Gu Yuan felt the two rapidly approaching breaths behind him, and a slight smile touched his lips. His divine soul continuously extended, sensing the situation ahead. He discovered that the passage in front had reached its end, and a vast underground space opened before him.
Gu Yuan slowly descended to the ground, surveying the underground space.
The area was bright, with luminous pearls embedded in the ceiling, emitting a soft glow that illuminated the entire underground space.
Gu Yuan looked around and found that the walls of this space were adorned with murals. In the center was an altar, and on the altar lay a jet-black jade slip.
Approaching the murals, Gu Yuan briefly scanned them. The murals seemed to depict the origin of the Zhen Tian Sect. The jade slip contained the inheritance of a powerful figure from the Zhen Tian Sect, someone from a much more ancient era than any famed sect leader. This figure was the first from the Zhen Tian Sect to ascend to the upper realms.
His strength was not to be underestimated. Furthermore, this powerful figure's body refinement cultivation was the strongest in this world. His physical body was so formidable that the heavenly tribulation that accompanied his ascension could hardly inflict significant damage, bringing him infinitely close to the stage of 'dripping blood rebirth.'
Gu Yuan marveled, realizing that the potential of this world in ancient times was far greater than it was now.
His gaze turned fiery as he looked at the jade slip. The martial arts inheritance left by a mighty being nearing 'dripping blood rebirth' was invaluable. Even the martial arts experience alone would be useful to him. Gu Yuan couldn't rely entirely on the experience from the Martial Ancestor's inheritance. If he did, the martial arts he cultivated would be strikingly similar to the Martial Ancestor's. It was important to remember that Gu Yuan was not cultivating the Martial Ancestor's direct techniques but rather the techniques embedded within his martial arts knowledge. The Martial Ancestor himself had not practiced these, but rather comprehended them, modified them, and imprinted them with his own mark.
Gu Yuan always remembered a saying: "He who learns from me lives; he who imitates me dies!"
Gu Yuan had no intention of cultivating the Martial Ancestor's martial path. Even though the Martial Ancestor was the lord and origin of martial arts, Gu Yuan intended to forge his own path by integrating the vast martial arts knowledge he collected.
After all, Gu Yuan possessed the Heavenly Mandate: Supreme Martial Saint. He was confident in forging his own martial path.
He approached the altar. His divine soul had already probed it and detected no energy fluctuations.
However, he remained cautious, controlling his blood qi to form a palm. He gently grasped the jade slip. This action was witnessed by the two figures who had just emerged from the passage.
"Put down the jade slip!"
"Drop it for me!"
Two roars echoed from behind Gu Yuan.
Gu Yuan turned around and saw two figures, one black and one white, appear in the underground space.
Gu Yuan smiled faintly, raised the jade slip with his blood qi hand, and in their sight, stored it in his spatial ring.
"Ah, you court death!"
The two figures erupted in fury, unleashing their full power. Black and white spiritual lights burst forth, illuminating the underground space and dyeing it in monochrome.
A smile played on Gu Yuan's lips as countless particles within his body began to shift, rearrange, and finally form a formation radiating a mystical aura.
The Blood Qi Circulatory Formation!
His entire blood qi was distributed in a 365-degree pattern, drawing upon the power of the Zhou Tian stars. The starlight from countless worlds was subtly channeled by the particles within Gu Yuan's body.
Gu Yuan's physical body erupted with dazzling starlight, enveloping him. This was because the essence of these particles was his own flesh and blood. When these particles transformed, his body would correspondingly change.
In theory, Gu Yuan could even alter his human form and transform into a divine beast, though this would only be a change of physique, not his fundamental human essence.
The starlight rapidly dissipated, and Gu Yuan's body now emanated a silvery-white luster. The starlight continuously entering his body formed a wheel of light behind his head, radiating a mysterious power.
The expressions of the black and white figures changed slightly. They had not expected Gu Yuan to possess such a miraculous technique.
Gu Yuan watched the rapidly approaching black and white lights with a relaxed smile.
The starlight within him erupted, coalescing in his palm and eventually forming a transparent defensive formation connecting the ceiling and the ground, its surface shimmering with array patterns.
Boom! Boom!
Two explosions rang out. The two figures were astonished to find that Gu Yuan's formation seemed to have sustained no damage.
