original Magistrates seeking to overturn their fates by relying on her physique by splitting her Primal Yin. She was afraid of this happening, and as she was on the verge of collapsing entirely, likely forced by those sinister cultivators, two of which were women who wanted to assimilate her Quintessential Yin Energies to supplement their own, Su Yi appeared on a small boat and an airy, light, immortal-like aura.
Those hunters had feared that Su Yi would expose her capture to others, creating a hunt after her physique was exposed, and sought to silence him by enforcing severe oaths and binding spells. He refused, of course.
The subsequent event was enough to shake her soul. At the time, Su Yi was only a Worldly Saint, a mere World Emperor. Yet Su Yi slaughtered those of higher cultivation as if they were hapless chickens.
Then, for three years, she served as his maidservant for a while, venturing across the stars before she found an opportunity, and they separated. She owed him her life and then some. Moreover, Su Yi was praising her physique, yet held no desire for it. At first, she thought he was simply baiting her to willingly give herself, and the longer she interacted with him, the more she came to realize that she was genuinely just a person to him despite her physique.
She slowly felt soul-deep reverence and even was on the verge of repaying him by using her body, but he decisively refused. He was the type to believe that feelings have to be mutual to engage in Dual Cultivation, a very archaic thought, and told her to experience life a little more before asking him again.
When she was asked to assassinate Sage Painted Star under the guise of Skytouch, she wasn't initially forced to do so by those who approached her nor did they repeatedly accost her. But she had a secondary mission that changed her decision: Protect Shang Wanqing.
According to their interactions and her observations, Su Yi had shown a strong emotional response whenever Shang Wanqing was mentioned as if yearning for a lover, so she felt that she had a duty to protect her.
She was a mere Original Magistrate with external tools and temporary Sage-level powers, so that mission was only secondary, and not expected to be completed if pushed to extreme danger, yet she felt that this was her primary mission, which was why she tried to fight against the assassins and protect Shang Wanqing with urgency.
She failed in the end. If not for Wei Wuyin interfering, Shang Wanqing's fate would have been anyone's guess. However, that was an important detail—she failed. After all, Shang Wanqing was in Wei Wuyin's arms, as a self-declared concubine in the eyes of outsiders, and that was not protected.
If there was an objective for whoever backed her to protect Shang Wanqing, their agent in this tangle of chaotic scheming and game-like tactics had tried and failed in a strict sense. They definitely didn't secure any benefits.
Qing Wan also told her suspicion that Su Yi had an air of a supreme expert, and there was a mysterious figure that referred to him as 'His Excellency', and that figure had chastised her harshly for referring to him as any other title, so she grew into a habit of calling him that.
She wasn't exactly sure of his identity, simply that he acted with an eccentric demeanor and an all-knowing disposition. It felt as if there was little he couldn't do or nothing he didn't know.
During their three years of journeying, the two had entered ruins of ancient World Realms, explored all sorts of Secret Realms, and even survived entering a forbidden zone of the Utmost Purity Galaxy's Refinement Zone, acquiring an exceedingly rare
precious Soul-Bound Treasure that Sages and Supreme Sages would slaughter for.
She told him every little thing, but she lacked essential information regarding Su Yi's true origins or
connections with Shang Wanqing besides suspicions gathered from their time together.
However, Wei Wuyin wondered about Su Yi. If he was a Temporal Reincarnator, he would have sensed it. And considering that others knew of his past, could he have been a true reincarnated existence with a glorious past?
If so, who was he? He was a Blessed existence, so considering that Temporal Reincarnators existed, there could have been other extraordinary beings out there given a second chance without harming the River of Time. This might be one of them.
Wei Wuyin thought for a long while as his eyes were continuously brightening with flashes of brilliance and contemplation. Qing Wan remained silent throughout, her heart tense. He finally settled on a decision in his heart as he saw a heaven-sent opportunity that could be seized.
He looked to the deliberately weak-looking Qing Wan, her thoughts veering toward desperation of seduction by the passing second, but Wei Wuyin was entirely unmoved. Wei Wuyin didn't violate her mind or body due to his principles, and that was due to her usefulness.
"Let's make a deal," he smilingly offered.
Qing Wan's eyes brightened like a moonlit sky. Those were the words she wanted to hear, like heavenly music. She wouldn't die today!
"I wish to extract a portion of your Overhaul Sky Yin Quintessence," Wei Wuyin directly informed. Qing Wan's expression immediately paled as if she saw the most frightening of ghosts and devils. If Wei Wuyin wanted to extract a bit of her Primal Yin Energies, she would be fine with that, but her Overhaul Sky Yin Quintessence was no different than harming her Primal Yin Source.
Her physique was tethered to her cultivation. If she experienced an extraction on that level, she would struggle to progress in her cultivation, while her most valuable assets in the cultivation world would be ruined! RUINED!
"Don't panic or overthink it; I have ways to replenish your quintessence with time, even strengthen your foundation in the long run. But yes, you'd suffer considerably in the short run."
