"The predecessor of the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty?"
A wisp of ethereal green smoke, graceful and enchanting, materialized before him, its blurred face showing a hint of confusion.
Gu Changge nodded, his gaze fixed on the chessboard before him, his expression still contemplative.
"The Weiyang Immortal Dynasty emerged after the collapse of the Radiant Ancestral Court. In other words, the Radiant Ancestral Court was actually the predecessor of the Radiant Immortal Dynasty."
"However, between the collapse of the Radiant Ancestral Court and the establishment of the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty, there was another era. But for some reason, that era has been forgotten by people."
He glanced at the wisp of green smoke and spoke unhurriedly.
"Radiant Ancient Kingdom?"
Upon hearing this, the figure formed by the green smoke also fell into deep thought.
The expression on the blurred face kept changing due to these four words—sometimes silent, sometimes frowning, sometimes pained, sometimes struggling, sometimes lost—as if wrestling with some painful memory from the past.
Gu Changge simply watched her calmly, not interrupting.
Then, he turned his gaze back to the chessboard and tapped it lightly. The neatly arranged chess pieces suddenly transformed into a shower of black and white light, and within the light, a faint spatial vortex appeared.
The Book of Scavenging hovered quietly to the side, but the green smoke-like figure was involuntarily drawn to the faint spatial vortex, her gaze fixed on it.
On the other side of the spatial vortex was a scene as calm as a lake.
Majestic palaces and celestial pavilions floated amidst drifting clouds, adorned with intricate carvings and glowing with colorful mist, resembling divine towers that were too dazzling to behold.
Throughout the heavens and earth, grand voices echoed, and countless figures bowed in worship, paying homage to this glorious realm.
This was an ancient and magnificent kingdom, flourishing to its peak, where immortals and gods walked the earth, and the Dao prospered.
Both the immortal and divine paths had reached an unparalleled zenith, and the boundary between immortals and mortals had blurred. Even mortals could seek the Dao and pursue the traces of immortals and gods.
The ruler of this kingdom had created an era where immortals and mortals coexisted, governing over ten thousand eight thousand great and small worlds, with billions of subjects and countless races paying tribute.
"Radiant Ancient Kingdom..."
The spirit of the Book of Scavenging, with a face full of sorrow and nostalgia, murmured as she watched the grand scene within the light.
Upon closer inspection, one could see two clear streaks of blood tears forming at the corners of her eyes.
Her originally blurred face was now gradually becoming more defined.
On the chessboard, light and shadow intertwined, and the spatial vortex rose and fell, exuding an aura of time. It was as if a vast starfield was evolving, or like an ancient book being flipped through, with historical scenes continuously unfolding within.
Scenes flashed by, depicting the rise of a kingdom—from its birth, to its prosperity, to its peak—as if a grand ancient history was being opened for all to see.
Gu Changge was actually quite surprised.
When he decided to intervene in the current situation of the vast expanse and incidentally deduced the karma of the person hiding behind the scenes, he made a new discovery.
The origin of the Book of Scavenging was deeply connected to the karma of the former Radiant Ancestral Court.
Although the Book of Scavenging was not a treasure from the first generation of civilization, it was still a powerful artifact forged by a supreme civilization that had gathered the strength of countless worlds. It was no ordinary object.
That its origin was tied to the Radiant Ancestral Court was somewhat unexpected for Gu Changge.
To be precise, it should be connected to the force that emerged after the collapse of the Radiant Ancestral Court.
The Radiant Ancestral Court was a Daoist force founded by the former Zhong Jun, and it should have been guarded by a first-generation civilization treasure.
However, that first-generation civilization treasure had long since disappeared, its whereabouts unknown.
After the collapse of the Radiant Ancestral Court, a new Daoist force was established on its ruins.
However, that force had been buried in the dust of history, vanishing in the river of time, so that few people today knew of its existence.
If Gu Changge had not glanced into the river of time while deducing the past of the Radiant Ancestral Court, it would have been difficult for him to discover that force.
The karmic threads of that force had all been severed, deliberately erased from the annals of time.
