Faced with the prompts from the reincarnation simulation, Gu An hesitated.
In the past, he would have immediately exposed the third concubine's crime and sought justice for himself. However, Chu Lu's short-lived fate had left a shadow in his heart.
Even though the reincarnation simulation wouldn't affect his actual life, he was still spending 10 million years of lifespan on this.
Moreover, the prompt lacked detail. He couldn't analyze the full situation, nor did he know the third concubine's background or resources. What if exposing her led to retaliation?
Better to endure. Though it was unfair, it wasn't something he was personally experiencing.
[You chose not to expose the third concubine's poisoning attempt. The upheaval within the Duke Xiao's household was quietly resolved.]
[At eight years old, you began practicing swordsmanship. During training, you accidentally severed a spirit herb, gaining eight years of lifespan. This event marked a turning point in your cultivation journey.]
[At twelve, relying on your growing lifespan, you broke through to the Nascent Soul Realm.]
[At seventeen, the Ming Sacred Dynasty was besieged by three allied dynasties. The kingdom fell, forcing the Xiao family to migrate southward. Along the way, you encountered constant attacks and skirmishes, significantly increasing your lifespan.]
[At eighteen, during your escape, you encountered two severely injured cultivators—a man and a woman. They begged you for help, each asking you to kill the other. You hesitated.]
[Do you choose to save the man, save the woman, kill the man, or kill the woman?]
Neither!
Without hesitation, Gu An made his choice.
[You did not intervene. You watched as both of them succumbed to their injuries. After their deaths, you took their storage bags.]
Seeing this prompt, Gu An almost cursed out loud.
Why was his simulated self so reckless?
The following years were filled with constant fleeing and fighting.
[At twenty-seven, a Mahayana Elder of the Dayan Sect found you. Accusing you of murdering his offspring due to the storage bag in your possession, he attacked. You denied the allegations, but he still attempted to kill you. The battle left both sides severely injured, and you were separated from your family.]
"Fighting a Mahayana cultivator at twenty-seven? Xiao Shengtian really had some skill," Gu An muttered to himself.
Clearly, this path was as wild as it was dangerous.
[At thirty, you joined the Luo Qing Sect and devoted yourself to cultivation.]
[At forty-five, the Xiao family was massacred. Grieving, you began investigating the culprits.]
[At fifty, after five years of investigation, you discovered that the culprits were the Li family of the Eastern Xuan Region. You left the Luo Qing Sect and headed to the Eastern Xuan Region.]
At the mention of the Eastern Xuan Region, Gu An's expression darkened.
Why did it always end in family annihilation?
As he thought about it, Gu An couldn't help but reflect on his own life. Having no family and growing up alone in the Ji family's residence, was this his destiny?
[At sixty, you participated in the trials for the Eastern Xuan Sacred Mansion. Dominating the region's young talents, you rose to fame.]
[At seventy, you cultivated the Celestial Tyrant Sacred Body within the Sacred Mansion. The mansion's lord admired you greatly and proposed marrying his youngest daughter to you. Do you accept?]
No!
[You declined the offer. The mansion lord took you as his disciple, and you received the Sacred Mansion's full support.]
Finally, Gu An allowed himself a smile.
"That's more like it!"
The subsequent years were filled with cultivation. Xiao Shengtian diligently enhanced his physique, techniques, and divine abilities. The simulation allowed only one focus in each category, leaving him with fewer choices.
Time flowed quickly.
[At 137, you participated in the Sacred Competition of the Five Domains. Displaying overwhelming strength, you were crowned the strongest genius of your era. The Celestial Tyrant Sacred Body became renowned across the Grand All-Realms.]
[At 138, while adventuring, you encountered Li family cultivators. Driven by blood vengeance, you clashed with them, drawing the attention of a mysterious Unrestrained Primordial Immortal. Narrowly escaping death, you were rescued by a cultivator named Xuanhu True Person.]
