Chapter 1471 Du Cong's Farewell
1471 Du Cong's Farewell
Wang Wei calmly watched Fu Yangcheng fly away, sighing deeply to himself. A mother's love can be like an endless abyss. He hoped for the best for her but did not have much hope. Even with his blessing, Fu Yangcheng's chances of becoming a Paragon were slim, let alone a Peak Paragon. There is also the fact that she will face more trials and tribulations because of those blessings.
"Come out," he said, looking at a tree near his location. A thin elderly lady walked out behind the tree, wearing tight black clothes that almost reminded Wang Wei of Ninjas. He immediately noticed a few anomalies as he glanced at this old woman.
She made no sounds when walking, her body had no odor even with his extreme senses, her vitality was undetectable, her aura non-existence, light did not refract on her, she had no shadow, and even as Wang Wei looked at her, it was as if no one was before him.
'The Dao of Concealment, and she's cultivated it to the extreme,' Wang Wei analyzed. "You must be Matriarch Xie Huan."
"Primal Seed," Xie Huan bowed deeply.
"My shadow is currently unavailable, meaning I'll need someone to assist me."
"It's my honor to serve you," Xie Huan replied immediately.
"Don't be too quick to agree' — Wang Wei raised his hand to stop her — "I've modified the Lord's Shadow Technique to allow someone to be my temporary shadow. However, once I separate from the shadow, they will enter a period of weakness of at least 100,000 Yuan Epochs."
Xie Huan frowned after hearing this.
"The good news is the technique will allow you to experience the strength, mindset, and even Dao application of a Paragon — which will be immensely helpful to your Paragon Tribulation."
"Then, I'll accept," Xie Huan said without hesitation.
"That's good to hear," Wang Wei nodded as he manipulated his shadow to take a humanoid form. Then, the shadow condensed a black crystal to hand to Xie Huan. Wang Wei also gave her a token: "This should help you control my Fate Shadow Guard."
"I will do my best to serve you," Xie Huan bowed deeply. Wang Wei dismissed her before looking in the distance. He teleported to a small, isolated village in the Central Origin Domain. A young girl was pushing an elderly man in a wooden wheelchair. The elderly was old, too old, so old that the stench of death oozed out of him.
As soon as Wang Wei appeared, the young girl took a defensive stand. A black and slim armor materialized on her body, followed by two shadow daggers. "Xin'er, be at ease," Du Cong said, raising her hand to signal her to back down.
"Lord Guardian, I'm glad you came to see me before I leave this mortal coil."
"It's the least I can do after everything you've done for me," Wang Wei replied. The Mortal Civilization no longer had to hide and spread everywhere under the Dao Opening Sect's territory. Under Du Cong's leadership, their civilization has thrived and prospered. With a quick check, Wang Wei knew they'd developed to the point of escaping under the threat of a 1-Leaf Immortal Venerable.
"Xin'er, can you give us some privacy?" The young girl hesitated, still looking at Wang Wei warily. Du Cong chuckled: "You've read the history book and seen his pictures. Do you think you need to worry about the Guardian?" A look of realization flashed in the girl's eyes, and she bowed to Wang Wei and Du Cong before entering the shadow and disappearing from sight.
"Come, let's have a chat," Wang Wei said as he summoned a table. "Do you want to drink tea or wine?"
"This is probably my last minute in the world, so let's have some wine," Du Cong said, and Wang Wei poured him. After a sip, Du Cong sighed deeply: "We've improved so much in all aspects, but we are still being in everything."
"Your civilization contradicts the world's system," Wang Wei answered. "Grand Dao has established that cultivation is a long and tedious process. It is one of the prices cultivators have to pay for their strength, and the system exists to manage the infinite lifespans of cultivators.
"If the system allowed your civilization to have the power on par with, let's say, Paragon. This would mean you can achieve the pinnacle of power relatively quickly. Grand Dao will not allow that." After becoming a Paragon, Wang Wei had a better understanding of Heaven and Earth, so he could comment on the situation without reservation.
"Can't Grand Dao just remove the limit on our lifespans? Make it harder and longer for us to build more powerful armors and constructs." Du Cong stated.
"In that case, you would just become cultivators," Wang Wei explained. "To be precise, you would become an alternate Refining Dao cultivation path."
"So, in the end, everything comes down to the fact we are mortals," Du Cong said with gritted teeth.
"That's right. In Grand Dao's design, there needs to be a hierarchy — with mortals at the bottom and cultivators at the top — to motivate people to climb up."
"What a shit system," Du Cong cursed. "All that suffering, all the pain, all the inequalities, all the injustices — it was all to motivate others? How is that fair? Why can't everyone be immortal? Why can't everyone choose whether they have the ambition to climb the ladder or just want a calm and peaceful life?"
"Why are you looking at me? I'm not the one who designed it," Wang Wei said as he shrugged his gourd.
"Yes, but you have no desire to change it, do you?" Du Cong said as he rose to his feet. "You just want to escape the system — to be free from it."
"You said that it was a bad thing," Wang Wei replied calmly.
"But you could do so much more." Du Cong banged his fist on the table.
"Like what?" Wang Wei asked
"I've laid the foundation for your civilization, provided ideas and resources, given you room to grow, shown you respect and loyalty, and protected you from harm — what more do you want from me?" Wang Wei asked. "Do you expect me to fight Grand Dao to change the system for you?"
"Why…Why not?" Du Cong said as he sat back down, his shoulder no longer as upright as before.
"I have never hid who or what kind of person I am," Wang Wei said. "The reason I kept a distance from you guys and gave you so much autonomy was that I did not want you to see me as your savior.
"If you want to fight for your freedom and ideal world, I will not stop you. On the contrary, I'll be more than happy to support you from the shadows. But do not expect me to share your plight. I have my own goal and path to follow."
Du Cong let these words sink in, and for a moment, he wished he could draw himself in the wine. "Do you think it's possible? Do we have a chance at winning and changing the system?"
"That, I don't know," Wang Wei replied. "What I do know is nothing will change if you don't try."
Du Cong was silent for more than ten minutes, drawing himself in the alcohol during the entire time. "Time is up," he muttered before looking at the sky. "My only regret in this life is that I won't live to see the bastard responsible for the plague suffer for their crime."
"If it makes you feel better, I may not live to see that day, too," Wang Wei joked.
"No, it didn't make me feel better," Du Cong said honestly. "Can I ask you something?"
"What is it?"
"Reincarnation is real, right?"
"It is."
"Can I be reborn as a mortal, with no cultivation talent, for eternity? I also want to be reborn in this world."
"So, you want to try this endless battle that may be pointless?" Wang Wei asked.
"You said it yourself — I won't know if it's possible without even trying."
"I must admit: I admire your dedication," Wang Wei said. He raised his hand to release a black and white light into Du Cong's body. The old man smiled before slowly standing up. He fixed his robe and took one last look at the distance and the sky before slowly dissipating between Heaven and Earth. "I'll see you again!"
"See you later," Wang Wei saluted.
Join my Discord to have many discussions about the story and so on. Here is the Link: https://discord.gg/bnsezTApeY
LazySageDao