Chapter 593 The Two Physique's History
'Chu Luo's fighting style seems to be using his opponent's opposite Dao to crush them,' observed Wang Wei during the battle. With how diverse Creation Dao was, he understood why this fighting method was used.
However, it would not work for him since he fused his opposite (Freedom) into his Fate Dao. And even if he did, this tactic would not work on him since his Dao Tree turned silver. At best, Chu Luo could be equal if he used Freedom Dao against him.
"Chu Luo is the victor," announced Lord Spirit with evident joy in his tone. While people wondered why the happiness, only Lord Spirit knew the exact reason.
According to the agreement his master made, as long as Shi Ruolan and Xiao Tiandi lost a battle, they could expel all the upper-seeded players back to the upper dimension, not allowing them to participate in the final part of this trial.
Now, one of the two was defeated.
'Wang Wei, don't let me down,' thought Lord Spirit.
"Who wants to go next?"
"Me."
Everyone looked up to see Shi Ruolan was the one who answered.
"Lady Shi, you want to challenge again?"
"Yes, and this time, I'm challenging Wang Wei."
"I refuse," said Wang Wei immediately.
"Why? Are you looking down on me?"
"No, it's because your ability is too disgusting."
Shi Ruolan's lips twitched; this was not the first time someone had said that about her ability.
"Fine, you don't have to fight me. But show me how you would deal with my ability. What method you would use to have the same cultivation realm as me."
Shi Ruolan felt that Wang Wei should have a method similar to Chu Luo that would allow him to keep the same strength as her, and she wanted to know. Meanwhile, Wang Wei pondered for a moment before agreeing.
The image of a purple star appeared above Wang Wei, illuminating the surrounding. The star was noble, mighty, and released the aura of a born ruler.
"The East Purple Star, also known as the Sovereign Star," muttered Shi Ruolan; she could tell the latter used his Fate Dao to change his fate to that of a Sovereign. With this method, she would not be able to suppress him to a realm below her.
"That should work," Shi Ruolan said before looking at Ji Lanfang and the other lower seeded-players. Then, she flew back to her seat. Although she wanted to ask them the same question, she did not.
These people's strengths were too weak compared to hers. Ji Lanfang was the only one with 1-Leaf strength, while the rest only had the potential to reach that level.
Even if they had a method, they would still be suppressed because of the vast difference. And Shi Ruolan was correct in that they thought of a way in case they needed to fight her.
Ji Lanfang thought of using all the King Dao Swordmanships he knew to create the aura of a Sovereign. Tong Ruobing would use an Aura Changing Talisman to acquire the bearing of a ruler.
Shi Qian could connect to the karma of mortals in her homeworld, forcing them to give her the position of a Sovereign. Meanwhile, Jinhwu Hua was technically a ruler. The Three-Legged Crows were the royal family of the Golden Crow race, so she had the aura of a Sovereign.
"Now that everything is settled, who is the next- -"
Lord Spirit did not finish his words as a terrible sound echoed in the lobby, forcing everyone to hold their ears. Everyone then looked in Xiao Tiandi's direction to see a talisman floating before him, which was the noise source.
"You know the deal," said a female voice from the talisman. "The sound won't stop until you move."
The terrible sound ended, but that's because Xiao Tiandi was now the only person who could hear it. His mouth twitched in aggravation; this was not the first time his master had done something similar to motivate him. And he knew the talisman would not stop no matter what method he tried–and Xiao Tiandi could not destroy it even if he could somehow use the power of a Great Emperor.
"Damn it, alright," he said as he stood up, his eyes still a little closed. He looked around at the others before his eyes stopped on Wang Wei.
"I guess it's you. Let's get this over with."
Wang Wei frowned. freeweɓnøvel.com
"Young Master Wang Wei, please not reject," said Lord Spirit. Wang Wei gave him a look and realized there was something more. Then, his senses told him to fight the latter as it would benefit him.
"Fine," he responded before flying into the sky as Xiao Tiandi followed him. They looked at each for a few seconds.
"For some odd and unexplainable reason, I don't like you," suddenly commented Xiao Tiandi.
"Many people don't like me. It could be because I'm more handsome than them, more powerful, savvier, and has a hotter wife: pick one, and it will be enough."
Xiao Tiandi was speechless. His appearance was not that bad, and he just looked off because he did not care for his appearance. As for being more powerful, no one in the younger generation has defeated him–including Zhang Yucheng and Mon Wuzhi.
When it comes to Dao Companion, he had his beautiful master. Although they were not together, he firmly believed it was only a matter of time. The only thing he could give the latter was savvy since he is an Overlord, but as a person born with the Innate Dao Source Physique, he did not think he would lose in the savvy department.
"No, it's not these reasons. I just don't like you for some reason."
"Well, honestly, I feel the same," replied Wang Wei, who knew the reason for their dislikes. The Innate Dao Source Physique and Innate Paragon Soul are often called destined enemies.
Long ago, Xiao Tiandi's physique was considered the best for cultivation. However, that was until Innate Paragon Souls appeared–which was both an acquired and innate physique.
Some people can be born with an Innate Paragon Soul, or a Paragon could use countless Paragon Level resources similar to World Essence to nourish an unborn child in the womb.
However, few people do these since these resources are precious even to Paragons, and using them on an unborn child is a waste. Another reason is the high level of success. More often than not, the child will be unable to properly absorb these resources and fail to elevate their newborn soul to that level.
And there is also a chance of overpowering the child's soul, causing irreparable damage.
Nevertheless, the first person to ever have an Innate Paragon Soul got through acquired means, and his name was Paragon Red Dust.
Red Dust was conceived in a time of the Eternal Ascension World when a man with the title of Truth Seeker reigned supreme. He was a Boundless Paragon with unmatched power.
Truth Seeker Paragon lived in a relatively earlier era of the Eternal Ascension World, making him quite ancient, taking into account modern times. And his time, there were few Paragons–let alone Boundless.
Nevertheless, he was still the most powerful of his peers, suppressing an entire era. As a result, the only thing Truth Seeker wanted was an opponent on par with him. And he feared this day would never come–until a pregnant woman approached him with a deal.
The woman told him if he gave him the necessary resources, he could cultivate a child with an acquired talent on par with Truth Seeker's Innate Dao Source physique.
Intrigued, the Paragon agreed; hence, Red Dust was born–the first person with an Innate Paragon Soul. Truth Seeker taught the child everything he knew and also gave him the resources he needed to reach the same realm as him; this was not the first time he had done such a thing since he always wanted someone who could give him a challenge.
Unfortunately, things proceeded beyond his calculations. Truth Seeker was a prideful and arrogant man. He wanted someone who could give him a worthy challenge, but he could also defeat whenever he pleased.
Unfortunately, Red Dust was his equal in every way possible. Even when he tried his best, he could not defeat the latter–a fact that shattered his pride.
On the other hand, Red Dust was also not happy with the outcome of their battle. His dream or goal since childhood was to surpass his adoptive father. Yet, no matter what he tried, the result was a stalemate.
Then, these two Boundless Paragons began to compete in other things like alchemy, talisman, array, etc. With their physique's terrifying comprehension, they could excel at everything they tried.
Regrettably, the result was always a stalemate. At this point in their life, their competition had changed their relationship; they grew to hate/despise each other.
So, they decided at one last attempt: to reincarnate with their physique, ensure they were born in the same generation, and compete for the [Heaven Will].
After these two decided on the competition, they disappeared to this day. No one knew who was the final winner. Heavenly Dao recognized the Innate Paragon Soul as a physique that could balance out the Innate Dao Source Physique and just grant it to specific individuals.
However, Truth Seeker and Red Dust Paragon's Will were inherited by the future owner of their physique. So, as long as the two showed up in the same generation, they would often compete, trying to surpass the other.
Of course, Wang Wei was not influenced by this Will. He had a disdain for Xiao Tiandi for another reason: one he had not discovered yet but felt was related to his overall demeanor.
Hopefully, he could find the reason during their battle.
Chapter 594 Grandmist Wheel
"Alright, let's get this over with," said Xiao Tiandi. "Don't expect me to go easy on you."
"That's my line," replied Wang Wei before rushing to his opponent. He immediately appeared in front of Xiao Tiandi and punched him.
Boom!
