Quite the Straightforward One — Who Lit the Coordinates?
Quite the Straightforward One — Who Lit the Coordinates?
The deepest reaches of the Eternal Overcast Kingdom’s Homeland.
Thick, heavy mist churned as layers of grey fog drifted and rolled, casting dense shadows, like a gloomy city of ghosts.
Here, heaven and earth were hard to bury, the rules shattered, everything a stretch of ashen grey. Beyond that, nothing else could be seen.
The Six Great Ancestors of the Absolute Yin Heaven guarded the three mysterious Ancestral Wells, standing at the highest point of the Homeland, coldly overlooking this stretch of heaven and earth.
It was as if they had existed in this world since the very dawn of creation.
Ancient beyond measure, their bodies wreathed in impenetrable grey fog, their eyes either icy and emotionless or hollow, a deathly grey.
Only on the arms extending beyond the great fog could one see the many traces of decay and rot.
At this moment, every living being in the entire realm felt a heart-palpitating urge to submit, to prostrate themselves in worship toward the deepest part of the Homeland.
The Six Great Ancestors had shaped the entire Absolute Yin Heaven, and at the same time had nurtured and created all of its Yin Spirits.
In ages past, even when some great upheaval occurred in the Absolute Yin Heaven, only a single Great Ancestor had ever emerged into the world.
For all six Great Ancestors to appear together as they did now — this was absolutely unprecedented since the dawn of the Absolute Yin Heaven.
Ordinary Yin Spirits simply could not comprehend or imagine what this signified.
Only those of purer bloodlines, and some Yin Spirits of profound cultivation, could glean a premonition from it.
At this time, within a palace of the Eternal Overcast Kingdom.
Eldest Princess Jia Nan was handling some matters with a furrowed brow.
Suddenly, sensing the enormous disturbance from the depths of the Homeland, she couldn’t help but rise to her feet, her gaze turning toward that place, filled with uncertainty and unease.
Only a select few in the royal court knew of the Great Ancestors’ emergence. Now that all six Great Ancestors had manifested together — what was the reason?
What exactly had alarmed them?
Jia Nan’s brows knitted tightly. She hastily set down what she was holding, transformed into a divine rainbow, and rushed toward the Homeland.
At the same time, she sent word to the other experts of the Eternal Overcast Kingdom, ordering them all to hurry over.
Besides the six Great Ancestors, the Eternal Overcast Kingdom still had quite a few ancient existences.
Though their strength fell far short of the Six Great Ancestors, they were genuine True Daoists, capable of holding down a region.
“Could something have gone wrong on Xiao Jiu’s end? Did Gu Changge sneak into the Homeland?”
Unease welled up in Jia Nan’s heart. She worried that Gu Changge might have noticed something at this juncture.
Soon, she passed through layer upon layer of restrictions and stepped into a withered, desolate land.
Braving the dense, tattered grey mist, she found the Six Great Ancestors within the Homeland.
“Great Ancestors, has something happened here?”
Jia Nan asked respectfully, unable to hold back.
“Nothing major. That junior surnamed Gu likely made his way to the Homeland, and after we detected him, he quickly fled.”
One of the Great Ancestors glanced at her and spoke indifferently, his tone without the slightest ripple.
“Gu Changge... he really couldn’t hold himself back after all.”
Jia Nan’s expression darkened slightly.
She had already ordered Jia Jiu’er to keep a close watch on Gu Changge’s movements, yet he had still secretly infiltrated the Homeland.
“He shouldn’t have noticed anything. The moment he slipped into this place, we sensed him.”
Another Great Ancestor spoke, not believing that in such a short span of time, Gu Changge could have discovered anything.
That said, they had no proof whatsoever that the disturbance they had sensed earlier was indeed Gu Changge.
Hearing this, Jia Nan understood.
Gu Changge must have only just stepped into the Homeland before being collectively sensed by the Six Great Ancestors.
After all, having survived for nearly endless ages, the perception of the Six Great Ancestors was astonishing — especially with the Homeland and the Ancestral Wells at their backs.
Here, they were nigh-immortal gods, wielding vast, unimaginable power, omnipotent.
“If that’s the case, then I can rest easy.”