"What!"
"This is impossible!"
They exclaimed in disbelief. They had not held back their attacks, intending to kill Gu Yuan with a single blow. Yet, Gu Yuan had effortlessly blocked it. They were, after all, renowned prodigies from the outside world.
"Nothing is impossible. One must always maintain the mindset that there is always someone better, and always something beyond the heavens!" Gu Yuan stepped on the void, slowly approaching the two figures who were now bound by array patterns he had subtly laid.
With a calm smile, he raised his hand and slowly clenched it.
Instantly, the array patterns constricting them tightened. Accompanied by the sound of crushing bones, the two figures were slowly crushed into a bloody pulp by Gu Yuan, blood trickling down.
*Snap!*
Gu Yuan snapped his fingers, and two flames appeared on the bloody masses. With the sound of burning fat, they were reduced to ashes, and he left the underground space.
Returning to the outside, he saw the two factions still in a standoff. Gu Yuan shook his head with a smile. Sensing their cultivation levels were far inferior to his, he had no interest in intervening.
Looking at the people below glaring at him, he said with a smile, "Are the two below your leaders? Hurry up and collect their bodies!"
He then departed, ignoring the furious reactions from the crowd below.
Mid-air, Gu Yuan couldn't help but ponder if his actions were right. But he had merely sought a fortuitous encounter, and they had tried to kill him. He had no choice but to kill them. Yes, it was only logical.
Gu Yuan nodded, and the lingering unease in his heart dissipated.
He left the area and continued to harvest countless spiritual herbs along the way, just as before. The spiritual herbs growing here were at least five hundred years old. Moreover, due to the abundant spiritual energy in this region, their potency was at least double that of those in the outside world. For Gu Yuan, the more, the better. After all, the Refinement Aperture realm, which involved opening the acupoints in the body, consumed a vast amount of energy.
He continued harvesting spiritual herbs and killing guardian beasts, refining them into potent medicinal elixirs. For Gu Yuan, there was no need to linger in this world with its abundance of powerful beings from various races. He aimed to ascend to higher realms and compete with more geniuses.
Therefore, in this world, he intended to gather all the resources he could to rapidly open his acupoints.
The Refinement Aperture realm primarily tested the practitioner's ability to locate acupoints, a process that heavily relied on their spiritual soul. However, due to Gu Yuan's cultivation of the Chaos Demonic Ape Visualization technique, coupled with the spiritual soul power of his other self, his spiritual soul power far exceeded the requirements of the Refinement Aperture realm. Additionally, his cultivation of the Divine Elephant Suppression Prison Art enhanced his bodily perception, allowing him to more easily locate his acupoints. Thus, Gu Yuan only needed to continuously absorb energy to reach the point of opening his acupoints.
Continuing his collection, Gu Yuan reached the center of the secret realm. He felt a sense of contentment as he surveyed the spiritual herbs and refined blood essence in his spatial ring. He estimated that the resources he had gathered would be enough to open approximately thirty acupoints.
This would bring his total number of opened acupoints to around fifty, which was about one-sixth of the total number of acupoints in a full cycle.
He wondered what the main inheritance of this place might be as he gazed at the grand and majestic building before him.
*Boom!*
A colossal sound erupted in the area, drawing everyone's attention. A magnificent striped tiger with black wings, entwined with lightning, emerged, exuding an immeasurable aura of ferocity.
The onlookers were astonished and exchanged bewildered glances. Who would have expected a demonic beast to appear before so many people?
Gu Yuan's gaze shifted towards the defensive line and he immediately sensed an aura completely different from this world and his own. Upon seeing the tiger, a killing intent involuntarily surfaced within him.
There was no doubt about it; this tiger was an alien race that had entered this world: the Tyrannical Thunder Tiger.
Gu Yuan watched with interest as the Tyrannical Thunder Tiger transformed from its feline form into human shape. This greatly shocked the others. They could accept the existence of demonic beasts, but they never imagined that demonic beasts could transform into human form.
A commotion arose from another part of the crowd. Gu Yuan turned his attention and saw several bewitching and alluring women emerge. Their devilish figures captivated the gazes of those around them, many revealing lewd expressions.
Gu Yuan's nostrils twitched, detecting a scent of mixed fragrances and fox. A slight smile curved his lips. This must be the Celestial Fox clan.
