Anticipating the Two Leeks Turning on Each Other—Maybe He'll Just Endure It and Move On
Anticipating the Two Leeks Turning on Each Other—Maybe He’ll Just Endure It and Move On
The Demonic Manipulation Urn.
The moment she saw that pitch-black little bottle, Yin Mei’s expression couldn’t help but shift slightly.
She recognized it instantly.
Even after all this time, she still remembered the terror of that bottle, and a palpitation of fear rose in her heart.
Back then, if she hadn’t accidentally stumbled upon Gu Changge using the Taboo Demonic Arts in those ruins, she never would have developed such a deep connection and bond with him.
Later, as she continuously bared her true heart to him, Gu Changge finally released her from the Demonic Manipulation Urn.
But that involuntary fear still lingered deep in her soul, nearly impossible to erase.
The terrifying thing about the Demonic Manipulation Urn was that it was impossible to guard against—the slightest lapse in mental focus, and one could easily fall victim to it.
Moreover, the degree to which it controlled the mind could only be described as unsolvable.
Even those old monsters who had delved deepest into the divine soul could detect nothing of it, and even if they did detect it, they could never remove it.
The only outcome would be the shattering of the divine soul—complete annihilation of body and spirit.
“It seems Master plans to directly control Tang Wan, but Tang Wan has a fierce temperament—she probably won’t submit easily...”
“Could it be that Master plans to kill Tang Wan here? Or does he have some other purpose?”
Thoughts flashed through Yin Mei’s mind as she grew curious about what Gu Changge intended to do.
Weng!!
The Demonic Manipulation Urn erupted with terrifying radiance, hazy and pitch-black, as if the Great Dao itself were descending and interweaving.
“Gu Changge, what are you trying to do? My family knows I came here today for this banquet. If something happens to me, do you think Yin Mei won’t fall under suspicion?”
Watching this scene, Tang Wan couldn’t help but shout the question, though her heart was gripped by fear and unease, and even her divine soul couldn’t stop trembling.
After all, that bone-deep chill had practically swept through her entire body.
Under her innate talent for sensing fortune and calamity, it was magnified several hundred times over.
But she still forced herself to remain calm, knowing that at a moment like this, she couldn’t panic—the more panicked she became, the more powerless she would appear.
“Look how scared you are. Gu is no flood or savage beast.”
Gu Changge laughed casually, the black light in his palm growing ever denser, like a source of darkness that devoured all things in the world, inspiring dread and trembling.
“This is nothing but a little bottle. Why must you act like you’re facing a mortal enemy? Though I must say, I do enjoy watching you struggle in despair...”
“The more you struggle, the faster you die when my foot comes down.”
Though he laughed lightly and carelessly, his words made Tang Wan’s face turn pale and her limbs go cold.
She wasn’t sure whether, using her strongest means, she could break through Gu Changge’s space and send out a cry for help.
But the one thing she was certain of was that the true face hidden beneath Gu Changge’s usual gentle and refined appearance was absolutely, world-shakingly terrifying.
From scheming against her younger brother, to scheming against her—all of it, as she now saw it, was nearly perfect, flawless, without a single crack to be found.
Because Gu Changge had even calculated her every thought into his plans.
Just how terrifying was the depth of his scheming?
Even the Gifted Lady of the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan called him Master?
What exactly had happened between them? Before this, no one had ever heard of such a thing.
What else was Gu Changge hiding?
“Gu Changge, what exactly do you want? By all reason, there’s no enmity between us.”
“Before this, we had never even met. Could there be some misunderstanding? If there is a misunderstanding, it can be resolved. As for today’s events, I can swear upon my Dao Heart that I won’t speak of them.”
“Whatever you want, I can agree to it, as long as it’s something I have.”
Tang Wan tried her best to calm herself, planning to use her usual methods to first stabilize Gu Changge.
After all, no matter how astonishing Gu Changge’s methods were, he was still just a young man. She had spent centuries in the Alliance of Thousand Merchants and was confident in her grasp of all kinds of human hearts.
At this moment, as long as Gu Changge’s goal was satisfied, he logically shouldn’t do the riskiest thing... like killing her.
