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Translator: Fate
Translation Checker: Silavin
Gu Changge did not rush the Black-Robed Elder for an answer. There was no need to worry too much about such matters. Not only was there some time before the Hunters from outside the Boundless Fallen Ocean arrived at the Mountains and Oceans True World, but these Hunters were not a priority. They were not qualified enough for him to pay attention to them.
He was currently considering whether to contact the rest of the True Worlds. After all, it was impossible for only one True World to participate in the establishment of the Heavenslayers Alliance. Trying to shake the Land of Truth, also known as the Source Realm, with just the strength of one True World alone was a foolish fantasy.
He turned his gaze back to the remaining worlds.
While he was refining the Demon Lord True Blood, Jiang Chuchu and Yin Mei had entered into seclusion in hopes of breaking through to a higher Realm. Unlike before, there was nothing in the Divine Empire and the Heavenly Court that required their attention anymore. Only some Heavenly soldiers and generals would regularly patrol the lands to maintain order and peace.
The various Forces were not stupid. It was impossible for them to offend either the Divine Empire or the Heavenly Court.
On the other hand, many strange and ancient monsters had revived recently. Some of these ancient figures came from the same era as Gu Changge. Having experienced the dark catastrophe during the Forbidden Epoch, they had a clearer understanding of the terror that Gu Changge brought. How could they possibly dare to act rashly? Therefore, they quietly hunkered down in their respective territories instead.
“Thinking about it, it has been a while since I last saw Xianer…”
Gu Changge’s figure appeared inside the Heavenly Court’s Overwatching Temple. The spacious and magnificent temple was unusually cold and quiet. Moreover, there was not a single shadow to be seen. Nobody seemed to have entered this place in a long time.
After Yue Mingkong entered seclusion, Gu Changge issued an order. The affairs of the Heavenly Court were handed over to various subordinates, including the Immortal King Families in the Immortal Domain. They were left in charge of handling these matters. That was why almost nobody remained in the central area of the vast Heavenly Court. Even the powerhouses who once served Gu Changge as his most trusted subordinates did not dare to step into this place without his explicit permission.
Gu Changge shook his head. The only movement inside the empty temple came from the hanging curtains which fluttered in the wind that blew from a distance. He stood there alone and without moving for some time.
Except for a brief glance at Gu Xianer when he previously returned from the Immortal Domain with the Big Red Bird, their last meeting with each other was truly a long time ago.
According to the Big Red Bird, Gu Xianer was the reincarnation of the Mountains and Oceans True World’s Incarnation of Heaven who perished while the Mountains and Oceans True World was resisting the Great Purge. Unfortunately, his memories of the Mountains and Oceans True World’s Incarnation of Heaven were very hazy and few. He had not paid much attention to this matter before. Most of his attention had been focused on the True Spirit of the Mountains and Oceans True World, Gu Qingyi.
“It’s definitely lacking the hustle and bustle of life. Even if I have gotten accustomed to being alone for long periods of time, I just can’t get used to not seeing my punching bag for such a long time…” He sighed, feeling slightly regretful. Knowing that Gu Xianer was probably training somewhere to become stronger with the Big Red Bird’s help, he did not take any action to deduce her current whereabouts.
A long while passed before he walked out of the temple. The void in front of him was blurry. Taking slow steps forward, he walked into the void.
Inside the Sanctum of Destiny, Xiao Ruoyin wore a plain long dress and sat cross-legged on a cushion with her eyes closed. She remained completely motionless. After all, she had fallen into some form of slumber.
The Sanctum of Destiny had always been quiet. Very few living creatures could be found within a million kilometres of the Star Territory. Not to mention, she had also dismissed all the servants in the temple. Her only company was the Celestial Boat of Creation.
Gu Changge’s arrival did not awaken her. In any case, he simply stood by the side and watched her without making a single sound. Then, he left silently after observing her for some time.
He did not know why he came to the Sanctum of Destiny or why he wanted to take a look at Xiao Ruoyin. [Is it because the people around me have all gone into seclusion? Am I feeling lonely? Am I looking for somebody to talk to? Or, do I hold some guilty feelings toward her?]
These difficult-to-understand emotions flooded his heart. He had not cultivated the Heartless Dao. Be that as it may, his identity as the Demon Lord or the Original True Ancestor meant that he was destined to be different from ordinary people. It was impossible for him to routinely experience the various events of mundane life or understand the different states of emotions like ordinary people.
