Chapter 503: Existence Of The Tree Of Epoch, Final Moments Of Maximum Potential
"So this is the Land of Rebirth that is deep beneath Sky Deer City. It appears someone has relocated them with some sort of powerful divine ability."
Compared to its state when the Sky Deer Goddess last visited, it seemed completely different. The sky was dim as not much light was to be found, with sparse mist floating in the sky. At first sight, one would notice the terrifyingly bottomless pit with fathomless depth. Its area was notably larger than that of many stars. In certain regions, one could even see the deep holes left behind by the remnant fragments of stars.
Had she not discovered that the region's strange World Principles was the same as when she last visited, she would have assumed that she had come to the wrong place.
After Sky Deer City was taken, the Upper Realm army stormed in and occupied various regions. Formidable cultivators of different forces of Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains could only flee or submit.
Some time after that, Sky Deer City, as the first city of Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains the Upper Realm occupied, was divided among forces according to their battle strategy. And now, order in the city was restored as they were already strategising the next steps of their conquest.
Sky Deer City's fall was equivalent to the gates of Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains being open. Therefore, Immortal or formidable forces were now planning to dispatch their respective troops to attack various clans of the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains, since there was no longer a need for a combined assault as what they did previously.
To the forces of the Upper Realm, those in the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains bore not the slightest threat as their army could swiftly bring them to peril.
However, Gu Changge was more interested in the Land of Rebirth, which was in the depths of Sky Deer City, hence he had the Sky Deer Goddess bring him over.
Alas, he was disappointed by what he saw now.
[We were too late. Something is indeed hidden within Sky Deer City's Land of Rebirth. I can even detect some Power of Reincarnation.]
Gu Changge gazed afar with his fascinated eyes before turning into a divine rainbow to venture into the deeper areas.
The area was limitlessly vast, resembling an unknown universe. Nevertheless, what caught Gu Changge by surprise was the abundant aura of death wafting in the air, as though the entire area had withered. There were even signs of battles in certain spots, though they were so old it was as if it had persisted since ancient times.
Other than that, there were shattered steles scattered all over the ebony soil, with no Life Force could be drawn within. Between the chunks of gravel, one could even see a river of blood flowing underground.
[Back when the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains split from the Upper Realm, a portion of the Upper Realm's Fortuity was stripped away as well, leading to the Principles not being complete during this epoch. As the Great Dao is incomplete, no Immortals could be born, even till this day. But to see traces of Principles from the Upper Realm lingering here, perhaps the stolen Fortuity is indeed related to this region.]
Gu Changge then stepped forward and saw a black sun at the edge.
The black sun seemed rather withered, as though someone had once taken it away, and whatever light remaining seemed bleak. In fact, the light seemed to contain some Life Force in it, but they were too scarce and insignificant to do anything to the vast Land of Rebirth.
In Gu Changge's opinion, the supreme experts of Sky Deer City must have seized the light with some powerful divine ability when they were making their escape. Evidently, they were too hasty, and were unable to thoroughly remove all traces in the region.
The light obviously harboured faint Spiritual Energy as well.
[From all these points, it's obvious that the Land of Rebirth is hiding something deeply related to Reincarnation.]
"The corpses that were buried here have all disappeared." The Sky Deer Goddess came over from another direction, and she was having a hard time trying to suppress her emotions. She went looking for the corpses of the supreme experts that had died in the war against the Upper Realm, which were buried in the region. Sadly, all she found were empty coffins with no bodies inside.
Her heart trembled as she subconsciously guessed that the deaths in the war were merely a guise. Seeing how those clans would go through great lengths to fake trivial matters and deceive the entire Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains, she realised she had underestimated those from the clans.
"Let's move on. There's no point dwelling in it. It appears Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains hold more secrets than you yourself know," Gu Changge claimed with a subtle grin.
Sky Deer Goddess then nodded as her eyes grew complex. [If it weren't for the Upper Realm's attack, I probably wouldn't have discovered this for all my life. Am I blessed or cursed?]
Meanwhile, outside the Land of Rebirth, there were already individuals waiting in reverence.
They were individuals of great power, Elders who voluntarily submitted to the Upper Realm, with each possessing formidable cultivation levels. At least, they were much stronger than the True Daoists of the Four Powerful War God Clans who pretended to be ready to fight the war till death.
However, the Elders' cultivation power was now sealed by the formidable experts from the various forces, with unique runes that were not to be used carelessly. Even so, their Qi and vitality was not to be underestimated as ordinary individuals still couldn't carelessly approach them.
Nevertheless, they were now lowly prisoners, and were being watched by the cultivators surrounding them. Even so, when they requested to meet with Gu Changge, no one disallowed it.
"Greetings, Young Master Changge."
They briefly glanced at the Sky Deer Goddess with perturbed faces before greeting Gu Changge respectfully.
"Oh? For what reason have you come to me?" Gu Changge turned to them with a somewhat surprised look. He was still considering how he should deal with the True Daoists of Sky Deer City, who had surrendered—whether to devour them to feed himself, or to let them live to serve him. After all, now that the entire world had witnessed him subduing the True Daoists of the Four Powerful War God Clans, if the Elders were to disappear, unwanted suspicion would be drawn upon him.
