Chapter 41: The Strong Return

  Gu Chen remembered that this year's clan competition first prize was a Blood Contract.

  Now that the Linghun flower has been obtained, all that's needed is to find the Yao beast Zhu Hu, obtain its inner elixir, and the Absolute Death, Absolute Killing, and Absolute Destruction Array can be set up.

  Borrowing the might of the Three Great Array Formations, even the cultivation of the Ancient Heaven Realm can forcefully break through the Mount Sumeru Vajra Great Formation.

  At that time, all the spiritual herbs in the garden will belong to Gu Chen.

  The only material that is still lacking at present is the inner elixir of the roasted tiger.

  Although the Blazing Tiger likes to live in the underground molten fire, not all volcanic caves have a Blazing Tiger living in them. Finding this beast is no easy task and requires good luck.

  After a night of cultivation, Gu Chen's cultivation had made some progress, and his temporary realm had been upgraded. Gu Chen didn't feel any bottleneck at all; as long as he cultivated to the point where he was supposed to break through, he could automatically make a breakthrough.

  Every day's diligent practice is an indispensable lesson for Gu Chen, whether or not Huo Hu finds it is not particularly important, but the cultivation does not improve, which is a big problem.

  They have already arrived at Xiantian Second Layer. From here, it is still over 900,000 miles to Lesui City. The ancient flying vessel needs a month's time to cover this distance.

  There are still about three months until the end of the year's clan competition, and Gu Chen has two more months to find the trail of the fierce tiger.

  If it's a divine sea boundary cultivation, finding a fierce tiger would make things much easier. The key is that Gu Chen is currently only at the second layer of the pre-heavenly boundary, and in the Eastern Wilderness, there are only a few tens of thousands of miles of range that can be considered a safe zone.

  Searching in a dangerous area is really not an easy thing, although the proportion of demonic birds to demonic beasts is very small, but in the Eastern Wilderness, it's not difficult to encounter a demonic bird.

  In the congenital realm, mid-term demon birds were already difficult for Gu Chen to deal with. Moreover, the speed of the demon bird was much faster than that of human cultivators. The mid-term congenital demon bird could still escape by relying on its swift wings and wind.

  The demonic bird of the late Innate Realm was even faster than the venomous python, and encountering it would be a terrible thing.

  Eastern Desolate's demonic beasts basically divide their territory based on strength, the more formidable the beast, the deeper it goes into Eastern Desolate.

  After entering ten million miles, there are divine sea boundary demon beasts coming and going, the outer ten million miles is the territory of pre-heavenly boundary demon beasts.

  Within 30,000 miles, the majority are early-stage Pre-Heaven Realm demonic beasts. Between 30,000 to 60,000 miles, the majority are mid-stage Pre-Heaven Realm demonic beasts. Between 60,000 to 90,000 miles, the majority are late-stage Pre-Heaven Realm demonic beasts.

  The area where Gu Chen is now located is exactly where the late-stage demonic beasts of the Prenatal Realm frequently appear.

  Even with the swift wind at his command, Gu Chen was unwilling to linger in the area of the late-stage Pre-Heaven beasts, and every day he maintained a high level of vigilance as he flew towards the northwest.

  Until he flew into the mid-term of Xiantian, where the demon beasts roamed, Gu Chen unfolded his search for Zhu Hu, and every day, he spent a lot of time practicing.

  Cultivating in the Eastern Wilderness is faster than closed-door meditation at home, which has something to do with one's state of mind. In the forest of the Eastern Wilderness, no matter what, it makes people feel more comfortable and relaxed compared to being locked in a room.

  Every day, after the spiritual energy of Yuanshen Dan is refined and a large amount of Ling stone is absorbed, Gu Chen's innate true energy grows at an alarming rate, which can be felt every day, and his cultivation is gradually strengthened.

  When encountering a congenital realm mid-term demon beast, if it is of the fourth layer, Gu Chen will have a fierce battle with it. In the battle, he gains more insight than in quiet meditation.

  If it's a congenital five-layer or six-layer demon beast, then don't say another word, turn around and run.

  One day, in the blink of an eye, Gu Chen had searched within a range of 30,000 to 60,000 miles in the Eastern Wilderness for nearly two months.

