A Similar Flower, My Foot — Rumors All Say the Empress Is Ruthless
A Similar Flower, My Foot — Rumors All Say the Empress Is Ruthless
Afterward, the old monsters said a few more things before taking the siblings Qing Xiaoyi and Qing Feng away, planning to sort out their bodies and temper their foundations along the way.
After all, neither of them had ever cultivated before.
Qing Feng was naturally basking in his little sister’s fortune, being brought along to cultivate together with her. This made many of those present green with envy toward him.
From this day onward, this little beggar would likely transform into someone far beyond their reach.
Soon after, the place returned to tranquility. Immortal mist surged, mountain breezes blew, and the fragrance of sacred stamens drifted through the air.
“Thank you, Young Master Changge, for stepping in to resolve the situation just now.”
The white-robed elder wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and thanked Gu Changge with lingering fear.
He had nearly turned away a once-in-an-era prodigy at the gate.
If Gu Changge hadn’t spoken up on his behalf, saying that he had merely been following the rules, he likely wouldn’t have escaped a round of punishment from the Elders.
And so, he was all the more grateful to Gu Changge.
“Elder, there’s no need to be so polite.”
Gu Changge nodded slightly, his tone showing he didn’t much mind.
“This old man is named Wang Zhongyong. In the future, if Young Master Changge needs anything, you need only send word.”
The white-robed elder smiled and spoke deferentially.
Gu Changge nodded, then lingered no longer, leading Su Qingge and the others away from the area toward the interior of the True Immortal Academy.
In his mind, he was still mulling over the matter of Qing Xiaoyi.
Logically speaking, with a physique like hers, she shouldn’t have been a complete nobody before this.
Any Cultivator with a decent eye would have noticed how extraordinarily special she was.
Could it be that this pair of siblings was hiding some secret?
Yet Gu Changge hadn’t observed any obvious fluctuations of Fortuity on her brother Qing Feng either.
By all reason, with a sister like that, his Fortuity should have been higher than the vast majority of those present.
That said, what had happened at the mountain gate of the True Immortal Academy today was, to Gu Changge, nothing more than an insignificant little interlude.
The Celestial Demonic Physique — he had vaguely heard of this physique before. It was said that throughout the ages, it had appeared only once.
And that single occurrence had produced a Celestial Demon Lord.
That was an immensely powerful being. Some said his cultivation had already surpassed that of an Immortal, reaching another unfathomable level.
The special nature of this physique lay in its ability to fuse the celestial and the demonic, reverse yin and yang, and see through the cycle of reincarnation.
Even without cultivating, one who possessed the Celestial Demonic Physique would have their body nourished by all manner of substances between heaven and earth, far surpassing ordinary Cultivators.
As for this business of reversing yin and yang, Gu Changge felt it was related to reversing life and death — or perhaps reversing time itself, reversing the innate.
In any case, he made a mental note regarding Qing Xiaoyi.
Before long, news of Gu Changge’s arrival at the True Immortal Academy spread from the mouths of the many young prodigies at the mountain gate, causing quite a stir.
As for the matter of the siblings Qing Xiaoyi and Qing Feng, although many took note of it, it came nowhere near causing the earthquake that Gu Changge’s arrival did.
Although he wasn’t among the first batch of Cultivators to arrive, his status made him the center of attention.
Even before this, rumors had long circulated that Gu Changge was one of the internally designated seeds for the Ten Great Ranked Disciples.
In the eyes of many, his strength could even suppress the other Ranked Disciple seeds.
For a time, all the peaks and immortal islands of the True Immortal Academy were stirred. Many young powerhouses emerged, intending to catch a glimpse of his true face.
The terrain of the True Immortal Academy was vast and boundless. Divine trees reached the heavens, immortal peaks rose and fell — it was like an ancient world that had existed since the very creation of the universe.
Sou sou sou!
Across the sky, divine rainbows streaked past the various peaks. These were all the finest of the younger generation, each possessing their own private cave dwellings and divine mountains.
Some of the Unranked Disciples even occupied enormous territories, each like an ancient city.
All around were the palaces and mansions where their followers resided — towering and magnificent, grand in momentum, with divine springs cascading upside down and immortal blossoms in bloom.
Within, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth curled like mist, draping down from the peaks and waterfalls, manifesting visions of Celestial Phoenixes, Black Tortoises, Qilins, and more.
