The second hundred million years!
After Gu An made his decision, his eyes remained fixed on the notifications.
One after another, the prompts emerged, all indicating failure!
With tribulation attempts every two million years, one hundred million years only allowed for fifty tries. Gu An recalled his past experiences of failing hundreds of times during tribulations, and a sense of mounting tension gripped him.
Finally, complete failure!
Two hundred million years of lifespan, and one hundred tribulations—all failures!
Gu An engraved the experience of the Heavenly Dao Taiyi Divine Origin Tribulation into his mind. Despite not upgrading his techniques or divine abilities further, he felt his overall capabilities should have been sufficient.
"This Heavenly Dao Taiyi Divine Origin Tribulation is something else!" Gu An mused inwardly. Resolving to continue, he invested another hundred million years of lifespan.
Failure!
Failure!
Failure!
Even as Gu An watched the lifespan barrier consume little of his lifespan, he felt as if it mocked him silently.
"Another hundred million years! Surely, this time will be it!" Gu An gritted his teeth, no longer able to maintain his composure.
The notifications began flashing again, faster than before.
And still, failure!
Gu An had now burned through four hundred million years of lifespan, failing two hundred tribulations.
This brought his thoughts back to Long Zhan. How many years of lifespan had Long Zhan burned to achieve his breakthrough?
Although Gu An inherited Long Zhan's memories, they didn't include the exact notifications or Long Zhan's inner thoughts during that time. He could only piece together Long Zhan's journey through his own perspective. This inability to completely embody Long Zhan's life reinforced Gu An's conviction that he was the true individual. He wouldn't lose himself in another's experiences.
Long Zhan had never revealed the secret of lifespan extraction to anyone, nor did he mention his exact lifespan often. As a result, Gu An had no way of knowing how much Long Zhan truly had.
Reflecting on Long Zhan's memories, Gu An recalled moments of frustration during his early attempts at breaking through to the Dao Fruit Realm. It seemed Long Zhan, too, must have faced numerous failures.
Taking a deep breath, Gu An cast aside distracting thoughts and refocused on his breakthrough.
There were still six hundred million years of lifespan left. As long as he succeeded, it didn't matter how much was spent. Lifespan was just a number—it could always be replenished!
Moreover, he was luckier than Long Zhan. Long Zhan had only awakened the lifespan extraction ability in his twilight years, while Gu An was only 419 years old.
He still had infinite possibilities ahead of him.
"As long as I don't behave as arrogantly as Long Zhan did!"
Another hundred million years!
Having made up his mind, Gu An waited for the next wave of notifications to conclude before immediately investing another hundred million years of lifespan.
He glanced at his attribute panel and saw he still had four hundred million years of lifespan left.
Failure again!
Gu An had to pause. He needed to calm down.
"Two more attempts. If I burn another two hundred million years and still fail, I'll have to stop for now. After all, tribulations also consume lifespan during breakthroughs."
During his previous breakthrough, he had burned fifty million years of lifespan. This time, it would certainly be more.
"One more try!"
Investing another hundred million years, Gu An's gaze turned cold. But in the next moment, his eyes lit up.
[You practiced Qi absorption for 48 million years. With your profound mastery of the Eternal Great Infinite Art, you forcibly attempted to ascend to the Dao Fruit Realm, began your tribulation, endured the Heavenly Dao Taiyi Divine Origin Tribulation, and succeeded. You have entered the Dao Fruit Realm. Your cultivation has advanced to the Early Stage of the Dao Repository Free Immortal Realm.]
[You practiced Qi absorption for 85 million years. Your cultivation advanced to the Middle Stage of the Dao Repository Free Immortal Realm.]
[You practiced Qi absorption for 100 million years. Your cultivation advanced.]
Breakthrough achieved!
Small stages within the realm were no longer described as the "Ninth Layer" but instead divided into "Early," "Middle," and "Late" stages.
It appeared that the Dao Fruit Realm was indeed a vast stage, comparable to the Ninefold Heavens of the Mortal and Immortal Realms.
