I Am the Fated Villain

Chapter 1757. A Small Skirmish

If it were just a minor scuffle, the fun would be far less interesting.

Thus, the rules evolved. The Great Way was nurtured, heaven and earth were divided, the sun and moon shone clearly, and the four seasons alternated. The pure energy ascended, the turbid energy descended, and the Vast Expanse (Cangmang) came into being. Only between two beings locked in life-and-death combat could separation occur.

The division of heaven and earth, and the birth of the Vast Expanse, were both markers of the Post-Natal Era—it could even be called a beginning. But likewise, because of the emergence of the Vast Expanse, the Origin Realm—the world later known as the “True Land”—came into existence.

Countless tribes of the Pre-Natal Era perished. Countless Pre-Natal beings were either captured or slain by the three inconceivable and indescribable entities of the Origin Realm. They annihilated the Pre-Natal Era, marking its ultimate end.

These memories all stemmed from Ji Han Jing’s own bloodline inheritance. Her father was a Pre-Natal being; each Pre-Natal being possessed fragments of memory, legacies of the Great Way, and other inheritances. These were imprinted in their bloodline, innate and known from birth.

Although the Pre-Natal Era had ended, many Pre-Natal beings had survived that cataclysm through various means, barely clinging to life into later eras. They would change their identities and continue to live and propagate.

The head of the Yao Guang Ancestral Court, once the Sage Zhongjun, was one such Pre-Natal being. Even to this day, it’s likely that many Pre-Natal beings remain hidden in various eras and universes, unnoticed by mortals.

Ji Han Jing considered a certain being—the “Lord of Fate”—to be the mastermind behind her father’s enemies. The fall of the Yao Guang Ancestral Court, her father’s Dao collapse, and the later collapse of the Yao Guang Celestial Dynasty were all intricately connected to the Lord of Fate.

“I only want to know who that infant I saw in the river of time really was. I refuse to believe he was just an ordinary person. No ordinary person could erode my sister’s consciousness and gradually consume her…” Ji Han Jing said in a low voice.

During her tenure as head of the Yao Guang Celestial Dynasty, her sister had met and fallen in love with an ordinary cultivator. Although Ji Han Jing was displeased with his background and abilities, she had never interfered.

During that period, most of her attention was on surviving the Epoch Winter and the Great Reckoning of the era, so she hardly noticed her sister’s life with her husband. It wasn’t until later that she discovered that her sister’s husband had perished years before, leaving her sister and child alone in the world.

At the time, she hadn’t suspected his identity. But now, looking back, the man’s identity seemed shrouded in doubt—both in his initial encounter with her sister and his later passing, there were layers of mystery. Who was he? Where did the child go? How was her sister’s consciousness consumed, and how did she acquire the secret to forging a treasure of civilization? Perhaps from the very beginning, an invisible web had already been cast, and she had been caught in it without realizing.

“If you want to know, you’ll have to dig deep yourself,” Gu Changge shook his head, his gaze thoughtful. He wasn’t willing to reveal too much to Ji Han Jing at this moment.

This, in fact, was what interested him: the master of the Yinjue Cave, whose identity had changed countless times since antiquity. Existing across past and present, his shadow stretched across the river of time. His methods were not simple reflections or leaving a contingency—they involved orchestrating the entire history from the other end of time, refining the entire ancient history, including all future events.

The Yinjue Cave master, if not merely a puppet, had very grand ambitions. Yet in Gu Changge’s eyes, his schemes were laughably trivial.

If the Vast Expanse were compared to a garden or orchard, the Yinjue Cave master sought only to harvest the ripe fruit. Perhaps, in his view, each Epoch Reckoning occurred because the fruit had ripened, taken by the True Land. If he consumed this fruit, he could leap beyond the path of transcendence and metamorphosis, advancing to another level of existence.

Yet he may have misunderstood, just because a worm eats the fruit, does it become strong enough to transform into a human? In the past, Gu Changge might have struggled to comprehend this, but having lived with human thoughts and identity, he had come to understand what this so-called “struggle across” truly meant.

Although Gu Changge understood the Yinjue Cave master’s plans, he had no intention of interfering. For now, all that the master did was no secret to a truly powerful existence. In other words, all his schemes were laughably simple.

Gu Changge’s task was to allow the Fatian Alliance to naturally expand and absorb the so-called Zheng Yi Alliance, then legitimately dominate the Vast Expanse, forcing those behind the scenes to reveal themselves.

As for the Celestial Crowd and the Eight Followers, their internal strife was, in Gu Changge’s eyes, trivial. At his level of existence, any secret could be extinguished by a single thought. Past, present, or future, any timeline affecting him could be snuffed out, and even unexpected loopholes could be reset or patched by him.

Thus, all schemes no longer intrigued him. All he could do now was wait and enjoy any amusement that caught his interest—nothing more.

“I understand,” Ji Han Jing said, not pursuing further questions. She had been by Gu Changge’s side long enough to know that some things, if not revealed, could not be learned no matter how much one asked.

Gu Changge nodded slightly, reaching out to sweep the chessboard in front of him, removing some dead leaves. As the leaves disappeared, faint images emerged on the once still board. Ji Han Jing looked on, slightly confused.

“The Weiyang Celestial Dynasty was founded several hundred epochs ago. At first, it was not called Weiyang, but the Dayang Ancient Kingdom, which maintained cordial relations with the Nanzhao Ancient Kingdom, and was deep and strong in foundation.”

