Twenty million years per tribulation crossing—that meant Gu An’s investment of one hundred million years of lifespan could only sustain five tribulations.
Almost without any suspense, they ended in failure.
He still had four billion years of lifespan left—could he cross tribulation two hundred times at most?
This time, he must reserve at least five hundred million years for the Life Span Barrier, to avoid any mishap.
Gu An took a deep breath and continued investing lifespan, still in increments of one hundred million years each.
Above him, the Tao Spiritual Energy surged like fog, as if the sky was churning, oppressive and spectacular; great figures flitted by, visible one moment and gone the next.
Gu An didn’t look up, focused on the investment of his lifespan.
One hundred million followed by another hundred million!
Soon ten billion years of lifespan disappeared, and Gu An’s complexion turned grim.
Continue!
Still in units of a hundred million years, he kept investing!
Gu An’s mood was relatively steady; as long as he could break through successfully, what did it matter if he only had a hundred years of lifespan left?
He could quickly accumulate lifespan!
In the end, another ten billion years were spent.
Gu An, seeing that he only had twenty-one billion years of lifespan left, felt some trepidation.
Was he constantly reincarnating during the twenty million years following a failed Cangxuan Tao Tribulation Crossing?
Engrossed in his chaotic thoughts, Gu An continued to invest one hundred million years of lifespan.
One hundred million followed by another hundred million years!
Gu An’s lifespan quickly dwindled to eleven billion years. He decided that if he still hadn’t achieved breakthrough success by five hundred million years, he would give up trying to break through.
Having thought this, he once again invested one hundred million years.
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The prompt length changed!
[You have practiced Qi Absorption Cultivation for sixty million years, you forcefully attempted to break into the Early Luotian Freedom Immortal Realm with the help of the Tao Great Freedom Wishing Scripture, beginning your tribulation. You endured the Cangxuan Tao Reincarnation Tribulation and successfully crossed the tribulation, your cultivation level breaking through to the Early Luotian Freedom Immortal Realm.]
[You have practiced Qi Absorption Cultivation for one hundred million years, your cultivation level has improved.]
Ten billion years of lifespan remaining, continue to ascend!
Gu An invested another two hundred million-plus years of lifespan, finally advancing his cultivation level to the middle stage of the Luotian Freedom Immortal Realm.
He suddenly felt uneasy, fearing that this time, he might be unable to reach the Perfect Realm in one go.
No matter, it would be good enough to reach the late stage; the middle stage didn’t sound strong enough.
Eventually, Gu An invested over three hundred million years of lifespan and successfully reached the late stage of the Luotian Freedom Immortal Realm. He had a bit over four hundred eighty million years of lifespan remaining, and the Life Span Barrier had already started extracting Tao Spiritual Energy. The disturbance this time would surpass all before.
Gu An only hoped not to alarm the Heavenly Spirit God.
He didn’t want to encounter the Heavenly Spirit God at this moment. He felt that even the true form of the Silent Annihilation Divine Emperor was not as strong as the Heavenly Spirit God otherwise, the Silent Annihilation Divine Emperor in his true form would have sought him out for trouble long before.
Without absolute confidence, Gu An wouldn’t recklessly clash with the Heavenly Spirit God.
Even if the cosmos where the Great Heavenly Spirit Land was located was a prison, as long as he could continue seizing lifespan, even if he always stayed within the Great Heavenly Spirit Land, he wouldn’t find it dull.
Gu An watched the Life Span Barrier, ensuring the speed of lifespan consumption wouldn’t threaten his life. After which, he relaxed and started to carefully sense the fortunes of his own body.
From Xuanyuan to Luotian, there must be extraordinary aspects.
As Gu An began his attempt to break into the realm of the Luotian Freedom Immortal, Tao Spiritual Energy was extracted from various places across the universe, with no traceable origin.
Around the bounds of the Great Heavenly Spirit Land, the void churned up a Tao storm, howling ceaselessly and terrifying, causing those strong presences atop the Heavenly Dao Light Layer to become incredibly nervous.
The disturbances in the universe grew larger and larger, and while there wasn’t the terrifying pressure of the Silent Annihilation Divine Emperor, the abnormalities in the universe’s laws and spiritual energy were more unsettling, leading people to worry whether the universe was on the verge of collapse.
Some speculated that it was the immense strength of Sword Venerable Fudao and that mysterious being that made the universe unable to withstand.
However, no one dared to blame Sword Venerable Fudao, for without him, that mysterious being would have the power to annihilate the Great Heavenly Spirit Land.
Time continued to elapse.
While all beings were restless and uneasy, Gu An was immersed in the fortunes of his being.
Within the Great Heaven and Earth, Mortal Spirits were unaware of the disturbances beyond the sky. With the retreat of the Heavenly Demons, a sense of renewal and jubilation spread across the land. Those Mortal Spirits who survived the great calamity expressed their gratitude toward Sword Venerable Fudao, and some had even begun preparations to erect monuments in his honor.
Within the Third Medicine Valley.
Jue Luo Sword Monarch sat meditating atop a cliff, gazing up at the sky with a deeply furrowed brow.
