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Translator: Zenas
Proofreader: Silavin
“Brother Ye, how much do you know about this matter?” Gu Changge asked casually as if he was discussing an insignificant thing. While speaking, he raised the wine cup made of white jade and drank some of its contents before saying with a look of praise, “This is really fine wine.”
Yue Mingkong was a bit taken aback. Even though her eyes were fixed on his handsome and peerless face, her whole back felt cold at this moment. Others might not know about it, but she knew very well that Gu Changge was the true successor of the fobidden Demonic Arts. He had framed others like this many times in her previous life. She had foolishly believed that it had nothing to do with Gu Changge each and every time it happened. However, now that she was witnessing the entire process with her own eyes, her palm had gotten wet with cold sweat!
Gu Changge had casually put the blame for the disappearance of the disciples on Ye Ling with just a few words while he was drinking wine with a faint smile. Although she also wanted to kill Ye Ling to snatch his fortuitous opportunity, everything she had done paled in comparison to what Gu Changge was planning to do and could do! There was simply no way to make a comparison. She had always known that Gu Changge’s means were fearsome, but only after seeing them personally did she truly realize their terror. His every word and action were all part of a scheme. At this moment, a chill ran down her spine. She had to make sure Gu Changge never finds out that she knows his secret of being the master of the taboo Nommening. Otherwise, she would absolutely meet a tragic end, and no one would be able to save her at the time. Her advantage of being a regressor was useless in front of Gu Changge.
“This wine is good. Mingkong, you give it a try as well.” Yue Mingkong’s mind was occupied with thoughts when Gu Changge suddenly brought a wine cup before her and said with a smile.
“Your face doesn’t look good and your hand is cold too. Are you feeling uncomfortable?” Seeing Gu Changge being concerned about her would have normally made Yue Mingkong feel moved. She would normally jump for joy, but right now, she felt as if she was in a daze, and she did not even know what to say in response.
“Gu Changge, I’m fine.” Yue Mingkong answered softly while shaking her head. She had recovered from her abnormal state.
Gu Changge nodded as he said meaningfully with a smile, “That’s good to know.”
He knew that Yue Mingkong had likely guessed his intention which is why she was so frightened. As for doing things like framing others, he could not be more familiar with it. He could do it with no effort and without feeling any guilt about it. Yue Mingkong, on the other hand, was just a woman who could be tough and ruthless only because she was forced to by her circumstances. It was different for him who was naturally fit to be the main villain, with his mind full of crafty plots and schemes.
It was just a very big coincidence that he had found this opportunity. Yin Mei had been helping him look for various cultivation resources, and accidently, some forces had noticed that there was something wrong. It had caused panic and sensation in many places. Therefore, he had come to Skyward Ancient City to take care of this matter. Gu Changge did not say anything to her for making the mistake. After all, if someone were to do something regularly, it was unavoidable for it to be noticed sooner or later. No matter how hard they tried to conceal it, they would still end up revealing some traces or flaws.
Gu Changge had been thinking about how he was going to resolve this issue when coincidentally Ye Langtian mentioned Ye Ling’s matter to him. It was like a scapegoat was delivered to him. Gu Changge had already thought of many ways to pin the blame on Ye Ling. Moreover, each of his ways was guaranteed to be flawless.
Ye Langtian was a bit surprised as he watched Gu Changge having such a conversation with Yue Mingkong, despite the presence of other people. He could not help but say with a smile, “People will be envious to see Brother Gu and Princess Mingkong having such deep feelings for each other.”
Yue Mingkong, who had already recovered her calm by now, responded with a faint smile that really fit the situation, without speaking a word. She felt that she was likely being a bit too jittery. Even if the recent actions of Gu Changge were also for the sake of reaping profits, he had been very nice to her compared to how he was in her previous life. Their relationship had also gotten much better. Furthermore, just now, Gu Changge had tried to comfort her by lightly encasing her hand in his after seeing cold sweat appearing on her palm. She did not know if Gu Changge had sensed anything from her reaction, but it was really comfortable for him to be so attentive and mindful of her.
