Never Intended to Let Him Return Alive—Has Destiny Finally Found Its Home?
Never Intended to Let Him Return Alive—Has Destiny Finally Found Its Home?
Weng!
Gu Changge departed from this place, stepping into the void, heading naturally in the direction of the small town where Ye Ling was.
He had already sensed the information Yin Mei had triggered for him through a secret technique.
In other words, Ye Ling had already found that Supreme Cave of Reincarnation.
For Gu Changge, this was naturally a wonderful thing.
At this point, it was time for him to go harvest Ye Ling’s ripened fruit.
Calling it “harvesting” sounded a bit harsh, but without Ye Ling, it would have been genuinely difficult for him to locate the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being’s legacy.
“Right now, everyone should be rushing to those ruins to find Ye Ling... and no one will be able to discover his trail anyway...”
“On the contrary, all those exposed tombs over there will prove that my words were true.”
At this moment, Gu Changge naturally hadn’t forgotten to press the hat of “Successor of Demonic Arts” even more firmly onto Ye Ling’s head.
For the crowd of Cultivators, hearing news of Ye Ling, they naturally wouldn’t let it go—they would absolutely swarm over like bees.
By then, the tombs would be exposed to all.
And those ancient corpses within, drained of all their essence, would be the best evidence.
This was the first move Gu Changge had laid out.
At that point, no matter how hard Ye Ling tried, he would never be able to clear his name.
Not to mention that Ye Ling had already gone to the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being’s cave and knew nothing about any of this.
And Gu Changge had never intended to let him return alive.
......
While Gu Changge’s side had “received” the news of Ye Ling’s appearance,
the many members of the younger generation also heard the news.
“Ye Ling’s figure has appeared in the ruins to the east...”
Chi Ling, who was leading people in searching for Ye Ling within an ancient town, had her expression shift slightly.
Actually, back when she had been together with Ye Ling, he hadn’t shown anything unusual.
Nor had he approached those ruins.
It was only that Ye Langtian’s earlier words had made her suspicious—Ye Ling had likely harbored this intention all along, but because she was by his side, he couldn’t slip away.
That was why he couldn’t make his move.
And now, hearing this news, the suspicion in her heart grew even firmer.
“I just hope we don’t find Ye Ling’s figure inside those tombs... otherwise he’d truly be too terrifying, to have deceived me for so long.”
Chi Ling’s gaze was ice-cold. At this moment, killing intent surged skyward from her body. What she hated most was being deceived—and by a friend, no less!
Right now, Ye Ling was even more suspect than Ye Langtian.
“Chi Ling, when you encounter Ye Ling, I hope you won’t hold back for old times’ sake! The danger of the Successor of Demonic Arts—I trust we don’t need to spell it out for you.”
Kong Yang and the others, dressed in resplendent five-colored feathered robes with handsome features, also advised her at this time.
Toward Ye Ling, their hatred clearly ran deeper than anyone else’s.
Especially when they recalled traveling here together with Ye Ling back then—they couldn’t help but feel a chill down their spines, a terrifying coldness rising within them.
Such a horrifying person—thank goodness there had been many of them back then and none had been alone, or they would absolutely have fallen victim to Ye Ling’s poisonous hand.
Now they were all praying that Yin Mei, the Gifted Lady of the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan, could escape those demonic claws.
Hearing this, killing intent permeated Chi Ling’s cold and proud face.
“I will settle things with him once and for all!” she said coldly.
Meanwhile, in other mountain ridges, valleys, and plains, Wang Wushuang, Ye Langtian, the successor of the Undead Lake Clan, and others also received the news.
“The Successor of Demonic Arts has appeared, currently in some ruins to the east. Be extremely careful—don’t let him escape!”
One Young Prodigy spoke to the junior brothers and sisters behind him, very solemn, treating this matter with utmost gravity.
“Ye Ling actually dares to show himself—my only fear is that he’ll escape again this time.” Ye Langtian’s brows furrowed tightly, divine rings interweaving around his body, even his hair strands incomparably brilliant.
He understood Ye Ling fairly well—he knew this fellow looked honest on the surface but was insidious and cunning underneath.
Now, with so many people hunting and searching for him, he still dared to show his face—he clearly had confidence and backing.
“Forget it. A once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity like this absolutely cannot be missed.”
Ye Langtian immediately summoned his band of followers and charged toward the ruins mentioned in the news.
