Chapter 1970 Final Confrontation I: A Clash of Ideals

"Ridiculous," Gu Chang'an sneered. "What's the point of cultivation? Isn't it to transcend? Knowledge is one of the most direct paths. As long as I have enough, I can raise my cultivation and ultimately reach the end of this path: omniscience. We are cultivators. We kill, plunder, and fight against the Heavens, all for that minute chance of transcendence. And now, you're talking nonsense about goals, dreams, and self-improvement?"

Gu Chang'an coldly looked at Wu Hong. "I'm disappointed. In fact, I'm even starting to wonder how you even achieved your realm. With such a mindset, you'll never touch the Saint Path ever in your life."

"And you'll be stuck in the Second Step all your life," Wu Hong replied.

Gu Chang'an sighed deeply. "It seems I've given you too much credit. After all, you are still an Immortal limited by Heaven and Earth's rules. It's my fault for expecting more from you."

Wu Hong did not immediately respond. Instead, she used her power to modify her throne, turning it from black to pink-red, with designs of phoenixes and runes. "I can prove your path is wrong."

Gu Chang'an shook his head. "I've had enough of this. Since you refused my offer, let's end this charade."

"Hold on," Lady Ai added. "Let's indulge her a little. I want to see where this goes."

"Why should I?"

"How about I return the favor?" Lady Ai decreased her power, granting Gu Chang'an more room to breathe.

"Fine. I'll indulge this nonsense for a few more minutes," he said. Anyway, the more time he had, the better his next plan would work.

"Let me ask you a few questions," Wu Hong began. "Did you acquire all this timeline's knowledge?"

"I have."

"What did you do with them?"

"Of course, I stored them in my library. What are you getting at?"

"That's it?"

"Is there a need for more?"

"I've only been here a fraction of your time, and in that period, I used this civilization's knowledge to perfect my timeline's Emperor Path, raised the skill ceiling for Primals, created a new realm, and updated the weapon refinement system — and that's just purely using this world's knowledge.

"If you count the things I've done by combining my world and this world's, I've created new metals, pill formulas, arrays, and so much more. But what about you? What have you done with all the knowledge you've acquired?"

Gu Chang'an's aura fluctuated slightly, and the cube in his chest released an almost undetectable vibration. Laday Ai squinted, but she remained silent.

"I've nourished my Dao Source with this timeline's knowledge and raised my strength. That alone is worth a million times all the little gadgets or achievements you're arrogantly boasting about."

"Is it?" Wu Hong asked, her voice calm but laced with a hidden contempt. "When was the last time you created something new? I'm not talking about battle techniques or methods that allow you to better kill and plunder knowledge.

"I'm talking about true innovation: being inspired by a world's culture and building upon it. I'm talking about combining the knowledge of different timelines, worlds, cultures, and turning them into something new — something interesting."

Gu Chang'an stared at her. If eyes could kill, well, in this case, if he weren't being restrained, he would have cut Wu Hong into a million pieces.

"Your path is too simple, with no variety or the ability to evolve. You absorb and store knowledge, but don't do anything with it, basically treating it as an ornament. In some ways, you are a slave to knowledge, monotonously gathering it like an addict."

The throne trembled for a few seconds before returning to calm. Lady Ai's eyes remained on the cube, deep in thought.

"Are you done with your nonsense?"

Wu Hong smiled. "I know a few words are not enough to convince someone with your Dao Heart. However, the proof is right in front of you." She pointed at the Omni Cube.

"I can tell it's an artifact of the Greater Chaos Dao, but it also perfectly fits with the Heaven Dao. Someone like you, who can be considered a Pseudo or False Grand Dao Saint, is perfectly suited for it. I imagine you sought it after your strength plateaued, when your Dao Source stopped growing or only developed by a small margin. So, why couldn't you refine it? It's perfectly suited for you."

"Enough!"

"The answer is simple: it rejected your Dao. The cube detected you had no future or potential, so it rejected it. Knowing this, you had no choice but to use drastic measures to refine it, but even that failed. You can't brute-force your way to the Dao."

