Just as the old patriarch forced me to my death, I achieved the unity of Dao and fruition.

After the last wisp of demonic energy from the Heavenly Demon Heart Monkey dissipated, the valley fell silent once more.

Gu Changjin stood still, not in a hurry to leave.

The original plan definitely needs to be changed.

Initially, he only intended to replace all seven future demon saints with his own people.

Is Heaven decree that the Great Sage Demon should push the world to an upgraded state?

No problem, the Ten Thousand Demons Sect has plenty of true demon spirits.

Pick seven at random.

Are kings and nobles born with a special destiny?

Why should those seven guys get to sit in the same positions as him?

But I only realized it now.

Good heavens! His competitors arrived earlier than him, and their plans are far more sophisticated.

That Grand Preceptor of the Great Liang Dynasty was reincarnated into this world hundreds of years ago.

Both humans and demons have pawns, and the seven demon sages who will drive the world's ascension in the future have long been targeted by the other side.

Even the very power and status of this Demon Great Sage were set up by the other party.

If I were to kill all these guys now and then roughly replace them with the true spirit of the Ten Thousand Demons Sect, it might disrupt the entire ascension process.

That would be a losing proposition.

Gu Changjin didn't come to this life specifically to save people.

Whether the world can be upgraded is very important to him.

A world that has not yet been upgraded, and a world that has just broken through its own limits and completed a leap in the rules of heaven and earth.

The origins they can provide are on completely different levels.

If Dao Guo could seize a piece of the world at the crucial moment of its ascension, the gains would be far greater than simply swallowing an ordinary world.

In this respect, his goal is somewhat the same as that of the Grand Preceptor of Liang: they both hope that this world will be successfully upgraded.

The only difference is who will pick the fruit once it ripens.

"That's where the trouble lies."

Gu Changjin narrowed his eyes.

The true form of the Grand Preceptor of Liang did not enter this realm.

That was a Heavenly Demon Lord at the pinnacle of True Immortal, who now guards outside the world.

A scheme spanning hundreds of years, seven demonic saints, and human agents throughout the land.

In addition, there is a True Immortal at the pinnacle of power, ready to strike from outside the world at any time.

When the moment of successful promotion finally arrived.

They cooperated from within and without.

The other party is clearly planning to take away the very foundation of the world.

Gu Changjin's true cultivation level is ultimately only at the peak of the Integration stage.

Even with the Void Realm, the Candle Dragon bloodline, and countless other methods employed, if one were to truly face a complete True Immortal at the pinnacle of the Heavenly Demon realm...

It was a complete freebie. Last time, I managed to kill two mid-stage True Immortals, and I had already used up almost everything I had.

The demon immortals were all blown up, and Guiyi Daoyuan was completely exhausted.

Although he now possesses a low-grade immortal artifact, he cannot truly utilize it until his cultivation level is advanced enough.

But Gu Changjin wasn't in a hurry at all, because he had an advantage that his opponent absolutely did not have.

"I am a local."

Thinking of this, Gu Changjin smiled again.

He clearly remembered the confident look on the Heavenly Demon Heart Ape's face before it self-destructed.

They wanted to rely on the will of Heaven to take him away in one fell swoop.

As a result, after the lightning struck...

It all fell on his own body.

This is very comfortable.

What good are the plans of the Great Liang State Preceptor that have been in place for hundreds of years?

What good are more human pieces?

No matter how skilled the Heavenly Demon is at disguise, it is still essentially an outsider.

If they want to obtain this realm, they must deceive.

Layer by layer, they laid out their plans, eroding the enemy bit by bit.

Gu Changjin didn't need it; the Dao Fruit was transformed into his own realm.

This body was born in Blackrock Town, and its experiences from childhood to adulthood are crystal clear.

Even the instructors at the martial arts academy could recount how many times he had been beaten as a child.

Heaven and earth see him as a local.

"Thinking about it that way..."

"The advantage seems to have shifted back to my side."

Gu Changjin re-examined the scenes he had witnessed in the long river of fate.

Many things that seemed unreasonable before can now be explained.

