Returning to Peach Village, Speculations About Gu Changge's Identity
Returning to Peach Village, Speculations About Gu Changge’s Identity
703: A Corner of the Future—He Probably Could No Longer Control Himself
The mountain range was tranquil and peaceful. Immortal mists drifted, spiritual springs gurgled, and silver waterfalls cascaded down.
All manner of auspicious beasts and birds cried out, drinking in the fragrant air, their feathers reflecting divine chains of light, gleaming brilliantly, playful and carefree.
It was like the backyard of a celestial household from myth.
Gu Xianer passed through island after island, arriving at the Godly Island where Gu Changge usually rested.
The guards on duty, seeing her arrive, did not dare stop her, nor did they go to announce her.
Because Gu Xianer was one of only two exceptions in the entire Family of Immortals—she did not need Gu Changge’s permission.
The other exception was Qingyi.
“Changge isn’t in the palace?”
Gu Xianer made her way to the bedchamber where Gu Changge cultivated in seclusion, but she did not find him there.
She was slightly taken aback. After wandering around the area for a while, she couldn’t figure out where Changge had gone.
Could it be that he had secretly left the Gu Family of Immortals without telling anyone, and was now somewhere plotting something?
As she guessed this, Gu Xianer’s expression suddenly grew somewhat downcast.
On her way here, she had already prepared how she would find Changge and how she would broach the subject with him.
Because saying those words required great courage.
But now she couldn’t even catch a glimpse of Gu Changge.
The words she wanted to say could only remain in her heart. The next time she saw Gu Changge, she didn’t know whether she would have the courage to say them to him.
“If, in the near future, Gu Changge really brings calamity upon all the heavens of the Beyond... then what should I do?”
Recalling the many visions of the future she had seen within the Lake of Rebirth, Gu Xianer shuddered again and again, feeling deeply unsettled.
She truly could not believe that in the near future, Gu Changge would plunge the entire Beyond into a Dark Era.
All living beings would live under his terror and his shadow.
At the very least, the Gu Changge she knew would absolutely never do such a thing.
It was more like something the Gu Changge of their childhood would do—the one controlled by his inner demons, his whole body suffused with terrifying Demonic Energy.
This left her heart both pained and conflicted.
What was the meaning of the Lake of Rebirth letting her learn in advance of the future fate of the entire Beyond?
“Is it asking me to stop all of this?”
Gu Xianer couldn’t help murmuring softly, a trace of sorrow showing in her crystalline eyes.
Even now, she still remembered that scene back in Peach Village.
Tao Yao had told her about Gu Changge’s inner demons, explaining that Gu Changge bore an innate demonic nature.
Gu Changge needed to suppress his Demonic Energy to stay lucid—just like when he had dug out her Great Dao Bone back then.
Although the Demonic Energy was in control, many of those things were actually done by Gu Changge subconsciously.
In the Nirvana Pool of the Gu Family of Immortals, it was because Gu Changge returned the Great Dao Bone to her that he could no longer suppress his Demonic Energy and nearly caused a great disaster.
But at that time, Gu Changge would rather destroy his own arms than harm her in the slightest.
Every one of these scenes was still vivid in Gu Xianer’s mind.
Back in Peach Village, when she had insisted on digging out the Celestial Bone that had undergone Nirvana to give to Gu Changge to suppress his Demonic Energy, Gu Changge had shown unprecedented gloom and violence, threatening her—forbidding her from doing so, ordering her to keep the Celestial Bone safe, or else he would show her what it meant to wish she were dead.
Gu Xianer understood that those were Gu Changge’s threatening words, not his true feelings. His real intention was to make sure she never did something so foolish.
“He even said back then that he would rather die himself than let me get hurt like that...”
Gu Xianer murmured softly.
For a moment, a faint blush surfaced on her fair, delicate face, and a thousand thoughts swirled in her heart.
Unknowingly, she left the palace complex and headed toward the mountain peak.
There, clouds and mist roiled, as if hidden within the deepest layers of cloud—vast and boundless, overlooking the myriad grand sights of the Gu Family of Immortals.
Suddenly, Gu Xianer froze. Beside a green boulder at the mountain peak, she saw a familiar figure.
