Demon Slaying, Gaining 60 Years of Cultivation From the Start

Outside the secret realm, the emergence of the cold-hearted man from the Soaring Snake Clan and the warrior from the Heavenly Mysterious Imperial Dynasty, both slain by Gu Chen, was witnessed.

As important figures of the Soaring Snake Clan and the Heavenly Mysterious Imperial Dynasty, they naturally carried protective talismans, which healed their injuries and escorted them away from the secret Cave Heaven Realm.

"Hmm?"

Upon seeing these two people appear, not to mention the great masters of the Unity Realm, even the Great Powers sitting in the void like blazing suns showed signs of confusion.

"Could they have encountered some peril?" asked a top-tier strongman of the Unity Realm's Earth realm.

In their eyes, with the strength of these two individuals, despite not necessarily being invincible in this Cave Heaven, they should have been close to it, especially with the backing of powerful forces. They should not have encountered any mishap.

But unexpectedly, the two shook their heads and said, "We were slain by someone."

"Who?"

As soon as these words were spoken, immediately a Great Power spoke up, as the two men behind them were the young master of the Soaring Snake Clan and the Ninth Prince of the Heavenly Mysterious Imperial Dynasty, and it was not to be taken lightly.

"It was a young strongman…" The two then described Gu Chen's appearance.

"It's him again?!" Instantly, those of the Heaven realm's Great Powers, as well as the strong men of the Unity Realm, had their expressions shaken.

"Do you know the identity of this person?" Another Great Power of the Unity Realm hastily asked.

By now, everyone who had emerged from the secret Cave Heaven seemed to have a connection with this young man, and they could not be careless.

In fact, on the periphery, the onlookers who learned of the incident became extremely anxious, scratching their heads and ears in their eagerness to know exactly who it was.

The cold-hearted man from the Soaring Snake Clan remained silent, for he was not particularly articulate and besides, it was not good news.

On the other hand, the warrior from the Heavenly Mysterious Imperial Dynasty hesitated for a moment before saying, "According to Miss Xue Ningshan's speculation from Spirit Path Mountain, that young strongman is very likely Gu Jiuge, who recently made the list of the Realm's Gold Ranking."

"Indeed, it is him!"

Hearing this, the Great Powers of the Heaven realm and the elders of the powerful factions of the Unity Realm all showed a dawning realization.

But soon after, their expressions became extremely serious. With such a powerful young generation, could their own younger generation possibly stand as equals?

"I'm now somewhat curious as to which hidden lineage this young man hails from. Didn't the girl from Spirit Path Mountain say anything?" asked a Great Power, looking towards the men from the Heavenly Mysterious Imperial Dynasty and the Soaring Snake Clan.

Seeing a formidable figure from the Heaven realm inquire, the two responded with utmost respect and urgency, "To inform our seniors, Miss Xue from Spirit Path Mountain does not know, and Gu Jiuge himself has also not mentioned it."

"That's quite strange, even Spirit Path Mountain, which is also a hidden lineage, does not know?" The Great Powers and Unity Realm's powerhouses wore thoughtful expressions.

"Could it be that this young man is an independent cultivator?" suggested an elder.

At these words, the elder of the Red Cloud Sect's Unity Realm's eyes flashed coldly — if he truly was an independent cultivator, their Red Cloud Sect would not let him slip by!

However, at that moment, a Great Power suspended in the sky spoke up with a booming voice, "For an independent practitioner to reach such strength at this age seems a bit too unrealistic."

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded, understanding that extraordinary talents like Gu Yan and Xue Ningshan, or any others from hidden lineages or the four major alien races, were remarkable not only due to their innate gifts but also the support of their powerful factions.

An independent cultivator, without the vast resources expended by holy lands or colossal factions to meticulously cultivate geniuses, simply could not stand shoulder to shoulder with them.

"How could an independent cultivator possibly find so many resources for breakthroughs?" a Unity Realm strongman shook his head.

