The old man standing before him looked just like Gu Li, both his eyes and the outline of his figure. Even his manner of speaking was practically the same.
When Ye Zichen first laid eyes on him, he was shocked, terrified, even.
Gu Li had only just left, but he’d already turned back around, then cast a spell to force all of them into deep sleep.
The cultivation Gu Li had displayed earlier was nowhere near that profound.
“You aren’t Gu Li.” After a lengthy silence, Ye Zichen addressed the man nearly identical to his rival.
The difference in cultivations was only one of the reasons Ye Zichen had reached this conclusion. More importantly, when he looked closely at this new arrival, he saw that he was older and more wisened.
He was sloppily groomed, with stubble on his lower jaw. Moreover, his hair was tangled and messy, and there was a hint of a pungent smell about him. His robes were incredibly tattered. Just looking at him, it wouldn’t be unfair to assume he was an old beggar.
“You can tell?” The arrival smiled silently, then reached into his chest pocket, removed a bottle of divine nectar, and took an enormous swig.
He drained the bottle in a single gulp, then tossed it to the ground and burped.
“Do you know why I’m here to see you?” asked the man, his breath reeking of alcohol.
“I’m here to take your life.” The disheveled beggar chuckled, while Ye Zichen tensed. He stared at the man in silence, not saying a word.
If the man before him wanted to kill him, there was absolutely nothing Ye Zichen could do to stop him. He’d just forced so many top experts to fall asleep, clear proof of the profundity of his cultivation.
Should I enter the Yao-Sealing Pagoda?
“Don’t even think about entering the Yao-Sealing Pagoda. Other people might not be able to break it, but if I really wanted to destroy it, it wouldn’t take me long at all.” The old man took out yet another bottle of nectar, drank, and laughed. At the same time, he dashed Ye Zichen’s hopes of relying on the pagoda.
Ye Zichen naturally didn’t doubt him. If the man was a half-step transcendent, he was definitely strong enough to break the pagoda, which had been forged by rulers. Rulers were like mere mortals compared to a transcendent.
“Of course, you don’t need to worry too much. I’m still wondering whether I’d really like to take your life or not,” said the man.
“If you choose to take my life, there’s naturally nothing I can do to resist. But I’m afraid I don’t know how I’ve offended you to the point that you’d come and see me in person,” said Ye Zichen.
“You’ve still got your way with words.” The old man glanced at him. “This is the first time we’ve met, and you’ve never once offended me.”
“Then I’m rather afraid. Might I ask why, if we’ve never met, you wish to kill me, and why you say you need time to think it over?”
“I naturally have my reasons for wanting your life, but just now, you let Gu Li and An Lu go. Now, I’m a bit hesitant.”
“Senior, are you Gu Li’s elder?” Ye Zichen’s expression was solemn. That seemed entirely possible; their appearances were at least ninety percent similar. He might very well be Gu Li’s father.
But no, Ye Zichen was pretty sure that Gu Li’s father was back in the Modern Realm.
And why would he suddenly show up in the Upper Three Realms, and as a half-step transcendent, anyway?
The man was silent for a while. Then, he took a box of cigarettes from his breast pocket. Seeing this, Ye Zichen’s brows only knit together. Before he could respond, the disheveled old man passed him a cigarette.
Ye Zichen reached out and accepted it. Then, they both faced the clouds and puffed in silence for a while.
“I’m not, really.” The man looked at Ye Zichen and sighed. “You could say I’m elder, I suppose, but you could also say that I’m not.”
“I don’t understand,” said Ye Zichen.
“Actually, my name is Gu Li too,” said the man with an indifferent smile. “You ought to get it now.”
His name was Gu Li!
The moment Ye Zichen heard that, he understood the implications.
This was the First Era’s Gu Li, a Gu Li from the Outside!
The mighty expert before him couldn’t possibly be from the same place as Gu Zichen; Gu Zichen had made it quite clear that there were no other survivors from his world.
The only explanation was that this Gu Li was from the Outside, the only Gu Li to have transcended his era!
No wonder Gu Li knew so many secrets not even Ye Zichen had access to. Ye Zichen had always wondered about it. He had Gu Zichen’s support, so why did it always seem like Gu Li was one step ahead of him?
It turned out he had a “him” from another era guiding him!
Now it seemed that, as the Third Era’s chosen, its twin emperors, they were on a level playing field.
Ye Zichen had support from a ‘him’ from a parallel dimension, while Gu Li had the support of a ‘him’ from a prior era.
“You understand, yes?” asked the Outsider Gu Li.
“I understand who you are, Senior, but I still don’t understand why you want my life. Is it because you think I’ll get in Gu Li’s way, and you’re here to clear the obstacles from his path?”
He knew, based on how the Outsiders’ Auxiliary Stars came looking for him and how they treated him, that their era’s Master of the Stars was undoubtedly yet another Ye Zichen, his predecessor.
For the First Era’s Gu Li to show up here might very well be because he wanted to change the course of history. In this era, Ye Zichen and Gu Li were at odds with each other. The Ye Zichen and Gu Li of the First Era were naturally enemies too.
In their clashes, the first Ye Zichen had come out ahead.
Perhaps the Outsider Gu Li had come here to ensure that this era’s Gu Li became the Master of the Stars instead.
That was completely possible!
“You’re overthinking things,” said the Outsider Gu Li. He shook his head and smiled, denying it. “I don’t have much in the way of ambitions regarding the title ‘Master of the Stars.’ The Gu Li of the Third Era is much the same. Besides, that’s your Third Era’s business, and it’s not my place to intervene.”
“In that case, then….” Ye Zichen didn’t quite get it.
“Actually, my reasons are very simple,” said the Outsider Gu Li in a low voice. “I want your life because, in the future, An Lu will die because of you. I don’t want Gu Li to live as I did. I don’t want his future to be nothing but muddling along, numbing the pain as I do. As such…. I want to get rid of you before that happens. If I do, that future might very well never come to pass.”
“An Lu?” Ye Zichen frowned.
That girl with the eyes so pure, just looking at them cleansed his soul was going to die?
And because of something Ye Zichen put into motion?
What nonsense! There was no way!
“That’s right, because of An Lu,” said the Outsider Gu Li. “As I’m sure you noticed, An Lu is very important to Gu Li. Back then, she was very important to me, but then, I lost her.”
“There’s no way that’s possible. There’s no way I would just sit back and watch her die,” said Ye Zichen.
“He said the same thing,” said the Outsider Gu Li. “But…. She died anyway!”
