The Nine Heavens Immortal Emperor stood atop the Nine Heavens Azure Bird, her gaze sweeping across the endless sea of clouds, causing Gu An to tense up, ready to teleport back at any moment.
Teleportation would cost ten billion years of lifespan, and a round trip would mean twenty billion years—a cost Gu An was unwilling to pay lightly.
Fortunately, the Nine Heavens Immortal Emperor did not notice his lifespan barrier, nor did the Nine Heavens Azure Bird.
A moment later, a slightly childish female voice rang out:
"Your Majesty, are you really not going to the Ten Thousand Immortals Assembly?"
Gu An could tell that this voice came from the Nine Heavens Azure Bird, even though it had not opened its mouth.
The Nine Heavens Immortal Emperor gazed into the distance, her expression cold as she replied, "Boring. I've attended it several times before, and it's always the same—empty formalities and fake camaraderie. Besides, I don't need the opportunities it offers."
"Your Majesty, though the Nine Heavens Extreme Sky is indeed blessed by the heavens, discussing Dao with other powerful cultivators could benefit your cultivation even further."
"If you want to go, you may go on my behalf."
"If even you won't attend, why should I bother? Forget it, forget it—if we're not going, we're not going. But, Your Majesty, what do you think caused this anomaly?"
The Nine Heavens Azure Bird shifted the topic while scanning the boundless sea of clouds.
The Nine Heavens Immortal Emperor remained expressionless and said, "The Nine Heavens Extreme Sky exists above the Great Thousand World, at the intersection of countless Grand Daos. Any unusual phenomenon could have originated from the lower realms. Even I cannot determine the exact cause so easily."
Hearing this, the Nine Heavens Azure Bird fell into contemplation, its sharp eyes gleaming with curiosity.
Above the Great Thousand World?
Gu An caught onto this crucial piece of information, making him even more intrigued by the Nine Heavens Extreme Sky.
Could it be that the Nine Heavens Immortal Emperor had no ties to the Heavenly Court?
Gu An hadn't sensed any Heavenly Dao fortune from the Nine Heavens Azure Bird. As for the Nine Heavens Immortal Emperor, since this was only an incarnation, he could feel nothing from her at all.
If he closed his eyes, he wouldn't even be able to perceive her presence.
A short while later, the Nine Heavens Immortal Emperor suddenly leaped into the air, flying off into the distance with the Nine Heavens Azure Bird following closely behind.
Soon, both of them vanished into the depths of the cloud sea.
Gu An let out a breath of relief and patiently waited a little longer.
After an entire incense stick's time, without sensing any trace of the Nine Heavens Azure Bird, he reopened his status panel and continued his enhancements.
The next target: Eternal Boundless Divine Sword!
Although Gu An had already mastered the Sacred Heart Sword Dao, it had merged into the River of Sword Dao and now functioned as an independent existence.
He couldn't afford to rely entirely on the Sacred Heart Sword Dao—he needed an even stronger sword technique as his trump card.
The Eternal Boundless Divine Sword evolved into the Three Thousand Dao-Slaying Sword, reaching the level of perfected mastery, at the cost of eight billion years of lifespan!
During the half-hour inheritance process, the Nine Heavens Immortal Emperor and the Nine Heavens Azure Bird never returned, so Gu An continued investing lifespan to evolve further.
The Primordial Yellow Eternal Dao Step evolved into Limitless Heaven-Locking Step, consuming 4.2 billion years of lifespan, reaching the level of profound integration.
The Heavenly Nether Purple Micro Saint Dao Body evolved into the Hongmeng Transformative Golden Body, also at the level of profound integration, consuming 7.6 billion years of lifespan.
After upgrading his core Dao techniques, Gu An shifted his focus to Great Soul Imprisonment Immortal Art.
This technique allowed him to seize the souls of others, but as his opponents grew stronger, soul-capturing became increasingly difficult—it needed to be upgraded.
This technique had originally evolved from the Soul Capture Technique that Jiang Qiong had once taught him.
Gu An poured in 13 billion years of lifespan, pushing the Grand Soul Imprisonment Immortal Art through several advancements until it became Calamitous Absolute Eye.
The Calamitous Absolute Eye not only allowed him to seize souls, but also to inflict misfortune upon his enemies—and this misfortune could be shaped by his own imagination.
A truly tyrannical divine ability!
At this point, Gu An decided to stop.
He didn't dare continue any further, as between all his recent enhancements and his constant lifespan barrier, he was down to only 23 billion years of lifespan.
He still needed ten billion years to teleport back.
After this round of comprehensive enhancements, Gu An felt like a new person.
Though his cultivation realm had not advanced, his combat strength had undergone a drastic transformation.
Dealing with the Heavenly Spirit God now would be effortless.
With that thought, Gu An rose to his feet.
He took one last look at the churning sea of clouds, knowing that for his next breakthrough, he would definitely have to choose a different location.
The sudden appearance of the Nine Heavens Immortal Emperor and the Nine Heavens Azure Bird was no coincidence.
They had undoubtedly come to investigate something—even if their words didn't reveal it outright, he had to remain vigilant.
Gu An chose to teleport back.
A moment later, he vanished from sight.
After returning to the mountains near the Qiankun Sect, Gu An no longer saw any trace of An Xin and the others.
Since An Xin couldn't find him, she had gone back to the Dao Field to cultivate.
