I Am the Fated Villain
chapter-897

The ordinary living beings of the Immortal Domain were familiar with the legendary Nine Heavens.

Many historical texts included records of the Nine Heavens. It was supposed to be a mystical place and the origin of Immortals.

There were Immortal Kings from the Immortal Domain who once tried to locate the Nine Heavens in the hopes of paying their respects to the beings there, hoping to seek guidance.

Alas, no one ever truly found the Nine Heavens. None had ever seen it with their own eyes. Many thought the place was only a legend created by people who yearned to discover even higher cultivation Realms.

“After leaving the City of No Return, head east. If you see a waterfall cascading down from the skies above, follow it to its source. The entrance to the Nine Heavens could very well be hidden there,” the Old City Lord continued with a complicated tone.

He did not know if Qing Feng could locate the Nine Heavens. He simply repeated what he heard from his Master. Nevertheless, something about Qing Feng made him feel hopeful. Somehow, he felt there was a glimmer of hope.

“The Nine Heavens… I understand, Master.” Qing Feng nodded as he solemnly made a promise to the Old City Lord.

He could tell that the Old City Lord would have only given him such instructions because the latter knew a thing or two about the Nine Heavens.

Outside the Floating Nether Realm, unimaginable power surged as the two Realms continued to collide and merge together. The echoes of the thunderous sounds reached every corner of existence.

Qing Feng did not waste any time. He immediately set off with the Dragon Climber he left outside the palace. Their silhouettes turned into streaky shadows as they went off in search of the Nine Heavens and the other seven Exquisite Realms.

Soon, the Floating Nether Realm would vanish as the Array around it could not hold out for much longer. Therefore, he had to find the Nine Heavens and rush back as soon as possible.

Cen Shuang, who was leaping through the mountains, watched from a distance with a complicated expression. However, she soon turned around and marched into the Land of Blue that was shrouded in Demonic Energy.

The strange, blue-coloured fog kept billowing thickly out from this place. Cracks appeared in many places. It was as if an Astral Wind had ripped through this place.

With a crisp battle cry, she raised her spear fiercely and valiantly, like a peerless heroine.

Deep inside the Land of Blue was the rift that led to the Azure Sea. The Demonic Energy was even more concentrated there, with even more powerful Demons living there.

By killing the Demons, one could procure a kind of energy crystal found within their bodies. The cultivators from the City of No Return called these the Demon Cores.

These Demon Cores could be used as energy to sustain the City of No Return and maintained the Array that protected the Floating Nether Realm.

The merger of the Immortal Domain and the Upper Realm was an unstoppable event. Even Immortal Kings could only watch from a distance. They dared not try to interfere.

If ordinary cultivators were to get caught up in it, they could instantly explode and be reduced to dust.

The sky became clear as many ancient omens appeared. The cultivators from the Immortal Domain could clearly see the two Realms combining together.

They could see many tattered universes in the Upper Realm collapsing, but even more energy was being gathered in those areas. It was a new kind of energy, which separated the chaos and changed the environment.

Golden lotuses bloomed as a radiant shower of the Great Dao rained down to bless every single living being.

All the cultivators felt the protection granted by the world. Those who had reached a bottleneck in their cultivation immediately felt their shackles loosening.

Some even gained comprehension on the spot. Their bodies glowed as they made a breakthrough.

Even ordinary mortals, without any cultivation, benefited from this. Their illnesses were wiped from them and their lifespans were suddenly extended.

“A new Heavenly Dao has been born and all living beings have been blessed by it…”

“New energy has burst forth and a new Great Dao has emerged. This is the birth of a new and glorious era. One that could rarely be found in history.”

Many people discussed the situation with excitement in their voices.

Unceasing Celestial Light illuminated all the territories as the new Great Dao replaced the previous World Principles, which had been fragmented and incomplete.

At last, the Immortal Domain and the Upper Realm were reunited as one again. Even though it would take some time for everyone to adjust, they could afford to wait.

[The process was even smoother than I had expected. The Other Domain simply watched in silence and the old ones in the Immortal Domain dared not show themselves. Are they afraid? Or, are they waiting for something?] Gu Changge appeared in the Divine Empire with a contemplative gaze.

“Young Master, the Divine Empire will need to greatly expand its territories now. Over the last few days, I have made contact with the Immortal Kings from the Immortal Domain. I’m wondering how we are to determine the positions of the many Immortal Forces of the Upper Realm… The Immortal Domain has quite a number of True Immortals whereas the Upper Realm barely has any. I worry that conflict will arise between the Forces of both worlds when we assign them their positions. Furthermore, there are Immortal Kings in the Immortal Domain. They would not listen to the orders of those who are not Immortals. They would only show respect to those of us who have a close connection to you, Young Master.”

