Chapter 260: My Destiny Is Up To Me

Xie Jiuxiao was surprised by Chu Ge’s attitude. He thought he was destined to die, but it seemed that the Heavenly Dao didn’t care about his rebellion and provocation. Instead, he was interested in the “why” and “how.”

After thinking for a moment, Xie Jiuxiao slowly said, “What if… I don’t tell you?”

Chu Ge wondered, “Why not? We’ve come this far…”

“Because after you’ve fixed the loophole, no one in the world can escape. Even Qiu Wuji and Yan Qianli have become your subordinates. This world is hopeless. I should at least leave a glimmer of hope for future generations.”

Bang! Bang!

Two loud slaps on the table resounded simultaneously. “Who are you calling subordinates!”

Chu Ge waved his hand, “Let’s sit down first; we’re here to discuss something.”

Yan Qianli remained silent.

Qiu Wuji glared at Chu Ge for a moment, her face slightly red, and then fell silent as well.

Being called a subordinate of your enemy was different from being called a subordinate of your lover. One was shame and the other was embarrassment.

Xie Jiuxiao remained expressionless, “That’s right. This is not the Qiu Wuji or Yan Qianli in my heart, and this world is hopeless.”

The three of them: “…”

Chu Ge sighed, “Old Xie, why bother? If you don’t tell us, we can search your soul and find out everything anyway. In fact, I can even make you spill the beans like a dog, but I don’t want to do that. It’s a matter of respect.”

Xie Jiuxiao’s eyes flickered slightly, becoming even more surprised, “You respect me? I’m just a creature you created, and my life and death are at your whim.”

“I respect every living being I create,” Chu Ge said. “Do you think Qiu Wuji and Yan Qianli joined me, intimidated by the might of the Heavenly Dao and submitting? Is that really Qiu Wuji?”

Yan Qianli wanted to say that he seemed to have submitted because of the intimidation… but he held his tongue.

Qiu Wuji asked, “Brother Xie, do you think I’ve been modified by someone?”

Xie Jiuxiao stared at her for a while and finally shook his head, “No.”

Qiu Wuji’s eyes showed a hint of anger, “So, do you think that I, after a thousand years of acquaintance, am just someone who seeks personal gain and follows the wind?”

Xie Jiuxiao was stunned for a moment and thought of how Qiu Wuji had preemptively drunk the wine before the Heavenly Dao had raised his cup. He seemed deep in thought.

He silently took a sip of wine and whispered, “The flaw in the Heavenly Dao can actually be traced back. I sensed it a long time ago. Chu Tiange and my Yun’er seemed to have some feelings for each other, but later, for some reason, they became ordinary friends. I asked Yun’er a few times, hinting and probing, and she confirmed that she didn’t even know that she had once had feelings for Chu Tiange… This was strange. Could I, as her father, have been mistaken? That kind of rotten kid who wanted to take my daughter away, wouldn’t I be sensitive to that?”

Chu Ge: “…”

“Coincidentally, I sensed the gaze of the Heavenly Dao at that time and thought that it must be a destiny forcibly distorted, resulting in a lack of harmony between past and present, with no logical changes in between. Well, to be honest, I’m quite grateful for how the Heavenly Dao handled this… Who does that rotten kid think he is, trying to woo my daughter?”

Chu Ge: “…”

“But the phenomenon that this incident revealed made me think. Our destinies are manipulated by the Heavenly Dao. How can we break free?” Xie Jiuxiao continued in one breath, pouring himself another glass of wine and downing it. He sighed and continued, “So, I thought, since the Heavenly Dao distorts destiny, there must be disharmony. If I carefully investigate all these disharmonious places, can I sense a hint of the Heavenly Dao’s secrets leaking out?”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Chu Ge took a deep breath, “Is that really possible?”

“It is… it’s like sensing the essence of time and space through a temporal rift. The same principle applies here. When destiny is distorted, I can sense the manipulation of destiny. My daughter was one such example, and the second…” Xie Jiuxiao smiled, “I didn’t expect it to be Qiu Wuji.”

Qiu Wuji looked serious, “You noticed the difference in me?”

