Just as the old patriarch forced me to my death, I achieved the unity of Dao and fruition.

Once the stone door to the secret chamber closed, all the sounds of the wind, voices, and all the messy scheming outside were shut out.

Gu Changjin sat cross-legged on the futon, the sorrow on his face gradually fading away.

You can't believe what you're showing off to others.

That swaying figure from behind just now, all that talk about sect loyalty, not having much time left, and doing my best—it was all an act.

If you really want him to be moved to tears by the sect, then you might as well put a sword to his neck right now.

He closed his eyes, not in a hurry to care about what was happening outside.

Both the Gu family's treasury and the pills promised by the sect have already been collected.

None of these things can escape.

The most important thing now is the Dao Fruit in my sea of ​​consciousness.

Gu Changjin's consciousness sank into his sea of ​​consciousness.

In the dim light, the Dao Fruit hung there.

It is called a fruit, but it has no fixed shape. At first glance, it looks like a chaotic seed, and upon closer inspection, it looks like a star with no end in sight.

Above the Dao Fruit, countless blurry figures floated and sank.

An old man with white hair stood on the mountaintop with a sword in hand, while a young man dressed in tattered clothes dragged a corpse forward in the rainy night.

An emperor sat on a blood-red dragon throne, with mountains of corpses at his feet; a demonic cultivator stood in the center of an altar, with ten thousand souls wailing behind him.

Some figures were even more blurry, not human, or rather, not human at all, and their forms were distorted.

Gu Changjin felt a stinging pain in his eyes and a stab to his soul with just one glance.

He immediately looked away.

He shouldn't look at it carelessly; this thing is even more sinister than he imagined.

No... it can't be called evil either.

This is his stuff.

All heavens are one, and the Dao fruit returns to oneness.

There is only one Dao Fruit, but the traces of Dao are scattered throughout the myriad realms.

Those figures are all him and me.

It's neither a clone nor a duplicate character created by the system.

Rather, they are different traces of the existence of "Gu Changjin" in countless worlds.

Some became immortals, some became demons, and some might not even know what cultivation was before dying in the mud.

What he needs to do is follow the Dao Fruit's resonance, enter into the cause and effect of those others and themselves, and put an end to their final obsessions.

Once the obsession is resolved, the Dao traces return to their proper place.

The cultivation, experience, foundation, and even lifespan and traces of Dao fruit from that lifetime will nourish oneself.

Gu Changjin opened his eyes, his gaze filled with fervor.

This is great stuff!

This is truly good stuff!

What sect treasure troves, what Gu family treasury, compared to this, they all have to take a backseat.

He looked down to assess his own condition, and then his expression turned grim.

I was just pretending to be old and dying, but it's true that this body is about to die.

The golden elixir within his body, which bore the immense power of heaven and earth, appeared perfectly round on the surface, but its interior was riddled with fine lines.

As for the lifespan of this body, that goes without saying.

There are only three months left. If I were to unleash my Golden Core strength and fight to the death with others, I'm afraid I wouldn't even last three days.

No wonder the Xuan Yang Sect and the Gu family dared to make this wishful thinking.

It wasn't that they thought Gu Changjin was weak, but rather that they thought he was about to die.

Even the strongest person who is about to die has a price to pay and ties to bear.

Gu Changjin sneered.

What a pity! They don't know that I now have a way to prolong my life.

As long as the first one isn't one of those unlucky guys who dies as soon as he lands, a quick recovery, even if it only adds a few decades to his lifespan, would be enough for him to drag this dead end out.

If I'm lucky, I might encounter someone with decent cultivation.

That would be even more comfortable.

What talk of a deadly battle between the Crimson Cloud Sects, what talk of the sect leader's authority? It's not certain who will establish their authority in the end.

Gu Changjin temporarily suppressed his thoughts and took stock of the things left behind by the original owner.

The original owner cultivated the "Jinyang Sword Scripture," a standard technique for sword cultivators of the Xuan Yang Sect.

Fire element is associated with heavy killing and explosive power, but it also has obvious drawbacks, such as damaging one's foundation and being prone to going astray.

The original owner made a name for himself with this technique when he was young, but it also dragged him down to his death when he got old.

