Hermit in the Mountains

Longevity Cave

In the rear hall of the Hall of Longevity, the withered and flourishing Gengjin sword and the law-breaking ruler lay horizontally in front of Gu Changsheng.

He used his divine sense to control the Law-Breaking Ruler to devour the innate, indestructible primordial energy within the Withered and Flourishing Gengjin Sword.

"Clang—"

The precious sword was reduced to scrap metal, and without the power of divine consciousness to control it, it crashed to the ground with a crisp sound.

Gu Changsheng prioritized integrating the attribute-free innate undying source energy to avoid affecting the "Law of Breaking" within the foot.

Following closely behind is the innate, indestructible energy of the metal element, which can enhance the "breaking power" of the Breaking Ruler.

The Law-Breaking Ruler devours a wisp of innate, indestructible primordial energy every three days, evolving into a new rudimentary form of innate restriction.

During this time, Gu Changsheng took some time to go out to Wandao Mountain and send the three statues of the local earth gods to the three cities of Hanzhong, Zijin, and Chang'an.

Time flies, and three months have passed in a flash.

The Law-Breaking Ruler in front of Gu Changsheng emitted a rich aura of treasure, and forty-eight innate restrictions were already taking shape within it.

He did not invest the last wisp of innate, undying primordial energy.

The next second, he absorbed the Law-Breaking Ruler into his body, refined a large-scale Spirit Summoning Array, and left the Longevity Cave.

He placed the Illusionary Spirit Array on the Longevity Peak of Ten Thousand Paths Mountain, carving out a cave inside the mountain.

He transmitted his voice to Ling Xuzi, the fifth disciple of Ling Xuzi, instructing him to activate the power of the void to shroud Changsheng Peak and prevent outsiders from spying on it.

Inside the mountain, Gu Changsheng summoned the Pure World White Lotus, the Myriad Paths Pearl, and the Law-Breaking Ruler.

After sitting in meditation for three days, the twenty-four lotus petals slowly closed, enveloping Gu Changsheng.

Inside the Pure World White Lotus, Gu Changsheng suddenly opened his eyes and pointed his right hand at the Law-Breaking Ruler in front of him.

Inject the last wisp of innate, undying primordial energy.

The Myriad Paths Bead above his head began to spin, triggering the Myriad Realms Summoning Array.

An invisible ripple spread outwards in all directions.

A transparent barrier enveloped Longevity Peak.

A suction force was generated and gradually increased, drawing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth within a radius of one or ten miles toward Longevity Peak.

Upon seeing this, Lingxuzi activated his true form to deploy a void array, forming a barrier that covered a radius of a hundred miles.

Inside the mountain cave, a pure white lotus floats in mid-air, radiating strands of crystal-clear light.

Inside the Pure World White Lotus, Gu Changsheng burned three-tenths of his virtue power as a catalyst and injected it into the Law-Breaking Ruler.

The magic-breaking ruler was instantly covered with a layer of three-colored precious light.

With the infusion of the power of three-tenths of the virtue, the Law-Breaking Ruler underwent a transformation from the inside out, and the forty-ninth innate restriction was rapidly born.

Given the speed at which innate restrictions are created, the Breaking Law Ruler is a sure thing to be promoted to an innate supreme treasure embryo.

Gu Changsheng looked inward at the True Spirit Space within his body, his gaze falling on the three small merit wheels behind the True Spirit Body's head.

He had a thought: "If all my merits were used to nourish the broken Dharma ruler, would it transform into a supreme treasure of merit?"

Even if it cannot be transformed into a supreme treasure of virtue, it is still not a loss if it is born with the characteristic of killing without incurring karmic consequences or negative karma.

"Take a chance, and you might just turn a bicycle into a motorcycle."

"I've made a bet—"

With a thought, the remaining seventy percent of his virtue power transformed into a three-colored stream of light that flew out of the True Spirit Space and crashed into the Law-Breaking Ruler.

In an instant, the magic-breaking ruler emitted a brilliant light.

The Pure World White Lotus, the Myriad Paths Pearl, and the Spirit Void Child's true form—these three innate treasure embryos—are concealed layer by layer, without any outward manifestation of any divine or extraordinary features.

A few advanced cultivators outside noticed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth surging towards Wandao Mountain. Their first reaction was that someone on the mountain was breaking through their cultivation level. No one thought it was a change caused by a spiritual treasure being upgraded to a supreme treasure.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged wildly into the cave where Gu Changsheng was, and the spiritual energy became so dense that it turned into mist.

The power of merit tempered the ruler's body, and at the moment the Law-Breaking Ruler was promoted, two unfamiliar Daoist auras erupted from the Myriad Dao Pearl above its head.

