Journey of the Fate Destroying Emperor

Chapter 1854: True Saint Artifact

"Something went wrong?" Wang Wei asked his avatar after seeing his expression. As a precaution, he did not immediately synchronize their memories or absorb the avatar into his body.

"Trinity Venerable was acting strange, purposely trying to antagonize me, but I can’t think of a reason," the avatar explained. Their disagreement is not enough for the latter to be acting in such a manner. Wang Wei did not have the habit of underestimating his opponent — especially someone as capable and cunning as the Trinity Venerable.

"Proceed with the proper safety procedures before we can fuse."

"Alright." The avatar walked over to Ai, who surrounded him with an array resembling the Yin-Yang Symbol, checking every inch of his [Existence]. But that wasn’t enough. Using Wang Wei’s Fate Dao and her unparalleled computing abilities, she deduced possible pitfalls a Tribunal Saint might have left on him. The process took a few hours, and only after checking every safety box possible did the fusion proceed.

"He’s indeed acting weird. It’s almost like he wanted me to attack or become his enemy," Wang Wei thought. Without wasting time, he used Ai’s aid to calculate countless possible reasons, and the most likely one is his Future Self. This deduction sounds like a sudden leap, but there are reasons for it.

What do all the Tribunal Lords currently want more than anything else? A way to deal with Death Reverence – he is, after all, the greatest threat to their lives. And after seeing the latter’s future self, it’s only logical that someone would think of using a similar means to eliminate him. And out of all the expeditioners present — including the Tribunal Lords themselves — Wang Wei might be the only one with a future possibility strong enough to summon his future self.

"Why did he stop? Did he sense danger?" Wang Wei sneered. After experiencing recent events, Wang Wei realized two things about these Old Saints. First, they are opportunists. When there is a benefit and their lives are not in too much danger, these people are great partners and allies. However, such a mindset means they cannot be long-term partners and cannot be trusted with great plans involving risky endeavors.

The second thing he learned is that they were probably not like that before. The fact that they could mastermind the Ultimate Taboo — even with the Grand Dao Saints manipulating things from the shadows — is proof of that. Sadly, they have recently changed. As for the cause of this change? Wang Wei didn’t need to think long to deduce the truth: they were afraid of death. For some reason, their experience in the ultimate taboo drastically increased their fear of dying, which significantly reduced their edge and valor.

"Let’s not worry about them," Wang Wei uttered. Now that a new expedition was about to happen, he needed to keep an eye out for any changes in the situation. Before that, he still had one thing to do: talk to Xu Shi.

"Were you selected for the expedition?" Wang Wei immediately asked as soon as she entered the room in her light blue robe.

"Yes," she sighed, rendering Wang Wei speechless. "Is there a way you could remove my name from the list?" The situation with Death Reverence made Xu Shi feel something was wrong; this expedition might be a hundred times more dangerous than the previous one.

"I’m sorry, but I can’t," Wang Wei shook his head. "I’ve fallen out with the Tribunal Lords, and I already used all my means to save your master." After what happened to Kong, Wang Wei knew there was no way these lords would allow him to excuse Xu Shi; it was actually a miracle they didn’t force Maitreya to participate as well.

And as much as Wang Wei was confident in the Heaven and Earth Origin Cycle Array, he did not think he could last long against the attack of more than five Tribunal Lords whose strength had probably reached the pinnacle of their realm. He would not put himself in danger for Xu Shi’s sake.

"It’s fine. I’m already satisfied that you could save my master," Xu Shi calmly stated. Maybe this was her fate.

"This is for you," Wang Wei uttered as he handed her three jade talismans. "The first one is a Fate Stealing Talisman. Use it to take the identity of one of the natives and hide yourself. The second one is a Heaven Deception Talisman. As long as you don’t get too close to a Tribunal Lord, they won’t recognize the truth.