But soon, these people were disappointed — they did not find Gu Changge at the mountain gate.
They had come full of excitement and left in defeat.
The territory of the True Immortal Academy was simply too vast. Until everyone’s respective regions were determined, no one knew where the other prodigies were.
In order to give the arriving prodigies plenty of opportunities to temper themselves and compete...
The True Immortal Academy could be said to have spared no effort. Even the areas for daily cultivation and rest had to be fought for by oneself, displaying the law of the jungle — the strong prey on the weak — to its fullest extent.
Meanwhile, on the other side, after leaving the mountain gate, Gu Changge headed straight for the cluster of palaces deep within the True Immortal Academy.
There, chaotic mist rose and fell, heaven and earth blurred — like a celestial palace emerging between heaven and earth, appearing most mysterious and ancient.
He had Su Qingge and the rest of his followers wait where they were.
He went ahead alone.
Because back in Peach Village in the Land of Abandoned Celestials, Tao Yao had given him a token, saying it could resolve the problem of his Demonic Heart.
When Gu Changge accepted it, Tao Yao had told him that the old fellow who owed her a favor was at the True Immortal Academy, and that Gu Changge could seek him out when the time came.
To Gu Changge, the matter of the Demonic Heart didn’t require much consideration at all. So what he cared about now was how to put this favor to use.
Although Tao Yao’s state was questionable and her memories incomplete, the favor she spoke of would at the very least date back to her peak.
The old fellow within the True Immortal Academy was unlikely to have a simple background.
Soon, Gu Changge’s figure passed through numerous divine mountains and ancient peaks, arriving at a solitary peak suspended in the void.
No one stopped him along the way.
These days, across the entire Beyond, there were few who didn’t recognize him.
This place was already something of a forbidden zone within the True Immortal Academy. Normally, only Elders came here.
Gu Changge’s figure descended from high above, appearing before the palace gates.
Atop the solitary peak stood a very ancient palace, spanning nearly a hundred li in circumference. But Gu Changge knew full well that it surely contained a world of its own within — nothing simple about it.
At the palace gates stood quite a few guards clad in golden armor and immortal robes, blades resting across their knees, standing watch over the place.
Every single one of them was at the Sacred Lord Realm. As their eyes opened and closed, terrifying strands of divine light flickered, and a mighty Sacred Realm will permeated every inch of space.
“Young Master Changge?”
Seeing Gu Changge arrive, they were somewhat surprised, but showed no hostility whatsoever.
Clearly, they had long known which monsters would be coming to this generation of the True Immortal Academy.
To put it bluntly, the young man before them was one of the strongest existences of this generation of the True Immortal Academy. Even some Elders wouldn’t dare put on airs before him.
Thus, their attitude toward Gu Changge was extremely respectful.
“I’ve come to find an Elder.”
Gu Changge nodded slightly, concise and to the point.
The guards didn’t dare obstruct him and let Gu Changge through.
Inside the great hall, all was profound and vast, as if one had stepped into a boundless universe. Astral Rivers cascaded down, nebulae interwove, and Chaos Energy surged!
At the central position, upon the desks lay many books gleaming with divine light — divine tomes crafted from Daluo Silver-Gold.
Several extremely aged old fellows, their faces blurred and wreathed in Chaos Energy, were in the midst of discussing something.
Suddenly, an elderly man beside them — daoist robes fluttering, bearing the immortal air and daoist bone of a true sage — raised an eyebrow slightly, as if sensing something.
“What’s that fellow doing here?” His expression turned slightly unnatural.
“What did Qianbei say?”
An old man beside him, with a pair of withered dragon horns growing from his head, paused in slight confusion, still flipping through an ancient text in his hands.
“That brat from the Gu Family — what’s he doing here?”
The daoist-robed elder’s expression was somewhat uncomfortable, and he snorted coldly. “That fellow never knows a moment of peace, no matter where he goes.”
“In the rumors, that one from the Gu Family is said to have a gentle and refined temperament. How is it that, coming from Daoyou’s mouth, he’s become like this?”
“Could the rumors be wrong? Well, that figures — after all, someone who could dig out the bone of his own clansmen sister as a child hardly seems the bright and upright sort.”
The other old antiques also looked somewhat surprised, then nodded slightly.