A thick fog obscured everything, but when Gu Changge looked, he still saw many clues and karmic connections, as well as some rather interesting scenes.
The spirit of the Book of Scavenging had once said that she had been betrayed by those closest to her, that all the cultivators in the world had wronged her.
At the time, Gu Changge had not paid much attention and had never truly considered doing anything for her.
He had only verbally agreed to help her escape from the Book of Scavenging and rebuild her Dao foundation, as per their agreement.
If he had not accidentally seen those karmic connections while deducing the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty, Gu Changge might not have remembered her, nor would he have thought that she was connected to the force that existed for a time after the collapse of the Radiant Ancestral Court.
"Hehe..."
A silver-bell-like laugh suddenly rang out, and the spirit of the Book of Scavenging began to cry silently.
Crimson blood stains covered her face, and her voice sounded both mournful and eerie.
Gu Changge had anticipated this and remained unmoved, his expression as calm as ever.
After the collapse of the Radiant Ancestral Court, a kingdom named Radiant Ancient Kingdom from its ruins, and its ruler proclaimed herself the Radiant Empress.
Under her rule, the Radiant Ancient Kingdom flourished, its power reaching heights that rivaled the peak of the Radiant Ancestral Court.
Not long after the Radiant Ancient Kingdom reached its zenith, the Radiant Empress suddenly gave birth to two daughters.
The eldest princess was named Hanjing, and the second princess was named Hanxiu.
Before establishing the Radiant Ancient Kingdom, the Radiant Empress was suspected to be pregnant.
After giving birth to the two princesses, her health deteriorated rapidly.
Before the two princesses reached adulthood, she passed away, leaving the two sisters to rely on each other.
"After the death of the Radiant Empress, the Radiant Ancient Kingdom fell into chaos. The two princesses, still young, were assisted by the old ministers of the Radiant Empress, but they still struggled to maintain control."
"Just as the legacy of the Radiant Empress was about to be lost, the eldest princess, Hanjing, upheld her mother's will and stabilized the situation at a critical moment. Relying on the many contingencies left by the Radiant Empress, she managed to take control."
"Then, at a young age, she seized power and became a new generation of iron-blooded empress, her methods astonishing and no less formidable than those of the former Radiant Empress..."
"Should I now call you Ji Hanjing?"
Gu Changge's voice remained unhurried, as if he were narrating a simple piece of history.
"Hehe..."
The laughter of the Book of Scavenging spirit grew even more crisp, like the sound of silver bells, but the blood tears on her face became even more pronounced.
Her blurred face became more defined, her snow-white skin now streaked with long bloodstains, her hair disheveled, her gaze both tragic and cold, filled with endless desolation and gloom.
"You know everything. As expected, nothing can be hidden from you."
Her slightly hollow gaze withdrew from the faint spatial vortex, no longer looking at the scenes within.
Gu Changge waved his hand, and all the light and shadow on the chessboard disappeared.
All the chess pieces returned to their original positions, as if nothing had happened, as if it had all been an illusion.
"I didn't want to know, but now I have no choice but to know."
He spoke casually, his gaze showing no pity, as calm as ever.
The Radiant Empress was likely the wife of Zhong Jun, the founder of the Radiant Ancestral Court. Zhong Jun's surname was Ji.
After the collapse of the Radiant Ancestral Court and the fall of Zhong Jun, the Radiant Empress succeeded to the throne of the Radiant Ancestral Court.
In this case, the spirit of the Book of Scavenging, Ji Hanjing, was actually the eldest daughter of Zhong Jun.
Among the five main leaders who once resisted the Heaven-Slaying Alliance were Zhong Jun, Xi Sheng, Nan Zun, Dong Huang, and Bei Di.
Gu Changge had only learned of this recently; he had never bothered to look into it before.
As for why Ji Hanjing ended up being sealed in the Book of Scavenging and reduced to a spirit, it was related to the internal strife within the Radiant Ancient Kingdom.
The rights and wrongs of that situation were of no concern to Gu Changge.
What he cared about now was Ji Hanjing's identity.
