Comprehending the Dao of Fate, High Priestess of Destiny Ruoyin Niangniang
Comprehending the Dao of Fate, High Priestess of Destiny Ruoyin Niangniang
Many matters of the Divine Empire were, in truth, left by Changge to Xi Yin and the others to handle. His true body now resided beyond the void, and he would only appear on the rare occasions when he went to see Yue Mingkong, Jiang Chuchu, and the others.
Ordinarily, only when affairs like these required his personal decision would a single thought of his manifest and come forth to deal with them.
Regarding the matter of the Sealing Immortals Roll, Gu Changge had long since made his plans. Once the roll was brought forth, the Divine Empire’s court would announce to all the worlds that entry into the roll would be decided based on the depth of one’s devout faith in the Divine Empire and the degree of one’s contributions.
The vast worlds held cultivators and living beings as countless as a sea of smoke, impossible to number. Even those above the Sacred Emperor Realm were far too many—it was simply impossible for all of them to be entered into the roll.
What Changge needed to do now was to have the Sealing Immortals Roll display its divine might before the people, letting All of Heaven and Its Thousand Worlds clearly know that ascending to the ranks of the immortals was no empty talk.
As for the matter of the Sealing Immortals Roll, he handed it to Bai Lian’er to handle. It just so happened that she had recently been keen on researching all sorts of rankings.
As for the name list, there was no need to rush. He could first find some ministers loyal to the Divine Empire and publicly confer titles upon them—the influence of that would be far more far-reaching.
With a casual stroke of Gu Changge’s hand, a decree was born. Then, with a terrifying fluctuation that pierced through the void, it flew straight out of this nothingness, descending toward a certain palace hall within the Divine Empire.
Bai Lian’er was the master of the Nephrite Breeze Pavilion, bearing the ancient Killing Emperor Legacy.
Although the Killing Emperor called himself an Emperor, his cultivation had in truth been close to the Immortal Realm, and the legacy of slaughter he left behind was extremely terrifying.
Over these years, Changge had Bai Lian’er take charge of the Asura Chamber, while in secret she trained the organization called the Heavenly Net. It was actually much like the Nephrite Breeze Pavilion—able to gather all manner of information from All of Heaven and Its Thousand Worlds and carry out dark deeds that could not see the light of day.
Moreover, based on the proposal Xi Yin had made, Changge instructed Bai Lian’er to establish the Heavenly Secrets, and to build Heavenly Secrets Towers and Heavenly Secrets Halls in the various ancient cities across All of Heaven and Its Thousand Worlds. These forces served as eyes and ears, able to gather and inquire into all kinds of information and compile all manner of rankings.
For example, the Young Prodigy Rankings of the various domains, the Weapon Ranking, the Forces Ranking, as well as the Beauty Ranking, the Birth Talent Ranking, and so on. Gu Changge’s purpose was simple—to make the competition between the various domains grow fiercer.
A cultivator’s whole life was lived for nothing more than fame and profit.
Furthermore, Gu Changge also planned to forge Heavenly Path Steles for each cultivation realm, gathering the Fortuity of heaven and earth and listing the countless prodigies since ancient times. Those ranked upon these steles could obtain positions and receive corresponding rewards.
In addition, he also intended to open up the False World—a realm where the beliefs and aspirations of all living beings would reside, similar to the Neraka of myth and legend.
Though the divine soul might perish, the incense of worship would endure. Governed by the Divine Empire, it could guarantee cultivators reincarnation, or allow them to condense divinity within the False World and become gods of incense and faith.
However, this so-called False World was still under Gu Changge’s consideration and had not yet been put into actual action. If he truly were to do it, it would be an extremely time- and energy-consuming process.
As for the reason behind doing this, Gu Changge had discovered that it aligned with the workings of the Heavenly Path’s revolutions, and would benefit his comprehension and cultivation through the Power of Faith and Fortuity.
At the same time, during this period of comprehending the Dao of Fate, Gu Changge had a vague premonition that some shocking upheaval might have occurred in the Immortal Domain—that some terrifying event, utterly different from the legends of old, would come to pass.
Before Gu Qingyi left the Beyond, she had also told him that in the near future, the Beyond and even all the worlds would undergo a drastic change.
Now, with this sudden stirring of his heart and blood, Gu Changge felt that he could not take this matter too lightly. He needed to prepare for a rainy day.