But of course, that didn't mean Gu Changge would let them off so easily. He just simply disdained the hassle.
"We know a little about the secret within the Land of Rebirth." In response, the Elders hid nothing as they intended to negotiate the terms with Gu Changge to alleviate their punishment as war prisoners.
"The Land of Rebirth? It must have been stolen from the Upper Realm in the past. It wasn't hard to figure that out." Gu Changge revealed a faint smile.
Countless years ago, the separation between the Upper Realm and Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains might have been related to the Demon Lord's annihilating the world, but it shouldn't be relevant to the theft of the Upper Realm's Fortuity.
Hearing that, the Elders peered at one another with a bitter grin. They knew that they wouldn't be able to hide the matter from Gu Changge. Though, the information they intended to disclose wasn't that, but the secrets beneath the Land of Rebirth.
"It is said that underneath the Land of Rebirth, there is a Tree of Epoch. The Tree of Epoch has lived through numerous epochs. Although its Life Force continues to dwindle, it never dies. A few epochs ago, someone noticed that the Tree of Epoch was extracting young sprouts to grow new branches." The Elders spoke and revealed a secret that was known by none.
"The Tree of Epoch?" Gu Changge tensed his brows.
The Tree of Epoch, the World Tree, and the Tree of Spacetime were mysterious ancient trees that were widely fabled in the Upper Realm.
As a matter of fact, Gu Changge owned a World Tree seedling, and it was now growing it in his Inner Universe, but it would still take a long time until it bloomed with potent branches and leaves.
The Tree of Epoch was a mysterious ancient tree that could easily thrive through numerous epochs. There were claims that one could travel through the River of Time to the past and future by climbing along the leaves on the Tree of Epoch.
Essentially, the Spacetime Stone, the Mirror of Wonders, and the Tree of Epoch were different instruments with the same function. Though, the Tree of Epoch was ultimately an entity that belonged to fables as none had ever seen it. Even in the Upper Realm, there were barely any records about it.
[If that's the case, is the region actually harbouring the new-grown Tree of Epoch? But if it is the Tree of Epoch, those below Immortal Realm wouldn't be able to approach it, so how did the cultivators manage to transport it? How peculiar. It mustn't be the complete Tree of Epoch.]
Gu Changge donned a pondering look, unbothered by the fact that the Elders might be lying to him.
[The withered Tree of Epoch must have turned into a seed or a sprout. Perhaps a fruit? If that's the case, the Tree of Epoch certainly pertains to the Fortuity of the entire world.]
Back when the Upper Realm was 'robbed,' its Fortuity massively decreased, leading to incomplete Heavenly Way. And so, the already-fractured World Principles grew more incapable of containing the power of the Immortal Realm.
[So that is why no one can reach the Immortal Realm in the Upper Realm.] Gu Changge subconsciously squinted his eyes as a daring thought arose in his mind.
Since the Tree of Epoch's influence was so great, it would definitely affect the Fortuity changes in the Upper Realm, so were he to absorb the tree, he just might be able to conquer the entire Upper Realm.
But of course, 'to conquer' wasn't referring to literally conquering the Upper Realm, but gaining control over how one could step into the Immortal Realm while in the Upper Realm.
In order to reach the Immortal Realm, a cultivator would have to be baptised by the lights of Immortality.
As such, without Gu Changge's permission, none in the world could ever reach the Immortal Realm.
However, currently, he was still uncertain about the whereabouts and what was left of the so-called Tree of Epoch.
Some time later, the Upper Realm Army set up camp in an ancient city that covered a million square kilometres within Sky Deer City. This space was divided among different forces.
Rifts could be seen appearing in the sky every day as the vast army was marching towards regions across Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains.
Right now, in the eyes of many, the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains were a scrumptious steak on a chopping board. Naturally, it was especially so for the Ten Great Domains, which were spacious and filled with fertile lands. Therefore, the army of different forces could be seen hurrying over every single day.
Compared to its isolated, abandoned state countless years ago, where exiles were tossed over to this land, the current Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains were remarkably richer in resources.
As the flames of war spread, battle cries thundered across regions. Large armies stampeded through the land, as though they were a raging torrent that was to flood the people of the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains with hopelessness and disasters.
Nonetheless, those of the younger generation such as the King with Six Crowns, the Phoenix Lady, and the Sky Demon Sovereign returned to the Upper Realm after the army had broken through the defences of Sky Deer City instead of participating in the further ventures.
To them, the great war was merely a training session. Once the session ended, they naturally returned to the Upper Realm and put all their focus on cultivating.
As expected, Gu Xianer left without bidding farewell to Gu Changge nor informing him about it.
After knowing about that, Gu Changge merely chuckled without minding it.
To Gu Xianer, the great war was quite an effective means to train. Although her current strength wasn't that different from the other strongest among the younger generation, she wasn't exactly satisfied with it just yet.
Soon, Gu Changge's cultivation level grew by leaps and bounds. When he was secretly dealing with the True Daoists of the Four Great Battle God Clans, they revealed a piece of information to him.
