The Fish That Slipped the Net Back Then—How Marvelous Indeed
The Fish That Slipped the Net Back Then—How Marvelous Indeed
Gu Changge’s plan was meticulous. Even if Lin Wu didn’t act according to his plan, he had other methods to breach Sky Deer City.
After all, the Sky Deer Goddess was now in his hands, her life and death entirely under his control.
Since the Sky Deer Goddess had accompanied Lin Wu to rescue Lu Luo this time, she must have come prepared to never return.
So she must have already arranged her affairs—there would be disciples or successors who, after something happened to her, would inherit her position and continue guarding Sky Deer City’s Formation Core.
And this was exactly what Gu Changge had considered.
With the Sky Deer Goddess in his hands, Gu Changge had ways to force her compliance.
After all, cultivators in this world who could truly watch their shifu face peril without acting were few and far between.
Let alone disciples or successors personally raised by the Sky Deer Goddess—even if their temperaments differed somewhat from hers, they likely wouldn’t differ by much.
The Sky Deer Goddess, as the guardian of Sky Deer City, had now fallen into his hands.
When the final decisive battle erupted, the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains would surely be thrown into tumultuous upheaval.
Moreover, there was probably no more suitable hostage in this world than the Sky Deer Goddess.
Not to mention, when it came to knowledge of Sky Deer City and the Aether Abyss, no one in the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains likely knew more than her.
The correct route through the Aether Abyss—it seemed he would still have to extract it from her.
Afterward, Gu Changge took the two of them and left this place, intending to capture Lin Wu and begin the next phase of his plan.
“Who exactly are you?”
“Where is Lu Luo right now?”
Meanwhile, in a desert a million miles from the shores of the Boundary Marker Sea.
Yellow sand billowed, revealing the white bones and corpses buried beneath—clearly, this had once been a battlefield.
A young man, filled with grief, his body covered in blood with shocking injuries, was angrily questioning the tall woman before him.
The young man was none other than Lin Wu. Right now, there was a bone-deep wound on his body, still bleeding.
The others he had brought along had also surrounded the tall woman, their expressions equally furious and cold.
They had never imagined that the Lu Luo they had rescued would turn out to be an impostor.
On the road, taking advantage of a moment when Lin Wu was off guard, she had nearly cleaved him in half with a single sword strike.
If Lin Wu’s reflexes hadn’t been far quicker than the others’, and if he hadn’t been so powerful and dodged so swiftly, that one strike would have been enough to grievously wound him.
The tall woman was none other than Shen Chun, who had disguised herself as Lu Luo on Gu Changge’s orders.
At this moment, her face was cold and mocking. Even surrounded by everyone, she showed not the slightest worry, as if she had something to fall back on.
“If you want to know whether that girl lives or dies, then I advise you to be a bit more polite to me.”
“If something happens to me, then she won’t live either.”
Shen Chun said indifferently, completely unconcerned by the killing intent on everyone’s faces.
In her hand, she still held a bloodstained longsword, gleaming with crystalline light, circulating with a powerful aura.
It was this very sword that had nearly run Lin Wu through just moments ago.
“Damn it.”
Lin Wu was both shocked and furious, his face icy, his fists clenched so tight they creaked.
Yet he didn’t dare make a move against the tall woman before him, fearing it would cost Lu Luo her life.
Before Lu Luo’s fate was confirmed, his heart couldn’t rest.
This feeling of having his weakness gripped firmly in the enemy’s hand filled him with stifling frustration and boundless hatred.
“In the end, all our efforts were for nothing.”
“And who knows how that powerful expert who struck for us is faring now?”
Granny Lu Cui and the others wore bitter expressions. They never imagined things would turn out like this.
They were furious, but even more than that, they felt unwillingness and fear.
They had thought the matter had concluded safely, that they could flee back to Sky Deer City—but who would have thought the young lady they rescued would be an impostor?
“That Gu Changge, how despicable he is!”
