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Translator: Fate
Translation Checker: Silavin
At his current level of cultivation, the Black-Robed Elder no longer needed to intentionally deduce most things. He could subconsciously predict such matters in his mind. Even if it was the entire lifetime or the past and the future of a cultivator, he could understand everything with just a glance.
The reason why he wanted the Gu Family to relocate and leave this world was that he had seen a glimpse of the future which depicted the Mountains and Oceans True World shrouded in bloodshed. The sky had crumbled to pieces, and the world was engulfed in darkness. Moreover, the living creatures had been reduced to ashes. Everything in the world had been slaughtered as sacrifices.
He could not see the slightest trace of hope anywhere. There was only desolation and devastation. The entire universe had collapsed, which caused the world to be engulfed in endless bloodshed and flames. And yet, Gu Changge unexpectedly revealed that he had underestimated the Mountains and Oceans True World.
He quickly began performing various deductions with a trace of doubt and confusion in his heart. As the process of deduction progressed, the frown on his face grew deeper. Why did the Immortal Domain in his deductions remain the same as the future he saw previously? The world was completely devastated, and the order had been destroyed.
Unable to shake the feeling that something was fishy, he repeated his deductions over and over again. There were billions of possibilities in every passing moment. Nevertheless, these possibilities were like clear lines in the eyes of a being like himself. He simply needed to follow these lines to find the prevailing results of the future.
“Impossible…”
When he attempted to read Gu Changge again, he suddenly discovered that Gu Changge’s figure seemed to be missing from the past, present, and future. Gu Changge was unmistakably standing there, but it was as though he did not exist in the world. On the contrary, he seemed to be standing in an unknown dimension and overlooking the world below.
The Black-Robed Elder abruptly lifted his head and stared at Gu Changge intently.
“It’s obvious that you have yet to recover your full strength, but why is your figure nowhere to be seen? Just who are you? Was the Great Purge that took place many epochs ago also a part of your plans?”
Seeming to realise something at this moment, he voiced the question in a serious voice. If that was truly the case, then wouldn’t that mean he had been deceived by Gu Changge back then?
He had always considered himself an outsider. Hence, he had watched the evolution of life, the shifting of the mountains and rivers, and the movement of the stars with the eyes of a bystander. In reality, everything had actually been part of Gu Changge’s plans.
A sense of oppression suddenly pressed down on the members of the Gu Family inside the hall, and their very Souls seemed to tremble in fear. It was the effects caused by a trace of aura that the Black-Robed Elder inadvertently released while he was speaking earlier. He had no intention of targeting them, but the dreadful and suffocating pressure that came down upon the entire vast universe left them horrified and terrified anyway.
The cultivation of an existence like the Gu Family’s Founding Ancestor could only be described as unpredictable and indescribable. It was completely beyond their speculation or imagination.
On the other hand, Gu Changge seemed oblivious to the pressure. His expression remained as calm as usual. He asked with a faint smile, “Ancestor, what do you mean by that? Are you suspecting me? Do you think that I really intend to destroy the Mountains and Oceans True World along with all the living creatures in the world?”
His statement made the expressions of all the Ancestors in the ancestral hall change drastically. It suddenly seemed as though the atmosphere between Gu Changge and the Founding Ancestor had become quarrelsome.
For better or for worse, Gu Changge was a member of the Gu Family. He was also quite close with some of them. Thus, it was only natural that they did not wish for conflict between Gu Changge and the Founding Ancestor.
The Black-Robed Elder immediately realised his blunder. At the same time, his expression quickly returned to normal. It had been a long time since he last experienced such a large fluctuation in his emotions as he did today. He generally had a detached attitude toward the Mountains and Oceans True World since ancient times because there were very few people who could actually attract his attention.
The only exception was Gu Changge. For some reason, he could not perceive any other space-time, aura of time, or fluctuation of existence from Gu Changge. It was as though Gu Changge had genuinely consolidated his figures from every single existing timeline. The endless space-time had integrated into one to become the only existence in eternity.
As a Quasi-Dao Realm ancient cultivator who had walked the Path of Transcendence and survived his Second Decay Tribulation, the Black-Robed Elder knew what that meant. It was precisely because he understood that he was filled with such disbelief.
Even though Gu Changge stood in the present, his presence could not be found in the past. It seemed as though he did not exist in the past or the future. In fact, he did not even exist in the present where he stood right now.
At this point, it was almost as though Gu Changge had appeared out of thin air. Just the possibility itself made one’s blood run cold in fear.