They were quite respectful toward the daoist-robed elder, and believed his words without doubt.
Just then, Gu Changge’s figure appeared at the entrance of the great hall.
He stepped inside, smiled faintly at the group of elders in the center, and saluted. “Disciple Gu Changge greets the Elders.”
Now that he had entered the True Immortal Academy, he was naturally a disciple of the True Immortal Academy.
The old antiques before him came from all corners of the Beyond. Though he wasn’t familiar with them, addressing them as Elders would presumably keep them from taking offense at his uninvited intrusion.
“Not bad, not bad. Such cultivation... the rumors really were rather off the mark.”
“What business brings you to seek us out?”
At that, the old fellows turned their gazes over, quite amiable, carefully sizing Gu Changge up.
Then they noticed a hazy, mist-like aura gradually emerging around him, his entire person seeming to stand within another world entirely.
In an instant, even they could no longer see through him.
This method surprised them somewhat — after all, they were genuine Sacred Emperor Realm beings, and among them were even existences approaching the Quasi-Nirvana Realm.
Still, they didn’t mind and didn’t probe further.
Gu Changge was the Young Master of the Longevity Gu Family, after all.
It would be stranger if he had no tricks or artifacts on him. Concealing his aura and shielding himself from others’ senses was perfectly normal.
“Great Elder, it’s been a long time. Your complexion looks much better than before.”
At that moment, Gu Changge spoke with an expression of mild surprise, as if only now noticing an old acquaintance among them.
The Great Elder of Skyward Schloss — he was here too.
That expression of his still showed he didn’t think much of Gu Changge.
“As long as you’re not in front of this old man, when has my complexion ever been poor?”
The Great Elder snorted coldly. The moment Gu Changge arrived, the brat went straight for his old scars — back at Skyward Schloss, Gu Changge had given him no shortage of grief.
He still remembered how, on the day Gu Changge left Skyward Schloss, the brat had made a special trip to his mountain peak just to remind him that he still owed him a favor — as if terrified he’d renege on the debt.
“Great Elder, how can you say such a thing? As a Direct Disciple of Skyward Schloss, Changge can honestly say he’s done nothing to betray the Schloss.”
Gu Changge spoke with an open and upright expression. “During the Celestial Ancient Continent affair, I even helped Skyward Schloss unify the various ancient remnant races, bringing peace and tranquility to the Celestial Ancient Continent...”
“Stop right there. Between the two of us, there’s no need to beat around the bush.”
The Great Elder hurriedly waved his hand, wearing a look that said “one more word and I’ll throw you out of this palace.”
He had witnessed Gu Changge’s shamelessness more than anyone.
Though he did genuinely admire Gu Changge, that shameless, never-willing-to-take-a-loss personality of his truly left him exasperated.
Still, he was a Direct Disciple of Skyward Schloss, after all. Now that the Great Elder had come to the True Immortal Academy to serve as an Honorary Guest Elder...
He would naturally look after Gu Changge a little.
Besides, he had heard that the Gu Family had dispatched three Ancestor-level figures this time, and they seemed to be nearing the True Immortal Academy as well.
Other forces each sent one Ancestor.
But the Gu Family sent three — and of extremely ancient seniority, figures from who-knows-what era — as if terrified the Gu Family juniors might suffer losses at the True Immortal Academy.
“Haha, Qianbei and Changge seem to have quite a good relationship.”
“Indeed, it’s rare to see Qianbei speak with a junior like this.”
The old antiques in the hall couldn’t help laughing heartily at the sight. They were all very respectful toward the Great Elder, speaking with the tone of juniors.
The way the Great Elder and Gu Changge conversed surprised them — even made them a little envious.
“After all, the Great Elder took great care of this junior back at Skyward Schloss.”
Hearing this, Gu Changge continued to smile — gentle and refined, handsome as jade.
“Good relationship, my foot. Speak — what business do you have with us this time?”
The Great Elder snorted coldly, cutting straight to the point. He knew Gu Changge’s character all too well — the brat never visited without a purpose.
“Actually, Changge has come to ask the Elders to help me find someone.”
At this, Gu Changge’s expression grew slightly more serious. “I just don’t know whether the Elders would recognize them.”
With that, he took out the token Tao Yao had given him.
