Ling Yuling wore a snow-white dress with a light-green gauze outer robe. Her expression was calm, otherworldly and cool. She sat opposite Gu Changge, holding a teacup and sipping in small mouthfuls, showing no signs of disarray despite having been trapped in void spacetime, appearing entirely unruffled.
She had been stranded in a dark space for countless ages, afflicted by dark matter, and had matched wits with Eternal Life spirits corroded by dark matter.
Such twists and turns were to her merely small winds and waves, not worth fretting over.
Of course, most importantly, Ling Yuling had great faith in Gu Changge's strength, knowing that even without spacetime coordinates he could probably bring her back with ease.
So she had never been overly worried from beginning to end.
Moreover, she had just heard Gu Changge say that he had actually left a mark on her body, so that he could intervene and save her should she encounter danger.
That void spacetime where she had been exiled was, to him, as conspicuous as a lit lighthouse.
Hearing this, Ling Yuling was momentarily stunned, uncertain whether Gu Changge was telling the truth, but a warmth rose in her heart all the same.
"That mysterious white-robed person's strength should be on par with mine. He didn't pass the ninth Heavenly Decline Tribulation as the outside world has speculated. He only used The Fourth Ancient Killing Formation he had prepared beforehand to make me suffer such a great loss."
"Had I not been careless, the result of that battle would not have been so frustrating. I was also startled when he brought out The Fourth Ancient Killing Formation at the time…" Ling Yuling explained.
She suspected that the white-robed person might be a descendant of Zhong Jun.
But the Radiant Ancestral Court had long been destroyed and scattered into the river of history; no one had heard of any descendants of Zhong Jun surviving afterward.
Even the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty, which now proclaimed itself the successor of the Radiant Ancestral Court, actually had little blood connection with the Radiant Ancestral Court.
But linking it to the many recent rumors concerning the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty, could it be related to that ancient, mysterious princess who had emerged from a broken source in the Radiant Ancestral Court ruins?
That princess was likely Zhong Jun's daughter.
As someone from the same era as Zhong Jun, Ling Yuling indeed did not know that Zhong Jun had any offspring, and she could not confirm the true identity of that mysterious woman either.
Yet if she really was Zhong Jun's child, why would she become involved with the Alliance of Righteous Unity and possibly be entangled with Dark Beings?
"I already have a general idea of this white-robed person's identity. You need not guess further," Gu Changge suddenly said softly, his eyes very calm.
Ling Yuling was surprised and raised her eyes to him. "Is he really a descendant of Zhong Jun?" she asked. She didn't know by what means Gu Changge had learned this, but if he said so, it must be very close to the truth.
"One could say yes, and also no." Gu Changge slightly nodded, then shook his head.
Ling Yuling still looked puzzled. Her clear, cool, flawless face slightly furrowed her ink-black brows, feeling that Gu Changge's words were too cryptic.
"Whether yes or no, it's not really important," Gu Changge said with a faint smile. "If you feel you lost face losing to him, then don't be so reckless the next time you meet."
Ling Yuling nearly choked on her tea. She shot him a reproachful glance, feeling a strong urge to roll her eyes at him. Was he teasing her over such a thing?
"She's here," Gu Changge suddenly said softly.
"Who?" Ling Yuling was first stunned, then sensed something and looked outside the courtyard.
A woman of tall and slender stature, with a slender, snowy-white neck, shrouded in rosy mist, was approaching. Her ink-black hair fell loose, pinned with a jade hairpin, and she wore an embroidered brocade robe patterned with immortal phoenixes, brocade-thread jade boots untouched by dust. Her entire being exuded an aura of looking down upon heaven and earth, proud and aloof above the nine heavens.
However, this tall woman's face was veiled by chaos mist, as if she wore a gauze, making her features unclear; only her round, fair, jade-like chin was visible, and from this outline alone one could vaguely glimpse her unparalleled beauty and devastating charm.
"Who is she?" Ling Yuling looked perplexed, sizing up this stranger she had never met.
The other party could enter this courtyard without being announced, clearly someone whom Gu Changge placed great trust in and who bore his token.
By all logic, except during the recent campaign against the Alliance of Righteous Unity when she left the Heaven-Slaying Alliance, Ling Yuling had always remained by Gu Changge's side.
When had such a mysterious woman appeared beside him?
And how powerful she was—from aura alone, an ordinary Ancestral Dao Realm existence would definitely not be her equal.
Could she have appeared during her exile in void spacetime?