“By all reason, there is no enmity between us, yet you’ve been secretly aiding Chu Hao, trying to move against me?”
“As for what you have—do you think I need it? It seems you’re actually quite similar to that Chu Hao, both so full of yourselves.”
Gu Changge smiled faintly, his tone laced with contempt and indifference.
Clearly, it was Tang Wan who had first wanted to secretly help Chu Hao against him, yet now, coming from her mouth, it had become “no enmity between us.”
Tsk.
“You...”
Tang Wan froze, not expecting Gu Changge to say such a thing, directly calling her self-important.
Her expression immediately turned ugly, and she practically gritted her teeth as she said, “Then what exactly is your goal?”
“Open your mind and let me plant a Slave Mark... Of course, you can choose to refuse, but your brother might die today. You can gamble on whether or not I’ll kill him.”
Gu Changge still smiled with casual ease.
The Demonic Manipulation Urn in his hand continued to bloom with heart-palpating black light, as if it could drag all living beings into eternal, sunken darkness.
“Gu Changge, if you kill my brother, the Tang Family behind me won’t let this go.”
“Besides, do you really think my brother holds that much weight in my heart?”
“What you’re doing right now—you should know it can’t be made public. Even with the Longevity Gu Family behind you, you can’t act so recklessly...”
Tang Wan said coldly, as if she had long anticipated that Gu Changge would use her brother’s safety to threaten her, and instead appeared unusually calm.
However, Gu Changge wasn’t surprised in the slightest, still smiling faintly. “No, I was merely giving an example. After all, I could go about it another way.”
“I don’t need to kill your brother. But I can control him, have him return safely to the Tang Family, turn over a new leaf from his prodigal ways, reform himself completely, strive with diligence—I could even help him take charge of the Tang Family. And then, one day, when everyone in the Tang Family is celebrating, have him kill your parents, your grandfather, all of your kin...”
“What do you think of that method?”
“I find it rather interesting.”
“Gu Changge... how can you be so despicable and shameless...”
Hearing this, Tang Wan’s expression changed drastically. She felt a terrifying chill sweep from her spine up to the crown of her skull, making her tremble uncontrollably.
Were these words a young prodigy should be saying?
So insidious and vile, yet spoken by him with such composure, without a ripple of emotion, as if stating a simple fact.
She couldn’t help but follow Gu Changge’s words and imagine it.
That scene made her shudder involuntarily, her whole body going cold, terrified to the extreme.
At this point, she could stop caring about Tang Tian, but she couldn’t stop caring about her family, about her parents.
“I’m merely describing an example. Whether it actually happens in the end isn’t up to me.”
Gu Changge smiled nonchalantly. “Now I’ll give you a choice, though my patience has always been poor...”
“Will you sacrifice yourself alone to save your entire clan? Or do you plan to kill yourself and have your whole clan join you?”
“Gu Changge, I’ll fight you to the death.”
Tang Wan was furious, her expression seemingly consumed by hatred to the utmost degree, her last shred of reason nearly ignited by Gu Changge’s words.
Hong!!
Dazzling radiance emerged from her body, and painting-like scenes manifested within the void.
Mountains and rivers, insects and fish, the myriad facets of mortal life—all of it seemed about to come alive.
Sacred Principles condensed upon these scenes, terrifying and resplendent, seemingly intent on breaking through this space.
An ancient, pale-grey brush was being activated by Tang Wan, blooming with dazzling brilliance, seeking to shatter everything.
It was as if some ancient existence within it was about to awaken.
The two characters “Tian Ji”—Heavenly Secrets—arranged themselves like stars in the void, within which some consciousness seemed to be reviving, appearing all the more dazzling!
At this moment, the might she displayed pressed straight toward the Perfect Prodigy level—and one must know, Tang Wan’s cultivation was merely at the Sacred Noble Realm.
“Do you really think you can break free?”
But Gu Changge still wore that faint smile, casual and unconcerned.
Abruptly, he slammed a palm forward, and terrifying Force of the Void instantly collapsed the surrounding space, even distorting the Force of Law.
This overwhelming power was simply like crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood, instantly tearing apart all the scenes Tang Wan had conjured.