His peripheral vision caught sight of another group of people. They were all remarkably similar in build, with explosive muscles. Their facial expressions, however, appeared somewhat dim-witted.
Among the group of muscular men, one grabbed Niu Sen's clothes and pointed in a certain direction with a dazed smile, saying, "Boss, look! It's those little ladies!"
Niu Sen's gaze followed his subordinate's. He saw a group of alluring women exuding their charm. A primal urge surged within him, but it was forcefully suppressed by an unfavorable response. Two streams of white vapor burst from his nostrils. The anger in his heart threatened to make his face turn red, but as the most intelligent among the Ox-Headed people, he understood his current state. Therefore, even though his anger could almost burst his head, he forcefully suppressed it.
*Slap!*
Niu Sen fiercely struck the smooth head of the Ox-Headed man who had pointed out the Celestial Fox clan. The sound was crisp and loud, indicating a good, solid skull.
"Brother Niu, what are you doing!"
The Ox-Headed man clutched his head, feeling wronged. It was worth noting that the Ox-Headed people were known for their strength among all races. Moreover, Niu Sen was considered a genius among them, otherwise, he wouldn't have become their captain.
Gu Yuan sensed the strength of these individuals and found that even the strongest among them was a notch weaker than himself. It seemed the Ox-Headed clan posed no threat.
Gu Yuan silently categorized the Ox-Headed clan as non-threatening. However, he wondered if there were stronger beings capable of matching him, perhaps someone like the Tyrannical Thunder Tiger.
He sensed again but detected no other alien races. However, a young man leading a green ox caught his attention.
Through the Grand Scheme of Destiny map, he perceived an extremely dense fortune emanating from the young man, immediately piquing his interest. Was this the Son of Destiny of this world?
He felt that the fortune emanating from this person was significantly smaller than that of Xuanyuan Tianxia, likely due to the difference in worlds.
Gu Yuan firmly believed that the size of a world also affected the potential of its Son of Destiny.
As for the green ox beside him, it was a member of the Yuan Ox clan, which had not appeared until now. It seemed this ox was attempting to piggyback on the Son of Destiny's fortune, hoping to gain some advantage.
There was no need to target them. Gu Yuan's purpose in coming here was simple: to break through to a higher realm. Gu Yuan's path was to plunder all resources and improve himself.
Everyone chose their own path. Gu Yuan chose to achieve enlightenment through killing, the simplest yet the most difficult path.
This method of achieving enlightenment involved defeating all competitors and comprehending the path of enlightenment through combat. It was the simplest as it required no complex thought, only continuous fighting.
However, it was also the most dangerous. During Gu Yuan's enlightenment, he might face inner demons, and these inner demons would be the most perilous, born from Gu Yuan's own bloodlust. They shared the same origin as Gu Yuan, making them extremely difficult to eradicate, and he might even be defeated by them, transforming into a demon!
His gaze shifted to the bald, muscular man who had transformed from the striped giant tiger. No one dared to approach within five meters of him, as if he were a rampaging beast, causing those around him to instinctively retreat.
However, Gu Yuan slowly straightened up, parted the crowd, and slowly walked towards the direction of the Tyrannical Thunder Tiger.
Amidst the stunned and uncertain gazes of the crowd, Gu Yuan approached the bald, muscular man.
Gu Yuan looked at the fierce-looking bald, muscular man before him, a smile on his face, and slowly said, "Tyrannical Thunder Tiger? Fancy a fight?"
The alluring women exchanged surprised glances and looked towards their leader. One of them asked, "Sister, is this human from outside? He's actually provoking that tiger. What if we get caught in the crossfire?"
"It's fine, don't worry. Let's observe," the woman replied softly, but her eyes remained fixed on Gu Yuan.
The Ox-Headed people also stared at Gu Yuan in bewilderment. Niu Lin looked at Niu Sen and asked, "Boss, isn't this person afraid of death? That tiger isn't a pushover! It actually eats people!"
Niu Sen was also confused. In his perception, the human's aura wasn't particularly strong, yet he dared to challenge the Tyrannical Thunder Tiger. He must have his reasons.
The Tyrannical Thunder Tiger opened its tiger eyes, its gaze filled with menace as it looked at Gu Yuan and slowly said:
"Human, you court death!"