“Acting all transcendent and aloof, yet committing such vile deeds!”
They cursed endlessly in their hearts. If cursing could kill, Gu Changge would have died at their hands countless times by now.
Just then, in the distant sky, a Great Dao suddenly stretched forth, as if tearing through the universe, and swiftly descended before everyone.
“Gu Changge!”
Lin Wu and the others couldn’t help but shudder as they looked at the young man who had crossed a million miles in the blink of an eye to arrive here.
Who else could it be but Gu Changge? Behind Gu Changge were two other figures—one was Ah Da, clad in Dark Iron Battle Armor.
The other was naturally the Sky Deer Goddess.
But what Lin Wu found inconceivable, what horrified him, was that although the Sky Deer Goddess’s appearance was no different from when he had last seen her...
Her aura had undergone an earth-shattering transformation—eerie and profound, exuding a dread-inducing unease, as if she had become an entirely different person.
He couldn’t help but tremble, an immense sense of absurdity and unease rising in his heart.
Could it be that even someone as powerful as the Sky Deer Goddess had met with some mishap, becoming what she was now? The Sky Deer Goddess was his greatest reliance at present.
He had thought she could deal with Gu Changge, yet in the blink of an eye, she had become like this.
“Why has it come to this?”
“Is Gu Changge truly powerful to the point of being invincible?”
This made Lin Wu’s heart even more uneasy, even somewhat powerless and despairing.
Could it be that he would truly perish here today? The Sky Deer Goddess gazed at Lin Wu and the others with calm, rippleless eyes, as if she didn’t know them at all.
As for Granny Lu Cui and the others, the shock in their hearts was much the same as Lin Wu’s, except they didn’t know the Sky Deer Goddess’s identity.
“We never imagined that the one who saved us just now has already been taken captive!”
Their hearts were bitter, waves of despair and helplessness welling up.
“Gu Changge, kill us or torture us as you please.”
“But remember this—even if you kill me, you will never make us submit or beg for mercy!”
Lin Wu’s demeanor at this moment was resolute, his eyes filled with icy hatred. He had thought everything through and calmed down.
After all, death awaited either way—what else did he have to care about? He was only a step short of cursing aloud.
The rest remained silent. Resisting at this point would be nothing but futile.
In truth, before coming here, they had already steeled themselves for death. But having finally glimpsed hope, only to see it shattered once more...
This feeling was like plummeting from the peak of the clouds straight into the abyss.
“Rest assured, I don’t plan to kill you just yet.”
Hearing this, Gu Changge merely swept his gaze indifferently over everyone.
His gaze lingered on Lin Wu. He was somewhat interested in what kind of Golden Finger the young man possessed.
But before breaching Sky Deer City, it was better to keep him alive for now.
Seeing this, Ah Da behind Gu Changge struck out a pitch-black rune that merged with heaven and earth, transforming into shackles and chains, constructing a cage that imprisoned everyone within.
From beginning to end, no one dared resist.
Lin Wu gritted his teeth, his heart stifled and furious, but faced with this chasm-like terrifying gap in power, he could only submit.
If they resisted, everyone present would likely die.
Then, with a sweep of Gu Changge’s sleeve, everything before them blurred.
The void was torn open, revealing a passage piercing through the universe, carrying all the prisoners toward the encampment.
“Goddess qianbei, what is going on?”
Imprisoned within the rune-constructed cage, Lin Wu looked at the Sky Deer Goddess ahead and couldn’t help but ask via voice transmission.
Hearing this, the Sky Deer Goddess glanced at Gu Changge ahead.
Seeing that he paid no mind, she turned back to look at Lin Wu and said calmly, “I am going to save Sky Deer City, to save the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains.”
Her words were brief, without further explanation.
Lin Wu was stunned for a moment.
Judging from her expression and manner of speaking, the Sky Deer Goddess was clearly the same as before.