“I am not doubting you. It is just that I suddenly realise I don’t understand your origins. Throughout history, the only people who are qualified to leap over the Immortal Realm and step into the Dao Realm are those who have the ability to overcome their shackles and limitations…
“Don’t tell me… Are you a mutation among mutations? A so-called anomaly?” The Black-Robed Elder wondered in a deep voice.
His origins were extremely ancient, dating back to countless epochs ago. At the time, the cultivation world was not as detailed as nowadays. Ancient cultivators like himself were normally classified as the Mortal Realm, the Immortal Realm, and the Dao Realm.
The Mortal Realm generally included all the Realms before the Immortality. Even those who stood at the peak of Humans, also known as the True Daoists, simply stood at the pinnacle of the Mortal Realm.
In contrast, the Immortal Realm were an amalgamation of Realms ranging from the True Immortal Realm to the Immortal Emperor Realm.
The Dao Realm only came after the Path of Transcendence. That was also where the division between the Quasi-Dao Realm and the True Dao Realm came from. It was just that very few ancient cultivators actually reached the Dao Realm. Even the Ancient True Worlds that had developed for countless epochs and experienced repeated Great Purges could only produce a handful of Dao Realm Masters.
Therefore, the Black-Robed Elder was perfectly qualified to scorn the Mountains and Oceans True World.
The Mountains and Oceans True World was a newly born Ancient True World that did not contain a single ancient cultivator. If the Demon Lord had not appeared during the First Great War Against Heaven, there would not have been a Second Great Purge. Naturally, the current Mountains and Oceans True World would not exist either.
These series of events inadvertently forced the Black-Robed Elder to consider something, especially now that Gu Changge had spoken such words in front of him.
“You’re overthinking the matter, Ancestor. I simply wanted to tell you that the Mountains and Oceans True World will not be destroyed by the Great Purge. As for being an anomaly… Well, you can certainly consider me in that manner. But I prefer to be called a variable.” Gu Changge continued to smile faintly.
The Black-Robed Elder’s scowl deepened. “A variable?”
If there were variables in the play, then the situation would be understandable. Even so, he did not dare to mention directly that he had the ability to deduce the past and the future to understand everything.
Not only was the path of cultivation long and dangerous, but the Dao was also infinite. He did not believe that he was truly invincible even though he had achieved such heights in his cultivation. After all, as strong as the distant Ancestors had been, they also had times when they were powerless against Heaven.
“Actually, I came here to visit you because I have something to discuss with you, Ancestor. I know all about the affairs of the Gu Family. The Nine Heavens is extremely distant. Not to mention, there are bound to be unavoidable accidents during the journey. I naturally do not wish for our people to either perish or be placed in danger during the journey The Heavenly Dao is unkind. It treats all living creatures like dogs and considers them as insignificant as weeds that can be cut down at will…”
Gu Changge ignored the confused expressions of the Black-Robed Elder and the rest of the Family members in the ancestral hall. On the contrary, he began to explain the reason for his arrival.
Having successfully lured out the big fish, he should make good use of his prey. From a certain perspective, there was indeed no other candidate who was more suitable than the Founding Ancestor of the Gu Family.
After the Black-Robed Elder listened to Gu Changge’s explanation, he sank into deep silence. The members of the Gu Family inside the ancestral hall might not understand the true meaning behind those words, but at his level, he naturally understood what Gu Changge was trying to express.
Destiny might only exist in a vague sense, but every True World was bound to suffer the judgement of the Great Purge throughout the passage of time. Surviving the Great Purge would lead to a transformation which would bring the True World to greater heights.
On the other hand, failure to survive the Great Purge would cause the True World to disintegrate in both form and spirit. The True World would then fall to ruins and become buried in chaos, waiting for an opportunity to be reborn again after billions of epochs.
The process was similar to the fate of a cultivator. They were destined to a path of continued struggle from the moment their cultivation journey started.
It was impossible for any living creature in the universe to be spared from such a fate. If that was their destiny, then they could only resign themselves to their fate.
Unfortunately, the higher one’s cultivation became, the more one would realise the horror of the world. The so-called struggle was nothing more than being trapped inside a cage and experiencing endless massacres. It was similar to the process of nurturing a Gu creature. When the time was right, the True World would then be harvested and purged.
To describe the situation in a nicer way, they were cultivators. In reality, to the higher-level beings, they were merely vegetables that were meant to be repeatedly nurtured and harvested. Even if an anomaly with hopes of breaking out of this cage and approaching the Land of Truth (Source Realm) was born among them, they would eventually be crushed to death by the large hands that extended forward.
