After Chu Xiao and the others departed, silence returned to the pavilion. Gu Changge unhurriedly savored his tea, only setting the cup down after a while.
With this fourth power entering the fray, the overall situation in the Vast Expanse finally became clear.
Beyond the Heaven-Slaying Alliance, the Alliance of Righteous Unity, and the Dark Beings, a new covenant would soon emerge.
For the beings of the Vast Expanse, this was indeed a good thing, for another force would arise to contend against the Heaven-Slaying Alliance and the Dark Beings.
The various Dao orthodoxy True Worlds, civilizations, and races also gained another option.
And for him, this was an excellent signal. The more players joined this dull play and the grander the scene, the more interesting it would become.
The Alliance of Righteous Unity probably assumed Gu Changge would intervene to prevent the birth of the new covenant. Unfortunately, not only would he not interfere, he was actually quite willing to lend a hand at a critical moment.
At present, his main consideration was whether to warn Wu Yue. He still remembered when she first followed him, she was just a naive, innocent little beast.
After countless ages, he did not know if she had grown, whether she could detect this conspiracy targeting the old faction of Heaven's Proxy.
Gu Changge gently rubbed his teacup, his thoughts churning.
Earlier, when he sensed Wu Yue's whereabouts as the Lord of Heaven's Proxy, he had alerted countless ancient existences across the Vast Expanse.
At the same time, it triggered a disturbance in the Coffin of World Burial, altering the temporarily calm situation in the Vast Expanse and causing the Dark Beings to awaken ahead of time and return to dominate the worlds.
Although that had been intentional, it forced him to change some of his previous plans and accelerate the evolution of the situation.
This time, if he once again sensed Wu Yue to warn her, the situation in the Vast Expanse would likely become even more chaotic and turbulent.
Those existences that had already awakened and stayed on guard would grow even more cautious, and the clues they had finally revealed would all shrink back.
Especially the approach of the Land of the Dark Source had already made many ancient existences vigilant and move with extreme caution.
If they further discovered that Gu Changge, the Lord of Heaven's Proxy, had actually long since "freed himself" and awakened, and could overturn the table at any moment,
then would they still come out and show themselves? They would hide even deeper, more concealed.
Once the odds between the two sides became too lopsided, none of them would easily reveal themselves—let alone that Gu Changge could flip the table at any moment, reshuffling everything.
For now, he had to make them think they actually had a decent chance of winning, that with a bit more effort and plotting, they could indeed emerge as the victors.
These fellows were like loaches; since the birth of the Vast Expanse, they had hidden in various void and chaotic spacetimes. Catching them was not difficult, but it was troublesome and would waste too much of Gu Changge's energy and attention.
He truly did not wish to devote his mind to these matters.
Coincidentally, the Master of Fate sought to exploit the current situation to scheme for the entire Vast Expanse's "Dao Fruit," which gave those fellows an opportunity and hope, making them unable to hold back.
For Gu Changge to achieve the goal of "slaying Heaven," the prerequisite was to first gather the strength of the entire Vast Expanse, unify all usable forces, and wield the might of all worlds.
Even in the eyes of those with ulterior motives, everything he had done after establishing the Heaven-Slaying Alliance was moving toward that "goal."
All his actions could be logically explained.
Now, the emergence of the new covenant meant those fellows truly could not restrain themselves anymore and wanted to get a hand in.
Whether to thwart the Dark Beings' schemes or to claim a share of the spoils, they had to step into the fray.
And this was exactly what Gu Changge wanted to see.
His next task was to stabilize the situation for all parties, to keep this table steady, so that the various forces on the field all appeared to be in a state of equilibrium, balanced and mutually restrained.
Everyone would have a chance to win; anyone could become the victor.
"Four factions are still a bit excessive. The Heaven-Slaying Alliance is not a bone that is easy to gnaw, so the first to enter the fray will be the Dark Beings…" Gu Changge rubbed his teacup, his gaze profound.
After the new covenant appeared, this new alliance would probably try every means to join forces with the Alliance of Righteous Unity and the Heaven-Slaying Alliance to purge and deal with the Dark Beings.
The Master of Fate, staying behind the scenes, being so bold as to oppose the Heaven-Slaying Alliance, must be unafraid of the Dark Beings stabbing him in the back.
This did not mean he was absolutely confident.
