The Lonely and Helpless Xiao Yang, the Little Junior Brother of the Nine Great Mountains
The Lonely and Helpless Xiao Yang, the Little Junior Brother of the Nine Great Mountains
Yellow sand rolled endlessly, white bones tumbled through the air, and the setting sun hung round like a disc, tinged with a scarlet, blood-like hue.
Streak after streak of divine rainbow light raced beneath the heavens, rushing toward this place. Lin Wu’s hair whipped backward, his body like a flood dragon as he tore through the sky, radiating astonishing blood qi.
His cultivation ranked among the very top of his generation in the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains, and at this moment, as he hurried along, his speed was in no way inferior to that of the older generation of cultivators.
His heart held rage, and unwillingness, but even more so, unease and worry.
They had departed from Sky Deer City, passed through the Aether Abyss along the way, quietly slipped out of that place, and then rushed toward the Boundary Marker Sea at the borderlands.
Throughout the entire journey, they had barely stopped to rest at all.
But everything they had seen along the way truly made their hair stand on end with fury.
The former territories of the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains had now all been occupied by the sects and powers of the Beyond.
Many places still burned with great fires that seemed capable of scorching the heavens themselves, impossible to extinguish. For hundreds of thousands of miles, the scorched earth stretched on without a single living creature in sight.
Yet faced with this scene, they were powerless. They could only watch with wide eyes, then quietly slip away through the shadows.
“Those damned creatures of the Beyond—burning, killing, plundering, committing every evil imaginable. They truly won’t rest until they breach Sky Deer City’s defenses and slaughter their way into the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains.”
“Just what kind of grudge exists between us and them?”
One of the experts’ faces flushed red, his fury impossible to suppress.
Their hearts held great hatred, but also a deep, bone-chilling cold.
Because the person they were now going to face was ten million times more terrifying than any of the sects and powers they had seen along the way.
This journey was one of certain death. They had already steeled themselves to die.
“After you rescue your beloved, take them and leave.”
The Sky Deer Goddess, who had followed behind Lin Wu and the others all this time without ever revealing herself, heard these words and couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. Recalling an ancient secret, her expression grew complicated.
Then she spoke to Lin Wu, having no intention of letting this group of people throw their lives away for nothing.
Lin Wu was somewhat stunned, then couldn’t help but ask, “Then what about you, Goddess?”
His respect for the Sky Deer Goddess came from the bottom of his heart. Judging by everything that had happened during this time, she was wholly devoted to the safety of Sky Deer City, even willing to personally rush to the Boundary Marker Sea.
Even at the risk of her life, with no guarantee of escaping safely.
Such great kindness and virtue, such a heart that toiled for the countless cultivators and living beings of the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains—he truly admired it beyond measure and could never hope to repay it.
“I’ll cover your retreat from behind, and while I’m at it, eliminate this great thorn in the side of the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains.”
The Sky Deer Goddess still spoke with a gentle smile, giving off an otherworldly, natural air, as if it were merely a trivial little matter.
Lin Wu fell silent. At this moment, with his strength, he couldn’t even be of any help to the Sky Deer Goddess.
This made him clench his fists, feeling a deep sense of powerlessness.
Soon, from the edge of heaven and earth came the sound of colossal waves crashing against the sky, a momentum vast and unmatched, as if entire worlds were being pushed forward to collide into them.
This was the world power of the Boundary Marker Sea. A single one of its waves was said to be composed of shattered ancient worlds and universes, and one could even see small worlds tumbling and sinking within them.
Having arrived here, they could feel even more strongly the murderous aura soaring into the heavens, coiling between heaven and earth.
The experts who had perished in this place throughout the ages were beyond counting. The resentment of the dead shrouded the sky, forming a vast expanse of grey, hazy mist.
On the cliff ahead, three figures could be seen standing in the distance, quite blurry, with light and shadow flickering away, as if separated by an ancient universe.
“Gu Changge!”
Lin Wu gritted his teeth, fists clenched tight. From far away he had spotted that young man, still wearing that same calm and indifferent expression, looking down from on high.
His white robes outshone the snow, untouched by a speck of dust, with the bearing of an immortal and the bones of a god, like a celestial being from the heavens, transcendent and unworldly.
His entire body was shrouded in divine radiance, Chaos Energy coiling around him. He merely stood there, yet it was as if he were the center of all worlds and heavens, as if even the void itself could not bear his weight.
He seemed to be quietly awaiting their arrival, exuding an unmatched sense of tranquility.
He clearly had the face of a banished immortal, yet his methods were cruel and merciless, enough to make one’s heart palpitate with fear.
Behind him, the great waves of the Boundary Marker Sea surged upward, only to shatter against his back, scattering into ashes that filled the sky.
“You’ve finally come.”
