Demon Slaying, Gaining 60 Years of Cultivation From the Start

The space sandwiched between layers was utterly devoid of light, enshrouded in darkness both above and below, with only the thick, malevolent Yin energy flowing through the void, the unchanging mainstay of this realm.

This dark and cold expanse swirled with a dead silence, where the rules of heaven and earth underwent strange mutations, starkly opposing the cosmos of living beings. Any living person would find survival impossible here, as they would be incessantly corroded unto death.

This was a world belonging to demons and ghosts, a haven for evil spirits, their stronghold, and a forbidden zone for living beings.

In such a place, at this very moment, there sat a young man cross-legged, radiating all manner of profound energies around him, yet bound by some force, unable to spread out.

The handsome young man with flowing black hair, was none other than Gu Chen without a doubt.

Only he could survive to this day in this world devoid of light.

For two years, Gu Chen had been stuck in a constant state of slaughter within this space, which sharpened his aura more and more, as if he were on the verge of releasing a thunderous rage, his murderous intentions biting and intense.

Humm!

At that moment, a hazy light erupted from Gu Chen's lower abdomen, bathing him in brilliance. His flesh became translucent.

Within Gu Chen's body, the Tianzhong trembled gently with colorful lights swirling and dancing around, radiant and dazzling, a spectacular sight.

As various phenomena emerged, the Tianzhong's shaking grew more intense, its luminescence thickening and enveloping Gu Chen, making it seem as if he would turn into light and vanish.

"The day has finally come," Gu Chen wore a grave expression, in full battle readiness. His muscles tensed, daring not to let his guard down.

For currently, the bizarre changes occurring in the Tianzhong had a profound impact on him!

At this moment, the Tianzhong trembled constantly, its tremors growing stronger and various phenomena continuously manifesting. It seemed to burst through Gu Chen's flesh into the outside world as if something attempted to break free from its shell.

Crack!

Finally, accompanied by a crisp sound, cracks formed on the Tianzhong, and countless rays of light shone through, fiercely radiant, enough to light up the heavens.

Besides that, there were flashes of thunder, and the vague energies of Yin and Yang permeated, as if heralding the creation of the heavens and the earth!

And in fact, it was indeed so!

Years of arduous cultivation had led to this day, finally allowing the Tianzhong to reach its limits and evolve!

With a hum, boundless light surged forth, exceedingly glittering and dazzling as if it could spread across all worlds. At the same time, accompanied by splendid phenomena, it even reflected into the outside world, making Gu Chen seem as if he were about to ascend.

Luckily, the solitary holy realm emerged, enveloping all this energy and preventing it from spreading far, thus concealing his presence.

"What, in the end, will hatch from the supreme seed as it ripens?" Gu Chen watched intently, not blinking an eye at the Tianzhong inside himself.

The oval-shaped seed cracked, and thousands of lights sparkled forth, accompanied by thunder and strands of Yin and Yang energies swirling, a vague orb of light replacing the Tianzhong and taking shape within Gu Chen's body.

At a glance, it looked like a sphere of light emanating a faint divine brilliance, but upon closer inspection, the orb's surface flowed with a myriad of colors, and one could perceive an immense world contained within!

Various scenes rose and fell inside it, and at that moment, an incredibly vast and majestic energy emitted from within. If not for Gu Chen's fierce restraint, the entire spatial intermediary layer would've been endlessly shaken.

"Is it a success?" Gu Chen gazed at the light orb. Yet with his current level of cultivation, he couldn't fully discern the secrets within.

However, the Tianzhong conveyed faint messages to him, letting Gu Chen know that the Tianzhong had evolved, advancing further into a different form—a world foetus!

Should it undergo another transformation, it would truly breed a new world.

Even so, just the world foetus alone had rules and patterns within it that were impeccably perfect, far surpassing the remnants of the Da Xia land.

For Gu Chen, both now and in the future, this held tremendous utility and carried profound implications!

