w.a.n.g Wei frowned after coming to this conclusion. Under normal circ.u.mstances, he did not think the Heaven-Devouring Emperor's plan would work because of Wu Hong's seal.
However, in the last cleanup, the Spirit Genesis Sect forcefully altered the Nine Devil G.o.d World, which in turn affected her seal. So, normally, the Heaven Devouring Emperor's plan would have no chance.
But it's a different story now.
After thinking about it for a moment, he decided to deal with it after the battle. After all, no matter how weak the seal has become, it is not something the Heaven-Devouring Emperor can deal with easily, even in his prime, let alone his current state.
And even if he could revive himself, w.a.n.g Wei did not care as long as he won the battle. By then, the Heaven-Devouring Emperor will be a bigger ant to him compared to others. If the latter ascends to the upper dimension and hides, w.a.n.g Wei will not care about him.
But if he wanted revenge and intervened in his plan, w.a.n.g Wei would erase his Existence and remove him from history.
And honestly, he would not even care about the Heaven-Devouring Emperor even if he lost the battle. With Sword One and Desolate One, it is not a problem to deal with a non-Eternal Supreme.
So, he looked at the young man before him before taking out another imprint from his body. Then, the latter disappeared inch by inch, scattered as he turned into s.p.a.ce dust. In the process, he never had a chance to say a single word.
He looked at the second Bloodline Imprint and shook his head with slight disappointment; he wished he could gather some memories from these two imprints and learn more about the Heaven-Devouring Emperor's life–especially his experience of being hunted down in the upper dimension.
'It doesn't matter. There are other ways to benefit from this imprint,' thought w.a.n.g Wei. He could study a technique similar to it. However, he would not leave his imprint in his descendants but in a clone created by the Science and Technology World.
The only issue with this idea is whether Hongjun's protection will remain if he ever enters a state of Limbo where he is both dead and not dead.
Another benefit of these imprints is to allow w.a.n.g Wei to study the secrets of the Emperor Realm. So, he closed his eyes to comprehend their essence. Meanwhile, w.a.n.g Ju disappeared as if she was not there.
She wanted to deal with the issue of the Heaven-Devouring Emperor and the Nine Devil G.o.d World. However, after seeing how her young master did not care about it, she knew the situation was not as dangerous as she had imagined.
So, she continued with her mission.
Central Quadrant:
A man whose entire face and body appeared before Tong Ruobing. Immediately, she felt his aura was strange and weird.
"Who are you?" She remembered seeing this odd individual at the entrance and decided to keep an eye on them.
"It's perfectly normal if you don't recognize me," said a cold and emotionless voice.
"Do I know you?" she asked, frowning at the latter's insinuation.
"Yes, you are my last shred of humanity," said the hooded figure before removing his long robe.
Despite her high state of mind, Tong Ruobing flinched after seeing the fact behind the hood. He saw someone who was a mixture of metal, wood, and flesh.
"Chen Chen? What happened to you?" she asked, gazing at his emotionless eyes that resembled a puppet or machine.
"This is the price of power and hubris," he explained. Then, for a short moment, a look of reminisce and regret flashed in his eyes.
For the sake of power, he went to the Mechanical Puppet World, searching for the taboo method of fusing flesh with the ultimate puppet. Chen Chen did not care about the warnings of the technique and believed with his accomplishment in refinings and his knowledge from another civilization, he could optimize this technique and remove the risks.
Unfortunately, fate played the biggest joke on him.
The man who created this Pupper Art was a 1 in a billion years genius like w.a.n.g Wei and w.a.n.g Tian, capable of understanding a small portion of [Existence] as a mortal.
However, that man did not walk the path of the Nine Extremity due to a lack of knowledge and destiny and primarily because he was obsessed with Puppet Dao. He wanted to create the ultimate puppet and fuse it with himself.
In the process of this endeavor, he traveled to other World Communities to learn more knowledge. And in the end, he succeeded–at least partially.
There was a problem with the final version of the technique, and the main reason it was taboo to the Mechanical Puppet World. The man had used his shallow understanding of [Existence] in the technique.
