Entry: I Secretly Cultivate Immortality in the Martial Arts World

94: Chapter 94 First Stage of Tribulation: Faith and Merit!Nanming No. 73 Mortal Realm.

Taiyi Dao Sect, Longevity Peak.

Time flows like water; five years passed in the blink of an eye.

Within the Immortal Cave, Gu Yan sat cross-legged. His aura was countless times more profound than it had been five years ago.

He was now three hundred and ninety-six years old, at the Tribulation Crossing First Level.

As always, it was a natural progression.

As always, there was no Heavenly Tribulation.

Ordinary Cultivators must undergo a tribulation to Breakthrough to the Tribulation Crossing Realm.

And that was only the beginning.

The Tribulation Crossing Realm, as the name implies, is meant for Undergoing Tribulations.

Aside from a Great Heavenly Tribulation every three thousand years,

every time one breaks through a minor Realm, a Heart Demon will take advantage of the opening.

It draws out a Cultivator’s deepest obsessions, fears, and regrets. A slight lapse in concentration leads to Qi Deviation; at best, one’s cultivation regresses, and at worst, one dies on the spot, their Dao vanishing.

Worse off are those with too much blood on their hands; their Heart Demon tribulations are ten or a hundred times more ferocious than an ordinary person’s.

Gu Yan stretched and stood up.

Outside of Cultivation, one must find some amusement.

With a wave of his hand, the haotian mirror manifested before him.

The mirror’s surface rippled like water, gradually revealing images.

”Let’s see what’s new lately.”

With a thought from Gu Yan, the images in the mirror shifted.

First, he saw the siblings Xu Gang and Xu Yue practicing on the martial arts field within the Taiyi Dao Sect.

That lad Xu Gang was now at the Foundation Establishment Peak, his sword techniques performed with formidable power.

Xu Yue was not far behind at the Foundation Establishment Mid Stage, her movement techniques agile.

The two exchanged blows back and forth in a lively display.

Ji Yingying stood nearby, watching with an expressionless face.

Beside her was a young man with a gentle face—it was her brother, Ji Canghai, who had escaped disaster through his heroic deeds.

Although Ji Canghai’s cultivation was currently low, his Heart-Nature was pure and kind; it was said he was extremely popular among the Utility Disciples.

Gu Yan smiled and continued switching the view.

The scene shifted to a certain location in the Spirit Realm.

It shifted again.

In a deep, old forest, two Demonic Path Cultivators were hunting down a Righteous Path Disciple.

That Righteous Path Disciple was covered in blood, fleeing for his life.

The two Demonic Path Cultivators grinned, chasing him like cats playing with a mouse.

Gu Yan watched without expression.

Such things happened every day in the world of cultivation.

He had no interest in it.

The scene shifted once more.

Finally, he saw what he wanted to see.

In the mirror was a dim space.

Broken walls and debris were everywhere; one could vaguely tell it was the ruins of an ancient palace.

A figure sat cross-legged amidst the ruins, Spiritual Qi surging around them.

Feng Jiuge.

Gu Yan’s gaze swept over him.

This kid... he’s at the Late Golden Core Stage.

Gu Yan’s mind moved slightly as he activated the haotian mirror’s deduction powers.

A moment later, he saw the cause and effect.

It turned out that after this kid killed the daughter of the City Lord in Tianque City five years ago, he had been hunted the entire time by that City Lord.

That City Lord was at the Nascent Soul Middle Stage. Although Feng Jiuge couldn’t beat him, his skill at running away was indeed top-tier.

The two chased and fled until finally, Feng Jiuge was forced into a desperate land, only to unexpectedly find it was the entrance to an ancient Secret Realm.

Within the Secret Realm, Opportunities were countless.

Feng Jiuge had stumbled into obtaining the Legacy of some ancient powerhouse. His cultivation had progressed by leaps and bounds, breaking through from the Golden Core Middle Stage to the Late Golden Core Stage in just five short years.

Gu Yan then looked at the killings this kid had committed over the years.

From the time he left the Azure Wave Sect until now, no fewer than ten thousand Cultivators had died at his hands.

There were those of the Righteous Path and those of the Demonic Path.

After finishing his observation, Gu Yan nodded slightly.

He had checked these people through the haotian mirror; they were all people who deserved to die.

Some were scum who bullied Mortals, some were villains who killed for treasure, and some were sanctimonious hypocrites.

Those Feng Jiuge killed were all such people.

Compared to the timelines in the haotian mirror where he hadn’t taken Ghost Spirit as his master, this was already much better.

In those timelines, Feng Jiuge was blinded by hatred, killing until his eyes turned red, making no distinction between good and evil, killing anyone he saw.

Ultimately, he drew the pursuit of a Human Immortal and was utterly destroyed, body and soul.

But this current line...

His decision to have his evil body Ghost Spirit take Feng Jiuge in back then was naturally not a whim.

On one hand, it was to guide the boy to only kill those who deserved it, so he wouldn’t degenerate into a true Devil Head.

On the other hand, it was a small piece of layout for the future.

Gu Yan raised his hand, and the haotian mirror’s image shifted again.

An ethereal figure appeared in the mirror, surrounded by brilliant starlight; one could vaguely see it was an incomparably majestic deity.

The star god of mars.

Gu Yan looked at this phantom and fell into thought.

Feng Jiuge’ previous life was this very star god of mars.

One of the three hundred and sixty-five righteous gods of the Immortal Realm, with a revered status and heaven-reaching cultivation.

A true Immortal King powerhouse.

