Chapter 414: Brother Bufan And I Are Like Old Friends, The Wolf Has A Winning Game When The Shepherds Quarrel
In an ancient cave where the rays of the sun poured in and Dao energy intertwined, an unwavering figure with his face blurry from the Mist of Chaos sat cross-legged on the ground covered in wet, multicoloured blood. The royal splendour was as pervasive as it was revolting. The figure sounded relieved when he spoke.
"It must be Fan'er. He's found the way here. Logically speaking, he should understand the message I left him back then."
"Is that true, Brother Solar?" A tall woman who appeared not far from this figure asked upon hearing that. She was dressed in a pure white robe which looked like it was made from threads of moonlight. With the innate noble aura she exuded, she resembled a deity of the Moon that had descended.
"Of course. Back then, I left Fan'er enough room to manoeuvre so that he could come to find out the truth in person. I felt the key I left him earlier. It means that he has come here. I'm sure he'll find us in no time," Solar Demon Overlord commented with a small smile. He sounded somewhat at ease when he said that.
The Lunar Demon Overlord nodded with a deep look in her eyes. Her hair was like silver strands that flowed like stars. "Is that so? That's great. Crimson Cloud and the rest of them must be planning to make a move as well."
Although she was not as powerful as the Solar Demon Overlord, her abilities were still extremely abstruse.
"We should also be ready. I have to get the World Source this time," declared the Solar Demon Overlord, his eyes gradually deepening. When he stood up and left the place, it took him only one step for him to appear outside of the void as the universe froze.
He was waiting for Jun Bufan's arrival.
Six thousand years ago, the six of them did not hesitate to set up a world-shattering plan in order to acquire the World Source of the Demon World. Not only did they deceive everyone in the Demon World, they also fooled the outside world, making people mistakenly think that they were all a part of the chaos of the Demon World six thousand years ago. It was because they had such an opportunity to deceive others that they could enter this place smoothly. All they had to do now was wait for the World Source to mature inside this Mirror World, which was created after the fall of the Mirror Demon during the ancient times.
There was a time when the ancient existence of the Demon World set up many Grand Arrays in this place. With the Gates of Death and Gates of Life as the focal point, the purpose of sealing off the existence of this place was to cover up the biggest secret of the Demon World
World Sources, which contained the world's Source of Origin, Principles as well as many innate Dao patterns, were seldom born even in worlds of higher planes of existence. For beings at their cultivation level, World Sources were like a far-fetched dream that would even allow them to step into another world.
Even in the Upper Realm, not one Immortal had been born after so many epochs had passed. However, they saw their hope of becoming Immortals because of the Demon World's World Source. They would even sacrifice their own children to perfect this earth-shattering plan of theirs.
In order to make the overall situation more believable, they left behind their own Nirvana Grade Artifacts, and by doing that, made many outsiders believe that they were no longer around. However, the Solar Demon Overlord kept his guard up and made a lot of backup plans for his Son, Jun Bufan, to come to him after six thousand years. That was because he knew that the World Source was not enough to support the breakthrough of the Six Demon Overlords.
Someone had to die to make sure their breakthrough was successful.
Without their Nirvana Grade Artifact, it was difficult for them to find a victor amongst them. [But when my son comes with my Nirvana Grade Artifact, the Solar Heavenly Blade, the situation will undergo a major reversal!]
It was a pity that his tactic was seen through by the Crimson Cloud Demon Overlord six thousand years ago. As a battle proceeded to break out between them, one of them died, and the other five who were wounded fled to various places where they hid to recover. But now that his plan had already been laid out, he couldn't change anything even if the Crimson Cloud Demon Overlord saw through it. He only had the Lunar Demon Overlord on his side.
The Crimson Cloud Demon Overlord, on the other hand, had Blood Demon Overlord and another Demon Overlord.
Even though the situation seemed unfavourable to him, everything would be reversed in an instant as long as he had his Nirvana Grade Artifact. There were only two Nirvana Grade Artifacts in the huge Demon World that would be able to change the stalemate.
One of them was his Solar Heavenly Blade, and the other was the Crimson Cloud Demon Overlord's Crimson Cloud Spear. The Crimson Cloud Demon Overlord initially left the Crimson Cloud Spear in the Demon World. Unless he voluntarily left this world, it was impossible for him to bring in the Crimson Cloud Spear.
On top of that, re-entry into the Mirror World would require the scale of a Mirror Demon as the key. No one could break through the protective arrays here with just external force. If the Crimson Cloud Demon Overlord was in his right mind, he wouldn't leave this world at such an important juncture.
The Lunar Demon Overlord seemed to have thought of something then when she let out a small sigh. "These six thousand over years have been hard on Yao Xi and Bufan. Poor children..."
