Chapter 1750. Who Was He in That Era?

The Yao Guang Ancestral River flowed relentlessly, the merchant ship drifting downstream.

Waves slapped against the hull with a constant rumble, scattering white foam into the air that fell like a silver rain. Some mist drifted through the window cracks, carrying the river’s earthy scent, tinged faintly with the ordinary smells of worldly life.

The tabletop was damp, marked with water stains, yet Gu Changge sipped his tea unhurriedly, showing no rush to explain anything.

Ji Hanjing stared at him, confused, listening carefully to what he would say next.

“You wanted revenge, didn’t you?” Gu Changge put down his cup, speaking slowly.

Ji Hanjing nodded, eyes blazing with hatred. “I think of revenge constantly. Ever since my sister betrayed me, I’ve wished to walk back through time, personally returning to the past, to make her taste all the pain and despair I endured.”

Her voice was filled with unmasked, deep-seated hatred, as if she wished to crush her sister to dust, to feast upon her flesh and marrow.

Yet, at this point, she paused. She remembered that Gu Changge had once told her that her greatest enemy was not her sister, but someone else.

Ji Hanjing had never understood what he meant, yet she trusted that he would not deceive her on such a matter.

“I once told you, your greatest enemy is not your sister. Over the years, you’ve actually hated the wrong person. But that doesn’t matter. Today I’ve brought you here so you can understand it all,” Gu Changge said, a meaningful smile playing on his lips.

Ji Hanjing’s confusion deepened.

“The Yao Guang Ancestral River… It is the last remaining trace of the Yao Guang Ancestral Court. Didn’t you wish to walk back through time to the past?” Gu Changge said with a faint smile.

As his words fell, Ji Hanjing felt a strange, unfathomable energy arise.

The entire world grew impossibly quiet. The ship stilled; the waves calmed; even the drifting mist hovered in the air like suspended vapor. Time itself seemed to hesitate, blur, distort, and then stop, paused before her.

Only the young man before her—handsome, composed—continued sipping his tea leisurely, unaffected by anything around him.

“All traces of causality have vanished. The endless karmic burdens required to traverse the river of time are gone,” Gu Changge said.

Ji Hanjing’s eyes widened in astonishment. She whispered softly.

In a normal universe, or in a regular True Realm, traveling the river of time—back to the origins of the cosmos, forward to the distant future—would have been trivial for her, unimpeded by causality, without worrying about disrupting temporal lines.

But in Cangmang, even at her peak, she could not dare attempt it. The greater one’s power and rank, the more terrifying the causal backlash. One could even draw mysterious, unspeakable attention from above.

Yet Gu Changge moved without concern, disregarding all constraints, disturbing infinite time and space without hesitation.

Ji Hanjing watched as the previously frozen time began to flow again. Outside the window, the waves roared anew, and the river’s energy surged so intensely that it was impossible to tell whether it was water or spiritual energy.

“The Yao Guang Ancestral River…” She murmured, rising to open the ship’s window.

An endless river stretched before her eyes, merging with the horizon, unbounded. White waves and stormy surges lashed the surface, exuding an ancient, primordial aura.

Along the riverbank, divine lights shimmered, immortal radiance swelled, towering mountains and celestial cities rose, civilizations thrived in splendor.

“Who transmitted the Way in the earliest times? Before Heaven and Earth took form… how can one know?”

In the distance, Ji Hanjing heard ancient cultivators chanting. A mighty, immortal dynasty stood at the river’s source: the Yao Guang Celestial Dynasty. Her gaze softened with nostalgia as she walked along the river’s waves. Gu Changge remained seated at the window, silently observing her, interfering not at all.

This was the Yao Guang Celestial Dynasty at its peak—the era when Ji Hanjing had claimed her throne as empress.

She moved upriver along the Yao Guang Ancestral River, passing all Daoist sects, kingdoms, and clans along the way. No one could see her; she was like a mere passerby. Finally, she arrived at the river’s source.

Palaces stretched endlessly, celestial towers hung high, corridors twisted elegantly, eaves curved like wings, countless halls like honeycombs or whirlpools rose.

In the heart of the main hall, a female attendant in splendid attire, holding a jade tablet, reported respectfully. Ji Hanjing saw herself: youthful, confident, radiant, her authority unmatched.

All ministers trembled, bowing, fearful to breathe.

Yet who could have imagined that eventually, these ministers, together with her most trusted sister, would betray her? After she bore the frozen epoch and survived the world’s judgment, they would trap her, forging her into a civilization treasure.

A wry smile curved Ji Hanjing’s lips, ghostlike, as she walked past her former self. Could that past self have imagined one day being watched by her future self?

