Even Greater Than Life Itself — This Damned Romance Novel Plot
Even Greater Than Life Itself — This Damned Romance Novel Plot
The stone wall was clearly an illusion.
Gu Changge saw through it at a glance. Ripples spread out layer upon layer before his eyes, and he walked right in.
What appeared before him was a stone chamber that wasn’t particularly large.
The four walls were carved with numerous ancient patterns, extremely old in age, depicting scenes of ancient Celestial beings offering sacrifices to the heavens~.
In a trance, a vast and ancient scene emerged.
Within a grand Celestial Kingdom, countless subjects and living beings bowed in worship, kneeling devoutly, kowtowing toward that place, as the sound of the world reverberated through all under heaven.
Before the centermost stone wall stood an ancient gate.
Within the gate, a crack faintly appeared, reflecting an ancient, vast, and boundless world inside.
As celestial rain drifted down, wisps of celestial mist seeped out from the crack in the gate.
“So this is the Celestial Gate.”
“It seems Yue Mingkong found it long ago. What a pity she had no way to enter.”
Gu Changge gazed at the gate, a strange smile involuntarily appearing at the corner of his mouth.
Soon, sensing that Yue Mingkong had followed him in from behind,
the smile on his face vanished, replaced by calm.
“Since you don’t trust me, then once this Celestial Gate opens, you can go in first.”
Then, Gu Changge glanced at Yue Mingkong and said casually,
“Of course, if you’re worried I’ll scheme against you from behind, you can also choose to stay outside.”
His tone made it seem as though he hadn’t taken what just happened to heart at all.
But Yue Mingkong had already sensed many changes from the shift in Gu Changge’s expression.
Before, when Gu Changge spoke to her, he would carry a smile.
But now, the emotion in his eyes was as faint as ice water.
This attitude was even harder for Yue Mingkong to bear than if he simply ignored her.
“I believe you.” Her voice unconsciously grew much softer.
Gu Changge glanced at her again but said nothing more, merely chuckling, “That would be for the best.”
Yue Mingkong’s eyes remained cold and clear, seemingly unchanged.
But at that moment, she suddenly felt a bitterness in her mouth.
Clearly, Gu Changge had not taken her words of “believing him” to heart.
That much was evident from his attitude.
She regretted it. Why had she said such a thing?
Gu Changge’s temperament was inherently cold and heartless, and supremely proud. She had finally managed to soften him, just a little.
Yet now, with a single sentence, she had dragged their relationship back to where it started — no, even further apart than the beginning.
This filled Yue Mingkong’s heart with regret, even a sense of loss.
Gu Changge must have some reason; otherwise, he couldn’t possibly be so sensitive about those words.
Even the Celestial Gate before her seemed to have lost its allure.
All her arrangements over this past month had lost their meaning.
At this moment, Yue Mingkong finally understood.
In truth, her greatest purpose after being reborn was not to take revenge on Gu Changge — it was to win his heart.
And right now, Gu Changge acted as though he had no idea what was going through Yue Mingkong’s mind.
He clasped his hands behind his back.
He circled the Celestial Gate a few times, beginning to recall the information he knew.
“There are currently only two ways to open the Celestial Gate: either wait for it to emerge and open on its own, or activate it with the Celestial Summoning Record...”
“Who knows how long it would take for it to open on its own. By then, the Celestial Ancient Continent would surely already be in chaos, easily drawing the attention of numerous supreme experts.”
As thoughts flashed through Gu Changge’s mind, he had already made his decision.
The Celestial Summoning Record — this was actually a Celestial writing from the Celestial Ancient Times, used in rituals, specifically for praying to the Exalted Immortals and reporting the affairs of the mortal world.
“The System Shop happens to sell the Celestial Summoning Record. Eighteen thousand Fatums — quite a steep price.”
Gu Changge didn’t hesitate and quickly exchanged for the Celestial Summoning Record.
Weng!
