Chapter 1529 1522: Rising Era, Neo-Dawn (2)
Chapter 1529 Chapter 1522: Rising Era, Neo-Dawn (2)
"Inheritor of Sin!" The Black Skeleton's signature androgynous voice thundered within Wei Wuyin's mind and soul. Unlike before, Wei Wuyin felt a presence that left him breathless, and his eyes fixated on the Black Skeleton to an absurdly intense degree. Unlike all the other times, Wei Wuyin could feel how attention gravitated towards her without resistance, his cultivation higher and his breadth of experience allowed him to grasp this detail.
This also allowed him to understand the difference between the first time the Black Skeleton appeared and the last time, when the Temporal Reincarnator was brought forth by the self-mutilating actions of the Heavenly Daos-the Black Skeleton was here!
Unfathomably, the Black Skeleton was transmitting its existence here, emulating portions of its presence and aura. Wei Wuyin felt his Bloodline of Sin tattoo boil with heat, scathing and painful, while his mind bubbled intensely as his Celestial Eyes of Spiritual Divinity saw a vague, hazy outline for a split second that superimposed on the Black Skeleton's bony figure. While it was extremely brief, it confirmed that this individual was a woman!
Besides that, he couldn't discern any other details. His daring effort bore no fruit.
Unbeknownst to Wei Wuyin, his eyes were bleeding profusely as the aura of sin permeated his pupils. Once upon a time, Wei Wuyin dared to inspect the secrets of the Heavenly Daos, and today was no different! At the very least he would try! Always!
"Inheritor of Sin..." The Black Skeleton's voice trailed off slightly as if the tiniest bit surprised by what she was observing. Her empty sockets honed onto Wei Wuyin.
"What?" the Black Skeleton confusingly said.
"What?" Wei Wuyin instinctively repeated.
"..."
"..."
"Wei Wuyin, Thief of Sin." The Black Skeleton said slowly, emphasizing each syllable.
This wasn't the first time that the Black Skeleton had referred to him by this title. When they first met on that grassy clearing of the Muu Lake's forest area, she had referred to Wei Wuyin by that name because he had somehow slayed an Inheritor of Sin, and instead of being cursed, he was instead granted the chance to become an Inheritor of Sin, thereby allowing him to overcome the calamity induced by the greed and sloth of others.
The Calamity of the Scarlet Solaris Sect that would have left him headless.
The two stared at each other for a long, tense moment.
"To steal sin from Hell and luck from the Heavens, this is what it means to be an Inheritor of Sin. Your journey has been quite an unexpected one. Your True Soul of Sin has yet to be cultivated, but you've gained the opportunity to obtain the Primordial Seed of Sin: Lust. However, you already possess the Primordial Seed of Sin: Pride."
Wei Wuyin felt ignorant. He had read the Scripture of Sin front and back, side to side, and backward, but he knew nothing of what she was talking about. Primordial Seed of Sin? Pride? Lust?
"Interestingly, your mind-body and body-soul compatibility with both is sufficiently steady and lacks any incongruity, producing no abhorrent divergence in mental stability. Your body...hm, decent. Well suited for the Sin of Pride. Well suited for the Sin of Lust. Rare, not impossible. You can accept both. Then, I'll continue."
"What do you mean by that? Well suited?" Unlike during the last time they met, this Black Skeleton was present and capable of reacting to stimuli and questions. He didn't fear asking questions. Especially since she was saying things that felt incredibly familiar to the first time they met!
The Black Skeleton responded! "To accept the Bloodline of Sin, you need to meet conditions. Your first Bloodline of Sin's origins was given to you by the one you slayed, the one you stole from, the one who saw you, and this one was formed by you naturally, as one normally would. It was unexpected, but not entirely impossible."
"Wait! Are you saying I originally had the Bloodline of Sin: Pride? It was given to me, but I'm developing my own?" Wei Wuyin asked hurriedly. He knew the Black Skeleton might not stay for long.
"...." The Black Skeleton didn't seem too inclined to answer. Wei Wuyin could sense its unwillingness or inability to answer that specific question. It was as if her earlier words were mere monologues that Wei Wuyin had inadvertently heard. It was strange to the extreme.
"Do you know why I was chosen and not cursed? Why me?" Wei Wuyin had never actively wondered or considered this question as it no longer mattered, his fate was unchangeable, and without the Bloodline of Sin, he wouldn't have a fate to begin with. His head would have rolled across the landscape as Long Chen walked past.
"Your answer."
The Black Skeleton said two words.
Wei Wuyin's heart raced as draconic bellows rippled across the frozen world. If not for the world's current state, the entire Imperial Sky would've been subjected to heavy seismic activity that could unleash untold natural disasters.
"Your bloodline has yet to be solidified. So I will give the Rite of Sin. If you can claim it, then all will naturally be yours. If you can not, then I'll remove your Bloodline of Sin. You will no longer embark on this path." The Black Skeleton stated.
Remove the Bloodline of Sin? Wei Wuyin was taken aback. The thought of losing his Bloodline of Sin...
It was something he had never even considered.
