Chapter 1327: Perhaps This Counts as a Hint of His Gentleness, the Ancient Ancestor of the Gu Family
Chapter 1327: Perhaps This Counts as a Hint of His Gentleness, the Ancient Ancestor of the Gu Family
Now that the Sphere of Ambition had been refined into the World Sphere, it could fuse energies such as Faith Power and the Fortuity of the People, gathered from across the realms, into tangible Immortal Substance and Creation Substance.
As these substances accumulated and dispersed, they would undergo transformation within the Divine Nation, rapidly elevating and evolving it.
For everyone within the Divine Nation, this was an inconceivable, unimaginable boon.
And these benefits were even more indescribable for those like Yue Mingkong, Jiang Chuchu, and Yin Mei, whom Gu Changge had left with the embryonic seeds of a Dao Realm.
The Dao Realm seeds, nourished by Immortal Substance and Creation Substance, could sprout and take root far more swiftly, growing into towering trees.
Perhaps, given the innate talents of Yin Mei and the others, even if they touched the Dao Realm in this lifetime, it would be difficult for them to advance further.
But with the nourishment of Creation Substance and Immortal Substance, the Dao Trees within their bodies would continue to grow, driving the perpetual evolution and ascension of their life hierarchies.
Gu Changge did not consider himself a gentle man, but refining this World Sphere for them could perhaps be counted as a small act of tenderness on his part.
Then, with a light flick of his hand, the boundless void before him split open, revealing a terrifying rift. His figure blurred, transforming into a faint, wisp-like silhouette as he stepped into it.
The Dao Chang True World was no longer in its original coordinates within the Boundless Expanse. After being noticed by those from the Radiant Yang True World last time, Gu Changge had taken action to conceal its aura.
Now, unless one possessed the original essence of the Dao Chang True World, it was nearly impossible to relocate its position within the Boundless Expanse.
And the Divine Nation he had once established was located at the core of the Dao Chang True World.
At this moment, as he returned to the Dao Chang True World, the vast and surging Faith Power within it instantly boiled over, surging toward his location like raging rivers and oceans.
This sudden shift caused many powerful beings in the Dao Chang True World to sense the change, their expressions flickering with astonishment.
The Dao Chang True World had only transformed from the Mountains and Oceans True World into what it was now after receiving Gu Changge's decree. In essence, Gu Changge was the founder of the Dao Chang True World.
Even Qing Yi, who had originally nurtured the Mountains and Oceans True World, could no longer influence the future development and evolution of the Dao Chang True World in his presence.
To the Dao Chang True World, Gu Changge's will was akin to the Heavenly Dao itself. As his consciousness swept across the boundless void, an invisible, terrifying storm seemed to stir within the entire Dao Chang True World.
At this moment, it was as if an indescribable, supreme force and will had descended, causing every living being and cultivator within the Dao Chang True World to feel as though they were being watched by an unfathomable gaze.
All their pasts, secrets, and even futures seemed to unfold like the pages of a book, laid bare for some existence to peruse at will.
"Could it be... he has returned?"
Within the Gu Family Ancestral Land, in a simple and unadorned courtyard.
An elderly man reclining leisurely on a rattan chair suddenly lifted his head in surprise, gazing toward the distant heavens.
He shook his head, then sighed faintly, as if struck by a sudden realization.
"But it's good that he's returned, even if just once. I thought that once a being like him left, he would never come back. It seems there are still people within the Dao Chang True World whom he cherishes and cares for."
"Ancestor, are you referring to... him?"
Beside the old man sat a refined middle-aged man, engaged in a game of chess and sipping tea. Hearing this, he also looked up, slightly astonished.
"Who else could it be but him? Haha."
The old man chuckled. He was none other than the ancestor of the Gu Family lineage in the Dao Chang True World, who had once served as the deputy leader of the Heavenslayers Alliance alongside Gu Changge and others.
However, after Gu Changge departed from the Heavenslayers Alliance, the situation in the Dao Chang True World stabilized. The alliance continued to develop step by step, with several of Gu Changge's confidantes overseeing its management.
Thus, the Gu Family ancestor had naturally stepped back without worry, returning to the Gu Family Ancestral Land to cultivate in seclusion.
The middle-aged man beside him was another ancestor of the Gu Family, named Gu Lang. He had once appeared to assist Gu Changge during the conquest of the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains.
His talent was exceptional, and among the current ancestors of the Gu Family, he was the most likely to break through to the Immortal Realm and touch the Dao Realm. As such, he was highly valued by the ancestor and often visited his courtyard to discuss and debate the Dao.
"When he left the Dao Chang True World back then, I also thought he would never return. All these years have passed—who knows what storms he has stirred beyond the Boundless Expanse?"
"I'm afraid we no longer have the qualifications to even glimpse such matters."
Gu Lang sighed faintly. When he first met Gu Changge, the latter had still been a junior, far from reaching the level of an Enlightened Being.
Yet by the time he saw Gu Changge again, the young man had already dominated his generation, challenged hidden experts, and approached the threshold of immortality.