Dao Repository Free Immortal!
This was the realm Long Zhan had reached before being slain by the Annihilation God Emperor.
A surge of grand dao energy began pouring into Gu An's body. At the same time, he saw the lifespan barrier rapidly consuming his remaining lifespan.
Gu An now had three hundred million years left. He continued to advance with controlled spending.
One notification after another appeared. This time, he invested his lifespan in smaller increments, avoiding the reckless splurges of hundreds of millions at once.
Late Stage of the Dao Repository Free Immortal Realm!
Perfection of the Dao Repository Free Immortal Realm!
Stop!
In just two small stages, Gu An had burned 120 million years of lifespan.
He was left with 180 million years!
"Surely, the lifespan barrier won't drain me dry?" Gu An thought nervously. If it came to that, he could cancel the barrier. He wasn't going to wait for death passively.
As massive streams of grand dao energy surged into his body, the Desolation Domain began to tremble once again. It wasn't just the grand dao energy—cosmic dao laws themselves seemed to be quaking.
Almost instantaneously, the beings roaming and battling within the domain fled in terror.
This disturbance far surpassed the one Gu An had caused during his last breakthrough. Even beings as strong as Divine Thought True Immortals retreated in panic.
Gu An quickly closed his eyes and immersed himself in the process of his transformation.
His Dao Seed began absorbing the energy of the Grand Dao, even integrating aspects of Dao rules. Most of these rules were related to karma and destiny, followed by those of the soul and reincarnation.
Reincarnation rules had always existed, but they were far from perfected as in the myths of his previous life.
The rules of reincarnation worked to absorb souls, allowing them to be reborn anew. However, this process was elusive and beyond anyone's ability to interfere with.
Gu An focused his thoughts on the Dao Seed, which had been steadily accumulating its own path of the Dao.
For cultivators, their Dao was similar to the rules of the Grand Dao, but distinct. It was more like a unique form of energy, and its application resembled divine abilities.
Once the Dao Seed blossomed into a Dao Fruit, Gu An would be able to fight using his own Dao. This would elevate his combat level significantly, granting him far more advanced methods and abilities.
The Dao Repository Realm would allow the Dao Fruit to nurture its first Innate Grand Divine Ability!
This Innate Grand Divine Ability couldn't be passed on to others; it was unique to the cultivator who manifested it.
As Gu An pondered his first innate divine ability, he also considered crafting his personal immortal treasure. If the two could be combined, the effects would be even better.
Since Gu An enjoyed writing, he decided to forge a pen. His Innate Grand Divine Ability would have to be pen-related.
An idea quickly took shape in his mind. As his thoughts cleared, the flow of Grand Dao energy and rule power into his body accelerated. The resulting effects expanded rapidly, soon alarming the entire Heavenly Spirit Great Heaven.
The powerful cultivators guarding the outer layer of the sky were all startled, rising to their feet in shock.
"It's happening again! This time, it's even more intense than before!"
"What is causing this disturbance? Why are even the spiritual energy and cosmic rules in turmoil?"
"We can't pinpoint the source or direction of this anomaly."
"Everyone, remain vigilant. This must be related to the Heaven-Demons!"
"One wave hasn't settled, and another is rising. Could this be the fabled Catastrophe of the Era?"
As the cultivators discussed amongst themselves, two figures appeared above them, unnoticed by anyone.
These were two Free Immortals, one from the Immortal Dynasty and the other from the Sacred Court.
The Free Immortal from the Immortal Dynasty was known as the Ancient Immortal Emperor. He had white hair yet a youthful face, wore a white robe, and radiated a pure white Dao Light. His presence seemed otherworldly, as though he didn't belong in the cosmic void.
"Is this a breakthrough, or a formation being set up?" the Ancient Immortal Emperor asked with a slight frown.
The Sacred Ancestor from the Sacred Court stood beside him, wearing a dark Daoist robe. His black-and-white hair swayed gently as he emanated an overwhelming aura of oppression. His gaze was fixed on the depths of the universe as well.
