Read Novel Full Chapter 1952: The Four Direction Expedition I
Chapter 1952: The Four Direction Expedition I
Wu Hong opened her eyes and exhaled deeply; this retreat was world-changing. She not only raised her understanding of the laws to the limit, but also created and perfected her Soul Quintessence Method. Now, she only needs to perfect her Saint Foundation and the Tier 2 Microsystem to sanctify.
"It's a shame," Wu Hong sighed. Her understanding of the hidden rules had reached a point beyond her capabilities. As such, she could only seal the content to understand later. Otherwise, her improvement would have been even more dramatic.
Lamenting about what could have been was not something Wu Hong liked to do, so she placed the regret in the back of her mind and focused on the present. She raised her hand to summon a power.
"My Dao Will has evolved, and it seems to be on the verge of transforming into another Saint Will Prototype…Qi Prototype, Dao Prototype — does that mean the Will Manifestation can also evolve? Is there a Saint Will Prototype for the Soul?" If those things exist — and they most likely do — the perfection of the Tier 2 System will be more complicated than she thought.
Wu Hong had the urge to enter another retreat to explore these things, but now was not the time. After becoming the Heavenly Emperor, she was connected to, or in harmony with, Heaven and Earth, which gave her a unique intuition that her time on this timeline was short. Major things were about to occur, and she needed to speed up all her plans.
Wu Hong snapped her fingers to condense a map with countless chains of various sizes, shapes, and runes attached to them. The map perfectly superimposed itself on this timeline, primarily the four territories: the three holy lands and the Borderworld. Two areas — Borderworlds and Emperor Path Territory — were golden, while the others only had light patches of yellow. Everything else was dark red.
"I must thank that old Qilin," Wu Hong uttered. In just 32 Yuan epochs, all the rules of the Emperor Dao Holy Land and the Borderworld were repaired, and the greatest contributors were Grand Dao and the Qilin Sovereign, followed by the Five Element Scroll.
"However, this is not enough. We must speed things up."
Wu Hong stood from the throne and teleported to the healing pool, where the Old Qilin was happily bathing.
"You're in a good mood."
"Of course I am. Those injuries have been plaguing me for eternity, but now, half of it is already gone," the Qilin Sovereign replied, a large smile plastered on his dragon-like face.
Wu Hong took a deep glance at him. His expression was more vivid, and more importantly, the scar on his back was no longer visible. "You reek of a thin aura of merit."
"That's normal. With the revival of the Grand Dao, the merit system is also slowly being rebuilt."
"No wonder you were so hardworking the past few years." Wu Hong thought this was just about healing, but it's obvious the Old Qilin was preparing for when the merit system is completely reinstated.
The Qilin Sovereign chuckled. "Alright, to what do I owe this visit?"
"I'm interested in your past. What caused you such a terrifying injury?"
The Qilin Sovereign sighed. "If you're here for information about the past or the Red Cloud, you'll be disappointed."
"Your memories are missing?"
"Yes, and the others are also vague."
"Do you at least remember how you were injured?"
The qilin nodded. "All I remember is that Emperor Sui tasked me with protecting his clan, but I failed. Someone — or something — attacked me, and I barely survived. The Sui Clan was annihilated, and most of my memories were wiped."
Wu Hong frowned. "The Xu Clan?"
"I used the blood of the dead Sui Clan to create them myself to preserve Emperor Sui's race."
"Any particular reason you didn't adopt the Sui name?"
"Someone wanted the Sui Clan to be annihilated, even going as far as putting a causality curse on it," The Qilin Sovereign replied, sighing deeply. "The truth is, my injuries are so severe because I spend so much of my time protecting them from the curse."
"So, you don't know anything about the core area of the Red Cloud?"
"I'm sorry. I do remember that Emperor Sui contacted me once after he left. However, I can't remember what he said; I do know it was something about the True Qi Path Holy Land; he either warned me to protect them or be wary of them — I can't remember."
Wu Hong frowned. This conversation was almost useless.
"I'm sorry I can't be of much help."
"It's fine. One last question: how did you sanctify?"
