Gathering Believers Across All of Heaven and Its Thousand Worlds — The Perfect Opening of a Tragedy
Gathering Believers Across All of Heaven and Its Thousand Worlds — The Perfect Opening of a Tragedy
Meanwhile, at the Unrivaled Celestial Dynasty.
“Reporting to the Crown Heir, the spatial coordinates of the Heavenly Star Realm have been confirmed...”
“The Unrivaled Guard now has five hundred thousand candidates, and a second unit is currently being formed.”
A female official was respectfully delivering her report.
Within the palace, Yue Mingkong stood with her hands clasped behind her back, gazing into the distance beyond the window. Her expression was calm and profound. Her imperial robes were loose and wide, yet they could not conceal her proud, graceful figure.
She had been pondering matters, and the report interrupted her thoughts. A trace of absentmindedness flickered across her devastatingly beautiful, immortal countenance.
Then she nodded and said, “Very good.”
The Heavenly Star Realm — that was information she had obtained from the memories of her previous life. The Reincarnation of the Mortal One would emerge from that very realm and eventually return to the Beyond.
However, confirming the exact location of the Heavenly Star Realm had cost her considerable time.
On top of that, she had been forming the Unrivaled Guard during this period, which consumed much of her energy. To this day, she still had not set out.
Yue Mingkong had been planning to eliminate this hidden threat for Gu Changge in advance.
If she could not manage it, then she would find a way to inform Gu Changge of the matter and let him figure out his own solution — let him pray for his own fortune.
Otherwise, if the Mortal Palace detected things early, it would bring Gu Changge no benefit whatsoever.
Once his identity as the Successor of Demonic Arts was exposed, he would inevitably face a situation where the entire world became his enemy.
“If I set out for the Heavenly Star Realm now, and it takes too long, I might miss this matter...”
A rare trace of conflict appeared on Yue Mingkong’s face.
On one hand, she feared the timing would slip away. Right now, the Reincarnation of the Mortal One was at his weakest — and easiest to deal with.
If the people of the Mortal Palace found him first, dealing with him afterward would become extremely difficult, the difficulty multiplying several times over.
Nor did Yue Mingkong expect that her current strength could truly handle the Mortal One. At most, she could delay the time of his return.
“That said, the Heavenly Star Realm is an endless distance from the Inner Domain. The Mortal Palace won’t be able to find the Reincarnation of the Mortal One anytime soon...”
“Even if they want to pinpoint the Mortal One’s location, it will take them considerable effort.”
After long deliberation, Yue Mingkong decided to wait a while longer before departing.
Because in a few days, it would be the birthday banquet of Gu Changge’s mother.
Toward this person who had treated her like her own child in her previous life, Yue Mingkong had always held deep gratitude.
Her own mother had died early. The only familial affection she had ever experienced in her past life had come from Gu Changge’s parents.
In this life, she did not want to miss that birthday banquet — traveling to the Heavenly Star Realm would inevitably delay her for a long time.
During this period, she had been closely monitoring everything happening on the Celestial Ancient Continent.
The final trajectory had not diverged much from her previous life.
The only difference was that in her previous life, Gu Changge had not revealed the identity of the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being’s successor — he had controlled the Ancient Serpent, Black Hawk, and other races through other means.
In this life, Ye Ling had died at Gu Changge’s hands, so he had naturally and brazenly assumed that identity.
Yue Mingkong found nothing surprising about this.
It was a very Gu Changge way of doing things.
“The Successor of Mortal Palace will soon emerge into the world. Their strength is unfathomable — only certain ancient freaks could hope to match them... With my current power, I cannot possibly be their opponent.”
“It seems I must make a trip to the Ancestral Land to receive the Emperor Essence Infusion, and refine the remaining Celestial Spirit while I’m at it...”
Afterward, Yue Mingkong pondered for a while, gave instructions for the matters at hand, and then set off for the Ancestral Land of the Unrivaled Celestial Dynasty.
Every Crown Heir of the Unrivaled Celestial Dynasty had one opportunity to receive the Emperor Essence Infusion.
This was the inheritance method of the Unrivaled Celestial Dynasty — the foundation upon which it had stood unshaken for countless ages.
The wondrous benefits of the Emperor Essence Infusion went without saying. Each generation had only this single chance.
Yue Mingkong had originally planned to save it for when she broke through to the Sacred Realm.
But now, with the Successor of Mortal Palace about to emerge, she felt the pressure and deemed it necessary to raise her cultivation.
Combined with the Celestial Spirit Gu Changge had given her...
Yue Mingkong figured she could use and refine them together. Otherwise, in the coming era of unprecedented heavenly prodigies, she would struggle to claim a place for herself.
