Under the cloak of night, the vast ocean was riddled with shadows of Great Cultivators flitting by, and many sea monsters leaped out of the water, making the night all the more terrifying.
The isolated island where Gu An was situated was surrounded by terrifying waves, which could engulf it at any moment.
Yet, he was still waiting for the breakthrough to conclude. The amount of Spiritual Energy needed for each minor realm within the Dao Void Mysterious Immortal realm far exceeded that for breakthroughs in previous major realms.
Gu An had been observing the outside world, for he wanted to know the impact of this breakthrough on the Great Heavenly Spirit Land.
By now, the range of the descending Spiritual Energy had become enormously exaggerated. However, in comparison to the entire Great Heavenly Spirit Land, it was still not sufficient to shake the whole.
The Great Heavenly Spirit Land was far too vast!
Even though Gu An could now see beyond the heavens, he could not overlook the vastness within the Great Heavenly Spirit Land.
As time elapsed, more and more Great Cultivators arrived to protect the oceans from all corners, and even sects that Gu An previously dared not spy upon sent out Great Cultivators. Even the dynasty populated entirely by Heavenly Spirit life forms had sent people out.
Gu An suddenly discovered an interesting point: the Immortal Spirit Dynasty and the Holy Court were situated on opposite sides of the Great Heavenly Spirit Land, as distant from each other as possible, giving a clear demarcation.
He would have to find an opportunity to learn about the Immortal Spirit Dynasty from Bai Ziya next time.
Gu An saw that apart from this stretch of the ocean, the continents and islands in other seas were all protected by Great Cultivators, even floating in the air near the continent where the Supreme Sect was located, holding back the waves.
The Holy Court’s efficiency was truly formidable; it could offer swift protection to the common people within a short period of time, truly worthy of its name.
It is worth mentioning that the Carefree Primordial Immortal of this ocean region had been the target of a manhunt. He was besieged by several other Carefree Primordial Immortals and had already fled to Outer Heaven.
Gu An couldn’t help but mourn him silently.
My sin, my sin.
Although the other party became involved because of him, Gu An had no choice—he had to break through. Going anywhere would attract attention; going to Outer Heaven would attract at least those at the Heaven and Earth Flying Immortal Realm, which would be far too dangerous.
However, considering the current commotion, Gu An’s next breakthrough would have to take place outside of heaven.
Although Outer Heaven was dangerous, Dao Void Mysterious Immortal was not weak.
Gu An had already seen the words “Divine Thought True Immortal” and had a vast Life Span. He couldn’t feel at ease without reaching the ninth layer of Divine Thought True Immortal.
He would have to control his next breakthrough a bit more; reaching the ninth layer, he would have to restrain himself and not prematurely peer into the name of the next realm, lest his heart itch with curiosity.
Gu An thought silently to himself.
The anomalies above the ocean had not affected Outer Heaven.
The moon set and the sun rose.
When morning arrived, the turmoil of Spiritual Energy over the ocean gradually returned to calm.
Gu An had finally reached the ninth level of Dao Void Mysterious Immortal!
He slowly opened his eyes, and the golden patterns on his forehead shone with an illusory vertical golden eye.
The pupil of the Primordial Divine Eye was gradually turning black, then deep gray, making this vertical eye all the more terrifying and oppressive.
With a thought, Gu An caused the Primordial Divine Eye to disappear.
He slowly stood up. Without taking a step, his figure vanished on the spot from the island.
Almost instantaneously, he arrived within the Nianchu Cave of Heavenly Phoenix Mountain.
Tian Yao’er, Tianqing, and Tian Bai were all immersed in cultivation. The cave was quiet, save for the sound of dripping water, exuding a profound serenity.
Gu An clapped his hands, and the three demons awoke. They quickly came out of the house and upon seeing Gu An, were overjoyed and rushed to meet him.
“Master, what exactly happened outside these past two days?”
“Yes indeed, such a terrifying aura came through.”
“Master, are you alright?”
The three demons chattered excitedly, their questions buzzing with enthusiasm.
Gu An felt a pang of guilt. He should have visited sooner; instead, he had let them worry for so long.
“Come on, let’s go to the Outer World Cave,” Gu An called out, then took the three demons away with him.