The Dao of Fate was formless and ethereal, unlike the other Great Daos. There were many aspects that needed to be seen through and studied, and all of them required a great deal of time to comprehend.
During this period, Changge had carefully deliberated, intending to break through the mysteries of the Dao of Fate and use it to condense an Immortal King Dao Fruit.
As for the Source left behind by the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being, it could only help Gu Changge raise his cultivation. The comprehension of the Great Dao of Fate still had to rely on himself.
Besides, apart from the Dao of Fate, Gu Changge was also researching the Daos of Time and Space.
Previously, he had obtained the inheritance of the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being, so he had some involvement with the Dao of Reincarnation and the passage of ages.
If he were to condense an Immortal King Dao Fruit, the Daos of Time, Space, and Creation were also worth considering.
As for the Devouring Great Dao, Gu Changge did not need to spend time researching and comprehending it, because when he refined the True Blood of the Demon Lord, countless insights regarding these Great Daos had surged into his mind.
Before, because of the System, he had exchanged Fatums for the so-called Absolute Detachment Bone. In Gu Changge’s current view, this was actually a type of transaction-and-exchange rule.
Through Fatums—that is, so-called value, or Fortuity—one could exchange equivalently for Absolute Detachment.
This Absolute Detachment Bone was, in truth, something evolved from a kind of Source Matter inherently contained within the System.
This Source Matter could be understood as a strange energy.
Now that Gu Changge was comprehending the Dao of Fate, he increasingly felt that this System, silent for so long, came from himself—that it shared some very deep connection with him.
At this moment, Gu Changge’s decree quickly flew out of this void, heading toward the Asura Chamber where Bai Lian’er resided.
She was dressed in plain, light-colored robes, speaking to some cultivators before her. Her cold, beautiful face was expressionless, carrying an air of authority.
“Select candidates suitable for entry into the Sealing Immortals Roll?”
“Understood.”
The decree dissolved before her, immediately surprising her somewhat. Its contents were simple—she was to gather information from all clans and select from among them those most suitable to enter the roll.
Of course, Gu Changge would also give the various ministers the opportunity to recommend themselves.
Meanwhile, on the other side, at the eastern edge of the Divine Empire, near the vast sea of stars.
Numerous islands floated there, surrounded by curling mist, hazy and dim. Year after year, the place remained in cold tones, never touched by shining light.
At the heart of this place stood a grand complex of palaces called the Sacred Sanctum, magnificent and solemn, exuding an ancient and majestic air.
A woman of utterly breathtaking beauty, with a tear mole at the corner of her brow, dressed in the moon-white robes of a High Priestess, was making calculations over a compass.
Her dark hair cascaded like a waterfall, her expression calm and rippleless, exuding an otherworldly air untouched by mortal dust—like a fairy of the Moon Palace high above the Nine Heavens.
Of course, she was also the master of this place—the current High Priestess of Destiny of the Divine Empire, respectfully addressed by others as Ruoyin Niangniang.
“Greetings, Your Majesty.”
Ruoyin noticed layers of ripples spreading through the void before her. A trace of emotion surfaced on her usually placid face. She waved her hand to dismiss the many maids before her, then curtsied gracefully.
Gu Changge’s figure stepped out from within the void, dressed in simple cyan silk robes.
He nodded slightly, finding nothing strange about Xiao Ruoyin’s form of address.
Unlike his other consorts, Ruoyin preferred to address him as Your Majesty, rather than Gongzi or Divine Lord as Xi Yin and the others did.
“It seems you haven’t been idle either.”
Changge’s gaze fell upon the compass behind her, upon which faint traces of the Dao of Fate were flowing.
Xiao Ruoyin’s expression returned to its usual cool detachment, and she nodded. “Dwelling here long with nothing to do, I could only cultivate and comprehend this Dao.”
“May I ask what brings Your Majesty here today? If you wished for Ruoyin’s attendance, you need only send a maid to inform me. Your Majesty need not travel all this way yourself.”
The Sanctum of Destiny was extremely far from the Divine Empire’s imperial palace—it could be said to lie at the far eastern reaches of the Divine Empire.
Hearing this, Gu Changge waved his hand. A hazy clear radiance emerged from within his sleeve, and then the Celestial Boat of Creation appeared.
“I came to find you today because there is another matter I wish to discuss,” he said indifferently.