Journey of the Fate Destroying Emperor

Chapter 1977: The Omnicube Trial II: Dao Heart & Mind

"He probably thought he could perfect his Dao Quintessence by absorbing as much knowledge as possible, and the result? He turned a slave to knowledge," Wu Hong thought, sighing deeply.

The pursuit of the Dao is ultimately an act of defying Heaven. Someone might spend countless cycles of trillions of years cultivating, slowly approaching the end of the path, only to realize they had gone astray. What's the correct course of action after reaching such a bypass?

The immediate, easy answer is to start over. However, that's easier said than done. All powerful cultivators have their achievements because of unwavering confidence that borders on delusion; that characteristic has allowed them to survive the darkest of times; that virtue has driven them to keep going no matter the situation.

So, 99% of the time, when they are confronted with the idea that their Dao—their path—might be wrong, their first and usually only instinct is to deny this truth. They have all the confidence in themselves and their Dao —after all, it had brought them this far — so how could it be wrong?

"Ultimately, they will conclude that the world is wrong, or in Gu Chang'an's case, they were not doing enough," Wu Hong thought. She decided to treat Gu Chang'an as a cautionary tale. After all, who knew if her path had any problems? For all she knew, the issue might manifest while she was sanctifying, or even worse, right before transcendence.

Wu Hong exhaled to control her emotions. Ignoring Gu Chang'an, she continued her journey of delving into this ocean of knowledge. All attempts of testing how much time had passed seemed to fail in this dimension, so Wu Hong didn't even try. Anyway, she had an infinite lifespan, and her only worry was the Origin Seal Continent, her friends, and Wang Wei. If too much time passed, they might worry and come looking for her, but that might not be a bad thing.

Bang!

While Wu Hong was deep in a book and Gu Chang'an was still mechanically remembering things, the dimension trembled slightly. Before they could react, all the books disappeared, leaving them in this white space without borders. Then, like before, a string of characters appeared in the air: [Participant 1 (Wu Hong): Victory]

"Why?" Gu Chang'an asked, his voice cold and his expression emotionless. "The amount of books I —"

"Do you even need to ask why? Look at the state you're in."

The All-Knowing Emperor paused. His first instinct was to dismiss Wu Hong's words, but a part of him warned that listening to her might not be a bad thing. So, he began observing his status from another point of view. Gu Chang'an was horrified. His [Existence] was slowly being morphed into an entity similar to Heavenly or Grand Dao: emotionless, mechanically processing a directive embedded in his essence—gathering knowledge.

The shock immediately jolted Gu Chang'an's system awake. He closed his eyes to undo the damage as soon as possible. It wasn't too late now that he had caught the problem. Wu Hong glanced at him and calmly waited. Since the cube wasn't interfering, she had no choice but to wait as well.

Ten minutes later, Gu Chang'an opened his eyes, his expression more expressive than before. However, he swiftly returned to a calm, almost stoic expression. Glancing at Wu Hong, a glint flashed in his eyes for a brief moment before disappearing.

"My path is not wrong. Maybe not as solid and versatile as hers, but it's not wrong. I just need to find the right method, and I can perfect my source."

Wu Hong immediately noticed the aura of confidence emanating from the latter, but she didn't say anything. The cube had conveyed more writings.

[Trial 2: Dao Heart & Mind]

[Rule 1: No attacking or interfering with other participants]

[Rule 2: Foreign assistance is allowed.]

As soon as these words materialized, the two of them found themselves standing in front of an enormous abyss with no sight of the bottom. Wu Hong frowned as she looked at the endless dark corridor that seemed to lead straight to hell; a creepy sense of doom assaulted her senses.

"Oh, that's terrifying."

"Lady Ai? You're back?"

"I've been here all this time, but I just couldn't speak or interact with you."

"I see. By the way, any chance your senses are still connected to the outside?"

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Wu Hong said. Since she couldn't check on the outside situation, there was no need to remain too focused on it. "Can you detect anything about this abyss? All my detection spells are useless."

"Mine too, and I think that's the point."