Along the way, the three demons talked incessantly, and Gu An did not hide anything from them, recounting the calamities they encountered outside.
Divine Exotic Resentful Ghosts, Divine Exotic Ghost Kings, the Great Cold Demon Sect, the Heavenly Fire Catastrophe, and more—all of these stories made them tremble with fear.
But hearing from Gu An that the calamity had passed, they finally breathed a sigh of relief.
They began to wonder who had resolved the calamity; Gu An said even he wasn’t sure.
When they arrived at the Outer World Cave, Gu An raised his hand. Countless Storage Bags, Storage Rings, and Storage Dharma Artifacts flew out of his sleeves and piled up on the open ground.
The three demons were stunned.
Tian Yao’er couldn’t help but ask, “Why are there so many?”
Gu An didn’t answer. After piling the collected Storage Dharma Artifacts into a mountain, he swept over them with his Divine Sense, dispelling all Restrictions. In an instant, he obliterated anything that might be harmful.
“I entrust these to you. On ordinary days, refrain from touching them to avoid attracting powerful beings,” Gu An warned them.
In truth, no matter how much they handled them, they wouldn’t attract other Cultivators. He was only worried they might accidentally harm themselves.
The three demons nodded blankly, still not fully grasping the situation.
Gu An didn’t explain further and disappeared on the spot.
Tian Bai came to her senses and tentatively asked, “Could the mysterious Great Power who saved us from the calamity be our master?”
Tian Yao’er had a strange expression. Long suspecting that Gu An downplayed his own strength when he said he was no match for the Heaven Phoenix Demon Mother, she became even more certain now.
She just didn’t understand why Gu An would hide his true Cultivation Level.
Elsewhere.
Gu An returned to the Supreme Sect.
The continent where the Supreme Sect resided had not been affected by the disturbances of the previous night, though the winds between the heavens and the earth were a bit stronger.
He first returned to the Eight Scenic Caves to inform Jiang Qiong that the Great Cold Demon Sect had been eradicated. Jiang Qiong was shocked and immediately left.
Gu An didn’t follow her; instead, he used the Teleportation Array in the valley to return to the Third Medicine Valley.
Even after two days had passed, the atmosphere in the valley was still lively. Most people were discussing the Great Cold Demon Sect.
Stealing the Five Elements and Nine-Finger Divine Lord resumed their chess game, occasionally shouting, drawing laughter from the surrounding Disciples.
The Servant Disciples, who were laboring, were also spirited, and even the White Spirit Rat under the Mystic Pure Tree was unusually awake, lying at An Xin’s feet, enjoying her petting.
Everything seemed so harmonious, bringing a smile to Gu An’s face.
He had taken the risk to intervene so that he could see such a scene every day.
Gu An walked towards his own loft; his Divine Sense turned towards Outer Heaven.
His next breakthrough had to take place in Outer Heaven.
He wondered if it was because of last night’s anomaly, but there were many Great Cultivators patrolling above the Great Heavenly Spirit Land. Although their Cultivation Levels were not as high as his, he still didn’t want to appear at this critical juncture.
He would wait for those Great Cultivators to disperse before he went to Outer Heaven for the breakthrough.
With his remaining Life Span, breaking through to Divine Thought True Immortal should not be difficult.
Thinking of this, Gu An’s mood became even more pleasant.
He hummed a tune as he ascended to his loft, where the Blood Prison Great Saint, lying in wait, watched his master, deep in thought.
After Gu An entered and closed the door, Blood Prison Great Saint finally thought: “The master seems to have become stronger again. How high is his realm?”
On the day the Great Cold Demon Sect attacked, the colossal figure that stood taller than heaven and earth fell into the eyes of Blood Prison Great Saint, and he immediately knew that it was his master.
He felt more than ever that ending up in Gu An’s hands was an incredible stroke of fate.
Others couldn’t get such a chance even if they wanted it!
Thinking this, he wore a proud smile.
Considering the millennium term, it now seemed like nothing in comparison!
When the millennium came, he would choose to stay and continue to serve Gu An, whether as an ox or a horse.
