Eternal Ascension World, Origin Seal Continent:
Wu Hong teleported to Sword Empress' hideout.
"What is it?"
"I feel the destiny of the Ultimate Sword Path connected to the Dao Opening Sect's luck," said Wu Hong.
"Oh, the kid must have succeeded," uttered Sword Empress with brilliant eyes. She thought he would be as stubborn as her.
"So, it's related to your descendant in the lower dimension."
"Yes, and it's quite the talented fellow."
"Oh, for you to acknowledge someone else's talent, he must be exceptional." She knew her son was very harsh when judging talent–maybe even too strict. However, her harshness had cultivated plenty of peerless talent for the Dao Opening Sect.
It's a shame many of them seemed to have terrible luck.
"Yes. I cannot wait for him to reach my level and challenge me for the Sword Grand Dao Source Position."
"You have so much faith in him?"
"Yes. The kid's talent is not under him," nodded Sword Empress. "The only thing he lacked was luck and destiny. Luckily, his son–who is an even bigger monster–made up for the deficiency."
"His son is even more talented?" Wu Hong was genuinely surprised since she knew how high such an evaluation was coming from Sword Empress.
"If nothing unexpected happens, he's the one destined to end the era of these parasites," replied Sword Empress, looking in the distance. "Plus, Brother Qishan believes he's the one who will show us a path toward detachment."
"He's that talented?"
"Although I have my skepticism, I must admit this kid is talented and has too many destinies intertwined with him. Plus, you know Qiyuan's vision."
Wu Hong nodded as she knew Qiyuan was the kind of talent that could take the entire Chaos Universe into account as he strategized and planned for countless Yuan Epochs in the future. So, his vision is unparalleled.
"Well, that does not matter now since the kid probably has not even proven the Dao yet," added Wu Hong. Before the latter takes that step, everything else is relevant since his Mortal Fate will forever hinder him from accomplis.h.i.+ng all his destinies.
"I came to ask whether you would take the destiny of the Ultimate Sword Path after healing. It's a good way to heal."
"No need. I don't need to fight with my juniors." Although Sword Empress could take the destiny of the upper dimension and w.a.n.g Tian that of the lower dimension, she would not take something so beneficial from her descendant.
"Then, you should pave the way for him," added Wu Hong.
"Indeed. But I might not need to act." Sword Empress knew how stubborn swordsmen were–especially the ones from the upper dimension. They've learned the existence of the Ultimate Sword Path for eons, but no one has even gathered the destiny of that path. The swordsmen from the Extreme Sword Path would exterminate anyone who tried.
In the past, Sword Empress killed a few Paragons to show the Extreme Sword Path was better than the Ultimate Path. But now, she prepared to kill anyone who tried to gather the destiny of the Ultimate and protect w.a.n.g Tian from the cult-like swordsmen from the Extreme Sword Path.
"What I worry about is whether one of these parasites would train someone to gather the luck of the Ultimate Sword Path," said Sword Empress.
"If they do, we will secretly help the rebellion and kill them," said Wu Hong. Since her friend wanted to pave the way for her descendant, she would help.
"Good, but be careful not to be discovered. Anyway, they cannot achieve success in a short time even if they try." Gathering the luck of any path or ideology is not a simple thing.
"You're underestimating the situation," added Wu Hong. "Time Eater seemed in a hurry, maybe even a little desperate. So, cultivating a ninth Paragon on their side is an excellent method to stabilize the situation.
"And if it is one who controls the luck of the Ultimate Sword Path, his control over the world will become higher."
Sword Empress frowned, "We should increase our support for the rebellion. Otherwise, they may not last long."
"It's a perfect time now that Supreme Unity is busy with the Dark Truth."
"Do we contact them through Xu Junyao or Emperor Kong?" Sword Empress chose these two because they were the most reliable of their contacts with the rebellion.
"Xu Junyao has been in a bad position recently because of her apprentice," said Wu Hong after thinking for a moment. "So, let's use Emperor Kong. Anyway, he's well-hidden and protected by his Sage's Golden Body of Merit."
"Okay, but still be careful. Some of these people might be really crazy enough to ignore the consequence and kill him."
"I will."
