Chapter 1968 The Book World

As soon as Wu Hong tried to pass through the protective film of the black sphere, billions of different powers or concepts attacked her. The attack itself wasn't that powerful, but the variation truly shocked her. Whoever designed the defensive system of this sphere seemed to have taken the 3000 Grand Dao and 800 Sides Daos and combined them into countless variations and unique powers to attack any intruder. Luckily, these attacks fell short, allowing Wu Hong and Three Virtue Saint to pass through without much damage.

"Terrifying, isn't it?" Three Virtue asked.

"Indeed."

"And also fascinating. Such power…"

Wu Hong glanced at him and chose to ignore him. All cultivators, to some extent, worshipped power. However, after his experience in this place, Three Virtue's worship had reached another level. Worse, that worship had turned into an endless ambition to reach higher stages of the Saint Path.

"But why was it so weak?" Wu Hong asked. "I feel like this was an automatic defense instead of someone controlling it."

"Lady Ai might be in a dire state, but her perseverance to hinder Gu Chang'an is admirable."

"I see." Wu Hong nodded, finally having the wit to concentrate on the situation around her. "What a vast world," Wu Hong first thought. A quick analysis indicated this realm was at least half the size of an entire timeline. More interesting, books bound by chains and runes floated everywhere: from the sky to the mountains, forests, and even the oceans, they covered everything.

Wu Hong's first instinct upon seeing these books was not excitement. She focused on the red sky, immediately sensing a terrifying hatred; the intense emotion seemed incoherent or disharmonious with everything else in the world. And the fact that books refused to fly too close to the sky didn't help.

"Is this Gu Chang'an's Dao Source? His Dao Quintessence?"

"You catch on quickly," Three Virtue said. At first, Wu Hong thought it was a domain, but after looking closely, she sensed a power similar to the 3800 Seals, except higher quality and more complete.

"Then, he's already reached the Third Step?"

"If that were the case, we would have all been dead," Three Virtue said, shaking his head.

"Then?"

"From what I gathered from Lady Ai, this one's source is either flawed or incomplete. Gu Chang'an wanted to perfect it using an artifact called the Omni Cube; he failed, which caused even more instability to his source."

"Is that why the sky is so red? No, that power is different, almost like —"

"No, that's Lady's doing; it's a manifestation of her hatred and obsession."

Wu Hong nodded as she put the pieces together of what had happened here. "I wonder if I could control this source after killing Gu Chang'an?" she thought. However, she immediately dismissed the idea. A Dao Source is the same as an Emperor's Secret Vault, meaning that as long as it exists, a Grand Dao Saint can revive themselves.

Theoretically speaking, Wu Hong could put a seal on the source to prevent revival, but she wasn't confident in building a seal with such power even with Grand Dao's assistance. Maybe after she is sanctified herself, but not in her current state.

Three Virtue pointed at a colossal construct or building that was visible to the group despite the immeasurable distance between them. "That's our destination. I should warn you that we can't teleport in this place, and we will be attacked, so be careful."

"Attacks by what?"

"Knowledge. Come on."

Three Virtue did not waste time and flew away. Wu Hong frowned, but after a quick assessment, she followed. However, she had entered [Saint Mode], which meant a crystal appeared on her forehead, followed by her aura becoming colder and more indifferent. Lastly, countless merits started nourishing her [Existence] to protect her foundation.

Wu Hong soon caught up and was about to say something when she heard something:

"Most people think that the first civilization to exist was the Genesis Creature, but that's not technically true. Long before they existed, before Heaven and Earth even took form, Grand Dao was born from [*******g], the place of origin, the state of nothingness and everything.

"After gaining sentience, Grand Dao had one instinct or emotion drilled into its very core: to turn nothingness into something. And in the pursuit of that instinct, Grand Dao created 3800 Formless Beings to help her mold [Nothingness] into Primordial Chaos, and eventually, the Chaos Universe.

