Translator: Fate Proofreader: Silavin Gu Lintian stood outside the ancestral palace with a calm face, but there was also a hint of worry inside his heart. From time to time, he would look deep within the Nirvana Pool and sense the aura coming from there. Gu Changge’s cultivation was a bit hard to grasp for him as it would sometimes reveal the True Enlightened Realm, the Enlightened Noble Realm, the Quasi-Sacred Realm… He had never seen such changes before, which rendered him speechless. As for Gu Xianer, she sat there with celestial energy lingering around her body. Inside her newly-born Celestial Bone, there seemed to be a goddess sitting cross-legged while reciting a scripture for the dead. Her energy was also enhancing, but it wasn’t as elusive as Gu Changge’s. As for the other three, they were completely negligible. “Changge knows what he is doing, and as his father, I shouldn’t ask too many questions, but I have to think of a way to conceal the existence of his Demonic Nature…” Gu Lintian mumbled while many emotions appeared in his eyes. Then, he waved his hand, and a fluctuation could be felt separating the energy here from the outside world, even sealing the entire ancestral palace. Unless he walked into the place, it would be difficult even for him to clearly see what was happening inside. This was the best way to isolate the fluctuation of energy here since he needed to prevent the curiosity of other members of the family at this moment so that they wouldn’t rush here to have a peak on what was going on, especially those Ancestors who currently had nothing else to do. [That Ancestor, Gu Nanshan, behind Gu Xianer seems to be very free lately and is very concerned about her, wanting to know about her exact changes after this Nirvana Pool. If he comes here later, I need to think of a way to delay him.] Thinking about it, Gu Lintian waved his sleeves with a serious expression and closed the door of the palace. He then personally guarded the palace outside, not allowing anyone to approach. “This is the only way to be foolproof. I believe in Changge’s perseverance. That there will not be any accidents,” he murmured to himself, showing his trust for his son as a father. Boom! At the same time, inside the palace, thousands of rays of haze and divine light burst out like a raging river, even containing a faint immortal shine. However, what was happening in the Nirvana Pool was even more astonishing. With his body shining brightly, Gu Changge remained motionless while his entire aura felt as though it could engulf everyone around him, which was frightening. Even so, his consciousness was calm, unlike the others who were affected by the current vision. The Nirvana Pool was first created specifically for the bloodline of the Gu Family, providing an opportunity for metamorphosis to future generations. However, his original Talent was his Demonic Heart, and many of the rest had something to do with the System. Since they were now more or less tainted by the energy of his bloodline, they began to undergo metamorphosis too. Hum! Near the Nirvana Pool, layers of light appeared with different energies floating up and down. The Power of Reincarnation, Space, and many other powerful Talents started to manifest, including the powerful Talents that Gu Changge devoured from many young prodigies. At this moment, all of them were awakened. All kinds of Talents such as the Golden Force, the Ascended Light Force, the Ascended Dark Force… seemed to have mixed together and became even more mysterious. In the end, it manifested a chaotic energy that felt as though it could penetrate the sky. As for the Absolute Detachment Bones that he redeemed from the System Shop, they all roared at the same time while a series of World Principles burst out from it like a cosmic waterfall. Of course, he didn’t pay much attention to it. Even though the effect of the Nirvana Pool was significant, at most, it could only advance his current true cultivation to the Intermediate Sacred Realm. [Instead, the vague feeling that the Demonic Heart is giving feels oddly similar to the feeling the Eight Barren Demon Halberd gave me back then. Am I the Demon Lord?] He furrowed his brows as he always felt that the other him in the Demonic Heart would bring a lot more trouble than Gu Xianer and Yue Mingkong. Even though the System had now solved the drawbacks of the Demonic Heart, whether it was his Demonic Nature or his true self, they were all still a part of him. However, he didn’t think that his actions were much different from his Demonic Nature. In short, his Demonic Nature was the main reason he killed Yue Mingkong in her previous life and dug up Gu Xianer’s Daoist Bone. All of these were indeed his own actions, and even if he didn’t want to admit it, they were still reality, but of course, he had to pin all the blame on his Demonic Nature. [However, from this energy, I can