Chapter 421: The Limits of the Universe

Chapter 421: The Limits of the Universe

Emperor Apex!

Gu Qingfeng looked at the remaining four million improvement points and then used another million to enhance the Celestial Vein True Sutra to its fifth level, thus forming his fifth Celestial Vein.

With the enhancement of the Celestial Vein True Sutra, the fifth Celestial Vein materialized within his body.

However, this time, no extraordinary phenomena accompanied the enhancement, unlike when Gu Qingfeng previously broke through to Emperor Apex.

Only Gu Qingfeng himself knew how the appearance of the fifth Celestial Vein would change him.

"Five Celestial Veins!"

"Fivefold enhancement!"

"With my current Emperor Apex cultivation, if I use the Celestial Vein True Sutra to enhance myself fivefold, how much of a gap would there still be between me and a true Celestial Sovereign?"

Gu Qingfeng pondered.

Without truly facing a Celestial Sovereign, he couldn't be entirely certain of the gap between them.

Although he could feel the overwhelming power of a Celestial Sovereign from the remnants of one, feeling and actual combat were vastly different.

At the same time, after breaking through to Emperor Apex, Gu Qingfeng could sense the suppression from the chaotic universe.

This suppression was like an invisible shackle, making it difficult for him to achieve further breakthroughs.

Moreover, in Gu Qingfeng's perception, he seemed to see the existence of the Immortal Gate. If he wished, he could make it truly appear in the world.

Another point.

Gu Qingfeng looked into the void, where the Three Thousand Dao paths were presented, and the power of order and rules filled his vision, emanating a daunting aura.

"The limits of this universe can only accommodate the Great Earth Realm. Once someone breaks through to the Celestial Sovereign Realm, they will be forcibly expelled and enter the Immortal Realm.

As for a Celestial Sovereign from the Immortal Realm entering the lower universe, it's not that simple.

The Celestial Sovereign from the Immortal Realm who descended to the lower realm in the past and was ultimately slain must have been related to this!"

Gu Qingfeng mused.

Many things he couldn't see before became clear after reaching Emperor Apex.

Emperor Apex!

This was the limit of the universe.

This meant that even if Gu Qingfeng used the Attribute Panel to advance to the Celestial Sovereign Realm, he would still be expelled from this universe and enter the Immortal Realm.

Furthermore, the most important point was the inheritance.

Without the corresponding Celestial Sovereign inheritance, Gu Qingfeng would need at least one billion improvement points to break through the barrier and reach a higher level.

One billion improvement points!

What a concept!

To be honest, Gu Qingfeng had only about ten million improvement points in total.

One billion improvement points.

It would take at least ten to a hundred times longer to accumulate.

An Emperor's lifespan is twelve thousand years, which is insufficient to support such a long time.

Unless.

Gu Qingfeng followed the path of other Emperors and sealed himself in the Forbidden Zones to avoid the passage of time.

However, not only had the Forbidden Zones of the Huanggu Realm been thoroughly cleared by Gu Qingfeng, but his current strength made it difficult for him to use the Forbidden Zones to evade Heaven's Path.

The stronger one was, the harder it was to conceal oneself.

In the past, some Emperors, to obscure their fate and deceive Heaven's Path, would self-inflict a wound, reducing their strength to a lower level, thus surviving.

However, Gu Qingfeng's strength far exceeded that of other Emperors. Even if he self-inflicted a wound, it would be difficult for him to seal himself away.

Moreover, he had reached this level of cultivation not to hide in the Forbidden Zones.

Such a choice was not what Gu Qingfeng desired.

"The Forbidden Zones are impossible to enter. Since I cannot break through to the Celestial Sovereign Realm, I must accumulate as much strength as possible in the Great Earth Realm.

The supreme existence who established the Huanggu Realm and slew a Celestial Sovereign from the Immortal Realm was likely not a Celestial Sovereign but an Emperor. This shows that a Celestial Sovereign is not invincible."

To enhance his strength without breaking through to the Celestial Sovereign Realm, the simplest method was to integrate the power of other Emperor Sutras, pushing himself to the limits of the Emperor Realm.

Although he had already reached Emperor Apex, Gu Qingfeng knew that he had not fully tapped into his potential in the Great Earth Realm.

After understanding the limits of this chaotic universe, Gu Qingfeng realized that the supreme existence who established the Huanggu Realm and slew a Celestial Sovereign from the Immortal Realm was also an Emperor.

The difference was that this Emperor far surpassed other Emperors.

This meant that there was still a lot of room for improvement within the Emperor Realm.

What Gu Qingfeng needed to do was truly push himself to the limits of the Great Earth Realm.

Emperor Sutra!

