Journey of the Fate Destroying Emperor

Wang Wei invited his next guest, and the leading person was an old acquaintance; it would be better to describe him as an old opponent, one of the few worthy ones he had in the lower dimension. Wang Wei slowly watched as the two flew over to his small pavilion, and he glanced at the introducer.

"You're weak," Wang Wei said.

"Indeed," Chu Luo sighed deeply. In the lower dimension, they were once the two once most powerful geniuses of that era, but slowly, he had to watch as Wang Wei surpassed and reached heights he could never fathom.

Wang Wei looked at him. Chu Luo's cultivation was only 63%, not even an Empyrean. However, with a single look, Wang Wei could guess the reason such a genius could not even reach the peak of the Emperor Realm.

"Do you regret your decision to ascend early?" Wang Wei asked.

"Not at all," Chu Luo replied firmly. After ascending, he discovered his parents were undercover agents for the Grand Sect Alliance serving in the Rebellion. Things went horribly wrong in one mission, and they were severely injured. Chu Luo's cultivation is so low because he had no merit and world source from the lower dimension since he ascended early and because he had to support his parents' healing and cultivation.

The Grand Sect Alliance is the biggest faction, meaning they have the most elite members of all Overlords and the second-highest number of people after the Limitless Exchange Hall. Chu Luo's Creation Dao brought him much benefit in the alliance, but it did not help that he was not a Dao Overlord. As such, he was treated decently but not enough to develop his potential fully.

"That's good to hear," Wang Wei nodded. It appeared Chu Luo's filial piety was still a core of his personality. Wang Wei condensed a fishing rod and said: "Go fish on that pond. Consider what you catch as a gift from an old opponent." Chu Luo was confused but still politely accepted the gift.

Meanwhile, Wang Wei focused on the second guest. "You're a member of the Crystal-Eye Clan?" he asked when he saw this man had no eyeballs but two pure blue gems in his sockets.

"That's right."
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"I thought your kind was extinct," Wang Wei commented. The crystal in this race's eyes had a variety of functions, including weapon refining, soul tempering, and even acquiring divine abilities upon absorption. So, cultivators did what cultivators do — they hunted this race to extinction for their eyes.

"We surrendered to the alliance to preserve our race," the man replied. Although his voice did not change, Wang Wei could swear he saw a hint of anger and hatred flashed in these deep blue gems. He motioned the latter person to sit beside him as he served tea.

"And who are you exactly?" Wang Wei asked.

"Vice-Alliance Leader Lei Shi."

"You're the invisible one," Wang Wei realized. The alliance is ruled — on the surface — by a council composed of the Alliance Leader and 7 Vice-Leaders. In this generation, one of the Vice-Leader rarely showed his face, making many people curious. Now, he understood why the latter remained invisible.

"That's me," Lei Shi nodded calmly.

"So, why are you here? I don't think I have any reasons to associate with your alliance?" These meetings were never about paying respects to him, so he was baffled by what they wanted since Wang Wei did not place any restrictions on the alliance despite the rocky relationship between the two factions.

"There is a delicate matter we would like to negotiate with you," Lei Shi said carefully. "You have captured one of our wanted fugitives, and we would like to discuss the possibility of you returning him to us."

"Your fugitive?" Wang Wei was genuinely baffled.

"Empyrean Black Heart."

"Him? Since when was he your prisoner?" Wang Wei asked strangely.

"He stole something crucial from us, and you know how pride and face are the most important to factions on our level," Lei Shi stated. "So, we buried the news while trying to capture him as soon as possible. Unfortunately, he was slippery and always evaded our efforts."

"Is that so?" Wang Wei commented.

Lei Shi looked at him, trying to glean any information from his facial expression, but to no avail. Regardless, he continued with his objective: "We understand you're the one who captured him, so we're prepared to reward you for handing him over."

Wang Wei sipped his tea. He did not believe a single word out of this man's mouth. The previous Grand Sect Alliance might have been able to hide such a significant event, but that was simply impossible in the Seven Moon Era. Furthermore, as soon as this man named Empyrean Black Heart, Wang Wei had an inkling of what they were after — the Desire Heart Palace.