feel that the origin of the Demonic Heart is very ominous… The Nirvana Pool can reflect one’s previous life. Am I not a transmigrator in my previous life? Could there be something more?] He frowned slightly, feeling that the matter was made out to be unnecessarily more complicated than it was, and it seemed to be testing his heart, but soon, he didn’t pay much attention to it. After all, whether the Demonic Heart had informed him about his identity as the Demon Lord or not, it now had nothing to do with him. In fairness, his Demonic Nature was just a more ruthless and cold state of him… At the moment, he could simply let his Demonic Nature take over his emotions and reach a point of total indifference. In such a state, his actions would definitely be cold, and unlike now, he would no longer consider the feelings of other people. When his Demonic Nature took full control of him, his emotions would be so cold that his eyes could no longer accommodate anyone other than himself. And that was something he absolutely wouldn’t accept. [What’s the point of me cultivating then? I cultivate to be powerful and not betraying those close to me. If I let my Demonic Nature take control of me, then I’ll be no different from the me in Yue Mingkong’s previous life.] Gu Changge didn’t think that he was a good person, but he also didn’t feel that he had to reach that level of indifference. More or less, he still had feelings towards Yue Mingkong and the others. [The Demonic Heart doesn’t affect me. The reason why my consciousness was suppressed by my Demonic Nature at first is because it has been subdued for too long…] Many thoughts flashed through his mind. Bump! Bump! Bump! At this moment, he heard the Demonic Heart beating as if it was an intimidating drum, shaking the earth and releasing a frightening sound. His surging Demonic Nature began to reveal itself from his heart, and at the same time, the Eight Barren Demon Halberd let out a cheer inside the arsenal, as if it was happy that its master was able to find enlightenment. Hum! A black light containing a certain aura that could make the world tremble erupted from his veins! As Gu Changge broke through his nature, he suddenly felt a surging and ancient supreme aura revealing itself inside his Demonic Heart. Vaguely, the strange sound of a scripture was heard while countless worshipping chants rang in his ears. When looked carefully, he saw a supreme Demon Lord overlooking every realm and world. Behind it, there was a demonic shadow and a surging grey fog while it held a vicious demon halberd in its hand that stood as tall as the sky. Boom! After the demon halberd slashed forward, time and space collapsed at once as the Power of Reincarnation was destroyed. The entire universe seemed to be split open while True Immortals and Immortal Kings were annihilated. Even though these images were indescribable, they were enough to make anyone fall into madness. The face of the supreme Demon Lord was blurred, but Gu Changge was certain that it was none other than himself. [Is this my previous life? A Demon Lord? Or is it an image of the future?] The next second, he was left completely speechless as the image had already disappeared. Secretly, he felt that his Demonic Heart had undergone metamorphosis, giving rise to an ineffable and subtle aura. One might call it the Immovable Demonic Heart. As for what use he could gain from this, he could only rely on himself to find out Soon, he opened his eyes and voluntarily withdrew from absorbing the mysterious fortune within the Nirvana Pool. After all… his simple purpose of entering the Nirvana Pool had been achieved, and now, it was time for him to exact his plan on Gu Xianer! Otherwise, how was he going to stage a tragic and bitter show in front of her? Hum! The next moment, the energy around him changed, and wisps of Demonic Energy began to emerge from his body. His face suddenly became cold while a frightening indifference was the only emotion left in his entire body, as if his mind had completely returned to nothingness. If there was a pinnacle of indifference, one could say that Gu Changge had now achieved that state. It was a state of total indifference! “Young Master Gu!” “What’s going on? This…” The shocking change was instantly noticed by the three young prodigies of the Gu Family who were cultivating and metamorphosing their bloodline by the Nirvana Pool. As soon as they opened their eyes, this was the scene that they witnessed. While in disbelief, all of them suddenly became pale before quickly withdrawing from their cultivating state as they felt a terrifying murderous aura that was completely engulfing them. Their whole body began to shiver as if they had just fallen into an ice cellar, rendering them motionless. They felt like the most insignificant ant under the sky that could be crushed and killed with just a thought. At the moment, they completely