Chapter 1298: Establishing the Primary Hope Covenant—Are You Gambling?
Chapter 1298: Establishing the Primary Hope Covenant—Are You Gambling?
"So, what do you plan to do next?"
In the courtyard, a gentle breeze stirred, rustling a few bamboo stalks bathed in radiant light as they swayed softly.
Mu Yan tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and refocused her attention on the chessboard.
Though she was the Realmmaster of the Immortal Spirit Civilisation, she had little ambition for cultivation. Over the years in the Heavenslayers Alliance, she had lived quite leisurely.
In contrast, figures like Mo Tong and the Spirit Empress had been busy managing the affairs of the Heavenslayers Alliance.
However, as the future "Sovereign Empress," Mu Yan's innate talent for cultivation was beyond question. Even without dedicating herself to it, her progress far surpassed that of ordinary cultivators.
When she first met Gu Changge, she had only been at the Immortal King Realm. Now, she had reached the threshold of the Immortal Emperor Realm, bordering on true Immortal Emperor status.
Given another ten thousand years, she would undoubtedly ascend to the Dao Realm.
"Those who scheme against me must pay the price."
Gu Changge shook his head slightly, his thoughts settling as his gaze followed the thread of Faith Power, piercing through the void to land upon the Nihility True World.
The Divine Dao Civilisation's system differed from that of the Immortal Dao Civilisation, which was divided into sects, factions, and orthodox lineages.
Each deity existed independently, with their own devoted followers and Divine Nation subjects. The Divine Positions and Authorities held by each deity also varied.
Apart from the many innate deities, most of the weaker, later-born deities were even inferior in strength to some Immortal Kings or Immortal Emperors.
For a deity to condense their Divine Position, they required an immense and vast following as support. Whether through refining their own minor worlds or spreading their faith across the cosmos to gather believers, they relied entirely on external forces—like rootless duckweed, easily scattered.
In contrast, cultivators primarily relied on their own power. An Immortal King already possessed the ability to annihilate a world with a single hand, let alone an existence like an Immortal Emperor, who could erase a universe with a mere thought.
Thus, only deities who truly possessed a Godhead and controlled a portion of the Authority of Heaven and Earth could rival the Dao Realm existences of the Immortal Dao Civilisation.
Such deities, much like Dao Realm existences, bore various titles—False Gods, True Gods, and Ancestral Gods—corresponding to the Void Dao Realm, True Dao Realm, and Ancestral Dao Realm, respectively.
False Gods, True Gods, and Ancestral Gods were not titles denoting the Divine Dao Civilisation's cultivation realms but rather reflected the extent of the Godhead and the Authority of Heaven and Earth that a deity possessed.
The Divine Dao Civilisation had long since vanished from the Boundless Expanse for countless ages, and the number of False Gods born in later eras had dwindled.
However, the number of innate deities remained considerable, hidden in the depths of the vast spacetime, each having refined their own Divine Nations.
In the distant past, there had been an era when the Divine Dao Civilisation flourished—when various innate pantheons and countless deities stood guard, dividing the Authority of Heaven and Earth, condensing it into Godheads and Divine Positions.
Mighty Ancestral Gods sat high above the clouds, gazing down upon the myriad worlds, while weaker deities spread their faith across countless worlds and universes, amassing followers. The Immortal Dao Civilisation was suppressed, relegated to the margins.
Yet the Boundless Expanse was vast, its history immeasurably profound. Even the Divine Dao Civilisation could only blaze like a fleeting meteor, briefly illuminating a single brilliant era before vanishing in the blink of an eye.
Given the rise of the Heavenslayers Alliance, which had aggressively spread its faith and harvested devotion, it was no surprise that some hidden deities had grown envious and covetous. Gu Changge was hardly caught off guard.
Those deities were, at best, remnants of a bygone era.
Now, the Immortal Dao Civilisation thrived, overshadowing the former brilliance of the Divine Dao Civilisation.
Even powerful Ancestral Gods dared not descend recklessly, fearing that their Divine Nations would be exposed and targeted by Ancestral Dao Realm existences.