...
After unifying the various races of the Celestial Ancient Continent, Gu Changge did not idle about either. Along the way, he plundered extensively and acquired a great many treasures.
Celestial Ancient scriptures, insights of the Progenitors, stone carvings of Sacred Emperor Realm beings... all manner of runes and Array Patterns, spirit pills and sacred medicines, ancient tomes and texts, divine weapons and Daoist artifacts... too numerous to count.
The cultivation resources now in Gu Changge’s hands had reached the most abundant level of his life thus far.
The accumulated heritage of the great races since the Celestial Ancient Times was staggering — unimaginable. Even Perfect Prodigies would burn with envy and greed at the sight.
Seizing this opportunity, Gu Changge’s Immortal-Devouring Demonic Art cultivation also broke through to the Sacred Realm in one fell swoop.
His surface-level Skyward Ascension cultivation broke through to the True Enlightened Realm as well — at least for now, that was enough to fool prying eyes.
Gu Changge knew many people suspected his true cultivation was far beyond the mere True Enlightened Realm. But what use was suspicion? If they had the ability, let them come expose his true strength.
Besides, Gu Changge himself did not care about such things.
His prestige had already reached a level unmatched by anyone of the younger generation. Even if the Successor of Mortal Palace emerged, so what? Before him, they would still have to bow their heads.
During this time, Gu Changge had also been reviewing information regarding the Reincarnation of the Mortal One.
Combining it with certain ancient records, he was estimating the probability of replacing the Mortal One and taking his place.
In the end, he concluded that the probability was low — but low did not mean impossible.
Before that, he needed to locate the Reincarnation of the Mortal One.
Yet the Beyond was so vast, and the Overworld boundless — how many worlds and planes did they encompass in total? Practically infinite.
So Gu Changge had no intention of searching them one by one. That was simply unrealistic, and he found it troublesome besides.
Such was Gu Changge’s current dilemma.
Then, he thought of two methods.
The first was to obtain clues through Yue Mingkong. But when he sent trusted aides to investigate her whereabouts, they discovered she had gone to the Ancestral Land and had not left the territory of the Unrivaled Celestial Dynasty.
That left only the second method: use the Mortal Palace to locate the Reincarnation of the Mortal One, then swoop in and snatch the prize.
But this method was fraught with difficulties. The Mortal Palace could not possibly lack protective measures.
He might even end up losing both the lady and the soldiers — exposing his identity as the Successor of Demonic Arts in the process.
Judging from Wang Zijin’s current attitude, she did not seem particularly interested in searching for the Reincarnation of the Mortal One. That made sense — she was a Transmigrator. Why would she willingly serve as a tool?
Therefore, Gu Changge was devising a way to turn Wang Zijin into his tool instead.
That process could not be completed overnight.
He set the matter of the Reincarnation of the Mortal One aside for now, planning to reconsider it after Yue Mingkong returned from the Ancestral Land.
Beyond that, during this period, Gu Changge had also used Fatums to further evolve his Internal World.
Building upon its previous foundation, he constructed the grand and ancient spectacle of the Celestial Court from mythology.
Within that vast, boundless, mysterious world, golden palaces stretched in endless rows, sacred stars filled the sky like an ocean, billions of strands of starlight cascaded down, and Chaos Energy billowed without end.
Magnificent and majestic beyond compare.
Never mind ordinary people — even Sacred Realm beings would be shaken to their core, unable to resist kneeling in worship beneath such pressure.
After all, this concerned Gu Changge’s next scheme.
He had to arrange it properly. Otherwise, if the presentation lacked sufficient grandeur, it would fail to intimidate anyone — and fail to attract leeks to harvest.
“Everything is ready; all that’s missing is the east wind. Time to find someone to test it on...”
With that thought, Gu Changge set his sights on Hei Ming of the Black Hawk Family.
The once-good-for-nothing young master had transformed into a dazzling star of the Black Hawk Family, wielding immense power.
His status was second only to his elder sister, Hei Yanyu.
This left Hei Ming riding high on success — he had even begun pondering how to help his family escape their sea of suffering and break free from Gu Changge’s control.
It never occurred to him that all of this was precisely the calamity he had brought upon his entire race.
“Greetings, Master!”
Soon after, within the ancestral grounds of the Black Hawk Family, Gu Changge’s figure appeared.
His arrival alarmed the entire Black Hawk race. Everyone came to pay their respects, anxious and uneasy, wondering what he had come for.
“No need for formalities.”
Gu Changge nodded, taking the opportunity to review the results of their training during this period.
He was reasonably satisfied. The entire Celestial Ancient Races were under his control, secretly training a terrifying force for him.