Rather, it indicated that among the Dark Beings, there were those collaborating with him, a piece he had planted in advance.
On the surface, the Alliance of Righteous Unity feared and dreaded the Dark Beings, but in truth, it was merely a façade created by the Master of Fate to deceive the world.
After the Heaven's Proxy Organization collapsed and disintegrated, it fragmented into the Heavenly Faction and The Eight Tribes.
The Eight Tribes each served their own master. Without Gu Changge's rule and suppression, Wu Yue naturally struggled to win their loyalty and suppress the chiefs of The Eight Tribes.
Although the Heavenly Faction remained obedient, always heeding her commands and submitting to her rule, the other priests and guardians might not always be content to remain behind the scenes without harboring dissent.
After all, the flesh and blood Gu Changge had left behind when he was the Lord of Heaven's Proxy was still sealed within the Coffin of World Burial.
For the various priests and guardians of the Heavenly Faction, that was an inexhaustible, boundless treasure.
"With treasure by the side, who would not be tempted?" Gu Changge smiled faintly.
Not to mention the priests within the Heavenly Faction, even a few of the former chiefs of The Eight Tribes, after he was sealed, would definitely have had designs.
The Heavenly Decline Ancestor of the Heavenly Decline Faction, an existence once known to the world as Shi Zuxu, had long coveted Gu Changge's power for ages.
If Gu Changge had not miscalculated, Shi Zuxu had probably long been in contact with some priests of the Heavenly Faction and had been trying to scheme for his flesh and blood left in the Coffin of World Burial.
When Old Man Cold Crow of the Lesser Yin Faction and the old Daoist of the Heavenly Decline Faction found him before, Gu Changge did not conceal his identity—precisely to test Shi Zuxu behind the Heavenly Decline Faction.
If Shi Zuxu had never harbored rebellious intentions, the trap Gu Changge set for him would never have been stepped into.
But from the current situation, Shi Zuxu not only stepped fully into the trap he had set but even walked himself onto a path of no return.
"I wonder where you obtained my flesh and blood, but is my flesh and blood really something you can devour?" Gu Changge smiled faintly, yet there was no ripple in his eyes.
Half a month after the Heaven-Slaying Alliance and the Alliance of Righteous Unity ceased hostilities, many orthodoxies and civilizations in the Vast Expanse received an invitation from the Ethereal Sacred City.
The Ethereal Sacred City would host the Heavenly Dao ceremony for the new covenant in three months, broadly inviting all civilizations and orthodoxies to attend.
This new covenant was named the Immortal Dao Alliance, jointly established by many ancient figures, and its members included numerous reclusive races, civilizations, factions, as well as many ancient wandering cultivators drifting through various spacetime regions, each of tremendous strength not to be underestimated.
It was reported that one of the founders of the Immortal Dao Alliance was an ancient Sacred Ancestor of extremely high seniority from the Ethereal Sacred City.
That Sacred Ancestor had personally experienced the Black Calamity Era, witnessed many glorious ages throughout ancient and modern times, and had long since transcended beyond the Cataclysmic Tribulation, his strength unfathomably profound.
The Ethereal Sacred City was located in the Ethereal Sacred Domain, a supremely transcendent power in the Vast Expanse, its foundation and strength in no way inferior to orthodoxies like the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty and the Ancient Treasure Civilization.
Since the emergence of the Dark Beings, bringing calamity to the world, the Ethereal Sacred Domain had remained neutral, never intervening on any side.
That the location for this new covenant was actually chosen to be the Ethereal Sacred City indeed exceeded the expectations of many orthodoxies and civilizations.
This also set many cultivators and beings to speculating.
Even the Ethereal Sacred Domain had entered the fray, showing the urgency of the situation. At the same time, it allowed many previously worried factions and civilizations to breathe a long sigh of relief and finally put down the stone weighing on their hearts.
Before, many people feared that the emerging new covenant would not have the strength to stand against the Heaven-Slaying Alliance and the Alliance of Righteous Unity, let alone purge and deal with the Dark Beings.
But now that even the Ethereal Sacred Domain had joined, it was like giving everyone reassurance. Many hesitant and wavering factions and civilizations, upon hearing this news, immediately summoned their many experts overnight to deliberate their choice.