"Take it!" Wei Wuyin held out his right arm. He had long since determined his path as a cultivator. With or without the Bloodline of Sin, he would forge upon this path of the pinnacle and perfect to the end. What Blessed? What Karmic Luck? He'll make his own! He'll seize his own fortuitous encounters!
The Black Skeleton's two empty sockets bore into him, and he met her gaze with an unyielding stare.
"Your Primordial Seed of Sin: Pride is forever yours. Even I can not seize it. Even I can not take it from you. Not Hell; not the Heavens; not the First. Should you choose, I can consider this Rite of Sin a failure." The Black Skeleton was an androgynous voice with no emotion, but Wei Wuyin could feel the pity within her words. Perhaps it was due to Eden's recent evolution.
After all, who in this vast world would understand the daunting struggle of a mere mortal facing the Eighteen Calamities of Hell while treading upon the Heavenly Daos' paved road with enemies of Blessed and Sinners around him? Was he a Blessed? Was he a Sinner? Was he condemned to death?
The sheer unimaginable reality that he succeeded in three of the eighteen calamities was a miracle beyond any other. Moreover, as a mortal, he had claimed two out of three of them! This was no different than an absolute feat of conquest!
Wei Wuyin heaved a soft sigh. "Haha," he chuckled lightly, scoffing at the end. Could it ever have been that easy?
"I'll take your rite. And I'll succeed in it too," Wei Wuyin's silver eyes vaguely released a strong light, a strong, prideful bearing infused with his phenomenal demeanor that was indistinguishable from his personality. It was there before his Inheritor of Sin's title was bestowed to him, and it'll follow him through the cleansing of the heavens even.
The Black Skeleton did an action that took Wei Wuyin by surprise!
She nodded!
This was the first time that she moved her head in any overt fashion. It was almost as if she was recognizing Wei Wuyin! The feeling of pity vanished. A faint glimmer of admiration-that's what Wie Wuyin could've sworn he saw in her empty eye sockets.
"Then I'll proceed. I'll present you with a question. You will be given three chances. Only three. Should you succeed, you will obtain the Bloodline of Sin. Should you fail, your True Soul will be redeemed by the Primordial Seed of Sin. Left for another to embark on this path."
"Wait what?" Wei Wuyin was left speechless. Failing meant losing one's True Soul? Wasn't that just another way to say death? "Will I die if I fail?" Wei Wuyin sought to verify since he already had the so-called Primordial Seed of Sin: Pride.
"Your True Soul shall be claimed by the Primordial Seed of Sin, awaiting the next of the forty...nine." At the last bit of her sentence, the Black Skeleton's speech halted awkwardly.
Wei Wuyin didn't even feel like wasting the energy to sigh. At the very least, he never verbally agreed for her to fail him outright, only take his Bloodline of Sin: Pride which she couldn't do. "How did I develop a Primordial Seed of Sin? Why did I develop one as a mortal when the Realm of Sages is needed to cultivate the Soul of True Sin?"
"Only a mortal can develop a Primordial Seed of Sin. Your current awareness is solely due to your awakened Bloodline of Sin. The freezing of this material world can not affect you. Should you have been a non-Inheritor, the question would have been directly asked to your True Soul, and your answers would have determined your fate." The Black Skeleton answered.
Wei Wuyin frowned. Others might shiver at this implication, but he didn't feel the slightest bit disturbed. This was how certain individuals might die an inexplicable death, forgotten in the long river of time. "Do other mortals also go through the Calamities of Hell?"
"..." However, the Black Skeleton remained silent here too.
"Oh! Right," Wei Wuyin immediately realized his error. "Are other mortals with the Bloodline of Sin forced to go through the Calamities of Hell?" The problem with his first question was that all beings undergo the cleansing of the Heavenly Daos, as long as they are subjected to the natural laws of the heavens, so the answer was obviously yes.
"..." However, the Black Skeleton remained silent here too.
"Hm." Wei Wuyin tried to think of a better way to structure the question.
"Only two mortals have remained intact in the face of the cleansing of the Heavenly Daos." The Black Skeleton said unexpectedly. This wasn't an answer to what Wei Wuyin asked, but it was the answer he sought.
He was one.
The First Sinner was likely the other.
Likely.
This then answered a slew of other questions. For example, he was an unfortunate mortal soul who was given an activated Bloodline of Sin far too early! Others very likely gained their Primordial Seed of Sin as a mortal, awakened their Bloodline of Sin at the Realm of Sages, and then began their journey tackling the Eighteen Calamities of Hell.
Wei Wuyin couldn't help but curse a little. Perhaps even without that silver-haired, black-eyed naked bastard, Wei Wuyin would still have faced the Calamities of Hell after reaching the Realm of Sages. On the premise that he survived Long Chen.
"I can not stay for long; I will begin the Rite of Sin: Lust now."
Wei Wuyin nodded. He had tons more questions. He would always have a lot more questions. However, the Black Skeleton had clearly entertained him enough.
Then, the question came. When Wei Wuyin heard it, his soul shivered.
"What is lust?"