The Quill of Destiny wailed, some of the patterns on its surface even being ground away, and it fell directly to the ground.
Overwhelmingly dominant!
That palm’s momentum showed no sign of stopping, still descending downward.
Pu!
Tang Wan’s expression was one of disbelief. With no way to dodge, she grunted, spat out blood, and was sent flying backward.
The terrifying palm imprint crashed down, nearly causing her Physique to collapse.
If Gu Changge hadn’t wanted to kill her,
the instant that palm landed, it would have been enough to make her entire body explode.
Then, the hazy space Gu Changge had split off earlier, at this moment, with a single thought from him, spread out in all directions.
Not only did it show no sign of weakening, it grew ever more stable, impregnable.
“Do you still not understand reality at this point?”
Gu Changge’s voice still held little emotional fluctuation as he struck down with another palm, making Tang Wan cough up blood once more, an unknown number of her bones breaking, leaving her nearly unable to stand.
“Gu Changge, just kill me. I will never agree to your demand.”
Though despair filled Tang Wan’s heart, she still refused to yield. She would rather die than let Gu Changge plant a Slave Mark in her.
When that happened, Gu Changge would definitely order her to move against Chu Hao.
“It seems you think I won’t do anything to the Tang Family?”
Gu Changge smiled. “You’d better think this through. If you die here, and the Tang Family then seeks revenge against the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan, all of your kin will come join you.”
“I need only say one word, and none of your Tang Family’s so-called friends will dare help you.”
“Do you think there’s any hope of revenge?”
“You...”
Tang Wan gritted her teeth. The next moment, her eyes snapped wide open, her face drained of all color.
She saw Gu Changge casually reach out, and Tang Tian—who had at some point fallen unconscious—was already seized in his grasp.
“This brother of yours—it seems he still has some use after all.”
Gu Changge said casually, his hand reaching toward Tang Tian’s brow, passing through effortlessly.
The divine soul within was grabbed by him, ready to be crushed at any moment.
“Tell me, if I apply just a little force, will he become an idiot? Or will he just die outright?”
Gu Changge said with a smile.
Looking at that smile of his, Tang Wan felt only a bone-deep chill, her heart filled with nothing but sorrow, despair, hatred, and pain.
In the end, it all transformed into unwillingness. Gritting her teeth, she said, “Release my brother. I’ll agree to your terms, but you must also swear upon your Dao Heart and promise me one condition.”
“Otherwise, even if I have to drag my whole family down to be buried with me, I won’t agree.”
Gu Changge smiled and cut her off.
“No problem. It’s just not killing Chu Hao, right? That’s simple.”
“I, Gu Changge, swear upon my Dao Heart today: should I break this oath, may my Dao Heart collapse, may I suffer qi deviation, and may heaven and earth destroy me. How’s that?”
Seeing Gu Changge swear so quickly, without the slightest hesitation, Tang Wan was stunned, unable to believe it.
Her intuition told her this matter wasn’t so simple.
But she couldn’t find a single flaw in it.
“An oath upon the Dao Heart is a Cultivator’s greatest vow. No one would throw away their own future path—even immortal beings cannot violate it.”
“Gu Changge is naturally no exception.”
Thinking this, Tang Wan breathed a small sigh of relief.
But her heart was filled with even greater sorrow and pain.
“Hao-gege, I’m sorry...”
“I had no choice. Forgive me.”
Amid her unwillingness, Tang Wan opened her mind.
Gu Changge’s smile held a trace of deeper meaning as he waved his hand casually.
Weng!!
Almost instantly, the Demonic Manipulation Urn transformed into a wisp of black light and vanished within, leaving no trace.
Tang Wan didn’t even detect the slightest fluctuation, which made her heart palpitate with fear—such a method of enslavement was simply unheard of.
In a daze, she saw within her Knowledge Sea a surging grey fog, in which sat an ancient, indescribable, ineffable deity.
One more glance would drive a person mad, send them into demonic frenzy, lost within it forever!
“...What kind of method is this?”
She couldn’t help but feel fear. Facing Gu Changge, she felt only a reverence as if before a god, not daring to defy his words.
“Greetings, Master.”
But very quickly, Tang Wan’s expression gradually calmed, appearing no different from usual.
