Journey of the Fate Destroying Emperor

Chapter 1505 Spiritual Practice (II)

The world Wang Wei found himself was highly bureaucratic and hierarchical. His current location was the lower realm where Mortal Stage Cultivators lived. After spreading his divine sense, he saw numerous cities and tribes, but no ruling dynasty or sect.

The first thing that caught his attention was the control of colors. According to this worldʼs system, mortals were only allowed to wear gray colors. Their clothes can be rough linen or precious silk, but they can only be gray.

Tier 1-3 cultivators can wear red, with a pin on their chest to indicate their tier. Once cultivators reach Tier 4, they can wear orange and move to higher cities with better Spiritual Energy or resources. At Tier 7, a cultivator can wear light yellow and move on to designated areas.

The process of becoming a Great Emperor is like every other world, using the Heaven Will Battle. There are a total of 3800 areas in every generation, and Great Emperors can wear golden clothes. However, they also must ascend to the second layer.

Wang Wei ascended to the second layer and calmly observed. The second layer had a bit more freedom. Cultivators could create sects and dynasties, but the color hierarchy remained, with Empyreans allowed to wear blue. The second realm was more chaotic, with factions fighting and competing with each other, but the entire thing was absurd to Wang Wei, especially after seeing the ”rebellion.”

There is a group of cultivators trying to revolt against the system by causing more chaos and killing people everywhere. However, Wang Wei immediately did not take them seriously after everyone wore black clothes. A brief scan of their past revealed the reason. Their resistance started by breaking the color code, but this resistance soon realized that they would be wiped out if they did not wear the designated clothes.

They can be the resistance and have few limitations in the system as long as they accept their roles by wearing black. Then, after everybody with a true will of defiance was eliminated, the current residence became the shell of its original idea, co-opted by the very system they were trying to overthrow.

Wang Wei shook his head before moving to the third layer. This place was full of Emperors and Empyreans, but only 10 Paragons, all dressed in purple. The Royal Clan comprised half these Paragons, and the other five created the Noble Clans. However, all the Paragons did not exceed the Fourth Heaven, except for the Sovereign, who was a Peak Paragon.

Wang Wei secretly entered a room where he saw the Sovereign, an elderly man with pointy eyes and a lavish purple robe, kneeling before a floating white orb. ”I need more souls,” said a deep voice from the orb.

”Your Exalted Eminence, it shall be done,” said Sovereign Prime Color. The orb trembled slightly and Wang Wei felt a sight on himself. However, it only paused for a while before the orb disappeared. Prime Color slowly stood up and sent an order. A war of enormous proportions is about to sweep the third and second layers.

After receiving confirmation, Prime Color had a creepy smile on his face. The Ling Clan had sent him a few maids, and he was about to enjoy himself by indulging in some of his fantasies. Wang Wei wanted nothing but to slap this perverted old man in his face, but resisted the urge.

”Arenʼt you ashamed?”

”Who is there?” Prime Color yelled, releasing his aura. However, as soon as he laid eyes on Wang Wei, he felt a dread he had never felt in too long, and it almost shattered his mind. ”Who are you?”

”Answer my question,” Wang Wei said. ”Arenʼt you ashamed? Acting as less than a dog before others while proclaiming yourself a ruler?”

”Why should I be ashamed? I stand above trillions of lives and only need to bow to one,” Prime Color responded after reining in his emotions. Hopefully, this powerful cultivator will only be here to talk, or the Exalted Eminence will come to save him.

”One? Do you think your so-called Exalted Eminence doesnʼt have peers on par, if not more powerful, than him? What about higher entities like Grand Dao?” Wang Wei sneered.

”The outside world has nothing to do with me,” Prime Color replied. ”All I care about is in here, Iʼm free to do as I want, and I only need to provide souls to the Exalted Eminence.”

Wang Wei stared at him. ”It irks me beyond the reach of the stars to hear the word ʼfreeʼ from your mouth. What should I do? The emotionally intelligent choice would be to accept that everybody has their ways of pursuing freedom, but my freedom is to be able to control and impose my will on others.”

Prime Color took a step backward.

”I canʼt do anything to you since Iʼm here due to the Refining Path Stone. However, if this place is real and I know where it is, I promise Iʼll find you and slap you into oblivion,” Wang Wei said before leaving. The stone reacted to his decision, and his surroundings changed.

