Without hesitation, confusion, sadness, or even any emotions, for that matter, Monk Wuzhi dropped that palm. He did not know the final outcome, whether Zhang Yucheng would be saved, as it was common in their early confrontations once he had the advantage.
Boom!
With slight surprise, Monk Wuzhi watched as Zhang Yucheng’s body exploded into billions of pieces, his soul and Dao disappearing. He looked at the falling blood with a daze, waiting for something to occur.
But nothing did.
For a moment, he wondered if he was wrong. Maybe, he could not sense anything. After all, the difference between himself and Zhang Yucheng’s master was so vast that it was normal if he could not detect or even understand if he took action.
However, Monk Wuzhi quickly denied this possibility. The other times’ Zhang Yucheng was saved, he sensed something. He knew it was because Supreme Unity was not being discreet. Nevertheless, he was aware.
“So, it’s really over,” he muttered, feeling somewhat lost. Although he despised Zhang Yucheng’s hypocrisy and ideologies, the latter was also his rival for the past couple of million years.
Wuzhi did not know how to feel about losing him in such a sad manner. He sighed to himself before looking down, checking on Feng Heng’s manor. Then, he flew to his mansion without saying another word; he wanted to heal his injuries.
All the participants watched this battle in shock. However, only Wang Wei and the upper-seeded players knew the true struggle behind these two people. And when they saw Zhang Yucheng was not saved, they were momentarily shocked before concluding that this outcome made sense.
And that realization brought even more terror to them. But then, they remembered Wang Wei’s speech and felt ashamed of their thought. They gritted their teeth, thinking deeply about the future.
Eternal Ascension World:
Two suns and nine moons lorded over all myriad beings in this infinitely large world, and they symbolized absolute power. These stellar bodies should have been only symbols, but one of the suns housed a magnificent palace made entirely out of Supreme Chaos Treasures, Primordial, and Paragon materials.
Sitting cross-legged on valuable meditation cushions at the center of the room was an older man with long white hair and a well-trimmed beard. He had a purple robe laced with golden threads, black shoes, and a beautiful jade token hanging on his waist. The interesting thing about this cultivator was all his clothes shone brilliantly with the light of treasures, indicating that each piece was valuable enough for countless Paragons to fight over.
Supreme Unity opened his eyes, and there was no vast or mighty aura; he resembled an ordinary person. However, his eyes were off-putting to anyone who saw him because they lacked any emotions; it was like he was a piece of machine with only logic.
“Zhang Yucheng is dead? It doesn’t matter. He has already served his purpose.”
Supreme Unity only accepted him as a disciple because he had two physiques. He wanted to create a special method to divide his [Existence] into two separate but connected parts.
The main part would be his previous self, and the second part would remain fused with Heavenly Dao. Upon success, he would no longer be limited or influenced by Heavenly Dao.
Supreme Unity wanted to gather information and draw inspiration from individuals with two Heavenly Physiques. After getting the information he wanted, Zhang Yucheng was useless as a pawn.
‘Heavenly Dao is drawing a lot of strength from all the Paragons that have existed since the Eternal Ascension World’s creation to reduce my control. If only Maitreya did not stop me, none of this would have happened.’
Of course, Supreme Unity knew the primary source of his trouble was the method he used to take a half-step into transcendence was fundamentally flawed. However, there was nothing he could now but take complete control of Heavenly Dao and swallow it. Once he succeeds, he will be free, have no restrictions, and can further pursue detachment.
‘The situation is not looking good for me once Maitreya can receive faith from the lower dimension. She might be free before me.’
Supreme Unity frowned before closing his eyes to focus on regaining his lost power. Separating his existence was more complex than he imagined, and he also needed to stabilize things first, or his strength would be drastically reduced. As such, his best plan is to succeed before Maitreya or hope the other rulers can eradicate the people in Limbo.
There was a small town at the center of the Eternal Ascension World, full of mortals. These people lived happy and fulfilled lives, always with a joyous smiles on their faces. Despite knowing the existence of cultivators, no one in this village pursued power or immortality; the villagers were content.
Not far from the village was a run-down temple with only one monk. It was a young woman dressed in plain female monk attire. She tied her hair in a bun, making her extraordinary beauty appear dull and unordinary.
