The Nether Has No Foundation? Gu Changge's Speculation
The Nether Has No Foundation? Gu Changge’s Speculation
Chapter 695: Winds and Clouds in Turmoil — From Today On, His Name Is Ah Er (Please Subscribe)
The various orthodoxies and powers of the Beyond had long suffered bitterly under Gu Changge — this was a sentiment shared by virtually every True Daoist present.
Now that the Nether had fallen prey to Gu Changge’s encirclement and scheming, none of them could guarantee that the powers and orthodoxies behind them would not one day face the same calamity.
Therefore, the only solution was to strangle this threat in its cradle before Gu Changge became truly invincible under heaven.
“If I recall correctly, tens of millions of years ago, the Northern Profound Lake also produced a peerless prodigy. It was said he was the descendant of that unparalleled giant Peng. In just a few short millennia he achieved the Dao, and afterward he pressed down so hard on his peers — and even the older generation — that none could catch their breath.”
“Just as the Northern Profound Lake was about to relive its former glory, that peerless prodigy, for reasons unknown, perished in some nameless place.”
“That incident remains the Northern Profound Lake’s eternal sorrow and a forbidden subject.”
“And now, Gu Changge’s might is far, far more terrifying than that prodigy of the Northern Profound Lake ever was. Yet no one dares to make a move against him. How laughable.”
Above the firmament, terrifying auras surged like a boundless ocean, blotting out the sky and covering the earth, suffocating all beneath it.
The many True Daoists spoke coldly, gazing toward the direction of the Battlefield of Hundred Worlds, intending to secretly plot the elimination of the threat that was Gu Changge.
Although every power and orthodoxy had its own prodigies and successors, and conflicts existed among them, there was a certain tacit peace between them all — one that would not be easily broken or destroyed.
Naturally, they would not move against each other’s prodigies and successors.
But now, Gu Changge’s appearance had shattered this balance that had held since time immemorial, forcing them to consider — to do something.
Otherwise, when Gu Changge truly became invincible under heaven, it would be the nightmare of every orthodoxy and power.
“At such an age, to have already reached this level — calling him the reincarnation of an Immortal King would be no exaggeration. If the Celestial Gate appears once more, I fear Gu Changge will be the first to step through it.”
So spoke a True Daoist whose entire body was wreathed in golden flames. His form was like a god of fire, with inextinguishable flames seemingly burning within his eyes. He hailed from an immortal power — the Endless Fire Kingdom.
In his youth, he too had been a peerless prodigy of his region, one who could scarcely find a single match among his generation.
Yet after achieving the Dao, he had fallen into a bottleneck, his cultivation unable to advance even half a step further.
Now, watching Gu Changge’s cultivation chase straight after ancient existences like themselves at such a tender age, it was impossible for him to say he felt no envy.
“If we are to move against Gu Changge, have you all thought about what method we should use?” the female True Daoist asked indifferently, her gaze placid, betraying little ripple of emotion.
“Heh, that’s simple enough. We attack both openly and in secret. Unless the Longevity Gu Family truly wishes to make enemies of the entire world — to contend against the whole Beyond with its strength alone — they will have no choice but to find a way to compromise in the end.”
Another True Daoist spoke. A pair of dragon horns grew from his head; his eyes were sunken, his body withered beyond measure, as though a gust of wind could blow him over.
He came from Sky Emperor Mountain. His seniority was utterly terrifying, and his cultivation was unfathomably deep.
“Openly and in secret...”
One True Daoist raised an eyebrow, carefully mulling over the meaning of those words.
Suddenly, something occurred to him. A sharp gleam flashed through his eyes, and his smile turned somewhat sinister.
“Well said. Since Gu Changge’s cultivation has already reached this stage, what we need is merely a justification to placate the mouths of the masses.”
“It just so happens that the Successor of Demonic Arts has vanished without a trace lately. This basin of filthy water can only be splashed onto Gu Changge’s head. Hasn’t he been searching all this time for the whereabouts of that Successor of Demonic Arts?”
“Perfect — we’ll give the masses a different explanation. The reason Gu Changge could break through to such a realm in so short a time is that he himself is the true Successor of Demonic Arts.”
At these words, the expressions of the many True Daoists present shifted slightly, and some could not help but feel a chill.
Those who had walked this far were naturally no kind-hearted souls — the slaughter they had committed with their own hands was absolutely, boundlessly horrific.
But such a blatant frame-up, such a brazen splashing of filth, still left them in silence. They felt this method was truly vicious and insidious.
