Xianer's Three Embodiments, Gu Changge's True Identity
Xianer’s Three Embodiments, Gu Changge’s True Identity
Time flowed on gradually, and in the blink of an eye, several months had passed. The situation in the Beyond grew ever more stable and peaceful.
Peach Village now sat at the far northern edge of the Divine Empire, and even that Land of Abandoned Celestials had, in the end, been relocated by Gu Changge with supreme divine power to the grounds of Xianer’s palace.
Xianer’s palace was a vast pure land. Amid the boundless Great Wilderness stretching beyond sight, mountain peaks were wreathed in clouds and mist, with silver waterfalls and emerald lakes—a sea of verdant green.
Palaces and pavilions stood in clustered splendor, incomparably magnificent. Bordering Peach Village on one side were ranges of layered emerald peaks.
There was a Boundless Lake drawn from the vast Astral River, surrounded by rustling bamboo forests. Amid the verdant sea of bamboo stood several pavilions.
In the Boundless Lake, many rare Arowanas flicked their tails and flashed past, their bodies crystalline, their flesh containing astonishing divinity. There were also Kois carrying the Kunpeng Bloodline.
Even a single one would be nearly impossible to find in the outside world, yet here there were many. Beyond that, there were all manner of primordial exotic species and Celestial Ancient bloodlines, gathered from All of Heaven and Its Thousand Worlds—some offered as tribute by various races, others found within certain ruins.
But in the end, all of it fell into Xianer’s pockets—her money-grubbing habit had never changed.
The environment here was exceptionally serene. To one side lay the field of Heavenly Herbs that Gu Xianer had squeezed out of Gu Changge over the years.
The soil alone was astonishingly valuable—Spirit-Nurturing Soil, Blood Immortal Sand, Five-Colored Divine Soil. Wisps of Chaos Energy permeated the air, filled with all kinds of five-colored immortal mist.
Various Heavenly Herbs—some emerald and crystalline, some wreathed in warm light, some blazing fiery red—were planted within, exuding a rich fragrance. A single whiff felt as though it could make one ascend to immortality on the spot.
“There’s no such thing as taking back a move in chess!”
Beside the herb field, the emerald lake was clear, and a pavilion leaned against the palace. Gu Changge was playing chess with Gu Xianer.
He was still dressed in cyan robes, his hair untied, looking particularly languid.
The Gu Xianer before him propped up her chin, her small face full of vexed embarrassment.
“When did you learn to play chess? How come I never knew?”
Gu Xianer said somewhat sullenly. Some time ago, she had unexpectedly obtained an ancient chess manual from Big Red, which recorded the transformations of the stars of the heavens—using the stars themselves as chess pieces, incomparably vast.
She had taken an interest and had been cultivating and comprehending this manual ever since.
It just so happened that Gu Changge had shown up these past few days to see her, so she had clamored to crush him in the way of chess, to make him concede wholeheartedly.
The result came as no surprise—even after comprehending that manual, she was still no match for Gu Changge, and she had already taken back several moves.
“All paths in this world converge to the same end. The way of chess is but one of the minor paths.”
“Your comprehension of the Great Dao falls far short of mine. Even in the way of chess, you can’t gain the slightest advantage.”
Gu Changge chuckled lightly, rising from the meditation cushion. He could naturally see the profundity of this chess manual.
But with his current vision and strength, he no longer thought much of it—there wasn’t even any need to study it.
Hearing him say this, Gu Xianer understood as well. During this period, Gu Changge’s strength had grown ever more unfathomable. The Divine Empire ruled over the heavens, its incense offerings unending, its faith undying.
With a single thought, Gu Changge could probably effortlessly annihilate a heritage-level figure a hundred times over.
“Hmph, fine, I know you’re amazing, alright?”
“You coming here—it isn’t just to see me, is it?”
Gu Xianer huffed softly, then asked. She could tell that Gu Changge seemed to have something on his mind.
Hearing this, Gu Changge didn’t intend to hide the matter from her—after all, it concerned her as well.
“I came here to find that Big Red Bird at your side.”
Gu Changge spoke. During this period, he had been attempting to guide the Celestial Domain to descend and border the Beyond, but on the path through the Celestial Ancient Continent, he had encountered trouble.
