The fierce battle between the Dark Clans and the Land of the Nine Heavens had been drawing the gaze of all worlds in the Vast Expanse. With the retreat of the Dark Clans, the Land of the Nine Heavens was completely exposed before all worlds.
This also completely lifted the veil of mystery that had shrouded the Land of the Nine Heavens throughout past ages.
After the Dark Clans retreated, the Land of the Nine Heavens did not, as in past epochs, choose to retreat into the depths of spacetime, but instead fully revealed itself outside the Vast Expanse.
The Nine Layered Heavens were like nine stacked continents, each one vast and boundless, surrounded by nebulae.
The several heavens that were destroyed and collapsed in this great battle were rapidly restored and repaired through the joint efforts of many supreme experts.
And all clans and living beings within the Land of the Nine Heavens also received the news that the Land of the Nine Heavens might change its previous stance and directly face the upcoming Tribulation Reckoning Cycle.
This news immediately swept through the entire Land of the Nine Heavens like a hurricane, causing all living beings and cultivators to be filled with panic and unease.
Even the Land of the Nine Heavens, which had always remained aloof from worldly affairs, was forced by necessity to face the Tribulation Reckoning Cycle?
In truth, the many supreme experts within the Nine Heavens also felt quite helpless. If there were no need, who would willingly face the Epochal Reckoning? At the slightest misstep, one would be crushed to pieces and have body and soul annihilated, with little chance of survival.
In the Epochal Reckoning, whether Immortal Realm existences or Dao Realms existences, it was the same; the Heavenly Will was like a blade, wantonly reaping and slaughtering.
In the past, End of the Path level figures still had methods to conceal and evade, but after entering the fray, the aura of karma had already been left behind; even if they hid, they would be found during the Epochal Reckoning.
There was no longer any path of retreat.
In the depths of the Land of the Nine Heavens, many extremely powerful auras also returned from various spacetime domains, seemingly earnestly discussing how to deal with the matter.
"That ancient mirror should be the Mirror of Reincarnation, one of the Six Supreme Treasures of the First Civilization that we have been searching for."
"Unexpectedly, Saintess Xiyuan actually appeared in the Land of the Nine Heavens. How did she enter? Now that the Mirror of Reincarnation has been seized by the Dark Clans, how will we seal and suppress the Lord of Heaven's Proxy in the future?"
The Lord of Heaven's Proxy, just after reviving, already possessed such terrifying and unimaginable power.
In the central hall of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance, it was magnificent and vast, with interwoven Dao rhythms, immeasurably profound, and filled with sounds of shock and uproar.
Many high-ranking members and authority figures gathered here, using various means to spy on the fierce battle between the Land of the Nine Heavens and the Dark Clans. This battle had drawn the attention of countless civilizations, and naturally the Heaven-Slaying Alliance was no exception.
Especially since the Dark Clans and the Heaven-Slaying Alliance were in an ambiguous honeymoon-like state, not interfering with each other, but this did not stop the many high-ranking leaders of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance from remaining full of vigilance and caution towards them.
The Eternal Primordial God and Luo Zhu were both in the hall. As the two strongest in the current Heaven-Slaying Alliance aside from Gu Changge, whenever Gu Changge appeared, they would follow not far behind him.
This led many high-ranking members and experts of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance to speculate that these two supreme figures were probably controlled by the Alliance Leader in life and death, which was why they were so respectful.
Otherwise, how could End of the Path figures act so subserviently and obey others? Those standing proudly at this level are, without exaggeration, truly the supreme pinnacle existences within the Vast Expanse.
Who could contend with them, unless Supreme Shattering or True Path Realm existences appeared?
However, witnessing the profound and terrifying foundations of the Land of the Nine Heavens this time also caused many high-ranking members of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance to tremble inwardly.
The world only knew that the Land of the Nine Heavens was extremely transcendent, but its strength and terror had always only been revealed as the tip of an iceberg.