Though Gu Changge's identity as the reincarnation of the Demon Lord was no secret in the current Dao Chang True World, every time Gu Lang and the other ancestors recalled these events, they couldn't help but sigh in amazement.
For the Gu Family to produce such a figure among its descendants should, by all rights, have filled them with pride.
Yet the mere thought of Gu Changge's past actions gave them all headaches. They could only console themselves with the fact that Gu Changge had treated the Gu Family with relative kindness, never regarding them as outsiders.
"His origins are far greater than you can imagine..." the Gu Family's Founding Ancestor sighed.
"I always believed our Ancient Ancestor stood at the pinnacle of the Boundless Expanse, the only one qualified to challenge the Land of Truth itself."
"Yet even she crumbled upon attempting to reach it."
"The Demon Lord at his peak was undoubtedly far stronger than our Ancient Ancestor..."
Gu Lang was stunned, nearly dropping his teacup. "But Ancestor, you once said our Ancient Ancestor shielded all living beings, transforming herself into a world. Even those who reached the Path's End could be crushed beneath her finger!"
"She only perished after encountering an invincible supreme force within the Land of Truth."
The Founding Ancestor smiled faintly. "Indeed. The Ancient Ancestor's glory remains something we descendants can only gaze upon from afar, never to touch. But do you know how the Demon Lord chose to disperse his soul and reincarnate after the Forbidden Epoch?"
He had actually spoken with Gu Changge before. Though Gu Changge rarely mentioned events after the Forbidden Epoch, the Founding Ancestor could guess.
Gu Changge's decision to shatter his soul and reincarnate stemmed from an unimaginable attack originating from the Land of Truth.
Gu Changge had defied the Heavenly Dao, forcibly destroying the Mountains and Oceans True World and plunging all realms into darkness.
This act prevented the Second Great Purge from fully descending, disrupting the Reckoning. Unbeknownst to many, such actions constituted a direct provocation against "True Heaven."
His deeds paralleled those of the Gu Family's Ancient Ancestor when she touched the Land of Truth to protect all living beings—both invited similarly catastrophic consequences.
Even the Ancient Ancestor had deeply feared that power, declaring it beyond any living being's capacity to resist.
A mere wisp of its aura could annihilate all existence, reducing any cultivator to nothingness.
"I see... The same consequence, yet the Ancient Ancestor perished while the Demon Lord survived..." Gu Lang murmured, dazed.
The Founding Ancestor chuckled, patting his shoulder. "But our Ancient Ancestor was no ordinary being. Though she fell during that World-Destroying Catastrophe while shielding the common people, every descendant of the Gu Family believes she will return."
"That day is not far off. She will come back—to lead us once more, to sound the war drums, raise the battle banners, and wield her sword as we charge beyond the Nine Heavens."
In that instant, the aged weariness vanished from his demeanor. His eyes gleamed with profound clarity, as though countless sword cries echoed across infinite universes.
Gu Lang was utterly shaken. An indescribable heat surged through his chest, spreading to every limb.
"What kind of existence was the Ancient Ancestor?" he couldn't help but whisper. Though he had never met her, even these fragmented descriptions evoked overwhelming reverence.
The question gave the Founding Ancestor pause. He searched his memories carefully.
Truthfully, even his recollections of the Ancient Ancestor were hazy—he had never seen her true form.
As the Gu Family's true "Ninth Ancestor," he held immense status and authority. Yet he, too, had never directly interacted with her.
Rankings among the Gu Family's ancestors were not based on seniority, but on strength.
Among the Gu Family of the Nine Heavens, his power ranked ninth—hence "Ninth Ancestor." Of course, his current displayed strength was not his true capability.
Guarding a Nascent True World typically required only Void Dao Realm cultivation. Yet he had already weathered four Decay Tribulations, standing at the True Dao Realm.
To avoid attracting attention when leading a branch family to the Mountains and Oceans True World, he had deliberately assumed this current vessel—a shed husk from his True Dao Realm tribulation, infused with a wisp of his True Spirit to perfectly mimic a living body.
"Regardless, our branch migrated here to safeguard the Ancient Ancestor's scattered True Spirit fragments."
"Her True Spirit dispersed across countless realms. But I sensed the largest fragment would manifest in the Mountains and Oceans True World..." the Founding Ancestor murmured.
Long before this world was renamed the Dao Chang True World, he had been among its most ancient existences. Compared to him and the Gu Family behind him, even the Mountains and Oceans True World was but insignificant dust.
With unfathomable power, he had personally witnessed the True World endure multiple Great Tribulations, cycling between prosperity and ruin—birth to destruction, destruction to rebirth, an endless repetition.
Yet never had he seen a world like the current Dao Chang True World, evolving toward a higher state after merely two Great Tribulations.
This spoke volumes of its potential. Given sufficient resources and time, it might ascend to the level of an Ancient True World—perhaps even a Supreme True World.
To the Founding Ancestor, this was largely due to the lingering blessings of the Gu Family's true Ancient Ancestor, her scattered True Spirit permeating and nourishing this land.
