Journey of the Fate Destroying Emperor-Chapter 1509: The Siddhartha Path

While analyzing the implications of this reveal, he realized Grand Dao's actions were all showy and had no substance. While it revealed the name of the next realm, it did not release information on how to enter it. On the contrary, how the realm is named and phrased will have specific adverse effects.

Wang Wei stopped receiving the information and looked at Wu Hong: "Your 3800 seals, are they?"

"Probably an incomplete and limited Dao Quintessence," Wu Hong nodded. The seals were her lifework and a summary of her talent and hard work, but she never knew exactly what they were until now.

"Even if it's incomplete, their existence will mean you'll have a scary battle prowess in the first and second steps, and your path to the thirst step will uch a thousand times easier," Wang Wei commented.

"And?" Wu Hong looked at him smugly, with something hidden deep in her eyes.

"Can't you give us lowly mortals a chance to breathe?" Wang Wei sighed.

"Scared you'll be suppressed all your life?"

"Keep dreaming. The day that I will dominate you and regain my manhood is fastly approaching. I can already taste it," Wang Wei sneered.

"You can keep dreaming."

"You'll see," Wang Wei countered. "And you just gave me an idea." He activated his [Awakening] to summon all twelve of his Fate Palaces before condensing them into his independent River of Fate.

"One of your seals is Fate, right?"

"I wanted to seal all 3800 Daos, so yes," Wu Hong nodded. "Do you want to study it to create your version of an incomplete Dao Quintessence?"

"As always, you can read me like an open book," Wang Wei nodded. "My foundation has allowed me to condense a prototype of a Dao Quintessence, if you can call it that." His Fate Palaces were indeed a Dao Quintessence, and they only appeared on people with extreme talents, a unique foundation, and whose Dao and ambition perfectly fit together. However, Wang Wei felt this thing was not worth its name since the advantage it gave him to reach higher realms was miniscule. Of course, minuscule was for someone like him with Transcendent Luck, pseudo and complete Quintessence techniques, and a clear path ahead.

"That's a good idea. Do you want me to give it to you now?"

"No, I'm not ready yet for that level," Wang Wei refused. He was still focusing on becoming a Primal, so there was no point in thinking about things above that for now. "Plus, my Flesh Quintessence technique is about to reach 30% completion after using what I learned today. I can exchange it with you then."

"Alright," Wu Hong nodded. A technique that was only a third completed will help immensely for her Flesh Quintessence Realm.

"Oh, I can also give you a copy," Wang Wei said to Maitreya.

"I will give my thanks in advance," she replied with a smile. It was quite enjoyable watching the seamless rapport between these two.

"No problem. By the way, how is Feng Heng and Wuzhi? You should have already revived them, right?"

"They are doing well, preparing to enter the Paragon Realm."

"Oh?"

"Your sect has granted me early access to the scroll, and since I felt I owed them, I used my personal merit to buy all the resources they need to become Paragon as soon as possible," Maitreya explained.

"That's good to hear. I've had this idea on how to achieve Soul Quintessence that may be perfectly suited for Feng Heng," Wang Wei said before telling her about his idea of a pure spiritual cultivation.

"You're talking about the Siddhartha Path," Maitreya said, and Wang Wei's eyes squinted at that name. Back on Earth, the founder of Buddhism was Siddhartha Gautama.

"The what path?"

"It's a secret of Buddhism passed on only to the Venerable Abbot," Maitreya explained, not caring that she was revealing such a vital secret. "The first Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, showed up during the Essence Age and spread Buddhism and its path of spiritual practice, focusing on enlightening the mind instead of cultivation.

"However, this path is slow, even slower than cultivating the Grand Dao Source, which meant only people with great patience and intense focus could walk on it, but even then, no one has ever come close to Sir Gautama.

"After the Essence Age ended, the Buddhist Sect saw how Grand Dao limited the Body Refining Path, so they decided to keep Siddartha's Path a secret." Maitreya shook her head.

"The path was already difficult, and now, the number of people partaking in it has drastically decreased. You can imagine what happened next."

"It slowly faded into the shadows," Wang Wei replied.

"In the current era, less than 200 people know of its existence, and less than five are practicing it," Maitreya sighed.

"You?"

"I used to in my youth, but I've long lost my way," Maitreya said truthfully.

"There is still a chance to return," Wang Wei added.

