Chapter 298 Breaking through 100 million years of lifespan!
âIâm not dreaming, right?â
Li Ya muttered to himself, but it was really directed at the Divine Anomaly Spirit on his shoulder.
The little spirit had its eyes wide and mouth agape, equally stunned.
From their perspective, the massive hand at the end of the sea horizon looked as big as the entire ocean. If not for the curved fingers, they wouldnât even have realized it
was
a hand.
It looked like it could grasp an entire continent with ease!
Li Ya felt that the demonic aura on the giant hand looked oddly familiar.
Wait a minuteâ
Wasnât that the Ancestorâs hand?
As soon as the thought hit him, hot blood surged up from deep within his body. It was uncontrollable, filling him with a wild rush of exhilaration.
At the same time...
Everyone on the continent could now see Gu Anâs figureâso vast that not even mountain ranges or cloud seas could obscure him.
The sight was overwhelming. It shattered their understanding of the world and upended everything they thought possible.
Inside the Third Medicine Valley, over a thousand disciples stood slack-jawed in shock.
Ji Xuanyu also stepped out of his quarters, and the moment he laid eyes on Gu Anâs towering silhouette, he froze.
To all living beings, it felt like witnessing the descent of a god.
âWhat is that?â
âThatâs the Sword Sovereign of the Righteous Path! Itâs him!â
âNo way, that canât be realâitâs gotta be an illusion, right?â
âThere are books that say the Sword Sovereign appears using the
Demonic Shadow Divine Art
.â
âI
knew
he wouldnât abandon us!â
Across the continent, waves of cheers erupted. The
Demonic Shadow Divine Art
had always been terrifyingâbut knowing the one casting it was the Sword Sovereign, the fear vanished. Instead, it filled everyone with hope.
Since the Sword Sovereign made his name known across the world, hadnât everything he done been for the greater good? The ones he killedâwerenât they all evil?
If it were just normal sect competition, heâd never interfere. Otherwise, the Taixuan Sect wouldâve long since been crowned number one.
Thatâs exactly why other sects respected himâeven feared himâbut they didnât think heâd harm them. As long as they didnât commit atrocities, the Sword Sovereign wouldnât act.
Even as Taixuan Sect grew, and disciples died in the process, the Sword Sovereign never went on any revenge crusades.
Now, those sects and noble families whoâd chosen to stay behind burst into celebrationâit felt like Spring Festival had arrived early.
But while the continent rejoiced, the cultivators of the Grand Cold Demon Sect were plunged into despair.
They watched as Gu Anâs fingers slowly liftedâfive ancient mountain-like peaks rising from the earth. The sheer visual impact made even cultivators at the Immortal Dao level feel like their eyes were about to explode.
The Lifetaking Immortal desperately tried to mobilize his powerâbut couldnât move an inch. The helplessness made him feel like a mere ant.
How many years had it been?
Ever since he stepped into the Nirvana Stageâforget the Free Soaring Immortal Stageâhe had
never
been this humiliated.
The other three cultivators at the same level were just as trapped. No matter how hard they struggled, they couldnât move. The crushing despair was beyond imagination.
If even they were like this, the lower-tier cultivators didnât stand a chance.
Despair flooded every heart.
That one hand had captured millions of Grand Cold Demon Sect cultivators and their accompanying demons.
The reinforcements arriving from the sect took one look at the giant handâand immediately scattered in panic. Sect rules? Consequences? All tossed aside.
Gu An looked down at the captives in his palm.
He hesitated.
Slaughtering this many⊠it weighed on his heart. He also feared it might bring about even greater troubles.
But then he thought of all the lives White Hong Zhenren had slaughteredâand his heart hardened.
A sect this evil⊠deserved to be wiped out.
If even
that
would incur divine punishment, then Gu An would have to start questioning what exactly âheavenâ was.
Once his thoughts cleared, he clenched his massive hand.
The act triggered a terrifying hurricane, waves surging outward across the sea.
The raging winds slammed into Divine Anomaly City, forcing its protective grand formation to activate.
Li Ya watched the cityâs barrier warp and ripple violently. He no longer cared about the cityâhis gaze was fixed on the distance, his whole body trembling.
That clenched hand was just⊠too majestic.
He couldnât help but wonderâ
Could cultivation really reach such heights?
Was the Ancestor perhaps born an immortal? A
real
immortal, not one forged through cultivation?
As Gu Anâs fingers closed, the world fell silent. The oppressive force that had covered the continent and its surrounding seas vanished completely.
Thunderclouds still rolled aboveâbut the people felt like the skies had finally cleared.
ăYou have successfully seized 1,228 years of lifespan from Bi Lie (Scattered Immortal Stage, Layer 7)ă
ăYou have successfully seized 493 years of lifespan from Qin Suxin (Nirvana Stage, Layer 9)ă
ăYou have successfully seized 58 years of lifespan from Old Immortal Duohai (Nirvana Stage, Layer 8)ă
ăYou have successfully seized 2,780 years of lifespan from Cloudsea Heaven Lord (Free Soaring Immortal Stage, Layer 5)ă
âŠ
One notification after another appeared before Gu Anâs eyes.
And thenâhe vanished.
But his afterimage remained in the sky, lingering in the heavens, etching awe into every soul.