Black robes, ink-dark hair, handsome features—more beautiful than a banished immortal.
Changge was actually leaning against the green boulder, eyes gently closed, asleep.
So incomparably serene and transcendent, untouched by even a speck of dust.
“How did he fall asleep? And here of all places?”
Gu Xianer watched Gu Changge quietly, making no sound to disturb him.
A Gu Changge like this was truly a rare sight, and she couldn’t bear to break this tranquility.
The last time, during the campaign against the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains, it had been the same. Gu Changge had fought several True Daoists single-handedly and suffered no small injuries.
And when she went to visit him, he had been sleeping just as quietly, leaning against her shoulder.
That clear, steady sound of breathing—Gu Xianer remembered it even now.
“Having tasted all the splendor the world has to offer, he must be very tired in his daily life too.”
At this moment, a wave of tenderness couldn’t help but rise in Gu Xianer’s heart.
Before others, Gu Changge was glorious beyond measure, suppressing all ages, resplendent to the utmost.
But who else was qualified to see this side of Gu Changge?
For a moment, the scenes from within the Lake of Rebirth surfaced once more in her mind.
Although her own ending was tragic, by that time Gu Changge probably could no longer control himself.
“If I dug out my Celestial Bone and gave it to him... would that suppress his Demonic Energy and prevent all of that future?”
This thought rose uncontrollably in Gu Xianer’s heart, leaving her staring blankly at Changge, not knowing what to do for a moment.
If her Celestial Bone really could rewrite the future, then wouldn’t that be a blessing?
When her Great Dao Bone was dug out in her childhood, she had survived.
So what did a mere Celestial Bone matter now?
“What’s wrong, Xianer? Why are you looking at me like that?”
Just as Gu Xianer was lost in a daze, an unhurried voice suddenly sounded from ahead.
Changge opened his eyes and looked at her with a faint smile.
Although he had been napping, that didn’t mean he had sealed off his five senses.
So the moment Gu Xianer stepped onto the mountain peak, he had already sensed her and woken up.
“Did I disturb your rest?”
Gu Xianer hadn’t expected Gu Changge to wake up at this moment. Her eyes flashed with a hint of panic, and she hurriedly looked off to the side.
She seemed to feel guilty about having been caught staring at Changge all this time.
“Well, am I good-looking? Since you stared at me for so long, how could I not notice?”
Changge rose to his feet, smiling as he walked toward her.
“Don’t talk nonsense. Who stared at you for that long?”
Gu Xianer was somewhat flustered and exasperated, her face tinged with embarrassment, flustered at having her thoughts punctured by Gu Changge in one sentence, and she hastily denied it flat-out.
She had originally had so many things she wanted to say in her mind.
But after Gu Changge teased her like this, she couldn’t get a single word out.
“Then maybe I saw wrong.”
Gu Changge chuckled, looking her up and down.
He noticed her cultivation had grown considerably deeper compared to the last time he saw her.
Clearly, she had encountered quite a few fortuitous opportunities during this period and improved greatly.
Among the current younger generation, there were probably few who could match her.
“You definitely saw wrong. You were sleeping and got muddled,” Gu Xianer huffed.
Gu Changge paid no mind to her little fit of pique. He smiled and said, “Right, where have you been running off to all this time? If you hadn’t come back soon, I was afraid I’d have to send people to track you down.”
Though he said it jokingly, he was indeed a bit curious about what Xianer had encountered.
Why, after returning to the Gu Family, would she look at him with such a complicated gaze?
“Where I go is none of your business. I can’t compare to you—wiping out the Nether.”
Gu Xianer naturally wouldn’t mention the Lake of Rebirth. Her expression returned to its usual coldness, and she didn’t much feel like dealing with Gu Changge.
She still hadn’t figured out how to explain things to him.
Although the visions in the Lake of Rebirth foretold that Gu Changge would become the enemy of the entire world in the future—
—even framed as the Successor of Demonic Arts, jointly crusaded against by all the great powers and orthodoxies—
none of that could do anything to Gu Changge.
On the contrary, those powers and orthodoxies would pay a terrible price for it, and afterward the entire Beyond would be shrouded under Gu Changge’s terrifying shadow.
