"A title?"
Gu Changge seemed to smile, and asked, "Do you think it still matters now?"
Ling Yuling was stunned, not knowing how to answer, and in the end she could not help but sigh faintly.
Yes, the overall situation in the Vast Expanse had already become settled.
Did a title or anything else still matter?
In truth, the moment her memories returned, she had already understood many things; the worries she once held had finally become reality.
Only she still did not know what Gu Changge intended to do.
Heaven's Proxy? Heaven-Slaying?
He was the Lord of Heaven's Proxy; he was the one who had once created the Dark Clans; he was the one who brought endless calamities to the entire Vast Expanse.
And yet the Alliance Leader of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance was also him, the one who resisted the Dark Clans and unified the Vast Expanse was also him.
She lifted her head, looking at the scene outside the grand hall—the vast cosmos, the boundless spacetime. No matter how many layers of universes and spaces there were, it seemed impossible to break free from the concept of "Heaven."
"What exactly is Heaven?" She fell into daze.
Gu Changge said casually, "Heaven pities the world, Heaven loves the world; Heaven is utterly impartial and selfless; Heaven hangs high, unextinguished, ever-enduring; Heaven… is the rule, the iron law."
Hearing this, Ling Yuling seemed to hear a buzzing in her mind, and a sincere sense of awe rose from within her.
This was the innate reverence that countless beings, living from generation to generation in the Vast Expanse, felt toward "Heaven."
Perhaps only Gu Changge would dare to speak such words so brazenly.
Her eyes watched Gu Changge as she asked, "So, are you planning to change all this?"
"Change what?" Gu Changge asked.
Ling Yuling said, "Change the eternal, unchanging rules and iron laws of this vast Vast Expanse that have endured through endless ages, just as those Heaven-Slayers of the past did…"
To all living beings, the existence of the Land of Truth was like that high-hanging, unextinguished Heaven.
From the beginning, Heaven-Slayers did not only appear in the Newly Born True Worlds and Ancient True Worlds; they were beings passed down from ancient times to the present, like heroic spirits.
They resisted Heaven, extinguished Heaven, attempting to overthrow the Land of Truth's reckoning and "rule" over the Vast Expanse, to overthrow that "Heaven" hanging above the Vast Expanse.
"Change? Can it truly be changed?" At this moment, Gu Changge seemed to sigh slightly as well.
Ling Yuling looked at him and said softly, "If one upholds the will of all living beings, and the great vows of all Heaven-Slayers throughout history, why would there be no possibility for change?"
"It is not that easy or simple." Gu Changge merely shook his head.
"Even you say that?"
Ling Yuling's feelings toward Gu Changge were very complicated. She clearly knew that he was the former Lord of Heaven's Proxy, the chief culprit who had once plunged countless living beings into despair, causing the entire Vast Expanse to be shrouded in darkness, the existence known as the Dark Source.
But toward him… she truly could not bring herself to feel any resentment.
The existence of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance, more or less, also seemed to make her somewhat understand Gu Changge's purpose.
Perhaps bearing the infamy and scorn of one lifetime, a hundred lifetimes, a thousand lifetimes, ten thousand lifetimes—as long as one can open up a sliver of light for later generations, leaving behind a faint, barely perceptible spark, that is the lofty ideal pursued by countless Heaven-Slayer forerunners who advanced wave after wave.
She admitted that she herself could not do it, but she sensed… that Gu Changge was acting and laying out his plans with precisely that kind of obsession.
Gu Changge gestured with his hand, and Ling Yuling hesitated for a moment before walking over. Gu Changge took her along, and the two of them instantly vanished from the grand hall of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance.
When they reappeared, before them lay a boundless, immeasurable, magnificent river of stars whose edge could not be seen. Within this starry river, waves could be seen rising and falling, and within each wave, countless worlds and universes were arising and ceasing.
These were one small world after another, and in each small world dwelled billions upon billions of living beings.
With a casual motion of his hand, Gu Changge caused endless giant waves to surge into the sky; those waves drifted and scattered, finally landing in his palm. As his hand closed, one could see the small worlds within collapsing and being destroyed one after another. Then, with a mere thought, those destroyed and collapsed worlds reappeared once more.