That said, the method was indeed effective.
So long as this justification existed, they could naturally raise high the banner of justice and launch a crusade to encircle and execute Gu Changge.
And even if some believed Gu Changge had been framed, they could still pin the hat of the Successor of Demonic Arts firmly upon his head.
As for producing so-called evidence?
With all the great orthodoxies and powers speaking in unison, that in itself would be the finest evidence. When one wishes to condemn someone, one need never worry about finding a pretext.
The rigid breaks easily; the tallest tree catches the wind.
Blame only yourself for being far too dazzling.
The eyes of the many True Daoists flickered, and their figures soon faded into the firmament, vanishing from sight.
They had come to this place to confer partly to divide up the Nether’s resources afterward, and partly to deal with the matter of Gu Changge.
The laws of heaven and earth in the Beyond were slowly changing, and many existences that had slumbered since ancient times were awakening.
They had believed this era belonged to them — that it held their hope of becoming Immortals.
They had never imagined that a member of the younger generation would suppress all their glory, even suppressing their very Daos, making their hope of touching the Celestial Gate ever more remote.
Meanwhile, on the other side, mist coiled and heaven and earth dimmed, revealing a terrifying great rift valley.
The small world where the Nether’s Fourth Palace resided was collapsing entirely. Spiderweb-like cracks spread across everything. A withered yellow river flowed, and ghastly white flowers took root along its banks — beautiful yet bewitching, radiating a heart-palpitating brilliance.
Everyone was howling and trembling in utter despair, suppressed by the terrifying aura above the heavens, their bodies feeling as though they were about to burst apart.
Even True Daoists could hardly glimpse that world-shaking battle.
They could only faintly sense a peerless aura, as though it were splitting open heaven and earth, propping apart the primordial chaos, tearing through the ages.
Any single strand of radiance within it would be enough to tear space apart, shatter the universe, and annihilate all living things.
Gu Changge had appeared in this world and begun a heaven-shaking battle with the Fourth Palace Lord, Yan Luo.
“So this is your strength, Gu Changge? Truly inconceivable.”
The Fourth Palace Lord Yan Luo, already standing at the realm of Remnant Immortal, roared in fury. His cultivation was peerless. Wielding the black Heavenly Dagger, he slashed through the air, and endless crimson runes bloomed like a vast ocean, pressing down to drown Gu Changge.
He had never imagined there would come a day when he would be treated as prey.
Yet around Gu Changge, there was merely Sword Qi interweaving, as though evolving into an immortal-slaying sword. Amid its resonant ringing, it extinguished all the runes before him, shattering them into ash.
This was an unimaginable fluctuation. Principles of Dao intertwined; Transcendent arts collided. With each raised palm, ancient worlds seemed to evolve and perish.
Even a hazy River of Time emerged, with hundreds of millions of shattered fragments flying about within it.
Past and present intertwined; the future flashed and vanished. Wave after wave crashed forth, erasing every trace.
“Pledge your allegiance to me, and today I may spare your divine consciousness.”
Gu Changge’s expression remained largely unmoved. The longsword evolved from Principles of Dao in his hand collapsed, shattering into fragments that filled the sky after the violent collision.
But he paid it no mind. Behind him, yet another vast world evolved and emerged.
Dazzling light, piercing and blazing. Endless divine weapons, great bells, and giant cauldrons emerged — as though truly existing — and flew forth in unison, suppressing everything below.
Such methods had already transcended the understanding of True Daoists, beginning to touch upon the Immortal Dao.
Life and death, illusion and extinction, the condensation of laws — his very being was the Dao itself. Every word and phrase contained immeasurable divine might, capable of commanding all things under heaven and earth.
Beneath the shockwaves of their battle, this world rapidly crumbled and disintegrated. Countless palaces and mountain ranges were reduced to dust.
The many subordinates of the Fourth Palace did not even have time to scream before scattering like wisps of smoke — their very souls erased along with every trace of their existence.
“Don’t get cocky!”
“Today, I shall surely slay you!”
The Fourth Palace Lord Yan Luo’s expression was ice-cold. The Heavenly Dagger slashed out once more, ghostly and chilling, pulverizing all laws and order before it.
A great millstone of life and death appeared behind him, spanning the heavens and earth, infinitely vast. Within it, black and white were clearly divided like yin and yang, containing an ineffable mighty force. As it slowly pressed down, it turned the wheel of life and death, throwing all things into chaos.
