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Translator: Fate
Translation Checker: Silavin
The palace was extremely quiet, with light wisps of smoke emitting from the incense burner beside him. Gu Changge was clad in clothes whiter than snow. His handsome face still possessed an ethereal aura despite looking slightly pale, which made him resemble a deity.
He waved a sleeve to accept the jade box from the supreme expert of Sky Emperor Mountain and nodded slightly. “Thank you for visiting me. My injuries are much better now.”
His tone was calm while his gaze was unreadable so that no one could ascertain the truth of this. However, many of the supreme experts present were the strongest beings in the land and had great eyesight. Thus, they could see that Gu Changge’s Life Force was exhausted while his Source was genuinely damaged.
They glanced at each other with shock, thoughts flashing through their minds before they took out gifts. No one would dare offend Gu Changge recklessly even if he’s injured.
“If so, then we shall not disturb you any longer and will take our leave. The Eldest Princess has already explained clearly to us what happened in the Profound Sword World, but we will wait until you have recovered to ask you about more details. Farewell.”
After presenting their gifts, they all left. All of them were filled with thoughts and questions. Still, none of them lingered. Even though they still had many questions, they already believed what Yu Feiya had said. Had it been any other person, they would have searched that person’s Soul to discover every detail. However, Yu Feiya was of great importance to the Great Yu Celestial Dynasty and held a high status, Gu Changge even so. Who would dare suggest searching Gu Changge’s Soul? It would be a challenge to the Immortal Gu Family and Gu Changge himself, leading to an Immortal War.
“Be careful.” Gu Changge’s expression didn’t change much as he nodded.
When the supreme experts had left, the gaze of the Yu Emperor, who remained, flickered before he asked, “Young Master Changge, aren’t you going to inform the Immortal Gu Family about your condition?”
No matter what, Gu Changge was still injured, so there might be some enemies who would try something.
Gu Changge smiled in response. “It’s fine. Even with my injuries, I can still defeat any normal person. Your worry is unwarranted.”
The Yu Emperor was doubtful of what Gu Changge had claimed. From what he saw, Gu Changge’s injuries were grave since his Source had been harmed. However, what Gu Changge meant by ‘normal person’ wasn’t just any normal person but those True Daoists.
The Yu Emperor had already voiced his concern but if Gu Changge was unbothered about it, then he couldn’t really do much.
“All right then, I shall not bother you any longer.” Emperor Yu placed his hands in a respectful gesture, intending to leave. However, he glanced at his daughter with a strange look before leaving. She seemed to have gotten a lot closer to Gu Changge after this trip, which is what he wanted to see. This had been one of the reasons he hadn’t agreed to the marriage contract from the Eternal Overcast Royal Family just yet.
“How are things progressing?” Soon, only Yu Feiya and Gu Changge were left in the palace, and he glanced at her.
“I followed your orders without fault,” she replied respectfully, which was a completely different attitude to the quiet elegant demeanour she showed to the public. After experiencing the event in the Profound Sword Word, she had understood a lot more and was no longer brave enough to deal with him as a peer, instead behaving more cautiously and fearfully.
“That’s good.” Gu Changge looked at the jade boxes in his hand before smiling. It wasn’t the first time he had pretended to be seriously injured; it always yielded amazing effects in the past and this time was no exception.
The Great Yu Celestial Dynasty was now in chaos and with the news of his grievous injuries, many Forces hidden within the shadows would become eager and difficult to control. This was what he most desired to see.
A lot of information about Profound Sword Word spread from the Great Yu Celestial Dynasty during the following days led to great shock. A World’s Will had been born, and it desired to sacrifice everything in that world so it could complete the process of Absolute Detachment and Transcend. Many Forces that had entered that world have all sustained grave losses without any remaining survivors, including many True Daoists who died there. Even Gu Changge had nearly died and was currently recuperating in the Great Yu Celestial Dynasty.
