Gu Yuan watched the golden gate slowly close. The only exit he knew of had now been given to Shangguan Changqing, who was inside before his death in the previous life.
But Gu Yuan did not regret it in the slightest.
In his previous life, he had narrowly escaped with Shangguan Changqing's help, but what awaited him was prolonged imprisonment.
Followed by a despairing answer... No one survived the Death Prison. Countless Cultivator Seeds perished inside, including direct descendants of the great Families.
As the sole survivor, the day Gu Yuan was released from the Shangguan Family prison, he was not greeted by the beautiful future he had imagined.
Instead, it was a more despairing reality: relentless soul searches and various forms of private torture from other Families and even the Academy.
During those dark days, Gu Yuan couldn't even commit suicide. Yet, despite this, he still maintained a virtuous heart and felt guilt.
He felt he had survived alone, letting down Shangguan Changqing, Lin Ao, and others. Therefore, after Wuxin City was destroyed in the chaos several years later, he quietly left and began to Cultivate in seclusion...
While he was Cultivating in seclusion, although Wuxin City was destroyed, there were still many survivors. These people had been involved, to varying degrees, in the 'Academy Death Prison Incident' that year.
And from their mouths, Gu Yuan gradually learned the truth of what happened...
It was only after learning the truth and the despicable acts committed that year that Gu Yuan gradually began to re-examine himself.
Perhaps the change started then...
While recalling the past, Gu Yuan had finished modifying the mundane longsword he had previously obtained from Shangguan Changqing.
He added wolf hide and wolf teeth, and smeared highly toxic wolf blood onto the blade.
This mundane weapon already possessed the rudimentary power of a Magic Treasure, though it was still a long way from being a true Magic Treasure.
After killing the two Rotten Wolves in the distance, there were no other Evil Creatures left in the entire underground cliff area; for the time being, it was safe.
Gu Yuan was in no hurry to push forward; he knew very well.
His current actions were actually somewhat overconfident. He had never truly explored the Academy Death Prison, and much of his information was based on hearsay and soul searches.
It seemed that several Second-Tier Evil Objects were hidden deep within the shallow layers of the Academy Death Prison!
This was also why the Academy's upper echelon believed the Students had been collectively wiped out initially...
Imagine the scene: the Students worked together, finally reaching the end point, only to be blocked by a Second-Tier Evil Object and all perish.
To prevent such a terrible situation from happening, Gu Yuan naturally had to improve himself first.
However, the Academy did not teach Cultivator Seeds any offensive Mind-Cultivation Techniques or Dao techniques.
Thus, Gu Yuan had no choice but to select the Mind-Cultivation Technique most suitable for his current situation from what he had learned in his previous life.
In his previous life, Gu Yuan was a Loose Cultivator and had not joined any Sect forces. He relied solely on himself to travel and, through fortunate Opportunities, collected many Loose Cultivator Mind-Cultivation Techniques.
Many of these Cultivation Techniques were unique to Loose Cultivators, techniques that even the Upper Three Sects did not possess.
And among the countless Early Stage Mind-Cultivation Techniques, there truly was one that was perfect for Gu Yuan right now.
That was the "Wandering Evil Body Absorption Heart Sutra"!
This Mind-Cultivation Technique was created by an evil monk who had painfully Cultivated in the Northern Death Prison a hundred years later. This evil monk was obsessed with researching Evil Creatures.
He even went so far as to swallow the flesh of Evil Creatures raw and drink their blood. Such actions introduced evil Qi into his body, causing evil Qi to flow throughout him, making him look neither human nor ghost.
Before his brain was completely corroded by the evil Qi and he transformed into an evil demon, the evil monk left behind a volume of Legacy, hoping that someone destined could perfect the Mind-Cultivation Technique he had created.
This volume of Mind-Cultivation Technique was continuously refined by later Northern Cultivators and eventually found its way to an auction house...
Although this method was only suitable for low-level Cultivators, it could solidly lay a foundation. While absorbing evil Qi to temper the Dantian, it could also use the evil Qi to flow through all the Meridians, causing the Meridians to expand.
This allowed for better absorption and Cultivation.
However, the drawbacks of this method were also obvious: introducing evil Qi was extremely risky. A slight mistake could lead to contamination by the evil Qi.
Ordinary people avoided it, or only dared to absorb a small amount to temper their Dantian under the guidance of powerful elders.
Yet, this Mind-Cultivation Technique allowed the evil Qi to roam freely. If this wasn't a Demonic Path practice, how could one be so ruthless to oneself?
Many people, even if they obtained this Mind-Cultivation Technique, dared not Cultivate it casually, fearing Qi Deviation and failing at the most crucial moment.
Gu Yuan naturally didn't have absolute confidence, but if he didn't dare to risk it now, when would he dare?
We Cultivators live precarious lives; if we can enjoy one day, then that is one day.
Do whatever you want to do. As long as you have a plan in your heart, even if you fail, you will have no regrets.
Just like how in his previous life he attempted to Breakthrough the so-called 'Heavenly Dao' blockade and achieve the realm of a Ninth-Tier Venerable!
After an Evil Creature dies, black mist usually rises around its corpse. Some say this is the energy of the world in the Death Prison, while others say it is the "spiritual power within the Evil Creature."
