Chapter 1862: The Egoes

"Have you considered copying this trial’s method and reforging your foundation?" Ai suggested.

"There is no need," Wang Wei shook his head. The Twelve Firmament Trial’s purpose is to ensure that all tiers of a cultivator’s power system are unique, and Wang Wei has already achieved this. Of course, according to Wang Wei’s speculation, his level of uniqueness could only be considered "adequate" by the Twelve Firmament Heavenly Emperor’s standard, and even the cultivation of his three Immortal Stages was inadequate, but that didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.

The true purpose of pushing each realm beyond the limit is to awaken the Duyi Realm, which is the prototype of the Dao Will. Wang Wei has already cultivated his Dao Will to the pinnacle, and rebuilding his foundation with the trial’s approach won’t do much for him.

The second purpose of the trial is probably to condense unique Transcendent Foundations. But once again, Wang Wei has already condensed all three Saint Foundations. So, for all intents and purposes, he has already accomplished the trial’s purpose.

As for the strength gained from recultivating? Well, the improvement isn’t that great. Without the karmic positions, the power granted by these unique cultivation systems is a non-issue. They might allow low-level cultivators to fight higher-tier cultivators. But few can allow someone to break the limit between Immortal and Mortal, let alone allow someone to be on par with a Paragon by just reaching Tier 1.

"You might consider creating a unique cultivation system that perfectly suits you after becoming a Saint and reforging your foundation with it as the basis. It’s a great way to harmonize your Soul Quintessence and the Saint Embryo."

"I’ve had the same idea," Wang Wei nodded. He had previously considered creating his own cultivation system and changing to it before sanctifying, but he dropped the idea for various reasons. First, sanctification was his current primary task. The more delays the process has, the greater the possibility of something terrible happening. Wang Wei has many enemies, and after this expedition, the list will add a few more mighty names; these people will not allow him to plan out the perfect cultivation path.

However, these worries are not the primary reasons he chose to wait after sanctification. His greatest worry is still his status as a Fate Seed. Wang Wei’s Path is the Fate Dao, and the Fate Dao is Wang Wei’s path, meaning any cultivation system he creates will be purely Fate-based. He has gone to great lengths to reduce his status, and rebuilding his foundation around a Fate Cultivation System would undo much of his work.

But once he becomes a Saint, there will be other opportunities to restrain the seed and slowly break free from his shackles. By then, the foundation-rebuilding process might, in fact, help him weaken the seed rather than strengthen it. So, for now, he has to wait for his Sanctification before executing this plan — well, a lot of his plans must wait until then.

"Hmm?" Wang Wei muttered before capturing something from the void. "The duchess wishes to see me urgently? I wonder what happened now." With a thought, he activated his avatar and secretly teleported the latter to the duchess’ quarters.

"Did something happen?" Wang Wei asked, flying over to the small pavilion floating over a clear river. The duchess did not utter a word. Instead, she raised her beautiful hand to condense a memory bead of the previous meeting. However, Wang Wei’s confused expression remained unchanged even after reviewing the content. Yes, the meeting contained useful information, but there was no need for the duchess to contact him so urgently.

"I feel like Trinity Venerable, Karma Root, and the Slaughter Ancestor are in cahoots, planning something," the Erudite Duchess finally said.

"That’s not surprising. In such a dire situation, I’m surprised more of you didn’t ally with each other."

"I want you to help me deduce what Trinity Venerable is planning," she continued.

"You’re overestimating my capabilities," Wang Wei shook his head. With the little information he has on the latter, there is no way for him to make such a deduction.

"I’ll give you all the information I have on him. That should help."

Wang Wei frowned.

"You don’t have to worry about whether you succeed or not. I just want peace of mind."

"Why are you so wary all of a sudden?"

"It’s because of a feeling. Ever since you proposed that plan that would allow me to reach the False Grand Dao Realm, these people’s feelings toward me have been strange," the Duchess explained with a sigh. "I didn’t quite notice it before, but in today’s meeting, I sense it: they are wary of me, and there is even this faint and well-hidden killing intent."

"Do you think they can break the contract?"

"At first, I wasn’t worried, but if Trinity Venerable is working with the Karma Root Monarch, the chances of finding a loophole or a method of directly breaking it are much higher."