Hundreds of years ago, while he was still cultivating at Skyward Schloss, he had learned from Yue Mingkong of the place where the Celestial Spirit had emerged—for that was where the Celestial Path connected.
The sages who had once fallen along that path, countless years after their deaths, had their Sources scattered and transformed into incomparably precious Celestial Spirits.
Because the Celestial Gate had only appeared as a projection back then, rather than truly descending, the commotion it caused had not been too terrifying.
Gu Changge had relied on the Grand Flask to withstand the pressure within, sneaking in and seizing several Celestial Spirits from the hands of many ancient existences.
While inside, he had even been struck by lightning, his body scorched and broken, taking a long time to recover.
So Gu Changge had always suspected that the true Celestial Path lay in the Celestial Ancient Continent.
Using the Dao of Fate to divine it, he found that the place was indeed shrouded in haze, its heavenly secrets in chaos, faintly revealing traces of chaotic light—as if it had existed since the creation of the world.
Moreover, what surprised him most was that he had actually sensed a familiar aura there.
After further divination...
Gu Changge discovered that this familiar aura actually came from the mysterious Big Red Bird at Gu Xianer’s side.
That aura had not been left behind in ancient times—it was left in this era, still quite fresh.
Which meant it had happened in recent years.
Were it not for the fact that his cultivation had reached a heaven-piercing level, he likely would never have noticed it.
Previously, Gu Changge had thought that although the origins of the Big Red Bird at Gu Xianer’s side were mysterious, they wouldn’t be too astonishing.
But he truly hadn’t expected that this Big Red Bird would be connected to the Celestial Path.
“You’re here for Big Red?”
Gu Xianer was somewhat surprised.
Gu Changge nodded. “You probably know this yourself—the origins of this Big Red Bird of yours are far from simple.”
Gu Xianer agreed with this. Many of her fortuitous opportunities had been found thanks to Big Red.
And the vision of the future she had seen at the Reincarnation Lake back then—it was also thanks to Big Red that she had been able to find that place.
In fact, there was no need for Gu Changge to say anything—the Big Red Bird had already sensed his purpose. From the distant shore of the Boundless Lake, it flapped its wings and flew over.
Only this time, it no longer wore its usual disdainful expression. Instead, it carried a trace of vicissitude.
“It seems... you noticed after all.”
It spoke. Though its voice was that of a childish youth, it carried a sense of lament.
Long ago, during its first contact with Gu Changge, it had felt that he was incomparably dangerous, his entire body exuding a heart-palpitating aura. So it had repeatedly urged Gu Xianer to stay away from him.
But that silly girl Gu Xianer kept snuggling up to his side, refusing to listen at all. It could only stay secretly on guard, wanting to protect her.
Fortunately, Gu Changge treated Gu Xianer well enough—he only bullied her verbally.
So gradually, the Big Red Bird had set its mind at ease.
This was also the first time Gu Xianer had seen the Big Red Bird look and act this way, and she grew even more astonished.
Gu Changge raised an eyebrow slightly, a strange feeling arising in his heart. Why did he feel that the Big Red Bird’s origins might involve more than just the Celestial Path?
Its staying by Gu Xianer’s side all this time should have another reason—it wasn’t because Gu Xianer was a Daughter of Fortuity.
Could it be... that this girl Xianer has some other origin I don’t know about?
Gu Changge pondered inwardly, a trace of doubt in his eyes.
The Big Red Bird seemed to guess what he was thinking. Flapping its wings, it flew up into the sky and said:
“Some matters... should concern you as well.”
These words—it clearly didn’t intend to say them directly in front of Gu Xianer. It only wanted to tell Gu Changge.
Seeing this, Gu Changge’s expression remained calm, and he followed after it.
The man and the bird quickly crossed this region of the sky, traversed the vast starry expanse, and finally appeared above a broad and flourishing continent.
The Celestial Ancient Continent.
Seeing this place, a trace of dazed recollection flashed through Gu Changge’s eyes. He rather wanted to know what the Big Red Bird was going to tell him.
The two of them had arrived at the continent beyond the forbidden grounds of Skyward Schloss—the very Celestial Ancient Continent Gu Changge had visited before.
