Journey of the Fate Destroying Emperor

Chapter 1605: Pawn

Dao Opening Sect:

Yan Hai floated in the air, encased in a golden dome. Qiyuan slowly fed her a pill, and the decaying aura around her rapidly declined. However, her skeletal-like appearance remained the same.

"Why didn’t you buy a better pill?" Wang Chong asked with a frown. He wasn’t the only one confused, as Li Ming wondered the same.

"I checked, and we have a decent reserve of merit to buy a better pill," Li Ming added.

"That’s the reserve for the Transcendent Heaven Will. I can’t just use it."

"Why not?"

Qiyuan transferred the information that occurred during the Grand Assembly, and they understood. Since the sect was asking everybody to hand over 70%, it would be unfair to use it for any other reasons.

"Most of the fund was contributed by the kid, and he’s pretty reasonable. If you ask and give some benefit, he’ll gladly accept you using it," Wang Chong said.

"I know that, but I must talk to him first before using it," Qiyuan replied. Wang Wei was too vital to the sect’s future; therefore, sensitive topics like this must be approached with care. The last thing he needs is to create a fissure with Wang Wei, just like he almost did with Wang Chong.

"Go and help him stop the Qin people," Qiyuan said. "I’ll keep watch on the sect."

"Alright."

The two teleported away, appearing next to Bai Qi, the Terracotta General, and the Grand Preceptor, forcing them to stop their actions despite being really close to piercing through the array.

"This does not involve you. The Qin Court has legitimate cause for this war," Bai Qi said.

"Legitimate? You hired a foreign power, and you have the gall to talk about legitimacy?" Li Ming said.

"We have no idea who that person is or why they attacked your people. Please do not smear our name without proper evidence," the Grand Preceptor said.

"There is no point in trying to use political speak to stop us from intervening," Wang Chong. "The question now is whether you’re willing to fight or not."

Bai Qi frowned. He sensed the anomalous aura that Dugu Baitian had released and had been monitoring the fight. As such, he knew these two were probably tired and could not fight for long. The issue was his companion.

Bai Qi’s strength was relative to Li Ming, meaning he had a high chance of defeating the latter in this weakened state. However, even if he were to hand over the dynasty’s luck to the others, Wang Chong would easily slaughter both the general and the Grand Preceptor — especially the latter, since he had just reached this level less than 30,000 Yuan Epoch ago. By now, the Grand Preceptor has only mastered his fourth ultimate skill.

’Can I defeat Li Ming faster than Wang Chong can send the others into Limbo?’ The answer was obvious. Battle Maniac was renowned for his evasive techniques, making protracted battles his specialty.

Ultimately, Bai chose the smarter move: doing nothing. The fate of the Origin Seal Continent will be determined by the victor in their leaders’ battle. Although it pained him to fail his majesty’s mission, the latter should understand.

"A little help, please," Wang Wei yelled.

"We’re coming."

"Don’t move," Bai Qi said.

"Since you choose to back down, stay down," Li Ming said.

"Just because I’m choosing to wait doesn’t mean I’ll allow you to help him."

"And what if we insist? What are you going to do?" Wang Chong asked.

"Do you want to escalate things? Cause we can escalate things?" Bai Qi sneered. They still had a few trump cards, like summoning the Great Wall. However, such an act would make the dynasty more vulnerable, so he didn’t want to use it unless absolutely necessary.

"Who are you bluffing? If –"

A white dragon flew into the distance and entered Wang Wei’s forehead. With access to the sect’s Qi Luck Dragon, he now had more means to deal with that Black Assassin Saint.

’It seems Brother Qiyuan wants us to keep the current balance.’

Wang Chong snorted coldly to himself. He wished they could act bolder and use this opportunity to weaken Qin. However, he also understood that Ying Zheng and his dynasty could no longer be viewed the same way before the Grand Assembly.

Grand Sect Alliance, Primal Hall:

Five thrones lay out in a circle, standing tall at the center of this gorgeous purple-gold hall with motifs of dragons, sages, and flowers. Four people appeared in the room, and everyone immediately gazed at Dugu Baitian.

"Give me a few minutes. I need to deal with something, then we will talk about our plan to move forward."

The Grand Chancellor did not wait for anyone to respond before disappearing. He teleported more than a dozen times to an extremely secure location before he reached his destination. He calmly gazed at a muscular elderly man in tattered clothes sitting cross-legged on top of a magic circle with chains attached to his four limbs.

