Journey of the Fate Destroying Emperor

Chapter 1995: Clash of Soul Path Founders

Wang Wei chose to ignore this cheeky bastard. Now that he had some time to himself, he could carry out a few of his plans. "I'll be right back."

"Boss, you're leaving?"

"Yes."

"Can I help?"

"I would have asked if you could."

"Alright. Oh, but don't forget you promised the disciples you'd preach to them."

"I'll do it after I return."

Wang Wei didn't immediately leave. Instead, he accessed the sect's treasury to retrieve Saint Tier Fate resources, which he used to hide the secrets of Heaven and Earth. According to his original plan, Qiyuan would order Liang Shixian to leave the court, but Wang Wei changed his mind. Given their current relationship, she wouldn't say anything, but to preserve their friendship, Wang Wei decided not to embarrass her.

So, he not only hid the secrets of Heaven and Earth from her, but he also deceived her. After secretly leaving the sect, Wang Wei teleported to a chaotic area that had once belonged to the Limitless Exchange Hall. After the monopoly, all high-level resource areas were now controlled by the court and the remaining Overlords.

The courts didn't even allow loose cultivators to mine these areas as cheap labor. Instead, they built puppets and swiftly replaced all human labor, ensuring their absolute dominance. So, as soon as Wang Wei arrived at his destination, he fought more than a dozen times, each time a robbery. With no chance, these loose cultivators and weak lineages killed each other over scraps.

Wang Wei wasn't robbed because no one could detect his techniques, but he couldn't help but watch the chaos: these cultivators were desperate. In the current era, the only way to acquire resources is to join the court or the Overlords, or work to the bone for them for scraps.

"If I weren't born in the Dao Opening Sect, I would have been in the same predicament," he thought as he watched a loose cultivator blow off another's head. "Knowing me, I'd probably lead a rebellion against the court. But how would I go about it?"

The answer was obvious: gorilla tactic and the Divine Court. The world was too big to control all these resource hubs; that's why Qiyuan controlled only the Paragon Tier resources and the extremely valuable Empyrean resources. Wang Wei's target would be these hubs, but he wouldn't attack directly; loose cultivators had already tried, and they were slaughtered by the puppet legions and other guardians stationed there.

So, his tactic would involve guerrilla warfare. He would raise desperate people and send them to explode themselves to kill as many people as possible and to also utterly destroy this resource hub. These top lineages might not care about the loss of life, but they'd care about losing resources.

After a few successful attacks, they would be open to discussion, but Wang Wei wouldn't negotiate yet. Instead, he'd contact the Infinite Divine Court and ask them to serve as their proxy against the Heavenly Court. The Divine Court can provide resources, training, and manpower, and Wang Wei would turn it into a knife in their hands.

He'd use the resources to raise his cultivation—preferably to become a Primal—while building his own army, which he'd eventually turn into an independent faction. Of course, he wouldn't capitulate to the Divine Court and become a traitor. Instead, he'd make it look like the world was plunging into civil war, forcing the Overlords and the courts back to the negotiating table, and this time, he'd have more cards to play.

"Qiyuan's plan was the best at the time, but too much suppression is also not a good thing." Although he rebuilt the Limitless Exchange Hall to give these loose cultivators hope, it was obvious it wasn't enough. Given the current situation, it's only a matter of time before these loose cultivators do something radical, or someone uses their plight for their benefit.

Wang Wei found a secret place to release the controlled Old Man Black Chess. With his presence, the situation should be heavily alleviated. However, this was far from enough. He sent a warning to the court, telling them to keep a closer eye on the loose cultivators.

"Now, let's get rid of that little pest."

Wang Wei searched for a hidden area and built an inheritance/trial in another dimension; the whole process took time and resources—which he felt was too much for someone like Liang Shixian—but since he decided to do it quietly, it was all necessary. Once that was done, Wang Wei used his karma connection to Liang Shixian to access his Fate Line and add a Nexus Event.