'So fast,' was the last thought of Xiao Tiandi before flying away, ribs cracked and heart squished. Midway through his fly, a white flame appeared on his body, healing his injuries.
Meanwhile, Wang Wei went on the offensive. He used his [Fate Escape Technique] to fly at an unimaginable speed. He also used the tips he received from the Rainbow Emperor.
He used the Rabbit Zodiac to boost his strength further. He used the Sheep Zodiac, which granted him dominance of the elements. And with this dominance, he used lightning, wind, light, and space-time to boost his strength further.
So, with a speed that appeared as if he had teleported, he appeared before Xiao Tiandi. Bang! He exploded the latter's head with one punch.
'How is he so fast that I can't even react?' thought Xiao Tiandi as his body reformed. 'I need to do something, or I will spend this fight in mystery.'
Bang!
His entire upper body exploded in a pool of blood. However, Xiao Tiandi regenerated like a phoenix with a bright white flame. Ans this time, things were different: his aura drastically changed.
It went up from the 6-Leaf Immortal Venerable to 9-Leaf, making Wang Wei frown.
'A secret technique?' thought Wang Wei as he analyzed his opponent. Meanwhile, Xiao Tiandi raised his hand to shoot a yellow beam, forcing Wang Wei to dodge. Unfortunately, he was not fast enough, and his right hand was gone as if it had never existed.
"The power of Grandmist: it's been a while since I last saw it," he said calmly. During the Heaven Chosen Selection Trial at the Academy, Lin Fan used Grandmist in his battle against Su Ya.
Grandmist is considered one of the first powers or energy that existed at the beginning of the universe; it is a manifestation of chaos. So, it can return anything it touched back to chaos.
Grandmist is divided into Yin and Yang. The Yin side is referred to as Final Grandmist and has the power of erasure; it returns things to their original state.
Meanwhile, Yang Grandmist is called Cosmos Grandmist and is used to mold chaos into all matter; it molds chaos into all things in existence. Cultivators must condense a Grandmist Wheel in their Sea of Consciousness to enter the Empyrean Realm. Through this wheel, they can control Cosmos Grandmist to create life and other things.
Many thoughts flashed in Wang Wei's mind as he looked at his missing arm. Then, a purple flame appeared on the missing arm, burning off the power of Grandmist with the Chaos Flame in his heart.
Xiao Tiandi did not give his opponent time to breathe. He turned his Final Grandmist into a sword that resembled a lightsaber. Then, he rushed toward Wang Wei to slash him.
Oddly though, the opponent easily dodged his attack. With his 9-Leaf Immortal Venerable strength, he should be able to overwhelm the latter with his sheer speed–just like he suffered previously.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Xiao Tiandi swung his sword more than a million times in less than a second. But not one of his attacks touched his opponent. So, he condensed the Grandmist Sword into a bomb, spreading its attack in a wide area. However, Wang Wei moved quickly out of the attack's range.
Xiao Tiandi paused as he looked at Wang Wei. "You're using the Battle Maniac Paragon's Ultimate Evasion Technique."
"So, you've noticed."
"I've read about it in books. I thought it was a legend." it is said after creating this method, he has never lost a battle in his life.
"Well, it's true," Wang Wei replied. The Ultimate Evasion Technique allowed him to synchronize his body to his opponent's aura, energy signature, spiritual strength, and laws. After the synchronization, his body will naturally evade all the opponent's attacks.
No matter the attack, his body would move on its own to evade; it was as if it was allergic to everything about his opponent and would naturally avoid it. After creating and mastering this technique, Battle Maniac never lost a battle. It did not mean he was invincible, but he never suffered defeat.
Of course, it was not only because of this technique.
The flaw of this method is to use overwhelming speed to counter it. However, as a peak Paragon, Battle Maniac was on the top echelon regarding speed in all the Paragon in the universe. So, he never met someone who could overwhelm him with speed.
Additionally, this technique had higher levels.
For example, Wang Wei also synchronized with Xiao Tiandi's Fate and Karma to aid him in his evasion. For the level of this technique, he needed to have some Fate or Karmic connection with Xiao Tiandi, and he did:
Xiao Tiandi's master was Xu Junyao, the woman Wang Wei had a Love Fate Connection besides Wu Hong. Wang Wei had to sigh at how wonderful fate could be.
Is it a coincidence that he met him now? Most likely, no.
[Domain Expansion: Grandmist Erasure.]
Xiao Tiandi controlled the entire area and filled it with Grandmist, not giving any room for Wang Wei to dodge. As such, he surrounded himself with a purple flame, protecting himself. At the same time, he finally figured out the secret technique the latter used.
'He borrowed the power of an alternate version of himself; a variant of himself that failed in accomplishing the Nine Extremity Foundation and ended up with 9-Leaf Immortal Venerable strength. What a wonderful secret technique. It's a shame I cannot use it.'
Based on his analysis, divination, and calculator, Heavenly Dao only allowed cultivators to access parallel timelines in the upper dimension. Although only Paragons should be able to travel or access parallel timelines, Xiao Tiandi's secret technique granted the ability to borrow strength from his parallel self, with the only limitation that he could not acquire the power of Dao Ancestor.
So, 9-Leaf was the limit he could achieve.
Xiao Tiandi observed his opponent with a frown, rapidly calculating the best attack mode.
Secret Technique: Roc Infinite Speed
Two large energy wings appeared behind him, while the phantom of a bird or fish manifested behind him; it was the image of a Roc.
Rocs are known as one of the fastest creatures in the universe. With this technique, Xiao Tiandi's speed approached the infinity domain– a realm of speed that at least 1-Root Dao Ancestor can reach. As a comparison, a 2-Root Dao Ancestor has a base speed of 20 times infinity.
With this speed, Wang Wei's mind could perceive Xiao Tiandi's movement. After all, he is connected to his other clones to [Existence] and technically has the reflex of a 2-Root Dao Ancestor.
However, his main body, with only 6-Leaf, cannot move in time to evade.
Bang!
Xiao Tiandi flew back with half of his body destroyed. Meanwhile, Wang Wei remained intact. At the last minute, he used the Pig Zodiac Ability to absorb the attack and redirected it before his opponent could even react.
Xiao Tiandi frowned as he felt something was wrong.
'He should not be able to absorb an attack approaching 1-Root Dao Ancestor. Is he secretly a Nine Extremity Foundation?'
He thought of how Wang Wei previously hid his battle with Ao Tianyi, making him a little suspicious. So, he used another technique to manifest a third eye on his forehead.
'He stored the power in his Acupoints? That would make sense.' I also sensed Devour Law.
While Xiao Tiandi analyzed the situation, his body rapidly regenerated, making Wang Wei frown as he also detected something.
'I thought his main Dao was Lesser Chaos. But now, I know his main Dao is Dream. He converted his injury into a dream. So, it was as if they never occurred.'
Wang Wei always knew there were two different Chaos Dao, but he never knew the exact classification until he received Ao Tianyi's memories. Lesser Chaos Dao referred to the Dao Lin Fan cultivated before he became an Outlaw.
Lesser Chaos Dao directly cultivates Chaos Law, which involves things like Grandmist, sub-laws like Destruction, Creation, Absolute Beginning and Absolute End, Origin, and others.
Meanwhile, Great Chaos Dao is when cultivated decided to cultivate all 3800 Primary Daos to a high level before fusing them; this Dao is on the path of becoming nigh omnipotent. It's the Dao of mastering all concepts, laws, and rules; it's the Dao of becoming the embodiment of all things in existence.
Of course, both Daos are outlaws, but people with the Absolute Chaos Physique and other exceptional physiques can cultivate Lesser Chaos Dao without a problem. Meanwhile, Great Chaos Dao is an Outlaw to everyone.
Wang Wei snapped his finger:
Order: No Secret Technique.
Immediately, Xiao Tiandi lost all his strength, returning to his original power. Wang Wei instantly appeared before him and held him by his throat, even sealing all his strength.
'I know why I didn't like him, and I could use it to my advantage. The only issue is whether it was worth the risk.'
Chapter 595 Disdain
(Thanks to Janosch and many others who donated gifts; they sponsored this chapter.)
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Wang Wei scanned Xiao Tiandi's body with his Divine Sense and almost smacked his lips. He could feel a terrifying power preventing anyone from accessing Xiao Tiandi's physique. The power protected his blood and even his hair and teeth.
