Journey of the Fate Destroying Emperor

Chapter 1719: The Qi of Calamity’s Horror

Why are Saints so dangerous? Why are battles between Saints always resulting in severe injury requiring years to heal, even though they have gone far in the path of being [Conceptual Lifeforms]? It’s because the Saint transformation is a fusion of everything a cultivator is made up of or has learned: essence, spirit, qi, mind, Dao Heart, willpower, Dao Will, and Dao.

Every attack — even the lowest one pillar Saint — will directly attack their opponent’s source of being, their origin — their [Existence]. Due to such a state of [Unity], even the shockwave from their battles contained such an attribute. Tribunal Saints has experienced a second transformation, further boosting that [Ultimate Unity]. So, when that aftermath shockwave hit Sovereign Dao Eyes, he was severely injured in a matter of seconds.

However, the worst was yet to come. When Sovereign Dao Eyes hit the Infinite Divine Court’s array, he should have been annihilated. It’s one thing to attack from afar to test the array’s nodes, but running directly to it should have activated its passive defensive abilities. And with a formation of such caliber, at a minimum, a Primordial Saint would be immediately sent to Limbo.

Regardless of his previous actions, Dao Eyes was an Ancient Saint with numerous trump cards. Although he has been technically weakened due to the lack of presence of the Critical Hit Path, he still had a few tricks up his sleeve. Before hitting the array, he used a Saint Art to cancel and divert much of the array’s power.

However, fate seems to be playing tricks on him. After his body bounced from the array, Sovereign Dao Eyes flew and directly crashed into one of his teammates. Then, something incomprehensible occurred. All the power he had previously diverted from the court’s array was redirected to that teammate. Sovereign Dao Eyes watched in horror as that Primordial Saint exploded into a blood mist and dissipated between Heaven and Earth.

A colossal thirteen-petal golden lotus manifested between Heaven and Earth. This battle took place in Primordial Chaos, but every individual in this timeline — no matter where they were — saw the lotus. As all eyes were on it, the lotus turned completely blood red before turning a shower of infinite illusory red petals. A sad atmosphere spread throughout Heaven and Earth as the universe mourned over the passing of a Saint.

Sovereign Dao Eyes’ face contorted into a mixture of shock, fear, and rage. If only the center had turned red, it would have meant his teammate had entered Limbo or a state between life and death. But such a vision indicated true death. The court’s array was a true Saint second-rank array, and even the small power diverted was enough to activate the [Existence Hierarchy].

No matter which step, a creature’s [Existence] is fundamental to their existence. For Saints to kill each other, they must read their opponent’s [Existence] during battle to find the record about their [Time Nexus], travel to that place in time, and kill them; in other words, battle with Saints is an evolved and more direct form of using ChronoSpirits.

However, higher-level Saints don’t have to go through all this length for their weaker counterparts. Tribunal Saints and above can directly attack a lower Saint’s [Time Nexus] through their [Existence] without all the trouble of actively traveling through time — that’s the essence of the [Existence Hierarchy].

’Damn it, damn it, damn it, why did he have to be right behind me? What am I going to do?’ Sovereign Dao Eyes thought, his eyes still bulging as his mouth opened. The act of killing a comrade is the highest form of treason. He could imagine his fate once he returned to base. And with this dimension already sealed, there is no way for him to run.

Not to mention the loss of reputation. His Dao is that of a Sovereign, and reputation is crucial to his future path. Even if he tweaked his Dao to that of a Tyrant, the reputation of killing his comrade in war will still affect him. Sovereign Dao Eyes could feel the battle pause and that all eyes were on him. Right now, he had only two thoughts in his mind: his life was over, and he needed to find an escape route.

In such a situation, he should have calmed down and thought of a rational plan. However, instead, he acted on the first thought that came to his mind: ’I need another power to rescue me, and what better option than the Infinite Divine Court?’ Sovereign Dao Eyes felt that he was a genius for coming up with such a brilliant solution. So, he used his divine sense to contact one of the two Primordial Saints from the court who were desperately trying to stop his team.

