Prepared to Skin a Tiger, Devouring the Source of the Eternal Overcast
Prepared to Skin a Tiger, Devouring the Source of the Eternal Overcast
He gave Jia Nan a somewhat baffled look.
Gu Changge said nothing.
At a time like this, he certainly wasn’t going to announce his name—after all, he had even concealed his true appearance.
Even if this Eldest Princess of the Eternal Overcast Kingdom went to investigate, she might not be able to learn his current identity.
After all, right now he was supposed to be recuperating in the Black Tortoise Empire, unable to go anywhere.
So Gu Changge didn’t bother responding to her question at all.
Instead, he stated his demand.
“The Source of the Eternal Overcast from the Eternal Overcast—how much of that stuff do you have on hand?”
“The Source of the Eternal Overcast?”
Jia Nan was taken aback. She didn’t actually care much that Gu Changge hadn’t explained his origins.
But hearing those four words, she honestly was a bit shocked.
She didn’t know why Gu Changge was asking about such a thing.
By all reason, as a Human Cultivator, no matter how mysterious and powerful he was, he should avoid something like the Source of the Eternal Overcast—which could devour all manner of matter—like a venomous snake.
Could it be that his purpose in coming here was actually to search for the Source of the Eternal Overcast, to seek a way to counter it?
What other explanation could there be?
Thinking of this, Jia Nan couldn’t help but feel a measure of admiration for his audacity. The Source of the Eternal Overcast was something even the Eternal Overcast Kingdom was unwilling to casually touch.
Moreover, the birth of the Source of the Eternal Overcast was extremely mysterious. Even the amount they had sealed away was not much.
At certain times, in order to create calamities, they had no choice but to use it, casting it into a particular region.
Because once the Source of the Eternal Overcast began to spread, it was like a wildfire meeting a strong wind—unstoppable, impossible to resist.
As for the many plumes of Eternal Overcast Fog currently appearing in the Beyond, they actually had nothing to do with the Eternal Overcast Kingdom. Her descent this time was thanks to the calamity that had suddenly erupted here.
“The Source of the Eternal Overcast is scarce even for us, but if you want it, we can give you some.”
“As for the consequences of coming into contact with the Source of the Eternal Overcast, you should be well aware. I don’t want you getting devoured by it before our deal is even complete,” Jia Nan said.
Gu Changge nodded and said indifferently, “No need for the Eldest Princess to worry. I’m well aware of these matters.”
“Good then.” Jia Nan nodded, and from beneath her sleeve, she produced a token gleaming with a dark luster.
It looked like a chess piece, but Gu Changge could sense the spatial fluctuations contained within it.
“This is a Space Piece. When the time comes, I’ll use it to notify you of anything, and the Source of the Eternal Overcast you require will be transmitted to you through it.”
As Jia Nan spoke, she handed the pitch-black chess piece—forged from who-knew-what material—to Gu Changge.
Gu Changge took it and examined it, then nodded. “Forged from void beast bones. No wonder it has such wondrous effects.”
Seeing this, a trace of surprise flashed through Jia Nan’s eyes, but she said nothing more.
The matter of forging the Reincarnation Platform would not be so simple—many things still needed to be arranged and prepared. And in her view, Gu Changge’s current cultivation was not yet sufficient to accomplish it.
So afterward, Jia Nan directly took her leave, leading the pitch-black little boat and the members of the Eternal Overcast Kingdom back the way they came, with no intention of descending upon the outside world.
The man in purple-gold armor watched Gu Changge warily from a distance, the dread and terror from before still lingering in his heart, impossible to forget.
He didn’t know what his Royal Sister had discussed with the man to make her choose to turn around and return to the Eternal Overcast Kingdom.
But the shadow Gu Changge had left on him would likely hang over him like a haze for some time.
“Interesting. The existence of the Eternal Overcast Kingdom can indeed count as a chess piece for me.”
Watching Jia Nan depart, Gu Changge withdrew his gaze and looked at the pitch-black chess piece in his hand, his smile carrying an inscrutable meaning.
Then, he casually tossed the piece into his Storage Ring, simultaneously sealing off all perception within it.
Jia Nan’s little scheme couldn’t escape him. She had left her perception on this chess piece—or possibly a sliver of her Divine Soul.
As a Sacred Emperor Realm being, she had no shortage of methods.
Gu Changge couldn’t be bothered to root it out. That sliver of Divine Soul might have other uses in the future.
However, considering that this sliver of Jia Nan’s Divine Soul might detect his whereabouts and such, Gu Changge sealed the Space Piece, cutting off its perception.
It was tantamount to trapping it inside.
At this moment, Jia Nan herself probably didn’t realize that she had essentially handed her own weakness directly into Gu Changge’s hands.
As for the messages Jia Nan would send him, Gu Changge had no intention of paying them any mind. Once the Source of the Eternal Overcast was in his hands, everything would be his call.
After that, Gu Changge’s figure flashed, heading toward the region of the Source of the Eternal Overcast he had sensed earlier.
Vast Aura of Darkness surged there, grey fog billowing, dense to the extreme.
Countless runes flickered, incomparably ancient, like the purest origin of the universe.
Its roots could not be traced. Composed of billions of strands of black light, it could devour everything.
The nearby rules, Great Dao, and order were all shattering and reassembling, then converging into chaos. Even a Sacred Emperor Realm being in such a place would feel the deepest palpitations of fear.
The Source of the Eternal Overcast!
And judging by its size, it was a huge chunk—at least five times larger than the piece Gu Changge had encountered last time.
As it spread and devoured, the void ruptured and rules collapsed. Even the mightiest Innate Patterns would be obliterated within it.
Weng!!
Above Gu Changge’s head, the Grand Flask appeared, radiating terrifying brilliance, as if it could devour everything.
