https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-18-Myriad-Gu-Secret-Art-A-7000-Year-Lifespan/12573996/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-20-Spirit-Root-Transformation-Nascent-Soul-Realm-Cultivator/12574018/
Chapter 19: Lifespan Barrier, Breaking Through the Golden Core Stage
Chapter 19: Lifespan Barrier, Breaking Through the Golden Core Stage
Within the Eight Scenic Caverns, the fruit of the Azure Vine tree shone upon the cave walls, and the shimmering waves of the underground river were likewise reflected, making the caverns tranquil and aesthetically pleasing.
Gu An walked over to the Wisteria tree, turned around, placed his hands on his hips, and surveyed the area he had cultivated, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.
"A fair day's work for a fair day's pay!" Cultivating and farming were the true romance he sought!
He wanted nothing to do with the killing, scheming, and intrigue that were so common in the cultivation world. Gu An indulged in his self-satisfaction, his gaze drifting as his thoughts wandered.
He envisioned building a pavilion within the Eight Scenic Caverns, a place where he could occasionally retreat to rest.
He was still young, but in fifty or sixty years, he could follow in Cheng Xuandan's footsteps, leaving his senior disciple in charge of all affairs while he enjoyed life.
However, it was too early to think about a senior disciple. After all, Medicine Valley was his foundation, and he had to find the right person to manage everything—it couldn't just be the first person he took as a disciple.
Gu An's mind teemed with plans for the future. First, he needed to cultivate a deputy valley master!
He considered Xiao Chuan; his qualifications were lacking, but he was honest, although a bit too blunt in his speech and demeanor.
Lu Jiujia would eventually have to go to the outer sect, so he was out of the question.
Ye Lan... No, it would be better to send her away sooner rather than later, to prevent her from disrupting his cultivation of the Dao.
As for Woxin, he'd have to wait and see. And he definitely needed to recruit more disciples!
Gu An's thoughts wandered as he looked up at the ceiling.
He was curious about the fruit of the Bluevine tree. Some heavenly treasures took the form of fruits, and he wondered if plucking the fruit of the Bluevine tree alone would cause his lifespan to increase exponentially. He decided to give it a try.
Gu An leaped into the air, reaching up to grasp one of the fruits. He pulled it down and landed on the grassy ground, holding the fruit in his hand. It was about the size of a pumpkin, and he estimated it weighed around seven or eight pounds.
He took out a spirit-protecting paper from his storage bag and wrapped it around the long stem of the fruit to prevent the leakage of spiritual energy and the loss of nutrients.
These were all precious resources! About ten breaths later, a line of text appeared before his eyes:
"You have successfully obtained a Darkvine Fruit (Sixth-Rank) at the cost of 85 years of lifespan."
Wow! 85 years of lifespan! Gu An's gaze toward the Wisteria tree changed.
This was a money tree! He mustn't pull it out! He had to let it grow to its full potential and nurture it from now on! Gu An's excitement grew, and he tossed the Bluevine fruit into his storage bag. Then he counted the number of mature Bluevine fruits on the tree—there were sixteen of them, each about the same size as the one he had just picked, and the smaller ones were left untouched.
Without further ado, he set to work.
Some of the Wisteria fruits were located high up in the tree, and he had to climb to reach them.
At that moment, he longed for the ability to fly with a sword.
As a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he couldn't yet fly directly through the air, and he didn't have any other means of flying or hovering.
After much fuss, Gu An finally managed to pluck all sixteen Azure Vines fruits. In total, he had gained 1,360 years of lifespan.
His total lifespan had now reached 8,400 years!
He was getting closer and closer to the 10,000-year milestone!
Never mind! He would push on until he reached that goal. Once he accumulated 10,000 years of lifespan, he could break through to the next cultivation stage and then investigate the other seven cave entrances. After identifying all potential dangers, he could eliminate them and live a peaceful life!
With a plan in mind, Gu An set out to execute it.
The Eight Scenic Caverns were abundant with medicinal herbs, and he carefully selected the herbs according to his attribute panel, only stopping once he had accumulated a total of 10,000 years of lifespan.
Half an hour later, a prompt appeared before Gu An's eyes.
"Your lifespan has exceeded 10,000 years for the first time, unlocking the Lifespan Barrier function."