With these armies, he would have a powerful force at his disposal when he campaigned across the heavens in the future.
However, that was not his purpose in coming here.
“Is Hei Ming here?”
Gu Changge asked with a meaningful smile.
“Reporting to Master... Hei Ming is here. May I ask what business you have with him?”
A clan elder’s expression changed, and he hurriedly answered, his voice trembling.
His fear of Gu Changge had clearly reached its extreme.
“Bring him to me.”
Gu Changge said indifferently, his expression calm, his back turned to everyone as he stood within the great hall.
No one could guess what he was thinking.
That kind of pressure left everyone terrified, trembling with trepidation, as if walking on thin ice.
“What happened to Hei Ming...”
Among the crowd, Hei Yanyu’s expression shifted slightly, her face paling. Thinking of certain unpleasant possibilities, she worried that Hei Ming had offended Gu Changge.
Because some time ago, Hei Ming had told her he would find a way to save the family and escape Gu Changge’s demonic clutches.
That was the first thing that came to her mind — she suspected Gu Changge had caught wind of it, bringing a fatal disaster upon Hei Ming.
Soon, amid the anxious and fearful expressions of the Black Hawk clansmen, Hei Ming was brought forward by several members of the family.
He was no longer the mediocre, useless youth he once was.
He now carried a confidence and vigor that set him apart from others.
Yet Hei Ming’s face still bore traces of confusion, shock, worry, fear — all manner of emotions.
He did not understand why Gu Changge had suddenly summoned him.
Toward this young man who held the lives of the entire race in his grasp, Hei Ming felt bone-deep fear — and hatred as well. He did not want his own life, nor the lives of his entire race, controlled in another’s hands.
Gu Changge’s sudden summons filled him with unease.
“Master, Hei Ming has arrived,” a Black Hawk clansman said, his voice trembling slightly.
“Very well. Hei Ming stays. The rest of you may leave,” Gu Changge said lightly.
“Yes.”
Soon, only Hei Ming and Gu Changge remained in the great hall.
“Master...”
Hei Ming spoke, forcing himself to calm down.
But Gu Changge acted as though he had not heard.
He still did not turn around.
Hei Ming dared not speak again. Sweat covered his forehead, his face was pale, and his body trembled.
“I hear you’ve been thinking about undoing your family’s Slave Mark...”
Finally, just as Hei Ming was about to break under the pressure, Gu Changge spoke at last.
He turned around, a faint smile on his face.
In that instant, Hei Ming felt as though his entire scalp was about to explode.
He had only ever thought about this matter in his heart — and mentioned it only to his sister, Hei Yanyu.
How did Gu Changge know?!
At that moment, despair filled Hei Ming’s expression. He instinctively assumed that now that Gu Changge had seen through his thoughts, he would kill him.
Under the control of the Slave Mark, even resistance was impossible. Gu Changge would effortlessly dissolve it and take his life with ease.
Even their Sacred King Realm ancestor could not resist!
“Don’t worry. I won’t kill you. After all, you are the one chosen by the Absolute Being...”
Just as Hei Ming sank into despair, Gu Changge spoke again, his smile carrying a trace of amusement.
What?!
Hearing these words, Hei Ming’s eyes snapped wide open, filled with disbelief and shock.
He had actually heard the words “Absolute Being” from Gu Changge’s own mouth?!
Weng!!
His head felt as though it had been struck by a giant bell — it went completely blank, roaring with noise!
Could it be... that Gu Changge was also a believer of the Absolute Being?
At this thought, Hei Ming was even more shaken, his emotions beyond description.
“You...”
This was Hei Ming’s greatest secret. He never imagined Gu Changge would state it outright.
But soon, Hei Ming figured it out.
No wonder he had always sensed a familiar aura from Gu Changge — so he was also one of the Absolute Being’s people!
“The Absolute Being sent me to tell you this: with a sincere heart, all things can be achieved.”
“Those who chant His true name shall glimpse eternal life within reincarnation!”
Gu Changge looked at the stunned Hei Ming, the smile at the corner of his mouth deepening.
Since this involved guiding people into the Internal World, using the Absolute Being as a front would clearly yield better results.
The Absolute Being only needed to appear once. If He showed up frequently, wouldn’t that cheapen His mystique?
Thus, Gu Changge needed to serve as His spokesperson. Who would ever suspect that the true Absolute Being was Gu Changge himself?
As for what the Absolute Being’s true identity was?
That hardly mattered. A True Immortal? An Almighty God? An Immortal King? Or some indescribable innate deity?
There were so many possibilities...