"Are you trying to tell me that, to these vast multitudes, you are equivalent to their Heaven—that with such an immense disparity in strength, in the eyes of the weak, the strong are Heaven?" Ling Yuling looked at him in a daze.
Gu Changge shook his head and said, "No, I merely want to ask you: If you lived in those small worlds, and one day you were faced with such a sudden turn of events, what would you do?"
"I could do nothing." After speaking, Ling Yuling fell silent.
If one were to personally experience living in such a small world, any random wind or wave from the outside could shatter it and grind it to nothingness.
That kind of powerlessness and despair was beyond words.
Perhaps, for the existences of the Land of Truth, the Vast Expanse was just such a situation?
"One person indeed cannot do anything, but what if it were all living beings?"
"The power of the heart is something that must not be underestimated or belittled. No one can say how great the power of one person's heart is." Gu Changge waved his hand, and the river before them returned to tranquility. He brought Ling Yuling back to the Heaven-Slaying Alliance.
Ling Yuling, however, fell into a deep shock, reflecting on the words Gu Changge had spoken.
In these days, the strength of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance had indeed been growing with each passing day; its daily changes could be described as changing with each new day.
And all these changes were indeed due to the teachings and creeds spread by the Heaven-Slaying Alliance. Imperceptibly, this had indeed brought forth many powerhouses within the Heaven-Slaying Alliance, including quite a few Dao Realm existences.
The power of faith originates from the purity and steadfast devotion of believers…
Its source, in turn, comes from the heart.
If one relied solely on cultivation, breaking through to the Dao Realm would take an unknown number of epochs, and one would also need to obtain many opportunities and creations and be endowed with great fortune.
Yet now, in just a few thousand years, the number of Dao Realm existences that had emerged within the Heaven-Slaying Alliance exceeded those of the past by how many times?
"One Dao Realm existence indeed cannot change anything, but what if there were trillions upon trillions, limitless Dao Realm existences?"
"Man can triumph over Heaven."
At this moment, Ling Yuling seemed to have figured something out; her beautiful eyes sparkled with divine light.
"Man, indeed, can triumph over Heaven."
Gu Changge concealed the strange look in his eyes, smiled, and reached out to help her tuck the stray hair by her forehead behind her ear.
"Do you need me to go retrieve the Sixfold Celestial Abyss Armor?" Ling Yuling's thoughts returned, and she looked at him steadily.
"No need. I will have Luo go retrieve it."
"If you leave the Heaven-Slaying Alliance, many matters would be difficult to handle, and I do not trust the others." Gu Changge shook his head slightly.
"I understand. Then during this time, I will let my sister know." Ling Yuling said softly.
She and Ling Yuxian shared a heart-to-heart connection; if she learned of Gu Changge's true origins, Ling Yuxian would certainly know as well.
Afterward, she told Gu Changge all the karma and clues in her memory related to the Sixfold Celestial Abyss Armor.
Gu Changge gave an order, and Luo Zhu appeared from outside the hall. With her End of the Path Realm strength, retrieving the Sixfold Celestial Abyss Armor would not take much time.
After Ling Yuling and the others had all left, Gu Changge leisurely returned to the main seat and sat upright. Looking at the empty grand hall, he fell into deep thought.
The Heaven-Slaying Alliance was now at its zenith, flourishing and grand. On the surface of the entire Vast Expanse, only the Land of the Nine Heavens and the Ancient Treasure Civilization had the qualifications to contend against it.
As for those in the shadows, the forces overseen by existences of the True Path Realm were actually very few.
By all reason, everything was proceeding in an orderly manner according to his plan. This included the many powerhouses within the Heaven-Slaying Alliance, who were now contributing boundless faith power to him, creating more immortal substance and creation substance for him.
However, that faint sense of unexpectedness that had arisen imperceptibly still showed no sign of abating; on the contrary, it grew denser and denser.
"Does it come from a disordered and unknowable future?"
"The past can be glimpsed, but in some spacetimes and dimensions, there still lingers a fog."
Gu Changge furrowed his brows slightly.
