https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-41-Supreme-Celestial-Spirit-Root-Breakthrough-to-the-Spirit-Transformation-Realm/12575084/
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Chapter 42: Breakthrough to the Void Realm, Attack of the Demon Lord
Chapter 42: Breakthrough to the Void Realm, Attack of the Demon Lord
Gu An did not continue to absorb celestial energy to improve his cultivation. He wanted to wait until he reached the first layer of the Void Realm before proceeding. He was afraid that absorbing celestial energy would take too long, and the sun would rise before he finished.
If his disciples discovered he wasn't in the valley, it would spell trouble.
As a series of prompts appeared, Gu An distinctly felt the spiritual energy in the earth surging wildly.
A thunderous boom shook the ground, sending waves of spiritual energy that tugged at his robe and ruffled his black hair.
His body remained firmly rooted, as if chained to the ground, because the spiritual energy had already seeped into his body.
This time, the commotion from absorbing spiritual energy far exceeded that of his previous breakthrough to the Nascent Soul realm. Even the ground beneath Gu An's feet was trembling.
He secretly rejoiced that he had the Life Span Barrier; otherwise, there was no way he could have concealed his cultivation progress.
However, a new worry emerged. He wondered if such a disturbance would affect the Tai Xuan Gate.
After activating the Life Span Barrier, the spiritual energy did not appear out of thin air but was drawn from the depths of the earth—specifically, from the spiritual energy reserves of the Tai Xuan Gate.
Gu An formed a new hypothesis.
He wondered if the speed of his cultivation in the Life Span Evolution was related to the richness of the spiritual energy in his current environment. He felt that this was very likely, especially when he thought about Li Xuandao. It was simply too unbelievable that Li Xuandao, at the age of 230, had reached the eighth layer of the Tribulation Transcendence realm.
Upon further reflection, Gu An acknowledged the vast gap between himself and Li Xuandao. If Li Xuandao also possessed a supreme elemental spirit root, his advantages would far surpass those of Gu An.
As an emperor, Li Xuandao had access to the highest-grade caves, the finest cultivation pills, and undoubtedly the top cultivation techniques.
In addition, there were also array formations, magical artifacts, and other resources that might have contributed to Li Xuandao's rapid success in transcending tribulations.
Previously, when Zuo Yijian underwent his tribulation, many cultivators had taken advantage of the array. Others were usually well-prepared when facing tribulations, but Zuo Yijian, who was cultivating through evolution, simply endured it. In reality, if he died, that would be the end of his journey, and he wouldn't have the opportunity to repeat it every two hundred years.
When comparing his evolutionary cultivation to Li Xuandao's, Gu An seemed far inferior. But such a comparison wasn't entirely fair.
In reality, Gu An was a 34-year-old at the first layer of the Void Realm! Could Li Xuandao reach the Void Realm before the age of 300?
Was there anyone else in this world like him, cultivating naked and enduring tribulations without any external assistance?
As these thoughts crossed Gu An's mind, he felt much more at peace. The lifespan he had invested in his cultivation was ultimately just a number; it was the tangible progress in his cultivation that truly mattered!
At the same time, he considered whether he should cultivate a different attribute of the cultivation technique or find a five-element technique to practice. That way, he might be able to better tap into the potential of his supreme five-element spirit root.
——Boom! Boom! Boom!——
The sound of the earth's spiritual energy rushing into his body grew louder and louder, and a cyclone had formed inside the barrier, with five-colored spiritual energy threatening to engulf his figure.
...
Dark clouds gathered, gradually obscuring the moon.
In a mansion, within a small pavilion, a white-haired Zuo Yijian sat in a chair next to a table. He held a book in his hands, on the cover of which the words "The Investiture of the Gods" could be faintly seen.
"Golden light at the top splits into five colors, beneath the feet a red lotus chases ten thousand paths, the Eight Trigrams immortal robe brings purple qi, and the three-pronged treasure sword is called Qingping..."
Zuo Yijian mumbled to himself, his face reflecting the fond memories the book evoked.