Gu Changsheng was suddenly inspired and his mind entered a state of unconsciousness, and a Dao Fruit once again condensed on the Dao Flower within his body.

The Dao Tree within his body withered instantly, condensing three strands of primordial law power that flew into the illusory Dao Fruit.

The Dao Tree withered and died, its internal True Spirit Space collapsed, and the True Spirit Body transformed into specks of light that flew into the Dao Fruit.

The Dao Fruit flew out and hovered above Gu Changsheng's head, echoing the Myriad Dao Pearls and their auras intertwined.

The Dao Fruit solidified, its surface cracked, revealing a crystal Dao Fruit that had shrunk tenfold.

The Glazed Dao Fruit absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and expanded. Gu Changsheng's own fortune was integrated into it, and the surface of the Dao Fruit cracked again.

The Dao Fruit, shrunk tenfold, is even more solid and round.

The Longevity Sect's internal energy surged within the Myriad Paths Pearl, and one of its members ascended to the Dao Fruit stage.

The fruit of the Dao split open again, completing another transformation.

The remaining 90% of the religious movement disappeared without a trace within the Myriad Paths Pearl.

The Primordial Purple Qi Pearl, the Earth Origin Cauldron, the Myriad Dao Pearl, the Pure World White Lotus, and the Law-Breaking Ruler all flew into the Dao Fruit.

Each time a spiritual treasure flies in, the Dao Fruit undergoes a transformation.

The most terrifying scene unfolded as Dao Guo focused his gaze on Gu Changsheng's physical body.

Gu Changsheng's physical body aged rapidly, his blood and energy withered, and his hair turned completely white.

In the end, only a skeleton remained.

However, Dao Guo was utterly ruthless, leaving not even a skeleton behind, refining everything in an instant.

They didn't even spare the withered and flourishing treasure robe and the clear wind and cloud patterned shoes, devouring them completely.

After completing its ninth transformation, Dao Guo seemed to have eaten its fill and was spinning around inside the cave.

Suddenly, the Dao Fruit burst through the air and vanished without a trace.

The external spirit-summoning array ceased operation, and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, losing its pull, retreated.

In the void, Ling Xuzi's expression changed; he could no longer sense his master's aura.

He probed the cave in the mountain with his divine sense, but found no trace of his master.

Alarm bells rang in his mind: "Something's wrong, Master is in trouble."

He returned to his original body and used his voice to inform his four senior brothers and sisters of the disappearance of their master.

Upon receiving the telepathic message, Di Yuanzi, Yin Yue Xianzi, Zi Yangzi, and Su Xinghe extended their divine senses into the cave and scanned Changsheng Peak.

As the fifth junior brother said, Master was gone and his breath had disappeared.

Silver Moon Fairy, Ziyangzi, and Su Xinghe headed to the Hall of Longevity.

Di Yuanzi and Ling Xuzi, their divine consciousnesses already manifested, were waiting outside Huang Fengting.

They told Huang Fengzi the whole story.

At the same time, a figure in cyan appeared inside Huang Fengting.

Upon seeing the newcomers, Di Yuanzi and his group of five bowed and greeted, "Greetings, Uncle-Master Qingxuan..." (+5)

Qing Xuanzi walked steadily to the front of the group, calm and composed. "Master is in seclusion for life-or-death cultivation. You may all return!"

"Yes, Uncle Qingxuan..." The five breathed a sigh of relief, bowed, and turned to leave.

Ling Xuzi did not detect his master's aura within the cave, and although he was puzzled, he did not ask.

After the five people left, Da Huang looked at Qing Niu and transmitted his thoughts to him, "Old Ox, where did you think Master went?"

"His breathing is intermittent, but he is not in mortal danger."

The green ox replied with its divine sense, "Master should enter a special space for secluded cultivation. We two must keep a close eye on Master's aura at all times."

After saying that, the green ox turned and left.

Outside, an anomaly occurred in the virtual world, and countless cultivators' minds were kicked out.

The next second, the cultivator was able to re-enter the virtual world.

Although they were puzzled, they found no changes and no loss of virtual assets, so they all assumed that the Spirit Network was being updated and iterated.

The apple-sized crystal fruit flew into a certain space on Blue Star and crashed into a pool of water.

"Thump—"

The crystal-clear fruit emerged from the water and floated quietly on the surface.

A gasp of surprise rang out from within the space.

"Master, Master, you've finally arrived!"

"Master, do you know how much I have suffered this past year?"

"This disciple is terrified."

"I dare not fall into a deep sleep for even a moment, for fear of disappearing without realizing it."

"Waaah—"

A three-foot-tall, illusory figure of a little boy lay by the pool, pouring out his grievances and weeping.