Furthermore, since the original owner was a sword cultivator, he naturally possessed a natal spirit sword, named Jin Yang.

The crimson spirit sword had been nurtured in the dantian for over a hundred years and was connected to the original owner's life.

No wonder that group of people wanted to push him into a death match.

A sword cultivator in the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm whose lifespan is nearing its end, if he really fights with all his might, might be even more troublesome than an ordinary late-stage Golden Core cultivator.

Using him in a deathmatch is indeed very effective.

It's so good that even Gu Changjin wanted to laugh.

He rummaged through the storage ring.

There were only a few spirit stones, some cultivation pills, and some protective magic items.

The majority of the original owner's resources have been distributed over the years under the guise of "taking care of the family."

Those brats from the Gu family eat his food, use his things, and flaunt their power in the sect using his name.

He turned around and knelt at the door, begging his ancestor to die.

The act of mourning in the ancestral hall is considered a great act of filial piety.

The more Gu Changjin thought about it, the more he felt he had been too gentle just now.

Sending people to move the clan's treasury is too lenient for them.

No, I really need to go to the library to look for it after this crisis is over.

Are there any magical secret techniques that involve sacrificing an entire clan to replenish one's aptitude, extend lifespan, and rebuild one's foundation in the Dao?

The Gu family has been taking advantage of him for so many years; they have to pay back eventually.

Taking resources now is just paying interest; when it comes time to repay the principal, you'll have to pay back the principal, interest, and even your life.

At that moment, the disciple's voice came from outside the secret chamber.

"Master, we disciples request an audience."

Gu Changjin opened his eyes.

"Come in."

The stone gate opened.

Three Foundation Establishment disciples led a dozen Qi Refining disciples in.

Leading the group was the eldest disciple, Xu Heng, who was in the late Foundation Establishment stage. He was calm and composed, and one of the few people on Lingdao Peak who could still get things done.

The next two are at the Foundation Establishment stage; one is named Zhou Qi, and the other is Chen Miaozhen.

Further back were the Qi Refining disciples carrying boxes.

Wooden crates were opened as they landed, revealing spirit stones, pills, talismans, spirit herbs, and magical artifacts piled up in the outer room of the secret chamber.

The sect's promised compensation has been delivered in its first batch.

A bottle of longevity pills, but useless to Gu Changjin who had already reached his limit; they could only delay his death slightly.

Three bottles of Replenishing Essence Pills—this will make it easier for Gu Changjin to recover his spiritual energy during the deathmatch.

Two boxes of Soul-Nourishing Incense. When Gu Changjin saw this, he was stunned. No, I'm not dead yet, Soul-Nourishing Incense?

Five portions of the Vein-Protecting Elixir. This stuff is suitable for nourishing the veins in the body, so that I can survive until the final battle.

There's also a Treasure Vault Retrieval Token, that's a good item!

Gu Changjin glanced at it and roughly understood the situation, which made him feel much more comfortable.

That's more like it. If you're going to ask someone to risk their life, at least put out the price first.

Xu Heng bowed his head and said, "Master, the Gu family treasury has been opened. There are also several hidden vaults, but the Gu family head said the keys cannot be found for the time being, so I have sent people to guard them."

Gu Changjin laughed, but there was a hint of coldness in his laughter.

"Can't find the key? You actually believe that nonsense?"

Xu Heng bent over even more, unsure how to respond.

Gu Changjin said calmly, "Tell Gu Jingshan to deliver it within an hour. If it can't be delivered, I'll have Jinyang find it himself."

Xu Heng's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly nodded in agreement.

"Disciple understands."

Gu Changjin took out a few more bottles of pills from the box and casually tossed them to them.

"You've worked hard on this, here you go."

Several disciples were stunned for a moment, especially Xu Heng, whose eyes flashed with surprise.

This is different from our previous masters! Our previous masters would never have cared about these things.

Xu Heng immediately knelt down.

"Thank you, Master."

The other disciples also kowtowed.

"Thank you for your kindness, Elder."

Gu Changjin waved his hand.

"Go down. Guard Lingdao Peak well. Do not see anyone without my permission."

