đź“– Chapter 1208 - Doubts!
Generally speaking, the accomplishments of a single person couldn’t determine the true height of a civilization. However, in this world, there were few things that could be considered absolute. When a person’s accomplishments surpassed a certain limit, the level of their civilization would inevitably rise along with them.
For example, the current Wang Baole and the current Federation!
Although Wang Baole’s cultivation base had only just entered the Star Domain Realm, the battle prowess he displayed was on the level of a Divine Emperor. His four punches toward the four great sects were shocking, and what was even more shocking… was the slash he sent toward the Nine Provinces Dao!
That slash came from the ancient bronze sword, a supreme treasure of the Universe Realm. Combined with the power of Wang Baole’s fleshly body, cultivation base, and divine soul, it was strong enough to hurt even Divine Emperors!
Although there were some restrictions, as long as it was within the Nine Provinces Dao’s headquarters, Patriarch Nine Daos did indeed have the power of a Universe Realm cultivator. Thus, the fact that his finger had been destroyed by the sword slash instantly made the Never-Ending Clan’s Divine Emperors pay great attention to Wang Baole.
After all, if he left the Nine Provinces Dao’s headquarters, Patriarch Nine Daos was just a Star Domain Realm cultivator who was a little more powerful than others. Wang Baole, on the other hand… could go anywhere freely and unleash power that could threaten those of the Universe Realm.
Because of this, the Federation’s rise was inevitable. It could even be said that it had already risen… because it had Wang Baole and the Flame Patriarch, two Divine Emperor-level cultivators.
It would be one thing if the Underworld Sect didn’t exist. In that case, the Never-Ending Clan might be wary of this master-disciple pair, but they would still have the option of sacrificing two Divine Emperors to suppress them. Although doing so would be extremely costly, the Never-Ending Clan wouldn’t hesitate at all if it ever became necessary.
But now, there was the hostile Underworld Sect to worry about. War could break out in the Dao Domain at any moment, so how could the Never-Ending Clan dare to lightly take action?
Once they made a move, the Underworld Sect would definitely take advantage of the opportunity. At that time, the Never-Ending Clan would be forced into a passive position, and the chance that they would lose might even increase by 20 or 30%.
In the current Never-Ending Dao Domain, any person or faction who could have such great influence on the upcoming war was already in an invincible position.
And this was precisely the current position of the Federation!
Thus, the Never-Ending Clan hurriedly displayed its goodwill, declaring its recognition of the Federation to the entire Dao Domain and sending huge amounts of resources as gifts. However, in its declaration to the entire Dao Domain, the Never-Ending Clan had proclaimed the Federation “the number one sect of the Left Dao Holy Region”, an obvious scheme.
The purpose behind this proclamation was to set the Federation against all the other sects in the Left Dao Holy Region, such as the Nine Provinces Dao and the other four great sects. In other words, the Never-Ending Clan wanted to use the great sects of the Left Dao Holy Region as counterbalances against the Federation. After all, although they could tolerate the Federation’s current status, that was their limit. They didn’t want to see the Federation to expand any further, and they certainly didn’t want to see… an unprecedented future where the Left Dao Holy Region was completely unified, a future where the Federation became the master of the entire holy region!
At the very least, they couldn’t let such a thing happen before the war with the Underworld Sect ended. At the same time… they might be able to use it as a bargaining chip to keep things from getting out of control.
In any case, the Never-Ending Clan always did things according to their own interests. In the following period of time, envoys from the Never-Ending Clan frequently visited the Federation, and the various factions of the Unorthodox Holy Region also sent experts to deliver gifts and congratulations.
Naturally, Wang Baole’s battle had also thoroughly shocked those of the Left Dao Holy Region. Countless people sung his praises, and the Federation received an endless stream of visitors. However… almost no one took the initiative to propose integration.
The various factions of the Left Dao Holy Region were watching and waiting carefully, fearful of causing offense to anyone.
Wang Baole didn’t bother with these kinds of matters, handing them over to Wu Mengling and the other executives of the Federation. His clone was accompanying the Flame Patriarch on a leisurely trip around the solar system. As for his true body, he sat cross-legged inside the Sun, working hard to consolidate his cultivation base.
He had noticed that his battle prowess after advancing to the Star Domain Realm was far greater than expected, causing him to be full of doubts. After pondering quite a bit over why this might be, Wang Baole had thought of a few possible answers.