Ignoring the latter's attempt to get rid of his seal, Wang Wei looked at Lord Spirit, who happily announced he was the winner. Finally, Wang Wei released Xiao Tiandi from his grip.
As the winner of this battle, he won a great deal of Destiny–even more than he anticipated. Furthermore, Wang Wei could feel that a vision was about to appear due to his Innate Paragon Soul defeating the Innate Dao Source Physique.
He quickly calculated that it was one of the reasons he acquired so much destiny from Xiao Tiandi. Nevertheless, this was unimportant since he did not want the vision to appear as it could reveal his soul.
So, he quickly denied its appearance. He could sense some odd gaze from Lord Spirit, but he did not look back or explain anything. Instead, he looked directly into Xiao Tiandi's eyes and said:
"I know why I dislike you. You reek of laziness and depression. Despite having supposedly the greatest talent for cultivation, your Willpower is so weak that it's pitiful."
"You know nothing about me," roared Xiao Tiandi. "So, don't act as if you do."
"I don't need to know anything about you to know you seem to have given up."
"Shut up," he roared again, this time even louder as his voice echoed throughout the entire miniature world.
"Do you know what I've been through? Do you know how much I suffer, how much pressure I'm under," Xiao Tiandi replied with clenched hands.
"Before I started cultivating, life was beautiful. I was born with the most remarkable talent under Heaven and Earth, making everyone in my family proud and looking forward to my future.
"I was lucky to meet my master, who cared for and protected me; she was the only one who saw the real me, not the Xiao Tiandi with the Innate Dao Source Physique.
"However, everything changed when I began my cultivation journey and learned about the world. My talent was not a gift–it was a curse. Every time I made progress, every time I made an achievement, every time my reputation soared, I could feel it:
"The gaze of the 2 Suns and 7 Moons. And it was not a friendly gaze. They saw me as nothing but a nuisance, a problem that had to be dealt with eventually. They saw me as an eventual threat to their reign."
"So, in response, you made yourself smaller to not get their attention? You wasted your potential by wailing in self-pity, cursing at unfair the world was?" asked Wang with a sneer and great disdain.
He finally understood why Xiao Tiandi did not even attempt the Nine Extremity Foundation or even try cultivating an Outlaw Dao. Wang Wei guessed this was the excuse he used to not even enter the Duyi Realm since he could not sense its power on the latter.
"I had no choice," quickly replied Xiao Tiandi, his voice raised to the point of roaring again.
"This was the only way to survive and protect me, my family, and my master. I had to look unthreatened to them; I had to waste my potential."
Wang Wei looked down at the other upper seeded-players. He could sense fear, frustration, and unwillingness in Shi Ruolan and Xi Shangyan. Even Ao Tianyi–who managed to regain some bearing–felt some emotions similar to this.
Meanwhile, Zhang Yucheng gloated despite his face looking peaceful and normal, and Monk Wuzhi lowered his head, showing shame and regret.
"I finally understand why the upper and lower dimension is separated," Wang Wei said calmly. "In the Endless Void, there can only be 3000 Great Emperors in each generation. Ans quintillion upon quintillion of races competes for these spots.
"And usually, only the best of the best gets to sit on the throne. Only the best have a chance at achieving eternity and escaping the shackles of death.
"Meanwhile, Heaven Wills is probably so common on the upper dimension that you treat it as an ordinary resource. With this mindset, without the pressure to be the absolute best, without the threat of death, the Emperors you cultivate are ordinary, weak, underachievers, complacent, and weak-willed. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
"Unfortunately, that zeitgeist has been passed down to you, the younger generation."
"What are you trying to say?" asked Xiao Tiandi with gritted teeth.
"I bet there is a revolution against the so-called 2 Suns and 7 Moons you mentioned, and the main lead of it are the Emperors from the lower dimension, am I right?"
Xiao Tiandi did not answer, so Wang Wei sneered before continuing:
"These people know their struggle is futile, but they never give up. Even if they knew there was no hope, no future, and even if they knew they would suffer terrible consequences for their actions, they did not give up on trying to break the current situation.
"But you gave up. No, even worse, you didn't even try."
The sneer on Wang Wei's face was simply disgusting to look at at this point. And he had his reason to despise Xiao Tiandi so much. The moment he learned about these 7 parasites, and even the other two who might have surpassed the Paragon Realm, he did not give up.
Instead, he began to plan out how he would deal with the situation and find a way to break the game. His current words and actions were part of his plan. He wanted to instill the idea of rebellion into these people, hoping they could make some changes when they returned.
As such, when he ascended, he would have allies and did not have to start from scratch. Even if these geniuses did not publicly revolt, his plan would succeed as long as they secretly supported the rebellion.
And his target was also the lower dimension geniuses as they were potential allies after they proved the Dao and ascended to the Eternal Ascension World.
The only issue was his words would bring more attention to himself from these parasites. However, after calculating the pros and cons of the current situation, Wang Wei decided the risks were worth it.
"You don't understand," yelled Xiao Tiandi, his voice full of despair. "I had to protect my master."
"Did she ask you to protect her, or was that one of your many excuses?"
Xu Jinyao was the most beautiful woman in the Eternal Ascension World. Wang Wei did not believe for a second that one of the parasites did desire her beauty for herself. But from what he knew from Ao Tianyi's memory, she was perfectly fine and still had no partners.
As such, he knew she must have her ways of protecting herself.
"You ignorant fool. You have no idea the power they have. You cannot fathom the difference in power between Tier 12 and 11. Paragons reign supreme; they are almighty."
Wang Wei internally sighed as he could sense the other upper seeded-players agreed with this sentiment; he could tell these kids were brainwashed to believe such a thing.
Meanwhile, with a quick check of the lower seeded players, he could sense they were all sneering–some openly while most were secret. To these people who had to fight their entire life to sit on the throne, they would never let anyone stay in their way to power.
And many of them would rather die than bend their heads to give in to any authoritarian figures. They will respect powerhouses but never cower in fear before them.
"That may be true," replied Wang Wei. "But there are many ways to fight a war. Is the enemy too powerful? Okay, I'll hide and cultivate until I reach the same height as them.
"The solution is not working? Alright, I'll leave to search for allies that could deal with my enemy–even if this meant I could be inviting a wolf into the nest.
"Anything is better than just giving up and accepting my fate."
"You don't understand, you don't understand," Xiao Tiandi repeated nonstop. Wang Wei looked at him intensely, sensing the agitated mood he emitted.
"Whatever. I'm done wasting my breath with a weak Will individual like yourself."
Wang Wei shook his head before sighing.
"The Heavens is truly blind to give someone like you such a powerful physique," he said before flying back to his seat. Many people nodded in agreement with him. They could see despite how strong Xiao Tiandi was, he was a person with a terrible state of mind and a weak Dao Heart.
His current state was barely enough to bear the Heaven Will, and a tiny change could lead to him becoming a Pseudo Emperor.
"Hehem," softly coughed Lord Spirit, trying to look as if he did not just hear things that would be considered blasphemy in the upper dimension.
"The combat aspect of the trial is officially finished. We will regroup a few days from now for the final competition."
'This Lord Spirit did not even care about points for the combat aspect of this trial. So, what are the criteria he is using to choose the final inheritor?' thought Wang Wei with squinted eyes.
He then gazed at Zhang Yucheng, who was secretly fuming and trying his best to hide his intense killing desire. Without saying anything more, he flew to his mansion before leaving a secret message to someone through Divine Sense.
'Come see me. I have something important to give you."
Chapter 596 Buddhism vs Taoism (1)
After Wang Wei returned to his mansion, he immediately heard Ancestor Wucheng's voice.
"So, you must have reasons for taking such a risk?"
"I'm preparing for the future. Without removing these so-called 2 Suns and Seven Moons, I can never reach the top of the cultivation world. And even the ancestors cannot properly revive. So, I will need all the help I can to deal with them."
"*Sigh* Although I know I might not need to remind you, given your personality, I still will. Always be cautious. After you ascend, I and the other will no longer be able to protect you.
"The sect will probably not be able to provide you any help and might even be a hindrance. So, always be slow and steady."
"I will," replied Wang Wei, and Wang Wucheng no longer spoke. The old ancestor felt his young descendant grew too fast, and it was only a matter of time before his old bones became useless.