The situation in the Vast Expanse grew ever more chaotic and turbulent, the return of the Land of the Dark Source was imminent, and truly remaining aloof was no longer possible.
At this moment, should they choose the hypocritical Alliance of Righteous Unity, the openly villainous Heaven-Slaying Alliance, or the completely unknown Immortal Dao Alliance?
While the Immortal Dao Alliance broadly invited all True Worlds and civilizations to the Ethereal Sacred City to observe the ceremony, the Heaven-Slaying Alliance and the Alliance of Righteous Unity also received invitations.
However, neither side made any statement.
Many civilizations in the Vast Expanse also worried: the Heaven-Slaying Alliance and the Alliance of Righteous Unity had now ceased fighting, but with the sudden emergence of the Immortal Dao Alliance, would these two forces turn their blades against the Immortal Dao Alliance and sabotage its Heavenly Dao ceremony?
Of course, many also worried: the Immortal Dao Alliance was clearly established to purge the Dark Beings and prevent the Black Calamity Catastrophe from returning to the world.
At this time, the Immortal Dao Alliance was openly inviting everyone—were they not afraid of an attack and sabotage by the Dark Beings?
Three months, for the present Vast Expanse, was but a snap of the fingers. Such news could hardly spread across the Vast Expanse within such a short time.
Thus, many orthodoxies and forces, upon receiving the news, immediately teleported and rushed over to avoid unexpected complications along the way.
One after another, spacetime tunnels were opened in various regions and universes, with ancient warships following in succession, a massive and awe-inspiring procession.
In the various cosmic spacetime areas of the Ethereal Sacred Domain, one could already see the figures of many civilizations and races arriving to observe the ceremony.
The great ancient families of the Ethereal Sacred City had long dispatched many experts to welcome them; every city gate was wide open, bustling with excitement.
The majestic and ancient Ethereal Sacred City, surrounded by numerous galaxies, was bathed in layer upon layer of steaming rosy immortal radiance, with the aura of the Great Dao surging, mysterious and timeworn.
Even the outer city alone presented myriad sights—divine mountains, ancient peaks, pavilions, palaces, and jade towers stretching endlessly, exuding glorious grandeur, its history immensely ancient.
Within the inner city, it was even more vast, spanning countless miles of charming scenery, with innumerable immortal mountains and billions of divine islands. Mansions and grotto-heavens were carved out within the void, where currents of spacetime intersected, and chaotic qi overflowed at their collisions, resembling the dwellings of ancient immortals and gods.
The cultivators and beings handling receptions were all at the Immortal Dao realm; the patrolling guards, with formidable strength, their divine weapons and armor gleaming brilliantly with golden light.
The ever-transcendent Ethereal Sacred City thus unveiled the mysterious veil that had always shrouded it to all worlds in the Vast Expanse.
The orthodoxies and forces arriving to observe were all full of praise and deeply astonished.
The location for the Immortal Dao Alliance's covenant was chosen on Ethereal Peak in the Ethereal Sacred City.
Ethereal Peak towered into the clouds, surrounded by one towering, ancient peak after another, each resembling a recumbent true dragon or a circling immortal phoenix, majestic and indestructible, gleaming with ancient radiance.
Legend had it that Ethereal Peak was the dwelling place of an ancient immortal who styled himself "Ethereal", traveling through spacetime, transcending countless tribulations; even the subsequent Ethereal Sacred Domain and Ethereal Sacred City were built under the blessing of this ancient immortal's grotto-heaven.
Whether such legends were true or false was unknown, but atop Ethereal Peak were many divine traces, with true signs of the Great Dao frequently manifesting.
Around the cliffs, mist swirled, and chaotic essence often flew out, as if connected to other spacetime dimensions.
"I wonder if this Heavenly Dao ceremony can proceed smoothly. If the Dark Beings come to attack, that would be easier to handle. I am more afraid the Heaven-Slaying Alliance will interfere and sabotage it."
The clouds on Ethereal Peak were deep, layer upon layer blotting out the sky. A graceful woman in a plain silk gown with a navy cloak spoke softly. She wore a veil, her figure indistinct, her true face unclear, only the snowy-white tender skin at her neck visible, glistening like jade.
"Haha, once we have decided, what is there to worry about? Being timid will only breed unnecessary anxiety and inner demons."
"Whether it is the Heaven-Slaying Alliance or the Dark Beings, if they invade, we will just stop them with all our might. What is there to fear?"
