In front of the guest rooms at the Gu Family estate.
The wind through the corridor brushed against Gu Qingwan’s blood-stained collar, making her feel cold to the very bone.
Her mouth opened slightly, wanting to call out once more, but her throat felt blocked. No sound came out.
Lanterns under the eaves swayed in the wind.
In the flickering light and shadow, her trembling lips and empty eyes were revealed.
Why didn’t he look back?
Does he… really not care about me anymore?
Gu Qingwan remembered the past. Every time she was sick or injured, he was always the first to rush to her side.
Even if it was just a light cough, he would ask nervously: “What happened? Are you okay?”
He would brew medicine for her and stay by her side all night, terrified that she might feel even a hint of discomfort.
But now… she had coughed up blood, and he hadn’t even turned his head.
‘Does Ah Yuan really… not care about me anymore?’
Once this thought appeared, it felt like a spiked mace smashing into Gu Qingwan’s heart.
It wasn’t fatal, but the pain made it hard to breathe.
Gu Qingwan slumped to the ground, allowing the agony of the Nine Yin Severed Meridians to ravage her body.
Inside the guest room, Chu Yuan took out the Array Disk for the Nine Bends Heaven-Confusing Array.
When he left Qingmang Mountain earlier, he had secretly retracted the formation for the purpose of tonight’s secluded cultivation.
The moment the formation unfolded, all the noise from the outside world was cut off.
With the double protection of the Nine Bends Heaven-Confusing Array and his Phantom Ethereal Dharma Robe, he finally sat cross-legged on the bed and closed his eyes in peace.
In the next moment, Chu Yuan channeled his spiritual power to activate the Inner Core within his body.
Instantly, a massive amount of cultivation surged into his limbs and bones.
Chu Yuan could feel the meridians in his body shudder.
It was like a riverbed that had been dry for a long time finally welcoming a clear oceanic current.
Spiritual power seeped from the Inner Core and flowed through his meridians like a trickling stream.
Wherever it passed, the blocked acupoints were quietly forced open one by one.
The Qi Sensing Realm.
This was the starting point of cultivation and the Foundation Establishment Realm.
When he first entered this realm in his previous life, it had taken him several months to barely sense the first wisp of spiritual qi. He had been so excited he didn’t sleep for one night.
Now, with the help of the Inner Core, he quickly circulated the mental cultivation technique that had long been engraved into his very marrow.
After three cycles, every meridian in his body was fully connected by spiritual power.
The spiritual power was no longer a thin stream; it merged into a brook, flowing gurglingly and endlessly.
Qi Sensing Realm, perfection.
Chu Yuan continued to operate the mental technique.
As the speed of the spiritual power circulation suddenly accelerated, it burst through the last few hidden acupoints, surging into the spiritual platform like a rushing river.
In an instant, his consciousness seemed to be pulled from his body, floating in a void.
There was nothing around him except for thousands of points of light flickering intermittently.
The Clarity Realm had been reached!
The core of this realm lay in Choosing Passion to Enter the Dao.
The so-called “Clarity” meant that the spiritual platform was clear enough to reflect one’s true heart.
A cultivator needed to choose one path from thousands of emotions in this realm to serve as the foundation of their Dao Heart.
Once selected, all subsequent cultivation techniques, spells, and sword techniques would be born and grow from this emotion.
Chu Yuan stood in the void, a choice already made in his heart.
In his last life, he was restricted by the System and chose the Path of Infatuation, becoming his Senior Sister’s Licking Dog.
In this life, he had to choose carefully to prepare for the final harmonization of the Mahayana Stage.
Looking back at 300 years of cultivation experience, Chu Yuan knew very well:
There were thousands of emotional paths in the world, and most would lead to qi deviation at some stage.
Only two types of emotional paths were exceptions.
One was the Ruthless Path, which imitated the Heavenly Dao by “treating all things as straw dogs.”
The other was the Path of Myriad Emotions, which returned to simplicity by “taking all emotions for one’s own use.”
The Ruthless Path was the strongest of all emotional paths, but the risk was extremely high.
If a cultivator practiced other emotional paths, they could switch mid-way, such as moving from “love” to “hate.”