One after another, ancient Celestial characters appeared in his mind like brilliant little stars, dazzling with light, radiating a resplendent golden glow.
Finally, these ancient Celestial characters became clear and vast, evolving into blurry celestial figures.
A Celestial scripture had appeared in Gu Changge’s mind.
“The key is in hand.”
He revealed a strange smile.
Only, this trace of strangeness went unnoticed by Yue Mingkong.
She was still mired in inner conflict, wondering how to open her mouth, how to apologize to Gu Changge and make up for what had just happened.
She truly didn’t want this matter to send their relationship — which had finally shown some improvement — plummeting back to freezing point.
“I’m about to open this Celestial Gate. Do you plan to go in first, or after me? As for the Celestial Spirit inside, we’ll each rely on our own means. How about it?”
Soon, Gu Changge spoke again, saying it lightly.
These words pulled Yue Mingkong out of her thoughts, somewhat surprised — it seemed Gu Changge really could open this Celestial Gate ahead of time.
She had waited here for a month, and it turned out to have been in vain.
But hearing the meaning behind Gu Changge’s words, her face grew even more conflicted for a moment.
Going in first or going in later — there was really no difference.
How long had she prepared for the Celestial Spirit?
A full month and more.
She had even cultivated using the celestial spiritual energy of this place, greatly advancing her cultivation.
If she were to give up just like that, honestly, she wouldn’t be reconciled to it.
However, Yue Mingkong glanced at Gu Changge ahead of her and finally made her decision.
She spoke, “I won’t go in.”
“I’ll stay outside and stand guard for you. Don’t overthink it — I just want to apologize to you for what I said earlier. About what happened before, I misunderstood you. I won’t fight you for the Celestial Spirit.”
“If even this can’t prove my sincerity, then you can kill me.”
“I can guarantee I won’t fight back. After all, even if I did fight back, I couldn’t possibly be your match.”
Yue Mingkong said calmly.
She had chosen to give up on her own initiative.
Just as she said, this was the only way she could think of to prove her sincerity to Gu Changge.
If Gu Changge didn’t believe her and wanted to strike her down,
then there was nothing she could do.
After all, she knew too many of Gu Changge’s secrets.
However, Yue Mingkong was not actually as composed as she appeared on the surface.
Having convinced herself she’d figured out what happened before, she was now truly afraid... afraid that Gu Changge would leave her forever.
She would rather Gu Changge harbor killing intent toward her, kill her like in her previous life, than become strangers who passed each other by.
That would be worse than killing her — a torment worse than death itself.
“That resolute, huh?”
At this moment, hearing these words, even Gu Changge was slightly stunned.
Honestly, he hadn’t expected Yue Mingkong to make such a choice.
To have him kill her?
He had considered many possibilities — he had even imagined Yue Mingkong gritting her teeth, rarely showing a wronged expression, tearfully acting spoiled toward him, saying she was wrong.
But he truly hadn’t anticipated this kind of resolute possibility.
If he didn’t believe her, then she would die.
Was this woman really that foolish?
Honestly, Gu Changge hadn’t taken Yue Mingkong’s suspicion of him to heart at all.
After all, her suspicion wasn’t wrong — it was correct.
He did indeed harbor ulterior motives toward Yue Mingkong all along. For someone as absolutely rational as him, falling for a person was very difficult.
The so-called falling for someone was nothing more than lusting after their body.
For a woman to reach his heart was as difficult as ascending to heaven — practically impossible.
“Why are you so foolish?”
Gu Changge sighed softly and said, “How could I kill you?”
This woman was truly too foolish — so foolish it made him feel a bit bored.
So foolish that he could hardly bear to keep bullying her.
Today’s matter might be nothing more than an insignificant jest to him, but to Yue Mingkong, it concerned life and death.
This woman loved him more than her own life.
This kind of plot, which Gu Changge had only ever seen in romance novels in his previous life — he truly never imagined it would one day happen to him.