So why would she say such things? How was she going to save Sky Deer City, save the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains? Could it be by offering herself to the demon? After saying these words, an inexplicable Daoist charm emerged on the Sky Deer Goddess’s face, clear radiance spreading, and gradually her features became blurred, impossible to see clearly.
There were no restrictions or seals on her body—she moved freely, not suppressed as Lin Wu and the others had assumed.
Watching this scene, Lin Wu was clearly dumbfounded, unable to react for a long while.
He had always believed the Sky Deer Goddess had been suppressed by Gu Changge, which was why she had become a prisoner.
But the facts before his eyes left his mind reeling, utterly unable to comprehend it.
Compared to before, the Sky Deer Goddess’s aura had clearly changed.
Yet her behavior, her manner of speaking, her expressions, her cultivation fluctuations—none of it differed in the slightest.
“I thought you would beg me to let them go.”
“As the Sky Deer Goddess, are you really just going to ignore their lives and deaths?”
On the golden Great Dao, Gu Changge glanced at the Sky Deer Goddess who had walked to his side and smiled with meaningful interest.
The Sky Deer Goddess shook her head. “Doing so would be meaningless. If one wishes to save the countless lives of the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains, there must be sacrifices.”
“So in your eyes, they have already become necessary sacrifices?”
Gu Changge narrowed his eyes, a strange gleam in his gaze.
Then he scrutinized her carefully for a few moments, as if trying to determine whether she was pretending or had genuinely intended this all along.
For him, whether the Sky Deer Goddess was pretending or had truly been corrupted by demonic energy, her Dao Heart defiled—it was all the same.
As long as she was in his hands, with this hostage and bait, the defensive formations of Sky Deer City and the Aether Abyss would be as good as nonexistent. Moreover, after her Heart-Possessing Demon transformation, the Sky Deer Goddess’s attitude toward the Beyond’s invasion of the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains had clearly undergone a great shift.
The most fundamental reason was the tragic scene of the fallen city and slaughtered people she had witnessed within the Morphing Demonic Domain.
Subconsciously, the Sky Deer Goddess had already come to believe it was an unchangeable future fact—a fragment of the future made manifest.
After all, at her level, whether many things were true or false was quite clear to her.
Even she believed it was a corner of the future, which was why her current post-possession consciousness had emerged.
“If sacrificing them can protect Sky Deer City, can protect the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains...”
“Then it is worth it.”
The Sky Deer Goddess answered in a very calm voice.
Gu Changge smiled, his gaze somewhat inscrutable, and then said no more.
Soon, the golden Great Dao stretched onward, descending directly upon the Longevity Gu Family’s encampment.
Everyone except Lin Wu was ordered by Gu Changge to be imprisoned in other dungeons—including the Sky Deer Goddess, who was treated the same.
As a prisoner, Gu Changge did not trust the Sky Deer Goddess; she would need to be observed for a period of time.
However, she was, after all, a True Daoist. Ordinary sealing and suppression powers had little effect on her.
So the Longevity Gu Family dispatched additional experts to watch over her—any unusual movement would be known immediately.
Finally, in the dungeon, Lin Wu and Lu Luo, separated for so long, saw each other again, both wearing complicated expressions.
“During this time, he didn’t make things difficult for you, did he?”
Lin Wu spoke first. Looking at Lu Luo, who had clearly grown much more haggard, a sense of helplessness rose in his heart once more.
Now, he too had become a prisoner.
Lu Luo shook her head, her face somewhat pale.
She noticed the injuries on Lin Wu’s body and asked with some worry, “Was it that impostor who hurt you?”
Lin Wu smiled bitterly and nodded. “It’s nothing serious now. I didn’t know that person wasn’t you at the time. I thought I could escape with you, but in the end...”
He sighed and recounted the whole sequence of events.
Of course, he didn’t mention the Sky Deer Goddess’s identity, as the matter involved too much.
The Sky Deer Goddess had not allowed him to reveal anything about her whereabouts, for this very reason.
