It's All the Fault of Preconceptions, Even If It Means Making an Enemy of All the Heavens
It’s All the Fault of Preconceptions, Even If It Means Making an Enemy of All the Heavens
Yue Mingkong sat upright upon the imperial throne. Hearing the report, she quietly closed the memorial in her hands.
Since returning from the Celestial Ancient Continent, her cultivation had improved tremendously.
In particular, she had obtained from Gu Changge many benefits she would never have dared imagine before.
A drop of Five-Coloured True Dragon Blood, and a jar of Celestial Spirit of which she had only refined a tiny fraction even now.
These two fortunes could be called the most precious things within the Celestial Ancient Continent, and they were of the greatest use to her.
Never mind her—even those old fossils currently fighting to the death within the Celestial Ancient Continent would burn with envy over them.
“All of you may withdraw.” Yue Mingkong said indifferently.
By now, she already possessed the majesty of an Empress who held the lives and deaths of billions of living beings in her grasp—terrifying and awe-inspiring.
The coldness within her phoenix eyes made one’s heart tremble all the more.
With a single gesture, the many ministers of the Celestial Dynasty below broke out in cold sweat, not daring to even breathe loudly.
“Yes, Crown Heir.”
Receiving the order, everyone within the great hall withdrew, leaving only the few female officials whom Yue Mingkong trusted.
“The rumours are accurate, correct?” Yue Mingkong asked indifferently. Beneath her calm expression hid emotions that only she herself understood.
“Reporting to the Crown Heir, the rumours are accurate. Before the Ancient Sea Palace and the various orthodoxies and great sects, Young Master Changge personally dug out that bone...” the female official reported.
“Young Master Changge also declared that whoever dares to scheme against Gu Xianer in the future, he will exterminate their entire clan.”
At this point, she could not help but shudder.
From those simple words, one could sense a terrifying bloodbath rushing forth.
“He even said such words? Changge, what exactly are you thinking... I can never fathom your heart...”
Yue Mingkong waved her hand, ordering all the female officials to withdraw.
She was slightly dazed, then closed her eyes and murmured to herself.
In her original memories, Gu Xianer’s fate in her previous life had been tragic.
Never mind returning the bone or confessing the events of that year—Gu Changge had never once stopped hunting Gu Xianer down from the very beginning.
Even the clan members of her branch had been exterminated by Gu Changge through various means.
So from the very start, Yue Mingkong had been trying to change Gu Xianer’s fate, hoping that when Gu Xianer encountered Gu Changge, she would have one more chance of survival.
But when she first met Gu Xianer back then, Yue Mingkong discovered that Gu Xianer’s hatred toward Gu Changge did not seem all that great.
This shocked and puzzled her greatly.
Afterward, she went to investigate and discovered that it was Gu Changge who had brought back Gu Xianer’s branch of the clan and released those who had been imprisoned back then.
In Yue Mingkong’s view, this course of action was the most proper, and also the most correct.
In truth, this was what she had most wanted to persuade Gu Changge to do at the very beginning of her rebirth, to prevent him from ultimately walking the path of being betrayed and abandoned by all.
Only, Gu Changge had actually done this before her, taking the first step to ease his relationship with Gu Xianer.
At the time, Yue Mingkong had even suspected that Gu Changge was, like her, someone who had been reborn.
But afterward she discovered that Gu Changge actually was not. He knew nothing of many events that were to happen in the future—nothing like a regressor at all.
Unless Gu Changge had been playing the fool all along, intending to deceive everyone. But given Gu Changge’s strength at the time, he had no such need.
If he were a regressor, knowing everything that was to happen like the back of his hand, that would simply drive people to despair.
So Yue Mingkong knew that she had simply been overthinking it.
And ever since that incident, Yue Mingkong had been deeply puzzled.
She discovered that although the Gu Changge of now had not changed in personality from the Gu Changge she had known before, he had gained a rare touch of human warmth.
Though this warmth was faint, for Gu Changge, it was already an enormous change!
Only, at the time, Yue Mingkong had believed this was a front Gu Changge deliberately put on to deceive her.
But the series of events that followed shattered Yue Mingkong’s understanding one after another.
By now, she no longer dared to fully trust those memories of her rebirth.
It was precisely because of those memories that she had formed preconceptions, harbouring misunderstandings toward the Gu Changge of this life, believing he had ulterior motives and ill intentions.
