"What a beautiful and succinct way of describing the entire cultivation path," Wang Wei sighed. He always believed in playing by the rules until he was strong enough to make or break them. The [Saint] stage of cultivation is the perfect time to start making his own rules, and this idea is not something only he was aware of. It could be said that the very nature of the Saint realm is to slowly reduce the effects of the universe's rules and restraints on a cultivator.
And everything that has happened recently has proven to Wang Wei — and everyone else — how important independence is; how crucial it is not to be overly reliant on Grand Dao's rules and established order. Right now, Grand Dao is willing to follow the rules. No matter what the Primordial Cultivators did, no matter how grand the scale of an event, Grand Dao has never shown the slightest hint that she was considering modifying the [Eternal Characteristics]. But, despite how much trust Grand Dao has shown, after news of what happened in this timeline spreads, everybody will start wondering: what if?
That single question — that single worry — is enough for Wang Wei and countless other cultivators to lose complete faith in the established order of the Universe. And maybe, that's a good thing — at least, from Grand Dao's point of view, since many people will stop acting recklessly.
"Maybe, this is one of Grand Dao's objectives," Wang Wei suddenly thought. Once news of the expedition's events spreads — and it will even if everybody dies — many ambitious individuals will become extra careful in their actions. After all, everybody will now understand that Grand Dao has many ways to overthrow the board.
"Should I be more careful in my actions?" Wang Wei asked himself. But as soon as he did, he shook his head. He would never allow fear to dictate his behavior. Grand Dao has ways to overthrow the board? Then, he'll also create his own method as a deterrent. Two can play at this game.
"Hmm? Are they already forced to use the Highest Sovereign's power? Things are not looking good."
"Indeed," the duchess nodded. It's the instinct of every cultivator to leave their trump cards as a last resort, hence the name. So, whether to use it to catch an opponent off guard or as a means of escape, no one will reveal one of their strongest abilities as soon as a battle starts — unless their tactic is to kill the enemy as quickly as possible. But even then, it's best to use the second-tier trump card rather than the highest level.
Wang Wei suddenly squinted, "Has the Heaven Cardinal always been this capable?"
"...Not that I was aware of. It seems he's been hiding for a while."
"Do you think it's possible that all of the cardinals are secretly capable individuals? And their current state is just a persona? Maybe a form of subconscious rebellion against their current imprisoned life – a life with no future or possibility of improvement?"
"You're reading too much into this," the duchess shook her head. "There have been many occasions in which Grand Dao truly needed them to perform, and they've failed. I don't think they can play the fool for so long. And I'm beginning to suspect Grand Dao wants them to be useless."
"Is it out of fear of rebellion? But that doesn't make sense; they are just second-step powerhouses," Wang Wei commented. Previously, he also had a similar idea — until he understood the gap between individuals in the Quintessence Realm.
"The cardinals have a high authority in all of the Grand Constructs. On top of that, they know too much. If even one of them had rebellious ideologies and was capable, the damage they could do is catastrophic."
"That makes sense," Wang Wei nodded. If he had access to these cardinals' knowledge or authority, the things he would be able to do are scary even for himself to think about. Honestly speaking, without Grand Dao's interference, Wang Wei would be confident in achieving transcendence in less than 100 yuan epochs.
"But, why use them in the first place? Why not create emotionless but capable creatures to replace the cardinals? Well, in such a scenario, the creature could still gain sentience and become rebellious. So, why didn't Grand Dao split itself and control these constructs?"
"It must have done the calculation and decided that such an approach either has a higher risk than the current model or is less efficient in some way," the Duchess explained.
"I can see the logic," Wang Wei nodded. A divided Grand Dao means that another aspect of ruling the Chaos Universe will be affected. So, after weighing the pros and cons, Grand Dao must have decided that doing so was not worth the reward.
The battle continued, and after switching tactics, the Infinite Divine Court's Tribunal Lords finally began to gain control of the situation. While this was good news for the court, many others preferred a balanced outcome; they wished both sides were equal and unable to secure the ultimate prize, thereby giving everybody else an opportunity to act from the shadows. As such, Wang Wei — who was probably the only neutral side of this confrontation — could feel the tension in the universe.
Death Beam Dimension:
A pale-faced Death Reverence calmly watched everything that was occurring. He then uttered, "They are quite careful, still acting as if they had all the time in the world. In that case, let's add a bit of oil to the flame." With a thought, he ordered the Soul Revenance to change its mission.
Death Reverence then glanced at the Six Paths Samsara. By now, he had realized that the Death Chaos Demon God and her ally were the ones causing extra trouble in the underworld. However, what baffled him was that he had no information of her ever entering this timeline. He had been aware of the Life Chaos Demon God because she didn't hide herself, but Siwangji's appearance became an unknown variable once the truth was revealed.
"I don't have any proof, but my instinct is telling me that her involvement is because of Wang Wei," he thought. "It seems his destiny is still fighting back against what is about to happen." Death Reverence frowned. He would not underestimate the destiny of the person his Lord chose as his vessel of reincarnation.
Death Reverence turned to look at the Death Beam: it wasn't ready. He needed even more Death Power, and the only remaining way to do so was to reap the souls of Saints, preferably those of the Tribunal Lords. "The more time I give Wang Wei, the more of a variable he will become. However, I've already accelerated things to the fastest pace."
The only way to further accelerate the plan would be to directly attack Wang Wei's array and capture him, but that approach wouldn't accelerate things that much. Wang Wei will resist, and even if Death Reverence captures him, the ceremony is not yet complete, leaving time for the latter to devise an escape plan. More importantly, Death Reverence doesn't feel confident leaving the ritual unattended when so many people want to secretly destroy it.
"Suddenly changing the plan is not necessarily a good thing. Now, while there are still some variables, everything is still under control," Death Reverence thought, looking intently at the Highest Firmament. His next move has been activated, so he just needs to wait for things to proceed as he envisioned.
Highest Firmament:
The Infinite Divine Court was rapidly showing signs of suppressing its enemy and getting its paws on Grand Dao, which had many people on edge, forcing them to prepare to intervene, when a sudden change occurred. Soul Revenance suddenly roared with such intensity that all battles suddenly stopped. Then his aura began to fluctuate rapidly.
"That aura," the Myriad Gourd Empress stated, her voice slightly raised with suppressed elation.
"It's that lion — could he still be alive?" the Yin-Yang Origin Dragon asked. His eyes turned into the yin-yang symbol. "No, it's just a remnant of his obsession that is fighting back."
"Is that so?" she uttered, her voice low and lingering.
"This is our opportunity. Let's seal this thing, and then, we can finally free him from his suffering."
"Could we —"
"No, he's gone — gone, gone," the Yin-Yang Origin Dragon shook his head, which made the Empress sigh deeply. Without saying another word, she summoned a Sealing Gourd, and the dragon also condensed his own sealing method. Soul Revenance roared even louder and fought back desperately. The aura of death around its body intensified, bombarding everything in its path with weapons condensed from the purest death energy. Sadly, this desperate attempt was useless. Because of the Nine Spirit Lion's obsession, these attacks were highly unstable; one moment, they reached the pinnacle of the second step, and the next, they could barely be counted on at that tier.
The Heavenly Wolf Khan glanced at the situation and frowned; his instinct told him something was wrong. Unfortunately, before he could analyze the situation further, the Heaven Cardinal took the opportunity while he was distracted to launch a sneak attack.
The Empress and the dragon continued their plan and were very close to sealing Soul Revenance. However, just as they were about to succeed, someone sneaked behind everybody to reach for Grand Dao's cage.
