I Am the Fated Villain

Chapter 1764. Want Xian’er to deal with me?

Splash

Ripples appeared on the surface of the pool. Waves spread outward, and the fishing line, shimmering like translucent jade, fell straight into the water.

Ling Yuling watched as Gu Changge once again repeated his old trick, casting the fishhook—still hanging with a severed arm—back into the pool in silence. She did not know where Gu Changge had obtained this severed arm, filled with divine substance, but it was clear that the Taixuan Ancestral God he had just mentioned was an absolutely genuine ancient deity who had survived since the Primordial Era.

In this era, true innate beings had nearly become extinct, let alone innate gods who could be called Ancestral Gods.

One must know that “Ancestral God” was not merely a title; it referred to an existence far stronger than cultivators of the Ancestral Dao realm.

Even at her peak condition, she would not dare claim she could certainly defeat an innate Ancestral God.

And that Ancestral God, who had survived to the present, was certainly far stronger than ordinary Ancestral Gods. When exactly had Gu Changge encountered such a being in battle and even left him with one arm?

Moreover, Gu Changge’s actions today were truly incomprehensible to her. She had originally thought Gu Changge was simply idling peacefully in the courtyard, not concerning himself with any affairs of the outside world. But now it seemed that Gu Changge was still laying out schemes and plotting a chessboard she could not understand.

“Just now you already startled the big fish. If you use the same bait again, will it still work?” Ling Yuling could not help but ask softly.

“Fish are very stupid creatures. As long as your bait is attractive enough, no matter how many times they are startled, they will not learn to be clever; they will still rush forward without hesitation,” Gu Changge said lightly with a smile.

Ling Yuling nodded thoughtfully, then shook her head again.

I’m afraid that in this world, only Gu Changge could so naturally refer to an Ancestral God as a fish.

“So, are you planning to make a move against the divine civilization?” Ling Yuling asked.

Gu Changge said casually, “The Zhengyi Alliance won’t last much longer. Although the divine path is now declining and retreating, there are still many Ancestral Gods hidden in the shadows. If these Ancestral Gods cannot be used by me, then they also cannot stand in my way.”

Ling Yuling fell silent.

Gu Changge looked at the clouds swirling in front of him, yet the pool remained clear to the bottom, his eyes deep. He used the severed arm of the Taixuan Ancestral God as bait to fish for deities, not because he could not find the location of the Taixuan Ancestral God, but simply because he did not want to alert the enemy and alarm the other Ancestral Gods.

Those divine kingdoms and gods, although hiding and concealing themselves within endless layers of space-time, were not actually difficult for Gu Changge to locate.

But doing so would easily alert those Ancestral Gods in advance, causing them to become vigilant, which would be unfavorable to his subsequent plans.

Right now, having this severed arm of the Taixuan Ancestral God in his hands gave him other ideas.

When the Taixuan Ancestral God escaped back then, he did not hesitate to abandon this portion of his divine origin. To recover afterward, it would take at least hundreds of epochs of accumulation and consolidation.

Innate gods were actually not as harmonious as cultivators; instead, their struggles and battles were far more cruel and intense. Any innate god who could survive from the Primordial Era until now was absolutely not simple.

In ancient times, there were eras when immortals and gods rose together, and also eras when the divine path alone dominated and ruled the cosmos.

At that time, all gods divided the authority of heaven and earth, condensed it into godhood, and then further divided those godhoods among themselves to govern different domains.

Powerful deities sat high above the clouds, looking down upon all realms, harvesting the godhood power of weaker gods, while weaker gods could only spread faith across various worlds and universes to condense their godhood and strengthen themselves.

The godhood of powerful deities was precisely the most coveted nourishment for weaker gods.

The godhood of an Ancestral God—no one knew how many gods secretly coveted it.

The Taixuan Ancestral God, having survived from the Primordial Era to the present, must have had countless deadly enemies.

If those enemies learned that his origin was now damaged and his strength no longer at its peak, they would definitely be tempted.

Even those Ancestral Gods who had no grudges in ordinary times might not be able to resist the temptation, because this was the divine origin of an Ancestral God.

When the Taixuan Ancestral God was strong, those gods would naturally not dare to invade, but now that his origin was damaged, he was no longer at his peak.

At that time, his godhood was the most coveted treasure in the eyes of those gods. Regardless of strength or weakness, as soon as they smelled blood and saw the right opportunity, they would swarm in like sharks.

The bait Gu Changge used for fishing was not merely to lure the Taixuan Ancestral God.

He intended to make the entire divine civilization collapse and disintegrate, and this bait was merely the very beginning of his plan.

The surface of the pool once again returned to calm.

After Ling Yuling had brewed tea for Gu Changge, she also took her leave. The ongoing war between the Fatiān Alliance and the Zhengyi Alliance still required her to oversee the overall situation.