Although he always knew this was inevitable, recent events indicate this process might be faster than anticipated. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
Meanwhile, Wang Wei observed Feng Heng's mansion for a few hours, trying to detect any signs of trouble. Luckily, until Monk Wuzhi showed up, nothing changed.
Monk Wuzhi deactivated his invisible talisman before cupping and bowing his hands: "Benefactor, what do you need from me?"
"Monk, can you tell me exactly Zhang Yucheng's strength? The last time you were vague."
Monk Wuzhi frowned for a moment before answering: "He is only the peak of 7-Leaf. However, he can use a secret technique to generate a mysterious power from his two physiques, boosting his power to 8-Leaf."
"Is that so?" Wang Wei briefly pondered before taking out a booklet and handing it to him. "See if this can help you rise in strength."
Monk Wuzhi took the book labeled [7 Chakras] and scammed through it. And the more he read, the brighter his eyes were.
"This technique is similar to the concept of 5 Inner Wheels. However, it is more detailed, purer, and more powerful."
Monk Wuzhi had access to all the Buddhist Scriptures, so he remembered the school of thought based on the 5 Inner Wheels. Although they were not the most popular or influential in the Buddhist Sect, they were generally decent.
'5 Inner Wheel? I remember Buddhism only had 5 Chakras back on Earth before it was changed, while Hinduism–the creator of this system–had 7 Chakras. I'm guessing this world also discovered some version of Chakra,' though Wang Wei.
"This technique should allow you to reach 8-Leaf, so hurry because I don't think you have much time."
"You make a great point, Benefactor," replied Monk Wuzhi before rushing out. And to Wang Wei's dismay, the monk entered one of the rooms inside his mansion instead of returning home.
Monk Wuzhi took out a formation plate from his space ring, allowing him to lay out a powerful array around the room instantly. Subsequently, he entered the Time Treasure he had to facilitate faster cultivation.
As soon as he entered the treasure, he did not waste time opening his Chakra. Unlike Wang Wei, who had to use the Good Fortune Flame to open the Chakra, Monk Wuzhi used the purest of Buddha Power.
And since the energy he used perfectly matched the concept of Chakra, he benefited even more than Wang Wei did. After a few hundred years inside the time treasure, Monk Wuzhi opened his eyes.
His pupil had entirely turned golden, and he radiated an aura of purity, benevolence, and nobility. His body shone with golden lights for a few minutes before he returned to normal.
"Peak 8-Leaf strength. The increase was even greater than I anticipated," Monk Wuzhi muttered before looking at the artificial sky inside the treasure.
"Zhang Yucheng, you wait for me."
The monk left his treasure before exiting the room and meeting Wang Wei again.
"It seems you succeeded."
"Thank you for everything, benefactor."
"No need. I'm just paying my karma."
"Be that as it may, you have helped me greatly and made a great contribution to Buddhism."
Monk Whuzi was not lying. The 7 Chakra Method will advance the 5 Inner Wheels faction by miles, possibly elevating them to one of the great factions of Buddhism.
Wang Wei calmly accepted the latter's thanks. Although he did not invent the Chakra method, he translated it to fit the laws of the Eternal Ascension World, which should give him some credit.
Furthermore, he did not mind taking credit for someone else's work if it could help him pay some of his karma. Thus, he chatted briefly with the monk before overseeing him leave his mansion.
Wang Wei was alone since Li Jun entered seclusion to use the talisman the Battle Maniac Emperor left for him. And since he had to observe the situation in case of any changes, he decided to cultivate a little.
He first checked his acupoints; he had already created or opened all his artificial acupoints. The next step in refining his body was the condense the 1964th black holes.
Regrettably, he could not do that now as he could sense a Fleshly Body Tribulation was approaching. From the third stage of the True Power Realm, body refiners have to undergo tribulations often, and it was Wang Wei's turn.
And from what he learned from his ancestor, there will be a drastic increase in pain after he reaches the fourth stage. According to the Ancient Desolate Paragon, the pain is so intense that most cultivators give up trying to open the Gate of Power.
Additionally, since he decided to walk both the Qi Refiner and Body Tempering path, the pain he will suffer will be at least a hundred times more than pure Body Refiners who focus on only opening the gate.
The pain is the way Grand Dao used to balance how powerful Body Refiners were. Of course, Wang Wei did not mind the pain since his Pain Talent had already made him a masochist.
'It's begun?' thought Wang Wei as he opened his eyes. At that exact time, all the participants received a notice from Lord Spirit to stay inside their mansion and not interfere with the affairs of the upper dimension.
"Ancestor, how are the preparations?"
"Everything went as you wished. We hired many Immortal Tier loose cultivators, and they should have no problem dealing with Zhang Yucheng's people."
Wang Wei nodded his head. Although he promised Monk Wuzhi he would have his sect help him, he also did not want to directly use the powerhouses of the sect.
He wanted plausible deniability, and by hiring other people to fight instead of his sect, he had a reasonable cause to do so. Of course, Wang Wei knew deniability might be pointless based on Zhang Yucheng's character.
He could imagine that Supreme Unity was not the kind of person that cared for loopholes. Nevertheless, he wanted to be careful–just in case. His motto has always been to be highly cautious when dealing with these old monsters.
Outside Feng Heng's mansion, two people floated in the sky, staring intensely at one another.
"Bald monk, you should know you are not my opponent. Stop this futile resistance."
"I am not the same me as I was yesterday."
Zhang Yucheng shook his head. "Why do you monks try so desperately to resist your fate? My master is now the Heavens. Taoism's destiny is to reign supreme, so why not bow and accept the mandate of Heaven?"
"All things that rise must fall," replied Monk Wuzhi, his voice soft, soothing, and full of wisdom. "Taoism had its era, Buddhism followed, and it should have been someone else's turn; this was the way to maintain the balance of Heaven and Earth.
"But your greed forced another era of Taoism. You have corrupted the way of Heaven and Earth and thus must pay the price."
"Blasphemy!"
"Is it? You, Taoist priests, always preach about being inactive, following the flow of nature, and letting things proceed on their course. Yet, you do not practice what you preach."
"Don't be so sanctimonious; it's disgusting. It's not like you, Buddhists, are innocent. The entire lower dimension suffered such catastrophe because of the backlash for forcibly prolonging your reign.
"Their blood is your hands."
"That is the truth. But we have learned from our mistakes. We strove to do better. Current Buddhism can say without hesitation we have paid our karma; we have made peace with our past.
"Can you do the same?"
"Enough with your sharp tongue," groaned Zhang Yucheng, his eyes red, gleaming with a demonic atmosphere. He raised his hand to manifest a purple sword. His black, silky long hair turned half white, and a red tattoo of a small sword appeared on his forehead.
"It's a shame we had to result with using force."
Monk Wuzhi's body then changed. He turned into a 7 meters tall golden Buddha. This form had no shirt on, displaying his slightly large belly. He only had shorts to cover his lower body and a golden scarf that floated around his neck.
Brilliant golden light shone on him, along with chants of scriptures.
Chapter 597 Buddhism vs Taoism (2)
Zhang Yucheng frowned as he immediately noticed something. He had fought many times before Monk Wuzhi again, and their last confrontation was only a couple of decades ago. Back then, his Altruistic Golden Buddha Body was only 5 meters.
He knew the Altruistic Golden Buddha Body was a great body refining technique with 12 layers; with each layer, a monk would grow one meter. Despite how powerful the technique was, only a few people could cultivate it because it required a deep understanding of Buddhism, a lot of incense, and merit.
Wuzhi was the most talented younger generation of Buddhism, and he only cultivated it to the fifth level after millions of years. But now, after just a few decades, he went two levels.
'This could only mean two things: there was a catastrophe, and he saved billions of lives. Or, he was enlightened and created something that would greatly benefit Buddhism.'
Zhang Yucheng knew it was most likely the second option since he would know if Monk Wuzhi saved so many people. Regardless, he knew this battle would not be as simple as he thought.
Due to a lack of knowledge or information, Zhang Yucheng knew that something out of his expectations might occur with each passing minute. Furthermore, his master warned him of the possibility of the Dao Opening Sect's heir in the lower dimension intervening in his battle. After analyzing the situation, he decided to end this battle as quickly as possible.