With that, Jia Nan let out a long breath. She did not linger to disturb the Six Great Ancestors and soon quietly withdrew.
In her view, now that Gu Changge knew of the Six Great Ancestors’ existence, he surely wouldn’t dare act recklessly in the coming days.
In a certain sense, this was also an enormous deterrence.
“So there were six old fossils hiding here. But this aura... it’s far too decayed.”
Meanwhile, within the palace, Gu Changge slowly rose to his feet.
At the space between his brows, a vast fluctuation emerged as his Primordial Spirit swept back through the void and swiftly vanished.
Truth be told, what he had just seen was somewhat beyond Gu Changge’s expectations.
He had long known that the Eternal Devouring Qi of the Absolute Yin Heaven was waning.
But he had never imagined that the Eternal Devouring Qi would have produced six such old monsters, clinging to life for who knows how many ages.
That aura of decay and desolation was like a corpse that had rotted away in a coffin for era after era.
Of course, what surprised him most was that the spiritual power of these beings was immensely vast and boundless, far exceeding what the True Daoist realm should be capable of.
Was it the Qi flowing through their bodies that had shaped the current Absolute Yin Heaven? Or had some so-called Artifact of Origin created everything?
Gu Changge fell into deep thought.
He had a nagging feeling that somewhere in the unseen, some figure was scheming and plotting all of this.
Why would the Absolute Yin Heaven go to such lengths to forge the Reincarnation Platform?
Before coming to the Absolute Yin Heaven, Gu Changge had never even considered forging a Reincarnation Platform for them. He had only intended to take the Source of the Eternal Overcast and leave.
But judging by the current situation, this Reincarnation Platform simply had to be forged.
Gu Changge wasn’t worried that the Eternal Overcast Kingdom would suddenly turn on him. Before the Reincarnation Platform was successfully forged, no matter how much resentment they harbored, they wouldn’t dare say much.
Tonight was destined to be anything but peaceful for the entire Absolute Yin Heaven.
The Six Great Ancestors had emerged, standing tall in the depths of the Homeland, their figures incomparably colossal, propping up heaven and earth, shrouded in endless grey mist — enough to make one tremble with dread, unable to resist kneeling.
Apart from Jia Nan, no one knew what had happened in the Homeland of the Absolute Yin Heaven, or why the Six Great Ancestors had been alarmed.
Nearly all Yin Spirits were shaken to the core, bowing in worship toward that direction.
Many grew fearful and restless.
“Why have the Great Ancestors all awakened and been stirred at once?”
Some immensely powerful Yin Spirits murmured.
Jia Jiu’er’s heart also trembled. She couldn’t help but bow respectfully toward the Homeland, then turned to look at the palace sitting in silence.
Ah Da still stood there like a terrifying mountain, exuding a coldness and killing intent that warned strangers to keep away.
She didn’t dare approach. Even though she suspected the stirring of the six Great Ancestors was connected to Gu Changge, she didn’t dare go verify it.
The next day, in the enormous plaza at the very center of the Eternal Overcast Kingdom’s imperial capital.
Black crystals engraved with strange patterns and characters were stacked and arranged there.
These black crystals were impeccably orderly, their origins unknown, their surfaces wreathed in a faint, elusive aura of death.
Even Yin Spirits who drew near felt as though their very souls would freeze.
On the other side were stacked large quantities of white crystals, likewise engraved with strange patterns and characters.
Unlike the black crystals, these white crystals brimmed with exuberant life force, wreathed in wisps of divine chains of vitality.
The area around the plaza had already been cleared.
Apart from Jia Nan and the others, no Yin Spirits could approach — they weren’t even permitted to observe from a distance.
“So these are the materials for forging the Reincarnation Platform? Life Stones and Death Stones?”
Gu Changge appeared and walked over, followed by the silent Ah Da and the somewhat anxious Jia Jiu’er.
“These are the Life Stones and Death Stones our race has gathered over endless ages. They should be more than enough to forge the Reincarnation Platform.”
Jia Nan answered, casting a meaningful glance at Jia Jiu’er. But Jia Jiu’er only shook her head, avoiding her gaze.
Seeing this, Jia Nan knew that last night’s attempt to have Jia Jiu’er keep Gu Changge under control had surely failed.
