Journey of the Fate Destroying Emperor-Chapter 1452 Alike

[Author's Note: Today is my birthday, meaning I'm one year closer to death. Hehehe, sorry about the bad joke. Someone close to me used to make this joke, and I thought I would try it once. [Anyway, please shower me with birthday wishes and words of prosperity. I live in the US, and I'm a person of color, so the past three months have been a nightmare. I've been trying to keep a positive mindset, but it's hard to do so when your country is descending into fascism, and you are part of the group that will suffer the most.

[I'm trying to remain positive, and having a great birthday today is the first step. I consider you guys part of my community, so I will include you in the celebration.]

—-

"That was quick," Tian Xuan said.

"Before we get started, sign this karma-binding promissory note that you'll repay all the points I used for this meeting," Wang Wei said as he sent a red note to him.

"The information said you were cheap and refused to take a loss — I didn't expect it to be this extreme," Tian Xuan mocked. Regardless of his words, he reviewed the note before signing it without any bargaining.

"You must be desperate that you didn't even bargain," Wang Wei said.

"I'm just showing you my sincerity."

Wang Wei put the contract away and summoned a scholarly fan to fan himself, acting all pretentious. "So, what do you want to talk about?"

Tian Xuan looked at him and shook his head. The information he knew said this man's personality was as weird, pretentious, and ever-changing as a woman's mood or a man's volatile anger.

"You did, didn't you? You remove the shackles on you," Tian Xuan asked.

"Hmm? What are you talking about?" Wang Wei asked in confusion, his facial expression displaying genuine puzzlement and unawareness.

"No need to act," Tian Xuan continued. "The aura during your Immeasurable Tribulation was more than enough proof. Unlike the lower cultivation realm, there is no benefit to antagonizing Grand Dao during tribulation — unless you want to borrow its power.

"But what would you want to borrow its power for? Only one thing would make you risk your life to such an extent — your pursuit of freedom. Once I analyzed things from this perspective, many things started to connect. For example, what would you use your Immeasurable Emperor achievement for?

"You don't trust Grand Dao, so you wouldn't ask it to directly remove your shackle or trust any methods that he offered. So, the next best thing is to ask for a safe way to detect the shackles, then use the tribulation to eliminate it yourself.

"Am I wrong?"

The two stared at each other for a while before Wang Wei broke the silence by smiling: "Interesting. Now, everything makes sense." Tian Xuan frowned.

"I was wondering why your hostility toward me suddenly diminished after my tribulation," he continued. "Ji Chengming wasn't an accident, was it? Even if he didn't challenge you, you would have antagonized and fought him.

"You planned to put him in enough danger to lure the transcendent behind him so you can contact your teacher. No, he's not just your teacher — he is your watcher. You wanted to distract him long enough to leave the contact note. The great part about your plan is that if you're caught, you could use the excuse that the note was an attempt at secretly spying on my secrets since you knew I would use the first room."

Wang Wei smirked: "You want your freedom, don't you? It makes sense, after all, how can someone as intelligent as you accept being someone else's puppet?" Wang Wei chuckled. "I didn't expect you and I were alike in our pursuit of freedom."

"I never expected to hide the truth from you," Tian Xuan admitted. He knew what to expect when communicating and planning against his kind, so this little demonstration meant nothing to either of them.

"I'm intrigued," Wang Wei smiled as he fanned himself. "Your goal should be my observation method, but what do you plan on exchanging with it?"

"How about your life and safety?"

"Hehehe, this should be interesting to hear."

"You give me what I want, and I won't reveal you are the Mad Fate Emperor from the All-Seeing Temple's prophecy," Tian Xuan said calmly.

"Stop playing these useless games," Wang Wei countered. "You uttered a word about me, and I will immediately contact Grand Dao and tell it what you're doing." He looked directly into his gaze.

"I reckon Grand Dao won't kill you after so many investments, but it shouldn't be an issue to change your personality by giving you a new set of memories and experiences."

