Translator: Zetra Proofreader: Silavin Far from the ruins when Chi Ling and others left. Boom! Black clouds surged as the aura of numerous ferocious beasts spread out. It was as if the whole world was going to be engulfed in the black clouds. Many young natives with terrifying vigour and blood were standing around this area, making it seem as if they were standing at the ends of the earth. These natives had various bizarre characteristics – a man with the head of a bull, a youngster with dragon scales, a woman with a phoenix tail… All of them were enveloped in divine light and looked outstanding. This group of young natives was looking at the ruins at this moment. They did not really understand what the outsider young prodigies were trying to do. [So many of them have been mobilised to besiege just one person. Is this truly necessary?] A heaven-shaking beautiful girl in a white robe was standing on the cliff. She spoke in a light tone after watching everything, “Those prodigies from the outside world doing things like this have actually presented us with an opportunity… They’ll be more in danger from the Successor of Demonic Arts. Meanwhile, we can focus on our sole target, Gu Changge.” “He has yet to show himself.” The speaker was none other than Hei Yanyu from the Black Hawk Family. There were also many young natives by her side with extremely terrifying vigour and vitality. There was a young man that looked like a golden rhinoceros. He had a horn and his entire body was covered in ancient, cyan text. There were also a divine white elephant, a divine golden crocodile, and a black flying serpent with a cold light flashing in their eyes. Hearing the words of the other party, a beautiful woman with golden wings on her back coldly said with a frown, “All the cultivators from the outside world are our enemies anyway. Would it not be fine to kill them along with Gu Changge?” She was from the Wingman Clan and had no positive feeling for Gu Changge and the other cultivators from the outside world. It was because many of her clansmen in an ancient city were massacred some time ago. Even though they still had no proof of who did it, they firmly believed that it was Gu Changge’s doing. It was precisely due to this matter that a great clash had happened between them and the cultivators from the outside world. “No, it’s not. If we slaughtered all the outsiders, it’d most likely enrage and dissatisfy the forces in the outside world. But if we only slay Gu Changge, it will not cause that great of a backlash…” Another one of them said. His body was densely covered with black snake scales and his eyes were thin and long with an eerie look to them. He was a prodigy from the Ancient Flying Serpent Clan and his identity and position was comparable to Hei Yanyu. He had a more meticulous view of the matter as he analysed the merits and drawbacks of their actions. “Hmph, you’re just being a coward. Since Gu Changge hasn’t shown himself, I’ll go to look for him myself. Didn’t he get injured after fighting the Successor of Demonic Arts? If you don’t make use of such a precious opportunity, you’ll have the same end as Master Long Teng when you fight him, you know?” The woman from the Wingman Clan was called Yu Jing. She had a very cold look in her eyes and her mind was only focused on finding Gu Changge so that she could take revenge for her clansmen. In her opinion, Gu Changge getting seriously injured had given them the best opportunity to slay him. But the others were being overcautious and lacked the guts to act, which greatly disappointed her. “Oh well, if you want to take revenge, you can go by yourself. We’ll not stop you.” Hei Yanyu said. Her voice was soft but it had a sense of finality and dignity. “Hmph! Let’s go!” Yu Jing was a bit afraid of Hei Yanyu. They had fought before and she was already in a disadvantageous situation just after the other party unleashed one palm attack. Strength was respected the most in the Celestial Ancient Continent. Since Hei Yanyu was more powerful than her, she had more say in matters like this. Thus, Yu Jing left along with her clansmen as she headed to the direction that Chi Ling, Ye Langtian and others had flown to earlier. [What a fool. Doing this will only help us to verify Gu Changge’s current condition.] Hei Yanyu had an indifferent look in her eyes as a strange light flashed through them. Such thoughts were never expressed in her actions, always kept inside. Before she was clear about Gu Changge’s condition, she was not going to show herself and make any unnecessary move against him. Hei Yanyu would not do anything that she was uncertain about. In her opinion, Gu Changge had such terrifying strength that any ordinary person would not be able to deal with him even when he was injured. It was only fortunate