Gu An gazed at the nine options before him, deep in thought.
Each name sounded promising, but some places were simply too dangerous to visit.
War Spirit Sacred Palace—Could it have ties to the War Court?
Netherworld Deep Sea—Definitely off-limits. Anything tied to reincarnation was treacherous, especially with the ghost immortals of the Nine Yin Divine Palace lurking about. If he ran into them, it would be a nightmare.
Path of the Grand Dao—That was the cosmic space beyond the Realm Gate, linking different Great Worlds. Who knew what kind of unknown dangers lay in wait there?
Judging by the names alone, it was too difficult to decide.
Even with his current cultivation, he couldn't deduce the true origins of these places.
One thing was clear—none of them were part of Heavenly Spirit World.
They were all beyond the Realm Gate.
After careful consideration…
Gu An finally settled on Nine Heavens Extreme Sky for his breakthrough.
With a single thought, he made his decision.
[Teleporting to Nine Heavens Extreme Sky will cost 10 billion years of lifespan. Proceed?]
10 billion years?!
That meant a round trip would cost 20 billion years of lifespan!
Gu An frowned.
He had expected Lifespan Breakthrough to be costly—after all, it only unlocked after reaching one hundred billion years of lifespan.
Clearly, it was meant to consume a vast amount of lifespan.
But he hadn't anticipated this level of expenditure.
Still, he had to break through.
He had 80 billion years of lifespan left—more than enough for the breakthrough.
Now, all he could do was hope that these breakthrough locations were truly worth the lifespan he was sacrificing.
After a brief hesitation, Gu An chose to proceed.
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, a vast, unstoppable force enveloped him.
Instead of feeling discomfort, he experienced an indescribable sensation, one he had never felt before.
His eyes shut involuntarily, and all his senses faded.
A moment later.
Gu An felt solid ground beneath his feet.
His senses instantly returned to normal, and as he opened his eyes, his pupils contracted in shock.
What he saw before him was an endless sea of clouds.
The sky stretched endlessly, pure and brilliantly blue, as if reaching into infinity.
There was an indescribable vastness, an overwhelming grandeur—as though the heavens themselves were revealing their boundless majesty.
Standing within this scene, one could only feel awe and reverence.
Gu An opened his mouth slightly, completely stunned.
What an overwhelming concentration of Dao Spirit Energy!
The Dao Spirit Energy here was far richer than even the cosmic energy outside Heavenly Spirit World.
Not only was it denser, but it was purer, entirely untainted by any form of impurities.
Spending 10 billion years of lifespan was absolutely worth it.
Without hesitation, Gu An activated his Lifespan Barrier, ensuring that no powerful beings passing by could detect him.
Lifespan Breakthrough had guaranteed his arrival in a safe location, but it never promised that this place would remain safe.
Once his Lifespan Barrier was in place, Gu An finally felt at ease.
Arriving in an unknown land, he needed to be cautious.
Instead of immediately starting his breakthrough, he sat down cross-legged, letting himself take in the view.
The endless sea of clouds stretched far and wide.
It was breathtaking.
Could Nine Heavens Extreme Sky actually consist of nine layers of the heavens?
As he pondered this, he spread out his divine sense, attempting to probe his surroundings.
But almost immediately, he realized that this ocean of clouds was far more immense than he had imagined.
More importantly…
His divine sense couldn't penetrate downward.
The depths of the cloud sea were bottomless, shrouded in a mysterious Dao force that blocked all perception.
He might have thought he was in the sky, but in reality…
He was standing at the very bottom layer.
Time passed.
Even after searching for a long while, his divine sense still couldn't find the end of the cloud sea.
Could this place be even vaster than the universe he came from?
The thought itself seemed absurd, even to him.
And yet…
It only made him more wary of Nine Heavens Extreme Sky.
Dao Spirit Energy richer and purer than anywhere in the universe.
A space more boundless than the known cosmos.
What kind of monstrous existences could be born in such a place?
Gu An took a deep breath, pushing these unsettling thoughts aside.
It didn't matter.
For now, his goal remained the same.
With that in mind, he pulled up his status panel.
