Chapter 303: Fighting Will, Gu An's Hostility |
Seeing the prompt about Reincarnation Evolution, Gu An hesitated.
If it had been before, he would’ve definitely exposed the crimes of the third branch concubines and demanded justice for himself. But Chu Lu's short-lived fate had left a psychological shadow on him.
Even though lifespan reincarnation was just a simulation and wouldn’t harm his real body, he was still putting ten million years of lifespan on the line.
And the prompt was vague. He couldn’t analyze the situation in detail—he didn’t know the background or power of those concubines. What if revealing the truth brought about disaster?
Forget it. Better to hold back for now. It felt unjust, but at least he didn’t personally go through it.
[You chose not to reveal that you were poisoned by the third branch concubines. The turmoil in the Duke Xiao's residence was thus resolved.]
[At age eight, you began practicing swordsmanship. During training, you accidentally cut down a Spirit Herb, gaining eight years of lifespan. From then on, your path of cultivation took a turn.]
[At age twelve, through Reincarnation Evolution, your cultivation broke through to the Nascent Soul Stage.]
[At seventeen, the Da Ming Sacred Dynasty was besieged by the Three Dynasties. As the land fell into ruin, you fled south with the Xiao family, constantly facing ambushes and battles. Your lifespan grew rapidly.]
[Do you save the man or the woman? Kill the man or the woman?]
Save neither. Kill neither!
Gu An didn’t hesitate with his decision.
[You didn’t make a move. You watched the two die, and after they passed, you took the storage pouches from their bodies.]
Seeing that line, Gu An nearly burst out cursing.
Why did he have to be so damn nosy?
The next few years were filled with fleeing and fighting.
Until...
[At age twenty-seven, a Grand Ascension Elder from the Dayan Sect tracked you down, suspecting you of killing his descendant. Since you had his son’s storage pouch, you denied everything, but he still tried to kill you. The battle ended with both sides severely wounded, and you got separated from your family.]
Fighting a Grand Ascension Stage cultivator at twenty-seven? Xiao Shengtian really had something special going on.
Dude had a wild path.
Gu An was impressed. He could only see rough outlines—he didn’t know how many enemies Xiao Shengtian had actually taken down.
[At age thirty, you joined Luo Qing Sect and began cultivating in earnest.]
[At age forty-five, the Xiao family was massacred. Upon hearing the news, you were devastated and started investigating the culprit.]
[At age fifty, after five years of investigation, you discovered the force behind the massacre was the Li Family of the Eastern Profound Region. You left Luo Qing Sect alone and headed east.]
Seeing the words “Eastern Profound Region,” Gu An had a bad feeling.
Why the hell did his family get wiped out again?
Come to think of it, Gu An didn’t have any relatives in this life—he lived alone in the Ji Residence. Was this fate or what?
[At age sixty, you took part in the Eastern Profound Sacred Mansion’s secret realm trial, sweeping through the geniuses of the region and making a name for yourself.]
[At age seventy, you cultivated the Heaven’s Gang Sacred Body within the Eastern Profound Sacred Mansion. The Mansion Lord took a great liking to you and wanted to marry his daughter to you. Do you accept?]
Nope!
[You rejected the Mansion Lord’s offer. He took you in as a disciple instead and gave you full support from the Eastern Profound Sacred Mansion.]
Seeing this, Gu An smiled.
Now that’s more like it!
What followed was years of cultivation. Xiao Shengtian kept improving his physique, techniques, and divine abilities. There weren’t many choices, and he only focused on one path in each category.
Years flew by.
[At age 137, you competed in the Five Regions Sacred Tournament and, with absolute dominance, earned the title of strongest prodigy of the era. The Heaven’s Gang Sacred Body became renowned across the Heavenly Great Realm.]
[At age 138, you encountered cultivators of the Li Family during your travels. Fueled by blood-deep hatred, conflict erupted. A mysterious Free Soaring Immortal attacked you. You nearly died but were saved in the nick of time by a cultivator named Xuanhu Zhenren.]
[At age 139, before your injuries fully healed, the Li Family attacked again, determined to end your life. Xuanhu Zhenren used up his true essence and powerful divine ability to send you and his children into a spatial rift. The three of you fell into the Dark Great Realm.]
[At age 140, Xuanhu Zhenren’s son succumbed to the invasion of dark forces, perished, and became a dark wraith. You and his sister searched for him.]
[At age 142, you two still failed to escape the Dark Great Realm. Xuanhu Zhenren’s daughter was also corrupted, turning into a dark wraith. Enraged, you began slaughtering dark wraiths across the realm.]
[At age 143, you encountered the Black Profound Emperor of the Dao Void Celestial Stage. Your soul was destroyed by him.]
[Reincarnation ends.]
What the h*ll?
That damn Black Profound Emperor again!
How the f*** did he reach the Dao Void Celestial Stage this time?
Gu An's eyes widened in rage, completely unable to suppress the fire in his chest.
If the Black Profound Emperor had the ability of Lifespan Perception, he’d definitely be sensing a fierce surge of hatred from Gu An right now.
That bastard had ganked him twice—how was he supposed to let that slide?
Gu An instantly vanished from his room, teleporting to the seafloor of another world. Then he activated his Lifespan Barrier.
A torrent of memories surged into his mind.
One hour later.
Gu An opened his eyes, a complex look on his face.
Xiao Shengtian's life was even more brilliant than Chu Lu's—filled with glory, vengeance, and bold action. He was hailed as the most gifted of his time and had met many beauties along the way.
Unfortunately, he still died.