"Is that so? Alright, give me the information," Wang Wei nodded. The Duchess condensed another memory bead, and Wang Wei retrieved it with a smile. This is why he enjoys working with the duchess: she knows how to show respect. Another Saint might directly transmit the information to his mind, and with Wang Wei’s current strength, there is little he can do to block it. Yet, she doesn’t do that. Instead, she uses a method that hands him the initiative.

Wang Wei calmed himself to review the information, and he immediately frowned once he finished.

"Don’t think there is too little. Trinity Venerable has always been good at controlling the information he reveals," the duchess explained, and Wang Wei nodded, not offering any comments. With a database, he now had a basis to deduce things about the Trinity Venerable. So, Wang Wei reviewed the information inch by inch.

The most widely circulated information about the latter is his unique [Trinity Dao]. Among his peers, Trinity Venerable is known for these unique clones or avatars called egos that he has condensed. First, there is the Essence Ego, Qi Ego, and Spirit Ego, all three forming the [Cultivation Set] of Trinity Venerable. Their existence forms the foundation of his Dao, and their purpose is to improve his realm.

Then there is the [Time Set], created from his [Past, Present, and Future Egoes]. Wang Wei doesn’t know if Buddhism inspired Trinity Venerable — as he was — or if Buddhism took inspiration from him. Who knows? As absurd as the latter was, it was still possible. Whether in terms of age or time-shenanigans, everything was possible. Regardless of the truth, the latter was a Master of Time Dao, which explains how he wiped out Li Ming’s Timeline and even manipulated Qiyuan to summon people from the future.

The third known set of the Trinity Dao is the [Ruling Set] composed of Trinity Venerable’s Scholar Ego, the General Ego, and the King Ego. They are the main personalities responsible for managing the [Trinity Return To Origin Sect], one of the top Taoist lineages in the Primordial Timeline. Their most famous feat was laying out a powerful array that stopped 9 top Tribunal Saints and saved the sect from a calamity-destroying incident.

The fourth and last set is the [Battle Set], composed of the Fighting God Ego, the Battle God Ego, and the War God Ego. This set represents the pinnacle of Trinity Venerable’s fighting prowess. Once he activates this set, it means he is fighting to the fullest extent of his capabilities.

Wang Wei pondered for a moment before asking, "A Grand Dao Saint attacked Trinity during the Ultimate taboo?"

"I don’t know if he was directly attacked, but he did something, and everybody sensed a terrifying power beyond our level. The next thing we know, rumors started to spread that Trinity Venerable had offended someone, and he was killed. Except that he wasn’t killed. It took a while for him to show up, but he eventually did."

"Assuming that the rumors are true, how did he survive?"

"I don’t know, and I don’t think anyone truly knows," the duchess shook her head. "There were rumors that he had a third-step defensive talisman; others said the attacker didn’t plan to kill him in the first place — just teach him a lesson. The truth is hard to determine."

Wang Wei squinted, "Rumors also stated he had a secret set — the Life Set. And it’s because of its power that he survived."

"Life Set? You don’t mean?" Her eyes twinkled.

"Life, Limbo, and Death," Wang Wei uttered. "I don’t know how it’s done, but condensing any of these Egos should require special methods or materials, and every time they are created, his power is boosted — especially his Dao Quintessence. Now, isn’t the current situation the perfect opportunity to create a Death Ego?"

The duchess’ heart trembled. Yes, the entire timeline was currently teeming with the purest death energy, which is the perfect material for anyone who is cultivating Death Dao or doing anything Death-related. If Trinity Venerable can successfully condense a Death Ego, his strength will skyrocket, probably reaching the False Grand Dao Realm; his safety will then be guaranteed.

"What about the other two? Why do you think they ally with him?" she asked, trying hard to control her raging emotions.

"That’s even easier to determine," Wang Wei replied. "What do these two want more in the current situation? Either safety or power. If it were the former that they desired, they would have accepted my original plan, so that leaves power."

A smirk that could also be seen as a sneer materialized on Wang Wei’s face.

"Slaughter Ancestor’s Dao can grow from killing — especially unique creatures, so all Trinity Venerable has to do is promise him such a kill, and the chosen target could be you, Death Reverence, or even the Death Ego he plans to condense."

The killing of the Death Ego might be beneficial to both Slaughter Ancestor and the Trinity Venerable if done correctly.

"As for Karma Monarch? The same logic can apply. Whether it’s the karma associated with you, Death Reverence, the ego, the Infinite Divine Court, the Primordial Heaven Sword Saint, and maybe even me — all are fair games."