Yin Mei did not know what was on Gu Changge’s mind as she voiced her concern about the future direction of the Divine Empire.

Once the Immortal Domain and the Upper Realm were completely combined as one, the Divine Empire that ruled over the Immortal Domain would have to expand its territories and unite the fragmented Immortal Domain.

The Divine Empire had to see to it that the Forces in the Immortal Domain submitted themselves to it.

“I have already thought of that. The unification of the Immortal Domain and the Upper Realm is only the first step. The Divine Empire is still in its early stages. I will establish rules that will keep the Immortal Domain and the Upper Realm separate. Everything will run according to what I will establish. The Immortals will supervise the Immortal Domain while those non-Immortals will be in charge of the Upper Realm. At the same time, the Immortals will not be allowed to come to the Upper Realm to interfere in its affairs.”

Gu Changge placed his thoughts to one side and informed Yin Mei of his plan.

He had started the Divine Empire for the sake of governing the Upper Realm and for the convenience of carrying out his future plans. He did not care whether the Divine Empire flourished or declined.

Truth be told, Gu Changge did not expect the Divine Empire to rise to its current glory with how little he did. Such prosperity had to be mainly attributed to those around him such as Yin Mei, Ji Qingxuan, Bai Lian’er, and more.

Even though he was the Lord of the Divine Empire, he allowed others to run it in his stead and did not get involved in its affairs.

“The Immortals will supervise the Immortal Domain while those non-Immortals will be in charge of the Upper Realm?”

Yin Mei nodded. That was what she had in mind as well. After all, it would spell disaster for the Upper Realm if the Immortals came down to start ruling over them.

In ancient times, the Immortal Domain and the Upper Realm were one and there had not been a clear divide between the two. Therefore, many Immortals came to the Upper Realm and engaged in reckless slaughter, leaving chaos and turmoil in their wake.

In the following days, Gu Changge spent some time setting up these new rules while working with Queen Lunar, the Proud Immortal King, the Mysterious Ancient Immortal King and more to remerge the Immortal Domains using their Divine Abilities.

With a flick of his palm, the world rumbled as various tattered universes and regions were reincorporated into the Southern Immortal Domain.

Numerous fragmented lands and universes were drawn out from the chaos and reassembled.

Chaos Qi surged, and divine light gleamed brightly across the sky as new universes came into existence.

This was an easy task for Immortal Kings, though it did take time.

After countless aeons of separation, the Immortal Domain regions such as the Southern and Northern Immortal Domains were reunited once again.

Following the reunification of the Immortal Domain, Gu Changge set new World Principles.

Those who had become Immortal were not allowed to head down to the Upper Realm. If they stubbornly disobeyed this, they would be shackled by the Heavenly Dao and their powers would be greatly diminished.

As the new World Principles were set, Great Dao from both worlds emerged to mark them down.

All Immortal Kings were thunderstruck. Gu Changge’s word was indeed law, for even the World Principles changed in accordance with his command.

Such might was incomprehensible to them. They would never dare to dream of it either.

A period of comparative peace ensued, to the disbelief of those in the Immortal Domain who thought that Great Purge would soon descend upon them.

Naturally, even True Immortals did not know what was going to happen to the Immortal Domain, let alone ordinary people. Immortal Kings were too far beyond their reach.

They could never come into contact with the Upper Realm. Meanwhile, the stability of the environment of both Realms meant that many prodigies from the Immortal Domain would choose to head down to the Upper Realm to experience and engage in friendly duels with the prodigies there.

A golden era like this was a great opportunity for the younger generation, much to the envy of the older ones.

As both Realms flourished, many dazzling beings emerged.

Three years later, news began to spread within the Immortal Domain. It was said that the Immortal Kings had voluntarily requested for Gu Changge to assume command over the entire Immortal Domain and rebuild the Immortal Palace to revive the glory of ancient times.

The moment this news got out, it caused a stir as all the Forces began discussing it.

In all the years of the Immortal Domain’s existence, no one had ever governed its entire vast territory, except for the Immortal Palace. This was because no one had the means to convince all Forces to submit to them.

After all, instead of serving another, was it not better to rule over a universe of one’s own? Why would one choose to submit to another?

This news shocked the cultivators who tried to ascertain its validity.

Naturally, there was no way of knowing whether all the Immortal Kings had truly voluntarily made this request. Nevertheless, through various indications, it was clear that it was inevitable for the Immortal Domain to come under Gu Changge’s rule like what had happened with the Upper Realm, it was only a matter of time.

“The Immortal Palace belongs to a bygone era… “From now onwards, the name of ‘Heavenly Court’ will echo through the Immortal Domain.”

All of the Immortal Kings in the Immortal Domain were gathered inside a majestic palace. Their expressions were solemn, and they dared not speak out of turn.