  During this period, he fought against the demon beasts many times, and his cultivation had greatly improved. His congenital true energy was no longer comparable to when he first entered the second layer of the Pre-Heaven Realm.

  There's only a month left before the inter-clan competition, and in the past two days, Gu Chen has also felt that his cultivation has reached the peak of the second layer of the Pre-Heavenly Realm. He has already touched the barrier of the second layer of the Pre-Heavenly Realm. It seems that in the near future, his cultivation will be able to break through to the third layer of the Pre-Heavenly Realm.

  The news of Zhu Hu's whereabouts was still uncertain, and Gu Chen put all his thoughts on cultivation as he was about to make a breakthrough.

  Five consecutive days of non-stop impact finally broke through the second layer barrier, and the boundary was once again raised upwards, stepping into the realm of Xiantian Third Layer.

  Time is approaching the end of the year, and there is still a month's time before this year's ancestral clan competition.

  Gu Chen calculated that in just eleven months, less than a year, his cultivation had advanced from a useless Later Heaven Realm Second Layer to the First Heaven Realm Third Layer.

  In Leishui City, he was already a top-notch expert in the Xiantian realm's third layer. Many cultivators spent their entire lives trying to enter the Xiantian realm, but few succeeded.

  A congenital boundary cultivator who can control his flying sword is like an immortal to ordinary people in Leishui City.

  The Innate Three Layers can begin to cultivate the Tian Gang Quan Ti Dafa Third Heavy, the ancient Chen has cultivated the Tian Gang Quan Ti Dafa to the Tenth Heavy, each heavy cultivation is full of experience, and it won't take long to cultivate the Tian Gang Quan Ti Dafa Third Heavy.

  After entering the third layer of Xiantian Realm, Gu Chen spent several days consolidating his cultivation. As the year-end clan trial was approaching, he set off on his return journey.

  The three-layered cultivation of the Innate Realm, using the Swift Feather Cloak to accelerate, the speed is much faster than the second layer. Every day at dawn, fly west for 3,000 miles, and spend the rest of the time cultivating the third heavy Tian Gang Quan Body Technique.

  Twenty days later, Gu Chen finally left Donghuang and Le Shui City was in front of him.

  After daily diligent practice, the third level of Tian Gang Quan Ti Da Fa has already been practiced to about 60-70% completion. At this speed, it will only take half a month's time to complete the practice.

  Having past life experiences, the cultivation process is always smooth and unimpeded, without taking any detours, not only is the speed of cultivation greatly increased, but also the bottleneck of cultivation is greatly reduced.

  It was almost unimpeded, and Gu Chen rose all the way to the third layer of Xiantian Realm in no time. The barrier of each layer completely failed to stop Gu Chen's cultivation from rising.

  Leshui City was right in front of him, Gu Chen didn't land, and directly flew into Leshui City.

  At present, his cultivation has reached the third layer of Xiantian Realm, and he wants to make a strong comeback in the ancient family.

  With the swift feather fan in hand, no cultivator in Leshui City could pose a threat to him. Even a Seventh-Order Primordial Realm cultivator would have to concede defeat to Gu Chen in terms of speed.

  In a clan trial, he would definitely use his innate realm strength, and Gu Chen didn't need to hide it either, fearing that people would know he had already entered the innate realm.

  However, there were too many hidden enemies, and Gu Chen only showed his cultivation as a first-layer Heavenly Fate Realm cultivator, just enough to let people know that he was already a Heavenly Fate Realm cultivator. This would also numb the enemy when they came to attack.

  The current strength is still far from being fully revealed.

  A sword light flashed from the east and entered the city of Le Shui, attracting many people's attention, especially the Gu family in the eastern city, who could see clearly the person approaching on foot.

  "Ancestor Chén? Imperial Instrument Flight? Am I seeing things? He's only eleven years old, yet he's already entered the Innate Realm?" Instantly, many of the Gu family members rubbed their eyes, their faces filled with incredulity.

  However, after rubbing their eyes several times, they couldn't help but believe the fact before them. The person wielding a sword in mid-air was not Gu Chen, so who could it be?

  Although his face was not very clear in the air, the white fox on his shoulder was his exclusive logo.