'The question is whether the Grand Sect Alliance has any connection to the Desire Heart Palace or wanted Black Heart because they are desperate for a transcendent path and thought they could peek at the palace's secrets through him.'

Wang Wei leaned more toward the latter since all the information he knew about their leader —Dugu Baitian — he did not seem like the kind of person who would submit to anyone. No, he would not serve under anyone. After all, this was a man whose name can be translated literally as the [Lone White Heaven]; such pride, arrogance, and ambition will not submit to anyone.

"It's not impossible for me to trade with you," Wang Wei said, and he meant it. After acquiring his blueprint technique, he checked Black Heart's situation, and the resolve scared him a little. His intuition told him something was there, but he saw nothing, no matter how carefully he looked. Ultimately, he concluded the power used by the Heart Desire Palace was not something his current self could peek at; this also meant Black Heart was now a hot potato, and Wang Wei wanted to throw it to someone else.

"I'm glad to hear this," Lei Shi stated, not hiding his excitement. "Our alliance has prepared a handsome reward for your cooperation."

"Slow down your excitement," Wang Wei raised his hand. "I'm willing to exchange, but it cannot be now."

"What do you mean?" Lei Shi asked, his demeanor suddenly changing.

"It's just like I said, I still need him for something, so I cannot hand him over now," Wang Wei reiterated. He still wanted to recheck Black Heart after becoming a Paragon. More importantly, if he traded him now, the Grand Sect Alliance would only treat him as an Empyrean, and their reward wouldn't be much. However, once Wang Wei reveals his status as a member of the Heart Desire Palace and the fact they need him for their transcending path, he can get a higher price.

"Young Master Wang Wei, why make this harder than it has to be? Black Heart has no value in your hands, so why not exchange it for some rare resources?" Lei Shi said calmly, but his voice contained a slight coldness.

"Are you worried about your lost treasure?" Wang Wei replied calmly. "You can tell what it is, and I'll fetch it for you."

"This involves our alliance' secret, so we cannot do that."

"Aren't you guys worried I'll take the treasure after you reveal its existence? Well, you don't have to since I'm willing to hand it over directly now to facilitate a better relationship for our future trade."

Lei Shi's lips twitched: "It would be in our best interest to take Black Heart back and retrieve our treasure ourselves."

"It seems this treasure is more valuable than I thought," Wang Wei commented. "How about this: although a bit invasive, I'm willing to sign the highest binding contract to erase my memories of all knowledge about this treasure. This should satisfy you, correct?"

"This!' Lei Shi was momentarily speechless, but Wang Wei only smiled:

"Have you realized your eagerness has revealed too much information?" he stated. Lei Shi took a deep breath, calming himself down. He seems to be contemplating or weighing something.

"Don't even try to use your eye ability that can twist people's will,'" Wang Wei warned. "Otherwise, your fate will be the same as your clan brethren." Lei Shi felt a chill down his spine, followed by a tinge of pain in his eyes.

"What do you want?" he asked directly.

"Like I said, I'm not opposed to selling him, but you have to wait after the trial and pay something that truly reflects his value." Wang Wei has already calculated Black Heart's value to the alliance was comparable to a few rare Paragon Resources, and if he pushed it, maybe even some valuable information about transcendence. However, he also had to sell it before the catastrophe since his value would deteriorate with more transcendent-related things appearing.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Is this supposed to be some kind of threat?" Wang Wei laughed.

"Very well," Lei Shi said as he took a deep breath. "I will relay your requirements, and we will contact you in the future." Lei Shi stood up and left with Chu Luo, who did not forget to thank Wang Wei for the gift. He fished out a pill that was excellent at breaking the Empyrean Realm bottleneck.

With this pill and the reward for introducing the alliance to Wang Wei, Chu Luo had enough resources to reach the Empyrean Peak. Unfortunately, he'll miss the trial, meaning he'll still be behind his peers.

'It may not be such a bad thing that you're currently behind,' Wang Wei thought as he watched them fly away.