Paragon of Sin

"..." Wei Wuyin remained contemplatively silent as he followed Higheater through several flights of stairs. The scene before of eerie silence, shifted focus, and aversion was extremely disturbing, and Wei Wuyin's heart throbbed intensely upon recalling the moment.

What was Trueborn? Who were Trueborn?

From his understanding, it was a clandestine organization that acted using a variety of Evil Methods within the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region, and they had cultivators amongst the various elite forces of the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region amongst them. What he originally thought was an elusive organization operating in the literal shadows, a route of ill-profit and swift advancement through immoral methods by the elites, a known secret that wasn't very well-known, now had a heap load of questions piled on top of it.

Judging from Higheater's response, he knew that obtaining an answer without being a Destined was extremely difficult. Unfortunately, he didn't intend to become a so-called Destined, trapped by oaths and slaved to work for another's purpose. But fortunately, who was he? Did he not possess fantastical powers beyond typical convention? With his Alchemic Eden Force, he could delve into the memories of non-Ascended beings with ease, learning this accursed secret to its fullest.

He simply needed a target, time, and an opportunity.

The two ventured through the library until they came across a circular door that emanated faint wisps of spatial power. It greatly resembled a Gateway Door, and Wei Wuyin eyed Higheater curiously.

"The Sealed Tower's library is within an isolated Internal World. The inside can be considered its own dimensional space capable of housing living things, and the…well, let's just enter." Higheater halted his explanation halfway with a smile. He pressed against his Azure Moon emblem and walked into the door, inundated by silver light, and he vanished. Wei Wuyin didn't hesitate to follow.

Woosh!

Wei Wuyin felt strange immediately after entering the gateway, a sensation that he hadn't felt before. It didn't match typical spatial shifting nor entering a Void Portal, but a new feeling that was a mixture of the two. When he regained his senses, he felt as if he was experiencing déjà vu. A library was before him, filled to the brim with books, scrolls, and spiritual jades on various shelves and platforms.

"Is this…?" He blankly mumbled as he discovered that the layout of this library was exactly like the Free Study floor. There was no difference at first glance. It was only after repeated inspections that he realized that the library's halls and shelves were slightly taller.

Wei Wuyin abruptly sniffed. Like a dog smelling something strange, he sniffed a few times as his True Void Dragon's physical senses began to grow abnormally active. 'There's bits of strange spatial essence here…what? Wait…is this?' Wei Wuyin's thoughts rapidly congregated to a conclusion: this was origin essence intermixed with spatial energies.

An Internal World!

It was intermixed into the air, stabilizing the space and granting it the ability to contain the essential aspects of life. He's been in Wu Yu's Internal World once before and this felt familiar. It wasn't the same but it also wasn't the same as his Saint Ring, the difference rose his curiosity to the maximum as he kept trying to discern the difference

Higheater gave Wei Wuyin a look, baffled by his sudden dog-like smelling action. Was there someone cooking here? He lightly sniffed as well. Before long, the two sniffed the air as if trying to find something, going here and going there.

There were others in the Sealed Tower's library, so they instantly became the focus of those in view. An Azure Moon Librarian and a silver-eyed mortal were…smelling the air? A few sniffed as well as if thinking they'll smell something special. Before long, a cascade of sniffing began to unfold amongst the inhabitants of the library.

After Wei Wuyin had acquired the composition of the air, he saw a few scholars and cultivators sniffing with flared nostrils. They were in a frenzy of sniffing.

"..." Wei Wuyin was completely dumbfounded.

A soft cough from beside Wei Wuyin caused him to snap out of his daze. Higheater nudged him. "What was that about?" Since he didn't smell anything, Higheater thought it was merely Wei Wuyin being a little strange, but after everyone began to do so, it strangely made him feel as if he was excluded.

"I-it's just the air is a little different," Wei Wuyin explained with an awkward smile. Was Higheater sniffing too? He was doing it for cultivation, but what was he doing it for? Was the old adage true? Monkey see, monkey do? Was he a monkey?

"Different?"

"Forget it. I have full access to these materials, right?" Unwilling to dwell, Wei Wuyin changed the topic. Higheater ate a mouthful of berries and nodded. "You can learn from everything here, but fair warning: there are hundreds of times more material here than in the Free Study. After all, these are materials typically paid for. It'll be easier to tell me what you're looking for and I'll point you in the right direction."