“The last ruler of Dayang was Emperor Yang. According to Weiyang Celestial Dynasty records, Yang was cruel, decadent, indulgent in wine and lust, and a despotic ruler. The last emperor of Dayang’s reign saw widespread suffering, his people endured unimaginable misery. The father of the later Weiyang Emperor, Jiang Ming, was a feudal prince with distant royal blood. Displeased with Yang’s tyranny, he led forces against him, ultimately perishing on Jiuyin Mountain.”

“The Weiyang Emperor, Jiang Ming, inherited his father’s cause. Guided by heaven, armed with divine weapons, and aided by remnants of his father’s old supporters, he united the feudal lords and conquered the Dayang capital. Emperor Yang committed suicide in the palace… and the final fate of the Yao Guang Ancestral Court was sealed.”

Gu Changge shook his head lightly.

“But I can sense that my sister’s bloodline still exists in the world,” Ji Han Jing could not help but say.

Gu Changge suddenly smiled, “I tell you this only to show that everything you wish to know can be found within the Weiyang Celestial Dynasty. If you wish for revenge, the only usable power lies there. You need to find a way to use it. Otherwise, this ‘fun’ will be very dull.”

Ji Han Jing’s eyes lingered on him, wanting to speak, but seeing he did not respond, she quietly said, “I shall leave.”

Gu Changge only nodded, his gaze fixed on the chessboard. He had already shown Ji Han Jing the path; if she failed, she had only herself to blame.

A few days later, at the ruins of the Yao Guang Ancestral Court:

Brilliant divine light appeared, chaos-like light rain shot into the sky, half the universe drenched in celestial radiance. Accompanied by the sounds of the Great Way, a fissure in a holy land opened. Ancient weapons and divine medicines erupted like a volcanic eruption, producing a rain of astonishing treasures.

Countless cultivators and beings, learning of this, rushed madly to seize the opportunity. Dao-stage existences even forcibly snatched some treasures, astonished to find each item immensely useful.

The fissure widened daily. Every artifact unearthed was rare, enough to tempt even Dao-stage beings. Ancient stone tablets inscribed with lost Dao methods, ancient divine techniques, and celestial charts emerged. Some cultivators discovered a sealed divine pill, its aroma filling the Nine Heavens upon opening, inducing a sensation of immortality and sudden breakthrough in cultivation.

The news spread quickly. All factions dispatched forces, aiming to claim the treasures. Many speculated this was the former treasure vault of the Yao Guang Ancestral Court, long buried by time until its rediscovery.

The Yao Guang Ancestral Court once ruled over many true realms, its power immense. Who could know the extent of treasures in its vault?

News spread across the Weiyang Celestial Dynasty, causing internal factions to mobilize; the ruins lay close by in the Yao Guang Ancient Domain. Rumors suggested that the dynasty itself was founded on the remnants of the Yao Guang Court, with the current imperial bloodline descending from it.

The reappearance of the Yao Guang vault logically belonged to the Weiyang Celestial Dynasty, sparking resentment among other factions. After all, divine treasures belong to the virtuous.

Within days, ancient warships and chariots from across the universe converged on the Yao Guang Ancient Domain. Observers noticed the fissure widening, resembling a deep abyss. Splendid light poured out alongside eerie phenomena: ancient palaces and celestial towers emerged in overlapping layers, majestic and imposing. Chaotic mists spread, exuding a potent life force. Many suspected an ancient being slept within, not merely a treasure vault.

Those brave—or greedy—enough to enter were never seen again, their screams and blood marking the area. Even Dao-stage beings were horrified.

The fissure’s news spread rapidly across all civilizations. Factions planned to explore it collectively, sharing treasures. Many strong beings were dispatched, resisting the overwhelming aura to investigate. Outside the fissure, crowds of cultivators and beings watched intently.

Even the Weiyang imperial family personally arrived, some elder princes leading forces to surround the area.

Suddenly, an overwhelming aura emerged from the fissure, as if a peerless being was awakening, flooding the heavens with power. Those who entered were thrown back, and a crystalline Dao-source emerged, housing a vividly lifelike ancient and mysterious woman.

The woman was peerlessly elegant, her black hair flowing, exuding a primordial aura that shook the Nine Heavens. All cultivators and beings present, regardless of power, were petrified, their souls trembling, compelled to kowtow.

She stood like an empress suppressing all the worlds, her mere presence exceeding the heavens’ capacity to contain her. Even a finger movement could annihilate all present.

The news immediately spread, causing a massive upheaval across all true realms of the Vast Expanse. Factions speculated that she might have been a former empress of the Yao Guang Court, deeply connected to it.

The Weiyang imperial elders immediately knelt, calling her the ancestral matriarch, intending to invite her back once she fully awakened.

Meanwhile, on the borders of the Fatian and Zheng Yi Alliances, a fierce battle erupted, “The Fatian Alliance repeatedly violates our territory! What is your intent? Retreat immediately!”

In the cold and vast universe, massive armies faced off. Soldiers were countless, like mountains and seas, aligned across the chaotic river, armor glinting, swords flashing.

“Does the world belong only to you? Who says this land is yours?”

“Look across the world; there is no place the Fatian Alliance cannot go,” replied a muscular, towering figure with green wings, laughing coldly.