Gu Qingfeng has no shortage of them.

He has swept through numerous Forbidden Zones and slain countless ancient Emperors, naturally amassing a fair number of Emperor Sutras in the process. However, most of these sutras are on par with the Depth Sutra. Only three Emperor Sutras can truly rival the Ancient Divine King Sutra.

Those three Emperor Sutras are the Tai Xuan Immortal Sutra, the Blood Demon Emperor Sutra, and the Desolate Ancient Era Dao Sutra!

Among them, the Blood Demon Emperor Sutra was left behind by the Blood Demon Emperor. In the ancient era, the Blood Demon Emperor had already reached the peak of the Emperor realm. However, to seal himself away, he inflicted a self-inflicted wound and hid in the Yunxian Forbidden Zone to avoid the Path of Heaven.

After Gu Qingfeng slew the Blood Demon Emperor, he naturally inherited the latter's legacy.

With this thought, Gu Qingfeng looked at his inventory and saw a jade vial suddenly appear in his hand.

As soon as the stopper was removed, a terrifying aura burst forth from the vial. However, this aura was no longer a concern for the current Gu Qingfeng.

"Celestial Sovereign's Blood!"

"The blood contains the essence of the Celestial Sovereign's Dao, and it might be possible to reverse-engineer the Celestial Sovereign's legacy from it. Even if that's not possible, I can use the Celestial Sovereign's Blood to refine my own bloodline, allowing it to undergo another transformation!"

Gu Qingfeng gazed at the Celestial Sovereign's Blood, his eyes flickering with determination.

The power of the Celestial Sovereign's Blood is unquestionable.

The reason why the Huanggu Realm has produced so many Emperors is closely tied to the Celestial Sovereign's bloodline.

After the war between the Divine Realm and the Otherworld, Gu Qingfeng learned much about the Otherworld from his information panel and the Shadow Guard.

While it may seem that there are few Da Di realm powerhouses in the Huanggu Realm, if we consider the ancient era, there have been at least several hundred Emperors.

Gu Qingfeng alone has slain no fewer than a hundred ancient Emperors in the various Forbidden Zones.

On the other side, in the Otherworld, the number of Emperors can be counted on one hand.

The difficulty of reaching the Emperor realm in the Otherworld is far greater than in the Huanggu Realm.

This cannot help but be linked to the Celestial Sovereign's Blood.

Similarly, the You Mo Realm also has a significant number of Emperors, though whether it can match the Huanggu Realm, Gu Qingfeng is unsure.

However—

Before this, Gu Qingfeng emerged from his seclusion once.

After a three-hundred-year seclusion, he needed a break.

Balancing work and rest is the way of cultivation.

…

When Gu Qingfeng emerged from seclusion, the entire Gu family was in a state of excitement.

Many of the younger generations came to pay their respects.

Looking at the sea of people below, Gu Qingfeng smiled.

"Excellent. In three hundred years, the Gu family's bloodline has grown significantly!"

Before his seclusion, the Gu family had only one hundred and eighty members. Now, the Gu family's bloodline has grown to no fewer than five hundred.

In just three hundred years, the Gu family has added hundreds of descendants.

Gu Qingfeng was naturally very satisfied with this result.

The higher one's cultivation, the more difficult it is to have offspring. However, as the number of the Gu family's bloodline increases, the number of descendants will only grow.

If the Gu family can break through to five hundred members in three hundred years, then in three thousand years, they might reach five thousand, or even ten thousand.

In that case, the Gu family will become even more powerful.

For the next half-year, Gu Qingfeng stayed with the Gu family, occasionally guiding the younger generations in their cultivation, greatly benefiting many of them.

At his level, Gu Qingfeng's insight far surpasses that of other cultivators. He can see through the essence with a single glance, and a few words can enlighten others.

"Lord, I pay my respects!"

In the Gu family, Gu Peng's expression was respectful.

Looking at the person before him, Gu Qingfeng felt a touch of emotion.

"Three hundred years have passed, and your cultivation hasn't improved much."

To Gu Qingfeng, Gu Peng, who has always been by his side, is different from others.

Three hundred years had passed.

Gu Peng's cultivation had reached the ninth level of the Dao Palace Stage, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes had disappeared, making him look much younger.

This was to be expected.

The Dao Palace Stage grants a lifespan of six thousand years, and Gu Peng is still less than five hundred years old, so he naturally doesn't look old.

Hearing Gu Qingfeng's words, Gu Peng shook his head with a bitter smile. "My talent is limited, and reaching the ninth level of the Dao Palace Stage is already a result of Lord's blessings. Although the hope of becoming a Sage is faint, I am content!"

Gu Peng was not lying.

