The Innate Demonic Heart Metamorphoses Within the Nirvana Pool — The Demonic Energy May Be Impossible to Suppress
The Innate Demonic Heart Metamorphoses Within the Nirvana Pool — The Demonic Energy May Be Impossible to Suppress
While the outside world was in an uproar over the matter connecting Sky Emperor Mountain to the Successor of Demonic Arts, the Longevity Gu Family remained remarkably calm.
After the birthday banquet ended and such a major incident had occurred, the various orthodoxies and great sects found it awkward to linger any longer. After all, no one could be certain whether agents of the Successor of Demonic Arts were hidden among them.
The beings of the Ancient Myriad Races departed first, planning to return to their clan territories and properly discuss the coming situation with their people.
Clearly, an enormous organization still lurked behind the Successor of Demonic Arts — he was far from acting alone.
As for whether it was truly Sky Emperor Mountain, that remained open to scrutiny and difficult to confirm.
Soon after, the Ancient Ye Family, the Lake of the Dead, Skyward Schloss, and other Cults of Immortality also took their leave one after another, riding their artifacts away from the territory of the Longevity Gu Family.
“Brother Gu, you’d best be careful — you might just be the Successor of Demonic Arts’ next target.”
Wang Zijin smiled radiantly as she bid Gu Changge farewell, departing together with the Longevity Wang Family. In the time to come, she had matters of her own to attend to.
Wang Zijin had already learned of Jiang Chuchu’s departure from the Mortal Palace.
If her predictions were correct, Jiang Chuchu might well come looking for Gu Changge to ask about many details.
But given her personality, she would very likely... hit a wall.
Gu Changge watched the Wang Family procession leave with a smile, though the smile quickly faded from his face.
“Keep an eye on Zijin-guniang’s whereabouts,” he instructed the several Gu Family experts beside him.
One way or another, Wang Zijin was a Daughter of Fortuity. Keeping tabs on her movements could only benefit Gu Changge, never harm him.
Besides, he wasn’t afraid of Wang Zijin finding out.
“Yes, Young Master.”
Soon, the Gu Family experts who had received their orders departed, not daring to ask why.
Gu Changge’s current authority within the Longevity Gu Family could be called second only to the Family Head himself — even the assembly of clan elders fell short of him.
The Ancestors were another matter, of course, since they ordinarily lay buried in the earth, hidden within coffins, and would not easily emerge to make decisions.
Gu Changge’s word was already tantamount to the Family Head’s.
“That Yue Mingkong left the very next day. She looked quite rushed, yet to keep me from noticing anything amiss, she even returned to the Unrivaled Celestial Dynasty first instead of heading straight for where the Reincarnation of the Mortal One is.”
Then, Gu Changge narrowed his eyes and stepped forward, quickly returning to his own palace.
A smile played at the corners of his mouth.
Yue Mingkong thought herself clever, but in Gu Changge’s eyes, this was merely petty cleverness.
“The Reincarnation of the Mortal One won’t be so easy to deal with. Yue Mingkong might well suffer a loss. It seems I’ll need to make arrangements in advance.”
As he was thinking this, Yin Mei’s voice came from outside the palace hall.
“Shixiong.”
In front of outsiders, she always addressed Gu Changge this way. Her calling out like this meant there were outsiders near her.
“Shimei, what is it? Come in,” Gu Changge said, his expression returning to normal.
Soon, Yin Mei entered the hall alone.
“Master, your guess was correct. Word has come from the clan — the Sky Emperor’s Son has dispatched subordinates to...” she said respectfully.
“Dispatched subordinates, has he? It seems he doesn’t know where that little servant is, so he wants to eliminate him,” Gu Changge nodded, somewhat lost in thought.
It seemed the current Sky Emperor’s Son wasn’t entirely foolish — he hadn’t gone in person, merely sending subordinates.
After all, he couldn’t explain what had become of the original him. It was best they never meet.
At this point, what the Sky Emperor’s Son needed to do was destroy the corpse and erase all traces — to eliminate this flaw most likely to expose his identity.
But unfortunately for him, his reputation during this period was poor; he was constrained at every turn and didn’t dare show his face.
“Proceed according to the original plan. Have your clansmen inform the Sky Emperor’s Son and reveal that little servant’s whereabouts — tell him that for some unknown reason, the servant suddenly went mad.”
Gu Changge spoke, his smile rather meaningful.
Whether the servant was mad or not didn’t actually matter. He simply wanted the current Sky Emperor’s Son to know that this servant was in his hands, his life and death of no consequence.
Gu Changge controlled his greatest secret.