"However, the Land of the Nine Heavens revealing its foundations could also deter the Dark Clans, and the situation in the Vast Expanse would improve significantly in the future."
"Judging from the previous situation, the two existences that appeared outside the Land of the Nine Heavens were both at the End of the Path level. In the past, it would have been impossible to see such figures so easily." Many people still carried some emotion, while also feeling more confident inside.
The current strongest in the Heaven-Slaying Alliance is without a doubt Alliance Leader Gu Changge. His ability to make two End of the Path domain figures so obediently follow orders finally gave the many high-ranking members of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance a slightly clearer understanding of his strength.
Before this, no matter what kind of enemy he faced, he was always calm and composed, suppressing them with a single palm. This caused everyone's perception of his strength to be very vague, as if looking through fog, unable to see clearly.
Now, they finally understood why the Dark Clans dared not invade the Heaven-Slaying Alliance with Gu Changge presiding over it.
After all, he was definitely a True Path Realm or Supreme Shattering existence. If not for the revival of the Lord of Heaven's Proxy, how would the Dark Clans dare to invade?
Thinking of this, the many high-ranking members and leading figures in the Heaven-Slaying Alliance hall looked at Gu Changge, seated at the very center, with even greater reverence.
The Vast Expanse, which had originally seemed veiled by a light misty gauze, was now lifting and dispersing that mist for everyone.
"Ju, Si, and the Ancient Ancestor of the Gu Family..."
Gu Changge's gaze was profound as he withdrew his sight. From the auras just now, he already had a clear picture of the Land of the Nine Heavens' current foundation and situation.
In the Vast Expanse, existences who grasped Authority were customarily called True Path.
But in Gu Changge's eyes, True Path and End of the Path were actually the same; originally there was no path, and no matter which one you took, it was a dead end.
Rather than a true path, it was merely grasping the Dao one step further above the Ancestral Dao.
The aura of Heaven and Earth Authority would only appear in nine strands; each strand represented a portion of Heaven's Authority, and this was the ultimate number.
In the vast and ancient ages of the Vast Expanse, only nine strands would ever appear.
In the Vast Expanse itself, the End of the Path was already an insurmountable limit where no further upgrade, leap, or metamorphosis was possible. The power that heaven and earth could tolerate could only reach this level.
The subsequent emergence of Supreme Shattering or the True Path Realm was indeed two directions that the former Sages and predecessors in the Vast Expanse groped out through various methods over long and eternal ages.
As for Transcendence?
In fact, this was only an understanding; there was no so-called Transcendence realm. In the cognition of those in the Ancestral Dao Realm, perhaps reaching the End of the Path domain meant touching that realm.
But in the eyes of Supreme Shattering existences, perhaps one must continue a new path and walk to an even farther place to achieve Transcendence; thus in their eyes, Transcendence was only a deception, a dead end.
And in the eyes of those Immortal Dao beings, perhaps leaving the world that birthed and raised them to go to an even vaster and more immense territory, obtaining a more endless and eternal life, was Transcendence.
But what exactly is Transcendence?
Even the Three True Ancestors did not believe that they themselves had Transcended. Transcendence was just a concept, a notion...
At least in Gu Changge's view, a Transcendent being is essentially defined by their original realm, a matter of thought and perception.
The Transcendence that the Vast Expanse had always sought was fundamentally a deception; even if one truly crossed to the Other Shore and reached the Land of Truth, would they truly have Transcended?
Gu Changge's gaze deepened.
After the Primordial Tribulation, the clear qi rose, the turbid qi sank, evolving into heaven and earth. The clear qi accumulated and evolved, and through the supreme and inconceivable methods of the Three True Ancestors, created the Land of Truth. Meanwhile, the turbid qi sank and accumulated, turning into the Vast Expanse, forming the nurturing soil that gave birth to all things and evolved all living beings and universes... All of this was merely to supply the Land of Truth.
Of course, this was merely the philosophy of "Shen (神)."