He had been obsessed with "The Investiture of the Gods" for several years, reading it over and over again, always finding something new to appreciate. Although the book did not contain cultivation techniques, the descriptions of the immortal techniques performed by the celestial beings filled him with longing.
He felt that this book contained profound truths, but he had not yet attained the insight to fully understand them.
Just then, Zuo Yijian seemed to sense something. He abruptly turned and looked down at the ground.
The night was quiet and cold, and the wind blew fiercely.
The wind grew louder.
The candle flame on the oil lamp on the table flickered violently, as if it might go out at any moment.
He was not alone in his reaction. Disciples flew out of their mansions and courtyards in all directions, gathering in the sky above the outer sect's city.
"What's going on? The spiritual energy is sinking!"
"You feel it too?"
"Do you think there's a demon invasion?"
"It shouldn't be. This is the Tai Xuan Gate. Who would dare to come here to die?"
"Could it be that a large array is being activated underground?"
The outer sect disciples discussed their theories, and Ye Lan also flew out of her courtyard, her eyes anxiously scanning the outer sect streets.
The night was dim, and more and more cultivators were arriving in the sky, while the menial disciples who didn't know how to fly gathered in the streets, their faces filled with dread.
Everyone could feel the spiritual energy sinking into the ground, something they had never experienced before, and so they were naturally alarmed.
What worried them the most was that the rate at which the spiritual energy was sinking was increasing, causing the spiritual energy in the outer sect's city to rapidly thin out.
Spiritual energy was of paramount importance to any major sect, and the foundation of a major sect included its spiritual energy reserves.
...
In the mountains, Gu An had entered the Tribulation Transcendence realm. His Nascent Soul emerged from his body and hovered above his head.
In the Nascent Soul realm, one could condense a Nascent Soul, but usually, it could not leave the body. Once it did, it would sever its connection with the physical body. Therefore, only when facing imminent death would a cultivator in the Nascent Soul realm allow their Nascent Soul to leave their body in search of a new one to possess.
In the Tribulation Transcendence realm, the Nascent Soul could transform into a primordial spirit. The primordial spirit was a manifestation of the soul, and its detachment from the body was a unique ability of the Tribulation Transcendence realm. Unlike the Nascent Soul, the primordial spirit's detachment did not sever its connection with the physical body. Below this realm, one could not see the primordial spirit unless it chose to reveal itself.
As Gu An's primordial spirit was cultivated within the Nascent Soul, he also underwent a profound transformation in his spiritual sense.
Gu An was immersed in this change as his Nascent Soul gradually transformed into a blue lotus, blooming before his very eyes. From within, his primordial spirit slowly rose to its feet, appearing identical to his physical body, even down to the clothes he wore.
The transformation didn't stop at the Primordial Spirit Realm, and Gu An continued to push for higher realms. The amount of spiritual energy he devoured grew more and more massive, and he noticed that even the mountains and forests outside the barrier had begun to tremble slightly.
This made him even more anxious.
It's too much of a ruckus! Gu An dared not venture out of the Life Span Barrier with his primordial spirit for fear of encountering Primordial Spirit Realm cultivators scouting the area.
There must be Primordial Spirit Realm cultivators in Tai Xuan Gate. After all, some of the powerful elders in the outer sect had already reached the Nascent Soul realm, let alone the inner sect and the main sect's headquarters.
He even suspected that there might be Void Refinement Realm cultivators hiding within Tai Xuan Gate; otherwise, why would Li Xuandao, a Primordial Spirit Realm cultivator at the eighth layer, conceal his true cultivation level?
Time continued to pass.
An hour later, Gu An's cultivation had reached the ninth layer of the Primordial Spirit Realm.
Suddenly, two figures flashed across the night sky, and as his mortal eyes made out their features, he immediately sent out a lifespan probe.
Wow!
Two Nascent Soul realm cultivators! Gu An's anxiety heightened, and he could only pray that no one had noticed this area of the mountains.
The Life Span Barrier could hide his presence from outsiders, but he feared that someone might just happen to pass by this spot.
After that, more powerful cultivators flew overhead, the weakest of them being at the Nascent Soul realm.