From his memories, Gu An realized how terrifying the Dark Great Realm was. It was even larger than the entire Heavenly Great Realm. You couldn’t fly out. The skies were dim and boundless—it felt like there was no escape. A mysterious force known as Dark Power gnawed away at him constantly.
If not for the strength of the Heaven’s Gang Sacred Body, Xiao Shengtian might not have lasted long enough to even meet the Black Profound Emperor.
Gu An had to admit—this guy at the Dao Void Celestial Stage was seriously terrifying. Not only did he inherit Xiao Shengtian’s memories, he could feel what it was like.
When the Black Profound Emperor killed him, he even seemed to deliberately preserve the physical body.
The thought of his body being used by that freak made Gu An deeply uncomfortable.
He had no idea where the Dark Great Realm was or whether time synced properly between the realms. But if they ever met again, and if the Black Profound Emperor’s cultivation level was lower than his…
He'd make sure the bastard tasted pure despair.
Only 143 years in this second Reincarnation Evolution?
Freakin’ annoying.
Still, the gains were significant. Although the Heaven’s Gang Sacred Body wasn’t as strong as his Primal Supreme Dao Body, he could pass it on to a disciple in the future.
But the real prize was Xiao Shengtian’s Battle Will.
This will grew stronger as the body sustained damage—allowing overwhelming power bursts. Within the same realm, it could crush all foes. Even against stronger enemies, there was a real chance to turn the tables.
For Gu An, this Battle Will would shine best during tribulations.
With it, wouldn’t enduring the trials during Reincarnation Cultivation become easier?
He sighed deeply, wondering just who was stronger now—his Dao Void Celestial Stage self or the Black Profound Emperor?
With all his supreme arts, he was itching to fight that bastard.
He vanished from the seafloor and returned to the Third Medicine Valley's attic.
Though the memory fusion caused some disturbance, it wasn’t nearly as intense as his past breakthroughs.
Sitting in a chair, Gu An suddenly had the urge to do another round.
But no more Dark Great Realm! No need to keep butting heads with the Black Profound Emperor.
Forget it.
His luck sucked right now!
During Reincarnation Evolution, Gu An could only make decisions at key junctures. He had no control over how his simulated self acted. In other words, the process was entirely unknown.
And with the unknown… you had to rely on mysticism!
Besides, he still had to break through. Can’t afford to get carried away and mess that up.
Gu An picked up Adventures of the Green Hero and flipped a few pages, letting his thoughts drift away.
This book was seriously amazing!
Even if Xuantian Yi died right now, just for writing this, he was a saint in Gu An’s heart.
As for the news of the Grand Cold Demon Sect being annihilated by the Sword Sovereign of the Righteous Path, it continued to spread wildly, further boosting the Sword Sovereign’s fame.
In the blink of an eye, half a year had passed, and the year-end arrived.
Snow blanketed the world in white, covering everything in desolate silence.
Gu An was writing in the attic, compiling all the techniques and arts practiced by Chu Lu and Xiao Shengtian into manuals. He didn’t plan to release them yet—this was just for fun. If the time ever came, he'd have them ready.
Suddenly sensing something, he raised his eyebrows, put down his pen, and disappeared from the room.
Far away, over the ocean—
Bai Ziyao lay leisurely atop a giant gourd flying through the clouds, legs crossed in a carefree posture.
Sensing a familiar aura, he opened his eyes and sprang up.
In the next moment, a figure dashed toward him.
A bright smile appeared on his face.
It was none other than Meng Lang, the person he’d been looking for!
Gu An flew up to Bai Ziyao, cupped his fists, and grinned. “Daoist Bai! What a surprise running into you here.”
Bai Ziyao spoke frankly about his purpose. Then he returned the greeting with a smile. “Daoist Meng! It’s been years—how have you been? Did the chaos from the Grand Cold Demon Sect affect you at all?”
He had already entered the territory threatened by the sect’s collapse. But since this was only the outer edge, Gu An dared to meet him here.
“No, I wasn’t around when it happened. I only returned after hearing the Grand Cold Demon Sect had been wiped out,” Gu An shook his head.
How have I been?
Pretty damn good. I broke through to the ninth level of the Dao Void Celestial Stage!
Bai Ziyao invited Gu An onto the gourd, and Gu An gladly accepted. The two began discussing the Grand Cold Demon Sect and the Sword Sovereign of the Righteous Path.
Bai Ziyao was stunned—he never expected something this big to happen within the Heavenly Great Realm.
The Grand Cold Demon Sect wasn’t quite at the level of Renjian Peak, but it wasn’t far off. For someone to wipe them out single-handedly… their cultivation was unimaginable.
Some survivors remained, but the sect had already collapsed. Countless enemies were kicking them while they were down.
Curious, Bai Ziyao asked when this Sword Sovereign had emerged. Gu An replied that he had been in seclusion, so he didn’t know.
They chatted for a long time, mostly with Gu An asking and Bai Ziyao patiently answering.
Half an hour later—
Gu An suddenly asked, “Daoist Bai, have you ever heard of the Dark Great Realm?”
Bai Ziyao frowned and asked in confusion, “Dark Great Realm? Never heard of it. Is it powerful? Where is it?”
Gu An could only reply, “Not sure. Just heard a senior mention the name once. Got curious.”
Then he bid Bai Ziyao farewell.
Bai Ziyao quickly said, “Renjian Peak is about to host the Ten-Thousand-Year Summit. You better come! It’s time for you to formally take the peak lord's position.”
Gu An nodded and flew off in the direction away from Taixuan Sect.
Once he was out of sight, Bai Ziyao muttered, “Dark Great Realm... why does that sound kinda familiar…”