"Lifespan Barrier: Consume lifespan to activate the Lifespan Barrier, which can block all attempts at spying, perception, and deduction. The amount of lifespan consumed depends on your cultivation base and the amount of spiritual energy required."
Lifespan Barrier?
Seeing the words "consume lifespan," Gu An frowned. Wasn't this asking for his life? But after reading the explanation, he was delighted.
Previously, when he had broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage, it had caused quite a stir. If he didn't have a way to conceal his future breakthroughs, it would eventually attract unwanted attention, possibly even from the entire Tai Xuan Gate. This had been a constant worry for him.
Now, he no longer feared it!
This function was amazing!
"I like it!" Gu An chuckled as he made his way toward the cave entrance.
Once he broke through to the Golden Core stage, he would go and investigate the other cave entrances.
Although the Eight Scenic Caverns had an array formation, there might still be dangers within, so he decided to break through outside, where he could also test out the Lifespan Barrier.
No matter what lurked in the shadows, he would remain calm and collected!
By the time Gu An returned to Medicine Valley, it was already late at night.
He had moved into the pavilion where Cheng Xuandan used to reside, and it contained numerous secret manuals, pill formulas, and rare books that he intended to read through one by one.
Gu An entered the house and made his way to a wooden cabinet. This cabinet was made from a special type of wood that could preserve the spiritual energy of heavenly treasures to the greatest extent possible, as Cheng Xuandan had explained to him. There were several more cabinets like this.
He took out all the Blue Ivy fruits and placed them inside the cabinet.
Suddenly, he thought of something and took out another Blue Vine fruit, placing it on the table.
He sat down at the table, pulled out the secret history of the Qianqiu Pavilion, and began to read quietly.
It was already the middle of the night when Bailingshu finally returned.
The little spirit beast scurried up to Gu An's shoulder, its tiny eyes fixed on the Azure Vine fruit on the table.
Gu An gently picked it up and placed it back on the table, then waited for it to make its move.
Bailingshu approached the Azure Vine fruit, sniffed it, then climbed on top of it and began to nibble at it gently.
Gu An wasn't sure what effects the Azure Vine fruit had, as the Hundred Herbs Record didn't contain information about heavenly treasures above the fifth rank. He could only use Bailingshu as a test subject.
He let the little spirit beast make its own choice—after all, it was a spiritual beast, and if the Azure Vine fruit was poisonous, it should be able to sense it.
If Bailingshu couldn't smell it, Gu An would give it a proper burial.
The Darkvine Fruit was ten times bigger than the White Spirit Mouse, and it struggled to nibble on it. Gu An didn't help it.
Waiting was boring, so he might as well break through his cultivation base tonight!
Gu An stood up, left the attic, and quietly slipped out of Medicine Valley. He traveled west, trekking over mountains and across valleys for nearly twenty miles.
He first jumped to the top of a tall tree, looking around in all directions to ensure no other cultivators were nearby. Only then did he find a grassy spot between the mountains to begin his meditation.
It had been a long time since he had spent his lifespan this way, and he felt excited.
With the Lifespan Barrier in place, Gu An could now evolve his cultivation base without worry.
"Let's invest a thousand years of lifespan first to test the waters."
Gu An thought boldly, feeling wealthy with his reserve of 10,000 years of lifespan. Investing a mere thousand years was nothing!
He began to evolve his cultivation by investing a thousand years of lifespan.
["You cultivated for thirty years, and your cultivation base has broken through to the eighth layer of the Golden Core stage."]
["You cultivated for a hundred years, and your cultivation base has broken through to the ninth layer of the Golden Core stage."]
["You cultivated for one hundred and fifty years, and with your profound mastery of the Divine Wood Pure Yang Art, you forcefully attempted to breakthrough to the Dan Formation stage, undergoing tribulation. However, you failed to endure the Minor Heavenly Tribulation."]
["You cultivated for two hundred years, and with your profound mastery of the Divine Wood Pure Yang Art, you forcefully attempted to breakthrough to the Dan Formation stage, undergoing tribulation. However, you failed to endure the Minor Heavenly Tribulation."]
...
["You cultivated for four hundred and fifty years, and with your profound mastery of the Divine Wood Pure Yang Art, you forcefully attempted to breakthrough to the Dan Formation stage, undergoing tribulation. This time, you successfully endured the Minor Heavenly Tribulation, condensed a Golden Core, and entered the Dan Formation stage."]
