1046 Alliance
Wang Wei looked at Shi Qian opposite him and instantly realized she was different; he was not referring to the natural nobility of an Emperor, but the fact she no longer had that sense of worry looming over her.
"How may I address you?"
"I chose the title Karmic Wing Empress," she uttered softly.
"An excellent and fitting name," he commented.
"Thank you."
"I assume you're the former issue was dealt with?"
"Of course," she replied with a brilliant smile. "And I have to thank you for that."
"I didn't do anything."
"No, without you lending me the Deception Inheritance, I would never have a chance to win my battle," Shi Qian explained. "So, I owe you."
"In that case, I won't be a hypocrite and accept your gratitude."
"I also have not forgotten my promise," added Shi Qian. "I handed your ambassador the promised Grand Dao Source Seed and Immortal Mansion."
"He told me," nodded Wang Wei. "What about the alliance?"
"I have no issue." The alliance only benefited her while paying very little, and that's all she cares about. Ever since she was young and her father died, it has always been her and her mother, so she has developed the mindset to give a good life as much as possible.
"That's good." Wang Wei began to discuss with her, primarily regarding his patents. He never refuted anyone who wanted to establish a court as long as they paid the fee, but this was not the same for the others. After all, establishing the court himself served him no good and would only increase his trouble.
On the other hand, the Dream World and Enlightening Temple were off-limits. He wanted to establish these things in these worlds to receive the most benefit. If he allowed these people to copy his idea, his earnings would decrease between 20-42%, and he could not accept such a thing. Unfortunately, it will cause an issue since these worlds will not easily allow foreigners to intervene in their affairs. He has to prepare for the eventual confrontation between other world communities.
Wang Wei's plan is to lure these people with the benefit of the Mortal Civilization. According to his calculations, these people will elevate mortals simply for the merit. Then, the majority will no longer care and even actively destroy these civilizations out of fear of mortal rise and revolution or disdain to change the status quo.
Little do these people know that their actions are laying the foundation for the spread of the Dream World and, mainly, the Enlightenment Temple. After all, without an educated population, how can craft and art develop?
The discussion with Shi Qian proceeded smoothly. As his ally, he granted her access to the Dream World without spreading it himself. However, she could not use it now since he had a deal with Tong Ruobing and Mu Lei to give them a heads-up for the Dream World before other worlds. His other allies will also have this advantage but only after the Star Beast World. However, it was only an advantage of a few hundred years.
After this exchange, he had a second meeting with another ally: Xi Shangyang or the Cosmic Dominion Empress. The two looked at each other for a moment, each with their own thoughts.
Wang Wei found her Cosmos Dao rather interesting as it did not merely involve Star Dao but a few other things as well. He also knew she found another unique Qi after proving the Dao.
"It's been a while, fellow Daoist," saluted Wang Wei.
"Indeed."
"Before we begin our alliance talks, can I ask you a few crucial questions?"
"Please."
"Have you contacted your family since you've descended?"
"Not really." Their Celestial Clan has ways for brief communication in the Source Qi Space, so she knows they've set up somewhere, and they know she successfully proved the Dao and became an Eternal, but that's about it.
"Any contact with the upper dimension?"
"I'm afraid not."
"What about your family? Do they have ways to track what's happening in the Eternal Ascension World?"
"Probably not, and if they did, the people left behind should be laying invisible for an extended period to prevent people from finding them and catching our trail," replied Xi Shangyan truthfully. She would not typically reveal such precious news to anyone, but she has already deduced that Wang Wei was the destined one that his family wanted her to contact.
"In that case, I have some news of the recent situation that may be of interest to the Celestial Clan," uttered Wang Wei before informing her of the recent invasion, the occupied seven moons, and the disappearance of the two suns.
Xi Shangyan's eyes narrowed the more she heard. She understood that such information could fundamentally affect the clan's plans, so she must report the news at all costs.
"Thank you, fellow Daoist, for this information; I will relay it to my family," replied Xi Shangyan with a gentle smile. However, internally, she was wary. She wished to know why he was telling her all this information.
'Could he just want to improve our relationship? No, such a person with deep thought would never do things for such a simple reason,' she analyzed. So, what's his purpose?'
Many thoughts flashed in her mind. She thought of many possibilities, including using the Celestial Clan to further muddle the water in the upper dimension. Besides making good relationships, that's the most likely deduction.
"Consider this news a sign of good faith for our alliance," said Wang Wei with a smile. The two discussed everything, and Wang Wei essentially granted her the same deal as Shi Qian; better yet, he was more lenient in the negotiation since she had more potential than Shi Qian and the Demon Suppressing Emperor.
After the communication ended, Wang Wei secretly watched Xi Shangyan, but she did not immediately relate the news as he expected.
'Clever little girl,' he thought before entering his retreat. Time flew like a river, and before he knew it, 4000 years had passed by before Wang Wei woke up; this was the longest retreat since the beginning of the era. He purposely made the retreats short because of the short lifespan of mortals, but this expansion was not something that could be done in a short period.
He checked the world, and the only significant thing that had happened was a change in the Enlightening Temple. Mortals who achieved strength on par with Quasi-Emperors were memorialized as [Sages] with their own statues in the temple. This statue will bring luck, blessing, and power to the family of a Sage, including increasing the odds their descendants will have high talent for Mortal Dao. Currently, in the world, the best Crafts and Arts families are the ones who have cultivated a Sage.
Due to the expansion in the Lower Realm, arts and crafts have received another boost in development, as these families went on missionary tours to help other mortals elevate themselves.
Wang Wei checked on the expansion before focusing on himself. In these past years, he finally dealt with his last bit of injury and returned to his peak health. Additionally, he focused on training his fleshly body. Sadly, after years of training and hard work, he only reached 95 Infant Fiendgod Force as he entered the second bottleneck in his cultivation journey.
'Luckily, I was prepared for this,' thought Wang Wei before removing something from his space ring: a plate of food with seals on top. He looked at it with love and reminiscent, and unknowingly, a smile crept on the corner of his mouth.
After a few seconds, he unsealed the food, releasing the intense aroma. His stomach grumbled despite the fact he no longer had a need for subsistence. Wang Wei slowly took a bite before closing his eyes to savor every second of it. He could taste the super intense flavor, which originated from her sealing the flavor from ten of the same dish into one bowl.
This bite was enough to kill any mortal, not because of the immense energy but because the flavor would overwhelm their senses; the only upside is that they would die with a smile.
The food was delicious and nostalgic; he could feel all the love she placed when making it, which somehow elevated the taste to another realm. As he was enjoying his meal, the world was in a small turmoil as the food aroma enveloped everywhere. People wanted to know the source or origin of that smell and began to search for it.
The one who knew the answer could only salivate while glancing toward the court. Wang Wei did not know any of this as he was lost in this meal.
As he chewed his food, he could feel his Essence Flower Ability activating and his True Power Dao Realm rapidly increasing:
95…96…97…98…99…99.1…99.5… 100.
Wang Wei entered the fifth realm of the True Power Dao Realm, the Dragon-Phoenix Realm—the stage known as one of the most difficult challenges to opening the Gate of Power.