[Why did I develop these feelings? Is this an internal review to inform myself that my emotions are incomplete?] He shook his head gently. He had never regarded himself as an emotional or sentimental person. After all, he was willing to do anything and employ every possible means for the sake of achieving his goals.
In his opinion, the end result was more important than the process. That was why he would always consider the results first whenever he was deliberating over most matters. Only after that would he consider what methods he would employ to achieve his desired results at the fastest speed. It was a natural habit that had been carved deep into the depths of his Soul.
Everything in the world, be it people or objects, could be regarded as tools in his eyes. The only difference between them was their value. Therefore, it was generally difficult for him to develop any genuine feelings for these tools.
[Perhaps I should also, in the genuine sense, try to comprehend the emotions and desires of living creatures. Find out what true relationships are…] He turned his gaze inward and quietly thought to himself.
At his level, things rarely happened without a reason. If he suddenly had a feeling for something, his intuition was often not unsubstantiated. On the contrary, these feelings might indicate an incredible opportunity for him. The more seemingly simple the problem, the easier it was to draw nearer to the essence, return to back to the basics, and approach the source.
He first discovered this problem when he reunited with Gu Qingyi on the Moon outside the Boundless Fallen Ocean. In the beginning, he was confused as to why he developed feelings of guilt and reluctance toward her. That would have been impossible in the past.
As long as she helped him complete his plans and achieve his goals, he could throw her aside without hesitation. There was no such thing as sympathy or compassion. However, his heart throbbed strongly when Gu Qingyi not only hugged him but also regarded him as her only support without harbouring any doubts toward him whatsoever.
For some reason, that scene also reminded him of Yue Mingkong, Gu Xianer, and Jiang Chuchu…
While he was refining the drop of True Blood, he had also been considering this question: ‘How did I view my Family members and beautiful women around me? As mere tools? Or, playthings?’
What he cultivated was not the Heartless Dao. Nevertheless, he had indeed shared many experiences with them before his past memories were completely awakened. Not to mention that these emotions had not existed previously.
After a brief introspection, he suddenly realised something. This was what it meant to be Human. He was neither a Sage nor a Saint. How could he be emotionless?
If he had to make a comparison, then the Demon Lord and the True Ancestor were part of the Heavenly Dao. They were cold and emotionless in the genuine sense. Everything in the mundane world was nothing more than an illusion to them. Yet, he could now develop emotions such as sympathy. He believed that was the process of transformation from the Heavenly Dao to being Human.
“In the Heavenly Dao, the weak gain strength from the strong. The vast number of living creatures in the world are the so-called ‘excess’. On the other hand, the strong prey on the weak in Humans. Both complement each other…”
He suddenly comprehended many things in his heart. This was indeed a great opportunity for him right now. In his opinion, it was an opportunity that could even increase the success rate of his plans by thirty percent.
The existence of the Original True Ancestor could be regarded as the representative of the Heavenly Dao and the Will of the World. Hence, what he currently needed to do was compensate for those flaws through being Human.
The birth of the Original True Ancestor was a secret that nobody could trace, uncover, or learn. That was because, if everything followed the established trajectory, it was impossible for another existence like the Three Original True Ancestors to appear in the world even with the addition of various anomalies and variables.
In the first place, the Original True Ancestors represented the concept of the Dao. It was only thanks to their existence that the Dao was brought into the world. Therefore, they stood at both the starting point and the ending point of all tangible and intangible matter. Their strength was truly incredible in every sense of the word.
The world could never give birth to such an existence. Even if one searched from the beginning of time to the end of time, it was impossible to find another existence like them. In fact, nobody could even make an accurate description of the Original True Ancestors because they neither knew nor understood their existence.
It was precisely because Gu Changge was aware of these facts that he made such long-term arrangements. However, the current opportunity unexpectedly allowed him to consider another possibility.
Seeing as he was originally one of the Three Original True Ancestor, it was only natural for him to be familiar with their strength. It could be said that the emergence of Humanity in his life provided a glimmer of possibility that could allow him to surpass the Original True Ancestor’s cultivation on a fundamental level.
After leaving the Sanctum of Destiny, Gu Changge began travelling through various universes. He also visited the assassin’s guild that Bai Lian’er established, of which the predecessor was the Dark Heaven that he established in the past.
