Chapter 300: Suspicion

“Gu He, do you intend to declare war on our Millennial Ancient Kingdom?”

Two more figures materialized, swiftly rescuing the Prime Minister and reactivating the surrounding Earth Veins to erect a new defensive formation. These were none other than the Grand Commandant and Imperial Censor of the Millennial Ancient Kingdom, representing the three most powerful figures in the kingdom aside from the Imperial Preceptor and the Emperor.

“Weaklings, unaware of their own insignificance.”

Gu He’s magical energy surged around him, severing the flow of Earth Vein energy that the three officials had been channeling through their Magic Artifacts.

“Activate the Imperial Preceptor’s Talisman!”

Simultaneously, the three officials bit their index fingers, staining a pure white Stone Talisman with their blood. As the blood soaked into the talisman, a gray-white aura erupted, revealing hazy figures clad in monastic robes. At the center, eighteen monks labored to carry a Dharma Carriage upon which sat a cold, hooded monk.

The sea of suffering is boundless; turn back and find salvation.

As the Dharma Carriage materialized, an eerie voice spread like a shockwave, unleashing an assault on the divine soul.

“A mere projection dares to disturb my mind!”

Gu He, suspended in mid-air, remained completely unaffected. Sword qi coalesced in his hand as Nascent Soul Realm spiritual energy converged into a single point. With a sweeping motion, he unleashed a devastating sword strike.

Boom!

The newly formed demons and monsters below were obliterated by the sword qi. The exploding energy erupted within their ranks, forming a cyan lotus of sword qi.

The Demon Monks, caught off guard, were swept away by the sword qi, leaving behind scattered corpses and rolling heads.

The irritating sound abruptly ceased. Gu He’s power far exceeded the Centipede Spirit’s expectations, rendering many of their plans futile.

Their miscalculation began with their very first move.

However, dealing with beings of this caliber required probing. Only through repeated probing to uncover their true capabilities could one ultimately succeed.

“Ah!!”

The three figures below never anticipated that the trump card the Imperial Preceptor had given them would fail to block even a single strike. After their agonized screams, three heads soared into the air.

A wave of sword qi swept across the ground, carving a massive trench into the earth.

“You killed two Elders of my Qiong Hua Sect. I’ll repay you by beheading your three Dukes.”

“You’ve gone too far.”

The illusory figure twisted, emitting a cold, piercing voice.

“If you disagree, come find me on Grand Void Peak.”

Sheathing his sword, Gu He gazed in the direction of the voice. The figure within the Dharma Carriage opened its eyes. Their gazes collided, sending invisible ripples through the air. After this brief exchange, the Dharma Carriage’s power faded, and the Imperial Preceptor within dissolved into dust.

“This isn’t over.”

“Dare to come, and I’ll chop you up and pickle you in wine.”

Gu He strode forward and stomped down. A semi-transparent illusory foot materialized, crashing down through the void. The three corpses and the Stone Talisman beneath them were crushed into a bloody pulp, sword qi mingling within to ensure complete annihilation.

The ruined chessboard he had shattered flew up from below and disappeared into his sleeve.

Having dealt with these enemies, Gu He soared back.

After giving thorough instructions to the Qiong Hua Sect disciples, Gu He finally set out on his return journey. Several days later, after completing his mission in the Millennial Ancient Kingdom, he made a detour to Medicine King City to find Yu Junyao and Xuan Ji. The Ghost Temple, Ten Thousand Demon Mountain, and the Millennial Ancient Kingdom were clearly conspiring against the Qiong Hua Sect, and Chen Luo, his only living relative, could easily be targeted as a weak point.

Since he had some time, Gu He decided to check on him. He didn’t plan to tell Chen Luo about this; everyone had their own path to walk, and Gu He believed Chen Luo’s current path was excellent. As an elder, his role was to guide him, not interfere.

“How is Xiao Luo doing?” Gu He asked.

“Junior Brother seems to have entered the Demonic Heart Tribulation,” Yu Junyao replied cautiously.