The higher-ups of the Fatiān Alliance all regarded her as the deputy alliance leader. Although this title had not been acknowledged by Gu Changge, it had already become an implicit fact within the alliance.

As for beings like Mu Fuguang, Tong Xian, and other forbidden-zone existences, they only obeyed Gu Changge’s orders. Aside from that, they listened to no one and obeyed no one.

Only Ling Yuling had the means to suppress them.

The emergence of the Battle Merit Tower had caused those forbidden existences to begin accumulating and competing for battle merits, but this also led them, at many times, to act without regard for the overall situation, thereby affecting the entire battlefield.

This also caused the higher-ups of the Zhengyi Alliance to personally intervene, acting without restraint, resulting in many cultivators being killed and unnecessary casualties.

After Ling Yuling hurriedly left, the courtyard once again returned to silence.

“The Xianyue Sect is indeed somewhat special. Not only did it produce a power that even I found surprising, even that girl Xian’er appeared there. It seems this is probably not a coincidence.”

Gu Changge looked at the surface of the pool, deep in thought. He was naturally not so idle as to casually summon Chen Yi.

Chen Yi had a somewhat special identity—she was an elder of the Xianyue Sect and had once shown kindness to Gu Xian’er.

So Gu Changge intended to use her as an experiment.

Currently, within the entire Vast Realm, very few people knew of his relationship with Gu Xian’er. Even Mu Yan, Ling Yuling, and the White Bone Ancestral King who had followed him for quite some time did not know.

If someone wanted to use Gu Xian’er to investigate him, he would inevitably notice it.

But who would know that he had a relationship with Gu Xian’er?

Those who knew of his relationship with Gu Xian’er would also not be able to use Gu Xian’er to investigate him.

It was like an unsolvable loop. But precisely because it was an unsolvable loop, Gu Changge sensed something unusual.

Gu Xian’er appearing in the Xianyue Sect was not a coincidence or accident.

The Xianyue Sect had produced a power that even he found unexpected.

And Gu Xian’er, who had ties to him, just happened to appear there and just happened to come into contact with that power.

Everything in this world follows the trajectory of fate.

To make so many coincidences arise, one only needs to gently alter the trajectories of those things’ destinies, causing them to intersect and come into contact.

“The power of Qutian…”

“Truly surprising. Could it be that this is meant to have Xian’er deal with me?”

“Let’s see what other coincidences there are.”

Gu Changge withdrew his thoughts. After pondering for a moment, he lightly flicked his hand.

The void in front of him became blurred, transforming into a round mirror, within which appeared the face of a peerlessly beautiful woman of noble and elegant bearing.

It was none other than Ji Hanjing, whose body was the Civilization Treasure itself, having cultivated a human form.

At this moment, she was seated within a grand and imposing palace hall, wearing a phoenix crown and feathered robes, with ceremonial beads hanging down to obscure her face. Her expression was cold and dignified, like a peerless empress overlooking the world and scorning all beings.

Within the palace hall, courtiers knelt in prostration, bowing their heads to the ground.

Several old men in dragon robes were even repeatedly calling out “Greetings, Ancestor,” extremely respectful.

In front of Ji Hanjing’s desk were stacked layers upon layers of ancient texts and scrolls, piled high. Her jade-like face remained cold as she held one of the books with her slender hand, her eyes slowly shifting as she read, not speaking, seemingly trying to quickly understand the current era.

“Seems things are going even smoother than I expected. The Unending Immortal Dynasty regards itself as the orthodox lineage of the Yaoguang Ancestral Court. Now that the living princess of the Yaoguang Ancestral Court has appeared, they will naturally do everything they can to acknowledge her ancestry and disguise the truth.”

Gu Changge looked at the scene with an expression of amused interest.

Everything before his eyes was already within Gu Changge’s expectations and plan.

After Ji Hanjing broke free from the Dao Origin within the ruins of the Yaoguang Ancestral Court, she was invited back to the Unending Immortal Dynasty by several old imperial uncles under the watch of various orthodox factions.

The ruins of the Yaoguang Ancestral Court were also subsequently guarded by many experts dispatched by the Unending Immortal Dynasty, forbidding any orthodoxy faction from approaching.

If the ruins had been ownerless, the various orthodoxy factions would naturally have had reason to fight for them. After all, opportunities are determined by heaven, and the virtuous obtain them.

But who would have expected that within those ruins, there was actually an ancient figure sealed within Dao Origin—suspected to be someone from the era of the Yaoguang Ancestral Court.

At this point, the various orthodoxy factions naturally had no reason to seize it anymore, especially under the watchful eyes of the Unending Immortal Dynasty. Thus, the mysterious woman sealed within the Dao Origin was naturally invited back to the Unending Immortal Dynasty by several old imperial uncles.