for her that Yu Jing wanted to go and test the waters, which was exactly what she wished. “Hei Yanyu, you’ve been intelligent from a young age. Do you know anything about why every Clan had sent many of their young to kill just one youth?” The young prodigy from the Ancient Flying Serpent Clan asked. He was called Teng Yu, and he had a powerful cultivation level of the Intermediate Partial-Enlightened Realm. He was not present within the clan when the decision was made, and when he returned, the matter was being kept a deep secret. His clansmen were not willing to say much about it. Still, he had many doubts about it and wanted to know the actual situation. “The Successor of the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being has appeared…” Seeing the look on Teng Yu’s face, Hei Yanyu spoke in an indifferent voice. This matter was not a secret in the Black Hawk Family. Furthermore, she was one of the small number of people who knew about the Slave Mark. Hei Yanyu’s desire to kill the Successor of the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being was stronger than her desire to deal with Gu Changge or to become well-known among all the Clans of the Celestial Ancient Continent. She was planning to lead the Black Hawk Family to a glorious future, but the Successor of the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being had suddenly appeared and he could enslave many Clans with the Slave Mark. How could she accept something so contradictory to her wishes? However, she did not know who was the Successor of the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being. She only knew that he was a young man who had been constantly chased after by them, all just to kill him. And recently, he could not be found anywhere. [I can use her to investigate the Successor and dig out more information about Gu Changge’s actual situation.] Hei Yanyu’s eyes shone brightly. …… “Cough cough cough… I’m sorry to make you all worry. My injury is no big deal. I’ll get better very soon.” Many from the young generation were gathered in the valley. Wang Wushuang, Ye Langtian, Chi Ling and other young prodigies had also come to this place to see Gu Changge. Even many other young prodigies who had heard the news like the prodigy from the Golden-Winged Roc Clan, Jin Peng had also come. There was a pavilion right at the centre of the place. Gu Changge was dressed in a loose black robe with mountains, rivers, suns, moons, stars, and the universe embroidered on it. It appeared extremely beautiful. He was sitting inside the pavilion as he raised a wine glass towards others before drinking its content. Afterwards, he faintly smiled at everyone. It was just that his handsome, divine, and elegant face looked a bit pale at the moment. He looked much worse compared to other times. The people who were familiar with him could make out that he was weak right now. Many young women could not help but be distressed as they watched this scene. They recalled how high-spirited, powerful, and lofty Young Master Gu looked when he killed the young generation leader of the Celestial Ancient Continent. But now… he looked so weak, as if he had just recovered from a serious illness. He seemed so frail that a strong wind could blow him away. It made the women feel various emotions as they unconsciously tightly grabbed the corners of their skirts. [Young Master Changge has ended up like this only because of the Successor of Demonic Arts. He suffered this injury for the sake of everyone…] Their hearts immediately overflowed with the emotions of sympathy and admiration. “Brother Changge, I’m afraid that you’ve injured your Source. I don’t think it’s going to recover in such a short time.” Inside the pavilion, Wang Wushuang checked Gu Changge’s condition before speaking with a sigh. His injury was not going to be a grave issue, but it had still significantly hurt him. The biggest reason that prevented him from recovering quickly was the fact that his Source was injured. [The strength of the Successor of Demonic Arts cannot be belittled! Even someone like Gu Changge has ended up like this!] Wang Wushuang could not help but shake his head inwardly as he increased his vigilance towards Ye Ling by several more levels. As for suspecting Gu Changge? He did not even think about it in the first place, nor could he find a reason to be suspicious of him. “Brother Changge, you take your time to recover. If the Clans of the Celestial Ancient Continent come to cause you trouble, we’ll definitely be here to deal with them.” Peng Fei from the Golden-Winged Roc Clan declared as golden light surged from his whole body. He was proud and overbearing by nature but he truly looked up to Gu Changge after what he did. Because of a fortuitous opportunity a few days ago, he could not