Here, he had once erased Ye Ling, who had obtained the inheritance of the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being; he had slapped to death Long Teng, the Fortuitous One of the True Dragon bloodline; he had left behind contingencies here, subjugating the various races of the Celestial Ancient Continent.
It was also here that Yin Mei had wholeheartedly pledged herself to him.
“Does the Demon Lord know of the Three Embodiments?”
Having arrived here, the Big Red Bird’s expression grew ever more weathered. Flapping its wings, it landed within a stretch of ruins.
In truth, it had long ago speculated about Gu Changge’s origins—only now had it finally confirmed them.
As for why he was called the Demon Lord, or where the Demon Lord had come from? It didn’t know. No one in this world knew. It was as if the Demon Lord had appeared out of thin air.
Gu Changge knew these ruins—they were the very area where the Celestial Path had once been projected.
But regarding the Big Red Bird addressing him as Demon Lord, his expression didn’t change much.
“Three Embodiments? Past life, present life, future life?”
“Are you trying to tell me that Xianer possesses the Three Embodiments?”
He asked calmly.
Before the Forbidden Epoch, Gu Xianer had once incarnated as Dao Xian, cultivating wholeheartedly in the sect where the Purple Yang Little Sky King’s past life had belonged, pursuing the immortal path. But unexpectedly, before the epoch’s collapse, she had perished in the great tribulation. Her Original Soul, indestructible, had reincarnated as Gu Xianer.
This much, Gu Changge did indeed know.
“That is not what the Three Embodiments mean.”
The Big Red Bird shook its head, its expression complicated, then explained, “This life of Xianer’s is her third life. When this life ends, she must continue to reincarnate, until she recovers the indestructible Original Soul she once had.”
“Third life... So before this, Xianer had yet another life?”
Hearing this, Gu Changge was first taken aback, then raised an eyebrow.
Of this, he knew nothing at all. If the Big Red Bird hadn’t spoken of it, he likely never would have known.
“Before the Forbidden Epoch, there were many eras of glory and prosperity that reached their utmost peak. Immortals and gods shone brilliantly, innate deities emerged one after another, and ten thousand paths contended in glory. But it was also that era which buried all the immortals and gods—every trace of them was buried away.”
“Those eras were far, far more terrifying than the Forbidden Epoch. Between heaven and earth, besides the immortals and gods, there were deities and races nurtured since the creation of the world, as well as the countless True Primordial Worlds beyond the vast expanse.”
“Every True Primordial World rivaled these vast heavens in scale—one can imagine their boundless grandeur.”
“The so-called Celestial Ancient Era was actually the withered scene after the Immortal Burial Era, when things had only partially recovered. It had long since ceased to be what it once was.”
The Big Red Bird spoke with a mournful smile, seemingly reminiscing, but with more regret and longing.
“The Immortal Burial Era was only one of them...”
Gu Changge murmured softly. The clouds and mist in his mind dispersed at this moment, leaving only a throbbing pain in his brow.
The Big Red Bird looked at him, its expression complicated. “Though that era was brilliant to the extreme, dazzling to the extreme, beyond those countless True Primordial Worlds, there were three supreme True Ancestors overlooking everything, driving the succession of epochs, presiding over all.”
“They were the incarnations of the Heavenly Path’s will, wielding heavenly authority on its behalf, maintaining the operation of all the rules of the vast heavens. They were the Heavenly Path, and the Heavenly Path was them.”
“But at some unknown point, they developed their own emotions... their own selfish desires.”
Gu Changge fell silent, but his head felt as though it would split with pain. His Spiritual Sea, which had been a blank void, was now like a mirror from which layer upon layer of fog was being wiped away.
Many memories were reviving—some of the Forbidden Epoch, some of the Immortal Burial Era, and some from even longer ago.
After a long, long time, as if some ineffable memory was surging forth, this entire stretch of heaven and earth seemed to change.
“Xianer... she is the World Child of this True World.”
Then, Gu Changge murmured softly.
As for his former alias of Demon Lord—well, it truly was just an alias. After all, he was one of the three True Ancestors.
A trace of self-mockery curled at the corner of Gu Changge’s mouth.