It was a crystalline, translucent peach leaf, interwoven with rules and order, faintly coursing with various truths of the Great Dao.
“This is...”
“The being who left this peach leaf behind... their cultivation is unfathomable...”
Seeing this object, the expressions of the many old antiques in the hall shifted, turning somewhat solemn.
“Is this the Mysterious Peach Tree behind Xianer?”
The Great Elder’s expression also changed slightly as he recognized it.
His knowledge clearly far exceeded that of the others.
He had heard the rumors of that Peach Tree.
Gu Xianer had never hidden it from him either — she had told him about her various shifus in Peach Village.
The reason he had taken Gu Xianer as his disciple back then was also partly due to one of her shifus.
“This token is connected to the Demon World. If the person you’re looking for is within the True Immortal Academy, it should be that fellow.”
A trace of contemplation flickered in the Great Elder’s eyes. He wasn’t sure why Gu Changge was looking for that person.
“Oh? Then I’ll trouble the Great Elder to take me there.”
Gu Changge raised an eyebrow slightly. Things were going rather smoothly — results this quickly.
He had thought he’d need to ask around for days.
But this was fine too. It saved a lot of trouble.
“That fellow has an eccentric temperament. He sees no one except those from the Demon World. Have you thought this through?”
The Great Elder shook his head slightly, looking at Gu Changge. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you — if you get chased out in a bit, this old man won’t help you.”
“It’s fine.”
Gu Changge wasn’t concerned. This token had been given by Tao Yao, who said the other party owed her a favor.
Unless the other party refused to give Tao Yao face, they would definitely see him.
Then, with a wave of the Great Elder’s sleeve, the space before them blurred, and the two figures instantly vanished.
When they reappeared, they stood before an emerald-green lake.
Immortal mist curled, tender grass spread like a carpet, and in the distance numerous auspicious beasts appeared, drinking at the lakeside — a scene of perfect natural harmony.
Before the emerald lake, a half-man-high boulder sat there, utterly motionless.
It had no acupoints or orifices whatsoever, did not receive the starlight of heaven and earth, and was utterly ordinary—one could not discern the slightest thing unusual about it.
Yet Gu Changge perceived at a single glance that this boulder was anything but simple.
Within it lay a surging vitality, vast as a boundless sea of stars, lying dormant without emitting the faintest stir.
It was like the hardest stone beneath the cosmos—one that would not be damaged in the slightest even after enduring ten thousand tribulations!
Standing beside this boulder was a woman clad in a loose phoenix robe, tall and slender, her grace and beauty peerless.
The woman stood with her hands clasped behind her back. Her features were exquisitely beautiful, her eyes deep and tranquil, and a touch of pale red adorned the center of her brow, lending her an air of bewitching allure.
But more than that, she exuded an air of elegance and nobility, like an empress who commanded all under heaven.
She sized up the two who had suddenly arrived at this place. Though she did not speak, her gaze carried contemplation and a strange glint.
“Fellow Daoist.”
After the Great Elder brought Gu Changge here, his gaze did not fall upon that woman.
Instead, it settled on the stone, and he spoke indifferently, “Is this token connected to you?”
As he spoke, that peach leaf drifted lightly down toward it.
Gu Changge’s gaze also swept over the woman, though he paid her little mind.
He frowned slightly, feeling that this boulder carried a strange sense of familiarity, as if he had seen it somewhere before.
Back when he was refining the Source of the Eternal Overcast,
memory fragments had flashed through his mind.
Atop a mountain peak, a little girl in red practiced her sword while he watched from the side, and the rock he sat upon... seemed to be this very stone?
Only back then, it had not been as ancient and weathered as it was now.
“...”
For a moment, his expression turned somewhat peculiar.
Logically speaking, the Demon Lord alias had no direct connection to who Gu Changge was now.
Many of those memories only surfaced faintly and hazily.
If this boulder retained memories, it should not be in such a dormant state—it seemed as though it had been damaged.
Though not as badly as Tao Yao, it was still incomplete.
Gu Changge felt that this alias of his seemed to have left behind quite a few messes, and this boulder likely shared some karma with him as well.
However, he did not speak up, choosing instead to adapt as things unfolded.
Weng!!
Soon, as the peach leaf drifted down, accompanied by a faint trembling sound,
the deathly still boulder stirred, and then a terrifying aura began to seep and interweave from within it.
