In Weiyang Emperor Lord's account, when he established the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty several hundred epochs ago, he was already a puppet of the Master of Yinxu Cave.
Many things were beyond his control.
To ensure that Weiyang Emperor Lord would not dare to harbor disloyalty, the Master of Yinxu Cave planted a terrifying restriction in his wife. This restriction would activate periodically.
The agony it caused was enough to shatter the mind of an existence at the Dao Realms. Even if one shattered their own origin and annihilated their soul into countless ashes, they still could not escape it.
Weiyang Emperor Lord loved his wife dearly and could not bear to see her in such agony. Naturally, he dared not harbor a second thought against the Master of Yinxu Cave.
At times, the Master of Yinxu Cave would show a sliver of kindness and allow the couple to meet once in a while to soothe the sorrow of longing.
Back then, when Jiang Weiyang had just been born, the Master of Yinxu Cave was even more certain that Weiyang Emperor Lord would not dare to rebel against him, so he did not lay a hand on Jiang Weiyang.
Mentally and physically exhausted, with no other recourse, and fearing that his daughter might suffer the same fate as her mother, Weiyang Emperor Lord personally sealed her away.
It was not until this era, when Weiyang Emperor Lord vaguely sensed a sliver of hope amidst the darkness, that he broke Jiang Weiyang free from the Dao Source and allowed her to walk the world.
He had not originally intended to tear off all pretense with the Master of Yinxu Cave, but after learning from Senior Brother Xingsha that the Master of Yinxu Cave was already planning to move against Jiang Weiyang,
he could no longer hold back. Following many prior arrangements, he had Jiang Weiyang flee the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty and escape the Alliance of Righteous Unity.
The emergence of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance also gave Weiyang Emperor Lord hope. He knew that the Master of Yinxu Cave feared Gu Changge's strength and did not dare recklessly spy on the Heaven-Slaying Alliance.
Thus, this place became the only place Jiang Weiyang could go, and the only safe place.
Because his wife was still in the hands of the Master of Yinxu Cave, he dared not show any outward sign of betrayal and dared not harbor any rebellious intent.
Only after Jiang Weiyang safely arrived at the Heaven-Slaying Alliance and the restriction on the jade slip decree he had left behind was broken,
did he finally confirm that Jiang Weiyang was safe and sound and that everything was developing according to his expectations. Only then did he dare to reveal himself through a wisp of his true soul and explain the entire sequence of events.
As for Jiang Weiyang's eye condition, the problem had already existed in her mother, though her mother's case was not so severe.
All descendants of the Radiant Ancestral Court, among each generation the one with the purest bloodline would invariably fall victim to the curse.
Either their life would be short, their constitution incomplete, their five senses shattered...
For someone like Jiang Weiyang, who only suffered from blindness, it was actually considered lucky.
This curse, surviving from some unknown ancient era, was something Weiyang Emperor Lord exhausted every means to resolve but still to no avail. He had even sought the help of the Master of Yinxu Cave for this.
But the Master of Yinxu Cave also stated that he could not resolve it.
Jiang Weiyang is a genuine descendant of the Radiant Ancestral Court, and her curse originates from the former imperial house of the Radiant Ancestral Court. This is the one thing Weiyang Emperor Lord can be certain of now.
Now he could only place his last hope upon Gu Changge.
After hearing her father recount all of this, Jiang Weiyang was already in tears, sobbing uncontrollably.
She had not expected that her father, for so many years, had been carrying such profound hatred and pain.
Her father had never let her come into contact with these matters. Even though she had no mother throughout her childhood, he never let her spend a single day unhappily.
Nor had she imagined that her mother had never actually died, but was merely imprisoned by the Master of Yinxu Cave to use as a threat against her father.
Before this, she had even harbored curiosity and longing toward that place called Yinxu Cave, thinking it was a true otherworldly land, detached from the karma of the mortal world, utterly transcendent.
But when the blood-soaked facts were laid bare before her, she finally saw the true face of Yinxu Cave, and could only feel an endless, bone-chilling cold creeping down her back.
Gu Changge was not surprised by such underhanded petty tricks.