The path of cultivation becomes increasingly difficult towards the higher realms, and for an independent practitioner without a lineage to climb higher is indeed very hard.

"Perhaps it's from some rarely seen hidden lineage that seldom appears in the mundane world," suggested a Great Power.

The Upper Realm is so vast, each region immensely large, with countless forces standing tall. Hidden lineages rarely reveal themselves, only occasionally would a disciple descend from the mountains — it's not impossible that Gu Jiuge's lineage is unknown to many.

"Regardless, this young man is indeed extraordinary and we must be extremely cautious!" All the prominent figures present took this to heart.

With such age and strength, he could be compared to the celebrated prodigies from several realms, and their own younger generation might not necessarily be his match.

But fortunately, before they had entered this secret Cave Heaven realm, they had prepared various contingencies for their descendants, among which these protectors were but one example.

...

Outside the jungle, after slaying the cold-hearted man from the Soaring Snake Clan and the warrior from the Heavenly Mysterious Imperial Dynasty, the two turned into streaks of light and fled. Gu Chen, undistracted, went straight towards the valley inside.

The protective talismans created by those of the Heaven realm were beyond Gu Chen's ability to stop, even if he had wanted to.

As soon as he stepped into the jungle, a buzzing sound erupted. From a cave, a great mass of dark light surged forth, revealing countless poisonous insects covered in black scales, about the size of a fingertip, one after another.

They had wings as thin as cicada wings, yet their speed was extremely swift, devouring any creature that sought to approach the valley.

A notoriously vicious creature — the Black Scale Insects!

When taken individually, the Black Scale Insects were quite weak; warriors at the Tian Ren realm could easily kill quite a few with a single slap. But Black Scale Insects are gregarious by nature. Once they mobilize, they don't just come in hundreds or thousands—it's in the tens or even hundreds of thousands!

Even among them, there would be an insect king with formidable strength. When it rallied the horde, even experts at the Cave Heaven Realm would feel dizzy upon seeing it.

The reason why Xue Ningshan and the others were previously in a standoff here had a lot to do with the army of Black Scale Insects, which they were wary of.

Amidst the piercing buzzing, Gu Chen saw that at the forefront of the dense army of Black Scale Insects, there was one much more robust than the rest, several times larger, with its black scales flashing with the luster of armor, showing no weakness.

Boom!

Faced with the Black Scale Insects that other cultivators at the Cave Heaven Realm would find very troublesome, Gu Chen simply waved his arm, and in an instant, a swath of pale golden flames surged forth—the Sun True Fire, uniquely supreme and invincible!

This was the greatest weakness of the Black Scale Insects, as they were particularly afraid of fire, not to mention the Sun True Fire that ranked at the forefront among myriads of flames.

The moment the dense army of Black Scale Insects collided with the Sun True Fire, they were instantly reduced to ashes.

"Golden Body Fluid!"

Quickly, Gu Chen entered the cave and collected the Golden Body Fluid contained within several of the Jade Purifying Bottles. It was a treasure for any cultivator at the Cave Heaven Realm, capable of helping one's body to condense a flawless precious physique, greatly enhancing one's potential and potentially forming more heavenly veins within the realm of Cave Heaven.

Three hundred and sixty-five heavenly veins. Reaching the ultimate realm of the Cave Heaven Realm was extremely arduous; only the most exceptional geniuses among all the dominions stood a chance of achieving this.

As for the others, having three hundred heavenly veins was already very powerful. Those cultivators who could reach this level were already considered to have extraordinary talent, ranking at the forefront of their domain, second only to the few most exceptional prodigies.

Just like the sons or daughters of sanctity from certain holy lands, who might appear only once in many years.

After all, in the Cave Heaven Realm, being able to condense two hundred heavenly veins and thus open a Cave Heaven already qualified one as a genius.

To condense three hundred heavenly veins before reaching one hundred years of age was exceedingly rare.