A shocking Demonic Energy surged forth, as if it would blot out the sky and shake the entire universe.
Faintly, it seemed as though a peerless great demon was about to awaken and wreak havoc upon all things.
However, this aura came quickly and vanished just as fast.
The boulder was enveloped in a layer of hazy black light, then shifted and transformed into a hunched little old man with a dark complexion and a placid expression.
He took the peach leaf before him and examined it carefully. His bland expression abruptly changed, turning somewhat delighted.
Then he could not help but murmur, “Old friend, so you made it through after all?”
At this point, he seemed to suffer a splitting headache.
“I can’t remember again, ah...”
He sighed, then looked at Gu Changge before him. His pupils suddenly contracted, and he could not help but retreat several steps in disbelief.
“The Demon Lord isn’t dead?”
These words practically burst out of him.
He was instantly horrified, his originally dark face even paling somewhat.
“Shifu...”
The phoenix-robed woman’s expression also changed abruptly, not understanding why her shifu had suddenly reacted this way.
She looked at Gu Changge once more, already faintly guessing his identity in her heart. With such cultivation, there were likely few among the younger generation who could match him.
Meanwhile, the Great Elder, who had been watching the dark old man with vigilance, also underwent a drastic change in expression.
For the two words “Demon Lord” shook his very soul.
He could not help but shift his gaze onto Gu Changge.
The taboo existence known as the Demon Lord was no stranger to them. Even if all worlds were ground to dust, the imprint he left behind could still be found within the River of Time.
Even at his level, his heart could not help but tremble.
It was a terror and palpitation one could feel merely from those two words, without even knowing his deeds.
For his existence and his actions had already profoundly influenced this stretch of heaven, earth, and time itself—influencing All of Heaven and Its Thousand Worlds.
To recite his true name was to stir a response in the heart.
The higher one’s level of life, the deeper the fear one could perceive.
“What do you mean by that, Fellow Daoist?”
the Great Elder asked in a deep voice.
“So it’s a similar aura, and that thing as well. No wonder...”
The dark old man, now staring fixedly at Gu Changge, had instead calmed down, muttering to himself.
“If a similar flower truly exists in this world, it could not possibly appear upon my master.”
“Ah...”
The dark old man’s expression grew ever calmer, ignoring the Great Elder’s words.
He asked Gu Changge, “This old one is called Lao Shi. May I know how to address you, young master?”
Gu Changge, whose expression had remained composed all along, now answered calmly, “Gu Changge.”
In his heart, however, he was not nearly as calm as he appeared on the surface.
The instant the dark old man blurted out that the Demon Lord was not dead,
Gu Changge had sensed a terrifying chill envelop his entire body.
Even the Grand Flask could not help but emerge from his Spiritual Sea, interweaving dreadful black light, preparing to resist.
But that aura quickly vanished.
········Seeking flowers··········
And so, a guess had faintly formed in his heart, combining with the memory fragments that had surfaced in his mind during this period.
I am the Demon Lord.
Back then, what he had done was likely not much different from what Yue Mingkong had experienced in that lifetime of hers.
Logically speaking, this Lao Shi before him should not harbor such great killing intent and coldness toward him.
The only possibility, then, was that his current state was very likely caused by Gu Changge himself.
And the favor he owed Tao Yao—what was it?
To put it in clichéd, melodramatic terms, perhaps it was the kindness of having blocked an attack for her back then.
Of course, all of this was still merely Gu Changge’s speculation.
The demoness in red, Tao Yao, the Lao Shi before his eyes... all of them should be deeply connected to his Demon Lord alias.
This made him feel that matters were becoming rather intriguing.
“Gu Changge? So it really is him!”
The phoenix-robed woman’s expression showed a measure of understanding.
“Gu Changge? So it’s you? I do hope... a similar flower can be reflected.”
“If so, that would put one’s heart at ease.”
Lao Shi was stunned once more, speaking words that the phoenix-robed woman and the Great Elder could not comprehend, then sighed, “Was it Tao Yao who told you to come find me?”
“Yes. Tao Yao said you might be able to resolve the problem with my body.”
Gu Changge answered truthfully, his expression revealing nothing unusual.
The other party addressed Tao Yao as “Tao Yao”—from this, it seemed his guess had not been wrong.
