Outside the courtyard, peach blossoms blazed brilliantly. A coldly beautiful woman, her hair in cloud-like coils and attired in a long, dark-hued, gauze-trailing dress, stood there full of anxiety and tension, her hands clasped in front, head lowered.
The commander who had accompanied her here had already bowed and taken his leave, leaving her alone.
Chen Yi had no idea why, out of the blue, she would be summoned by the Alliance Leader of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance.
Decades ago, she had accompanied envoys from the other member powers of the Alliance of Righteous Unity, traveling countless millions of miles to the Heaven-Slaying Alliance, seeking an audience with its Alliance Leader to discuss dealing with the Dark Beings.
However, the moment they stepped into the hall, before they even saw the true face of the Alliance Leader, they were seized and thrown into the dungeon on charges of attempted assassination, imprisoned for several years.
Although later the Alliance Leader issued a general amnesty and they were released, they all lost their freedom due to the assassination charge.
Everyone was confined within the city, strictly guarded and surveilled daily, forbidden from leaving without permission.
Chen Yi had gone from initial helplessness and powerlessness to later acceptance and liberation, gradually growing accustomed to it.
Compared to being locked in a dungeon for life, this restricted freedom was actually quite good—after all, she didn't have to lose her life.
Yet, even until now, she was unclear whether the assassination attempt on the Alliance Leader had been real or fabricated.
Had someone among those envoys truly harbored malicious intent, seeking to ruin the relationship between the Heaven-Slaying Alliance and the Alliance of Righteous Unity? Or was this merely a fabricated charge by the Heaven-Slaying Alliance?
Before, Chen Yi's suspicion of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance would have been unwavering.
But after witnessing the deeds of the Alliance of Righteous Unity, she inevitably began to suspect the insidious motives of the Alliance of Righteous Unity as well.
Over these years in the Heaven-Slaying Alliance, Chen Yi had gradually come to understand some things.
The Heaven-Slaying Alliance was not as bizarrely mysterious, terrifying, and dreadful as the outside world imagined—no dragon pools, tiger dens, ghost realms, or demon worlds.
In fact, it was highly likely that all sorts of rumors had caused the myriad beings of all worlds to shun the Heaven-Slaying Alliance like scorpions, paling at its very mention.
These years, from what she had seen with her own eyes, the clans and powers living within the Heaven-Slaying Alliance could even be described as living in peace and prosperity, with clear seas and tranquil rivers—utterly devoid of chaos or turmoil.
Order was strict, everything well-organized.
She also saw not the slightest worry or fear toward the Dark Beings among the various clans.
No matter how turbulent and chaotic the outside world was, it seemed to have no effect whatsoever on the peace of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance.
She never saw any fear or unease in the eyes of the living beings of the clans of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance.
Even when the various wars and upheavals outside were mentioned, everyone wore an expression of unconcern, as if entirely untroubled by them affecting them, transcendent and detached from worldly affairs.
And all of this was solely because, with the Alliance Leader of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance presiding over it, external enemies dared not invade at all, making the Heaven-Slaying Alliance one of the few pure lands in the current Vast Expanse.
Chen Yi had also lamented and regretted: had she known the true state of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance earlier, and had the Crescent Moon Sect aligned with it sooner, would the outcome have been different?
She had long known about the Alliance of Righteous Unity signing that humiliating peace treaty with the Dark Beings. She also knew that many orthodox powers, including the Crescent Moon Sect, had been treated as discarded pawns by the Alliance of Righteous Unity, becoming cannon fodder against the Dark Beings and perishing within the River of Years.
Her former fellow disciples, her former students, were now part of those countless billions of departed souls.
Though her heart grieved, Chen Yi understood she was powerless to change anything.
When the Dark Beings attacked, the Alliance of Righteous Unity, which had promised to protect everyone, chose to retreat and abandon them. Only the Heaven-Slaying Alliance dispatched numerous experts to provide reinforcement and aid.
