I Am the Fated Villain
chapter-636

“There’s no need to keep him alive.” Gu Changge shook his head, and as a hazy brilliance fell from his raised hands.

Tuo Ba Xiao Yao, who was unconscious, was startled awake. He still seemed slightly disoriented after opening his eyes abruptly, not knowing what was going on. As he doubtfully looked around, he suddenly turned stiff the next moment when his eyes fell on Gu Changge. It was difficult for him to hide his fear and hatred.

“Gu Changge! Why are you here!?” he demanded. His eyes had turned bloodshot. All he remembered was that a mysterious force seemed to have taken him away after he passed out when Gu Changge fought with that giant being with red eyes. He didn’t remember anything that happened afterwards.

“You don’t need to know.” Gu Changge shook his head. The look in his eyes didn’t change at all.

Sensing Gu Changge’s killing intent, Tuo Ba Xiao Yao was highly indignant. He then asked through clenched teeth, “Are you going to kill me?”

“You are not stupid. I have shown mercy by keeping you alive until now. I would not have easily obtained the Sword of World Domination if it wasn’t for you. In case you have a next life, remember to not be my enemy. Don’t even think about it,” he said with nonchalance. There was even a faint smile on the corners of his mouth.

However, Tuo Ba Xiao Yao’s eyes widened in disbelief when Gu CHangge said that. He felt a terrifying chill suddenly sweep across his body as if his biggest secret had been revealed to the public. His soul and throat also felt like they were tightly strangled by a formless hand, which was big and cold.

He knew what Gu Changge meant… Gu Changge knew his biggest secret—his regression and transmigration! Gu Changge wouldn’t have said anything about a next life if he didn’t.

“You’ve always known…” Tuo Ba Xiao Yao’s complexion was extremely pale. His despair was written all over his face. If Gu Changge hadn’t said it today, Tuo Ba Xiao Yao probably wouldn’t have believed it until the moment he died that his biggest secret had long since been discovered by Gu Changge.

In other words, all the schemes he thought were flawless were probably a joke to Gu Changge. He was the only one who didn’t know that he was merely dancing in the palm of Gu Changge’s hand.

“Well, not always.” Gu Changge let out a lighthearted chuckle before adding, “Any last words? I’ll start killing you now if there is none.”

Tuo Ba Xiao Yao’s face was pale, and his soul was trembling. As death cast a shadow over him, his whole body was shrouded in a terrifying energy that rendered him immobile.

“You—” He opened his mouth to say something again, but Gu Changge, who had finished speaking, obviously didn’t intend to waste more time listening to him anymore.

*Boom!*

As soon as Gu Changge’s raised palm fell, a cluster of silver flames shot in Tuo Ba Xiao Yao’s direction and instantly engulfed him. It was only a matter of seconds when Tuo Ba Xiao Yao was reduced to ashes. He didn’t even have time to scream. Only a Golden Heavenly Gift Treasure Chest popped out from the very spot Tuo Ba Xiao Yao was standing at. Seeing it, Gu Changge rolled up his sleeve and unhesitantly took the box.

Gu Changge had no intention of opening this treasure chest right now. He looked into the distance and casually said to Ah Da, who was behind him, “Let’s go and see where the so-called Mirror Lake is.”

He immediately stepped forward and left Boundless Immortal Valley.

He was now temporarily living in the Southern Light Empire after the Shu Sect was destroyed. Many Earth Sword Immortals, who believe him, had been sending people everywhere to find the World’s Will during this period. But now that Gu Changge had found out the truth, he naturally didn’t feel the need to look everywhere like a headless chicken anymore.

Mirror Lake was clearly the location where the World’s Will was sealed off. If Gu Changge wanted to know the whereabouts of the World’s Will, he must find the Mirror Lake first. However, according to the memory he gained from the incarnation, Mirror Lake had long been reduced to rumours, and it was unclear where its exact location was. After all, Mirror Lake did not have a fixed location. It moved and shifted with every passing second.

[It seems like I will have to release the news that Mirror Lake is where their hope lies.” As Gu Changge thought about this, he had a rough plan in mind. Soon, he ordered someone to forge a tattered ancient book with the Principles of Reincarnation imprinted on it so that people could confuse it with a real one.

Only two days after that, news quietly spread in the Southern Light Empire. After hearing about it from the Southern Light Emperor, an old eunuch who served the Emperor, had a slip of the tongue, and his words proceeded to cause an uproar in the Thirteen States. It was rumoured that Mirror Lake contained a peerless sword-forging substance, which possibly contained Profound Sword World’s last ray of hope.

This was recorded in a tattered ancient book that Princess Xuan Dea of the Southern Light Empire accidentally read in the library. Even though the ancient book was completely worn out, it had some details about Mirror Lake.

And the moment this information got out, the entire Profound Sword World went into a frenzy. Countless began to search for the lost Mirror Lake. Even the Earth Sword Immortals couldn’t help but began to read various ancient books to find clues about Mirror Lake.

Many from the Upper Realm, in their ancient battleships hovering outside Profound Sword World’s sky, also heard about the news. They were also curious. Curious enough to a point, a handful of True Daoists dispatched their troops to find Mirror Lake’s location.

Their goal had always been to get the Profound Sword World Source.

