Chapter 95: Inborn Realm, Breakthrough to the Ninth Level of Profound Heart Realm!
Inside the cave, the flames flickered.
Li Ya sat on a stone, his upper body bare, as he bandaged his wounds with white cloth. Blood seeped through the bandages, creating a terrifying sight, but he remained unfazed.
Floating next to him was the soul of an old man with a tall frame, stroking his beard as he gazed at Li Ya.
"To withstand the poison of the Thousand-Handed Demon Vine, your physique has grown even stronger," the old ancestor praised.
Li Ya responded calmly, "It's still not enough. Compared to Lü Xian and Ji Xiaoya, I'm nothing. Not to mention that there's a new figure in the sect, An Hao, whose talent is said to surpass even those two."
The old ancestor chuckled. "They are born geniuses, but you're different—you're a genius of hard work. You may yet surpass them. In my view, natural talent isn't the most important thing; what truly matters is a tenacious Dao heart and an indomitable will."
Li Ya nodded, just about to speak when the flames on the firepit suddenly shook violently, and his expression darkened.
"Spiritual energy is sinking?"
Li Ya frowned, and his old ancestor did the same.
"Could this be a natural disaster rather than something caused by human hands? What could it signify?" The old ancestor frowned and began calculating, but he found nothing.
...
As the spiritual energy began to sink across the North Sea Mountain Range, the howls of beasts filled the air, echoing through the land. Cultivators hiding in their caves rushed out, and those engaged in battles were forced to stop.
Beneath the tree.
Gu An was surrounded by a halo of five-colored spiritual light. From a distance, it appeared as if he was encased in a glowing cocoon, sitting motionless inside.
He, too, heard the howls from all directions, but he wasn't alarmed.
This was just the beginning. After upgrading his spiritual root, he still had to upgrade his cultivation techniques, and only after that could he focus on his cultivation realm.
The spiritual energy in the North Sea Mountain Range was incredibly abundant, far surpassing that of Xuan Valley. Even though the energy was sinking, it didn't have a significant impact on the overall spiritual energy here.
As time passed, Gu An's attention turned to the consumption of his Lifespan Barrier.
He couldn't afford to be careless!
He sensed that the consumption this time would not be a small amount. He certainly didn't want to die from exhausting his lifespan.
Half an hour later, Gu An had fully transformed into the Five Elemental Treasure Body. He could clearly feel the changes in his body—his vitality and strength had increased, his ability to generate spiritual energy had accelerated, and even his senses had undergone a dramatic shift.
He felt as though the surrounding five-element spiritual energy was now one with him. The sensation was indescribably wonderful.
Suppressing his joy, Gu An knew he had more work to do. Now it's time to continue investing lifespan!
First up, Mysterious Yellow Dragon Qi Technique!
This technique allowed him to conceal his cultivation and aura, a critical ability for survival!
He invested 100,000 years.
Lines of notifications flashed by quickly, and Gu An focused on them.
Mysterious Yellow Dragon Qi Technique upgraded to Earth Encompassing Divine Qi Technique.
Earth Encompassing Divine Qi Technique upgraded to Innate Wishful Technique!
Two upgrades!
Not bad!
The knowledge of the Innate Wishful Technique flowed into his mind.
The Innate Wishful Technique not only greatly enhanced his ability to conceal his cultivation and aura, but it also awakened a divine ability—Size Manipulation.
By enveloping an object with spiritual energy, Gu An could shrink or enlarge anything, including living beings, and even himself. This divine ability gave him a profound glimpse into the mysteries of the Dao.
Gu An immersed himself in comprehending the technique, forgetting everything else around him.
In the distance...
Sitting on the formation platform, Li Xuandao took out a compass and began to divine. The needles on the compass spun wildly, and his expression grew grave.
After a long moment, the needles began to slow, still trembling slightly, but the divination was clear.
"The secrets of heaven are hidden, not to be seen for a thousand years..." Li Xuandao muttered, but then a smile spread across his face. "Although the spiritual energy is sinking, making it unsuitable for cultivation and tribulation, I don't need spiritual energy—I need a way to transcend my tribulation. The hidden secrets of heaven are the perfect opportunity!"
He frowned again, hesitating.
He wasn't sure what was causing the spiritual energy to sink. If it was the work of a great cultivator, would undergoing tribulation here bring trouble?
But when he thought of the tense situation in the Royal court, Li Xuandao gritted his teeth.
I must do it!
Better to die in tribulation than to perish in the court's power struggles!
His goal wasn't just to reach the Void Crossing Realm—he aimed to reach the Body Fusion Realm!
He wanted to become an immortal emperor, just like the celestial emperors of legend!
Li Xuandao put the compass away, raised his arms, and the formations in the valley activated one after another. Curtains of light surged upward, and the spiritual energy within the formation spiraled above his head, slowly coalescing into dark clouds.
With a flick of his sleeve, the bottles of pills uncorked themselves. After preparing everything, he gazed up.
The sky darkened, thunderclouds roiled, and the light from the formation illuminated the gathering tribulation clouds above, their looming pressure reflected in his determined eyes.
He had to succeed!
...
Comprehending the Innate Wishful Technique took Gu An another half hour, but he felt it was fast. This technique was far more complex than his previous ones, and yet the feeling of having cultivated it for ten thousand years told him that his lifespan ability was also growing stronger.