The monk was known for her benevolence, and the villages enjoyed offering prayers to her temple or communicating with her. They always offered her to save money and build a bigger and better temple, but she refused, stating she was comfortable with how it was.
Little did these villagers know that this woman, living in such dirt poor and dilapidated temple, was the supreme leader of Buddhism, one of the two suns, Maitreya Buddha.
After sensing Zhang Yucheng, Maitreya opened her eyes from meditation, and the power of infinite time flashed deep in them. Her gaze penetrated space and dimensions to look at her disciple in the lower dimension.
‘So, he finally discarded the useless pawn,’ she commented before shaking her head in disappointment. ‘You’re really gone, Supreme Unity.’
The Supreme Unity she knew was an ambitious and power-hungry cultivator, but he still had some bottom line. But even that was gone, and Maitreya does not know whether this resulted from fusing with Heavenly Dao or his true personality manifesting after acquiring power.
After sighing to herself, Maitreya’s gaze to a handsome young man with gray hair and eyes.
‘Should I help him? All my calculations indicate he is the one I’m waiting for. But the future is not set in stone. Maybe I need to help him get through this upcoming catastrophe to become the person I need.’
She frowned as her eyes perused the infinite possibilities of the future. However, she could not find the answer she wanted.
‘Let’s wait and see.’
Then, she shifted her gaze to the Dao Opening Sect, her eyes ignoring all the Emperor Formation to gaze at Wu Hong, who was in retreat.
‘Perfect Foundation? If I had such a thing, it would make taking half-step so much easier.’ She shook her head before looking at someone else; this time, it was someone in the Eternal Ascension World.
It was a woman that looked exactly like Wu Hong–except for a more supreme, strict, and noble aura.
‘Wu Hong definitely did not create that clone. So, a future version of herself? But how come I cannot completely see through it? Is that a sign she found the path ahead and surpassed me?’
If that were the case, Maitreya would be happy, as this would mean she had hope for her path forward. However, things appeared too complicated for the moment.
‘Your Fated Lover finally appeared, but with a clone. Hehehe, what an interesting love story. I cannot wait to see how it unfolds.’
Maitreya remembered conversations with Wu Hong about that unique Love Fate Line. Wu Hong tried to remove it, but the connection was too powerful, and it was one of her Fate Nexus, so the River of Fate would not allow her to get rid of it so easily.
Of course, as a powerful Paragon, there were many ways to deal with Fate Nexus besides becoming a [Fateless]. They could postpone the event indefinitely or control how it occurs.
For example, Wu Hong could create a clone to meet her destined partner and have them fall in love before dispersing it. With this method, her fate of falling in love was accomplished, thus removing the Fate Nexus.
And these two methods were just the most used.
In the end, Maitreya convinced her to wait and see since maybe, the person destined to be with her was worth it. Love Fate Lines were rare amongst immortal tier cultivators, and it is usually a sign that two people–among the entire Chaos Universe– were perfectly compatible.
“Do you want me to remove the blockade and allow you to enter Primordial Chaos? It might help you heal much faster.”
“No,” replied Wu Hong.
“Are you still mad at me?”
“How dare I, respected sun.”
“I told you, I had my reasons.”
“Which are?”
“I cannot say for now.”
“And when you can say, we can talk properly.”
Maitreya sighed. She had her reasons for not only allowing these Paragons to usurp power but also preventing the rise of others. Her detachment method was also flawed, and she required the Eternal Ascension World to remain stable and unchanged to avoid affecting her.
Once someone broke through the Paragon Realm, the changes in the world would be detrimental to her. So, she needed time to stabilize herself. Regardless, her bottom line was not to touch the people in Limbo.
Now, things have gotten better, she does not have this much worry, but she also has to keep looking out for Supreme Unity. Maitreya smiled wrily before continuing her cultivation.
Meanwhile, Wu Hong looked in her direction before also closing her eyes. She was not unreasonable and understood her friend had a reason for doing what she did. However, she also wanted an explanation before they could resume their relationship.
—
I have three gift bonus chapters waiting to write. But you guys have to give me a few days before I begin releasing them.