Journey of the Fate Destroying Emperor

Chapter 1665: Sudden Disappearance

Wang Wei and Wu Hong did not stay too long with Maitreya. After setting up a Devouring Rune based on the Devour Seal, all the work was left to Maitreya to continue. The couple then chatted for a while before dispersing to their respective departments. Wu Hong had a puppet to study, along with many other things for this war. Meanwhile, Wang Wei was also busy.

After losing so many puppets and soldiers, he needed to carefully control the amount of World Sources he distributed. The Heavenly Army needed to replenish its ranks; the Divine Manufacturing Division required sources to accelerate the production of special ores to create more puppets and herbs to produce more healing and cultivation pills; the Disaster Relief Division needed support in dealing with the aftermath of a Saint Battle; the Dream Walkers asked for more resources since they were tasked with infiltrating the Black Dimension. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Wang Wei spent more than a decade dealing with everything. ’The war seemed to have entered a calm period, which is odd since their commander just received reinforcement.’ No one took the silence as a sign of surrendering, more like the calm before the storm.

’Well, let’s hope this peace lasts a while so I can use the time to cultivate,’ Wang Wei thought. As he prepared to hand over the rest of his responsibility, he suddenly received a summons from his wife. "I need to see you."

Wang Wei frowned after sensing her tone, so he hurried over. Wu Hong floated cross-legged in the air with the Puppet Saint’s head and core standing before her. "Are you alright?"

Wu Hong did not immediately speak. "I recognize this puppet’s refining method. Although this one is way more advanced, I recognize the foundation it was built on."

"Recognize? Are you saying the technique originated from our timeline? Or maybe, one that is rather quite similar."

"No, it’s from when I fixed Master Lie’s body."

Wang Wei frowned. "Are you suggesting Lie Peiqie is from another timeline?"

"I don’t know, but it would explain many things," Wu Hong said. "I’ve traveled to every world with a decent enough Puppet Dao industry, but he always showed disdain for all these places. So, unless he’s from a unique Chaos World that is well-hidden, the only explanation left is other timelines."

"Alright, I can see you’re already thinking of the worst-case scenario," Wang Wei said as he approached and floated next to her. "But don’t enter doomsday mode yet. We know foreign life can’t enter the Primordial Timeline, so the most likely scenario is that the Divine Timeline found a branch with technology similar to Master Lie’s home-world."

"Do we know that no one can enter?" Wu Hong asked. "All the Saint confirmed is that Alternate Selves cannot enter, but she said nothing about Origin Self. And even if there are restrictions, you should understand that there are no absolutes in this world."

"You make a good point, but like I said, let’s not think of the worst. He still has a Soul Lamp back on the continent, right? So, you will know if something happens to him."

"If he’s from another timeline, the soul lamp’s effect will be delayed. By the time I have news, he might be dead," Wu Hong replied.

"Alright, in that case, let’s confirm the truth," Wang Wei added. "I’ll go into retreat and master the River of Time. With a bit of aura from the Puppet Saint, some merit, and the Weave, I may be able to determine whether Lie Peiqie’s original home is in this timeline or not."

"Didn’t you want to remove more of your Fate Seed status before you master the River of Fate?"

"Yes, but I can still do it later."

"No need. I don’t want you to make your life challenging because of me. Anyway, I need to travel to the Infinite Trichiliocosm to create the Omega Rune. I can search for answers then."

"Are you leaving anything soon?" Wang Wei asked. It was kind of dangerous to be traveling the multiverse.

"No, I’m going to send my avatars," Wu Hong explained. She had too much responsibility and cannot get away for now.

"Good. I can lend you mine to assist," Wang Wei offered. "Plus, I only need to master five Grand Constructs and buy a True Purification Talisman from the exchange list to remove another Fate Seed Mark from my [Existence]."

"Appreciate the help," Wu Hong nodded. With his assistance, it will be much easier to find dying timelines that do not contain Saints. The two talked for a few hours, granting Wu Hong the distraction she needed. Then, they returned to their responsibilities.