The memories of both Tao Yao and the Lao Shi before him had developed quite a few problems.
Otherwise, such confusion in forms of address would not have occurred.
At this moment, the Great Elder also remained silent.
He knew of Gu Changge’s Innate Demonic Nature.
But this Lao Shi before him was clearly a demon—why did he also possess such immense Demonic Energy?
Could this be the reason Gu Changge had come seeking him?
“As for this problem, I’m actually not too clear on it myself... Perhaps Tao Yao thinks that because I was soaked in my master’s heart’s blood back then yet wasn’t controlled by the Demonic Energy, I found a way. But that was purely luck...”
“Right, given Tao Yao’s current state, she probably can’t remember much either.”
Lao Shi laughed self-mockingly. “This is something you cannot rely on others for. You can only rely on yourself. No one can help you.”
His voice was utterly merciless. An innate Demonic Heart—how many times had such a thing appeared since the beginning of this world?
Yet without exception, none of them met a good end; in the end, they were all entangled by Miasma.
“Master?”
The shock in the Great Elder’s heart deepened. The one Lao Shi addressed as master—what manner of existence was that?
How had Gu Changge become connected to such a being? A similar flower?
At this moment, even his heart was filled with doubt.
And clearly, Lao Shi’s origins were even more ancient than his own. Though the Great Elder was reputed to have lived an immeasurably long life, through endless ages,
only he himself knew that his longevity was not worth mentioning before those old monsters who casually lived across entire epochs.
The epoch in which the Demon Lord existed?
How far back was that? No one could say. It was a stretch of chaos, an ancient history left unrecorded.
Gu Changge’s expression remained composed as he nodded, saying nothing more.
Lao Shi saying this actually suited his wishes perfectly.
He had no need to resolve any Demonic Heart problem. What he wanted was merely this Lao Shi’s favor.
...........
What nonsense about a similar flower—the Demon Lord was simply his alias all along.
Of course, Gu Changge would not say this aloud. Based on the current situation, aside from Tao Yao, both the Lao Shi before him and the demoness in red about to emerge from the Demon-Burying Abyss harbored deep hatred toward him.
Lao Shi took him for a similar flower, and thus had not made a move.
But according to the System’s prompts, the demoness in red would not be so lenient.
She was a fiend dead set on seeking revenge against him!
That said, Gu Changge was not worried that Lao Shi would dare act against him. With his current status, unless Lao Shi had no attachments left and sought death, intending to drag Gu Changge down with him, he would not dare.
“Senior, have the two of us met before?”
Gu Changge’s mind raced through countless thoughts at this moment, yet his face remained composed as he asked, “Why do you give me a sense of familiarity?”
“What?”
Lao Shi’s expression shifted slightly, somewhat startled.
His brows furrowed as he asked in puzzlement, “A sense of familiarity?”
“Back when I cultivated at my family, this junior, for reasons unknown, always liked to sit cross-legged upon green stones while training...”
“But none of those green stones were quite satisfactory.”
“The one I finally settled upon looked very much like the original form Senior just revealed.”
A trace of puzzlement also appeared on Gu Changge’s face as he continued, “It is precisely because of this that you feel familiar.”
Hearing Gu Changge’s words, Lao Shi was stunned, silent for a long time.
He did not doubt the truth of Gu Changge’s words.
Many distant and beautiful memories surfaced, and in the end he let out a long sigh, his emotions extraordinarily complicated.
All things in this world have two sides.
One good, one evil; one beautiful, one ugly.
If not for that red-clothed, silver-haired man who often sat cross-legged upon him, how would he ever have gained sentience?
Compared to those seven-apertured immortal stones and Sacred Spirit Wondrous Stones... he was merely an ordinary, yet not-so-ordinary boulder.
Every peck and every sip—all is karma.
“Perhaps this is what they call fate.”
The gaze Lao Shi directed at Gu Changge inexplicably grew much gentler.
In his view, the Demon Lord was an existence of ultimate evil in this world, and the Gu Changge before him was perhaps the reflection of his other side—a similar flower.
“If you do not mind, young master, should anything arise at the True Immortal Academy in the future, you may come here to find this old man. Within the True Immortal Academy, this old man’s words still carry some weight.”
“Outside, however, this old man cannot be of much help. For in my current state, I cannot leave the True Immortal Academy...”