[Wuji Has No Limits: Infinite Swords]
A black-and-white diagram covered the entire sky. And from that diagram, swords began to fall, with no indication of stopping. Each sword had the power to eradicate thousands of tiny universes, and there was an infinite amount of them.
Monk Wuzhi immediately knew his opponent was going for the kill after seeing this attack.
[Out of the Five Elements and Three Realms]
Buddha is a supreme being that has transcended the five elements of all matters. It is also detached from the mundane realms, the realm of the dead, and the realm of the spirit.
After using this technique, all the swords passed through Monk Wuzhi's body as if he was nonexistent. With this technique, he entered a state of intangibility similar to Wang Wei's Nothingness Dao.
Monk Wuzhi could see the shock on his opponent's face, and he knew the reason. In their last confrontation, he could not achieve this level of intangibility. Wuji involved the concept of everything being born from nothing, so his technique should be useless to a high-level spell like the one Zhang Yucheng used.
However, the current him was not him of yesterday. Without giving the latter a chance to brief, Monk Wuzhi went on the offensive.
[Buddha's Light: Call of Samsara]
Monk Wuzhi first took a prayer stance with his palms touching before putting one hand forward. A bright and pure golden light emanated from his hand, illuminating the dark night; the light was so bright that, for a moment, it appeared as if the sun had resurfaced, signaling the end of the darkness knowns as the night.
The golden light did not affect the diagram above them, nor did it affect the falling swords. The light directly attacked Zhang Yucheng.
'Do it. You know you want to.'
'That's right. Life is hard, so why struggle?'
'End this misery and relieve your burden by entering Samsara.'
'That's right. This is the best place; you can forget your problems, pain, and suffering.'
'You can be free.'
Zhang Yucheng groaned as he felt a massive headache. He could not concentrate with millions of whispers tempting him to give up on his life and enter Samsara. He could feel his Will to live rapidly diminish, and each voice's reasons to do so became more convincing.
Zhang Yucheng could feel his spirit falling into an eternal abyss full of despair and negative emotions.
'Nooo,' he screamed, waking up from the terror. The voices continued, but he took advantage of this brief clarity to act. He manifested a two-fold shield inside his Sea of Consciousness to defend his soul.
The first shield contained Yin-Yang power, with a heavy focus on the Yin side since it was related to the soul. Wuji came before Yin and Yang and can evolve into Yin-Yang. So, his Wuji Tao Body was a Yin-Yang Body with even more abilities.
For the second layer of the shield, Zhang Yucheng condensed all the Defensive and Soul-related Sword Wills he knew. With these two levels of protection, he reduced the voices to the point where he could ignore them.
But Monk Wuzhi would not let things proceed smoothly.
[Soul Sundering Bell]
A bronze bell appeared above Monk Wuzhi, ringing so loud that it echoed in the soul. Zhang Yucheng's noise bled as the vibration from the soul directly injured his soul.
However, the Taoist Priest gritted his teeth before also going on the offensive. He swung his sword, using a superb technique.
[Wuji Sword: The Unmanifest Sword]
Golden blood spewed from Monk Wuzhi's body as a diagonal scar appeared on his chest. He could not sense, see, or detect the slash in any shape or form.
In Taoism, Wuji symbolizes the unmanifest, the unknown, the undetectable, and the nonexistent. Meanwhile, Taji–the successor of Wuji–symbolizes the manifest or the physical.
Monk Wuzhi has often suffered against that sword since he could not detect it with his eyes, his reaction, his danger sense, his Divine Sense, or even eye secret techniques. At least before, that was the case.
[Buddha's Benevolence]
Buddha once cut off a piece of his body to feed a starving animal. His benevolence grants him power.
Monk Wuzhi's aura suddenly increased, and when a second slash appeared on his body, forming the X shape, his aura further strengthened. With his technique, he can boost his power with every injury.
Then, the monk's golden body rushed toward Zhang Yucheng to fight him head-on. Wuzhi wanted to limit his opponent's use of the sword while he took the time to execute the ability he developed after opening his Crown Chakra.
Inside the mansion, Wang Wei witnessed the battle through a formation.
'I should not underestimate these Heaven Chosens from the upper dimension. Their use of Duyi Realm is phenomenal.'
He could sense that every attack Monk Wuzhi and Zhang Yucheng used was boosted by their Duyi Realm. It magnified their Qi/energy, spiritual strength, physical force, and even Laws.
The subtle and ingenious way they use this power is something Wang Wei just recently learned from the Battle Maniac Paragon.
One of the main reasons that Eternal Emperors are so powerful is their Dao Will's boost. It is not just a method to eliminate other Emperor's Imprints, but a method that augmented their overall power.
The Dao Will is why it is hard for Insurgents to reach the Pseudo and Eternal Emperor level of power. And the reasons that it is statistically impossible to become an Insurgent on par with Everlasting Empyreans.
'Monk Wuzhi is not bad. I thought his main law was Nirvana, but it appeared his main Dao is Soul. As for Zhang Yucheng's Wuji…'
Wang Wei observed carefully, fully immersed in the Taoist priests' use of Wuji Law.
'Wuji, meaning without limits, without boundaries: boundless. A state of non-distinction, nothingness before the Tao–or the manifestation of everything came into being.
'The Laws of Wuji contained properties of nothingness. Its very definition of beings without limits, distinction, or boundaries can also apply to nothingness.'
Wang Wei opened his eyes, full of wisdom and containing the universe's fundamental truth. After this enlightenment, his body had subtle and unnoticeable changes.
He raised his hand to manifest a mysterious power. He removed an Immortal ore from his space ring to test that new power. The ore vanished as if it had changed from a state of existence to nonexistence in a matter of nanoseconds.
"Is this the power of the Void?"
For many years, he pondered how to enter the next stage of his Tabbo Dao of Nothingness. After many failures, he decided to wait until he proved the Dao to try again.
But now, after comprehension of the correlation between Wuji and Nothingness, he accessed the power of Void beforehand. Of course, Wang Wei knew the transformation was not complete.
He was still in the Intangibility stage but now contained some powers of the Void Stage. Wang Wei took a moment to calculate something.
"I can reach the Void Stage in the Great Emperor Realm, the Emptiness Stage, after becoming a Paragon. But what about the True Nothingness Stage?"
His eyes lit up after figuring out some things. Although he knew his prediction might not be correct since he had yet to reach these realms and only knew some vague knowledge about them.
Yet, he believed he had a high chance of being correct, so he looked forward to the future.
"Maybe there is a connection between Perfection and Nothingness," he muttered after suddenly having an idea. "Is nothingness one of the few things that are considered perfect?"
Wang Wei shook his head as he felt he might be reaching. Then, he concentrated on the battle.
Buddhism vs Taoism (3)
'I wonder whether the Duyi Realm will evolve into Dao Will after I reach the Tenth Extremity? Or, at least, a pseudo version of it,' thought Wang Wei as he looked at Monk Wuzhi and Zhang Yucheng's clash of the Duyi Realm. They were on the 9th stage--which is normal for most people who attempt to complete the Nine Extemity Foundation.
For example, he was currently in the 8th stage since he was in the Saint Realm. From the Body Tempering Realm to the Primordial Spirit, he ensured that each of the realms was unique, allowing him to reach the 6th stage.
As for the Void Shattering Realm, he entered the 7th stage after his first incarnation entered the same realm. This is because he now had two Law Alter/Law Trees, and his incarnations were connected through his [Existence].
However, back then, he could only use the Duyi 7th Stage after fusing or borrowing the power of his incarnations. Wang Wei's main body truly entered the 7th stage after his Law Tree turned silver.
The uniqueness of his Saint Realm was the fact that he had nine Domains and that his Domain exceeded the limit of 1.269 trillion kilometers. This was after hearing his ancestors preach.
Regarding the future of the Duyi Realm after achieving the Ten Extremities Foundation, Wang Wei did not know what would happen. He had no information regarding this level of foundation as no one probably ever reached this level–at least, not in the Eternal Ascension World.
Once he succeeded, he was still undetermined about what would happen. There was a chance that nothing occurred since the tenth extremity was nothing but a foundation and since nothing in the realms became "unique." But there is also the possibility of an unknown transformation after a mortal truly breaks the boundary between mortal and immortal, acquiring the power of a Great Emperor.