“Forget it. If you don’t want to say, then never mind. I won’t force you. Perfect timing, actually—in a few days I’m going to make a trip to Peach Village. With you coming along, it’ll be much more convenient.”
Changge smiled and didn’t press further.
As it happened, he had been planning to visit Peach Village before the wedding, to ask Tao Yao about some matters.
And at the same time, to take a look at that cheap little disciple of his, Tiantian, whom he had brought up from the Overworld.
Of course, Gu Changge also remembered that at the True Immortal Academy, there was Lao Shi, who had once been a figure of the same era as Tao Yao, Chan Hongyi, and the others.
Hearing this, Gu Xianer’s gaze dimmed slightly, thinking of the future she had seen in the Lake of Rebirth.
Her masters, seeking to avenge her, had all been brutally killed by Gu Changge in the end.
Even Sister Tao Yao was left as nothing but a charred peach tree stump, standing in the desolate village.
The resolve in her heart wavered once more.
If the scenes manifested in the Lake of Rebirth were all true...
Then in the near future, not only she, but also Gu Changge’s fiancée Yueming, her masters and family—far too many people—would face tragic fates.
Peach Village was located deep within the Land of Abandoned Celestials, with a stretch of savage wilderness in between, home to many terrifying fierce beasts born since ancient times.
Especially in recent years, as great upheavals shook the Beyond and numerous ancient True Daoists revived one after another, the danger of that savage wilderness had increased a thousandfold, a hundredfold.
In the past, the strength of the Sacred Lord Realm was enough to cross straight through it.
But now, even Sacred Emperor Realm beings felt apprehensive, harboring fear in their hearts, not daring to set foot there.
The place was utterly tranquil, as if cut off from the world. Rosy clouds dotted the sky, mist curled and twined.
An emerald-green little lake lay nestled there, verdant grass swaying gently, with many spirit deer lowering their heads to graze.
At the village entrance, a group of children were playing and frolicking, while a few old men sat together smoking their long-stemmed pipes, utterly at leisure.
An extremely lush and splendid peach tree bloomed at the head of the village, its peach blossoms carrying a rouge-like hue, beautiful and moving. Wisps of divine light could be seen cascading down, Chaos Energy looming within—sacred yet bewitching.
When some terrifyingly powerful fierce beasts passed by in the distance beyond the village entrance, they couldn’t help but cast fearful, reverent gazes toward this little village.
Besides that peach tree of terrifying cultivation and unfathomable depth, many of the village’s elders also possessed cultivation beyond measure.
Casually slapping a Sacred Emperor Realm expert to death would pose no problem whatsoever.
And today, above the sky beyond the village entrance, divine light descended, and two figures—a man and a woman—slowly floated down.
704: Returning to Peach Village, Speculations About Gu Changge’s Identity
“It’s Sister Xianer! Sister Xianer is back!”
Peach Village was not large. The children playing at the village entrance were the first to spot Gu Changge and Gu Xianer as they appeared.
They cried out in delight and hurried over to welcome Xianer.
Although Gu Changge had only been here once before, they were not strangers to him.
The last time Gu Changge came to Peach Village, he had even given them many toys and spirit fruits to aid their cultivation.
So toward this young man who seemed like a banished immortal, they all held great fondness.
“Little Hua, Little Hu, you’ve all grown taller!”
After returning to Peach Village, Gu Xianer shed her earlier cold demeanor entirely. Her face wore a beaming smile as she greeted the children.
Several villagers at the entrance also came over, pleasantly surprised, greeting Gu Xianer warmly.
It had been a long time since Xianer last returned to Peach Village.
They had missed her dearly.
“So the girl Xianer still knows to come back and visit us old folks, eh?”
Several old men all crowded around together, wearing kindly smiles, their gazes carrying a certain ambiguous, hard-to-read meaning as they kept drifting back and forth between Changge and Xianer.
This left Xianer feeling somewhat embarrassed and annoyed, and she shot them a fierce glare.
“Greetings, Gongzi.”
Still, they knew Gu Changge’s identity and dared not be too presumptuous, offering him a slight bow.
“Everyone here is Xianer’s family, there’s no need for such formality.”
Gu Changge, however, looked completely indifferent to it all, a faint smile hanging on his face the whole time.
