ydusussi

Wang Wei gazed at him and saw a man who had just destroyed their entire world and lost his spiritual foundation. Wang Wei did not say anything but created another dark ball of destruction.

"What did you do? Why can't I sense my Lord?" yelled Yi Lianchang. "Give it back to me. Give me back my Lord. He is my everything. Give him back."

"I can't say I feel pity for you," commented Wang Wei while shaking his head. "I really want to search your soul to get more information. However, I don't want to deal with you and your Lord and take unnecessary risks. So, be gone."

Boom!

Yi Lianching turned into nothingness as not even a single particle of his being remained in this mortal coil. If Wang Wei could, he would have erased the latter's existence to ensure he was genuinely gone.

Wang Wei checked thoroughly with his Divine Sense to ensure the latter was dead and he did not make a mistake. Once he felt relieved, he continued his thought of being a protagonist.

He deeply understood the concept of luck, Sons of Destiny, and even Era Destiny. But his situation is different in a subtle manner; he is drawn to too many higher-than-life events or entities; in other words, he is a danger magnet. He is only a mortal, but he is already connected to 4 Taboos, something that most Paragons have to actively search to get in contact with. And the four are the ones he knows as he feared he might even be secretly connected to unknown ones.

'My destiny is obviously not ordinary, but what is it? Am I destined to control fate and become free and unfettered? Or is my destiny as simple as one day becoming a primary character of this Chaos Universe?

Wang Wei understood destiny does not equate to guaranteed success; people have to work for their destinies and could even fail to accomplish them. Nevertheless, it did not change the fact his life would not be peaceful.

He raised his hand to manifest a few Karma Threads connected to him, focusing on the one connected to the Dao Opening Sect.

'I've cut all connection to my family and can remove the last thread after proving the Dao. However, it does not change they are still my weakness, and the future could use them against me.'

Wang Wei decided to do something about this if his life was destined to be turbulent. He exhaled before sitting cross-legged on the ground to check his Sea of Consciousness; he wanted to check his Primordial Spirit for any possible problem.

Upon closer inspection, everything was normal, but he was not reassured. He checked every nook and cranny, but he appeared alright. However, paranoia took over him, so he checked over and over again, mobilizing his Force Control Skill and Soul Dao. And as expected, he saw a black spot on his Primordial Spirit that was hidden too well.

Without hesitation, he cut off that piece, not even minding the injury to his soul. He then checked again, using the previous discovery as a guide. Finally, he discovered two other spots of corruption and removed them.

"Are you alright?' These were the first words and sounds he heard after opening his eyes.

"I"m fine," he replied.

"Is Yi Lianchang so powerful that he can injure you?"

"Things were a little more complicated than that."

"Is that so?" Li Jun did not continue to ask since Wang Wei did not want to talk about it; he understood some secrets he could not be privy to–unless he reached a certain strength level.

Wang Wei stood up and tried something: the previous fusion of his Duyi Realm and his Willpower.

'What power was that?' He felt a certain sublimation, but he could not reproduce that perfect fusion again for some reason. He tried to enter that state of clarity and concentration when he fused it, but it was useless. Maybe because his life is no longer threatened, he could not accomplish the same feat.

'Let's put this as another form of training from now on.'

"Let's go," he said to the rest of the group before returning to the troops. Wang Wei wanted to activate his token as soon as possible before using the same method as Yi Lianchang to travel to other territories and survey the situation.

Above the sky, only a few dozen of meters from Wang Wei's group, a shadowy figure watched them. No one detected its presence or how long it had been here. The figure gazed at Wang Wei's back.

'I did not expect to meet one before everything ended,' thought the mysterious figure. 'Is this fate? No, maybe it is mocking me.' The figure watched the group disappear on the horizon.

'Empress Wu's breath.' An aura of confusion emanated from the figure's body after thinking about Wu Hong.

'Could I find the truth? It…probably does not matter.' The figure pondered whether to meet Wang Wei but decided otherwise. 'Let's continue the original plan.' Then, it disappeared as if it had never existed.

The Void, outside of the Myriad Emperor World:

Dozens of people with covered faces and powerful aura of at least Immortal Venerable level attacked the Protection Array. The most powerful of these entities were on par with Pseudo Eternal Emperors. Nevertheless, their attempt was futile.

"This is pointless. We would need Eternal Level power to have a chance with this information," commented one of the two most powerful entities in charge of this operation.

"You're correct, but what can we do? We did not expect the Myriad Emperor World to act so decisively and band together. I respect whoever has such a forward-thinking mind and diplomatic means."

"Hopefully, it is a member of the older generation. Even then, if that person acts as an advisor to the reigning Great Emperor of this generation, the rise of the Myriad Emperor Plane is guaranteed."

The second-in-command only sighed and did not add to the subject. "What should we do?"

"Let's report back."

Battle Spirit World:

This plane is known in the Endless Void for ranking fourth on the Eternal Emperor List with 7, and two of them came from the same faction: the Spirit Genesis Sect. This faction is also famous throughout the entire lower dimension with the title of [Strongest Sect] with Eleven Great Emperors, two of whom are Eternals.

Like the Dao Opening Sect, all their Emperors are First Class to Pseudo Eternals, and they overcame the Nine Emperor Curse.

A magnificent palace adorned with precious spiritual materials lies at the very center of the entire Battle Spirit Plane. Its beauty and luxury were a display of the most powerful faction of not only this world but the lower dimension.

A meeting took place between the three people: the patriarchs of the He and Jia Clan and the sectarian faction representative.

"I just received news the plan failed," said Patriarch He.

"At this point, it's becoming too costly to interfere in their Heaven Will Battle," commented Patriarch Jia.

"I agree," added the Disciplinary Head. "We do not need to fear the rise of the Myriad Emperor World or the Dao Opening Sect; they will only be the second strongest."

"What if they cultivated a third Eternal?" argued Patriarch He.

"Young Master He will also become an Eternal; we don't have to worry about anything. Instead, we should prepare for the 12 Emperor Curse," replied Patriarch Jia.

"The more reason we should prevent them from succeeding." He Patriarch had the most confidence in his son. Nevertheless, he wanted to do everything in his power to ensure not his son's success but also to retain the sect's title as number one. After all, such a title will manifest in the form of destiny and Qi Luck.

Furthermore, his He Clan has cultivated 4 Great Emperors and one Eternal. Once he succeeds, they will have 5 Emperors with two Eternals, surpassing the Wang Clan. As such, he must interfere in their promotion.

"What else do you want us to do? Send our Immortal Monarch."

"That's exactly what I want."

"Absolutely not."

"I also disagree," added the Disciplinary head. Their faction only had 3 Great Emperors compared to the other's 4. However, they also cultivated an Eternal.

"Patriarch He groaned since he knew he could not mobilize such power on his own, so he needed to convince these two.

"Have you heard of the Eternal Supreme theory?" he asked, and the two had read about it. Some Eternal Emperors are leagues above others, capable of easily defeating other Eternals, referred to as Eternal Supreme.

"The Myriad Emperor World has 5 Eternal Supreme: Qiyuan, Sword Empress, Absolute Beginning Emperor, and Empress Wu. Little is known about the Human Emperor and Heaven Opening Emperor. However, there is a high chance they also were Eternal Supremes.

"The Dao Opening Sect has two, while we only have one. Do you see where I'm going with this?"

"We don't know if the next Emperor of the Dao Opening Sect or the plane will be one," argued Patriarch Jia.

"No, but there are signs."

The two frowned. One of the signs of an Eternal Supreme is breaking the barrier between Mortal and Immortal. Although it is not guaranteed, it is an excellent indication. The information they received from the recent Deception Trial is that many such young talents appeared in the Myriad Emperor World, with the most brilliant from the Dao Opening Sect.

"You should have faith in your son." The Spirit Genesis Sect had the most trust in their Young Master to become an Eternal Supreme.

"I do. But I also want to be cautious and pave the way for him."

"Fine, I agree."

"It's better worth it."

"I give you my sincere thanks, Fellow Daoist," bowed Patriarch He.

What should we do? At this rate, the resources we have to use to maintain the array is becoming too much," said the Origin Rune Palace's Insurgent representative.

"What other choice do we have? If we stop now, then only death and destruction await us," replied Headmaster Song Li, stating the Academy's stance on the issue.

"This level of attack could only be the result of an Immortal Sovereign. Are they willing to go this far to stop us?" asked Jian Yi of the Sword Casting Villa.

"Apparently, so."

"The issue is whether we should counter-attack?" asked someone from the Dao Worshipping Academy.

"Before an Immortal Sovereign, that would be suicide," commented the Taiyi Profound Gate. "The best course of action is to have people controlling the array to increase its defensive power. As long as we last a few hundred thousand years until the Heaven Will Battle, everything should be fine."

"Indeed, this is the best option in the current situation."

"Luckily, we activated the Protective Array in time. Otherwise, the result might have been catastrophic."

