https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-74-Perhaps-You-Are-a-Genius-Jian-Kuang-Yu-Chuan-Fa/12575215/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-76-Exaggerated-Lifespan-Limits-Gu-An-Takes-on-Disciples/12575217/
Chapter 75: Breaking Through the Ninth Layer of the Fusion Realm
Chapter 75: Breaking Through the Ninth Layer of the Fusion Realm
Transmitting the Sword Technique?
Gu An's instincts resisted the offer.
He had already mastered the Tai Cang Jing Shen Sword, the Mu Ling Sword Technique, and even possessed the Hate God Heavenly Sword in his panel. He saw no need to waste more time and lifespan cultivating another sword technique.
After all, he could rely on his lifespan to deduce and upgrade his sword techniques. Why bother learning so many?
Gu An feigned difficulty and said, "Senior, I'm not interested in the path of the sword, to be precise, I'm not interested in any combat techniques. To be honest, I rarely cultivate. My interest lies in planting flowers and grasses."
Han Ming was taken aback, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.
Gu An pretended to be frightened and explained, "Senior, I'm not resisting you. You can ask anyone in the valley, they all know my temperament. My spirit root talent is limited, and rather than spending my limited lifespan on the illusory pursuit of immortality, I'd rather live freely and enjoy the short span of two hundred years."
Han Ming looked at him, silent.
Gu An also fell quiet.
He couldn't very well beg him not to teach, could he?
After a long while, Han Ming sighed, "I finally understand why you are so quick to enlightenment. Your state of mind has surpassed that of most cultivators. By letting go of attachments and experiencing the myriad facets of the human world, you may more easily grasp the true meaning of heaven and earth."
The two continued their chat about enlightenment, with Han Ming no longer insisting on teaching the sword technique.
They talked for a whole day and night before Han Ming finally took his leave.
He intended to explore the Tai Xuan Gate and search for a suitable heir to his legacy.
Gu An recommended someone—Zuolin.
As it happened, Han Ming also knew Zuo Yi Jian, so he agreed to go and assess Zuolin.
After Han Ming left, Gu An began patrolling the Third Medicine Valley.
Old Tian kept him company, his curiosity getting the better of him as he asked, "Valley Master, that senior cultivator from earlier seemed extraordinary, but his clothing clearly marked him as someone from the Great Yu Empire. What business did he have with you?"
"He wanted to take me on as his disciple and teach me the path of the sword." Gu An replied.
"And did you agree?"
"How could I? If I had agreed, wouldn't I be betraying the Tai Xuan Gate? While my abilities may be lacking, I have a loyal heart towards the Tai Xuan Gate." Gu An casually vetoed the idea, and the more casual he sounded, the more sincere he seemed to Old Tian.
Old Tian didn't think that Gu An was putting on an act. Having spent many years in this medicine valley, he had seen how Gu An conducted himself, both in his work and in his treatment of the menial disciples. Aside from his lack of enthusiasm for cultivation, Old Tian couldn't find any fault in him.
Old Tian began accompanying Gu An on his patrols, inspecting the medicinal herbs along the way, and the two chatted idly as they walked.
During their conversation, Gu An asked Old Tian about his views on the master-disciple relationship.
Old Tian, who had lived for over seven hundred years, shared his life insights, which Gu An found fascinating. He might not emulate them, but he believed there was value in listening.
Meanwhile...
News of the Great Yu Empire's Sword Maniac, Han Ming, challenging the Fu Dao Sword Sovereign spread like wildfire throughout the various cities of the Tai Xuan Gate. Everyone who heard this news couldn't help but anticipate the upcoming clash.
Han Ming was a renowned sword cultivator who shook the heavens, and the Fu Dao Sword Sovereign was the most famous cultivator of the Tai Xuan Gate at present. Everyone wanted to witness the battle between these two powerhouses.
The most crucial factor was that the disciples of the Tai Xuan Gate also wanted to catch a glimpse of the true appearance of the Fu Dao Sword Sovereign and behold his splendor.
Half a month later, when Gu An arrived at Tianya Valley, he overheard Luohun and Yiliuyun discussing this very matter.
This caused Gu An to hesitate.