"..." Qing Wan was unable to calm down so quickly despite his words. She needed time. She was keenly aware the potential alternative wasn't a deal, but a forceful extraction.
Wei Wuyin allowed her that time. He had ample experience with using the quintessence of Primal Sources as a material for concoction, having used the Yang Renewal Quintessence to produce the foundation of the Neo-Dawn Paragon-Forging Pill. He thought about using her unique yin properties for Na Xinyi. It was a mere theory, but if he tried, he had thoughts that he could allow her normal Primal Yin Sources that were simply multiples of an ordinary foundation into Overhaul Sky Yin Sources.
In actuality, that might not even be the limit. The Overhaul Yin Physique was a top ten yin physique of the heavens, on par with the Nine-Point Yin
Physique. In comparison, it required a single Overhaul Sky Yin Physique to match a set of nine Primal Yin.
What if all nine of those ordinarily cultivated Primal Yins were Overhaul Sky Primal Yins?!
What if Na Xinyi took it a step further, creating an Eighteen-Point Yin Physique or higher?! He didn't know, and it was purely a theorized belief, but he wanted to test it!
The thought originated from his interaction with Na Xinyi all those decades ago. She had the potential to regrow a lost Primal Yin, but her Primal Yin couldn't self-repair itself, and he was thinking of infusing the principles of the Yin Renewal Physique. However, he decided against it.
Na Xinyi didn't want to become a Yin Cauldron just for him; she sought true prominence using her own name, and while she might accept it, Wei Wuyin understood that she would be extremely bitter since the Renewal Yin Physique didn't have many benefits that she didn't already possess with Wei Wuyin's alchemical backing.
But the Overhaul Sky Yin Physique was different, and it was very conducive to cultivation, creating a stronger source of Yin Energy on par with Profound Energy, but on the same level, cultivation was far more difficult for her than others.
And if it worked, perhaps... Qing Wan was hesitant, and she later asked a series of questions regarding the long-term benefits. Wei Wuyin showed her a series of Alchemical Products that numbered a hundred in total, all Mystic-World, and all her hesitation faded like it was a forgettable dream.
She agreed soon after. With these sets of products, she could go into seclusion for a few thousand years and likely exit out a Mystic Overlord with a fully recovered Primal Yin Source. She was not stupid, and she could take a temporary loss for an exceedingly extraordinary gain!
Wei Wuyin was above board when dealing with those he wanted something from, and rarely would he act against someone who hadn't offended him when he could take a non-violent route, hence why he didn't violate her mind or body prior. His eyes softly glowed as he waited for her to inspect each product, noticing that none was less than high-quality.
She gulped at least a dozen times. Moreover, she didn't think that Wei Wuyin was fooling her, because there was no point! He could extract her yin quintessence by force, and she could only lay there like a dead fish and accept her disastrous fate.
"I also have another proposition for you, if you wish to take it." Wei Wuyin offered like an alluring devil, already enticing Qing Wan to an extreme.
"What proposition?" She was still vigilant against Wei Wuyin a little, but the fear for her life was largely dissipated. She finally realized why Yue Songli was treated so well. This Supreme Sage Worldly Alchemic Saint knew how to treat women! Especially in a world of strength where power can give one everything, it was rare for someone to conduct themselves with such good ethics.
If she knew that Wei Wuyin had ruined the cultivation path of a few million just a short while ago, she might reconsider her belief.
"Your Overhaul Sky Yin Physique is extraordinarily precious, and I would be foolish not to make this offer: I can assist you in rapidly entering the True Sage Phase, providing a peak-quality Arising Sage Elixir and other assistive products to ensure a fantastical foundation. In exchange: You will dual cultivate after your ascension with someone of my choice." An Overhaul Sky Yin Physique would be wildly beneficial to any cultivator. As her cultivation grew, this benefit would explode. A True Sage with this physique? A fight between Supreme Sages was a certainty!
But it wasn't easy to cultivate a True Sage!
"..." Qing Wan was instantly stunned and speechless.
This was a first! Wei Wuyin wanted her to ascend as a Sage and dual cultivate with someone else?! SOMEONE ELSE?!
"Uhm..." But despite her heart telling her that this was unacceptable, the thought of becoming a True Sage was so alluring and irresistible that her mind and soul refused to decline easily.
"If you want, you can spend some time with this person. You can decide whether you wish to dual cultivate with him after. I would place you in his temporal acceleration zone. It is in a small secret realm very conducive for cultivation and recovery, and then you can recuperate and decide after the extraction process. You can leave anytime." Wei Wuyin patiently offered.
"..." Qing Wan was unable to speak. She genuinely had no idea how to respond!
Unfortunately, how could she, a vagabond cultivator, refuse such stellar conditions? Moreover, she still had a choice! It wouldn't hurt to see this man first...right?
...right? Wei Wuyin's smile widened. The grand interlinked fortune of a Blessed had been quietly seized by an Inheritor of Sin.

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