He found himself in a world that instinctively gave him a peaceful atmosphere, and his surroundings further proved that. He saw a peaceful world where mortals and cultivators lived in perfect harmony. Lower-level cultivators used their powers to summon the rain to help farmers, cast healing spells to cure diseases and injuries, teach knowledge, maintain portals for travel, and so on.

More powerful cultivators control floods, earthquakes, and all other types of natural catastrophes. High-tier cultivators do not fight for power and resources but are more like hermits who contemplate the nature of reality. They rarely show up in the world except to maybe publish their understanding or warn of great catastrophes beyond the norms.

Wang Wei teleported to one of those hermits. He looked at the middle-aged man dressed in ordinary clothes. ”You know this is escapism, not true freedom, right?”

The man slowly opened his eyes and looked up and down at Wang Wei. ”And you know your path is tyranny, not true freedom.”

”At least I know Iʼll be free, whether by achieving my goal or dying,” Wang Wei contered. ”But you live in this illusion world that you crafted, running away from all the problems in the real world. Your method is not that different from the previous coward I just met.”

”What about other people? When you achieve your freedom, what about the people still suffering?” the hermit asked.

”I can save them if I want.”

”Iʼve only met you today, but I can tell youʼre a selfish person. I doubt you would do such a thing,” the hermit said calmly.

”I want the power and choice to be able to save these people. You donʼt know me. I might save them, or I might ignore them. What matters is having the choice,” Wang Wei replied.

”So, you admit it? That itʼs all about power for you.”

”Do you think power doesnʼt matter?” Wang Wei asked with a sneer. ”Without power, can you build this perfect haven? Without power, can you defend it against others? Interestingly enough, power is the fundamental flaw of your ideal. If one day, you meet an unstoppable force that wishes to end this beautiful dream of yours, can you stop it?”

”The world is full of what-ifs. What if something suddenly goes wrong with your cultivation tomorrow? What if you suddenly encounter two powerhouses fighting and youʼre caught in the middle? The world is full of what-ifs, of endless possibilities. I do not let these worries dictate how I live my life,” the hermit answered calmly.

”Interesting way of living, but indulge me a little. What would you do if a catastrophe suddenly destroyed this perfect little world of yours?” Wang Wei asked.

”Iʼll move on and start over again. Life must move on, right?”

”Even if you had to repeat the process over and over?”

”Yes.”

”The recreated worlds, would they be an exact copy?” Wang Wei asked.

”I did not create this place as remembrance for the people I once loved. I allow the world to evolve naturally, so even if I restarted, the people would be the same,” the hermit said.

”No need to be so defensive,” Wang Wei smiled. ”But there is an argument to be made about free will. You call my way tyrannical, but the same can be said about yours. These people have no free will, at least, not completely. Their happiness and way of life are predicated on the rules you established for this world.

”So, isnʼt it hypocritical to call me a tyrant while you do the same?”

The hermit looked at him calmly. ”Iʼve created a world with certain rules and let people live within it, without interference. Do you really believe itʼs the same as someone who desires to impose their will on others?”

”I do. The people never had the choice to determine the fundamental rules. Maybe they did not want to live in a peaceful world. Maybe they wanted to indulge their violent desires. You never gave them the choice.”

The hermit shook his head: ”Your response says more about how you see the world. Have you thought that your definition of freedom is too extreme?”

”Extreme how?”

”There are many things we cannot or did not have the choice to make. We did not decide to be born, who our parents are, and how the world, speaking of the fundamental laws, and society operate. We just have to live with it.”

”But we can decide. Isnʼt that the purple of cultivation?” Wang Wei rebutted. ”It gives us the choice.”

”But what if you didnʼt have the talent for cultivation? Or worse, born in a Mortal World with no Spiritual Energy. Could you practice your form of freedom?”

”Probably not,” Wang Wei admitted.

”Then, you must admit your freedom is extreme since it cannot be practiced without specific environments and conditions,” the hermit said.

”Hmm, I never thought of that,” Wang Wei said as he pondered. His approach was impossible on Earth unless he had managed to found the cultivation world.

”I admit your point, but you must also admit that my path of freedom is the best and absolute.”

”Bes is subjective, but yes, it is an absolute path,” the hermit admitted. The ability to bend reality to its whim, create and do things, and not be limited by the imagination, is the ultimate freedom. ”However, your way of trying to achieve that leaves something to be desired.”

”I wonʼt argue with that,” Wang Wei nodded.