I Am the Fated Villain
chapter-774

The Upper Realm was rocked by the appearance of that hazy ‘Immortal Path’. Countless cultivators all kept their eyes pried, desperate to know whether it truly led to the Immortal Domain.

Many hidden experts rushed over with Immortal Grade Artifacts in hand. They waited in that corner of the universe with their eyes fixed on the hazy Immortal Path.

Later on, someone tried to widen the little crack and see if it could be possible to step onto the Immortal Path. Alas, it led to yet another attack that felt like a lightning strike. Immortal Light flew out once more, terrifyingly, a lot more concentrated this time.

Just a wisp of it was enough to make their bodies shake and rip apart, such that they were rendered with gaping wounds. This time, they would have exploded into smithereens if they had been any closer.

At last, the hidden experts stopped their attempts. Though they were still obsessed with it, no one dared to approach the hazy Immortal Path again.

Two weeks later, something else fell out of the crack. Many hidden experts spotted a broken fragment of a weapon that was covered in flames. At its end, they saw it dripping with colourful blood, a truly frightful sight.

Although they wanted to seize it, they were extremely cautious as well. They knew how terrifying the Immortal Path could be. Therefore, they reached out and dragged over one of the True Daoists, who had been standing around watching from the Star Territory on the side. They forced him to get closer to the weapon fragment.

The result was clear as day. The True Daoist did not even have the time to scream before the flames caught hold of him. In an instant, he was dead.

“It’s a fragment from a weapon that’s even more powerful than ordinary Immortal Grade. Perhaps it’s from an Immortal King Grade Artifact or a Quasi-Immortal King Grade Artifact…”

One of the hidden expert’s eyes glittered. He was able to instantly garner insight into that weapon fragment.

However, they knew full well that there had to be something terrifying within that Immortal Path. Even a weapon of this calibre had been destroyed and was covered in the blood of something or someone they did not know. Even if they could step onto that path, they would simply be walking to their doom.

“Even if it leads to the Immortal Domain, this path cannot be taken without caution. This is not the Immortal Path…”

A sage-like woman dressed in flowy Daoist robes spoke up. Her gaze was profound. She stood in place for quite some time before turning around and leaving without hesitation. She did not choose to stick around any longer. She was a hidden expert with astute senses and could see that this was not the real Immortal Path.

“Perhaps this is a path that once went between the Immortal Domain and the Upper Realm, and when the connection was lost, some of those Immortals failed to return to the Immortal Domain in time, so they wanted to use this path to reconnect the two realms again. Alas…”

One of the hidden experts spoke up. He shook his head and left in search of the Tree of Epoch once more.

In the end, this hazy Immortal Path was left as it was. News of this spread across the universe and many sighed lamentably in response.

At the Immortal Gu Family, Gu Changge appeared on the summit of a mountain shrouded by clouds. He stared into the distant universe and saw divine light breaking through the clouds, even lighting up some of the Star Territories.

His emotions were not as tumultuous as everyone else’s. Instead, he was incredibly calm as he slowly counted down the time. He had already given out his orders.

He was now waiting for the Tree of Epoch’s location to be exposed to the Upper Realm. It would then act like a bait that lured all of the fish over.

[Luring in everyone…] Gu Changge smirked. The universe seemed to reflect in his eyes. Dark Heaven had infiltrated all the corners and engaged in endless slaughter. Rivers of blood ran as the crowd wept an ocean of tears. [Such a tragic Age of Immortal Ascension.]

Just then, a Gu Family Ancestor appeared beside him and sighed.

Gu Changge look at him. It was Gu Lang, the Remnant Immortal Ancestor who appeared many years ago. For someone like him, all he needed was a little more Comprehension and the Immortal Realm would be within his reach.

However, he did not seem to be as desperate as the other hidden experts. He was quite indifferent to it all. In fact, he spent his days drinking, playing chess, and discussing the Great Dao with the other Ancestors within the Family. It was a leisurely life.

“Countless years of waiting, and it was all for this very moment. Everyone’s fighting over the chance to become an Immortal. How could they not fight when they’re right on the cusp of it with just one step left to go?” Gu Changge mused with a faint smile.

“Actually, you should know that we, the Gu Family, have a rich heritage. Even if we don’t join the fight, once the Immortal Domain is connected to the Upper Realm again, our Ancestors will come and lead the way for us,” Gu Lang shook his head and said with a smile, sharing a little bit of the Family’s secret.

It went without saying that this secret had been far more pertinent to them in the past. As the environment underwent drastic changes, even the Gu Family Ancestors lost the connection to the Immortal Domain. In other words, they could no longer reach out to the Gu Family within the Immortal Domain the way they used to.

Still, Gu Lang could not say those words with absolute certainty. After all, it was hard to become an Immortal in the Upper Realm, but that did not mean it would be easy within the Immortal Domain.

Nevertheless, no ordinary person could remain as calm and composed as he was right now.

“Even now, many of our Gu Family Ancestors have not emerged yet. Are they waiting for the day the connection to the Immortal Domain is restored?”

Gu Changge’s eyes flickered for a moment as he said quietly, “In this Age of Immortal Ascension, the Forces with the greatest legacies are the ones who have remained the calmest.”

Deep down inside, he knew that even if the environment changed and the World Principles became whole again, enough to withstand the might of the Immortal Realm, what it could bear would still be limited.

In some of the ancient universes, the strongest among the cultivators were only True Daoists, and that was a result of the Fortuity accumulated over countless years.

The birth of a True Daoist had a great and terrifying impact. Even if he died, his Dao and traces of him would not disappear for the next few hundred thousand years, and as a result of this, no new True Daoist would emerge to take his place.

In the same vein, every new Immortal depleted the universe’s Fortuity. No one knew for certain how many Immortals the present Upper Realm could bear. That was the reason why the hidden experts were in such a frenzy. They were afraid that someone else took their chance at becoming Immortal away from them.

“You know, I get the feeling that as long as I follow your lead, I won’t end up empty-handed in this Age of Immortal Ascension…” All of a sudden, Gu Lang chuckled and made this comment with a thoughtful look in his eyes.

Gu Changge stiffened for a moment before shaking his head and chuckling. As it was, Gu Lang’s words had inspired him.

Since the chance to become an Immortal was hard to come by and the Tree of Epoch was under his control, once he became an Immortal, there was no reason why he could not mimic the ancients and create an Immortal Selection List.

Naturally, his Immortal Selection List would not be the same as theirs.

[In that case, I can create an Immortal Selection List. Anyone who wishes to become an Immortal will need to leave their life with me, submit to me, and obey me. Since the opportunity to become an Immortal is incredibly hard to come by. They won’t have a choice.] Gu Changge smiled to himself as a new plan formulated in his mind.

It had been less than six months since the start of the Age of Immortal Ascension. The number of hidden experts who had emerged was only the tip of the iceberg. After all, the Upper Realm had been around for hundreds of millions of years. How many renowned figures had been stuck at their bottleneck, unable to step into the Immortal Realm, ever since the Forbidden Epoch?

Many of the most formidable experts had not made an appearance yet.

Even within the Immortal Gu Family, there were over a dozen Ancestors who had not shown themselves yet. There was still too much uncertainty hidden among the vastness of the Upper Realm.

Still, the Immortal Selection List could be just the opportunity for them.