Chapter 217: The Calm Before the Storm!

"You're back? How is the situation in the Northern Border?"

On this day, Gu Jiangming was taking a rare rest in the courtyard when a rainbow light flickered above the firmament, and a moment later, this rainbow light landed in the courtyard.

Gu Jiangming, however, did not even lift his head, merely accompanying Gu Mingyue as they played a game of Go back and forth.

If seen through the eyes of an outsider, the black and white dragons intertwined on the board seemed to be locked in a battle of darkness and light, but Jiu Jiu merely glanced at the pieces on the board and couldn't be bothered to look a second time.

No other reason: Gu Mingyue didn't know how to play Go at all; she was playing Gomoku with Gu Jiangming!

It was only because Gu Jiangming had honed his chess skills for who knows how long in the Taicang Ruins that he could barely make the game look decent for Gu Mingyue.

Gu Mingyue knew her father was letting her win, but that didn't stop her from pestering Gu Jiangming to play Gomoku with her.

"Not very good!"

"I didn't go to the Western Border, so I don't know the specific situation, but I did make a trip to the Northern Border."

"If you divide Heaven and Earth into ten parts, the four regions of the Human Race occupy two parts, while the Northern Border, Western Border, Southern Border, and Donghai each occupy two parts."

"And the two parts of Heaven and Earth in the Northern Border have basically turned into barren land; apart from a few large cities, there are no traces of life left in the surrounding areas of the Northern Border!"

Listening to Gu Jiangming's words, Jiu Jiu shook her head with a heavy expression.

There are some things that can only be understood when one sees with their own eyes just how far a situation has evolved.

Jiu Jiu had always thought that those races weren't stupid, so how could they turn lands of vitality into barren wastes? But having seen and heard what she did along the way, Jiu Jiu discovered that she had underestimated the human heart after all.

There are more and more demons in the world practicing the Swallowing Heaven and Earth Method, and even among the Human Race, there are Enlightened Deities who have voluntarily turned to the demonic path.

They treat Heaven and Earth as a grand feast, and the Swallowing Heaven and Earth Method they practice is the knife and fork used to carve up this feast.

In Jiu Jiu's view, the Northern Border is no longer much different from the Great Wilderness; the only difference is that the Heavenly Net still covers the Northern Border, but within the Northern Border, the power of the Heavenly Net likely cannot even suppress a single Heaven and Earth Enlightenment.

"It seems someone is indeed preparing to pass the Three Tribulations."

"This person is not only preparing to pass the Three Tribulations, but I fear they are also thinking of harvesting the Heavenly Dao Fruit nurtured by Heaven and Earth."

"If they can truly succeed and wield two Heavenly Dao Fruits, they would likely be a powerhouse even among Immortals!"

It wasn't that Gu Jiangming didn't believe the information spread by the Human Race's Enlightened ones, but some things must be seen with one's own eyes to be truly real.

When Gu Jiangming saw the scene of the Northern Border that Jiu Jiu had manifested using her Mana and divine abilities, he couldn't help but let out a soft sigh.

"So the collapse of Heaven and Earth has truly begun!"

"To be honest, Heaven and Earth is a great mountain pressing down on all living beings. You once said that Heaven and Earth are unkind and treat all things as straw dogs."

"The more I cultivate over these years, the more profound my understanding of this statement becomes."

"But if it were merely the collapse of Heaven and Earth, that would be one thing; yet the living beings within Heaven and Earth, if they leave Heaven and Earth, are like fish leaving water. Apart from those who have achieved Heaven and Earth Enlightenment, all other living beings cannot survive!"

"And yet, the person behind this is extremely clever; at least they know that the final Dao Principle you used to mend Heaven and Earth is Merit and Karma."

"That person didn't even show their face; they simply threw out the Swallowing Heaven and Earth Method, causing those demons to voluntarily shoulder the Karma of Heaven and Earth!"

Jiu Jiu sat beside Gu Mingyue, taking her pieces and continuing to play with Gu Jiangming in a desultory manner.

