Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 596: History of Verdantis I: Gu Mo

CH596 History of Verdantis I: Gu Mo

***

The old man paused briefly after introducing himself... then continued.

”In my era, the Seventh Circle was the limit of our plane. But I was convinced... that I could break through that limitation.”

”To achieve this, I searched everywhere — from the highest mountains across the five continents to the deepest waters of the three great oceans.

”I roamed every forbidden land... and explored every hidden Heaven.”

”And in the end... I found a way.”

A wry smile formed on One Heaven’s lips.

”Within one of the plane’s Hidden Heavens, after fighting my way through beasts I believed to be remnants of an ancient era... I reached a sealed grotto.

”Within that grotto, I discovered a totem... one that seemed to detail the method to achieve transcendence.”

’Hidden Heavens? Beasts from a bygone era... That sounds like a Planar Subspace... similar to the Sanctuary Subspace Master sent me to before,’ Alex mused.

”Thanks to that totem, I came to a realisation.” One Heaven continued.

”The reason I could not find a path to the Eighth Circle anywhere within our plane... the reason I could not ascend... was because the Eighth Circle required one to transcend their origin plane.”

”And so, I resolved to do exactly that, following the instructions recorded upon the totem stele.”

The old man continued his narration.

A faint trace of anger —and something deeper, more melancholic— flickered within his eyes.

”I brought the stele back to my sect — the Heaven Secret Sect.”

”With the full support and resources of the sect, I constructed the ritual platform required to connect myself to a Heavenly Law... one that surpassed any I had previously encountered or mastered.”

”I succeeded.”

”And through that ritual... I came into contact with one of the Supreme Laws of the Universe.”

His voice grew heavier.

”The Supreme Law of Destiny.”

”Because of that... I transcended the limits of my plane, becoming its first known Eighth Circle Sorcerer.”

”And in doing so... our plane earned the right to ascend, and be recognised among the higher-ranked planes.”

’I see... so that’s why we evaluated this plane to a level comparable to Pangea.’

’At one point, thanks to this old man —One Heaven— it might have risen to indeed stand at the same level as Pangea.

’The question now is... why did it fall?’

Alex didn’t have to wait long for an answer.

In the next moment, old man One Heaven revealed the truth.

”It was during this period of progression, with my admittedly limited comprehension of the Law of Destiny, that I realised something was wrong.”

”Not just with myself, but with the plane itself.”

”We had fallen into a nefarious trap.”

”The totem I discovered was not a relic of a bygone era, as I had initially believed. Rather, it was a foreign object— one that had infiltrated our plane long ago.”

”It did not guide me towards higher Heavenly Laws. That... was merely an accident.”

”In truth, its real purpose was far more insidious.”

”It acted as a beacon— A signal... revealing the location of our plane to a dangerous entity.”

”What entity?” Alex asked, unable to hold himself back.

”Gu Mo,” Old man One Heaven answered.

”His name is Gu Mo.”

”A veteran Eighth Circle existence... one who cultivates by devouring the Fortune of worlds during their moments of ascension.”

The air grew heavier.

”For any plane —whether young or ancient, weak or powerful— the act of promotion places it in its most vulnerable state.”

”In that moment, its energy, its Laws... and its Fortune become exposed. And that is when predators like him strike.”

”They plunder everything— For themselves or for the benefit of their own planes.”

A faint coldness entered the old man’s tone.

”This is precisely why the Will of the Heavens nurtures and strengthens its denizens. So that when the time comes –when the plane undergoes its own evolution— its people can rise to defend it, and repay that investment.”

”However, due to Gu Mo’s schemes, Verdantis was forced to progress while its defences were not yet ready.”

”While I was still coming to terms with my newfound rank... Gu Mo arrived.”

”He did not come alone. He came with an army.

”And he struck.”

”In that moment of crisis, I —along with the other heroes of the plane— stepped forward to confront the threat.”

”With the support of the plane itself, we were able to hold back Gu Mo’s forces.”

”But...”

The old man’s expression darkened.

”We failed to realise that Gu Mo had already set other plans into motion.”

A subtle, simmering rage twisted across his face.

”The news of my successful breakthrough spread. And with it, the truth that I had obtained the totem from a Hidden Heaven.”

”Despite my attempts to explain that the totem was not the true cause of my ascension— that it was merely a catalyst for my realisation of the path, no one believed me— least of all the Holy Lands.”

”This was mostly due to the animosity and hostility that already existed between them and my sect— the hegemon of the plane at the time.”

”In an attempt to dispel suspicion, and unite the plane against a common enemy, I made a grave mistake.”

”I presented the totem before a gathering of the strongest sorcerers in the world.”

He paused.

”What I did not realise, was that the totem was a truly twisted artefact.”

”One that revealed different knowledge to different individuals, based on their hearts, and their ambitions.”

”While many saw the same path that I had seen, another group received something entirely different.”

”A new path...

”A path outside of sorcery.”

”Deification,” Alex said, realisation dawning.

”Indeed,” Old man One Heaven replied with a slow nod.

”After that gathering, a united front was formed. All Fourth Circle and above sorcerers marched to confront Gu Mo and his army.”

”But what we did not know was that those who had received the cursed knowledge from the totem had already begun to practise it in secret.”

”After fifty years of war, just as we believed the stalemate had begun to tilt in our favour, Gu Mo made his move.”

”He launched an all-out assault on our plane, committing every force at his disposal— feigning it as a final, desperate, all-or-nothing attempt to seize victory.”

”Wait... feigning?” Alex immediately caught the implication.

”Indeed,” Old man One Heaven nodded.

”The assault was nothing more than a decoy— a calculated ploy to hold our attention while the traitors completed their cultivation of the Deification method.”

Alex frowned.

”Why would Gu Mo —an external invader— want the people of Verdantis to become Deities? Shouldn’t he have tried to stop them instead?”

”There were many layers to his scheme,” One Heaven replied. ”But at that moment, the most critical objective was simple...

”To introduce Deity cultivation into our Heaven.”

His tone grew colder.

”Up until that point, faith-based cultivation did not exist in Verdantis. Sorcery was the only path recognised by the Heavens.”

”There were primitive tribes that practised worship, but their totems were not acknowledged by the world itself.”

”It was only when those fools —no... those traitors— completed the method, and endured the tribulation together, while Gu Mo’s forces kept us occupied, that Deity cultivation became acknowledged by the Heavens.”

Alex’s brows furrowed deeper.

”Why?”

”Why would Gu Mo go this far... just to establish a new cultivation path in Verdantis?”

Old man One Heaven’s gaze sharpened.

”Because only then could he unleash his true power.”

A heavy silence followed.

”It turns out that the only reason we were able to resist him and his army, was because he could not establish his full strength under the Laws of Verdantis.”

”But the moment Deity cultivation was established, that restriction disappeared.”

Realisation flashed across Alex’s eyes.

”You mean—”

One Heaven gave a slow, confirming nod.

”Gu Mo is a Deity cultivator.”

***