  The last time Gu Chen disappeared for four months and returned to Le Shui City, his cultivation reached the ninth layer of the Post-Heaven Realm, shocking many people.

  This time Gu Chen disappeared for five months and returned to Le Shui City, his cultivation reached the first layer of Xiantian Realm, shocking everyone once again, completely shocking.

  Gu Chen's high-profile return, the news of stepping into the Xiantian realm, spread instantly throughout the Gu family, everyone was delighted, everyone was worried, but without exception, every single person was shocked to their core.

  A year ago, he was just a mediocre second-layer Post-Heaven cultivator.

  A year later, he unexpectedly became a first-layer Grandmaster of the Innate Realm.

  ……

  Gu Chen had already entered the 9th layer of the Post-Heaven Realm, which was shocking enough. Unexpectedly, within a year, he broke through to the Pre-Heaven Boundary...

  In the history of Rakushou Castle, there has never been such a freakish genius. No, not a genius, this is simply an evil spirit.

  Le Shui City's first genius Yun Xuan, 13 years old and seventh heaven, 15 years old and ninth heaven, 16 years old and first heaven... Compared to Gu Chen, not even a bit of dregs.

  Gu Chen was only 11 years old, and there was a huge gap between him and the 16-year-old Tianyi layer. Any cultivator would know that.

  Just showing off the first layer of the Innate Realm was enough to deeply shock the people of Le Shui City, if they knew about Gu Chen's true cultivation, which had already entered the third layer of the Innate Realm, who knows what thoughts would arise in their minds?

  Gu Chen didn't stay in mid-air for long and soon landed in his own courtyard after flying over the Gu house.

  "Chen Er...... you...... have you entered the Pre-Heaven Realm?" Gu Cangqiong had been watching from the courtyard, and as soon as Gu Chen landed, he immediately walked over.

  What a surprise! The ancient sky's heart is filled with an indescribable surprise, and his voice slightly trembles.

  Gu Chen looked at his father and saw that Gu Cangqiong had also entered the Pre-Heaven Realm's fifth layer. The refined Yuanshen Dan was indeed not wasted.

  Gu Chen nodded and a look of surprise also appeared in his eyes: "Father, you've reached the fifth layer of Xiantian as well."

  "Good, good, good..." Gu Cangyun exclaimed three times in a row, looking at Gu Chen as if he were a treasure, and said with joy: "My son has made progress, my son has made progress, haha... What about Gu Song, what about Gu Tai, what about Yun Xuan Liu Bai Sheng... My son is the most promising one, haha..."

  Although Gu Cangqiong was telling the truth, he said it with such excitement that Gu Chen's face turned red. However, seeing his father so happy made him feel happy too.

  "Your mother's spirit in heaven knows that you reached the prenatal realm at the age of eleven, she must be smiling in the nine springs... Haha..." Gu Cangtian said with a excited face.

  "Dad, let's go inside and talk!" Gu Chen reminded him, seeing that his father was so excited that he forgot what to do.

  "Alright, alright, let's talk inside." Gu Cangyun pulled up Gu Chen's hand and said as they walked, "Chen'er, did you encounter any dangers on your way to the Eastern Wilderness? Quickly tell Father about it. You've been gone for several months, and Father has been worried about you every day."

  Entering the house, Gu Chen didn't immediately talk about his experiences in Dong Huang. Instead, he asked: "Father, during these few months I was away, has anything happened to the Gu family?"

  Gu Cangqiong thought for a moment, then said: "There is something that happened on the same day you left. Gu Canghai also went missing and hasn't returned yet. The Second Elder said he also went to Donghuang. Have you met him?"

  "No, I entered the Eastern Wilderness and cultivated within a range of over a thousand miles. Uncle Canghai entered the Eastern Wilderness, he must have gone deep into several tens of thousands of miles! Maybe something held him back, after finishing it, he'll be back." Gu Chen said, adding in his heart: Unless he becomes a zombie and crawls out from the ground, otherwise, it's impossible for him to come back forever.

  The death of Gu Cang Hai is like the ancient river, even if he was beaten to death by Gu Chen, he would not admit it.

  Gu Chen asked again: "Besides Uncle Cang Hai, is there anything else?"