Hum!
Above the Great Emptiness Realm in the Nihility True World, the unseen gaze observed the cracks appearing on the divine statues within the various Heaven-Slaying Shrines, revealing a trace of satisfaction.
Though she had briefly taken control of Chen Jin-han's body to make her commit such a sacrilegious act, it was ultimately Chen Jin-han herself who had carried it out.
Her faith had never been pure to begin with—her heart was already overgrown with desire.
The thought of sacrilege had long existed within her; it was only a matter of time before she acted upon it.
She had merely given the situation a nudge, accelerating its occurrence.
Most deities would fly into a rage upon witnessing such blasphemy from their followers.
Corrupted and tainted Faith Power not only polluted the Source of faith but also caused backlash against the deity's Dharma Body.
Though it wouldn't lead to complete collapse, it would still inflict some degree of harm.
"Consider this portion of the spacetime domain my compensation to you. With sacrilegious thoughts in your heart, you were never destined to remain a mere believer."
Her True Body stood in the void beyond multiple dimensions—a realm far beyond the perception of ordinary Living Beings and cultivators.
To her, this act was not only a warning to the Heaven-Slaying Lord but also a test.
She was confident that someone of the Heaven-Slaying Lord's caliber would undoubtedly see through it.
In the Great Emptiness Realm, Chen Jin-han stared blankly at the cracked divine statue before her, as if unable to process what had happened for a long time.
Unbeknownst to her, a crystalline prismatic light flickered faintly between her brows, enveloping her in an enigmatic aura.
Across the vast land, Heaven-Slaying Shrines stood tall, yet now, panic and terror permeated everywhere.
This day was supposed to be the Grand Sacrifice, when the people of the Great Emptiness Realm would gather to worship and kneel before the Heaven-Slaying Shrines.
But suddenly, the divine statues within the Heaven-Slaying Shrines cracked, fissures spreading across their surfaces.
How could this not fill them with terror and dread? They believed someone must have committed an act that enraged the Heaven-Slaying Lord, provoking divine wrath that would now punish all living beings.
Over thousands of years, the Heaven-Slaying Lord's vast divine might had long been imprinted deep into the hearts of every living being in the Great Emptiness Realm, filling them with both reverence and fear.
"Who was it that angered the deity? The gods are furious..."
"We are all sinners now, doomed to suffer divine punishment."
Within each Heaven-Slaying Shrine, the temple priests responsible for accumulating the power of prayers and wishes wore expressions of horror and outrage.
Many trembled with fear, their voices shaking. "I can no longer sense the presence of the Heaven-Slaying Lord... The divine power bestowed upon us is fading. The gods have abandoned us..."
Panic spread like wildfire across the land.
"Divine power tainted, faith impure—naturally, your gods will forsake you..."
Witnessing this scene, the unseen gaze observing from the void finally withdrew, satisfied.
Though the Divine Dao Civilisation had long remained hidden, it did not mean it would allow the Authority of Heaven and Earth to be divided among other systems.
The Authority of Heaven and Earth was like an enormous feast. The Immortal Dao Civilisation had parasitized it, relying on it to comprehend the Great Dao, control the laws, and achieve Transcendence.
The Divine Dao Civilisation, however, had seized it outright, claiming the Authority of Heaven and Earth as its own. Since ancient times, the fall of many gods had been tied to struggles over this authority and the coveting of each other's Godheads.
For the Divine Path System, the Authority of Heaven and Earth would never vanish, unaffected by the rise or fall of any civilisation.
It remained eternal, unchanging—like the beginning and end of all things, the cycle of living beings, the evolution of worlds. None could shake its existence.
The functioning of the entire Boundless Expanse, the birth and development of True World civilisations—all were tied to the Authority of Heaven and Earth.
Its existence dictated the rules and order of all realms, the meaning of material existence, the laws of reincarnation, the rise and fall of heavens, and even the constraints of destiny, time, Karma, and the ages.
Because there was heaven and earth, there were all manner of substances and life.
