Gu An watched as the skull moved forward. Because the distance was too far, he was unable to use Life Span Detection and could only follow with his Divine Thought.
The two Free Immortals continued their fierce battle, not sensing the greater danger that was approaching.
Gu An could feel that the skull had not reached the Perfect Realm of the Taoist Hidden Immortal, yet it was even more dangerous than a Free Immortal. He had no idea what kind of Divine Power it was using that made it undetectable to Free Immortals.
Time continued to pass.
Half an hour later, while the two Free Immortals were locked in a stalemate using their mana, the skull suddenly appeared, growing immensely large, and devoured both Free Immortals in one bite. Then, turning into a rainbow light, it vanished into the depths of darkness.
The cosmic void fell silent afterward.
The great battle seemed as if it had never occurred. Although surprised, Gu An had no intention of pursuing the skull.
It just so happened that its appearance coincided with his breakthrough, a noise that would allow the blame to fall on it.
Gu An pulled up his Attribute Panel.
[Name: Gu An]
[Life Span: 740/3,329,223,602]
[Physique: Hun Yuan Refined Void Body]
[Cultivation Level: Perfect State of Taoist Free Immortal]
…
Thirty-three billion years of life span!
Advancing one Great Realm was not difficult!
A smile spread across Gu An’s face as he decided to start by enhancing his physique!
He immediately invested one billion years of life span into his physique, and a steady stream of notifications appeared.
Initially, he did not succeed in advancing.
Without hesitation, Gu An invested another billion years of life span, and the Hun Yuan Refined Void Body successfully advanced to the Hun Yuan Taoist Golden Body!
Tao Spiritual Energy surged towards him, and the Life Span Barrier’s display of life span consumption began to change wildly.
Closing his eyes, Gu An delved into the transformation of the Hun Yuan Taoist Golden Body.
Golden patterns on his forehead began to wrap around flames, and his skin started to shine with a golden light, his entire being exuding an indescribable divinity.
The Hun Yuan Taoist Golden Body enabled his flesh to compare with the power of rules and be compatible with the Tao, allowing for a perfect embrace of all Tao Rules. This meant that from here on, Gu An could study any kind of Tao.
Not only that, but the Hun Yuan Taoist Golden Body could also bring about a metamorphosis for his mana, with his soul receiving a tempering by the Tao.
It was an incredibly wonderful process, devoid of any pain.
The Silent Destruction Domain also began to resonate with the changes, as Tao Spiritual Energy roared and Tao Rules quaked, the area of influence expanding. Creatures hidden within the Silent Destruction Domain emerged one after another, some frantically fleeing, others investigating the cause.
In front of Gu An, a black Sea Dragon with nine dragon heads flew on clouds. The continent beneath Gu An was only half the size of one dragon head. This was a landmass comparable to the Taicang Continent in size, indicating just how enormous the Sea Dragon was.
None of the beings detected Gu An’s presence; the formidable strength of the Life Span Barrier remained undetected by all.
After half an hour had passed, Gu An opened his eyes and began to invest his life span into the Eternal Infinite Skill.
One billion years of life span advanced the Eternal Infinite Skill to the Great Tao Unlimited Skill, achieving Mastery Realm!
Another half an hour went by, and Gu An started to upgrade his ability, the Dao Representation Divine Thought Skill—critical for hiding his cultivation level and needing to be upgraded in sync.
Similarly investing one billion years, the Dao Representation Divine Thought Skill was elevated to the Great Thousand Xuan Void Skill, reaching the realm of complete understanding and integration!
Next, he worked on upgrading his Stepping Path of Ages Step and the Ultimate Path Formless Body. The Stepping Path of Ages Step was the only movement technique he was researching with combat significance, while the Ultimate Path Formless Body could prevent causal inference, hiding his true identity—both equally important.
He invested one billion years of life span into each!
The Stepping Path of Ages Step advanced to the Eternal Measuring Heaven Dao Step, achieving Mastery Realm!
