Gu An opened his eyes, and what entered his vision was a dark, vast universe, with waves of Dao mist surging in all directions, filling him with a sense of serenity.
He immediately activated the Lifespan Barrier before carefully observing the Abyssal Dao Sea.
Under his feet, there was also spiritual mist, but it gave him a tangible sensation, as though standing on solid ground.
This universe was dim, void of starlight, yet countless Rivers of Light flowed in different directions, casting faint illumination upon the vast darkness.
No wonder it was called an abyss. The longer one stayed here, the more they could feel an overwhelming aura of deathly silence.
It felt as if, at any moment, terrifying beings could emerge from the depths of the darkness in every direction and tear intruders apart.
Through his Mind's Eye, Gu An peered into the distant void and saw a massive floating city. It was as enormous as half of the Heavenly Spirit Great World, with thirty-six towering Black Pagodas standing outside its perimeter, each entwined by a black dragon, exuding an eerie and menacing presence.
This was Abyssal Imperial City!
True Person Ni Hai had once been a subordinate of this city. Within the Abyssal Dao Sea, this city was a dominant power. Inside, there existed powerful beings of the Supreme Purity Golden Immortal Realm. According to True Person Ni Hai's memories, he had personally encountered at least five Supreme Purity Golden Immortals within the city.
Despite being part of Abyssal Imperial City, True Person Ni Hai did not fully understand its depths. The hierarchy here was absolute—one realm of difference was as vast as the chasm between mortals and immortals.
It was said that the founder of Abyssal Imperial City was a Dao Monarch, a being acknowledged by the Great Dao Rules with the Qi Luck Fruit Position. Within the same realm, a Dao Monarch could take on a hundred enemies at once, making them unparalleled figures. This attracted many powerful individuals of the same rank to gather in Abyssal Imperial City.
When True Person Ni Hai had first reached the Measuring the Heavens Golden Immortal Realm, he was oppressed by one such Dao Monarch. On that day, this figure—who could have been invincible across the vast Great Thousand World—was forced to kneel before a superior existence like a mere dog, enduring humiliation without resistance.
It wasn't that True Person Ni Hai was weak. His opponent simply had the power to obliterate him. On the brink of death, he had no choice but to beg for mercy. That moment became the deepest, most shameful memory buried in his heart, unknown even to Undying Emperor.
It was because of this experience that True Person Ni Hai eventually chose to leave Abyssal Imperial City.
Undying Emperor had befriended him in hopes of using him as a stepping stone to enter Abyssal Imperial City. True Person Ni Hai had indeed helped, but even with his assistance, Undying Emperor found it difficult to gain a foothold within the city. Over endless years, in order to establish his own faction, Undying Emperor had nurtured sixteen Innate Golden Immortals, all of whom were supreme geniuses from various worlds. Among them, seven had the potential to achieve the rank of Dao Monarch.
Gu An stood in the void, gazing at Abyssal Imperial City, recalling True Person Ni Hai's memories of it.
After watching for a while, he turned his gaze in other directions.
He could sense the presence of other powerful sources of Qi Luck. Abyssal Imperial City was not the strongest force within the Abyssal Dao Sea.
Had he been born in this place, he couldn't even imagine how many years of struggle it would take before he could escape.
Previously, when tracking War Court through Karmic Force, he had used the Path-Crushing Divine Light, taking only a few steps before arriving at War Court.
But the Abyssal Dao Sea was different. The Great Dao Rules here were even stronger, preventing Gu An from using Path-Crushing Divine Light to instantly travel across vast distances. He could only move freely within the region itself.
Suddenly, Gu An's Mind's Eye caught sight of a massive presence hidden within the endless spiritual mist.
It was a colossal Kun, its body surrounded by over ten thousand realms, continuously emitting spiritual energy that nourished the worlds around it.
Some of those realms even contained the auras of Dao Repository Free Immortals.
Due to the extreme distance, Gu An could not use his Lifespan Investigation to probe it, but his Mind's Eye allowed him to perceive its presence.
That Kun was at the Measuring the Heavens Golden Immortal Realm (Perfection Stage)!
And within those worlds it carried, countless beings lived in ignorance of its existence. Even the Dao Repository Free Immortals within them remained unaware, unable to escape beyond their heavens.
Gu An sighed inwardly.
From the moment one was born, they were already bound by shackles. No matter how high they reached, there was always another world confining them.
Sitting cross-legged in the void, Gu An pulled up his Attribute Panel and immediately invested ten billion years of lifespan into his cultivation level!
A notification instantly popped up.
[You have cultivated through absorption for five billion years. Relying on your supreme mastery of the Great Dao, you forcefully attempt to condense the Grand Luo Dao Fruit and begin tribulation. However, you failed to endure the Grand Luo Tribulation, and the breakthrough was unsuccessful.]
[You have cultivated through absorption for ten billion years. Relying on your supreme mastery of the Great Dao, you forcefully attempt to condense the Grand Luo Dao Fruit and begin tribulation. However, you failed to endure the Grand Luo Tribulation, and the breakthrough was unsuccessful.]
…
Grand Luo Dao Fruit!
The Grand Luo Tribulation that encompasses all laws!
Every five billion years, a tribulation!
Gu An's heart surged with excitement. Could the mythical Grand Luo Immortal truly exist?
More and more notifications appeared, yet each attempt ultimately ended in failure.
But Gu An was unfazed.
He continued to invest more of his lifespan.
Another hundred billion years!
Then another hundred billion!
In just a few breaths, Gu An had failed repeatedly. He had already burned through one trillion years of lifespan.
But since this was purely a breakthrough in cultivation level, he only needed to save two trillion years to maintain the Lifespan Barrier.
Keep going!
He had to achieve the Grand Luo Dao Fruit today!