Gu An didn't rush back immediately. Instead, he leaped down from a tree, crossed a small stream, and sat on a large rock by the water's edge.
He raised his right hand, palm facing upward, and in the next moment, a head appeared in his hand—small as a stone, yet it was none other than Heavenly Spirit God.
The once arrogant Heavenly Spirit God now had his hair disheveled, his eyes open, gazing at Gu An with an eerily calm expression.
After being suppressed for a hundred years, he had already adjusted his mindset, prepared to accept any fate that awaited him.
Gu An's pupils suddenly turned deep crimson. The moment Heavenly Spirit God met his gaze, his eyes widened in shock, and then his expression went blank.
Calamitous Absolute Eye!
Gu An began scouring Heavenly Spirit God's memories.
The morning sunlight shone down upon him, casting a long shadow over the rocky ground.
Time passed.
Gu An's eyes gradually returned to normal, but his brows furrowed.
Heavenly Spirit God's memories were too simplistic—for countless years, he had merely sat in meditation beneath the Realm Gate, leaving large gaps in his recollections.
It was likely connected to the Heavenly Court.
Still, Gu An managed to extract some useful information—for instance, the reason Heavenly Spirit God had plotted against Heavenly Spirit Immortal Sovereign.
It turned out that many years ago, Heavenly Spirit God had already possessed the power to destroy the entire Heavenly Spirit World.
However, he hesitated because he coveted the World-Extinguishing Dao Pearl in Heavenly Spirit Immortal Sovereign's hands.
The World-Extinguishing Dao Pearl was a supreme treasure birthed from the Grand Dao itself—it could not only be used in battle but also assist in Dao comprehension, its mystical uses immeasurable.
Yet Heavenly Spirit Immortal Sovereign had never dared to fully unleash the power of the pearl, fearing that its true master would come for it.
And the true master of the World-Extinguishing Dao Pearl was none other than Ziwei Immortal Emperor.
Through Heavenly Spirit Immortal Sovereign's memories, Gu An saw Ziwei Immortal Emperor for the first time.
This Ziwei Immortal Emperor looked identical to the legendary Ziwei Emperor, a peerless genius once encountered by Black Xuan Emperor.
Gu An speculated that Ziwei Emperor was likely the reincarnation of Ziwei Immortal Emperor.
It was a common occurrence for great beings to project their presence across the myriad realms, leaving behind manifestations of their past lives.
Given how terrifyingly powerful Ziwei Emperor had been—able to fight a hundred foes of the same realm and force them into retreat—it wasn't surprising.
If he was truly the reincarnation of Ziwei Immortal Emperor, then it all made perfect sense.
As Gu An pondered over this, Heavenly Spirit God suddenly regained consciousness.
His face turned pale with terror, and he stared at Gu An in disbelief.
"You… what have you done to me?"
Gu An looked down at him indifferently.
"I'll give you a choice—do you want to die, or do you want to live?"
Gu An had asked Heavenly Spirit God whether his world-destroying actions were connected to the Heavenly Court.
Surprisingly, Heavenly Spirit God had admitted that it was purely his own greed, something Gu An found oddly respectable.
At the very least, Heavenly Spirit God took responsibility for his actions.
Killing him outright felt like a waste.
To the countless beings he had annihilated, Heavenly Spirit God was an unforgivable sinner.
But from a cosmic perspective, he had merely upheld universal order.
Of course, whether he deserved to live depended on his next response.
Heavenly Spirit God's expression darkened.
After a long silence, he finally said, "I will never serve you. My fate today is the result of my own greed—if not for my desire for the supreme treasure, I would have followed the Heavenly Dao long ago. Just kill me already."
With that, he closed his eyes, resigned to his fate.
Gu An suddenly asked, "Have you ever been a mortal?"
Hearing this, Heavenly Spirit God's eyes snapped open, staring at Gu An in shock.
From the moment of his birth, Heavenly Spirit God had been a chosen prodigy.
He had been taken in as a disciple by Ziwei Immortal Emperor at an early age.
From his very first breath, he had stood above all beings, never once experiencing the struggles of a mere mortal.
Gu An looked down at him coldly.
"Killing you outright would be too easy."
"Instead, you will experience the suffering of the mortal world."
"In the eyes of immortals and gods, mortals are nothing but dust."
"But have you ever considered just how much effort they put into simply staying alive?"
As his words fell, Gu An flipped his palm and flung Heavenly Spirit God into the stream below.
As Heavenly Spirit God plummeted, he kept his gaze fixed on Gu An.
In his rapidly shrinking field of vision, Gu An appeared infinitely towering—for the first time, he truly understood how mortals felt when they gazed up at the divine.
Then, everything went dark.
With a casual wave of his hand, Gu An sealed Heavenly Spirit God's divine consciousness and cast him into reincarnation.
After comprehending the Dao Sovereign Art and Sun and Moon Selfless Divine Dao, Gu An had gained the ability to manipulate the Grand Dao of Reincarnation at a basic level.
Sending Heavenly Spirit God into the cycle of rebirth was hardly a difficult task.
To ensure he wouldn't escape, Gu An sent him to reincarnate within the Heavenly Spirit World.
Moreover, he had already branded Heavenly Spirit God's soul with the Returning to Origin Divine Dao, completely sealing his divine spirit.
Without intervention, Heavenly Spirit God would be forever trapped in the endless cycle of reincarnation, never able to break free.