Determination to Become Stronger

Tushan Youyao and Mo Yingluo, along with the vast majority of Gu Changyuan's current disciples, had already reached the peak of the Half-Immortal realm.

In the Nine Heavens Realm, this cultivation level was already at the very top of the pyramid.

But that was all it was.

Without the baptism of immortal energy, their cultivation was completely stuck here.

Between the peak Half-Immortal realm and the true Immortal realm lay an insurmountable chasm—a chasm that could not be crossed by bitter cultivation, talent, or resources alone.

It required immortal energy.

It required truly ascending to the Immortal Realm, accepting the baptism of immortal energy, and completing a leap in the level of life.

They didn't want to be like they were today ever again.

Their master's battle today had pushed their intense desire to improve their strength to the absolute limit.

They didn't want to encounter this kind of situation in the future, where they could only watch helplessly, completely powerless.

And then watch the people important to them pass away.

They could sense that although their master had survived, the aura within his body was extremely weak and sluggish.

Perhaps there was an element of luck in today's events.

But luck would not always be on their side.

In the future, they never wanted to be this powerless again.

Even if they had to die, they wanted to die standing, alongside their master.

Watching the disciples leave, Gu Changyuan looked toward Ye Qingxue and the others.

"For this period, I need to restore the origin essence consumed in this battle. I leave the affairs of the Holy Land to you."

"Yes."

The disciples replied.

Their thoughts at this moment were exactly the same as Tushan Youyao and Mo Yingluo's; they all wanted to reach the Immortal Realm as soon as possible to rapidly increase their strength.

Never again did they want to be like today, forced to watch helplessly as their master fought a battle to the death alone, lacking even the qualifications to help.

Gu Changyuan gave a slight nod, then turned and returned to his room. Closing the door, he sat in quiet meditation and began to recover from his losses.

The condition inside his body was far worse than he let on.

The No Return Date sword strike had drained more than just his spiritual energy—spiritual energy could be slowly recovered, supplemented by miraculous pills and medicines; it could always be replenished with a little more time.

The real trouble was his origin essence.

His vitality origin and life origin had both been largely drained by that single sword strike.

After leaving that space, Gu Changyuan discovered that he could no longer return to it.

That space was like a channel temporarily opened just to save his life—closed as soon as it was used, with absolutely no chance of renewal.

Thinking of this, Gu Changyuan could not help but grumble inwardly.

So stingy!

...

Wanluo Immortal Realm.

In a sealed room, the space seemed completely isolated from the outside world. There was no light, no wind, and even time seemed to have frozen.

In the very center of the room, a burly figure sat cross-legged.

It was a man.

His stature was unbelievably tall; even while sitting, he was half a body taller than an ordinary person standing up.

His skin was brown, and the faintly flowing spiritual energy meridians beneath it were visible.

Zhenyue.

One of the Twelve Heavenly Balances.

At this moment, he slowly withdrew his right hand.

That hand was as broad as a palm-leaf fan, with slender fingers. A spiritual light that had yet to fully dissipate still lingered at his fingertips.

Just a moment ago, it had pierced through the heavy barriers of the Heavenly Dao's laws, delivering a palm intent capable of destroying heaven and earth right above the head of a cultivator in the lower realm.

The instant he withdrew his hand, a powerful force of the Heavenly Dao's laws surged from the void and swept over his entire body.

It was a backlash.

When a being from the upper realm struck across realms at a lower realm, they would inevitably suffer a backlash from the Heavenly Dao.

This was the fundamental law governing the operation of the myriad worlds, a barrier set up by the Heavenly Dao to protect the lower realms. No matter how high your cultivation or how exalted your status, it could not be bypassed.

Zhenyue's body jolted violently.

"Pfft—"

A mouthful of blood sprayed from his mouth, splattering onto the floor.

His aura became significantly weaker in that instant.

The spiritual energy fluctuations that were originally as unfathomable as an abyss now showed a noticeable decline.

Zhenyue raised his hand and slowly wiped the residual blood from the corner of his mouth with his thumb.

To think that a lower realm cultivator could actually cause him to suffer such a severe backlash.

Fortunately, that Gu Changyuan had already been thoroughly dealt with by him. Otherwise, once he ascended to the upper realm, with his bizarre strength, he would inevitably become a major threat to the Tianheng Imperial Court.

In his line of sight, after he delivered that final palm strike, that Gu Changyuan who had forcefully resisted his attack, along with the faction he was protecting beneath him, had been completely annihilated.

However, at the instant his palm landed, he clearly sensed that the life aura of Chengluan, the Heavenly Guard he had sent to the lower realm, suddenly vanished.

It was highly likely that before his death, Gu Changyuan had exhausted his final shred of strength to drag Chengluan down to the grave with him.

"Panyan."

The moment his voice fell, the space on one side of the room distorted slightly, and a figure appeared out of thin air beside Zhenyue.

"Lord Zhenyue, what are your orders?"

His voice was flat, devoid of any unnecessary emotional fluctuations.

"Chengluan is dead. Go find someone to fill his position."

Panyan's body stiffened slightly.

Chengluan is dead?

A flash of shock and astonishment crossed his eyes, but it only lasted for a split second.

In front of Zhenyue, any unnecessary loss of composure was a sign of disrespect.

Panyan quickly restrained all his emotions and bowed his waist a little deeper.

"Understood, Lord Zhenyue."

"This subordinate will go handle it immediately."

...

Nine Heavens Realm, Celestial Holy Land.

For a full month.

Gu Changyuan sat cross-legged in his room, completely motionless.

During this month, he did not need to worry about anything; his disciples would arrange everything perfectly.

He only had one thing to do.

Recover.

Outside the room, the disciples had come by many times.

Among them, Gu Xing'er came the most frequently.

Sometimes she would come three or four times a day. Every time, she would walk softly to the door, press her ear against it to listen, then crouch down and sit by the door for a while before quietly leaving.

No one dared to knock on the door; no one dared to disturb him.

They were waiting.

As Gu Changyuan pushed open the door and walked out of the room, the disciples who had long been waiting within the Holy Land immediately gathered around.

Seeing that their master had a rosy complexion, a steady aura, and had already returned to his original condition, the worry in their hearts instantly vanished into thin air, and joyous smiles appeared on their faces.

When Gu Xing'er saw Gu Changyuan come out of seclusion, her eyes instantly lit up. She quickly stepped forward and gently tugged at the corner of his clothes:

"Brother."

Gu Changyuan looked down at her, the corners of his mouth curling up.

"Xing'er."

His voice carried a hint of laughter.

"Why aren't you calling me Daddy anymore?"

A month ago, he had heard that heart-wrenching cry of "Daddy" from Gu Xing'er.

Gu Xing'er's ears instantly flushed a shade of pink, but unlike her past shy evasiveness, she glanced left and right before slowly speaking:

"Daddy."

Hearing Gu Xing'er change her tune so decisively, Gu Changyuan was also a little surprised.

But on second thought, it made sense—that previous life-and-death crisis had probably frightened the little girl terribly.

The smile on Gu Changyuan's face deepened a fraction.

He didn't say anything sentimental; he just nodded, then raised his hand and, as usual, gently rubbed the top of Gu Xing'er's head.

The moment his palm landed on her hair, Gu Xing'er closed her eyes. The corners of her mouth curved up slightly, and her entire body relaxed.