Ye Langtian continued the conversation, “This recent event has certainly caused quite a disturbance in many forces. A large number of people have grown anxious. Many youthful prodigies have disappeared all of a sudden. Most importantly, their cultivation level is not very high, so people did not notice anything in the beginning. But, due to an uproar, more people suddenly discovered a large number of cultivators have disappeared. The most notable thing about this is that the graveyards of some factions have been dug open and the old corpses buried there could not be found anywhere.”
As the successor of the Ye Family, it was very easy for him to investigate such matters. Of course, the main reason behind him doing so was the sudden disappearance of the grandson of a major family’s elder. That elder looked for his grandson everywhere but it was all to no avail. That grandson of his had been out for not too long and so, he did not have any hostile relationships with any outsiders. Despite that, he disappeared without a trace. It was as if he had sunk into the ocean!
The Beyond was simply too vast and there were countless cultivators disappearing every day due to various reasons, like encountering a spatial crack, carelessly coming across a battle between experts and being killed by the remnant energy of their attacks, and so on. Therefore, it was nothing odd for people to disappear all of a sudden. But that elder discovered tiny hints of a particular energy. It was secretly looking for youthful prodigies that had good talent. It extended across every inch of the Inner Domain of the Beyond, and also towards every stone in the Middle and Outer Domain. When an uproar about this matter erupted, it shocked many forces and their disciples became anxious and terrified.
“Looks like it’s more or less the same as what I’ve heard.” Gu Changge nodded with a pondering look upon listening to the other party’s words. Then, he stared at Ye Langtian and asked him directly, “Brother Ye, do you feel this matter is related with the taboo inheritance that was lost long, long ago after a large number of factions gathered together to destroy it?”
Gu Changge got straight to the point as he asked in a calm manner. After all, it would be odd for him to be hesitant about it after leading the conversation in this direction.
“Brother Gu means that?” Hearing his words, Ye Langtian’s eyes flashed with understanding at once. Actually, Gu Changge did not need to say much for him to come to the same conclusion. He also felt that the matter had something to with that sort of inheritance, or it would not have caused so much terror among the masses. He did not mention it earlier only because he was too afraid to imagine the consequences if it was true. The two words ‘taboo inheritance’ alone were enough to describe how terrifying it was. There was no one in the Beyond right now who would dare to mention that inheritance, which was also why it began to be called taboo.
“If my guess is right, I’m afraid that taboo inheritance has once again reappeared in this world. It’s like weed that can never be eliminated completely. It’ll recover again and again, no matter how it got destroyed by others.” Gu Changge replied with a calm expression.
While he was speaking, Yue Mingkong felt as if he was foreshadowing something. It was Gu Changge who was the real owner of the taboo inheritance after all. Now that he has laid down the foundation for his scheme with his words, he should be getting to the main topic next.
“I see that Brother Gu shares the same opinion.” Ye Langtian nodded upon hearing his words as a hint of admiration appeared on his face. He suddenly felt that Gu Changge really understood him to come to the same conclusion, making him appreciate the other party as a person. Of course, he did not know that Gu Changge only said what he did to have Ye Langtian spread this information to others. This way, it would become simply impossible for anyone to suspect him first as the true owner of the taboo inheritance.
“If it’s really true, it’s quite a coincidence that the taboo inheritance appeared at such a time.” Gu Changge spoke again with a pondering look on his face, as if he was carefully thinking about something.
“Brother Gu, could this matter be related with the sudden rise of Ye Ling?” Hearing his reply, Ye Langtian asked directly without trying to beat around the bush. He had a perplexed look on his face, and it was apparent that he had thought things through before asking the question.
“I investigated many things about Ye Ling. He doesn’t have a prominent background, he lacks resources, and his family wasn’t treated with any importance. So, why does he have such a high cultivation? Not only that, he can suppress even those of the same generation, attempting to reach our level… This matter is definitely a bit too coincidental. It seems that I need to pay even more attention to it.”
Gu Changge had a composed expression as he heard his words. Though, he screamed ‘wonderful’ praises in his heart. Ye Langtian had already started to speculate things as he had wanted him to. With this, Ye Ling would not be able to enjoy his life any longer. Of course, he still needed to do his thing to get the ball rolling.