An old woman said with a chuckle, her frame hunched, leaning on a gray-white wooden staff, her expression calm and composed, very at ease.
"I am just thinking, was this decision too rash? If it fails, can we bear the consequences?"
The graceful woman murmured, her lustrous eyes revealing worry.
The old woman laughed aloud, "Even if our clans do not decide, can we truly stay aloof and beyond the world? That senior gave his personal promise, so it must have been deeply considered. Besides, the Sacred Ancestor himself has emerged…"
Hearing the old woman mention the Sacred Ancestor, the graceful woman's face immediately showed reverence, but she could not help sighing.
"In the next three months, the Ethereal Sacred Domain will probably not be peaceful. I only hope the Immortal Dao Alliance can be established smoothly, so that in the coming chaos and turmoil, we will have a footing, instead of drifting with the tide and being shattered by the waves."
Although the Ethereal Sacred Domain had always been transcendent and neutral, not meddling in the affairs of any orthodoxies or civilizations,
that did not mean the Ethereal Sacred Domain was qualified or confident enough to survive the impending chaos and turmoil.
Neither the Heaven-Slaying Alliance nor the Alliance of Righteous Unity would likely allow a neutral power like the Ethereal Sacred Domain to remain aloof; sooner or later, the flames of war would spread there.
It was only a matter of time.
So when those people approached the Ethereal Sacred Domain, they had actually deliberated for a long time.
Otherwise, relying solely on the Ethereal Sacred Domain's foundation, they would not have the courage, at this juncture, to integrate those hidden races and forces from the cracks between the Heaven-Slaying Alliance and the Alliance of Righteous Unity and establish a new covenant.
The Ethereal Sacred Domain's move was a risky gamble, an all-or-nothing wager.
The founding of the Immortal Dao Alliance stirred heated discussion across the civilizations and True Worlds of the Vast Expanse. Though many beings still scorned it, not believing the Immortal Dao Alliance could change anything, still numerous races and civilizations pinned their final hopes on it, willing to observe the ceremony and participate in the Heavenly Dao ceremony.
Seeing that the Heaven-Slaying Alliance had yet to make a move, and the day of the Immortal Dao Alliance's establishment drawing nearer, the Alliance of Righteous Unity, which had wanted to watch from the sidelines, could no longer sit still.
To show sincerity, a vice-leader of the Alliance of Righteous Unity led many high-ranking figures, personally taking a cloud ship across the universe to attend the ceremony.
This scene also astonished and shook many civilizations and True Worlds, who had not expected the Alliance of Righteous Unity to be so understanding of the bigger picture at this moment.
Within the Heaven-Slaying Alliance, Gu Changge had not expressed his stance, and the many high-ranking members did not know his attitude toward this matter.
The emergence of the Immortal Dao Alliance would inevitably impact and shake the Heaven-Slaying Alliance's position in the Vast Expanse, blocking its path.
However, the Immortal Dao Alliance was rallying under the banner of opposing the Dark Beings, calling out loudly, gathering various civilizations and True Worlds.
If the Heaven-Slaying Alliance interfered and obstructed at this time, it would be somewhat unjustifiable.
Those who follow the Dao receive much support; those who abandon it receive little. No matter how powerful the Heaven-Slaying Alliance was, it could not truly make an enemy of the entire Vast Expanse.
Nevertheless, before Gu Changge expressed his stance, the high-ranking members of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance dared not casually speculate about his thoughts and intentions.
Now, everyone in the Heaven-Slaying Alliance was waiting for Gu Changge's orders. If he did not wish to see the Immortal Dao Alliance appear, the Heaven-Slaying Alliance could immediately redirect its army and march on the Ethereal Sacred Domain.
"That mysterious white-robed figure should be connected to Zhong Jun. The Fourth Ancient Killing Formation was once controlled by Zhong Jun and was completely refined by him. Unless one's strength far exceeds Zhong Jun's, or one is a blood descendant of his, no one else can control The Fourth Ancient Killing Formation…"
Meanwhile, as the outside world roiled with surging winds and imminent storms, a tense atmosphere of drawn swords and strung bows—
inside the pavilion, Gu Changge still leisurely drank tea, casually listening to Ling Yuling, whom he had just fished out of the void spacetime, as she speculated.