[Heavenly Spirit God (Measuring the Heavens Golden Immortal, Mid-stage): 0/0/0]
Gu An looked at the lifespan investigation prompt before him, deep in thought.
Being able to detect information meant that this Heavenly Spirit God possessed a true physical body. However, seeing the values all at zero reminded him of the Mysterious Ghost King.
So-called immortality was always tied to some kind of power. Could it be that he had sacrificed his own lifespan?
"Who are you?"
Heavenly Spirit God's voice echoed in the shattered darkness, his posture still fixed in mid-swing with the divine axe.
Gu An stood before him, calmly staring at him. "As an immortal god, yet you seek to destroy the myriad beings of the World. I want to know—is this your own decision, or the will of the Heavenly Court?"
In his previous life, back on Earth, he had heard many myths and legends about the Heavenly Court. Some were good, some bad, but one undeniable fact was that the people of Huaxia recognized the Heavenly Court's status in mythology.
In this life, upon hearing of the Heavenly Court again, his emotions were complicated. He felt both excitement and apprehension. Excited because if the name of the Heavenly Court could spread to this world, did it mean there was hope of returning?
Apprehensive because if the Heavenly Court truly existed, would the stories he had written—Journey to the West and Investiture of the Gods—draw its attention?
These emotions had already faded with time.
Heavenly Spirit God looked at Gu An and asked, "Does it matter?"
"It matters."
Gu An's response caused Heavenly Spirit God to fall silent for a moment.
Heavenly Spirit God finally said, "The Heavenly Dao has its rules, and the gods have their own choices."
This answer made Gu An reassess him somewhat.
At this stage, for Heavenly Spirit God to still uphold the image of the Heavenly Court proved his loyalty. This also meant that his stance toward Heavenly Spirit World was based on his personal interests.
Boom!
A force even stronger than Heavenly Spirit God's erupted, sending him staggering backward. The collapsing darkness shattered, and they returned to the cosmos.
Protective Dao Divine Essence!
The immense power of divine essence dispersed the radiance of the Heavenly Dao around Heavenly Spirit God, revealing his true form.
He wore heavy silver armor, the helmet adorned with a silver dragon, his chest plate depicting a qilin, and his shoulder guards shaped like a phoenix spreading its wings. The red belt around his waist emanated the power of countless worlds. The Heavenly Dao Divine Axe in his hand radiated boundless divine might, its scorching power exuding supreme authority.
Heavenly Spirit God's face, usually exuding an imposing dignity, now showed a trace of astonishment.
With just a single move, he could already tell that the opponent's cultivation was no weaker than his own.
"With such mastery, why intervene in the tribulation of this World?" Heavenly Spirit God locked his gaze on Gu An and asked in a deep voice.
He could feel that the boundless force of Karmic Dao had enveloped the entire cosmos, cutting off his escape routes—even severing his connection to the Heavenly Dao.
This person had achieved an unfathomable level in the Dao of Karma!
Gu An raised his right hand, and the Heavenly Solemn Sword appeared in his grasp. The sword's edge ignited with dazzling sword light, radiant beyond compare.
An Hao stared at Gu An's back as he wielded his sword, his heart surging with excitement, his blood boiling. His face flushed red with emotion.
Heavenly Spirit Immortal Sovereign, watching Gu An, had a complex expression. Especially when he saw An Hao's admiration, his heart felt even more conflicted.
At this moment, the beings within Heavenly Spirit World could not witness the battle in the void. They could only see the endless starry sky, and thus, silence fell upon the world.
All the living beings were tense, uncertain of what would come next.
On a ruined island, Li Ya lay sprawled on the cliffside, struggling to lift his head.
A mysterious celestial spirit perched on his shoulder, its eyes gleaming with excitement as it gazed into the sky.
Li Ya could feel its exhilaration and instantly understood the reason. His expression became complicated, but deep inside, he felt relieved.