At the same time, in the Nightmare Demon Domain, the vast, boundless dark matter surged like a mighty waterfall of starry rivers. In front of Heaven's Proxy Hall, all the High Priests, Sacrificial Priests, and Dharma Protectors had prostrated and departed, leaving only Grand High Priest Wu Yue still standing there.
As that vast and majestic aura subsided and stilled,
she sighed inwardly, pushed open the doors of Heaven's Proxy Hall, and walked in. Above the majestic sacrificial altar, the Coffin of World Burial floated; although it had been pushed open, inside it was actually empty. Within the coffin, there was only a hazy, mist-like blood-colored mist swirling, and to the side lay quietly the Mirror of Reincarnation.
Above the Coffin of World Burial, a blurry and majestic figure could be seen sitting cross-legged. The surrounding spacetime was distorted and unyielding; ordinary beings' gazes could not penetrate that spacetime to see the faint figure.
Rather than a figure, it would be more accurate to say it was merely a wisp of a projection.
The true Lord of Heaven's Proxy had never been inside Heaven's Proxy Hall.
What remained here was only a portion of his power.
Inside the Coffin of World Burial that the Heavenly Faction had guarded for generations, his flesh and blood body had long since transformed into an untouchable, inconceivable, mist-like power, waiting for the arrival of the true master to take it away.
Wu Yue respectfully approached the coffin and took the Mirror of Reincarnation.
Outside Heaven's Proxy Hall, a figure had long been waiting there—it was Jing Tianyun, the artifact spirit of the Gate of Eternal Life.
"Master, can you say when you will meet me?" She looked at Jing Tianyun, her face shrouded in mist revealing a trace of hope.
Jing Tianyun received the Mirror of Reincarnation and merely shook his head upon hearing this. "The master did not say much, only instructed me to come and take the Mirror of Reincarnation away."
All the spirit in Wu Yue's expression gradually faded and dimmed as she watched Jing Tianyun's figure swallowed by the boundless darkness.
The merging of the Land of the Dark Source and the Nightmare Demon Domain had itself been but an order from the Lord of Heaven's Proxy.
Before the Master of Fate and Progenitor Xu had come to invade, she had already known that the Lord of Heaven's Proxy had long since broken free and revived. It was only regrettable that for various reasons, she was unable to personally go before him and see him.
After countless years and epochs, that face had never become blurred; on the contrary, with the passage and baptism of time, it had become all the clearer.
…
The great battle between the Land of the Nine Heavens and the Dark Clans had drawn to a close. Outside the Ancient Treasure Civilization, however, the slaughter still raged; the sounds of battle shook the heavens.
Vast ancient warships tore through spacetime, from which many powerhouses emerged, led by various Dao Realm existences, commanding armies that clashed like torrents.
Several major clans outside the Ancient Treasure Civilization came forth; among them were also Dao Realm existences. Every star was immensely vast, but now they had completely turned into battlefields. The clashes at the Ancestral Dao Realm directly affected alternate spacetime; a single wisp of aura leaking out would tear apart the surrounding universes.
Jiang Weiyang, Ji Hanjing, and others stood on the deck of an ancient warship, gazing out at the battlefield.
"The waters of the Ancient Treasure Civilization run deep. Just the clans in the outer universes have strength that should not be underestimated."
"They all basically have Dao Realm existences overseeing them, enough to guard a Newly Born True World…"
"That Ancestral Dao Realm existence who just attacked has an unknown origin, yet with just these forces, they actually blocked us."
Several ministers also spoke. There were those like the once-titled State-Supporting General and the Heavenly King of Northern Suppression who commanded various armies, but at this moment, their expressions were all grave.
"The Ancient Treasure Civilization only wants us to retreat in the face of difficulty, so they have merely dispatched Ancestral Dao Realm existences."
"If a few more appear, it will likely be somewhat difficult to resist."
State Preceptor Xingming, dressed in a pure white robe, spoke.
As someone who had once followed the Master of Fate, in a sense, he could be considered a disciple cultivated by the Master of Fate.
