I Am the Fated Villain
chapter-840

The High Priestess of Destiny was the one who once commanded the Immortal Palace’s Sanctum of Destiny. She was a master in the arts of divination and deduction and possessed deep comprehension of destiny and karma.

She also had the Celestial Boat of Creation, a wondrous treasure that could be used to cross the River of Time to return to the past.

Upon hearing Tao Yao’s words, Chan Hongyi was visibly enticed. Her profound gaze focused on the cup.

“When should we head over?” She looked up and asked. Her tone grew calm.

Tao Yao was unsurprised by her reaction. Compared to her, Chan Hongyi was definitely even more eager to know what had happened back then.

What led to the fall of the Immortal Palace? What prompted Gu Changge to do what he did? Why did he destroy all of existence, even attacking those closest to him?

Furthermore, Chan Hongyi wanted to know the real reason why Gu Changge took her in.

The most important reason behind her choice was that she wanted to truly understand her Master and discover the secrets that had been kept from her in the past.

This had become her obsession.

“We can go whenever,” Yao Tai said.

“Let’s go now then.” Chan Hongyi did not waste any time, and with a swish of her red robes, she disappeared from the summit.

This also did not surprise Tao Yao. She stepped forth into the blurred void and followed Chan Hongyi.

The current Sanctum of Destiny was situated on the eastern edge of the Divine Empire, near the vast sea of stars.

Many islands floated about. The area was shrouded in a hazy mist and the environment was perpetually shrouded in cool colours. No radiance ever shone in this place.

A large complex of palaces called the Sacred Sanctum sat in the heart of the place. It was a magnificent yet solemn place that exuded an ancient aura.

An overwhelmingly beautiful woman, currently dressed in the white robes of the High Priestess, sat within as she divined something with a geomantic compass.

Her dark hair cascaded down like a waterfall. Her expression was calm and even. She seemed to exude an ethereal aura that made her seem like the deity from the Moon.

Naturally, she was the owner of this place and the Divine Empire’s High Priestess of Destiny. Everyone addressed her respectfully as Lady Ruoyin.

All of a sudden, Xiao Ruoyin sensed something. She looked up at the void, outside the Sanctum of Destiny.

“What brings you two esteemed guests here?” Naturally, as a being from the Forbidden Epoch, she knew of Tao Yao and Chan Hongyi. She spoke up softly with cold detachment in her voice.

“Who would’ve thought that you would be the only one in this massive Sanctum of Destiny? You do not even have a single maidservant to attend to you. Don’t you find this place a little too deserted, Lady Ruoyin?” A faint and slightly bewitching laughter echoed from the void. Chan Hongyi and Tao Yao appeared and stood barefoot inside the palace.

Xiao Ruoyin’s gaze remained unchanged. She simply asked, “I doubt you two have come here to mock me.”

She did not think the two would be so leisurely as to come and say such things to her. Even during the Forbidden Epoch, when the Immortal Palace ruled over the Immortal Domain, these two were not acquainted with her. They had never interacted with each other before.

“We came here to borrow the Celestial Boat of Creation from you,” Tao Yao got straight to the point and said.

“To borrow the Celestial Boat of Creation?” Xiao Ruoyin was startled, but soon, her brows furrowed.

While Gu Changge returned the Celestial Boat of Creation to her, all he had to do was ask for it back if he wanted.

Would Gu Changge be upset with her if she lent it to someone else without his permission? After all, she was now merely one of his consorts.

Nevertheless, she also knew that Tao Yao and Chan Hongyi had some kind of relationship with Gu Changge, one that was hard to describe.

“If he were to blame you for it later, I will explain to him. So, you don’t have to worry about that.” Tao Yao spoke up after deducing what Xiao Ruoyin was concerned about.

Despite saying that, however, Tao Yao was mentally prepared for the possibility of perishing in the River of Time due to the karmic backlash. Therefore, she did not truly mean what she said about giving Gu Changge an explanation.

Xiao Ruoyin fell silent. She knew that with how powerful the two women before her were, she would not be their match if she chose not to lend them the Celestial Boat of Creation.

*Whoosh!*

Green light circled the Celestial Boat of Creation that appeared in her hand. It was only the size of her palm. It was aged and worn, exuding an ancient aura.

“Take it,” she said calmly.

“Thank you.” Tao Yao smiled and reached out for the Celestial Boat of Creation. Then, she and Chan Hongyi disappeared from the Sanctum of Destiny. They did not stick around for even a second longer.

Silence returned to the still and empty palace. Xiao Ruoyin let out a soft sigh. Her gaze was complicated.

“They’re just pitiful souls, like me…” She stared at the geomantic compass she was holding. Her voice was even and unemotional.

Time flowed like water. It had been many years since Gu Changge returned from the Immortal Domain. The world carried as it was meant to, and the expansive territory of the Divine Empire had expanded so much until it encompassed a significant expanse of the many universes.

During this time, the major Forces kept their place without causing any trouble and prepared for the next Ceremony of Immortal Ascension .

In all the ancient cities, new rankings were announced and updated every other year. This included everything from the Prodigy Ranking, Beauty Ranking, and Divine Forces Ranking to the Heavenly Materials Ranking and Treasures Ranking. Everything in existence was given a rank and classification.

