"Stationed at the Alliance of Righteous Unity? Resisting the incursions of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance?"
"Why would Jiang Yun aid the Alliance of Righteous Unity?"
Ji Hanjing sat high on the dais, her face wreathed in chaotic mist, her expression profound and cold.
At this moment, her gaze shifted slightly, falling upon that old imperial uncle.
In an instant, a terrifying pressure swept over, like vast, boundless great stars crushing down. It directly caused the old imperial uncle's face to change drastically, his legs going weak as he trembled with terror and collapsed, kneeling on the ground.
The expressions of everyone within the grand palace also shifted dramatically.
All felt a terrifying pressure bearing down. Before their eyes, it seemed like a volcano on the verge of eruption, lava about to inundate heaven and earth.
Ji Hanjing's expression was icy, her voice bitingly cold as she demanded, "My Radiant Ancestral Court shook all worlds, the cosmos came to pay homage. When was there ever a need to seek humiliating peace with the Dark Beings, to compromise and retreat?"
"Since he, Jiang Yun, is in charge of the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty, ruling the world, then let him display the boldness and courage appropriate to his station. Should he collude with the Dark Beings and wallow in the mire with them, do not blame me for disregarding bloodline ties and personally deposing him."
These words caused everyone's faces to change color, their backs chilling with cold, their faces full of shock. Many only just now grasped the reason.
So this was the reason for this Progenitor's fury.
Indeed, the Radiant Ancestral Court was the orthodoxy founded by none other than Zhong Jun, a mainstay in resisting the Black Calamity Catastrophe.
The imperial family of the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty, however, proclaimed themselves the legitimate descendants of the Radiant Ancestral Court. Yet at such a critical juncture, the Weiyang Emperor Lord Jiang Yun had chosen to join the Alliance of Righteous Unity and assume the position of Alliance Leader, signing a humiliating peace treaty with the Dark Beings.
This matter had also caused a great uproar in the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty, triggering a huge commotion.
Many felt it was incomprehensible, unbelievable, unable to understand why the Weiyang Emperor Lord would choose this.
But since this was the Weiyang Emperor Lord's decision, even if they opposed it, it was useless.
The faces of the several old imperial uncles who had collapsed kneeling on the ground were even more bitter and helpless. If not necessary, they actually did not wish to involve themselves in the murky waters of the Alliance of Righteous Unity.
But it couldn't be helped—the Weiyang Emperor Lord was so overwhelmingly authoritative that the entire Weiyang Immortal Dynasty could be said to be his autocracy.
These imperial uncles were merely some blood relatives of the father of the Weiyang Emperor Lord Jiang Yun, completely unable to persuade or sway the Weiyang Emperor Lord's decisions.
"Progenitor, the great war between the Alliance of Righteous Unity and the Heaven-Slaying Alliance has now raged for decades, with virtually no room for easing. The Emperor Lord is far-sighted; this course of action must have been the result of long consideration, not without any reason."
"And you have just revived; your understanding of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance is not yet thorough. You must know that the threat of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance is no less than the Black Calamity Catastrophe. The origin of its Alliance Leader is unfathomable and has remained an enigma to this day. We even suspect he is connected to the Dark Beings."
"If we allow the Heaven-Slaying Alliance free rein and let it dominate unopposed, then I fear it won't be long before the entire Vast Expanse is slowly devoured by it. At that time, even the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty will be hard-pressed to protect itself and will be invaded and swallowed by the Heaven-Slaying Alliance..."
At this moment, within the grand palace, an elder in Confucian robes, wearing a high crown and broad belt, holding a jade tablet, stepped forward and spoke with clasped hands, his tone sincere, also explaining to Ji Hanjing.
He was precisely the Grand Chancellor of the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty, surnamed Song, called Chancellor Song by the many ministers. His cultivation was profound and unfathomable, his knowledge extensive and broad, understanding antiquity and modernity, discerning proper principles.
The Weiyang Emperor Lord valued him greatly, frequently consulting him on many matters of governing the country and the world.
Chancellor Song believed he understood the Weiyang Emperor Lord well, considering it impossible for him to be so mindless and irrational as to compromise and retreat with the Dark Beings at such a critical time.
The Weiyang Emperor Lord had absolutely acted out of necessity due to other considerations, with burdens and reasons he could not share.
"The opinion of one side, how can it be believed? Regardless of Jiang Yun's reasons, I will never tolerate collusion with the Dark Beings by signing a humiliating treaty," Ji Hanjing said coldly.
Chancellor Song hadn't expected this Progenitor's attitude to be so resolute, a bitter smile appearing on his face.
However, he wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but he felt this Progenitor seemed even more like a sovereign than the Weiyang Emperor Lord. That domineering bearing of looking down upon the world and all living beings was utterly impossible to conceal.
"Could this Progenitor, besides being a descendant of Zhong Jun, also have another identity?" Chancellor Song couldn't help but speculate inwardly.