Lao Shi then continued, speaking thus to Gu Changge.
These words not only startled the phoenix-robed woman, but also left the Great Elder quite perplexed.
Just because of those words? Lao Shi would treat Gu Changge this way?
In their eyes, this was simply too fantastical.
“Senior, what do you mean by this...?”
Hearing this, Gu Changge put on a slightly surprised expression and asked in confusion, “This is only our first meeting.”
“Consider it repaying Tao Yao’s favor...”
Lao Shi smiled and waved his hand. “Young master need not take it to heart.”
As he spoke, he pointed to the phoenix-robed woman beside him and made introductions.
“This is this old man’s disciple, Xi Yao.”
“Oh? So this is the current ruler of the Demon World, Empress Yao Xi?”
“This junior greets Empress Yao Xi.”
Gu Changge’s gaze seemed to only now notice her, appearing somewhat surprised.
Of course, he could tell that the Empress Yao Xi before him was merely a Dharma Body, not her true self descending in person.
As the ruler of the Demon World, how could she possibly leave it so easily?
Yet even a single Dharma Body of hers possessed the strength of the Sacred King Realm.
Her true self had likely already attained the Sacred Emperor Realm.
A Sacred Emperor of merely six thousand some years.
Such talent could not be overstated even if described as transcendent.
During the Demon World’s turmoil six thousand years ago, the name of Empress Yao Xi spread from the Demon World to the Beyond, shaking all sides—at the time, her prominence was unmatched.
Afterward, beset by internal strife and external threats, she campaigned in all directions, swept away the chaos plaguing every corner of the Demon Race, and achieved grand unification.
The strength of her methods far exceeded what any ordinary woman could achieve.
Since the Demon World’s birth, it had produced numerous Demon Overlords, Demon Emperors, and even Demon Immortals.
Its foundation was naturally unfathomable; even supreme cults and immortal orthodoxies dared not provoke it lightly.
Six thousand years ago, the Demon World even had six Demon Overlords holding power—though in Gu Changge’s view, those Demon Overlords could not possibly have been true Emperor Realm beings, at most merely Perfect Prodigies.
The Demon World’s Fortuity was insufficient to support the birth of six true Emperor Realm beings. Had they come to the Beyond to prove their Emperor Realm, without the Demon World’s foundation to support them, it would still have been arduous.
That Empress Yao Xi could unify the Demon World under such dire circumstances back then—this feat alone had shaken many.
“Young Master Changge is too courteous.”
“Though I reside far away in the Demon World, I have still heard many rumors concerning Young Master Changge. Meeting you today, I find these rumors truly cannot be wholly believed.”
“Of the Fortuity of the younger generation in this world today, Young Master Changge likely monopolizes seventy percent of it.”
At this point, seeing Gu Changge speak thus, Yao Xi could not help but smile faintly, appearing most dignified, noble, and gracious.
As the empress of an entire Demon World, she naturally would not fawn and flatter like ordinary women.
Yet even so, these words still carried an intent of goodwill.
With her status and strength, she truly had no need for this.
But what she had witnessed today—even her own shifu behaving thus—left her heart deeply shaken.
The Beyond had many orthodoxies and great cults, but few whose foundations could compare to the Demon World’s.
For the Demon World was an independent great world, encompassed within the central region of the Beyond, where Dragon Veins converged and Fortuity gathered upon it.
At the end of the day, Gu Changge was merely a junior before her.
“Empress Yao Xi flatters me. What virtue or ability does this junior possess to deserve such praise from the Empress?”
Hearing this, Gu Changge spoke with an unperturbed expression. “However, I did previously hear many rumors about the Empress. Seeing you today, I find those rumors were indeed nonsense.”
Hearing him say this, Yao Xi could not help but grow interested. Her eyes regarded him with some curiosity as she asked, “Might I know what rumors Young Master Changge heard?”
She was also aware that her deeds from six thousand years ago, spread by certain powers, had appeared in various places and created a poor impression.
For instance, claims that she was treasonous and unfilial, that she murdered her father and poisoned her fiancé, and so on...
“The rumors all say the Empress is ruthless and cruel, with the heart of a viper, who brought calamity upon the Demon World...”
Gu Changge laughed casually.
...
Two-in-one chapter.