participate in the crusade to slay Ye Ling, the Successor of Demonic Arts. Now that he saw Gu Changge in such a condition due to a fight against the other party, he felt admiration for him. It was true that the Successor of Demonic Arts was someone that everyone had the responsibility to take down, but who would go out of their way like Gu Changge to do it? “Indeed. If the Clans of the Celestial Ancient Continent dared to take advantage of this moment of weakness to cause trouble for Brother Gu, we’ll certainly deal with them, regardless of the consequences. At that time, we won’t back down even if we have to annihilate their entire Clan as well!” Some of the short-tempered young prodigies said as they slapped their thighs. It was already public knowledge that Gu Changge had offended the Clans of the Celestial Ancient Continent. Now that he was injured, it was quite likely that they would make a surprise attack on him. “Brother Changge, you just recover yourself without any worry. Your injury… haaaa…” Chi Ling also showed a distressed look in her eyes. “Rest easy, Brother Gu. You don’t have to be concerned about other things.” Ye Langtian said. An injury to their Source could be fatal to a cultivator. Thus, it could even lead to the destruction of the lower half of the body. Of course, it might not be a big issue for a genius like Gu Changge, but to receive such an injury during their training period in the Celestial Ancient Continent would definitely have some negative impact on him. “I’m to blame for his injury. If I didn’t place my trust in Ye Ling so easily, Senior Brother Gu would not have been injured. Ye Ling used my life to threaten Senior Brother Gu… or he would not have suffered such an injury…” Yin Mei, who had been sitting on the side with a guilty look all this time, spoke with reddened eyes. Seeing her expressing her true feelings on her face, everyone sighed with emotion. Only when a person faced a critical situation, would they come to know about the true nature of others. What Gu Changge did to save his junior sister was worthy enough to be praised and admired by everyone. “I’m really sorry for making you brothers be so concerned about me. Also, Junior Sister Yin Mei, you don’t need to feel guilty. Although we might have disputes between us, everyone has the responsibility to take down the Successor of Demonic Arts when they come across him. I’d have done the same even if you were not there. So, you don’t need to be concerned about it. This insignificant injury won’t have much effect on… cough cough cough…” Hearing Yin Mei’s words, Gu Changge, who always had a faint smile on his face, could not help but console her. But while he was still talking, he began to cough. Gu Changge’s female follower that was present by his side promptly handed a plain and white handkerchief over to him. Gu Changge covered the corner of his mouth, causing an eye-catching, red colour to spread across the piece of cloth. Everyone present had complex expressions as they held even more admiration for him. He had spoken so naturally that others would not doubt what he said was true. Soon after, everyone left one by one after saying their greetings and words of condolence. They no longer wanted to disturb Gu Changge during such a time when he needed rest. The vicinity of the valley had become a deserted place before long. “Brother Changge, take good care of yourself and remember to rest a lot. This Chi Ling will be taking her leave now.” Chi Ling left the place as well. Finally, Gu Changge waved his hand to dismiss his followers. Now there were only him and Yin Mei left in this place. “Master…” She no longer seemed to be sad and feeling guilty. Instead, she was showing a nice smile. “They’ve all playing into your hands.” Hearing her words, Gu Changge threw up the handkerchief in his palm and it turned into fine powder in the air. He no longer appeared weak like before. He said with a faint smile, “They’re just a bunch of fools after all. How could they even figure anything out?” Unless someone was of a truly ancient existence and their cultivation had transcended the enlightened level and entered the sacred level, there was no one who could find out about the true condition of his body. “It’s because your acting skill is simply too good, Master. No one can tell if you’re acting or not. Your plan is flawless as well, making it difficult to find anything odd about it.” Yin Mei said with a smile. “Now it’s time for me to make a serious move against the Clans of the Celestial Ancient Continent.” Gu Changge responded with a smile before slightly narrowing his eyes. He did not have to worry about being exposed as the Successor of Demonic Arts for now, as people would not think of him as a possible candidate for a very long time. With Ye Ling disappearing