Under these circumstances, many clans and orthodoxies vanished and dissolved forever, including the Crescent Moon Sect she had once belonged to.
Time was the greatest power, capable of smoothing over the grief in a person's heart. These years had passed, and Chen Yi had gradually emerged from that heart-wrenching sorrow, beginning to face her current life directly.
Those former envoys of the Alliance of Righteous Unity, though deprived of freedom and forbidden from leaving the ancient city on their own, now all had their own lives within the Heaven-Slaying Alliance.
She was no exception, becoming an instructor at an academy within the Heaven-Slaying Alliance—after all, she was a Dao Realms existence who had survived several Heavenly Decline Tribulations, her vision and strength beyond those of ordinary cultivators.
"You've come. Enter then."
Just as myriad thoughts swirled in Chen Yi's mind and she stood full of trepidation, a somewhat natural, gentle voice suddenly came from within the small courtyard before her.
Hearing this voice, Chen Yi froze, then her eyes widened slightly.
She felt this voice was somewhat familiar, as if she had heard it somewhere before.
In the next moment, the courtyard gate silently swung open. The drifting fragrance of tea wafted out. Beside a crystal-clear pond, a young man reclined slightly lazily on a rattan chair.
And beside him, an exquisite and captivating woman was brewing tea, gently fanning a palm-leaf fan. Flames burned brightly in a small red clay stove, the charcoal crackling and popping.
Chen Yi's already widened eyes grew even wider. She stared at the scene before her in disbelief, her entire figure as if made of clay.
"How can this be..." she murmured.
How could she forget—back when she was on the way to the Heaven-Slaying Alliance and the Dark Beings attacked, who had intervened to save their group?
That elegant, refined young nobleman who had handed her that bottle of elixir—though it had been empty, containing no pills at all—
she still kept that empty bottle.
During the years imprisoned in the dungeon of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance, Chen Yi had even fantasized that someone might come to rescue them.
Would that white-robed young noble who had extended a hand of kindness to them in the darkness appear again?
She had fantasized and guessed many possibilities, but never imagined that the white-robed young noble of that time was actually the rumored Alliance Leader of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance, the one who made the entire Vast Expanse dread, fear, and pale at his mention.
"Miss Chen Yi, please have a seat."
Gu Changge's voice rang out, interrupting the chaotic, unbelievable torrent of thoughts in Chen Yi's mind.
She felt her mind go blank, as if crashing. She didn't even know how she walked over and then sat down at the stone table.
She didn't even notice when a cup of hot tea was placed in front of her.
Gu Changge left the fishing rod at his feet where it lay, not rushing to disturb Chen Yi, allowing her to come back to her senses on her own.
Ling Yuling scrutinized Chen Yi with an appraising look, inwardly curious why Gu Changge had suddenly summoned this woman.
Could she have some special quality?
"Greetings, Alliance Leader."
Chen Yi finally regained her senses, a bitter smile appearing at the corner of her mouth. Everything before her was truly too surreal and incredible.
So she had met the Alliance Leader of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance before, and had even mentioned the purpose of her visit to the Heaven-Slaying Alliance in his presence.
It was just that Gu Changge at the time had not revealed a single thing related to his identity.
She had also never imagined that Gu Changge was the Alliance Leader of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance.
Originally, Chen Yi had many questions and words she wanted to say and ask, but upon truly seeing Gu Changge and learning that he was the Alliance Leader, she didn't know what to say.
"You must be wondering why I sought you out."
Gu Changge smiled, signaling Chen Yi not to be nervous. "Lately, many within the Alliance have encountered scattered and displaced spark-bearing disciples of the Crescent Moon Sect and brought them back to the Heaven-Slaying Alliance. I recalled that you were once an elder of the Crescent Moon Sect, and thought of having you take charge of settling those disciples."
Hearing this, Chen Yi was dumbfounded, frozen on the spot, almost doubting whether she had misheard.
The Alliance Leader of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance sought her out personally, just for this?
With his status, shouldn't he not care about such a minor matter? How could he think of sending someone to bring her here and ask her personally?
