Journey of the Fate Destroying Emperor

Chapter 1920: Black Sphere

The Immortal Path exists in this world and has flourished, with a system designed to make it easy to gain access to Insurgent Qis. However, the true ruler of this world is the Qi Paragon Path. This cultivation system is no different until the Ascendant Stage.

In that stage, Qi Paragons will condense the [3800 Origin Pillars] above their Qi Ocean. The purpose of these pillars is to condense unique Qi from the 3800 Grand Dao Source and combine it into Origin Qi, which will then replace the energy the cultivator was previously using.

Beings who have replaced 20% of the Qi with Origin are called Eternals; 70% are referred to as Eternal Supremes, and 90% is the benchmark for the title of Paragons — a title that has been contested between the Emperor and the Qi Path.

At the Primal Stage, Qi Paragons must fuse the Origin Pillars with the Origin Qi Ocean, and thus, rebuild their foundation so it can naturally give birth to Origin Qi. Once the process succeeds, the essence of the Qi Ocean will elevate, transforming into the Genesis Qi Space — the foundation for the sanctification of Qi Paragons.

With just the Genesis Qi Space, Qi Paragons are already on par with Emperor Pathʼs Primals. But they can also use the power of the Source Qi Space through direct control or by resonating with their Genesis Qi Space. At this stage, they already have the advantage, with Paragons only relying on their Dao Proving Artifacts and other means to resist.

Then, there is the sixth stage: the Quasi-Saint stage. In this realm, Qi Paragons can use the Three Saint Foundations and the Three Saint Traits to perfect their Genesis Qi Space until a Source Qi Prototype is born. After that, itʼs all about perfecting the Source Qi prototype until it turns into the real thing and Sanctifying. Unfortunately, besides two other individuals, no one else has succeeded.

”Before condensing the Genesis Qi Space, a Qi Cultivator must condense a [Perfect Soul],” Wu Hong analyzed. ”This [Perfect Soul] is more powerful than any Primal Paragon soul, no matter which class. In fact, it seems to be the natural evolution of the Paragon Soul to the next level.”

For now, Wu Hongʼs best method to recuperate and even increase her strength is to condense a [Perfect Soul], which is one of the ways Emperor Path Primals can compete with Qi Primals. And unlike most of them, she felt no rejection of using the ”enemyʼs” path as her own.

”Besides that, Iʼm also very interested in the Genesis Qi Realm. Weiʼer once mentioned the possibility of perfectly combining all paths and even creating the Source Qi for Emperors to utilize. I might be able to achieve his ambition in this world,” Wu Hong thought. The empressʼs body suddenly paused after thinking this. It suddenly dawned on her: her arrival in this timeline was not a coincidence. Someone or something wanted to achieve Wang Weiʼs task, and the destiny had fallen on her.

”Thatʼs not how the duchess usually operates, so that leaves a few people, but the most suspect is Grand Dao,” she thought. ”My destiny as the Transcendent Ageʼs First Saint is not just about being the first to sanctify, but also about completing the cultivation system from the Paragon Realm to a higher level — supposedly, the same stage that this timeline calls Quasi-Saint.”

A lot of things suddenly add up for Wu Hong, including the fact that Maitreya used her [Letter System] to classify Primals. Before she left, only the Eternal Ascension World used this system, but with the expedition, news of it will probably spread, laying the perfect foundation for when Wu Hong creates the Quasi-Saint Realm.

”Well, letʼs not get ahead of ourselves,” Wu Hong thought. Now, her focus was on how to achieve a [Perfect Soul] as soon as possible, which meant she needed two things: a soul cultivation method and a resource called Soul Essence. The cultivation technique was not a part of the commanderʼs library. Wu Hong doesnʼt know whether itʼs because of a lack of trust or because he assumed she already had her own, but her current priority is to acquire a bunch of them and deduce which one is most suited to her.

As for the Soul Essence? Well, there are techniques to condense it from the Grand Dao Source, but once again, she did not have access to any of them. Wu Hong was a direct person. Since she didnʼt have these things, she would take them. With a casual wave of her hand, she immediately deployed the tiny Quantum Arrays; she had contributed immensely to their recent upgrade, so she was quite familiar with them.