Afterwards, information regarding that mysterious woman’s identity was finally confirmed through investigations by various orthodoxy factions, cross-referencing ancient texts and historical records.

She was the true princess of the Yaoguang Ancestral Court—the former leader of the predecessors who resisted the Black Calamity disaster, the daughter of Zhongjun!

Her background was so astonishing that it made all members of the Unending Immortal Dynasty’s royal clan twitch their eyelids in shock and disbelief.

One must know that she was a true ancestor in every sense of the word—no one could match her seniority.

In terms of bloodline, all members of the Unending Immortal Dynasty’s royal clan were her junior descendants. This news shook all directions and caused a tremendous uproar. No one had expected that, after countless years and innumerable epochs, the princess of the Yaoguang Ancestral Court would reappear in such a manner.

This also placed the Unending Immortal Dynasty in an awkward situation.

Because those familiar with its founding history knew that the founder of the Unending Immortal Dynasty, Emperor Wuyuan Jiang Yun, did not bear the surname Ji. It was the Ji surname that was the royal surname of the Yaoguang Ancestral Court.

The predecessor of the Unending Immortal Dynasty was the Great Yang Ancient Kingdom.

The final emperor of the Great Yang Ancient Kingdom was called Emperor Yang.

Emperor Yang was tyrannical and unprincipled, foolish and lecherous, addicted to wine and women. During his reign, he indulged in wine pools and meat forests, slaughtered innocents at will, harmed loyal ministers, ruled with brutality, and caused all races to suffer unbearably.

At that time, the father of the Unending Emperor Jiang Ming was a feudal king of the Great Yang Ancient Kingdom named Jiang Sheng.

Jiang Sheng’s ancestors carried a trace of imperial bloodline. In terms of lineage, they actually had some connection to the royal family of the Great Yang Ancient Kingdom.

Dissatisfied with Emperor Yang’s tyranny, Jiang Sheng led troops in rebellion, but later died in the Jiuyin Mountain.

Jiang Ming, the Unending Emperor, inherited his father’s cause, received the Mandate of Heaven, and obtained divine weapons sent from the heavens. With the assistance of his father’s former followers, he united the various feudal lords and clans, eventually breaking through the imperial capital of the Great Yang Ancient Kingdom. Emperor Yang committed suicide in his palace, and the Great Yang Ancient Kingdom thus came to an end.

Afterwards, the Unending Immortal Dynasty was established upon the ruins of the Great Yang Ancient Kingdom, replacing it and ushering in a new era.

The Jiang surname replaced the Ji surname and became the royal surname of the Unending Immortal Dynasty.

At present, the Unending Emperor was stationed in the Zhengyi Alliance and had no time to attend to the affairs of the Unending Immortal Dynasty. This left the royal clan of the Unending Immortal Dynasty, as well as many ministers and sect families, not daring to show any disrespect or negligence toward this “ancestor,” and they did not know how to handle the matter, nor how to face her.

How could descendants of the Jiang surname call someone of the Ji surname “ancestor”? If this spread, would it not become a laughingstock and cause ridicule?

“In terms of cause and effect and the course of history, I already understand everything. You need not be so anxious. The Yaoguang Ancestral Court no longer exists. Whether it is the Great Yang Ancient Kingdom or the Unending Immortal Dynasty, to me they are no different.”

“Ji surname and Jiang surname are the same as well.”

Within the palace hall, Ji Hanjing closed the ancient book in her hand. Her cold, authoritative gaze swept over the ministers below, and then across the old imperial uncles of the Unending Immortal Dynasty.

Her words made everyone breathe a sigh of relief, as if a heavy stone in their hearts had finally fallen.

They had been worried that this “ancestor” would place too much importance on bloodline and become enraged or take offense.

But in a sense, both the Great Yang Ancient Kingdom and the Unending Immortal Dynasty were too far removed from the era of the Yaoguang Ancestral Court.

The bloodlines of their descendants had already become so diluted that no one knew to what extent.

Even if a royal descendant of the Great Yang Ancient Kingdom stood here, there would probably not be much difference between them.

“Where is Jiang Yun?” Ji Hanjing asked indifferently.

“Reporting to the ancestor, the Emperor is currently stationed in the Zhengyi Alliance, controlling the overall situation and resisting the invasion of the Fatiān Alliance. He has no time to attend to the Unending Immortal Dynasty. All current affairs within the dynasty are being handled by the State Preceptor, the Chancellor, and others,” replied one of the old imperial uncles, stepping forward with trembling fear.

Facing Ji Hanjing’s gaze, a layer of cold sweat unconsciously appeared on his forehead.

As a member of the Unending Immortal Dynasty’s royal clan, this was the first time he had ever felt such terrifying pressure, as if he were facing a supreme empress overlooking all realms.

This ancestor’s seniority and strength were both terrifying beyond imagination.