At a moment like this, shouldn’t he step forward and gently pull her into his embrace? Whisper some soft, tender words?
Except Gu Changge did no such thing.
That kind of display would be too fake. Even if Yue Mingkong was foolish, she could still see through it, still tell the difference.
Doing so would instead ruin the excellent game of chess he had laid out.
“Gu Changge, why wouldn’t you kill me?”
Yue Mingkong was stunned, not understanding the meaning behind Gu Changge’s words.
Did this mean Gu Changge had accepted her apology? Or had he not?
She was confused.
“What would I kill you for? You alive are far more useful than you dead.” Gu Changge smiled lightly.
“You really are heartless, then.” Yue Mingkong also said, with tacit understanding.
The only thing she wanted to do now was to determine what Gu Changge’s feelings toward her truly were.
Nothing else mattered.
Yue Mingkong believed that everything had a reason behind it.
She would find this reason that Gu Changge had hidden so deeply.
Gu Changge paid her no more mind.
He raised his hand.
Billions of rays of light bloomed in his palm, blurry and resplendent, like celestial flowers, drooping black light, taking root in all directions.
Weng!
One after another, ancient and mysterious characters emerged from the void as Gu Changge began to chant these Celestial writings.
In a trance, blurry figures appeared everywhere — ancient Progenitors of bygone eras, prostrate on the ground, praying and kowtowing toward the immortals.
“Is the Celestial Gate really about to open?” Yue Mingkong’s gaze also sharpened as she looked over.
These ancient and mysterious characters, as if drawn by some mysterious power, drifted toward the stone gate ahead.
Kacha!
Before her somewhat astonished eyes, a great expanse of brilliant light rain burst forth!
The stone gate opened!
A path appeared.
Here, soaring celestial radiance pierced the sky above, billions of strands of celestial qi swirled about, containing essence so dense it was unbelievable, thick as mountain ranges.
It was as if one could ascend and become an immortal.
Had Yue Mingkong not laid down Array Patterns and runes in advance, sealing every inch of the void, the aura here would absolutely have pierced the heavens, shaken the eight directions, and drawn countless people over.
Even so, this place was instantly flooded with dense celestial qi.
The Celestial Gate opened, and the Celestial Path appeared.
Before Gu Changge’s eyes, a blurry and hazy path ran through the Celestial Gate, as if connecting to another vast and boundless world.
There, celestial trees stood tall, celestial flowers shone brilliantly, and sacred herbs wafted with fragrance.
“The Celestial Gate was actually opened by Gu Changge just like that. How did he do it? This scripture? Or is this how he did it in his previous life?”
Yue Mingkong’s gaze was profound, her dress fluttering, her whole body enveloped in celestial rain.
She felt her body being filled with brilliant celestial light; every inch of her skin appeared brimming with celestial intent, crystalline and translucent.
Just standing here brought tremendous fortune.
But at the same time, a terrifying aura rose and fell, enough to crush all living beings to pieces.
The Celestial Path was not something ordinary living beings or Cultivators could set foot upon.
Yue Mingkong tested it — if she wanted to walk in, it would cost her an enormous price.
However, since she had said she would stand guard outside for Gu Changge, she would not move.
If any Cultivators arrived here in a while, she could also buy Gu Changge some time.
And while she was pondering, Gu Changge, before the Celestial Gate, had already taken the lead and charged in.
Above his head, a black-flowing Grand Flask rose and fell, withstanding the terrifying pressure, transforming into a divine light that shot straight into the Celestial Path.
“According to my memories of the previous life, the Celestial Path will remain open for half a month, then close on its own. Only those who have reached the absolute peak of Humanity could possibly walk this path and probe the secret of becoming an immortal...”
Yue Mingkong frowned.
Fortunately, she discovered that the aura here was being concealed by the Array Patterns she had laid down, covering a thousand miles in every direction.
Unless a supreme being descended upon this place, it was impossible to detect.