The black fog over the sea was quickly dispersingâsignaling that the catastrophe was ending.
Li Ya snapped back to his senses and urged the Divine Anomaly Spirit to hurry toward the mainland.
Far away, atop thunderclouds, stood the Lord of Divine Anomalies. Behind him surged a vast sea of Divine Anomaly Wraithsâevery one of them wore a look of pure fear. Some were even trembling.
Even as wraiths, they had felt that terrifying presenceâand it
terrified
them.
How could anyone hope to fight against
that
?
They silently prayed their master wouldnât order an attack.
Fortunately, once the presence vanished, the Lord of Divine Anomalies didnât give any orders.
He simply turned around. âWeâre going back to the Divine Anomaly Realm.â
Gu Anâs overwhelming power thrilled him to no endâthough he did his best to keep it under wraps.
Recruiting Zhang Bukui had been the right move!
As he turned, a feeling of unprecedented hope filled his heart.
Gu An returned to Xuan Valley.
He sensed Jiang Qiong pacing inside the Eight Views Celestial Realm. Her footsteps were quickâso he immediately made his way there.
Just as he stepped into the cave path, Jiang Qiong stopped walking.
Meanwhile, lifespan notifications were still popping up in front of Gu An.
He hadnât even reached the cave entrance when two alerts caught his eyeâforcing him to a halt.
ăYour lifespan has surpassed one hundred million years for the first time. Lifespan Reincarnation function unlocked.ă
ăLifespan Reincarnation: Consume lifespan to simulate reincarnations. Each simulation costs 10 million years. All memories gained from each life will be transferred to your mind, as if you personally lived through them. Reincarnation duration is unlimited. Outcome depends on karmic choices made within the cycle. Memory integration takes one hour.ă
ăYou have successfully seized 487 years of lifespan from Zhu Changming (Grand Ascension Stage, Layer 9)ă
âŠ
Lifespan Reincarnation!
When Gu An saw the âten million yearsâ requirement, he immediately felt scammed.
But after reading the full explanation, he changed his mind.
If he lived long enough in a reincarnated life and gained countless insights into Dao, divine techniques, and the essence of the universeâit might be
more
than worth it.
Of course, he could also die at age ninety and lose ten million years for nothing.
It was a gamble. A huge one.
As Gu An pondered, Jiang Qiongâs voice floated over.
âWhy are you just standing there? Get in here already!â
He stepped forward without hesitation.
The lifespan messages kept comingâit was a jackpot haul.
Originally, heâd planned to break through to 100 million using high-grade herbs in the Hidden Realmâbut life always had a way of forcing his hand.
If heaven wonât punish the arrogant, then
he
would!
When Gu An reached the Spirit Tree, he nearly burst out laughing.
Jiang Qiong had dug a holeâand placed a coffin inside.
What was this? Planning to bury him?
She pointed at the coffin. âGet in. Maybe we can ride this out by playing dead.â
Gu An made a show of resisting. âIs this really necessary?â
She glared, then lunged at him and started shoving. If he hadnât been suppressing his Dao Gang energy, she probably would've disintegrated from the contact.
Left with no choice, Gu An climbed into the coffin.
Jiang Qiong jumped in after him and shoved him down. Then she lay down too and waved her handâthe coffin lid shut tight.
Darkness swallowed them.
From the outside, the coffin slowly sank into the soil, disappearing without a trace.
Inside, space was tightâGu An and Jiang Qiong were crammed together.
But strangely, Gu Anâs mind began to calm.
Heâd just killed
so many
âeven if they were all villains, it was hard to stay emotionally neutral. Kill enough, and one risked growing addicted to bloodshed⊠even breaking free of moral restraint.
He needed time to rebalance.
Now, lying here in the dark, he felt unexpectedly at peace.
Even now, lifespan notifications still floated in front of him.
Jiang Qiongâs body shifted beside him. Her arms were soft. She kept squirming, clearly trying to find spaceâand ended up pressing against Gu An.
âSay,â Gu An asked, âif the catastrophe never comes⊠how long are we supposed to stay in here?â
Cramped as it was, he actually found the experience kinda fun. Heâd never done anything like this before.
âA few decades at least. We have to outlast the Lifetaking Immortalâs hundred-year deadline.â
âThat long? No way. I need to go back. There are disciples in the valleyâI canât abandon them.â
âHmph! No chance. Youâre in here nowâyouâre not getting out!â
As she finished speaking, Gu An felt her grab his left hand.
Her hand was ice-coldâlike a corpse.
He tried to pull away, but she had an iron grip.
Only after the final notifications disappeared did Gu An return to his senses.
He didnât check his lifespan right away. He wanted to savor that reveal later.
He said, âIsnât this a little too cramped? Weâre gonna be stuck like this for decadesâI might not survive.â
Jiang Qiong didnât respond. Instead, she started to shift again.
Gu An stiffened.
She was on top of him.
Face-to-face.
In the pitch-dark coffin, Gu An could sense her breathingâshaky, uneven, but not escaping his enhanced perception.
Then she pressed her face against his chest.
He could feel one of her legs brushing up against his.
Crap.
This was getting out of hand.
Gu An gave a fake cough. âWhy are you so⊠heavy?â
Jiang Qiongâs breath hitched.
Then he felt a hand on his waist. Two fingers were pinching his side.