The winds atop Serpent Peak howled like beasts in mourning. Gu Changge stood with hands clasped behind his back, robe flaring in the wind, as moonlight etched silver outlines along the jagged cliffs.
The pill's effects were complete.
His qi ran swift and deep like a subterranean river, thundering through tempered meridians.
> Villain Value: –1000 → Remaining: 1300
Cultivation: Early Golden Core → Mid Golden Core (Perfect Foundation)
System Notification: Core expansion successful. Charm aura suppressed. Qi reserves increased by 27%. No side effects.
Gu Changge exhaled a thread of crimson mist, faintly scented of iron. A cold smirk played at the corners of his lips.
"Perfect."
Moments later, a shadow detached from the trees. A cloaked agent kneeled before him.
"Speak," Gu Changge ordered.
"Lin Tian has entered seclusion," the spy whispered. "Breakthrough attempt to Early Golden Core. He's relying on his ring spirit's guidance. Progress is steady. Estimated success within ten days."
Gu Changge chuckled lowly.
"Let him climb."
The spy bowed and vanished without another word.
Gu Changge turned and stepped off the ledge, cloak fluttering behind him like the wings of a dark phoenix. His destination: his father's hidden quarters.
---
Inner Sect Grounds – Gu Tianhai's Meditation Courtyard
A modest corridor of plum blossoms parted before Gu Changge as he strode down the polished jade path. The air here was unusually serene—ancient formations gently suppressing outside interference.
He arrived at a courtyard framed by cedar wood and inscribed bronze. Twin lanterns glowed faintly, and a plum tree stood tall in the center, blossoms scattered across the stone floor.
The door opened silently at his touch.
Gu Tianhai sat beneath the tree, a man of still strength. Silver streaked his hair, but his back was straight and eyes closed in silent contemplation.
"Sit," he said, without looking.
Gu Changge complied, but did not bow.
"I assume this isn't a fatherly reunion," he said flatly.
Gu Tianhai opened his eyes, pupils like calm pools. "You've changed."
"Being abandoned tends to do that."
Gu Tianhai sighed.
"I stayed away not because I hated you—but because every time I saw your face, I was reminded of her."
Gu Changge's eyes narrowed. "My mother."
"Yes. You carry her silence. Her cold eyes."
Gu Changge tilted his head. "Then why summon me now?"
A long pause. Then, Gu Tianhai took out a wrapped cloth and placed it on the table between them.
"She left this behind. Said one day it would… guide you."
Gu Changge unwrapped the blue silk. Inside lay a black jade pendant etched with an impossible silver pattern—no matter the angle, it twisted into something new. The moment he touched it, heat pulsed through his fingers.
> System Scan Initiated…
…
Error: Target exceeds interface threshold. Scanning disabled.
Cultivation Estimate: Early Deity Transformation Realm ???(sealed)
Displayed Aura: Middle Nascent Soul (Suppressed)
Bloodline Origin: Upper Realm (Unclassified Affiliation)
Gu Changge's pulse slowed. So that's why…
His father stared at him. "She always seemed stronger than she let on… but I never imagined this."
"You didn't know?" Gu Changge asked quietly.
Gu Tianhai shook his head. "No. She rarely used her cultivation. I assumed she was Middle Nascent Soul. She never revealed more."
"She vanished twenty-one years ago?"
"Without warning. There was golden light… then nothing. No enemy. No trace. I searched for years."
Gu Changge closed his hand around the pendant. It felt… possessive. As if it recognized him.
"And yet you never questioned it?"
"I did," Gu Tianhai murmured. "But I loved her. And she warned me never to pry into her past."
There was a silence. Then Gu Tianhai leaned forward slightly.
"A Secret Realm is opening. In five months."
