Once the Upper Realm army was victorious and the Forces had resolved everything, countless ancient battleships headed back to the Upper Realm from the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains.
Their journey wasn't as high-profile and grand as when they had come, since the Forces couldn't find the item they were looking for after their victory. This was something many ancient beings regretted. Thus, they didn't give up and continued sending their people to look for it in the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains.
Very few people knew of Luo Feng's existence and besides the Supreme Mountain Elder, only Gu Changge knew that he was the Ancestor of Wind, the man who had stolen the Tree of Epoch from the Upper Realm. So, Gu Changge knew that all the Upper Realm Forces would continue to return home without gaining anything.
After remaining in the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains for several months, time which he spent digesting the Sources of the True Daoists, eventually reaching the Ninth-Order Quasi-Nirvana Realm, he prepared to return to the Upper Realm as well.
The position of the Sky Deer Goddess had now changed in the eyes of the natives. She had effectively become the decision-maker in his place. Inversely, her reputation wasn't adversely affected by her surrender to the Upper Realm. Instead, it improved drastically, making many large clans respect her. Since everyone had chosen to surrender, there was no need to scorn each other.
After returning to the Upper Realm, Gu Changge felt his days had become more relaxed all of a sudden. He knew that it was because his cultivation level had reached yet another realm.
Being at the Ninth-Order Quasi-Nirvana Realm, he could easily kill a True Daoist even if he concealed a great part of his abilities. Not to mention, his many techniques and hidden weapons. He could go about the Upper Realm without fear now, and even True Daoists would be wary of him and would not dare recklessly cross him.
He chose to head to the Unrivalled Celestial Dynasty to spend some time with Yue Mingkong, bringing along some rare resources and treasures he had gotten from the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains.
In contrast to his idleness, Yue Mingkong was much busier than before. After all, she took over the Unrivalled Celestial Dynasty and considering its enormous size, it was natural for her to be busy.
She might be cold-blooded and decisive in her tactics, but it was hard to take full, unquestionable control over the entire Dynasty in such a short time. There were things to do every day, plus she had to free up her nights to accompany Gu Changge after he arrived. According to her, she couldn't spare the thought of not being with Gu Changge. Though, such feelings were mostly because she hadn't seen him for a while and couldn't avoid deeply missing him. She wished she could just leave all her duties aside and stay by his side.
"Speaking of the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains, did you get a concubine there?" The curtains of the bed were like clouds, with mist filling the space. Yue Mingkong's smooth dark hair hung loosely while she turned to look at Gu Changge coldly. Her voice was calm though she asked in a chilling manner.
Gu Changge looked towards her as she lay on his arm and smiled. "They're all just rumours. She needed a suitable role after all."
"Why a concubine out of all the other roles?" Yue Mingkong shook her head. "Is she pretty?"
She sounded calm and her tone did not show any change in emotion. However, he could feel that she was jealous. It had to be because they hadn't seen each other for some time.
Her personality was such that she was easily jealous because of minor issues like this. While she was usually forceful and domineering, mundane questions without any emotions or purpose in them were not something she would ever ask. Considering that he might be kicked off the bed later, he thought for a moment before smiling.
"She is. After all, she is the most beautiful person in the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains."
"Hmm?" Her eyebrows raised while her voice rose.
"She's still inferior to you though. Why? Jealous?" He continued, just as she was about to toss him off the bed.
Yue Mingkong rolled her eyes at him, though her mouth curved slightly in a smile. She didn't care how the other person looked or how Gu Changge behaved with them. She merely wanted to hear him say those kinds of things.
To Gu Changge, women like Yue Mingkong and Jiang Chuchu were very easy to deal with since they were infatuated with him. He didn't even have to lie to them since they would lie to themselves. Naturally, he had no plan to lie to them over such things. Besides, the Sky Deer Goddess was truly not as beautiful when compared to Yue Mingkong.
"There is no information regarding the Sword of World Domination, which means we still need to wait a little while," Yue Mingkong said quietly, knowing the other thing that was concerning Gu Changge.
Even though the entire Upper Realm timeline had changed greatly after her regression and the events in the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains had greatly changed from her memories of the previous timeline, it didn't stop her from sending people to find the owner of the Sword.
She wasn't worried about getting the Sword from the owner, since she remembered that the original owner had eventually died at Gu Changge's hand, which allowed the Sword to fall into his possession. She didn't even need to interfere too much for him to acquire the Sword, though she couldn't tell him all that.
"It's not that urgent. The Ruins of the Immortal Palace isn't a pressing issue." He shook his head and smiled.
After spending several months in the Unrivalled Celestial Dynasty, he went to the Violet Supreme Alchemy Sect to see Lin Qiuhan. The woman he had brought from the Lower Realm now shone brilliantly in her own right since her Alchemy Talent was utilised well.
The Violet Supreme Alchemy Sect had a high status in the Upper Realm, especially when it came to alchemy, with complex personal and connections to different Forces. Lin Qiuhan was now its Vice Sect Master since her skills in alchemy far surpassed many Elders.
