The immense waves of mist surged upwards, reaching an unknown height of tens of thousands of feet. It was as if the horizon of the boundless cloud sea had transformed into an unbreakable wall, towering and insurmountable.
Gu An, still in the process of breaking through, opened his eyes and sensed an overwhelming presence.
As expected!
There were indeed living beings hidden within the Nine Heavens Extreme Sky, and they were unlike anything from the Heavenly Spirit World.
As the distant cloud sea dispersed, Gu An caught sight of a massive eagle's head emerging from within. This was a black eagle, its single eye alone spanning over ten thousand feet in diameter. It seemed like a divine being standing beyond the world, observing the insignificant realm below.
Gu An, safely within his Lifespan Barrier, felt no fear. He cast his divine sense toward the eagle.
[Nine Heavens Divine Eagle (Late Golden Immortal Dao Fruit Realm): 38,009,982,763/5,000,000,000,000/5,000,000,000,000]
Five Trillion years of lifespan?
This being had already lived for 38 billion years!
And it was at the Late Golden Immortal Dao Fruit Realm!
Even though Gu An was in the middle of breaking through to the Measuring the Heavens Golden Immortal Realm, he couldn't help but feel shocked by this Nine Heavens Divine Eagle.
The very first living being he encountered here was already at the Golden Immortal Dao Fruit Realm?
An absurd thought crossed his mind—
Could it be that the lowest cultivation realm for beings here is the Golden Immortal Dao Fruit Realm?
It was highly likely.
He could feel fear emanating from the Nine Heavens Divine Eagle.
Despite its immense and domineering presence, capable of instilling fear in weaker beings, Gu An could sense its hesitation.
It had only revealed a part of its head because it was wary.
As expected, after probing for a moment, the Nine Heavens Divine Eagle swiftly withdrew into the cloud sea, causing mist waves to surge violently. The sky churned as fierce winds howled.
As soon as the divine eagle disappeared, Gu An closed his eyes again and continued comprehending the Measuring the Heavens Golden Immortal Realm.
As his Dao Fruit continued to evolve, his divine sense also strengthened.
Even without actively spreading his divine sense, his heart-eye vision expanded further.
The so-called heart-eye was a special perception—a natural ability allowing him to see everything without needing to consciously extend his senses.
This ability didn't consume his focus or mental energy.
It was as if he was born with it.
His heart-eye vision continued expanding—surpassing the range of his divine sense from before.
With time, Gu An finally stepped into the Measuring the Heavens Golden Immortal Realm.
His Dao Fruit strengthened further.
Beyond the enhancement of his power and senses, the biggest change was in his Dao Fruit World.
Now, if he wished to construct a Dao Fruit World, it would be far more stable and complete.
He could even use the power of his Dao Fruit World in battle!
If he willed it, he could create a world even larger than the Heavenly Spirit World at any time.
This world would be entirely fueled by his own immortal power—because he was the Dao Fruit World itself.
This only reinforced his belief—
The Heavenly Spirit World was most likely someone's Dao Fruit World.
If all the Great Worlds within the universe were gathered into one, their total size would be immense.
But even Gu An's own Dao Fruit World had no known limits.
He had yet to fully develop it, and as his cultivation grew stronger, the potential size of his Dao Fruit World would only continue to expand.
After reaching the Early Measuring the Heavens Golden Immortal Realm, his ability to absorb Dao Spirit Energy skyrocketed.
But he wasn't done yet—
He continued pushing toward higher realms.
When Gu An advanced to the Mid Measuring the Heavens Golden Immortal Realm, the boundless cloud sea surged even more violently.
He felt something—
Opening his eyes, he looked up.
A figure had appeared in the sky.
It was a woman dressed in white feathered robes, standing atop a seven-colored cloud.
Her face was flawless, as if she were the most perfect creation in all heavens and earth.
But beneath her breathtaking beauty was an indifference—the gaze of someone overlooking all existence.
Her long hair was arranged into an elegant updo, held in place by a silver phoenix crown.
The phoenix crown was unlike any ordinary ornament—
It resembled a miniature silver forest, and within it, a divine phoenix spread its wings, gazing down upon the world with absolute pride.