The Founding Ancestor transformed into myriad worlds, bestowing blessings upon all realms. Initially, he had believed that the birth of the Mountains and Oceans True World might also be connected to this.
At one point, he had even suspected that Qing Yi, the True Spirit of the Mountains and Oceans True World, might be a fragment of the Founding Ancestor's lost True Spirit.
After the Second Great Purge, when the Immortal Palace collapsed and Qing Yi reincarnated, an inexplicable force seemed to guide her, eventually leading her to the Gu Family under the name Gu Qingyi.
All these events had once made the Gu Family's Founding Ancestor consider—even suspect—that Qing Yi might indeed have inherited a fragment of the Founding Ancestor's True Spirit. Yet he never interfered, merely observing in silence.
However, when the Zhuo Clan of the Immortal Spirit Civilisation invaded, he learned from their clansmen that the Mountains and Oceans True World bore traces of the Immortal Dao Civilisation's embers. It was precisely these remnants that had allowed the world to surpass other Nascent True Worlds in such a short time, nurturing numerous supreme beings.
This completely dispelled his doubts. Qing Yi had an extraordinary origin, but she was definitely not the Founding Ancestor's lost True Spirit.
Perhaps only when the Dao Chang True World ascended to the level of an Ancient True World—or even a Supreme True World—would the Founding Ancestor's True Spirit truly manifest in the world.
Deep within the cosmic islands, amidst mist-shrouded immortal peaks and divine mountains, within cave abodes, palaces, and grand halls, divine light streaked across the heavens as countless figures, sensing the commotion, hurried toward this place.
The Gu Family's Founding Ancestor, Wang Xiaoniu's master the Drunken Sword Immortal, Shen Xian'er's master Ming, and many other ancient beings from the Mythic Era—all were renowned figures in the Dao Chang True World, holding significant positions within the Heavenslayers Alliance.
Among them were also the Moon King from the Immortal Domain, the female Quasi-Immortal Emperor Luo Yanxi who had appeared in the Battlefield of the Boundary Sea, Cen Shuang from the City of No Return, the Dragon Clan's Ao Ling, and other Immortal Kings and Immortal Emperors.
All of them had sensed Gu Changge's return and rushed here from across the Dao Chang True World without delay.
This time, Gu Changge had not concealed his aura as he had before, so many detected his presence immediately and hastened to the Divine Nation.
The vast Divine Nation was adorned with sprawling starfields, encircled by majestic palaces, bathed in radiant starlight and cascading galaxies—solemn and sacred, like the true abode of deities.
An overwhelming, supreme pressure enveloped the land, and within the dense, surging divine radiance, the indistinct silhouettes of terrifying figures could be seen, resembling primordial gods, standing guard to protect this place.
Deep in the heavens, unfathomable supreme auras flowed, strands of divine light intertwining as if some supreme gaze watched over everything.
The Divine Nation was Gu Changge's private domain. None could trespass here except his kin and loved ones.
Those who arrived dared not show the slightest disrespect. At a certain point, they could no longer fly and had to proceed respectfully along the jade staircases.
Towering ancient pillars, carved with coiling dragons, lined the sides of the staircases, each forged from heavy Mystic Yellow Chaos Mother Metal, wreathed in Mist of Chaos.
As cultivators and living beings passed, the ancient dragons coiled around the pillars opened their eyes, their icy gazes filled with authority and vigilance.
Deep within the Divine Nation, the Epoch Mother Tree stood towering and ancient, each of its leaves cradling a sun or moon, rumbling with immense power. Beneath it, the Lake of Reincarnation shimmered with silver radiance, countless ripples and points of light spreading outward, carrying the mysteries of reincarnation and the profound truths of all realms.
At the very center of the tree's canopy stood a grand palace complex, where Gu Changge now appeared.
As he observed the changes that had taken place in the Dao Chang True World over the years, his expression remained largely indifferent. Compared to the developments in the Primary Hope Civilisation, the transformations here were almost negligible.
In all these years, no new Dao Realm experts had emerged in the Dao Chang True World. However, due to the shifting environment—now far more conducive to cultivation—many Enlightened Beings had arisen, along with numerous beings who had stepped into the Immortal Realm.
Moreover, because of the Rain of Blessings he had once scattered, many Fortuitous Children—both male and female—had appeared in the Dao Chang True World.
Their emergence had, in turn, nourished the world's Fortuity.
Yet the lack of Dao Realm experts remained the Dao Chang True World's greatest weakness. No matter how much its Fortuity surged, it still had to abide by the laws of heaven and earth—it couldn't suddenly produce multiple Dao Realm experts in one leap.
Even in those Supreme True Worlds, Dao Realm experts were exceedingly rare, with perhaps only one emerging over several epochs.
Of course, Gu Changge had no expectations for the Dao Chang True World to undergo any drastic changes in the short term. What truly mattered to him were only a select few individuals—the lives and deaths of others were of no concern to him.
"Young Master..."
Suddenly, a soft, trembling voice, brimming with joy, pulled him from his thoughts.
He turned to see a graceful figure lifting her skirts, her snow-white tail held close as she hurried toward him. A gentle smile curved his lips.