“For the time being, Gu Changge won’t run into trouble. Given how meticulous his mind is, I don’t need to worry about him.”
Yue Mingkong also understood that the two of them were currently hiding in the darkness right under the lamp.
Once detected by a supreme being, the entire Celestial Ancient Continent would be thrown into monstrous waves.
Numerous Ancestor-level existences would be alarmed into coming.
And soon, through the blurry Celestial Path before her,
Yue Mingkong made out some of the scenes within.
Inside the Celestial Gate, in that vast world,
beneath the firmament, a great lake wreathed in celestial qi had appeared out of thin air, spanning tens of millions of miles.
The great lake was filled with auspicious radiance, ten thousand divine beams, seven-colored Dao charm — incomparably miraculous.
Within it, the waves sparkled, as if time had stopped at the dawn of primordial antiquity. Mist billowed inside, and ancient, sky-piercing green lotuses grew one after another.
Gu Changge’s figure appeared there.
He was staring at some sources of light within the lake water.
His gaze appeared peculiar.
Deep within the lake,
········Seeking flowers···········
dots of green radiance, as if formed from ancient, weighty stars.
That green radiance would sink into the lake one moment, then drift into the air the next — mysterious and extraordinary, exceedingly strange.
But both Gu Changge and Yue Mingkong knew very well — that was the Celestial Spirit.
The so-called Spirit of the Celestials!
Even for Perfect Prodigy cultivators, it was an exceedingly rare treasure.
Any small piece of it was enough to drive them into a frenzied scramble, even at the cost of starting a Perfect Prodigy war!
At this moment, Gu Changge sat cross-legged there.
Above his head, a terrifying Grand Flask rose and fell, drooping black light like a waterfall, withstanding the vast and heavy pressure of that world for him.
At the same time, a black hole-like aura emanated from it.
At this moment, his cultivation at the peak of the Enlightened King Realm was on full display!
That green radiance, as if possessing spirituality, was nurtured within that Immortal Ascension Lake.
But now it was being frantically devoured by Gu Changge through the Grand Flask.
So much so that the Internal World within his body unfolded, and celestial Dao aura surged madly into it.
A vast and ancient sacred aura emerged within the Internal World, and stretches of heavenly palace-like structures stood upon it.
Just like the mythical Heaven’s Gate.
Gu Changge’s cultivation also seemed to have found an outlet, rising madly.
These Celestial Spirits looked sparse, but every wisp was exceedingly rare, containing the most authentic celestial Dao aura.
Peak of the Enlightened King Realm — breakthrough!
Quasi-Sacred Realm!
Early Quasi-Sacred Realm!
Middle stage!
......
“You say you’re my Ancestor? Your name is Gu Nanshan?”
Meanwhile.
Beneath an ancient, towering tree, Gu Xianer — who had just finished off several Celestial Ancient beings — stared with suspicious, beautiful eyes at the old man who had suddenly appeared before her.
Calling him an old man, he was really more like an old farmer.
Hunched figure, slovenly and unkempt, dark-skinned face, vegetable leaves stuck to his yellowed teeth, and even that rusty kitchen knife of his had a chunk missing.
With this appearance, if he were thrown onto the street to sell vegetables, probably no one would be willing to buy.
Too dirty.
Yet he had suddenly appeared out of thin air, claiming to be her Ancestor, nearly scaring her half to death.
Because Gu Xianer had been in contact with those old fossils like her Shifu since childhood, she had a fairly strong tolerance for such unkempt experts.
.00
It was just hard to connect her own Ancestor with the old farmer before her.
“Xianer, this is indeed an Ancestor of your branch.” At this moment, the Great Elder’s figure stepped out of the void, smiling kindly.
“Shifu.” Gu Xianer hurriedly saluted. She was still very respectful toward the Great Elder who had taught her so attentively.
“Now, you girl, do you finally believe me?” Gu Nanshan picked at his ear, his expression somewhat embarrassed.
