Chapter 1993: Reunion of Allies III: Dong Lifen & Wang Peng

A gentle Dong Lifen walked toward the pavilion, dressed in all blue, with a handsome scholar accompanying her. As he glanced at the two, Wang Wei couldn't help but secretly shake his head. Dong Lifen's primary Dao might be Dream/Nightmare, but her secondary Dao is the Sovereign Path. So most people who know her have experienced two versions: Dong Lifen, the ruler, and Dong Lifen, the gentle Dream Cultivator.

"Wang Peng has seen the patriarch."

"At ease," Wang Wei said, inviting them to sit. Like Jia Ping and his mother, he offered them tea, warning them to use it later. Dong Lifen's aura indicated she had just become a B-Class Primal, which meant this tea was crucial to her.

"How is life as a Wang Clan member? Any issue?"

"None at all. I'm glad I had such an opportunity." After leaving for so long, Wang Peng understood how lucky he was in the background department. If he hadn't reincarnated into the Wang Clan, his cultivation journey would have been so much more challenging; he'd have no choice but to rely entirely on his wife's effort, which would have drastically delayed his progress. Dong Lifen is extraordinary, but without the sect's resources and protection, her cultivation path would have been a hundred times harder.

"That's good to hear."

"You should have heard of the Dream World's situation. Do you still need my report?"

"Yes."

Dong Lifen nodded, then placed a talisman on the table that projected a visual representation of her report. Most of what she said matched the Fatestealers', except in more detail. But even though Wang Wei already knew the information, Dong Lifen reported everything in detail.

"The average amount of daily soul energy we amass is decreasing every year. Why?" Wang Wei asked.

"In simple terms, loss of novelty," Dong Lifen replied. "Unlike the mortals of the past, the current ones are used to the Dream World; they are used to this mode of communication, of world immersion, of everything. They've lost the awe, so they use our product; their souls do not react as much, and —"

"Thus, producing less soul energy," Wang Wei said, nodding. "How do you suggest we fix it?"

"I don't really have a solution," Dong Lifen replied. "We could try to create something exciting, but I doubt you have any more ideas, right?"

Wang Wei nodded. The Dream World is popular because it combines Communication, Social Media, Movies, Games, and Virtual Reality. So, before leaving, he provided Dong Lifen with a list of ideas she can use to draw in new members: from horror movies and games to comedy, the Dream World has already tapped all markets.

"The second option would be to force their civilization back to a more primitive state, and reawaken their awe, but you can imagine how terrible of an idea that is."

Wang Wei wouldn't even entertain this idea. The value of the Mortal Civilization was exponentially higher than the small percentage decrease in gathered soul power. And that's not to mention how virtually impossible this plan was to execute. Yes, Wang Wei could destroy the mortal civilization in the sect's territory, but what about everybody else? He had no control over them. At best, he could secretly send people to destroy it, but even if he could ignore the political fallout of such a stupid act, these other factions could just rebuild the civilizations.

Another approach would be to form an accord with every faction to reduce these mortals' civilization, but that would require revealing the Dream World's true function. Although many people suspect they are gathering soul energy, the Dao Opening Sect never reveals it outward. Their official position is that the passive soul energy gathered from everyone is small and used to operate the Dream World.

"The last thing I can think of is to increase the population, but we're currently in times of turmoil, so that's not possible."

With vast resources and the protection of cultivators, these mortals can now breed as much as they want — or they should have. Unfortunately, the Infinite Divine Court's invasion meant their population was decreasing instead of improving. So, until the world is more stable, this solution is unfeasible.

Wang Wei sighed. "If the situation were stable, we could have tried to spread to other worlds. But for now, that's out of the question."

"True. But would expansion really be a good idea? After all, we might be able to hide our true intention from the people of this world, but these Saints would discover the truth."