Each True Ancestor had their own philosophy. If no existence interfered or obstructed, perhaps after countless unknown, disorderly, and unknowable future ages had passed, the Vast Expanse and the Land of Truth would recombine and merge, transforming into the most original form of Primordial Chaos Land, becoming a single starting point, and beginning the deduction anew until they found what they considered the most correct answer.
"Alliance Leader, from just now, the Deputy Alliance Leader's expression seemed somewhat off..."
From the side, a respectful reminder came from a high-ranking member of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance.
Gu Changge glanced at Ling Yuling. She was dressed in pure white robes that cascaded smoothly to her waist, her face flawless and lustrous, exquisitely beautiful as a painting, but at this moment she seemed shrouded in mist, her eyes appearing somewhat vacant, as if numerous scenes were flashing past within them.
Ever since the Mirror of Reincarnation was taken by him in the identity of the Lord of Heaven's Proxy, Ling Yuling had been in this state.
He merely glanced once before withdrawing his gaze. As for why Ling Yuling was like this, Gu Changge knew very well.
If this matter needed an explanation, it would involve events from many years ago.
Back when they were still in the Prime-Origin Civilization, on the Mountain of Myriad Wonders, in order to sign a peace treaty, Saintess Xiyuan had secretly sought out Ling Yuling, informing her of some futures she had seen in the Mirror of Reincarnation, and thus she had some suspicions about Gu Changge's identity.
Ling Yuling, as one of the former Sages who resisted the Black Calamity Catastrophe, also knew the sealing location of the Lord of Heaven's Proxy's Sixfold Celestial Abyss Armor after the Black Calamity Catastrophe ended. She knew she was no match for Gu Changge, and if he truly was the Lord of Heaven's Proxy, then she must not let him learn the location of the Sixfold Celestial Abyss.
To preserve that part of her memory and karma, she intentionally cut it off and gave it to Saintess Xiyuan.
Saintess Xiyuan, also not at ease, sealed her own corresponding memories together within the Mirror of Reincarnation.
Afterward, when the peace treaty ended, Gu Changge saw that part of the future and deliberately loosened a crack in the barrier at that time, allowing Saintess Xiyuan to escape with the help of the Mirror of Reincarnation. Her subsequent whereabouts and traces were always under Gu Changge's watch.
He also personally watched as she lost part of her memory, met Gu Xian'er, recuperated and cultivated in the Crescent Moon Sect, and later went to the Land of the Nine Heavens.
Saintess Xiyuan had always thought that she had been severely injured, damaging her soul origin, which caused her to lose part of her memory. But that was not the case. After she burst out of the barrier and escaped to safety, the Mirror of Reincarnation, following the method she had left behind, actively revived and sealed that part of her corresponding memory.
Now, as the Mirror of Reincarnation was taken by him in the identity of the Lord of Heaven's Proxy, that part of the corresponding memory, while the mirror revived and resisted, subsequently returned to the minds of both Saintess Xiyuan and Ling Yuling.
It was just that the revival and resistance of the Mirror of Reincarnation at that time seemed too feeble, so no living beings noticed...
The Eternal Primordial God and Luo Zhu glanced at Ling Yuling, able to vaguely guess something. But given the current situation, even the True Path Realm existence who had acted inside the Land of the Nine Heavens earlier had said nothing more.
Even if the members of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance knew the truth, it would be of no use.
They had actually been quite shaken just now, and weren't very clear on exactly what method the Lord of Heaven's Proxy used to intimidate the Land of the Nine Heavens.
After all, Gu Changge had been in the hall the entire time without making any move. Was the current Lord of Heaven's Proxy merely a wisp of his intent, or a projection, or for some other reason?
"It's nothing. She just remembered some things from the past; she'll be fine in a moment," Gu Changge said.
"Big sister..."
In the hall, Ling Yuxian, Ling Yuling's younger sister, also felt her head becoming muddled, as if something extra was about to appear. She and her sister Ling Yuling were telepathically connected, often able to sense each other's thoughts and ideas.