[Name: Gu An]
[Lifespan: 6,815/90,000,000,075]
[Physique: Hunyuan Boundless Physique]
[Cultivation: Perfection of the Golden Immortal Dao Fruit Realm]
Gu An quickly calculated.
90 billion years of lifespan—set aside 10 billion for teleportation back and 5 billion for maintaining the Lifespan Barrier.
That left 75 billion years purely for breaking through.
Should be enough, right?
The last time he broke through, every time he failed a tribulation, he had to spend 50 million years before he could try again.
What if this time, each attempt took one hundred million years?
If that were the case, he'd have 750 attempts.
No big deal.
But it also meant he couldn't enhance his techniques just yet.
No rush.
He'd widen the gap in cultivation realms first. There was still plenty of time to improve Dao arts later.
No matter what, each decision had trade-offs, but overall, he was steadily growing stronger.
That was what mattered.
Gu An looked at his cultivation and directly invested 10 billion years of lifespan.
One prompt after another appeared before him—
[You have cultivated for one hundred million years, using your supreme mastery of the Grand Dao Free Will Sutra to forcibly charge into the Measuring the Heavens Golden Immortal Realm. You have failed the Heavenly Dao's Three Flowers Absolute Void Grand Tribulation.]
[You have cultivated for two hundred million years, using the Grand Dao Free Will Sutra to forcibly charge into the Measuring the Heavens Golden Immortal Realm. You have failed the Heavenly Dao's Three Flowers Absolute Void Grand Tribulation.]
…
Measuring the Heavens Golden Immortal!
As expected—one tribulation every one hundred million years!
Gu An adjusted his mindset.
Instead of feeling discouraged, he anticipated just how powerful Measuring the Heavens Golden Immortal would be.
But after several more prompts, the outcome remained the same—failure.
He clenched his jaw.
Another 10 billion years!
His gaze remained fixed on the system messages.
Fail?
Then try again!
10 billion years of lifespan!
Another 10 billion years!
Finally—
[After cultivating for 5.6 billion years, using the Grand Dao Free Will Sutra, you have successfully endured the Heavenly Dao's Three Flowers Absolute Void Grand Tribulation. You have broken through to the Early Measuring the Heavens Golden Immortal Realm!]
[You have cultivated for another 10 billion years, and your cultivation has grown.]
Finally, a breakthrough!
Gu An let out a long breath.
No matter how much lifespan he spent, as long as he broke through, it was worth it.
But he didn't stop.
Instead—
He poured in even more lifespan!
All the way to the Perfection of Measuring the Heavens Golden Immortal Realm!
By the time he finally stopped, he had 28 billion years of lifespan left.
He reserved 10 billion for teleporting back.
The remaining 18 billion wouldn't be completely drained by his Lifespan Barrier.
Feeling immensely satisfied, Gu An smiled.
The vast Dao Spirit Energy surged into his body.
Just like before, his Lifespan Barrier siphoned Dao Spirit Energy and Dao Laws in an unpredictable manner.
No one outside would be able to trace the source of this energy surge.
Before his eyes, the cloud sea began to churn, growing even more magnificent.
As the purest Dao Spirit Energy filled his body, Gu An felt an unparalleled sense of bliss.
His entire being was undergoing a complete transformation.
The changes began from the outside, then gradually seeped inward, cleansing every fiber of his being.
His eyes slowly closed, sinking into the overwhelming pleasure.
The endless cloud sea surged more violently.
The scene was breathtaking—wave after wave of rolling clouds, but not a single living creature appeared.
As if this entire world belonged solely to the clouds.
Within his mind, profound insights about the Measuring the Heavens Golden Immortal Realm began to emerge.
His Golden Immortal Dao Fruit also transformed.
Within his Lifespan Barrier, Gu An's entire body radiated seven-colored divine light.
His form became indistinct, shrouded in pure brilliance.
The Dao Spirit Energy around him condensed into serpentine currents, slithering like celestial dragons.
Traces of Dao Laws flickered between them, forming an ethereal glow.
Then—
Suddenly—
The distant horizon trembled.
The cloud sea surged upward, resembling a massive tidal wave, poised to devour the sky.
Or rather—
As if something immense was about to emerge from the depths.
A presence so vast, so terrifying—it could make even immortals tremble.