Everyone gave Origin One a glance, thankful someone in this generation was wise enough to predict this possible future and prepared beforehand. Simultaneously, these people were envious that it was not their Heaven Chosen who had this level of foresight; they even wished it was someone from the older generation who had this idea instead of Wang Wei.

"I'm curious who is responsible for this attack?"

"Probably a collection of worlds. However, there is definitely someone who leads the fray."

"That's not important for now, and we can search for the culprit later on."

"True."

"Origin, you've been very quiet. Is something in your mind."

"Something on my mind," reassured Origin One. "But you don't have to worry about the situation: we will take care of it."

"And exactly will you accomplish this?" Emperor Lineages with six or above Emperors suddenly shift their focus on the Dao Opening Sect. They sensed that something that would further affect the world's power balance was about to happen.

"It's best to show you." Origin One changed the array to display the image outside of the plane in the void. Initially, he pondered whether to use this opportunity to get some benefit from these people. However, considering the need to keep the peace and stability, he chose otherwise. The purpose of this meeting is a demonstration of the Dao Opening Sect's strength and further reinforce the status quo.

In the Image Displaying Array, everybody saw a man dressed in black bombarding the Protection Array with potent attacks. Oddly, no one could see what the person looked like.

Suddenly, the man stopped attacking as a glorious and brilliant sword light came out of nowhere and enveloped him. He reacted swiftly, and with one step, he evaded the attack. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com

A woman with a silver mask appeared before him, holding two swords.

"Impossible," said the black-robed man.

"Surprise, little rat," said Sword One.

"You did not have this power a while ago. So how come? Unless–" Elder He seemed to have thought something. "I guess I should have expected this from the Dao Opening Sect."

"You know a lot about us? Yet, you are a mystery. If you dare commit the crime, have the balls to admit it," sneered Sword One.

"Junior, there is such thing as manners and custom. Shouldn't your demeanor reflects your position?"

"Don't you see the irony in lecturing me about respect and manner when you're too ashamed to even show your identity?"

"It's not the same," replied Elder He.

Sword One suddenly moved and appeared before her opponent, slashing downward with her right sword. It was a simple move but contained the profound mystery of the sword that would grant any talented swordsman a chance at enlightenment.

The Sword cut through Elder He's body but did not cut him. Instead, he turned into a gas cloud before rematerializing a hundred meters.

[Heavenly Dark Flame]

Ten dark flame balls appeared before them, each the size of a star. Furthermore, each of these flames could annihilate an Eternal Emperor if they were not careful.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Sword One cut them with her two swords, but these flame balls transformed into humongous dragons to continue attacking her. She swung her sword to generate a tornado of sword energy, disintegrating the flame into tiny particles.

And with incredible speed, she followed with another attack, not giving her opponent. Sword One turned into a silver streak, traveling at a speed too many times faster than infinite.

She appeared in front of Elder He as if she had teleported before slashing down. Elder He calmly summoned a shield, and the sword cut through it as if it was tofu. However, when the shield broke, it released a repulsive force that sent Sword One flying away–albeit uninjured.

"You indeed have the power of an Eternal," commented Elder He. "However, you are not as difficult an opponent as any of them."

He had experience fighting other Eternal Emperors and even killed one. Of course, he had to use the help of Dao Will Artifacts to accomplice such a feat. As such, he knew how disgusting it was fighting Eternal Emperors.

Their Dao Will boosted their power and prevented healing. They had terrible regenerative capabilities, making them an even more nuisance. However, Sword One did not have these abilities–only the strength.

"So what? I'm still enough to stop you."

Elder He shook his head with great disappointment; his emotions were not directed toward Sword One but himself. His power was severely limited in the lower dimension. Once he summoned strength above a certain threshold, he would find himself in a quagmire-like feeling where it was extremely challenging to mobilize his Immortal Qi.

If he ignored that feeling and continued to mobilize his strength, he would receive a terrible warning in his mind, and he knew the consequences of disobeying that warning.

'Only if I could use Energy Dominance,' thought Elder He. In the upper dimension, Immortal Sovereigns can use a method called Energy Dominance, where they release all the Qi inside their bodies to the surroundings to essentially form a domain.

Inside the domain, their control of Energy is elevated to a higher level, allowing them to better utilize the energy inside their bodies and the one between Heaven and Earth. This method is a way to elevate their power, but it has the side-effect of suppressing lower Tier individuals.

The domain has little to no effect on Dao Rulers and Empyreans, but it is a significant suppression for a Great Emperor or Eternal. With this method, Immortal Sovereign can kill most Eternal Emperors and even Eternal Supreme with relative ease.

Unfortunately, they cannot do so in the lower dimension.

"Enough playing around," said Elder He. "I'll show you my power."

[World Displacement]

Sword One's face under the mask suddenly changed as hundreds of thousands of space channels appeared around her, with each one having a world coming from them. She did not care about these worlds but their identity: they were the Great Thousand Worlds of this community.

"You want to destroy our World Community?"

"Me? I"m not doing anything but simply moving these planes. You cannot blame this karma on me." Elder He's action is 'only to move these worlds into her direction,' essentially using this technicality and a Karma Protection Artifact to bypass the rules and regulations.

"You want to be serious? I'll be serious," she exclaimed with gritted teeth. The aura of Sword Dao flashed around her body as she gently moved her wrist to swing the sword; her actions were gentle and barely perceivable.

Then, Elder He sensed something directly inside his body, to be precise, his Immortal Mansion. A powerful Sword Will suddenly manifested inside his dantian, trying to annihilate his Immortal Mansion and destroy his cultivation. He did not sense any warning or anomaly; the attack bypassed his passive defense.

'Since when did her Dao become so complex and subtle?'

Elder He knew of Sword One's Target Dao. It's a Sword Dao that involves the concept of hitting the target with the sword. Before a sword can use Sword Slashes, they have to class head-on with its opponents to cut or stab them. However, their attack is not guaranteed to reach the enemy, so Sword One practices Target Dao, which guarantees she would hit the opponent. She later developed her Sword Dao to ignore distance and defense, targeting whatever she desires–including concepts.

Elder He mobilized a significant quantity of his Immortal Qi to defend against such a direct attack. Meanwhile, Sword One took the opportunity to control the Protective Array to boost her strength.

She acted swiftly while her opponent was distracted. She sent all the 100,000s Great Thousand World back to their coordinate, perfectly intact, without any loss or anyone dying.

Then, she targeted Elder He's head to cut it off.

"What a shame," she muttered as she saw she only left a scar of blood on his cheek, which healed after a few seconds.

"It seems I underestimate you," commented Elder He. "Consider this your victory."

Sword One watched him disappear with squinted eyes. Then, she waved her hand to collect something and returned home.

Congratulation to the Dao Opening Sect. Our world has a protector."

"Congratulation to Origin Fellow Daoist. We could not survive this situation without you."

"Congratulation. Now that the world is safe, I can rest easy. Now, I'll be leaving."

"I feel the same. The sect has many things I need to take care of."

"I hope much prosperity to the Dao Opening Sect. Now, I have to go supervise my son's cultivation."

One by one, the factions gave their congratulatory words before quickly leaving with one excuse after the other. Origin One did not say much besides nodding his head. He knew most of these people would plan on how to deal with this recent power shift, and many would even form secret alliances.

However, his act of revealing Sword One's power was calculated, and he expected this outcome.

'Let's go talk to Sword One.'

Emperor Enlightening Academy:

Headmaster Song Li ended the conversation, a deep frown on his face.

"What should we do now?" asked the teachers and Insurgent. In this generation, they technically did not have a Heaven Chosen. The situation was not looking too good for them, and their future was bleak.

"The best option is to use the Praying Altar. Only the founder can save us–or at least give us a survival chance," said Song Li after pondering for a while. Immediately, the Academy headed to a secret realm with an altar of Emperor Kong and prayed to it.

…

"You did a great job," commented Desolate One. However, Sword One shook her head, "Even with the array, I can barely equal that man; he's not any ordinary Immortal Sovereign; he 's not only powerful but also experienced."

"You shouldn't put too much pressure on yourself; you've only got to that level and are still adapting."

"He's right. All that matters is you have the strength to protect the sect," said Origin One, who had just arrived.

"I'm not. Anyways, I still have some room for growth."

"As long as you have the right mindset."

"Now that we have the strength, should we use a more aggressive approach when doing things?"

"No, our current model is fine. We must keep things calm until the kid proves the Dao," disagreed Origin One.

"Origin is correct," added Sword One. "Plus, we have to be more careful. After I reach this realm, I sense there might be some hidden Immortal Sovereign left in our plane."

"What? Seriously?"

"We did suspect this possibility. However, all information proved otherwise."

"My question is, why have they not shown up?"

"The ones I sensed seemer feeble, so I guess they are secretly healing," replied Sword One. "I'm also guessing some are hiding, sealed, or waiting for something."