And it was precisely because of this that the relationship between the two of them—which had been changing, which could have drawn closer—suddenly plummeted to freezing point.
If she had not been prejudiced into believing Gu Changge harboured ill intentions...
Back at the Mountains of Horizons, how could she have spoken those words to Gu Changge?
Yue Mingkong also understood that she could not blame her memories for this.
Without the memories of her rebirth, she would still be that innocent and kind-hearted Fourth Princess, without even the qualifications to truly enter Gu Changge’s eyes.
Taking control of the entire Unrivaled Celestial Dynasty would have been even more impossible.
“Changge must be deeply disappointed and disheartened with me now. All this time, his goodwill toward me has been met with nothing but my wariness and suspicion...”
Yue Mingkong sighed deeply. Gu Changge digging out the bone to return it to his sister, and making it known to the world—this could be called a complete slap to her face.
All her previous speculations and suspicions about Gu Changge had been overturned.
Her heart was a tangle of emotions—regret, melancholy, guilt...
Gu Changge had even told her his greatest secret—that he was the Successor of Demonic Arts—without taking any precautions against her whatsoever.
Did that not say everything?
“Changge is, after all, a man who never shows his emotions. If one wants to know what he’s thinking, one can actually discern it from his actions and behaviour...”
Having figured all this out, Yue Mingkong’s heart was half worried and half joyful, mixed with bitterness.
The joy was that she ultimately did hold a place in Gu Changge’s heart.
Otherwise, Gu Changge would definitely be pondering ways to deal with her right now, rather than giving her a jar of Celestial Spirit at their parting.
He was merely stubborn, unwilling to voice his true feelings. With a personality as cold as his, he would never easily reveal his emotions.
The worry was that this place she held was far too small—so small it could vanish at any moment.
“I was so foolish, only understanding now that Changge does hold me in his heart after all...” Thinking of this, Yue Mingkong still felt somewhat content.
Just like those words spoken before Yin Mei that day.
Blocking is inferior to channeling.
Since she could not stop Gu Changge, why not join him instead—as a regressor, helping him rule over all the heavens?
Who could say for certain that the ending would definitely be a tragedy?
“Even if, in the end, you make an enemy of all the heavens, I will stand by your side.”
“Who told me to be so foolish, willing to give up everything for you...”
Yue Mingkong murmured to herself, secretly resolving her heart.
Her face was calm and profound. At this moment, she had already thought everything through.
In truth, she did not care about her own final fate.
On the day of her rebirth, she had secretly sworn to change the fates of her family and friends from her previous life.
But looking at it now, that oath was no longer needed.
In this life, she did not need to do so. All of Gu Changge’s actions had already shown that he would not repeat the mistakes of the previous life.
Nor would the tragedies Yue Mingkong knew of play out again.
As for the hatred toward Gu Changge from her previous life, Yue Mingkong could now only choose to silently accept it, burying it deep within her heart.
She had already borne so much—this little bit more made no difference.
“According to how events unfolded in my previous life, the general course of things hasn’t changed.”
“First, the Celestial Spirit emerged in the Celestial Ancient Continent. Many old fossils went there, only to return empty-handed—Gu Changge plucked it away one step ahead of them.”
“Afterward, the Ancient Sea Palace dispatched many powerful experts of the sea race to demand justice from Xianer. In the end, the Ancestor of Xianer’s branch, furious and hot-tempered, was utterly annihilated... and then that Ancestor of the Gu Family slaughtered his way into the territory where the Ancient Sea Palace resided.”
“No one knows how that battle unfolded. Only that in the end, the Ancient Sea Palace sealed its gates for a hundred thousand years, and the many sea races were forbidden from taking even half a step beyond the Boundless Sea.”
“The events within the Celestial Ancient Continent seem to be somewhat connected to Gu Changge, but there is far too little information to learn. I only know that the Celestial Ancient Dragon Clan will take the lead in rebellion, though in the end they were forcefully suppressed by the Great Elder’s intervention...”
Yue Mingkong sorted through these memories in her mind.
During that battle at the Ancient Sea Palace, it seemed to have also alarmed one of Gu Xianer’s masters, who, across an immeasurably vast distance, slashed out a pitch-black blade of light.
The terrifying auras of two supreme existences swept across the entire sea region, ultimately suppressing the Ancient Sea Palace.