"There is no need. I have my own path," she denied. Her path was more of a balance of the two. She would not favor cultivation or spiritual practice, but used the advantage of both. Normally, such an attempt would be futile, but her previous spiritual enlightenment and the new Soul Quintessence have granted her this opportunity.

"That's good to hear," Wang Wei nodded.

"You're right that Feng Heng's personality is suited for this path," Maitreya said before she felt something. It did not help that Wang Wei and Wu Hong were staring at her in shock and worry. She wiped her nose and touched blood.

"It seems I pushed myself too much," Maitreya said with a smile. The surroundings suddenly trembled, and the time bubble encasing the group dissipated. Wang Wei used his fingers to calculate how long had passed, and he took a deep breath. They spent 500 million Yuan Epochs to complete the technique, but only 500,000 years had passed on the outside.

'Even the weakest Soul Quintessence has such power,' Wang Wei thought. The limit of time accelerated allowed was ten, but Maitreya easily broke those rules and reached an acceleration threshold of 1000, albeit she had to push herself to do it.

"You should rest," Wu Hong said.

"I will," Maitreya nodded while looking her in the eyes. "I know I've said this before, but I'm really sorry for what I did."

"I know you are," Wu Hong sighed. "I just don't understand why you felt this was the best approach. You could have talked to me and Yan Hai to find a better way."

"There is no excuse except that I was selfish. I couldn't resist the temptation of a higher realm and placed my well-being above everything," Maitreya admitted. " A choice I've come to regret dearly."

"Maybe I was too harsh on you," Wu Hong said. Despite Maitreya's status as a nun, Wu Hong never treated her as an infallible Buddha with great moral virtue. It's one of the reasons they got along so well. She has always treated Maitreya as human, as someone capable of making mistakes.

"Do you want me to give you some space?" Wang Wei asked.

"That would be great," Wu Hong said. "But don't forget to come see me once you finish your sect affair."

"Of course," Wang Wei nodded before standing up and bowing to Maitreya. He cheekily sent an air kiss to Wu Hong before leaving in a happy mood. Wu Hong shook her head while a smile crept onto her mouth.

"You two are perfect for each other," Maitreya commented.

"Maybe we are," Wu Hong muttered. "Let's not talk about him. How about we drink and eat like old times? Is Hibiscus tea still your favorite?"

"Oh, yes, please. You have no idea how much I crave your tea. I've stolen it from my past self or other timelines, but somehow, the taste is never quite right."

"That's because it's not the same. I prepare the tea based on the mood and atmosphere, and they are perfectly designed for your taste and the moment," Wu Hong explained as she weaved runes to prepare the tea.

"So, that's how it is. You've always been attentive," Maitreya smiled. "What's on the menu today?"

"Your second favorite meal: Earth-root cabbage from the White Heaven World, boiled in purifying abyss water from the Howling Wolf World, and seasoned with my own pepper grown from positive emotion."

"The Joyous Sea Cabbage Soup," Maitreya said with shining eyes. She looked at the soup, which was shining with golden light, and could barely restrain herself. Every time I think I've escaped my Earthly desires, your food appears to humble me."

"You don't have to eat it if you don't want to," Wu Hong said, almost rolling her eyes at her friend's exaggeration. She took a bite of her food, which contained meat. Like her future husband, she greatly enjoyed meat and rice.

"I never said that," Maitreya swiftly replied as she used her chopsticks to take a bite out of the cabbage. She closed her eyes as her tongue experienced flavors unlike anything she had felt before. One of the disadvantages of a powerful cultivator is how their sense of taste is potent beyond anything mortals could imagine. However, this disadvantage can turn into an advantage when met with the right chef and food.

"Your Cooking Subdao should have reached 100%, right?" Maitreya asked.

"What do you think?" Wu Hong said. When she was young, she spent most of her time on the run and had to eat whatever was available. At one point, she wanted to eat something good, and since she couldn't enter any restaurant because the Devil Race was searching for her, she decided to learn to cook.

Since that day, cooking has become her passion, allowing her to survive some of the darkest times in her younger years. So, when the opportunity arrived, she learned cooking as a subdao and pushed it to the limit.

"I once tried to learn how to cook, but I didn't have the talent for it," Maitreya said. She could make a passable meal with her cultivation, but she knew her dishes were nothing compared to the people who were talented and passionate about this field.

"We all have our limitations," Wu Hong said, thinking about how a certain bastard said her talent for writing and creativity was mediocre.