"As expected… It still comes down to you… You are the true guardian of this world. No one can compare to you…"
Li Ya gazed at the cosmos, thinking to himself. The light in his eyes gradually shifted from contemplation to reverence.
Just as this thought emerged, a sword light burst forth in the cosmic void, illuminating heaven and earth. The radiance was so dazzling that Li Ya instinctively shut his eyes.
In the vast emptiness of the universe—
Heavenly Spirit God stood frozen in place. Behind him, the endless darkness had been split in two by a single sword strike. His grip on the Heavenly Dao Divine Axe trembled violently.
His eyes were locked on Gu An, who remained in a sword-wielding stance.
Fine cracks appeared on the surface of Heavenly Spirit God's body, and divine blood seeped from them. His condition was strikingly similar to An Hao's earlier injuries.
"So fast…"
Heavenly Spirit Immortal Sovereign stared at Gu An, his expression grave. He hadn't even been able to see how Gu An had swung his sword.
An Hao's perception wasn't as sharp, but he could clearly tell that Heavenly Spirit God's momentum had been completely suppressed by his master. That realization filled him with exhilaration.
Heavenly Spirit God's eyes sharpened, and suddenly, he leaped into the sky. Almost instantly, an even greater force erupted from him. Above the universe, a vast sea of divine light emerged, and Heavenly Spirit God vanished into its depths.
A moment later, within the sea of light, a giant eye appeared.
As the eye opened, countless eyes of varying sizes materialized in all directions throughout the universe, densely packed, completely surrounding Gu An and the other two.
All of the eyes locked onto them.
Far away, Xunxian Daoist witnessed this scene, and his expression shifted once again.
"The Heavenly Eye Dao Technique… He actually mastered such a divine ability…"
Xunxian Daoist had already been stunned multiple times by Heavenly Spirit God, but he had still underestimated him.
His gaze involuntarily turned to Gu An. Strangely, he could not perceive Gu An's true form. This meant that Gu An was using some incomprehensibly powerful technique to obscure his presence.
Countless Heavenly Eyes in the starry sky snapped open simultaneously, their pupils radiating beams of light in various colors. In an instant, Gu An's spiritual power surged forth, enveloping Heavenly Spirit Immortal Sovereign, An Hao, and the entire Heavenly Spirit World beneath them.
The cosmic space violently twisted, and distant meteors ignited into raging flames. Some were even frozen into absolute stillness.
"Heavenly Eye Dao Technique... It can draw upon the power of the Heavenly Dao, commanding three thousand Great Daos to aid its wielder. This technique is capable of annihilating entire Worlds…" Heavenly Spirit Immortal Sovereign's face darkened.
An Hao saw vast gas-like star seas forming in the distance, rampaging through the cosmic void. The sight before him was chaotic, overwhelming his senses to the point of dizziness.
A strange and formless force was attempting to invade his body. This sensation was eerily foreign—he had never experienced anything like it before.
Heavenly Spirit Immortal Sovereign turned to Gu An and said, "Once the Heavenly Eye Dao Technique is activated, you are effectively opposing all three thousand Great Daos. You cannot…"
Before he could finish speaking, Gu An suddenly swung his sword.
A silver-blue sword shadow burst forth out of thin air, sweeping across the dazzling and chaotic universe.
Before this single sword strike, planets, celestial bodies, star clusters, and even the sun and moon seemed insignificant.
The moment the sword was unleashed, the countless Heavenly Eyes across the cosmos were obliterated. Even the Heavenly Dao Light Sea above was split apart.
Heavenly Spirit God's figure was forcibly revealed—his silver armor shattered, exposing a bloodied body covered in open wounds. His helmet was sent flying, and his long black hair cascaded wildly.
Heavenly Spirit God's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at Gu An.
Gu An appeared before him in an instant. His left hand grasped Heavenly Spirit God's flowing hair with lightning speed, and in the next moment, his sword flashed down in a swift arc!
The sword light illuminated the vast universe, reflecting across thousands of Worlds and countless minor worlds.