To put it bluntly, everything within the Boundless Expanse was connected to and dependent upon the Authority of Heaven and Earth.
The strength of the Divine Dao Civilisation lay in its division of this authority, establishing its own unique pantheon.
Of course, for the Immortal Dao Civilisation or other systems, their understanding of the Authority of Heaven and Earth would be entirely different.
"Are you overstepping your bounds a little too much?"
Suddenly, a calm voice echoed through the multi-layered void of this dimensional space.
The figure that had been about to withdraw its gaze felt an enormous black hand suddenly reaching toward it.
That vast palm was draped in Chaos Qi and stars, surrounded by countless orbiting worlds, causing the surrounding space-time to tremble as if on the verge of collapse.
"You actually tracked me here? Perfect. Let me test your abilities."
She let out a soft exclamation, unafraid.
Her previously indistinct and shifting features suddenly solidified into the faint visage of a goddess, a golden vertical mark between her brows, within which lay a tightly shut eye.
Behind her, divine halos overlapped endlessly, radiating a deep violet glow like a lunar corona, accompanied by the thunderous echoes of countless colliding universes.
Boundless divine power surged, filling every inch of space-time and dimension, as the chants of billions of living beings—prayers, sacrificial hymns, the voices of worlds—resounded in unison.
A river of Power of Will materialized, churning and boiling, bubbles rising and bursting, each releasing a divine figure that emerged to sit in solemn majesty.
A terrifying sea of divine energy gathered, crashing against the descending black hand.
The dimensional space erupted like boiling water, energy surging in all directions, annihilating everything in its path.
The deities reciting sacrificial scriptures shattered one after another, only to reform endlessly from the river of Power of Will, as if inexhaustible.
"As long as the Divine Nation stands, my divine form is indestructible. You cannot defeat me."
A voice of majestic authority echoed through the dimensional space, all the deities responding in unison, bathed in radiant divine light as if immersed in an infinite Divine Source, never to weaken.
"The gods I slaughtered in the past said the same thing. Do you wish to follow in their footsteps?"
Gu Changge's faint figure manifested from the distant reaches of space-time.
His expression was indifferent as he observed this innate deity, instantly discerning the dimensional coordinates where she hid.
"Giggle~ I merely wished to remind you not to overstep your bounds. It was just a jest—why so angry?"
The indistinct face of the goddess suddenly took on a bewitching expression, as if ten thousand peerless beauties—each more enchanting than the last—were laughing coquettishly, their voices so seductive they could melt the bones of even a Dao Realm expert.
Gu Changge did not respond. Instead, he simply extended his palm once more.
Before him, the rivers of time and destiny materialized, countless strands of the Order of the Great Dao twisting and shattering, unleashing a cataclysmic force capable of shaking all realms.
The palm strike was crystalline and radiant, traversing vast stretches of time and space as it descended, enveloping multiple dimensional layers. Every inch of the void trembled in its wake, on the verge of collapse and distortion.
This was no longer mere brute force, but a collision of Dao, laws, and cosmic order.
Without a doubt, the deities condensed from faith shattered once more, utterly incapable of withstanding Gu Changge's strike.
Even the surging river of wish power fractured, disintegrating into fine dust before dissipating.
Boom!
This dimensional space exploded completely, while the surrounding universes and worlds silently crumbled into nothingness.
A vast, ancient Divine Nation was revealed within the shattered void, but as Gu Changge's palm pressed forward—
The territory of that Divine Nation silently dissolved into a rain of light, its billions of inhabitants vanishing in an instant.
Those people didn't even know what had happened—they only saw a terrifying giant hand sweep across the heavens before their entire world collapsed.
"You actually destroyed one of my Divine Nations?!"
The once-majestic and archaic voice suddenly turned furious and aggrieved.
Even for an Ancestral God, nurturing a Divine Nation of such scale was no easy feat. To have it obliterated by Gu Changge in an instant naturally filled her with resentment.
The existence of a Divine Nation wasn't just about the number of believers or the purity of faith—it was also directly tied to the magnitude of her divine power.