Of course, not even Ji Hanjing could know—nor could anyone—the entire ancient history, indeed all of time and space, was under Gu Changge’s gaze. Past, present, future—all under his observation.

Who was he, truly?

She sighed softly. The secrets of the world, the incomprehensible, perhaps only those who walk to the very end of the path can glimpse.

Once, she had been arrogant, comparing herself to her parents, underestimating the world, believing her accomplishments rivaled theirs. She had faced epochal winters, apocalyptic reckonings, alone. But then, she was like a frog in a well, thinking the well’s mouth was the entire universe.

Walking past the familiar palaces, she recognized many faces, though some she could no longer name. Time is the greatest, and also the most merciless force—it erodes memory and disposition, herself included.

Once trapped within the Scavenger’s Book, she had seethed with hatred, vowing that one day, she would exact terrible vengeance upon those who betrayed her, making them live in endless despair and suffering.

Yet seeing them again, her heart was calm, even indifferent, for some she no longer recognized.

Finally, Ji Hanjing stood before a palace. She lingered, about to push the doors open, and only when touching the threshold did she realize: she was not of this era, and need not hesitate.

Inside, a woman bearing some resemblance to Ji Hanjing cradled a newborn, singing ancient lullabies gently.

“Is there still another contingency?”

On the ship, Gu Changge withdrew his gaze, thoughtfully, then stepped out of that era.

At the same time, news spread that the Dark Beings and the Zhengyi Alliance had reached a peace accord, shocking the entire Cangmang.

Countless civilizations and Daoist sects were stunned, unable to believe it.

No one expected that the earliest rumors would come true—becoming reality. The Zhengyi Alliance had actually reached an agreement with the Dark Beings, ceding territories, surrendering vast cosmic lands, and providing numerous beings as offerings for the Dark Beings’ great rites.

In return, the Dark Beings agreed not to invade the Zhengyi Alliance, granting its members temporary safety and peace.

In the chaotic state of affairs, this news caused immense shock, leaving cultivators and beings alike incredulous.

According to some Zhengyi Alliance members, the current head of the Alliance was Emperor Jiang Yun of the Weiyang Celestial Dynasty. At his guidance, the peace agreement with the Dark Beings was realized. Many high-ranking Alliance members approved the accord, intending it for some time—but the Dark Beings’ sudden invasion hastened the plan.

This had always been inevitable. The Zhengyi Alliance never truly cared about the survival of peripheral members—they were cannon fodder.

The news shocked and chilled the realm. Some even speculated whether the Alliance’s high command had been infiltrated by the Dark Beings; otherwise, why submit so meekly?

Wasn’t the Weiyang Celestial Dynasty a giant of Cangmang? Why did they lack courage to confront the Dark Beings?

Other Daoist sects—the Pusa Sacred Domain, the Nanzhao Ancient Kingdom, and others—cooperated with the Weiyang Celestial Dynasty, joining the Zhengyi Alliance in peace accords with the Dark Beings.

The news was so astounding that rumors of the Zhengyi Alliance attempting to assassinate the Fatian Alliance leader now seemed plausible.

In this environment, the Fatian Alliance’s actions seemed justified and righteous. They had abandoned an attack on the Zhengyi Alliance, instead turning their focus against the Dark Beings, uniting with various civilizations to fight and protect them.

Some worried that after the Zhengyi Alliance and Dark Beings’ peace, tensions might target the Fatian Alliance—but this worry was clearly unnecessary.

After the peace agreement, the Fatian Alliance displayed no hesitation, remaining strong. Ancestor Daoist Realm cultivators appeared, commanding armies, reclaiming territories seized by the Dark Beings.

The Ancestor Daoist Realm cultivators were the absolute apex of the era, even the immortal-level sects had at most one or two. Strong True Realms and supreme civilizations had few Ancestor Daoist cultivators unless, like the Xi Yuan Civilization, they had a civilization treasure stationed, providing immense depth.

How many civilizations in the current Cangmang possessed such treasures? Only six Primeval Civilization Treasures existed. Later reproductions were destroyed over time, with fragments nearly impossible to find.

In this context, the power of Ancestor Daoist Realm cultivators became crucial. In the Fatian Alliance, the number of such beings within a few thousand years of existence was terrifying. Some of these cultivators had powers far exceeding those who had survived eight Heavenly Calamities, hinting they might approach the ninth, touching the true extremes of the path.

Where did these beings come from, yet now they all obeyed the Fatian Alliance?

The depth of the Fatian Alliance’s strength inspired awe and fear.

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