A glint flashed deep in Tian Xuan's eyes. No one would want their personality to be twisted into someone else, not to mention the person deep in his mind he refused to forget.

"Alright, but you should understand that I had to try," he said, shrugging. "My offer is an alliance between us."

"That's it?"

"I know many secrets that may be helpful to you."

"Like?" Wang Wei asked, and Tian Xuan stared at him. He knew this bastard was using this situation to get one free, valuable piece of information from him. He mulled it over briefly: "How about something related to Ji Dingxiang? He —"

"If you're going to mention how he's trying to revive himself, don't bother."

"You know?"

"Is it hard to deduce?" Wang Wei sneered. "He probably knew he might not survive and Grand Dao would completely erase him, so he tried the only way that could give him a way of surviving: the power of obsession. The Heart Desire Palace has spent so long studying obsession and desires in the hopes of reviving their ancestors."

Tian Xuan sighed deeply, not hiding his frustration.

"Is this the first time you've confronted someone of equal intelligence? No wonder you're inferior to me — your cultivation experience is too curated," Wang Wei said. A wave of profound anger and hatred flashed deep in Tian Xuan's eyes, but his facial expression and aura remained unchanged. Regardless, Wang Wei still detected it. 'He has great control over his emotions,' Wang Wei thought.

"How about I tell you a secret about this trial?" Tian Xuan asked calmly.

"I'm listening," Wang Wei replied.

"Do you know what this place is?"

"Probably a Heaven and Earth Wonder."

"Exactly," Tian Xuan nodded, already expecting he would have figured this much out. "Do you know how Heaven and Earth Wonders are created?"

"I only know they were created by either Heavenly or Grand Dao," Wang Wei admitted.

"True, but the crux of the matter is how they are created," Tian Xuan added, and after seeing his expression of ignorance, he continued. "They are created from the dead bodies of Genesis Creatures."

"Genesis Creatures? As in creatures from the Genesis Age?" Wang Wei asked for clarification."

"That's right."

"That would explain why they have abilities that break the rules and limitations," Wang Wei suddenly realized. Grand Dao was all about waste utilization and not being wasteful, so it made sense to recycle the carcasses of these ancient and powerful creatures to create something that would benefit the Chaos Universe.

"But is that it? That's the information you want to exchange?"

Tian Xuan stared at him: "Your bloodsucking nature is quite unpleasant."

"My wife likes it very much," Wang Wei rebutted as he fanned himself even more, thus turning the pretentious level to a higher level.

"An anomaly has occurred," Tian Xuan added. "The dead creatures made from this trial have regained consciousness; to be precise, a new consciousness has been reborn from the remains and memories of the previous one. I'm sure you've noticed the other transcendent factions. Their objective is to control or swallow that new creature/consciousness."

"Is that why these trial spirits have encouraged people to use their points?" Wang Wei asked.

"That's right," Tian Xuan nodded. "The consciousness is still under Grand Dao's restrictions, so it cannot harm the participants. However, the more people that participate in this trial, the more of this trial's unique power can be condensed and utilized, thus accelerating his revival."

"Interesting," Wang Wei uttered as he caressed his beardless chin. "What about Grand Dao's role in this? It should know, so why hasn't it done anything?"

"What do you think?"

Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freewebnσvel.cøm.

"It's probably responsible for the birth of this consciousness," Wang Wei analyzed. "And even if it's not, it won't care. The Age of Transcendence is coming, so it's about time to start manufacturing Transcendent Level Resources. This creature might be the beginning."

"Exactly," Tian Xuan nodded. Grand Dao has grown immensely since the Genesis Age and is well prepared for the upcoming Transcendent Age. This is terrible news for the cultivators since that means more rules and less opportunity to exploit the established system.

"So, what do you think?" Tian Xuan asked. "This information is only the tip of what I know. An alliance with me will benefit both of us."

"Hmm," Wang Wei muttered, thinking deeply about it. "I —"

—

[AN: I still expect my birthday wishes.]