Seeing the prompt about Reincarnation Evolution, Gu An hesitated.
If it had been before, he wouldâve 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 wouldnât harm his real body, he was still putting ten million years of lifespan on the line.
And the prompt was vague. He couldnât analyze the situation in detailâhe didnât 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 didnât 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.]
[At eighteen, during your escape, you encountered two severely wounded cultivatorsâa man and a woman. They begged you to save them and kill the other. You were caught in a dilemma.]
[Do you save the man or the woman? Kill the man or the woman?]
Save neither. Kill neither!
Gu An didnât hesitate with his decision.
[You didnât 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 sonâs 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 outlinesâhe didnât 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 âEastern Profound Region,â Gu An had a bad feeling.
Why the hell did his family get wiped out again?
Come to think of it, Gu An didnât have any relatives in this lifeâhe lived alone in the Ji Residence. Was this fate or what?
[At age sixty, you took part in the Eastern Profound Sacred Mansionâs secret realm trial, sweeping through the geniuses of the region and making a name for yourself.]
[At age seventy, you cultivated the Heavenâs 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 Lordâs 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 thatâs more like it!
What followed was years of cultivation. Xiao Shengtian kept improving his physique, techniques, and divine abilities. There werenât 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 Heavenâs 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 Zhenrenâs 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 Zhenrenâs 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, heâd definitely be sensing a fierce surge of hatred from Gu An right now.
That bastard had ganked him twiceâhow 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'sâfilled 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 couldnât fly out. The skies were dim and boundlessâit 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 Heavenâs Gang Sacred Body, Xiao Shengtian might not have lasted long enough to even meet the Black Profound Emperor.
Gu An had to admitâthis guy at the Dao Void Celestial Stage was seriously terrifying. Not only did he inherit Xiao Shengtianâs 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 Emperorâs cultivation level was lower than hisâŠ
He'd make sure the bastard tasted pure despair.
Only 143 years in this second Reincarnation Evolution?
Freakinâ annoying.
Still, the gains were significant. Although the Heavenâs Gang Sacred Body wasnât 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 Shengtianâs Battle Will.
This will grew stronger as the body sustained damageâallowing 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, wouldnât enduring the trials during Reincarnation Cultivation become easier?
He sighed deeply, wondering just who was stronger nowâhis 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 wasnât 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. Canât 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 Anâs 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 Sovereignâs 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 didnât plan to release them yetâthis 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 oceanâ
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 heâd been looking for!
Gu An flew up to Bai Ziyao, cupped his fists, and grinned. âDaoist Bai! What a surprise running into you here.â
Bai Ziyao spoke frankly about his purpose. Then he returned the greeting with a smile. âDaoist Meng! Itâs been yearsâhow have you been? Did the chaos from the Grand Cold Demon Sect affect you at all?â
He had already entered the territory threatened by the sectâs collapse. But since this was only the outer edge, Gu An dared to meet him here.
âNo, I wasnât around when it happened. I only returned after hearing the Grand Cold Demon Sect had been wiped out,â 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 stunnedâhe never expected something this big to happen within the Heavenly Great Realm.
The Grand Cold Demon Sect wasnât quite at the level of Renjian Peak, but it wasnât 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 didnât know.
They chatted for a long time, mostly with Gu An asking and Bai Ziyao patiently answering.
Half an hour laterâ
Gu An suddenly asked, âDaoist Bai, have you ever heard of the Dark Great Realm?â
Bai Ziyao frowned and asked in confusion, âDark Great Realm? Never heard of it. Is it powerful? Where is it?â
Gu An could only reply, âNot sure. Just heard a senior mention the name once. Got curious.â
Then he bid Bai Ziyao farewell.
Bai Ziyao quickly said, âRenjian Peak is about to host the Ten-Thousand-Year Summit. You better come! Itâs time for you to formally take the peak lord's position.â
Gu An nodded and flew off in the direction away from Taixuan Sect.
Once he was out of sight, Bai Ziyao muttered, âDark Great Realm... why does that sound kinda familiarâŠâ