Gu Mingyue felt a bit helpless about Jiu Jiu's overbearing behavior, but what could she do? This was her own mother; even if she became an Immortal, she would still have to yield to her...

"Did you sense any familiar aura while wandering in the Northern Border?" Gu Jiangming's mind was somewhat distracted; he was also playing with Jiu Jiu in a desultory manner, but both Jiu Jiu and Gu Mingyue could feel that Gu Jiangming had something weighing on his heart.

"No!"

"Even in the Northern Border, my strength can at most recover to the level of a Two-Step Quasi-Supreme."

"At the end of the Heavenly Human Era, the path I took had some flaws, and this time I am not prepared to step into the Supreme Realm so quickly."

"Although I don't know what you are worried about, even if it were just an existence at the Supreme Realm, if they deliberately concealed their aura, I wouldn't be able to capture it!"

Jiu Jiu shook her head; in fact, she had already guessed what was weighing on Gu Jiangming's heart.

After all, both Gu Jiangming and Liu Moxuan had been acting strangely lately, and since Jiu Jiu also knew that Gu Nianmo had ultimately stepped into the Great Wilderness, even if it seemed impossible, Jiu Jiu couldn't help but think of Gu Nianmo.

And this was also the reason why Jiu Jiu had previously said she was dissatisfied with Heaven and Earth.

Jiu Jiu was using this method to help make excuses for Gu Nianmo, who might possibly be the mastermind behind the scenes.

"The reversal of Heaven and Earth is imminent; I can feel that the Heavenly Dao Fruit is being nurtured faster and faster!"

"This might also be the intention of the person behind the scenes, forcing Heaven and Earth to nurture the Immortal Dao Principle as quickly as possible..."

Gu Jiangming held a black piece in his hand and looked up at the clear blue sky above the firmament.

Perhaps to other Heaven and Earth Enlightened ones, they could only feel the decline of the Dao Principles between Heaven and Earth, but Gu Jiangming had twice wielded the Heavenly Will, and the Heavenly Will was born because of Gu Jiangming, so his insights were deeper than others.

In his eyes, the sky was no longer the sky, but a web formed by the convergence of various Dao Principles.

In the center of the web, a green, incomplete Immortal Dao Principle was being nurtured; that was the Dao Fruit Gu Jiangming spoke of.

If not for Gu Jiangming's strength having advanced further, coupled with the decline of Heaven and Earth, even if Gu Jiangming had once wielded the Heavenly Will, he would not have been able to see what the true Immortal Dao Principle looked like so easily.

"Actually, if it really is him, I might be able to understand some of his thoughts."

"But I fear that he, too, is being used as a blade by others!"

"Dao Fruit, Dao Fruit—since it is a fruit, why can it not be plucked?"

Gu Jiangming sighed slightly, his words unable to conceal his worry for Gu Nianmo.

He had never stepped into the Immortal Realm and did not know what the cultivation of the Ascension Realm was like, but Gu Jiangming knew very well that since the Immortal Dao Principle appeared in the form of a Dao Fruit, and the Dao Fruit nurtured by Heaven and Earth could clearly be seized...

Then it was not just the Dao Fruit nurtured by Heaven and Earth; if Gu Nianmo were to pass the Three Tribulations, he might also be a tonic in the eyes of others!

"If it really is him, his wisdom should be enough to have thought of this, right?"

"But it's hard to say, after all..."

A look of sorrow also appeared on Jiu Jiu's face. At this moment, Jiu Jiu understood some of Gu Jiangming's previous worries; back then, whether it was Gu Jiangming or them, perhaps they shouldn't have been so willful.

But things had reached this point, and with the Seek Immortality Interface showing no movement, they could not change the established past.

Gu Mingyue, sitting to the side, had no idea what riddles her father and mother were speaking in. If not for Gu Jiangming forbidding it, Gu Mingyue would actually quite like to go out and play, especially since she really wanted to go to Mount Shu to take a look around.

(End of chapter)