Demon Slaying, Gaining 60 Years of Cultivation From the Start

Gu Chen looked at the avatar before him, growing more and more satisfied the longer he looked, for it had the same cultivation level as him, and could use all kinds of techniques and magical powers.

It could be said that the combat power of the avatar, Gu Jiuge, was actually not much weaker than Gu Chen's true self.

Even when scouring the upper realms of the Heavenly Domain, it would likewise be hard to find an adversary.

At the same time, although the avatar's name was the same as the one he reported to the Xuan Yi Sect, Gu Chen was not worried.

After all, with the upper realm being so vast, there were definitely many with the same name; only his true name should not be used lightly, as it concerned too much. If it were known by those hostile forces, they would certainly investigate thoroughly.

"It's time to leave." His external avatar had taken shape, and Gu Chen's true self would continue to stay in the Xuan Yi Sect, being a mere medicine boy, while Gu Jiuge would replace Gu Chen, walking the upper realms, experiencing the myriad phenomena of life.

His first destination was to find Gu Qingyan and reunite with his second uncle's family.

The Frost Soul Sect used to be a colossal force, on par with the Heavenly Mysterious Imperial Dynasty, but now it had lost many benefits due to the fall of its internal powerhouses.

Although it hadn't touched the core, Gu Chen ultimately felt somewhat uneasy.

Moreover, having not seen his second uncle and the others for so many years, Gu Chen also missed them dearly.

Swish!

The next moment, taking advantage of the night, the avatar departed under Gu Chen's watchful eye.

Although the Xuan Yi Sect had a Protective Mountain Formation, if someone forcefully barged in, they would be found out immediately, yet Gu Chen's avatar held part of the heavenly seeds' power and also had the Yu Ding to traverse space. This small matter was still not worth mentioning.

If Gu Chen wished, he could come and go as he pleased; the Xuan Yi Sect couldn't trap him at all.

And so, without alerting anyone, not even triggering the Protective Mountain Formation, Gu Chen's avatar left the place.

"From now on, the vast sea freely swims the fish, the high sky freely flies the bird!" Gu Chen's heart surged with emotion, with the 3600 domains of the upper realm, the Ten Thousand Tribes vying for power, and endless prodigies. With his temperament, he would of course refuse to be idle!

After rebuilding himself, his strength had soared. Although he was still in the early stage of the Heavenly Domain, as long as none of the experts beyond the martial arts realm showed up, Gu Chen considered it hard to find an opponent.

As for powerhouses above the martial arts realm, they were very rare among the younger generation, at least according to what Gu Chen had heard, and currently, there were none in this domain.

"This trip to the Frost Soul Sect is a bit far." Gu Chen pondered deeply.

The Frost Soul Sect was not located in Meteor State; it was in a large state named Han State, with several large states in between, requiring multiple transfers to reach.

The upper realm was boundless and vast, with a single state's area being several times larger than the nine states, plus the rules of this world were stable and perfect. Even Gu Chen would need quite some time to traverse a state.

Therefore, every large state in the upper realm was equipped with a teleportation array. Some arrays could transport over extremely long distances, even reaching another domain.

As for the cost of using a teleportation array, it was either the universal currency of the upper realm, called Spirit Stones, which contained rich spiritual energy that could aid living beings in their cultivation, or a kind of mineral.

In addition, various precious herbs and even weapons could certainly be used as well.

Having newly arrived in the upper realm, Gu Chen was naturally very poor, with nothing of value on him. Although he could steal some spirit flowers and herbs, even spiritual medicines from the medicine valley of the Xuan Yi Sect as travel expenses, he did not do so.

"It seems I need to rob the rich to aid the poor somewhere." Gu Chen's eyes twinkled, even in the upper realm, there were no lack of various underworld forces, such as mountain bandits.

In one night, Gu Chen found several bands of mountain bandits, and after a "friendly negotiation" with them, he took away certain items.

Although these bandits had decent strength, they were far inferior compared to Gu Chen.