“You didn’t disappoint me.”
Gu Changge stood atop the cliff, watching Lin Wu arrive with the host of experts, a faint smile on his face.
“Gu Changge, I’ve come here as you demanded. Now release Lu Luo!”
Lin Wu and the others descended from the sky, all of them on full alert, warily staring at Gu Changge.
He couldn’t hold back his furious shout.
“Xiaojie!”
Granny Lu Cui looked worriedly at Lu Luo, whose cultivation had been sealed and who was firmly bound in place.
“Lin Wu, why must you be so foolish?”
“I’m not worth you coming to save me.”
Though Lu Luo’s face was pale, it could not hide her emotion. Her eyes were red-rimmed, as if tears might fall at any moment.
“Lu Luo, are you alright?”
Lin Wu looked at her with concern, worried she had been harmed during this time.
However, it seemed that although Lu Luo’s cultivation had been sealed, her breathing was not disordered and her blood qi had not weakened.
This put him somewhat at ease.
“I’m fine.”
Lu Luo shook her head, looking both moved and worried.
“What a deeply devoted pair. I’m almost touched.”
Gu Changge interrupted their heartfelt exchange, waving his hand to signal Ah Da behind him to seize Lu Luo.
“Gu Changge, let Lu Luo go! If you have a grudge, take it out on me!”
“I’ve already come here as you demanded. What more do you want?”
At this sight, Lin Wu’s expression changed again. He was furious, his eyes nearly spitting fire as he glared fixedly at Gu Changge.
If not for his insufficient cultivation, he would have charged forward right then to battle Gu Changge for hundreds of rounds.
“I can release her.”
“But you must agree to one condition of mine. Otherwise, today I’ll throw her down from here. I wonder—will she be able to withstand the aura within the Boundary Marker Sea, or will she be smashed to pieces on the spot?”
Gu Changge smiled nonchalantly, simultaneously signaling Ah Da behind him to be ready to act at any moment.
Terrifying astral winds swept up from below the cliff. Let alone the younger generation, even the older generation whose cultivation had reached the Sacred Lord Realm dared not approach.
Lu Luo’s expression instantly turned deathly pale with fear, yet she clenched her teeth tightly, utterly unyielding. She made not a sound and did not beg for mercy, seemingly unafraid of death.
“Gu Changge, stop!”
Lin Wu’s expression changed drastically. His whole body trembled, teeth clenched tight, his hatred nearly driving him mad.
The many experts behind him also changed color one after another, worried that Gu Changge would order his subordinate to throw Lu Luo down.
“Lin Wu, don’t agree to anything he says.”
“He wants you to be his inside agent, to open Sky Deer City’s Formation Core. Seeing you come to save me is already enough for me. I can die without regrets.”
But at this moment, a contented smile appeared on Lu Luo’s face, heartbreakingly beautiful, like the evening glow about to sink below the horizon.
“Lu Luo!”
Lin Wu’s heart felt as if it were being twisted by a knife. His eyes reddened; he simply could not calm down.
Especially hearing Lu Luo’s resolute words, he felt as though his heart was about to be torn apart.
It hurt so much.
“What she said is exactly my condition.”
“If you can agree, then I’ll release her. If you can’t, then pray you can see her again in your next life.”
Gu Changge’s face still wore that same indifferent, faint smile, seemingly in no hurry at all.
His gaze swept over Lin Wu, then fell upon a certain spot behind him, seemingly with some interest.
“Chi—”
And just then, a shower of crystalline light rained down.
It sizzled and hissed, transforming into terrifying great stars that rumbled as they revolved, blotting out the sky and sun.
Boundless golden light swirled, carrying an invincible might like mountains crashing down, killing its way toward Gu Changge.
“Finally willing to make a move?”
Gu Changge smiled faintly, seemingly unsurprised.
He merely pointed a single finger forward. Vast, surging power rolled forth like an entire universe crushing past, and the stars filling the sky shattered.
Heaven collapsed and the earth split; the cosmos trembled. The terrifying aura surged backward, tearing through the clouds.
This was might that surpassed the Sacred Emperor Realm, bursting beyond the domain in the very first instant.
Life-bearing stars trembled one after another, rustling and shaking, on the verge of falling.
Beneath this aura, living beings immeasurably far away all felt it, unable to resist prostrating themselves, bowing in worship to a peerless emperor.
“What?!”
Everyone besides Lin Wu stared at this scene in shock, never expecting that yet another supreme expert had been hiding in the shadows.
Moreover, this aura made them tremble involuntarily, unable to resist the urge to bow down in worship, to prostrate themselves toward the front.
It was a slender figure in white, like a Buddhist lotus, gleaming with crystalline light, divine radiance interweaving around her as she stepped out of nothingness—enough to make one suspect she was a female immortal descended from the Immortal World.
