Chapter 1687: Fate Ends

"I want to say I’m surprised, but who am I kidding?" Wang Wei shook his head.

"This is not the time to be stroking your ego," Wrath glared at him.

"I’m just telling the truth," Wang Wei shrugged.

Wrath looked at Lu Chuntao. "Are you alright?"

"I’m fine. I just need to take some time to remove the corruption," she reassured her with a smile.

"If only things were that simple."

"Shut up," Lu Chuntao snapped at him."Don’t you ever get tired of hearing your own voice?"

"Well, fuck me for trying to help," Wang Wei sighed. "Since you’re not appreciative, let’s get down to business. Hand over the artifact: this is the last shred of mercy I’m willing to extend."

"Hold on," Wrath uttered. "What do you mean by that?"

"Don’t listen to him."

Wang Wei glanced at her, but he remained silent. All transcendent paths are unique; it’s the only way even to have a chance in the first place. It would be one thing if Lu Chuntao had learned from the artifact to create her path, but her idea was to repair the artifact and fuse with it. This plan might have had a slight chance of success had she successfully purified the artifact to remove any will from its creator, but so far, Wang Wei hasn’t detected any signs or attempts at doing so.

"If your life is in danger and he can help, we should hear him out."

"Like I said, I’m fine. I —"

Wang Wei did not care for this family drama, so he raised his hand to summon a karmic line from the past. The Primogenitor Devil promised him the artifact as a reward, and after he last met Wrath, he had cut off that karmic line. Now, he brought it back to forcefully gain control of the artifact.

"Bastard!" Lu Chuntao yelled as she immediately activated all the restrictions placed on the artifact. As such, the black orb that was flying toward Wang Wei suddenly stopped and even slowly backtracked. Wang Wei was calm. The cause and effect between him and the devil race was numerous, so he slowly summoned more of these karmic lines that he had previously cut off to strengthen his connection to the weapon.

Boom!

A towering phantom of his face and figure materialized behind Wang Wei. The colossal creature glanced at the Serpent Empress and released a terrifying aura that made her expression ugly: "Bloodline Suppression," Lu Chuntao said with gritted teeth. News of the Wang Clan condensing a new and terrifying bloodline has already spread, but as of now, no one knows what kind of bloodline it is. But now, she knew it was frightening, to the point it could even suppress all nine of her primordial bloodlines.

A ruthless glint flashed in Lu Chuntao’s eyes. All nine bodies exploded into a blood mist, leaving her weak soul. But then, the soul opened its mouth to swallow the mist, using the extreme yang energy from her flesh to nourish the soul. With this newly added vigor, Lu Chuntao’s souls gained even more control of the artifact, pulling it closer to her side.

Wang Wei sighed deeply. "Why do you have to force me to be the villain?" He raised his left hand to make a flicking motion. With a calm gaze, he uttered, "With a flick of my finger, Wrath will be instantly annihilated. So, what will it be? The artifact or her?"

"You!"

"Oh, and don’t think you can revive her. I have already found her Time Mark." A strange rune imprint appeared next to him for a few seconds before disappearing, but its short presence instantly turned Lu Chuntao and Wrath’s expression twisted.

"You wouldn’t dare!"

"There are very few things between Heaven and Earth that I wouldn’t dare do."

Wrath exhaled to calm down. "Can you really be this cruel? After everything we’ve been through."

"Our friendship — if you can even call it that — was based on duty. However, the moment you chose her over me, our cause and effect was over. With my personality, I would not hurt — unless you get in my way. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what’s happening."

"That’s not fair."

"Maybe," Wang Wei nodded. "But life is never fair, is it? Now, choose: you have ten seconds." Wrath opened her mouth, but closed it. What can she say in such a situation?"

"You’re bluffing," Lu Chuntao sneered. "Everybody knows you have a soft spot for the friendship you made in the lower dimension, not to mention you pride yourself on keeping your promise. Even if you say the cause and effect have been settled, can you really break your word? Do you dare ruin your reputation?"

"Just the fact you think public perception of me could affect my actions proves you don’t know me as well as you think you do," Wang Wei shook his head. "Five seconds left."

"I’m calling your bluff," Lu Chuntao said with gritted teeth.

"Good for you," Wang Wei replied calmly. The space around his finger trembled as he started gathering force. "5...4...3...2...1..."

"You can have it!" Lu Chuntao stopped resisting, and the orb flew into Wang Wei’s palm. He secretly sighed in relief. The Heavenly Serpent Empress’s control over the artifact was higher than anticipated. As such, he feared she might blow the artifact out of spite. The only way he could think of acquiring it without issues was through emotional manipulation or buying enough time to wrestle control.

Wang Wei played with the orb for a few seconds before glancing at Wrath. "Take comfort in the thought that she truly loves you."

"...Would you have done it?" Wrath asked.

"Yes," Wang Wei admitted. Killing Wrath would have plunged Lu Chuntao into an extreme emotional state, allowing him to forcefully take control of the artifact. There is a possibility that his actions would have the opposite effect, forcing Lu Chuntao into a "calm rage" state in which she tried everything possible to kill Wang Wei — even at the cost of her own life. However, in that scenario, Wang Wei would only need to last long enough to secretly take control of the situation. And if everything else had failed, he would have used his Saint Dao Heart to confront the artifact’s Saint Will and forcefully refine it. However, this strategy had the least chance of success.

Wrath sighed. "After our last meeting, I felt we had parted on a sour note. So, I had hoped we could somehow rekindle our friendship — or at the very least, keep a superficial acquaintance."

"Time can dilute all, and fortunately, it is the last thing that we do not lack," Wang Wei commented. "You feel betrayed now, but in a couple of epochs, we may be drinking and laughing together." Despite his words, Wang Wei was not wholly convinced. If it were any of his other acquaintances, they would never take such a situation personally. But Wrath?

"I don’t think I’ll be able to forgive you."

"That means today marked the end of our fate," Wang Wei commented before disappearing. Wrath was dazed for a few seconds before sighing deeply; she exhaled to regain her composure before walking over to help Lu Chuntao.

Heavenly Court:

Wang Wei looked at the transcendent artifact; there was no sign of excitement or joy on his face. Lu Chuntao’s fate was a warning to him about reliance on foreign powers — especially the kind that is beyond his comprehension. As such, if not for the current emergency, he would never have fetched this thing. He closed his eyes and used his divine sense to check the artifact’s internal content.

Lu Chuntao’s restrictions were the first things to be detected, and Wang Wei obliterated every one of them. Secondly, he sensed a few hidden powers from the devil race. It was hard to tell whether the Serpent Empress had not detected those powers or used them to aid in the refining process, but Wang Wei did not care: he cleansed the artifact of all foreign powers.

Finally, he sensed three things: the unique structure of the artifact’s material, the presence of two Saint Wills, and the rules embedded within the artifact. With his limited knowledge, Wang Wei could not identify the material, and he even doubted whether there were any written records of Saints’ materials currently in any faction of the world. Maybe Maitreya might know.

’Two wills — one from the artifact, and the other seems to be the cause of its destruction. And even after so long, it’s still suppressing the other one.’ Saint Will is truly domineering. Once it attaches to something, it’s like a leech that will never stop for all eternity.

’Maybe I can use the Grand Unified Will to remove it and accelerate the artifact’s recovery,’ Wang Wei thought with shining eyes. Saint Wills has become a great nourishment for Heavenly Dao, so his idea was feasible. However, he did not immediately act, but focused on the artifact’s rules. The way Lu Chuntao used that artifact was too rough and simple. Only by understanding what this thing was created for can he fully utilize its power.

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