Don't Tell Me You Want to Latch Onto Me, Sharing Life and Death — The Nine Mysteries Yearning Physique
Don’t Tell Me You Want to Latch Onto Me, Sharing Life and Death — The Nine Mysteries Yearning Physique
“Gu Changge, you actually hid yourself this deeply...”
Within the dark and fathomless dungeon, a terrified and furious scream rang out.
Gu Changge’s eyes were slightly closed, his expression calm and unrippled, as his palm pressed against the glabella of a Sacred Emperor Realm expert from the Buddhist Mountain.
Wisps of black qi slowly and methodically spread and seeped downward, like Dao Flowers taking root and blooming within.
They quickly pierced through his skin, flesh, organs, and bones, reaching into where his Source lay.
Bursts of blazing, dazzling divine light erupted, like the final splendor of fireworks, before gradually fading into deathly silence.
“The depletion has finally more or less recovered.”
Gu Changge slowly opened his eyes, and with a tremor of his magic power—
The already withered corpse before him exploded with a bang into a sky full of dust, scattering into nothingness.
He turned his head to look at Lu Luo, who was imprisoned off to the other side, her face filled with terror, unable to stop trembling, her complexion pale. He let out a somewhat intrigued “oh.”
“So you’re awake.”
Lu Luo’s face was white, and she couldn’t stop shaking. She never imagined that the first thing she would see upon waking would be such a scene.
It truly terrified her, filling her with deep unease.
On the day she was imprisoned in this dungeon, she had passed out from utter exhaustion.
So she had no idea what had happened during this time.
But just moments ago, a Sacred Emperor Realm existence had been killed by Gu Changge right before her eyes.
His entire Source devoured completely, reduced to dust that scattered into nothing.
This made her involuntarily recall an ancient and horrifying rumor.
“I...”
“I didn’t see anything.”
Her face was pale, her voice trembling softly, not daring to meet Gu Changge’s gaze.
Gu Changge smiled faintly. “It doesn’t matter even if you saw.”
“Counting the time, that sweetheart of yours should be coming to rescue you soon.”
Lu Luo’s whole body jolted. She hadn’t expected she had been unconscious for so long.
But would Lin Wu really risk such heaven-defying danger to come to this dragon’s pool and tiger’s den to save her? Even if he were willing, the clansmen behind him would likely never agree.
And how could he possibly manage to take her away from this place—unless Gu Changge was willing to let her go?
But how could Gu Changge possibly be willing? Despair surfaced in Lu Luo’s eyes.
“I hear that within Sky Deer City of the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains, the Formation Core left by successive generations of Sky Deer City’s lords is sealed away—the greatest barrier of Sky Deer City’s ward.”
“As long as he’s willing to open the Formation Core for me, I can spare your life, and I can spare his life too.”
“The families behind you could even be received into the Beyond, becoming subsidiary forces of my Longevity Gu Family, under my clan’s protection.”
“Rather than staying in the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains, waiting to be conquered and exterminated sooner or later, why not submit to my clan and enjoy eternal immortality?”
Gu Changge walked toward her unhurriedly, a faint smile on his face, which only made Lu Luo tremble all the more violently.
Her face was white, her heart gripped by fear, her head buzzing.
These were words she wouldn’t even dare to think about normally.
The Formation Core within Sky Deer City was the greatest barrier protecting Sky Deer City, and indeed the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains behind it.
How could it possibly be opened? Such an act would be nothing less than betraying the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains—it would cause the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains to fall, to be breached by the Beyond, leaving all living beings in misery.
If she dared do such a thing, she would absolutely become a sinner whose death a hundred times over could not atone.
Even if the clans behind them were received into the Beyond at that point, this deed would become a shame that could never be erased for all eternity.
Not to mention, with their status, there was no way they could even come into contact with the Formation Core.
“You... you should just kill me...”
“I will never betray the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains, never betray our world...”
Lu Luo gritted her teeth, forcing herself to calm down, refusing to yield on this.
“Think it over carefully. This is the last chance I’m giving you.”
“If you don’t want Lin Wu to go to his death, I advise you to think it through properly.”
Gu Changge wasn’t actually surprised that she would say such a thing.
He merely smiled, then turned and left the dungeon.
With a clang of the black iron prison door closing, the place returned to its dark depths, cold and damp.
Lu Luo couldn’t help but shiver, Gu Changge’s words still echoing in her mind, her face instantly filled with despair.
After leaving the dungeon, Gu Changge headed straight for the main hall, intending to discuss the campaign against the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains.
He had no intention of using the Demonic Manipulation Urn to control Lu Luo.
Because she did not fear death—even if he held her life in his grasp, she might not necessarily carry out his orders.
And Lin Wu’s existence happened to serve as the perfect entry point, one that could bring Lu Luo under his control.
Given some time, she would come around. On this matter, there was no room for refusal.
Inside the main hall were all the high-ranking members of the Longevity Gu Family who had come to the Boundary Marker Sea this time—figures who held great power within the clan, each possessing considerable strength of their own.
“Changge, you’ve come at just the right time. After the failed sneak attack a while back, the armies of the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains withdrew en masse.”