Yet within her heart, monstrous waves surged.
This transformation was simply too fast.
Tang Wan couldn’t believe it. Clearly, what she thought in her heart was not this, yet what her actions displayed was something else entirely.
She had never imagined she would call Gu Changge Master.
Yet the words had escaped her lips uncontrollably.
“Fortuitous One, this surprise is now prepared for you.”
The corners of Gu Changge’s mouth held a trace of amusement. Then he paid no more attention to Tang Wan before him.
With a casual wave, the hazy space before him shattered like a mirror, and they appeared in the outside world.
In the courtyard, the tea had not yet cooled, steam still rising from it.
Tang Wan’s expression was incomparably complicated. Her body was stained with blood, her injuries quite severe. Even though Gu Changge hadn’t wanted to kill her, that single palm just now had been more than enough for her to bear.
“Master, how should Tang Tian be dealt with?” Yin Mei asked.
“Return him to the Tang Family. After all, we are reasonable people,” Gu Changge laughed.
Tang Wan didn’t dare say anything more.
Then, Gu Changge looked at Tang Wan and said with a composed smile,
“You needn’t worry either. I actually harbor no ill will. It’s just that Chu Hao wants to move against me, so I had to make some preparations in advance.”
“As long as he behaves himself and doesn’t come provoke me, staying as his so-called Vermilion Bird prince, won’t everything be fine? You’re still his childhood sweetheart, and he knows nothing of all this.”
“I won’t tell him either. Isn’t that a happy ending for everyone?”
Tang Wan was taken aback by his words. Thinking it over carefully, what Gu Changge said actually seemed quite reasonable.
As long as Chu Hao stopped provoking Gu Changge—and the conflict between Gu Changge and Chu Hao hadn’t reached the point of a life-or-death struggle.
Back then, in front of everyone, Chu Hao had been humiliated by Gu Changge.
Something like that... if she talked him through it, maybe Chu Hao could just endure it and move on.
If he still planned to move against Gu Changge, he would inevitably end up killed by him in the end.
Chu Hao could never defeat Gu Changge.
Tang Wan had already deeply experienced the terror of Gu Changge’s methods.
She just wasn’t sure whether Gu Changge truly had no other designs on Chu Hao, or whether it was really only because of that day’s conflict in the Vermilion Bird Empire.
“Alright, it’s about time I took my leave. The Eternal Overcast Crisis is still waiting for me to resolve.”
Afterward, Gu Changge gave Yin Mei a few more instructions, then lingered no longer.
The remaining loose ends he left to Yin Mei, quite at ease.
During this period, Gu Changge had not been in the Vermilion Bird Empire; if too much time passed, it would inevitably arouse suspicion.
All in all, today’s affairs had gone fairly smoothly, and had even brought Gu Changge an unexpected delight.
Because he had discovered that Tang Wan’s appearance was, astonishingly, more than eighty percent similar to the Dao Partner of that Eldest Senior Brother Qin Wuya, whom he had seen in the Fortuity template of the one who returned from the Nine Heavens.
In the scene the System had shown back then, the only four figures of the Borderless Sect revealed were precisely Heavenly Monarch Ziyang’s past life, Gu Xianer’s past life, and Qin Wuya’s master and Dao Partner.
Gu Changge remembered it clearly.
Whether Tang Wan truly was the reincarnation of that Eldest Senior Brother’s Dao Partner, he wasn’t entirely sure.
That said, Tang Wan’s Fortuity points were considerable, though still far from those of a true Daughter of Fortuity.
But with this layer of physical resemblance, it became convenient for him to scheme many things.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have bothered saying so much.
With Tang Wan’s temperament, if she hadn’t opened her mind, the Demonic Manipulation Urn would very likely have failed.
It was troublesome, yes, but the payoff was enormous.
Gu Changge had already anticipated the situation to come.
“Two Fortuitous Ones fighting each other?”
“No—it’s two leeks turning on each other, while I stand to the side watching the show and waiting to harvest. How is that anything less than absolutely delightful?”
He didn’t choose to return via the Transportation Arrays, instead traveling directly through the void. With his current speed, in this region, a single thought carried him a million li—hardly any time was needed at all.