GD Ch. 63 Part 2

Chapter 63: What Hasn’t Changed?

“Have we entered the chaotic realm of illusions again?” Zhuyou asked.

Changying shook her head. “In the chaotic realm, everything is false. But this child is real. The mirror must have reverted to a past time.”

Zhuyou turned and looked around, realizing that the place did seem familiar. Upon closer inspection, she recognized it as Songling City.

However, the snow had not yet fallen, and the ground was not covered in white.

The mortals passing by were bundled in thick coats, shivering, their faces devoid of much joy.

After a while, snow began to fall like delicate blossoms, and frost quickly spread across the ground. In no time, the entire city was blanketed in snow, just as she remembered it.

Zhuyou turned and saw a group of mortal cultivators walking together. Not far away stood a few disciples wrapped in heavy cloaks—the same ones who had given her directions when she first arrived in Songling City.

So, they had truly returned to the past.

But could she only see what she had already experienced?

Zhuyou suddenly felt a wave of confusion. She remembered the sand dunes and the sea she had seen before being trapped in the chaotic realm, as well as the black-armored devil soldiers and the fiery feathers.

If she could only see what she had witnessed before, why had she seen that scene?

She abruptly stopped and turned to look at the expressionless dragon behind her.

Changying’s demeanor was cold and distant, as if no one could get close to her.

“What’s wrong?” Changying’s eyes softened slightly, her icy expression easing a little.

Zhuyou wasn’t sure how long she had been in the mirror. If the time she spent in the chaotic realm was the same as outside, then she had been with this dragon for about a dozen hours—or perhaps much longer.

After a moment of hesitation, she asked, “Before I entered the chaotic realm, I saw a million devil soldiers crossing a desert. Above them was not the sky, but an endless sea. Behind them, phoenix feathers rained down like arrows. If I’m not mistaken, that must have been the war between gods and devils. But I’ve never experienced such a battle. Was what I saw something you personally witnessed?”

Changying’s pupils suddenly contracted, and her neck seemed to stiffen. She stared at Zhuyou for a long moment, as if confirming something.

Zhuyou’s face was still filled with confusion, her gaze questioning as she looked at Changying.

Changying’s hands, half-hidden in her sleeves, clenched and then relaxed. The breath she had been holding in her throat finally released.

She thought to herself that her suspicions were indeed correct—it really was Zhuyou.

No matter how much she had tried to divine the secrets of heaven in the Observatory Pavilion, she had never been able to piece together the full picture. Yet, upon entering the Turbid Mirror, this sacred artifact had awakened her understanding.

Under Zhuyou’s gaze, Changying neither nodded nor shook her head. Instead, she replied vaguely, “If you think so, then it must be so.”

“If you’ve returned after reshaping your body, then you must remember what happened thousands of years ago,” Zhuyou added.

Changying nodded. “I do remember.” She looked toward the distant mountains, as if recalling something from the past. “What happened a thousand years ago is like fleeting smoke. Whether I remember or not doesn’t matter much.”

“If that’s the case, then why did you attach yourself to me, whom you only met a hundred years ago?” Zhuyou scoffed.

She had intended to probe Changying for answers but couldn’t help but tease her instead. 

She had expected Changying to give a perfunctory reply, but what she heard next made her heart tremble.

Changying lowered her eyes, pondering for a moment, before lifting her golden gaze and saying slowly, “You are here now. They are not.”

Zhuyou felt a bitter taste in her throat and quickly pulled her thoughts back. She thought to herself that this dragon, living in solitude for so long, must have grown weary of loneliness. After exchanging heart’s blood, her heart had warmed, and she no longer wished to return to that desolate existence.

She averted her gaze, unwilling to accept Changying’s goodwill. If the conflict between gods and devils were to reignite, even if Changying were willing to spare her, she might not hold back.

The pain of having her bones carved out still lingered on her back. How could she simply forget? She was supposed to despise the gods in the heavens.

All of them.

“Do you want to see the human world from a thousand years ago?” Changying raised her hand, as if preparing to wipe away the scenes before them.

With a single gesture, the surroundings would once again be swept into chaos, only to unfold into a different place.

“If you’ll take me there, then I’ll go and see,” Zhuyou said after hesitating for a moment.

Changying actually nodded.

As soon as she did, the houses and people around them were suddenly erased, as if a canvas had been wiped clean. The snow-covered mountains outside the city vanished, and the eagle hanging in the sky disappeared.

“Why did it suddenly change?” Zhuyou immediately asked.

Changying answered matter-of-factly, “I suppressed my cultivation earlier, so the mirror only recognized you. Now that I’ve released my spiritual power, the world within the mirror changes according to my will.”