She was the princess of the Radiant Ancestral Court and the daughter of Zhong Jun, one of the leaders who had once resisted the Black Calamity.
After the collapse of the Radiant Ancient Kingdom, there had been several long dynastic changes, and the Radiant Ancient Kingdom had split into different dynasties and kingdoms, each lasting for a considerable period.
The last kingdom to exist in history was named Yao, and that was the predecessor of the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty.
From the collapse of the Radiant Ancient Kingdom to the birth of the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty, there was a massive karmic thread connecting them, hiding a figure behind the scenes.
To be precise, even the birth of the Radiant Ancient Kingdom was related to that figure.
His influence had stretched from the ancient times all the way to the present.
Even the Alliance of Righteous Unity bore his shadow.
Gu Changge had never been interested in such easily predictable schemes and petty tricks, but this time, that person's plans had inadvertently touched upon his own arrangements.
This piqued his interest in using the situation to his advantage.
"If I'm not mistaken, the first-generation civilization treasure in Zhong Jun's hands must have fallen into that person's possession."
"Only after the end of the Black Calamity Era did he dare to reveal himself. It seems the beings of the Innate Era have not been completely eradicated." Gu Changge pondered slightly.
If one were to lay out the entire timeline of the vast expanse, it could be divided into two eras: before the birth of the vast expanse and after.
Before the birth of the vast expanse, chaos reigned, the clear and the turbid were not yet separated, and everything was shrouded in primordial mystery. This was collectively referred to as the Innate Era.
After the birth of the vast expanse, encompassing the Black Calamity Era, the Ancient Era, the Primordial Era, and other eras, it was collectively referred to as the Postnatal Era.
Some of the Ancestral Gods who still existed today were actually beings from the Innate Era.
The Innate Era spanned an incredibly vast and long period, and within it, there were many smaller eras.
The innate beings born from chaos, imbued with innate elements and wisdom, were closer to the Dao than the beings of the Postnatal Era.
Only after the Three Ancestors of Origin divided the clear and the turbid, condensing the Vast Expanse and the Origin Realm, did the subsequent Postnatal Eras come into being.
"You promised me that you would free me from the Book of Scavenging."
Ji Hanjing's voice suddenly interrupted Gu Changge's thoughts.
By now, Ji Hanjing had recovered, her face once again blurred, though the two streaks of blood tears were still faintly visible.
Her tone was filled with extreme hatred and resentment, and the overwhelming aura of her anger seemed to form a vast river behind her.
As the former empress of the Radiant Ancient Kingdom, at the end of an era, when spiritual energy dried up and the great destruction and reckoning arrived, she had used her own flesh and blood to endure the winter apocalypse for the billions of subjects of her kingdom, bearing the brunt of the destruction and reckoning.
But at her weakest moment, the sister she had relied on and trusted the most, whom she had considered her closest companion, had conspired with many ministers to sacrifice her.
They used her flesh and blood as fuel to forge a civilization treasure, sealing her true soul within the treasure as its spirit.
Only with the civilization treasure guarding their fortune could the Radiant Ancient Kingdom survive the next era's reckoning.
Thus, she became the greatest sacrifice, betrayed by the sister she had trusted the most.
"I naturally won't go back on my promise. But the Radiant Ancient Kingdom no longer exists. Even if you remember the past after all these years of confusion, it won't help."
"Who will you seek revenge against?" Gu Changge glanced at her.
"I can sense that my sister's bloodline still exists in the world. She has descendants who are alive to this day. I once cast the most vicious curse, demanding that she repay all the karma she owes me. If she cannot repay it, then her descendants will." Ji Hanjing spoke with bone-chilling resentment and hatred.
Gu Changge looked at her with a hint of surprise, then suddenly smiled. "What if I told you that your greatest enemy is not your sister, but someone else?"
Ji Hanjing was stunned. She knew of Gu Changge's vast powers, his near-omnipotence.
Otherwise, he would not have so easily uncovered the secrets of the Radiant Ancient Kingdom.
"What do you mean? What do you want in exchange for telling me?"
Ji Hanjing's blurred face stared intently at Gu Changge, her eyes filled with urgency.