Published at 10th of August 2026 7:05 am

Chapter 1926: Taking Over

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"Fellow Daoist, I'm so glad to see you again," Long Aojing said. As soon as he heard Wu Hong was coming, he rushed to greet her personally, while also preparing the highest level of welcome. And as soon as Wu Hong sat down at the prepared banquet, she was direct and to the point: "Commander, what exactly happened?"

"Sigh. It's all because of my incompetence." Long Aojing paused, maybe waiting for some word of assurance. But all he received was Wu Hong's calm and direct stare, waiting for him to continue talking.

Long Aojing coughed slightly to hide his embarrassment. "Not long after your departure, the Red Cloud became more agitated than usual. Countless legions of Destructo Beasts attacked the border, and I fended them off. Oh, thank you for your repair suggestion; it helped a lot in blocking the attacks."

Wu Hong nodded while taking a sip of her tea. "Not bad," she thought. It seems this time around, the commander brought the best he could offer.

"Things were peaceful for a while, but then, the central area suddenly became extremely aggressive. A Saintess from the Emperor Dao Holy Land arrived, and that's when everything began to fall apart. First, she lured more than a third of the Array Masters under my command to leave under the promise of bringing them to the central area. She then facilitated the assassination of another third.

"I tried my best to protect the rest, but while I was distracted, she destroyed a significant portion of the array. The Destructo Race wouldn't give up such an opportunity; their attack was fierce, sending five Destructo Kings. It was horrible, and I almost perished."

Wu Hong frowned. Something wasn't adding up. "How did the Saintess destroy the array? Did she bring a Saint artifact?"

"...No."

"Then?" After the temporary repair, Commander Long should be able to confront Quasi-Saints with no issue. So, what kind of power allowed that Saintess to destroy such a potent array?

Long Aojing's face flushed for a moment. "It was an inside job. My Fifth Madam — I mean, Shen Rong — she was the former Saintess of the Five Qi Harmony Holy Land, and I thought…I thought her heart belonged to me. I don't know what that bitch Liang Zhelang —"

"Watch your words."

"Oh, sorry about that," Long Aijing immediately apologized. He didn't know why, but he found the current Wu Hong quite intimidating. Before, he was confident he could defeat her, but now, his intuition told him that without the array, he would die a terrible death if he faced it. The feeling was odd since Long Aojing was on the verge of perfecting his Genesis Qi Realm and becoming a Quasi-Saint.

"Saintess Liang twisted Rong'er's mind, leaking information and access to the Destiny Hope Array. By the time I had realized what had happened, it was too late."

"This man is useless," Wu Hong thought. "It's one thing to think with his third leg, but as a man, he can't even control his own harem."

"Why is the central area so aggressive? Don't they know that once you guys fail, the Red Cloud will reach their door?" she asked.

"A Saint Array protects the central area. These people think they will be safe no matter the outcome."

"The illusion of power and control — I understand," Wu Hong nodded. "But why are they so focused on the Destiny Hope Array? It can't just be because you're not under their control."

"Well, about that…Um, I, the thing is —"

"If you want us to work together, you must show some sincerity."

Long Aojing paused for a few seconds, weighing the pros and cons of his situation. Unfortunately, no matter which angle he took, he didn't feel right sharing such valuable information with a stranger. However, Long Aojing remembered what Nie Rouxin had told him before this meeting: "Control yourself and be truthful with her."

Long Aojing sighed deeply. "The truth of the matter is that there are rumors that the array might contain an opportunity for sanctification."

"What's the source of those rumors?" Wu Hong asked. Those holy lands would not be acting in this manner for an unverified rumor.

"Do you know the array's origin? It's an Innate Array — the last act of kindness and protection of Grand Dao before it disappeared from the world."

Wu Hong squinted.

"The essence of the array is to gather the hope of all sentient beings to fight the Red Cloud. However, there is a rumor that once enough hope is gathered, a guardian or protector will be born. And as you can imagine, many people are tempted by this position."

Wu Hong nodded. She never noticed it was an Innate Array, which only means her understanding of the Destiny Hope Array is not enough. She needed to rectify this fact.

"Fellow Daoist, what do you think? Can you help us?"

"I can't rely on this idiot, so I need to take power," Wu Hong thought. "However, his popularity is too high. If I try to be direct, there will be too much hassle, not to mention I'm still not his match if he uses the array. So, I need another approach."

"I can help you," Wu Hong nodded. "But before that, there is still one personal thing I need to do."

"Is it going to take long?" Long Aojing immediately asked.

"Depends. It could take a few hours or a few months."

"That's not long," Long Aojing sighed in relief.

"In the meantime, prepare all the information you have on the array — and I mean all. Also, I will need assistance: provide me with your team of Array Masters. You can also send Nie Rouxin to supervise the operation."

"No problem," Long Aojing immediately agreed. He immediately handed her a talisman with detailed information about the array.

"Already prepared? Good," Wu Hong praised. "In that case, lead me to my resting room."

"As you wish."

A servant swiftly brought Wu Hong to the room she had previously stayed in. A glance revealed no one had been there since, and someone had been cleaning this place often. "At least, he's a decent host," Wu Hong thought before blocking the room.

Her divine sense entered the talisman to analyze the array's information. The brief analysis she had made upon her first arrival to this world was not nearly enough.

"As expected, he still hid the core formation," Wu Hong sneered. Many things did not add up in Long Aojing's story. One of them was the Red Cloud invasion. How did the commander successfully deal with 5 Destructo Kings? Before, Long Aojing needed Wu Hong's help to deal with one, but suddenly, he was powerful enough to deal with five? And that's after Saintess Liang had destroyed a significant portion of the array.

Wu Hong scoffed. Luckily, she never planned to rely too much on any of these people. So, with a flicker of her wrist, a unique ink and brush appeared on her palm, which she used to draw a magic circle on the floor; the circle wasn't a complete array, more like an array used for ceremonial magic. Wu Hong took her time to double-check her work and ensure there were no problems. Once the ceremony ended, she sat in the middle and activated it.

An hour passed, and nothing happened. So, she stood and modified the circle. After repeating the process more than five times, she finally received a response. Her spirit entered an unknown spiritual realm where it faced an enormous golden orb.

"It's so weak that it can't even maintain a humanoid form," Wu Hong noticed.

"Humans, why have you contacted me?"

"I have the means to repair you, and in exchange, I want to receive your highest authority," Wu Hong declared. The Destiny Hope Array Spirit did not immediately answer to this proposal.

"I know you've chosen Long Aojing as your future guardian. But you've seen for yourself. He is incompetent. He might be talented, but his lust and indecisiveness are a major weakness. The central area can use him once; they can do it again."

"But you are an outsider. How can I trust you?"

"That's true," Wu Hong nodded. "But I'm stuck in this timeline. My fate is intertwined with yours. If this world falls, I will not survive. And I refuse to die in this place. So, I will do my best to help this world until I find an exit."

"So, you do plan to leave."

"I do, and I won't hide that," Wu Hong calmly replied. Spirits — no matter which forms — are not easy to lie to. So, it's best not to. "But the thing I can do for this world while I'm still here is beyond what you can imagine."

"...I agree with your proposition, but under one condition: you must have co-authority with Long Aojing. None of you is higher than the other, and you cannot turn on each other."

"That's fine by me," Wu Hong said. Her greatest concern was that after helping repair the array, Long Aojing would turn on her. But with this agreement, her greatest concerns have been alleviated.

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