Journey of the Fate Destroying Emperor
chapter-1012

1012 Discovery & Pressure

[Unedited chapter)

Yu Yan spent the next few days on a journey of self-discovery. She reexamined her likes, dislikes, goals, ambitions, and life as an individual rather than a mother or wife.

Experiencing mortal lives and civilization was marvelous to her, but she still could not find a grand goal for herself. So, she decided to relax.

Luckily, in the city she was in, there was a chess tournament, and she participated.

Without any suspense, she won, and rumors of a Chess Saint spread in that mortal kingdom. At first, Yu Yan wanted to leave because of all the attention, but she changed her mind and continued to accept challenges.

The process was helpful to her search.

She realized, or rediscovered, her love for chess. At an early age, she displayed an exceptional talent for the game while receiving her aristocratic education. However, given her talent, her father focused more on honing her battle talents, while her sister - who was expected to marry and be more ladylike - focused on things like chess, poetry, and calligraphy.

She did not focus on the art of chess again until her son's method of proving the Dao required it. During that time, she realized how talented she was in the subject, with only her son could keep or rival her. Yu Yan smiled, thinking how the latter would sometimes secretly cheat when he was on a losing streak.

Of course, she would play the mother card and blame him for playing "too hard" when she was on a losing streak.

Yu Yan enjoyed her time as the "Chess Sage" and felt her grand ambitions might be related to chess somehow.

However, she could not think of anything after much deliberation and walked away. Nothing came to fruition until she was in the Western Continent.

In one of the temples, he learned the monks would experience the Trial of Darkness to temper their minds. As the name implies, the monk would close themselves into a room of absolute darkness; their task is to rely on the fortitude of their mind to not succumb to the darkness.

"That seems easy enough," muttered Yu Yan, who wanted to experience this trial. Sadly, it was only for the monks of the temple. So, she had no choice but to reveal her identity. After all, who dared refuse the mother of the Heavenly Emperor? She was not pedantic to the point of not using her identity despite her journey of self-discovery.

Yu Yan started the test with the temple's blessing, beginning with the Mortal Tier Darkness. This part of the test was easy as her mental fortitude was naturally high as a cultivator, so she focused on the part for a cultivator.

She began to have visions of the past on the first level of that darkness. Her clan was lucky in the birth department as her mother gave birth to two children who were relatively close to each other. As such, they were very close in childhood and played together.

One game she loved to play with her older sister was search and find, and she always won. She would hide in the strangest places full of darkness that her sister was very scared of. She would make fun of her afterward for being older and being scared. Sadly, as they grew older, such tactics no longer worked.

'I thought I chose the Dao of Darkness because of its opposite nature of Light. If I could prove the Dao with that law, our clan's foundation would be deeper, but it may not be so simple.

I've always loved darkness.'

After this realization, many things she had long hidden or forgotten about became clearer. When she broke through the Divine Body Realm, the idea or goal she instilled in her Good Fortune Flame was that she would revive the Yu Clan and show people the true beauty and horror of darkness.

Over the years, she worked toward the first part of the goal but did not focus on the second aspect. After her generation learned Heavenly Dao cut off the Path of Supreme and that there would be no Heaven Will in this generation, she shifted all her attention to raising the next generation.

She did not even revive her ambitions toward the Yu Clan until she saw how talented her son was. As for the other, she forgot it until now, thinking about it as the words of her young and inexperienced self.

"So, that's how it is," muttered Yu Yan as she opened her eyes. "The answer was before me long ago. My goal, my grand ambitions, lies in darkness."

Her aura suddenly changed, becoming calmer, wiser, more peaceful, and more complete. Her Dao Heart had with a new youthful vigor. Cultivators' sublimated, and Yu Yan found herself with a new youthful vigor. Cultivators' appearances are dictated by lifespan, choice, and state of mind.

The first two are understandable, while the last one is more rare. Some people suddenly aged in one night after experiencing a terrible ordeal or their Dao Heart breaking. The same individual could return to their youth after dealing with their issue or fixing their Dao Heart. Such a method of deciding appearance is more applicable to Immortal Tier cultivators.

Previously, Yu Yan was young bychoice, not because of her mindset. As the Sect Madam of the Dao Opening Sect and the mother of one of the most powerful Heaven Chosen, she had to look a certain way - she had to be presentable.