Although the upper realm was a vast world, to transcend the martial realm and reach another domain was not so easy and required great talent.

Soon, a hint of dawn brightened the sky, morning arrived, and the great sun rose.

"The spiritual energy inside is quite abundant." Gu Chen nodded approvingly. These stones could be used to assist in cultivation. He had obtained several dozen overnight, but these travel expenses were not enough.

After all, he needed to go through multiple transmissions to reach Han State.

That day, Gu Chen suddenly felt a familiar aura that caught his attention.

"Why would they come here?" Gu Chen's eyes flickered, and in the deepest part, symbols flashed. Through the vast distance, he saw the distant scene.

A group of people were gathered in a forest, men and women alike, among them was Gu Chen's familiar Xuan Yi Sect senior sister Ling Fei, and the formerly self-righteous Liao Yun.

Besides them, people from the Xuan Yi Sect's enemy Bi Bo Sect were also there, and not only them but also some figures with notable cultivation, all in the Heavenly Domain, representing their sects' chief disciples, gathering in that forest.

"What are they doing?" A flicker of surprise appeared in Gu Chen's eyes.

People from the Bi Bo Sect should be quite wealthy, and if possible, Gu Chen did have thoughts of "borrowing" some items from them as travel expenses.

At that moment, Gu Chen saw that in the forest, several burly men in armor stood there, holding a scroll, and spoke in a deep voice, "Finding this man will be richly rewarded!"

Displayed on the scroll was a young man with the look of a thief, eyes greedy, obviously not a good person at first glance.

"Shadow Hand Tian Fei?!" Someone exclaimed in amazement, recognizing the identity of the man in the scroll.

This person was a first-rate thief in this domain, having committed many crimes and being adept at eluding capture, remaining uncaught to this day.

"May I ask the war general, sir, what did Tian Fei steal from the imperial dynasty?" At that moment, the senior brother of Bi Bo Sect stepped forward to ask.

The leading war general's face was grim as he said, "He stole the Ninth Prince's Red Yuan Fruit!"

"What?!"

As this statement was made, Liao Yun and the others were immediately shocked, not expecting that Thief of Shadows, Tian Fei, was audacious enough to even steal from the ninth prince of Heavenly Mysterious Imperial Dynasty.

"Whom not to provoke, but he dares to provoke the Heavenly Mysterious Imperial Dynasty, and it's even the ninth prince. This Tian Fei really has a death wish!"

That was the thought on everyone's minds. The Heavenly Mysterious Imperial Dynasty was one of the top powers in this domain, immensely powerful and not to be trifled with by anyone.

This time, Thief of Shadows Tian Fei, relying on his exceptional skills and boldness, actually stole something from Gu Yan, resulting in being pursued and obstructed all the way here by his military commanders.

"We have already completely sealed off the surrounding area. He must be nearby and can't have gone far. We called you here to help us capture this thief, and rest assured, you will be handsomely rewarded for your success!" said a military commander of the Heavenly Mysterious Imperial Dynasty in a deep voice.

"Rest assured, sir. We will give it our all," Liao Yun and the others nodded in agreement.

The reason their sects had sent them here was also to make a good impression on the Heavenly Mysterious Imperial Dynasty, and moreover, when summoned, sects such as Xuan Yi Sect and Bi Bo Sect dared not exert anything less than their full efforts.

At this moment, the military commander of the Heavenly Mysterious Imperial Dynasty revealed another piece of news that was incredibly startling.

"The ninth prince is currently in seclusion for a breakthrough, and the Red Yuan Fruit is very important to him. If he succeeds, once His Highness the ninth prince emerges from seclusion, you may have the fortune of being granted an audience. By then, for you all, it might be a chance to Ascend to Heaven."

"A breakthrough in seclusion?!"

Upon hearing this, Liao Yun and the others were shocked again. They were well aware that the ninth prince had already reached the great culmination of the Heavenly Man Realm two years ago. If he was in seclusion for a breakthrough now, doesn't that mean he's about to step into a whole new martial arts realm?

