Gu Qingkong, originally named Gu Qingying, was the eldest illegitimate daughter of the Gu family, a prominent cultivation clan in Xianyang.
However, this was not her greatest secret.
The deepest secret hidden within Gu Qingying’s heart was her identity as a rebirth.
Yes, that’s right.
Gu Qingying was a reincarnator.
From the day she was born, she repeated the same dream every night.
But as she grew older and her mind matured, Gu Qingying gradually realized that the scenes in her mind were not mere dreams—they were precious memories left over from her previous life.
She remembered with perfect clarity that in her past life, she was a lowly illegitimate daughter of the Gu family in Xianyang.
Because her twin spiritual roots were exposed too early, the family elders conspired against her.
One elder used demonic secret arts to sever half of her spiritual roots, turning her into a cripple.
Afterward, she was expelled from the Gu family.
At her most desperate moment in that past life, it was Master Lu Li who saved her.
He helped her reclaim her spiritual roots and made her a direct disciple of the Broken Emotion Peak within the Xuling Sect.
From then on, she transformed from a beggar to a little junior sister deeply cherished by her master and senior sisters.
The time she spent cultivating on Broken Emotion Peak was the happiest memory of Gu Qingying’s life.
Senior Sister Feng Lingshuang’s stern teachings, Second Senior Sister Gong Shangyu’s fragrant elixir furnace, Third Senior Sister Mo Qingyou’s warm care, Fourth Senior Sister’s joyous moments sneaking spiritual fruits from the neighboring Spiritual Peak…
But what Gu Qingying cherished most were Master Lu Li’s patient guidance and attentive care.
His handsome face, every frown and smile, and the reliable, solid figure he showed when standing up for her against the Gu family.
Those warm memories were so beautiful.
But in the end… she ruined everything with her own hands.
That year, when the Kongxuan Realm collided with the Demon Realm, the demon sects in Kongxuan allied with the demons and launched a massive invasion.
They planned to sacrifice billions of living beings in Kongxuan, turning the realm into a resource for the demonic cultivators.
Seeing the looming crisis, the righteous sects of Kongxuan, led by the Tianjian Sect, formed the Alliance of Righteous Qi and called upon the major sects to descend from their mountains to slay demons and save the people.
The Xuling Sect, where Gu Qingying was from, immediately responded and dispatched all disciples and elders above Foundation Establishment to the front lines to fight demons, leaving only a few Golden Core cultivators to guard the rear.
At that time, Gu Qingying was only at the peak Foundation Establishment stage, so her master naturally kept her on Broken Emotion Peak to defend, while the senior sisters—already at Nascent Soul stage—accompanied Master Lu Li, a Huatian Grand Cultivator, to the frontlines.
During the most intense battles, the Nascent Soul Grand Cultivator of the demon sect, Ancestor Chixue of the Red Blood Sect, suddenly launched a surprise attack against the poorly defended Xuling Sect.
Faced with Ancestor Chixue in mid-Nascent Soul and his Golden Core demon cultivators, the few Golden Core defenders left behind were no match.
They could only rely on the Xuling Sect’s mountain defense array to hold back the enemy while sending desperate pleas for help to the frontlines.
But the frontlines were too far, and the mountain array was on the verge of collapse under the demonic assault.
Seeing the defense about to break and with the sect leaders unable to return, Gu Qingying forced herself to break through to Nascent Soul stage.
She successfully achieved Nascent Soul breakthrough and held out until the senior sisters returned to assist.
Together with Senior Sister Feng Lingshuang, she annihilated Ancestor Chixue.
The crisis from the Demon Realm ended when the Tianjian Sect’s Ancient Sword Ancestor sacrificed himself to seal the Demon Lord and close the demon portal forever.
This should have been a joyous victory for all.
But Gu Qingying’s reckless breakthrough had inadvertently sparked the next disaster.
Because she rushed the Nascent Soul breakthrough, her second personality, Gu Hongchen, separated from her body and became an independent Nascent Soul, lurking within the Xuling Sect.
Feeding off the evil thoughts of Xuling cultivators, the once fragmented Gu Hongchen quickly formed a physical body.
She then infiltrated the Xuling Sect’s Demon Suppression Tower, devouring the evil demons inside and advancing to Huatian stage.
Then, a brutal massacre of Broken Emotion Peak began.
Gu Hongchen, wearing a face identical to Gu Qingying’s, toyed with her prey like a hunter, killing her four senior sisters one by one—all because they were too close to Master Lu Li.
Gu Hongchen imprisoned Gu Qingying and forced her to witness a horrific tragedy that made both her soul and body scream in despair.
Gu Qingying was trapped by an invisible force, helplessly watching her evil counterpart wear a twisted, victorious smile.
With the aura of a victor, Gu Hongchen coldly approached their unsuspecting master, mistaking her second personality for the real Gu Qingying, and ambushed Master Lu Li, leaving him barely alive.
Then, driven by a sick obsession, Gu Hongchen gently stroked Master Lu Li’s pale cheek and, in front of Gu Qingying, forcibly began to absorb him.
Master Lu Li’s Huatian cultivation, vitality, and even his soul origin were mercilessly drained by Gu Hongchen before Gu Qingying’s eyes.
“Hehe… look, Qingying!”
Gu Hongchen laughed sharply and bitterly amidst Master Lu Li’s fading life cries.
Her identical purple eyes locked onto Gu Qingying’s face.