"I'm aware, and this is a problem we'll have to face eventually." The Dream World is a resource-gathering project. By gathering soul energy from mortals over an extended period, the quantity will reach a scale useful even to Primordial Chaos Saints. Wang Wei and Wu Hong plan to develop methods to purify and condense this massive soul energy, making it even more valuable. So, when these greedy cultivators realize this, they will rob and copy the Dream World without hesitation.

"Alright, don't worry about the decrease for now. I'm about to force Ma Liqiu to stop competing with us. So, prepare to spread the Dream World and control most of the market."

Dong Lifen's eyes lit up at the words, and a smile crept to the corner of her beautiful mouth. "I understand. Don't worry: I'm ready."

Wang Wei gave her a strange look for a moment before nodding. "I know you didn't come here just for the Dream World. So, what's up?"

Dong Lifen squinted. "Emperor Kong — is he dead?"

Wang Wei was immediately speechless; this woman was so determined to acquire the Literary Destiny for her husband.

"It's not what you think," Dong Lifen explained. "I don't just want it because of Peng'er. Look at this." She waved her hand, projecting her Sea of Consciousness and showing a minor Dream World ruled by a vast dynasty.

"This is?"

"The Eternal Dream Dynasty," Dong Lifen explained. "A dynasty ruled by the Nightmare Empress and Sage Wang. A dynasty that controls the destiny of Taoism, Buddhism, and the Literary Way — a dynasty known to every world, to everyone who dreams."

"You want to spread the legend of your dynasty, and then gather its power to sanctify?"

Dong Lifen paused. She had spent so much time thinking about this Saint Path, but why did he understand it so easily?"

"Why are you surprised? Weren't you inspired by Yahweh's Saint Method? Who did you think brought that technique to the sect?"

"That's right — you're Wang Wei: why am I surprised? Anyway, what do you think?"

"It's an excellent path that fits both of you," he replied, glancing at Wang Peng; this bastard was lucky to have a wife who planned a perfect Saint Path for him.

"But?"

"It's not easy to do. First, you'd need to spread the Dream World to countless worlds to spread the legend of the Eternal Dream Dynasty. Secondly, you need a decent destiny from the Three Main Religions — especially from the Literary Way. Wang Peng doesn't cultivate the Dream Dao, so if you want this method to work for both of you, you'll need more than legends created by both of you; he'll also need real achievements on the Literary Path— preferably becoming a Sage."

"Which is why I'm concerned about Emperor Kong's fate."

"Well, he's not dead —"

"What a shame."

"I'm not done yet. The Highest Sovereign captured him."

"He did?" Dong Lifen's eyes lit up. "Why? No, that's a stupid question. His destiny comes directly from Grand Dao — he probably wants to use that causal relationship."

Wang Wei nodded. For someone of Jiang Qing's caliber, such a causal relationship is highly valuable.

"What do you think his chances of returning are?"

"50/50."

"So high?"

"That's realistically speaking. Personally, I think he has a 90% chance of returning."

"Why?"

"Intuition."

"The fact that he's captured might not be a sign of doom, but of good luck," Wang Peng added.

Wang Wei nodded. "Exactly. Something tells me his capture is just a manifestation of his destiny and not that something has gone awry." Knowing how crucial Emperor Kong was, it made no sense for Grand Dao to send him into the expedition. Kong seemed to have activated his destiny and created a new form of the Literary Way — Confucianism —, but there were other ways this could have been achieved; Grand Dao didn't need to send him to that expedition — she could have sent him to another place dominated by scholars, and the result might be the same, maybe minus the other benefits.

Dong Lifen frowned; this was bad news for her plan. "What's his current strength?"

"Don't even think about it."

"Why not?"

"Forget how he's protected by destiny; before his capture, Kong's strength was beyond your capability. And if I'm correct, he'll be even stronger by the time he returns."

Dong Lifen groaned softly. "What do you want me to do then? I can't just give up."

"Maybe we should plan for the destiny in other worlds."

"No. The Eternal Ascension World will be the destiny center of the Chaos Universe — it must originate from here." Her legendary dynasty bears the word [Eternal] for a reason.

"There might be another approach."