Right now, the White Tiger Clan was pressing in step by step, demanding they hand over Ye Ling.
On top of that, other orthodoxies and powers were using the issue to make trouble. As the successor, the pressure he bore was not small.
At this moment, Ye Langtian wished he could personally strike Ye Ling dead and capture him to quell the public’s fury.
Wang Wushuang and the other Young Prodigies didn’t linger either, charging toward Ye Ling’s location from the news. For a time, astonishing commotions appeared throughout the nearby mountain ranges.
War chariots crushed across the sky, divine rainbows shook the four wilds, all heading toward those ruins.
Even many Celestial Ancient creatures were startled, looking up.
Especially the nearby clans of the Black Sky Hawks, Ancient Teng Snakes, and Divine Crocodile Clan.
“What’s happened? Why are so many people suddenly rushing toward that place?”
“Could some immortal treasure have emerged?”
Many creatures thought of this, divine light gleaming in their eyes. They had originally planned to join forces to crusade against Gu Changge.
But now, they all transformed into divine rainbows and rushed over.
Within the Black Sky Hawk Clan’s territory, a young woman stood upon a cliff wreathed in clouds and mist.
She looked no more than seventeen or eighteen, dressed in white, clouds swirling around her, her features exquisite.
Her raven hair flowed like clouds, pinned with a Nine-Phoenix Hairpin; she wore a jade-threaded robe embroidered with rivers and mountains, holy as a divine lotus, her lovely face unmatched.
“The Celestial Ancient Dragon Clan has issued the True Dragon Decree—the younger generation of all the Lost Clans must participate in the crusade against that Gu Changge.”
The young woman murmured softly, brilliant light gleaming in her obsidian-like eyes.
“Now that Long Teng is dead, the younger generation of the Celestial Ancient clans is leaderless. This is my perfect opportunity.”
She was none other than Hei Ming’s elder sister, Hei Yanyu.
On the surface, she could be counted among the strongest of the younger generation across the Celestial Ancient clans.
She was also a once-in-hundreds-of-thousands-of-years genius of the Black Hawk Family.
Some time ago, when Long Teng was scouting the heaven’s pride daughters of the various clans, he had taken a fancy to her because of her outstanding beauty, intending to take her into his harem.
Regarding this matter, Hei Yanyu herself had refused. She hid her talents and kept her fame obscure.
But that didn’t mean she was weak, willing to submit to Long Teng and follow him for life.
Especially since Hei Yanyu was an extremely ambitious person, planning to lead the Black Hawk Family to restore the glory of their ancestors and rule over all the Celestial Ancient clans.
She had originally planned to find an opportunity to challenge Long Teng and make her stance clear.
But she never expected Long Teng to fall at Gu Changge’s hands.
Hei Yanyu had heard of Gu Changge and knew this person was very strong. The rumors among the Celestial Ancient clans were hard to believe—merely slander born of resentment.
Gu Changge’s true strength had at least approached the level of the Enlightened Noble Realm.
Hei Yanyu had specifically investigated the outcome of that battle.
Walking Taboo!
Those four heavy words were no empty claim.
But this time, all the clans were uniting to crusade against Gu Changge.
In her view, this might be her opportunity.
No matter how powerful Gu Changge was, he couldn’t possibly face the entire Celestial Ancient Races alone.
“Come. Follow me—we march to subjugate Gu Changge.”
Soon, as Hei Yanyu sent out her words, several powerful figures burst forth from the great mountains behind her.
“Chi chi chi.”
The sounds of tearing air rang out continuously as they shot out from the depths of the various cliffs, appearing at Hei Yanyu’s side.
A golden-haired girl with wings, an old flood dragon, a burly man with scale-covered arms, a giant with bull horns on his head...
The auras of these creatures were all powerful; the weakest among them was at the Partial-Enlightened Realm. They were beings Hei Yanyu had subdued herself across the great mountains and rivers.
After Hei Yanyu departed, a youth with a somewhat pale complexion walked out from the cliffside behind her.
The youth bore a pair of black wings on his back—it was Hei Ming.
At this moment, his eyes gleamed with an eerie light as he stared in the direction Hei Yanyu had left.
“Even both Ancestors have cultivated the Entanglement portion of the technique. Now that sister has left the family, it’s the perfect time for me to rise powerfully and seize all authority.”
Hei Ming muttered to himself, the flame called ambition blazing fiercely in his eyes.