“The master you love most is about to become one with me~”
“Gu Hongchen! Why are you doing this!”
Gu Qingying shouted at her other self.
Gu Hongchen suddenly burst into a crazed laugh.
“Because I’m jealous! Qingying! Why is it always you who gets to be so close to Master? Why am I only allowed to hide inside your body and watch? Master… he belongs to me! And he will belong to me forever…”
Gu Hongchen’s madness peaked as her shrill wail pierced Gu Qingying’s soul.
“I’ll make sure you never get Chongyangzi! You’ll live forever in the pain of loss!”
“Just like… how I could only watch you and those fox spirits being cherished by Master while I was trapped inside you, powerless to do anything!”
As Master Lu Li’s body turned to ashes, leaving behind only a tattered robe, Gu Qingying fell into an endless abyss.
Consumed by hatred, she resolutely embarked on a desperate and long path of revenge.
In her past life, after her master’s death, she frantically scoured countless worlds and secret realms to find a way to completely eliminate the demon-possessed Gu Hongchen who had slaughtered the world.
Eventually, she found a lost place forgotten by time and discovered a technique called the “Glazed Purification Heart Technique.”
Using this heart method, she reabsorbed Gu Hongchen into herself.
But because she hadn’t cultivated the technique deeply enough, she couldn’t fully suppress Gu Hongchen, ultimately choosing to perish alongside her.
Fortunately, this time Gu Qingying was reborn, and those tragedies had yet to occur.
Moreover, even if they did happen, Gu Qingying would no longer be afraid.
Because this time, she had already mastered the “Glazed Purification Heart Technique” ahead of time, cultivating it to the second level.
As a result, four years ago, she won first place in the Gu family’s internal competition, shedding her illegitimate daughter status.
She then used memories from her past life to turn the tables and kill the elder who had severed her spiritual roots, becoming the heir of the Gu family.
After becoming heir, Gu Qingying immediately ordered the family servants to search for the traces of her senior sisters from the past life, intending to save them from their doomed fates.
Of course, she also had a bit of selfishness—she wanted to send her senior sisters to other sects to cultivate, so they wouldn’t interfere with her and Master Lu Li’s world.
With a firm resolve to save her master and reverse the tragedies of the past, she defied her father, the family head, and joined the Xuling Sect two years ago, successfully becoming an outer disciple.
But then she despairingly discovered that although the Xuling Sect did have a Spiritual Peak named Broken Emotion Peak, there was no elder named Lu with the title Chongyangzi.
Just as she thought that her rebirth had altered Master Lu Li’s fate, the legendary Grand Tribulation cultivator of Broken Emotion Peak suddenly returned with a new disciple two weeks ago.
In front of all the Xuling Sect disciples, he appointed that new disciple as the Peak Lord of Broken Emotion Peak, granting the Lu elder the Dao title—Chongyangzi.
At that moment, Gu Qingying felt struck by lightning.
All her doubts from the past two years vanished instantly.
Seeing the familiar face of Elder Lu, her heart filled only with icy certainty and an unbreakable resolve.
Because that familiar face was undoubtedly her beloved Master Lu Li!
This time, no matter what, she would suppress the evil within her and rewrite history to save her master.
So when three days ago, she learned that Broken Emotion Peak was finally recruiting disciples, an indescribable joy overwhelmed her.
But soon after, Gu Qingying received terrible news: the recruitment rules had changed.
This time, Broken Emotion Peak only accepted male disciples.
Upon hearing this, Gu Qingying was filled with despair.
Damn it!
Why is the recruitment rule different from what I knew in my past life?
Could it be… that my rebirth has altered history?
Ahhh… what should I do?
Am I doomed to never become my master’s disciple again?
If nothing else, I’ll just disguise myself as a man!
But… can disguising as a male disciple really fool Master’s discerning eyes?
Just as Gu Qingying was sinking into despair, the sound of gears grinding suddenly rang in her ears.
Then, before her eyes appeared a dark purple transparent panel that only she could see.
[Do you wish to change your fate? Do you want to save your beloved and rewrite the tragedy?]
[Yes / No.]
Though deeply suspicious of this mysterious interface, Gu Qingying resolutely chose “Yes” for the sake of returning to her master’s side.
She then awakened the ‘Cognition Modification System’ and successfully altered the perceptions of those around her, forcibly changing her identity from Gu Qingying, heir of the Gu family, to Gu Qingkong, a branch member of the Gu family.
The suspended spirit boat broke through the clouds, and the lone silhouette of Broken Emotion Peak was bathed in the warm golden light of the sunset.
Gu Qingying stood silently behind her master.
The mountain breeze lightly stirred the stray hairs on her forehead but could not dispel the complex emotions settled deep in her eyes.
Looking at her master’s tall figure, Gu Qingying gently rubbed her wrist, savoring the warmth left by her master.
A bittersweet mix of sweetness and heavy guilt intertwined, almost suffocating her.
The first step was complete.
Master, you are within reach…
“Don’t worry, Master! This time, I have the Glazed Purification Heart Technique learned in advance, and the Cognition Modification System I awakened a few days ago!”
“This time, I will never let that bastard Gu Hongchen hurt you again…”
“As for the other senior sisters…”
Gu Qingkong’s gaze swept across the desolate mountaintop.
Only coldness and possessiveness filled her eyes.
“I will make sure they stay far away from Broken Emotion Peak, this place of trouble.”