“I sensed a wisp of Tribulation Qi earlier,” Xuan Ji added.

“Didn’t I instruct you to notify me immediately if Xiao Luo began his Tribulation Transcendence?” Gu He’s face darkened with displeasure.

He was particularly annoyed with Xuan Ji. He had sent this Blackbird Clan Core Formation cultivator specifically to monitor Chen Luo closely, yet the man had failed even this simple task.

“Junior Brother hasn’t undergone the Thunder Tribulation,” Yu Junyao said, frustrated. She was no match for this junior brother, and now that Chen Luo had forbidden her from approaching, she couldn’t monitor him at will. She had only learned about his entry into the Demonic Heart Tribulation through Elder Xuan Ji of the Blackbird Clan.

Xuan Ji, standing beside her, shared her frustration. He had initially thought this would be a simple task, but Chen Luo’s Divine Sense proved far stronger than expected. The moment Xuan Ji, a Core Formation cultivator from the Blackbird Clan, approached, Chen Luo sensed him. After two failed attempts to probe, Xuan Ji abandoned the mission, unwilling to antagonize the direct descendant of the Grand Void Ancestor.

“There’s no trace of Thunder Tribulation energy,” Xuan Ji confirmed.

“No Thunder Tribulation? Then the Demonic Heart energy isn’t from a Thunder Tribulation.”

Gu He pondered briefly.

He recalled the batch of pills Chen Luo had ruined earlier. The primary ingredient in that batch had been the head of the Demonic Heart Ancestor. Chen Luo’s intrusion into the Pill Furnace had caused the pills to prematurely fail and the furnace to explode.

The Demonic Heart Ghost’s remains?

Gu He’s heart skipped a beat as he suddenly remembered the string of prayer beads he had given Chen Luo.

“Founding Ancestor?” the two asked cautiously, unsure what Gu He was thinking.

“Where is he now?”

“In Cloudsoar County, Heavenly Eye Kingdom…”

Before they could finish speaking, the Grand Void Ancestor vanished before their eyes, leaving only a faint afterimage that gradually faded away.

Crack!

The prayer beads shattered, and a gray curse surged through Chen Luo’s nostrils into his mind.

The moment it entered his body, the Demonic Heart Ancestor’s brain within him sprang to life.

Invert the sequence. The curse can be absorbed.

His spiritual energy circulated autonomously, reversing and neutralizing the curse before it could spread. The cursed energy transformed into pure energy, merging into Chen Luo’s Pseudo Core. He also completely absorbed the residual energy from the Ghost Temple Prayer Beads.

Chen Luo had been just one step away from achieving perfection, but after absorbing the Demonic Heart Ancestor’s legacy, he finally reached complete mastery.

“Finally…”

Sensing the changes within his body, a ripple of emotion stirred in Chen Luo’s heart.

After over forty years of arduous cultivation, he had reached Foundation Establishment Perfection at nearly sixty years old, touching upon the Golden Core Great Dao. He had originally expected to remain in Cloudsoar County for at least seven more years, but the Ghost Temple Prayer Beads had brought him an unexpected surprise.

A wisp of Tribulation Qi combined with the Demonic Heart Ancestor’s lingering cursed energy had directly filled that final gap.

“This thing…”

The fragments of the prayer beads scattered on the ground, transforming into a pile of grayish-white pebbles. Chen Luo picked up one, a flicker of understanding in his eyes.

Chen Luo was able to successfully resolve the curse within the prayer beads because he possessed the brain of the Demonic Heart Ancestor. Without its assistance, the curse would have fallen upon him completely. Chen Luo didn’t know the Demonic Heart Ancestor’s cultivation realm in life, but the fact that he could single-handedly withstand the Seven Patriarchs of Jade Purity proved he was far beyond Chen Luo’s current capabilities.

Someone wants to kill me?

Chen Luo immediately thought of Patriarch Guhe of the Great Void.