Apparently, the ones who ordered the abandonment of Sky Deer City and the scattered retreat were the ancient beings behind them. These ancient beings possessed frightening identities, and their age could be traced back to when Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains came into existence.
Nonetheless, they had clearly escaped from Sky Deer City and returned to their bases. It was possible that they even relocated their bases.
Similar to the Upper Realm, Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains also had many Lower Realms. Given the ancient beings' capabilities, they could effortlessly open up a Space Rift to the Lower Realm and go into hiding.
Gu Changge was quite surprised by the news. However, he then thought of another candidate, or rather, an opportunity to annihilate the Four Powerful War God Clans. [If my assumption is right, it was the ancient beings of the Four Powerful War God Clans who relocated the Land of Rebirth.]
"Gu Changge, what do you want me to do now?" From outside the palace, Lin Wu walked over with a hideous scowl. Although he had betrayed the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains, his treachery was done discreetly without exposing himself. At least, on the surface, none was aware of that.
At that moment, he was dragged over by the guards, as Gu Changge had a task for him.
Although he recently met Lu Luo, their situation only got better by a little. Essentially they had yet to regain their freedom. They were just being confined to the courtyard instead of the dungeon.
Although Lin Wu was disaffected by this, he could only contain his dissatisfaction as he dared not to show it.
"I have something else for you to deal with. Once that is finished, I'll naturally release the two of you." Carrying a faint smile, Gu Changge sat by the window as he gently blew his tea.
"You've promised me that you wouldn't hurt her. What more do you want?" Lin Wu spoke through gritted teeth as his fierce gaze was fixated on Gu Changge. Never once in his life was he this humiliated. Although he survived the great war, he wasn't able to find peace. Every now and then, he would be haunted by immense guilt.
"It is simple. Help me find your clansmen." Gu Changge casually grinned. "If you are unwilling to do so, then your previous effort may possibly be in vain. Don't you forget, a certain young prodigy in my Family is still holding a grudge against you."
"Gu Changge, you despicable scum..." Lin Wu was dazed for a moment before realising what Gu Changge was implying. Immediately, intense vexation surged in his heart as he tensely gritted his teeth, emitting a sound that bore his extreme exasperation.
Easily, Lin Wu acknowledged that Gu Changge's plan was indeed simple. Since none had yet to know about his betrayal against Sky Deer City, he could simply find an opportunity to return to his clan's base.
If his guess was right, the Blood Dragon War God Clan must be looking for a way to flee from Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains. As such, it was as clear as day that Gu Changge was planning to make a move on his clan.
Besides, Lin Wu understood that it would be too late even if he was to reject Gu Changge's order. After being tricked by Gu Changge, he no longer had a choice. He could only keep on walking down the unrighteous path.
"I offered you a chance. It does not matter to me whatever your choice is." Gu Changge retained his leisurely grin in response before serenely blowing the tea in his cup, as if he wasn't aware of Lin Wu's resentment.
Lin Wu's entire body was shaking, and even his eyes grew red. His heart was full of fiery rage and unconcealable abhorrence. Yet, he didn't dare to rebuke Gu Changge. It was as Gu Changge said, he no longer had a choice. He reached the point of no return the moment he betrayed Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains.
"But if you agree, I shall have my men transport you out of town right now. Rest assured, no one will notice you." The faint smile persisted on Gu Changge's face.
"Gu Changge, are you not afraid that Karma will find you one day and demand respiration for your vile acts?" Lin Wu's eyes grew incomparably icy. He felt that encountering Gu Changge was the most abysmal disaster of his life.
"Oh, Karma, huh? I can't wait to see her," Gu Changge said with a subtle grin as he was not at all bothered.
Lin Wu's value was his current identity as the most excellent young prodigy of the Blood Dragon War God Clan in recent years. His clan would definitely hate to leave him to suffer.
Gu Changge was aware that Lin Wu's clan territory was now nothing but empty. Even so, he believed that Lin Wu surely had a way to come in contact with his other clansmen, which would help him save the time and effort for a search.
Since Lin Wu was a Fortuitous One, Gu Changge would indubitably wait for Lin Wu to reach his maximum potential until his final moments. Otherwise, his identity as a Fortuitous One would be a waste.
But of course, in Gu Changge's opinion, the Four Powerful War God Clans were much more valuable than other forces, as the person who stole the Fortuity of the Upper Realm might bear a close connection to the Four War God Clans.
Apart from that, as Sky Deer City's downfall deemed Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains vulnerable, Gu Changge now planned to tend to something else, Xiao Yang, the other Fortuitous One from the Family of Protectors.
During the great war, not one member of that Family had appeared, which certainly took Gu Changge aback. Hypothetically, such a moment was an opportune time for a mighty hero to show up. Though, perhaps he was overthinking it. That or the so-called Family of Protectors was merely a dishonourable bunch like the Four Powerful War God Clans.
[Perhaps I can finally use the secret pawns the Gu Family laid down in the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains. Besides, Gu Wudi and Xiao Yang's whereabouts have always been in my grasp.]
Gu Changge's eyes gradually turned sinister.