Furthermore, with the evolution of the Tianzhong into a world foetus, Gu Chen's connection to it grew even closer—so much so that one might describe it as "intimately inseparable."

At this moment, he and the Tianzhong merged completely, indistinguishable from each other!

Even if a grand being from the higher realms personally intervened, they would not dream of separating the Tianzhong from Gu Chen's body.

An enormous amount of vital energy spread throughout his limbs and bones. As the Tianzhong transformed into a world foetus, the power and rules it contained grew stronger, it was just that Gu Chen's body was not yet fully capable of bearing it.

Otherwise, with just the inner world foetus alone, no one in the realm of Heavenly Man could match him.

Of course, even so, in this world, Gu Chen had no worries about running out of resources. Even if he were to face a battle as fiercely intense as any other, it was highly unlikely for him to reach the point of complete exhaustion.

Hiss!

At this moment, Gu Chen opened his eyes, and from his pupils, two beams of light shot out like swords. During this time, even the lines of his face had become somewhat sharper, with his swordlike eyebrows seeming even more so.

"It has finally succeeded."

Gu Chen exhaled lightly. In these two years, he continually slew demons and ghosts, and at times even engaged in major battles with evil spirits. On several occasions, he nearly revealed himself completely, attracting the siege of countless demons and evil spirits.

For Gu Chen, although this place held great opportunities, it was also fraught with extreme danger.

However, the evolution of the Tianzhong and his own breakthrough made it all worthwhile.

Before arriving here, Gu Chen, relying on his strong mental power, had managed to commit to memory the knowledge from the Jing Tian Department, the royal family of Da Xia, and various martial arts from the realm of jianghu. It was an immense amount of information that, even with Gu Chen's realm of cultivation and strength of spirit, took a considerable amount of time to sort through.

The reason for this was simply that Gu Chen wanted, when he had sufficient points, to deduce the martial arts and skills he desired, and even go a step further to assist him in achieving the state of Heavenly Man!

For Gu Chen to reach the realm of Heavenly Man, he did not need to rely on the great external world—he himself was enough!

"As I kept slaying demons and even evil spirits, I could clearly sense that this spatial layer was getting weaker and weaker," Gu Chen spoke softly.

By now, he had also come to know that this was just a spatial layer born from the presence of demons, which was gradually heading towards destruction as their number decreased.

This was precisely why the rules of Heaven and Earth in the Nine States were gradually being restored, and the spiritual qi was increasing by the day.

Once Gu Chen completely destroyed this place, the recovery speed of the Nine States would also reach its peak.

"It won't be long before I can return to the Nine States," Gu Chen murmured. Right now, the only thing he needed to guard against was the impending collapse of this spatial layer and whether he could survive to make it out, let alone return to the Nine States.

Regarding this, Gu Chen had some confidence, but he couldn't say for certain that he would succeed.

...

In the Nine States, the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.

With the obvious restoration of the Heavenly and Earthly Spiritual Qi, another month passed in the blink of an eye.

One day, deep within the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, a series of loud rumbles suddenly resonated, causing Heaven and Earth to sound in unison, as if some terrifying entity was about to be born.

Boom!

Accompanied by an earth-shattering noise, nine dazzling figures, akin to deities, leisurely stepped out from deep within the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.

Each of them possessed an unfathomably profound aura, at one with Heaven, as if their every word and action represented the will of Heaven and Earth, capable of meting out divine punishment!

This was the Heavenly Being realm, and also the astonishing strength of Lang Tian and the other eight from the Upper Realm!

Even if placed among the Heavenly Beings of the Upper Realm, each of them was exceedingly formidable, let alone in the Nine States below, where it was simply impossible for anyone to be a match for them.

Among them was a burly man, his gaze fierce. The first thing he wanted to do upon regaining his strength was, of course, to seek revenge in Tiandu.

However, before that, Lang Tian and Qi Jin found him and issued a warning.

