Just a Pitiful Person Like Me, a Suitable Tool
Just a Pitiful Person Like Me, a Suitable Tool
The High Priestess of Destiny—this was the master of the Sanctum of Destiny under the Immortal Palace of old, skilled in divination and prophecy, with profound attainments in the Dao of fate and karma.
In her hands, she also possessed the Supreme Treasure, the Celestial Boat of Creation, which could traverse the River of Time and reverse the past.
Hearing Tao Tian’s words, Chan Hongyi was clearly somewhat tempted. Her gaze turned distant as it fell upon the teacup.
“When do we set off?”
She raised her eyes and asked, her tone having calmed down.
Tao Tian was not at all surprised by her reaction. Compared to herself, Chan Hongyi surely wanted even more to know what had happened in that ancient era.
Why it had led to the fall of the Immortal Palace, why it had caused Gu Changge to strike out, shattering the heavens, even turning his hand against those closest to him.
And there was one more thing—Chan Hongyi wanted to know the true reason Gu Changge had taken her in.
Of course, most importantly, she wanted to truly understand her shifu, to learn the many secrets of the past she had never known.
This had even become her obsession.
“We can set off at any time,” Tao Tian said.
“Then let’s go.” Chan Hongyi did not drag her feet in the slightest. With a flash of red, her figure had already vanished from the mountain.
Seeing this, Tao Tian was not surprised. She stepped forward, the void blurred, and she departed this place along with Chan Hongyi.
The Sanctum of Destiny was located on the eastern edge of the Divine Empire, close to the vast sea of stars.
Many islands floated there, surrounded by drifting mist, hazy and indistinct, shrouded year-round in cold tones, with no light shining down upon them.
At the heart of this place stood a grand complex of palaces called the Sacred Sanctum, magnificent and solemn, exuding an ancient grandeur.
A woman of breathtaking, exquisite beauty, now dressed in the moon-white robes of the High Priestess, was making calculations over a compass.
Her dark hair cascaded like a waterfall, her expression calm and untroubled, 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 Niangniang Ruoyin.
Suddenly, Xiao Ruoyin seemed to sense something. She raised her eyes and looked toward the void beyond the Sanctum of Destiny.
“May I know what brings two honored guests to visit?”
As a fellow figure from the Forbidden Epoch, she naturally knew of Tao Tian and Chan Hongyi’s existence. She spoke softly, her words carrying a cold detachment.
“I didn’t expect that the grand Sanctum of Destiny now has only you alone, without even a single serving maid.
Does Niangniang Ruoyin not find this place lonely?”
A faint laugh drifted from the void, carrying a trace of seductive charm. Chan Hongyi and Tao Tian appeared there, their bare feet white as snow, standing within the palace.
Hearing these words, Xiao Ruoyin’s expression did not ripple in the slightest. She merely said, “The two of you coming here—I presume it isn’t to mock me.”
Nor did she believe the two of them would have such idle leisure as to speak such words to her.
Even back in the Forbidden Epoch, when the Immortal Palace unified the heavens, the two of them had not been familiar with her at all—they had never even interacted.
“We’ve come to find you because we wish to borrow the Celestial Boat of Creation,” Tao Tian said, getting straight to the point.
“Borrow the Celestial Boat of Creation?” Xiao Ruoyin was stunned, then her delicate brows furrowed slightly.
After all, the Celestial Boat of Creation had merely been returned to her by Gu Changge. If he wanted to take it back, it would only take a single word from him.
Without Gu Changge’s permission, if she lent the Celestial Boat of Creation to others on her own initiative, would it incur his blame?
After all, her current status was merely that of Gu Changge’s consort.
However, she also knew that Tao Tian and Chan Hongyi before her shared a certain indescribable relationship with Gu Changge.
“If he blames anyone when the time comes, I will explain it to him myself.
On this point, you can rest assured.”
Tao Tian seemed to see through Xiao Ruoyin’s concerns and spoke.
Though she said this, in her heart she had already prepared herself to suffer a tremendous karmic backlash, to perish and have her Dao extinguished within the River of Time.
So all this talk of explaining things to Gu Changge was just that—talk.
Xiao Ruoyin fell silent. She knew that given the strength of the two before her, even if she refused to lend it, she would likely be no match for them.
Weng—
A wisp of cyan light swirled, and the palm-sized Celestial Boat of Creation appeared in her hand, mottled with rust, exuding an ancient aura.
“Take it,” she said calmly.
“Many thanks.”
Tao Tian smiled faintly. With a wave of her slender hand, she took the Celestial Boat of Creation, and then both her and Chan Hongyi’s figures vanished from the Sanctum of Destiny without lingering.
Watching the palace return to its tranquil coldness, Xiao Ruoyin sighed softly, her gaze somewhat complicated.
“Just pitiful people like me...”
She gazed at the compass in her hand, her tone betraying no ripple of emotion.
Time flowed like water. Several years had passed since Gu Changge’s return from the Celestial Domain. Heaven and earth operated according to order, and the vast territory of the Divine Empire expanded, already nearly enveloping a great portion of the universes of the heavens.
During this period, the various Dao lineages and great families behaved themselves, preparing for the next Grand Ceremony of the Flying Immortals.
Among the ancient cities, various rankings were issued and updated every year—from the Heavenly Prodigy Ranking, the Peerless Beauty Ranking, and the Divine Weapon Ranking, down to the Heavenly Materials Ranking and the Earthly Treasures Ranking... everything in the world was encompassed, with grades and tiers established.
