Wandering through myriad worlds, pursuing the eternity longed for by all beings. Upon reaching the destination and looking back, there was nothing but a shattered starry sky.
Affection, love,...
Inside a luxurious palace within the Imperial Capital, Gu Changqing sat cross-legged on a piece of pure white feather, as white as snow.
He was looking down, his eyes calmly fixed on the object in his hand.
And lying in that palm was the golden jade pendant that had been fused into a single piece.
Although it was made by fusing three jade pendants, for some reason, the complete gold jade pendant was not much larger than the incomplete one.
At this moment, the gold pendant lay quietly in Gu Changqing's palm. Originally emitting a faint golden light, it was now dull and lifeless, just like an ordinary gold pendant.
Looking at the now dull gold pendant in his hand, Gu Changqing showed no surprise. He simply released a wisp of his divine sense and probed at the gold pendant.
This time, however, the wisp of divine consciousness was not rejected by the golden jade pendant as before. Instead, it entered the golden jade pendant directly without encountering any resistance.
When that wisp of divine sense entered the golden jade pendant, Gu Changqing felt that it was not as small as he had imagined. On the contrary, it was like a hidden world, with a space almost the size of a whole hall.
The wisp of divine consciousness released by Gu Changqing floated quietly in the space within the golden jade pendant.
Golden light emanated from the surroundings. There was no wind in the space, but these floating golden lights danced freely in this space like fireflies emitting golden light.
Besides the golden light, within this space of the golden jade pendant, there is a square stone platform with four corners, standing in the very center of the space.
The stone platform was carved with sculptures that resembled writing, but these writings, let's just call them writing for now, did not belong to any of the writings in Gu Changqing's memory.
However, these words seemed to possess a magical power, captivating anyone who saw them at first glance, leaving them unable to extricate themselves. But this magic was useless against Gu Changqing's powerful soul.
If someone's soul is not strong enough, they would probably lose all consciousness upon seeing these words carved on the stone platform, becoming a tool with only a soul but no intelligence.
After deeply imprinting these words in his mind, Gu Changqing stopped paying attention to the unknown characters and instead used his divine sense to probe the flying golden light.
Although the golden light was constantly moving, it was ultimately no faster than Gu Changqing's wisp of divine sense.
Without much effort, he manipulated his divine sense to envelop a golden light that was closest to his divine sense.
The moment that wisp of divine consciousness enveloped the golden light, Gu Changqing suddenly felt a surge of information mixed with the consciousness of numerous living beings flooding into his divine sea.
"God! Save my child! I am willing to give everything I have, just so my child can live!"
"God, if you truly exist, then I command you to grant my imperial soldiers powerful physiques, so that they may conquer all enemies!"
"Great God, your humble servant has believed in you for decades. I can feel my body decaying and my soul gradually disintegrating. Please grant me your blessing and save your faithful servant!"
"God, I don't believe in you. I only believe in power. One day, I will replace you and become the new God, ruling over everything!"
"Praise God, bless me so that when I go hunting in the mountains tomorrow, I can catch enough game for my whole family to eat. My family has not eaten for two days."
"Honorable God, I hope you can witness my wedding. My beloved and I will have faith in you for all eternity."
"God! You liar! You despicable man who spouts nothing but lies!"
"You are nothing but scum, unworthy of the title of god. Go back to your filthy, stinking cellar!"
"You are a demon. I don't know why everyone calls you a god, but I know that you are not a god at all, but just a lowly demon who happened to gain power!"
...
A variety of emotions entered Gu Changqing's soul through that wisp of divine consciousness enveloped in golden light.
If it were an ordinary person, they would probably be completely overwhelmed by the boundless and intertwined emotions, losing their senses entirely.
Unfortunately, even this will, which gathered the emotions of all living beings, could not affect Gu Changqing in the slightest.
After only a general taste of the joys and sorrows of all living beings, he completely devoured the immense will in his divine sea, transforming it into nourishment for his soul.
"Although it is insignificant, it can still enhance the foundation of my soul."
Gu Changqing already knew the function of the golden jade pendant and what the golden light in that space was.
This golden jade pendant is an object for storing faith. Its flawless space can seal the faith of all beings toward demons or gods within its interior.
Furthermore, those golden lights are formed from the convergence of various faiths, and if a mortal were to receive these faiths, even just one of them, it would be enough to transform that mortal into a superhuman who wields immense power.
However, this transcendence is only in the eyes of mortals. In Gu Changqing's eyes, no matter how much golden light a mortal absorbs, he is nothing more than a slightly stronger ant. Without the mindset and soul to master power, no matter how strong one's strength is, it is like a flower in a mirror or the moon in the water, which can be blown away with a breath.
Furthermore, even if a mortal receives only a trace of the power of faith within its golden light, their mind will be completely devoured by the will within, turning them into a puppet that can only act according to the faith within the golden light.
However, for Gu Changqing, this golden light was a tonic that could quickly enhance the foundation of his soul.
Absorbing a single golden ray can strengthen one's soul by a small amount, though it is so small as to be almost imperceptible. However, there is more than one golden ray within the space of this golden jade pendant.
Gu Changqing roughly estimated that there were at least a million golden lights constantly flying throughout the space, and absorbing all of them would be enough to enhance his spiritual foundation several times over.
Despite receiving such a precious treasure and the impending surge in his divine soul power, Gu Changqing showed no joy on his face. He had not yet become an eternal being, and any unnecessary emotions would be a waste of time.
Without saying much, Gu Changqing simply increased the intensity of his divine sense probing into the golden jade pendant, immersing himself in the hunt to capture and devour the golden light.
Although his divine sense absorbed the golden light very quickly, this space contained the power of faith that had accumulated over countless years. Even if Gu Changqing could absorb the golden light and transform it into nourishment for his soul without any side effects, it would probably still take at least a day.
After diverting a sliver of his attention to perceive the surrounding movements, Gu Changqing became engrossed in the space within the golden jade pendant.
These golden lights were like lambs to the slaughter, only able to fly around aimlessly and quietly wait for Gu Changqing's divine sense to devour them.
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