So, when someone fused with the puppet, their [Existence] would be changed or twisted into another creature similar to Cyborgs from Earth's science fiction. Unfortunately, with his small comprehension of [Existence], the process was wrong, resulting in Chen Chen's current state of half human, half machine, but not human or machine.
"What have you done?" asked Tong Ruobing, wondering what her old compet.i.tor did to become like this.
"I have lost most of my humanity," said Chen Chen. "And the only thing keeping it alive is you."
"Me?" Tong Ruobing was baffled as she never had such a close relations.h.i.+p with Chen Chen.
'Did this guy like me? But I never detected anything?"
"To be precise, it is my obsession to defeat you," continued Chen Chen, clarifying his situation. "Back in the Luck Trial, our strengths were relative to one another. You won not because of strength but because of scheming and wisdom."
Chen Chen and Tong Ruobing paused briefly, reminiscing about their youth.
"However, everything changed after you met with Wu Ming."
A look of unwillingness flashed in Chen Chen's eyes for a short period before swiftly disappearing.
"From that moment on, you rose like a comet as your strength reached a level that I can only look up to."
Tong Ruobing remembered the moment that changed her life. She severely injured Wu Meng during their Luck Trial and prepared to eliminate him. Then, her intuition or Luck manifested and told her a great opportunity awaited her if she could seduce him.
So, she blurred some of his memories, changed her face, and pretended to be someone who saved him after seeing him float in a river.
They spent a few months together, getting to know each other. And after building some level of trust and using some Spiritual Guidance Talismans, Tong Ruobing learned of Wu Meng's biggest secret.
She learned about Wu Meng's ancestors, the creation of the Formation Body, and all of w.a.n.g Wei's ideas on how to develop this idea even further. Then, Tong Ruobing took action.
She spent years studying runes and Talisman Dao before developing the acquired version of the Source Rune Physique. Then, like w.a.n.g Wei's idea, she connected herself to the Origin Talisman to increase her power.
This act allowed her to walk the path of breaking the barrier between Mortal and Immortal, thus achieving her current level of strength.
"I am unwilling," said Chen Chen, his voice slightly raised. "I'm unwilling to watch someone that was once so close to me reach such a height with only one fortunate encounter."
Tong Ruobing sneered, "Do you think one idea is not enough for me to have today's achievement? If not for years of work and my talent, an idea will always remain an idea."
To increase her status in the Great Talisman City and receive more resources for the sect, Tong Ruobing shared her plans with the upper echelons.
And like many factions, there are groups in the city. As such, a few people also tried her ideas with the hope of defeating her and becoming this generation's Heaven Chosens.
In the end, she was the only one who succeeded, rising above all the others like a phoenix rus.h.i.+ng to the Nine Heavens.
"Yes, you're right," acknowledged Chen Chen. "But you cannot refute the fact that one encounter changed the course of your entire life. That's why I refuse to accept it. If I had the same encounter, I would not be worse than you."
"But you did," countered Tong Ruobing. "Whatever technique you received that turned you into this was your opportunity. Unfortunately, you did not completely grasp your destiny and ended in this state."
Boom!
A terrifying aura emanated from Chen Chen as another emotion appeared on his body–anger. He did not know he still had such emotions, but currently, he did not care.
"Shut up. What do you know?"
"Do you think it was easy for me to take the power of the Origin Talisman? Do you know how many times I was injured in the process? The fear I felt when confronting the vast power of the Grand Dao Source? The fear of being obliterated or a.s.similated?
"Do you know the pain I suffered to alter my physique? The countless nights of studying and researching runes? The numerous frustrations after repeated failures? The stressed when others doubted whether I would succeed?
"The unwillingness of not wanting to let this opportunity down? The doubts that my path was wrong and I was wasting my time and youth?
"You don't know any of this. All you saw was my success and your failure. So, you convinced yourself I was lucky, and your weakness was the result of fate."
Tong Ruobing did not hide her look of disdain. If she previously had any empathy for Chen Chen's current state, it was now all gone.
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