---
System Notification
> Hidden Quest Unlocked: [Tomb of the Flame-Bound Immortal]
Type: Secret Realm
Estimated Entry Time: Five months
Access: Limited to Golden Core Realm and below
Predicted Lin Tian Participation: 99%
Danger Level: High
Recommended Action: Destabilize Lin Tian emotionally before entry
Potential Rewards:
— Forbidden Flame-Duality Techniques
— Soul-bound Relics
— Memory Fragments
— Bloodline Awakening Catalysts
> +150 Villain Value (Insider Knowledge) → Total: 1450
---
Gu Changge lifted a brow. "Tell me everything."
Gu Tianhai nodded. "They call it the Tomb of the Flame-Bound Immortal. It's said a immortal fell five thousand years ago. Rather than be slain by rivals, he destroyed his own cultivation to form a sealed world—fused with his dying will."
Gu Changge's voice turned razor-thin. "What's inside?"
"No one knows. It only opens once every few centuries. The last sects to enter never returned. Only disciples at the Golden Core level or below can survive within. Anything stronger is consumed by the realm's laws."
Gu Changge's eyes glinted.
"And the sects?"
"Three sects received quota. Ours. The Demonic Spirit Sect. And the Thousand Blossom Palace . Ten disciples each. The quotas are strict."
Gu Changge remained still.
> System Deep Scan: Analyzing Realm Signature...
Relic Aura Match: 30% to pendant
Possibility: Realm connected to maternal bloodline artifact or technique fragment
He filed it away.
"Have you ever cultivated techniques not in the sect's library?" Gu Changge asked suddenly.
Gu Tianhai blinked. "Yes… one. Your mother passed it to me. She said it was a minor movement scripture. But it's strange—balanced between fire and stillness. It's powerful, but… unorthodox."
> System Insight: Cultivation Art is Fragment of Immortal Movement Scripture
Origin: Unknown Cultivator (Upper Realm)
Function: Flame-Reversal Steps, Spirit-Binding Anchor
Affiliation: [Classified]
So she gifted him a fragment… even if he never understood.
"What's your actual cultivation?" Gu Changge asked abruptly.
Gu Tianhai looked at him for a long time… and then sighed.
"I hide it. Officially I'm Mid Nascent Soul. In truth… I'm Peak Nascent Soul, nearing the threshold."
"Why conceal it?"
"Because many eyes would turn toward me—and through me, toward you. I wanted you to grow without leashes."
Gu Changge laughed darkly. "How noble."
---
Later – Gu Changge's Personal Chamber
Incense drifted along the carved ceiling. Crimson and gold arrays pulsed beneath the floorboards.
Gu Changge sat before the Fate Map, studying the threads of his game.
Lin Rou – Dormant. Emotional dependence growing.
Lin Xian'er – Latent attraction. Identity questioning.
Lin Tian – Isolated. Spirit interaction. Pressure building.
A fourth thread shimmered into existence—blood-colored, unstable.
> Sub-Quest Triggered: [Humiliation Catalyst]
Objective: Destabilize Lin Tian emotionally before Secret Realm
Target Vectors: Trust, Justice, Emotional Attachments
Reward: +400 Villain Value, +Ring Spirit Suppression Rate
Progress: 0%
Gu Changge reached forward, inscribed a chaos rune shaped like a bleeding lotus over Lin Tian's thread.
> Villain Value Remaining: 1450
---
System Interface: Active Quest Log
> Main Quest: Fate Severance – Lin Tian
Ruin destiny. Steal fortune. Take harem.
Progress: 21%
> Sub-Quest: Widow's Wine
Status: Completed
> Sub-Quest: Catalyst of Collapse
Status: Ongoing
> Sub-Quest: Flame-Bound Tomb – Entry Domination
Status: Preparation Phase
> Sub-Quest: Humiliation Catalyst
Status: Active
---
Gu Changge leaned back, eyes closing briefly.
The pendant on his chest pulsed warmly once more—recognizing his blood, perhaps, or something deeper.
He thought of Lin Tian: the righteous fool, still believing fate was on his side.
Let him enter the tomb, Gu Changge thought coldly. By then, I will have dismantled him—piece by piece.
When the tomb opened in five months, one would walk out changed.
And the other…
Would burn with everything he ever loved.
---
[End of Chapter 5]