He had previously worried that as his cultivation increased, his breakthroughs would take longer—perhaps days to learn a technique, or months to break through. That would have been a disaster.
Fortunately, his fears were unfounded!
Gu An checked the consumption of his Lifespan Barrier and felt relieved. The situation was still manageable.
Time to continue!
Gu An invested another 100,000 years into Yang Wood Mixed Essence Art.
Once again, notifications appeared, but this time they didn't overwhelm him.
Yang Wood Mixed Essence Art upgraded to Innate Celestial Immortal Art!
Only one upgrade, but with the word "celestial" in its name, Gu An was full of anticipation.
He had now gained two techniques with "Innate" in their names. This made him think of the Innate Dao Symbol within Ji Xiaoya's body.
Could "Innate" be a specific stage?
If that were the case, wouldn't Ji Xiaoya have been born with an advantage that would take most people hundreds of thousands of years to achieve?
No wonder she's such a prodigy!
Gu An sighed inwardly as the vast knowledge of the Innate Celestial Immortal Art began to flood his mind.
The spiritual energy around him continued to sink, causing the creatures of the North Sea Mountain Range to panic once again.
Figures emanating powerful auras continuously passed over the forest where Gu An was hiding, some of them as large as mountains. Yet, none of them noticed him—the true cause of the spiritual disturbance.
This night, the North Sea Mountain Range would know no peace!
...
Over half an hour later, Gu An opened his eyes, glancing at his remaining 680,000 years of lifespan. He let out a long breath.
The Lifespan Barrier had already consumed over 10,000 years, and Gu An was beginning to feel a bit concerned.
He turned his attention to his cultivation realm.
Just as he was about to invest lifespan into it, he sensed the aura of a battle to the east, making him frown.
A Body Fusion Realm battle!
The battle wasn't too far from him, about two hundred miles.
At such a close distance, it was too risky for Gu An to break through.
What if those Body Fusion Realm cultivators barged into my Lifespan Barrier while I'm in the middle of breaking through?
If only the Lifespan Barrier could upgrade in the future!
Gu An sighed inwardly but didn't panic.
If worst came to worst, he'd have no choice but to kill them.
Cultivating to the Body Fusion Realm was no easy feat—he hoped they knew better than to interfere.
Fortunately, the situation didn't worsen as Gu An had feared. After a brief clash, the two Body Fusion Realm cultivators chased each other off into the distance.
Time to begin!
Let's start with 100,000 years to settle my nerves!
A hundred thousand years—this time I should succeed!
[You have invested 100,000 years of lifespan into evolving your cultivation.]
[You have cultivated for 500 years, using the profound insights of Innate Celestial Immortal Art to forcefully break through to the Profound Heart Realm, initiating a tribulation. You failed to withstand the Cangyuan Five Spirits Tribulation and failed to break through.]
[You have cultivated for 1,500 years, using the profound insights of Innate Celestial Immortal Art to forcefully break through to the Profound Heart Realm, initiating a tribulation. You failed to withstand the Cangyuan Five Spirits Tribulation and failed to break through.]
...
Failing the tribulation once every thousand years was acceptable—it meant he had plenty of chances to succeed.
I'll probably succeed within a hundred tries, right?
I've enhanced two cultivation techniques, after all!
But the failures kept coming.
Each new failure stung more than the last. After consuming 50,000 years of lifespan, he was still optimistic. But by the time he had consumed 67,500 years, he began to grit his teeth.
The sixty-eighth attempt failed!
Who could endure this?
The failures continued.
[After cultivating for 81,500 years, you initiated a tribulation with the profound insights of Innate Celestial Immortal Art. You successfully endured the Cangyuan Five Spirits Tribulation and broke through to the first level of the Profound Heart Realm.]
[After cultivating for 83,000 years, you have reached the second level of the Profound Heart Realm.]
[After cultivating for 84,000 years, you have reached the third level of the Profound Heart Realm.]
...
[After cultivating for 99,000 years, you initiated a tribulation with the profound insights of Innate Celestial Immortal Art to break through to the Mahayana Realm. You failed to withstand the Xuanhuang Five Gods Tribulation and failed to break through.]
[After cultivating for 100,000 years, you are still preparing for a tribulation.]
When the final notification appeared, Gu An let out a deep sigh of relief.
Ninth level of the Profound Heart Realm!
The next realm was the Mahayana Realm!
Gu An couldn't help but marvel. Breaking through small levels isn't too difficult—it's the tribulations that are the real problem! After this, I hope I won't fail hundreds or even thousands of times just to break through.
The surrounding spiritual energy surged toward Gu An again, though this time it wasn't as intense as before, considering he had already invested 100,000 years of lifespan.
Gu An checked his status, noting that he still had 580,000 years of lifespan left. Now he hesitated—should he break through to the next realm or focus on enhancing his divine abilities?
I should probably enhance my movement techniques, like Infinite Vanishing Celestial Step and Grand Yin-Yang Transformation, to help me escape or hide my identity.
Beyond that, he also needed to enhance two offensive techniques.
Why does it feel like my lifespan isn't enough?
Maybe he should invest a little less in offensive techniques.
After all, he didn't need to fight above his realm just yet, and the techniques he already had were considered top-tier in the Nine Dynasties' cultivation world.
As Gu An wrestled with his choices, he began focusing on his cultivation.
Vast waves of spiritual energy flowed into his body, causing his cultivation to rise steadily. His robes fluttered violently, as if they were about to burst from the sheer force.