However, once the Ruthless Path was broken, the foundation of the Dao would shatter directly, leaving no room for reversal.
In comparison, although the Path of Myriad Emotions was the weakest, precisely because it was so diverse, there was no risk of breaking the path.
Through various deductions in his previous life, Chu Yuan chose the Path of Myriad Emotions without hesitation, thinking:
‘I, Chu Yuan, aspire to be free and easy, tasting all emotions! Break for me!!!’
As the thought arose, the void suddenly trembled, and his spiritual power surged again.
That spiritual power carried the newly selected Dao Heart foundation, frantically compressing and condensing into a chaotic sphere of light.
The core of the Essence Accumulation Realm lay in “realizing emotion to form a core.”
“Choosing passion” was merely selecting the path.
“Realizing emotion” was truly stepping onto that path.
A cultivator needed to transform their chosen emotion into their own “true intent” and condense it into a core.
This Inner Core would be the core of all future cultivation.
Some formed a “Rage Core,” and on the day the core was formed, their rage was sky-shattering, making all living beings within 100 miles tremble.
Some formed a “Sorrow Core,” and on the day the core was formed, heaven and earth shared the grief, and rain fell for three days without stopping.
Some formed an “Obsession Core,” and on the day the core was formed, their obsession entered their bones, and they would never be free for the rest of their lives.
Chu Yuan’s core was chaotic and colorless, yet it seemed to contain all colors.
In an instant, Chu Yuan perceived thousands of emotional thoughts merging into the spiritual power circulating through his body.
When joy arose, the spiritual power was like the wind.
When sorrow surged, the spiritual power was like water.
When anger erupted, the spiritual power surged into his sword meridians like thunder and fire…
Thousands of emotions circulated, all under his control.
This was the true meaning of the Essence Accumulation Realm.
It was not being driven by emotions, but driving the emotions.
Essence Accumulation Realm, complete!
As for the final Domain Transformation Realm, its core lay in “transforming emotion into a domain.”
In his previous life, Chu Yuan had only caught a glimpse of it.
As his spiritual power expanded outward, a domain slowly rotated within 3 feet.
He looked down at his hands. There was a faint spiritual light flowing in his palms, the hallmark of the Domain Transformation Realm.
Chu Yuan exhaled a long breath of turbid air.
Early stage of the Domain Transformation Realm!
It’s back!
All of it is back!
Those 300 years as a Licking Dog in his previous life were all for this cultivation that is invincible among his peers! And then there’s…
Chu Yuan closed his eyes and could feel another power surging in his bloodline.
He knew very well that his Taixu Bloodline had been activated and was currently transforming his physique into a Saint Body.
Because of this, Chu Yuan hurried to strengthen the masking effect of the Phantom Ethereal Dharma Robe he was wearing.
This bloodline would automatically activate when he reached the Essence Accumulation Realm or encountered a life-or-death crisis.
In his previous life, he had accidentally activated the Saint Body, which led the Holy Lord to acknowledge him as kin ahead of schedule and arrange for him to study under the Extinction Sword Venerable to begin his cultivation path.
This also led him to meet Li Shixue, that ill-fated connection.
In this life, he didn’t want any further interaction with that piece of ugly wood.
Furthermore, Chu Yuan’s current rate of cultivation increase was far too exaggerated.
If it attracted the Supreme Guardian of the Taixu Sacred Realm, his excessively high cultivation would likely be discovered.
At that time, it would be difficult for him to explain where his Domain Transformation Realm cultivation came from.
Once that Thousand-year Burning Fox suspected he had been possessed, his situation would become extremely dangerous.
Chu Yuan had to be careful.
Stepping down from the soft couch, he flicked his hand, and the window opened automatically.
The moonlight outside was bright, and the night wind brushed past, carrying the coolness of early spring.
He looked at the moon and smiled indifferently.
‘Thousands of emotions circulating, free and easy… this is my Dao!’
‘In this life, I have finally embarked on a path that belongs to me!!!’
He raised his eyebrows, feeling that even the cold night wind tasted sweet.
At some point, Chu Yuan noticed the bloodstain in the corridor and suddenly realized something.
Had his childhood friend coughed up blood before he entered the room?