He had known long ago that Weiyang Emperor Lord was under the control of the Master of Fate, and he also knew that Weiyang Emperor Lord was secretly attempting to break free from his manipulation. Otherwise, he would not have had that State Preceptor Xingming specifically "force" him to appear, causing the Master of Fate to become wary and dare not personally recapture Jiang Weiyang.
At that time, Gu Changge had played along, casually striking out with a palm to gravely injure State Preceptor Xingming, making his act seem even more convincing.
These were matters that even the Master of Fate, if he wished to detect them, would only realize much later.
As for how Weiyang Emperor Lord would counter the Master of Fate and contend against him from now on, that was no longer something Gu Changge needed to consider.
Gu Changge had no interest in paying attention to such things either.
After recounting all of this, Weiyang Emperor Lord did not remain long. He transformed into a wisp of clear qi and returned into that jade slip decree.
Once Jiang Weiyang used that jade slip decree, it would also mean that his disguise before the Master of Yinxu Cave would completely vanish.
At that moment, whether he himself would live or die would be unknown.
Jiang Weiyang could guess this outcome as well, so her mood was very low. She then gave a graceful bow and took her leave.
She had thought that after meeting Gu Changge and having all her doubts resolved, she would feel suddenly enlightened. But the truth of many things made her heart even heavier, and she felt an immense responsibility now weighing on her shoulders.
After Jiang Weiyang left, Gu Changge glanced at her, finding some interest in the matter.
Because at that moment, he saw a blinding golden radiance erupt from Jiang Weiyang's body, that golden light reflecting upon the River of Fate, stirring up boundless ripples.
Faintly, he saw a future peerless Empress walking forth from the distant River of Fate.
"A transformation of the heart, causing a change in her fate and status?"
"In times of peace, she would be a rare prodigy and extraordinary talent. It's a pity that the current Vast Expanse no longer has the time to let you grow..." Gu Changge withdrew his gaze and gently shook his head.
Over at the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty, there was still the chess piece that was Ji Hanjing.
Even without everything Weiyang Emperor Lord said today, Gu Changge still had ways to bring the Weiyang Immortal Dynasty under his control.
The backup plans arranged by the Master of Fate could at most make Weiyang Emperor Lord hesitant to act rashly.
And now, the only thing about the Master of Fate that still interested Gu Changge was the Tribulation-Crossing Disk he had seized from Zhong Jun, one of the Six Supreme Treasures of the First Civilization.
He had stirred such a huge commotion, causing the Land of the Dark Source to descend.
On one hand, it was to impose a stronger sense of urgency upon the various races, true worlds, and orthodoxies of the Vast Expanse. On the other hand, it was to force figures like the Master of Fate, those fish that slipped through the net of the Innate Era, to reveal themselves.
Judging from the current situation, there should be more than one big fish behind the Immortal Dao Alliance. As for whether it was the West Sage as Weiyang Emperor Lord speculated, that was actually not important.
As long as the whereabouts of Saintess Xiyuan remained under Gu Changge's control, he was not worried about the West Sage not showing herself. After all, it was only a matter of time.
Initially, Gu Changge did not take the Six Supreme Treasures of the First Civilization to heart.
Because with his current strength, he indeed had no need for external objects. He hadn't even hurried to retrieve the power retained within the heavens, the Land of the Dark Source, and the Coffin of World Burial.
But since the emergence of the "Heaven-Restraining" aura, he began to ponder and suspect whether another True Ancestor had also become involved in the schemes within the Vast Expanse.
So now he wanted to first ascertain the origin of the blueprints for the Six Supreme Treasures of the First Civilization.
As for the identity of that True Ancestor involved in the scheming within the Vast Expanse, it was still temporarily unknown. The other party certainly couldn't confirm his existence either.
One could only say that, just like himself, they could faintly sense the other's presence. But which of the other two True Ancestors it was, neither could be certain, unless they were truly ready to overturn the table and tear through that thin veil of mist.
The many schemes of both sides brushed against each other across multiple timelines.
Because at least two True Ancestors were involved, the world-lines that originally followed certain trajectories across all worlds became enigmatic and blurred.