Why did a large number of generals suddenly defect during a crucial battle in the human court?

Why do some defenses that have been held for many years suddenly collapse in a very short time?

Why do some members of the royal family, knowing full well that demons eat people, still choose to submit to them?

Behind most of those events, the Grand Preceptor of Liang was involved.

And the most crucial point.

Why hasn't a single human being emerged who could truly change the times?

This is actually the most abnormal thing.

Humanity has been the dominant force in the world for countless years.

Even if fortune has already begun to decline.

It should also decline slowly.

Even a starved camel is bigger than a horse.

How could a race that has ruled the world for countless years not put up any resistance before being completely abandoned by heaven and earth?

What about geniuses? What about those chosen ones?

What about the strong individuals who suddenly rise from dire circumstances?

not a single one.

Gu Changjin used to think that Heaven was determined to change the race.

Now I understand, it's not that it doesn't exist.

Most of the time, they were killed before they could really grow up.

The Grand Preceptor of Liang holds too high a position within the human race.

He also has pawns in every state under heaven.

Any young person who shows even the slightest sign of being able to turn the tide will likely immediately come into the other side's sights.

Then... an unexpected death, going mad, being attacked by demons—that's all perfectly normal.

Gu Changjin couldn't help but laugh.

"Since there is no chosen one."

"Then I'll take the place."

It wasn't because he suddenly became compassionate.

But since this position is useful...

Why leave it to someone else?

The Heavenly Demon wanted to take advantage of the overwhelming power of demons and monsters to completely suppress the human race.

Then he would do the opposite, allowing humanity to rise again while maintaining the world's ascension.

Meanwhile, they pulled out the nails that the Grand Preceptor of Liang had planted, one by one.

Let this world see once again that humanity has not completely lost its value.

It can even propel the world forward faster and more ruthlessly than demons.

The "General Outline of Demon Warriors" that he casually tossed out was precisely a backup plan.

Demons devour humans, demons grow stronger, and the Great Demon Sage pushes the heavens and earth to ascend—this whole system has already been exploited by the Heavenly Demon.

Then Gu Changjin added another path for it.

Humans devour demons and monsters, and humans seize the cultivation of demons and monsters.

What demons can provide to the world, humans can provide as well.

It can even be faster.

As for the six-armed demon ape that is already dead…

Gu Changjin was not worried.

Since the Heavenly Demon faction has been planning for so many years, it is absolutely impossible for them to abandon the entire plan just because the first piece is suddenly gone.

The Grand Preceptor of Liang will definitely fill the position by finding a suitable demon, or simply having another celestial demon take over in advance.

However, this has nothing to do with me. What I need to do is to gradually seize the final control without disrupting the world's upgrade.

And the best choice is naturally...

Gu Changjin looked up into the distance. The mountains of the northern border stretched out in the night, their demonic energy surging.

Scattered lights in villages and towns are nestled among the mountains, so faint they seem ready to go out at any moment.

In the long river of fate, this land will eventually be submerged by demons, human cities will fall one by one, and then be kept as food, and the old era will come to a complete end.

Gu Changjin stared at it for a long time.

He suddenly chuckled.

"Since demons and monsters are causing chaos in this world."

"In this life... I will use my martial arts skills to suppress all the demons in the world."

"While we're at it, let's see if we can turn this cataclysmic event around and save humanity."

As soon as he finished speaking, a glimpse of the ethereal realm appeared.

The figure in the valley disappeared silently.

The next second, millions of miles away, in Yunzhou Prefecture.

Gu Changjin reappeared in his courtyard.

The tea on the table in the courtyard hadn't even cooled down yet.

It was as if he had never left.

Gu Changjin looked up.

The night was deep outside the window.

The entire Yunzhou Prefecture is now lit up with thousands of lights.

He stood there for a moment, then turned and went into the room.

Not long after, when he came out again, he was holding a very ordinary demon-suppressing knife.

Gu Changjin weighed the hilt of his knife in his hand and pushed open the courtyard gate.

Step into the night.

After that night.

It's the demons' turn to be unable to sleep.