News of the princess of the Radiant Ancestral Court reappearing in the world quickly spread throughout the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty and the many nearby True Worlds and civilizations, drawing all kinds of reactions and discussions.
During the period the Weiyang Emperor Lord was stationed at the Alliance of Righteous Unity, all affairs of the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty were entirely entrusted to this Progenitor to personally handle and decide.
Although many ministers inwardly grumbled, very unwilling, in the face of such an "ancestor" with a terrifying origin and frighteningly high seniority, none dared to show the slightest dissatisfaction.
Under these circumstances, many also discovered that this Progenitor's methods of handling matters were excessively iron-blooded and forceful. Her style was swift and resolute, without the slightest hesitation, like a true iron-blooded empress.
During her governance of the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty, some problems left behind by the previous Weiyang Emperor Lord were also smoothly resolved.
Many ministers were even surprised to find that the operations of the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty ran much more smoothly than before.
This also shocked and astonished the many ministers who had been reluctant at the start, worried that this Progenitor would act recklessly and disrupt the order of the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty. They subsequently set their minds at ease, no longer worried or suspicious.
During the period when the Weiyang Emperor Lord left the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty to station himself at the Alliance of Righteous Unity, many problems had arisen within the dynasty, and rebellions had nearly broken out in some regions.
But now, with Ji Hanjing overseeing the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty and decree after decree of iron-blooded orders issued, those problems were resolved one after another.
The numerous ministers of the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty were all shocked and astounded by her methods, leading them to sigh: truly, she was worthy of being the princess of the former Radiant Ancestral Court.
To her, governing the vast Weiyang Immortal Dynasty was simply effortless.
Throughout the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty, voices of support for this "Progenitor" began to emerge.
Her authority was also gradually accumulating.
...
"When the Weiyang Emperor Lord comes back to his senses, if he discovers his home has been stolen, I wonder how he'll feel?"
"Presumably, for Ji Hanjing—who was once an empress of the Radiant Immortal Dynasty—governing this Weiyang Immortal Dynasty is not difficult. The difficulty lies rather in how to replace the Weiyang Emperor Lord during this period."
Gu Changge did not continue paying attention to matters on Ji Hanjing's side.
To him, this was merely a minor chess piece.
Even if Ji Hanjing truly replaced the Weiyang Emperor Lord, it wouldn't significantly affect his subsequent plans.
He merely wanted to see if, after Ji Hanjing reappeared in the world, that Master of Fate who had been hiding behind the scenes would step forward and appear.
The Master of Fate probably would never have dreamed that, countless years after the Radiant Ancestral Court's destruction, a princess of the Radiant Ancestral Court would break out of the source within the ruins of the Radiant Ancient Domain, reappear in the world, and quickly seize control of the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty in a short time.
He controlled the Weiyang Emperor Lord, painstakingly building up this portion of his enterprise, only for it to become a wedding dress for another, snatched away. Was he willing to accept this?
Gu Changge was rather amused.
"Oh? There's movement here too."
Suddenly, his attention was drawn by the spreading ripples on the pond's surface. The other end of the fishhook began to sway slightly. Some force was transmitted, trying to pull the hook, along with the line and rod, over to its side.
Gu Changge did not act, merely looking quietly at that side, a trace of amused interest at the corner of his mouth.
Mist steamed above the pond's surface, even chaotic mist swirling, strand after strand, growing denser, as if about to liquefy. The fishing line quivered, causing even the water in the pond to churn.
In the next instant, Gu Changge's hand gave a light flick. The pond's surface returned to calm. A terrifying force pressed down, causing all fluctuations of aura to vanish into nothingness.
But very soon, as he lifted the rod, the previously calm pond surface instantly shattered like a broken mirror, collapsing completely. Rich fluctuations of spacetime aura spilled forth.
On the other side of the pond was like a boundless inverted celestial curtain, extending beyond sight.
Beneath this dim and lightless celestial curtain, there was only a single blurred lunar crescent, faintly hanging high in the firmament, casting hazy, mist-like radiance, possessing a uniquely beautiful and strange aesthetic.
And that fishing line simply hung straight down from the other side of the lunar crescent, dropping directly onto the surging, vast and mighty sea below.
At the other end of the hook still hung that flawless, crystalline, pure-white arm, shrouded in a hazy halo of divine light, scattering specks of starlight at its edges, continuously buffeted by the waves.
The sea's surface swelled with waves, boundless without end, magnificent beyond description.
This was a vast and mysterious Spacetime Sea. Every wave, every ripple was a spacetime, a great realm. The waves surged and roared with thunderous, terrifying sound—that was countless worlds colliding with each other.
Only those beings at the very pinnacle of the Vast Expanse could establish a foothold here.
And now the waves raged, terrifying great swells continuously crashing, one after another, as if to batter down that void celestial curtain itself.