Lust?
"You will have three chances. Answer as you like."
Lust?
Wei Wuyin's eyes fixated on the Black Skeleton. What was lust? The Sin of Lust...
There were some answers that countless would jump out at. For example: the strong urge of sexual attraction. This was simple and direct. It explained the premise of a sin so great that it has caused the calamities of entire civilizations and genocide of species.
Wei Wuyin couldn't help but recall Wu Chen, the son of the Scarlet Solaris Sect's Sect Master. He had waged war on the Violet Moon Sect all for lust, simply because he wanted a beautiful woman there. He obtained her in the end, but was she not killed for his Dao Companion ceremony with Mei Mei?
But Wei Wuyin shook his head.
What is lust? Perhaps the best answer would be to say what it wasn't.
Lust wasn't love. It could involve love, but it certainly wasn't love. It could be described as impure from the beginning, existing from the most primal craving urges of living beings, superficial with the potential to become more.
When Wei Wuyin thought of her, he considered Mei Mei and all the women that he slept with, that he actively courted, including those like Yue Songli and Xue Yifei. He was enamored by them at first sight.
He thought about all the women who initially fell for his looks but later wanted more.
Lust can birth love, but it wasn't love.
Wei Wuyin shook his head once again.
"One chance left."
"...!" Wei Wuyin's eyes widened, almost bulging out of his skull. He wanted to shout out in protest almost instinctively but found that he couldn't speak. The Black Skeleton was staring at him and the entire world was silent. The answers were coming from his soul!
He pressed his hand against his throat, tightened his grip, and lowered his gaze to the ground. This wasn't to induce pain but to claim himself by feeling the warmth of his skin and focusing on the particles of dirt that were frozen.
He slowly calmed down.
Just because he had only one chance left did not mean he hadn't succeeded. But he felt he hadn't.
What was lust?
Wei Wuyin patiently scoured his knowledge that had studied books and read all sorts of stories, heard all sorts of tales, and felt all sorts of mental fluctuations of what he could describe as lust. The desires of Su Mei, Mei Mei, Xue Yifei, Yue Songli, Qing Qiumu, Wen Mingna, Na Xinyi, Da Shan, Wu Baozhai, Lin Ziyan, Qin Rui, Nyla Shur, Xiao Bing, Hong Ru, Ai Yin, Ai Juling, Si De, Cao Cuifen, Hu Meifang, Yang Chaoyue, Tian Lingyu, Lin Xianxian, Lin Xianxei, Mei Yang, Zhang Ziyi, Bloodtorrent, the mysterious woman of the Nexus Battlefield, Zi Fu, Dai Fei, Jiao Ning, Xing Fu, Yan Zhu, Liu Xiulan, Liu Yinlan, Liu Suyin, Zhangjie Wushu, Tian Xiaocheng...
...all women that he'd come across after he became an Inheritor of Sin...
No.
Wrong direction.
Wei Wuyin discarded all of it.
A memory flashed in his mind of a skinny, panicky male on the execution platform about to be beheaded.
A memory flashed of a chained silver-haired wolf in human form, staring at him with a scarlet gaze of savagery and desolation.
On that day, he told a story:
"I once met a man. He was quite an interesting person, because when his life was no longer under his control, his fate decided by others, and everything was hopeless because he could no longer affect the world or hearts of others, he was simply one thing at the moment of his inevitable end: Hungry."
"I was simply a kid then. I didn't understand what it felt to be like that. In fact, I found it rather funny. But I wanted to save him, so I did." Wei Wuyin's eyes flashed with a hint of nostalgia. "I was merely a little kid at the time, but later...very soon, I would understand what he felt; the hunger. So hungry it hurt. So hungry that I couldn't think about anything else than satisfying that hunger, whatever the cost."
The images of that violet-skinned demon with her bright, cheery smile that could stun the heavens.
The image of her with arrows in her bloodied body, laying there-dead.
The first time he saw the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region and the vast starry skies. The feeling he had then. The words he told himself...
At the end of his memories, he saw a young girl surrounded by women of similar looks, watching as she was beaten and her chosen lover enjoying the show with relish.
Wei Wuyin lifted his gaze from the ground and found the Black Skeleton. His gaze was unnaturally intense. This was something that he'd always had since he was young. Something he possessed from the very beginning and propagated like an infectious sin, burrowing into the hearts and souls of those he cared about.
Corrupting them.
Wei Wuyin opened his mouth yet no sound came out, yet a wave of his voice enveloped the world. It was raw. It was honest. It carried the weight of his entire life.
"Hunger."
The Black Skeleton lifted her bony hand and pointed her index finger toward Wei Wuyin's glabella. "Wei Wuyin, Thief of Sin...
"...you are a Sinner."
It could have just been his imagination, but Wei Wuyin felt like the Black Skeleton was smiling.
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[Author's Note: There will come a day...that I write every last one. XD
All the women 'we' came across since the beginning of the novel. XD
Some might think gluttony fits betters, but nah. That's over-indulgence to the point of excessive. LUST ALL THE WAY BABY!]