Heavenly Spirit Immortal Sovereign, An Hao, Xunxian Daoist, and the many powerful cultivators watching from afar all instinctively shut their eyes. When they reopened them, the overwhelming Heavenly Dao's pressure that had loomed over the cosmos began to fade.
Their gazes all turned toward the same direction.
In the depths of space, a figure stood motionless, holding a sword in one hand—and in the other, the severed head of Heavenly Spirit God.
Behind him, remnants of the blazing blue sword shadow lingered, stretching deep into the cosmic abyss.
Drops of divine blood rained down, burning through the void. Some of the falling meteors were pierced straight through by the blood's intensity. Many droplets descended into Heavenly Spirit World, disappearing into the mortal realm.
Heavenly Spirit Immortal Sovereign was utterly stunned.
An Hao was equally speechless. He had always known his master was powerful, but Heavenly Spirit God had demonstrated an undefeatable presence before. Such an overwhelming existence was now completely powerless before his master…
Even more helpless than Heavenly Spirit Immortal Sovereign had been against Heavenly Spirit God!
At this moment, the head in Gu An's grasp still had its eyes open. Heavenly Spirit God stared up at him, sheer terror filling his gaze.
"You... impossible… who exactly are you…?"
Heavenly Spirit God's voice trembled. The fact that his Heavenly Eye Dao Technique had been annihilated by a single sword strike was something he could not comprehend.
A familiar silhouette surfaced in his mind.
That person had once left an unforgettable mark on him in the Dao of the Sword. If he had been left to grow, would he have reached this same terrifying level?
Gu An remained expressionless, looking down at him. His right hand suddenly performed a technique, unleashing the The Universe in the Palm Divine Ability. In an instant, Heavenly Spirit God's severed head vanished into his palm.
Having finished, Gu An turned his gaze toward the universe.
Even though the Heavenly Eye Dao Technique had been destroyed by his Eternal Boundless Divine Sword, the cosmos was still collapsing. Everything was unfolding exactly as he had predicted in his earlier divinations of the future.
No matter how powerful he was, he could not control the rules of the Great Dao within this world.
Because this World did not belong to him.
Gu An could sense that the universe's collapse was not merely due to the Heavenly Eye Dao Technique—something else was at play.
His gaze shifted toward Heavenly Spirit Immortal Sovereign.
Heavenly Spirit Immortal Sovereign also looked at him, his expression as calm as an ancient lake.
An Hao's excitement gradually faded. He, too, noticed that the universe was falling apart—an oppressive, dangerous atmosphere was seeping in from all directions.
"Could it be…?"
An Hao's expression turned grim as he considered the worst-case scenario.
Heavenly Spirit Immortal Sovereign turned toward him and spoke in a tranquil voice. "Earlier, when I extracted the full power of Heaven and Earth, I disrupted the stability of this World's Dao Order. Combined with the Heavenly Eye Dao Technique's destruction, this world is now on the verge of complete obliteration. It will cease to exist."
Hearing this, An Hao did not react in panic as expected. Instead, he stared at Heavenly Spirit Immortal Sovereign and asked, "Then what should we do? Do you have no compassion for the billions of living beings here?"
Heavenly Spirit Immortal Sovereign turned away, gazing far into the distance, his eyes landing on Gu An's silhouette.
"There was a time when I truly did not care," he said slowly. "But after witnessing him shielding all sentient beings from the destruction of the Heavenly Eye Dao Technique, I suddenly felt that perhaps… I should do something."
"And it just so happens that I have a way to repay him… for the kindness he has shown in guiding and protecting you."
The moment he finished speaking, a blinding radiance erupted from Heavenly Spirit Immortal Sovereign's body.
His Heavenly Dao Golden Core and Heaven and Earth Dao Fruit surged out of his chest, hovering over his left and right shoulders.
"I will allow this World to be reborn in a new form, cleansing the karma of the past. This way, the Heavenly Court will have no means to pursue the death of Heavenly Spirit God, and he will be able to remain here… without worry."