Journey of the Fate Destroying Emperor

Chapter 1916: Wu Hongʼs Adventure

[AN: According to the Discord poll, we will have a short arc about what Wu Hong has been through in her timeline.]

—

”Yes, these things keep escalating. The one in the Empyrean Realm involved Supreme Unity — a Saint. This one involved countless Tribunal Lords and two False Grand Dao Saints. At this rate, my battle with Heavenly Book will probably involve Grand Dao Saints,” Wang Wei frowned.

”You should assume that it will reach that level and be prepared.”

”I know, but thatʼs easier said than done,” Wang Wei sighed. With the resources from the Heaven-Splitting Holy Land and his connection with the Erudite Duchess, he might be able to access peak Second Step resources, and even False Third Step level, but it was another thing to get his hands on things that even Grand Dao Saints sought.

”I might be able to help,” Wu Hong suddenly said.

”Oh?” Wang Wei uttered. ”It seems your travel was also interesting. Tell me all about it.”

Wu Hong nodded, ”It started because you made a mistake?”

”I? What mistake?”

”Your divination was wrong.”

…

A few years before the expedition:

Wu Hong instructed her two disciples on how to operate the continent in her absence. Now that she was leaving, Maitreya and many others would soon leave for the expedition; she had to leave means of protection for her lineage.

”And remember, if something happens that you truly cannot handle, donʼt hesitate to call Yan Hai and the Dao Opening Sect. Understand?”

”Yes, master,” the twins said in unison.

”Good,” Wu Hong nodded. Although she will not publicize her departure, people will soon figure it out after she doesnʼt show up for a while.

”Master, donʼt worry about us; weʼre not children enough — we can alleviate your burden,” Song Luli smiled.

”Yes, master, weʼre now Primals. We can handle things,” Song Jiang added.

Wu Hong secretly sighed. Before the arrival of the Infinite Divine Court, the status of Primal indeed meant something. But now, itʼs obvious that the worldʼs luck and destiny were prospering, making it easier to achieve this state. She has a feeling that in a while, it might not mean much. However, the twins were partially correct: with their current strength and the backup plan Wu Hong had left, they should have no issue protecting the Origin Seal Continent.

”I believe you,” Wu Hong nodded before gently caressing their heads. Ignoring their complaints, she repeated her instruction before dismissing them. Finally, she turned to Wang Wei, standing on the side.

”Wife, Iʼm going to miss you. If only I didnʼt have to go on that stupid expedition.”

”It will only take a few yuan epochs. Youʼre probably going to return before I do.”

”A few yuan epochs is too long.”

Wu Hong caressed his face, ”Since when were you so clingy?”

”What? Could it be that you wonʼt miss me? I knew you were heartless. I gave you all my heart for nothing.”

”Well, I didnʼt ask for it. Itʼs not my fault you handed it over.”

”Oh, that hurt,” Wang Wei said, clutching his chest and giving a pained expression.

”Alright, enough with your theatrics,” Wu Hong smiled.

Wang Wei embraced her, ”Are you feeling less stressed about leaving?”

”I am,” she replied. Listening to his strong heartbeat made her feel at peace.

”Good,” he nodded. ”You donʼt have to worry too much. Iʼve talked to Qiyuan and the others, and they wonʼt let anything happen to them. Plus, unlike me, you can still leave an avatar.”

”I know, but I canʼt help myself,” Wu Hong sighed.

Time waits for no one, not even Saints. After saying her goodbye, Wu Hong silently left the Eternal Ascension World. And as soon as she was beyond the sealing power of the Hong Protective System, she entered the River of Time, transforming into an enormous red fish with runes on each of its feathers.

Following the direction Wang Wei had deduced, Wu Hong rapidly flew to the boundary of the Primordial Timeline, entering an intersection where countless branches of different timelines intersected. ”Still uncomfortable,” Wu Hong thought. As soon as she left the confines of the Primordial Timeline, a feeling that someone or something was behind her surfaced in the back of her mind, and no matter what she did, she couldnʼt shake it. Wu Hong now knew this was because of the relationship between her and her alternate selves, but that didnʼt change how uncomfortable the sensation was.