Ripples of interwoven black and white spread outward. The void dissolved, laws scattered, and even Transcendent arts rapidly crumbled.
Even a True Daoist facing this great millstone of life and death would have only one path — death. Body and soul both annihilated, life and Dao both extinguished.
Facing this Forbidden Technique of Yan Luo’s, Gu Changge’s expression did not change. Primordial Light bloomed around him.
Incomparably resplendent, three thousand worlds faintly emerged, hazy and indistinct, setting him off like a young deity.
He raised his palm and brought it down. The Primordial Light grew ever more dazzling, suffused with world-suppressing might.
In that instant, countless Immortal Steles appeared around Yan Luo, towering into the cosmos and encircling him — a staggering sight.
These Immortal Steles were simply too enormous. They swelled continuously, until at last even the sun, moon, and stars revolved around them.
Solemn and austere, majestic and awe-inspiring, they sent chills through all who beheld them.
Each Immortal Stele represented an ancient world. A full three thousand Immortal Steles descended, their vast, surging power beyond imagination, directly shattering Yan Luo’s great millstone of life and death.
The man himself spat out a mouthful of blood, his body trembling violently — his Source had already been wounded.
The Heavenly Dagger in his hand trembled incessantly. Though forged from Dark Immortal Gold, it now seemed unable to withstand such power.
Seeing this, Gu Changge’s figure vanished from where he stood, as though treading upon time and space itself, and his palm came slamming down.
Caught off guard, Yan Luo could not resist. He could only roar as he was sent flying, his chest caved in.
Moreover, the aftershock of that palm grazed his forehead. His frontal bone shattered, and his Spiritual Palace nearly collapsed on the spot.
“Even now, do you still fail to see the gap between us?”
“The Nether’s destruction is the general trend of the world. Even as a Remnant Immortal, what can you possibly accomplish?”
“Nothing more than a mantis trying to stop a chariot.”
Gu Changge walked slowly from the ends of heaven and earth. The scope of their battle was vast, already reaching into the deepest depths of this world’s universe.
With a trace of pity on his face, he looked at Yan Luo, who was attempting to heal his body, his tone indifferent.
He himself still had many methods yet unused. He had merely employed the power of the laws he currently commanded — and even so, this Yan Luo was no match for him.
Hearing these words, Yan Luo’s face once again surged with deep unwillingness.
Looking back, the world behind him had already collapsed, submerged within the boundless chaos.
Though his battle with Gu Changge seemed brief, for the living beings and Cultivators around them...
...would be a cataclysmic disaster on a world-ending scale.
The Fourth Palace’s forces were almost entirely annihilated. Even with numbers exceeding tens of millions, they could not withstand a single thought from Gu Changge.
A few high-ranking members who had reached the True Daoist Realm dragged their heavily wounded bodies away in flight, barely surviving the aftershocks of the battle just now.
But Gu Changge’s divine sense had long since locked onto them, and he was not worried about them escaping far.
In the shadows, several True Daoist puppets had already given chase, sealing off all their routes of retreat.
“Who exactly are you?” Yan Luo stared fixedly at Gu Changge.
He had lived for an immeasurably long time—what kind of prodigy had he not seen?
Even back when Neraka still existed in the world and ruled over the Netherworld, such a being had never appeared.
This man simply seemed like someone who should not exist in this world at all.
Though the Nether now had Ten Palaces, Yan Luo was in truth already its second strongest—the mightiest among all Ten Palace Lords.
That extremely mysterious Lord of Hell, while his cultivation was considerably stronger than Yan Luo’s, could never have injured him so easily either.
To put it bluntly, in the current Beyond, unless one brought out a genuine Immortal Grade Artifact and revived it, no one could hope to contend with Gu Changge.
“Who I am is not important.”
“What matters is that you now have only two paths to choose from: either accept death, or cripple your own cultivation and swear loyalty to me.”
Gu Changge smiled faintly, still wearing that same carefree, unbothered expression.
Truth be told, Yan Luo was a genuine Remnant Immortal, standing at the very peak of the Beyond.
If he were to simply erase his consciousness and refine him into a puppet, Gu Changge would feel it was something of a waste.
After all, once refined into a puppet, Yan Luo’s strength would decline considerably—he would no longer possess his current Remnant Immortal might.
Gu Changge still had many plans to set in motion.
If he had a Remnant Immortal serving him, it would save him a great deal of trouble.
“Serve you?”
A look of intense struggle surfaced on Yan Luo’s face. Who was he?