couldn’t understand why Gu Changge, who was cultivating properly, would end up like this. His current state was enough to send chills all over their bodies while their souls were on the brink of collapse! It felt as though the three of them would be blown up and obliterated by the Nirvana Pool at any time with just his one thought. “Young Master Gu, we are your family…” “Young Master Gu, wake up!” They shuddered and opened their mouths, trying to communicate with Gu Changge and ask him what was going on. After all, everything came so suddenly that they were prepared for it at all. Who knew Gu Changge would suddenly become like this? Boom! Gu Changge coldly stared at them without moving, as if he was looking at a bunch of tiny ants next to his foot. Even though it seemed like he couldn’t care less about their deaths, the three of them clearly saw a hint of struggle on his face, as if… he wasn’t willing to do this. “Could it be that Young Master Gu’s experiencing cultivation deviation?” One of them stuttered while coming up with a sudden guess. After all, Gu Changge’s current situation was too similar to someone who was in dissonance.. “Why is he in dissonance for no reason? We need to find the Master and the other Elders immediately…” With that, one of them rushed towards the outside of the palace, trying to call someone, since they were no match for Gu Changge at all, but no one answered them. Seeing that they were about to escape, Gu Changge remained cold while his expression twitched slightly. Then, he waved his hand, and a surging five-coloured light burst out. Boom! The three of them let out a scream and a mouthful of blood as they were sent flying backwards. After colliding with the wall behind, they passed out, but it was unknown whether they died. “Gu Changge…” This strange fluctuation also stunned Gu Xianer who was in a state of cultivation in the Nirvana Pool. Her mind was much deeper into her cultivation state than the others, so she didn’t notice the sudden change at first. Now that she had woken up and witnessed this scene, her entire face was instantly filled with shock, confusion and total disbelief. She didn’t know whether the other three had died, but there wasn’t any time for her to investigate. However, she was quick to react and notice that Gu Changge wasn’t in the right state of mind. Even though he looked normal without any obvious trace of abnormality, his cold eyes reminded her of the time back when she was young and got her Daoist Bone dug up by him. At that time, he also looked at her in the same indifferent way. The two scenes were so similar that it sent a shiver down her spine. “Gu Changge, what happened to you?” she asked while remaining vigilant inside her heart. The aura that he was displaying at the moment had already reached the Quasi-Sacred Realm instead of the True Enlightened Realm that he usually revealed to everyone. It left her in such shock that she became extremely wary. [Gu Changge is too powerful. It’s impossible for the Nirvana Pool alone to suddenly advance his cultivation to such a level. This can only mean that his true cultivation has already reached this level before this, and he has always kept it hidden. Now, he finally revealed his true cultivation. I’m currently on the brink of breaking through to the Partial-Enlightened Realm. If Gu Changge attacks me, I won’t be able to withstand him based on my cultivation level.] Gu Xianer already knew about this, so a dark golden pill emerged in the palm of her hand. The pill exudes an aura of the Sacred Realm. It was a secret artifact. She felt that she could withstand Gu Changge for a moment with this. Afterwards, she would find an opportunity to run outside the palace and alert the other members of the family. Otherwise, she would be in grave danger. [I don’t know how he became like this. Wasn’t he fine when undergoing the bloodline metamorphosis? Has he forgotten the oath he had made in front of the Grand Elder at that time in the Skyward Ancient City?] She furrowed her brows tightly. [Could it be that this is a similar situation to the secret back then? At the time, he was also…] Her heart jumped when the thought came to mind as she looked at him with a changed expression. Moments ago, her face was full of wary, confusion and disbelief, but now, she seemed to have realised the truth behind the complicated situation. “A Celestial Bone that experienced its second Nirvana. Leaving you alive back then almost cost me my life. I didn’t expect something so surprising from you.” Gu Changge seemed to have read her mind. With a shake of his finger, a terrifying sword-like beam shot out and immediately penetrated the weapon in the shape of a pill in her hand. At the same time, he began to walk towards her with an unusual cold expression. She didn’t expect him to react so quickly under such a state. Not only was he able to notice the forbidden