The more Divine Nations she possessed, and the larger their scale, the more vast the divine power they could provide.
Seeing that Gu Changge remained unmoved and continued his relentless advance, she had no choice but to retreat.
If her other Divine Nations were exposed, they too would likely be destroyed by Gu Changge, making this confrontation far too costly.
Her reckless provocation this time had indeed been too careless, allowing Gu Changge to easily pinpoint her hiding place.
Now, before Gu Changge's True Body could fully descend, she had to flee immediately.
Continuing to fight Gu Changge would bring her no benefits.
If the other innate deities discovered her hiding place, they would surely strike, coveting her Godhead and Authority.
Soon, the surging divine power within this dimensional space receded like a raging tide.
"Thinking of leaving just like that? Did you ask for my permission?"
Gu Changge's tone was indifferent, fully aware of her intentions.
After scheming against him, did she really think she could leave unscathed? That was nothing short of delusional.
Though her strength far surpassed that of ordinary Ancestral Gods, granting her the arrogance to act recklessly, such power was still far from enough to be insolent before him.
Boom!
Gu Changge raised his palm, fingers extended, as a blinding radiance erupted like a singing immortal sword. In an instant, the entire space trembled with the terrifying howl of sword resonance.
This sword slash cleaved through time and space, cleanly severing the Great Dao's laws.
The innate deity, attempting to flee, raised a slender arm and likewise slashed with her fingers. A whistling sword light surged forth, splitting everything in its path.
Yet, her hasty counter was clearly ineffective. With a muffled grunt, her entire arm was severed at the wrist, the wound as smooth as a mirror, not a single drop of blood spilling.
At the same time, one of the divine halos behind her emitted a crisp cracking sound, nearly shattering.
"I'll come back for you..."
She glared hatefully at Gu Changge before turning away.
Gu Changge watched her coldly, not pursuing further.
Seizing the opportunity, ripples of spacetime undulated before her as layer upon layer of distorted dimensional mirrors overlapped, forming a labyrinthine passage. She plunged into it and vanished in an instant.
"Taixuan?"
"So that's her divine name."
Gu Changge stretched out a hand, and the severed arm was drawn toward him.
Slender and fair as snow-white lotus root, the skin still pulsed with astonishing vitality and divine power, crystalline and flawless, exuding an otherworldly fragrance.
Through the lingering divine energy, Gu Changge discerned the true name of this innate deity.
Ancestral God Taixuan—that was likely her name.
Then, he withdrew from this shattered and chaotic dimensional space. This place was far too distant from the Immortal Spirit Civilisation, and what had descended here was merely a wisp of his will, not his True Body.
Had it been his True Body, even if she had employed the stratagem of a lizard shedding its tail, she would never have escaped.
The interference of an Ancestral God from the Divine Dao Civilisation in the affairs of the Heavenslayers Alliance served as an early warning for him.
Many matters would now need to be expedited.
Originally, Gu Changge had intended to leave the Primary Hope Civilisation alone for a while longer. But the re-emergence of the Divine Dao system also signaled that beings from other civilisational systems would likely appear in succession.
Previously, his interference with Chu Gucheng's Decay Tribulation had already stirred the shadows of the Land of Truth. Those on the other side must have sensed it by now.
"To instill a greater sense of urgency in all living beings... it seems the time has come to advance the advent of the Great Tribulation Sacrifice."
Gu Changge's gaze deepened as his thoughts shifted, and his figure appeared high above the Great Emptiness Realm.
Within the countless Heaven-Slaying Shrines, the cracks on his divine statues began to mend, once again shrouded in mist and incense smoke.
As the fragrant smoke coiled, the shrines regained their divine aura.
Gu Changge's eyes fell upon Chen Jin-han, his brow furrowing slightly.
In the original script, this Child of Destiny had relied on that strand of Distorted Power of Destiny to reverse her fate and rewrite her ending.
But by forcibly altering her destiny, he had ensured she wouldn't perish in the Abyss of Ten Thousand Demons, preventing the recurrence of the rebirth scenario.