Wu Hong controlled her emotions and swam for an unknown length of time before reaching her destination. However, as she watched that branch of the River of Time, she couldnʼt help but frown. Her body morphed into human shape, and with a thought, a compass appeared in her palm.

”Itʼs the right place, but why do I feel that something is wrong?” She used her finger to engrave a rune for a divination, and the result was that nothing was amiss. A turtle shell appeared on Wu Hongʼs palm, and she tried again.

”Trial and tribulation await with many opportunities for improvement,” she muttered. ”Trial and tribulation? Of what scale?” Unfortunately, no matter how she tried, she couldnʼt divine more information. Wu Hong mulled over the situation for a few seconds before deciding to continue. Although things were different from what she expected, it wasnʼt enough to make her back down. A fundamental process of cultivation was transcending all trials and tribulations as a means of sublimating the self.

Bang!

A spatial turbulence spread as soon as Wu Hong descended into this timeline, but she wasnʼt injured. In fact, she didnʼt care about the noise and chaos because she had noticed an anomaly: her connection to the River of Time was severed.

”Not just the River of Time — all the other Grand Constructs except for the Source Qi Space. However, even that isnʼt easily accessible. Whatʼs going on?” Without the River of Time, itʼs very difficult for her to leave this timeline.

”Hmm?” While in thought, Wu Hong suddenly sensed a terrifying bloodlust that locked her even more fiercely than a hunter after its prey. Looking around, she could tell she was in Primordial Chaos, but the normal dark purple hue was gone, replaced by an endless dark red energy. More importantly, there was no primordial chaos energy, only the power of endless destruction.

”Is this normal for a timeline about to die?” Wang Wei thought as she observed her surroundings. However, the bloodlust — which suddenly intensified — prevented her from concentrating and answering that question. So, Wu Hong focused on the source, but it seems to be everywhere.

Bang!

Wu Hong instinctively kicked something that approached her. Looking over, she saw a black tiger with red energy lines all over its body. The creature was missing its head from the kick, but that was only for a moment; it suddenly absorbed the surrounding energy to regenerate its head. Then it glanced at Wu Hong, its eyes filled only with the purest desire to annihilate her.

”Its body seemed to be made up entirely of this strange, destructive energy,” she observed. ”Oddly, I cannot sense a soul, spirit, or any signs of sentience for that matter.”

Bang!

Wu Hong slapped the creature again, and this time, she annihilated all of its body. She waited for a few seconds, and as expected, the beast rematerialized. However, it wasnʼt alone. Another creature that resembled a lion. Wu Hong was about to continue her experiment on this creatureʼs strange immortality before more beasts began to materialize. In just one second, she was surrounded by a small army of 100,000.

”The way they operate indicates order or a system, but itʼs hard to say if there is a consciousness behind it or if their actions are a result of some kind of programming,” Wu Hong analyzed. With a flicker of her finger, a magic circle appeared above each of these creatures. And before they could react, they all turned into a grain of sand that flew into Wu Hongʼs hands.

”There is no issue with sealing them,” Wu Hong analyzed. ”However, they seemed to have an instinct to resist sealing. Most seals would be useless to them due to their pure innate nature of destruction.” She was immediately intrigued by this new lifeform; her current idea was not just to study and understand them, but also to recreate and weaponize them, since they would be perfect weapons against the Infinite Divine Courtʼs invasion.

Boom!

Another army of these creatures rapidly condensed, and this time, the number was ten times the original. Wu Hong was about to deal with them when she realized that this time, they hadnʼt stopped manifesting. More importantly, the power of the creatures appearing began to improve drastically; they were no longer just regular or peak Paragons – D-Class Primals began to show up.

Wu Hong knew this was her cue to leave. So, without wasting a second, she used a technique to hide her aura and rushed to the place where she had sensed life.