Wu Hong nodded. "So, a mind test. But what is it testing exactly? Fear of death? The unknown? Or something else? And why did it allow outside help?"

"I have no idea. But let's see if we can figure out the point of this test together."

"You're right. I think —"

"Hm? Where is this? Y-Y-You!"

Wu Hong turned to the voice and immediately squinted: Three Virtue Saint and Five Element Harmony Saint.

"Impossible!" Three Virtue yelled. "I've escaped your control."

Gu Chang'an coldly looked at these two. Now that he didn't have the cube forcefully absorbing his power, he had the power to deal with these two ants trying to rebel against their master. Ignoring their horrified faces, Gu Chang'an first pointed a finger at Five Element Harmony, who sighed deeply.

"I knew this day would come," the Taoist Priest uttered. The universe operated on the laws of cause and effect. All his actions back then —including silently supporting Three Virtue's actions—would be paid for today. Closing his eyes, he accepted his fate.

A plethora of arrays and lights entered Five Element's body. Then, his aura rapidly changed, becoming calmer, more stable, rigid, and mechanical. And when he opened his eyes again, only the cold and emptiness of obedience remained.

"Did he…"

"Wiped out his intelligence and turned him into a puppet? Yes," Lady Ai said.

"Can he still be saved?"

"No. He's dead. Even if after killing Gu Chang'an, he'll be nothing but a soulless puppet."

Wu Hong nodded, but didn't say anything else.

"Don't feel bad for him; this is the price of taking a shortcut in the Saint Path."

"Who says I'm feeling bad for him? I was just thinking how to best utilize them after I kill Gu Chang'an."

Lady Ai was momentarily speechless. "Well, it's always good to be pragmatic."

"Your turn," Gu Chang'an said coldly.

"No, you can't do this to me."

"Stop barking. It's annoying." Gu Chang'an released an unknown power that sealed Three Virtue's mouth. Then, as he did to Five Elements, he began to inject all kinds of arrays and powers into the latter's body.

Boom! A golden dragon flew out of Three Virtue's body.

"No, no, I refused to accept such an ending."

Gu Chang'an furrowed his brow. "Power of Destiny? What a pointless struggle." He immediately raised the intensity of his techniques.

"No, no, no, I can't die like this. Divine Seal Empress, save me, and I'll be loyal to you. As long as you don't take my free will, I'll follow you until the end of time."

"I'm sorry, but I can't intervene."

"Is my loyalty not enough? I have other values. I can introduce you to the Infinite Exchange Hub and be your guide. I also know of an inheritance from a Second Step Qi Path Saint. That's how I discovered the Qi Path Cultivation System. His inheritance should still have countless rare resources."

"Do you think he's telling the truth?"

"About the inheritance? Probably not," Lady Ai said. "However, his act of swearing loyalty? Well, you'd be a fool to believe him."

"It's not that it matters anyway."

"True."

"Is that not enough?" Three Virtue asked. With each passing second, his Destiny Dragon was rapidly being consumed. At this rate, he won't last even half a minute. "I know a Qi Path Inheritance might not mean much to you, but there are other ways you can benefit. You can —"

"Stop wasting your breath. She won't help you."

"I —"

"He's right: I can't help you," Wu Hong said. "The rules do not permit it." Three Virtue finally noticed the words floating in the air. Despair! Endless Despair! Those few words single-handedly destroyed all of Three Virtue's hope. Gu Chang'an sensed it immediately and acted. The golden dragon roared, trying to awaken its owner, but Three Virtue's eyes could not move from these words; the creature tried a few times with no result. Finally, it turned into a beam of light that entered Three Virtue's forehead, forcefully jolting him awake.

Three Virtue immediately realized his current state: it was too late. Death was already standing behind him, breathing down his neck. And unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about it — except maybe solve a few minor regrets.

"Divine Seal Empress, can you do me a favor? I promise it will be worth your while."

"Speak."

"Save my holy land. I don't need you to ensure their prosperity; just ensure they can recruit normally and preserve their identity."

"And what can I get in return?"

"My Hub Token. I left it in the holy land; I'll tell you how to get it without any issue."

"Very well."