Translator: Fate Proofreader: Dhael Ligerkeys & Silavin The extravagant palace was filled with wonders of beauty like an ancient tower among a human realm. In that instant, another universe seemed to have appeared. A middle-aged man with a muscular body and a fuzzy face, which seemed to share resemblance with that of Gu Changge’s, was seen sitting within the thick, wafting mist. He was surrounded with the sounds of nature and rituals as if he was a newly awakened ancient being with his overbearing aura. Needless to say, his strength was unrivaled. As Gu Changge entered, the middle-aged man opened his eyes and revealed a warm expression. Indubitably, he would only show such an expression in front of Gu Changge. In usual times, he was an emotionless higher being that oversaw all lives in the world. Without the need to speak, he could simply send a message with his will alone. The middle-aged man was none other than Gu Changge’s father, the leader of the Gu Family, Gu Lintian. At the same time, he was also the man who stood at the peak of the Beyond as he was one of the most influential people in the Beyond. Any message that was delivered from the palace could easily change the world and take countless lives. Unquestionably, such a daunting being was a strongman that oversaw the entire world. “Father, I have returned.” Standing before his father, Gu Changge respectfully greeted. “How did things go? Some elders from the other branch seemed to disapprove of your journey to the Overworld and were constantly asking for your whereabouts,” Gu Lintian tenderly said. Except for him and Gu Changge’s mother as well as a few elders in the branch, no one in the entire Gu Family knew about the fact that Gu Changge possessed the Demonic Heart. Matters pertaining to the possession of the Demonic Heart were perceived as highly crucial. For many years, in the Beyond, Gu Changge was the ninth person who was known to possess the Demonic Heart. The eight Demonic Heart owners before him, regardless of their origins, eventually ended up becoming world destroying demon lords who would murder every person they saw. Thereupon, forces in the Beyond came hand-in-hand to defeat the demon lords, and those who were affiliated with the demon lords suffered immense agony before dying. Thus, the existence of the Demonic Heart was regarded as an omen. Even though, in the Beyond, possessing the Demonic Heart might not immediately result in execution, it would draw resentment and ostracism by cultivators. Back when Gu Changge was born, Gu Lintian was perturbed for a long time when he discovered his son had the Demonic Heart. Luckily, he acted fast and dealt with some family members, and only the people he trusted were let in on the information. There might be other factors, but possessing the Demonic Heart alone could strip Gu Changge’s right to become the family’s leader away from him no matter how talented and exceptional he was, regardless of the branch. Indubitably, the other branches of the Gu Family would be even more resistant to having him as their leader. Fortunately, a girl from another branch who concealed her Daoist energy was recognized by Gu Changge to have possessed the Daoist Bone. Therefore, for the sake of Gu Changge’s future, Gu Lintian made a decision. After some time of scheming, he took the girl’s Daoist Bone and gave it to Gu Changge in order to conceal his Demonic Heart, after which the Demonic Heart was successfully hidden for more than a decade without anyone noticing. As of now, anyone that knew about Gu Changge’s Demonic Heart was either exiled or oppressed. Consequently, the branch that was once prosperous withered. And so, it was as though the secret was eternally buried. Though, when Gu Lintian was making deductions, he noticed that the girl thoroughly disappeared as though her existence was kept hidden. As he failed to eliminate the girl, she was taken away by an old man from another branch. Despite Gu Lintian’s investigations all these years, he couldn’t dig up anything. And since it was an embarrassing incident, some elders from the family decided to turn a blind eye. Although the branch had withered, he couldn’t help but wonder if there were any artifacts left behind by the branch family given that every ancient being in various branches of the family had a habit, so as long as no traces were left behind, none could tell whether the old man was dead or in hiding. “Things were very successful,” Gu Changge answered. His parents were very fond of him to the extent of pampering. Just like a typical storyline, while the Fortuitous One was mistreated and belittled by their parents, the villain was, in contrast, treated with limitless affection by their parents. And if the villain was somehow offended, let alone his parents, even his entire family would come to his rescue. “Let me see the former demon lord’s weapon. Perhaps you’re still unable to fully control it as of now,” Gu Lintian stated. “Yes, Father.” Saying that, Gu Changge made a thought and the Eight Barren Demon Halberd instantaneously disappeared from the weapon space. Whoosh! As space wavered, an overwhelming intent to annihilate all lives surged before the Eight Barren Demon Halberd appeared in the space before Gu Changge. Accordingly, the once-daunting demonic energy became as tiny as a dying ember. In Gu Changge’s eyes, the weapon was trembling out of immense fear like a tiny candle amidst a raging storm. “You’re scaring it, Father,” Gu Changge helplessly remarked as he released some of his power to comfort the weapon before it would calm down. However, it remained fearful in the presence of a being like Gu Lintian. Its conscience hadn’t been born for long, and it thought it could easily destroy the world, but after encountering the higher being before it, it felt as insignificant as a leaf floating on the surface of the ocean. “It seems you have some tricks up your sleeves with how you summoned the weapon. I didn’t even notice it. But that’s good. This way, your mother and I no longer have to worry about you. Fortunately, the Eight Barren Demon Halberd isn’t hostile toward you, or there wouldn’t be a