"Yes."

The disciples left the secret chamber.

Before the stone door closed, Gu Changjin heard someone outside say in a low voice, "Don't you guys think the elder seems a little different than before?"

Another person scoffed, "Isn't it the same? In the past, those people from the Gu family would come every few days asking for things, and when did the elder ever actually refuse? And what happened? They knelt at the door begging him to die."

"Yeah, that's true. Those people are scum."

"Sigh, if only the elder didn't have a lifespan crisis."

The sound gradually faded into the distance.

Gu Changjin leaned against the futon and couldn't help but smile.

No life expectancy crisis?

Even if I were to live a little longer, you might not be so happy.

He understands people too well.

We pity him now because he is about to die.

Once he's truly immortal, some people will be losing sleep.

Gu Changjin stopped smiling and gathered all the pills and spiritual items together.

These things can prolong life, but they can't cure the root cause.

The true path is still the fruit of the Way.

He closed his eyes again.

The Dao Fruit in his sea of ​​consciousness trembled slightly, and among the thousands of figures, one figure suddenly lit up.

It was an old man with white hair that reached his shoulders and a thin, withered figure, sitting in front of a black sword monument.

Behind him were countless broken swords.

Some swords were rusted, some still had cold blades, and some even had dried blood on them.

Snowflakes filled the sky as seven figures stood at the entrance to the Sword Tomb.

Some people held knives, some held swords, and some carried iron boxes on their backs.

They were all kneeling, but that kneeling didn't represent respect; it was more like coercion.

As soon as Gu Changjin saw this scene clearly, he was suddenly pulled into that cause and effect.

next moment.

He opened his eyes.

A biting chill swept over him, and snowflakes fell from the sky, landing on Gu Changjin's palms and bringing a touch of coldness.

This is a desolate mountain sword mound, where the wind and snow have turned the sky and earth white, and broken swords are stuck in the ground on all sides.

He sat on a cold stone platform, with a simple longsword beside him.

As the body ages, qi and blood decline, meridians dry up, bones feel cold, and even breathing carries a putrid smell.

Gu Changjin remained silent for a moment.

Then his face gradually darkened.

No, not again?

He had originally thought that since it was the first time he was guided to the Dao Fruit, he should at least find him a young and strong man like me.

Even if we don't talk about an eighteen-year-old prodigy, a middle-aged swordsman in his thirties or forties would be fine.

And the result? A centenarian swordsman!?

100 years old!!!

Sword God, that sounds pretty intimidating.

But to put it bluntly, isn't he still an old man?

Gu Changjin almost laughed out of anger.

"I thought the lifespan crisis was easy to solve."

"So, in all the myriad realms of existence, not one of me is young, right?"

A jumble of memories surged into my mind.

A grand world of martial arts, the Sword Tomb of Tianshan, a legend of the martial world, the centenarian sword god Gu Changjin.

He became a grandmaster at the age of thirty, defeated all the swordsmen in the world at the age of fifty, and retired to the Sword Tomb at the age of sixty, where he took in seven disciples.

These seven people were all personally trained by him; some were orphans, some were widows, and some were outcasts from the martial arts world.

He gave them swordsmanship, fame, and the qualifications to establish themselves in the martial arts world.

As a result, his health has deteriorated, and his seven good disciples have joined forces to climb the mountain.

The reasons are readily available; they're nothing more than the same old ones.

Master is old and can no longer support this sword tomb, but the legacy of Sword Nine must not be broken.

We urge our master to hand over the Sword Tomb Key and pass on the secret of the Ten Thousand Swords Returning to the Origin.

After Gu Changjin finished processing these memories, his eyes turned cold.

OK OK.

The Gu family forced their patriarch to his death, and now a disciple is forcing their master to hand over the inheritance.

Why does this plot keep going on and on?

He dared not kill indiscriminately in the cultivation world because there were still Nascent Soul stage cultivators above the Xuan Yang Sect.

If you really flip the table, you might end up burying yourself in the process.

But it's different here.

In the world of martial arts, the Sword God is invincible.

Even if one's vital energy and blood are depleted, one is still invincible.

Gu Changjin slowly raised his head...