Forsake, Consume & Transcend!

Su Xiaobai's hands tightened around the book.

The imagery painted by the text was so vivid, it felt like the stars above were watching him, listening for any sign that another would dare to follow in Azrakai's footsteps.

The Realm of Fallen Stars—the Edge of Reality—these were places spoken of only in legends, places where the most ancient and powerful entities were said to be imprisoned, beyond even the reach of the heavens.

_____

"Know this, Sinner: To follow the path is to risk the same fate as the Sinner Star, but with it comes the promise of power unimagined..."

"For the heavens are not invincible, and even stars can fall... In sin lies your salvation, or your undoing."

"Those who walk the path of righteousness chain themselves to the whims of the heavens, blind to the true essence of power. But the sinner… the sinner looks into the abyss and does not flinch."

"To sin is not to fall, but to rise unshackled by the laws of fate. The heavens themselves tremble before one who dares to defy their order."

"The Sinner knows — There is no virtue in purity, only power in transgression. By the blood of the innocent, by the tears of the broken, power is claimed. Seek no approval from the heavens, for they shall never bless those who tread this path."

"To sin is to take. To sin is to destroy. To sin is to create anew from the ashes of what was once sacred."

"To forsake. Surrender all ties to virtue, for they bind the heart and cloud the mind. Cast aside the illusions of compassion and mercy; they are tools for the weak."

"To consume. Power lies not only in cultivating the heavens' gifts but in taking what the heavens would deny you. Let the life force of your enemies become your fuel, their souls the mortar upon which your foundation is built."

"To transcend. In forsaking the heavens, you shall surpass them. The realms of the gods shall quake before your footsteps, for the true path is not one of subservience, but of domination."

"The heavens may strike, the gods may curse, but the Sinner endures. For what is sin but the rejection of weakness? What is evil but the true path to ascendancy?"

"Walk this path, and your enemies shall tremble. Walk this path, and the gods themselves shall bow."

"For the Sinner, there is no redemption. There is only victory—or oblivion."

"Choose wisely."

_____

Su Xiaobai closed the book, his heart pounding.

The weight of what he had just read settled over him like a fog.

This wasn't just some simple cultivation technique—it was a gateway to something far darker, far greater than he had imagined.

The story of Azrakai, the Sinner Star, was a warning—but also a promise.

"Break the heavens… and become something more," he can't help but mutter, as if those words come naturally to him.

This was no ordinary cultivation method.

This was a path meant for the damned.

The 'Way of a Sinner' wasn't just a collection of methods and techniques—it was a direct defiance of heaven's laws.

Su Xiaobai felt it in his bones, the moment his eyes touched upon the text: this wasn't a simple road to power; it was an existence that transcended righteousness and evil.

And with that power came the knowledge of a forbidden history.

Curiosity compelled him to dive deep into his 'sea of consciousness', eager to explore the mysteries that the ancient book had stirred within him.

SWOOSH!

The instant he entered his mindscape, Su Xiaobai was greeted by a sight that left him momentarily dazed.

Before him, not just one, but all seven seeds of sin shimmered brightly, hovering in the vastness of his consciousness like celestial bodies waiting to awaken.

Each seed pulsed with spiritual energy, a power that radiated temptation stirring his soul.

The first to catch his eye were the seeds of Envy and Greed.

The two seemed unnaturally close to each other, as if bound by an invisible force.

Their small roots, composed of pure spiritual energy, had already begun to intertwine, subtly creeping and stretching outward.

They were sprouting!

This time, Su Xiaobai did not lose control or feel overwhelmed by their presence.

His mind was sharp, his thoughts clearer than ever.

The thought of their true potential sent a thrill through his core.

As for the seeds of Gluttony, Sloth, and Pride, they simply glowed, faintly, as though lying dormant, content for the time being.

There was no sense of urgency from them yet. They would grow at their own pace, like beasts biding their time in the shadows.

But there was another confusion, "How do these seeds grow into trees of sin? How do they bear the fruits I seek?"

His eyes flickered with greed, envisioning the rewards that would come from cultivating these sinful fruits.

To consume them would grant him great power—power to leap through realms, to defy the very heavens.

And if he could grow the 'Ultimate Fruit of Sin'... he could break through one small stage of cultivation instantly.

The possibilities were immense.

It seemed like a minor leap to some. But Su Xiaobai knew better.

A mortal could become an immortal through it.

The thought alone sent a shiver down his spine.

He was holding a treasure in his grasp that could incite wars across the Thirteen Worlds.

How many ancient cultivators—monsters of unimaginable power—were stuck at the peak of cultivation, unable to break through to the next realm?

Unable to become true immortals?

This fruit had no restrictions.

If Su Xiaobai timed it perfectly, he could jump entire realms in the future, something unheard of in the history of cultivation.

A leap from his current 'Peak Meridian Expansion Realm' to the 'Core Emergence Realm' would normally require unimaginable amounts of qi and resources to form a core.

And this was still in the lower levels of cultivation.

The higher realms?

They would become progressively harder and harder to breach.

But with the fruits of sin… he could bypass it all.

As these thoughts in his mind, and something happened that caught his attention.

Huh?

The seed of 'Greed' in his mindscape trembled. Then, subtly, it grew—ever so slightly, but enough for Su Xiaobai to notice.

His eyes widened in realization.

"It grew!"

The seed of 'Greed' had fed off his own thoughts. His overwhelming desire for power, for treasures, had nurtured it. His own greed was the water that caused the seed to sprout.

"The seeds need to be 'watered' to grow..." Su Xiaobai muttered to himself. "They feed on not only the sins of others, but my own as well."

It was so obvious now.

The more he indulged in sin—his Greed, his Wrath, his Lust—the more these seeds would flourish within his consciousness.

Each one growing, feeding, until they bore fruit.

He smirked, pulling himself out of his sea of consciousness.

His path was becoming strong becoming clearer with every step.

To sin, and to indulge in that sin, was to nurture his own power.

The heavens had no idea what was coming for them.

The more he embraced his darker nature, the faster his strength would grow, and soon—very soon—he would rise above the laws of fate itself.

"But…" Su Xiaobai's thoughts darkened as he recalled the story of the last sinner—Azrakai, the one who had defied the heavens and been hunted endlessly.

If others discovered the path he was walking, he would meet the same fate.

The righteous cultivators of the world wouldn't rest until they chased him down, eager to wipe out any threat that dared walk the Way of a Sinner.

Yet, the alternative was even worse. Without power, without strength, what good were morals? What good was life?

To live a life in mediocrity, always scraping by, always fearing those more powerful than you? To sacrifice every day, losing more and more to the strong simply because you are weak? Su Xiaobai's jaw clenched at the thought. That wasn't living—it was surviving, barely, in a world that demanded strength.

And to live like that? Su Xiaobai would rather hurl himself off a cliff and end it than spend a lifetime in that endless cycle of powerlessness.

The heavens could damn his soul for all he cared.