["You cultivated for five hundred years, and your cultivation base has broken through to the second layer of the Dan Formation stage."]
["You cultivated for six hundred years, and your cultivation base has broken through to the third layer of the Dan Formation stage."]
["You cultivated for seven hundred and twenty years, and your cultivation base has broken through to the fourth layer of the Dan Formation stage."]
["You cultivated for eight hundred and fifty years, and your cultivation base has broken through to the fifth layer of the Dan Formation stage."]
["You cultivated for a thousand years, and your cultivation base has broken through to the sixth layer of the Dan Formation stage."]
Line after line of prompts flashed before Gu An's eyes.
Seeing the first six attempts at tribulation fail, Gu An was frustrated. Wasn't this a bit too harsh? Was it that difficult to pass the tribulation?
As the final prompt appeared, Gu An's body began to circulate qi on its own. He immediately sensed the impending riot of the world's spiritual energy and quickly activated the Lifespan Barrier.
["Lifespan Barrier activated. Lifespan consumed: 0 years."]
This prompt hung before his eyes, and as the spiritual energy of the world surged into his body, the number 0 instantly changed to 1.
"I hope the consumption isn't too high..."
Gu An silently prayed.
As the vast spiritual energy of the world frantically poured into his body, he felt a sense of relief and an indescribable smoothness.
This time, since he didn't move during the breakthrough, he didn't feel any pain.
With him as the center, waves of energy rose from the ground, rushing towards him from all directions. One could vaguely see an invisible barrier with a diameter of nearly fifty feet.
Gu An looked outside the barrier, and to his surprise, there wasn't a ripple of disturbance outside. The flowers, grass, and trees remained calm, seemingly unaffected by his actions.
He wondered why there was no impact. Soon, he understood.
Once the barrier was activated, the spiritual energy he absorbed during his cultivation came from deep within the earth.
This realization put him completely at ease.
Before long, his cultivation base reached the ninth layer of the Golden Core stage, and the barrier had consumed five years of his lifespan, which made him a little heartbroken.
This thing was too expensive!
It reminded him of his past experiences with certain mobile games.
One word: greedy!
As Gu An silently complained, he suddenly noticed a bright light in the distant mountains. He squinted and saw the faint silhouette of cultivators dueling.
Ten miles away.
In the sky above the mountains, Shi Yang wielded his sword, slashing out sword qi that swept through the forest like a violent wind. Leaves danced wildly in the air.
Dressed in black, Li Ya stood on top of a tree, his sword raised to block in front of him. A strong aura burst forth from his body, forming a faint golden bell-shaped shadow that deflected all of Shi Yang's sword qi.
Shi Yang's black hair danced wildly in the wind, and he wore a vicious and proud smile. "Li Ya, is this all you've got? Do you really think you can challenge the Fourth Prince? Do you even stand a chance of entering the inner sect alive?"
Li Ya's face remained cold, his eyes glancing in the direction of Medicine Valley.
This won't do!
If this continued, it would attract the attention of the people in Medicine Valley.
Li Ya didn't want to cause any trouble for Gu An and the others, so he pushed with his sword, dispersing the sword qi, and then flew in the opposite direction of Medicine Valley. Shi Yang pursued closely, and the two of them quickly disappeared at the end of the night sky.
Gu An, protected by the Lifespan Barrier, couldn't see the cultivators dueling in the distance, but he was relieved to see the lights disappear.
He dared not relax, though. While the Lifespan Barrier prevented spying, perception, and deduction, it didn't claim to make him completely undetectable. What if someone stumbled upon him by accident?
Time passed quickly as Gu An remained vigilant.
His body began to condense a Golden Core!
When the lifespan consumed by the Lifespan Barrier exceeded fifty years, he successfully formed his core!
Although the consumption of lifespan was significant, it was within Gu An's acceptable range.
Before starting, he had worried that this ability might be too detrimental and drain his lifespan all at once.
Now, his worries had vanished.
Another idea popped into his mind.
Having reached the sixth layer of the Dan Formation stage with a thousand years of investment, should he continue?
Gu An: Brothers, please vote and recommend! Also, should I keep investing?
(End of Chapter)
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