'I guess we will wait and see.'
For a moment, he ignored Monk Wuzhi's desperate attacks as his gaze pierced through the void, and he saw an even more destructive battle. More than ten Dao Ancestors and an Immortal Venerable faced each other.
'The mercenaries are holding up better than expected,' thought Wang Wei after noticing that the people the sect hired could keep up with the people working with Zhang Yucheng.
Wang Wei had prepared for the unexpected and gave these people some talismans to help them in an emergency. He tasked them with keeping the enemy at bay for as long as needed. However, these mercenaries' display of power was better than he anticipated, given they were loose cultivators.
After checking the situation, he focused on the current battle. Monk Wuzhi had a few more scars on his body, but they were minor compared to the first two. He closed his eyes as he used palm attacks, directly clashing against Zhang Yucheng's Chaos-Grade magic artifact sword.
Monk Wuzhi opened his eyes, which were profound as if he was a man who saw through the veil of existence.
[Higher Consciousness] freewebnøvel.com
Monk Wuzhi's eyes became clearer as he could now see the world differently; he was not limited by sight, sense, soul, spirit, or mind. He elevated his internal and external senses to a higher essence, allowing him to see things he could previously not see–for example, the unknown, the unmanifest, or the nonexistent.
He raised his palm in one direction, generating a powerful shockwave that made the void tremble. Although it appeared Monk Wuzhi attacked empty air, he and Zhang Yucheng knew he targeted the Wuji Sword.
"Impossible," said Zhang Yucheng, unable to comprehend what had occurred. In their previous battle, the monk was forced to tank all his attacks once he used the Wuji Sword. But now, he could detect and possibly evade his attack.
Monk Wuzhi was not in the habit of giving his opponent the time to think or brief. Although he was benevolent at heart, Buddha also had a wrathful side.
[Essence-Spirit Attack]
Bang!
Monk Wuzhi's palm landed on Zhang Yucheng's chest, caving it inward. The Taoist priest flew a dozen meters away, coughing blood. Adding to that, he had a massive headache.
The palm affected his body (Essence), and the injury was transferred to his soul (Spirit). Luckily, he used a body refining technique that used the constant revolution of Yin and Yang to temper the flesh.
Nevertheless, his soul was more fragile than his body, making injuries even harder to deal with.
Zhang Yucheng used his Duyi Realm to try his best to remove his opponent's effect so he could heal. Unfortunately, they were in the same stage and had similar levels of control and application. As such, the process would take time–something he did not have.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
He swung his sword nonstop, but Monk Wuzhi easily dodged.
'Danmit,' thought Zhang Yucheng in frustration. The Wuji Sword Will was one of his most potent attacks as it gathered the best from his two physiques. And now that it was not working, he became frustrated–especially since there were many tactics he could not use because of the restraint in the lower dimension.
Regardless, he decided not to easily give up as he had one last trump card.
Secret Technique: Physique Burning
Zhang Yucheng did not hesitate to sacrifice his two physiques for a drastic increase in power. Usually, this would result in severe destruction of the foundation and potentially losing one or both physiques. However, he did not care since he had a master that could instantly heal such a minor injury.
With this secret technique, Zhang Yucheng's strength increased from the peak of 7-Leaf to the middle of 9-Leaf.
[Wuji to Taiji: Stillness to Motion]
Wuji represented the state of the universe before its birth, a state of stillness that embodied the concept of nonexistent. Then, from nothingness was born something; Dao gave birth to one, one gave birth to two, two gave birth to three, and three gave birth to myriad things in existence.
These words perfectly encapsulated the process of Wuji transforming into Taiji, a process in which nothingness (stillness) created something (motion).
After using this technique, Zhang Yucheng's surroundings moved in slow motion, as if time was slowed down, whether it was the air, the Spiritual Qi, the clouds, or Monk Wuzhi.
However, the technique did not use the power of time per se: it used the very concept of motion and stillness to accomplish a similar feat, and maybe one even more impressive.
Zhang Yucheng looked at Wuzhi, slowly moving some of his fingers and mouth. His red eyes gleamed with sneering as he marveled at his god-like power. He flew before the monk, looking directly into his eyes.
He smirked before moving his sword, heading directly for the heart–a vital organ. Unfortunately, before he succeeded, a powerful sonic wave came from Monk Wuzhi's mouth, pushing him away.
Then, the sound echoed with so much vigor that it shook and disturbed the power of [stillness] affecting him and the surrounding.
'That was closed. If I did not open my Throat Chakra and developed a new ability, I might not have made it,' thought Monk Wuzhi with relief. Although he was not afraid of death as he would just reincarnate, it did not mean he wanted to die.
Reincarnations met more Buddhist monks since their philosophies revolved around achieving enlightenment through trial and error in each life. Each monk must fully use any life–even if they reincarnated into an animal or plant.
"How can you become so powerful?"
"You don't need to know."
Zhang Yucheng gritted his teeth, thinking about an explanation for the current situation. He did not believe the latter was using some powerful artifact since they were not back home. He did not sense any secret techniques.
As for other people helping Wuzhi, he never considered this aspect. When it came to Wang Wei, Zhang Yuceheng was impressed that the latter could reach 6-Leaf Strenght in the lower dimension as it indicated his talent.
However, without knowledge of the Nine Extremity Foundation, he believed the latter would remain at that level until the Heaven Will Battle. He never fathomed the latter could help his enemy reach such a level.
In Zhang Yucheng's preparation, he only had to be on the lookout for possible sneak attacks or disturbances from Wang Wei. After all, the strength difference between 6 and 7 Leaves was vast, meaning the latter could only be an aid to Monk Wuzhi and a nuisance to him.
He never imagined, in his wildest dream, he would lose without any help or interference.
"Let's end this rivalry," Monk Wuzhi said with a sigh. Then, an enormous golden Buddha image appeared behind him. The Buddha's face seemed painful, full of regret and sorrow.
[Palm of Sorro]
The Buddha's enormous palm descended on Zhang Yucheng. And in the process, countless red glow flew from different corners of the void, turning into a red aura around the palm.
From the aura, Zhang Yucheng could sense an intense amount of regret, pain, sorrow, and hatred directed at him. He analyzed this technique and gathered the negative emotions of all the Buddhist monks killed by the Absolute Beginning Emperor.
'I cannot survive this attack,' thought Zhang Yucheng as he watched the descended palms, unable to move an inch.
"Master, save me!"
The Two Suns
Without hesitation, confusion, sadness, or even any emotions, for that matter, Monk Wuzhi dropped that palm. He did not know the final outcome, whether Zhang Yucheng would be saved, as it was common in their early confrontations once he had the advantage.
Boom!
With slight surprise, Monk Wuzhi watched as Zhang Yucheng's body exploded into billions of pieces, his soul and Dao disappearing. He looked at the falling blood with a daze, waiting for something to occur.
But nothing did.
For a moment, he wondered if he was wrong. Maybe, he could not sense anything. After all, the difference between himself and Zhang Yucheng's master was so vast that it was normal if he could not detect or even understand if he took action.
However, Monk Wuzhi quickly denied this possibility. The other times' Zhang Yucheng was saved, he sensed something. He knew it was because Supreme Unity was not being discreet. Nevertheless, he was aware.
"So, it's really over," he muttered, feeling somewhat lost. Although he despised Zhang Yucheng's hypocrisy and ideologies, the latter was also his rival for the past couple of million years.
Wuzhi did not know how to feel about losing him in such a sad manner. He sighed to himself before looking down, checking on Feng Heng's manor. Then, he flew to his mansion without saying another word; he wanted to heal his injuries.
All the participants watched this battle in shock. However, only Wang Wei and the upper-seeded players knew the true struggle behind these two people. And when they saw Zhang Yucheng was not saved, they were momentarily shocked before concluding that this outcome made sense.
And that realization brought even more terror to them. But then, they remembered Wang Wei's speech and felt ashamed of their thought. They gritted their teeth, thinking deeply about the future.
Eternal Ascension World:
Two suns and nine moons lorded over all myriad beings in this infinitely large world, and they symbolized absolute power. These stellar bodies should have been only symbols, but one of the suns housed a magnificent palace made entirely out of Supreme Chaos Treasures, Primordial, and Paragon materials.