“Brother Gu, this is a serious matter, so I’ll be taking my leave first as I have to immediately report this to the Family. I’ll see you again when the path to the Celestial Ancient Continent opens.” Right after, Ye Langtian prepared to leave along with Ye Liuli, as various emotions appeared and disappeared on his face.
“Brother Ye, take care.” Gu Changge bid him good-bye with a faint smile as he cupped his hands before his chest.
The inside of the divine tower became quiet for a while after Ye Langtian left the place. Gu Changge seemed to be thinking something as he looked at the street outside. Yue Mingkong did not say anything. The eyes on her picturesque and fairy-like face looked fixedly at Gu Changge. Her shining white face, which could move any man’s heart, seemed like she wanted to see through him.
“What is it? Have you still not gotten used to your husband’s looks even after spending these few days together?” Gu Changge chuckled all of a sudden as he asked while grabbing her hand again.
Yue Mingkong shook her head as she looked at him with her beautiful eyes, “The way you do things is just too scary to get used to.”
“What’s so scary about it? Ye Ling was going to die sooner or later anyway. Using this method just made things easier.” Gu Changge let out a laugh. “Besides, isn’t this your husband helping you kill him?”
Yue Mingkong snorted in response. It was clear that she really despised him and was not willing to believe his words. [What do you mean by helping me? It might sound nice right now but you are certainly going to keep the good things for yourself! I would only get the leftovers at best.]
Cooperating with Gu Changge meant that she would not get anything worth mentioning, and it was the same for her even if she was his fiancé. It was an irrefutable fact that Yue Mingkong knew of. After all, she had a very deep understanding of Gu Changge.
“Do you seriously think that I’d believe the words of someone whose mind is full of evil schemes?” Yue Mingkong was not in the mood to pay attention to him anymore as she began to carefully think about the means that Ye Ling had used in her previous life. She had also become a lot more cautious after her previous failure.
“Let’s enjoy the developments then, shall we?” Gu Changge said with a smile.
……
At the same time, in a remote and ancient city on the east of Skyward Ancient City.
“Brother Bai Lie, thanks a lot for always providing me with cultivation resources. Otherwise, I’d not be able to come this far.” A few young male and female prodigy were drinking wine and chatting with each other inside a tall and large pavilion. Among them was a man in black robe with a pendant hanging from his neck. The man was none other than Ye Ling. He sincerely expressed his gratitude to Bai Lie while pouring some wine for him in a respectful manner.
There was an astonishing pressure coming from Bai Lie and his vigour and blood were like an oast house. Him just sitting at the center made other youthful prodigies unable to take him lightly and they even held him in great awe and veneration. After all, he was the successor of the White Tiger Clan which was one of the Ancient Royal Families. The difference in their identities was simply too great to be comparable, and it was obvious that he had only come to this place because of Ye Ling.
“Hahaha, Brother Ye Ling, you’re too polite. There’s no need for such words between us, is there?” It was clear that Bai Lie was feeling very happy. He had already had a lot of wine and his words sounded bold and heroic. Suddenly, his face lit up when he sensed the communication rune in his chest pocket getting hot. It was evident to him that his fiancé, Yin Mei had contacted him. It made Bai lie overjoyed as it was rare for Yin Mei to be the one to contact him like this.
“Looking at your reaction, it seems that Sister-in-law has contacted you, Brother! Hurry up and check what she has to say.” Ye Ling had a very good understanding of Bai Lie’s matters. He could not help but smile and urge in a teasing tone. He knew very well that Bai Lie was head over heels, infatuated with his fiancé.
Hearing the words ‘sister-in-law’ caused Bai Lie to feel a sense of warmth and elation throughout his body! It made the smile on his face even brighter as he promptly checked the information inside the communication rune. Soon after, he said with a grin, “Hehehe, Yin Mei mentioned that she’ll be leaving Skyward Schloss for some matter, so she’ll have the time to meet me today.”
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Bye bye, sillie Bai…
Many thanks