The opportunity to meet the ninth prince personally sent a chill through their hearts, and with some excitement, they bowed with clasped hands, "Rest assured, commander. We will give it our all."

By contrast, in the crowd, Ling Fei appeared relatively indifferent, with an air of just going through the motions.

On the other side, Gu Chen withdrew his gaze. Everything that had just transpired was fully witnessed by him, and he understood it all clearly.

"Gu Yan is about to break through the martial arts realm?" Gu Chen raised his eyebrows.

According to the intelligence he had gathered, among the young generation of the Human Clan in this realm, it seemed that no one had actually made a definitive breakthrough in the martial arts realm yet.

If Gu Yan succeeded, he would be the first in this realm, and his fame would spread far and wide once more, reaching a higher level and subtly pressuring other proud talents.

"It seems that his spiritual body last time was indeed not his true strength," Gu Chen pondered.

Now, transcending the martial arts realm was also Gu Chen's primary goal and a necessary path for his future.

At the same time, he had a certain degree of understanding of the realm above the martial arts realm.

In the upper realms, cultivation was divided into three major levels, or grand realms.

From low to high, they are known as the Human Realm, Earth Realm, and finally, the Heavenly Realm.

The so-called Human Realm is meant as the realm of humanity, namely martial arts, where martial practitioners mainly explore their own potential, divided into acquired and innate.

From the inception of the innate stage, martial practitioners begin to make use of the external world's power, although due to their relative weakness, the power they can utilize is extremely limited and only of the most superficial layer.

When martial practitioners reach the Heavenly Man Realm, which is the pinnacle of martial arts, their compatibility with the world increases, and they can unify with the world to a certain extent, mobilizing more of its power.

However, this power is still insignificant compared to the vast external world.

The human body is limited, as is the power it can absorb from the world; hence, the martial arts realm is also known as the Human Realm.

"And above the Human Realm lies the Earth Realm. At the Earth Realm, one truly ascends above the martial arts realm into a new world," Gu Chen contemplated, recalling descriptions of the Earth Realm.

Even the weakest warrior in the Earth Realm could slap to death at least a hundred pinnacle figures of the Heavenly Man Realm in martial arts, such is the gap.

"The Heavenly Man Realm is really just the beginning of the path of cultivation," Gu Chen mused.

However, he believed that the vast and boundless universe was his greatest stage. He was confident that he would rise swiftly, surpass all, and become unrivaled!

This was the unshakable belief Gu Chen had fostered in himself!

Once reaching the Earth Realm, one would no longer be called a warrior, but a cultivator, engaging with the world and perceiving the secrets of the operation of all things.

Only by reaching the Earth Realm could one begin to truly control and understand the world. Every action would be endowed with tremendous power, no longer limited to oneself. One could fully absorb the power of the world into one's body and even unite with it, mastering the laws of the natural operation of all things, even incorporating the infinite power of the universe within oneself.

By then, cultivators would open a Cave Heaven inside their own body, a microcosm corresponding to the outer universe.

What strength in the martial arts realm could possibly contend with that?!

Human power ultimately has its limits, and only by harnessing the great power of the external world can one truly become immortal, a belief held by many in the upper realms.

But Gu Chen thought differently. He believed that the human body itself was a boundless universe, no less extraordinary than the upper realms or the myriad heavens, and it was just that no one had yet tapped into its true potential.

"For now, I still need to draw upon the power of the great external world to perfect myself," Gu Chen whispered, for his time in cultivation was still short, so he had to rely on the external world for now.

But one day, he would embark on the path of seeking within himself.

"So, Gu Yan is working on breaking through to the Cave Heaven Realm?" Gu Chen mused aloud.

The Cave Heaven Realm is indeed the first level within the Earth Realm.

"He desires the Red Yuan Fruit?" Gu Chen's eyes flickered, a cold smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. In a mere moment, an idea had formed in his mind.