But even the Upper Three Sects in his previous life did not publish research results on this matter, so there is still no definite answer as to how this "evil Qi" is generated.
But this did not prevent Gu Yuan from absorbing this evil Qi and turning it into his own strength.
Gu Yuan did not absorb all the evil Qi produced by the Rotten Wolves in one go; instead, he disassembled it, starting with the first few.
The moment the evil Qi first entered Gu Yuan's body, he felt his entire body stiffen, alternating between icy cold and scorching hot. Strange whispers continuously echoed in his ears, making his head spin.
Gu Yuan gritted his teeth. This was the critical moment for absorption, and he absolutely could not lose heart!
Time passed minute by minute. The process of initial absorption was destined to be painful and agonizing, but as long as he endured this period, the absorption would be considered successful!
When the first wisp of evil Qi was completely transformed and absorbed by his Dantian, Gu Yuan could clearly feel a wave of refreshing sensation spread throughout his body.
The previous discomfort vanished completely as the evil Qi was converted into spiritual power.
"Hmm."
Gu Yuan smiled faintly. The improvement was indeed significant. Gu Yuan roughly estimated that the single wisp of evil Qi was equivalent to a week of non-stop Cultivation for him!
Since his Spiritual Root foundation was damaged, if he were to Cultivate step-by-step, that single boost would probably be worth half a month!
Not to mention, his Physical Body had also been slightly strengthened.
"I seem to understand why that evil monk was so obsessed."
Simply killing Evil Creatures and absorbing the evil Qi could bypass arduous Cultivation; this was truly too worthwhile.
Gu Yuan rested briefly, then licked his lips and continued to absorb the remaining wisps of evil Qi.
With the experience of the first absorption, although the subsequent process was still extremely painful—even causing blood to seep out—Gu Yuan remained composed.
Gu Yuan enjoyed the joy of improvement but did not sink into it. He maintained vigilance, ready to forcibly stop the absorption if anything went wrong.
Fortunately, in the end, he successfully absorbed the evil Qi from these Rotten Wolves without major incident.
Gu Yuan stretched his muscles and bones, nodded contentedly, and then began searching for a way out...
Climbing up the cliff, Gu Yuan recalled the map of the Death Prison.
He remembered that continuing forward would lead to a precipice, where there were many Student remains and a genuine First-Tier Evil Creature!
Gu Yuan was unsure exactly how much time he had spent fully absorbing the evil Qi.
But Gu Yuan was not in a hurry to catch up with the other Students. Instead, he began exploring the entire Academy Death Prison.
This part of the Academy Death Prison was rich in Earth Dao resources. With good luck, one could find many Cultivation resources.
Although Gu Yuan had no plans to Cultivate the Earth Dao, Cultivation resources were naturally always welcome.
After walking for a short while, Gu Yuan keenly spotted a small dirt pit. Inside the pit was soil faintly emitting black Qi.
This was the First-Tier Earth Dao Material, "Evil-Stained Soil."
It could be used to create Earth Dao Magic Treasures, serve as building Materials, and even assist in Cultivation Technique practice. It was considered a highly sought-after consumable in the Immortal Realm.
It was a pity he didn't have a convenient Magic Treasure like a storage ring. Otherwise, he could dig up all the Evil-Stained Soil; even selling it would fetch a considerable sum...
Thinking of this, Gu Yuan couldn't help but sigh.
Having been Reborn, his foundation was shallow and his funds were severely limited. There were many things he wanted to do but couldn't...
However, there was a very wasteful way to use this Evil-Stained Soil: using the "Wandering Evil Body Absorption Heart Sutra" to devour the evil Qi within it!
If he did this, the yellow soil would simply become common dirt.
He decided to act immediately. The few Rotten Wolves earlier were definitely not enough. To restore this body, whose foundation had been almost completely drained, back to its Peak, he needed a substantial amount of resources.
And this Evil-Stained Soil was just right!
Just as Gu Yuan was absorbing the Evil-Stained Soil, behind a stone wall not far away, a group of Students was slowly advancing.
Several Students with shallow cultivation and low strength were walking trembling at the very front of the team. They had been chosen as cannon fodder to clear the path for the entire group.
The few of them naturally didn't want this, but they were helpless.
After all, they were no match for the three people behind them...
The three people following this cannon fodder group were the core of the small team. Like Gu Yuan and Shangguan Changqing, these three were also Cultivator Seeds.
They also came from the great Families of Wuxin City. The leader was named Lin Tian, and the other two followers were Li Shubo and Wu Ze.
The Li Family and the Wu Family were the Families that, along with the Lin Family and the Shangguan Family, were known as the Four Great Families of Wuxin City. The strength of these three naturally went without saying.
Even if the cannon fodder in front wanted to resist, they first had to consider their own capabilities.
Under the 'protection' of the people in front, several moderately attractive Academy girls followed behind. Under the protection of the few core members, they looked relatively fine.
And Xiao Mei was naturally among the crowd.
"Hey, you guys up front, why did you stop again? Did one of your bones come loose and need your Lord Lin to twist it back for you?"
Lin Tian saw the cannon fodder stop and spoke with dissatisfaction.
The cannon fodder all looked pale at this moment, not because of anything else, but because in front of them, a humanoid stone Evil Creature about two meters tall was pacing back and forth.
How could these cannon fodder dare to approach such a behemoth easily...