Zhuyou frowned. “You suppressed your cultivation earlier?”

Changying gave a slight nod, her expressionless face resembling an unattainable lotus on a snowy cliff.

Zhuyou suddenly felt that something was off. After a moment of thought, she abruptly looked up. “If that’s the case, then why did I see the scenes of the gods and devils at war earlier?”

She furrowed her brows, carefully studying Changying’s expression. The dragon’s face remained impassive, her golden eyes unmoving, as if her face had been frozen since she was still in her egg.

Changying spoke slowly, “When we first entered the mirror, I hadn’t yet suppressed my cultivation. That’s probably why.”

Outwardly, she appeared calm, but her heart was anything but. She carefully considered each word before speaking.

She wasn’t ready to let Zhuyou know that the other ancient god the Heavenly Realm was searching for… was her. At least not until she had secured something for Zhuyou. By then, even if Zhuyou found out, the shock would be less, and there would be less resentment.

In an instant, the surroundings were filled with billowing smoke. Thousands of strange beasts came charging, their steps shaking the cracked earth and creating new fissures.

The land was desolate and barren, yet it was anything but quiet.

How could it be quiet? The battle between gods and devils raged, divine artifacts clashing and sending colorful sparks into the sky. The heavens seemed draped in a robe of sunset, while the earth groaned in agony.

The devil army appeared once more. The black horses they rode were covered in blood, their bones exposed in many places, yet they did not fall. Under the lash of whips, they continued to charge forward, their wounds bleeding profusely. The blood that fell to the ground instantly turned into devilish smoke.

Was this what it was like a thousand years ago?

Zhuyou’s heart was deeply moved, pounding as if she were part of the battle herself.

Though her heart now beat with Changying’s blood, it felt as though it were on fire. Her entire body was tense, her hair standing on end.

But she was not part of this war. This battle had taken place over four thousand years ago. The ancient gods of that time were far more powerful than the celestial officials of today, as different as clouds and mud.

They were beings who could overturn the heavens and shake the earth with a single gesture.

The ancient gods didn’t seem to know each other well, but this monumental conflict had drawn them together, leaving them no room to retreat.

Zhuyou narrowed her eyes, searching for the Devil Lord among the devil army.

The charging soldiers kicked up clouds of dust, their faces obscured by the yellow sand that hung like a curtain.

Zhuyou had once opened the Devil Lord’s coffin and seen his physical body, so she knew what he looked like.

Unfortunately, she didn’t see him. After scanning the army, none of the soldiers resembled the Devil Lord.

Then she suddenly remembered that when the ancient Devil Clan was nearly wiped out, the Devil Lord had still been in his infancy. After the devil army was destroyed, he alone survived. It was said that when he returned to the devil’s domain, he was still a child. It took him hundreds of years to recover before he led his forces to seize Shangxi City.

Had Changying still been around then? When had Changying perished? And during this great war, what kind of god had Changying been?

Thinking of this, Zhuyou felt a chill run down her spine, as if she had been nurturing a tiger that would one day turn on her.

Seeing the darkness in Zhuyou’s eyes, Changying asked knowingly, “What exactly are you here to take?”

Zhuyou let out a light laugh. “If I can’t see it, then I don’t want it anymore. By the way, do you know how the Devil Lord perished?” she asked instead.

Changying replied with utmost calm, “He perished under the sword of the Slayer God.”

But Zhuyou didn’t know who the Slayer God was. Hearing this, she could only imagine that the Slayer God must have been incredibly formidable, able to single-handedly bring the Devil Lord to his knees and leave the devil’s domain in ruins. She turned and asked, “What about you? Where were you at that time?” Have you ever crossed paths with the Devil Lord?

She was truly looking for an excuse to have Changying take her back to the time when the Devil Lord was still alive, so she could retrieve his soul.

Changying said indifferently, “By that time, my po soul had already split into seven parts, and my physical body had perished. But fragments of my po soul still remained. If we were to go back to that time, it might be possible, though we would only be able to observe, not intervene.” She asked directly, meeting Zhuyou’s gaze, “Do you want to take a look?” 

When Zhuyou had taken the soul of that fool, Changying had been by her side. And when Zhuyou had brought the Crystal of Law to the human world, Changying had followed her there as well.

This dragon clearly knew that Zhuyou was searching for the remaining hun soul of the Devil Lord. Yet now she was asking this question—could it be that she was truly willing to take her to see him?

“If I say I do?” Zhuyou said slowly.

“Then it shall be as you wish,” Changying replied.