However, Gu Chen knew nothing about any of this, whether it happened in the Land of Heaven and Earth or on Xiaoxiang Peak outside the forest.
Now, in this underground world, Gu Chen was injured by Wang Gui. After taking the Departure Fall Pill and meditating for about fifteen minutes, he finally felt a little better.
He looked down at his wound, then applied some more ointment and wrapped his waist with some cotton cloth. Throughout the process, he was in so much pain that he broke out in a cold sweat and gritted his teeth.
Finally, Gu Chen stood up again, looking at the dead Wang Gui on the ground with an extremely complicated expression.
"The Great Dao is not so easily attained. I suffered a devastating calamity on Heavenly Nether Star, and I had to proceed cautiously and meticulously, taking twenty years to even reach the Foundation Establishment stage. Even my eventual ascension to the Divine Emperor was entirely due to opportunity and luck." Gu Chen sighed inwardly, "But only one in ten million people can achieve a similar outcome. Most of them perish, leaving behind only regrets."
Gu Chen didn't harbor much hatred towards Wang Gui, even though he almost died at his hands in the end. His anger quickly dissipated because he knew that Wang Gui was also a pitiful person who had been driven completely mad by his pursuit of the highest ideals on Earth during the Dharma-ending Age.
Gu Chen jumped down from the bronze furnace, which was about six or seven meters tall. Its shape was ancient and simple, and it was unknown how long it had been smelted to take shape. A temple was deliberately built on top of it, making the temple's canopy appear to be floating.
It seems that this old madman has great perseverance.
Upon reaching the base of the furnace, Gu Chen's eyes remained filled with astonishment as he gazed at the enormous spirit stone. This thing was truly astonishing; how could such a large spirit stone exist on Earth in its Dharma-ending Age! But based on Gu Chen's estimation, given Wang Gui's strength back then, he must have stolen it from the Land of Heaven and Earth.
His idea was good, but he went astray and failed at the last minute.
"This spirit stone doesn't have much spiritual energy left, but it's better than nothing."
Gu Chen's expression was indifferent. After killing Wang Gui, everything here belonged to him. It was time for him to collect the spoils!
Without a second thought, Gu Chen stored the spirit stone into his Emperor's Vein. Although the spiritual energy of the spirit stone had diminished considerably after more than a decade of consumption, it was still extremely useful to Gu Chen, who was below the Foundation Establishment Stage!
Even the residual spiritual energy within this spirit stone surpasses that of any blessed land on Earth!
After taking the spirit stones, Gu Chen looked at the larvae of the demonic beasts and the insect and snake eggs. These things had already been nurtured, and once they hatched, without the restraint of the great formation, they would surely wreak havoc on the world!
So Gu Chen did not hesitate to destroy everything, including the young demon beasts hiding in the corners.
Gu Chen packed up their corpses and threw them into the stove.
Then, Gu Chen turned to look at the row of cabinets displaying jade artifacts. This was the location of the room in the temple, presumably where Wang Gui originally lived. There was also a desk on the right.
Gu Chen opened the inner drawer and his eyes narrowed, because inside was a book made of animal hide, carefully framed.
On the written page, only five large characters were visible.
"Heaven-Reaching Netherworld Art!"
Upon seeing this book, Gu Chen carefully picked it up. Without guessing, he knew it was Wang Gui's so-called "immortal cultivation secret method."
"The words 'Netherworld' actually lead one to thoughts of cultivation methods." Gu Chen shook his head and sighed.
It's likely that Huaxia martial artists, having reached the pinnacle of martial arts, pursued it excessively and with unwavering dedication. Under such constraints, even the emergence of ghost cultivation techniques like this went unnoticed. However, after cultivating for so long, Wang Gui may have already made up his mind, but he preferred to deceive himself rather than admit it.
"Such harmful creatures should not remain in the world."
Gu Chen's eyes sharpened, and he said calmly. He didn't open it to look at the contents. Instead, he formed a Fire Summoning Technique in his hand, and a small flame enveloped his fingers. Then, Gu Chen placed the cultivation manual on the fire, and it burst into flames.
This book, which had once caused countless tragedies in the Land of Heaven and Earth and made many powerful people flock to it, even willing to die for it, was burned by Gu Chen and turned into ashes.
It fell to the ground in a flurry, like willow catkins.
Snap!
Gu Chen stepped on the ashes, then gently crushed them, and they vanished completely.
After doing all this, Gu Chen turned to look at the row of cabinets, which were filled with jade and jade artifacts. These items, nourished by spirit stones, already possessed spiritual energy within them. He didn't need to take them with him now; he could start cultivating immediately.
Gu Chen's chest, pierced by a bone spur, had not yet fully healed. Absorbing the spiritual energy from these jade artifacts might have unexpected effects. After thinking for a moment, Gu Chen piled the jade artifacts together.
Let's begin!
Gu Chen circulated the "Heaven and Earth Creation Art" and began to close his eyes and regulate his breathing.
As his cultivation technique spread, every meridian on the surface of his skin became clearly visible, as if it had become transparent, and a layer of white radiance rippled on the jade artifacts, which was spiritual energy.
As if drawn by a force, this spiritual energy frantically gathered towards the Tianmen acupoint at the back of Gu Chen's head, and then entered his body. As time passed, the spiritual energy in Gu Chen 'Gu Chen meridians increased, and after several cycles, it transformed into True Qi and surged into his dantian.
The process of absorbing spiritual energy is not complicated, and is even quite simple, but it is an extremely energy-consuming activity. After half an hour, Gu Chen stopped, rested for a while, and then absorbed again.
With this opening and closing, the spiritual sea within Gu Chen's dantian boiled and churned, growing stronger and more robust as Gu Chen's primordial spirit was gradually nourished by the jade's essence. At the same time, the luster on the jade gradually became dull and unremarkable over time.
In contrast, Gu Chen was surrounded by a halo that resembled mist or vapor, like a light veil covering him. Within this halo, there seemed to be stars scattered about, filling him with a sacred aura.
After an unknown amount of time, Gu Chen opened his eyes, a terrifying glint flashing within them!
It looks as if it can pierce through solid objects, making it impossible to look directly at!
Then, Gu Chen's eyes swept around, his gaze filled with domineering and coldness!
Repair successful, another step forward!
He has reached the Peak of the Early Revolving Illumination Realm!
He's just one step away from the Middle Revolving Illumination Realm!
Having returned from the cultivation world in less than a year, he has already reached the Peak of the Early Revolving Illumination Realm, starting from scratch!
If this were to get out, not a single martial artist on Earth would believe it!
Standing up, Gu Chen felt calm, not overly happy. After all, this was just a natural progression for him. As a cultivator, he was fundamentally different from a martial artist.
"Let's wait and see before kicking that final kick."
Looking down at his abdomen, Gu Chen realized he was almost fully recovered. His dantian had expanded, his meridians had broadened, and the True Qi he stored was far greater than before!
Those jade artifacts and stones completely lost their spiritual energy and became worthless.
"That old madman is practicing his grand formation here, spreading rumors that he wants to offer the souls of living people as sacrifices. I wonder if the Shennong Grass is real."
Although he killed Wang Gui and obtained a spirit stone, Gu Chen was not satisfied.
His purpose in coming here was to obtain the Shennong Grass, which was essential for his foundation building; he couldn't possibly let it go easily.