Sitting cross-legged on valuable meditation cushions at the center of the room was an older man with long white hair and a well-trimmed beard. He had a purple robe laced with golden threads, black shoes, and a beautiful jade token hanging on his waist. The interesting thing about this cultivator was all his clothes shone brilliantly with the light of treasures, indicating that each piece was valuable enough for countless Paragons to fight over.
Supreme Unity opened his eyes, and there was no vast or mighty aura; he resembled an ordinary person. However, his eyes were off-putting to anyone who saw him because they lacked any emotions; it was like he was a piece of machine with only logic.
"Zhang Yucheng is dead? It doesn't matter. He has already served his purpose."
Supreme Unity only accepted him as a disciple because he had two physiques. He wanted to create a special method to divide his [Existence] into two separate but connected parts.
The main part would be his previous self, and the second part would remain fused with Heavenly Dao. Upon success, he would no longer be limited or influenced by Heavenly Dao.
Supreme Unity wanted to gather information and draw inspiration from individuals with two Heavenly Physiques. After getting the information he wanted, Zhang Yucheng was useless as a pawn.
'Heavenly Dao is drawing a lot of strength from all the Paragons that have existed since the Eternal Ascension World's creation to reduce my control. If only Maitreya did not stop me, none of this would have happened.'
Of course, Supreme Unity knew the primary source of his trouble was the method he used to take a half-step into transcendence was fundamentally flawed. However, there was nothing he could now but take complete control of Heavenly Dao and swallow it. Once he succeeds, he will be free, have no restrictions, and can further pursue detachment.
'The situation is not looking good for me once Maitreya can receive faith from the lower dimension. She might be free before me.'
Supreme Unity frowned before closing his eyes to focus on regaining his lost power. Separating his existence was more complex than he imagined, and he also needed to stabilize things first, or his strength would be drastically reduced. As such, his best plan is to succeed before Maitreya or hope the other rulers can eradicate the people in Limbo.
There was a small town at the center of the Eternal Ascension World, full of mortals. These people lived happy and fulfilled lives, always with a joyous smiles on their faces. Despite knowing the existence of cultivators, no one in this village pursued power or immortality; the villagers were content.
Not far from the village was a run-down temple with only one monk. It was a young woman dressed in plain female monk attire. She tied her hair in a bun, making her extraordinary beauty appear dull and unordinary.
The monk was known for her benevolence, and the villages enjoyed offering prayers to her temple or communicating with her. They always offered her to save money and build a bigger and better temple, but she refused, stating she was comfortable with how it was.
Little did these villagers know that this woman, living in such dirt poor and dilapidated temple, was the supreme leader of Buddhism, one of the two suns, Maitreya Buddha.
After sensing Zhang Yucheng, Maitreya opened her eyes from meditation, and the power of infinite time flashed deep in them. Her gaze penetrated space and dimensions to look at her disciple in the lower dimension.
'So, he finally discarded the useless pawn,' she commented before shaking her head in disappointment. 'You're really gone, Supreme Unity.'
The Supreme Unity she knew was an ambitious and power-hungry cultivator, but he still had some bottom line. But even that was gone, and Maitreya does not know whether this resulted from fusing with Heavenly Dao or his true personality manifesting after acquiring power.
After sighing to herself, Maitreya's gaze to a handsome young man with gray hair and eyes.
'Should I help him? All my calculations indicate he is the one I'm waiting for. But the future is not set in stone. Maybe I need to help him get through this upcoming catastrophe to become the person I need.'
She frowned as her eyes perused the infinite possibilities of the future. However, she could not find the answer she wanted.
'Let's wait and see.'
Then, she shifted her gaze to the Dao Opening Sect, her eyes ignoring all the Emperor Formation to gaze at Wu Hong, who was in retreat.
'Perfect Foundation? If I had such a thing, it would make taking half-step so much easier.' She shook her head before looking at someone else; this time, it was someone in the Eternal Ascension World.
It was a woman that looked exactly like Wu Hong–except for a more supreme, strict, and noble aura.
'Wu Hong definitely did not create that clone. So, a future version of herself? But how come I cannot completely see through it? Is that a sign she found the path ahead and surpassed me?'
If that were the case, Maitreya would be happy, as this would mean she had hope for her path forward. However, things appeared too complicated for the moment.
'Your Fated Lover finally appeared, but with a clone. Hehehe, what an interesting love story. I cannot wait to see how it unfolds.'
Maitreya remembered conversations with Wu Hong about that unique Love Fate Line. Wu Hong tried to remove it, but the connection was too powerful, and it was one of her Fate Nexus, so the River of Fate would not allow her to get rid of it so easily.
Of course, as a powerful Paragon, there were many ways to deal with Fate Nexus besides becoming a [Fateless]. They could postpone the event indefinitely or control how it occurs.
For example, Wu Hong could create a clone to meet her destined partner and have them fall in love before dispersing it. With this method, her fate of falling in love was accomplished, thus removing the Fate Nexus.
And these two methods were just the most used.
In the end, Maitreya convinced her to wait and see since maybe, the person destined to be with her was worth it. Love Fate Lines were rare amongst immortal tier cultivators, and it is usually a sign that two people–among the entire Chaos Universe– were perfectly compatible.
"Do you want me to remove the blockade and allow you to enter Primordial Chaos? It might help you heal much faster."
"No," replied Wu Hong.
"Are you still mad at me?"
"How dare I, respected sun."
"I told you, I had my reasons."
"Which are?"
"I cannot say for now."
"And when you can say, we can talk properly."
Maitreya sighed. She had her reasons for not only allowing these Paragons to usurp power but also preventing the rise of others. Her detachment method was also flawed, and she required the Eternal Ascension World to remain stable and unchanged to avoid affecting her.
Once someone broke through the Paragon Realm, the changes in the world would be detrimental to her. So, she needed time to stabilize herself. Regardless, her bottom line was not to touch the people in Limbo.
Now, things have gotten better, she does not have this much worry, but she also has to keep looking out for Supreme Unity. Maitreya smiled wrily before continuing her cultivation.
Meanwhile, Wu Hong looked in her direction before also closing her eyes. She was not unreasonable and understood her friend had a reason for doing what she did. However, she also wanted an explanation before they could resume their relationship.
600 The Seven Moons
"So, that's what happened?" said Xu Junyao, her beautiful voice coming from the other side of the formation. She was not surprised by Zhang Yucheng's fate, as many people predicted this possible outcome.
"Master, I'm sorry."
"You don't have to blame yourself. Return home immediately, and I'll deal with the rulers."
"What about the inheritance."
"Forget about it for now."
"Maybe, I can take it from the final winner. If you give me a second chance, I'm willing to try harder."
"You don't have much time. The isolation of the lower dimension is almost done."
"What does that mean?"
"It means the rulers will be cut off from interfering. To be precise, no one can interfere. Well, maybe not everyone." Xu Junyao was not sure where the two suns could intervene.
"On top of everything else, some changes have begun here. It is unclear whether it is positive or negative, but we must deal with it."
"I see,' muttered Xiao Tiandi.
Xu Junyao ended the communication while pondering that this event might be a suitable catalyst for change; she did not want her disciple to remain in such a depressed state. Hopefully, this Wang Wei's words have positively influenced him.
Meanwhile, Xiao Tiandi hesitated for a moment before taking out a token. He looked in the direction of Wang Wei's mansion, his eyes full of confusion. With a sigh, he activated it and disappeared from the lower dimension. And two people did the same as him.
Eternal Ascension World:
Ao Jing observed his son, Ao Tianyi. He could see how much of terrible shape he was.
'I thought that brat said he would not go too far,' he thought before shaking his head. He raised his hand to instantly create a world as large as the entire lower dimension, as large as the 3000 World Communities that contained trillions of worlds between Lower to Heaven Will Worlds.
Ao Jing created the individuals, the history, culture, different races, and power levels; he made everything needed for a complete world to function.
He then glanced at his son before snapping his finger, forcing him to reincarnate in that world.
"I have created infinite scenarios for you to temper your mind. Hopefully, you can stand after breaking."
Ao Jing designed this world to start over once Ao Jing reached a certain level, allowing him to experience different aspects of life. Regrettably, Heavenly Dao does not allow the Nine Extremity Foundation that is cultivated in such a manner. Otherwise, this level of foundation would be more common. After settling his son, Ao Jing went to report to the Patriarch.