Even the Source of the Eternal Overcast trembled faintly at this moment, as if it had encountered its natural predator. Then the Grand Flask descended, its black light like an Astral River, containing and drawing it in.
Gu Changge sat cross-legged there, perfectly still.
Boundless divine light cascaded down, enveloping his entire body.
Like an immortal deity that had existed since time immemorial.
His aura rose continuously. Every cell seemed to awaken, bursting forth with five-colored radiance, mist flowing, Chaos Qi spreading.
His entire being was utterly hazy, exuding transcendence, mysterious and profound.
......
The pitch-black little boat sped swiftly through the grey fog, leaving the region. A passage with no traceable origin appeared, rapidly parting the spatial barrier, connecting to another mysterious and unfathomable world.
Ordinary Cultivators simply could not see such a passage.
This was the Eternal Overcast Tunnel, exclusive to the creatures of the Eternal Overcast!
“Royal Sister...”
Inside the little boat, the man in purple-gold armor stood before Jia Nan with a face full of fear. Despite being a Perfect Prodigy, he appeared timid and cowering.
“Fool.”
Jia Nan sat upon her throne, her features exquisite, her black hair cascading like a waterfall, her gaze carrying the noble coldness of a deity.
Hearing this, the man in purple-gold armor below paled, growing even more frightened and uneasy.
“Please forgive me, Royal Sister. That Human man went too far—I never provoked him at all.”
He spoke with a trembling voice, utterly terrified of Jia Nan.
Within the Eternal Overcast Kingdom, who didn’t know of the Eldest Princess’s iron-blooded reputation?
Even the current old Emperor of the Eternal Overcast Kingdom feared her somewhat.
“This matter—I don’t wish to pursue it.”
“That Human man is an honored guest of my Eternal Overcast Kingdom. If you encounter him in the future, you are not to provoke him,” Jia Nan said coolly, looking at him indifferently.
“Yes, Royal Sister.”
Hearing this, the man in purple-gold armor hurriedly replied. Though he felt stifled inside, he didn’t dare say more.
The other party had clearly struck first, gravely wounding him.
Yet as the Eldest Princess, not only did Jia Nan not avenge him, she even said that Human man was an honored guest of the Eternal Overcast Kingdom?
This filled his heart with resentment and unwillingness—but even more with panic.
Just what kind of identity did that Human man have?
“You may leave.”
Jia Nan swept an indifferent glance over him. How could she not know what he was thinking? But she didn’t care, waving him away.
After the man in purple-gold armor left.
Jia Nan’s brows suddenly furrowed, a flash of alarm crossing her cold features.
“He noticed?”
She hadn’t expected that the sliver of Divine Soul she had hidden within the spatial artifact would be detected by Gu Changge so quickly, its perception directly sealed off.
Jia Nan herself hadn’t actually doubted Gu Changge’s Dao Heart Oath at the time.
After all, an oath sworn upon one’s Dao Heart was the gravest possible vow for a Cultivator.
No one dared disregard it.
But Gu Changge had agreed far too readily back then, leaving a faint sense of wrongness in her heart, making her feel she needed to probe and keep an eye on his movements.
Due to the Space Piece’s special nature, even with her Divine Soul hidden within it, ordinary Cultivators could never hope to detect it.
Jia Nan’s original plan had been to use it to observe Gu Changge for a while. Even if he eventually noticed, it wouldn’t matter.
But she truly hadn’t expected this sliver of Divine Soul to be noticed by Gu Changge so quickly, with all her perception severed.
“Why do I keep feeling that this so-called Successor of the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being is no good person?”
“To skin a tiger, one must be prepared to be devoured by it...”
Jia Nan’s brows knitted tightly. She sighed softly, quickly recovering from that unsettled state of mind, and kept her guard up.
......
In the blink of an eye, seven days passed.
Outside that crack, Jiang Chuchu gazed at the ever-thinning Eternal Devouring Qi, her heart easing slightly.
“It seems Gu Changge has resolved this calamity.”
Even though she had long since witnessed Gu Changge’s methods for dealing with Eternal Overcast calamities, Jiang Chuchu still felt some worry. After all, this calamity was several times more severe than the last one.
Last time, Gu Changge had been contaminated by the Eternal Overcast aura and suffered considerable injuries.
This time, even if things went smoothly, it likely wouldn’t be easy for Gu Changge—especially with a Sacred King Realm Eternal Overcast creature involved.
Young prodigies facing a Sacred Lord Realm existence could only choose to flee, not daring to contend.
Before a Sacred King Realm existence, they were even more like ants—a single breath could separate flesh from soul, annihilating both body and spirit.
Gu Changge was powerful, but he was not invincible.
However, seeing the Eternal Overcast Fog growing thinner and the Eternal Overcast creatures growing fewer, Jiang Chuchu knew Gu Changge should have successfully resolved this calamity.
This put her at ease, and she let out a breath of relief.
Resolving Eternal Overcast calamities was clearly something the Mortal One and the Successor of Mortal Palace should be doing, yet now it was Gu Changge—a Successor of Demonic Arts—who was handling it.
Thinking of this, Jiang Chuchu’s emotions were complicated. If not for her, Gu Changge probably wouldn’t have involved himself in such matters at all.
And just as Jiang Chuchu’s thoughts wandered, immortal light emerged from within the crack, transforming into a golden passage, vast and boundless, which none of the Eternal Overcast Fog could approach in the slightest.
Gu Changge had come out.
His aura looked no different from usual, but Gu Changge himself knew that after devouring this chunk of the Source of the Eternal Overcast, his cultivation had improved considerably once again.
......
PS: Got off work a bit late, so today’s update is a little short. Starting tomorrow, I’ll make up for it.