  "Hmm..." The atmosphere of the ancient sky suddenly changed, and he said: "The Gu family doesn't have much to do with it, but the Liu family has stepped on the Gu family's head."

  "Yú family?" Gu Chen's eyes lit up.

  Gǔ Cāng Qiú said: "Lǐu Huà Yuán that old scoundrel, actually wants the Gǔ family to give him half of the mine's production rights, what a big tone, and even specifically mentions, wanting me to hand over the Běi Tái Shān mine cave, humph..."

  Beidai Mountain mine? Gu Chen furrowed his brow, that Liu Huayuan left in the world is absolutely a scourge.

  Gu Chen said: "He, the Liu family, has already occupied the greatest benefit of Le Shui City, and is still not satisfied? Wanting the Gu family to give up half of their business? The Gu family is also one of the three major immortal families, how can he dare to suppress them?"

  "Gǔ Cāng Qián sighed and said: 'The Liu family has two pre-heavenly seventh-level cultivators, their strength far surpasses that of the Gǔ and Yún families. The distribution of benefits among the three families was decided a hundred years ago, every twenty years, the third-generation disciples of the three families would engage in a decisive battle to determine the size of the benefits. The Liu family is powerful, and the Gǔ and Yún families have been barely able to maintain their position as one of the three major cultivator families by joining forces to resist them.'"

  Gu Chen understood this, the competition in the Xiu Zhen world was even greater than in the mortal world. On the surface, it seemed like the three major Xiu Zhen families jointly controlled Le Shui City, but in reality, there were countless hidden struggles, and everyone wanted to dominate Le Shui City alone.

  In his past life, Gu Chen's cultivation was insufficient, so the Ancient Heaven naturally wouldn't tell him these things. Therefore, regarding the struggle between the three families, Gu Chen wasn't very clear about it either.

  Gu Zhen said: "Twenty years ago, was it the Liu family who won?"

  "Right, twenty years ago, Liu Huayuan defeated the disciples of both Gu and Yun families, allowing the Liu family to gain nearly half of the benefits in Leshui City. Tomorrow marks the twentieth year again, and the third generation disciple of the Liu family, Liu Baisheng, has already reached the fourth layer of the Innate Realm. Neither the Gu nor Yun families have anyone who can match him. Gu Tai's innate talent is inferior to Liu Baisheng, and his cultivation is only at the second layer of the Innate Realm. Yun Xuan's innate talent surpasses Liu Baisheng, but he is still young, only 19 years old, and has just broken through to the third layer of the Innate Realm, making him not a match for Liu Baisheng either."

  "Dad, don't worry, since it's only going to be twenty years next year, who knows what will happen next year?" Gu Chen said.

  Now Gu Chen has already reached the third layer of innate, using the Tian Geng Quan Ti Da Fa, it's not necessarily that Liu Bai Sheng is not his opponent, and by next year, hum...

  －－－－－－－－－

  Gu Chen was talking with his father while the second elder Gu Ren arrived at the residence of the great elder Gu Ming.

  In the living room, Gu Ming, Gu Ren and Gu Cangyue sat separately in a square formation. There was no servant in the hall.

  "You all know, right? That little bastard actually came back, and he even flew in with his sword! He didn't die... He actually entered the Xiantian realm..." The Second Elder was somewhat agitated, using four 'actually's in a row, which showed just how shocked he was.

  The old man nodded, his eyes also filled with shock. "I didn't expect it! It's too unexpected, in just one year, this little bastard has become a waste, and he's got the air of a master... Has he taken the wrong medicine? Second brother, are you sure he came on the flying sword? Is there no one else on the flying sword? I haven't seen it with my own eyes, it's really hard to believe."

  "I may not have seen it with my own eyes, but many people in our household have witnessed it, and they would never deceive me by making up lies... this is definitely true." The Second Elder said with a troubled heart.

  "I also saw it with my own eyes." Gu Cang Yue interjected, "On the flying sword, apart from him, there was only a fox, no one else. He was controlling the flight of the artifact, he must have entered the Pre-Heavenly Realm..."

  "Cang Hai has been out for so long and still hasn't returned, but this little bastard is back. Cang Hai still hasn't returned... Could it be that Cang Hai was harmed by this little bastard?" The Second Elder said with a scowl on his face, full of hatred.