Chapter 1851: Death Reverence In Action
Chapter 1851: Death Reverence In Action
"What is the first step?" Ai asked. "Do you want to start working on [Project Order] immediately?"
"No, I’m worried about the artificial Source World," Wang Wei shook his head. "It’s the key to utilizing the Saint Art, so our first action should be to ensure its safety."
"Do you wish to separate it from the Heaven and Earth Origin Cycle Array?"
"Yes," Wang Wei nodded. Right now, they were in a tug of war with Death Reverence over control of the array. Ultimately, Wang Wei doesn’t care if he loses, but he cannot accept losing control over the Source Chaos World that served as his headquarters and as one of the primary nodes of the array.
"We can create another Source World to replace the one we are using, but that would require Maitreya’s help, and it will take some time," Ai explained. The previous Source Chaos Worlds were created with the help of hundreds of Saints working together. More importantly, they had taken an already existing Chaos World and evolved it. But now, they needed to build one from scratch.
"You are still the commander, so technically speaking, you could still order them to help you, but a few of these people are probably Death Reverence’s information," Ai continued. "Not to mention, the last thing we currently want would be to draw attention to ourselves."
"Let’s just do it ourselves," Wang Wei said.
"Fine, but I should warn you: the newly created Source Chaos World will probably not be as good as the previous one."
"That’s not necessarily a bad thing," Wang Wei rebutted. "If we cannot regain control of the array, weakening is also an option."
"True. In that case, let’s begin."
Maitreya was already on her way after Wang Wei sent the communication, so Wang Wei immediately prepared to work her to the bone as soon as she appeared. However, he noticed a strange expression on Maitreya’s face.
"What’s wrong? Did something happen?"
"Is this place safe?" she asked.
"This is my domain; you can speak freely."
"The Trinity Venerable just called me for a meeting."
Wang Wei squinted. "What happened?"
"He questioned me, even secretly searched my memories," Maitreya replied. "I’ve never felt so humiliated. How dare he accuse me of something I didn’t do?"
Wang Wei frowned before snapping his finger. Something flew from the Holy Son Mansion and entered Maitreya’s forehead. Her eyes turned clear and full of wisdom. She exhaled, "I’m glad I left my memories with you."
"When dealing with these Tribunal Lords, it’s always a good thing to be extra careful," Wang Wei nodded.
"I don’t think this is over, so I’ll keep the memories with you."
"I should also be more careful," Wang Wei nodded. From now on, he’ll also remove some of his memories when dealing with these Tribunal Lords. Wang Wei cannot wait to sanctify and properly engrave the Heaven Deception Array into his soul. With its power, he will not only hide himself from higher beings, but he might also even deceive them with false memories. Wang Wei is even prepared to study Deception Dao as one of his secondary Dao.
"Did you need me for something?" Maitreya asked, and Wang Wei immediately explained the situation to her. Maitreya was more than happy to help, so they immediately began their work.
...
Near the Death Beam:
Death Reverence suddenly opened his eyes, calmly glancing at his future self, "What is it?"
"We just received word that the expeditioners are preparing to attack the Reverse Black Stone Array."
"Attack? More like seeking an ally," Death Reverence uttered. "However, I expected more from Wang Wei."
"It’s probably not his idea," Future Death Reverence stated. No matter how intelligent Wang Wei was, it didn’t change the fact that he was only a Paragon with limited power. If the Tribunal Lords do not want to listen to him, there is nothing he can do.
"In the end, it doesn’t matter. What matters is they have taken the worst course of action, which is to our advantage."
"True," the future version stated. "So, what do you want to do?"
"Although we failed to eliminate Suiji completely, she’s still out of the picture. My concern is the Star Manifestation and whatever it is the Highest Sovereign handed to them."
"Do you want to stop the expedition?"
"Why stop them?" Death Reverence coldly smiled. "The two sides have too much animosity. And if you think about it clearly, the Infinite Divine Court is not even sure on what side we are on. For all they know, our actions are one of the expeditioner’s plans to destroy."
"That’s true." Death Reverence was once an expeditioner. Without anyone to reveal their identity, there is a high chance that the court viewed their actions as part of the expeditioner’s plan. And even if someone suspects something, they would never easily trust the expeditioners, meaning their attempt at finding an ally might be pointless — at least until Death Reverence acts in a way that shows he is the enemy of both sides.
"Right now, the sacrificial ritual is unstable, so we need time," Death Reverence sighed. Wang Wei and Star Manifestation were too fast and too formidable. As soon as they returned, these two noticed something and immediately began regaining control of their respective formations. Without any choice, Death Reverence had to launch the plan ahead.
"We need to use the Six Paths of Samsara as a stabilizer for the ritual, but I have a feeling that Suiji might be using its power to heal herself. So, we need to distract her."
"Do you want to release news of the invasion to the court?"
"That’s right. Once they know of it beforehand, they will prepare and maybe even plot a counterattack. However, we cannot allow the expeditioners to be annihilated," Death Reverence uttered. "On the contrary, we must help them break through the defenses of the Black Stone Reverse Array."
"Only if the court is in danger will Suiji be distracted and even forced to intervene despite her injury," Future Reverence nodded, understanding his younger self’s plan.
"Exactly. As long as we can buy enough time to stabilize the ritual, it will not matter whether they ultimately ally with each other."
"What about Wang Wei? You should understand he’s the biggest variable."
"Indeed, but his greatest weakness is his cultivation level," Death Reverence nodded. "As long as we act fast enough without giving him time to breathe and respond, we can capture him."
"Very well. Since you have a plan, let’s do as you said," Future Reverence nodded. "I’ll deal with the issue in the underworld, and you can focus on dealing with the battle between the two sides."
"Alright."
A few hundred yuan epochs passed by, and Wang Wei had finished most of the preparations he needed for the upcoming chaos. The only thing he’s disappointed in is the replacement for the True Freedom World, which he named; it’s the artificial Source Chaos World used as the array node. Over the years, Wang Wei had already replaced the True Freedom World with another Source Chaos World created by Maitreya, but this world did not meet their expectations.
There wasn’t enough time or people working on this project for it to finish in time. Without any choice, Wang Wei had to improvise. Maitreya had to replace True Heavenly Dao in the new Source Chaos World so that the Heaven and Earth Origin Cycle Array could continue to operate after the replacement. This meeting was quite effective, but also had a downside: Maitreya was now in the middle of the danger and chaos instead of being somewhere safe. When things go wrong, if she doesn’t run fast enough, she could die.
Today, Wang Wei received a summons from the Tribunal Lords for another meeting. He did not participate himself. Instead, he sent an Avatar while his main body stayed in the safe area of the True Freedom World, protected by the Holy Son Mansion, which contains a second-step Heaven Deception Array.
Wang Wei had previously relied on a shoddy job in establishing the Heaven Deception Array, relying entirely on the power of the material used as the core. However, with AI’s help, the Holy Son Mansion could now be considered a semi-second step Saint Artifact. The reason for the "semi" is that the mansion itself only uses regular materials, and the artifact has not been blessed by a Saint Power or Saint Will.
"I apologize for now showing up in my true form. My main body is still recuperating," Wang Wei bowed to the Tribunal Lords.
"It’s alright, commander, there is no need to bring such a small manner. Just take your seat so we can begin," the Erudite Duchess said before anyone else could. The other glanced at her, but did not say anything else. All eyes soon directed toward the Trinity Venerable.
"The Black Tortoise Array is set up. Here is your share of the command center," Trinity Venerable stated, handing everybody a portion except for Wang Wei, who squinted his eyes. The duchess wanted to say something, but after exchanging a swift look with Wang Wei, she remained silent.