Elder Strong Arm slowly opened his eyes. He immediately squinted before a large grin formed on his face. "You finally bloom? Good, good, good. How was the power? Was it beyond what you could imagine? Did you feel invincible?"

A terrifying killing intent enveloped this prison, almost twisting the void. Luckily, the spatial structure of this place was heavily reinforced to ensure nothing can escape.

"Yes, that’s it. That’s why I chose you — that raw and concentrated rage. Give in to it — let it fill you with power," Strong Arm laughed, his voice echoed in this empty dimension.

Dugu Baitian quickly calmed down, his rage shifting from loud and aggressive to silent and deadly.

"I’m going to ask you one last time: who sent you?"

"What’s the point of asking something so pointless?" Strong Arm replied casually.

"Answer me!"

"You know the answer, don’t you?" Strong Arm smiled.

"I want you to say it with your mouth."

"Well, that will not be happening," he shrugged.

A ferocious light flashed in Dugu Baitian’s eyes. "Today is the last time I’ll ask you. Do you understand what I’m saying?"

"Threatening me with death? That’s the biggest joke I’ve heard in a long time," Strong Arm chuckled. "Boy, I’ve only stayed with you to wait until the day you bloom. Now that I have happened, my mission is done. I’m a bit disappointed that you regained control, but I have enough data to report. Well, it was nice knowing. I’m sure we’ll see each other again."

"Wait!" Thousands of arrays manifested above the old man, but not a single one could stop him from killing himself. "Damn it," Dugu Baitian cursed as he annihilated this dimension with one strike. He exhaled deeply to slowly reduce his intense heartbeat.

’Is it really the work of the Desire Heart Palace?’ Numerous memories flashed in his mind, and he re-analyzed them for the millionth time. Everything started when Strong Arm fed him this red flower that nourished his Dao Foundation and granted him the talent to compete with his father.

From then on, the latter has had a profound influence on all significant events. Strong Arm was the one who warned him of his upcoming fate in the First Origin War. He advised Dugu Baitian on the creation of the Grand Sect Alliance and even taught him a method to perfectly combine loose Qi Luck into a perfect whole.

With this advantage, Dugu Baitian was aggressive as he forced numerous factions to join the Outer Court of the alliance by any means necessary, and then combined their loose Qi Luck into a thriving destiny. His relationship with Strong Arm was similar to that of father and son — until the day Dugu Baitin became a Primal.

When his soul was sublimated after receiving the title, he finally became aware of the parasites within his Sea of Consciousness, which terrified him to his core. Strong Arm was the only person he could talk to about such a secret and worrying matter, but Dugu Baitian noticed the latter’s anomaly during their talk.

Betrayal is one of the greatest pains someone can experience — especially coming from a father figure. After figuring out what had happened, Dugu Baitian started planning a way out. He waited for years, continuing to maintain his previous relationship with Strong Arm while waiting for the perfect opportunity. Then, Qiyuan came into the equation.

With his help, Strong Arm was successfully captured. Sadly, the latter refused to divulge any information, prompting Dugu Baitian to work alone to deal with his situation. And until now, he has been quite successful.

An orb appeared in Dugu Baitian’s palm, and he observed it as it continuously changed color. The Emotion Spectrum Orb was a double-edged sword. Studying and unrivaled its secrets was the key to freeing himself of this curse, and maybe even using its power for himself.

However, the process of using it seemed to accelerate the growth of the parasites, and he has reached the point where he lost control after experiencing death. Time was running out for Dugu Baitian, and he knew it. Luckily, the exchange list and the upcoming disaster were an opportunity for him.

’I still need to know who my enemy is,’ he thought before activating a communication talisman. Direct messaging across Source Worlds was temporarily impossible due to the Hong Protective System, but delayed messages could still be sent or received.

Dugu Baitian sent a message to his shadow agency, which he had tasked with searching for people from the Desire Heart Palace. It did not matter who was plotting against him. One day, he will flip the board, escape his fate, and turn these people into his pawn.

The Grand Chancellor exhaled. He took a few minutes to eliminate all traces of the prison or anything that had occurred here. What happened in his battle has already revealed too much information to the world that he was comfortable with. The last thing he would want would be for people to get more information that can be used against him.

Dugu Baitian finally returned to the alliance, preparing to confront the impending political disaster.