The Sky Deer Goddess’s identity was extremely special and exalted. If the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains learned she had fallen into Gu Changge’s hands, it would surely set off monstrous waves and trigger boundless panic.
Back then, if the other supreme experts had known the Sky Deer Goddess was accompanying him, they would have been utterly shocked and would never have agreed to let her take such a risk.
But now, even the Sky Deer Goddess had met with misfortune—compared to before, she was greatly changed.
It even made Lin Wu feel that the current Sky Deer Goddess and the previous one were not the same person.
After hearing Lin Wu’s account, Lu Luo’s face grew even paler.
Especially upon hearing that everyone in Sky Deer City had essentially given up on her.
Including the family behind her—it was the same.
She couldn’t help but tremble slightly.
Although she had long guessed things would turn out this way, she still felt waves of sorrow.
“It seems everything he said has come true...” Lu Luo glanced outside the dungeon, at Gu Changge, who had been standing there all along with a faint smile, not yet departed. She couldn’t help but shudder, feeling deep fear.
From beginning to end, the way events unfolded matched exactly the predictions Gu Changge had made to her before.
Even the attitudes of everyone in Sky Deer City toward her, and toward Lin Wu, were not off in the slightest.
This ability to read people’s hearts left her terrified and unsettled.
“What’s wrong?”
Lin Wu’s heart was equally heavy.
In this cold, damp dungeon where no daylight reached, he could see not a shred of hope.
“Lin Wu... how about we just do as Gu Changge says?”
Lu Luo’s face was deathly pale, her voice trembling.
One could imagine how much resolve and determination it took for her to say these words.
“What did you say?”
“Do as Gu Changge says?”
Hearing this, Lin Wu felt his head buzz as if struck by a giant bell, his mind going instantly blank.
He even doubted his own ears—had he misheard? Lu Luo, who should regard Gu Changge as her greatest enemy, was actually saying they should listen to him? “Lu Luo, tell me—has Gu Changge threatened you?”
“Or has he controlled you with some method? Why would you say such a thing?”
Lin Wu’s eyes widened as he asked in disbelief, his voice trembling as well.
“No. Nothing like that.”
Lu Luo shook her head, bitterness at the corners of her mouth, and said, “We’ve fallen into Gu Changge’s hands now. Tell me—will the people of Sky Deer City come to save us?”
Hearing this, Lin Wu fell silent.
Not only would they not come—they would probably worry about whether the two of them would expose Sky Deer City’s many secrets.
But that was also something that couldn’t be helped. At this point, whoever came to rescue them would face certain death.
For the sake of two young prodigies, was such an enormous price worth paying? “But that still isn’t a reason for us to betray the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains, to betray the families behind us.”
Righteousness surfaced on Lin Wu’s face as he refused.
Lu Luo knew that persuading Lin Wu would be very difficult. The family behind him valued him greatly.
After Lin Wu displayed his powerful talent, they poured countless resources into him.
Given Lin Wu’s character, he could never do something like betraying his family.
“But Sky Deer City will fall sooner or later. All the forces will be swallowed by the Beyond’s army. In truth, we could lead the families behind us to surrender to the forces of the Beyond.”
“The Longevity Gu Family behind Gu Changge is the most ancient and long-standing power in the Beyond, with unfathomably deep foundations.”
“As long as we work for Gu Changge, he can guarantee that the clans behind us will be safely brought over to the Beyond.”
Lu Luo spoke bitterly, forcing these words out with great difficulty.
Before this, she had never had such intentions.
But after seeing Lin Wu today, all her convictions had wavered.
The family behind her had treated her well, so even knowing they had abandoned her, she bore no resentment.
But what had the forces of Sky Deer City, the sects and clans of the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains, ever done for them? Why should they lose their lives in this sunless place for the sake of those forces and sects?
Moreover, she knew that if Lin Wu refused, Gu Changge would absolutely use other means to force him.
From the very beginning, they had no choice at all.