from the scene, this was the best time for him to make his move. …… The appearance of the Successor of Demonic Arts soon caused the situation in the Celestial Ancient Continent to become unstable. Even the Celestial Ancient Races were also enraged to discover that the ancestral burial sites of their Clans had been dug out by someone, unbeknownst to them. Their ancestors buried there had already become piles of ashes that were scattered across the place. It made a lot of Celestial Ancient Races extremely furious. They were so enraged that they announced that they were going to kill the Successor of Demonic Arts. Their ancestral burial sites had been dug out and they were not even left with the corpses of their ancestors! It was already beyond something that would be called galling shame and deep humiliation! It was no different from a direct slap to their faces! Initially, they were taking pleasure in the fact that the cultivators from the outside were suffering at the hands of the Successor of Demonic Arts. But now that they were experiencing such a situation themselves, no one could remain calm and do nothing. Even the enormous Clans like the Black Hawk, Ancient Flying Serpent, and Divine Crocodile, and the like were also coughing out blood in anger. Many of their ancestral burial sites were dug out, and everything was stolen from the burial sites as well! It made everyone feel a sense of danger and they dispatched their members to guard their burial sites and prevent the Successor of Demonic Arts from sneaking in. When they saw the ashes of their ancestors being scattered everywhere. All those from the old generation had ashen looks on their faces. They were all boiling in rage. Livid beyond words. Such an immoral deed was even more unacceptable to the Celestial Ancient Races than if they got killed. That was how much they valued their bloodline and heritage. However, the Successor of Demonic Arts seemed to have disappeared and there was no new information about his activities. That was precisely why many felt uneasy, as no one knew where exactly he was hiding. On the Mountains of Horizon, Yue Mingkong who was worried about the matter of the Celestial Gate, naturally came to know about this matter too. Her beautiful eyes immediately overflowed with coldness. With a smack of her hand, many mountain ranges trembled with a very loud sound as if they were going to collapse. Gu Changge could deceive everyone in the world, but there was no way she would be fooled as well. [Him? Injured? Him getting injured would be the biggest joke in the world! It’s simply impossible. He is only pretending to be injured. There no doubt about it] [Vixen! You finally gave yourself away to this emperor…] Yue Mingkong was thinking of another matter. When she connected the dots, it all made sense to her. Be it Ye Ling or Bai Lie, both of them had been involved with one woman, the Gifted Lady Yin Mei of the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan. In the beginning, Yue Mingkong never thought that she would have a relationship with Gu Changge. It was more likely for them to have contradictions and conflicts between them. But after combining all the knowledge she had, she understood what was going on. Gu Changge rescuing Yin Mei from the hands of Ye Ling like a hero saving a damsel in distress? It was pure nonsense. Yin Mei had been working for Gu Changge from the very beginning. The only thing Yue Mingkong could not figure out was how she was subdued by Gu Changge to make her work like this. [It is because she was working for him that so many things developed this way.] When Yue Mingkong caught the scent of a vixen that day, it was truly the aura of a fox spirit. It was upon this realisation that made Yue Mingkong’s beautiful eyes overflow with a cold light. So much so that she smacked the mountain ridge before her into fine powder. No living being dared to approach the thousand kilometre area around her. Even her followers were extremely terrified. However, they believe that Yue Mingkong had only flown into a rage because she heard about Gu Changge getting injured. [It seems that Ye Ling has already been killed by Gu Changge. The things left by the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being should have already fallen into his hands.] Yue Mingkong soon calmed down. She was clear that the most pressing matter at the moment was the Celestial Gate. As for the matter of the ‘vixen’, she would look for Yin Mei to settle accounts with her, sooner or later. A place hundreds of thousands of kilometres away from the mountains where Yue Mingkong was raging. On top of a cliff with clouds and mist winding around over it, Gu Xianer who usually looked cold and proud appeared to be at a loss at this moment after hearing about the news in question.