The Mastermind Is You? Deciding to Refine and Ascend
The Mastermind Is You? Deciding to Refine and Ascend
A terrifying Grey Fog, sweeping in from who-knows-where, blotted out the entire Resplendence Universe in the blink of an eye.
Every star territory dimmed, without the slightest glimmer of light escaping. It was as if this place had sunk into an eternal, frozen silence.
The Cultivators and living beings aboard the many Ancient Battleships stationed outside the Resplendence Universe were all utterly horrified.
Without any of them noticing, those Hidden Experts had all plunged into the Resplendence Universe, vanishing like clay oxen sinking into the sea, without the faintest sound.
This was too terrifying. In their eyes, it was as if some peerless great demon lurked within—it was far more than just an Opportunity to Become an Immortal.
Nothing like this had ever been recorded in ancient history. No matter how mysterious the Resplendence Universe was, how could it withstand the combined assault of so many Hidden Experts without being destroyed?
That in itself was inconceivable.
All the armies halted outside the Resplendence Universe, not daring to take even half a step closer. Even True Daoists felt a chill run through their entire bodies, and the rest of the Cultivators and beings were even more terrified.
For the sake of Immortality, they had paid such a grievous price, bringing the entire foundation of their clans—only to be stopped here in the end.
How tragic. The Opportunity to Become an Immortal was clearly right there within the Resplendence Universe, clearly right before their eyes, yet why had it come to this? What exactly had happened?
“Our clan’s True Ancestor lay dormant for countless ages, all for the sake of waiting for this very moment!”
Many Cultivators and beings wailed in grief. They had believed their Ancestors would achieve Immortality in this universe and lead them toward glory and splendor.
But they never imagined that even their Ancestors would sink into it, swallowed by that universe shrouded in darkness. It made their hearts palpitate with dread.
At this moment, for them, it was despair. All the light before their eyes, like the universe ahead, had sunk into absolute darkness, devoid of any color.
Gu Changge sat cross-legged in the Gods’ Ruins, gazing at all of this from afar, and gently shook his head.
He felt not the slightest pity for these beings. For the sake of Immortality, every clan had been willing to overturn everything—some had even planned to bathe this universe in blood.
In this Age of Immortal Ascension, not a single being or Cultivator was innocent. Since they wanted to become Immortals, they had to be prepared to pay the price of Immortality.
The fluctuations of the Epoch Dao Fruit grew ever stronger, and the laws of heaven and earth were becoming more and more complete.
By the looks of it, in less than a few hundred years, heaven and earth would be restored to their former prosperity.
Tao Yao gazed at the sky, quietly closed her eyes, and sensed the fluctuations of the world’s laws. It was as if the broken parts were being soaked in some kind of aura, slowly being mended and made whole.
She even felt her cultivation slowly recovering—no, not recovering. Rather, the amount of magic power she could wield was increasing, causing her strength to grow.
Because her own realm surpassed the ordinary Celestial Realm, her inability to bring out her original power had been due to the limitations of the world’s environment.
Now that this restriction was being lifted, the power she could wield naturally grew stronger.
“Yes. Because the world’s environment is changing, because the Age of Immortal Ascension is descending, they’ve all grown desperate. They all want to seize the chance at Immortality, which is why they fought so recklessly, even abandoning their own clans.”
Gu Changge smiled faintly, the cultivation within his body slowly shifting as well.
His current realm was actually only at the late stage of the True Daoist level—that is, the late stage of the Nirvana Realm.
The so-called Hidden Experts were at the peak of the Nirvana Realm, half a step into the Immortal Realm.
In truth, they were still far from it.
But to him, his cultivation realm meant nothing. His actual combat power had already reached the utmost limit this world could contain.
If the greatest power this world could contain was the Remnant Immortal level, then the power Gu Changge could currently unleash was naturally that of a Remnant Immortal.
And now, as the laws of this world grew complete and the limit of what it could contain increased, the power he could unleash naturally grew along with it.
Back when he dealt with the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being, Gu Changge had wielded the Eight Wastelands Demonic Halberd, destroying the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being’s divine soul with a single strike. That had already reached the utmost limit of this world.
These so-called Hidden Experts merely believed they stood at the very peak of heaven and earth.
In truth, that was not the case. Even Tao Yao could easily slay them.
Let alone Gu Changge.
“The true Celestial Domain is about to descend. I need to hurry as well. These Hidden Experts have all learned their lesson—now they’re lingering in distant universes, no longer approaching.”
Gu Changge’s gaze stretched into the distance, taking in the scene beyond the Resplendence Universe.
Many of the newly arrived Hidden Experts stood rooted far away, their expressions uncertain and wary, not following in the footsteps of those before them by stepping into this universe.
They had personally witnessed those Hidden Experts being swallowed by the darkness. Alarm bells rang in their hearts, and they chose to wait and see how things unfolded.
After all, they were beings who had lived for so long. Once they sensed danger, they would no longer act so rashly.
Not long ago, eight Hidden Experts had appeared and charged inside, only to vanish like clay oxen in the sea, disappearing without a trace or a sound.
