Bewitched by Gu Changge — Xianer Is a Divine Source Master?
Bewitched by Gu Changge — Xianer Is a Divine Source Master?
“Rest assured, everything you’ve told me today—I promise I won’t say a word of it to Gu gongzi.”
“You should leave. Go somewhere no one can find you. Gu gongzi is not someone you can contend with.”
“If you don’t want to die, then don’t think about seeking revenge against Gu gongzi.”
Within the courtyard, the atmosphere was heavy. Xiao Ruoyin and Jiang Chen had reached an impasse, a rift forming between them over this matter.
However, Xiao Ruoyin quickly regained her composure and spoke softly, her gaze cold and distant.
“Because of Gu Changge, you would actually cast aside our past friendship entirely, siding with him like this?”
“How do you expect Niu Tian and the others to rest in peace in the netherworld?”
Jiang Chen’s eyes brimmed with fury and disappointment as he demanded in anguish.
“About what happened to Niu Tian and the others—I believe there’s more to the story. The Gu gongzi I know is not the kind of person you describe.”
“What if there’s some misunderstanding in all this? That would be terrible.”
Xiao Ruoyin shook her head, her expression utterly calm.
That calmness, in Jiang Chen’s eyes, felt utterly foreign and terrifying.
He couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh, suddenly clutching his chest, feeling as though something inside was tearing apart with pain.
Then, Xiao Ruoyin sighed softly, turned, and left the courtyard without saying another word.
Jiang Chen watched her departing figure with a pale face, but he didn’t call out to stop her.
He understood that from this day forward, an unbridgeable chasm had formed between him and Xiao Ruoyin.
The Xiao Ruoyin of today was no longer the aloof, untouchable goddess he had first met.
That goddess had long since fallen to the mortal world.
“Little Chenzi, you can’t just let her go like this.”
“Master has simply failed to think things through for the moment—she’s been bewitched by that Gu Changge.”
“You absolutely cannot let her fall into a pit of fire...”
Within Jiang Chen’s mind, the voice of the Celestial Boat of Creation’s Artifact Spirit was incomparably anxious and worried.
Having listened to the entire conversation between Jiang Chen and Xiao Ruoyin from beginning to end, it believed that the current Xiao Ruoyin had simply failed to think things through, unable to accept this cruel reality.
Once Xiao Ruoyin came to her senses and calmed down, she would realize just how dangerous it was to remain by Gu Changge’s side.
“Say no more...”
Jiang Chen interrupted it in agony, his face pale, clutching his chest tightly, feeling the pain within, deep and sharp.
Someone—or something—precious to him was quietly slipping away.
After parting with Jiang Chen, Xiao Ruoyin headed straight back to the Skyward Schloss’s residence.
Her heart was in turmoil; she needed some time to regain her composure.
“As for Jiang Chen’s matter, I can only pretend I know nothing. I cannot mention it to Gu gongzi.”
“To have come this far, how could Gu gongzi possibly be a simple man? I was too naive before.”
She sighed, rubbing her aching brow.
Before this, she had never imagined that the mysterious Successor of a Divine Source Master would turn out to be Jiang Chen.
Things had become complicated and thorny.
Right now, the most important thing for her was to keep playing her previous role in front of Gu Changge.
This time, she had confidently guaranteed she would succeed, but Jiang Chen clearly bore an irreconcilable hatred toward Gu Changge.
She hadn’t even figured out how to explain this matter to Gu Changge later.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Gu Changge was making preparations for the Divine Rock Conference three days hence.
After this Divine Rock Conference, the Ji Family would join forces with other powers to assault Kun Mountain.
For the entire Beyond, this was an exceedingly rare grand occasion.
Gu Changge himself didn’t have much interest in this sort of Divine Rock Conference.
But this time, it was said that several of the divine rocks were extraordinarily mystical, which caught his attention.
One of them was said to breathe like a living creature in the dead of night, actively absorbing the starlight of the heavens and devouring the radiance of the sky. Some had even witnessed scenes of ascension through rosy clouds within it, and it was called the Immortal Foetus.
There was another one, rumored to be the ominous Stone Fetus that had caused the destruction of the Great West Holy Land.
Back then, the Founding Ancestor of the Great West Holy Land had risked his life to carry it out of Kun Mountain on his back, but within days, the Great West Holy Land was struck by calamity. That vast immortal lineage turned into scorched earth overnight.
Many said it was connected to that ominous Stone Fetus.
All these years, that Stone Fetus had been sealed deep within Kunwu City, suppressed by a True Daoist.
But some time ago, that Stone Fetus reportedly showed signs of strange activity—said to have occurred at the very same time as the disturbances in Kun Mountain.
Thus, many connected it to the matter of the Ji Family’s ancestor, Ji Shengchu, being trapped in Kun Mountain back then, suspecting a great correlation.
At this Divine Rock Conference, all these divine rocks would be brought out.
The various Cults of Immortality and Supreme Dao Lineages had all sought out numerous masters highly skilled in Source Techniques, intending to take great risks at this conference to cut these divine rocks open.
“Powers and lineages from all sides will participate. At this Divine Rock Conference, there might just be some surprises.”
Gu Changge had his own conjectures about this.
He didn’t believe Xiao Ruoyin could persuade Jiang Chen to serve him, nor did Gu Changge need her to.
On the contrary, he felt that Xiao Ruoyin and Jiang Chen would grow estranged from each other because of this matter.
Although he didn’t much care about this portion of Fortuity and Fatums at present, it was still somewhat useful.
To Gu Changge, Jiang Chen was nothing more than a chess piece he had no plans to use for the time being.
Back then, he had the Demonic Puppets plant a demonic seed within Jiang Chen precisely to wait for the moment that seed would ripen.
