Hermit in the Mountains

When Gu Changsheng's physical body aged to the age of sixty, the cracks in the 'Decline and Flourishing Dao Seed' within his sea of ​​consciousness grew larger and larger, and a wisp of emerald green light emerged from the cracks.

"Click..."

The outer shell of the 'Withering and Flourishing Seed' emitted a continuous, crisp cracking sound. The shriveled, grayish-brown outer shell completely split open, revealing a bright green seed the size of a glass bead.

Gu Changsheng's aged skin was covered with cracks, and tender new skin grew under the dead skin. All the gray nails on his hands and feet had fallen to the ground.

About 10% of the white hair on his head had fallen out, and the silver-white hair drifted down onto his shoulders and the ground at his feet.

Gu Changsheng's thoughts seemed to be asleep, without any intervention, and the 'Seed of Withering and Flourishing' transformed entirely by instinct.

Outside, the sun rises and sets; inside the cave, Gu Changsheng is like a seed going through cycles of withering and flourishing.

The "Seed of Withering and Flourishing" undergoes repeated cycles of withering, cracking, and revitalization.

As the 'Demonic Seed' goes through cycles of withering and flourishing, the seeds, which were originally half emerald green and half grayish-brown, have undergone new changes.

The "Decline and Flourishing Dao Seed" no longer resembles a spindle-shaped seed, but has become a round seed, with emerald green and grayish-brown intertwined to form the shape of a yin-yang fish.

Each time the "Decline and Flourishing Dao Seed" withers and flourishes, the emerald green rings on Gu Changsheng's life plate will lose their vitality, and his physical body will undergo a transformation from the outside in.

He didn't know how much time had passed. Gu Changsheng seemed to have turned into a withered tree, his heartbeat so slow that it was negligible and he could stop beating at any moment.

The surging, vibrant blood stopped flowing, and the bright red blood became viscous and black.

The skeleton supporting the body is full of cracks and severely weathered inside, no different from a hollow dead tree. It may fall over if a gust of wind blows.

The dried, dead skin was clearly separated layer by layer, forming a chilling leather garment that wrapped around Gu Changsheng, making him look like a mummy.

Gu Changsheng's entire body, his sea of ​​consciousness, and his destiny plate were filled with grayish-brown gas, and the withering and desolation of the 'Power of Withering' were intertwined on his body.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth, the earth energy of mountains and rivers, the decaying "power of decay" emanating from the surrounding withered trees, and the spiritual liquid in the jade bottle surged into Gu Changsheng's physical body, sea of ​​consciousness, and destiny plate.

Some of these energies were eroding Gu Changsheng's vitality, while others were maintaining his last vestige of life, preventing him from dying completely.

Gu Changsheng's mind was still not clear. He was unaware that he was going through a life-or-death ordeal. The last bit of life in his body was teetering on the brink of collapse, like a candle flame flickering after its oil has run out.

Just as the last glimmer of life completely dissipated, a wisp of creative energy burst forth from within the long-withered 'Life-Generating Dao Seed' in the sea of ​​consciousness.

This wisp of creation energy is the foundation that Gu Changsheng accumulated over a long period of refining the 'Purple Qi' and 'Emperor's Dew' of the Primordial Sun.

Even Gu Changsheng himself was unaware of the existence of this power. When Gu Changsheng was on the verge of death and annihilation, under the repeated stimulation of the 'Power of Withering and Flourishing', a qualitative change finally occurred at the most critical moment, giving birth to a wisp of creation energy.

The power of creation is like the "one" before the creation of heaven and earth.

When the power of creation was born, it split in two, with one half flying into Gu Chang's life plate and the other half remaining in the 'Dao Seed' to stimulate vitality.

"Um--"

Gu Changsheng's mind cleared, and a heavenly sound rang out in his sea of ​​consciousness with a soft "hmm".

As his mind returned to normal, Gu Changsheng instantly grasped the changes and state that had occurred within himself.

After scanning his three dantian, physical organs, and life chart space with his internal vision, he had only one thought: lingering fear.

Unbeknownst to him, he had experienced nine life-and-death ordeals, almost dying and disappearing into the world.

He brought this calamity upon himself, so he has no one else to blame but himself for dying.

The calamity was the result of Gu Changsheng's previous idea, causing the "Decline and Flourishing Dao Seed" to undergo nine cycles of decay and flourishing in its seed form to solidify its foundation and enhance its potential.

He had considered the possibility of danger, but who could have imagined it would be this dangerous, far exceeding his personal limits?

The transformation from decay to prosperity would cause him to fall into an unconscious state. Gu Changsheng did not expect this result and almost killed himself.