Now that her elder sister suddenly froze, memories surging in her mind, she also successively gained many vague memories.
Gu Changge gently tapped a finger; at the spot between her eyebrows and forehead, strands of silver-white brilliant ripples spread out, subsequently stabilizing her soul.
"I... I seem to have gained some extra memories..." Ling Yuling's previously somewhat dazed eyes suddenly became clear.
She looked at Gu Changge and spoke softly, but deep within her gaze was complexity.
Among these returning memories were some that she had actively cut off and given to Saintess Xiyuan, as well as her experiences as a former Sage. Now she was actually complete.
If she hadn't feared that part of the memory and karma being known by Gu Changge back then, she wouldn't have resorted to such a desperate measure.
But now it seemed her worries and fears were completely unnecessary. During the period when she lost that part of her memory, without that memory guiding her, subconsciously she had also forgotten her suspicions about Gu Changge's identity at that time.
Now that the Lord of Heaven's Proxy had reappeared in the world, regardless of whether there was something fishy... she had already become Gu Changge's person, completely standing on his side; that was already a fact.
Given the current situation in the Vast Expanse, even if she retrieved that part of her memory, she couldn't change anything. At her peak, she was still far from the End of the Path.
"It seems you must have recalled some important matters," Gu Changge said.
Ling Yuling hesitated, then lightly nodded. "It's about the matter of sealing the Lord of Heaven's Proxy in the past."
Gu Changge looked unsurprised, merely nodding and not questioning further.
The many high-ranking members of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance in the hall were all shaken, quite astonished.
Ling Yuling looked at Gu Changge, thought for a moment, and then decided to speak frankly. "It's about the karmic clues of the Sixfold Celestial Abyss Armor that the Lord of Heaven's Proxy once refined..."
"After the Lord of Heaven's Proxy revives, he will likely retrieve his once fiercely formidable weapon, the Eight Desolate Demon Halberd, and the Sixfold Celestial Abyss Armor."
"The whereabouts of the Eight Desolate Demon Halberd are unknown, but for the Sixfold Celestial Abyss Armor, there is a way..."
Hearing this, the Eternal Primordial God and Luo Zhu were slightly surprised, looking at Ling Yuling with a somewhat strange and odd expression, then glancing at Gu Changge.
However, his expression remained calm from beginning to end, as if nothing could stir any ripples, and he did not respond.
Ling Yuling wanted to say something more, but her red lips moved, and in the end she fell silent.
The many high-ranking members of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance did not linger long afterward, intending to take their leave. However, before leaving, someone asked about the war between the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty and the Ancient Treasure Civilization.
After all, the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty had now pledged allegiance to the Heaven-Slaying Alliance and was one of its subordinate forces. Having suddenly gone to war with the Ancient Treasure Civilization, did they need to send people to assist?
Many high-ranking members originally gathered here for this matter. However, the sudden revival of the Lord of Heaven's Proxy caused everyone's gaze to turn to the Land of the Nine Heavens, so they neglected that a great battle was also breaking out over at the Ancient Treasure Civilization.
But compared to the commotion outside the Land of the Nine Heavens, that could only be considered small skirmishes.
"Watch and wait," Gu Changge simply waved his hand casually.
Soon, only Ling Yuling remained in the hall. She did not leave, merely standing with her back to Gu Changge, her head lowered, as if a thousand thoughts crowded her mind. Her usually calm and serene face now showed all sorts of melancholy and struggle.
Gu Changge, with his hands behind his back, turned to look at her at this moment and said, "If there's something you want to say, just say it directly. You've followed me for quite a long time, and over the years you've devoted a great deal of effort and energy to the expansion and development of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance."
"In front of me, you don't need to be so evasive and hesitant; it's not in your character."
Ling Yuling looked at him somewhat dazedly, her emotions seeming to calm because of these words. She tucked a few strands of hair that had fallen by her ear and softly said, "Then I... what should I call you?"