I Am the Fated Villain

Chapter 70: The Villain’s Father; Seeing Things Clearly!

The majestic hall in front of him towered into the sky like an ancient behemoth, and uncountable runes surged around it. The aura of Heaven and Earth surrounded it in worship, and gave it the appearance of a sacred shrine.

Inside the hall, a middle-aged man, with an appearance somewhat similar to Gu Changgeʼs, sat cross-legged in cultivation. Chaotic Spiritual Qi revolved around him, and the sounds of Heavenly chants and Great Dao rhythms faintly sounded from his surroundings.

His aura surged towards the Heavens, and pressed down on the world around him. He was like an ancient god who could split the sky with a single movement, and no one could estimate his true might.

As soon as he saw Gu Changge enter the hall, he showed a gentle expression which he only ever showed in front of Gu Changge. Before others, he always showed an expression of aloofness, as if he was a lofty deity looking down on all living beings. Even when he passed down his order, he only used his Spiritual Sense. Rarely did he open his mouth to speak.

He was Gu Changgeʼs father, the current Patriarch of the Ancient Immortal Gu Family!

At the same time, he was also one of the most terrifying people in the Upper Realm, and stood at its very peak. A random order from him could shake the entirety of the Upper Realm, and dictate the life and death of innumerable souls.

It wouldnʼt be an exaggeration to say that the Patriarch of the Ancient Immortal Gu Family was an Immortal giant who looked down on the world from high above.

”Father, this son has returned.”

Gu Changge arrived before his father, and stood with a submissive expression.

”Did everything go well? Your trip to the Lower Realm this time dissatisfied a lot of the Elders, and they were continuously asking about your whereabouts, and wouldnʼt stop passing certain remarks.”

Gu Lintian said with a gentle smile, without a shred of fallacy in his expression.

The fact that Gu Changge had a Devil Heart wasnʼt known by many in the Ancient Immortal Gu Family. Only his parents, and some of the ancestors and very close people in their lineage[1] knew about this matter.

[1: a single family can have multiple lineages. One ancestor has 10 sons, and those sons have their own descendants, so that would make the family have 10 lineages.]

The matter of him having a Devil Heart was a sensitive topic. Since its first appearance in the Upper Realm, Gu Changge was the ninth known person to possess a Devil Heart, and the only one who was still living well.

The first eight holders of the Devil Heart — no matter their backgrounds or might — were known to have turned into evil demons who brought disaster to the world around them.

The people related to them never had good ends either!

The appearance of a Devil Heart was akin to an ominous sign. In the Upper Realm, holders of the Devil Heart were not just treated as the enemies of the world, but they were also avoided by the rest of the world like a plague.

Gu Changgeʼs birth with a Devil Heart had stunned Gu Lintian for a while. Fortunately, he was quick to respond and immediately suppressed the information in the Family. Right now, only a few of his very close confidants knew about this matter.

Leaving everything else aside, just the fact that Gu Changge possessed a Devil Heart would be enough to invalidate his succession to the Ancient Immortal Gu Familyʼs position of Patriarch. His talent meant nothing before that fact, and the hostility he would receive in the Family would be no different from what he would receive from the outside world.

The rest of the Gu Familyʼs members would never allow him to be their successor!

Fortunately, during his early years, Gu Changge found a girl in the Family who possessed the Dao Bones. For Gu Changgeʼs future, Gu Lintian decisively decided to dig out her Dao Bones to give them to Gu Changge, so as to cover up his Devil Heart.

They had successfully used this cover-up for more than ten years without anyone finding out the truth of the matter [that Gu Changge had a Devil Heart].

The Family Elders and others who knew about the incident [of them digging out the girlʼs Dao Bones] had already been exiled from the Gu Family, and even their cultivation bases had been suppressed and sealed.

Their once-prosperous lineage had gradually withered over time, and the matter was buried under the dust of time.

Itʼs just that when he later tried to find the little girl, he realized that she seemed to have disappeared without a trace. Back then, they hadnʼt finished her off, and allowed an Elder from her lineage to take her away. When they inquired about her whereabouts, they realized that she disappeared soon after she left with that Elder.

Even after he investigated her whereabouts multiple times over the years, he came across nothing. After all, it was a shameful act. Although many of the Familyʼs ancestors had turned a blind eye to the matter, and the girlʼs lineage had also slowly declined in the Ancient Immortal Gu Family, who could tell there werenʼt one or two ancient monsters from that lineage hidden in the depths of the Familyʼs Ancestral Lands?