Gu Changsheng suppressed his emotional turmoil, emptied his mind, and focused all his energy on absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and the energy of mountains and rivers to inject into the "Seed of Withering and Flourishing" and his destiny plate, strengthening the faltering vitality.

With the support of Gu Changsheng's main consciousness, the efficiency of absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and the energy of mountains and rivers increased more than tenfold.

A transparent hole with a diameter of three meters formed around him.

As more and more spiritual energy was drawn in, a faint mist enveloped Gu Changsheng.

Nourished by the vast spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and the energy of mountains and rivers, the vitality of the 'Decline and Flourishing Dao Seed' in Gu Changsheng's sea of ​​consciousness grew stronger and stronger, as if something was being nurtured inside the seed.

Within the primordial space, the glass-like life chart begins to recover from the inside out, the grayish-brown annual rings transform into emerald green, and the eroded lifespan returns.

The physical body undergoes a gradual transformation from the inside out.

The dark, thick blood began to flow again, and strands of dark, waste blood were expelled from the blood vessels.

New bones grow from the cracked bones. The new bones are crystal clear and resemble white jade, while the grayish-brown marrow is also transforming into jade-like material.

Unaware of how much time had passed, Gu Changsheng suddenly had a flash of inspiration and shouted loudly.

"break--"

The word "break" was like the sound of creation, instantly shattering the pitted and uneven "withered and flourishing Dao Seed," and a nine-inch-long tree root appeared in Gu Changsheng's eyes.

The tree roots are straight, reaching the sky and standing on the ground, nine inches long. The emerald green and grayish brown are deeply intertwined, entwined and merged together, forming a primordial form in which each contains the other.

It's no longer as clearly defined as before, with emerald green on the left and grayish-brown on the right.

The tree roots absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and the energy of mountains and rivers, and began to grow, passing through the barrier of the sea of ​​consciousness and extending into the middle dantian in the chest.

The tree roots did not stop growing and continued to penetrate the middle dantian until they pierced the lower dantian, three inches above the navel.

The tree root, or the "root of withering and flourishing," runs through the upper, middle, and lower dantian, symbolizing that Gu Changsheng's "Dao" runs through the three realms of heaven, earth, and man.

The Dao Root did not stop growing; it passed through the lower dantian barrier and entered the deepest primordial space of Gu Changsheng's body, finally taking root on the Destiny Plate.

At the same time, the Dao Root in the Sea of ​​Consciousness gave rise to a new Dao Root.

The newly formed Dao root pierced through the barrier of the sea of ​​consciousness and entered an unknown space.

Before long, Gu Changsheng realized that the Dao Root that had entered the unknown space was devouring unknown energy. The energy devoured by the Dao Root flowed back along the tree roots and was injected into the Dao Root rooted in his body to nourish his body.

The root of the Dao, which was rooted in the physical body, began to grow roots. The entire root of the Dao was like a human figure, and the roots transformed into eyes, ears, hands, and feet.

Dao Gen seemed to know that he was unstable standing alone, so he grew a root from his middle dantian and embedded it into his spine.

If someone could see through Gu Changsheng's physical body, they would discover an incredibly strange phenomenon.

Four roots sprouted from the withered and flourishing root in the upper dantian. The two roots in front pierced through the barrier of the sea of ​​consciousness and entered the eyes, while the two roots on the left and right entered the ears.

Three roots grow from the withered and flourishing root in the middle dantian. Two roots on the left and right enter the arms, and the root at the back enters the spine.

Two roots sprouted from the withered and flourishing root in the lower dantian and entered the legs respectively.

The withered and flourishing root root that was rooted in Gu Changsheng's body gave rise to nine roots, which seemed to transform into eyes, ears, hands and feet.

The withered and flourishing root, rooted in an unknown space, also grew nine tentacles, devouring unknown energy to nourish itself.

As the cycle of growth and decay ended, Gu Changsheng's physical body also completed its transformation.

His facial features and body proportions were almost perfect, and his appearance surpassed that of Pan An by several times.

The hair, which was originally distinctly black and white, has become black and white in every strand.

A strand of hair is black with white, and white with black.

His thick, long, black and white hair cascaded over his shoulders, making him look like a refined and elegant scion of a noble family from ancient times.

The nails have returned to their normal color and length, as if returning to their natural state.

Skin, flesh, tendons, bones, marrow, blood, etc. are covered again by the "withered and flourishing armor", forming a flawless body.

Thirty annual rings emerge from the roots and tendrils of the withered and flourishing path, forming a new "withered and flourishing armor".

A brand new spiritual seal appeared within the withered and flourishing Dao Root...