As the steward of the Gu family, even though he is only at the ninth level of the Dao Palace Stage, he still commands respect from Sage realm aspirants.

Moreover, if it weren't for Gu Qingfeng's favor, let alone reaching the Dao Palace Stage, even breaking through to the Divine Transformation Realm or the Grandmaster level would be a challenge.

Naturally, Gu Peng had no reason to be dissatisfied.

Upon hearing this, Gu Qingfeng shook his head and then flicked his finger. A drop of blood shot out from his fingertip and instantly entered Gu Peng's body.

In that instant, a terrifying aura burst forth from Gu Peng, but it quickly subsided.

"Lord of the Manor..."

Gu Peng's face was filled with shock, seemingly taken aback by what had just happened.

Gu Qingfeng said, "I have left a drop of my blood within you. This imperial blood can gradually alter your bloodline, thereby enhancing your innate talent. Focus on refining it, and achieving sagehood will not be a problem. As for how far you can go, that depends on your own fate."

As he spoke, Gu Qingfeng waved his sleeve, and a brocade box landed in front of Gu Peng.

"Inside is an Eternal Life Immortal Herb. Keep it. If you cannot break through to the imperial level and achieve immortality, you can consume this herb to live another life."

"Thank you, Lord of the Manor!"

Gu Peng's expression was complex, his hand trembling as he held the brocade box. A thousand words welled up in his throat, but in the end, they all condensed into this one phrase.

Gu Peng knew very well that such a favor rendered any words pale and superfluous. Both the imperial blood and the Eternal Life Immortal Herb were invaluable treasures. Now that Gu Qingfeng had bestowed them upon him, how could he not be grateful?

"Go. While I am away, take care of the Gu family's affairs."

"This is my duty, and I will do my utmost!"

Gu Peng bowed respectfully and retreated.

Then, Gu Qingfeng looked outside the Gu family compound. In the twenty-zhang-wide Heavenly River, a school of fish swam, with the Crimson Carp Sovereign leading them. Compared to three hundred years ago, it seemed to have changed little.

But only Gu Qingfeng could see that the Crimson Carp Sovereign had already reached the ninth tier of the Demon General stage, equivalent to the ninth tier of the Dao Palace Stage.

One more step, and it would break through to the Sage level.

At this level, it could be called a Demon Sovereign.

The Crimson Carp Sovereign had been able to advance so quickly because, three hundred years ago, Gu Qingfeng had infused a strand of imperial blood into its body. That strand of imperial blood directly altered the Crimson Carp Sovereign's bloodline, transforming it into a flawed imperial bloodline.

Although the bloodline was flawed, it still bore the imperial mark, making it extraordinary.

Because of this, the Crimson Carp Sovereign had managed to advance from the Demon Officer stage to the ninth tier of the Demon General stage in just three hundred years. It was likely only one step away from reaching the Sage level, becoming a Demon Sovereign on par with a Sage.

Given the current situation, the Crimson Carp Sovereign's breakthrough would not take too long.

"Sage-level spirit beasts are rare in the Huanggu Realm. If we continue to cultivate it, it might truly become a significant asset for the Gu family!"

Gu Qingfeng smiled, curious about the Crimson Carp Sovereign's future.

Originally, he had not paid much attention to this spirit beast, keeping it only out of a passing interest.

But as the Crimson Carp Sovereign's cultivation grew deeper, Gu Qingfeng could see more of its potential.

Spirit beasts were different from others. Their lifespans were often much longer than those of cultivators of the same level.

Even a spirit beast at the Enlightenment Realm level, equivalent to the Body Refinement Realm, can live for five hundred years, and if it reaches the Sage level, its lifespan can extend to fifty thousand years, far surpassing that of an emperor, whereas a demon emperor at the Empire Aspirant level can live for two hundred thousand years.

From this, it is clear that a sufficiently powerful spirit beast can protect a family for generations!"

Gu Qingfeng recalled all the information he knew about spirit beasts.

Although spirit beasts and demons were similar in terms of cultivation levels, their lifespans were vastly different. Demons had lifespans similar to those of humans, while spirit beasts lived much longer.

As for spirit beasts on par with emperors, Gu Qingfeng did not know how long they could live. In the Huanggu Realm, the highest-level spirit beast to date had reached the Empire Aspirant level and lived for two hundred thousand years, making it a living fossil.

There were no spirit beasts at the You Di level.

This was understandable. Cultivating a powerful spirit beast required a vast amount of resources, which even imperial clans might not be able to afford.

Though it seemed Gu Qingfeng had not paid much attention to the Crimson Carp Sovereign, the Gu family had invested a great deal of resources in its cultivation.

Imperial blood was a resource, too!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end