Even he himself didn’t notice that silvery-white, spiderweb-like patterns were surfacing in his eyes, then quickly vanishing without a trace.
......
When Ye Ling brought Yin Mei stepping into the dried-up well,
the world before them spun, and in a daze, countless spaces seemed to collapse and overlap.
Finally, the two of them seemed to pass through a ripple-like wave and landed on solid ground.
A strange color flashed through Yin Mei’s eyes, and then she revealed a surprised expression. “Where is this? Have we come to another world?”
“That’s right, this is already another world. If I had to describe it, you could call it a small world—except it’s one my shifu left for me.”
Hearing this, Ye Ling, walking ahead of her, nodded, suppressing the excitement in his heart.
Normally, he referred to him as the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being.
But at this moment, inside the cave the Supreme Being of Reincarnation had left for him, it was better to call him shifu.
What if the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being still had a Remnant Soul lingering here, heard such disrespectful words, and expelled him from the sect? That would be a terrible loss.
So although Ye Ling usually didn’t seem particularly sharp, he actually had quite a lot going on in his head.
“The Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being... could it be...”
At this point, to play along with Ye Ling’s words, Yin Mei couldn’t help but put on a shocked expression.
Looking utterly stunned.
In truth, Gu Changge had already told her all of this, so she wasn’t surprised at all.
“Yes, you guessed right.” At this moment, Ye Ling was also somewhat smug and proud. The identity of the Successor of the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being gave him great face.
It was only for fear of others coveting his fortuitous encounter that he didn’t dare reveal it.
Now, laying it bare before Yin Mei, he couldn’t help but smile, greatly enjoying Yin Mei’s shocked and reverent gaze.
“The Supreme Being of Reincarnation—that’s a figure close to an immortal. I never imagined you’d have such a background, Ye Ling. It’s truly astonishing,” Yin Mei couldn’t help but say in admiration.
Ye Ling shook his head. “So the rumors outside, saying I’m some Successor of Taboo Demonic Arts—that’s completely false. The real Successor of Taboo Demonic Arts is actually Gu Changge, the successor of the Skyward Schloss...”
“He’s the one who framed me!”
“That despicable, shameless villain Gu Changge—sooner or later I’ll tear off his sanctimonious mask and let the world know who the real villain is...”
When Gu Changge was mentioned, bone-deep hatred and killing intent surfaced in his eyes again.
Never in this world had anyone made him hate them to the bone the way Gu Changge did.
Even Ye Langtian came nowhere close.
Clearly, the two of them had never even truly met before, hadn’t even exchanged a single word.
Yet... Gu Changge had framed him like this, saddled him with such an enormous blame, reduced him to a rat crossing the street that everyone shouts to strike!
He was even not far from becoming the enemy of the entire world.
“You don’t need to say these things. I’ve always believed you, Ye Ling.”
At this point, Yin Mei’s brows furrowed slightly as she spoke, interrupting Ye Ling’s cursing of Gu Changge.
“Yin Mei, you really are the best!” Hearing this, Ye Ling nodded, somewhat moved.
He also came back to his senses—now was not the time for such talk.
Immediately, he led the way in front, guiding Yin Mei onward.
......
“The trail Yin Mei left is here.”
At this moment, Gu Changge’s figure also emerged from the void, arriving at this abandoned ancient temple.
He stared at the dried-up well ahead, his gaze thoughtful.
“Ye Ling should have slipped inside by now. From the looks of it, this might be a Space Tunnel, just like my Internal World...” Gu Changge extended his divine sense into the dry well.
Proficient in the Force of the Void, he quickly detected faint spatial fluctuations.
Clearly, this place led to another world, hiding mysteries within.
“Over at the ruins, people should have arrived by now. Right now, apart from me, no one knows Ye Ling’s whereabouts.”
Gu Changge revealed a faint smile, then stepped inside.
This business of harvesting ripened fruit—this was far from his first time doing it.
He was long since practiced and familiar with it.
Ye Ling cleared away all the dangers ahead for him, while he strolled along behind at his leisure, relaxed and carefree.
This time, Gu Changge had no intention of letting Ye Ling leave this place alive.
As for the final question—where did Ye Ling, the Successor of Demonic Arts, go?
Why, naturally, he erupted with his full power and escaped from Gu Changge’s grasp.