A terrifying aura emanated from Gu Chang'an as his eyes turned red. The throne trembled, then a spatial disturbance followed as countless portals opened and closed. Wu Hong felt suffocated and was just about to use some means to protect her when the pressure dissipated. Lady Ai had acted.

"Hahahaha," Lady Ai laughed manically. "Gu Chang'an, oh, Gu Chang'an, who knew karma would catch up to you. After everything you've done for the sake of your Dao, it turned out you went astray long ago."

"Shut up!"

"Hahahaha." Tears dripped down Lady Ai's face. She still remembered that day as if it had happened yesterday. After breaking through the Saint Realm, Ai Luan was over the moon, thinking she could finally help her sister. Then, everything changed when that bastard Gu Chang'an appeared.

He kidnapped her to force Ai Luan's sister to hand over the dozen pieces of the cube along with her Time Nexus. And to achieve his goal, he tortured Lady Ai by burning her face, forcing her sister to compromise. In the end, Lady Ai became disfigured and lost the person dearest to her.

"What a beautiful display of incompetent rage," Lady Ai sneered. "Oh, it feels good knowing that in this life, you have no chance at stepping into the third step, let alone transcendence."

Gu Chang'an's face turned red and veiny. For a moment, Wu Hong thought his eyes were about to literally burst into flames.

"I've been cultivating longer than any of you could fathom. I've survived countless trials, tribulations, and deadly catastrophes. I've always beaten the odds. If you think for one second you can make me doubt myself with a few words, then you are gravely mistaken."

He slowly stood from his throne, his aura rising at an alarming rate. A plethora of dark chains originating from Lady Ai appeared and began to bind him. Gu Chang'an snorted coldly. "I didn't want to use this last resort, but now, there is no other choice."

Gu Chang'an raised his hand and yanked, condensing terrifying power into his heart; countless chains suddenly manifested around the Omni Cube, suppressing a small portion of its power. He followed up by drawing a rune in blood on the cube. Boom! Gu Chang'an's aura began to rise at an alarming rate.

"Given how emotionally he reacted to my word, I am now 80% sure he is not a Dao Overlord," Wu Hong thought. She's been trying to sense that unique aura from Gu Chang'an, but has failed. So she had to test the waters in a roundabout way.

"What do you think about my plan?"

"I agree," Lady Ai replied, using her divine sense.

"That was quick."

"In the current situation, we have no choice."

"That's true," Wu Hong said, nodding. "But I don't want you to blame me later on, so I need to ask again: are you sure?"

"I'm aware of the possible consequences, and I accept them."

"Good."

Wu Hong touched her eyebrow, and the Heavenly Court slowly flew out of her Sea of Consciousness, manifesting its supreme might in the throne room. Lady Ai did not hesitate as she flew toward it and disintegrated into countless motes of light that fused with the court.

Boom!

Wu Hong's aura rose rapidly, breaking into the Tribunal Saint level of strength in a matter of seconds. By turning into the artifact spirit of the Heavenly Court, Lady Ai was able to imbue her power into the artifact, which in turn raised Wu Hong's strength to a higher echelon.

"You've been planning this?" Lady Ai asked. She could tell this artifact was designed to fully utilize her obsession with Gu Chang'an.

"I have. Is that an issue?"

"No. On the contrary, I'm glad. Now, I'm truly convinced you can kill this bastard."

"It won't be easy." With newfound power, Wu Hong could understand the changes Gu Chang'an was undergoing. Previously, he was using the Red Cloud—which was feeding on the hidden rules of the timeline—to prevent the Omni Cube from sucking his power. But now, he was using it to suppress the cube and usurp its power.

The downside of this method is that the Myriad Vitality All-Heaven was dying. Upon observation, Wu Hong discovered the entire timeline—the side occupied by the red cloud—was rapidly shrinking, meaning it was only a matter of time before most of the timeline was consumed. It also meant it was only a matter of time before the court's territory was in danger.