[At 139, still recovering from your injuries, the Li family attacked again, determined to kill you. Xuanhu True Person used his vital essence to perform a great divine ability, transferring you and his children into a spatial rift. The three of you fell into the Dark Continent.]
[At 140, Xuanhu True Person's son succumbed to the corruption of the Dark Continent's energy, dying and transforming into a dark wraith. You and his sister began searching for him.]
[At 142, still unable to escape the Dark Continent, Xuanhu True Person's daughter also transformed into a dark wraith. Enraged, you began slaughtering the dark wraiths inhabiting the continent.]
[At 143, you encountered the Dao Void Profound Immortal, Black Xuan Emperor. Your soul was destroyed by him.]
[Reincarnation ends.]
"What?!"
Gu An's eyes widened in fury.
Black Xuan Emperor again?!
How had this being already reached the Dao Void Profound Immortal Realm in this simulation?
Gu An clenched his fists, his anger barely contained. If the Black Xuan Emperor had any ability to sense hostile intent, he would surely feel Gu An's overwhelming enmity right now.
This entity had thwarted him in two lifetimes—how could Gu An endure this?
Without delay, Gu An disappeared from his room, teleporting to the ocean floor of another realm. He immediately activated his lifespan barrier, his mind already calculating his next move.
Immense memories poured into Gu An's mind.
An hour later.
Gu An opened his eyes, his expression complicated.
Xiao Shengtian's life had been even more extraordinary than Chu Lu's. A triumphant journey full of vengeance and passion, his reputation as the most talented cultivator of his time was unmatched. He had encountered countless beauties along the way as well.
Yet, in the end, he still died.
From the memories, Gu An gleaned an understanding of the terrifying nature of the Dark Continent. This realm was larger than the entirety of Heavenly Spirit Grand Heaven, with an oppressive, dark atmosphere that seemed to stretch into infinity. The sky was forever obscured, the horizon unreachable. Furthermore, the pervasive "dark force" constantly corroded him.
If not for the strength of the Celestial Tyrant Sacred Body, Xiao Shengtian wouldn't have lasted long enough to meet the Black Xuan Emperor.
The Dao Void Profound Immortal-level Black Xuan Emperor was undeniably terrifying. Through the memories, Gu An could experience every chilling detail of that moment.
When the Black Xuan Emperor killed Xiao Shengtian, he seemed to deliberately preserve the physical body.
The thought of his simulated body being used by the Black Xuan Emperor was deeply unsettling to Gu An.
What's more, the precise location of the Dark Continent was still unknown, and Gu An wasn't even certain whether its timeline aligned with his own. But if the day came when he encountered the Black Xuan Emperor—and if their cultivation levels were unequal—Gu An vowed to ensure the other would know true despair.
Living only 143 years in the second simulation was frustrating, to say the least.
However, the rewards were greater this time. While the Celestial Tyrant Sacred Body wasn't superior to his Tai Chu Supreme Dao Body, it could still be passed on to a disciple in the future.
The real treasure was Xiao Shengtian's indomitable will.
Xiao Shengtian had developed a Battle Will: the more grievous his injuries, the more powerful he became. At the same level of cultivation, this Battle Will was enough to crush any opponent. Against higher-level enemies, it even offered a chance to counter-kill.
For Gu An, the greatest utility of this Battle Will would be during tribulation crossing.
With this, his simulated tribulation breakthroughs might be far less daunting.
Gu An pondered further. Could his current Dao Void Profound Immortal self defeat the Black Xuan Emperor?
His curiosity burned as he recalled his extensive repertoire of techniques. A match with the Black Xuan Emperor was becoming an increasingly tempting notion.
Gu An vanished from the ocean floor and reappeared in his pavilion in the Third Medicine Valley.
The memory integration had caused a slight disturbance but was nowhere near as significant as his previous breakthrough.
Sitting in his chair, Gu An idly toyed with the idea of running another simulation.
This time, he resolved not to choose the Dark Continent again—there was no point in repeatedly antagonizing the Black Xuan Emperor.
He sighed.