The location was very close to Ten Thousand Sword Mountain, and he had intended to meditate and gain enlightenment there. However, the increasingly frequent disturbances from beyond the sky made it impossible for him to calm his mind.
“What will happen next?” Jue Luo Sword Monarch wondered with confusion. Even beings like the Annihilation God Emperor had been destroyed, and he had thought there would be a period of calm. Unexpectedly, new changes had arisen so soon.
He couldn’t help but feel that the Great Heavenly Spirit Land was a place of constant disaster and turmoil. On second thought, he found it normal, considering it was the Great Heavenly Spirit Land, the center of the universe. Although it might not be the strongest land, its past made it clear that it would never be ordinary.
After the battle had ended the day before, many people had arrived at the Third Medicine Valley, all wishing to visit Sword Venerable Fudao. Lv Baitian had specifically ordered the cultivators from the Lv and Ji Families to guard the surroundings of Medicine Valley to prevent Gu An from being disturbed.
Ye Lan and Zhen Qin, who had come to visit, were also stopped.
“Sword Venerable Fudao is my master, how dare you block my way?” Zhen Qin exclaimed with wide eyes, annoyed.
The middle-aged cultivator who had stopped her paled, saying solemnly, “Do not spout nonsense!”
After speaking, he instinctively glanced around, clearly wary of something.
At that moment, a figure clad in tight black clothes and wearing a theatrical mask appeared out of thin air. Upon seeing him, the expression of the middle-aged cultivator became even more unnatural.
Immediately afterward, as if hearing something, the middle-aged cultivator bowed to Ye Lan and Zhen Qin, saying, “My apologies, I was blind to the truth. I am simply following orders. Please come in!”
Zhen Qin gave a glance at the figure in black and couldn’t help but pout before pulling Ye Lan into the Third Medicine Valley.
The figure in black vanished from the spot, and the nearby Lv Family cultivators crowded around the middle-aged cultivator, curious to know if the two women indeed were the disciples of Sword Venerable Fudao.
The middle-aged cultivator took a deep breath and nodded slowly. This caused the others to turn and observe the retreating figures of Ye Lan and Zhen Qin, memorizing their faces so as not to act inappropriately if they met them again.
After entering Medicine Valley, Ye Lan realized there were more people than the last time she visited, and many of them had cultivation levels she couldn’t fathom.
“Junior Aunt, Senior Sister, you’re here,” An Xin walked quickly toward them, greeting them warmly. Seeing Ye Lan, both ladies also smiled.
Zhen Qin went up to join her, linking arms with An Xin, and the two women immediately began chattering away.
After a while, seizing a moment, Ye Lan asked, “Isn’t Senior Brother here?”
An Xin nodded and said, “He left early this morning, but he always returns quickly after leaving. Shall I show you where to stay first?”
Ye Lan had no objections. Now that she knew Gu An was Sword Venerable Fudao, she was even less worried that he would be away for long.
The three women walked toward a cluster of attics, and Ye Lan suddenly asked, “An Xin, did you know about your true identity a long time ago?”
Zhen Qin followed suit, turning her gaze to An Xin.
An Xin let out a bitter smile, “How could I? I only found out yesterday as well.”
Upon hearing this, Ye Lan’s face broke into a smile, and Zhen Qin followed, complaining about how well their master had kept the secret from her.
With a sense of self-congratulation for having dodged the bullet, An Xin thought to herself, “Master, I have learned a tenth of your ways.” She was no fool; Ye Lan was clearly probing her, and she didn’t want to start a conflict with her future mother-in-law.
Although Ye Lan and Gu An were simply fellow disciples at this point, in An Xin’s eyes, the two were no different from Daoist partners.
The three women began to recall the past, marveling that Gu An had kept such a deep secret. Zhen Qin was curious: Gu An had come to the Supreme Sect at a very young age, having been born into the Ji Family. Had he disguised himself as an infant?
An Xin brought up the topic of Reincarnation Tribulation, saying she had heard from a senior that once one’s realm reached a certain level, they could enter reincarnation and be reborn, yet still be able to wield the power of their past life, which enlightened the two women.
They began to discuss the concept of Reincarnation Tribulation.
Elsewhere.
Long Qing approached Blood Prison Great Saint, who had transformed into human shape. After transforming, Blood Prison Great Saint had not secluded himself in a room; instead, he continued his vigilant watch at the foot of Gu An’s building.
At that moment, Blood Prison Great Saint was practicing a certain Divine Skill, his palms concentrating blood qi. Combined with his white hair and horns, he looked fierce and sinister.
“Brother Niu, how about a match?” Long Qing chuckled.
Now that the Heavenly Demons had started to disperse, the strange feelings that had plagued his heart had vanished, and he was free to live his life.
Blood Prison Great Saint opened an eye, ready to refuse, when suddenly he saw something which made a proud smile spread across his face. “You want to challenge me? You might as well challenge your Senior Brother first.”
“My Senior Brother?” Long Qing was surprised and instinctively turned, following Blood Prison Great Saint’s gaze toward the entrance of Medicine Valley. There he saw a figure approaching: a handsome man dressed in silver chainmail and a white robe, whose sharp aura could not be concealed.