“Now, not a single living being of the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains can be seen near the Boundary Marker Sea.”
“Tell us—should we garrison here and wait for the main army to arrive, or press the advantage and pursue them, slaughtering all the way?”
Seeing Gu Changge arrive, the eyes of several high-ranking members lit up, and they all spoke up to ask in unison.
By now, Gu Changge’s might and influence in the Beyond had reached the point where he stood on equal footing with the leaders of the various Cults of Immortality.
So in truth, they all now implicitly regarded Gu Changge as their head.
At a time like this, they naturally had to hear his opinion.
“Regarding the matter of the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains, I think we might as well set it aside for now. The main army has yet to arrive, and the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains have retreated into Sky Deer City. The Aether Abyss and the Nine Great Mountains are all tough bones to gnaw—since ancient times, no small number of experts have fallen at those places.”
“To attack now would only be a pointless waste of lives.”
Gu Changge shook his head slightly, intending to have the Gu Family garrison here for the time being.
Before the Boundary Marker Sea had completely dried up, launching an assault would be nothing but wasted effort.
Not to mention anything else—just going by the usual pattern, a first offensive rarely ever succeeded.
This withdrawal of the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains—how could it not be a ploy to lure the enemy in deep?
Moreover, compared to the Beyond, the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains were clearly more united, blessed by Fortuity in some unseen way.
So he had no intention of having the Gu Family attack now. With this time, they would do better to occupy this place first, and then plan things out slowly.
“Then we’ll do as Changge says, and let the other orthodoxies test the waters first.”
“In any case, Sky Deer City’s defenses truly can’t be breached in the short term.”
The high-ranking members nodded at his words, exchanging glances as they agreed.
“Oh, right, Changge—regarding Sky Deer City’s barrier this time, do you have any plan?”
At this point, one high-ranking member’s eyes flickered, and he couldn’t help asking.
Because they knew Gu Changge had captured a woman from the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains.
After thinking it over back and forth, they had finally arrived at this possibility.
“For many clans of the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains, isn’t the Beyond the best possible patron to attach themselves to? Once the time is right, plenty of clans are bound to defect to this side.”
“So there’s really no need to worry about Sky Deer City’s barrier. That is not a problem we need to concern ourselves with.”
Gu Changge merely smiled, not explaining further.
“You mean... the clan behind that woman will be the key?”
Hearing this, the eyes of the high-ranking members flickered, their hearts shaken, and they fell into thoughtful contemplation.
Afterward, their admiration for Gu Changge deepened even further—in such a short time, he had already thought so far ahead.
Sky Deer City’s barrier had long been a headache for all the orthodoxies and powers.
And judging by the current situation, Gu Changge had already devised a way to breach that barrier.
“With Changge here, why would our Gu Family ever worry about failing to achieve eternal immortality?”
They exchanged glances, this thought arising in their hearts in unison.
Meanwhile, in the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains, within Sky Deer City.
It was a grand and ancient Divine City, majestic in momentum, vast and weathered.
As if forged from countless stars, enormous stars floated across its sky, their radiance interweaving, starlight glittering brilliantly, dazzling beyond compare.
In the distance, one could see vast Chaos Energy surging, forming a terrifying Grand Array that encircled the entire Sky Deer City.
The Milky Way cascaded down, suffusing a hazy silver light that sprinkled over every corner—seen from afar, it carried an air of sanctity and transcendence.
As the greatest barrier of the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains, Sky Deer City had stood for countless ages and had never once collapsed.
Even when True Daoists of the Beyond came knocking at its gates, it erupted with boundless divine might, keeping them outside its walls.
In the eyes of the countless cultivators and living beings of the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains, Sky Deer City was the guardian deity sheltering them.
And of course, the many warriors and beings stationed at Sky Deer City were also an unbreakable force, rushing to its defense one after another without cease.
Besides Sky Deer City, the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains had two other barriers.
One was the Nine Great Mountains—legend said they were nine immortal mountains that split off from some place in the most ancient era, incomparably mysterious, their whereabouts elusive and hard to trace.
The Nine Great Mountains held a supreme position in the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains.
They were also the most unfathomable of all—their location was not fixed.
Instead, they drifted across the lands of the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains. Once, a cultivator stumbled into them by accident and was bestowed immortal arts, becoming a supreme powerhouse of his generation, founding a sect that branched out and flourished.
Over time, in the eyes of the beings and cultivators of the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains, the Nine Great Mountains became a symbol of immortals.
Whenever the Beyond invaded, the Nine Great Mountains would appear in the world.
They would either dispatch Unrivalled Guards, or have a successor emerge from the mountains to resist the great calamity.
In this epoch, though the Nine Great Mountains had yet to show any trace, in the eyes of many beings of the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains—
At the most desperate moment, a successor of the Nine Great Mountains would descend upon the world once more.
Besides Sky Deer City and the Nine Great Mountains, the final barrier was the Aether Abyss.
It was a strange land formed after the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains split from the Beyond—where spatial turbulence between the two realms, colliding rules, and interweaving Great Daos had converged.