On the contrary, the Solar Demon Overlord replied rather indifferently, "Those who achieve great things are free from trifles. I might be using Fan'er in this matter, but I believe he will understand my efforts. Yao Xi's character doesn't go along well with his at all. Even if we didn't give Yao Xi this chance, she would do the same in the future."
The Lunar Demon Overlord didn't say much in return. She did agree to this decision in the first place. She had no room for regret.
And just as the two were talking, there was a sudden burst of energy from the sky in the distance, and a divine rainbow dashed towards them.
[This person is...]
The Solar Demon Overlord's face fell. The foreign energy she felt coming off of the person was not Jun Bufan. The Lunar Demon Overlord also frowned. The Solar Domon Overlord hadn't expected for the person who came here to look for him to be a young man he didn't recognise instead of his son.
The tall and confident young man of immortal grace was dressed in a black robe. With many complicated and exquisite patterns embroidered on his sleeves, he exuded a noble and mysterious aura. They could tell at a glance that he was no ordinary being. He looked like a man in his twenties, and yet, the Solar Demon Overlord couldn't help the thundering of his heart as he looked at the man in shock because of his cultivation level.
[How can there be a monster who looks like he's 20 years old, but has already reached the Sacred King Realm?]
The Lunar Demon Overlord felt the same emotions that coursed through the Solar Demon Overlord. This was their first time seeing such a young man in the Sacred King Realm. [What happened in the outside world for such a young monstrocity to appear after all these years? I can't imagine this being possible even during the era of the Immortals from the ancient texts.]
Just when the Solar Demon Overlord and Lunar Demon Overlord were each in their own thoughts, the young man in front of him spoke to them first with a gentle expression on his face. His words felt like the breeze of spring; he was neither submissive nor overbearing, and he upheld his manners.
"I greet you, Solar Demon Overlord and Lunar Demon Overlord."
One could imagine what extraordinary background he had for him to have such a dignified temperament.
Impassive, the Solar Demon Overlord stared at Gu Changge and hummed, "It seems you know who we are." His eyes were deep like stars were rolling in them, and they seemed to flicker as if he wanted to see through Gu Changge.
"Of course I do," Gu Changge smilingly replied. "The two of you are the reason I came to this world, Seniors."
The Lunar Demon Overlord asked abruptly, "What is your relationship with the Immortal Gu Family?"
She closely examined his appearance, temperament, and even his cultivation. It was impossible that she and the Solar Demon Overlord weren't shocked or suspicious when a young man suddenly broke into this world, found where they were, and exposed their identities in one fell swoop. Still, they didn't do anything to him as they didn't feel his malice.
Gu Changge kept that same smile on his face despite hearing that."My name is Gu Changge," he introduced himself.
"Ah, the current Young Master of the Gu Family!? No wonder." The Lunar Demon Overlord's pupils dilated, and the cautious look on her face visibly eased up. She looked a lot more friendly than before as the tense atmosphere just now relaxed. The Solar Demon Overlord's casual expression was also replaced by a more solemn one.
Although they hadn't left this world for six thousand years, and didn't know who the young master of the Gu Family was in this generation, they were sure that no one in this world would dare to falsely take on such an identity. If it was anyone else, they would have already started to search his soul by now.
However, the Solar Demon Overlord couldn't completely let his guard down. He wasn't sure if he could trust Gu Changge just yet. "If I may ask, what brings you here, Young Master Gu?"
After all, he was a True Daoist who was standing at the pinnacle of the path of cultivation in this world. He was someone who many Sect Masters of the Upper Realm needed to be respectful to. There was no need for him to be polite to a Junior like Gu Changge.
"Brother Bufan and I are close friends. He told me to come here to look for the two of you, and asked me to give something to you, Solar Demon Overlord," Gu Changge explained with a smile.
The Solar Demon Overlord proceeded to frown at his distrust of Gu Changge's words. The Lunar Demon Overlord, too, had a nagging feeling that things were a bit strange. [Why didn't Fan'er come here himself, then? And why does he need to tell an outsider to come here?]
"Why should I trust you? Where is Fan'er now?" The Solar Demon Overlord asked, his eyes fixated on Gu Changge to catch anything odd from his expression.
To his disappointment, he couldn't find any change of emotion from the young man even though he was in the Nirvana Realm. Gu Changge remained calm and nonchalant, and didn't act out of the norm just because he was in the Nirvana Realm. It was impossible to judge whether there was something wrong with Gu Changge from his demeanour.
Gu Changge's polite smile remained on his face when he commented, "You seem agitated, Solar Demon Overlord. I came under Brother Bufan's request. I'm afraid I have no reason to make you believe my words."
Upon hearing that, the Solar Demon Overlord looked slightly awkward. It was true that Gu Changge had no reason to make him believe him. Furthermore, Gu Changge made it clear that he was here upon Jun Bufan's request.