"Alliance Leader, is there anything else?" Chen Yi subconsciously asked, still somewhat incredulous.
Gu Changge glanced at her a bit oddly, shook his head with a chuckle. "There is nothing else. I simply heard a subordinate report about the matter of the Crescent Moon Sect disciples, and suddenly thought of you. After all, you told me back then that you were an elder of the Crescent Moon Sect."
"By the way, how have you been these days in the Heaven-Slaying Alliance? For certain reasons, you are temporarily unable to leave. But once the matter with the Alliance of Righteous Unity is resolved, the world should be at peace. At that time, if you leave the Heaven-Slaying Alliance, presumably no one will say anything."
Chen Yi continued to stare at him blankly, somewhat at a loss.
The feeling was akin to being an utterly inconspicuous weed by the roadside, only to discover that you had actually been watched and cared for all along.
"Thank you for your concern, Alliance Leader. I've been quite well these days in the Heaven-Slaying Alliance, undisturbed by the outside world. The old hidden afflictions have also been resolved thanks to the elixir you gifted."
Chen Yi explained softly, "Back in the main hall, we truly never expected that someone harbored evil intentions and wanted to assassinate you, Alliance Leader..."
Now she was thoroughly convinced that someone in the envoy group at the time harbored malicious intent and wanted to assassinate Gu Changge.
It was not as the outside world rumored—that the charges were fabricated excuses to find a suitable reason to strike against the Alliance of Righteous Unity.
At the time, she had found it strange: why, for the heinous crime of attempting to assassinate the Alliance Leader, were they only locked in the dungeon and not executed outright?
Looking at it now, everything was clear. Gu Changge was their savior after all, with some acquaintance with them. Before figuring out the whole truth, how could he kill innocents indiscriminately?
How could a person of such noble character be as terrifying as the rumors claimed, enough to stop children's cries?
The outside world truly had deep misunderstandings about the Alliance Leader of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance.
"No matter. That matter has passed. Such paltry tricks could not harm me."
Gu Changge waved his hand with a smile, then said with some regret, "It's a pity that after I learned the Crescent Moon Sect was under attack by the Dark Beings, I immediately dispatched subordinates to provide reinforcement. But unfortunately, it was a step too slow. By the time they arrived, the Crescent Moon Sect was already ruins and wasteland."
"Alliance Leader, you need not blame yourself. Without the Alliance of Righteous Unity's abandonment, the Crescent Moon Sect would not have been destroyed."
Chen Yi thought of her former fellow disciples and students, her mood sinking and depressed.
"You need not grieve overly either. As far as I know, before the Crescent Moon Sect was destroyed, a group of elders led many disciples to scatter and flee in batches. Now they are just scattered across the four seas and eight desolates. Perhaps one day, the Crescent Moon Sect can be rebuilt." Gu Changge consoled.
Hearing this, Chen Yi could not help but feel threads of indescribable warmth in her heart.
For one of Gu Changge's status to specially comfort her over such a small matter—within this unfamiliar Heaven-Slaying Alliance, she seemed to have found a sense of belonging and warmth.
Afterward, she did not stay to disturb Gu Changge further. She pulled herself together, took her leave, and departed. Outside, someone at the commander level led the way and escorted her away.
Flowers bloom again; the Crescent Moon Sect naturally would also have a day of rebuilding. Why should she dwell in grief and nostalgia, immersed in the past? Now, there were still former disciples waiting for her to care for and settle.
Perhaps there were still her disciples, like Lan Xin, Gu Xian'er, and others...
"The tea is still hot..." After Chen Yi left, Ling Yuling glanced at the teacup she had just filled for her and shook her head.
She did not believe Gu Changge had such leisure that he would personally summon Chen Yi over a trifling matter of the Crescent Moon Sect and speak so many words.
Moreover, regarding the matter of the envoys from the Alliance of Righteous Unity attempting to assassinate Gu Changge—she knew very well that it was merely a pretext Gu Changge casually came up with; that incident simply never happened.