item as soon as she took it out, he was able to destroy it right after. Hum! With a wave of her tiny hand, she conjured a green-black umbrella that was incomparably large. As it unfolded, a hazy light began to fall, suppressing Gu Changge. It was another secret artifact. Poof! However, Gu Changge simply flicked his hand, and terrifying Divine Chains of Order penetrated the void, instantly tearing apart the powerful artifact that couldn’t stand a chance. “How is it possible for him to be this powerful… He can destroy Transcendent Grade weapons with just his bare hands…” Gu Xianer’s face had now turned pale. Due to her limited cultivation level, she had exhausted a lot of energy to activate the Transcendent Grade weapons. After activating two of them, she had wasted away a lot of energy, but in the end, none of them could block him for a second. Thinking about it, she made her decision. [For both him and me, I can no longer hesitate.] She was planning to conjure a secret artifact given to her by a master from the Peach Village that contained an ultimate power, but as if she had her mind read… Boom! In the end, Gu Changge reacted faster than her, especially in this moment where it seemed as though the space was collapsing while exuding a horrible feeling of stagnation. As if billions of boulders were pressing down, she was instantly rendered motionless as she couldn’t even lift a finger. Hum! The surrounding space trembled, Gu Changge walked over to her unhurriedly before raising his palm. Suddenly, he reached out and grabbed her neck before lifting her up. “Gu Changge…” Gu Xianer’s face was starting to turn pale as she found it difficult to breathe. Her newly-born Celestial Bone had already undergone metamorphosis twice, so it contained a frightening power. Power comparable to a strike from the legendary Flying Immortals. However, under Gu Changge’s horrifying suppression, even a wisp of energy released by her Celestial Bone would be causally swept aside by him and rendered useless, let alone being activated. “How pathetically stupid are you? After so long, do you really think I wouldn’t know about these tricks of yours?” Gu Changge uttered coldly with a teasing tone. With a pale face, Gu Xianer remembered the despair and helplessness she felt during her childhood. Cold and darkness began to take over her consciousness. In Gu Changge’s hand, she didn’t even have a chance to open her mouth and speak, let alone resist him, because the gap between their strength was too big. No matter how hard she cultivated during this period, she would never catch up to him because he was so strong that he could easily kill her, especially since he also knew all her tricks and artifacts given to her by her master. He was so overwhelming that she didn’t even have a chance to use them. [Am I going to die here today? Am I going to die in Gu Changge’s hands…] All of a sudden, her consciousness grew colder, and she sank into darkness while thinking to herself. She suddenly remembered that slender and tall back standing in front of her when Gu Changge appeared in the Celestial Ancient Continent and the Skyward Ancient City, as if he could block all enemies for her. She began to yearn for that feeling. [No wonder he wanted me to focus on my cultivation so that I can one day be powerful enough to defeat him… All of his previous purposes are actually for today… He was giving me a chance to stay alive when facing him.] Now, she had everything figured out. Before this, Gu Changge would use all kinds of methods to force her to cultivate and even offended the Grand Elder so that he would teach her well. All of this because he knew that there would come a day when… he would kill her himself! “I’ll kindly accept your newly-born Celestial Bone,” he said lightly, seemingly indifferent towards Gu Xianer’s current state. At the moment, she was looking at him with a surprisingly calm expression. She didn’t even have any hatred for him, knowing that he was now in this weird state because of the Demonic Nature seeping out from his bones, which frightened her. “If you want my Celestial Bone, you can just take it,” she mumbled to herself. Since she couldn’t break free, she realised that it wasn’t so bad dying in his hands, but there was still some regret… [I still have so many things that I want to do. I still don’t know the whereabouts of my parents and grandfather…] Hum! Gu Changge raised his palm, and it seemed to transform into a celestial sword that was filled with murderous intent as he prepared to penetrate Gu Xianer’s body and dig up her Celestial Bone. However, the next moment, the violent aura on his face began to rise, as if he was a dominant Demon Lord killing everyone under the sky. “Go away!” he roared with a deep voice while a hint of struggle and coldness emerged on his face. The hand that was about to tear Gu Xianer open suddenly paused in the air and kept on