Soon, from within the village, Xianer’s several shifus also appeared.
They still carried that same inscrutable air as before—some lame, some blind, each of them bearing different injuries.
In truth, at their level, those with powerful cultivation could regrow a body from a single drop of blood with ease.
Only certain extremely severe Dao injuries, ones that damaged the Source itself, would cause wounds to persist, making it impossible to regrow severed limbs.
However, each of Gu Xianer’s shifus had their own stories and experiences, and they were unwilling to simply let their severed limbs heal.
“Da Shifu, Er Shifu, San Shifu, Xianer has come back to see you.”
Gu Xianer obediently greeted each of her shifus one by one, completely shedding the proud and lively demeanor she showed in front of Gu Changge.
“Xianer, your cultivation has improved quite a bit.”
“It seems you’ve had quite a few fortuitous encounters during this time.”
The shifus wore expressions of approval, looking her up and down several times. Confirming that her cultivation had not slackened during this period, they were extremely satisfied.
As for Gu Changge standing off to the side, in their eyes now, he had already reached a level they could not see through or fathom—one that required wariness.
Back when Gu Changge first came to Peach Village, his cultivation had not even reached the Sacred Emperor Realm.
Yet in just a few short years, he already stood at the very peak of the Beyond, and even True Daoists were no match for him.
This struck them as utterly inconceivable.
They had seen many prodigies in their time, but they had never seen a monstrosity like Gu Changge, one who dazzled across all of history.
“Greetings, qianbei.”
Gu Changge, for his part, behaved quite naturally, cupping his hands slightly toward Gu Xianer’s shifus, and then once again carefully surveying the village.
Compared to the last time he came,
he could now perceive even more clearly the strength of Gu Xianer’s shifus—nearly all of them possessed the power of True Daoists.
Among them, the village chief, who was also Gu Xianer’s Da Shifu, had the most terrifying strength of all.
Even compared to Yan Luo, the Fourth Palace Lord of the Nether, he would not fall short in the slightest.
This was a figure of the same era and same caliber as the Great Elder of the Dao Heaven Immortal Palace.
If the environment of heaven and earth permitted it, he could absolutely take that final step.
The many Cults of Immortality and Supreme Dao Lineages of the Beyond would probably never imagine that, in the deepest reaches of the Land of Abandoned Celestials, such a terrifying village was hidden.
Not to mention, at the village entrance, there stood a bewitching and mysterious Peach Tree.
And just then, from within Peach Village, a little girl wearing a floral-patterned jacket came running over in pleasant surprise.
Her features were as delicate as a painting, her skin white as porcelain, her hair tied in little horn braids. Her dark, crystalline eyes carried a touching, pitiable charm, making her seem all the more endearing.
It was none other than Tiantian, the disciple Gu Changge had taken in back in the Overworld.
After bringing Tiantian to the Beyond, he had fostered her in Peach Village and had not looked after her since.
Of course, a large part of the reason was that Tiantian and the Peach Demon at the village entrance were one and the same entity.
The two were like sisters, living together here. For Tiantian, it was also a peaceful and happy life.
Looking at Tiantian running toward him, still hardly grown compared to before,
Gu Changge’s face took on a gentle expression. He crouched down and softly stroked her head, saying,
“Shifu hasn’t had time to visit Tiantian. Does Tiantian blame shifu?”
“No, no, Tiantian doesn’t blame shifu. Although Tiantian misses shifu, Tiantian knows shifu is very busy and has never had time to come see Tiantian.”
“Tiantian is living very well in Peach Village. All the uncles and aunties in the village treat me very well, and Tiantian also has jiejie here. Every day is very happy.”
The little girl’s face still wore that same obedient, sensible expression as always, carrying a joyful smile as she spoke, enough to make one’s heart ache with affection.
“As long as Tiantian likes it here, that’s good.”
“Look what shifu brought you.”
Gu Changge smiled warmly. As he spoke, light flashed in his hand,
and in an instant, a pile of little trinkets and ornaments from the mortal world appeared before them, along with all kinds of delicious pastries and spirit fruits.
Seeing these things, Tiantian’s eyes lit up, curving into happy crescent moons.