After all, all the ancient monsters of the Ancient Immortal Gu Family were buried in the Ancestral Lands. Unless they dug them out, they wouldnʼt know whether the other party was dead or just in seclusion.

”I succeeded.”

Gu Changge responded with a smile, and recalled just how much love and care his parents showered him with.

As was the norm with the various cliches and tropes, the parents of the Favored Children of Heaven either didnʼt care about their kids, or thought that their kids werenʼt good enough, and ignored them. The parents of the villain, on the other hand, always doted on their villainous kid and showered them with all the love that was possible in the world.

The so-called ‘kill the young and the old shall comeʼ[2] wasnʼt all bogus talk. How else would the villainʼs entire family accompany them to their grave?

[2: In normal novels, once the Protagonist kills the young villain, the villainʼs parents come to avenge him. Once the parents are killed, the grandparents follow. So on and so forth. At one point, the Protagonist gets tired and slaughters the entire family of the villain, and not even their mutts and sows escape the calamity.]

”Take that out so I can have a look. For now, you wonʼt be able to control the weapon of the former Devil Heart master.”

Gu Lintian said.

”Understood.”

Gu Changge responded, and then made a mental command. Immediately, the [Eight Desolate Demon Halberd] disappeared from the Systemʼs Weapon Storage. 

[Hum!]

The Void trembled, and a terrifying, murderous aura that seemed to desire the destruction of the Heavens and the Earth spread in the surroundings. Out of thin air, the [Eight Desolate Demon Halberd] appeared in front of Gu Changge.

However, right at that moment, its originally terrifying might subsided and turned into a small, flickering flame as if someone had suppressed it. Gu Changge could see it flicker like a candlelight that would go out as soon as it met a gust of wind. The [Eight Desolate Demon Halberd] conveyed itʼs terror to him as it trembled in his hands.

”Father, you scared it.”

Gu Changge said helplessly.

At the same time, he released his Spiritual Sense to calm the scared little Halberd. Unfortunately, it wasnʼt easy to erase the Halberdʼs fear for an existence as mighty as Gu Lintian. When itʼs consciousness was born, the Halberd had thought that it was the mightiest in the world, but after it came across Gu Lintian, it realized that it was like a small boat standing before a surging ocean.

”It seems that you chanced upon another Fortuitous Opportunity down there. I didnʼt feel anything when you took it out of thin air. Thatʼs good! Your mother and I can rest assured, and I wonʼt need to listen to her continuous nagging all day long.”

”Itʼs also good that this thing doesnʼt have any evil intentions towards you, or there would be no need to keep its consciousness. A soulless Artifact is much better and can bring about a lot of peace of mind…”

Gu Lintian nodded with a smile, and then withdrew his Spiritual Sense after probing it enough.

Although the [Eight Desolate Demon Halberd] had an extraordinary origin, and was the weapon of the previous master of the Devil Heart, it was nothing in front of an existence like him. Even if it recovered to its prime, a single thought from him would be enough to suppress it.

But since it was now Gu Changgeʼs weapon, he couldnʼt be bothered about it. Gu Changge had a lot of other secrets as well, but he never asked him about them. He was alright with Gu Changge keeping secrets even from him.

Still, if something threatened his childʼs well-being, then he would definitely protect him at all costs, and wouldnʼt allow anything or anyone to harm him.

Gu Changge responded with a nod. He wasnʼt a heartless man, and understood well how much the people around him cared about him. Although he was a villain, it didnʼt mean he would be an unfeeling ingrate — it just meant that he was destined to be against the Favored Children of Heaven.

”Your cultivation has increased by leaps and bounds after this trip to the Lower Realm, so I donʼt think any geniuses from other forces will be able to contend against you…”

Gu Lintian couldnʼt help but praise after he probed his sonʼs current cultivation. Back when he was around Gu Changgeʼs age, he had only just reached the Conferred Lord Realm, but Gu Changge was already at the peak of the Conferred Lord Realm…no, he was half a step into the Conferred King Realm.

There were many Young Supremes in the Upper Realm, but he doubted there were any at the same level as Gu Changge.

”Father, you flatter me!”

Gu Changge responded with a smile, but didnʼt refute his fatherʼs words. After all, he had spent 5000 Destiny Points to raise his cultivation to the peak of the Conferred Lord Realm. With his might, he could easily flatten even existences of the False God Realm with a single slap.

