Chapter 588: Chapter 581: Breakthrough to the Late Stage of Heaven-Opening Daluo Immortal Realm
Gu An opened his eyes, and what entered his vision was a dim cosmos, with Dao mist swirling in all directions, filling him with exhilaration.
He immediately activated the Life Span Barrier and then observed the Abyss Dao Sea once more.
Under his feet was also a Spirit Mist, yet it gave him a sense of solid ground.
This universe was dark, bereft of the light of stars, instead it had rivers of light flowing in different directions, bringing a faint glow to the cosmos.
No wonder it bore the name Abyss—the longer one stayed here, the more they could sense an aura of deathly stillness.
It was as if terrifying entities could burst out from the depths of darkness in any direction at any moment, tearing a person to shreds.
…
Gu An’s Heart Eye saw a distant place where there was a Floating City, massive as half of the Celestial Spirit Great World, with thirty-six black towers standing outside, each entwined with a black dragon, ominously thrilling.
Abyss Emperor City!
Zhenren Ni Hai was affiliated with this city. Within the Abyss Dao Sea, this city counted as an Overlord Level force. There existed Taiqing Golden Immortals within, and even Zhenren Ni Hai, of those he had seen, could count five Taiqing Golden Immortals on one hand.
Though he was affiliated with this city, Zhenren Ni Hai’s understanding of it was far from thorough. Inside Abyss Emperor City, the hierarchy was strict, with a single Realm’s difference being akin to that between Immortals and mortals.
It is said that a Daoist Emperor opened the Abyss Emperor City, a figure whose Destiny was recognized by the Dao Rules. Within their own Realm, a Daoist Emperor often possessed the ability to face a hundred enemies alone, which drew quite a number of Daoist Emperors to the Abyss Emperor City.
When Zhenren Ni Hai first entered the Heaven Balancing Golden Immortal Realm, he faced the oppression of a Daoist Emperor. On that day, this being, who could have roamed invincibly across the Great Thousand World, knelt like a dog in front of his oppressor, enduring humiliation.
It was not that Zhenren Ni Hai was weak, but rather that his opponent had the power to eliminate him. At the brink of collapse, he chose to beg, a memory deeply buried within his heart, not even known by the Immortal Emperor.
It was precisely because of this memory that Zhenren Ni Hai chose to leave the Abyss Emperor City.
Immortal Emperor befriended him, wanting to join the Abyss Emperor City through him. He did indeed help, but even with his assistance, it was difficult for Immortal Emperor to gain a foothold in Abyss Emperor City. To cultivate his own faction over the long years, the Immortal Emperor nurtured sixteen Innate Golden Immortals, all of exceptional caliber from various realms, seven of whom were qualified to become Daoist Emperors.
Gu An gazed at the Abyss Emperor City from afar, recalling Zhenren Ni Hai’s memories of it.
After watching for a while, he shifted his gaze in other directions.
He could feel other powerful Destinies; Abyss Emperor City was not the most powerful force in the Abyss Dao Sea.
If he had been born in the Abyss Dao Sea, he wondered how many years he would have to struggle before he could break free.
Gu An had previously followed causality to the Battle Court and then used the Daoless Celestial Net Step to arrive at the Battle Court in a few steps.
But the Abyss Dao Sea was different. The Dao Rules here were stronger, and Gu An could not use the Daoless Celestial Net Step to step out in one go, he could only come and go freely within the sea.
Suddenly, Gu An spotted a colossal creature amidst the boundless Spirit Mist—a tremendous Kun surrounded by tens of thousands of worlds, continuously radiating Spiritual Energy into these worlds.
Some of these worlds even contained the aura of the Daoist Zang Zizai Immortal.
Because the distance was too far, Gu An could not use Life Span Detection but could sense it through his Heart Eye.
This Kun was at the Heaven Balancing Golden Immortal Realm Perfection in Cultivation Level!
And in those worlds, all beings were unaware of its existence. Even powerful beings like the Daoist Zang Zizai Immortal could not jump to Outer Heaven.
Gu An felt deeply moved; one is shackled from birth, no matter the Realm one reaches, there are always worlds constraining a person.
He sat down on the spot and opened his Attribute Panel, directly investing ten billion years of Life Span into the two characters for Cultivation Level!
A prompt immediately popped up.
[You have practiced Qi Absorption Cultivation for five hundred million years, you use the Daoist Dominator Skill with Great Achievement to forcefully challenge the Daluo Dao Fruit, beginning the Crossing the Tribulation, but you did not survive the Luo Immortal Tribulation where all laws exist, resulting in a failed Crossing the Tribulation]
[You have practiced Qi Absorption Cultivation for a billion years, you use the Daoist Dominator Skill with Great Achievement to forcefully challenge the Daluo Dao Fruit, beginning the Crossing the Tribulation, but you did not survive the Luo Immortal Tribulation where all laws exist, resulting in a failed Crossing the Tribulation]
…
Daluo Dao Fruit!
Luo Immortal Tribulation where all laws exist!
Crossing the Tribulation every five hundred million years!
Gu An’s spirits surged, could the mythological Daluo Immortal really exist?
Soon, all the prompts settled down, ending in failure.
Gu An was not discouraged; he continued to invest Life Span.
Another ten billion followed after the first hundred billion!
Seconds later, Gu An still met with failure after having consumed a trillion years of Life Span.
Since he was only breaking through in Cultivation Level this time, he just needed to leave two hundred billion years of Life Span for the Life Span Barrier.
Keep going, keep going!
Today, he must achieve the Daluo Dao Fruit!