Initially, he hadn't wanted to respond to the challenge, figuring that with so many experts in the Tai Xuan Gate, they wouldn't allow Han Ming to destroy the Supplementary Heaven Platform.
But now that things had blown up to such proportions, if he didn't go, wouldn't he be tarnishing his own reputation?
No, that wouldn't do.
He had to speed up his progress towards becoming stronger! Han Ming was a genius at cross-realm killing, and with his first layer of the Fusion Realm cultivation, he could fly through the air with his sword. What if something went wrong?
He had to reach the ninth layer of the Fusion Realm in advance!
Gu An thought highly of Han Ming and decided to give him a thorough defeat. Who knew, perhaps Han Ming would have another breakthrough after losing?
...
In the depths of the night, Gu An continuously flashed through the mountains, each step covering a distance of a hundred li, as he rapidly moved away from the Tai Xuan Gate, utilizing the Wuji Wuzong Xuantian Step.
Having constantly drawn on the spiritual energy of the Tai Xuan Gate, he now felt a sense of guilt, and this time he decided to go to a remote place where few people ventured to break through.
He intended to break through to the ninth layer of the Fusion Realm in one go!
Alas, the vicissitudes of life meant that someone always interrupted his plans and his rhythm of becoming stronger.
After traveling nearly twenty thousand li, Gu An finally stopped. He had reached a deep mountain where the mountain forests were filled with dense demonic and ghostly auras.
Gu An sat under a tree to meditate, directly activating his lifespan barrier.
He couldn't keep going; who knew how far he would have to travel otherwise.
Gu An began to invest a thousand years of his lifespan into his cultivation, successfully reaching the second layer of the Fusion Realm, as the earth's spiritual energy surged towards him.
Then, he continued to invest another thousand years.
A thousand years later, he added another thousand.
He kept at it until he reached the ninth layer of the Fusion Realm, investing a total of eighteen thousand years of his lifespan. After the fifth layer of the Fusion Realm, each layer required three thousand years of lifespan to break through, which was related to the spiritual energy of his surroundings.
It was acceptable; he could live with it. After all, advancing from the ninth layer of the Crossing Void Realm to the first layer of the Fusion Realm had already cost him over twelve thousand years.
With over two hundred thousand years of lifespan remaining, Gu An felt pleased, and he began to savor the improvement in his realm.
The mountains trembled, and violent winds swept in from all directions, causing green waves of energy to rise from the ground beneath Gu An's feet.
"Roar!"
A deafening roar echoed from the distance, the sound of a demonic beast howling.
Gu An's heart skipped a beat as he sensed that this demonic beast's aura was no weaker than that of a Creation Realm cultivator. How could such a fearsome creature be lurking in this area?
Fortunately, he hadn't ventured this far during his previous breakthroughs, or he might have been devoured by the demonic creature, which would have been truly unfortunate.
Soon, more demonic beasts joined in the chorus of roars, their voices rising and falling, growing in number, and converging into a cacophony that seemed intent on flipping the night sky upside down.
The night sky was cloaked in churning dark clouds, obscuring the stars and the moon, blurring the line between clouds and demonic energy.
At this moment, Gu An felt as if he were trapped in a realm of demons and evil spirits, surrounded by their shrill cries and haunting wails from all directions.
The trees in the front violently swayed as if they were about to uproot themselves at any moment.
Beyond the darkness of the mountains, a colossal mountain began to move. Through Gu An's keen eyes, he could make out the figure of a giant demon, at least three hundred zhang tall, resembling a giant turtle carrying a mountain on its back. As it moved forward, dust and debris filled the air.
Gu An noticed countless lost souls and wild ghosts circling around the mountain, like an accompanying army.
No wonder the Great Cang Empire, despite having cultivators, could not eradicate all the demons and monsters within its borders. On his journey, Gu An's spiritual sense had captured the voices of villagers, indicating that he had not yet left the Great Cang Empire.
The Great Cang Empire was vast, and Gu An felt it was even larger than Earth in his previous life. With such a vast territory, it was home to countless demons and monsters.
The other eight empires were probably not much smaller than the Great Cang Empire. Yet, according to Shen Zhen, the nine empires together only occupied a small corner of this continent.
This world was truly immense!