“There could be three reasons for this… First of all, it might be because my original form is the black wooden board. It could also be because of the Immortal inheritance that Ancient passed down to me. Or… it could be because of what happened during the past life trial. I left the stele world and gained enlightenment of Ebbing Time from the world outside…”
Wang Baole naturally knew that the law of time contained in Ebbing Time wasn’t within the scope of the stele world’s Dao. That was why it was able to display almost unreal power here.
At the same time, the inheritance of the Immortal was wondrous and elusive. To Wang Baole, it seemed to represent some sort of opportunity, or perhaps a certain qualification. In any case, he wasn’t quite able to pin down what exactly it was.
As for the black wooden board, his original form… Wang Baole narrowed his eyes. He recalled the illusion that the woman in red underneath the Underworld River had shown him, the scene of the black wooden nail piercing the center of the Emperor’s brows!
“I feel like I’m closing in on the truth…
“My original form is the black wooden nail stuck between the Emperor’s brows. That’s in the true Never-Ending Dao Domain, so… why was I summoned to this fake Never-Ending Dao Domain, becoming a black wooden board after the portal was cut off? Was it to ease the Emperor’s burden, or… was there another purpose…
“Moreover… Allheaven initially planned to use just a finger to seal this Never-Ending Dao Domain, but after seeing the black wooden board, he… decided to sacrifice an entire hand instead!
“Was all of that really just to seal Ancient?” Wang Baole’s eyes narrowed. A profound light flickered through them as a bold guess rose up in his heart.
“Perhaps Allheaven’s true goal was to seal not just Ancient, but also… the clone of the Emperor here!” Wang Baole fell silent, thinking of Chen Qingzi.
“Chen Qingzi should know that I, the holder of the Immortal inheritance, am the one this stele world is sealing. Why is he still turning a blind eye? Why did he promise not to prevent me from leaving?”
Wang Baole initially thought that this was due to the ties between senior and junior brother, as well as their master Ming Kunzi’s request. But now, he wasn’t so sure.
“Could it be that… Chen Qingzi’s true mission isn’t to seal Ancient’s remnant soul and trap the inheritance of the Immortal? The one he’s really here to seal is… the clone of the Emperor!
“If the Emperor’s clone can’t escape, then the true Emperor will remain incomplete… If the Emperor has many clones in many fake Never-Ending Dao Domains, then perhaps this place… is where his final clone is located…
“In that case, the reason I was summoned here has nothing to do with the Emperor’s will…” The more Wang Baole thought about it, the more he felt that the one this stele world was meant to seal really was the Emperor’s clone. As for himself, based on the scene he saw with the help of the red-clothed woman in the Underworld Emperor Tomb… his original form obviously bore enmity against the Emperor.
“Am I supposed to destroy the Emperor’s clone and cause him to remain incomplete? Is that my mission?
“And what’s up with the centipede… is it part of the Immortal inheritance? Or… is it the clone of the Emperor? Or maybe it’s a hidden piece set up by the Emperor’s true self ahead of time?” Wang Baole’s head started to hurt. The more he learned, the more confused he became.
“And then there’s the issue of the black wooden nail. Back when it pierced the Emperor’s brows, did it already have consciousness? Or did one of the Emperor’s enemies use the inanimate black wooden nail to attack him? If it’s the former, and the black wooden nail originally had consciousness, then… what am I?
“And if it’s the latter… who was it that attacked the Emperor with my original form?” Wang Baole fell silent for some time, but he soon smiled.
“There’s no point in thinking too much. As long as I keep walking this path, one day, I’ll know everything!
“What I have to do right now is think about how to free Master from his current restricted state as soon as possible. I have to find something to fill the gap in the World Ascension Disk…” Furrowing his brows, Wang Baole fell into deep thought. After a while, his eyes lit up.
“There’s someone suitable… a timeless soul that experienced the history of the stele world, a soul unique across the epochs…
“Zi Yue!”
Wang Baole lifted his head, eyes gazing beyond the solar system and into the depths of the starry sky.
At the same time, there was a gaze from the Land of the Underworld staring in the same direction as Wang Baole. The owner of this gaze was sitting cross-legged in the void, hair fluttering and an ordinary wooden sword lying across his knees. He was Chen Qingzi.
“Little Junior Brother, this is the gift I’ve prepared for you!”