Everyone became quiet, pondering the ramification of this news.

"We always knew the Myriad Emperor World was the most complicated," said Judgment One. "Since Eternals are hiding, why not Immortal Sovereign?"

"Forget about this for now," said Miscellaneous One. "The pending issue is those people who attacked us. We can theorize they were responsible for what happened to the Heaven-Devouring Emperor. But who are they exactly?"

Sword One took out one of her swords. "Glad you brought this up. I got some blood from him, hoping to find them through it." She handed it to Miscellaneous One, who observed it.

"I should find something." He connected to the sect's formation for his calculation, and as expected, there was an ungodly amount of resistance to calculating an Immortal Sovereign.

'Maybe the previous me could not do anything, but I've learned a great deal from the Emperor,' thought Miscellaneous One before changing tactics and using the things he recently learned.

"Not enough power."

"Use the sect's luck," said Origin One.

"I'll let you use the Protective Array." Under normal circumstances, the array could only be used once there was eminent danger and the council of Emperor Lineages agreed. After all, any active use burns far greater resources. However, no one can say anything to Sword One–especially since she is not doing it to hurt other factions.

The Dao Opening Sect just needed to give the excuse that she was fighting a foreign enemy and needed its strength.

With this boost, Miscellaneous calculated something: a string of runes. And after translating them, they were coordinates.

"Is that the coordination to the Battle Spirit World Community?"

"Unless something changed since the Devil Era, it should be."

"So, they are the plane scheming against us. So, who is the faction that sent that Immortal Sovereign? They must be from a very powerful and lucky faction to have a surviving Sovereign."

Everyone looked at Shadow One for an answer since he was in charge of information gathering from the Endless Void.

"Don't ask me. I've only gathered basic information. Besides knowing the Battle Spirit World is fourth on the Eternal List and has a growing presence in the Commerce Hub, I know very little."

With the closure of the Myriad Emperor World, Shadow One could not continue to gather more information and had left someone else protecting the Fate Shadow Guard as they worked on their own, semi-cut off from home.

"We really should not have taken such a secular approach after the Devil Era," commented Rainbow One, and everyone agreed with that statement. Isolating the world and the sect from the rest of the Endless Void did give them time to recuperate, but they should never have waited for so long to open their barrier.

"No point in complaining now. I'll contact the kid's Fate Shadow Guard to see if they know something," said Sword One, who did not want anyone else to go as she feared these foreign planes would besiege them.

"No need to go to the Commerce Hub to contact them. The kid left a way to contact them through a secret base in a Great Thousand World. Go there and ask for the information," explained Origin One, who understood her thought.

Sword One agreed and teleported to the designated world after leaving the Protective Array. A few hours later, she returned.

"I think I know who's responsible," she immediately stated after returning home. "The Spirit Genesis Sect, known as the Strongest Sect."

"Better than us?"

Sword One shared the information gathered, which was basically one page with little information, and everyone reviewed it rather swiftly.

"This sect is weird," commented Turtle One. "They act arrogant and overbearing in the Battle Spirit World. However, in the Endless Void, they are extremely low-key despite their influence." The basic information gathered on them highlighted this aspect. It painted the Spirit Genesis Sect as a faction that does things in the shadow when interacting with other World Communities.

"Wait, something is wrong," said Shadow One with a frown. "The number of Eternal, why is it 2?"

"What do you mean?"

"After the sect master met with the heir of the Star-Lord Mountain, Mu Lei, he learned there were only two factions with 2 Eternals. So, he asked me to investigate. And the result of that investigation was a sect known as Purple Heaven Temple.

"But they mysteriously disappeared, creating the rumor someone destroyed them. And they only had 7 Emperors."

Everyone frowned.

"Did they change their name?"

"Doing such a thing would cripple a faction's Qi Luck and lead to their destruction. So, why would they do that?"

"Maybe, a way to bypass the Nine Emperor Curse?"

"The Chaos Ruler Sect tried that and looked at what happened to them."

"On the unlikely chance the Spirit Genesis Sect used this method and succeeded. Then, the fact they can become the strongest sect and overcome their Qi Luck would make them very scary."

"My intuition tells me something else is going on," added Sword One. "But how do we find the truth?" Such information is not easy to investigate, given the current state of their information network and the lack of direction.

"We just have to ask someone who knows and might be willing to tell us."

"You're talking about our business partner?"

"Yes."

"Will they demand someone in exchange? After all, we are only business partners–not allies." freewebnoveℓ.com

"Maybe before, but after Sword One's power display, they should be more than willing."

That person was correct.

After Sword One contacted Star Lord Mountain, an Insurgent that looked like an older man responded and introduced himself as Star Monarch.

"Sir Star Monarch, I will be direct. I've to ask about the Spirit Genesis Sect," said Sword One. She was truthful and told him about the attack and their theory about the Purple Heaven Temple. Of course, one of the reasons she told the truth about the attack was to determine whether the Star Beast World might be connected in some way.

Regrettably, Star Monarch never showed any other emotion or change in expression besides his serene and peaceful atmosphere.

"That's an interesting guess," he said slowly. "But the truth is more daunting. The second Eternal of the Spirit Genesis Sect created a paradox: there are only two sects with two Eternals–you guys and the Purple Heaven Temple–but there are three."

"I'm not following," said Sword One.

"Think of it this way: Heavenly Dao has a record of events that occurs in the lower dimension. These events are part of the Dao of Heaven, known truths of Heaven and Earth. And Heavenly Dao's record states that only two sects have two Eternal Emperors. But the real truth is there is a third."

"How is that possible? That would mean he tempered with the entire lower dimension's Heaven Dao."

"Exactly."

"Such a brilliant accomplishment," muttered Sword One, thinking how difficult it would be to pull something like this.

"What is that Eternal's name?"

"He is known simply as Emperor Jia."

"How come his name is not more renowned?"

"He seems to be a very secretive person. He influenced the Spirit Genesis Sect's low-key and behind-the-scenes development custom."

Sword One took a moment to process, "What was his objective in doing so?"

"That is a mystery. We guess it might be a form of protection for his sect. But there is bound to be some greater mystery behind it."

Sword One agreed with that statement. She thanked Star Monarch for his hospitality before ending the conversation.

Elder He appeared in the Battle Spirit World, and just as he quietly left, no one knew or detected his return. Without pause, he went to see the Three Elder Council.

"Ancestor, how did it go?" hurriedly asked Patriarch He.

"The mission failed," Elder He replied calmly.

"Even you could not break through their protective array?"

"I didn't get a chance. It appeared the upper dimension intervened and helped the Dao Opening Sect acquires Eternal Strength as protection."

"What?" Patriarch He did not expect this outcome. Meanwhile, Patriarch Jia sighed softly," Isn't this the reason we never directly destroy them during their weakened state? Fear of their ancestors in the upper dimension."

"Maybe we should have been bolder and more direct when the lower dimension was sealed," added the Disciplinary,

Elder He listened to these people's conversation and could not help secretly shake his head.

'This generation's leader is a little mediocre.' He agreed the sect needed to interfere with the Myriad Emperor World and the Dao Opening Sect, but he would never agree with a direct Emperor Dao War.

The Spirit Genesis Sect would definitely win the war, but the injury they would suffer in the process would be severe. And if the Dao Opening Sect decides to destroy all their resources before they are eradicated, then the victory would not even be worth it.

"What should we do now? Ask Ancestor Jia?" asked Patriarch He.

"Leave him to heal his injuries," disagreed Elder He.

Then, we can ask other factions to send Immortal Sovereigns."

"We may have to pay a steep price, but now, the Dao Opening Sect is a genuine threat, so let's not hesitate," stated Patriarch Jia.

"I agree."

"We can't," said Elder He.

"Why?"

"Our actions are already a direct interference of the Heaven Will Battle, and if not for its protection, even the lower dimension sealing would protect us from True Heavenly Dao. Any more direct attack will have severe consequences."

"That's true. The other factions do not have protections and won't be willing to take the risk, no matter the price we offer."

"Is there anything we can do? I don't want to leave things like this," stated Patriarch He, looking at his ancestor for guidance.

"Our only option is to use the Four Symbol Mirror."

The three squinted their eyes after hearing this. "Isn't this going too far?"

"It is, so you need to determine whether it is worth it," replied Elder He. The Four Symbol Mirror is one the greatest foundations of the Spirit Genesis Sect, and it is a broken Empyrean Artifact.

Anything related to Empyreans will not be left in the lower dimension as True Heavenly Dao would remove them–even a broken weapon. However, Emperor Jia found one and created a way to leave it in the lower dimension for the sect. Although it is only a broken one, the power of the mirror is something even Elder He has awe and fear for.

"The price for using it alone might not be worth it," said Patriarch He, who suddenly appeared reasonable.

"Indeed."

'It seems these people are not as bad as I thought,' thought Elder He. No matter the sect, there will be generations where their leaders are not on par. As long as they are not stupid to the point of ruining the sect's foundation, the old Ancestors will not interfere and will wait for the next generation.