Countless strands of earth's spiritual energy poured into Gu An's body, causing his cultivation to continuously grow.
No wonder advancing from the first layer of the Fusion Realm to the ninth layer had cost him eighteen thousand years of his lifespan. The process required an enormous amount of spiritual energy, and Gu An suspected that the disturbance he created affected an area spanning tens of thousands of miles, and it might even reach the Tai Xuan Gate.
And this was just the ninth layer of the Fusion Realm. What would happen when he attempted to break through to even higher realms? Would it shake the entire empire?
The main reason was that he was compressing eighteen thousand years' worth of absorbed spiritual energy into a short period, resulting in an extremely large amount of extracted energy. Once the spiritual energy in this area was depleted, he would have to draw from other places, as it took time for the earth to regenerate its spiritual energy.
Never mind that!
I must break through first!
Nothing will stop me from becoming stronger!
Gu An closed his eyes, choosing to ignore the commotion around him.
...
In a spacious cave, flickering firelight cast long shadows, accentuating a large iron cauldron that stood a full zhang in diameter. A blazing fire raged beneath it, causing the soup within to boil vigorously, with bones bobbing up and down.
Near the cave wall were two human children, a boy and a girl, bound and captive. They appeared to be only twelve or thirteen years old.
The boy was frantically rubbing his wrists against a protrusion on the cave wall, his hands already bloody and his wrists showing signs of white bone. Despite the pain, he didn't flinch, and instead, his movements became faster.
The girl, kneeling on the ground, anxiously watched the cave entrance, her eyes filled with fear.
The cave trembled as a terrifying demonic wind blew in from outside, carrying the cries and howls of countless demons, sending shivers down their spines.
The extreme terror caused their lips to turn white, and their bodies shook uncontrollably.
Finally, the boy managed to grind through the ropes binding his wrists. He quickly untied himself and then turned to free the girl.
However, the ropes binding the girl were too tight, and despite his efforts, he lacked the strength to loosen them.
"Urgh—"
A deep, raspy breath sounded from outside the cave, resembling the croak of a giant toad. The boy's movements froze, and despair filled his eyes.
He glanced at the curved passageway ahead, and on the cave wall, a massive, corpulent figure appeared, causing both their faces to drain of color.
Suddenly!
As if pulled by some unseen force, the corpulent figure vanished.
Immediately after, crisp, loud chewing noises echoed from outside, causing the boy to press himself against the wall, his hand clamped over his mouth to muffle any sound.
The bound girl closed her eyes, unwilling to look toward the cave entrance.
...
The earth's spiritual energy began to sink, causing the demons to scatter and flee in all directions. This night was destined to be anything but peaceful.
Two hours later, Gu An's cultivation had only reached the sixth layer of the Fusion Realm. He predicted that it would take until dawn for him to attain the ninth layer.
Compared to his previous breakthroughs, his absorption of spiritual energy was now several times faster. However, the time required for the breakthrough had also lengthened.
Normally, cultivators at the Fusion Realm wouldn't create such a commotion when breaking through. This was because they gradually accumulated their cultivation over time, rather than consuming the spiritual energy needed for hundreds or thousands of years of future cultivation in a short span.
Gu An patiently waited.
Time passed swiftly.
At dawn, the first rays of sunlight pierced the sky, but it was obscured by thick demonic clouds. The mountains were enveloped in demonic energy, resembling swirling mists.
Seated under a tree, Gu An suddenly opened his eyes.
The ninth layer of the Fusion Realm, achieved!
At this level, he could distinctly feel his spiritual sense and senses greatly enhanced. He even felt his heart condensing spiritual power, as if something was about to take form within it.
The rate at which he absorbed the earth's spiritual energy began to slow, but Gu An felt that he had become a hundred times stronger than before.
The ninth layer of the Fusion Realm was far superior to the first layer!
Gu An didn't believe that a cultivator at the first layer of the Fusion Realm could kill him by crossing the boundaries of their cultivation levels!
As soon as this thought formed, he broke out in a cold sweat.
Almost lost my Dao heart!
I must not think this way. Those who were killed by opponents of lower realms probably had this mindset!
He must not underestimate anyone and always be prepared for the possibility of being defeated. Only then could he give it his all!
(End of Chapter)
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