In the Black-Robed Elder’s opinion, what Gu Changge mentioned earlier was referring to those matters.
“Of course, I understand what you are saying. But, so what if I understand? Even the old Ancestors could not escape their fate back then. What can we do?”
His expression involuntarily turned sad. He shook his head, looking a little disinterested.
“For countless years, there have been many Heavenslayers scrambling to break free and approach the ‘Land of Truth’. Even if they risked having their bodies crushed to dust and their Souls destroyed, they did not hesitate in the slightest. What do you have to fear, Ancestor?” Gu Changge smiled faintly as usual.
At the mention of the Heavenslayers, the Black-Robed Elder’s expression twitched slightly. He reflexively glanced up at the sky outside the ancestral hall. When he did not notice any unusual phenomenon, he quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Any words implying rebellion against the Heavens could not be spoken lightly because they could easily bring about endless disaster. Yet, Gu Changge spoke those words with such composure, and in front of so many Gu Family members no less.
The Black-Robed Elder could not help laughing bitterly in his heart. [How fearless can he be?]
The further he got to his level of cultivation, the more aware he became of the mysterious and ever-present gaze. Hence, every word he spoke and every action he took had to be deliberated with great care.
“Just tell me directly. What are your intentions?”
He felt slightly emotional. It seemed that the longer he lived, the lesser his courage became.
Although Gu Changge was probably an existence whose origins were more ancient and mysterious than the Black-Robed Elder, he was just a young man right now. As a young and energetic man, he was fearless and careless. That was why he dared to speak out against Heaven in such a bold and nonchalant manner.
“I want to reorganise the True Worlds and raise the banner against Heaven. I want to establish the Heavenslayers Alliance.”
The faint smile on Gu Changge’s face did not change in the slightest, and his tone remained light.
“What!?”
Following that statement, the Black-Robed Elder’s expression changed drastically in an instant. His expression contained a mixture of shock, horror, and incredulity.
[Boom!]
Amidst the vague nothingness, billions of thunderclaps seemed to strike at this moment. At the same time, a horrifying momentum came from beyond the sky. That statement seemed to have touched upon a taboo that should never be disturbed, causing a terrifying existence to awaken from its slumber.
The members of the Gu Family inside the ancestral hall felt as though their Souls were about to explode and their Spiritual Seas were about to disintegrate. Hence, they trembled violently and nearly slumped to the ground from the terror.
A pair of eyes that seemed to come from nowhere turned its gaze in this direction. The infinite power that came with the gaze could only be described as a piece of the sky falling down on them. The force threatened to crush their spines and turn their Souls into ashes.
However, Gu Changge’s expression remained unchanged. With a calm expression on his face, he gave a flick of his sleeves. A muffled groan seemed to come from the depths of the world, and then the terrifying power dissipated like the flowing tide in an instant.
At this moment, every single member of the Gu Family resembled drowned rats fished out from the sea. Their entire bodies were drenched in cold sweat. Even they, who had experienced various hardships before, could not prevent the look of apprehension and fear in their eyes.
“What was that?” Somebody murmured under their breath, a trace of horror lingering in the depths of their eyes.
The Black-Robed Elder’s expression had already recovered by now, and he simply stared at Gu Changge with a complicated look. He never expected Gu Changge’s ambition would be so great that the other party actually dared to attempt to establish the Heavenslayers Alliance. How much courage and bravery would that require?
It had to be said that Gu Changge had merely made a single statement earlier. Just the statement alone had invoked such a horrifying phenomenon and attracted the attention of Heaven. If he actually established the Heavenslayers Alliance, then his actions would definitely cause boundless waves. He would also have to shoulder the terrible karmic backlash of his actions.
The Black-Robed Elder did not even dare to imagine the consequences, but something else had shocked him even more.
Gu Changge had blocked the prying gaze that turned in this direction with a nonchalant wave of his hand. Although his strength had yet to return to its peak state, he was probably not far from a full recovery.
“Just how far did you reach back then? Why were you reincarnated and forced to cultivate from the start again?”
At this moment, the Black-Robed Elder finally blurted out the greatest question in his heart. With Gu Changge’s true strength, it was easy for him to destroy the whole Mountains and Oceans True World even after the Forbidden Epoch. What other existence could resist him? Having said that, how did Gu Changge, who had such unparalleled strength, end up in a state where he was executed and reincarnated?
The Black-Robed Elder might have experienced the era, but there were many things that he only partially understood.
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