And this strange land lay just outside Sky Deer City.
Anyone wishing to pass through this strange land would inevitably face attacks from within Sky Deer City at the same time—perilous beyond measure.
Without a specific route, it was impossible to cross the Aether Abyss; one would ultimately become lost within it.
Even True Daoists had to tread carefully, not daring to set foot in it lightly.
And right now, within Sky Deer City, on its streets, a man with a worried expression was trudging along.
The city was incomparably vast, its streets boundless, with stars that had once fallen from the sky embedded here and there, densely marked with the scars of blades, spears, swords, and halberds.
But now it appeared very quiet, with few signs of life.
Because of the great war, Sky Deer City was now a place where every bush and tree looked like an enemy soldier.
“The half-month deadline has arrived. Will that bastard make things difficult for Lu Luo, will he kill her?”
“What on earth can I do to save Lu Luo?”
The man walking along the street was none other than Lin Wu, who had returned to Sky Deer City.
But his expression was far from pleasant now, full of worry, lacking his usual confidence and composure.
Thinking of Lu Luo’s plight, he couldn’t help clenching his fists, hating his own powerlessness and weakness.
Not only had he lost the Immortal-Killing Gourd, he had also caused Lu Luo to be captured by Gu Changge, her fate unknown.
He wanted to go alone to the shores of the Boundary Marker Sea to rescue Lu Luo.
But without someone to guide him through the Aether Abyss outside Sky Deer City, he couldn’t make the crossing alone.
On top of that, even if he could reach the shores of the Boundary Marker Sea, he lacked the strength to rescue Lu Luo.
And even if he could rescue her, could he escape? This was a situation with no solution at all.
Even the family behind Lu Luo had given up on her life and death, unwilling to get involved.
Lin Wu hated his own weakness and powerlessness, unable to even save the woman he loved.
At the same time, he hated Gu Changge’s despicable shamelessness, his utter lack of honor.
He had promised to spare everyone, yet in the end he went back on his word and did not spare Lu Luo.
“Damn it...”
Lin Wu wandered aimlessly through the streets, truly unable to think of any way to save Lu Luo.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to save her—he simply had no means.
Even the family behind him was urging him to abandon the idea. Of course, if he insisted on going, the family would still send experts to accompany him.
After all, Lin Wu was the most outstanding prodigy of the Lin Family’s current generation.
Just then, the street suddenly fell silent, and an inexplicable atmosphere enveloped the area.
This patch of heaven and earth seemed to split away from everything else, incomparably deep and tranquil.
Lin Wu noticed the anomaly and couldn’t help frowning, raising his head to look ahead.
“You are...?” he couldn’t help asking aloud, somewhat startled as he looked at the woman who had suddenly appeared before him.
This woman was dressed all in white, ethereal and otherworldly, standing in serene stillness, divine light seeming to glimmer between her brows, as though she did not belong to this world at all.
“Lin Wu, I have waited for you for a long time.”
The woman in white smiled as she spoke, giving off a gentle and natural feeling.
Her figure was tall and slender, taller than most women, incomparably beautiful, like a Buddhist lotus, radiant with divine glow, walking through this mortal world of dust as if experiencing all its myriad states.
There was a sanctity and transcendence about her that no one dared ignore.
“Who are you?”
Although Lin Wu sensed she bore no malice, he remained somewhat wary and pressed on with his question.
Because he could perceive that her cultivation was unfathomably deep—not something he could currently contend against.
“I am the Sky Deer Goddess.”
The woman in white smiled as she spoke, her voice magnetic, stirring the heart and soul.
Her beauty transcended the mortal coil, as if she were not of this world, but had come from the legendary Immortal World.
“Sky Deer Goddess?”
Lin Wu’s heart jolted, his eyes widening. “You’re the Sky Deer Goddess of this generation?”
He knew that behind Sky Deer City, there had always been a Sky Deer Goddess, responsible for guarding Sky Deer City and maintaining its operation.
But this Sky Deer Goddess was exceedingly mysterious and unfathomable—no one had ever seen her trace.
He also didn’t know which one the Sky Deer Goddess before him was—a Sky Deer Goddess of the past, or the one of this generation.
Because in every generation, a suitable woman was said to be chosen to assume this identity, charged with guarding Sky Deer City.
And in one past epoch, when the armies of the Beyond came slaughtering—
A supremely powerful True Daoist of a ferociously renowned primordial race came knocking at the gates, sweeping all before him, invincible, looking down upon the world.
But he was slain before Sky Deer City by the Sky Deer Goddess who emerged from seclusion, causing a sensation at the time—a legend passed down to this very day.
“Which generation’s Sky Deer Goddess I am—does that matter?”
“What matters is that I can help you rescue your beloved.”
The woman in white still smiled at his words, not answering.
Lin Wu’s heart shook again; he could hardly believe his own ears.
He was somewhat agitated, but he made himself calm down and said, “You’re really willing to help me rescue Lu Luo?”
Seeing that Lin Wu did not shout or make a fuss, but quickly calmed himself instead, this temperament drew a trace of appreciation through the eyes of the woman in white.
“Of course I’m willing to help you.”
She answered with a smile.