"Of course, there's nothing I can do about it if you don't believe it, Solar Demon Overlord. All I can do now is give you a brief summary of Brother Bufan and my encounter." Gu Changge spoke again with a natural and casual expression that remained unchanging throughout his explanation of the ins and outs of this matter to the slightly grim-faced Solar Demon Overlord and Lunar Demon Overlord.
"Six thousand years ago, the Demon World was in turmoil. The Demon Master Bai Kun escaped from the Demon World and went to Chaos Star Territory to live in seclusion. He was searching for his daughter's whereabouts but was spotted by Empress Yao Xi of the Demon World, who then sent someone to hunt him down. It just so happened that Bai Kun's daughter, Bai Lian'er, is one of my subordinates, which was why I rescued him from the Demon World.
"I learned from the Demon Master about the matter you entrusted to him, so I came to the Demon World with Bai Lian'er. It just so happened that Brother Bufan planned to assassinate Empress Yao Xi at the Banquet of Prodigies. Even though the assassination was not successful, it did leave Empress Yao Xi injured and furious.
"After Brother Bufan's identity in this life was exposed, his entire family has been detained by law. He's so preoccupied with trying to rescue his relatives in this life that he has no time to worry about anything else. That's the reason he asked me to come here to find the two of you based on the information in the brocade bag. He wants to get to the bottom of this misunderstanding and save his relatives in this life."
The Solar Demon Overlord's face only further darkened when he heard Gu Changge's words. "You even know about the inside of the brocade bag," he said, in which Gu Changge nodded and informed him, "I happened to be there when Brother Bufan opened the bag. So, yes, I know about the brocade bag."
The Lunar Demon Overlord's eyes held a myriad of emotions after Gu Changge said that.
"Yao Xi and Bufan never should have become each other's enemy. This misunderstanding should be resolved," she muttered. She didn't think there was anything wrong with what Gu Changge's had said. Gu Changge had also perfectly explained Jun Bufan's whereabouts and why he had Gu Changge come here.
"And of course," Gu Changge continued, "Brother Bufan told me bring this item along, as you will find it useful, Solar Demon Overlord." Right then, something in his palm began to shine. A black Heavenly Sword forged from Immortal Divine Gold emerged, its brilliance flowing as it made a clear clanging sound. Its sharpness seemed to soar, and was capable of piercing the sky at any time.
"It's the Solar Heavenly Blade!" The Lunar Demon Overlord's gaze landed on the weapon as she exclaimed in tone laced with joy. The Solar Demon Overlord also breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing it. He was still carefully considering the truth of Gu Changge's words a while ago, but his eyes were now more at ease as he looked at Gu Changge.
Since Jun Bufan even handed over the Solar Heavenly Blade to Gu Changge and asked him to bring it here, it meant that he had a lot of trust in Gu Changge. Not only that, Gu Changge had not, for one second, put his eyes on the weapon. He didn't appear to covet the Solar Heavenly Blade.
The two of them couldn't help but think highly of Gu Changge when they saw his nonchalant expression. After all, there were not many people in this world who could remain indifferent in front of an Nirvana Grade Artifact.
"Allow me to thank you for your help again, Young Master Gu." The Solar Demon Overlord took the Solar Heavenly Blade from Gu Changge, and his confidence in dealing with the Crimson Cloud Demon Overlord and others rose by a little. He couldn't help the small smile on his face.
"Don't stand on ceremony, Senior. Brother Bufan and I are like old friends. He is such an open and upright person. It's only natural that I do the things he entrusted me with," Gu Changge smilingly replied while shaking his head.
Hearing that, the Lunar Demon Overlord couldn't help but take another relieved glance at Gu Changge. [As expected of the Young Master of the Gu Family. What a nice and capable young man. Where else can someone like him be found?]
Right then, Gu Changge suddenly spoke again, this time with confusion on his face. "But I have a presumptuous question which I hope both Seniors would enlighten me with."
"Do speak, Young Master Gu. We will tell you anything that we know the answer to," urged the Solar Demon Overlord. Now that he had the Solar Heavenly Blade, he was more energetic, and his energy felt more terrifying than usual for some reason. Gu Changge's request was no trouble at all to him.
"What exactly happened during the chaos that erupted in the Demon World six thousand years ago?"
Hearing this, the Solar and Lunar Demon Overlord looked at each other with a slightly uneasy expression. They didn't know how they were supposed to go about this. Were they supposed to say that it was a grand scheme of theirs to confuse all beings in the Demon World?
The Lunar Demon Overlord was the one who answered without offering a direct explanation this time. "If you want to know the truth, please come with us, Young Master Gu."
"Please forget about it if you are reluctant to tell me," Gu Changge casually threw out.
The Solar Demon Overlord shook his head. "In fact, you should be able to understand when you see it later."