"Such individuals must be the core guardians, accompanying those prodigious talents," Gu Chen was very clear on this point.

For instance, Xue Ningshan, the descendant from the Ling Dao Mountain who visited not so long ago—Gu Chen could sense that her guardians were definitely not weak, and could even be considered very strong.

Therefore, it was evident that other forces comparable to Ling Dao Mountain were naturally prepared just as much for this opportunity, each making thorough preparations.

"While the Golden Body Fluid is excellent, it's a pity that with my current physique, its usefulness might not be that great," Gu Chen murmured to himself, his eyes deep with thought.

There was no helping it; compared to cultivators of the same realm, Gu Chen was just too strong. At least within the Gray Domain, there were hardly a few of his peers who could contend with him in battle.

Even without invoking divine powers, if he were serious, there was no one who could last a few rounds against him.

In particular, he had already achieved a certain mastery in physical cultivation while in the Jiuzhou region, and even possessed the potential to have his body become a realm unto itself. If not so, he would not have been able to cultivate such an extraordinary sanctuary, unparalleled and unprecedented.

Fortunately, the Golden Body Fluid wasn't entirely useless to him.

The reason he had made a move to seize it was because when he was looking after the spiritual flowers and herbs in Xuan Yi Sect's medicine valley in Meteor State, he had several encounters with the elder, Lu Qingfeng.

During one of those times, Gu Chen clearly heard Elder Lu mumbling to himself.

"With Heavenly Origin Liquid and Golden Body Fluid as the main ingredients, assisted by Xue Phœnix Lotus, Evergreen Flower, Green Crystal Fruit, and other heaven and earth treasures, it can help a cultivator break through the physical shackles—a top ancient prescription!" With a smile on his lips, the moment Gu Chen saw the Golden Body Fluid, he was reminded of this prescription.

In the medicine valley, he had indeed learned quite a bit of knowledge in this area.

Master Lu of Xuan Yi Sect's medicine valley, from the few times Gu Chen had interacted with him, indeed appeared extraordinary and knowledgeable, especially in pill concoction, often mumbling over various prescriptions for study.

For example, the prescription Gu Chen just recalled, Elder Lu valued very much, yet regrettably, due to the sheer number of materials required, Xuan Yi Sect simply could not gather them all, which left Lu Qingfeng quite disappointed.

Moreover, after gathering these heaven and earth treasures, one still needed an extremely powerful flame to be used as a crucible in order to refine oneself for three days and three nights, achieving success in the end.

It could be said that to complete this top ancient prescription, every requirement was extremely stringent. Not only Xuan Yi Sect, but even a holy land like the Vault of Sky Sword Sect or a colossal power like the Heavenly Mysterious Imperial Dynasty, which could overlook an entire realm, might not be able to gather everything needed.

"Now, in my possession are both the Golden Body Fluid and Heavenly Origin Liquid, missing only the Xue Phoenix Lotus and the Evergreen Flower," Gu Chen frowned slightly, knowing how exceedingly difficult it would be to collect these items.

These two items were hard to find in the entire Gray Domain, truly exceedingly rare treasures.

The so-called Xue Phoenix Lotus and Evergreen Flower are bred naturally by the forces of heaven and earth, requiring special environments, and need at least thousands or tens of thousands of years to form.

And the so-called Evergreen Flower, if consumed, is said to even possess the effect of preserving youth; it can keep one's appearance unaging for three thousand years, making it a favorite among female cultivators!

This kind of treasure has long been extinct in the Gray Domain for many years, and is equally rare in other realms.

"This blessed land of Cave Heaven dates back to the previous great era; perhaps it may contain some of these rare treasures," Gu Chen mused silently.

As for the so-called extremely powerful flame, he had it within himself; the Sun True Fire was completely up to the task.

"If I could gather them all, perhaps I could take a big step forward with my physical body, breaking free from the shackles and unleashing endless potential!" With this thought, Gu Chen's eyes shone brightly, feeling full of motivation.