Even back when Neraka existed in the world and ruled the Netherworld, he had been a peerless figure who commanded legions.
Now, to submit to Gu Changge and work for him—how could he be willing?
Even the Lord of Hell treated him with courtesy, never once overstepping in the slightest.
Though Gu Changge’s face still wore a smile, Yan Luo could already feel a bone-chilling coldness washing over him.
He understood that if he did not make his choice now, he would truly perish here today.
An instinct told him that Gu Changge had even more terrifying methods yet to be unleashed.
“I accept. But you must spare all the remaining subordinates of the Fourth Palace.” Yan Luo’s face was full of unwillingness, but he had no choice—he did not wish to die just like that.
In this era, the Celestial Gate had emerged, which meant he still had a chance to contend for that Celestial Path.
“The remaining subordinates of the Fourth Palace? Naturally, that can be done.”
Gu Changge smiled faintly and did not refuse his request.
Since even the Lord of the Fourth Palace had submitted and sworn allegiance,
the rest of the experts, no matter how unwilling, could only choose the path of surrender.
Of course, Gu Changge was no great philanthropist—he would naturally use secret arts to control the lives of every one of them.
Especially those existences at the Sacred Emperor Realm and above, including the True Daoists who had fled.
“Thank you.” Yan Luo drew a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.
“From this day forth, your name shall be Ah Er.”
Gu Changge glanced at him with an inscrutable smile. As he spoke, dense black light emerged from the palm of his hand.
Immediately after, strands of Great Dao patterns interwove, forming a Black Mask that settled into Yan Luo’s hand.
“This is...”
Yan Luo was startled, sensing a terrifying power contained within it that made his heart palpitate.
It was as if, once he donned this mask, he would be utterly transformed into a completely different being.
Even though he knew full well at this moment that this Black Mask represented something sinister and ominous,
Yan Luo had no possibility of refusing. After a brief moment of silence, he pressed the Black Mask onto his face.
The next instant, an indescribable, eerie aura emerged from his body, as though hazy black light coiled around him—like a peerless War Immortal who had slaughtered his way out of the Netherworld itself.
“Ah Er greets Master.”
The change in his aura came swiftly. In merely a single breath, Yan Luo’s expression had already returned to calm as he bowed respectfully to Gu Changge.
Compared to his previous demeanor, he was practically a different person.
At this moment, even if the subordinates who knew him best were to appear here, they could never imagine that this man was the Fourth Palace Lord they served—the second strongest of the Nether, an invincible existence at the Remnant Immortal Realm.
“Speaking of which, Ah Da is still only at the Quasi-Emperor level. The scattered Source left behind by this collapsing world happens to be perfect for helping him break through.”
Gazing at Ah Er standing respectfully behind him, silent as a Devil Mountain,
Gu Changge smiled faintly, thinking of Ah Da, who had voluntarily sworn allegiance to him back at the bottom of the Demon-Burying Abyss.
Compared to the Ah Er before him, Ah Da had been nurtured from the aura of a single drop of the Demon Lord’s True Blood.
Therefore, as long as Gu Changge did not die, Ah Da was practically immortal—he would never perish and had no natural predators.
While such benefits were plentiful,
Ah Da’s progress was still too slow. Even now, he remained at the Quasi-Emperor level of strength.
In this great battle to besiege the Nether, countless experts had perished—even some True Daoists had not escaped death.
The Source scattered across the various worlds, in Gu Changge’s eyes, was perfectly suited to help Ah Da break through his cultivation bottleneck.
Thereupon, Gu Changge sent a transmission to Ah Da, instructing him to find a suitable opportunity to break through.
The emergence of Dark Heaven into the world would likely not take much longer, and Gu Changge was currently short on manpower.
If the various Palace Lords of the Nether were to submit, Gu Changge could naturally spare their lives and refrain from erasing their consciousness.
“The strongest of the Nether—it seems that would be that most mysterious Lord of Hell.”
“But why has he still not shown himself even now? What is he waiting for?”
Gu Changge gazed at the ruined world before him, then took a single step forward and swiftly vanished.
The Canggu World had collapsed into ash during the battle between Yan Luo and him, already swallowed by the vast chaos.
Only some shattered world barriers remained, drifting in the void.
It looked like a collapsed and decayed ancient world, long since stripped of all vitality.
However, there was one matter Gu Changge still could not figure out.
Logically speaking, the Nether had existed in the world until now, and its foundations should have been no weaker than any immortal great sect.