"You have to be smart about how to use it." frёeweɓηovel.coɱ

"Ancestor, what do you mean?"

"Direct use of the mirror is also a form of intervention, and I just warned you of this. So, you need to use it in a way that is not interfering."

The three frowned, confused by the Ancestor's meaning.

"Ancestor, please guide us."

Elder He did not immediately give them the answer but patiently said: "What is the last information you received from the Myriad Emperor World?"

"The Clean Up was happening soon after more people reached the Supreme Realm," commented Disciplinary Head.

"Now, use this information in combination with the mirror." The group frowned while pondering. A few minutes later, Patriarch He's eyes lit up. "The Heaven Chosens should now be in the Devil World for the Clean Up. We can use the mirror there."

"Exactly. Empress Wu's seal is nothing compared to the Protective Array. And luckily, it has been weakened by someone or something." Elder He went to check after his battle with Sword One.

"Remember: this is an issue of the younger generation and has nothing to do with us, old geezers."

"I understand," bowed Patriarch He before the others followed him. Elder He nodded before disappearing.

'These people are too stupid. Let me check on this He Lanying. I heard he's extremely talented and uninterested in political power, but hopefully, he did not inherit his father's stupidity.'

The elder went to check on the sect's future Emperor and chatted with him. When he returned to his seclusion, he was satisfied: the apple felt far from the tree.

After this event, he would not see the light of day until after the Heaven Will Battle. True Heavenly Dao does not like the presence of Immortal Sovereigns in the lower dimension and often plots their forced ascension or, even worse, their death.

It's only because of the sect's protection, his luck, and cunningness he survived so long without any injuries or being sealed.

Myriad Emperor World, Dao Opening Sect:

"I didn't like there was a sect more powerful than us, but now, I don't like them even more, knowing how threatening they are," said Turtle One.

"We only recently found out we were ranked second, so why are you mad?" rebutted Desolate. "Be that as it may, we must prepare in case we are forced to fight them."

Turtle One said: "This statement is more than truth–especially considering the possibility they have more than one Immortal Sovereign."

Everyone finally realized this possibility.

"Did the Empress leave something that we could use?" asked the Steward, which is the name of the voice that used to communicate with Wang Wucheng. Over the years, all the Insurgents–especially the top ones–have been in retreat and do not interfere in the sect's affairs unless summoned or required.

Meanwhile, the Steward was in charge of keeping the sect working correctly and ensuring the descendants do not ruin everything with their incompetence; he's the one who stepped up and dealt with the situation when the Shadow Ruler proved to be more worthy of the sect master position in that generation. He's also the one who set up the rule that Shadows can challenge their Lords for the sect master position.

"She only left a Dao Will Artifact and a protective talisman," replied Sword One. "She said she could not leave a talisman with her power since some people might use it to track her."

"It's a shame we cannot help the founders, but we have our own situation to deal with," said Origin One. "I would really feel more secure if we had another Eternal Strength in our midst, but there is nothing we can do." He sighed out loud.

"So, there is nothing we can do?" asked Turtle One.

"Except leave it for the sect master to deal with in the future."

"I don't like the idea of leaving everything to the kid," commented Sword One. "We should be the ones protecting him until he grows, not keep piling burden onto him."

"As much as I agree with you, there is nothing we can do," sighed Origin One, who felt old and a little dejected.

"There might be a way."

Everyone looked at Desolate One with hope in their eyes.

"The Desolate Emperor suggested I underwent Foundation Reestablishment and cultivating the sect mater's Black Hole Acupoints and his Eight Heterogeneity Foundation."

No one was happy with his statement but frowned instead. The foundation of a cultivator before becoming Immortal in any of the Three Paths will affect their strength, and it is the same for Insurgents.

With the importance of foundation, some Immortals can reforge their foundation by sealing their strength and return to a mortal. Then, they re-cultivated the mortal realm before absorbing their Immortal Essence or Powers.

However, things are not so simple. Sealing their Immortal Power is exceptionally complicated and delicate and could easily lead to losing it or even dying. On top of everything, they have to experience a horrifying Heavenly Tribulation and Dao Heart Tribulation.

Unfortunately, things are not finished after surviving all these things. Cultivators will undergo a period of weakness and experience immense pain after sealing their power; it is the price of once again becoming a mortal after ascending to immortality, the price of reducing their status as higher dimensional creatures.

And in that period, they will not have their infinite lifespan, and they can be killed. If someone attacks them, they cannot remove the seal in their powers to fight back. Many people

The majority of people will not reforge their foundation because of the tribulation. Others refuse to partake because they fear something might happen to them during that period of weakness. Of course, these people with such fear or fear of aging would die during the Dao Heart Trial.

All these steps are for Dao Ancestors and Immortal Venerables who wish to reforge their foundations. Emperors who also want to do this have to undergo another terrifying tribulation once they have to reabsorb their power. Furthermore, their process also involves merit and other complicated things.

Most do not bother with this method because Foundation Reestablishment will not allow a Second-Class to become First Class or a Pseudo Emperor to become Eternal–It will only let them have the battle strength but not the means.

"Are you sure about this?" asked Origin One. "If you fail, you will die."

"I know, and I'm prepared."

Origin One nodded. "If someone has a chance to succeed, it would be you. Ask If you need anything."

"And I will be your protector during your time of weakness," added Sword One.

"I will be in your care."

"I feel like I can breathe now," said Turtle One with a smile. "By the way, do we need to tell the sect master about the Spirit Genesis Sect? The Heaven Will Battle is coming, so it might be best to wait afterward not to distract him."

"No, he needs to know in advance since they will probably be one of the greatest obstacles to his plans," said Miscelleneaous One.

"It's best for him to know and prepare," added Origin One. "But we can wait until the Clean Up finishes."

Phew!

Wang Wei exhaled as he opened his eyes; he finished today's meditation. He had alleviated his injury, reassuring him since he feared it would take too long to heal. In the past few days, while recovering, he searched multiple times to check if he had missed something. Luckily, he did not.

He walked out of his tent, where he noticed the troops and his group having dinner over a fire. He took the plate Li Jun handed him as he sat down next to him.

"Is your soul alright?"

"It should be fine in a few days."

"I would offer you some Soul Repairing Pills, but I know these things are ineffective for you," commented Yan Liling.

"It's fine. I forgot to ask, did you ever try refining the Immortal Pill?" Wang Wei once gave her the special array he received from the Miscellaneous Emperor that could create a unique Immortal Qi only for pill refining.

"I have not succeeded yet because of the divine runes. However, it's a great challenge, and I look forward to succeeding" The Immortal Pill does require not only the absorption of Immortal Qi but also a plethora of divine runes that would make Quasi-Emperor Tier Pill look like child play.

"Why don't you refine it yourself? It might help with your injury."

"Immortal Pills take years at the minimum to refine, so it will take too much time," replied Wang Wei. "Plus, it will be more meaningful if you are the first mortal to refine an Immortal Pill."

"Maybe. However, Heavenly Dao might not acknowledge this accomplishment because of the Immortal Qi Array." The array is the key to creating the pill, and there is only one that the Miscellaneous Emperor granted to Wang Wei.

"Unless we can recreate the array," added Wang Wei.

"This may not be enough." Yan Liling shook his head. She was confident the Dao and Immortal Array Masters of the sect would decipher the formation and recreate it. However, Heavenly Dao might wish for her also to be able to establish the array to acknowledge her feat of refining the Immortal Pill.

"Well, do your best to succeed since the reward should be quite the amount of merit."

"I will." Yan Liling has been saving her merit to cultivate faster in the Emperor Realm.

"Try to do it before the Heaven Will Battle," added Wang Wei.

"Are you truly going to make this technique public?"

"Yes. However, the people who used it will give a share of the Immortal Pill they sell to the sect," explained Wang Wei. "It's not that big deal considering that less than ten people have the talent to learn this method."

"In the Myriad Emperor World, maybe. But considering the entire Endless Void, that's a much larger number," countered Yan Liling,

"And they all have to pay us patent fees," continued Wang Wei. "My guess is some factions in the Myriad Pill World have a similar method of refining Immortal Pill–even if it's not as perfect as ours. If they were as open-minded as us, how much more wealth could they have gathered over the generations? They could put in clauses in a contract that anyone who made innovations to this technique has to share it with them."

"If you put it that way, it does make sense." Of course, Yan Liling understood such a method would not work for some weak factions who could not protect their intellectual properties from others. Nevertheless, this method was a great business model for the faction with sufficient power.

"Could you use Liang Shixian's Soul Path Method to heal your injury?" suddenly said Li Jun.

"No…because it…would require…too much…," Wang Wei spoke incoherently as his mind seemed elsewhere. After close to a minute of silence: "How can I be so slow!' he clicked his tongue.

"Did you think of something?" asked Li Jun.