The commanderʼs mansion was probably a fortress, with nothing coming in or going out without being detected. According to Wu Hongʼs analysis, most of her methods would be detected if she tried them, but the tiny arrays were different. Without knowing of their existence, itʼs truly hard for even Saints to detect them.

A few hours later, she had found both of Long Aojingʼs hidden library and his hidden treasury. With no hesitation, she used the Quantum Array to copy the content. As for the treasury? She didnʼt do anything. For now, it was wise to stay on the good side of the leader of the Borderworlds. Instead, Wu Hong used the treasury to understand this timelineʼs unique flora, ore, weapon refining system, and more.

As Wu Hong was perusing through the treasury, a feeling suddenly tickled the back of her mind. She searched for the origin and realized it was a warning from her Qi Luck Dragon: something valuable and crucial to her was in this treasury. She immediately mobilized her destiny to find the item that resonated with it, landing on a black spherical object composed of 100 smaller squares bearing symbols.

It was hard for Wu Hong to analyze the purpose of this item, since she was only observing it through the Quantum Arrays, so she began planning how to acquire it. After thinking about it for a moment, she opened her room and asked the servant waiting at the door if she wanted to see the commander. A few minutes later, the servant walked her to the previous study.

”Fellow Daoist, have you found what youʼre looking for?”

”I think so,” Wu Hong nodded. She raised her hand to condense a picture of the black sphere she saw in the treasury. ”Commander, have you ever seen this object?”

”Hmm, this looks familiar,” Long Aojing muttered. ”I think Iʼve seen it somewhere, but I canʼt pinpoint where. Fellow Daoist, could you give me some time to refresh my mind?”

”Of course,” Wu Hong calmly replied, even though she knew he was lying. Cultivators of their level had perfect memory, so he should have recognized the item as soon as she showed it to him. However, Wu Hong also did it on purpose. What the commander does will reveal what kind of person he is and whether heʼs worth associating with.

W Hong left, and Long Aojing had the head servant fetch the black sphere, along with summoning the Fourth Madam. A few minutes later, a thin, petite woman with clear eyes, skin as white as snow, rose lips, and dressed in a loose blue robe that hid most of her figure walked into the room. She was absurdly beautiful, but her greatest quality was this quiet air around her that eased peopleʼs spirits.

Long Aojing smiled as soon as the Fourth Madam walked into the room. Despite her weak and delicate appearance, the Fourth Madam — Nie Rouxin — was one of the smartest individuals the commander knew. Everyone in the house knew she was the strategic genius behind most of the commanderʼs success.

”Husband, why did you summon? Is this about Empress Wu? Do you want a strategy on how to turn her into one of our own?” Nie Rouxin said. ”Iʼll be honest, lord, I donʼt think you have much of a choice. Such a prideful woman disdains sharing a husband with anyone else.”

”No, thatʼs not what I called you for,” Long Aojing swiftly replied before pausing. ”Is there really no other way?”

”Besides twisting her personality, I canʼt think of anything else.”

”What a shame,” Long Aojing sighed. ”Anyway, I called you for this.” He handed her the artifact before explaining the situation. ”What do you think? Should I hand it to her?”

”Why not?” Nie Rouxin immediately answered.

”But, this could be the key to the Symbol Array Masterʼs inheritance.”

”Lord, after all these years, we have never been able to figure this puzzle. So, whatʼs the point of keeping it?” Nie Rouxin explained. ”But, if this Empress Wu can succeed, she will owe us a bit of karma. Itʼs worth exchanging a worthless item for gratitude — donʼt you think so?”

”Youʼre right — youʼre always right,” Long Aojing sighed. ”Itʼs just…If one of us could solve this puzzle and gain his inheritance, we wouldnʼt be in such a messy situation.”

”Some things are simply destined,” Nie Rouxin calmly stated. ”Since the inheritance has no destiny with us, letʼs see if sheʼs destined with it. Either way, we wonʼt lose much.”