“Thank you, shifu!”
She had no interest in cultivation; a carefree, worry-free life was her only pursuit.
So Gu Changge had not brought her anything related to cultivation.
Afterward, the little girl shared with Gu Changge many of the joys of her life in Peach Village over the years, and along the way distributed the various little things Gu Changge had brought her to the many children of Peach Village.
Gu Changge could tell that she was truly living happily in Peach Village, and that everyone doted on her.
And during this time, the Peach Demon had even taken her on a trip back to the Overworld where she used to live, to find the grandma who had taken her in back then.
Unfortunately, Tiantian’s grandma was unwilling to come to the Beyond. Back then, her entire clan had been slaughtered by enemies, and after her great vengeance was finally achieved, she stayed to guard her family’s graves.
Because of Gu Changge and Gu Xianer’s arrival, Peach Village became incredibly lively.
Many elders and aunties brought out their own treasured delicacies and fine wines to entertain the two of them.
Although the Land of Abandoned Celestials was desolate, the outside world had no shortage of all kinds of fierce beast meat.
Although Gu Changge and Gu Xianer had long since grown accustomed to every manner of exotic delicacy and divine feast,
tasting meat prepared by these other methods in Peach Village had a flavor all its own.
The Peach Tree at the village entrance swayed flamboyantly, its blossoms crystalline and bewitching. When the breeze blew, strands of immortal silk drifted down.
Night fell, and bonfires flickered. Even Gu Xianer drank quite a bit of wine, revealing a charming, tipsy manner.
She rolled up her sleeves, revealing flawless arms whiter than snow, and tore at the fierce beast meat with her hands.
There was none of the cold, immortal-like aloofness she usually displayed before the world.
Her large eyes seemed to hold a rippling, watery light, reflecting the bonfire—and also reflecting Gu Changge’s face.
She stared blankly at Gu Changge, as if something had occurred to her, an indescribable emotion on her little face.
“Gu Changge, you’re not allowed to bully me anymore...”
Her words were slurred, as if murmured in a low voice.
The surrounding villagers all burst into laughter upon hearing this.
Even Gu Xianer’s several shifus could not help but smile.
Because of her tragic childhood experiences, they doted on and pampered Gu Xianer to no end.
The last time Gu Changge returned to Peach Village with her, they had all worried whether Gu Xianer was being coerced by him.
After all, Gu Changge was the culprit who had dug out her Great Dao Bone in their childhood and nearly killed her.
Yet she seemed not to care about it at all, and was instead extremely close to Gu Changge.
Although later, from the Peach Demon’s mouth, they learned that Gu Changge possessed an Innate Demonic Heart, and that what he had done in his childhood had not truly been under his control,
they still remained guarded against Gu Changge, deeply uneasy.
“You girl, are you drunk?”
Watching Xianer lean against him, Gu Changge shook his head somewhat speechlessly.
Xianer glared at him, seemingly very displeased with how much Gu Changge appeared to disdain her.
Gu Changge sighed, took out a clean plain handkerchief, and gently wiped away the grease at the corner of her mouth.
“I’m warning you, you’re not allowed to bully me anymore.” Her eyes were slightly closed as she mumbled again, finding a comfortable position to lean against Gu Changge.
“That I can’t promise. You’d better not provoke me.” Gu Changge chuckled.
But Gu Xianer paid him no mind, and soon soft, steady breathing sounds came from her.
She was still clutching a greasy fierce beast thigh in her hand, and then, caring about nothing at all, she grabbed at Gu Changge’s sleeve—ending up smearing grease all over it.
The people of Peach Village watching this scene were truly trembling with fear.
Although they had never ventured into the outside world, they would occasionally run into some itinerant cultivators while out hunting, and from them learn bits of news about the outside world.
They knew full well how terrifying Gu Changge’s might had become.
Even True Daoists would tremble and sit on pins and needles before him—who would dare act as wantonly as Gu Xianer?
Yet Gu Changge seemed long since accustomed to it, drinking his wine with perfect composure.
The night deepened, the moonlight hazy, making Peach Village seem all the more tranquil and serene.
The bonfires died down, and the many villagers returned to their own homes one after another.