Apart from the Immortal Kings who attended the banquet at Queen Luna Residence, there were a few other Immortal Kings who showed themselves.

Now that things had come to this, it was a given for them to choose to submit to Gu Changge, unless they truly intended to try and challenge him.

Gu Changge stood in a palace, and the moment his words fell, thunder echoed through the world as terrifying manifestations emerged in the distance.

Strange bolts of crimson lightning flashed in the universe as if bodies rained down in a shower of blood. Someone seemed to be howling amidst a killing spree. The murderous aura in the far distance felt like it would swarm over.

Even Immortal Kings felt chills down their spines. Some were terrified. It was as if they were abruptly being targeted by an unspeakable and indescribable being.

“This… the cause and effects of this is too massive…”

The Mysterious Ancient Immortal King’s expression was grim. He knew what the Heavenly Court that Gu Changge spoke of meant.

Why did the Immortal Palace not name themselves the Heavenly Court or the Celestial Court?

It was because it could not bear the karmic backlash, which could have led to their collapse.

A Force like the Immortal Palace had always existed in the Immortal Domain, even at its dawn. Such Forces had a lasting impact on the numerous beings that came after it.

Even during the most ancient periods in history, Forces like the Divine Court, Demonic Court, Sacred Court, and Immortal Court had existed. Unfortunately, they did not last very long before they crumbled apart and were lost in the River of Time.

The establishment of such a Force required the ability to bear an unthinkable amount of karmic consequences and the indomitable determination to rule over all the lands.

However, this was only a shallow perspective of the whole thing. The Immortal Kings present had an even deeper understanding of the situation.

They knew that a major contributing factor to the karmic consequence was a curse.

A Heavenly Court did exist during the ancient times, with many legendary figures. However, no one knew why the Heavenly Court of that time collapsed.

“The first Lord of the Heavenly Court was a being from the Primordial Mythical Era. According to Ao Ling, the Lord had died in a great and tragic battle…” The Proud Immortal King had a complicated expression on his face. Recently, he heard about many things from Ao Ling.

Ao Ling told him that some of the most ancient beings would be returning soon, perhaps including her Older Brothers.

The Proud Immortal King had been thunderstruck by this news. He knew that Ao Ling was the Youngest Daughter of the Dragon Ancestor, who could be described as the first True Dragon since the dawn of existence. The Ancestor of All Dragons.

What would Ao Ling’s Brothers be then? How long would it have been since their era?

If beings such as them could truly return, did it mean that history would soon be overturned?

The entire world would be undergoing a major reshuffling. Even an Immortal King like him felt fearful and uneasy.

When the time came, what role would Gu Changge be playing?

On this day, magnificent sounds of the Great Dao echoed through the various universes. Grand and ancient sounds of worship rang out everywhere.

At the same time, grand palaces and buildings rose from the ground in the middle of the Immortal Domain.

The golden structures glittered with dazzling light and emanated an aura of grandeur that shrouded all the territories.

The Immortal Kings joined forces to carve out a new cultivation ground from the chaos. It was a grand display.

Countless chaos particles surged all around and swept across the territories.

Gu Changge stood in the middle and drew in the will of the people from the depths of the unknown.

This was what the experts understood regarding the existence of the Heavenly Court. It relied on the will of the people known as the Power of Will. This power was drawn from the people and could also be used to bless the people.

“The Heavenly Court is established today!”

An intimidating voice filled with formidable power rang out from the cultivation ground, causing all the universes to rumble as shockwaves rippled out to every corner of the world.

Just then, the outpour of the Power of Faith from the world rushed towards the new palace complex and gathered there as if they had finally found their target!

Inside the Upper Realm, a grand and massive silver river gushed into the Immortal Domain, charging straight towards the cultivation ground.

The Heavenly Court was established in all its magnificence, and a majestic silhouette sat in the very middle. It was even taller than the skies. Divine light as brilliant as the Sun flowed around it. The silhouette seemed to be standing in the very centre of existence.

Living beings in every world bowed in worship!

“We pay our respects to the Heavenly Court!”

Powerful experts from all worlds faced the Heavenly Court and showed their respect.

Countless bowed, showing their utmost sincerity.

“The Power of Will, drawn from the people, and capable of blessing them in turn.” Gu Changge stood in the Heavenly Court and took in the Power of Faith that poured in from all the lands.

His massive Dharma Body shone across the skies with no end in sight. From the Power of Will that he took in, he could sense the people’s thoughts, yearnings, and beliefs.

The Heavenly Court was established with many Immortal Kings among its ranks. Even though it was only in its infancy, it possessed unfathomable power.

The Divine Empire in the Upper Realm became a great source of support for the Immortal Domain. Endless streams of the Power of Faith and the Power of Will gushed over in a frenzy.