“Yes,” Xie Jiuxiao said, “At that time, it happened to coincide with your battle with Yan Qianli. Without saying a word, I recommended you as the leader. Do you know why? Originally, I thought that my power would definitely be insufficient to defy fate, so I wanted to see if I could collaborate with people like Qiu Wuji. But I didn’t tell you about it because it was a matter of great importance, and I needed to observe first.”

Qiu Wuji said, “You never told me about this.”

“It was a significant matter that required observation before disclosure,” Xie Jiuxiao smiled. “As the ruler of Yunxiao City, I have looked down upon the world, and there may have been a desire to become a hegemon. But I was willing to assist you. Was it just because gentlemen do not contend? No, I thought that with your fierce and resolute character, you would be at the forefront of defying the heavens. So, I was willing to serve as your subordinate. However, upon closer observation, I was somewhat disappointed.”

Qiu Wuji fell silent for a moment and whispered, “My battle with Yan Qianli made you realize that I was leaning toward the Heavenly Dao?”

Xie Jiuxiao clapped his hands together, “Exactly. It wasn’t just during the decisive battle; there were some strange behaviors before that made me feel like you might not be on the same side anymore. Let’s put that aside for now… mainly because of the distortion of your destiny at that time and the initial suppression of Yan Qianli’s white flame. I saw all of this and found it quite enlightening. Gradually, I also sensed some methods to tamper with others’ thoughts and destinies. I named it the ‘Heaven-Deceiving Technique.'”

Chu Ge said, “Impressive. I genuinely never thought that someone would be able to detect all this.”

Xie Jiuxiao smiled, “So, is Creator God going to fill this loophole? In fact, I’ve also noticed that some of the discordant feelings from before are starting to disappear.”

“Is that why you’re willing to be candid? Because you think I’m already working on it anyway?”

“Hehe,” Xie Jiuxiao chuckled and didn’t say more.

Chu Ge and Qiu Wuji exchanged glances, both sipping their drinks in silence.

The so-called ongoing efforts to fill the loopholes were, of course, related to the comic. Through the secondary completion of the comic, they aimed to unify the styles between the past and present, filling in some of the plot holes.

The storyline changes were personally handled by Chu Ge, while Qiu Wuji was the one drawing the comic. In a sense, if Chu Ge was the “Creator God,” Qiu Wuji was starting to resemble a “Mother Goddess”…

Xie Jiuxiao continued, “Sect Master Qiu, after you established dominance over the Nine Provinces, I returned to Yunxiao City and we ceased our interactions. It’s because I thought you had submitted to the Heavenly Dao, and you might even be working for it. Otherwise, even if the Heavenly Dao had set the fate for Yunxiao City, there was no restriction on our personal relationship. So why did we lose contact?”

Qiu Wuji sighed deeply, “I see. So, you didn’t trust me back then.”

“That’s right… In contrast, I trusted Yan Qianli even more. I believed that his intentions against the Heavenly Dao were undoubtedly the strongest. I never expected…” Xie Jiuxiao looked at Yan Qianli, at a loss for words.

Yan Qianli pounded the table, “Are you trying to say that I’m an underling again?”

“No,” Xie Jiuxiao said with a serious face, “You said it yourself.”

“Damn it…” Yan Qianli wanted to flip the table, but Chu Ge waved his hand, “Wait, let’s not argue. Let’s get to the point.”

Yan Qianli drank his wine in silence, feeling that he had been expecting a fight, but they were here for a different purpose.

Although this discussion was also interesting. Xie Jiuxiao had a very meticulous mind and keen observations. He was a different type of person compared to himself.

Chu Ge continued, “So, you used a puppet to get close to Qiu Wuji, trying to manipulate her consciousness, while you tried to cooperate with Yan Qianli.”

“That’s correct,” Xie Jiuxiao said. “Since Creator God is here in person, I’d like to ask, even though I set up multiple layers of doubts, it should have been impossible to find out it was me. How did you discover it? Was it really the Heavenly Dao’s observation? Then do all our actions have no meaning…”

“I wasn’t observing, I was playing detective,” Chu Ge certainly wouldn’t reveal that his observation was actually quite coarse and unable to detect all the details of the world. He walked among mortals mainly to improve his understanding of the world, so that he could have better control over it.