Xianer was carried off to rest by several aunties. She slept very deeply—back in Peach Village, her whole being settled into peace, with nothing to consider or worry about. It was a rare chance for her to rest properly.
“Aren’t you going to come out and see me?”
Gu Changge did not rest. Instead, holding a wine cup in one hand and a wine jug in the other, he unhurriedly made his way toward the village entrance.
Then, ignoring the astonished gazes of Gu Xianer’s shifus, he sat down on a rock nearby.
He appeared to be talking to himself, but in truth, he was speaking to the Peach Demon.
Shalala—
Under the caress of the breeze, the leaves fluttered lightly, producing a sound like ocean waves. The Peach Tree grew ever more crystalline, every single blossom suffused with hidden Chaos Energy.
Mist arose here, quickly spreading in all directions, so that the few old monsters of Peach Village could no longer see the scene clearly.
They tactfully withdrew their gazes and looked no more.
The Peach Demon’s cultivation was unfathomably deep. As the guardian deity of Peach Village, she was absolutely not someone they could spy upon.
Ordinarily, even the village chief treated the Peach Demon with great respect.
A figure of breathtaking grace slowly emerged from within the Peach Tree, her form slender and tall.
Around her, three thousand divine kingdoms seemed to flicker in and out of existence—hazy and sacred, yet carrying a demonic, otherworldly air.
“It’s been a long time. I trust you’ve been well.”
The Peach Demon appeared, her dark hair flowing with radiance, bright enough to mirror one’s reflection. Her glass-like eyes looked at Gu Changge, revealing a complicated emotion.
Gu Changge felt there seemed to be another meaning hidden in her words.
That phrase “I trust you’ve been well” instantly sent flashes of countless images through his mind like lightning.
To be precise, they were not images, but a single figure.
It was not a person, but a demon. She sat hugging her knees upon a boundless wilderness, behind her a withered, dead tree.
She was born beautiful.
Her dark cyan hair was like a bright mirror, gleaming enough to reflect one’s image.
She gazed into the distant sea of clouds, her pupils reflecting the clear sky and mountains, yet her expression carried loneliness, as if she were waiting for someone.
Gu Changge knew this figure was the Peach Demon before him.
She was one of Chan Hongyi’s rare friends, and had once been brought back by Chan Hongyi to the mountain where the Demon Lord resided, planted beside a slab of bluestone.
Before the Forbidden Epoch, because she took a strike from the Demon Lord in Chan Hongyi’s place, she suffered grievous wounds and nearly perished.
Then, through a series of coincidences, she became the guardian deity of Peach Village.
Perhaps because of Tiantian, compared to the last time Gu Changge saw her,
the Peach Demon now seemed to have remembered many things.
However, the Peach Demon was different from Chan Hongyi—she did not seem to harbor any deep hatred toward the Demon Lord.
“Aren’t you going to see your old friend?”
Gu Changge poured himself a cup of wine with a calm expression, drinking at his leisure.
The Peach Demon looked at him with some complexity. She knew the old friend Gu Changge spoke of was none other than Chan Hongyi, who had escaped from the Demon-Burying Abyss.
Even now, she was not actually clear on Gu Changge’s identity—whether he was the Demon Lord’s reincarnation, or something else.
If he truly was the Demon Lord,
then why would even the Demon Lord—who crushed everything in his path and buried an entire epoch in darkness—eventually reincarnate?
One must know, back when she was still an incomparably weak little demon,
the Demon Lord already stood at the very pinnacle of the entire world, his cultivation unfathomable and beyond words.
Even after she later became an immortal and walked far along that realm, she still felt herself as tiny as dust before the Demon Lord.
In truth, if the Demon Lord had really wanted to kill Chan Hongyi, it would not have taken him any effort at all.
Her strength could never have withstood a single strike from the Demon Lord.
Just how many secrets were hidden in all of this?
The Peach Demon truly wanted to ask Gu Changge about all of it in person.
But right now, she was also unclear on what identity Gu Changge was assuming as he spoke with her.
That she had been able to walk this far was, truth be told, entirely thanks to the Demon Lord’s guidance back then.
Otherwise, as a mere ordinary little peach demon with little talent, let alone anything else, how could she ever have touched the Celestial Realm and walked so far within it?