"She is precisely who you were just thinking of," Gu Changge said with a faint smile, reaching out to lift the teapot and pour a cup of tea. The newcomer was naturally Ji Hanjing.
"Greetings, Senior Yuling…"
Ji Hanjing perceived Ling Yuling's doubt and smiled slightly, but did not explain anything. Back when she was still the spirit of the Book of Scavenging, Ling Yuling had been unaware of her existence.
Gu Changge had never told anyone about this. In terms of understanding Gu Changge and the time spent by his side, Ling Yuling could not match her.
Ling Yuling was also intelligent and tactful; she didn't press further, merely offering a slight smile in return.
"What matter required me to come in person? You should know I can't easily slip away right now."
A faint fragrance drifted over as Ji Hanjing sat down beside Gu Changge. Without ceremony, she removed her veil, placed it on the jade table, lifted the cup of tea he had just poured, and took a sip before asking.
"I wanted to prepare a gift for the Alliance of Righteous Unity, which could also serve as a ceremonial present for the trip to the Immortal Dao Alliance's ceremony," Gu Changge said with a faint smile.
"It seems you don't plan to take action against the Immortal Dao Alliance?" Ling Yuling was slightly surprised, but inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as Gu Changge didn't act against the Immortal Dao Alliance and interfere with its establishment, that was good.
All corners of the Vast Expanse were now closely watching the Heaven-Slaying Alliance's movements, wanting to know Gu Changge's stance on the founding of the Immortal Dao Alliance.
If the Heaven-Slaying Alliance recklessly attacked the Immortal Dao Alliance at this juncture, it would likely draw widespread anger.
The Alliance of Righteous Unity could also find reason to unite many orthodox civilizations across the Vast Expanse to jointly oppose the Heaven-Slaying Alliance.
"Do I have such a reckless, indiscriminate image in your heart?"
Gu Changge chuckled. "The Immortal Dao Alliance was established to oppose Dark Beings, shouldering the safety of the entire Vast Expanse. How could I be so blind to the bigger picture at a time like this?"
He paused, and the smile on his face faded. "Not only will I not obstruct it, but I will wholeheartedly support and assist. Any power that tries to stop the Immortal Dao Alliance's establishment will be treated as an enemy of our Heaven-Slaying Alliance."
Ling Yuling did not believe he would truly be so kind-hearted.
It seemed the current benefits of the Immortal Dao Alliance's formation far outweighed the consequences of interfering.
From another perspective, the emergence of the Immortal Dao Alliance could also help the Heaven-Slaying Alliance watch the Dark Beings, allowing them to concentrate fully on dealing with the Alliance of Righteous Unity without worries at their backs.
Ji Hanjing was far less concerned about the Immortal Dao Alliance; she simply wanted to know what Gu Changge needed her to do.
The moment she received Gu Changge's voice transmission, she had immediately found a way to extricate herself from the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty and hurry to the Heaven-Slaying Alliance to see him.
Although she now held an extremely exalted position in the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty, wielding great power and governing the entire dynasty,
that did not mean she could freely slip away. Over time, if someone discovered she had secretly left the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty and covertly "met in private" with the Alliance Master of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance, what would the consequences be?
"What is that grand gift?" Ji Hanjing asked concisely.
Gu Changge shook his head slightly and said evenly, "There's no need to rush. I'll tell you later what you need to do."
Ji Hanjing nodded, said no more, and began drinking tea by herself right there.
Ling Yuling's eyelashes fluttered slightly, and she lowered her gaze. So this matter was quite confidential; did it need to be kept from her?
An inexplicable restlessness rose in her heart, and her state of mind suddenly could not calm.
After all this time, it seemed Gu Changge still could not truly trust her.
"Since the decision regarding the Immortal Dao Alliance has been settled, I'll take my leave then, so I can inform the rest of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance. They must be like ants on a hot pan by now, unable to wait any longer," Ling Yuling said with a composed smile, speaking as she rose to depart.
She gathered her hands inside her wide sleeves, smiling graciously, her bearing elegant and dignified, while giving Ji Hanjing a slight nod.
Ji Hanjing glanced at her, sensing nothing particular, merely thinking that with Ling Yuling gone, she and Gu Changge could speak without restraint.
"No rush. Didn't you just want to know whether that white-robed person is truly a descendant of Zhong Jun?" Gu Changge chuckled, reaching out to place his arm around Ling Yuling's waist and guiding her to sit back down.