His arrival shook the entire Sect, with several Elders who had never appeared coming to personally welcome him. The rumours regarding his work in the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains had already spread through the entire Upper Realm and many disciples of the sect looked at him with fever and reverence. Many even knew that the current Vice Sect Master, Lin Qiuhan. had been brought to the Sect personally by Gu Changge, so that connection made them closer to him.
Lin Qiuhan had flawless features and beautiful hair. Her blue dress complimented her slender figure and made her look beautiful yet refined. Gu Changge felt that she was so much different from when she first came to the Upper Realm. It was a total metamorphosis. This satisfied him since it showed that the Sect had been honest in nurturing her.
"Young Master Gu…" Lin Qiuhan didn't expect him to visit her at the Sect, which surprised her enough that she felt faint. She had assumed he was still in the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains and hadn't returned to the Upper Realm.
[Did he come to see me first after returning to the Upper Realm?] She had listened attentively to all the rumours about him and admired him immensely, even feeling that it was hard to look at him.
"You must have been well during this time. That is reassuring." Gu Changge nodded with a smile.
Afterwards, Lin Qiuhan happily told him about everything that had happened, while the Sect Elders all tactfully left. However, Gu Changge did notice several extraordinary-looking youths leaving with dejected looks in their eyes. They were clearly her admirers, which did not really matter to him. Anyone smart would know what to do when he wanted to personally chat with her.
"Your improvement is pretty quick. You haven't reached the Enlightenment Realm the last time I saw you, but now you are nearly in the Sacred Realm." Gu Changge listened to her speak, an appropriately warm smile on his face as he responded from time to time, like the first time they met.
Gu Changge had asked Lin Qiuhan to keep an eye out for the formula of the Violet Supreme Alchemy Pill here in the Sect, which she did mention that only the Sect Master had the right to access it. So far, she had merely heard the Sect Master mention it several times.
During the days Gu Changge spent at the Sect, she had personally prepared many dishes for him in the kitchen, which was rare. Not only was she outstanding in the art of alchemy but her talents in cooking and serving tea were also superior. She just didn't do them anymore after coming to the Upper Realm.
At the very least, her actions made Gu Changge looked satisfied, which delighted her.
After leaving the Violet Supreme Alchemy Sect, Gu Changge returned to the Gu Family residence. [Gu Xianer seems to have gone silent after leaving the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains for Peach Village. That girl might have gone to some weird place to cultivate in isolation…]
He did not go to Peach Village because of Tao Yao. The last time he had been there was to investigate Chan Hongyi. However, he sensed that Tao Yao's memories were still incomplete since she had only enquired about him and wasn't sure of his identity. Thus, he wasn't going to see Tao Yao before resolving the problem involving Chan Hongyi.
Speaking of Chan Hongyi, she had truly surprised him. She had founded a Sect known as Devil Mountain, which spread a cloud of Demonic Qi spanning hundreds and thousands of kilometres. This Sect turned the sea and its surrounding areas into a spooky Demonic Domain filled with Chaos Qi and broken Dao Principles. It was now a life-threatening zone to which many demonic cultivators headed towards.
These cultivators were naturally led by Chan Hongyi, making many forces very cautious of them.
Many still remembered when she had emerged from the Demon-Burying Abyss and caused a terrifying bloodbath. Many Forces had sent experts to ambush and kill her. Yet, they were nearly exterminated and only a few managed to escape alive. Her strength was truly unfathomable; because of this, many Forces were wary of her and weren't going to cross her if they could help it.
[She must have fully regained her mind and memories, becoming more conscious of her surroundings.] Gu Changge narrowed his eyes. He knew most of her consciousness had already recovered when she tried to poison him and left his Inner Universe. Plenty of evidence showed that she wasn't going to give up on getting revenge that easily, but he wasn't certain what she was going to do.
The Upper Realm was celebrating because of the successful occupation of the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains. The war had lasted for a long time, and the ceaseless fighting had finally come to an end. While it wasn't considered an external threat, it was still one less thing to worry about since something else became much more urgent for the different forces of the Upper Realm. The Eternal Overcast! It was an internal issue which had grievous consequences.
Of course, something else was being heatedly discussed in the Upper Realm, which was widely considered to be much more dangerous compared to the Eternal Overcast. The Successor of Demonic Arts, who had been in hiding for a very long time, had appeared once again!
The Successor had suddenly attacked the Successor of War Immortal Manor. The Successor of War Immortal Manor had nearly died as a result but thankfully, his guardian had found him in time and rescued him. The consequences would have been worse otherwise.
Even so, the Successor of War Immortal Manor was seriously injured and his Source was also damaged.
The Successor of War Immortal Manor was a being who had joined in the war effort in the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains, and was widely thought to be one of the strongest in the younger generation besides Gu Changge. His abilities were unrivalled, making him shine brilliantly on the battlefield, yet he had nearly died at the hand of the Successor of Demonic Arts.
The news elicited a shockwave and enraged many Forces. Those who had their disciples or Successors killed by the Successor of Demonic Arts became infuriated yet again, deciding to hunt down the Successor of Demonic Arts. Many had assumed the Successor of Demonic Arts to have disappeared and no longer caused havoc. Yet, he had struck again after several years and nearly killed someone so powerful. This frightened many people since the Successor had survived Gu Changge's attacks many times, making him a very formidable enemy.