"Neither," the Sacred Ancestor replied softly, his tone complex. "It seems more like some kind of Grand Dao rule influencing the cosmos."
The two Free Immortals fell into silence.
After a long pause, the Sacred Ancestor turned to the Ancient Immortal Emperor and asked, "You won't intervene in the struggles of our descendants, will you?"
The Ancient Immortal Emperor turned his head, looking at him. "As long as you uphold our pact, I naturally will not violate it."
Hearing this, the Sacred Ancestor smiled faintly and nodded. "Let the younger generation fight their battles. For us, understanding the Grand Dao is the true priority. If the Heaven-Demons truly invade and the Heavenly Spirit Great Heaven faces annihilation, only then shall we act."
The Ancient Immortal Emperor had no objections. He glanced back at the Heavenly Spirit Great Heaven, his gaze laden with meaning.
"How many generations until the Divine Sovereign emerges?" the Ancient Immortal Emperor asked.
The Sacred Ancestor shook his head. "I do not know. Years ago, he stopped trusting me. Now he comprehends the Heavenly Dao alone, walking a path of solitary strength."
The Ancient Immortal Emperor fell silent and asked no more, redirecting his gaze toward the Desolation Domain.
Boom!
Within Gu An's body, his Dao Seed completely condensed into a Dao Fruit. He had officially achieved the Dao Repository Realm!
At the same time, Dao Markings began appearing on the Dao Fruit, manifesting as the shape of his Innate Grand Divine Ability.
Gu An named the divine ability he created The True Word of Longevity. This divine ability revolved around karma and destiny, allowing him to dictate the life, death, and fate of beings through the power of words.
It carried the profound concept of "words becoming reality."
Gu An continued to strive for the Middle Stage of the Dao Repository Free Immortal Realm.
Opening his eyes, he checked his attribute panel and saw he still had over 130 million years of lifespan remaining. His anxiety eased slightly.
It seemed the lifespan barrier wouldn't drain him dry after all.
Time passed swiftly.
Half an hour later, his cultivation reached the Late Stage of the Dao Repository Free Immortal Realm!
Just one more small stage to go!
The power of the Late Stage Dao Repository Free Immortal Realm far surpassed that of the Early Stage. Both the quantity and quality of his energy were leagues apart.
This unprecedented feeling of strength made Gu An ecstatic.
He even felt as though the cosmos itself could no longer restrain him. He could easily step out of the universe.
However, he restrained himself. He sensed terrifying entities lurking outside the universe—perhaps the Annihilation God Emperor or the Black Xuan Emperor lay in wait.
Turning his attention outward, Gu An's divine sense extended far into the distance.
It roamed through the Desolation Domain, detecting countless powerful beings. The Desolation Domain housed numerous Divine Thought True Immortals and Free Immortals, but they were scattered across vast distances. In a region as expansive as the Heavenly Spirit Great Heaven, finding a single Free Immortal was rare.
His divine sense crossed immense distances, eventually glimpsing another great heaven.
Without stopping, he pressed forward.
Over time, he witnessed three more great heavens, all surrounded by the Desolation Domain.
As his divine sense reached its limit, he quickly retracted it and focused on his breakthrough.
The nearest great heaven to the Heavenly Spirit Great Heaven was an unfathomable distance away. Even for a Divine Thought True Immortal, it would take years to traverse, passing through numerous spatial distortions. Flight alone wasn't sufficient to cross such terrain.
Gu An refocused inward, observing his Dao Fruit.
A sense of anticipation filled him—when the Dao Fruit bloomed, it would mark the advent of a completely new realm.
He eagerly awaited that day.
At that moment, Gu An felt a shift and looked up.
From the depths of darkness emerged a pair of colossal eyes. These were the same eyes he had glimpsed during his previous breakthrough, and now, they had appeared once more.
The Heavenly Spirit Great Heaven wasn't even as large as the pupil of these eyes, a testament to their immense size!
Gu An fixed his gaze on the giant eyes, attempting to discern their secrets.