Chapter 1380 Major Chess Moves
Chapter 1380 Major Chess Moves
Chapter 1380 Major Chess Moves
Maitreya calmly examined the chaos around her. She exhaled before spreading her message to all monks worldwide: "All monks must report to the haven in one form or another. Another Great Buddhism-Taoism War is about to start." As soon as she uttered these words, the world experienced a slight tremor, eventually leading to a cataclysmic earthquake. She then flew to Wang Wei's side and frowned.
"What happened to Feng Heng?" Wang Wei asked. "I can feel he is gone even though his karmic threads to me and my memories of him are still intact."
"He is dead, true death, but only in a manner of speaking," Maitreya replied.
[Existence Hierarchy], huh," Wang Wei muttered. Half-Step Detachment is so high on the hierarchy that after Supreme Unity killed Feng Heng, it did not matter whether he had countless Avatars, his Secret Vault still existed, or everyone still remembers him — he just died like that.
"Don't worry — he'll be fine as long as I'm alive," Maitreya reassured.
"But what if something happens to you?" Maitreya was momentarily silent: "I'll revive him when the time is right."
"When will that be?"
"He was my vessel, meaning my power ran deep into his body, even his [Existence]. If I don't take time and effort in the revival process, his future transcendence path will be cut off."
"So, that's why I can feel Seven Cauldron's karma line? He doesn't care about her future, so he can instantly revive her. But you do, meaning you've lost probably the best vessel."
Wang Wei chuckled to himself, but his laughter was self-deprecating:
"In just one move, he reduces me to this state, forces Heavenly Dao to use one of its trump cards, regain more powers in their confrontation, kill your disciple and perfect vessel, and starts the Buddhist-Taoist War, which will further turn the world into chaos and kill more people.
"And all he sacrificed were a few pawns and maybe one of Seven Cauldron's longevity resources — what a brilliant move."
"The war cannot stop," Maitreya stated. "It is the only way to distract his vessel and all his manpower. The rest is up to you."
"What can I do in my state?" Wang Wei said. He was, in fact, dying. The blow destroyed him enough that he was about to lose his body and soul and enter limbo. His best solution is to seal himself, but that would not change the fact that he was out of the game. And that's not mentioning whether a seal would work or that he had little time to find an effective solution.
"I can save you, but I'll need one of your Avatars," Maitreya added.
"I've already killed all the ones in the upper dimension," Wang Wei said. "I could make a new one, but that would be pointless since he would only be a mortal — unless you have a way for me to cultivate."
"I can't do that," Maitreya shook her head. Supreme Unity was careful about the lock. Although vessels can use powers slightly beyond Primal Paragons, it was not enough to destroy the lock, let alone forcefully alter the rules he had created.
Wang Wei shrugged his shoulders after hearing her answer, and Maitreya's frown deepened: "I know you're disappointed with my failure, but this is not the time to have this defeatist outlook."
"Defeatist Outlook, huh? Why don't you tell me what kind of outlook I should have?" Wang Wei snapped. "You were supposed to be my most reliable teammates, but you couldn't even protect me in your territory. So, forgive me if I don't look too favorably on our situation."
"No need to mince your words," Maitreya said calmly. "Say what you have to say before we can move on." Wang Wei looked at her with gritted teeth but then chose to close his eyes to regain his composure. He ignored his body's constant and rapid weakening and focused on controlling his emotions.
"What plan do you have?"
"That's more like it," Maitreya said. "You should have an Emperor Avatar in the lower dimension?"
"That's right," Wang Wei nodded. He had a peak Emperor Avatar to replace himself in case something went wrong after his ascension. That avatar is also the last safety net of the Dao Opening Sect.
"I'll contact Heavenly Dao to allow you to contact it and force it to ascend."
Wang Wei was not excited about this plan but looked at her seriously: "Do you know what is at stake? The lower dimension and the people in Limbo are the last fighting chances. If something goes wrong —"
"Nothing will go wrong."
"Your words are not very trustworthy currently, are they?"
"That's why this war must happen," Maitreya continued. "I have reduced the effort I put into searching for whatever threats I sensed from the River of Time. I will now focus all my time on dealing with Supreme Unity, so you don't have to worry."
"Fine…I'll trust you once again," Wang Wei agreed reluctantly.
"Good. Let's get started."
"Now?"
"There is no better time than the present."
She floated in the sky, and with a thought, the River of Time manifested between Heaven and Earth. All sentient and non-sentient beings in the Eternal Ascension World saw it and heard Maitreya's following words: Stop.
It was quick, almost instant. All matter, energy, space-time, and even concepts became still — time has stopped working. Everyone stopped moving, but only 99.999% of people were unaware. The paragons, Battle Taboo Achievers, and a few truly powerful Empyreans still had their perception despite their bodies and souls stopping, and they were shocked by this display of power. These people knew the two suns were mighty, but there had been few opportunities for them to know by how much. Today, they glimpsed at their powers.
"Get to work," Maitreya said to Wang Wei before her eyes focused on the newly revived Seven Cauldron. With a thought, Maitreya killed the latter before repeating the process six more times. However, on the seventh time, a black and white shield surrounded her and protected her life.
Maitreya glanced at him briefly before shifting her gaze to someone else — Time Eater. She did not waste time before killing him three times, but another black and white shield protected him as well. She frowned but did not focus on this for too long.
She raised her head to glance at the lock. Maitreya observed briefly before deciding not to touch this thing — destiny was not on her side, and she knew Supreme Unity was prepared for her intervention as this was not the first time she had tried to destroy it.
Maitreya's gaze then shifted to somewhere else — the people in Limbo. She immediately blessed them, granting them protection similar to Wang Wei's Heaven Deceiving Array. She knew what these people needed the most was to move undetected under Supreme Unity's eyes; she also wanted to prevent him from secretly hunting and killing them.
Maitreya was about to move one when time started to move forward again. She sighed, thinking: 'Longer than I anticipated but still not enough.' She looked at Wang Wei, who now had an avatar next to him. She pointed at the original body, and it turned into motes of lights that fused with the Avatar. Wang Wei clenched his fists, followed by a basic boxing routine to get acquainted with his new body. "I am so weak." His current cultivation was 69% Grand Dao Source, and with his Taboo Battle Realm, he can fight peak Empyreans. However, that was the limit of his power. His former Paragon Tier Battle Prowess was gone.
"You will have to do with this for now," Maitreya said. She had plenty of trust in him to find a solution now that he was not dying and had plenty of time to strategize. Maitreya suddenly remembered something and swiftly condensed a golden glow in her palm, granting the same hiding blessing to Wang Wei. "This should help you better hide and plan from the shadow."
"Thank you," Wang Wei nodded.
"Here," Maitreya said as she handed him a talisman.
"What's this?"
"The key to our victory," Maitreya said. "The lock is the key, and as long as you can destroy it, the backlash he will suffer is enough for Heavenly Dao to regain most of the control and me to injure his real body severely."
"Can this thing destroy the lock? But that's just an information talisman."
"It contained my understanding and analysis of the lock," Maitreya stated.
"In the end, I still must do all the heavy lifting," Wang Wei complained.
"That's what it means to bear the burden of destiny."
"My destiny was the moons, not him."
"It was always a package," Maitreya replied. "You just never noticed it."
"In other words, I was duped," Wang Wei said with twitching lips. Maitreya shrugged. "Alright, I'm sure you want to leave, but I have a war to plan for. You can see yourself out." She disappeared, leaving Wang Wei alone. He looked in the distance and sighed: 'The lesson here is I should not rely too much on others, but is that truly a good lesson?'
Wang Wei teleported away, not knowing the answer to his question.