After all, they might live in the Nine States for quite some time, and it was best not to stir up any major trouble.

"Now that we have all regained our cultivation, the will of this realm no longer suppresses us, but with it, our connection to the Upper Realm is also gradually fading," Lang Tian of Burning Heaven Valley spoke.

In the Heavenly Being realm, one with Heaven, a single word or action could mobilize the great momentum of Heaven and Earth, summoning boundless power, so their perception of all things was extremely keen.

But now, he realized that as the environmental conditions of the Nine States continued to improve, the self-imposed isolation was becoming stricter, and their connection to the Upper Realm was extremely dim.

"What do you all say?" Lang Tian and Qi Jin looked to the other seven people.

"This old man is here in the lower realm for the first time, and I'm somewhat interested in the customs and cultures," one of the old men among them spoke. He carried a spiritual sword on his back; it was clear that he was from the Vault of Sky Sword Sect and was one of the oldest among the group that came from the lower realm.

At the same time, he was also the most powerful!

Lang Tian and Qi Jin, along with several others, were somewhat wary of him. Now that the elder had spoken, they didn't dare voice any dissent.

"Alright, Elder Huang may do as he pleases. If we discover anything, we will inform you immediately," Lang Tian nodded, saying so.

Even the burly man with a violent nature showed a solemn face upon seeing the elder, not daring to reveal any hint of ferocity, which indicated the awe that everyone had for him.

"Then I'll have to thank you all," the elder, named Huang Yun, appeared very amiable, nodded, and with a flash, turned into a beam of sword light that vanished towards the horizon in an instant.

After Huang Yun left, the remaining eight, including Lang Tian, visibly relaxed.

"The Vault of Sky Sword Sect really went insane trying to deal with that Gu Chen, daring to send a powerhouse beyond the Heavenly Being realm to the lower realm." Someone spoke up, recalling the experience of descending to the lower realm, still feeling a bit of trepidation even now.

In the end, even though they successfully descended, they were still nearly jeopardized, which was related to the powerhouse within the World Box whose cultivation surpassed the Heavenly Being realm.

It was also because of this that that powerhouse was one of the first to die a tragic death, with the others dying alongside him. One could only say it was bad luck to be implicated.

At that moment, Qi Jin of the Pure Yang Martial Sect looked at him and said, "Speak carefully! All this was decided by the Holy Master and others. We have no right to discuss it, and besides, the precious materials used to create the World Box were provided mostly by the Vault of Sky Sword Sect."

The others heard this and nodded in agreement, after all, they had survived; the dead had nothing to do with them.

"To the lower realm, here we come!"

At this moment, Lang Tian, Qi Jin, and the other seven from the Upper Realm looked at the Heaven and Earth before them, their emotions excited and surging.

Because they knew that all opportunities in the lower realm now belonged to them!

As for not being able to return to the Upper Realm, they were not worried. Compared to that, they were more concerned with the Nine Cauldrons and the Heavenly Seeds.

"From now on, this Nine States is under our control. With one thought, we can change Heaven and Earth. This feeling, hahaha, is something we could never enjoy in the Upper Realm!" Someone among the eight laughed out loud, their eyes full of longing.

Although the Nine States was inferior to the Upper Realm, they could now domineer and not be subject to anyone above them in the Nine States. They could enslave the members of the Human Clan, taking and using them at will, and they also had the supreme opportunities of the Nine Cauldrons and Heavenly Seeds beckoning to them.

"I never thought that this would become such a good thing. To me, it seems that destiny really favors us, giving us such an opportunity," Lang Tian of Burning Heaven Valley also said with a smile, his emotions a bit stirred.

Better to be a chicken's head than a phoenix's tail, as the saying goes.

On this day, nine Heavenly Beings from the Upper Realm were born; having reached their prime, they emerged from the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains. In the era when Gu Chen was absent from the Nine States, they were destined to create enormous upheavals in this world!