This girl — the first thing she did upon seeing him just now wasn’t believing him, but quietly gripping a Forbidden Weapon.
That level of vigilance gratified him, yet also made him sigh with heartache.
All these years, this girl had been wronged. Without her family’s protection, she must have suffered a lot out there.
After all, she was born destined to become the little princess of the Longevity Gu Family, showered with all the love in the world, radiant and brilliant.
Yet that fellow Gu Changge had dug out the Great Dao Bone that belonged to her, leaving her to wander outside, enduring endless hardship.
Getting to where she was today had not been easy.
This filled Gu Nanshan with complicated emotions, giving rise to guilt toward her.
He had been quite unqualified as an Ancestor!
If he hadn’t been buried for too long and recently come out for some air, he wouldn’t even have known that among the family’s younger generation, a wolf cub like Gu Changge had appeared, committing such acts of kin-slaying.
This matter had enraged him.
However, upon discovering that Gu Changge had since conducted himself with some measure of restraint and hadn’t done anything he shouldn’t have, his anger subsided somewhat.
Now, the person he felt most guilty toward was actually this junior, Gu Xianer.
“Xianer greets Ancestor.”
Seeing the Great Elder appear, Gu Xianer now believed the identity of the old farmer before her and spoke obediently.
“What a clever and sensible little girl.”
Gu Nanshan nodded, chuckling.
The more he looked, the more he liked her.
Clever and quick-witted, well-behaved and endearing.
Though a Nirvana-reborn Young Prodigy, her cultivation was in no way inferior to her peers.
Her body also bore the marks left by numerous experts.
This girl was one who possessed great Fortuity.
“Xianer, rest assured. Now that your Ancestor is here to back you up, no one can kill you — and Gu Changge is no exception. Though he is the Young Master, with your Ancestor here, he won’t be stirring up any storms.”
Then, Gu Nanshan spoke, feeling that as her Ancestor, he ought to resolve some troubles for Gu Xianer.
The reason he had come to the Celestial Ancient Continent was entirely to back Gu Xianer up, fearing she would fall victim to Gu Changge’s treachery here.
“Eh, Ancestor...”
“Is what you said true?”
Hearing this, Gu Xianer was suddenly taken aback. Her bright eyes blinked, and then she asked with a bit of anticipation, “Even Gu Changge?”
“Rest assured. With your Ancestor here, Gu Changge wouldn’t dare kill you.” Gu Nanshan guaranteed.
“That’s it?”
At this moment, Gu Xianer suddenly felt that this Ancestor seemed somewhat unreliable.
The obedient look on her face disappeared, replaced by great disappointment.
“Hmm?”
This time, it was Gu Nanshan’s turn to be stunned. “Could it be that Xianer wants your Ancestor to help you kill Gu Changge? That matter...”
As he spoke, he grew somewhat troubled.
As an Ancestor, to strike down a junior — honestly, he really couldn’t bring himself to do it.
“Who asked you to kill him, Ancestor?”
Hearing this, Gu Xianer grew somewhat anxious instead. Then a small look of anticipation appeared on her little face as she said, “Ancestor, how about this — you just suppress that guy Gu Changge’s cultivation for me...”
“Best to suppress it to the same realm as me — no, better suppress it one realm below mine...”
She thought it over carefully.
If they were at the same realm, she very likely still couldn’t beat Gu Changge.
That guy was absurdly strong.
However, hearing these words, Gu Nanshan was completely dumbfounded, his eyes widening slightly.
What was this?
Shouldn’t Gu Xianer hate Gu Changge to the bone?
Was all the information he’d received wrong?
Seeing this, the Great Elder at the side merely smiled without a word, clearly having anticipated this all along.
After all, he had been keeping constant tabs on the news within the Celestial Ancient Continent.
As for the entangled grievances between Gu Xianer and Gu Changge — it would be strange if Gu Nanshan could make sense of them.