He then stepped into the air, where a Golden Rune appeared under his feet and extended into the distance. Like a waking tsunami, the terrifying aura covered the sky and the sun, and the entire space seemed like it was about to explode, as it was barely withstanding the fluctuations.
When the Lunar Demon Overlord saw this, she swiftly followed after him. In the blurry void, it took her no time to reach him and stay close behind him.
Gu Changge had a strange glint in his eyes as the corners of his mouth lifted into an amused smile. He wasted no time to follow after them.
At the far end of the world, a snicker rang out. It was as cold as it was mocking. "Solar, Lunar... You've finally shown up."
Accompanied by footsteps that shook the world, a figure like an ancient noble stepped forward, his body covered in what looked like a sea of blood.
*Boom* A monstrous energy erupted the moment he took a step forward. The ground began to collapse as a radiance flowed, and the aura of death filled the air. It was as though there was a path made of blood that could reach the sky behind him.
This was someone in the Quasi-Nirvana Realm, whose existence was almost invincible.
Black flowers began to bloom when he pointed. As the Dao energy circulated, the Principles shattered like bloodied flowers in the void that were stained by endless bloody filth.
And this, was an ultimate attack by someone in the Quasi-Nirvana Realm.
When the void collapsed, all vitality would be destroyed, and everything could be ruined.
One of the Demon World's Six Demon Overlords, the Blood Demon Overlord sneered, "How dare someone like you stop me?! You slipped away once, but you've run out of luck this time." He then slashed his sword forward.
With a humming sound, the Solar Heavenly Blade exploded with endless black light. He intended to shatter everything with this blow of his. Hundreds of millions of blood-coloured, bright divine lights were annihilated before they disappeared, leaving only a few ripples in the void.
"The Solar Heavenly Blade... Someone brought your Nirvana Grade Artifact here!?" The Blood Demon Overlord had a surprised look on his face.
A Quasi-Nirvana Being could pierce through worlds with a point of their finger. However, it was split apart and turned into dust. At the same time, a terrifying energy that seemingly intended to shake him to death hit him.
"But it's pointless even if you have your Nirvana Grade Artifact."
A figure with killing intent suddenly appeared out at the speed of light—it was the Crimson Cloud Demon Overlord who had a black gold crown on his head and red wings on his back.
At this moment, power of the Nirvana Realm bloomed, and Mist of Chaos emerged from the crown of his head. The terrifying and surging blood dragon burst out and broke the sky. The whole area was in an immediate uproar.
As Chaotic Lights soared into the sky, the terrifying Qi fluctuations rose, and the ground began to tremble before a terrible rift which was about to be engulfed under the Nirvana Realm Qi fluctuations appeared. Another Quasi-Nirvana Being showed up then, and a world-shattering war broke out when they attacked the Lunar Demon Overlord.
The Solar Demon Overlord, who was holding his Solar Heavenly Blade, began to fight against the Crimson Cloud Demon Overlord and the Blood Demon Overlord, terrorising the world. If the world wasn't stable, it would have been cracked open the moment the fight broke out.
Even though everyone except for the Solar Demon Overlord and the Crimson Cloud Demon Overlord were in the Quasi-Nirvana Realm, they were also shocking and frightening. No one would have imagined that a fight of such magnitude would break out.
According to rumours, the Mirror Demon was a kind of demon comparable to Celestial Beasts. The Mirror World in it could reflect a real and vast world. The Principles here were also reflected, otherwise this place would definitely collapse under the pressure of the existence of the Nirvana Realm Masters.
Despite looking at the great battle that broke out here, Gu Changge did not get close to them. Instead, he stood tall on a mountain peak in his dark ceremonial robes, sporting a vague smile on his face.
No one cared about him, as he was merely in the Sacred King Realm, after all. The Solar and Lunar Demon Overlords didn't expect his help. The Crimson Cloud Demon Overlord and the Blood Demon Overlord might be surprised to learn of his identity, but they, too, couldn't care less about him.
[So, that's where the World Source is.] The black and white in Gu Changge's eyes seemed to blur as the Power of Reincarnation intertwined. It was as if the Six Paths of Reincarnation had emerged, and many heavenly palaces, stars, and celestial palaces had evolved and collapsed in them. Such a sight was especially frightening, but it eventually returned to calm.
Gu Changge was in no hurry. The battle had just begun after all, and neither of those in the fight was losing any time soon.
The wolf was the one who would have a winning game when the shepherds quarrelled. All he needed to do now was wait for the fruit to ripen before he made his harvest. He was more than pleased with his plan. However, he needed to pull some tricks before that.
Afterwards, while Gu Changge stayed still, he forced several jade talismans into the void around him, turning them into Mist of Chaos, in which the images of many ancient celestial palaces took shape and disappeared quickly.