With this leverage in hand, Gu Changge had endless means to squeeze him dry, harvesting every last drop of his value.
“Yes, Master.” Having received her orders, Yin Mei departed, also preparing to return to her clan territory.
But before she left, Gu Changge pondered briefly, and a sealed jade jar fell into her hand.
“Master, this is...” Yin Mei was astonished, though even through the jade jar she could sense the surging energy sealed within.
Gu Changge shook his head, too lazy to explain, and waved her away.
He had seen Yin Mei’s loyalty and capability for himself — naturally, he wouldn’t treat her poorly.
After all, in his previous life she would have been the perfect little secretary.
“Thank you, Master.”
Yin Mei was delighted, joy coloring even the tips of her brows.
What was inside the jade jar didn’t actually matter. What mattered was that Gu Changge had taken the initiative to bestow something upon her.
This was clearly an enormous shift in Gu Changge’s attitude toward her.
...
In the blink of an eye, several days passed.
The Longevity Gu Family grew busy over an important matter.
Dang!
Dang!
Dang!
After several bell tolls, many clan members set down whatever they were doing and bowed reverently toward the direction of the Ancestral Hall.
“The Nirvana Pool is opening. I wonder if this time, after the shackles are undone, even stronger prodigies will be forged?”
“Our Gu Family bloodline is already formidable. The five young prodigies chosen each generation are the finest under heaven.”
“This time we also have Changge and Xianer — the other three will probably be reduced to mere foils.”
Divine rainbows appeared over the various peaks and Godly Islands. Figure after figure rose into the high skies, gazing toward the place where divine light soared into the heavens.
They were all discussing it, expressions of anticipation and smiles on their faces.
It was a pure land.
Clouds steamed and rosy mists swirled; chaos energy billowed upward. Stretch upon stretch of towering Mystic Mountains stood, as if from the most ancient era when heaven and earth first opened.
Incomparably dense worldly essence took the shapes of dragons, phoenixes, and qilins, seemingly on the verge of liquefying.
Among the mountain forests, Ancient Enlightenment Tea trees even swayed, immortal trees propped up the sky, and Heavenly Herbs and Celestial Herbs glimmered with rosy light, their treasure-glow dotting the landscape like stars.
And this was merely a sliver of their foundation.
At the very center.
Within a grand and ancient great hall stood five young men and women, and the one at their head was none other than Gu Changge.
At this moment he wore a plain white robe without any ornaments, his ink-jade hair bound with a simple hairband. Handsome and divinely elegant, he looked utterly otherworldly, giving the impression of a banished immortal walking among mortals.
Beside him stood Gu Xianer, her expression cold and clear, her Celestial Bone divine and elegant. Her dress fluttered, and her small face wore a look of utter disdain for Gu Changge, as if she wanted nothing to do with standing next to him.
In addition, there were three other prodigies, all the finest of the Longevity Gu Family’s current generation, with terrifying talent and formidable strength.
“This is the entrance to the Nirvana Pool within the Ancestral Hall. Only five people per generation have the opportunity to come here, undo the shackles of their bloodline, comprehend the Dao of the Founding Ancestors, raise their cultivation realm, and master divine abilities and treasured arts...”
Gu Changge spoke softly, a strange gleam in his eyes, seemingly addressing the three beside him.
The aura within the great hall was ancient and enduring.
The floor was carved with patterns belonging to era after era, containing the ultimate truths of heaven and earth — a single glance seemed enough to enlighten one to the Dao.
“I know that. No need for you to say it,” Gu Xianer retorted, always loving to oppose Gu Changge.
However, Gu Changge paid her no mind whatsoever, as if he hadn’t heard her at all.
This infuriated Gu Xianer. He had clearly bought her so many things in Skyward Ancient City, yet the moment they returned to the Longevity Gu Family, Gu Changge had switched faces.
He had reverted to his former cold attitude.
It secretly vexed her — she found it infuriating — but she also knew he had his difficulties, so she didn’t take it too much to heart.
“Is everyone here? If so, we’ll begin opening the Nirvana Pool.”
Around the palace, quite a few elders were already waiting, vast quantities of rare immortal materials prepared behind them, each one enough to incite madness in the outside world.
All manner of fearsome Superior Blood Essences, in a riot of colors, with phantom images of primordial fierce beasts materializing, as if about to cross time and space to come slaughter.
And peerless Celestial Herbs, golden and dazzling, mist flowing, richly fragrant, capable of making one ascend as an immortal.
Further back, the group also saw quite a few miraculous and terrifying eggs, each like a small sun.