The Ultimate Path Formless Body advanced to the Formless and Invisible Freedom Body, reaching the pinnacle of achievement!
Once all his inheritances were complete, he checked his Attribute Panel and saw he still had over twenty-seven billion years of life span left, with more than eighty million years already consumed by the Life Span Barrier.
He decided not to upgrade the Divine Skills and Ultimate Skills of his past life incarnations like Long Zhan and Lu Han since these skills were the culmination of his past life’s achievements, of extremely high grade and rank, and he intended to comprehend his own path.
After some thought, Gu An invested another billion years of life span into the Daoist Gang Primal Energy—his protective technique, which should also aid in Tribulation Crossing.
Eventually, the Daoist Gang Primal Energy advanced to the Protecting Tao Divine Essence, achieving a realm of seamless proficiency.
The Silent Destruction Domain had descended into total chaos, with countless Divine Thoughts and Divine Senses sweeping through and numerous forces wandering about. Centered around Gu An, entities were active in every direction.
Even from the distant Great Heaven and Earth, various creatures flew out to investigate the situation.
The extraction of Tao Spiritual Energy was now affecting the Heaven and Earth Rules of the Great Heaven and Earth.
Panic was spreading!
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After Gu An completed the inheritance of the Protecting Tao Divine Essence, he was clad in golden light with a white halo swirling around him. The white halo abruptly shrank and merged into his body, blending with the Hun Yuan Taoist Golden Body. It was as if a layer of flowing light spread over his skin, covering every inch of his body.
His skin returned to its original state, but his demeanor now far surpassed what it had been before; he seemed like a supreme deity that commanded all things, his gaze indifferent, exuding a commanding presence that looked down upon all living beings.
Gu An pulled up his Attribute Panel and saw he had over twenty-five billion years of life span left. He began to compose himself.
The next moment was of utmost importance!
Breaking through the realm!
One billion years underway!
“You have been practicing Qi Absorption Cultivation for five million years, forcibly attempting to break through to the Xuan Yuan Zizai Xian Realm with the Great Accomplishment of the Great Tao Unlimited Skill, beginning your Tribulation Crossing, but you have not survived the Mysterious Reincarnation Great Heavenly Dao Tribulation, Tribulation Crossing has failed.”
“You have been practicing Qi Absorption Cultivation for ten million years, forcibly attempting to break through to the Xuan Yuan Zizai Xian Realm with the Great Accomplishment of the Great Tao Unlimited Skill, beginning your Tribulation Crossing, but you have not survived the Mysterious Reincarnation Great Heavenly Dao Tribulation, Tribulation Crossing has failed.”
…
A Tribulation Crossing every five million years?
That’s quite harsh, the last time it was only once every two million years.
Gu An merely sighed inwardly, but in fact, he had long been mentally prepared.
As long as the breakthrough succeeded, any amount of Life Span spent along the way was just a number!
Ultimately, one hundred million years of Life Span did not bring success, he had failed twenty times.
He continued to invest his Life Span.
One hundred million after one hundred million, Gu An’s expression remained unchanged, as if he was undisturbed by the waves.
When ten billion years had passed and all had resulted in failure, he slightly opened his mouth.
There were still 1.6 billion years of Life Span left!
No need to panic!
Gu An continued to invest in increments of one hundred million years, and his countenance grew more solemn because of it.
After another five hundred million years, the sixth one hundred million year investment!
Finally, Gu An saw the notification text lengthen suddenly.
“You have been practicing Qi Absorption Cultivation for forty-five million years, forcibly attempting to break through to the Xuan Yuan Zi Zai Xian Realm with the Great Accomplishment of the Great Tao Unlimited Skill, beginning your Tribulation Crossing, and you have survived the Mysterious Reincarnation Great Heavenly Dao Tribulation, Tribulation Crossing successful, your Cultivation Level has broken through to the early stage of the Xuan Yuan Zi Zai Xian Realm.”
“You have been practicing Qi Absorption Cultivation for one hundred million years, your Cultivation Level has increased.”