"Why is there no Soul Path?"

"What do you mean?"

"Body, Qi, Soul, and Dao. From the information we know, I can theorize cultivators can achieve immortality after opening the Gate of Power. The Immortal Path is the path of Qi, and Dao Ancestor is the path of Dao, so logically, there should be a Soul Path."

"Emperor has a Dao Body, Emperor Soul, and High Immunity to Qi," commented Li Jun. "A combination of the three paths. So, there should have been a Soul Path already existing."

"Exactly."

"Do you suppose there used to be a Soul Path, but something happened to it? Maybe, someone destroyed it or something," added Yan Liling.

"That's one of the greatest possibilities," agreed Wang Wei. "The other is True Heavenly Dao removed that path for some reason. But I prefer the first one."

"That's worth thinking about. If someone removed the Soul Path, then that person must have erased it from history since no knowledge remains about it," added Li Jun. "The alternative is this event occurred in the distant past of the Eternal Ascension World, in a time where maybe the lower dimension did not even exist yet."

"True. The same goes for the True Power Dao Realm. I always suspect there should have been three Gates instead of two, and someone was responsible for the missing gate. However, Wu Hong told me she did not know anything. And for as long as she knows, it has always been two."

"If someone was responsible for its disappearance, doesn't that mean trouble will come your way once you try to reestablish the Soul Path?" stated Tie Gang, which made Wang Wei's mouth twitch.

"Probably."

"You're really a trouble magnet." freewebnσvel.cøm

"It may not be as you said. There is the possibility True Heavenly Dao granted Liang Shixian the destiny to revive the Soul Path, and I'm just helping. After all, his unrelenting hatred for the Emperor Path is suspicious."

"Let's hope you're correct."

Wang Wei glared at him since he felt this guy was calling him unlucky before looking at his palm.

"Is something wrong?" asked Li Jun.

"My palm is itchy."

"What? Can your palm be itchy?"

"It's a sign I'm about to acquire tremendous wealth."

"Fortunate encounter? In this place?"

"Apparently."

Wang Wei was not surprised by this prediction. As a Son of an Era, he should be having fortunate encounters left and right. However, he controlled his Qi Luck since he knew the downside of immense luck. Nevertheless, after surviving any catastrophe, his luck will peak, granting him powerful fortunate encounters.

After surviving his meeting with the Great Cthulhu, his luck should be activating. He closed his eyes, thinking about what he needed to improve his strength.

'I need a better Proving Dao Artifact.' His wife used countless Chaos Artifacts to refine her Proving Dao Artifact, so he should not lose to her. After making a plan, he activated his Luck Dao and used a technique on his Qi Luck.

"Done." He knew for sure this upcoming fortunate encounter would involve his Proving Dao Artifact.

Tomorrow early morning, the troop continued their march. They destroyed city after city. Wang Wei's token was finally activated, and he learned that Heavenly Dao only allowed 100 million troops per token. But their current token could only bring in the 20 million soldiers they brought with them. So, the group continues killing to reach the 100 million quota.

Soon, they found the Sloth base located in the far north.

Envy Territory:

Ao Shen looked at the woman before him with a frown. The woman looked like a typical human beauty except for her pupils: they were mirrors. She was dressed in a man's tight leather clothes, but the clothes could not hide her feminine charm.

'The Mirror Eye Devil Tribe,' thought Ao Shen, immediately becoming on guard. "Who are you?"

"You can call me Envy."

"Are you the ruler of this territory?"

"You can say so."

"Interesting. You should be worth many points," said Ao Shen with twinkling eyes.

"Now, now, there is no need to fight," Envy said. "You and I are similar in many ways."

"Similar? I would love to hear this," replied with a sneer.

"We are. Humans treat us worse than dogs. They hunt our kind for sports and resources. We have not become extinct because of their 'grace.' So, we do have much in common."

"Except your kind also treated my demonkind the same way during your reign."

"That is only in the past; we have paid for the sins of our ancestors."

"Then, what about the fact our demon race is not the enemy of the entire lower dimension."

"Why are you trying to be difficult?" said Envy with annoyance.

"I'm not, but just stating the truth."

"Are you saying you don't see the advantage of an alliance between our kind?"

"The devil race will never stop paying for their ancestor's crime. I don't know what you're planning, but you should understand Empress Wu's seal protects your race.

"If you ever escape, there are too many other planes who would go to extreme lengths to hunt you down and exterminate your species."

Envy quieted down for a moment, "I really wished you would understand."

"I do. I understand the demon race's current situation is way better than allying with you; at least we can still live under the sun."

"Since you're not an ally, you're an enemy."

"I would not have it any other way."

Ao Shen watched as an illusory figure of a phoenix manifested above Envy's head before disappearing. He did not hesitate to rush toward her, leaving shadows in his traveling path.

A beautiful and potent flame shield emanated from the spot he attacked her, trying to burn his hand into smithereens. Unfortunately, he had a naturally powerful body as a dragon.

Ao Shen tried to break the shield with pure physical force, but Envy infinitely increased the temperature, countering his power. Then, a black energy cloud came from the dragon's body and instantly corroded the flame, turning them black.

Ao Shen gained control of this intense flame and turned them into its owner, forcing Envy on the defensive. She knew she would be injured by such flame even with the power of the immortal Phoenix, so she decided against direct confrontation.

The phantom of a unique demon race called Tortoise Beetle manifested above her, and she condensed this beautiful golden shield to protect her. Regrettably, beauty does not equate to strength.

The shield only lasted a few seconds, but it was enough time for her to distance herself from the aggressive dragon. At least, that was the plan.

Ao Shen suddenly appeared above her, opened his mouth to become larger than humanely possible, and spewed a devastating breath of darkness.

Envy acted swiftly as she mirrored the ability of the Kunpeng, the creature often recognized as the fastest between Heaven and Earth. She ran in a circular pattern to avoid the breath, ensuring not to come close in contact with it as she saw the devastation it left behind wherever it touched.

'Dao of Darkness with a focus on corrosion and decay,' analyzed Envy since this was part of the reasons she came here. If the alliance did not work out, she needed to gather as much information as possible.

Meanwhile, Ao Shen cared little for analysis, which can be seen as a flaw. His time in the Martial Hegemony World taught him not to give his opponent the time to breathe and to kill them as quickly and efficiently as possible since anything could happen in battle.

And that is what he's doing.

[Rain of Corrosion]

The bright sky in the surrounding suddenly turned dark as the clouds became the embodiment of darkness. Then, rains dropped from the sky, but they were not normal ones: they were black and traveled countless times faster than light.

'He's an Innate Lifeform, as expected,' thought Envy as she sensed his Innate law. However, her ugly facial expression indicated it was not the time to think about these things.

Her mind worked rapidly to think of a solution, and she chose the Black Tortoise as her next mirror. A black and white shield manifested above her head. At first, the drop of black rain would corrode the barrier, but Envy reversed Yang and Yin, making the black rain turn into their opposite: light.

Regrettably, her advantage did not last long. Ao Shen opened his mouth a second time to fire a breath of darkness, forcing Envy to defend herself against his two-front attack.

Phew!

Envy's eyes grew with surprise. She looked down at her stomach to see a black spear piercing her stomach. If her body did not instinctively move, it would have been her heart. freёwebnovel.com

She moved her head behind to see its origin, "S-Shadow?"

"Why are you surprised? Shadows are one of the many ways darkness is manifested," replied Ao Shen with a sneer before rushing toward her. Envy had a very limited to come up with countermeasures. Luckily, she survived the trial and had a plethora of battle experiences.

Boom!

Envy exploded herself, generating a flame bomb that sent Ao Shen back and even charred the skin on his arm. Then, from the center of the explosion, a new Envy rose from the ashes like a phoenix. Sadly, she was not perfectly intact, as her complexion was pale.

'Danm Duyi Realm,' she complained as she gazed at him, her eyes flashing with a cold light. As Ao Shen spread his cultivation to the demon race, the stages of his Duyi Realm drastically increased. Now, he is only waiting to reach the Quasi Emperor Realm to fuse with his clones that received the benefit of the orthodox Duyi Realm with his main body, which has the unorthodox Duyi Realm.

"Let's see how you enjoy having your power used against you."

A new phantom appeared behind Envy, and it was the spitting image of Ao Shen. Then, the power of Darkness flashed around her.

"A Mirror Devil Subspecies who can reflect or mirror things and the Dao of Envy, which involves self-loathing and being jealous to the point of wanting to become others," commented Ao Shen. "It's the perfect combination to copy other people's powers. But can you really copy everybody?"

"No, but the only thing special about you is your Innate Law and the privileges Heavenly Dao granted them, and I don't need to copy those."

Ao Shen squinted his eyes, 'I need to be more careful.' He realized the opponent's strength was relative to him, so he could not eliminate her as swiftly as he wished. So, his cautious nature has awakened.

Ao Shen's arm turned into a black shadow as he punched forward.