Beyond that, the Heavenly Path Stele appeared in the world, standing among the ancient cities of the various races of the Beyond, beginning to list the strongest prodigies of the current era, causing a sensation in all directions.
Countless prodigies strove and fought to leave their names upon it.
The great era blazed brilliantly, prodigies shining like stars, with outstanding members of the younger generation emerging from every lineage and family.
Some ancient freaks who had been sealed away in other eras also emerged one after another. This was a golden age whose radiance illuminated the universe.
Those prodigies of Gu Changge’s generation had now become the pillars of their respective races and forces—either the master of a sect or the leader of a domain, wielding overwhelming power.
The Heavenly Path blazed, its rules transforming dramatically, becoming ever more suited for Cultivators. Paths that had only appeared in ancient times began to emerge, among them the Path of the Primordial Nirvana.
Many Cultivators, seeking the opportunity to attain the Dao, began setting foot in search of this Path of Nirvana, launching into slaughter and strife within it.
Even Gu Xianer, in order to attain the Dao, left Peach Village and set foot upon this path.
Deep within the Divine Empire, Gu Changge refined the Flying Immortal Passage, and in the end, he succeeded.
The ancient Celestial Path within the Celestial Ancient Continent was refined by him with supreme methods, leaving behind one hundred and eight Restrictions. The first thirty-six Restrictions could block even Immortal Dao figures.
The latter seventy-two Restrictions were to stabilize this passage, to keep it from being affected by contact with the rules of the Celestial Domain.
In this process, the rules of the Celestial Domain and the Beyond began to touch and converge. Any Cultivator could feel that transformation.
Especially the beings dwelling within the Divine Empire, for whom it was even more obvious—they could see a hazy radiance sprinkling down between heaven and earth, crystalline like a rain of light.
This was the most glorious era the Beyond had ushered in since the Chaos of the Resplendence Universe, rising from decline to prosperity, beyond words to describe.
In this process, Gu Changge also personally witnessed the Fortuitous Ones of certain universes growing rapidly, stirring the Fortuity of all the heavens into flux.
His true body sat cross-legged within the boundless void, drawing in this vast Fortuity, breaking open the broken universes buried in the chaos since ancient times.
Gu Changge intended to use these broken universes to evolve the False World of Yin, to hold reincarnation in his own grasp and reshape the Six Paths.
This was a lengthy process, so he merely left an avatar here—his true body did not intend to waste too much time on it.
Regarding certain matters of the Celestial Domain, he had not hidden them from those close to him either.
Yue Mingkong, Jiang Chuchu, and the others all knew of the changes in the Celestial Domain. So Gu Changge felt that during this period, they should focus on raising their strength—developing the Divine Empire did not actually need to be the top priority.
Because in Gu Changge’s plans, the Divine Empire would, like a second Immortal Palace, unify the heavens within the Mountains and Oceans True World, rather than merely the Beyond as it was now.
The part that truly needed consideration still lay within the Celestial Domain.
Before that, he intended to send people to seek out the Immortal Palace Treasury.
Previously, he and Yue Mingkong had gathered all Seven Tools of World Domination, and Yue Mingkong had now refined them into a key. As long as the location of the Immortal Palace Treasury was confirmed, that treasury could be opened.
With Gu Changge’s current status and strength, there were many things he no longer needed to do personally.
He still had to find a suitable tool—oh no, a successor.
It wasn’t that Gu Changge wanted to take on a disciple; he just felt that at present he needed a suitable successor to handle some matters he didn’t wish to do personally.
There were also some matters that were inconvenient for him to handle in person, and he didn’t have that much energy to deal with them either.
For example, harvesting the vast Fortuity among the universes of the heavens in the Beyond.
Although he could draw in a portion of the Fortuity, that was not all of it. One had to know that the Fortuitous Ones of many universes each carried some fortuitous encounters and opportunities, great or small.
Their temperaments were proud and unruly; they weren’t necessarily all that reverent toward the Divine Empire, nor all that worshipful toward him as its Divine Lord.
And Gu Changge could not, as he had in the past, personally go harvest these Fortuitous Ones like leeks.
Thinking thus, his figure vanished from the Divine Empire.
On the surface, the Divine Empire unified the heavens of the Beyond, but within this vast universe, there were still quite a few corners it could not reach.
The candidates Gu Changge sought were in precisely these regions.
His vast divine sense surged toward the corners of these universes, not sparing even some of the most remote Overworlds.
In an antique, elegant hall, a haughty young lady, before a crowd of onlookers, shouted the words “a dragon does not dwell with a snake” at a good-for-nothing youth, then tore up the marriage contract.
Watching this scene, Gu Changge shook his head gently, and then saw the scene three years later, where this haughty young lady was trampled beneath that good-for-nothing youth’s feet.
Fate was a long thread—he could easily see the future from this end of it.
Broken engagements, betrayal, revenge, rebirth...
These tropes were all outdated already.
Searching universe after universe, Gu Changge couldn’t help but feel a bit weary, not having seen the slightest sign of an Anomaly.
After all, Anomalies were beings that might not appear even once across many epochs; in terms of aptitude alone, they far surpassed any prodigy.
Although Gu Changge could alter certain things and artificially manufacture Anomalies, that was only relative.
To him, this kind of Anomaly—whose future he could see at a glance, whose fate he could discern at a glance—was no different from an ordinary person.
Suddenly, noticing something, a look of surprise and keen interest appeared on Gu Changge’s face.