The effect of this news was equivalent to a meteor falling into the ocean. It led to giant waves. Everyone who heard it was shocked and sceptical. Meanwhile, the photographic stone in question was spread far and wide to the streets and Sects, with many Immortal or Formidable Forces purchasing it at an exorbitant price.
The Great Yu Celestial Dynasty was in the spotlight once more. Supreme experts tried to deduce the whereabouts of that world but failed since they couldn’t find its location nor sense its presence. This made everyone realise that if that World’s Will had succeeded, it might give birth to a being comparable to True Immortals, threatening the whole Upper Realm.
…
An infinite distance away from the Great Yu Celestial Dynasty, there was an ancient location where another Immortal Celestial Dynasty had been founded. It had remained in its prime over time without any signs of weakening, even during the Forbidden Era. It was the Unrivalled Celestial Dynasty.
A woman with unparalleled charm, who was wearing a phoenix robe, was going through letters in the palace with a frown on her beautiful face. “I see. Send a million Unrivalled Guards in secret to stand by outside the borders of the Great Yu Celestial Dynasty.”
“Crown Princess, what’s this about?” The female advisor kneeling below the palace looked surprised, unable to comprehend what she was thinking.
The Unrivalled Guards were a terrifying force that the Crown Princess had secretly developed. It was extremely strong, like an unbreakable sharp blade. Divine and demonic entities alike yielded to them wherever they went, and so they had been sent to deal with many things that could never see the light of day. If the Crown Princess wanted to send a million of them to a single location. There had to be something unimaginable happening.
“You don’t have to concern yourself about this. Just move the Unrivalled Guards there.” Yue Mingkong waved her hand with nonchalance, her gaze calm remaining unreadable. Her entire being exuded a chilling air of authority.
“Okay.” The female advisor did not dare speak further and quickly went off with the order.
[He must be planning to make a move on the Great Yu Celestial Dynasty.] Yue Mingking put down her letter, her eyes filled with poorly-hidden yearning.
When news of Gu Changge being seriously injured had come from the Great Yu Celestial Dynasty, she already knew what he had in mind. She understood him extremely well and so knew that it had merely been a pretence. Someone as powerful as Gu Changge would never carry out something he wasn’t confident about, so it was impossible that he was gravely injured.
The World’s Will that every Force was wary of might have already been dealt with by Gu Changge. He was most likely the one behind the deaths of everyone in the Lower Realm World. Considering the chaotic state the Great Yu Celestial Dynasty was in, Gu Changge might be planning to attack it. That was why she had sent someone to move her Unrivalled Guards there.
These guards had been trained by her according to the training technique he had taught her and were extremely formidable.
“I’ve missed you greatly ever since we parted…”
She reached out for her brush and ink before beginning to write a letter to express her feeling of yearning, with a hint of happiness in her eyes. She planned to tell him about the Unrivalled Guards.
She also wanted to tell him that she had nearly finished refining the Seven Tools of World Domination, after Gu Changge had sent her the Sword via messenger from the Profound Sword World. Thus, the Immortal Palace’s Treasury could soon be opened when the opportunity arrived.
…
Several days passed in an instant. While the uproar caused by the events in the Profound Sword World had mostly calmed down, there was still unrest stirring beneath the surface. Several princes and princesses had nearly died from assassination, including the future Great Yu Successor, Yu Lie, who had nearly been killed.
It had happened in the Imperial Capital. Thus, right under Emperor Yu’s nose, which angered the whole Dynasty. The Emperor immediately ordered the Imperial Capital to be sealed off in order to arrest the assassins. Naturally, this faced no opposition as such actions were too daring. It was belittling the Dynasty. Thus, it infuriated everyone.
However, the Imperial Capital was currently filled with a diverse group of people, since many Immortal Forces had come, with supreme experts who carried powerful forbidden weapons stationed here. The investigation became extremely difficult due to the possibility of offending the other Forces, so Emperor Yu had to abandon the effort after several unfruitful days.
*Buzz!*
In a wide street at the northeast corner of the Imperial Capital, a line of knights was slowly passing, followed by a carriage decorated with carvings of True Dragons and Divine Phoenixes. Runes glittered on its surface and the glow emanating from it made it look highly distinguished.