In truth, she hadn’t held out much hope for it to begin with.
“Life Stones and Death Stones are hard to come by. Only in the Yellow Springs, the legendary land of yin and death, would one have a chance of finding them.”
“I never expected the Eternal Overcast Kingdom to have gathered so many.”
Gu Changge spoke with what seemed like a sigh, acting as though he knew nothing of what had happened the night before.
“After all, this concerns the great matter of the Reincarnation Platform. No matter how hard they are to find, our race will spare nothing to obtain them.”
Jia Nan replied with a smile, her words carrying a hidden meaning — she wanted to tell Gu Changge that forging the Reincarnation Platform was of utmost importance to the Absolute Yin Heaven, so important that they would give everything for it.
On the other hand, she was also worried Gu Changge might tamper with something in the process.
Even the six Great Ancestors knew absolutely nothing of the Dao of Reincarnation.
“Since the materials are all here, let’s begin.”
“Oh, right — the things I asked for. I wonder if Princess Jia Nan has prepared them?”
Gu Changge smiled faintly, then shifted topics, his gaze turning to Jia Nan.
“Naturally.”
“Here is what Young Master Changge requested. The remaining portion will be presented with both hands once the Reincarnation Platform is complete.”
Hearing this, Jia Nan wasn’t surprised. She had a maid behind her hand over a pitch-black jar to Gu Changge.
She knew Gu Changge was the type who never acted without seeing the goods first.
Although the Absolute Yin Heaven was now withering away and the Source of the Eternal Overcast was exceedingly precious, taking out a portion to stabilize Gu Changge first was still feasible.
“Princess Jia Nan is quite the straightforward one.”
With a mere wave of his hand, Gu Changge put away the pitch-black jar without so much as a second glance, as if he didn’t care in the slightest how much Source of the Eternal Overcast it contained.
“He shouldn’t dare play any tricks — unless he doesn’t want to walk out of the Absolute Yin Heaven alive.”
In the deepest reaches of the Absolute Yin Heaven’s Homeland, six pairs of cold, emotionless eyes remained fixed on Gu Changge’s every move in the plaza, divine senses surging.
Over the following days, this place was enveloped in a mystical black-and-white radiance.
Great swathes of divine fire blazed, melting the Life Stones and Death Stones, then reassembling them according to some order.
Rules collapsed, time flickered in and out of view, and an unfathomable power circulated.
In a trance, the crowd saw a surging Yellow Springs emerge from an unknown dimension, carrying within it countless wronged souls and bones of the dead.
Within this Yellow Springs, a Platform rose and fell, wreathed in black and white, yin and yang in opposition, life and death moving in tandem.
“This aura... there’s no mistaking it. Truly no mistaking it.”
“It really is the Reincarnation Platform spoken of by the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being — the one that can reflect that place.”
At this moment, even the Six Great Ancestors — whose hearts were like dead seas that would never ripple again — couldn’t help but have their gazes sharpen, a flash of delight and excitement passing through them.
At the same time, within some mysterious, distant stretch of space.
A Daoist sat cross-legged amid silent nothingness, his entire body shrouded in hazy Dao Qi. As if sensing something, he suddenly opened his eyes.
“This fluctuation... who lit the coordinates? Oh, so it’s over there.”
“It seems the time for harvest has come.”
His eyes were clear and bright, yet at times seemed incomparably murky and weathered, and at other times cold, profound, and utterly emotionless.
In a single instant, his gaze seemed to pierce through time and the ages, washing over some bygone era.
But in the next moment, he seemed to suddenly sense something.
This Daoist, like an ancient deity, let out a cold laugh. “Ignorant ants. In this game, you never stood a chance from the very beginning.”
As he spoke, ripples spread through the void before him, and a scene emerged.
It was a world equally ancient and immeasurably far away, where Great Universe after Great Universe collapsed, rules and order snapping apart.
Cries of slaughter shook the heavens, battle intent surged to the skies. Supreme experts whose blood Qi tore through the firmament let out roars of despair as they battled an unspeakable figure from some unknown dimension. Swathes of figures fell and disintegrated, dissolving into a rain of blood that filled the sky.