At this Divine Rock Conference, Gu Changge’s primary target was still Jiang Chen’s friend Niu Tian—the one who bore the Hidden Celestial Bloodline.
According to his investigations these past days, that young lady of the Hidden An Clan was currently within Kunwu City.
Clearly, she had also come to join the excitement and participate in this Divine Rock Conference.
There was still no word from An Yan’s side, but Gu Changge felt she should be able to obtain that drop of True Blood of the Hidden Celestial.
If she couldn’t even accomplish that much, then what use did he have for such trash? She would be of no value to him whatsoever.
“Gongzi, the Hidden An Clan is acting just as you predicted. They’re searching everywhere for Source Masters, and they seem extremely interested in that Immortal Foetus.”
Just then, Yin Mei walked in from outside the hall and reported.
“Interested in that Immortal Foetus?”
Gu Changge nodded, somewhat lost in thought.
If his guess was correct, the Hidden An Clan would eventually seek out Jiang Chen.
In that case, Jiang Chen and Niu Tian might just stage a touching reunion of old friends.
He was quite familiar with this sort of trope. To Jiang Chen and Niu Tian, he was their common enemy.
At a time like this, they would naturally unite against the shared foe.
“I want you to keep an eye on that girl Xianer for me. What has she been up to these past few days?” Then, as if something occurred to him, Gu Changge asked casually.
A strange expression appeared on Yin Mei’s face, as if she wanted to laugh.
“My people were noticed by Xianer xiaojie. She warned me to stop following her, and said she’d settle accounts with you, gongzi, when the time comes.”
“She seems to know those people were all arranged by you.”
Gu Changge shook his head and chuckled. “That girl really needs a spanking.”
Yin Mei smiled but didn’t respond, though inwardly she felt quite envious.
She had followed Gu Changge for a very long time—since back when he was still a true disciple of the Skyward Schloss.
Later, she had even heard of Gu Changge’s arrangements: orchestrating the murder of the White Tiger Clan’s Young Master, deceiving the entire world on the Celestial Ancient Continent, and trapping and killing the successor of the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being... She actually understood Gu Changge’s character quite well.
On the surface, he appeared gentle as jade, transcendent and refined, but in truth he was cold and ruthless, his methods vicious. Very few people could ever enter his heart.
Even she, back then, had been nothing more than a disposable chess piece in Gu Changge’s eyes.
In this vast Beyond, Gu Xianer was probably the only one who could receive such doting care from Gu Changge.
That kind of envy was something any woman would feel.
“Where is she now?” Gu Changge asked.
“Xianer xiaojie is currently at our merchant alliance’s Stone-Gambling Stall... gambling on stones.”
A strange expression appeared on Yin Mei’s face. “Moreover, Xianer xiaojie’s Source Techniques seem to be extraordinarily superb.”
“Oh? That girl knows how to gamble on stones?” Gu Changge raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.
“She’d better not gamble herself away.”
Speaking of which, most of the authority of the Alliance of Thousand Merchants now rested in Yin Mei’s hands.
So even if Gu Xianer lost everything, it would all eventually end up in Gu Changge’s pocket anyway.
“Xianer xiaojie hasn’t lost even once.”
“From what the shopkeeper reported to me, I feel that Xianer xiaojie’s level of Source Techniques seems even more like that of a Divine Source Master than that mysterious young Divine Source Master from a few days ago.”
Yin Mei shook her head as she answered, her tone unable to hide her admiration.
“Even more like a Divine Source Master?”
“Could it be that among those shifus of hers, there really is a Divine Source Master?” At this, Gu Changge was genuinely surprised.
He had underestimated that silly girl.
Before this, Gu Xianer had never displayed Source Techniques in front of him.
But she was always accustomed to acting alone, so even if she possessed Source Techniques, she had probably rarely used them in front of others.
If she truly carried the inheritance of a Divine Source Master, then at the Divine Rock Conference three days from now, Gu Changge would have to find a way to tie her to his side no matter what.
Still, Gu Changge couldn’t help feeling that this girl was unreliable.
Could she be like Jiang Chen—relying on external objects, using cheat-like methods to appraise raw stones?
Meanwhile, within the Stone Gathering Square, numerous cultivators and beings had gathered, all staring fixedly at the center.
As one of the three great stone-gambling establishments in Kunwu City,
the Stone Gathering Square was filled with raw stones from all the various heavens of the Beyond.
There was no small number of raw stones from within Kun Mountain itself, suffused with multicolored radiance, appearing exceptionally dazzling, with wisps of auspicious light swirling about.
Now, this place had gathered many great figures of the Beyond, and even quite a few Young Prodigies.
The Ji Family’s Divine Son, Ji Yaoxing, with his head of golden hair shining like divine gold, along with Ji Chuyue.
The grey-robed, ordinary-looking King of Six Crowns, Jun Yao; the Phoenix Lady in crimson robes with devastating beauty; as well as Jin Chan the Chosen Monk, the Sky Demon Sovereign, the Young Holy King...
The most dazzling young existences of the current Beyond had all shown themselves here.
Some watched with keen interest, some with furrowed brows, some with shock and doubt, all staring ahead.
“Xianer xiaojie, are we cutting this raw stone too?”
Several trembling old men stood before a half-man-tall bluish-grey raw stone, stone-cutting knives shaking in their hands, their voices quavering, faces flushed—clearly excited to the extreme, unable to conceal their exhilaration.
A young woman, cold and ethereal as an immortal, her every glance and gesture exuding icy frost, with a Big Red Bird perched on her shoulder, nodded faintly at the words. “Cut it.”
At those words, an uproar swept through the entire place.
Many of the older generation shuddered all over, their expressions turning solemn as they stared intently ahead, afraid of missing a single detail.