Following the merger between the Dark Heaven and the Heavenly Court, the major Forces that emerged were placed under Bai Lian’er’s control. Therefore, the Department of Suppressing Evil, the Asura Chamber, and the Slaughter Hall were actually under her management.
Over the years, Bai Lian’er and Ji Qingxuan had been responsible for selecting the talented candidates who would enter the Divine Empire and the Heavenly Court. They enjoyed their work immensely. On the contrary, the pursuit of cultivation was not as important to them.
Gu Changge simply observed from the void, and then he left quietly without showing himself to them.
Now that Bai Lian’er was a True Daoist, she definitely lived up to the name of Killing Emperor. It was just that the strength of a True Daoist was too insignificant in the current world, so she would not be of much help in a crisis.
On the other hand, Ji Qingxuan’s cultivation was not particularly great. She was not adept at cultivation in the first place. Even though so many years had passed, she had only reached the Quasi-Nirvana Realm.
In Gu Changge’s opinion, it would be extremely difficult for her to overcome her shackles and advance into the Nirvana Realm to become a True Daoist with her qualifications. She would probably be trapped in this Realm for the rest of her life if she did not receive any blessings or opportunities to improve her cultivation.
If he truly wanted to, he could foresee her future with a single glance. However, he did not do so. Everything in life was bound to flow as nature dictated, and it was very boring to see the future with just a single glance.
More importantly, he wanted to experience the diverse emotions of ordinary men so that he could understand their desires and emotions. That was imperative for him to complete the flaws in his Humanity.
Nevertheless, seeing Ji Qingxuan abruptly reminded Gu Changge of her Sister, Su Qingge. It had been a long time since his last encounter with Su Qingge.
Although Su Qingge once attempted to oppose him after being bewitched by Chan Honyi, he had expressed that he had no intention to kill her or punish her a long time ago. Be that as it may, he was not a good person. He had been manipulating her since the beginning. In fact, he even created an almost perfect image just so that she would trust him wholeheartedly.
In the end, Su Qingge suffered a mental breakdown when she finally learned the truth. She felt as though her entire world had collapsed around her. That was a normal reaction. In any case, he was not crazy enough to assume that she would continue to trust him once she learned the truth.
There was another Soul living inside her body. Furthermore, the True Soul once lived in the Demon-Burying Abyss. Corrupted by the Demonic Energy, its every action and every thought had the tendency to lean toward the Demonic Dao.
Over the years, Su Qingge was bound to be affected to a certain extent.
She later fled to Devil Mountain to seek asylum from Chan Honyi and became bewitched by Chan Honyi’s words. As a consequence, she wanted to rebel against Gu Changge and force him to give her an explanation.
Naturally, her main reason was that she wanted to give herself an answer. She wanted to know where she stood in his heart. Was she a worthless chess piece that could be thrown aside at any moment? Or, was she even less than a chess piece? Was she just an amusing toy for him to play with?
From the perspective of an outsider, Su Qingge was a pitiful person. After she was brought to the Upper Realm by Gu Changge, she was forced to become Successor of Demonic Arts because she had two Souls in her body.
As for Gu Changge, he openly threw the blame for many disasters on the Successor of Demonic Arts. Even though these acts were not carried out by her, she was forced to hide and flee lest her identity got discovered.
Afterwards, she herself firmly came to believe that she was the Successor of Demonic Arts who would bring disaster to the world and stand on the opposite side of Gu Changge as his enemy. Every single day during that period was pure torture and pain to her.
Gu Changge left the area and continued travelling to various universes. Passing through many Star Territories filled with life, he finally came to an Ancient Star. He walked among the mortals and truly returned to nature. Like an ordinary man, he leisurely enjoyed the mountain scenery and travelled along the river.
He did not attempt to deduce Su Qingge’s current whereabouts. In any case, he did not wish to do that either. It was best if everything happened naturally. If they were meant to meet, then they were bound to see each other again. If they were not meant to meet, then why force it?
In today’s world, Su Qingge no longer needed to worry about her identity as the Successor of Demonic Arts. She was finally free to choose the life she wanted to live. Hence, he did not wish to disturb her peace.
In the end, he travelled across many mountains and rivers. There were times when he would travel with others, and there were times when he would travel alone. Passing through countless small countries, he experienced war. He also witnessed the birth of ancient countries, the fall of ancient cities, and the demise of dynasties…
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