[Corrosion Punch]

Envy followed him and used the same technique, canceling out his attack. Ao Shen went for a fist-to-fist battle since he is more comfortable with this fighting mode as a martial artist.

Bang!

Their fists clashed, generating enormous shockwaves that destroyed the surrounding grounds and dispersed the clouds. If not for the limits of the game, the space would not remain intact, and the devastation of these attacks would have been farther and wider.

'She's inherited my physical strength?' Ao Shen became frustrated for a moment before quickly reigning himself and analyzing the situation.

'She should not have inherited by experience.'

Ao Shen rushed and clashed with her, but this time, things were different. After their first touch, a fog of darkness suddenly came from Envy's hand and enveloped her right hand before she could even understand what had happened. Luckily, she reacted quickly and cut off the corroded arm in time.

[Eroding Barrier]

Envy surrounded herself with a bronze-colored barrier with the power of decay; anything or anyone touching it would suffer from its power. She took this moment of stability to analyze what occurred, ignoring Ao Shen, who was bashing the barrier.

'He can control darkness that exists in any place. In that last attack, he controlled the darkness created by my clenched fist. Truly ingenious,' she thought with gritted teeth. With the Duyi Realm, it will take much effort to regrow that arm.

'My mission is finished, but I'm not satisfied. I will not leave until I make him suffer.'

Envy did not hesitate as she mirrored someone else: Wrath. As the phantom manifested, her face became paler, and blood trickled down from her eyes, nose, and ears. She gritted her teeth to bear the pain but did not make a sound.

She held a summoned sword with her left hand, taking a striking motion. Immediately, death alerts flashed in Ao Shen's mind as his skin tingled.

Swish!

He was horrified as he watched that slash with the power to eradicate Heaven; he knew he would not survive this attack if he did not do something. So, scales covered his entire body like armor, providing them with defensive capabilities, unlike anything he previously displayed.

Boom!

The slash pushed Ao Shen hundreds of meters away before he crashed to the ground. He coughed a big mouthful of blood as he looked at his terrible state; he was almost cleaved into two. The dragon quickly raised his head to check on his opponent, but there was no one.

Envy's base:

She appeared in the castle and did not hesitate to rush to a room with a green pool. As Envy lay inside, a powerful vitality entered her body to heal all her injuries. After taking a moment to stabilize herself, she contacted Wrath through the mirror.

"How did it go?"

"Not well. The demon race refused to ally with us."

"Although I expected this outcome, I'm still disappointed,' replied Wrath with a sigh.

"Should we try to convince the other demon race?"

"Demon Tribe is very united under his banner. I doubt they would go against him–especially to ally with the devil race."

"Yes, with their alliance with the Dao Opening Sect, their lived have improved tremendously; they don't actually need us," agreed Envy.

"Did you get information about him?"

"Innate Lifeform, as we theorized, Dao of Darkness, 3-Leaf strength, very aggressive fighting style, also cautious when needed. However, he was not using all his strength." During the entire battle, Ao Shen never used his full transformation, and Envy noticed.

"3-leaf? The Myriad Emperor World is truly a cesspool of talented individuals. Do you know what species he is?"

"Either a serpent or dragon." Envy saw the scale during the last attack, but she did not know for sure if they were from an Innate Dragon or some Innate Snake Species.

"Snake or Dragon, both powerful," muttered Wrath. Although snakes are often considered the degraded bloodline of dragons, this was not absolute. There are some Innate Snake Lifeforms as scary–if not more–as dragons.

"I sensed you used my power. What was the result?"

"He survived with heavy injuries."

"He survived a 4-Leaf attack? He might be hiding a lot of strength."

"Probably."

"Alright, I'll notify the others. Be on standby to execute the plan at a moment's notice."

Wang Wei and the group looked at the towering mountain with a castle at the top. It was a world of white due to the snow, and they observed only one road from the bottom to the top.

"This thing is a nightmare to conquer," said Tie Gang. "There is only one path, and our troops would be decimated before reaching the top. Even with the Undying Legion, we would suffer terrible losses before we reach the castle."

"It's a double-layer formation," added Yan Liling. "The outer formation covers the mountain, while the inner layer protects the castle. Both are Immortal Tier, if not more."

"I'm guessing the Array Virus will not work for these formations?" asked Li Jun.

"No," replied Wang Ju.

"With the formation, it's virtually impossible to dig secret tunnels to reach the top," Li Jun added. "We cannot use blockade tactics since they are likely self-sufficient with a small world full of resources.

"We do not know the effect the low temperature will have on our soldiers, and given this stupid game, there will definitely be consequences."

Everyone looked at the map, shaking their head. Without all the restrictions, they would have way more options to conquer this mountain. But as of now, it was impenetrable.

"The best tactic would be to lure them out," added Tie Gang. "But I doubt the enemy is so stupid. So far, the Sloth King seems a rather careful individual by his actions, and he might not even be in the base."

"The conclusion is we might be able to conquer this place, but the damage to our troops would be catastrophic. So, it's not worth it," concluded Li Jun before looking at Wang Wei. "What do you think?"

"I don't care about the Sloth King. However, If I can get my hands on this base, my understanding of Order-Disorder Dao would benefit immensely."

"Do you want to take the risk? The price we will have to use to retrain these troops is not worth the benefit. I'm sure you can find another way to comprehend the laws from this game." Li Jun spent too much time with these men and did not want to die needlessly.

"We don't have to lose much. We will use their rules against them," replied Wang Wei before explaining his tactic.

"That might work, but you must deal with the formations."

"Leave it to Liling and me."

Li Jun quickly mobilized the troops and divided them into many groups before sending them back to the previous cities they had conquered. Meanwhile, Wang Wei and Yan Liling sat cross-legged before the mountain entrance, analyzing this Immortal Formation.

The process went smoothly with Wang Wei at the helm. Although his main body stopped studying professions, his other incarnations had plenty of time and took any chance they had to practice. So, he only had to absorb their knowledge and experience.

Two weeks later, the preparations finished. Wang Wei and Yan Liling activated the Array Flags they planted around the mountain to counter the formation. Then, Li Jun and Tie Gang led the troops.

Surrounding the two legions were two different groups: Fang Lijun's men and a group of mortal devils. With the threat of starving their loved ones, these devils had no choice but to follow orders.

The group then used them as leverage. If the enemy fired on them, they would hit the mortals and be penalized by the rules.

As expected, no one fired on the troops as they slowly marched up the mountain toward the castle. On the way up, Wang Wei and Yan Liling will continue to lay flags in different spots.

"Damn it," said the Castle Captain with gritted teeth as he watched the enemy's tactic. With this method, he could not use wide-scale attacks through the soldiers or the mountain formation. He could not even use an avalanche as a tactic.

"Archers, shoot the people in the middle," he ordered, and his troops responded. Unfortunately, Li Jun's troops were also elite and countered these attacks with their own arrows. Furthermore, they used Fang Lijun's men as shields when necessary.

After marching a quarter up the mountain, Li Jun already noticed his man's stamina deteriorated at a faster rate than before, most likely because of the snow. So, he ordered them to stop and set up camp.

A group of archers will be on guard before switching to another. Yan Liling set up a formation of her own to protect the group and give them time to rest. She also ensured the devil mortal had proper heating; the last thing the group needed was for any of these people to die because of them.

Inside the castle:

The captain knelt while talking to a floating mirror.

"I guess I should have expected such cruel tactics from the Myriad Emperor people."

"Master, do you want to attack? We are willing to bear the consequences."

"No, Heavenly Dao is on our side because we care and protect the people to the best of our ability. Doing this is counterproductive to our purpose," disagreed Sloth.

"But, at this rate, they would soon reach the castle. I doubt the formation is enough to stop them."

"I know, so you guys need to use Tactic 15. I will give you authority for the base."

The captain was momentarily shocked, "As you wish." Sloth took one last look at his castle before ending the communication; he went to report to Wrath.

The group slowly marched up the mountain for three days until they reached the castle.

"Have you noticed?" said Tie Gang, looking at the castle ahead.

"Yes, their attacks have not been as constant as the first day," nodded Li Jun, who looked at the other two set-up flags. A few hours later, the formation opened, and Li Jun broke the gate with one spear.

As he led his soldiers inside, he quickly noticed an anomaly: too few soldiers were in this place.

The devil troops looked at the invaders with hatred. Then, with unbridled passion and determination, the leading general yelled: "Glory to the devil race! Curse the humans." He crushed a talisman that immediately led to countless runes appearing above the castle.

"As expected, they want to blow up the castle to kill us with it," said Yan Liling, who calmly activated the flags they placed all over the place, taking control of the castle's formation and annulling the devil's attempt.

Li Jun led his men to kill the remaining devil soldiers while Wang Ju went to check the castle. Everything disappeared, leaving little to nothing of value. However, they discovered the central hub of the base, which was a mirror. frёewebnoѵēl.com

"According to the game rule, we can use the base's power after conquering it," stated Wang Wei as he looked at the mirror.