"Didn't you say it's unimportant whether he's a descendant of Zhong Jun?" Ling Yuling responded with a smile, though she didn't refuse him and smoothly sat back down.
For she noticed that when Gu Changge mentioned Zhong Jun, Ji Hanjing—who had been lifting the teacup to drink—had her hand tremble ever so slightly.
It stabilized almost instantly, but Ling Yuling still detected it.
Ling Yuling was no fool. Linking Gu Changge's words just now with the ancient, mysterious woman who had suddenly appeared from the Radiant Ancestral Court ruins some time ago,
Ji Hanjing's identity was almost obvious.
"Hanjing is here today, and I happened to want to explain the whole story to her. If you wish to listen, that's also fine," Gu Changge said with a smile.
Originally, Ji Hanjing should have known all this when Gu Changge helped her reconstruct the scenes of the past, but due to some contingency set by the Master of Fate, Ji Hanjing could only remain in that segment of spacetime and could not proceed further.
So many truths were still unclear to her even now.
Gu Changge had initially intended to hold back this part of the truth to keep Ji Hanjing loyally serving him. But recently, judging by her various actions, she was sincerely carrying out tasks for him, with no other purpose in her heart beyond revenge.
There was no longer any need to keep this truth to himself.
Beneath the chaos mist veiling her face, Ji Hanjing now showed no trace of emotion.
She simply wanted to quietly listen as Gu Changge recounted the entire cause and course of events.
A descendant of Zhong Jun?
Her father only had two daughters: herself, Ji Hanjing, and her younger sister, Ji Hanshuang.
She had pursued the Dao all her life, and even after becoming the Radiant Empress, she remained alone, devoting all her mind to cultivating the Dao and governing the kingdom.
In her eyes, maternal desires would only cloud her judgment and state of mind, to be severed like inner demons and karmic hindrances.
Therefore, Zhong Jun's descendants could only be the bloodline of her sister, Ji Hanshuang.
She had indeed felt that her sister still had blood descendants alive in this world.
"Zhong Jun once had a great enemy originating from the Innate Era. That enemy called himself Master of Fate. After the end of the Innate Era, he lay dormant until the birth of the Vast Expanse. After the Black Calamity Era ended, all worlds lay in ruins, fortune was exhausted, and all clans withered. The long-dormant Master of Fate, in order to deal with Zhong Jun, schemed against the Radiant Ancestral Court, causing its collapse and dissolution…"
"During the Black Calamity Era, Zhong Jun had paid an enormous price to seal the Lord of Heaven's Proxy. Even after the Black Calamity Era ended, his injuries never healed. The Master of Fate seized this golden opportunity to try to devour Zhong Jun's Dao Fruit and Innate Origin. Unfortunately, Zhong Jun possessed the Supreme Treasure of the First Civilization, the Tribulation-Crossing Disk."
"The Master of Fate exhausted many schemes but still could not consume him. Instead, Zhong Jun trapped him with the Tribulation-Crossing Disk within boundless spacetime. In order to drain Zhong Jun's last mental strength and origin, and to gnaw away his final fortune, the Master of Fate used the technique of the Five Aggregates to split off a Body of Five Aggregates to break free. Later, that Body of Five Aggregates assumed the alias Bo Youkao…"
Gu Changge's tone was unhurried, as if he were simply narrating a trivial matter.
But Ji Hanjing's heart drifted far away with his words, as if she had returned to that once prosperous, mighty, vast, and enduring ancient ancestral court where all worlds came to pay homage.
Yet when Gu Changge finally mentioned the name "Bo Youkao," Ji Hanjing froze entirely, petrified as if turned to clay.
She could not believe her ears and could not help but murmur, "Impossible… impossible…"
Ling Yuling did not know why Ji Hanjing's reaction was so intense.
Her attention was focused on the method of the Five Aggregates that Gu Changge had mentioned.
The so-called Five Aggregates referred to form, feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness. In certain civilization systems, they corresponded to the five elements of Dao methods, holding that all matter in the worlds was formed by the union of these five aggregates.
"The Master of Fate's body of Five Aggregates transformed into an ordinary cultivator named Bo Youkao. Through numerous calculations and schemes, Bo Youkao ingeniously came to know Zhong Jun's young daughter, Ji Hanshuang. The two fell in love and successfully married. Then, Bo Youkao staged an accident and faked his death in Dao dissolution. That strand of Five Aggregates essence then invested itself into Ji Hanshuang's womb…" Gu Changge's expression remained unchanged as he calmly continued.