In another section of the upper dimension:
Shi Ruolan appeared in an enormous and opulent palace decorated with gold, purple, and priceless jewels. And the moment she appeared, a man dressed in court eunuch uniforms teleported before her, kneeling on one knew.
"Your highness."
"This is the information my father wants," she said calmly, her previous cheerful and approachable demeanor replaced by a cold and authoritarian presence.
"The inheritance?"
"The mission failed," replied Shi Ruolan before walking away, ignoring the eunuch. She walked to a room with a golden throne and sat on it, a deep pondering look on her face.
A secret that few people knows is she is the secret child of one of the rulers, the Earth Emperor. Her relationship with her father was great–despite not being publicly acknowledged– as he always supported and cared for her, and she idolized him.
However, Shi Ruolan has always felt that some things were wrong but was always scared to address them. For example, why did she never attempt the Nine Extremity Foundation?
She once asked her father for permission, and he refused, explaining that it was dangerous and had a high failure rate. Danger was never a good excuse for cultivators not to do something. As for the failure, she could still benefit even if she failed.
Another odd behavior was when she began cultivating an Outlaw Dao. Her father warned her of the danger, to the point of scaring her to change her Dao.
A third anomaly was the oldest of her siblings, the Great Chu Divine Court princes. She knew a few of them were Empyreans, but not one became Paragons. And the current Crown Prince has been in this realm for far too long.
'Then there is brother Liu. He was the only one who became an Everlasting Empyrean, but he suddenly died.'
If it were before, Shi Ruolan would never care about these anomalies. But after witnessing Xiao Tiandi's inner turmoil and Wang Wei's rebuttal, she had no choice but to confront these burning thoughts she had forced in the back of her mind.
Unfortunately, she did not like the conclusions she made.
'What do I do?"
Great Chu Divine Court, in a palace thousands of times even more magnificent than Shi Ruolan, on a throne room:
A young man with long black hair and a long goatee sat on a throne, wearing a yellow Emperor outfit with dragon designs. The Earth Emperor calmly read the information his daughter sent.
Without much change in his expression, he put away the talisman, entering a pondering state.
'With the upcoming era, the Karma Position of Heavenly Emperor might finally appear. I can finally put my plan into motion.'
Earth Emperor originally planned for one of his 33,000 children to inherit that position. He had even more confidence in Shi Ruolan, but after the recent changes, he theorized the position would appear in the lower dimension.
Suddenly, he sensed something. 'Is there a meeting?' The Earth Emperor thought before closing his eyes, sending his mind into a dimension with eight seats.
Many people believe that 7 mons reign over the world, but only they know there is an 8th and hidden moon.
"Did everyone get the information?" asked Seven Cauldron Taoist, a middle-aged woman dressed in a Taoist robe with pill symbols. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
"I haven't received it," replied Five Feather Phoenix, the matriarch of the Phoenix race. So, someone else distributed the information from Xiao Tiandi and Shi Ruolan.
All seven reviewed the information with a calm attitude.
"Undead Phoenix, what about your side?" Everyone looked at a young man with a pale complexion, dead eyes, and a black phoenix mark on his forehead.
"I've got more information. I've reduced the leader of the new era to three people."
Undead Phoenix waved his hand to manifest three people: Chu Luo, Di Tian, and Wang Wei.
"They have successfully established a Nine Extremity Foundation," said Undead Phoenix before explaining all the information he gathered.
If Wang Wei were here, he would be shocked as many things he thought he hid well were revealed in this meeting; he severely underestimated the capability of a Paragon.
"Chu Luo can be eliminated since he is not from the Myriad Emperor World. Di Tian is the second to be eliminated since his main goal seemed to revive his loved one.
"The most likely creator of the new era is this Wang Wei. He is intelligent and cunning. And similar to Qiyuan, he is an innovator and a visionary, a person who advocates for the advancement of civilization."
"Yes, he seems like the perfect person to lead the new era of the Myriad Emperor World," commented Seven Cauldron as she looked at the changes in the Dao Opening Sect's Domains.
She saw an entire civilization based on puppets and mortals as the core.
"So, do we get rid of him?" asked Blood Dragon.
"It's not that simple. He is connected to Lord Maitreya and Empress Wu," added Undead Phoenix.
"The Empress? She hasn't shown up in so long, staying to herself. Why is she making moves now?"
"I don't know."
Everyone frowned. Seven Cauldrons looked at a monk who had not said anything since the meeting. "Monk Twin Flower, what does your leader say?"
Twin Flower was the Maithuna Sect's leader, a Buddhism branch that focused on duel cultivation. Buddhism ideology focus on the body remaining pure, but the Maithuna Faction followed the opposite philosophies, believing the pleasure of the flesh is another pathway to enlightenment.
Of course, their factions do not engage in mindless overindulgence. Each monk will choose one partner to cultivate for their entire life.
The monk did not respond as he knew the situation was complicated. His leader no longer wanted to act the same way and prevent others from becoming Paragons. However, she was also restrained by Supreme Unity, the same way she restrained him. Meanwhile, all the others here have kept their stand the same.
"You can do what you want," he responded since the Lord told him he did not have to worry about Wang Wei.
"In that case, let's remove all three of them," said Seven Cauldron.
"You should be careful," said Time Eater. "Di Tian is the Emperor Creator. A few of the people he created are part of the Limbo group. We should be careful in case they decide to interfere."
"That's a good idea."
"Disaster, you have not said a word since the meeting?" asked Five Feather Phoenix, looking at an older man dressed in plain black.
"Your actions are pointless. Catastrophe is approaching us, and nothing you can do will stop what's coming."
Everyone frowned. They knew Disaster Paragon was the kind of person who valued his life above everything else. He did not participate in the Ultimate Taboo because he foresaw his doom. He joined their group because it was the way to save his life.
And now that he said these words, he must have detected something and even already planned how to survive. And given he was the hidden moon and was unknown to the world, it might be easier to do.
"Don't mind him. Although these people have great destinies, it does not change the fact they are weak. So, as long as we act fast and swift, they cannot escape their fate," said Time Eater.
"True, so the best plan is to send a projection and annihilate all of them before they can react," said Seven Cauldron.
"To be safe, let's all send a projection," said Earth Emperor.
"Agree."
"Agree."
"..."
"Since everyone agrees, let's discuss how to deal with Gu Xuan and the traitors–especially the Celestial Clan," continued Seven Cauldron.
"Gu Xuan is a rat. With his Dao and the Lawless Zone, searching for him is simply not feasible and not worth the effort," commented Undead Phoenix.
"He is not that important, anyways," added Five Feather Phoenix. "And the same can be said about the Celestial Clan. With the recent changes, the Source Qi Space has become even more dangerous–even for us. So, is it worth it to chase after them?"
"It is," said Time Eater. "You know their background. If we don't nip them in the bud, it's only a matter of time before they give birth to a Paragon or Tier 12 Insurgent."
"But, how do we search for them?"
"We send people to look. And each of us will alternate personally looking for them," said Time Eaters.
"That could work. I'll take the first shift," said Seven Cauldron. Then, the group conversed a little more, discussing how they would execute all their plans.
Bang!
Suddenly, they all sensed something and frowned. They closed their eyes, and their mind immediately left the Eternal Ascension World, traveling the infinite distance that is Primordial Chaos.
A few minutes later, all seven opened their eyes with a serious look unlike anything they had ever been, all because of the news they had received.
The All Seeing Temple, a place in Primordial Chaos known for predicting events that would affect the entire Chaos Universe; they even predicted the appearance of the Ultimate Taboo.
The Paragons just received news the temple had just received a divination that would once again affect the entire universe. Although the prophecy would take some time to process fully, everyone knew a storm was coming.
The Paragons then looked at Disaster, wondering whether the changes in their world were the prelude to something even more significant. The changes may also begin in the Eternal Ascension World.
The Paragons suddenly thought of something, and they instinctively wanted to eliminate the three anomalies immediately.
Boom!
The world shook a little, and their faces changed. The Lower Dimension was blocked entirely, preventing them from accessing it.
Primordial Chaos, Prehistoric Chaos World:
Hongjun opened his eyes from meditation. He looked in the direction of the All-Seeing Temple.
'So, the news finally got out.'