He had also not instructed the higher-ups of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance to dispatch armies to reinforce the Crescent Moon Sect at the first moment.
Those words just now were likely just something he casually said to placate that woman named Chen Yi.
Gu Changge must have some other purpose. For what? The Crescent Moon Sect?
"Hmm? A fish taking the bait?"
Gu Changge paid no mind to Ling Yuling's confusion. He glanced at the fishing rod slightly swaying at his feet, lifted a finger, and immediately the rod sliced across the pond's surface, the line instantly pulled taut.
And the originally calm pond surface, in that instant, churned with mist, surging with chaotic light, bursting with golden rays. There seemed to be a terrifying creature struggling on the other side of the pond, trying to break free.
Ling Yuling also focused her gaze.
Ang...
An earth-shaking, sky-rending dragon roar that pierced the clouds and shook the universe rang out. A creature covered in golden scales, wreathed in divine light, its body vast as a star, full of ancient and aged aura, was entangled and tightly bound by the fishing line, soaring up from the pond, and then with a thud, flung to the ground by Gu Changge, where it writhed and struggled.
This terrifying creature resembled a true dragon, covered in dragon scales, with imposing dragon horns. Its originally boundless body, upon landing in the courtyard, instantly shrank to the size of a small snake, its eyes filled with terror and trembling.
"Divine substance... this is the arm of an Ancestral God?"
Ling Yuling was highly knowledgeable and recognized it at once, her stunning face filled with shock and astonishment.
Her gaze fell on the creature entangled in fishing line, immobilized by the pond's edge. That too was actually a deity, but the divine substance on its body was far less dense than that arm.
In this current era, beings walking the Divine Dao system were already very few, let alone those who had cultivated to deityhood.
The Innate Gods had disappeared and vanished; the remaining deities mostly walked the Divine Dao system, step by step cultivating to their current realm.
However, it was clear that the arm Gu Changge was using as bait belonged to a very ancient and remote Ancestral God, by no means a deity that appeared in later times.
"And here I thought a big one got away; it's just a small fry." Gu Changge shook his head slightly.
"Y-you... you're the Alliance Leader of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance?"
The creature bound by the fishing line looked at Gu Changge in utter terror, its voice trembling.
"Good that you recognize me. Where is the Progenitor called Taixuan? If He wants His arm back, He'd best obediently come out Himself." Gu Changge said indifferently.
"Alliance Leader, have mercy! Alliance Leader, have mercy! How could this little god possibly know the location of an Ancestral God? I was merely wandering through spacetime and happened to sense dense divine substance. I thought it was a limb that some deity accidentally dropped into spacetime while battling a great enemy, so I rashly approached..." the creature explained full of fear and trembling.
"Do you truly think I'm so easily fooled? Since you won't speak, then say no more."
Gu Changge shook his head lightly, his eyes without a ripple. He reached out and pointed. The creature's pupils constricted sharply, filled with terror and unwillingness, then with a bang, it exploded into a mass of golden Divine Essence.
Ling Yuling looked at him with some confusion.
But Gu Changge did not intend to explain. He casually tossed that mass of Divine Essence into the teapot. As the tea gurgled and churned, it transformed into a full pot of brilliant golden light.
Back when the Immortal Chu Dynasty was destroyed, an Ancestral God named Taixuan had attempted to plot against him, wanting to use the believer Chen Jinhán as a pawn to corrode his power of faith and pollute and damage his Divine Incarnation of Faith.
Chen Jinhán, his sea of consciousness polluted by the Taixuan Ancestral God, became overrun with desires, his consciousness driven mad, and nearly committed blasphemy against the deity within the Heaven-Slaying Shrine.
For this, Gu Changge projected a single thought, located the spacetime where that Taixuan Ancestral God was, and severed one of His arms.
After that, that Ancestral God fled into the boundless spacetime, vanishing without a trace. All karmic traces were erased, as if He had completely evaporated from the Vast Expanse.