Outside the mountain gate.
Gu Chenfeng stopped his steps, turned his head to look at a mountain peak, and after just three seconds, he withdrew his gaze.
Gu Chenfeng gave a bitter smile, a trace of disappointment flashing in his eyes.
But just as Gu Chenfeng was about to step forward, his expression changed slightly.
A graceful figure appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, not far ahead of Gu Chenfeng.
Gu Chenfeng felt joy in his heart, his pale face revealing a smile as he said, "Junior Sister Ling, you..."
However, just as Gu Chenfeng began to speak, the smile on his face froze in place.
The woman, as if a fairy descending to the mortal world, had cold eyes and a frosty face, an icy demeanor that kept people at a distance.
Her name was Yao Xuanling, a direct disciple of the Lingyun Sect, her talent second only to Gu Chenfeng.
Yao Xuanling and Gu Chenfeng once had the relationship of Dao Companions, but the junior sister who used to follow him sweetly calling 'Brother Feng', now felt incredibly unfamiliar to Gu Chenfeng.
Gu Chenfeng let out a bitter laugh, understanding that with his Sea of Qi destroyed and his meridians severed, he was a cripple, existing in a completely different world from Yao Xuanling.
With no chance to cultivate immortality, the relationship of Dao Companions naturally ceased to exist.
Gu Chenfeng averted his gaze and, dragging his severely injured body forward, said with a low laugh, "Are you here to see me as a joke?"
"This elixir can save your life." Yao Xuanling extended her jade-like hand, holding an elixir that emitted a faint golden glow.
The voice was still the familiar one, yet her words were cold, devoid of any emotion.
"Do you pity me? Keep your sympathy." Gu Chenfeng didn't glance at it, dragging his injured body past, his tone also tinged with indifference.
Yao Xuanling withdrew her jade hand and walked into the sect without looking back. Whether Gu Chenfeng appreciated it was no longer important to her.
Yao Xuanling's coldness and indifference broke Gu Chenfeng's heart.
The memories of the past seemed to be fleeting for the proud Yao Xuanling.
He had no idea how long had passed.
Exhausted, the heavily injured Gu Chenfeng arrived in the complex mountains, now utterly fatigued, his body swaying, his vision blurred.
Gu Chenfeng could no longer move.
"Is this the end? I really don't want it to be like this." A bitter smile appeared on Gu Chenfeng's pale face.
Even with a thousand regrets, Gu Chenfeng was powerless.
With his meridians severed and Sea of Qi destroyed, Gu Chenfeng could not change anything.
Soon after.
The severely injured Gu Chenfeng, coupled with his physical exhaustion, finally collapsed.
In the quiet, complex mountain forest, the fallen Gu Chenfeng resembled a cold corpse.
"Can't forgive Mu Qingyun? Can't forgive the Martial King's Mansion? Haha..." Gu Chenfeng laughed at himself; it was merely for venting his inner anger.
The power of the Martial King's Mansion was far stronger than Gu Chenfeng had imagined.
Gu Chenfeng slowly closed his eyes, quietly waiting for death.
However.
Just as Gu Chenfeng was on the verge of death, his body suddenly glowed faintly with blood-red light, then began to float.
A blood-colored array appeared above Gu Chenfeng, its mystical runes releasing strands of bizarre blood energy from the array, quickly infiltrating Gu Chenfeng's body.
"How am I floating? What is this blood aura?" Gu Chenfeng was taken aback.
Before Gu Chenfeng could think further about what was happening, a terrifying heat rapidly spread throughout his body, finally converging in the Sea of Qi.
At this moment.
The Sea of Qi felt like it was on fire, interwoven with intense tearing pain, and it continued to swell rapidly as if about to explode.
Moreover, the already severed meridians throughout his body were transmitting expanding, intense pain.
"Ah!"
Gu Chenfeng's face twisted, his body convulsed, cold sweat poured continuously, and he couldn't help but let out a scream like a slaughtered pig.
Fire, tearing, and expansion—three layers of excruciatingly intense pain that no ordinary person could endure.
In just a moment, the unbearable pain caused Gu Chenfeng to faint outright, only to wake again shortly after from the tearing agony.
Fainting and waking, repeatedly tormenting Gu Chenfeng.
Already severely injured and barely clinging to life, the relentless torture of threefold pain felt like adding insult to injury for him.
Then, as Gu Chenfeng awoke once more in pain, he was shocked to realize a power had appeared within him.
Gu Chenfeng's Sea of Qi was rendered useless, his meridians severed, where could this power have come from for a cripple like him?
"How do I still have power? This can't be right?" Gu Chenfeng felt a wave of confusion and shock.
Gu Chenfeng, despite his severe injuries and agony, urgently inspected this newfound power within, and was startled by what he found.
"This is... spiritual power? Wait! My cultivation... Foundation Establishment Middle Stage! When did I break through? This... how is this even possible..." Gu Chenfeng's face changed dramatically, his eyes nearly popping out.
In the Human Realm, the cultivation realms from low to high are: Qi Refining Stage, Foundation Establishment Stage, Fasting Stage, Golden Core Stage, Nascent Soul Stage, Soul Emergence Stage, Integration Stage, Divinity Transformation Stage, Tribulation Stage, Mahayana Stage.
Each realm further divided into Early Stage, Middle Stage, and Late Stage.
With his Sea of Qi destroyed and his meridians severed, Gu Chenfeng seemingly wouldn't have spiritual power, let alone break through to the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage.
An event that shouldn't have occurred, occurred.
In his shock and confusion, Gu Chenfeng speculated in his mind: "Could it be that with spiritual power emerging within me, and a strange breakthrough in cultivation, this means..."
Evidently, he had realized something, eagerly examining his own meridians, a sliver of hope sparked within his once despairing heart.
Indeed.
Upon inspection, Gu Chenfeng was shocked to discover that his completely severed meridians had miraculously restored, and had even expanded several times over.
"My meridians have truly recovered." Gu Chenfeng stood dumbfounded, incredulous: "And they've expanded several times from before, this is astounding."
Even having guessed a bit of this, even witnessing it himself, Gu Chenfeng remained in disbelief.
How could shattered meridians suddenly recover?
"Could it be the Sea of Qi too..." Gu Chenfeng hurriedly checked his Sea of Qi.
"What... what is this? Is this my Sea of Qi?" Gu Chenfeng was instantly startled, his heart raced wildly, nearly jumping out of his chest.
Before Gu Chenfeng's eyes was an endless world of stars.
Indeed!
This was Gu Chenfeng's Star Sea of Qi!
A celestial ocean brimming with stars, incredibly majestic, visually overwhelming, countless times larger than Gu Chenfeng's original Sea of Qi.
Seeing the astonishing starry world before him, Gu Chenfeng felt he could barely breathe, unable to comprehend this was his Sea of Qi.
Even a Mahayana Stage expert wouldn't possess such a vast Sea of Qi, right?
Gu Chenfeng remained in shock for a full five minutes before regaining his senses.
Weak though he was, Gu Chenfeng was overjoyed, incredibly excited, feeling as if he'd returned from Hell to Heaven.
"An endless Sea of Qi, it's unheard of." Gu Chenfeng was ecstatic.
Trying hard to control his injuries and pain, suppressing his excitement, Gu Chenfeng attempted to mobilize his spiritual power.
Strands of white airflow swirled around Gu Chenfeng's palm, the aura very weak, yet carrying a chill.