(Unedited Chapter)
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Wang Wei finished his theory, then overviewed it to see if he missed something. Then, he felt he did miss something crucial.
'I missed something? What is it?'
He frowned as he pondered deeply, simulating millions of thoughts in his mind every attosecond.
'Qi Refiners…Immortal Venerable…Dao Comprehension.' His eyes lit up as if a lamp lighted in his mind.
'The Qi Refining Path did not begin by comprehending the law. As their name implied, they began by absorbing the Qi or Spiritual Energy between Heaven and Earth. So, their systems contained the use of Qi.
'And at Tier 10, when they began to study Innate Law, their Qi might have turned into Immortal Qi like Immortal Venerables.'
Wang Wei added new information and variables to his theory before building upon it.
So, the Paragons from the Ancient Qi Refiners also had Immortal Qi on top of regular, Innate, Primordial, and Grand Dao Source. And they should have a quantity even more enormous than the best Immortal Kings because of how long they took to cultivate.'
Wang Wei could imagine the vast amount of energy the Ancient Qi Refiners had due to cultivating for billions of Yuan Epochs. Such a vast amount of Qi is enough for some Immortal Kings to become Insurgents.
'And if they had special Qi from the Source Qi Space, these people should be too broken,' thought Wang Wei, as he found a flaw in his theory:
'With all these advantages, were the Ancient Qi Refiners really weaker than modern Qi Refiners?'
After finding the flaw, he tried to find a reasonable explanation to make his theory make sense. And after a few minutes, he came up with something: Dao Ancestors.
'If we assume that Ancient Qu Refiners did not directly control the Grand Dao Source in the Paragon Realm. Instead, they borrowed its power like Dao Ancestors.
'This meant at their peak, they were a combination of Immortal Kings and Dao Rulers who comprehended numerous laws.'
Wang Wei focused his mind.
'Based on this assumption, Grand Dao split the Ancient Qi Refiners Path into two: Dao Ancestors and Immortal Venerables. Then, he combined them along with the Soul Path to create the current Qi Refiners Path or the Emperor Path.
'Grand Dao also gave the Emperor Path direct control of the Grand Dao Source instead of only borrowing its power. However, why would it do that?
'Wasn't Grand Dao afraid cultivators would defeat it after having direct control of the Grand Dao Source?'
Grand Dao's tactic gave the Emperor Path absolute strength. However, there are also great risks with this move. So he did not understand the logic behind this move.
'This move accelerated the development of the Chaos Universe as more Paragons of the Emperor Path appeared. And with my ancestor's actions, Half-Step Transcendent will soon become more common.
'However, was Grand Dao's move self-less?'
Wang Wei refused to accept this reasoning. Grand Dao is a living creature, even if it's a cold, emotionless, and calculating program, it is still a living creature.
'As a living creature, its basic instinct is to protect itself. And granting all sentient beings direct control to the Grand Dao Source–one of the main sources of its power–without reservation goes against that instinct.'
Wang Wei groaned as he felt a slight pain in his soul. He understood his mind was working too fast, creating a heavy burden. Furthermore, he was trying to analyze a creature that was nearly omnipotent and omniscient, trying to analyze its mode of thinking and decision pattern–such a thing was a burden on the mind and soul.
However, the pain was nothing to him; this level was not even on the level of inconvenience.
'There are a few theories to explain this anomaly,' he continued. 'One, my theory is completely wrong, and the result I deduce is nonsense.
'Two, Grand Dao was created by a Transcendent Being, and the latter programmed it to do such a thing.
"Three, Grand Dao was helpless and had no choice but to make this decision. Something occurred that made it grant such power to the Emperor Path.
'And finally,' Wang Wei thought about the game analogy he created to understand the entire Chaos Universe.
'Grand Dao only gave players certain authority to control the Grand Dao Source. If these players tried to defeat or kill it with the Grand Dao Source, it has the power to remove their authority; in other words, Grand Dao can remove a Paragon's control over the Grand Dao Source.'
Wang Wei focused. Although this truth is scary, it makes perfect sense if you think about it logically. The Grand Dao Source originated from Grand Dao, so it's normal to be able to remove control or even access to it.
'So, if one day I want to confront Grand Dao, I need to find a way to block his authority or reach the same level of authority as it.'
