I Seek Immortality Through Serendipity

Two months later.

On a mountain peak that pierced straight into the sky like a sharp sword, Gu Yuan gently opened his eyes.

In his eyes, divine light flickered; in a trance, it seemed there were gusts and storms, thunder and lightning, mountains and streams of fire swirling endlessly, but eventually returning to silence, transforming back into normal eyes.

During these two months, he rushed through the Nine Peaks, defeating nine ape demons, entered nine sword peaks, and continuously comprehended the Nine Paths Swordsmanship within the natural Sword Stone Array, finally gaining some insights.

”However, this Nine Peaks Trial is not as profound as imagined. Although each of the Nine Paths of Swordsmanship has its strengths, in comparison, they might not surpass the Golden Brilliance Sword Seal at its Great Success...”

Practicing until now, Gu Yuan had gained some insight into the nature of this trial.

Though this trial shatters the Nine Paths of Swordsmanship, allowing the trial taker to achieve great success in all nine, even then, can it truly split into eighty-one sword lights?

If it could indeed split into eighty-one sword lights, then why would we need the Nine Paths? It would have long surpassed everything.

Overall, this trial has enabled him to refine his understanding of the ”profundity” of swordsmanship, comprehending the Eight Trigrams Sword Intent and the intangible ”void” Sword Intent to a great extent.

However, it hasn’t transcended much into a more profound realm.

In fact, if Gu Yuan transformed into a dragon body, using the Golden Brilliance Great Sun Sword Scripture, he could activate the Golden Brilliance Great Sword Seal, breaking thousands of techniques with one sword, piercing through all sword arrays in one go.

Fortunately, the trial has one final step.

”Hopefully, it doesn’t disappoint...”

Gu Yuan took out a leather map from his sleeve, then retrieved a green compass.

On the compass, nine palm-sized sword-shaped tokens were embedded tightly within, each with a dazzling sword pattern shining brightly on it.

With a surge of mana, the nine sword tokens trembled incessantly, and the sword patterns on them seemed to come alive, leaping directly off the tokens and landing onto the leather map.

The leather map slightly trembled, and a peculiar spirit pattern emerged.

”Clang! Clang!”

The remaining eight tokens also leaped in succession, landing on the leather map, with a faint metallic clang.

As the nine patterns merged into one, a spirit pattern resembling a ”key” solidified, radiating with brilliance on the leather map.

Simultaneously, within the map, a Yin Yang light spot flickered non-stop, guiding toward an unusual direction.

”This is it...”

Seeing this, Gu Yuan didn’t hesitate, grasped the map, activated the Escape Light, and soared straight up into the sky toward the direction indicated by the map.

On the sword peak, a tall silver-haired ape demon watched Gu Yuan’s departing figure, a flash of impulse in its eyes, but ultimately suppressed it.

”It’s just a Sword Seal, not something of Realm-Breaking Dao, not worth it, not worth it...”

...

...

Gu Yuan, naturally unaware of what transpired behind him, wouldn’t have cared even if he knew.

His Escape Light was swift, arriving at a desolate shoal within half a day.

On the shoal, yellow reeds swayed with the wind like waves, and on the sand, mundane crabs and turtles lazily basked in the sun, their spiritual wisdom yet to unfold, unknowingly omitting the presence of a Golden Core Cultivator.

This place had thin Spiritual Qi, with no islands for hundreds of miles around, truly a deserted land.

”This is it...”

Gu Yuan descended his Escape Light onto the shoal, retrieving the leather map, infusing it with mana.

Instantly, the ”key spirit pattern” on the leather map radiated with brilliance, seemed to come alive, directly flying out of the map, landing in the void.

”Bang!”

The void shuddered, an invisible wind pressure swept away, reeds swayed, crabs and turtles flew sideways, as if a ”Little World” was anchored, landing in the void with a subtle rippling surface.

”Pop!”

With a thought, Gu Yuan leaped into the air, flying directly towards the ripple in the sky.

In a blink, his vision cleared, and he found himself in a valley.

The valley was not large, only a hundred meters wide with sheer cliffs on both sides, rising straight up into the clouds with seemingly no end; even Gu Yuan’s Divine Thought couldn’t probe its limits.

Above the clouds was a greyish expanse, the entire world seemed real only within this valley, with everything else hidden in the mist.

Gu Yuan took a few steps, and within moments he saw a bamboo courtyard in the valley.

The courtyard was lush with blooming peach blossoms, peeking over the walls, with a winding path of blue stone, and behind a row of stone tables was a Stone Platform in the shape of Yin Yang.

Left is Yin, right is Yang, and at the intersection of Yin and Yang, a jade box hovered.

Besides this, the valley held nothing else.

A Truth Revealing Treasure Mirror hovered over Gu Yuan’s head; after carefully probing for a long time and confirming no omissions or anomalies, he extended his Divine Thought towards the jade box.

”Boom!”

Instantly, an ancient voice echoed in Gu Yuan’s mind.

”To have stepped into this valley, regardless of who you are, you must possess some strength and fortune, capable of inheriting the Yin Yang Sword Seal’s techniques...”

”Even if you are not of my Thousand Waves Sect, having acquired this technique, I hope you can extend some protection and care to my sect.”

”For those who come after, let me offer a warning, the path of cultivation lies in mana, lies in realm; avoid the greed for completeness and great, without entering the Daoist Embryo, it’s but a fleeting thousand years, even upon entering it’s but two millennium of life; be bold and advance, break when necessary, don’t delay, lest you end how I did!”

With the final warning, the ancient voice abruptly vanished.