There were too few clues, making it difficult to draw any conclusions.
After pondering for a moment, Gu Changge decided not to dwell on it.
It was merely a minor incident, irrelevant to the bigger picture. Before absolute strength, no matter how many undercurrents surged beneath the surface, they could never stir up any great waves.
“Let’s go.”
He did not linger. Transforming into an almost imperceptible streak of light alongside Little White, he continued speeding toward the coordinates of the Fortune-Bearing Immortal Palace.
No one knew how long they traveled through the chaos. Gradually, the scene ahead began to change.
The eternal silence and emptiness started to recede, replaced by a contradictory aura—one of decay interwoven with tenacious vitality.
Gu Changge came to a halt, his white robes fluttering lightly in the gently swirling chaotic currents.
He raised his eyes and looked ahead. There, suspended in the endless void, was a vast fragment of land.
This was the Fortune-Bearing Immortal Domain.
Rather than an Immortal Domain, it was more like the battered remains of a world.
The fragment’s edges were wildly irregular, covered in hideous cracks, as if it had been forcibly torn apart by an unimaginable force.
Along the borders of the fragmented continent, faint traces of immortal spiritual energy continued to drift slowly into the chaos.
Though the rate of dispersion was slow, it never stopped. It was as if a dying giant were irreversibly losing the last of its vital essence.
It was this long, drawn-out loss that had caused the immortal spiritual energy here to become so thin and insubstantial.
Still, even a starving camel was larger than a horse.
Though this was merely a fragment of the Immortal Realm, its scale far surpassed that of the Xuanhuang Great World below, stretching vast and boundless.
His gaze pierced through the thin, restless mist of immortal spiritual energy and fell upon the interior of the continent.
There, magnificent mountains and rivers spread across the land. One could vaguely make out the outlines of the immortal splendor that had once existed here. Countless cities, palaces, and sects—some grand and imposing, others exquisite and refined—stood scattered throughout the region like stars across the sky.
Auras of varying strength dotted this vast land like stars.
Saint Realm cultivators were everywhere.
The auras of Void Immortals were also far from rare, each one presiding over its own territory.
As for the pressure of True Immortals, it was like a beacon in the night. Though their numbers were far fewer than those of the first two realms, they clearly represented the backbone of this land.
This was a decaying territory that still retained considerable strength—a realm belonging to immortals.
Gu Changge watched in silence. After a moment, he slowly withdrew his gaze and focused his mind on the system interface.
“System, what level of power can this place withstand at its maximum?”
“Ding! Detecting… Detection complete.”
The system’s pleasant notification rang out at once.
“Though this place is damaged, its foundational level still belongs to the immortal path. The highest level of cultivation it can sustain is the Immortal Emperor Realm.”
“The Immortal Emperor Realm?” Gu Changge’s brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
When he had searched the souls of those two True Immortals earlier, he had learned nothing about this realm.
From the fragments of their memories, he had only discovered that the known cultivation realms of the Immortal Domain were True Immortal, Earth Immortal, Heavenly Immortal, Immortal Lord…
Beyond that, everything had been blurred. Perhaps those two simply had not reached a high enough level to know more.
“What kind of realm is the Immortal Emperor Realm?” he asked inwardly.
“Host, in the complete Immortal Realm, above the Immortal Lord Realm are the Immortal King, Immortal Emperor, Immortal Venerable, Quasi-Immortal Emperor, and Immortal Emperor Realms. There are a total of nine great realms. The Immortal Emperor Realm represents the pinnacle of the immortal path.”
A glimmer of understanding flashed through Gu Changge’s eyes before his gaze once again turned profound.
“Immortal King, Immortal Emperor, Immortal Venerable, Quasi-Immortal Emperor, Immortal Emperor… There are actually so many realms?”
Previously, relying on his reserve of more than thirty million years of cultivation, he had believed that he could run rampant without restraint.
Only now did he realize that the immortal path was long indeed, with countless towering peaks still rising above him.
His thoughts raced as he quickly calculated. “Based on the previous estimate, reaching the perfected Heavenly Immortal Realm requires eight thousand years of cultivation. I wonder how much cultivation is needed to rise from the True Immortal Realm to the perfected Immortal Emperor Realm?”
“System, how many years of cultivation reserves are required to raise my cultivation to the perfected Immortal Emperor Realm?”
“Ding! Calculating based on the host’s foundation and current ninth-level True Immortal cultivation… Calculation in progress…”
After a brief silence, the system gave him a number.
“Calculation complete. The estimated cultivation required to reach the perfected Immortal Emperor Realm is five hundred thousand years.”
Five hundred thousand years?
Gu Changge was slightly taken aback.
The number was far lower than he had expected.
He had originally thought that crossing the eight great realms from True Immortal, Earth Immortal, and beyond all the way to Quasi-Immortal Emperor and Immortal Emperor would require an astronomical amount of cultivation.
He had even mentally prepared himself for the possibility that exhausting all his reserves might still not be enough.
After all, when the system had mentioned the Immortal Emperor Realm earlier, the words “the pinnacle of the immortal path” had placed very real pressure on him.