He had to pretend to be calm and nonchalant as he said, “Among all the sects and schools in the world, only Yunxiao City, which has been in the clouds for a long time, stands out prominently. That’s one reason.”

Xie Jiuxiao listened attentively, “What’s the second reason?”

“Because only your way of thinking is so layered, like clouds and mist, to put it bluntly, it’s overly cautious and indecisive,” Chu Ge said with some helplessness. “I thought the more you twisted and turned, the more likely it was you. Besides, when the idea of seizing the heaven emerged, it confirmed my suspicions.”

Xie Jiuxiao fell silent.

Chu Ge continued, “After you gained insight into the Heaven-Deceiving Technique, you didn’t dare to practice it recklessly, fearing that I would find out. So, you went to the southern border before, and exchanged for the Puppetry technique with the Gu God. You learned puppetry not only to deepen your understanding of manipulating the meaning of destiny but also to test whether the new creation was functioning properly. However, you changed during this process.”

Xie Jiuxiao looked up at him.

Chu Ge looked serious, “The Gu Puppetry manipulates living people. When you ignore their own will and impose your own, over time, you develop that kind of… manipulating all living beings, looking down on them as if you were a god, and playing with them. The puppets in your hands are just marionettes, and you’ve lost the compassion of following the righteous path.”

Xie Jiuxiao retorted, “Aren’t you the same? Haven’t you disregarded what we think?”

Chu Ge fell silent for a moment and sighed, “Perhaps. But… you are my creations. Not long before, I didn’t know that you had your own will. But Lu Shaotong was not a puppet I created. Have you ever thought that by approaching the meaning of the Heavenly Dao, you may not be following the Heavenly Dao, but rather the demonic path?”

Xie Jiuxiao thought for a long time, feeling perplexed, finding it difficult to distinguish how much difference there really was between the frigid Heavenly Dao and the cruel Demon Dao.

“You’re blaming the Gu God and instigating conflicts between the north and the south. Have you ever thought that this is also an act of the evil demons that stirs up calamities for the common people? Step by step, you’ve deviated further and further from the ideal of defying the Heavenly Dao. Do you realize your mistake?”

Xie Jiuxiao muttered, “No, I shifted the blame to the Gu God for another purpose.”

“Oh? Please elaborate.”

“When I did this, I knew it wasn’t a righteous act, but I thought, I, Xie Jiuxiao wouldn’t do such a thing, and there was originally no conflict between the north and south. But if I do something against expectations, what will the Heavenly Dao do?” Xie Jiuxiao sighed deeply, “When I thought about it, I had no more reservations.”

Qiu Wuji finally spoke, “That’s an excuse, Brother Xie. It convinced yourself.”

Xie Jiuxiao’s words choked in his throat, and he remained stunned for a while before forcing a bitter smile, “Perhaps.”

He slowly said, “In fact, I considered another way, which could achieve the result of breaking free of heaven’s will. It just seems like the right time now.”

Chu Ge raised an eyebrow.

Xie Jiuxiao’s whole body hunched over, his once clear and frail face becoming aged, as if he was in the midst of decaying.

His voice started to sound elderly as he chuckled softly, “The Creator God just said that I have a destiny. But my destiny is up to me, not determined by the Creator God. I will willingly exchange my life with Lu Shaotong and the Venerable Azure Serpent to atone for my sins. I have one more question: if I say I have no destiny, can Heaven still govern it? Haha… Hahaha…”

The more he spoke, the happier he became, and he finally burst into wild laughter, “The Yunxiao City Lord, Xie Jiuxiao, a Crossing Tribulation cultivator should have been an important part of the predestined plan of Heavenly Dao. Unexpectedly, he has now met his end. With this missing nail in the wheel of destiny, will the world still move forward as ordained? I am very much looking forward to it!”

As the laughter faded, he had already passed away.

Yan Qianli stared blankly at Xie Jiuxiao, who committed suicide with a smile on his face, and after a while, he managed to say, “Even among the righteous, there are remarkable individuals. I, Yan Qianli, admire you!”