As soon as he entered the retreat, Wang Wei did not hesitate to burn his merit to boost his understanding. Then, he delved into the mysteries that are the River of Time. Given the presence of the Divine Timeline, Wang Wei believed that mastering this construct would be most beneficial.

Time was a true monster. For mortals, it is the purest manifestation of their mortality. Even if they can elude Death for a period, Death will eventually summon Time to take them away. As for cultivators? Their relationship with Time is both the same and different from that of mortals. In the early stages, Time loomed over them, forcing them to keep rushing forward to escape, claiming the ones who were not fast, determined, or cruel enough.

Then, once they entered the Immortal Stage of cultivation, these cultivators began to look down on Time. They are now eternal, with longevity and eternal youth. They can even bend time to some extent to their whim. As such, many boldly claimed that they have escaped the shackles of time. But that hubris is always the key to cultivators’ downfall.

At the Immortal Stage, Time moves silently like a deadly assassin. It allows cultivators to revel in their arrogance while slowly wrapping them in a bubble of pain, suffering, emotional stuntedness, and stagnation. Then, when they become predictable, Time hands them over to Fate for better control, or to Death to finally reap them. No one can escape this vast web. Saints may have room to wiggle, but unless they truly detach themselves from the Chaos Universe, they will eventually be entangled.

"The relationship between all the constructs is the only way to truly paint a picture of the Chaos Universe’s true nature," Wang Wei muttered as he opened his eyes and exhaled deeply. Four projections appeared behind him, and he started bombarding the room with attacks. As someone with a transcendent foundation, he had no issue with using 4-tier Grand Construct Skills, so Wang Wei let everything out.

’Four down, and two to go,’ he thought while smiling. His cultivation is still proceeding at record speed, but that was not the primary source of his excitement. His joyous mood stemmed from his growing closeness to achieving one of his greatest dreams: finally defeating his wife. Technically speaking, as long as he masters the remaining two constructs, he can defeat her as long as he does not allow the fight to last long.

’There is still a bit of merit left, and I haven’t been summoned, so let’s continue,’ Wang Wei thought as he focused on the Grand Dao Source. His excitement about soon being able to bully his wife significantly improved the gains from this retreat. Unfortunately, just as his last merit was about to be consumed, he received an emergency talisman.

"He disappeared?" Wang Wei muttered. "How could that be?" He teleported from his seclusion room.

War Room:

Qiyuan kept analyzing information being sent to him. He did not like how quiet these people have been for the past 500 Yuan Epoch. Although that period gave them ample time to recuperate, the same can be said for them.

"How is Ma Liquiu doing?"

"Still no progress," Ye Guang explained.

"And after she talked all confident," Qiyuan frowned.

"To be fair, her work involved the powers of a Saint. And as of now, she’s the only one who has successfully infiltrated the Black Dimension. It’s just the enemy is better at intercepting her."

"You’re right. I was being unfair to her," Qiyuan sighed. The Dream Walkers are not the only shadow agency under his command. There are still others, including the former Scout Regiment that the Limitless Exchange Hall created. Although most of the decent members were recruited by Ma Liquiu, the rest continued to serve in that regiment. Sadly, so far, she’s the only one who has had any success infiltrating the Black Dimension — including the Overlords’ agencies that are not associated with the court.

"Is there a way we can accelerate her progress? Does she need anything?"

"She asked for more world sources, but you know how strict Wang Wei’s system is. So, unless you want to send a priority order..."

Qiyuan frowned. Wang Wei’s management was indeed strict, but also fair. Ma Liquiu has received the most support for successfully penetrating the Black Dimension. But any further resources require more achievement.

Qiyuan opened his mouth to say something when the entire court trembled due to a fluctuation of power from Maitreya. "No need to panic," a voice spread to the court. "I just created a new technique and cannot completely control its power."

A collective sigh of relief could be felt after these words spread. Everyone was on edge, and the last thing they needed was something happening to their most powerful cultivator. However, before Qiyuan could sigh in relief, a projection appeared in the room.

"Saint."

"Saint."

Qiyuan immediately had a bad feeling. "Did something happen?"