However, whether it was Elder Xingying from the Immortal Chu Dynasty in the past, or Xingsha who had helped Weiyang Emperor Lord Jiang Yun, and even he before them, all hated the Master of Fate to the bone.
Jiang Weiyang slightly furrowed her delicate brows and remained silent.
Ji Hanjing, however, seemed to think of something, her gaze carrying a thoughtful light as she looked toward the Ancient Treasure Civilization.
While a fierce battle raged across the outer universes, deep within the Ancient Treasure Civilization, inside that magnificent hall, the Lord of Reincarnation and the World Lord were working together to refine an item that resembled a cyan boat.
The Calamity Master, the Master of Fate, and Progenitor Xu had already departed. However, before leaving, Progenitor Xu had handed over a portion of the flesh and blood of the Lord of Heaven's Proxy that he had once obtained to the Lord of Reincarnation and the World Lord.
Vast and mighty auras surged throughout the boundless hall, producing sounds akin to the creation of the world.
Before the two, that cyan-boat-like item suddenly erupted with an immeasurable and indescribable aura. The rust-like substance on it flaked off, beginning to reveal an inner luster resembling Eternal Dao Metal.
Both the Lord of Reincarnation and the World Lord wore extremely solemn expressions at this moment. Endless brilliance circulated in their eyes. Around them, countless tiny, dust-like substances revolved; each minuscule substance was like a vast, real world, from which faint strands of world aura wafted out.
In the next instant, with a rumble, the cyan-boat-like item gave a sudden shudder, and clear cracks appeared, quickly spreading through and extending.
Even though the two sensed it at the first moment and tried to stop it, it was too late. They could only watch as the cracks continuously eroded and covered the cyan boat, which seemed about to shatter and explode.
"Still a failure?"
"This is the most durable substance I extracted from the cores of trillions of universes, yet it still cannot repair the fissures on this cyan boat…"
The World Lord sighed, and in the end, had no choice but to give up.
"It's no good."
The Lord of Reincarnation's expression flickered uncertainly for a moment before returning to an unperturbed, deep calm. The hall where the two stood had already collapsed trillions of times under the impact of that wisp of aura just now. However, under the shroud of their auras, it instantly returned to its original state; even time here flowed back, as if completely frozen at a certain moment.
This also caused many of the cracks on the cyan boat that had been repaired earlier to heal quickly, returning to their initial state.
They had the ability to reverse spacetime, but no way to fully repair the fissures on the cyan boat.
The World Lord said, "Although we cannot fully repair that fissure, I can sense that there is now some substance-like vitality within, unlike the deathly stillness from before."
The Lord of Reincarnation shook his head, and with a wave of his hand, the cyan boat immediately turned into a streak of cyan light and returned to his palm. It looked only the size of a palm, with a rusted hue, and that fissure was left by some unknown existence.
Back when the two had chanced upon this cyan boat in the endless chaotic spacetime, they had nearly been shaken to the point of both body and soul being annihilated by a wisp of aura left within it.
It must be known that although the two had not yet entered the End of the Path Realm at that time, they were already considered existences standing at the peak of the Vast Expanse. Yet, faced with this cyan boat drifting through chaos, they had no way to approach it.
It was precisely because of this cyan boat that the two gradually eased their originally hostile relationship.
So much so that after long ages, when they finally stepped into the End of the Path, they joined forces in an attempt to take it away.
This mysterious cyan boat's origin could not be investigated. Even now that the two had become existences who controlled authorities, they still found it hard to fathom its roots, let alone destroy it.
Even for the substance from which this cyan boat was forged, they had searched across all spacetimes and universes, yet found not a single clue.
They speculated that the crack on this cyan boat was not left in the Vast Expanse, but came from the Land of Truth.
Perhaps, once upon a time, an unimaginable being relied on this cyan boat to "stowaway" from the Land of Truth into the Vast Expanse.
However, by now, the two had already refined it and made it their own.
"The constructed passageway, there won't be any problems, right…"
The World Lord waved his robe, and that scepter returned to his hand once more. The tiny particles floating there were even taken into the interior of his robe. Though these particles appeared very small, if they appeared in the outside world, a single one could easily smash an Ancestral Dao Realm existence into severe injury.