Chapter 976, Gu Xianer’s Return; Paving the Way for Another Path

Translator: Fate

Translation Checker: Silavin

 

The ground cracked open. Countless beams of divine light blasted out from all directions. Rocks shook as though there was a major earthquake. At the same time, the surrounding Spacetime itself seemed to become distorted.

 

World Principles within the area also got annihilated.

 

“Finally! I can see the Sun again! Screw that forsaken place…” A big red bird flapped its wings furiously and shouted excitedly as it charged out from one of the wider cracks.

 

Although the land was rather dark, there were rays of the faintest sunlight filtering through the sky. So, it was not a land of absolute darkness.

 

The big red bird was exhilarated. Its voice sounded like a young and immature girl, giving off a refreshing feeling.

 

During this period, it had been staying in the depths of the Heavenly Tomb where bleak and dark clouds drifted around in all directions. The land was constantly covered in darkness. Just like the legendary Underworld, there was no light anywhere in that place.

 

Traces of a great war could be found across the land. Not only was the ground cracked in many places, but the corners of the world would also crumble and crash downward from time to time. Many areas were riddled with uneven craters, which created lakes of blood that had yet to dry. In addition, the very air was permeated with intense evil spirits.

 

The big red bird had long since gotten tired of staying in that place. Although it yearned to escape, it could not find the suitable space and time to make its escape.

 

While the big red bird was shouting excitedly, a petite and slender figure transformed into a Divine Rainbow and shot out from one of the cracks. Her black hair danced behind her, with her appearance being absolutely jaw-dropping. In fact, she was so gorgeous that her beauty could destroy countries and every gesture she made seemed divine.

 

The young girl had picturesque facial features and eyebrows resembling willow leaves. She had the perfect slender waist. Currently, she was wearing a pale green flowy dress with wide sleeves, looking like the goddess of the Moon who had descended onto Earth. Right now, she looked no different from an ethereal fairy.

 

“Xianer, I thought you were going to continue cultivating there.” The big red bird glanced at the young girl. Fluttering its wings lightly, it landed on her shoulder and began to groom its feathers.

 

Meanwhile, Gu Xianer squinted. After spending so much time in darkness, she was not accustomed to the piercing glare of the sunlight in the outside world. Using her slender and fair palms that were as delicate as jade, she blocked the Sun from her eyes.

 

“I have been cultivating in the depths of the Heavenly Tomb for such a long time that there’s no point in staying there anymore. It was time for me to leave and return to the outside world.” she shook her head and answered.

 

Having received the many opportunities she left behind in the Heavenly Tomb during her first life and refined the origin essence of the ‘Heaven’ that had been buried there, her current cultivation had reached an unfathomable level. It was just that she had never fought anybody in earnest yet, so she could not be certain just how strong she was right now.

 

“That’s true. Back when you first wanted to take the risk and enter the Heavenly Tomb, I tried to persuade you for a very long time. Fortunately, you were very lucky and did not get affected by the distracting thoughts inside the Heavenly Tomb. You must know that a fallen Heaven had been refined by a powerful cultivator, turning them into the Incarnation of Heaven. Whatever remains after their death contains various thoughts and wills, that can lead you astray. The slightest negligence would have triggered your Inner Demon and destroyed your cultivation journey.”

 

The big red bird nodded, unable to forget the lingering fear in its heart whenever the incident was mentioned.

 

The journey to the Heavenly Tomb was indeed the most frightening danger that Gu Xianer had ever encountered since her birth. She almost lost her life during the trip, with her Soul nearly been extinguished in the process.

 

Although Gu Changge had given her countless valuable treasures for protection, they were ineffective during the disaster. In the end, she was forced to ignite her Celestial Bone and use her vitality as fuel to achieve her Third Nirvana. It was only by comprehending the Life Force within her that she survived the disaster by the skin of her teeth.

 

Nonetheless, achieving her Third Nirvana had been very beneficial to her. She succeeded in comprehending the Power of Life and Reincarnation, gaining complete mastery over life and death, and also condensed her Immortal King Dao Fruit in one fell swoop.

 

The Heavenly Essence she previously absorbed was not fully refined at the moment. According to her estimation, the peak of the Immortal King Realm would be within her reach if she managed to refine the Heavenly Essence completely. In fact, she could even attempt to reach the Quasi-Immortal Emperor Realm.

 

There was another advantage inside the Heavenly Tomb, which was the flow of time inside the Heavenly Tomb. Compared to the outside world, the flow of time inside was chaotic. There were places where time flowed swiftly and places where time flowed slowly. Just her achieving her Third Nirvana alone had taken three years for her to complete.

 

During the conversation between Gu Xianer and the big red bird, the cracks of the Heavenly Tomb behind them slowly closed once more. The Heavenly Tomb only appeared at a specific time and space. Under normal circumstances, it was impossible to find any traces of the Heavenly Tomb no matter how hard one searched.