Everyone also came to understand that even without Gu Changge, Gu Xianer’s status was unparalleled—no fatal mishap would ever befall her.
Of course, these were all trivial matters of no consequence; they would not affect the final course of events.
The Ancient Sea Palace was ancient and long-standing, having dominated the Boundless Sea for who knows how many years, yet even it dared not go to war with the Longevity Gu Family.
So Yue Mingkong had never worried about Gu Xianer.
As long as Gu Changge did not move against Gu Xianer, Gu Xianer would face no danger to her life.
Gu Xianer’s most dangerous enemy would always be Gu Changge.
“Once I’ve finished handling the matters at hand, I’ll need to pay a visit to that girl Xianer. There are some things I still need to tell her.”
Yue Mingkong no longer intended to live as she had before, constantly on guard against Gu Changge day after day.
No longer suspecting that Gu Changge had ulterior motives.
Trying to guess at Gu Changge’s thoughts and intentions was simply too exhausting.
She bore enormous hatred and far too much pressure, and now she was tired.
Even if Gu Changge had other motives, she no longer wished to care.
After all, in the end, no matter how she prepared or schemed, she could never stop Gu Changge.
The world kept turning; the fine details might change, but the general trajectory would not.
Even if, in the very end, Gu Changge killed her as he had in her previous life, Yue Mingkong no longer minded.
Then let Gu Changge kill her.
Now that she knew she held a place in Gu Changge’s heart, that was already enough.
“The Absolute Yin Heaven will soon descend upon the mortal world once more. The various orthodoxies and great sects will dispatch supreme figures to establish the True Immortal Academy, in order to cultivate a true immortal in this era.”
“At that time, many Imperial Scions, Ancient Imperial Princes, ancient freaks, and even young kings who once dominated their peers will all appear...”
Yue Mingkong began to recall this stretch of memory.
For Gu Changge, that would be an excellent breeding ground. After all, there would be countless Sources for him to devour and cultivate with, to refine his Grand Flask.
For the younger generation, it would be a golden age of gathered stars—and simultaneously the beginning of their nightmare.
Who knew how many prodigies had secretly fallen to Gu Changge’s poisonous hand in the previous life.
So what if they were Imperial Scions or Ancient Imperial Princes? In Gu Changge’s eyes, they differed only in how rich a nourishment they provided.
With the Absolute Yin Heaven without and the Successor of Demonic Arts within, this world would never know peace.
The Absolute Yin Heaven, as its name implied, was the same as the Boundless Heaven—an infinitely vast region. When it took shape, it could even be called an amalgamation of multiple ancient universes.
The eerie horror of the Absolute Yin Heaven lay in its nature of engulfing and devouring—it would spread toward every small world, every plane, and every heaven.
It was practically like a living world, possessing self-awareness, able to devour other heavens to strengthen itself.
In the very beginning, when the Absolute Yin Heaven appeared, no one noticed.
By the time it had taken initial shape, it already possessed the ability to devour worlds.
For the many orthodoxies and clans, the Absolute Yin Heaven was the most terrifying thing of all.
It belonged to no race, had no life—it was merely a world that continuously evolved, continuously expanded and grew.
Yet it could devour and bury everything.
“When the Absolute Yin appears, the Mortal One emerges...”
Yue Mingkong recalled this matter. In her previous life, she had never looked into it seriously, only vaguely hearing of it.
Gu Changge had planned to scheme around this matter. Whether he ultimately succeeded or not, she actually did not know. Nor did she know how exactly Gu Changge had laid his arrangements.
The Absolute Yin Heaven was a calamity involving the entire Beyond. Whenever it descended, the Mortal One would appear, saving all living beings under heaven from peril.
For every time the Absolute Yin Heaven descended, many orthodoxies and powers would be devoured and buried, vanishing forever within it.
In this world, aside from true immortals, who would dare lightly claim they could destroy a universe and resolve the Absolute Yin Heaven? Even orthodoxies that had once produced immortals would find it thorny and troublesome.
But the Mortal One could. He possessed such means.
The Mortal One was eternally undying, forever trudging through the cycle of reincarnation.
And whenever the Absolute Yin Heaven descended upon the mortal world, all sides and all orthodoxies would search for the reincarnated body of the Mortal One.
The Mortal One’s status stood aloof from all else—even the most ancient existences had to treat him with reverence.