Gu An was filled with fighting spirit, ceaselessly investing Life Span.
Failure!
Failure!
Failure!
Up until the forty-eighth billion-year mark, a change finally occurred.
“You have practiced Qi Absorption Cultivation for seven billion years; with the Great Achievement of the Daoist Dominator Skill, you forcibly assailed the Daluo Dao Fruit and began Crossing the Tribulation. You have weathered the ‘All Laws Are Contained in the Luo Immortal Tribulation’. Crossing the Tribulation was successful. Your Golden Immortal Dao Fruit transformed into the Daluo Dao Fruit, and your Cultivation Level has broken through to the Early Stage of the Heaven-Opening Daluo Immortal Realm.”
“You have practiced Qi Absorption Cultivation for eight billion years; your Cultivation Level has enhanced.”
…
Gu An showed a smile, genuinely worried that his breakthrough might fail.
Although he did not utilize his Life Span for evolution and improvement prior to this breakthrough, the endless marvels of the Immortal Emperor’s Eye might have played no small part during the Tribulation.
He continued to invest Life Span, hoping to bring his Cultivation Level to the Perfection of the Heaven-Opening Daluo Immortal Realm.
However, when he had advanced to the Late Stage of the Heaven-Opening Daluo Immortal Realm, his Life Span had plummeted to two hundred billion years, scaring him from going further.
He feared being drained dry by the Life Span Barrier.
The Dao Spiritual Qi had already started pouring into his body, his physical being instantly engulfed in the radiance of the Dao Light.
Outside the Life Span Barrier, the Dao Spiritual Mist began to surge dramatically, creating ripples in the sea of boundless Spiritual Energy Mist from a macro perspective. Upon closer inspection, these ripples were tumultuous and majestic.
Phenomena emerged unpredictably; soon, various places within the Abyss Dao Sea burst with the upheaval of Spiritual Energy and the manifestations of Dao Rules.
Before Gu An could accept the inheritance memories of a Heaven-Opening Daluo Immortal, he already sensed numerous powerful Divine Senses sweeping across.
Heaven-Balancing Golden Immortal, Taiqing Golden Immortal, Taiqing Golden Immortal, Heaven-Balancing Golden Immortal…
Quietly, Gu An gauged the Cultivation Levels of these Divine Senses; the Abyss Dao Sea was indeed terrifying, far beyond what the Battle Court could match.
Yet the Battle Court was already an enormous power that the Celestial Spirit Great World could not contend with.
It wasn’t long before a continuous stream of inheritance memories emerged in Gu An’s mind, and before he could sink into them, he had only one thought.
Do not provoke the Abyss Dao Sea lightly!
When Gu An closed his eyes, the Dao Light around him dimmed suddenly, and looking up, a mysterious and colossal black bird flew over. Its body was immensely huge, each feather as gargantuan as mountains.
It took a good while for the darkness to leave Gu An.
Inside the Life Span Barrier, Gu An was unaware of this; he had fully immersed himself in the inheritance memories.
Only after about half an hour did he finally open his eyes.
He had become a Heaven-Opening Daluo Immortal!
Having attained this status, Gu An looked at the Abyss Dao Sea and suddenly felt as if it wasn’t entirely unapproachable.
His Cultivation Level continued to grow. He looked at the Life Span figures the Barrier was consuming; the numbers were jumping alarmingly, yet they posed no threat to his life and death.
The Daluo Dao Fruit was far more complex than the Golden Immortal Dao Fruit, covered in ancient paths of Dao Patterns, with the Taiqing Cyan Heaven above it beginning to truly evolve into a celestial body.
The Heavens possessed a power to regulate the three thousand Rules of Heaven and Earth, reminiscent of Destiny, of cause and effect, but if he had to give it a name, Gu An felt it was akin to the Heavenly Dao.
Gu An noticed countless figures flying overhead, swaying and endless, even more exaggerated and majestic than the previous Battle Court’s armies.
He continuously employed Life Span Detection, sensing the aura of those passing by.
Hardly any creatures from the Zi Zai Immortal Realm!
The Abyss Dao Sea also had Mortal Spirits, but they were either trapped within the Little Worlds or hidden inside Dojos, not daring to emerge and observe the phenomenon sweeping across the entire Abyss Dao Sea.
“A Daluo approaches; why not show yourself?”
A hoary voice suddenly echoed through the void; Gu An could tell the other was also a Heaven-Opening Daluo Immortal.
The foundation of the Abyss Dao Sea was profoundly deep!
He made no sound, continuing to enjoy the pleasure of his rapidly increasing Cultivation Level.
The voice did not sound again, but judging by the increasingly robust figures flying by, the other party was growing angry.
Time continued to elapse.
The Middle Stage of the Heaven-Opening Daluo Immortal Realm!
The Late Stage of the Heaven-Opening Daluo Immortal Realm!
Although many figures passed by, no creature breached his Life Span Barrier. After all, his Life Span Barrier was as insignificant as dust to this void.
Gu An noted he had only three hundred billion years of Life Span remaining and felt somewhat helpless.
Life Span was still insufficient!
Nonetheless, he had become a Heaven-Opening Daluo Immortal, at least making a gigantic leap in Great Realm; he could find another chance to break through to Perfection Realm later.
This breakthrough had taken nearly eight hundred billion years in total.
Gu An slowly stood up; he looked again at the Abyss Dao Sea, now able to perceive more.
Indeed, the Abyss Dao Sea was limitless and full of natural wonders. But the once-mighty Abyss Emperor City now seemed to have lost its powerful aura in his eyes.