But now…
Five hundred thousand years?
Gu Changge’s divine sense swept across the system panel, where a dazzling, eight-digit number gleamed.
His earlier reflections about the endless immortal path and the towering peaks above him vanished in an instant.
Had he simply been worrying over nothing?
A moment later, he slowly exhaled. The final trace of gravity brought on by the unknown realms completely faded from his eyes.
So the so-called pinnacle of the immortal path was nothing much before his cultivation reserves.
“System, max it out!”
Gu Changge’s voice rang out with boundless confidence.
“Ding! Consuming five hundred thousand years of cultivation reserves. Beginning infusion…”
The instant the system notification sounded, a vast and indescribable force surged forth from his very origin, flowing gently yet resolutely into his limbs, organs, soul, and Dao foundation.
This was not a simple accumulation of energy, but an ultimate leap in the level of life and the very essence of power.
Gu Changge stood within the chaotic void, his eyes slightly closed.
Inside his body, it was as if billions upon billions of universes were being born and destroyed, while endless Great Daos underwent reconstruction.
His immortal essence, which had already reached the extreme of the True Immortal Realm—perfect and flawless—began to collapse, transform, and ascend in a manner that surpassed all understanding.
Earth Immortal, Heavenly Immortal, Immortal Lord, Immortal King, Immortal Emperor, Immortal Venerable, Quasi-Immortal Emperor…
The nine realms of the immortal path each represented an entirely different heaven. The gap between every realm was far vaster than the distance between an ordinary mortal and a True Immortal.
At this moment, those chasms and natural barriers—barriers that countless peerless prodigies would spend endless ages struggling to cross—were blasted open one after another under the system’s heaven-defying power, allowing him to advance through them with unstoppable momentum.
His aura did not leak out, but within his perception, his very existence was undergoing a world-shaking transformation.
His divine soul spread without limit, as if a single thought could encompass all the heavens and myriad worlds.
With the slightest movement of his will, he seemed capable of stirring the tides of chaos and rearranging the elements of earth, water, fire, and wind.
Every wisp of newly born power within his body contained the ultimate mysteries of creation and destruction—the authority belonging to an Immortal Emperor.
Yet such an earth-shaking transformation occurred at the boundary of the chaos without triggering the slightest anomaly.
There was no radiance filling the heavens, no auspicious light stretching for thousands of miles, no resounding Dao music, and no heavenly tribulation descending upon him.
The system’s invisible power enveloped Gu Changge, perfectly restraining and absorbing every energy fluctuation, ripple of laws, and change in the threads of karma that might have alerted the outside world during his breakthrough.
It was like a black hole capable of devouring stars quietly condensing in the depths of an endless ocean, without creating even the slightest ripple.
uld barely embark on the path to immortality. Just as he was on the verge of death, his golden finger awakened. No matter whether it was poison, drained blood and vital energy, diminished lifespan, or any other physical debuff caused by paying a price—once midnight passed, everything would be refreshed. From then on, whenever someone asked what kind of person Chu Ran was, the answer was simple: Forbidden arts that other cultivators dared not learn? Chu Ran would learn them. Prices that even demonic cultivators dared not pay? Chu Ran would pay them. Lifespan that even righteous cultivators dared not burn? Chu Ran would burn it. All the blood essence in his body? Take it. Want both his hands and feet? He would cut them off and send them to you. You say he’s finished? He wasn’t built to sit idle. You think he’s gone mad? No—he was simply waiting for midnight. From that day onward, Chu Ran would respect neither Heaven nor Earth, bow to neither gods nor ghosts. He had only one wish: For midnight to arrive a little sooner.
e vast world of cultivation, where he becomes the master of the Heavenly Ruins Sacred Hall, a dying old man with barely a tenth of his former cultivation remaining. He is immediately confronted with a deadly crisis: his subordinates have rebelled, and his protectors are forcing him to abdicate. At the critical moment, the system descends from the heavens: [Ding! The host has been detected facing a life-or-death crisis. The system is now officially activated!] [As a gift, you have received the Supreme Beginner’s Pack and awakened the ultimate cheat: ten thousand years of pure cultivation essence every second!] Yin Tianjue: “Wait… ten thousand years of cultivation every second? That’s six hundred thousand years a minute, and in one day… I can’t even calculate it. Either way, I’m already invincible!” You’re a peerless prodigy rarely seen in ten thousand years? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re an undying ancestor who has guarded a sacred land for countless ages? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re the strongest chosen one, blessed with heaven-defying destiny? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. From this day forth, I have only one thing to say: “I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. Now, how exactly are you supposed to deal with that?”
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
ts me of treason?" "Correct. The host must return to the capital and gradually build up influence." "Wait—I have half a million soldiers, and you want me to go back to the capital to 'build influence'?" "Host, you are currently the Northern Garrison General, loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty." "Of course I am loyal to Great Xia! Absolutely loyal!" "But you keep referring to yourself as 'We'..." "Never mind the details! Summon all the regional commanders and military officers! We suspect treacherous officials are manipulating the court! They shall march with Us to the capital and purge the corrupt!" "......"