A few minutes later, Liang Shixian felt his mind grow cloudy, and the idea of taking a walk to clear his head appeared. Such a thing was common to cultivators, so he didn't suspect a thing. However, Liang Shixian also knew his situation in the court wasn't the best after he attempted to contact the Divine Court. Hence, he did everything by the book: he reported his departure instead of leaving quietly.

After leaving the court, Liang Shixian masked his whereabouts; too many eyes were on him, and he couldn't let his enemies know his location. He flew for a long distance in a daze, but without knowing it, Liang Shixian found himself in this chaotic area within the Exchange Hall's territory.

A frown hung on his face throughout the journey as he noticed how many Soul Cultivators there were. Ever since the Foundation Strengthening method spread, fewer people have chosen his path. Even worse, a lot of people have actually changed paths.

"I must hurry," Liang Shixiang thought. "Hmm?" Without knowing it, he had found himself in this market. At first, he didn't care because most of the items were either low-level or fake, but then he suddenly sensed a wooden token tied to his destiny. His first instinct was that someone capable was trying to trick him, but after trying countless methods, the result was the same: the token was crucial to his destiny—to the Soul Path.

Liang Shixian didn't act immediately; he waited until nightfall, when the vendor left the market, to capture him and search his soul, needing to be sure no one was plotting against him. However, he found no anomaly; the vendor had found this wooden token by accident in a forest and thought the material was worth something because he couldn't even crush it.

"This is really my opportunity," Liang Shixian thought as he crushed the vendor into non-existence. A portal appeared before him, and he disappeared. His next destination was a few capable diviners who weren't working for the court or directly linked to the Overlords; he needed one more round of checks to ensure the token was safe. Once that was done, Liang Shixian finally activated it.

"The Ancient True Soul Path? Hahaha, I knew it — I knew I was destined to be the one and only Soul Ancestor of this world. Wang Wei, you wait for me — the soul destiny can only belong to me and me alone."

Liang Shixian grinned, then focused on the trial. The concept of Soul Aperture was wonderful to him, and more importantly, it inspired him to innovate his soul path. No, he didn't even need to innovate it; he could spread the current method and still be considered the Soul Ancestor.

The trial had four sections: the Three Apertures and the final Soul Ancestor Realm. No fighting was involved, which was good news for Liang Shixin, since that wasn't his strong suit. With his foundation, Liang Shixin swiftly passed the first two trials, but it took him nearly three days to meet the requirement. Finally, he walked to the last section.

"It's you? Why are you here?"

Wang Wei floated in the air, sitting cross-legged. "What do you think?"

Liang Shixian stayed silent for a few seconds, then suddenly flew back the way he came. Unfortunately, a powerful barrier repelled him, and he crashed to the floor.

"Kneeling and groveling truly suit you."

"Why…Why do you have to do this?" Liang Shixian asked, slowly standing and wiping the dirt off his clothes.

"Because you're an ungrateful and greedy idiot."

"You don't need the destiny. It wouldn't have cost you anything to give it back to me."

"So what if I didn't need it? It's mine. I got it with my own ability."

"It was my idea."

"Don't kid yourself," Wang Wei sneered. "Anyone can be ambitious and wish to become the Soul Ancestor. It was I who turned your idea into a fully realized concept."

"I could have done without you," Liang Shixian yelled.

"Now, we're telling lies."

"You only created the framework; I did everything else — I had the talent to create my own Soul Path."

"Maybe, but would it have been as good as mine?" Wang Wei countered. Liang Shixian had no response.

"Without my support in the lower dimension, would your Soul Path have spread so much? If the Soul Path didn't have high potential, do you think the Saint would have supported it in the Heavenly Court and allowed it to develop so widely? Do you think the Soul Path would have experienced such a Golden Era before the arrival of the Foundation Strengthening Method?"

Liang Shixian stepped back a few small steps.

"90% of your success is because of me, but you have the gall to think you deserve all the credit."