When he descended the mountain earlier, Senior Sister Yu Junyao had warned him that enjoying the benefits of staying by the Founding Ancestor’s side would also make him a target for the Founding Ancestor’s enemies. This was likely a scheme orchestrated by Patriarch Guhe’s enemies.

Unfortunately for his assailants, they hadn’t anticipated that the Demonic Heart Ancestor’s brain was within him. Using the Demonic Heart Ancestor’s curse against him was like handing him a free gift.

“First, I’ll achieve Core Formation,” Chen Luo decided.

A Perfect Golden Core requires enduring the First Nine Heavenly Tribulation.

Within his External Brain, both the Demonic Heart Ancestor and the Mummified Brain simultaneously displayed the corresponding information.

The First Nine Thunder Tribulation symbolized the formation of a Perfect Golden Core. For Immortal Cultivators, this tribulation represented the culmination of perfection and marked the beginning of their path to immortality. Afterward came the Second Nine Thunder Tribulation, the Third Nine Thunder Tribulation, and so on, until the final Ninety-Ninth Thunder Tribulation.

Ninety-nine eighty-one tribulations of Heaven and Earth—crossing them would allow one to soar to immortality.

The difficulty of becoming an immortal lies precisely in this.

As the saying goes, “Imperishable Through Myriad Tribulations is the path to immortality,” encapsulating this very truth. Every step in the mortal realm is a form of cultivation.

Dawn broke.

Chen Luo rose and stepped outside.

A light rain had just fallen, and the earthy fragrance of damp soil permeated the air. Dewdrops glistened on the tender green shoots.

Chen Luo felt remarkably refreshed.

He remembered that Li Fugui, Butcher Li’s son, was coming to seek him as his master today. He had originally shared a karmic bond with the boy, but the Ghost Temple heretic’s treacherous scheme had spared him years of arduous cultivation. The Perfected Realm, which would normally take seven years to achieve, was now fully realized. All that remained was to find a suitable location for Tribulation Transcendence.

Before departing, however, Chen Luo wanted to see Li Fugui one last time.

During the recent Demonic Heart Tribulation, the boy had played the role of his son. Although Chen Yuanzhi in the tribulation was a composite of many consciousnesses, Li Fugui had undoubtedly been the dominant presence.

When a Foundation Establishment cultivator overcomes the Demonic Heart Tribulation, they can advance to Core Formation, extending their lifespan to a thousand years and becoming akin to terrestrial immortals.

But what does an ordinary person gain from surviving the Demonic Heart Tribulation?

This Demonic Heart Tribulation was a rare opportunity born from the combination of the Demonic Heart Ancestor’s legacy and Chen Luo’s Demonic Heart Art. For ordinary people, it would be an Immortal Destiny, something they might never encounter in several lifetimes. However, Immortal Destiny is only true destiny if one can withstand it; otherwise, it becomes a calamity.

Li Fugui had successfully weathered this trial.

That was why Chen Luo agreed to meet him.

As Chen Luo awaited the arrival of Li Fugui and his son, Gu He’s figure materialized above Cloudsoar County. His Divine Sense swept across the area, and he breathed a sigh of relief upon sensing Chen Luo below, unharmed.

“Hmm?”

Just as Gu He was about to withdraw his Divine Sense, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.

According to his calculations, Chen Luo should still have needed a decade to accumulate sufficient cultivation. Yet now, his aura was perfectly harmonious, with faint golden streams of light occasionally flashing through it—a clear sign that his Pseudo Core had reached the Perfected Realm and he was on the verge of Tribulation Transcendence.

Someone is spying from above.

Inside the house, Chen Luo was brewing morning tea when a thought suddenly surfaced in the Mummified Brain.

Grand Void Gu He!

The Demonic Heart Ancestor’s brain provided an even more precise identification, as this man had been his mortal enemy in life.

Chen Luo’s movements paused momentarily. His previously guarded aura instantly relaxed, and a faint smile appeared on his face. He had only been attacked the previous night, yet today, the Grand Void Ancestor himself had arrived. This level of attention was unique to Chen Luo within the entire Qiong Hua Sect.