Wei Wuyin nodded, understanding the concept of keeping good things behind a paywall while granting delicious crumbs for free at the beginning. The Free Study was as its name suggested—FREE! But the Sealed Tower remained true to its name as well, with its contents sealed behind a restriction of entry, either in status or wealth.

"No need; I'll find you if I get hungry though." Giving a grin, causing Higheater to roll his eyes in response, Wei Wuyin blitzed away to a shelf. He didn't care what this shelf contained and swiftly brought it out, opening it, and processing to swiftly scan its contents. Within the Palace of Eden, on a shelf of one of the eighteen floors, an exact replica was formed.

Wei Wuyin soon drew enormous amounts of attention. At times, beautiful women and helpful scholars would interrupt Wei Wuyin and seek if he needed assistance in finding a particular material of knowledge. He had to politely decline their good intentions. This became a little annoying after a few days, so Wei Wuyin formed spiritual characters above him that said: "Do NOT talk to me."

The message was received by all; he didn't experience any further interruptions from thereon out. While there were some whispers from corners of the library, a few heated gazes, and some scoffs of envy, Wei Wuyin remained focused on finishing his goal.

After two-and-a-half months, Wei Wuyin was heaving out hectic breaths with a pale complexion beside a bookshelf, hanging on with his fingertips. His upper body was nearly horizontal, and the area around his eyes looked eerily sunken from mental exhaustion. The desire for sleep had never been so strong before. However, he finished recording the last book in the library.

Despite having copious amounts of mental energy replenishing products, the strain on his Sea of Consciousness was the result of his current degraded state. He had spent every waking moment for nearly three months copying content into the Palace of Eden, and it had nearly caused his Sea of Consciousness to collapse. Even Eden's tree roots looked faintly withered after continuous exertion of its power, including maintaining the stability of his Sea of Consciousness.

If it wasn't for Eden and his phenomenal foundation, this feat would've been completely impossible, especially in the given time frame. Fortunately, his efforts over the last two decades to maximize his foundation had given outstanding returns.

"You okay?" Higheater had kept an eye on Wei Wuyin throughout these months, but he couldn't figure out what Wei Wuyin was doing. Could he have been scouring for a specific material this entire time? In fact, he had a theory that Wei Wuyin's purpose here might all be for a specific book.

It wasn't just him; Liu Yinlan was equally as baffled and skeptical, feeling as if Wei Wuyin might be here solely to find a specific book, scroll, or spiritual jade of some expert. Since his arrival, besides the time on the Skyship, Liu Yinlan's senses had never left Wei Wuyin's body. Could there have been a mystery regarding why he's here?

If it wasn't for her plans not being affected by Wei Wuyin's actions, she might've shifted her tactics. Since it didn't matter, she allowed it. After this, she'll be one step closer to freedom. She simply had to stall while she prepared everything for that eventual day.

Wei Wuyin dryly coughed, "I'm fine. I'm okay." He had to give a double reassurance, one for Higheater and the other for himself. He lifted himself up with a heavy breath, his eyes incredibly dim.

"Shall we check the Voyage Tower?" Higheater asked, unsure if the desire of Wei Wuyin was on higher floors. But Wei Wuyin held up his hand, his chest rising and falling with force, and he shook his head. "No, no, no. I'm good." After exhaling those words strenuously, Wei Wuyin didn't care about his image at all as he sat down, and then laid flat on the hardwood floor. The cool sensation brought him great comfort.

With a soft murmuring noise, he closed his eyes.

"Ah?!" Higheater was taken aback. "You know, we can find a be-" As he was about to offer Wei Wuyin an alternative to rest, he discovered that Wei Wuyin's breathing had entered a rhythmic cycle—he had fallen asleep!

With a wry smile, Higheater sighed. What exactly was this young man looking for? Was it worth it to push one to this state?

If anyone knew that Wei Wuyin's Palace of Eden now had eighty thousand years of gathered information, experiences, and knowledge from both libraries, they'll be in heart-erupting shock. Especially if they learned that his Second Mind was deeply enthralled with reading them patiently and carefully while he slept.