When the time came, at worst, Gu Changge and Yin Mei would coordinate their story: Ye Ling had been gravely wounded by him and fled, while Gu Changge himself would put on the appearance of being seriously injured as well.
This scheme, in Gu Changge’s view, was utterly flawless.
In the end, no one would know where Ye Ling actually was—they would only know that, as the Successor of Demonic Arts, he lurked in various places.
All the powers and orthodoxies would search for Ye Ling, but a dead man—how could they possibly find him?
Ye Ling himself also knew all sorts of methods for changing his appearance and concealing his Source.
So no one would know Ye Ling was already dead; instead, they would believe Ye Ling had fled and hidden himself in the shadows.
Everything Gu Changge had done—as long as no one caught him in the act—everyone would take it for granted that it was the work of the “dead” Ye Ling.
Who could possibly suspect him?
......
Ye Ling and Yin Mei had already traveled a very long way.
This place looked like an underground fissure, connecting directly to the depths, with scorching heat even wafting up from below.
In the surrounding void, Array Patterns were branded—without comprehending the Power of Reincarnation, even a Sacred Realm existence would likely find it impossible to move an inch here.
“Ye Ling, you must be careful. This is the Supreme Being’s final trial. Those Array Patterns and mechanisms ahead—you must be cautious of them all...” The spirit turtle’s voice came from within the pendant.
This made Ye Ling’s heart tighten; he dared not lower his guard.
Hong!
Hong!
Hong!
Soon, he saw light coming from ahead—scorching magma flowing beneath his feet.
A single-log bridge spanning the magma connected to the other side.
“There are fire-attribute creatures in the magma. Be careful...” the spirit turtle warned.
Ye Ling nodded.
Wave after wave of terrifying heat like a sea of fire surged up from below, continuously battering against him.
But it was all shattered apart by the Power of Reincarnation around his body, unable to harm him in the slightest.
These waves were not only scorching—they also carried a terrifying weight of ten thousand jun.
An ordinary Partial-Enlightened Cultivator would probably explode instantly; even one at the True Enlightened Realm would blanch.
It had to be said, the trial the Supreme Being of Reincarnation had set up was perfectly suited to the current Ye Ling.
It wouldn’t put him in mortal danger, yet it wasn’t too dangerous either.
In Gu Changge’s view, this was what one called completely superfluous.
“Roar...”
From the magma ahead, numerous flame-wreathed creatures burst forth, charging at Ye Ling, plunging him into fierce battle for a time.
Meanwhile, Yin Mei hid at the back, watching all of this while quietly leaving behind a trail.
Ye Ling didn’t notice Yin Mei’s actions in the slightest.
Right now, in his eyes, the end of the road ahead hid boundless fortuitous opportunities.
Nothing was more important than that!
Before long,
Ye Ling, leading Yin Mei, carved a path through thorns and brambles all the way.
Having overcome the many trials the Supreme Being of Reincarnation had left for him, destroying the series of Array Patterns and killing traps along the way, they finally reached the depths.
A cave dwelling sat there, spewing divine radiance outward.
Three Bronze Pillars supported a bronze-and-white-jade palace, suspended in the void.
Strands of black-and-white Power of Reincarnation surged within, incomparably brilliant, illuminating the surrounding darkness with perfect clarity.
Inside the palace, a silver lake, calm as an Astral River, rose and fell, steaming with silvery mist.
A small silver tree, patterned with silver-black markings and containing the profound meaning of reincarnation,
was swaying within!
Seeing all of this, Ye Ling, standing outside the cave dwelling, was incomparably delighted and excited.
Even Yin Mei was stunned at this moment—what lay before their eyes was simply too shocking.
“The Lake of Reincarnation left by the Supreme Being—it can forge a Physique of Reincarnation...”
“The Wondrous Roots of Reincarnation, an immortal object rooted in the Lake of Reincarnation—it can condense the Origin of Reincarnation, can even be used as a weapon, and can brush aside all things!”
“And the Supreme Cave the Supreme Being refined from a World Stone back then—it contains all of the Supreme Being’s legacy, even several terrifying puppets he refined in his day.”
The spirit turtle’s excited voice also rang out in Ye Ling’s ears.
“All this effort wasn’t wasted!”
Ye Ling was also overcome with excitement. Looking at all the fortuitous opportunities within, his entire body trembled slightly.
“All of this is mine! Destiny is with me—Gu Changge, just you wait!” Even his voice was filled with excitement and trembling.