"However, if they destroyed it as planned, we would have nothing."

"What can this mirror do?" asked Li Jun.

"I can monitor the entire Sloth Territory and use teleportation once a day."

"That's it."

"What do you expect?" said Tie Gang. "The entire point is to restrict us."

"That's more than enough," commented Wang Wei. "Use the mirror to get the 100 million troops quota. I'm going to use this place to retreat."

Wang Wei used the main room of the castle for his retreat. He connected to this base, comprehending the Order-Disorder Laws that Heavenly Dao used to create this base or the concept behind this base's existence.

The process was smooth and fast because he essentially had a teacher teaching about this particular law. As such, a few days later, after using his Spirit Particles and 360 Future Buddha Self, he learned something new: how to add hidden rules and restrictions using Order and Disorder Dao.

"Quite the fruitful retreat," muttered Wang Wei as he opened his eyes. "Now, time to find out what the devil race is planning."

As he walked out, he saw Wang Ju waiting for him. "How is the situation?"

"Li Jun fulfilled his quota."

"Oh," said Wang Wei as he checked his entrance token, and she was correct. "I knew I could count on him."

"Do you want us to exit the game and leave one soldier for you?"

"No need for that," replied Wang Wei before mobilizing his Order Dao. After using a technique, the title above his head suddenly changed to [Neutral King]. He could now travel anywhere in this territory, but the restriction is he could not attack anyone–unless counter-attacking.

"As you expected of you, young master."

"Oh my, since when were you so complimentary?"

"Isn't it you who said it would help my career to sometimes slip some compliment to the boss? I remember your exact words were to be discrete and not make it look like you're a sycophant."

"Hahaha, I did say that, didn't I? Well, who would reject compliments?" replied Wang Wei as he looked into the sky. "Tell Li Jun he can send the troops home, but don't leave it. I feel something big is going to happen."

"Something big? What do you mean?"

"Just a feeling." Wang Wei then flew away. With his new status, he still could not teleport, but he did not need to with his speed.

Wang Wei flew to the Greed Territory before landing. He did not have a map, but he could calculate the places he had to go with limited results. He flew to the nearby mountains, forests, and even some cities. After finishing, he flew to the Envy Territory and repeated the process.

After doing this for all seven territories, Wang Wei had a pondering look. 'Let's make a final check." He flew to a nearby mountain and set up a formation. Subsequently, he sent a projection to leave this subcontinent and headed to the Nine Devil God World to look at the situation.

Seven Deadly Sins Conference:

"He stopped in my territory," said Pride.

"Don't be as stupid as Lust and attack him," commanded Wrath.

"I know."

"The question is, how does he have such mobility?" asked Greed. "Did he use the same method as Yi Lianchang?"

"No, he used his Disorder Dao to give a special title," analyzed Wrath. "A title that granted him mobility by sacrificing something."

"Can he do that?"

"With a high enough understanding of Order-Disorder Dao."

"Luckily, he is the only one that cultivates this Dao to this level," added Sloth.

"None of that matters," said Gluttony. "With his intelligence, it's only a matter of time before he discovers our plan. We need to prepare what to do after this?"

Everyone agreed with him, so they looked at Wrath, who sighed: "We may not have many options."

"Can't you stop him?" asked Envy.

"Of course not," replied Wrath.

"Even with Devil Retribution Sword?"

"The sword is not readied yet. And even if it was, I won't know the final result until I subdue it," replied Wrath, stressed as she caressed her temple. "Dismiss, and we will intervene at a later date. Stay away from Wang Wei if he ever comes to your base."

Wrath opened her eyes from the main room of her castle. She stood up and fixed her clothes before heading to a special room with a formation. After activating it, she waited a few seconds before a shadowy figure appeared.

She bowed with the utmost politeness, "Master."

"What has happened?"

"Here is the current situation…."

"I see," said the figure before sighing deeply. "Maybe, this is fate."

"Master–"

"You don't need to say anything." The figure looked at his favorite disciple. Wrath was the first of the other seven. He met her long before the others and personally trained her. The shadowy figure allowed her to inherit his most powerful Dao: Heaven Eradicating Dao.

He told her about the Nine Extremity Dao Foundation and watched over her during her reincarnation. He ensured the reincarnation was not random and she could establish her foundation in the shortest time possible.

Unfortunately, Empress Wu's seal was difficult for him to completely nullified in his current state, so it affected Wrath during her reincarnation, making her fail the process. Luckily, Wrath was not discouraged and thought of creating the Devil Retribution Sword to make up for her strength.

Then, the figure met the other six and had her participate in a trial to show her dominance. Once he gathered the seven, they began the plan.

"I don't have much time left," said the figure.

"Master," said Wrath, with tears falling from her eyes. She remembered when she was nothing but a young devil, starving in the Nine Devil God World. Her master gave her food, shelter, and strength to protect herself and the people she cared for. During her long life, her master has always been with her.

"You have the bad habit of relying on me when things get too difficult. I will no longer be here, so you have to deal with this situation yourself."

"I-I will."

"Disciple, I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be."

"But I am. I should never have forced my dreams, hopes, and regrets on you."

"I am willing."

The figure shook his head. What choice did that starving little girl have?

"You need to take care of yourself from now. Remember, you're safety is more important than the plan." The shadowy figure looked in the Pride Territory direction before disappearing.

Wrath breathed deeply before wiping the tears from her eyes. She knew this moment would arrive one day; she did not expect it to come when things were so close to success. After calming her emotions, a look of determination appeared before leaving the room.

…

Wang Wei opened his eyes, "As predicted." One of his working theories was correct: The devil race in this continent wanted to sacrifice the Nine Devil God World to the Myriad Emperor World in exchange for accepting their status as a sub-species of humans with devil bloodlines. This plan is why most devils in this continent have a human bloodline; some can even be considered pure humans with devil bloodlines.

If this plan succeeded, not only would the crime of the devil's race be pardoned, the Seven Sins Kings will be allowed to participate in the Heaven Will Battle and prove the Dao.

Wang Wei frowned as the situation became complex. He divined something and sighed with disappointment, "Only 2? Not enough." After absorbing the Nine Devil God World, the Myriad Emperor World will only give birth to 2 Heaven Will.

This should be good news for Wang Wei since he could split the final battle with Di Tian without competing. However, this result would affect his plan for Li Jun and Yan Liling.

'Should I let them compete in the generations after my father instead? We have the Karma Washing Water even if I'm not here?' thought Wang Wei. After all, he was not entirely sure he could defeat Di Tian since the latter had a higher chance of reaching Ten Extremity than him.

If there was no need to fight and he could prove the Dao, why not take this opportunity? After all, who wants to work hard for something they could easily acquire? Who wants to take risks in uncertain things when something else is guaranteed? So, the answer was obvious. He should…

'No, I cannot have this mindset,' thought Wang Wei, who woke up from this temptation. 'My cultivation path will not be easy or smooth. And Di Tian is nothing but of the many obstacles I must overcome.'

His mind cleared, and he began to analyze this choice more rationally. Li Jun's role would allow him to gather a ton of merit, so he needed someone with the appropriate strength and someone he could trust. Meanwhile, Yan Liling will be part of the protocol to ensure the longevity of his era, allowing him to benefit from the era's luck for a long period after he ascends.

If they have to prove the Dao after his father's generation, too many unpredictable variables could happen, and it's not guaranteed they would prove the Dao then. Meanwhile, if he refined the Nine Devil God World, these two are guaranteed to succeed. freewēbnoveℓ.com

Additionally, his plan of making these two Emperors is a way to deal with the Twelve Emperor Curse. Li Jun and Yan Liling will be the sect's 11th and 12th Emperors, and his father will be the 13th.

After his training, his father should have 5-Root strength once he completes his Nine Extremity Foundation. As such, once he participates in the Heaven the next generation's Heaven Will Battle, Heavenly Dao will not have much time to scheme against the sect, nor would it be able to do much against Wang Tian's overwhelming strength.

The best course of action Heavenly Dao can take is to skip the next generation as it did before. However, Wang Tian can still wait for another generation and would still win. Wang Wei has decided to modify Samsara to prevent anyone practicing Nine Extremity from reincarnating in the Myriad Emperor World in the next few generations.

In conclusion, only if a Heaven Chosen who has the unorthodox Nine Extremity Foundation showed up in the next few generations would Heavenly Dao have a slight chance at stopping Wang Tian from proving the Dao and breaking the curse.

'If only there were other worlds similar to devil worlds left,' thought Wang Wei. From what he learned from his wife, after the devil race's downfall, other planes placed pressure on three different planes that had a similar composition to the Nine Devil God World, where multiple Emperors existed at once; they forced these worlds to revert to a system of one Emperor per generation.