The void shivered slightly at that moment as a greyish-black swathe of Sword Qi flashed in the air. The world fell silent for an instant as the space seemed to freeze; after several seconds, the street regained its noisy raucousness.
*Bang!* In the next moment, a grunt sounded from inside the carriage as a shower of blood surged from it and dyed the place red.
“Protect the Prince!”
The sudden occurrence shocked everyone in the street, and the knights responsible for guarding the carriage were frozen to the spot before realising what happened. They called out angrily and sealed off the place in an attempt to capture the suspect, since a beloved child of Emperor Yu was sitting in the carriage. While he wasn’t as highly regarded as the Successor to the throne, Yu Lie, he was still extremely important compared to the other Princes and Princesses. Now that something had happened to him, every one of them bore responsibility for it.
“The assassin may have been waiting here earlier, since even the protective jade amulet the Emperor gave to the Sixth Prince hasn’t activated. These assassins are far too cocky! They don’t even put us in their eyes.” The knights were enraged but couldn’t find any trace of the assassin. Their gazes were filled with hatred.
Situations like this had been occurring lately, which almost made them wonder if the Forces were all targeting their Celestial Dynasty. Sadly, the current circumstances were far too murky and it was unknown which Forces were attacking Great Yu.
Events like this were popping up everywhere in the Great Yu Celestial Dynasty. At first, it had been the attempted assassinations of the Princes and Princesses, but then even several important ministers, as well as their families, got targeted as well. It had resulted in many deaths.
The entire Dynasty was gripped by fear, with many advisors employing plenty of escorts when they went to the Imperial Palace. Rumours began to circulate that the Great Yu Celestial Dynasty had elicited public anger, and so many Forces were discussing how to deal with them. The recent assassinations had merely been the beginning.
Emperor Yu was angry and also greatly anxious about the entire issue, since he couldn’t find where the problem had stemmed from. Was someone really planning to attack the Dynasty?
At that moment, the true mastermind, Gu Changge, was currently ‘recuperating’ in a quiet compound in the Imperial Capital.
[A million Unrivalled Guards? Mingkong, you are certainly the one that knows me best.] His eyes were full of warmth as he read the letter he was holding. While cultivators would usually use a Communication Rune to send messages over long distances and rarely used letters, Yue Mingkong would always write letters herself when informing him of anything. Her elegant yet sharp handwriting seemed to exude the aura of an Empress, which was unrivalled and chilling.
[With the million-strong Unrivalled Guards as well as the secret pawns I’ve set up, I could now easily change the Emperor.]
Gu Changge carefully kept the letter, thoughts flashing across his mind.
Yu Tianzheng might just be a pawn but he was much more easily manipulated compared to Emperor Yu, who continuously hid within the Imperial Capital. Of course, the main reason was that Yu Tianzheng had been imprinted with a Slave Mark by him and thus the former’s survival was under his control. If Yu Tianzheng took over the Dynasty, that meant Gu Changge would be in control over an Immortal Celestial Dynasty from behind the scenes.
Counteracting violence with violence was unsuitable and might not work. Besides, the Great Yu Celestial Dynasty had a long history, so there might be Remnant Immortals who had entered into seclusion since ancient eras deep underground. They might even possess Immortal Grade Artifacts.
Using such a weak force to rattle the foundations of an Immortal Celestial Dynasty was improbable, so the only way left was to see whether he could destroy it from within.
Both Emperor Yu and Yu Tianzheng had the blood of the Great Yu flowing through their veins. Thus, even if one was replaced, their Ancestors would most likely choose to do nothing. After all, their descendants were still in power.
After that, Gu Changge instructed someone to send the Heavenly Heart Symbol, which he had recently acquired, to Yue Mingkong. He also informed her of the situation he was in and told her not to worry.
He also added that he would head for the Unrivalled Celestial Dynasty to discuss the wedding date as soon as his business in the Great Yu Celestial Dynasty was resolved.