Her temperament was ethereal and sacred. Her fair hand swept across the air, hazy clear light emerging, evolving into all manner of supreme divine techniques and arts, Chaos Energy billowing.
Heaven and earth, black and yellow; the universe, vast and primeval—eight ancient great characters, dazzling and resplendent, carrying the meaning of creation’s profound mysteries, killed their way forward.
“Lu Luo!”
Seizing this opportunity, Lin Wu shouted loudly and brought out a Forbidden Weapon he had prepared long in advance. It transformed into sheets of terrifying runes with world-shaking force, killing its way toward Ah Da.
Seeing this, the others also acted one after another, displaying all manner of powerful techniques, moving to rescue Lu Luo.
Although they had made preparations before coming, they were still no match for Ah Da, who was at the Quasi-Nirvana level.
He merely raised a single palm and pressed it forward, and everyone coughed up blood and was sent flying backward, nearly exploding on the spot.
Even two Sacred Emperor Realm existences could not withstand it, coughing blood endlessly as they were flung backward, their bodies drenched in blood.
Lin Wu bore the brunt of it. With a muffled groan, his entire body was torn to pieces, nearly reduced to dust.
Fortunately, at the critical moment, a cyan True Dragon phantom emerged from within his bloodline, as if reviving, an ancient aura rising up, causing his injuries to heal rapidly.
Even so, he was still gravely wounded and had lost his ability to fight.
“So this is your trump card?”
Gu Changge glanced at Lin Wu and spoke casually, watching with interest as the woman in white revealed herself.
He had known a big fish would appear, but he hadn’t expected it to be one quite this big.
Judging from the fluctuations of that strike just now, she had already surpassed an ordinary True Daoist.
These days, there weren’t many True Daoists in the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains whose names could still be called out—and a woman, no less.
“I believe I already know who you are.”
Gu Changge sized up the woman in white before him. Within his gaze, brilliant runes flickered like endless fragments of gold, carrying the crushing momentum of the Great Dao, causing the void to emit rumbling thunder.
“He who commits many injustices will bring about his own destruction. What does it matter if you know?”
The Sky Deer Goddess glanced at the grievously wounded Lin Wu and the others. With a wave of her fair hand, hazy radiance spread out as she spoke, her expression unchanged.
Huala—
The next moment, above her head, a golden Daoist book appeared, turning its pages of its own accord.
It rustled and clattered, mysterious and profound lights streaking across its pages, crystalline and brilliant, circulating the aura of the Great Dao.
This was an extremely mysterious Supreme Treasure. The instant it appeared, it released dazzling divine radiance that spread toward all directions of heaven and earth, as if transforming into a universe unto itself, seeking to suppress Gu Changge.
Within this universe, countless stars were dotted about, as if each could evolve at a single thought of hers, transforming into all manner of divine techniques. There was brilliant immortal light and peerless immortal music, crushing down with unmatched might.
The void collapsed. The sun, moon, and stars beyond the domain were all affected, rapidly plummeting toward this place.
“The Heaven Suppression Art... So it’s the Sky Deer Goddess. I never imagined that to kill me, even you would be stirred into action.”
“This truly makes me feel somewhat honored. But where does your confidence come from, that you think you can kill me? Is it because of that True Daoist of the Ancient Royal Families you suppressed and killed before Sky Deer back then?”
Gu Changge noticed this technique of hers and couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow, speaking with seeming surprise.
Yet his tone remained casual, not taking it very seriously.
As he spoke, he flicked a finger forward with a tremor. Thick, massive Sword Qi, endless as mountain ranges, pierced through the universe, faintly brilliant, carrying peerless sharpness, vast and fathomless, slashing fiercely forward.
Star after star exploded with a roar, turning into ashes that filled the sky, reduced to dust beneath the mere aftershock of a single strand of Sword Qi.
“Whether I can kill you or not, we’ll only know after we fight.”
The Sky Deer Goddess’s eyes fell upon his face as she struck again.
It had to be said, her Heaven Suppression Art was truly profound and miraculous, using heaven and earth as its power and the sun, moon, and stars as its catalysts. Those golden book pages constructed of Grand Runes were its vessel.
Hualala—
The golden pages continued to turn, their sound shaking the universe. The golden aura was vast and heavy, as if stars were revolving within it, bursting forth with divine light that filled the sky, enough to submerge the starfields in all directions.
Zheng zheng—
Yet Gu Changge still merely raised his hand with a light tremor, striking out strand after strand of Sword Qi. There were no other techniques—it was utterly simple.
The Sword Qi slashed across the outer domain, illuminating the deep, cold universe, continuously chopping down, cutting the constructed runes one after another into ash. Even the golden pages rapidly dimmed.