Before long, he even caught sight of cultivators in the Primordial Spirit Realm, and not just one! Gu An felt like he had broken through the heavens, especially since he was currently attempting to break through to the Void Refinement Realm, which required an even greater amount of spiritual energy.
This night was destined to be an eventful one.
It wasn't until the sky just began to brighten that Gu An's cultivation progress finally slowed down.
Void Refinement Realm, first layer! Upon reaching this realm, one's primordial spirit could travel thousands of miles away from the body, and their spiritual power, spiritual sense, perception, and qi would all undergo a qualitative leap.
Gu An slowly stood up, and as the sun pierced through the sky, its rays shone into the Life Span Barrier and illuminated his body, making it seem as if he were clad in a layer of rosy light. He turned towards the sunrise, a smile spreading across his face.
The spiritual power within him was immense, giving him a sense of omnipotence.
He deactivated the Life Span Barrier and then began walking towards Xuan Valley.
Just the Life Span Barrier alone had consumed nearly two thousand years' worth of lifespan, which showed just how much spiritual energy he had absorbed the night before.
As his breakthrough came to an end, the world returned to normal, but the spiritual energy in the mountains and forests was far less abundant than it had been the previous day.
Even Gu An, now a Void Refinement Realm cultivator, couldn't estimate how much spiritual energy he had absorbed.
On his way back, Gu An saw more great cultivators flying overhead. From the previous night until now, he had spotted seven Primordial Spirit Realm cultivators, which made him marvel at the depth of Tai Xuan Gate's foundations.
He quickly returned to Xuan Valley and then exited the pavilion. He called out to his disciples to begin their morning exercises.
"Master, did you sense that last night, the spiritual energy suddenly sank?" Ye Yan asked, his brows furrowed with concern.
The other disciples chimed in, having felt it as well, and they were worried that Xuan Valley might suddenly collapse.
Gu An laughed and said, "This is Tai Xuan Gate, the safest place in the entire Tai Cang Empire. How could it possibly collapse?"
Hearing this, the disciples' worries eased considerably.
Wu Xin speculated, "It's probably related to some kind of array formation. I suspect a powerful cultivator in the sect must have broken through and needed a large amount of spiritual energy."
It was clear that he had encountered something similar in the Thousand Autumn Pavilion, but he couldn't speak of it openly.
"Master, I feel like there's something different about you today," Zhen Qin said, staring at Gu An curiously.
Gu An shot her a glance and said impatiently, "You think I'm different every day. If you want me to teach you some leg techniques, just say so directly."
The other disciples couldn't help but chuckle, and Zhen Qin also smiled sheepishly.
The morning exercises began, and during the process, Gu An also familiarized himself with his newfound spiritual power.
After the exercises were over, Gu An didn't return to his room but instead headed towards the nearby mountains and forests.
In order to break through to the next realm, he had consumed a large number of medicinal herbs, and as a result, the harvest for the next two years would be affected. He could only open up new fields and expand the gardens.
Sigh.
A mighty Void Refinement Realm cultivator like myself is reduced to planting flowers and herbs for you all. Tai Xuan Gate should consider itself lucky!
Gu An thought smugly to himself as he entered the mountains. Just then, another cultivator flew overhead, which reassured the disciples in the valley that Tai Xuan Gate was indeed paying attention to the situation and wouldn't neglect them.
It wasn't until noon that Ye Lan returned to Xuan Valley.
After chatting with the disciples for a while, she finally managed to extricate herself from their enthusiastic greetings and followed Gu An up to the pavilion.
Once inside, she closed the door and then proceeded to close the windows as well. Not stopping there, she even took out talismans and pasted them on the doors and windows.
Gu An watched her anxiously and asked, "Sister Ye, what are you doing?"
What should I do? To do or not to do?
After taking all these precautions, Ye Lan finally sat down at the table and poured herself a cup of tea. "Brother Gu, something big has happened. It's possible that the Demon Lord is about to attack!"
Gu An was taken aback and sat down as well, asking curiously, "Who is this Demon Lord? Which sect does he belong to?"
(End of Chapter)
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