Chapter 445: Cause
Chapter 445: Cause
Duan Wenqi left Clockwork Heaven and subconsciously headed towards Zi Luo Heaven, but he immediately stopped in his tracks.
Only after letting out a small sigh did he turn around and head to another astral world, which was his own—Savage Beasts World.
Speaking of which, Duan Wenqi hadn't been here for a long time. This was truly an inconceivable thing for a Star Ruler.
The astral world was a Star Ruler’s foundation and the cornerstone of their power. Even if one felt that their astral world was terrible in every aspect, they could simply switch to a different astral world. There really was no need to make life difficult for themselves.
Back when Gu Nan first met him, he sensed that Duan Wenqi’s power was almost on par with Red’s.
In terms of just his own cultivation, Duan Wenqi wasn’t any weaker than Red, but his astral world was still a World Level plane. No matter how weak Star Realm was, it was a genuine Realm Level plane, so the two weren’t on the same level at all.
Savage Beasts World’s slow development also had a lot to do with the fact that Duan Wenqi invested much of his time into Astral Gate.
Savage Beasts World was a typical uncivilized plane where civilization stopped at a very backward level, similar to the ancient eras in many planes’ legends.
And the origin of the name Savage Beasts World was precisely due to the fact that this place was filled with a large number of beast races.
Great beasts of all shapes and sizes wantonly roamed this vast wilderness, engaging in the most primitive forms of predation and survival.
Only when he returned to his own astral world did Duan Wenqi truly lower his guard, slapping a palm down as if he was venting and slicing off half of a mountain in front of him. The irritation in his heart was evident.
"That damned Zi Luo…"
Duan Wenqi's eyes were bloodshot, veins bulged out on his forehead, and he was breathing heavily, unable to calm down for a long time.
Star Rulers rarely lost their tempers to this extent.
Lu Wen had trouble understanding Duan Wenqi’s deliberate targeting of Gu Nan—this was natural, because Duan Wenqi wasn't trying to target Gu Nan at all; he was trying to target Zi Luo Elder.
From the very beginning, Duan Wenqi had to be on Song Fei's side, so did he still need a reason to target Gu Nan?
He, Duan Wenqi, had toiled away for tens of thousands of years to manage Astral Gate, so much so that he didn’t even have time to manage his own astral world. Now that Astral Gate became a dowry for someone else overnight, how could he not be annoyed?
The first thing Zi Luo Elder did after returning to the Myriad Heavens was to station the Heaven-God Alliance in Zi Luo Heaven, while the second was to incorporate all pre-existing organizations inside Zi Luo Heaven into his own forces.
Regardless of their size, all of these organizations must come under the banner of the Heaven-God Alliance and become subsidiary organizations of the Heaven-God Alliance, or else they would be expelled from Zi Luo Heaven.
This move was incomparably tyrannical, but the major organizations had no choice but to accept it.
For one thing, the other party was a Unified Dao powerhouse and the rightful owner of Zi Luo Heaven, so they were simply powerless to resist. Additionally, after so many years of operation, everyone's roots were already firmly planted in Zi Luo Heaven, making it impossible for them to move to another location.
Many people didn't understand Zi Luo Elder’s motives behind this, but only Duan Wenqi knew—it was because Zi Luo Heaven’s origin law was none other than the law of organizations.
Every Star Ruler had their own law, and the existence of such laws would inevitably affect their astral world.
It was just like how it was easier to cultivate swordsmanship in Extreme Sword Heaven and how opening a school in Academic Heaven would benefit both teachers and students alike. The core law of an astral world genuinely influenced that world.
The core law of Zi Luo Heaven was organizations, so when Zi Luo Elder disappeared, this place became the perfect place for all major organizations to develop.
It was precisely because it was a special law like "organizations" that it overlapped with Song Fei's law of “education.”
Both of them needed to mentor later generations in order to advance their own cultivation, which was why Zi Luo Elder blocked Song Fei's path back then.
That was exactly why Zi Luo Elder went to all the trouble to manage the Heaven-God Alliance and spared no effort to help Rolensia, Xue Ren, and the others reach Unified Dao.
To him, helping others was helping himself.
However, this kind of move was extraordinarily unacceptable to Duan Wenqi… because his law was also organizations!
He’d managed Astral Gate for so many years, even secretly taking over some small external organizations, so his power in Zi Luo Heaven had swelled to a rather terrifying degree.
If he was given another few thousand years, perhaps he really would be able to take the entire Zi Luo Heaven into his own hands through the means of peaceful developments.
"Representative," a voice rang out beside Duan Wenqi. The newcomer was a young man in blue.
This person's name was Fang Tun, Duan Wenqi's trusted aid from the former Astral Gate.
Under Duan Wenqi's orders, Astral Gate was one of the few organizations that flat-out refused to be incorporated and decisively moved into Savage Beasts World—it was also fortunate that Astral Gate's main business was reincarnation, or else the losses would’ve been too great to accept.
Hearing this familiar title, Duan Wenqi slowly gathered his emotions and nodded. "How is the transfer of members going?"
Fang Tun reported with a bitter smile, "There’s not much of a problem in other areas, it's just that the reincarnation work has all but stopped… This isn't a Realm Level plane yet."
If it wasn’t a Heaven or Realm Level plane, it was naturally impossible to reincarnate into other planes.
Duan Wenqi was taken aback. Living in Zi Luo Heaven all these years nearly made him forget this rule. If everything had gone smoothly, he wouldn't even have to consider this problem in the first place, but…
His hatred towards Zi Luo Elder increased a little more. Duan Wenqi could only say, "Arrange for them to reincarnate from inside Clockwork Heaven for the time being. I'll think of a solution for this side."
Fortunately, Le Wen was his close friend, so he didn't have to worry too much.
Only, Duan Wenqi never could’ve imagined that the greatest calamity of his life since he became a Star Ruler was about to arrive.
……
"Who are you?"
Inside the Divine Kingdom, Gu Nan looked at the tall, thin Daoist standing in front of him and asked suspiciously.
"This humble Daoist is Zhuangxuan. I'd like to trouble you to accompany this humble Daoist to Clear Profundity Realm," the Daoist bowed his head and answered in a voice devoid of emotion.
Gu Nan finally remembered him. This was the one who wrote the secret letter on behalf of the Heaven-God Alliance. Daoist Lingyang had stayed behind in the World of Gods, so it was only natural for someone to inherit Clear Profundity Realm.
It’s just that this succession was so swift that the successor even inherited Daoist Lingyang’s responsibilities inside the Heaven-God Alliance, which was a bit too decisive. This hinted at only one possibility—Daoist Lingyang intended to step down a long time ago.
That old Daoist’s face emerged in Gu Nan's mind. He had indeed arranged everything in advance.
"Daoist Lingyang is…"
"My revered master."
Although Daoist Lingyang appeared quite normal, Gu Nan didn’t expect him to raise such an old-fashioned disciple.
Shrugging this off, Gu Nan nodded and put away the Divine Kingdom Treasure Orb in his hand as he casually said, "I'm dropping by somewhere else first. I'll visit Clear Profundity Realm after I'm done."
After saying this, he was about to turn and leave, but Zhuangxuan frowned slightly and blocked his way. "Please wait, esteemed one. You may not have understood what has happened… This time, not only your affairs were targeted. Senior Xue and Senior Mad Fist also received simultaneous attacks."
Gu Nan was slightly taken aback. He truly didn’t expect for the enemy’s plan to be so grand as to affect all three core members of the Heaven-God Alliance whose identities were already exposed.