 

“It’s time to go. I wonder what has changed in the outside world over the years. More importantly, what is Gu Changge doing right now?”

 

Gu Xianer showed a longing expression on her face. Without waiting for the big red bird’s reaction, she grabbed the bird and carelessly tore open the space in front of her. Then, she took a step forward without hesitation.

 

With her current cultivation, she could easily tear apart universes and travel across the void. The Upper Realm might be vast, but she could return to the territory where the Divine Empire was originally located in a few breaths.

 

She casually used her divine sense to investigate the current situation at various locations. When she received the information, she was stunned by the outcome. It turned out that the Upper Realm had undergone earth-shattering changes after she entered the Heavenly Tomb.

 

The Immortal Domain and the Other Domain had completely merged with the Upper Realm.

 

“I can’t believe so many things have happened…” Gu Xianer fell silent and did not head toward the Divine Empire immediately.

 

According to the information, the Divine Empire and the Heavenly Court had now merged together to form the Heavenslayers Alliance. Therefore, she went straight to Peach Village, which was located in the Land of Abandoned Celestials, based on her memory alone.

 

Gu Changge once used an immense amount of power to move the entire Land of Abandoned Celestials to a piece of land close to the Divine Empire, and the relocated Land of Abandoned Celestials was not very far from her current location.

 

Gu Xianer’s figure soon emerged from the void once more. Glancing at the familiar Peach Village, she smiled in delight.

 

Peach Village did not change much, but at least a hundred years had passed after all. Some of the villagers who used to be children were now Grandparents with Grandchildren. Meanwhile, her Masters had become cultivators with immense cultivation. The drastic changes in the environment of the world had resulted in a significant improvement in their cultivation.

 

In contrast, the Peach Tree outside the Peach Village was no longer flourishing as before. There were various signs of old age in many spots, and the tree did not blossom with flowers anymore.

 

Meanwhile, Yao Yao had the same appearance of a young girl as before. She often kept close to several of the Elders in the village. Nevertheless, she would occasionally sit on the stone pier outside the village with her face propped against her hand and stare blankly into the distance as though she was waiting for somebody.

 

Despite her childlike appearance, she gave off a sense of melancholy and sorrow that belied her age. “Big Sister Tao Yao…”

 

Gu Xianer did not reveal herself immediately but stood outside the village for a long time instead. At the level of her current cultivation, her Masters would not notice her arrival even if she stood right in front of them.

 

Be that as it may, she did not perceive Tao Yao’s aura anywhere. The Peach Tree also seemed to have aged from the inside and showed signs of decay. The realisation shocked her. It felt as though Tao Yao’s aura had completely vanished many years ago.

 

[What happened? Why has Big Sister Tao Yao’s aura vanished from Peach Village? There is no trace of her in this world… With her strength, that should have been impossible…] Gu Xianer scowled. Activating her divine abilities, she began to make various deductions in an attempt to search for any trace of Tao Yao’s aura. But, no matter how she much she deduced, the final result seemed to indicate that Tao Yao had not only evaporated from the world but also no longer existed in any known Spacetime coordinate.

 

Tao Yao had always been like a Sister and a teacher to her. In fact, Tao Yao had often taught her the theory of cultivation and cultivation techniques when she was younger. It could be said that Tao Yao was one of the people closest to her.

 

[How did this happen… Why did Big Sister Tao Yao vanish…] The joy and delight at her potential reunion abruptly turned into melancholy. She woodenly stood there for a long time before she finally revealed her presence and walked toward Peach Village.

 

Yao Yao sat by the village entrance, looking listless and lethargic. It was not until she lifted her head that she unexpectedly caught sight of Gu Xianer.

 

In the beginning, she even wondered whether she was hallucinating and rubbed her eyes hard.

 

“Sister Xianer…” When she realised that it was really Gu Xianer, she immediately smiled so brightly that her eyes turned into crescents. She leapt off the stone pier and gave a joyful yell.

 

Hearing her loud cry, many villagers in Peach Village rushed out of the village in alarm. The village head, who had gotten much older, also hobbled over with his cane. It was not until he saw Gu Xianer that he heaved a sigh of relief.

 

“It looks like that guy did not deceive Xianer.” Shaking his head, he walked toward the outside of the village with a smile on his face.

 

Gu Xianer had been away from the village for many years, but her Younger Sister, Shen Xianer, would occasionally drop by the village to visit the villagers. Consequently, Shen Xianer had gradually gotten familiar with them.

 

After Shen Xianer departed from the Heavenly Tide Realm, she travelled the entire Upper Realm and naturally arrived at the place where her Elder Sister, Gu Xianer, had lived as a child. The villagers later heard from her that Gu Xianer was safe but trapped inside a certain place.

 

It was just that Shen Xianer had obtained this piece of information from Gu Changge, which inevitably caused Gu Xianer’s Masters to worry.