Unfortunately, he offended Emperor Cang and fell, Reincarnating into the Spirit Realm to become Zhou Aniu, and then Feng Jiuge.

Now, with all memories of his past life gone and his cultivation lost, he was no different from an ordinary Cultivator.

But Gu Yan knew that was only the surface.

The essence of the Star God remained.

As long as he was guided properly to help him Awakening his past life memories and reclaim the Dao of the Star God, returning to the Immortal King level would not be a problem.

Gu Yan pulled back his thoughts and continued watching Feng Jiuge in the mirror.

The boy was still Cultivating in the Secret Realm, with starlight faintly flickering around him.

Gu Yan smiled and put away the haotian mirror.

Those matters were still far off.

The most important thing right now was something else.

He stood with his hands behind his back, looking toward the endless firmament outside the Immortal Cave.

The Immortal Realm.

He was definitely going there.

Not only would he go himself, but he intended to relocate this entire Mortal Realm there with him.

Why move to the Immortal Realm?

Because the Immortal Realm had Immortal Spiritual Qi.

Gu Yan had already investigated clearly through the haotian mirror.

The reason Cultivators’ strength increased greatly and their cultivation speed quickened after Ascension to the Immortal Realm was precisely because of the existence of Immortal Spiritual Qi.

If the Spiritual Qi of the Mortal Realm was water, then Immortal Spiritual Qi was wine.

Cultivating within Immortal Spiritual Qi, the speed of comprehending the Laws of the Heavenly Dao would be ten or a hundred times faster than in the Mortal Realm.

Furthermore, only Immortal Spiritual Qi could support cultivation at higher Realms.

Human Immortal, Earth Immortal, Heavenly Immortal, True Immortal, Profound Immortal, Golden Immortal, Immortal King...

Every Realm required a massive amount of Immortal Spiritual Qi.

Without Immortal Spiritual Qi, after a Cultivator ascended, they could at most reach the Human Immortal Peak and would never be able to advance further.

Therefore, Gu Yan had to go to the Immortal Realm.

But why bring the entire Mortal Realm?

Because of faith.

Over these years, the Heaven and Earth as One Great Love Alliance founded by his good body Fang Yuan in the Mortal Realm had already become deeply rooted in people’s hearts.

Countless Mortals joined the Great Love Alliance, viewing Fang Yuan as their savior and worshipping him daily.

That Power Of Faith, like trickling streams merging into a river, ultimately flowed into Gu Yan’s body.

Gu Yan hadn’t cared at first.

But after the haotian mirror’s deduction, he discovered the wonderful uses of the Power Of Faith.

The Power Of Faith, to put it plainly, is the Power Of Will of all living beings.

This thing has pros and cons.

The benefit is that the Power Of Faith can be used to temper the Primordial Spirit, making it purer and more resilient.

When Undergoing Tribulation, the stronger the Primordial Spirit, the stronger its ability to resist Heart Demons.

Moreover, the Power Of Faith can also be used to deduce Cultivation Techniques and comprehend Divine Abilities.

Those believers pray day and night, and their Power Of Will contains their understanding of the world and their insights into life.

Though each one is very weak, when hundreds of millions of Wills converge, they form an incomparably vast torrent of wisdom.

Through these Wills, Gu Yan can see the world from the perspective of countless Mortals; angles he never thought of and details he never noticed are all presented within the Power Of Will.

This is of great benefit to his cultivation.

The drawback is that the Power Of Faith is also Karma.

The wishes of the believers must be repaid.

The suffering of the believers must be relieved.

If one only takes without giving back, one will be entangled in Karma, and sooner or later, a major crisis will occur.

But Gu Yan didn’t care.

He didn’t want this Power Of Faith for his own use anyway.

It was for the entire Mortal Realm.

The haotian mirror had deduced a path.

When the Power Of Faith is vast enough, and when all living beings in the entire Mortal Realm hold faith in him, he can refine this world into his own Dao Field.

At that time, the world is me, and I am the world.

He would take the entire world with him as he ascended to the Immortal Realm, and those believers would be the inhabitants of his Dao Field.

They would live, Cultivate, and believe in him within the Dao Field, continuously providing Power Of Faith.

And he would use this Power Of Faith to nourish the Dao Field in return, making its Spiritual Qi denser and its Laws clearer.

It was a virtuous cycle.

Besides the Power Of Faith, there was the even more important Human Karma.

Over these years, every deed Fang Yuan’s Great Love Alliance performed in the Mortal Realm was an act of Karma.

That Karma did not flow into Fang Yuan’s body, but into Gu Yan’s.

After all, Fang Yuan was just a good body Incarnation.

The true original self was Gu Yan.

What use was Human Karma?

Gu Yan learned through the haotian mirror’s deductions that this thing was even more precious than the Power Of Faith.

The Power Of Faith comes from the wishes of believers.

Human Karma comes from the recognition of the Heavenly Dao.

By doing things that benefit the people, the Heavenly Dao bestows Karma.

This Karma can be used to offset Heavenly Tribulations.

The Great Heavenly Tribulations and Heart Demon tribulations that those in the Tribulation Crossing Realm fear most can all be offset in the face of Human Karma.

With enough Karma, a Heavenly Tribulation can be directly dissipated into nothingness.

With enough Karma, even Heart Demons have to take a detour when they see you.

Furthermore, Karma can enhance one’s Luck.

Luck is something invisible and intangible, but it truly exists.

A person with flourishing Luck can find treasures just by stepping out the door.

A person with declining Luck can choke to death just by drinking water.