The two exchanged several moves in quick succession, neither truly revealing their strongest methods.
The Sky Deer Goddess was probing the depths of Gu Changge’s strength, but to her regret, she could not succeed.
She had achieved the Dao countless years ago and prided herself on having seen innumerable prodigies, whether from the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains or from the Beyond.
But she had never seen a prodigy as inconceivable as Gu Changge.
Clearly only in his early twenties, yet already at the first heaven of the Quasi-Nirvana Realm.
He could even exchange numerous moves with her, a veteran True Daoist, without falling into a disadvantage.
And as of now, Gu Changge had yet to reveal his other methods, such as the Immortal-Killing Gourd he had obtained back then, and so on.
Were he truly just a cultivator of the first heaven of the Quasi-Nirvana Realm, she would have slapped him to death long ago.
“You are indeed very strong—the strongest prodigy I have ever seen. Calling you unparalleled in the world, unmatched through the ages, would be no exaggeration.”
The Sky Deer Goddess sighed softly, then smiled.
That countenance was peerless and sacred, radiant beyond compare, enough to make the light of heaven lose its color, enough to make any living being in this world grow dazed and tremble at heart.
Yet Gu Changge’s expression did not change in the slightest.
“Since the Sky Deer Goddess thinks so highly of me, why not come under my banner? Once the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains are conquered, I’ll make you a Domain Lord, in control of boundless territory. Wouldn’t that be ten million times freer than being cooped up in Sky Deer City?”
“And if you’re unwilling—well, I happen to still be short one Concubine by my side. If the Sky Deer Goddess joins me in storming into Sky Deer City, there will surely be a place for you at my side in the future.”
He smiled faintly and raised his hand, killing his way forward.
With a hum, a golden long spear flew forth, its murderous aura soaring to the heavens, seemingly able to pierce through the universe. It was condensed from Grand Runes, entwined with countless rules, seeking to bore through the Sky Deer Goddess’s golden book.
The Sky Deer Goddess’s eyes held no ripple. She merely shook her head gently and said, “Those who walk different paths cannot make plans together. Gu Changge, you’d best save yourself the trouble.”
The next moment, she raised her hand and struck out sheet after sheet of runes. Imperial might surged vast and mighty, hazy Chaos Energy circulating.
Like an entire universe, boundless and endless, it submerged heaven and earth, dissolving Gu Changge’s technique.
At the same time, its residual power undiminished, it continued killing its way toward him.
And its target was not Gu Changge—it was Ah Da, who was holding Lu Luo.
She intended to force Ah Da back and thereby rescue Lu Luo from his grasp.
At this sight, Ah Da’s expression shifted slightly. With his strength, he dared not take this technique head-on and had no choice but to evade.
Seizing this opportunity, the hazy Chaos Energy the Sky Deer Goddess had struck out transformed into a fair, jade-white hand that blotted out the sky, slamming down toward him.
Ah Da, who had long since received Gu Changge’s instructions, naturally did not hesitate. He released the Lu Luo he had been holding... and his figure swiftly retreated in another direction.
The Sky Deer Goddess struck quickly, her sleeve sweeping out to pull Lu Luo back.
“Lu Luo!”
The expressions of Lin Wu and the others couldn’t help but fill with delighted surprise. They had never expected the Sky Deer Goddess to actually rescue Lu Luo.
They hurriedly rushed forward.
But before they could get close, the Sky Deer Goddess struck out hazy radiance, slicing open the space before her and sending all of them away.
In an instant, only she and Gu Changge remained in this place. Lin Wu and the others had already appeared a million miles away in a flash.
Seeing this scene, Gu Changge did not move to stop it. His gaze was somewhat peculiar.
Then he shook his head slightly, seemingly with some regret. “Sky Deer Goddess, why go to such trouble? You plan to sacrifice yourself alone to save those few people?”
“I don’t think it’s worth it.”
Having done all this, the Sky Deer Goddess seemed to relax slightly, her gaze returning to calm once more.
“There’s no such thing as worth it or not.”
“Besides, only after sending them away can I deal with you in peace.”
She spoke, brilliant divine light between her brows, her immortal skin and treasured body wreathed in a faint fragrance—the manifestation of the Great Dao entering her body, bearing the Will of Heaven.
“Is that so? Dealing with me in peace... that actually suits me perfectly.”
Gu Changge smiled faintly, and the smile on his face quickly faded, returning to cold indifference.
The next moment, behind him, a boundless Grey Fog suddenly appeared, surging like an abyssal sea, as if manifesting from another unknowable dimension.
The years ran dry, lightning turned to ash—in a single instant, it blotted out the endless sky, abruptly enveloping this entire universe.
Seeing this scene, the Sky Deer Goddess seemed to think of something, and her previously calm expression couldn’t help but change.