"Oh? Do you got a new friend?"
Gu Penjing's heart stirred.
He had been alone for so long in his current situation.
It was rare to have someone to talk to.
Of course, the most important part was that interacting with others granted excellent system rewards.
He opened the chat interface and skillfully left a message:
> "Hello, Empress Changsun. My name is Gu Penjing, and I come from the primordial desolation World."
"Nice to meet you. Also, let me share some news with you."
"You will pass away from illness in the eighth year of Zhenguan, at the age of thirty-six. You will be honored posthumously as Empress Wende Shunsheng, and later generations will call you the greatest empress of all time."
"Also, your fourth son Li Zhi must be restrained. Do not allow him to become emperor."
"He was a prodigal son. The Tang Dynasty nearly collapsed because of him."
After leaving those five messages, Gu Penjing returned to Qiao Feng's profile interface.
The avatar had changed to a standard image of a bearded man — Qiao Feng.
At the same time, a reply from Qiao Feng appeared.
Gu Penjing glanced over it. It was a message of gratitude.
Gu Penjing nodded slightly and left another message, mainly to inform Qiao Feng about the Sweeping Monk in the Shaolin Temple and to remind him to be cautious.
After completing this…
The system prompt sounded:
> [Ding! Congratulations on successfully interacting with 2 friends]
[You have obtained the Three Thousand Dao Seeds]
[You have obtained the divine Shinto treasure, Temple of the Gods]
[You have obtained the divine Shinto treasure, Tablet of Destiny]
[You have obtained the Origin Spirit Pool]
"Shinto?"
"Is this another path distinct from Hongjun's Immortal Dao and Luohou's Devil Dao?"
Gu Penjing's curiosity surged.
At once, he began to refine and comprehend his new rewards.
> [You comprehend the Three Thousand Dao Seeds. You gain understanding of yin and yang, time and space, destiny, cause and effect… the Three Thousand Great Daos. You comprehend the Dao of the Worlds!]
[You comprehend the divine treasure Temple of the Gods. You grasp the mysteries of Shinto. With spirit blessings, you create the Divine Command Technique. All Shinto cultivators can receive blessings like that of the Temple of the Gods!]
[You comprehend the divine treasure Tablet of Destiny...]
---
Meanwhile, in the Tang Dynasty World—
At this moment, Empress Changsun was tending to a vegetable garden in the harem palace when she suddenly heard a voice echo in her mind.
She was startled.
Only after confirming that there was no immediate danger did she calm down.
Then, she noticed the messages from Gu Penjing.
> Huh? I would die at the age of thirty-six?
Moreover, she had only given birth to two sons so far. But according to the stranger's words, she would eventually bear a fourth son named Li Zhi.
What shocked her even more was the implication that her eldest son, the current Crown Prince Li Chengqian, would not inherit the throne. Instead, the fourth son would become emperor.
Yet, the stranger warned that her fourth son would bring the empire to the brink of ruin.
Thinking of this, Empress Changsun's heart trembled.
> "Should I give birth to this fourth son in the future?"
"Maybe… it would be better to just stop at three sons!"
Unbeknownst to Gu Penjing, his warning planted a seed in Empress Changsun's mind—a terrifying idea that she might prevent Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Li Zhi, from ever being born.
If Li Zhi had known about this, he might have thanked eight generations of ancestors across time and space.
He would have cried and knelt before Empress Changsun, sobbing:
> "Mother, I'm your most adorable little Zhizhi! Don't do it!"
"I don't want to die in the womb! Please give birth to me!"
---
Empress Changsun, full of thoughts, finally responded to Gu Penjing:
> "Hello, I am Changsun Wugou. May I ask for more details about the future fall of the Tang Dynasty mentioned in your message?"
As she was using the messaging system for the first time, she only sent one message—unaware she could leave up to five.
> [Ding!]
[Congratulations on interacting with a friend from another world]
[You have received two millennia-old wild ginsengs]
[You have received a Rejuvenation Pill]
"Rejuvenation Pill?"
"Could it be… that one?"
Changsun Wugou's heart filled with delight.
---
Back in primordial desolation world—
Gu Penjing emerged from his enlightenment. The Tree of Life swayed gently, rustling as countless miniature worlds vibrated in harmony.
After comprehending the Dao of Worlds, Gu Penjing understood something fundamental—his true body had been formed from the World Tree of the Chaos Demon Gods.
He was innately attuned to the laws of life and space.
But now, he wondered—did he really want to prove just those two Daos?
No.
He had his sights on the Three Thousand Daos!
What kind of concept was that?
Take Yang mei, for example.
His Dao was space—an indispensable principle in every world. It was a singular, supreme concept.
By contrast, Hongjun, the progenitor of the Daoist Immortal Way, had realized the Immortal Dao—a complex, conceptual Dao containing countless sub-Daos: education, creation, all beings, spirit, energy, matter…
Anyone who realized their Dao through the Immortal Path contributed new concepts to Hongjun's foundation.
In time, when enough cultivators proved the Immortal Path, it evolved into a meta-Dao with infinite depth.
The same applied to Luohou and the Devil Path.
Gu Penjing, possessing future knowledge, understood this well.
That was why he refused to follow Hongjun's Immortal Dao or Luohou's Devil Dao.
Even the Shinto, Ghost, or Demon Paths would eventually be absorbed or suppressed under the rule of Heaven and the expanding Immortal Dao.
In the future, the Prehistoric World would be dominated solely by the Immortal Path.
Gu Penjing's path?
Not the Immortal Path. Not the Devil Path. Not even the Divine Path.
The concept he sought was World.
All beings—except the Chaos Demons—existed within worlds.
Even Hongjun and Luohou were bound to the Prehistoric World.
Unless one transformed into a full Chaos Demon, free from all worldly ties, they were limited.
But Gu Penjing had a unique advantage.
He possessed the World Tree.
He could create, evolve, and elevate worlds.
And if his worlds surpassed the existing Small Thousand Worlds…
Then they would replace the heavens under chaos itself!
All who attained enlightenment in Gu Penjing's worlds would contribute to his conceptual Dao.
The stronger those worlds became, the more powerful their natural laws grew—and the more powerful he became.
That was his ambition.
To prove the Dao through the concept of the World itself.
To become the Lord of All Worlds.
---