Wang Wei then placed this information in the folder labeled [Transcendence] in his mind and labeled it as the highest importance.
Then, he finished his theory regarding the history of the Chaos Universe:
'Primordial Chaos Era, Body Refining Era, Qi Refining Era, and Emperor Era,' thought Wang Wei. 'Instead of history, this is more of an evolution of cultivation paths.'
He understood the history of the Chaos Universe would be even longer and more complicated. Some eras might have been influenced by one person or an entire race.
There is also the possibility that the evolution of cultivation happened in one Era of the universe.
'I still have a long way to go. So, there is no need to worry about these things for now.' After he becomes a Paragon and even Half-Step Detachment, he has plenty of time to learn about the universe's history and better analyze Grand Dao.
Now, he only needed to focus on proving the Dao and escape the shackles of time and death.
So, he swallowed a pill and healed the soreness in his soul.
Southern Quadrant:
Ao Shen appeared amongst his men. Without pause, he told Heavenly Dao he forfeited the battle, granting him the opportunity to leave at any moment. He sighed in relief as he feared someone would engage him in battle and take the opportunity to kill him,
He then looked at his soldiers, "Our demon race is now suffering a catastrophe of extinction. Your sacrifice is needed to survive this ordeal."
"We will die for the Venerable Chief."
"We will die for the Venerable Chief."
"We will die for the Venerable Chief."
The voice of these soldiers echoed together, forming a beautiful harmony of music full of determination, bravery, and determination.
"I will remember your dedication," said Ao Shen, his voice calm–at least, on the surface. "I promise, as long as I have breath in this mortal world, I will protect your family and tribes."
The 100 million soldiers no longer said any words. Without hesitation, they sacrificed their flesh, blood, soul, and cultivation, turning it into pure life force to help Ao Shen heal.
In just a few minutes, he retired to his peak state, and he still had plenty of life force stored inside his body for later use. Then, another idea popped into Ao Shen's mind.
He took a moment to return to his peak state before asking to leave the battlefield. A white light enveloped him, and once he opened his eyes, he was already outside.
He looked around, surprise flashing deep in his eyes. He thought he would return to the entrance of the battlefield. However, he appeared on the Northern Continent, near the habitat of the demon clan.
'Is this providence?' he thought, gazing at the sky. He was prepared to fight his way out of the Central Continent.
Ao Shen breathed in relief; he did not care about the aura that locked on him since he sensed his own kind.
"Venerable Chief," said an older man who suddenly appeared before him. Ao Shen recognized him as one of the few Insurgents of the Demon Clan.
"You should understand the current situation?"
"Yes."
"Prepare to activate our Emperor Formations and Artifacts," ordered Ao Shen. "All Immortal Powerhouses will be mobilized, controlling the formations and artifacts.
"Use this token to contact the Dao Opening Sect," he continued. "They might share most of the pressure for us. If not, prepare to buy me as much time as possible."
"Chief, do you want to pass the tribulation?" The Insurgent was not stupid and understood this method was the only way for their demon race to survive this tribulation.
"Yes."
"How sure are you?"
"This doesn't matter," replied Ao Shen; he knew there was no point in thinking about failure.
"If I fail, save my bloodline to cultivate another Venerable Chief," he continued. "If the Dao Opening Sect helps us, give them the rest of my body for the continuous protection of the demon race."
"With their strength, they can keep the body without anyone saying anything," commented the Insurgent. "What if they don't?"
"Then let the other factions fight for my body," said Ao Shen, his eyes full of ruthlessness. "Their fighting should injure and destroy many of them. However, you have to make sure the battle doesn't take place in the Northern Continent."
"...As you wish," replied the Insurgent with a sigh.
"Finally, find me a few hundred million people willing to sacrifice themselves to give me more life force. Or, find two Immortal Venerable willing to severely injure themselves as they give me most of their life energy."
The Insurgent frowned, "Our demon race cannot lose so Immortal Tier powerhouses in such a situation."
"Fine. Then, find the Mortal Tribe Members. You must tell them the truth and not force anyone. We don't want any people to have resentment in this sensitive period and do some drastic things."
"It will be done."
AO Shen nodded before flying deep into the demon race's territory.