"Merit," the Qilin Sovereign replied. "Emperor Sui was the leader of the resistance. After protecting the timeline for so many years, he exchanged for a few Saint Heavenly Wills."
"A few?"
"Yes, I wasn't the only one."
"So many Saints and no records whatsoever?" Wu Hong thought. Something felt off. Why remove records of those Saints? It's understandable if the Red Cloud removed their techniques to prevent others from following in their footsteps. It's possible Gu Chang'an did it to remove all knowledge about merit, but Wu Hong still felt something off about that explanation. "I'm getting the suspicion that removing knowledge from the world is not just a tactic to weaken this timeline's civilization. It may have other effects."
"Do the other holy lands have Heaven Will Saints such as yourself?"
"Hell no. Grand Dao has always shown great disdain for what Three Virtue Paragon did. So, although they could also receive merit, no Heaven Will was ever offered to them."
"They must have tried to brute-force the process, right? Absorb as much merit as possible to forcefully elevate someone to the Saint Realm?"
"That, I don't know."
"Do you know if they have a living Saint guardian such as yourself?"
"I doubt that," the Qilin Sovereign replied. "Emperor Sui didn't trust them — especially that hypocrite, Three Virtue. I don't think he would have allowed them to preserve a fighting force of that caliber. Anyway, they knew the trek to the core area would be dangerous, so they welcomed as much help as possible. Emperor Sui would have used this excuse to force them to come."
"But you stayed behind."
"I am the exception. The others needed Emperor Sui's help, so it's very likely they accepted my existence because they didn't have much of a choice."
"I see." The qilin was not reliable. As such, Wu Hong decided to begin the expedition with the mindset that the holy lands might have hidden Saints. She might be wrong, but it won't hurt to be prepared. So, she said goodbye to the old qilin and teleported back to her throne.
"Shadow."
"Yes, Lord."
"What do you have to report?"
"We couldn't confirm whether they have hidden Saints. However, it's also unknown whether that's because of our ability—or lack thereof—or because they truly do not possess such strength. Please, forgive me, my lord."
"Wu Hong waved her hand. It's fine. Report to me what they've been up to."
"The Five Element Harmony Holy Land has been sending ambassadors to our court nonstop, asking for negotiation. However, they've also been secretly preparing for war. We've received news that they are prepared to threaten a complete withdrawal from the Samsara Battlefield if we refuse to return the Five Element Scroll."
"Do you think they dare do it?"
"If it were the previous Holy Lord, I would say no. But Cui Yun is decisive and selfish enough to do so."
"What happened to the previous Holy Lord?"
"Both of them died from the Saint Artifact backlash."
Wu Hong frowned. "I could understand the True Qi Path Holy Lord dying. After using that unknown power to escape, the backlash he suffered should have been more severe. However, the Five Element Holy Lord should have been saved with the holy land's resources."
"You're wise as usual, my liege. We also suspect foul play from Cui Yun's faction. However, if she did it, the process was swift and clean; we couldn't find any evidence whatsoever."
"And here I thought that boy Su Chengfeng was the snake," Wu Hong sneered. The ancients were wise when they said appearance can be deceiving. "What about the True Qi Path Holy Land?"
"They have been extra quiet. After the battle, they tightened their control over their territory, followed by an internal purge of the Holy Land. We lost more than 80% of our spies in the process, and now we are completely blind to what they are doing."
"Are they preparing to move their plans forward?" Wu Hong muttered. "What about their troops on the battlefield? Are there any signs that they also want to abandon it?"
"No, but maybe we should prepare for the worst-case scenario."
Wu Hong did not reply, but she agreed with Rune Shadow; it's never wrong to prepare for the worst-case scenario. "Where is Xu Yuhan?"
"In his quarters, serving his position diligently."
"Any signs of Emperor Sui's revival?"
"No — at least, nothing that we can detect."
Wu Hong was fine with Emperor Sui's revival, as she might need the help. However, when two Emperors work together, it's easy for their egos to clash without clearly determining a leader. So, as soon as Xu Yuhan shows any change, Wu Hong will approach and converse with Emperor Sui to set things straight.