Daoist radiance flowed, immortal charm interweaving, pouring into them.
Golden light blazed, magnificent beyond compare, like golden divine jade, liquid flowing within, brilliance spilling in all directions — utterly astonishing.
There were many more divine objects like these, and even more that they had never seen nor even heard of.
“Every single one of these treasures would cause a huge sensation in the outside world. No wonder the Nirvana Pool can only be opened once per generation — who could withstand such consumption?”
One of the Gu Family’s young prodigies among the group couldn’t help but say this, utterly amazed.
“Indeed. Only our clan’s foundation could probably endure such expenditure...” another prodigy nodded, a gradually excited gleam appearing in his eyes.
“We have prepared these things for a long time. We even captured the last offspring of several Pure-Blood Kings — they haven’t hatched yet, of course, but that hardly matters...”
One elder said, then coughed dryly, feeling it sounded somewhat deranged.
Someone beside him nodded. “Take that drop of Superior Blood Essence, for instance — we forced a supreme Mighty-Transcendent to hand it over. It’s the most essential drop of blood from his single horn. Without a million years of recuperation, he can hardly nurture another drop like it.”
That drop of blood was multicolored, as if containing miniature worlds, with astonishing divine will within.
A single wisp of its aura could mold a peerless genius. Countless wisps interwove with the great truths of heaven and earth — incomparably precious, something one could only encounter by fate.
Seeing that drop of Superior Blood Essence, Gu Xianer’s eyes nearly went straight.
Back when she was in Peach Village, though she had enjoyed similar treatment, the various materials were far below this level.
If she underwent a second nirvana within the Nirvana Pool and her cultivation broke through dramatically, would she have a chance to defeat Gu Changge?
“Dream on.”
At that moment, as if sensing Gu Xianer’s thoughts, Gu Changge glanced at her indifferently and said just that.
Gu Xianer huffed inwardly, but deliberately put on a nonchalant expression. “Gu Changge, just you wait and see.”
At that moment, an elder looked at the two of them and couldn’t help but smile. “With these things, plus the clan’s secret arts, your bloodlines can undergo metamorphosis. Your talents may change as well — after all, your talents originally arose from your bloodlines; the two are intimately linked.”
Gu Changge nodded.
The others were incomparably excited. Such an opportunity was exceedingly rare, but how much they could gain depended entirely on their own fortune.
After all... one could only say, worthy of a Longevity Family — only such an immortal power could produce these heaven-shaking divine objects.
Any single one of them in the outside world would drive countless Cultivators into a frenzied scramble; even Perfect Prodigies would covet them greedily, eyes turning red.
“Enough. In a moment the Nirvana Pool will open. Absorb with all your might, and we will use secret arts to aid your bloodlines’ metamorphosis. This process will last several days. How much you gain depends on your own fortune.”
The words of the several elders made all five grow solemn.
Gu Changge’s cultivation had already reached the Sacred Realm, so the Nirvana Pool wouldn’t actually help him much.
But in his view, it could serve as a smokescreen.
Perhaps it was time to reveal a bit more of his surface cultivation. After all, Wang Zijin now roamed the world, having already displayed Quasi-Sacred Realm strength.
For him to reveal a similar realm wasn’t excessive, was it?
Right now, no one would suspect him of being the Successor of Demonic Arts.
········
Most importantly, Gu Changge felt this might be an excellent opportunity.
Wasn’t this all connected to bloodline and talent?
He also wanted to see what changes his Innate Demonic Heart would undergo at a time like this.
It was said that within the Nirvana Pool, one could glimpse past lives and the future.
Gu Changge was somewhat curious whether this rumor was true or false.
Soon, the group walked into the depths of the great hall.
There lay a pool wreathed in mist, Grand Runes emerging one after another, reflected in the air.
Within, wisps of Source aura permeated, utterly natural, as if belonging to this very world.
Within the mist-shrouded pool, a light source emerged.
That was the Energy of Creation, seemingly composed of countless runes, incomparably profound, silver radiance resplendent, rules and order interweaving.
“Sit cross-legged by the pool and absorb the aura and substance within. How much you can absorb is entirely up to you,” one elder said, his expression turning solemn.
Hearing this, Gu Changge, Gu Xianer, and the others all sat cross-legged, preparing to await the Nirvana Pool’s awakening.
Weng!!
Soon, the elders rapidly refined the various items in their hands and tossed them into the Nirvana Pool.
Divine object after divine object was placed within.
The first was a miraculous plant resembling a sun divine flower.