Of course, throughout this process, Gu Changge used Fatums as the medium to construct the guidance channel.
After all, within the System Shop and the Internal World, Fatums were omnipotent.
Constructing a guidance channel did not actually require many Fatums.
The main cost lay in the strength of the one being guided and the spatial distance involved.
The consumption there would clearly be considerable.
However, Gu Changge had no intention of footing that bill himself.
For any living being, if they wished to meet the legendary “Absolute Being”, they first had to develop faith in Him.
Gu Changge could easily work some tricks into this — when beings chanted His true name, he could determine their location based on where the faith originated.
Through this method, he could gauge how many Fortuity points a person possessed.
Because the amount of Fortuity points determined how Gu Changge would harvest them.
As for how faith would be generated?
That was simple — through the Entanglement Immortal Spell, spread across All of Heaven and Its Thousand Worlds, using himself as the net to ensnare every plane and every Overworld.
As long as they cultivated the Entanglement portion of the spell, all those beings would become believers of the “Absolute Being”.
“So-called faith is just a label. It’s nothing more than a thread — a thread by which I can control their lives...”
Gu Changge had long since devised his plan.
So he intended to experiment on Hei Ming first.
At this moment, hearing Gu Changge’s words, Hei Ming jolted and snapped back to his senses.
His expression turned incomparably excited and exhilarated, sweeping away his earlier dejection.
So his previous encounter with the Absolute Being had been pure chance.
Normally, to meet the Absolute Being, one had to chant His true name.
“Now, the Absolute Being has a task for you.”
“Within three months, find thirty devout believers for the Absolute Being.”
“Then, by chanting the Absolute Being’s true name, you shall be granted an audience with Him.”
Gu Changge smiled faintly as he issued Hei Ming’s first task.
Whether he could complete it hardly mattered.
He was merely running an experiment.
He did not care how Hei Ming accomplished it. If Hei Ming could not even manage this much, then the pawn had no further use.
“I understand. Please rest assured, Master — I will definitely complete the Absolute Being’s task!”
Hearing this, Hei Ming’s face flushed with fervent excitement as he spoke.
Gu Changge nodded, then took a step forward. The void blurred, and he vanished from the spot.
If this experiment went smoothly, he could begin the second phase of his plan.
“When the Absolute Yin descends, the Mortal One appears...”
A meaningful look crossed Gu Changge’s face. To the people of the world, the Absolute Yin Heaven was a great terror to be avoided at all costs — but in Gu Changge’s eyes, it was an enormous opportunity and fortune.
Afterward, upon leaving the Celestial Ancient Continent, Gu Changge returned to Skyward Schloss to digest and absorb his various gains from this period.
His cultivation, which had already broken through to the Sacred Realm, stabilized further after he devoured several types of physique Sources.
Beyond that, Gu Changge had gained four more Bones of Absolute Detachment across his body, bringing his total to thirteen.
All of them had been exchanged with Fortuity points during this period.
With the Bones of Absolute Detachment in his body, his mastery over the rules of heaven and earth and the Sources of various Daos had clearly risen to a higher level.
With so many methods at his disposal, Gu Changge no longer needed to fear even Sacred Lord Realm beings.
Time passed quickly.
Aside from Gu Xianer occasionally running to the foot of the mountain to provoke him —
only to be met with Gu Changge’s cold indifference and complete disregard, leaving her gritting her teeth in fury —
everything remained calm and uneventful.
Meanwhile, Gu Nanshan had pursued his targets all the way into the depths of the Ancient Sea Palace, ultimately forcing the Ancient Sea Palace to seal off the sea — for a hundred thousand years, no sea race being was permitted to leave the Boundless Sea.
This incident caused an enormous sensation. At the time, witnesses saw a black blade-light pierce through heaven and earth, slashing down from an immeasurable distance away, stunning all directions.
A supreme powerhouse of the Ancient Sea Palace was grievously wounded by that blade-light.
Some said the blade-light had been unleashed by an Ancestor of the Gu Family, who could not bear to watch his own clansman be ganged up on.
But even more people believed it came from a mysterious powerhouse.
“It seems the master behind Gu Xianer made a move...”
Atop Supreme Peak, Gu Changge was not surprised when he learned of this.
And at this moment, in his hand lay a letter from the Longevity Gu Family, quietly unfolded.
“Mother’s birthday banquet. I’m to bring Gu Xianer back with me.”
Gu Changge’s expression was calm as he scanned its contents.
Then, his eyes narrowed slightly.
In his view, this presented an opportunity.
A fine opportunity to make contact with the Peach Village behind Gu Xianer.
And at the same time... the tragedy he had been laying the groundwork for over so long — this would be its perfect opening.