Three Bodies of the Heavenly Man

"It's that ancient corpse in red!"

"Watch out!"

As the voices echoed, Gu Yuan felt his feet leave the ground. The next second, he was several zhang away.

At the spot where he had been standing, bricks and stone exploded as the female corpse in red smashed a massive crater into the ground.

If he had still been standing there, he probably wouldn't have had a single intact piece of flesh left...

A fair, delicate hand rested on his shoulder. Qi Yueli said slowly:

"Stay where you are."

True qi surged as she threw a thundering punch, smashing the ancient corpse in red into the rock wall...

Gu Yuan's heart was still pounding.

I have to get stronger, fast... He possessed the Martial God Physique, like a perfect piece of uncarved jade. What he lacked now was a master craftsman at the pinnacle of their art!

In terms of martial cultivation alone, the most suitable person was naturally the empress, Qi Yueli.

She would probably be more than willing, too.

Unfortunately, martial arts were only the beginning. Beyond the Grandmaster Realm lay a series of stronger realms, including the Heavenly Being Realm and the Creation Realm...

Ultimately, he intended to become an immortal.

Great Qi's destruction was a necessary condition for the version update... No, now he should call it the great transformation of heaven and earth.

Once he took the empress as his master, an indelible karmic tie would form between them. If Gu Yuan then disregarded Qi Yueli and Great Qi... it would harm his Dao heart!

He couldn't take the empress as his master!

Speaking of other masters...

Gu Yuan's gaze fell on Lin Yao, who was fighting the ancient corpse in red...

Hmm, first rank is good enough, too.

A master could show him the way, but cultivation was up to the individual.

The roaring gradually subsided.

The ancient corpse in red was no match for Qi Yueli. In the end, the crimson light faded from its eyes.

Driving an ancient corpse with fortune... Perhaps I can make use of this method. She murmured inwardly, quietly committing the special markings inside the ancient corpse to memory.

Gu Yuan let out a long breath.

"Miss Lin Yao, thank you for saving my life."

"There's no need to thank me."

"Ah, if only I had your skills, Miss Lin Yao..."

"I can see that you have considerable talent. Your future achievements will surely be no less than mine," Qi Yueli said sincerely.

Gu Yuan clapped his hands and said, "Talented as I may be, without a renowned master to guide me, I can never find the right path."

Qi Yueli paused.

"Are you asking me to take you as my disciple?"

"Miss Lin Yao, you're beautiful and kind, your cultivation is profound, and you've saved me twice. If I could become your disciple, that would naturally be wonderful. I just don't know if you'd consider me worthy..."

Qi Yueli was a little annoyed.

During the day, he had brushed off the dignified empress with a refusal, only to turn around and ask a woman of unknown origins to be his master.

Hmph!

Even if both of them are me, that doesn't stop me from being angry!

"I can't take you as my disciple."

???

Gu Yuan paused in surprise. "Why not?"

"First, I know nothing about who you are. What if you're a sinister, deceitful person who acts one way to my face and another behind my back? Wouldn't taking you as a disciple ruin my reputation?"

"Second, if you become my disciple today, what if you regret it later and want to betray your master and leave? What then?"

Gu Yuan smiled faintly.

"Rest assured, miss. I'm the heir to Marquis Pingxiang of Qi Capital, known far and wide for being honest, kind, and trustworthy. I'm certainly not the sort to commit crimes..."

Qi Yueli: He doesn't commit crimes, but he's a little rebel with his heart set on starting a rebellion!

"As for the second point, a master for a day is a master for life. Once I, Gu Yuan, have made a decision, I will never regret it."

Qi Yueli asked again, "What if I'm deceiving you with a false identity?"

Gu Yuan shook his head.

"The fact that you were willing to risk your life to save me is enough to show that you're kindhearted. I believe you wouldn't harm me."

He had nothing on him that a first-rank martial artist would covet, either.

Qi Yueli smiled with her lips pressed together.

"Since you're so sincere, I suppose there's no harm in accepting you."