Now, she was young because of her mindset. She felt her spirit return to when the world was vast and full of endless possibilities.

"It's time," muttered Yu Yan before leaving the test room. She thanked the monk for their hospitality before walking out. She took one last look at the temple while muttering, "I should build this Darkness Test for the clan; it's a good way to temper the mind, Dao Heart, and even Willpower."

Yu Yan left, immediately returning to the Heavenly Court.

"Back already?" asked Wang Wei with a smile; he could see and feel the difference in his mother. Her eyes were brighter than usual, an indication of a highly focused spirit.

"Yes, I have found my path."

"Oh, tell me about it."

Yu Yan told him about her discovery and her grand ambition. "A little absurd, isn't it?"

"Maybe, but isn't it the same for my dream of achieving absolute freedom?

It's fine if you're willing to walk steadily toward that goal and not give up no matter what; your life will be fulfilled, and you won't regret it."

"No matter what?" Yu Yan shook her head. "I don't think I can be like you and Hong'er, willing to do EVERYTHING to achieve your goal."

"We,,,, are the extreme. So, it's fine if you're not like this. And maybe it's a good thing not to be too extreme."

"True," nodded Yu Yan. "I think it's time for me to act."

"We should have a little more time."

The last time he checked, their deception worked, or to be precise, True Heavenly Dao allowed it.

However, he still wanted to wait a little longer.

"Now is the perfect time. Since you are fishing, once I begin, they will conclude that you desperately need merit to accelerate your healing. This should place more pressure on them to accelerate their actions."

"That's an excellent idea. However, you should wait a few more weeks. My clone is scheming against the Great Origin Mountain."

"Oh, what's your plan?"

The two mother and sons discussed how to play the world for their benefit. Afterward, Yu Yan returned to her clan, preparing for the upcoming event. Soon afterward, auspicious clouds manifested above the court, alarming everybody.

Not even an hour afterward, the Dao Opening Sect released information about a new Innate Refining Technique that used arrays to imitate Heavenly Dao and refined pills, artifacts, and talismans. The world shook as people realized a golden age of profession was happening, and it was just the beginning.

Great Origin Mountain, a meeting of the highest order:

"Time is running out," said a burly elderly man with long white hair and a waist-length grey beard, clothed in all black and with abnormally large hands for his size. "If he heals, then our action won't mean anything."

"I agree with Great Elder Shi. If our actions cannot gain his favor and are only the cherry on top, then it's pointless."

Everybody looked at Sect Master Chen Ye, a handsome middle-aged man with a white streak on his hair; he did not appear burly like most people in the room but had a more refined or elegant air. His hesitation was not because he was Chen Chen's adopted father but the price he needed to pay.

"Advisor Kang, what do you think?"

Their factions were composed of weapon refiners, so they were usually hot-tempered because of the scripture they cultivated. As such, each generation will have an Advisor position or someone wise and calm to help the sect master.

"Why did the Heavenly Emperor kill Young Master Chen?" asked Advisor Kang, who also had a bookish air emanating from him.

"What do you mean?"

"He had the opportunity to kill others, but besides the people from Di Tian's side, he only killed the Young Master."

"Kang bastard, are you trying to sow conflict?"

"Let me finish talking," replied the Advisor calmly. "Not long ago, we received news he summoned all the former Heaven Chosen. Although we don't know what they discussed, news about a second small-scale Heaven Will Battle spread. If not for the recent news, this should have been the talk of the entire world."

"What are you getting at?"

"The Heavenly Emperor is a person with grand visions. Many of the changes in the world were things he had planned hundreds of thousands of years prior."

"Are you saying he had planned to save or keep the people in his generation alive? However, Chen'er's puppet transformation is why he killed him?" asked Sect Master Chen Ye.

"That's correct."

"So?"

"What if he believes we still have this method and becomes suspicious of our sect?"

"He should be wiser than this."

"The point is we cannot allow him to have any excuses to intervene in our sect's affairs or, worse, destroy us," he replied calmly. Chen Ye immediately understood the latter's meaning - we must mend our relationship with the Heavenly Emperor, even if it's for peace of mind.