They were not fools. No matter how desperately they craved Immortality, they now understood that the Resplendence Universe held immense danger.
Naturally, Gu Changge did not expect them to come charging in to their deaths, heedless of their lives, like the Hidden Experts before them.
“The Source of a dozen or so Hidden Experts should be enough for me to break through the Nirvana Realm.”
Gu Changge shook his head lightly. His figure vanished from where he stood, and when he reappeared, he was already standing within that star territory shrouded in Grey Fog.
Four heaven-piercing pillars seemed to connect heaven and earth, boundlessly vast, ancient and primordial, radiating a terrifying aura that made hearts palpitate and tremble.
From these four heaven-piercing pillars, countless chains extended outward, connecting at their ends to those Dark Cages.
The Hidden Experts were now all imprisoned within. Some were bombarding their cages, trying to break out.
Some sat cross-legged, their entire bodies glowing, the signs of Flying Immortals emerging from their bones, intending to burn their divine souls by force to commune with the immortal aura between heaven and earth.
Here, they could already feel that aura of Immortality spreading from the Gods’ Ruins, incomparably dense, so they wanted to stake everything on one final gamble.
Of course, there were also those roaring in fury, their eyes long since bloodshot, as if they had fallen into a demonic obstruction of the heart. This was not because their willpower was weak, but because the Source of the Eternal Overcast had already seeped into their divine souls.
Back then, even those few Great Ancestors of the Eternal Overcast could not resist this aura.
Though these Hidden Experts possessed profound cultivation, when it came to attainments of the divine soul, they were not even qualified to carry the shoes of those Great Ancestors of the Eternal Overcast.
“Who exactly are you?!”
“Why are you doing this? What is your goal?!”
After Gu Changge appeared in this place, many of them immediately roared in fury, glaring fixedly at him—this Greatest Villain behind the scenes—wanting to know, to see through his identity.
He had stolen the Tree of Epoch after the Forbidden Epoch and framed the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains for it, causing the Beyond and the Eight Wastelands and Ten Domains to slaughter each other for countless years.
And in this era, he had caused the Tree of Epoch to manifest in the world, luring them here to become his prey.
To describe such a scheme as vicious and ruthless would hardly do it justice.
This was a plot against the entire Beyond, against every orthodoxy and power. And the most terrifying part was that in all these countless years, no one had known such a person existed.
He was like a shadow merged into the darkness, forever standing behind the epochs, coldly and mercilessly looking down.
Watching the epochs change, watching the Beyond fall into chaos over the search for the Tree of Epoch, watching heaven and earth descend into turmoil.
Such a Greatest Villain could absolutely not be some nameless nobody. He had to be an incomparably fearsome figure even before the Forbidden Epoch—perhaps even more ancient than the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being.
“Who am I?”
Gu Changge shook his head and chuckled softly. He did not conceal his true appearance, walking step by step out of the void and darkness. On his incomparably handsome face, his expression was cold and indifferent, without the slightest ripple.
“It’s... it’s you?!”
“Th-this... how is this possible?!”
In an instant, it was as if a basin of ice water had been poured down over their lifted skulls. The few Hidden Experts who recognized Gu Changge all stared in horror, eyes wide, trembling with shock, unable to even speak a complete sentence.
Before this, they had speculated, had even deduced many possibilities, thinking the Ancient Reincarnation Supreme Being was a very likely candidate.
But never in their wildest dreams did they imagine that the Greatest Villain behind it all would be Gu Changge—this invincible figure of the current era.
This was simply like an absurd fantasy, inconceivable, utterly impossible to believe.
When many of them had awakened earlier, they had learned of Gu Changge from the mouths of their juniors.
But none of them had placed him on equal footing, merely considering him a junior.
Only at Gu Changge’s wedding, when the demoness in red, Chan Hongyi, mentioned that he was the reincarnation of some Absolute Being from the Forbidden Epoch, did they begin to pay him considerable attention.
Some among them had even previously discussed with the One-Eye Daoist of Sky Emperor Mountain the idea of strangling Gu Changge in the cradle, lest he one day cover the sky with a single hand.
However, because the Tree of Epoch appeared and the Opportunity to Become an Immortal emerged, they had no choice but to set that matter aside. They stopped paying attention to Gu Changge and instead brought the full might of their clans rushing to the Resplendence Universe.
But who could have imagined that the greatest mastermind behind the Resplendence Universe would turn out to be Gu Changge?
At this moment, every one of their minds buzzed, their scalps tingled, their entire bodies went cold. As Hidden Experts, their state of mind had long since reached a level of unshakable calm, yet now they still felt a deep, profound fear.
“How could it be you? How exactly did you accomplish all this? Or... is Gu Changge merely your avatar, and this is your true body?”
The voice of one Hidden Expert trembled. Even he did not realize just how terrified he was right now, feeling that all of this was simply too fantastical to believe.
Gu Changge’s expression did not waver, and he did not answer their questions.
Behind him, Grand Runes emerged, black light cascading down, as if a black hole had abruptly condensed out of the darkness, sweeping toward those few to engulf and refine them.