need for its conscience as a non-sentient spirit weapon can still be a good weapon,” Gu Lintian smilingly stated as he nodded before withdrawing his testing aura. Although the Eight Barren Demon Halberd, as the weapon of a former Demon God, came from complicated origins, in front of Gu Lintian, it could still easily be subdued with just a simple thought. Nevertheless, since it was Gu Changge’s weapon, he didn’t care to meddle with it. Gu Changge had his share of secrets, but Gu Lintian, as his father, decided not to interrogate him and left them to be his son’s personal secrets. Yet, whenever necessary, he would still come to protect his own son, disallowing anyone from laying a finger on him. With that, Gu Changge nodded. Since he wasn’t an insensible person, he could feel the kindness from his father was genuine. Although he was the villain, he wasn’t exactly emotionless. It was simply a coincidence that he was destined to go up against the Fortuitous Ones. “Your journey to the Overworld seems to have been fruitful given your power level. It will be difficult for the youthful talents from other branches to catch up to you.” Gu Lintian joyfully spoke as he sensed Gu Changge’s current power level. Back when he was Gu Changge’s age, he was only able to attain Honoured Lord realm, but his son was already at Peak Honoured Lord Realm and had almost broken through to Honoured King Realm. Although there were countless youthful talents in the Beyond, none was known to have achieved what Gu Changge had. “You’re flattering me, Father.” Gu Changge beamed without refuting his father’s compliment. After all, on his way back to the Beyond, he spent a sum of 5000 Fatums to raise his power level to Peak Honoured Lord Realm. Given his true strength, beings of Partial-Enlightented Realm meant nothing to him. Of course, only Gu Changge himself needed to know such a thing. He had a great deal of secrets, and even his father had no clue about Nommening. Nonetheless, it wasn’t that he did not trust his father, but some things were best kept undisclosed as much as possible. “The Eight Barren Demon Halberd was the weapon of the former Demon God. Although it is hard for anyone to discover your connection with it, do use it sparingly before you are officially the next leader of the family,” Gu Lintian then said to Gu Changge. The former wasn’t exactly concerned that his son’s weapon might be seized as the person that dared to steal anything from the Gu Family had yet to be born. However, he was worried that if anyone was able to figure out that Gu Changge possessed the Demonic Heart, disaffection would definitely be stirred among the family members. Although he was the young master of the family, his future as the leader of the family was yet to be determined. Owning the Eight Barren Demon Halberd was good, but his future position as the leader of the family was even more important. Once that was secured, regret from the elders of the family would be pointless. Even if Gu Changge was then discovered to possess the Demonic Heart, they had no choice but to acknowledge him as their leader. In fact, Gu Lintian had planned out everything for Gu Changge’s future, and now he was simply waiting for his son to gradually take on the responsibility. “It seems you’ve really grown up…” All of a sudden, he noticed the Soul-Mending Jade Gu Changge was carrying and swiftly sensed Yan Ji’s presence within the jade before revealing his usual ambiguous, indifferent expression as he felt comforted. “It’s not what you think, Father…” Dazed, Gu Changge lost the smile on his face and began explaining Yan Ji’s background. But of course, he omitted the part where he broke Ye Chen and Yan Ji up. If it weren’t for his personal entertainment as well as Fatums and Fortuity, he wouldn’t have gone through such lengths. At the same time, it was also for his satisfaction to bully the Fortuitous One. After returning to the Beyond, it didn’t matter how he wished to deal with Yan Ji, but since she was also from the Beyond, she must have abundant knowledge of hidden Destiny. “She’s from a race that possesses the power to control Nature Flames. They are assumed to be extinct, but if you like her, you may keep her by your side,” Gu Lintian stated as he effortlessly identified Yan Ji’s physique. The beings that were able to manipulate Nature Flames were considered one of the most formidable races that were born with relentless might. Sadly, traces of them were no longer anywhere to be found. Judging by Yan Ji’s age, she was estimated to be in her twenties in human’s age. Since Gu Changge was still in his youth, as long as she bore no ill intent, she wouldn’t be an issue. “She probably achieved Sacred Lord Realm back when she was at her peak. She’s extraordinarily powerful,” Gu Lintian noted. [Sacred Lord Realm… No wonder her Fortuity is so high. She was also someone who possessed a substantial amount of Fortuity…] Hearing that, Gu Changge came to a realization. During her peak, Yan Ji was a being of Sacred Lord Realm that could effortlessly shatter the stars and travel through space in the Beyond. In the Gu Family, anyone that broke through to Enlightened King Realm was considered a core member of the family, but only upon attaining Sacred Realm would they be regarded a formidable strongman of their branch. Meanwhile, Sacred Lord Realm was only achieved by the certain elders of the family. Thereupon, Gu Changge couldn’t help but feel that he had obtained a priceless treasure. “If you have the time, do head back to Skyward Schloss. Its people are rather irritated by your disappearance for the past six months. Besides, the next successor has probably been chosen by now.” With that, Gu Lintian stated as his eyes grew deeper as disastrous scenarios like the devastation of the world surged in his eyes. Right now, he was the most dominant, unrivaled being in the world. “Worry not, Father. Only I shall attain the identity of the successor of Skyward Schloss,” Gu Changge claimed. Like his father, he was highly ambitious. And it was only a matter of time until Skyward Schloss, a Cult of Immortality, eventually fell into their hands.