Sword Empress suddenly sighed, "I cannot believe we have been reduced to such a situation."
Back at her peak, she could kill any of these parasites with one finger. But now, she has to hide like a rat and rely on a bunch of weak Tier 11 and 10 people to secretly fight her battles.
"The cultivation world has always been ever-changing, and fate even more mercurial: all things must rise before falling, then repeat the cycle," replied Wu Hong. "So, it's not surprising we reached such a low, given how high we once stood."
"I'm glad you're taking the situation better than me."
Wu Hong smiled but did not answer. Although her memories of the Ultimate Taboo were foggy and unclear, she knew she underwent a sublimation of the state of the mind because of an experience. At her level, such a change was rare and extremely valuable. As such, she could adapt to her situation rather swiftly.
Furthermore, she retained more strength than Sword Empress and did not suffer the humiliation of being hunted down.
"Alright, I'll get to it."
"Wait," said Sword Empress. "Are you sure we should not deal with these outside forces?" She was worried that other Chaos Worlds would take the opportunity while the Eternal Ascension World was weak to invade and acquire more resources or benefits.
"Don't worry. Nothing will happen as long as Maitrey and Supreme Unity are here." Wu Hong has already a.n.a.lyzed that these two tyc.o.o.ns wanted stability throughout the Eternal Ascension, hence the reason they supported the actions of the Eight Parasites.
Although Maitreya appeared to no longer care for stability recently, Supreme Unity remained the same. So, he will never allow outside forces to interfere and cause chaos.
"What about the Dark Truth? Should we be worried?"
"What's the point?" she replied with a wry smile. "Even those two are powerless."
Indeed. The Dark Truth is something even Grand Dao cannot deal with. So, even if these two reached Half Step Detachment, they would also be powerless.
"I forgot that this world is so complicated that it's sometimes frustrating," commented Sword Empress. After reaching the end of the Grand Dao Source, many Paragons would feel they were now capable of discovering all the truths and secrets of the Chaos Universe.
And that idea would send them on a journey of realizing how small and insignificant they actually are compared to the vast Chaos Universe. The worst part about this journey is that the path forward is cut, so they have no way to truly unravel the universe's secrets.
Paragons would then realize the world was a cage and were simply prisoners with more rights than the others.
Wu Hong also sighed, "We are alive, which means we have hope." She then disappeared.
…
w.a.n.g Wei almost ran away from the Sword Alliance. His father wanted him to help with the early establishment of the alliance. Unfortunately, he barely managed his sect, let alone help others with their problems.
He rushed home to see his lovely wife. For some reason, he missed her terribly despite not seeing her only for a few hours. w.a.n.g Wei then spent the next few days in the bliss of Yin-Yang Harmony.
He wanted to enter seclusion but suddenly sensed Li Jun's return, so he went to see him.
"How did it go?"
"Although there were some twists and turns, the War Talisman is finally in my possession," replied Li Jun.
"Twists and turns?" w.a.n.g Wei thought it would be relatively easy to get the talisman.
"The Inheritance Spirit felt the War Dao was only a part of my Slaughter Dao, so the talisman would be wasted on me. So, he didn't want to give it to me." Li Jun had to convince the spirit, and the latter even made the trial ten times more challenging.
"Well, as long as you succeed," nodded w.a.n.g Wei before handing him the Slaughter Heart. Li Jun's eyes lit up after knowing the use of this thing.
'With the War Talisman, the Slaughter Heart, and my crazy plan, I might reach 6-leaf Strength.' And once he refined the Slaughter Weapon, his strength would further reach a higher level.
He was excited as he slowly placed the heart away.
"Oh, I met Di Tian."
"You what?"
"Yes. I think he was also searching for the War Talisman."
"Are you alright? You seem fine."
"I think it was only a clone. However, he injured me with one attack," said Li Jun, shaking his head. "I took the opportunity to activate my life-saving Talisman and ran away."
"That's smart," nodded w.a.n.g Wei. He spent the next few hours talking to Li Jun, preparing for the final battle. Then, he tasked his Fate Shadow Guard to check on Di Tian's movement; he knew his actions were pointless.
After all, it's very easy for people of their levels to hide their tracts. Afterward, he left a clone to spend time with his wife while he entered seclusion.