"The Formless had limited sentience, only knowing how to follow orders. However, they had their own language, goals, beliefs, and culture, making them the truly first civilization. Their language is considered a proto-language, forming the basis for the first rune: the Origin Rune. The Formless — Wu Hong—who was immersed in these words—suddenly jolted awake as her Dao Heart sent a protective shockwave through her Sea of Consciousness. Cold sweat dripped from her back. Just by listening to these words, she had instinctively started to modify her Alpha-Omega Rune, which meant altering her Saint Foundation. If she didn't wake up in time, who knows what would have happened?

Wu Hong exhaled deeply, feeling a bit lucky. Unlike most cultivators, Wu Hong had conquered her obsession; after everything she had done, who in the world would ever utter the word "not worthy" in front of her? With the previous [Nirvana Mind Sutra], her Saint Dao Heart improved a bit, which saved her life.

"I wonder if that was true?" Wu Hong thought, then dismissed the idea. It was too coincidental that she needed information about the first and last civilization and they appeared in this Dao Source. More importantly, it didn't matter if it was true.

"I only need knowledge about the Genesis Age to complete my foundation, so why complicate things with the Formless? What's the point of pursuing perfection and ruining or delaying my Saint Path? A score of 99.9 is as good as 100. Nothing in life is ever perfect, and pursuing it is only a dead end."

Wu Hong's Saint Dao Heart once again experiences a small sublimation, allowing her to make another stride toward sanctification. With a cold expression, she looked toward the center and thought. "Gu Chang'an, this is the second, no, third time you've tried to cut off my Saint Path. If I don't cut you into pieces, then my name is not Empress Wu."

She steadied her mind before looking in Three Virtue's direction with cold eyes; the bastard didn't stop while she was being attacked, just gave a glance and continued about his day. Wu Hong snorted coldly before following; she caught up and surpassed him.

Three Virtue tried to catch up, but Wu Hong remained a few kilometers ahead of him, forcing him to only look at her boots. More and more whispers tried to deter her advance, but it was useless now that she was prepared. Soon, the two arrived in the central area.

"Is that a library?" Wu Hong thought. In front of her stood a towering building of immense proportions, with seven golden pagodas, each labeled: history, cultivation, profession, truth, secrets, miscellaneous, and unverified. The central building was white and gold, with an eye symbol and an infinity symbol in its pupil.

"Gu Chang'an," Wu Hong thought, sensing an aura similar to the Curse of Forbidden Knowledge. She resisted the urge to barge in and instead focused on the chaos happening in front of the library.

Three Saints fought another one, while an army of Destructo Beasts was used as cannon fodder to hinder the single fighter, which Wu Hong soon recognized as Emperor Sui. However, unlike the confident and domineering man he had met in those memories, Emperor Sui currently looked miserable. He had a hole in his chest, his left arm was missing, and half a dozen spears were embedded in his back. Interestingly, despite his miserable situation, his eyes remained bright, his aura fierce, and his spirit indomitable.

Meanwhile, his opponent consisted of a female creature with red skin, red hair, an outlandishly large bosom, a skimpy dress, and a lower body composed entirely of tentacles. She was the leader and fought alongside Five Element Saint and what appeared to be Three Virtue's corpse.

"Who is she?"

"Red Mother," Three Virtue said after calming down his raging emotions. "Gu Chang'an created her to control and lead the Red Cloud."

"Of course, he gave her such a design," Wu Hong sneered. The more she learned about Gu Chang'an, the more she despised him. "I remember Emperor Sui cultivated a few Saints through merits. Where are they?"

"Dead! Their foundation and strength were weak, so they didn't last long. However, a few also turned into obsession and provided some assistance to us in the early stages."

"I see." Wu Hong nodded. "What's your plan? Do you want to retrieve your body?"

"Yes. A part of my [Existence] still exists in it. I must recuperate it. What about you?"

"With your presence, Emperor Sui should be able to last long, correct?"

"That's right."

"Then, I'll head straight for Gu Chang'an."