Luck hadn't been on his side.
In the reincarnation simulation, Gu An could only make decisions about major turning points. He couldn't directly control his simulated self's every action. In essence, the simulation was unpredictable.
And with unpredictability came the need for good fortune.
Still, Gu An had breakthroughs to focus on—there was no room for recklessness. Skipping cultivation for the sake of indulging in the simulation would be irresponsible.
To distract himself, Gu An picked up a copy of The Adventures of Green Hero. After flipping a few pages, his thoughts were entirely drawn into the story.
What a remarkable book!
Even if Xuan Tianyi were to perish today, this work would immortalize him as a saint in Gu An's heart.
News of the Sword Master of Dao annihilating the Grand Cold Demon Sect spread like wildfire, circulating for an extended period. The Sword Master of Dao's fame grew exponentially, capturing attention across the realm.
Half a year passed in the blink of an eye. The year drew to a close.
Snow blanketed the ground, hiding the vastness of the heavens and earth under its white shroud.
In his pavilion, Gu An worked on writing. He carefully compiled the cultivation methods and ultimate techniques from Chu Lu's and Xiao Shengtian's lives into manuals. He didn't plan to distribute them immediately but rather found satisfaction in preparing them for potential future use.
After setting his brush aside, Gu An suddenly sensed something. His eyebrows lifted, and he stood, vanishing from the pavilion.
Far away, above the ocean.
Bai Ziya lay atop a large gourd soaring above the clouds. Reclining with his legs crossed, he exuded an air of carefree ease.
Sensing a presence, Bai Ziya opened his eyes and swiftly stood, his expression shifting to one of delight.
It was precisely the person he'd been hoping to find—Meng Lang!
Gu An quickly approached and clasped his hands in greeting, smiling. "Bai Daoist, I didn't expect to encounter you here."
Bai Ziya, ever direct, responded with a polite bow and returned the smile. "Meng Daoist, it's been years. Are you well? Did you suffer any effects from the Grand Cold Demon Sect's attacks?"
The two were now in a region affected by the Grand Cold Demon Sect, though only on its outskirts. This was why Gu An dared to meet Bai Ziya here.
"Not at all. I wasn't in the area at the time. When I heard of the sect's destruction, I returned," Gu An replied, shaking his head.
Well?
More than fine. He had just broken through to the ninth layer of the Dao Void Profound Immortal Realm!
Bai Ziya invited Gu An to join him on the gourd. Without hesitation, Gu An stepped on board, and the two began discussing the Grand Cold Demon Sect and the Sword Master of Dao.
Bai Ziya expressed deep shock at the events, marveling at the enormity of what had transpired within Heavenly Spirit Grand Heaven.
While the Grand Cold Demon Sect wasn't equal to the Mortal Peak, it wasn't far behind. The ability to single-handedly obliterate it spoke to a level of cultivation that was unimaginable.
Though some remnants of the sect survived, they had become scattered and vulnerable, with many enemies seizing the opportunity to attack.
Bai Ziya was particularly curious about the Sword Master of Dao, asking Gu An about the figure's origins. Gu An, claiming to have been in seclusion, professed ignorance.
The conversation lasted for quite some time, with Gu An mostly asking questions and Bai Ziya patiently providing answers.
After half an hour.
Gu An suddenly asked, "Bai Daoist, have you heard of the Dark Continent?"
Bai Ziya frowned, his expression puzzled. "Dark Continent? Never. Is it formidable? Where is it located?"
Hearing this, Gu An could only reply, "I'm not sure either. A senior once mentioned the name, and it sparked my curiosity."
Soon after, he bid Bai Ziya farewell.
Bai Ziya, however, quickly added, "The Mortal Peak is hosting the Millennium Summit soon. You must attend and officially take over the position of Peak Master."
Gu An nodded and then flew off in the direction opposite Tai Xuan Sect.
As Gu An disappeared into the distance, Bai Ziya muttered to himself, "Dark Continent… Why does that name feel strangely familiar?"