Apart from that, the Heavenly Dao Stele appeared in the ancient cities of the various Forces of the Upper Realm. It listed down the strongest young prodigies currently in existence, which caused a stir among the various Forces.

Countless young prodigies fought intensely among each other in the hopes of having their names included on the list.

The Age of Immortal Ascension had arrived. Young prodigies were like the stars that dotted the sky. All the major Forces had talented young descendants of their own.

Some of the ancient monsters from other eras emerged as well. It was now the golden era that shone brilliantly across the universe.

The young prodigies of Gu Changge’s generation had become the pillars of their various Forces as well. They had become leaders of their respective Force, wielding immense power.

The Heavenly Dao flourished as the World Principles changed to become even more suitable for cultivation. Some of the Dao Paths that only existed in ancient times appeared again, including the Path of the Primordial Nirvana.

Numerous cultivators began looking for the Path of the Primordial Nirvana in the hopes of finding their opportunity to attain reach the Nirvana Realm. Fierce battles ensued due to this.

Even Gu Xian’er left Peach Village and tried to gain this opportunity to reach the Nirvana Realm

Deep inside the Divine Empire, Gu Changge succeeded in refining the Immortal Path.

He refined the ancient Immortal Path inside the Celestial Ancient Continent and left 108 protective arrays on it. The first 36 could hold back Immortals. The other 72 were used to stabilise the Immortal Path so that it would not be affected by the World Principles of the Immortal Domain.

During this process, the Principles of the Immortal Domain and the Upper Realm began to mingle. All cultivators could sense the changes.

It was especially obvious to the living beings inside the Divine Empire. They could see hazy radiance scattering across the lands like a glistening light shower.

After the chaos of the Resplendence Universe, the most glorious era of the Upper Realm was upon them. The world had gone from decline to prosperity in an indescribable way.

Throughout this time, Gu Changge also witnessed the rapid growth of the Fortuitous Ones from some of the universes. It had brought about the change in the fate of their world.

Gu Changge’s True Body was seated in the void as he guided the vast Fortuity and cut open the flawed universes from ancient times that were buried in Chaos.

He planned to use these flawed universes to create the False World, take control over reincarnation, and reshape the Six Paths.

It was a lengthy process, so he had left an Avatar of himself behind. He did not plan on wasting too much of his True Body’s time on this.

He also did not hide the matters of the Immortal Domain from some of the people around him.

Yue Mingkong, Jiang Chuchu, and the others knew about the changes that occurred within the Immortal Domain. Gu Changge thought that it was most important for them to focus on their cultivation for now. He stressed how this was not time for them to prioritise the expansion of the Divine Empire.

According to Gu Changge’s plans, the Divine Empire would eventually unify the Mountains and Oceans True World and become the second Immortal Palace. It would not remain merely in the present Upper Realm.

What currently needed the most consideration was the Immortal Domain.

Before that, he planned on sending people out to search for the Immortal Palace Treasury.

He and Yue Mingkong had previously gathered the Seven Tools of Domination, and now, Yue Mingkong had refined them into a key. As long as they determined the location of the Immortal Palace Treasury, they would be able to open it.

Considering Gu Changge’s current status and power, he did not need to handle many matters personally.

“I still need to find a suitable pawn… no, a Successor.” Gu Changge did not want to take on disciples, but he felt that he needed a suitable Successor to handle the things he did not wish to deal with himself.

Plus, when it came to certain things, it would not be appropriate for him to intervene. At the same time, he did not have the time and attention to spare.

For example, reaping the vast Fortuity of the various universes in the Upper Realm…

Although he could draw in some of the Fortuity, it was not all there was. After all, many of the Fortuitous Ones from the various universes possessed their own unique opportunities. When he had little to no influence in their grow, they were stubborn and rebellious, showing little respect for the Divine Empire and having little reverence for him, the Divine Lord.

Gu Changge could not personally slaughter the Fortuitous Ones the way he used to.

With that in mind, his figure disappeared from within the Divine Empire.

On the surface, the Divine Empire ruled over the entirety of the Upper Realm, but there were many corners of the vast universe that it did not encompass.

The one that Gu Changge was looking for came from these territories.

His powerful divine sense surged into the corners of the universe and combed through even the most remote places of the Lower Realms.

Inside a large hall furnished with antiques, a haughty young woman shouted scornful words at a useless young man right before the crowd before ripping up the marriage agreement.

Gu Changge watched the scene and shook his head. Then, he saw the scene of the haughty young woman being trampled underfoot by the useless young man three years later.

Destiny was a long thread. Gu Changge could easily observe the future from one end of it.

“Breaking off an engagement, betrayal, revenge, rebirth… These things are all so outdated…”

As Gu Changge searched through the universes one by one, he began to feel tired. He had not discovered any anomalies. After all, it was hard for even a single anomaly to appear even after numerous epochs. These anomalies possessed far more innate talent than any of the young prodigies.

While Gu Changge could manipulate certain things to create anomalies, that was only one relative in comparison to true anomalies of the world. To him, who could perceive the future and comprehend destiny with just a single glance, such mild anomalies were no different from ordinary people.

All of a sudden, Gu Changge noticed something. A look of surprise and interest appeared on his face.