Journey of the Fate Destroying Emperor

Chapter 1765: Allyship & Ancestral Flame

Wang Wei only thought the flame was interesting and might have some research value for Yan Liling. But based on the Saint Ink Flame’s reaction, he realized its preciousness. Now, he was more determined than ever to get his hands on a seedling. Who knows? The seed might be the key to Liling’s enlightenment.

Saint Ink Flame calmly stared at him. For a moment, he considered eliminating this bastard. After the investigation, people have already determined that Sovereign Dao Eyes died from a potent Calamity Qi. So, as long as he was careful, Ink Flame was confident Wang Wei couldn’t harm him. However, two things made him hesitate:

Firstly, Wang Wei had become too powerful politically. Sovereign Dao Eyes’ death and the previous speech had already secured his position as commander. Still, after the recent attacks, everybody else saw his tactical brilliance and, more importantly, the faith and confidence the Tribunal Lords have in his abilities. With such power, it’s not difficult for Wang Wei to plot a Saint’s death without the Qi of Calamity.

’Then, there is his terrifying talent,’ Saint Ink Flame analyzed. He asked the people from the Eternal Ascension World and even bought information about Wang Wei. And he was shocked. Even the most basic information these people sold was enough to see how monstrous a talent their commander was.

’This is a man with great talent and blessed with destiny. With the advent of the Transcendent Age, he’ll not only sanctify, but he’s guaranteed at least 12-pillar — no, maybe even achieving the legendary 13-pillar, the Zenith Foundation.’

As an Ancient Saint, Ink Flame was quite decent with a foundation of 10 pillars. And he only started with the 9-pillars, but was lucky enough to find a method to improve during the Ultimate Taboo. As such, he knew that if he waited until Wang Wei was sanctified, then he would have no chance.

”Don’t even think about killing me,” Wang Wei suddenly said. ”The Maitreya Buddha is basically my grandmother. If I died, she would slaughter you and everybody you love.”

Saint Ink Flame’s mouth twitched. ”Fellow Daoist, what are you saying? We are only having this conversation to reach a peaceful agreement. Why are you saying these unpleasant things?”

”Is that so? It seems I was a bit paranoid. My apologies,” Wang Wei nodded.

Saint Ink Flame exhaled deeply. ”I can give you the flame, but this is something related to my transcendent path. Fellow Daoist, I must say, it pains me to just hand it over like.”

Wang Wei glanced at him, understanding what he was implying. Ink Flame did not want to use something so valuable just to quell the small enmity he had created with Wang Wei. ”I’m not unreasonable,” Wang Wei nodded, and with a wave of his hand, he conjured a table with tea. After serving himself and Saint Ink Flame, he sipped before speaking:

”As I said, I prefer to make friends over enemies, and I think you would find many benefits in becoming my friend.”

”You mean?” Saint Ink Flame’s eyes lit up.

”The help I can provide you in this expedition is limited. After all, we are under the Tribunal Lords’ eyes, and I must maintain a certain level of professionalism,” Wang Wei smiled. ”However, things are different after the expedition.”

Flames flashed inside the saint’s eyes, but he swiftly extinguished them. With a calm mind, he analyzed these words and their implications:

”Back home, all eyes should secretly be on the Eternal Ascension World, right?”

”I won’t deny it.”

”It’s an irrefutable fact that at some point, everybody will try to either intervene or have a piece of the action in the Eternal Ascension World,” Wang Wei continued. He looked at the saint in his eyes. ”Wouldn’t you have an advantage during that period if you had an ally from the inside?”

”...I would be lying if I said it wouldn’t. But are you truly willing to allow foreign intervention? Even going as far as cooperating?” Saint Ink Flame could not help but ask. It’s common knowledge that the majority of cultivators are xenophobic and do not appreciate foreigners intervening in the affairs of their home world.

Wang Wei sighed heavily: ”We don’t have much of a choice.”

”Are things that bad?”

”We could have held on for a while, but this damn expedition forced us to send some of our best members. I cannot fathom what the world will be like by the time we return.”