Once you become my disciple, let's see how you get away, you little rebel!

Gu Yuan was delighted.

"Your disciple pays his respects..."

"Wait." Qi Yueli stopped Gu Yuan.

"Before my master passed away, he always wished to take in a disciple of exceptional talent. I think you're very suitable, so today I'll accept you into the sect as his disciple on his behalf."

Accept him as her master's disciple?

That wasn't out of the question.

Gu Yuan mainly wanted someone to guide him in martial cultivation so he could quickly increase his strength.

A master or a senior sister would do just as well.

"Senior sister, what's our sect called? And what was master called?"

"The Heaven and Earth Sect," Qi Yueli made up on the spot. "Our venerable master was known as the Heaven and Earth Elder."

Hmm, I definitely haven't heard of him.

Gu Yuan was relieved.

After paying his respects to heaven and earth, Gu Yuan became a member of the Heaven and Earth Sect.

After giving it some thought, Qi Yueli had decided to leave Gu Yuan a little room to change his mind.

If he discovered her identity in the future and really wanted to leave, his membership in the Heaven and Earth Sect wouldn't bind him.

"Senior sister, since we have some time now, why don't you teach me a few moves first?"

"Don't rush. The Heaven and Earth Sect's cultivation method is special. It requires absorbing the spiritual qi of heaven and earth and gathering the essence of the sun and moon. This isn't a suitable place to cultivate."

"You're right, senior sister."

Qi Yueli smiled. In truth, she hadn't decided what to teach Gu Yuan at all. She could only look through the martial treasury when she returned and decide then.

"Let's find a way out first."

"Don't worry, senior sister. Leave the exit to me."

With that, Gu Yuan pressed his ear to the ground and began listening carefully.

"What are you doing?" Qi Yueli asked curiously.

"You may not know this, senior sister, but the qi channels here run close to the surface, and the surroundings are damp and full of life. There's probably an underground river connecting this place to the outside."

"You know about that too?"

Qi Yueli was quite surprised.

"A little."

Gu Yuan remembered that, in the story, the Prince of Qingzhou's heir had escaped through an underground waterway.

"Senior sister, this way."

Half an hour later.

The two arrived at another burial chamber.

They looked around. It was completely empty, with nothing inside.

The only things there were murals carved into the walls.

"What's this?" Gu Yuan couldn't understand the writing on them.

He could only make out that countless commoners were worshipping a Daoist seated on a lotus throne.

Afterward, the Daoist split into three and stepped into the heavens.

"Three Bodies of the Heavenly Man."

Qi Yueli stared fixedly at the murals, shock appearing in her eyes.

"Senior sister, what's that?" Gu Yuan had no memory of any information about the Three Bodies of the Heavenly Man.

"The end of the martial path is the Grandmaster Realm, but a grandmaster may not be the ultimate limit."

"This records a way to break through the Grandmaster Realm. It's called the Three Bodies of the Heavenly Man."

Gu Yuan was taken aback.

So it's a breakthrough method. No wonder I don't remember it... Breaking through wasn't nearly this troublesome before.

"Senior sister, what exactly is the method?"

Qi Yueli shook her head. "The place where the method was inscribed is no longer legible, and it seems to bear traces of deliberate destruction."

"You mean someone has been here before, senior sister?"

"I suppose so."

Qi Yueli was somewhat disappointed.

She had long since reached the pinnacle of martial arts, so she was naturally overjoyed to discover a way to break through.

But someone else had gotten there first...

Gu Yuan, however, didn't pay it much mind.

Once the great transformation of heaven and earth occurred, he would be able to break through to the Heavenly Being Realm.

As for bottlenecks, they didn't exist for him.

This Three Bodies of the Heavenly Man method was of no use to him.

"Senior sister, this rock wall is unusually damp. It should be right next to the underground river. We can get out."

Hearing this, Qi Yueli nodded gently.

"Step aside first. I'll blast it open."

After a muffled bang, the rock wall shattered, and the two finally heard the sound of a swift, ceaseless current...