Yet when he stormed into the Fourth Palace, he had not discovered the slightest trace of any foundation.
Granted, a single Remnant Immortal standing guard was already enough to rival any foundation.
But the empty Fourth Palace still left Gu Changge with an indescribable sense of strangeness.
Speaking of which, the Fourth Palace of the Nether should have been the strongest of the Ten Palaces—yet it did not even possess an Immortal Grade Artifact to suppress its foundation.
“Rumor has it that countless years ago, the Nether suffered a great upheaval. It was originally called the Underworld, but to avoid a taboo lurking in the dark, it had no choice but to change its name to the Nether.”
“Could the Nether’s foundation have been depleted in that great upheaval?”
Gu Changge raised an eyebrow slightly, considering this possibility, somewhat lost in thought.
However, he did not ask Ah Er. Since it involved a taboo, it was something that could not be spoken of.
There were far too many things in this world that could not be spoken of.
In the unseen dark, there seemed to be some eerie and unknown power controlling all of this.
Before the Forbidden Epoch, the Celestial Domain and the Beyond had never been separated.
The Celestial Palace ruled over all the heavens; Immortals stood high above, overlooking everything, their lifespans nearly endless, immortal and indestructible.
In that era, far too many inconceivable lives and existences were born.
But in the later Immortal Epoch, the rules of heaven and earth became incomplete, the Dao fell into decay, and life essence was no longer as abundant as before.
Thus, if True Daoists wished to extend their lifespans, they had to exhaust every possible method to slow the passage of their lives.
And in the unseen dark, rules from before the Forbidden Epoch still seemed to influence this world.
Deep within the shattered starry sky,
the surviving remnants of the Fourth Palace fled in all directions, attempting to reach other ancient worlds to seek out the other Palace Lords of the Nether and beg for protection.
Their faces were filled with despair and terror. Even the invincible Fourth Palace Lord had been defeated.
Gu Changge’s strength had surpassed all of their imaginations.
Even now, that terrifying aura lingered in every heart, making them tremble.
“We are truly too weak. We didn’t even have the qualifications to watch the battle, let alone help the Fourth Palace Lord.”
“From this day forth, the Fourth Palace will exist no more.”
Some of the Fourth Palace’s old-timers wore expressions of deep sorrow.
They had personally witnessed that ancient world being torn apart by a single sword strike from Gu Changge.
Countless heavenly fire meteors rained down like a world-ending cataclysm, destroying everything.
Even the countless runes the Fourth Palace had inscribed over endless years collapsed beneath that sky-piercing aura, scattered like a flood.
Gu Changge was simply too powerful.
Merely the aura he exuded suppressed everyone, rendering them unable to move, their bodies on the verge of bursting apart.
“The Palace Lord’s fate is unknown. Our only option now is to find the other Palace Lords and explain all of this to them.”
Several True Daoists whose Source had suffered considerable injuries gazed back behind them with grave expressions.
They were the Fourth Palace’s other ancient existences besides the Palace Lord, their cultivations equally unfathomable.
Yet in the battle between Gu Changge and the Fourth Palace Lord just now,
merely being grazed by the aftershocks had caused their bodies to explode, blood flowing freely, their Source suffering tremendous damage.
This filled them with horror and dread.
In the current Beyond, was there truly anyone left who could be Gu Changge’s match?
But just as they were conversing,
several terrifying auras rose from the depths of the distant starry sky.
A vast black fog swept in from all directions.
Several figures clad in black, their true faces obscured, appeared on all sides.
“True Daoists...”
Watching this scene, the expressions of the Fourth Palace Lord’s remaining subordinates all grew solemn, sensing an aura of extreme danger.
Moreover, there were quite a number of newcomers.
The hearts of the Fourth Palace’s few True Daoists sank further. They exchanged glances, each seeing worry and unease in the others’ eyes.
Their Source was wounded—they were no longer at their former peak.
The auras of these several True Daoists before them were no weaker than theirs had been at their prime.
If a great battle broke out, they would absolutely be no match for them.
“The Fourth Palace Lord has already surrendered. If you lot don’t wish to die, obediently cripple your own cultivation and come back with us. That way, you still have a chance to live.”
Just as the Fourth Palace’s remnants stood on high alert,
the several black-clad True Daoists who had appeared ahead spoke, their voices cold and emotionless, as if devoid of any feeling.
They were the True Daoist puppets sent by Gu Changge.
Dealing with these remnants of the Nether before them was more than well within their capabilities.