The flames in Ink’s eyes flickered, but he quickly extinguished their excitement. The harsher the situation of the Eternal Ascension World is, the less resistant its natives will be to foreign intervention. So, he took a moment to analyse whether Wang Wei was telling the truth.

’He probably is,’ Saint Ink Flame concluded. They know their world had two New Saints, and a previous civil war left only the Buddhist One. Now, she was forced to partake in this expedition, probably leaving the world defenseless.

”I agree to this deal,” Saint Ink Flame immediately nodded. The agreement was swiftly signed; to be precise, a binding preliminary agreement. Ink Flame had no idea of the current situation of the Eternal Ascension World, and Wang Wei did not want to reveal much. So, they decided on a preliminary partnership, and after Saint Ink Flame descended on the world, they could negotiate their collaboration. Of course, Ink Flame also handed the flame seedling to Wang Wei, but as part of the agreement, Wang Wei cannot plot against him during the expedition.

’Maybe I should make a few more allies,’ Wang Wei thought as he watched the fleeting back of Ink Flame. Maitreya has already decided to lure foreign intervention to deal with the Infinite Divine Court’s invasion. Wang Wei agrees with this approach, but he also believed that the people intervening should all be weaker than Maitreya; in other words, they must be Saints below the 12-pillars strength. Only such a group can be controlled to do their bidding without worry about them overthrowing the board and taking all the advantages.

Wang Wei turned his head to the distance. Something he has been thinking about suddenly popped into his head: why haven’t the Tribunal Lords intervened in the Eternal Ascension World’s affairs yet? Are they waiting for something? Or is something or someone (most likely Grand Dao) suppressing them?

’Is it even our decision to decide when foreign intervention is permitted?’ Wang Wei sighed to himself. He needed answers, but there wasn’t anyone present to give him any. Regardless, he’s prepared to use time during this expedition to get some from someone. Saint Ink Flame was a decent outlet, but their trust isn’t there yet. Wang Wei might need to do him a few favors before he’s willing to speak. The second outlet is the Tribunal Lords, but that might require a higher price.

”This flame is interesting,” Wang Wei murmured. A preliminary analysis indicated that this unique flame, which the saint called Ink Flame (a name Wang Wei felt was truly horrible), was the result of fusing countless Spiritual or Heavenly Flames.

”Any decent Flame Dao Paragon can fuse millions, even billions of Heavenly Flames, but the result would not be a unique Saint Flame; it would just be a potent Chaos Flame. So, what makes this thing unique?”

Wang Wei closed his eyes to comprehend the essence of this flame. At first, he only saw countless flames with unique characteristics: Ice Flame, Yin Suppressing Flame, Yang Thunder Flame, Desire Flame, etc. All signs indicated that this Ink Flame was the same as a Chaos Flame, maybe one with a bit of uniqueness. However, Wang Wei believed in his analysis and persisted in his comprehension.

’Is this thing based on the concept of the First Flame between Heaven and Earth? No, it feels like it has even more potential than this...What is it? It seems to be on the tip of my tongue — Yes, the Ancestral Flame. What a genius idea. This man fused countless Heavenly Fires not to pursue the path of Chaos, but to create a fire that can be considered the origin or ancestor of all Flames.

’Once he found that breath of [Origin], he probably fused it with his soul to transcend all flames in all Heaven and Earth. If I’m right, 99.999% of Flame Attacks do not affect this man.’ The only reason Wang Wei does not say 100% is that he does not believe in absolutes, and the laws of this world follow a strict hierarchy. No Saint Tier Flame attacks may work on Ink Flame, but one from a Tribunal Lord would probably decimate him in seconds. The fact that he could survive a few seconds would be proof of his excellence.

”However, from what I know, Saint Ink Flame is an ancient Saint with the strength of 10 pillars. With such a brilliant method, how could he not reach at least 12-pillars? It seems that while transcendent methods have a significant effect, the cultivator’s foundation and achievements are worth even more,” Wang Wei murmured.