Unless one was unafraid of exposing their own plans, many deductions and probes would likely be obscured by each other's auras, becoming indistinct.
For example, when Gu Changge investigated the origin of the Transcendence Codex, he sensed a faint layer of obscuring mist.
If he forced a deduction, his own aura would likely alert the True Ancestor who left that method.
At the time, he thought this might be bait deliberately left by a certain True Ancestor to fish within the Vast Expanse.
But later, when he encountered Ye Suyi, who possessed the destiny pattern of defying heaven and changing fate, and attempted to penetrate her past-life karma and future destiny, he similarly encountered a great fog of obscurity.
Wave after wave of vast mist drifted in from an unknown source, shrouding the entire River of Years and the marks of reincarnation.
At that time, the scene was incredibly similar.
It could be said to be nearly identical to when he was deducing the Transcendence Codex within the Biyou Heavenly Realm of the Immortal Spirit Civilization, while studying the notes left by the Eternal Primordial God, when his probing and deductions were likewise blocked.
Ye Suyi's destiny pattern of defying heaven and changing fate, transitioning from mortal to immortal, was very similar to an Anomalous Destiny Pattern.
While it is mostly innate, it could also occur through postnatal, artificial means.
And in Gu Changge's view, he actually suspected that Ye Suyi's existence was related to artificial means, somewhat akin to the anomalous identity of a transmigrator he had manufactured for himself.
"During this period, all of Ye Suyi's trajectories have also been very normal, just as I glimpsed at the time..."
Gu Changge placed his hands behind his back and began to pace gently in the courtyard.
As his gaze extended, a vast cosmos evolved. Within the void, a scene emerged: a clear and beautiful figure was cultivating in a cave abode woven with radiant light, utterly unaware of his spying.
"After Ye Suyi appeared, I had my suspicions... especially since in the future timelines, she is entangled with me in numerous ways."
"If she hadn't been encountered by me, then she should not have intersected with me in future timelines. The future I now see is already the future after I've made my choice, a future I deliberately allow to be glimpsed by those at the True Ancestor level..."
"Regardless of whether I decide to let her follow me or not, the entanglements of the future will not change."
"Combined with many current events, Ye Suyi's future had also long been chosen. To be precise, a future that includes my current identity had also long been discerned and confirmed."
Gu Changge had suspected and believed this for a very long time.
This was actually not a bad thing. At the very least, it showed that his current identity had been crafted very successfully, that as an Anomaly, he had been accepted and acknowledged by another True Ancestor without raising suspicion.
The other party had seen a portion of the future regarding his current identity and had specifically set up Ye Suyi as a contingency to make contact with him.
The Heavenly Will cut itself with a single stroke, severing the concept of "Heaven-Slaying" from the minds of living beings across many true worlds and civilizations.
It was precisely because they lacked the concept of "Heaven-Slaying" that the birth and emergence of the Heaven-Slaying Alliance faced far fewer obstructions and difficulties.
The other party had also long foreseen some of Gu Changge's intentions and plans, and thus paved the way for him in advance. One could call this a "welcoming gift."
In that timeline seen by the other party, he would make a comeback once more, and as in the past, would act in the name of Heaven's Proxy, carrying out the Dao on Heaven's behalf. They had also calculated that he would reappear in the identity of the "Demon Lord."
The other party had seen that in the future, he might wish to pose a threat to the True Ancestors, and so, indistinctly, they "assisted" him in this manner, harboring calculations very similar to Gu Changge's own.
"Calculating precisely against this identity of mine traversing the Vast Expanse."
"It's a pity that this portion of the future I chose to show is merely what I wanted you to see..."
Thinking of this, Gu Changge suddenly couldn't help but laugh.
After all the calculations, the other party had missed the most critical stroke.
Whether it was the former Heaven's Proxy Organization, the current Heaven-Slaying Alliance, or the "Demon Lord" alias, they were all nothing more than pieces within his schemes.
The other party had calculated up to the third layer, but in reality, Gu Changge stood at the tenth layer.
"What I need to ascertain now is whether it is Xuan or Shen..."
"In the future, will you choose to meet me in the identity of Ye Suyi? I am rather looking forward to that day."