trembling, as if it was battling an unknown yet terrifying power. Even though his expression still remained indifferent, it was now filled with other emotions such as anger, coldness and violence. “Gu Changge… What’s going on?” Gu Xianer was stunned as she fell on the floor after he suddenly let her go. Her eyes were now widened since she thought that she was about to die just now, but unexpectedly, Gu Changge let her go at the crucial moment and stopped attacking her. [What’s going on? Is his Demonic Nature trying to control his body and mind? Could it be that his original mind is now fighting against it to take back control of his body?] Soon, Gu Xianer came back to her senses. [What else can it be? What else can explain his strong Demonic Nature and the actions he did?] “Gu Changge, what’s wrong with you? How can I help?” She couldn’t help but feel a little anxious as she began to show her concern and worry. At this moment, she no longer worried about her own safety because she felt that Gu Changge was now in huge trouble and needed her help. After all, from his actions just now, she understood that everything he did just now was out of his control. That he had no intention of committing such acts. “Go away! I’m telling you to go away? Can’t you understand? Go as far as you can.” Listening to her, Gu Changge suddenly lifted his eyes and looked at her. His eyes were full of violence as he roared in a deep voice, seemingly in a difficult situation to control his body. Meanwhile, he used his other hand to tightly grab his right hand that had many divine runes shining, even affecting the surrounding space to a point of almost collapsing while exuding a dangerous aura. It looked as though his right hand was about to strike at her, but it was caught by his other hand, rendering it motionless. Looking at the strange uncoordinated scene, Gu Xianer understood that his other hand wasn’t under his control, and it seemed like he could no longer suppress his terrifying Demonic Nature. “I’m not leaving. I can help you. What can I do? Will I be able to help you if I dig out my Celestial Bone?” she asked so anxiously that she felt that it was reasonable to do so. After all, seeing how he wanted to dig up her Celestial Bone just now, she was certain that it would have an effect on him. “Go away. You are nothing to me. What can you do to help me? I don’t need your Celestial Bone.” Listening to her, Gu Changge gave her a cold stare and became even more violent. “Gu Changge, stop doing this to yourself. You really are a narcissist. Why are you still so arrogant at this point? Why won’t you accept other people’s kindness and help…” Her voice was trembling as she was on the brink of crying. Boom! However, Gu Changge couldn’t seem to hear her while a more terrifying Demonic Energy suddenly engulfed him, making him look more cold and ruthless without the previous emotions. “I gave you a chance to live, but you choose to die here. You really are stupid,” he declared while his expression had calmed down. He reached out with his huge hand, trying to strike at Gu Xianer once more. “Gu Changge, you need to wake up quickly. Don’t let the Demonic Nature take over your mind!” she shouted with a pale face, trying to wake him up. Obviously, Gu Changge’s mind was now taken over by his Demonic Nature once again, and he was no longer his previous self. “I am what I am. Why should I wake up?” he indifferently asked. Just as his palm was about to land on Gu Xianer, his expression changed again as if he had split personalities. With a voice full of violence and coldness, he roared, “Don’t you dare touch her!” Then, his expression became cold and determined while a series of runes suddenly appeared and faded away. Bang! His entire arm was blown apart all of a sudden. After that, he seemed to have calmed down. The terrifying energy became stagnant and his Demonic Nature began to dissipate like a tidal wave. With his eyes closed, he regained his calmness and quietly sat on the spot without moving. This one scene left Gu Xianer completely stunned before tears started to silently roll down her face. “Gu Changge…” She sobbed. From what she saw, Gu Changge battled with the Demonic Nature inside his body to protect her. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have come up with such a method. At the same time, she didn’t notice that the glow on the peach flower hidden under her sleeves had suddenly disappeared and become dim. It was a vague ghostly figure that couldn’t be seen clearly. If Gu Changge actually tried to kill her just now, the ghostly figure on the peach flower would definitely be awakened, but Gu Xianer didn’t know about this at all. Silavin: In Martial Peak, we would use demonised or something similar when a person has cultivation deviation. In this case, because Demonization is a skill, I changed it to dissonance, which is a close second I suppose.