Every drop of its liquid was crystalline like jade, thumb-sized, with a temperature ten thousand times hotter than star-core fire essence, rolling down between its branches and leaves!
In an instant, incomparably terrifying and astonishing sounds rang out from within, like the creation of heaven and earth, about to evolve chaos and return all things to one.
Crystalline liquid dripped down, transforming into surging divinity.
The second item, the third, the fourth...
Numerous divine objects and immortal materials all entered the Nirvana Pool, transforming into surging, astonishing aura.
But just then, the void suddenly trembled, and a startling immortal intent abruptly spread forth.
Gu Xianer was the first to react. Her newly reborn Celestial Bone was glowing, radiating brilliant light.
Her entire person looked as if she were about to ascend — otherworldly and transcendent, like a female immortal.
Within that Celestial Bone, new immortal intent began to be born...
Bang!
At that moment, a violent sound suddenly erupted from Gu Changge’s side.
His blood coursed through his vessels, producing the sound of a great river in torrent.
This was an incomparably heavy and terrifying power, indescribable, shaking everyone present — it nearly cracked the pool itself.
Gu Changge sat cross-legged and motionless, like an abyssal sea, every cell seemingly coming alive.
Not only did he exhale five-colored mist, but a mysterious black substance also permeated it, strand upon strand floating and sinking above the mist.
At this moment, he seemed to transform into heaven and earth itself, able to devour all things. His heaven-shaking momentum swept in all directions, causing the pool to boil ceaselessly!
The Energy of Creation rose and fell, like hazy rosy light, like resplendent Grand Runes, floating and sinking within the pool.
Yet it was devoured by every single one of Gu Changge’s cells!
This terrifying speed even gave the several elders an illusion.
He sat motionless, his entire body radiant, five-colored mist pervading like a great fog, completely enveloping him.
Within his Knowledge Sea, the Nature God’s Chant sat cross-legged.
Its gaze indifferent, it opened its mouth — like a black hole, emitting a dreadful suction.
The color of his Primordial Spirit was faintly shifting toward a nine-colored glazed state.
Apart from Gu Xianer, the other three could hardly even steady themselves at this point, affected by Gu Changge’s aura, their faces alternating between pale and green, not daring to say a word.
“Changge’s talent is truly too powerful. After all these years, we still don’t know what it is. Today might be an opportunity — such a terrifying Physique and life force, such Primordial Spirit power, and even a fluctuation of space...”
“What exactly is his talent? It’s truly astonishing. I wonder if it will manifest...”
Gu Changge’s reaction left the clan elders present utterly shocked.
They spoke among themselves, watching intently, growing more shocked the longer they looked, wanting to keep watching.
Weng!!
But outside the palace, a tall, imposing figure with deep, calm features suddenly appeared — none other than Gu Changge’s father.
The current Family Head of the Gu Family.
“Family Head!”
The appearance of Gu Changge’s father made the expressions of the several clan elders shift slightly, and they hurriedly paid their respects, feeling somewhat guilty. After all, Gu Changge’s talent had always been a secret, and his father had once told them not to pry into it.
“Don’t let it happen again.”
Gu Changge’s father spoke indifferently, his features blurred, his figure seemingly standing in another world. His forceful, cold tone made the several clan elders — who ordinarily enjoyed great prestige — change expression slightly, not daring to say more.
In this matter, they had indeed overstepped.
Thereupon, they could no longer remain here. With Gu Changge’s father present, and having already placed the numerous divine and immortal materials into the Nirvana Pool, their task was complete.
After the several clan elders departed, Gu Changge’s father’s expression grew complicated, faint worry within it as he stared at the Nirvana Pool ahead.
He had known something would likely go wrong.
Gu Changge’s Demonic Heart was, in his view, a secret that could never be exposed.
And within this Nirvana Pool, the profound Energy of Creation was incomparably dense.
It would very likely provoke changes in the Demonic Heart. If its aura were revealed then and detected by the clan elders, it would bode ill for Gu Changge.
That was why he had come to the Ancestral Hall — to personally stand guard over Gu Changge, while strictly preventing anyone else from glimpsing any of this.
“I only hope I’m overthinking this. Who knows whether this Nirvana Pool will be fortune or calamity for Changge. Before this, he could still barely suppress its Demonic Energy, but if a second metamorphosis occurs now, he may well revert to how he was before...”
Gu Changge’s father speculated thus, his expression growing faintly worried for a time.
Suppressing the Demonic Energy of the Innate Demonic Heart — in his view, this was far too difficult, and a horrifying torment besides.
That Gu Changge could accomplish it through great willpower was already an exceedingly rare feat.