Of course, Gu Changge also knew that he had a lot more cards up his sleeve about which his father knew nothing about — Immortal-Devouring Demonic Art was one of those. It wasnʼt that he didnʼt trust his father, but that it was something that was better kept hidden. The less people who knew about it, the safer he would be.

”The [Eight Desolate Demon Halberd] is the weapon of the previous holder of the Devil Heart. Although it isnʼt enough to reveal the fact that you also have a Devil Heart, try not to use it unless absolutely necessary, before you have taken charge of the Ancient Immortal Gu Family…”

Gu Lintian advised Gu Changge. He wasnʼt worried about someone taking away the weapon from Gu Changge — after all, someone who dared to rob their Gu Familyʼs stuff wasnʼt yet born in this world — but worried that the matter of him having a Devil Heart might come out because of it, and that would lead to Gu Changge receiving a lot of backlash from inside and outside the family. Although Gu Changge was the Ancient Immortal Gu Familyʼs Young Master, his position as the next Patriarch wasnʼt yet set in stone.

The weapon was good, but the identity of the Ancient Immortal Gu Familyʼs future Patriarch was even more important.

Once that was settled, those old fogies wouldnʼt be able to do anything. Even if the fact that Gu Changge was a holder of the Devil Heart came out, they wouldnʼt be able to do anything but accept him as their Patriarch.

In fact, Gu Lintian had already developed a step-by-step plan for Gu Changgeʼs future, and he was now only waiting for him to slowly take reign of the Family.

”Contrary to my thoughts, it seems that you have finally started to see things clearly…”

Suddenly, Gu Lintian noticed the [Spirit Nourishing Jade] on Gu Changgeʼs person, and instantly felt Yan Jiʼs breath from it. Although his face still showed his usual indifference, he felt relief in his heart.

”Father, you are misunderstanding…”

Gu Changge was first stunned, but then he laughed out loud, and explained Yan Jiʼs origins to Gu Lintian.

Of course, he didnʼt say anything about provoking discord between Ye Chen and Yan Ji. If he hadnʼt found the entire thing interesting and needed to squeeze Ye Chenʼs fortune dry, he wouldnʼt have bothered about her. After all, stealing the Favored Son of Heavenʼs Master right in front of his eyes was a matter of great exhilaration.

Now that he had returned to the Upper Realm, he wasnʼt in a hurry to decide what to do with Yan Ji. However, there was the fact that she was also from the Upper Realm, so he reckoned that she might know about a lot of hidden opportunities.

”She is from a race that is born from the Innate Flames of Heaven and Earth. I had thought her kind had already perished, but since you like her, thereʼs no harm in letting her stay by your side.”

Gu Lintian said. He recognized Yan Jiʼs origins in a single glance.

Her race born from the Innate Flames of Heaven and Earth was once the strongest race among the many godly races, and their children were born with mighty cultivation right from the get go.

Unfortunately, all of them had long disappeared from the world.

Judging from her appearance, she seemed to be in her twenties, while Gu Changge was also young, so he had no objection in her staying by his side.

”She should have been in the Great Sacred Realm at her peak, so her talent isnʼt to be looked down upon…”

Gu Lintian said.

‘No wonder her Fortune Value is so high…she turned out to be at the Great Sacred Realm.ʼ

Gu Changge finally understood her situation to some extent.

When Yan Ji was at her prime, she was a behemoth of the Great Sacred Realm! She was someone who could easily go anywhere in the Upper Realm, crush stars in the palm of her hands, and travel through the Universe with ease.

In the Ancient Immortal Gu Family, God Kings could be said to be many, while Sacred Realm cultivators could be regarded as true masters in the various lineages. As for Great Sacred Realm cultivators? They could easily become Elder-level figures in the Family.

Having said that, he felt that he earned massive profits on this trip down to the Lower Realm.

”Go to the Heavenly Dao Immortal Palace as soon as you are free. The number of people criticizing you for your half-year long disappearance isnʼt small over there. Moreover, you also need to settle the matter of becoming their heir…”

As Gu Lintian mentioned this matter, his eyes turned deep, and terrifying scenes flashed past his pupils. It was as if the Universe was about to collapse as all the stars shattered and fell one by one.

At this moment, he resembled a supreme being who could dominate the entire Universe.

”Please rest assured, Father! This child is bound to come out on top in the fight for the Heavenly Immortal Dao Palaceʼs position of heir.”

Gu Changge assured him.

His father was an ambitious man, and so was he. Sooner or later, the Heavenly Immortal Dao Palace will belong to their father-son pair.