"Lastly, this is a Void Breaking Talisman. I don’t know much about the spatial integrity inside the Reverse Black Stone Array, but there will be plenty of fighting, which will weaken the void. If you wait for the right opportunity, you can use the talisman to escape. However, make it look like you were accidentally caught in a Void Rift; the last thing we want is for them to accuse you of desertion."

Xu Shi glanced at the talismans in her hands and sighed, "At this point. I’m going to be drowning in karmic debt."

"What? Tempted to kill me? Maybe offer your body to pay your debt?" Wang Wei smiled.

"Would you dare accept?"

"Since I don’t want to be castrated by my wife, no, I don’t dare."

"I thought so," she smiled.

The two laughed for a few seconds; they conversed for a few more minutes before Xu Shi left. As he looked at her departing back, Wang Wei sighed to himself. He did everything in his power as a friend. The rest was up to Xu Shi herself and fate.

"Ai, activate the [All Heaven Fate Mirror]," Wang Wei ordered, and a screen manifested before him, showing him the state of the expedition.

New Command Center:

General Three Strikes looked at the ordinary-looking middle-aged woman in front of him; she had long dark hair, a white loose robe with a golden belt, and two jade bracelets. Cultivation can have beautifying effects, meaning her appearance was a choice.

"Madam Chu, do you understand the plan?"

"Since you’ve told me three times, I’m pretty sure I do," she replied with a gentle smile.

"Forgive me, but I cannot mess this up," General Three Strike sighed. As long as this expedition is successful, he can receive enlightenment from the Tribunal Lords, which will illuminate the path ahead. The despair of not having any hope for future improvement will be gone, which is something that most Saints would sacrifice their lives for.

"I will do my best."

The general wanted to say that her best was not enough, but he kept himself in check. Why did he choose Madam Chu as the leader for this expedition? In terms of strength, she had only 9 pillars, which is only considered upper-middle rank. He selected her for her meticulous mind and because she was one of the few cultivators of their level with a True Saint Artifact — the Dragon-Phoenix Rings.

"I’ll leave everything to you."

"Don’t worry," Madam Chu nodded, reassuring him with her gentle smile. The general sighed before disappearing. The madam walked to the room next door with all the expeditioners. A brief observation revealed most of their thoughts, and, in the process, it wasn’t that challenging, since the disdain in many of them was noticeable; well, they didn’t even try to hide it. The expression of these high-foundation Saints screamed that they did not accept someone weaker than them as a leader.

Madam Chu did not utter a single word; in the cultivation worlds, a cultivator’s fist is more valuable than a million words. With a flicker of her wrist, the two jade bracelets flew into the sky while growing in size, stacking on top of each other. After covering the entire army, they suddenly transformed: the one at the top turned into a magnificent divine phoenix, while the one at the bottom turned into a 13-clawed divine dragon.

The two beasts roared before releasing a terrifying pressure. These expeditioners immediately realized that nobody could move. Immediately, most of them released their auras or tried other means to resist, but it was futile—the artifacts suppressed everyone. If not for Madam Chu’s unwillingness to offend them, everyone below the 7-foundation would have been forced to kneel.

The difference between having and not having a true Saint Artifact was very obvious. Back in the Primordial Timeline, the Critical Hit Path allowed everybody to make up for the difference, but in this timeline, Madam Chu displayed overwhelming force. Of course, there are a few small individuals who also had a True Saint Artifact. However, most of them did not want to reveal it, and even if they did, it may not have been useful, since the Dragon-Phoenix Ring was a unique weapon considered two artifacts condensed into one.

"Have I gotten my point across?" Madam Chu asked. A few quiet snorts echoed in the room, with a few people muttering under their breath that she was relying on a foreign object. However, Madam Chu treated their words as nothing but empty air.

"In that case, let’s go," Madam Chu stated, canceling the effect of the rings. However, they still stood floating above everybody.

A towering silver gate stood at the back of the room, with symbols of a black tortoise engraved along its edge. The gate contained a vortex, or maybe a maelstrom of void energy. After exhaling deeply, the madam activated the Saint Artifact again, but this time to create a powerful barrier that protected everyone. Then, she took a step inside.