'Maybe things have changed, and there is some new world?' However, he shook his head since there was no way to know as of now. His Fate Shadow Guard had access to a few hundred World Communities because of the Commerce Hub. However, there were 3000 Communities in the lower dimension, and it was not easy to gather information on all of them.

Furthermore, there is a reason it would be easy for him to refine the Nine Devil God World; it's because the generational clean-ups have caused a strong karmic bond between these two worlds, making them deeply interconnected. Other places did not have this connection.

Anyways, he made his choice and will accept the result. He had the utmost confidence in himself that he would be the final winner. Wang Wei took this opportunity to check on the Science and Technology World. The scientists had already created the Ninth Stage Genetic Warrior and were working on Quasi-Emperors before tackling the Emperor's Blood.

'I need to convince Heavenly Dao to refuse this merger. Otherwise, I'll have to do something to lose the Son Era Title.' This was the best solution to the current problem.

Wang Wei prepared to contact Heavenly Dao and negotiate when he sensed something.

"Who is there?"

Wang Wei saw a young man floating before him. The young man was handsome, with piercing red eyes that seemed to penetrate the soul. The person wore a black robe, but they were not actual clothes; it was more akin to a robe made entirely out of shadows.

Despite his young visage, he had an air of vicissitude around him, indicating he might be considered ancient compared to even his sect's Ancestors he interacted it.

"Who are you?" Wang Wei asked again, already on guard and prepared to activate the talisman Origin One gave him.

"People used to call me the Devil Primogenitor, but my name is Mo Yuan."

"Devil Primogenitor? You're the True Devil responsible for the devil race's invasion of the lower dimension?"

"You even know of this? I guess I should not be surprised. But yes, you are correct."

"Shouldn't you be dead?"

"I should, but things like resentment, regret, Willpower, and obsessions are powerful forces that can create miracles."

"I guess they are," muttered Wang Wei as he suddenly understood many things. He now knew who created the Heavenly Dao of this continent, who gave it its power and modified it to protect the devils in this place.

"What can I do for you, Lord Mo Yuan?"

"I did not expect to see another True Devil before I disappeared. I was curious, so I came to see you."

"I don't think True Devils are such a rarity."

"They are. There are many seedlings in the Chaos Universe. People born resenting rules and restrictions, pursuing absolute freedom. However, few can walk the path of cultivation, and fewer can become enlightened on a True Devil's identity and accept it."

"If you put things that way, we might indeed be rare."

"You don't seem to care too much about being a True Devil?"

"Well, it's not like there is any benefit in being one," said Wang Wei while shrugging. "Plus, why would I let a title dictate how I feel, believe, or behave? Am I a true devil? Okay, it won't change much in my life."

Mo Yuan paused after hearing this before a burst of boisterous laughter emanated from him, "Maybe If I had a similar mindset, things would have been different."

"So, what exactly happened to you?"

"Why should I tell you?" replied Mo Yuan with a relaxed smile.

"Common, help a fellow True Devil out."

"Hahaha, what an interesting kid. Instead of answering your question, tell me what you think happened to me?"

"Isn't it obvious? Based on the devil race's fate in the lower dimension, your actions created too many enemies and not enough friends or allies. And the result was you dying through the besiegement of countless powerhouses."

Mo Yuan's joyous mood suddenly changed, replaced by anger, hatred, sadness, and unwillingness. Then he sighed, "You're right. I was so obsessed with becoming free that I became a fool. My actions endangered my race, condemning them to years of pain and suffering."

Mo Yuan looked in the distance, his eyes scanning this subcontinent before gazing at the sealed Nine Devil God World.

"Do you know the saddening thing? My actions were meaningless in the grand scheme of things. I projected all my hatred into True Heavenly Dao, believing once I eradicated it, I would be free. Hahaha, how stupid I was. It is nothing but a small part of a much larger cog.

"My vision should have been grander; I should have considered things more thoroughly, using Heavenly Dao as nothing more than one of my stepping stones to true freedom. Better yet, I could have allied with it if it could help me achieve my goal."

Mo Yuan shook his head as he realized he was rambling. He then looked back at Wang Wei. "Excuse me. I have a lot on my mind, and I got carried away."

"I understand. After all, there is no cure for regrets."

"Is that what drives you to pursuit freedom?"

"One of the reasons," replied Wang Wei. "I have family and loved ones. I do not want any regrets because I could not prevent or fix if something happened to them."

"I see," uttered Mo Yuan softly as the image of Wrath flashed in his mind. "You wanted to ask me some questions? Go ahead."

"How did your conquest of the Eternal Ascension World last for so long? I know countless powerful factions like the Dao Opening Sect, the Buddhist Sect, the Qin Saint Court, and numerous others attacked you together. How did you block the power of so many Paragons?"

Wang Wei could not understand this aspect of history–especially after confirming the devil race made too many enemies and not enough allies.

"You do know a lot," replied Mo Yuan. "I guess there is no point in hiding it now. I possessed a broken half-step detachment treasure. Although I could not utilize all its power, it was enough to fight all these unparallel genius and remain victorious."

'Half-Step Detachment? Is that the name of the realm after Paragons? Fitting, I guess,' thought Wang Wei.

"I understand now. After your defeat, the Eternal Ascension World underwent a Golden Age. However, it was most likely not a coincidence. My Ancestor–Qiyuan–learned of the cultivation path after Paragon from your broken treasure. Then, he planned the Second Origin Battle and maybe even the Golden Age to find the way forward.

"Correct," said Mo Yuan as the hatred and unwillingness flashed in his eyes again. "And the treasure is probably a chess move from Grand Dao to accelerate the growth of the Chaos Universe."

Wang Wei's eyes lit up as he understood the latter's meaning.

"After the Ultimate Taboo, although many Paragons died, Half-Step Detachment appeared in the universe. No, they became more common–essentially elevating the power ceiling of the universe."

Mo Yun gave him an approved look before saying, "Let's stop talking about these things since you're too weak."

Wang Wei nodded and no longer pressed on the issue, "Are you now going to tell me the real reason you came to see me?"

"Yes. I want to make a deal with you."

"I'm listening."

"I want you to give my disciple, Wrath, an opportunity to rise. In exchange, I will tell you where I kept that treasure."

'Didn't someone take it after your defeat?"

"That I don't know. It might have fallen in someone's paw, or it might have been lost during the chaos. However, the secret realm I received the treasure contained two pieces. I only pass the trial for one, and you can try for the second."

"Is it in the Eternal Ascension World?"

"No, it's somewhere in Primordial Chaos."

"Why are you asking me to help one person instead of your race?" continued Wang Wei.

Mo Yuan did not immediately answer. Instead, he looked at the Nine Devil God World, focusing on the seal around the plane. "I'm actually thankful to Empress Wu. In the upper dimension, they wiped out every single devil race member. To this day, anyone with a thread of our bloodline will suffer discrimination and have a hard life.

"The same fate happened to my comrades in the lower dimension. Luckily, the seal acted as a form of protection, and the cruelty of the Myriad Emperor World ended up sparring the extinction of the devil race."

"All the more reason you would want to save them."

"Your presence is proof that fate does not want the devil race to make a comeback," replied Mo Yuan. He did not think it was a coincidence that another True Devil would be stopping his race's rise.

"Plus, I've taken solace in the fact that my race exists in other Chaos Worlds and thrives in some places."

"If I only have to watch out for her, I don't mind accepting your deal. I give you my word."

Mo Yuan smiled since that was enough for him. He knew True Devils were the most honorable untrustworthy people. They will lie, steal, and scheme for their goals and ambitions. However, they will not break them once they give you their words.

He raised his hand to condense a ball containing information before suspending it before Wang Wei; he did not directly inject it into the latter's body.

After putting the thing away, Wang Wei asked, "Are you not going to say goodbye to Wrath? You seem to care a lot about her."

"I've already said my final words," replied Mo Yuan. "One last piece of advice: you might not care about your True Devil status, but some people will."

"I guess as much." With the rebellious ideologies of True Devils, Wang Wei could already predict the amount of trouble these guys would cause wherever they were, giving the name a bad reputation.

Mo Yuan began to disperse into tiny motes of lights. Now he felt some peace after meeting someone like him and ensuring his disciple's future, the obsession that kept him tethered to this place vanished. More importantly, the remaining power of the treasure also dissipated.

'It's confirmed. Someone forcibly changed the main timeline. Who has such power? And why did they do it?'

In the last moment before he died, Mo Yuan connected to his treasure and saw some odd image he could not understand: he saw he died under Empress Wu's hand. However, his real death had no relation to her.

At first, Mo Yuan thought his mind peeped into a parallel timeline. But now, he finally understood the truth: someone forcibly changed the Primordial Timeline, which should not be possible.

'Well, it does not matter to me. My story ends here.' He took one last look at Wang Wei.

'I wish I could see how his story unfolds and eventually ends.'

He looked at Wrath, who was preparing to respond to the current situation.

'I wish I could see you grow.'