Some time ago, the manifestation of the World’s Will had made many True Daoists grow wary. It was because of it that they had to stop themselves from truly appearing in this world. However, no one expected Gu Changge to tear apart and annihilate the World’s Will with just a palm.

They were petrified after they knew about what happened. They didn’t know how scarily powerful Gu Changge was before this. Due to that, they could only stay cowering in this place while they waited for the best time to strike.

…

“Xiao Yao’s Life Plaque? Why has shattered? What happened?” The Eldest Princess, Yu Feiya, who was on the Great Yu Celestial Dynasty’s ancient battleship, turned pale as she stared at the broken Life Plaque in front of her in disbelief. Her hands were clenched so tightly that the knuckles of her fingers had turned white. The Life Plaques here were left by many young prodigies of the Great Yu Celestial Dynasty, and there was a wisp of spirit left by the prodigies in the plaques. In case of an accident inside Profound Sword World, the expert in charge of guarding this place could sense it immediately.

The moment she learned that Tuo Ba Xiao Yao’s Life Plaque was broken, she rushed back from Profound Sword World to confirm whether or not what she sensed was true. She never thought that it would turn out to be true. Tuo Ba Xiao Yao did die in Profound Sword World.

[What exactly did he encounter that he couldn’t save himself from despite his powers?] Yu Feiya’s sadness was written all over her face. She and Tuo Ba Xiao Yao were close friends, who shared an inexplicable affection. It was hard for her to accept the fact that Tuo Ba Xiao Yao had lost his life in the Profound Sword World.

…

The entire Profound Sword World was in an extreme state of restlessness for the next few days. Many ruins were uncovered every day. Cultivators would swarm into them, only to end up with dust on their noses. Not to mention Mirror Lake, there was no trace of even a normal lake. Because of this, people started to doubt whether or not the rumour was true, and whether Mirror Lake really existed.

“Judging from the ancient books, Mirror Lake should be real. Mirror Lake once appeared beside Sword City, where many of Shu Sect’s Divine Swords actually came from.”

Although Shu Sect was destroyed, the Abundance Sword Immortal, the current Shu Sect Master and the others were still around. As they lived far longer than the rest, they knew better than anyone about Mirror Lake.

The few Divine Swords that were used when Shu Sect was established were actually deeply related to Sword City. Because of that, they firmly believe that Mirror Lake existed. They just hadn’t found its exact location yet.

“If Mirror Lake is real, Sword City should be real too. We may be able to deduce the lake’s location through Sword City’s residual energy,” The Snow Sword Immortal said her thoughts. As the Sect Master of Sword Cliff, she naturally knew some things that were left untold. In fact, the few Divine Swords that Sword Cliff had were also related to Sword City. They were even forged in Sword City. Due to this existing relationship, they could use these Divine Swords to see if they could pinpoint where the Sword City that sank into Mirror Lake was.

“This is a feasible method.” The Shu Sect Master and the others all had a glint in their eyes when they were hit by realisation.

A few days later, they took out the Divine Swords which belonged to various Forces and searched for the remnant energies through divination. The Shu Sect Master and the others were pleasantly surprised when they finally got a result. “All the signs of divination point to the Ancient Arcane Ruins. Is the once-gigantic Ancient Arcane Empire actually related to Mirror Lake?”

They were as excited as they were confused by what they found.

The Ancient Arcane Empire was the largest empire in the history of the Profound Sword World. There had never been anything like it. The empire managed to unify the Eight Major Prefectures of the Thirteen States whose vastness far exceeded that of the current Southern Light Empire. Even the ruins alone took up a big area. Strictly speaking, the Eight Major Prefectures were once included in their territory. Moreover, there were no empires like Southern Light back then, and there were no Forces such as the Shu Sect or Kong Mountain. It could be said that the territory of the Ancient Arcane Empire was truly boundless.

The mysterious Ancient Arcane Ancestral Temple was located in the heart of Profound Sword World’s Dragon Vein. It seized all of Nature’s Creations and secrets. This was a heaven-defying secret place. However, tens of millions of years ago, this incomparably prosperous and powerful empire collapsed overnight for unknown reasons. Their last Emperor also eventually went crazy. There were rumours about how he had suffered from the heavens’ punishment because he touched a tabooed place.

[Ancient Arcane Ruins?] Gu Changge seemed to be in deep thought. However, he didn’t hesitate for long as he brought Ah Da along and promptly set off to the place. He found the ruins through the Shu Sect Master and the others. It was a given that he wanted to take a look, now that the signs were pointing to a connection between the Ancient Arcane Ruins and Mirror Lake. He didn’t even mind having his intentions discovered by others.

…

On the other side, the Abdunce Sword Immortal, the Snow Sword Immortal, many other Earth Sword Immortals, and their subordinates also rushed without stopping to the Ancient Arcane Ruins. To prevent the news from leaking, they had to get there before the world knew about it.

Ancient Arcane Ancestral Temple used to be the most prosperous place in the Profound Sword World, and it was also where the essence of the universe gathered. But now, it was left in ruins with many broken mountains and terrifying cracks shrouded in black mist all day long. One careless mistake was all it took for one to be torn apart by the astral wind rushing out of the cracks.

There was an ominous atmosphere lingering here.

A colony of crows and vultures with blood-red, vicious eyes kept looking around as they stood among the withered trees. They were staring at the many cultivators who were rushing towards this place.