He had already set his sights on the position of the head Disciple of the Third Medicine Valley. Considering An Xin’s talent, he was sure she would be buried by then, so who could compete with him?
As for Yang Jian, he would definitely want to venture out. The boy also had such ambition.
At the same time.
Inside the loft, Gu An sat in a chair and lay down in the position he found most comfortable.
Looking at his remaining Life Span of over six hundred million years, the corners of his mouth just couldn’t help but turn up.
He must not become complacent!
He would have to continue cultivating Medicinal herbs in the future. Dao Void Mysterious Immortal was not his final destination, nor would Divine Thought True Immortal be. He had to keep growing stronger.
Right now, he was indeed powerful, but there were still things in the world he could not see through, and thus needed to keep cultivating diligently.
For the next few days, Gu An began moving between the various Medicine Valleys, returning to his usual life.
During this time, Sage Xuan Miao of the North Sea Mountain inquired about his opinion of Sword Venerable Fudao. Gu An casually praised him without elaborating much.
Five days later.
Gu An noticed a group of Cultivators with strong Cultivation Levels sneaking into the continent, investigating the public opinion about Sword Venerable Fudao.
These Cultivators were all from the Holy Court!
It was not just this continent; Cultivators from the Holy Court were also investigating the Great Cold Demon Sect and the surrounding seas.
Gu An did not intervene. The Holy Court beginning to investigate the Great Cold Demon Sect suggested that the matter had alarmed the upper echelons of the Holy Court, and the Holy King could no longer act unilaterally.
After harvesting all the mature Medicinal herbs in the various Medicine Valleys, Gu An began to relax and rest.
He found Nine-Finger Divine Lord and played a game of chess, winning three rounds in a row.
Stealing the Five Elements became interested and wanted to play as well.
Starting from Gu An’s first move, an hour later, Gu An stood up, holding the Seven Stars Mirror as a fan, strutting off in a superior manner.
Stealing the Five Elements sat stunned on the stone stool, gazing at the chessboard, utterly lost in thought.
The surrounding Disciples were thrilled, all praising Gu An.
Stealing the Five Elements had always been winning, quite arrogantly at that. Seeing their master defeat him, how could the Disciples not be exhilarated?
Nine-Finger Divine Lord was amused. It turned out it wasn’t that he was inadequate; rather, Gu An truly possessed extraordinary comprehension in the ways of chess.
Gu An left amid the cheers of the Disciples, his face wearing a smug smile.
Play against me?
You’ll need another hundred million years of practice!
Gu An admitted that those at the ninth layer of Heaven and Earth Flying Immortal Realm were powerful, just twenty-seven small realms below him.
Returning to the loft, Gu An sat down and opened his Attribute Panel.
He felt regret over the previous Lifespan Samsara and wished to start another game. After all, there were still plenty of Holy Court Great Cultivators patrolling outside heaven, so there was no rush to break through.
Just one game, and definitely not getting carried away!
“You consume ten million years of Life Span to initiate one Reincarnation Evolution.”
“Connecting with Tao Rules.”
“Searching for Reincarnation Worlds.”
“You can choose one of the following worlds:”
“One, Great Heavenly Spirit Land.”
“Two, Nine Extreme Great Heaven and Earth.”
“Three, Dark Great Heaven and Earth.”
Gu An hesitated for a moment before deciding he would still choose the Dark Great Heaven and Earth. Where one falls, there one shall rise.
This time, he would not repeat the same mistakes!
“You have chosen to reincarnate into the Dark Great Heaven and Earth.”
“Considering that the Tao Rules of this world cannot conceal your Talent, you shall retain your ability to seize lifespan, but you will not be able to unlock stage-wise functions.”
“Reincarnation Evolution begins.”
“In the first year, you are born into a noble household within the Beiqian Domain’s Great Xia Holy Dynasty, blessed by your parents with the name Xiao Shengtian.”
“At the age of five, while you are fast asleep, you fall victim to poisoning by a concubine of your father’s third wife. Before you lose consciousness, you glimpse her figure. Fortunately, your mother discovers you in time, allowing for your rescue. Once your strength returns, your grandfather gathers the family in the great hall. Faced with your grandfather’s query, will you choose to expose that you were poisoned by the third wife’s concubine?”