What a stunning woman…
Even with Gu An's countless reincarnations and memories, he was momentarily entranced by her beauty.
Gu An immediately used Lifespan Investigation, but found nothing.
That meant this white-robed woman wasn't actually here in person—she was just a manifestation of some divine ability.
The woman stood on the clouds, gazing at the surging mist below. Her expression was as calm as still water, making it impossible to discern her thoughts.
Gu An couldn't see through her cultivation realm, which made him even more cautious.
Time passed.
After the duration of one incense stick, the white-robed woman suddenly vanished like smoke, along with the seven-colored cloud beneath her feet.
Gu An let out a sigh of relief.
As expected, the Lifespan Barrier is reliable!
He closed his eyes again, focusing on the transformations within his own body.
Unlike the Land of Reincarnation or the Desolate Domain, breaking through in this place gave Gu An a clearer understanding of the Grand Dao's rules.
That was an unexpected delight.
One hundred billion years of lifespan hadn't been wasted!
Even if he had broken through in the Land of Reincarnation, reaching the Measuring the Heavens Golden Immortal Realm, his strength would still be vastly different compared to breaking through here.
The Dao Laws here were too pure, too dense!
Furthermore, by breaking through here, Gu An wouldn't cause disturbances in the universe where the Heavenly Spirit World resided.
This meant that the Heavenly Spirit Gods and those lurking in the shadows wouldn't notice anything unusual.
He could remain undetected.
That alone made this place the perfect breakthrough site.
Keep going!
Late Measuring the Heavens Golden Immortal Realm!
Peak Measuring the Heavens Golden Immortal Realm!
Once Gu An reached the pinnacle of the Measuring the Heavens Golden Immortal Realm, his immortal power, physical body, senses, heart-eye, soul, and Dao Fruit all reached a new level.
Everything felt different.
Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, gazing into the far distance.
A battle was happening.
The distance was equivalent to the gap between the Realm Gate and the Heavenly Spirit World—so vast that it seemed immeasurable.
Yet, it was still within the Nine Heavens Extreme Sky.
In the middle of the cloud sea, two figures were locked in combat.
One was a silver-armored man.
The other was a transformed demon beast.
The demon beast had the appearance of a Jiao-Dragon, retaining its dragon horns while wielding dual sabers. Each of its strikes was domineering and unrestrained, brimming with overwhelming ferocity.
Its demonic power had reached the Measuring the Heavens Golden Immortal Realm.
Likewise, the silver-armored man was at the Measuring the Heavens Golden Immortal Realm.
It was precisely because of their strength that the battle Gu An caused earlier had not affected them at all.
They fought with deadly intent—this wasn't just a spar, but a battle of life and death.
The aura radiating from the silver-armored man reminded Gu An of the Heavenly Spirit Gods and Immortal Deities who possessed Heaven's Dao Immortal Positions.
Could this man be one of them?
The silver-armored man wielded a spear, and every thrust carried profound divine power.
If they had been fighting in the Heavenly Spirit World, no great world within the universe would be able to withstand his divine strength.
Even with Gu An's current cultivation, he couldn't discern who had the upper hand.
The distance was simply too great.
His physical eyes couldn't see that far.
He could only use his heart-eye or divine sense to observe.
His Lifespan Investigation was useless here.
As Gu An focused his heart-eye on the battle, he began to hear their conversation.
"Extreme Sky God, do you really intend to fight me to the death?"
"Hmph! It is my duty to slay demons and vanquish evil!"
"The Nine Heavens Anomaly has nothing to do with me!"
"Then why have you come here?"
"I merely wish to visit the Nine Heavens Immortal Emperor."
"She is not someone you are worthy of meeting. Enough talk—prepare to die!"
The silver-armored man—referred to as Extreme Sky God—became even more resolute, determined to kill the demon beast.
Nine Heavens Immortal Emperor?
Gu An's mind immediately flashed back to the white-robed woman he had seen earlier.
His intuition told him that this was her title.
At his level of cultivation, his intuition was never baseless.
The name Nine Heavens Immortal Emperor and the white-robed woman were undeniably connected by fate and causality.