Several vague and terrifying figures loomed at the edge of the celestial curtain, within the hazy mist, appearing and disappearing, like gods or demons, bearing unparalleled, dreadful pressure.
Around these figures, one could see layer upon layer of halo, with the sound of worlds swirling around them. That layer of halo was wreathed in mist, the mist like nebulae, nurturing vast worlds and endless living beings.
Boom!
Boundless fluctuations of energy, following the struggle and battle of these figures, raged and swept across like the heavens tilting and earth overturning.
Their figures were all extremely blurred, covered by True Dao Forms, vanishing in an instant and reassembling in the next, their speed surpassing time itself, as if fighting across the entirety of ancient and modern history.
In every piece of spacetime, their figures were reflected, then extinguished after reflection.
No one would have imagined that at this very moment, in this Spacetime Sea of an unknown dimension, such a terrifying great battle was erupting. The River of Time flowed forth, then silently evaporated amidst the ripples of their exchange, vanishing completely.
This place had become a zone without law, without heaven, without restraint—devoid even of time and space.
"Someone wants to use a borrowed knife to kill. It seems you have no shortage of mortal enemies, Taixuan. They are willing to use your origin as bait to fish and lure us here."
"After countless ages, to see so many of our kind gathered here is truly not easy. To vie for this portion of origin—is it worth it?"
An authoritative, archaic voice resounded across this Spacetime Sea.
A figure with three heads and six arms, its form shrouded in vast divine light, stood beneath that void celestial curtain, speaking coldly.
One of its heads resembled a dragon's head, its eyes brilliant gold. When they opened and closed, terrifying visions of worlds arising and ceasing played out. Within the divine rings of light behind it, phenomena such as universal evolution and chaotic creation were also reflected, possessing terrifying power.
"Heh heh, if it weren't worth it, Taisu, why would you have appeared? If even you covet this portion of origin, what face do you have to speak of others like that?"
A mocking voice rang out from afar. That too was a deity, possessing nine heads and nine wings on its back.
Each of its wings was vast beyond measure, like the wings of a Kun Peng, bearing worlds within, evolving living beings, with Divine Kingdoms functioning and replacing each other within.
"A portion of an Ancestral God's origin—they're certainly willing to part with it. But aren't they afraid the fish will eat the bait and not take the hook? Setting this bait was precisely to lure us here. But now it seems, besides the bait, there are other even more attractive things."
In the distance, a deity as blazing as a great sun, shrouded in three thousand divine rings behind it, spoke flatly.
An Ancestral God's origin, even just a portion, was an extremely precious item to Them.
If swallowed and refined, it could even allow Their Divine Authority to advance a step further, inheriting the other party's vast divine power.
Of course, those who dared to covet an Ancestral God's origin were necessarily existences of the same level.
A weaker deity, were they to rashly swallow an Ancestral God's origin, would very likely be exploded by the vast divine power within it, or have their original Divine Authority seized by the residual divine will retained within, becoming a divine thrall.
The earth-shattering battle just now was precisely caused by Them fighting over that portion of the Ancestral God's origin.
They naturally knew the bait was intentionally placed, solely to attract Them, and that the angler behind it harbored malicious intent.
But fortune is sought amidst danger, let alone for a portion of an Ancestral God's origin.
In the current turbulent and unpredictable times, devouring such a portion of origin was enough to save Them long ages of accumulation and bitter cultivation, and even give Them a chance for further metamorphosis.
Ancestral Gods were not like cultivators of the Ancestral Dao Realm. In this present era, They were already very rare. None wished for Their origin to wither and die, passing into history.
The framework of this Spacetime Sea of unknown dimensions ran through and connected various universes and spacetimes. Even the Divine Realms where They hid had countless intertwining convergences with it.
The appearance of this portion of Ancestral God's origin was no different than placing a huge piece of fat meat right at Their doorstep.
"Whether bait or trap, what belongs to me, I will naturally retrieve."
An equally archaic and solemn voice sounded. Within the vast mist, a radiant deity emerged.
This was a figure both blurred and dazzling, standing amidst the boundless, infinite void, as if walking out of multidimensional spacetime.
Ring after divine ring wreathed and shrouded its form. Each layer of divine ring was like a ring of nebula, within which were scattered all sorts of worlds and universes.
Within every divine ring, there seemed to be vast, infinite subjects being nurtured, with worlds and heavens arising, ceasing, and evolving.
Its face was at times archaic and blurred, at times majestic and solemn, at times enchantingly charming, at times cold as frost.
It changed with every moment, impossible to truly discern, filled entirely with vast divine light.
The entire celestial curtain seemed unable to contain its true form. A single divine ring was enough to overfill this vast, dark void.
"Taixuan, you are no longer at your peak. This damaged portion of your origin is the best evidence. Yet you still dare to appear and contend for it here. It seems you are prepared to spill blood and die, leaving your Divine Authority to us." A cold, sinister laugh rang out, shaking this entire Spacetime Sea.