’Hey, you, I want to surrender to the court.’

’What? Are you serious?’ Saint Trifecta Flame asked.

A brief moment of hesitation flashed in Sovereign Dao Eyes’ pupil. Was it really a good idea to surrender to the enemy? Could he so easily give up his vast Empire? All his loyal subordinates, loving subjects, and all the beauties in his harem? What about his future path of transcendence, which can only be achieved in the Primordial Timeline? Could he easily give them up?

As that hesitation was about to settle in, Sovereign Dao Eyes remembered the alternatives: being killed for treason. ’As long as I’m alive, I can regain everything I’ve lost,’ he thought. The ancient sages and scholars once proclaimed that no man can give up the power of the throne after sitting on it. However, as a Saint, Dao Eyes’ willpower was unmatched and could not be compared to any regular mortal emperor. His pursuit was never all about luxury, wealth, and debauchery — they were just things that made the eternal pursuit of the Dao more bearable. As long as he was alive, he could rebuild, and maybe experience even greater things after raising his cultivation to the next level.

So, he secretly exhaled before answering: ’You have no idea how harsh life is in the Primordial Timeline with Grand Dao micromanaging every aspect of our lives. I’ve heard about the magnanimity and generosity of the Highest Sovereign. There is a saying in the Infinite Trichiliocosm: there are many unique beings in the universe, but there is only one hero — the Highest Sovereign. With such a reputation, I doubt he would treat me too badly. Plus, I’ve brought a present: the head of a Saint. This should be enough to show my sincerity, right?’

Trifecta Flame pondered over these words. He had to admit: this foreign Saint was a smooth talker. His words appeared sincere, and he praised the Highest Sovereign. Although he knew the latter was most likely just saying these things, that did not stop Trifecta Flame from having a favorable view of him, such as the charisma of a Sovereign. However, the Flame Dao Saint knew that such a decision was not his to make, so he reported it to his superior.

As he opened his mouth to tell Sovereign Dao Eyes about this decision, something happened. Both of them seemed to have forgotten where they were. With such proximity, how could their divine-sense-communication be hidden from the Tribunal Lords?

...

”Qi of Calamity,” Karma Root Monarch. ”That young Fate Dominator knows how to cause trouble. What do you think we should do?”

”No matter how bright his future is, he is still now a weak Paragon. How can we allow him to manipulate us?” Slaughter Ancestor said.

”How is manipulating us? His target was that man — it can’t be helped, we are the ones needed to deal the final blow,” Erudite Duchess commented.

”Of course, you would speak for him.”

”None of you are addressing the issue,” Karma Root Monarch butted in. ”What should we do with the traitor?”

”These Saints have been half-heartedly executing their orders,” Primordial Heaven Sword Saint sneered. ”We need to further establish our authority by putting fear deep into their souls, and this is the perfect opportunity.”

”I agree, but it’s a shame to lose two of our own so soon into the expedition,” True Dream Lord sighed.

”Then, we should take two of them as well,” Trinity Venerable calmly stated. ”Slaughter, you’re the closest. It’s time to increase the pressure.”

”Fine,” Slaughter Ancestor nodded. With a thought, a black-red spear appeared in his palm. He did not hesitate to stab downward toward Sovereign Dao Eyes. His opponent — the Barbarian — reacted swiftly by also summoning his artifact: a set of golden rings. However, the Slaughter Ancestor summoned a second true artifact — Slaughter Journal — to block his opponent.

The power of the spear descended with tremendous force, and in an instant, it annihilated Sovereign Dao Eyes, Trifecta Flame, and the other Saints, stopping their team. Three more blood lotus materialized between Heaven and Earth, followed by a profound sense of sadness. This expedition has just started, and four Primordial Saints have already fallen. Everyone was shocked as today’s event seemed to foretell how bloody this expedition would be.