Fifty-five million years could not advance even a minor grade and rank.
Gu An felt the Tao Spiritual Energy vibrate again and continued to invest Life Span.
Striving to reach the Perfect Realm in one breath!
Finally, after spending more than six hundred million years of Life Span, he broke through to the Perfect Realm of the Xuan Yuan Zi Zai Xian Realm!
Gu An looked at the speed of Life Span depletion within the Life Span Barrier, and his heart settled down, with the remaining four hundred million years of Life Span, he should not be drained dry.
He closed his eyes, immersing himself in the fortune he had cultivated for himself.
From the distant void came the roaring flames of battle, where a Great Cultivator was fighting.
The disturbances in the Silent Destruction Domain had persisted for a while now, and various powers, unaware of the truth, were growing uneasy and began to suspect one another, leading to friction.
The continent beneath Gu An began to tremble as if it were about to shatter.
As time went on, more figures joined the battle, and eventually, two of them came above the continent to fight, each wielding a Divine Weapon like Heavenly Gods in combat, locked in fierce battle.
They did not know that a terrifying existence surpassing the Free Immortal level was breaking through below them.
Gu An’s Tao Fruit began to evolve, adorned with Xuan Yuan Dao Patterns; the Lifebound Great Divine Power, the Longevity True Word born from the Tao Fruit, also started to strengthen, merging more extensively with more Tao Rules and Heaven and Earth Rules, which allowed the scope and depth of the Longevity True Word to become broader and deeper.
When Gu An’s Cultivation Level stepped into the realm of Xuan Yuan Zizai Xian, endless memories surged into his mind—his past, his future, and even illusory alternative destinies.
At the crossroads of life, each choice he could make would generate different lines of fate, and these lines would continue to branch out in the future. Only the path he truly took remained his reality; though the others were illusory possibilities, with sufficient strength, they could also be realized.
To make them real, one would need to create the same Heaven and Earth.
The Xuan Yuan Zizai Xian stage is a process of comprehending fate, being able to see all the possible destinies that one’s former life could have generated, as well as the future directions of these destinies, thereby making one’s future path firmer.
The myriad states of all living beings ebb and flow; Gu An saw the vision of the destruction of the Great Heavenly Spirit Land.
That grand continent would be ground into dust at a certain moment, not only the Great Heavenly Spirit Land but all the Great Heavens and Earths would move towards obliteration, just as living beings ultimately face a day of death.
The destruction of the Great Heavenly Spirit Land was irreversible because this was a part of the Heavenly Dao and the evolution of the Great Dao. Unless Gu An could transcend them, but if he could, the eternal and undying Great Heavenly Spirit Land might then bring variables to other cosmic lands.
Gu An saw that after he fiercely protected the Great Heavenly Spirit Land, the Supreme Sect and the Taicang Dynasty became the rulers of Heaven and Earth, becoming the next Holy Court, the Immortal Dynasty, ruling high above all living beings. They went to the Outer Heaven, plundering far and wide.
In the end, they became the new hegemony, the enemy of all living beings.
In the dim mystery of the cosmos, everything is predetermined, merely a cycle of new replacing the old.
Cultivators can calculate Heaven and Earth, the natural way, but the only thing they cannot fully predict is the human heart.
Any person, any sentient being with spiritual wisdom, could be a variable. One variable can generate countless others, just as it says in the Tao Te Ching:
The Tao produces the one; the one produces two; the two produce three; the three produce all things.
All events and all things are like this!
Looking from the present is very much the same as looking from the future.
Reaching the realm of Xuan Tian Zizai Xian means not only that the Tao Fruit has become stronger, but it is also a pursuit of one’s own position.
Through this, Gu An sorted out his Daoist Heart.
If he saw through fate, then how should he treat those who were closely related to him?
Emotions tie him down, but should he allow himself to be constrained by emotions?
The so-called following one’s true nature, but what is this true nature?
Living in the world, with each additional day, the true nature is influenced by other things, and emotions are also established over time.