His fighting spirit soared as he relentlessly poured lifespan into his breakthrough.
Failure!
Failure!
Failure!
Until the forty-eighth cycle of a hundred billion years, when something finally changed…
[You have cultivated through absorption for seventy billion years. With your profound mastery of the Great Dao, you forcefully attempt to condense the Grand Luo Dao Fruit and begin tribulation. You endure the Grand Luo Tribulation that encompasses all laws. Tribulation successfully passed. Your Golden Immortal Dao Fruit has transformed into a Grand Luo Dao Fruit. Your cultivation has advanced to the Early Stage of the Heaven-Opening Grand Luo Immortal Realm.]
[You have cultivated through absorption for eighty billion years. Your cultivation has increased.]
…
A smile spread across Gu An's face. He had genuinely feared failing the breakthrough.
Although he had not previously used Lifespan Simulation to evolve and refine his progress, the Immortal Emperor's Pupil had endless mysteries. Perhaps it had played a significant role in enduring the tribulation.
He continued to invest more lifespan, aiming to push his cultivation to the Perfection Stage of the Heaven-Opening Grand Luo Immortal Realm.
However, when he reached the Late Stage of the Heaven-Opening Grand Luo Immortal Realm, his remaining lifespan had dropped to two hundred billion years, startling him to the point where he dared not continue.
He feared being completely drained by the Lifespan Barrier.
At this moment, the energy of the Great Dao began surging into his body. Instantly, his entire form was engulfed in divine light.
Beyond the Lifespan Barrier, the vast sea of spiritual mist surged violently. From a macro perspective, massive ripples spread across the endless misty ocean. Observed up close, these ripples were boundless waves, surging with unparalleled grandeur.
Anomalies erupted in all directions, appearing without pattern. Before long, throughout the Abyssal Dao Sea, spiritual energy fluctuations intensified, and countless manifestations of Dao Laws materialized.
Even before Gu An could receive the Inheritance of the Heaven-Opening Grand Luo Immortal, he could already feel numerous powerful divine senses sweeping through the area.
Measuring the Heavens Golden Immortal... Supreme Purity Golden Immortal... Supreme Purity Golden Immortal... Measuring the Heavens Golden Immortal...
Gu An silently assessed the cultivation levels of these divine senses. The Abyssal Dao Sea was truly formidable, leagues beyond War Court.
Yet, War Court was already an insurmountable force within the Heavenly Spirit Great World.
Not long after, an unending stream of inheritance memories flooded into Gu An's mind. Just before his consciousness fully immersed itself in enlightenment, he had one final thought.
The Abyssal Dao Sea must not be provoked lightly!
The moment Gu An closed his eyes, the divine light around him suddenly dimmed. Looking up, an enormous shadow passed overhead—a colossal, mysterious black avian creature soared across the sky. Its massive body was beyond comprehension, and each of its feathers was as large as a mountain.
A long time passed before the darkness finally drifted away from Gu An.
However, within the Lifespan Barrier, Gu An remained unaware of this event. He had already fully immersed himself in the inheritance of the Heaven-Opening Grand Luo Immortal.
Only after half an hour did he finally open his eyes.
He had become a Heaven-Opening Grand Luo Immortal!
Now that he had attained this level, Gu An looked at the Abyssal Dao Sea again and suddenly felt that this world was not entirely untouchable.
His cultivation continued to rise. He checked the Lifespan Barrier's lifespan consumption—the numbers fluctuated wildly, but they were not enough to threaten his survival.
The Grand Luo Dao Fruit was far more complex than the Golden Immortal Dao Fruit. Dao patterns covered its entirety, and at its core, the Supreme Purity Celestial Firmament had begun to truly evolve into a complete world.
This "Heaven" held a power that balanced the Three Thousand Dao Laws—it was akin to Qi Luck, akin to Karmic Force, yet if Gu An had to describe it, it was closest to the concept of Heaven's Will.
Suddenly, Gu An noticed countless figures flying overhead, moving ceaselessly. The number was overwhelming—far beyond the legions of War Court, more imposing and majestic.
He continuously activated Lifespan Investigation, sensing the auras of those passing by.
Almost none of them were at the Free Immortal Realm!
Even within the Abyssal Dao Sea, there existed mortal spirits, but they were either trapped within small worlds or hidden inside Dao Fields, too afraid to venture out and witness the celestial anomaly that had shaken the entire Abyssal Dao Sea.
"A Grand Luo has descended. Why not reveal yourself?"
A voice, ancient and profound, suddenly resounded through the void. Gu An could clearly sense that the speaker was also a Heaven-Opening Grand Luo Immortal.
The depth of the Abyssal Dao Sea's foundation was truly astonishing!
Gu An remained silent, continuing to bask in the joy of his rapidly increasing cultivation.
The voice did not resound again, but judging by the increasingly powerful figures passing through, it was evident that the entity had grown irritated.
Time continued to flow.
Middle Stage of the Heaven-Opening Grand Luo Immortal Realm!
Late Stage of the Heaven-Opening Grand Luo Immortal Realm!
Although many figures passed by, none dared to trespass into Gu An's Lifespan Barrier. To the vastness of this void, his barrier was nothing more than a speck of dust.
Gu An checked his remaining lifespan—30 billion years—and sighed.
It still wasn't enough!
But at least he had now achieved the Heaven-Opening Grand Luo Immortal Realm, making a significant leap in cultivation. He would have to find another opportunity to push for the Perfection Stage.
This breakthrough had consumed nearly 800 Billion years.
Gu An slowly stood up, once again gazing at the Abyssal Dao Sea. Now, he could see far more than before.
The Abyssal Dao Sea was truly vast, filled with endless wonders, but the Abyssal Imperial City, once appearing invincible, had lost its former overwhelming presence in his eyes.