 

Gu Changge was ultimately an outsider to them, so it was impossible for them to fully trust him. Not to mention, the various worlds and Forces seemed to fear Gu Changge as though he was an evil being. It was only natural that there were times when they inevitably had some negative thoughts about him.

 

“Village Head, Masters, Yao Yao…” A smile spread across Gu Xianer’s face. Her footsteps also lightened considerably as she reunited with the villagers.

 

Although she was worried about Tao Yao, she did not reveal her emotions on the surface. In the eyes of the villagers, she would always be the naive and compassionate young girl who made the people around her smile. Hence, she did not wish to bring these negative feelings to them.

 

…

 

Gu Changge sat cross-legged on top of a cushion on board the Spirit Ruin True World’s ancient battleship. At this moment, he slowly opened his eyes. White Bone Ancestor King, Wan Yanxiu, and the others stood respectfully before him. They seemed to be waiting for his orders.

 

“The Rising Dawn True World has been alerted of our presence. I did not expect this True World to have so many powerful individuals.” Gu Changge shook his head. His tone was calm, sounding as though he was talking to himself but also speaking to White Bone Ancestor King and the others at the same time.

 

Wan Yanxiu and the others secretly trembled in fear, not daring to respond. The ability to send one’s thoughts across billions of Star Territories and engulf an entire Immortal True World in an instant was absolutely impossible for them. In any case, the World Principles of the Immortal True World would never allow them to perform such a feat.

 

Gu Changge ignored them with a contemplative look in his eyes.

 

If calculated based on the distance in the Boundless Expanse, the Rising Dawn True World and their current location were separated by a distance of hundreds and millions of light years. This calculated distance did not include the multiple dimensional latitudes and the unknown warped Spacetime found between the two locations. Even with the coordinates given to him by Wan Yanxiu, he could only capture a vague outline of the destination.

 

As soon as his thoughts touched the Rising Dawn True World, the experts in the Rising Dawn True World immediately noticed his presence and became vigilant.

 

“The resources in the Immortal True World are abundant indeed. It’s a pity that they have been alerted to my presence and will most likely conceive many countermeasures in advance… I guess I shouldn’t have rushed things earlier. A meal should be slowly enjoyed after all. It won’t do to fill my stomach in a single bite.”

 

He gave up on the idea of attacking the Rising Dawn True World directly.

 

For one, the distance was simply too great. The strength of the current Spirit Ruin True World was far from enough to deal with the various losses that would be incurred along the way.

 

For another, although he could disregard any Ancestral Dao Realm ancient cultivators who had undergone the Seventh Decay and the Eighth Decay with his current strength, it would be troublesome for him to dominate any beings who had undergone the Ninth Decay and were about to achieve Transcendence. In fact, the conflict might even create more unnecessary trouble.

 

The Great Purge had yet to come, so there was no need to consider the various matters involving the Source Realm. Be that as it may, there were a number of people who concealed their strength in the Expanse Domain. They were undoubtedly ‘ancient undead bastards’ in the genuine sense.

 

He did not wish to overturn his plans and accidentally reveal something beforehand. After all, his current body did not possess the former peak cultivation he used to have when he was the Demon Lord. He had only refined the single drop of True Blood and absorbed various cultivation so that he could skip the series of tedious processes in the middle.

 

In other words, his actions were equivalent to absorbing the Demon Lord’s Source to obtain the strength he possessed today. The true Demon Lord’s body had long been destroyed during the Mountains and Oceans True World’s Great Purge at that time. Therefore, he had been paving the way for another path ever since he ‘returned to mortality’.

 

“How many battle-ready warriors are in the Spirit Ruin True World right now?” Gu Changge collected his thoughts and glanced toward Wan Yanxiu.

 

Upon hearing the question, Wan Yanxiu was taken aback for a moment. Although he was one of the Grand Ancestors of the Spirit Ruin Clan, he rarely paid attention to such matters. He had always been working to improve his cultivation. In fact, he considered breaking through to a higher cultivation Realm as his duty.

 

Besides, he left his homeland when the Spirit Ruin True World began to wither and travelled across the Boundless Expanse with many of the other experts in his Clan. It had been a long time since he last made contact with his Clan in the Spirit Ruin True World.

 

If Gu Changge had not appeared before them, they would probably have arrived at the newly-born True World and sacrificed it to welcome the descent of their Spirit Ruin True World. The Spirit Ruin True World would then devour the newly-born True World and obtain a new lease on life.

 

“Sir, I don’t know much about this matter. I’m afraid you will have to ask the current Empress of the Clan. Only she would know.” Wan Yanxiu replied reverently.

 

Those in the Ancestral Land were existences with incomparable status among the Spirit Ruin Royal Family. However, they generally focused on improving their cultivation and seldom bothered about the affairs within the Clan. It was not until important matters were involved that they would finally appear to issue orders so that their Clan members could act accordingly.