Chapter 233 What is the realm above the heaven and earth flying fairy

Gu An saw through Yang’s thoughts but didn’t explain anything. Instead, he simply waited for him to make his choice.

Yang had a unique constitution that required immense amounts of spiritual energy to temper his body—a process that would undoubtedly be excruciating. That was why Gu An left the decision to him.

No matter how great one’s talent, without unwavering determination, the path ahead would be treacherous.

The Blood Prison Great Saint watched Yang Shi with amusement, curious to see how he would decide.

Yang clenched his teeth and said, “In Romance of the Gods, Yang Jian split a mountain to save his mother and fought against the heavens. Since I’ve also taken the name ‘Yang,’ I can’t bring shame to it. Even if I’m shattered to pieces, I will have no regrets! Master, please help me defy fate!”

With that, he dropped to his knees.

Gu An’s lips curled into a slight smile.

The moment Yang Shi made his decision, he felt a terrifying power envelop him, sending a chill down his spine.

Before he could process it, the world around him suddenly shifted. His internal organs trembled violently, and in the next instant, everything returned to normal.

His feet touched the ground again, but the overwhelming sense of weightlessness made him nauseous.

Supporting himself on the ground, he instinctively looked up and saw that his master was still sitting on the Ox Demon King’s back. He let out a relieved sigh and asked, “Master, just now…?”

Before he could finish his sentence, a gust of sea wind blew past, instantly clearing his mind.

He stood up and turned around—then froze in place.

What… was he looking at?

“Th-this… is… the… sea?”

Yang Shi stared in a daze at the vast, endless ocean stretching before him.

Though he had never seen the ocean before, he had heard stories from elders—how it was larger than any lake, so vast that one could never see its end, as if it were another world entirely.

The Blood Prison Great Saint had already experienced the Infinite Free Step before, but every time, it still left him in awe.

This divine ability was simply unfathomable!

There were no signs or warnings. The movement was so instantaneous that even a Grand Ascension Stage cultivator like him couldn’t react in time.

Gu An flipped off the ox’s back and strode toward the island. “Follow me.”

Yang Shi snapped out of his daze and hurried after Gu An.

The Blood Prison Great Saint followed as well, curious to see how Gu An would help Yang defy fate.

Could a talentless cultivator really transform into a heaven-chosen prodigy?

He was deeply skeptical.

Yang Shi’s emotions were a mix of excitement and trepidation.

Just that one technique alone had convinced him—his master was definitely no Core Formation Stage cultivator.

Which meant… his master’s words were true!

He could defy fate. But he would have to endure unimaginable pain—just thinking about it made his legs tremble.

Gu An noticed Yang’s unease but didn’t offer any words of comfort.

Because sooner or later, Yang Shi would have to face this challenge himself.

The Mysterious Island

As they walked into the forest, Yang’s attention was drawn to his surroundings.

The spiritual energy here was incredibly dense, and the creatures on the island were anything but ordinary.

He saw a lightning-fast blue-furred rabbit, a snake as white as jade, a spider that glistened like a gemstone, and a serpent-like beast gliding through the trees like a flood dragon. Every sight filled his mind with wonder.

They walked for a full half-hour before Gu An finally stopped at a lakeside deep within the forest.

Standing by the water, he pulled out a massive cauldron and started a fire.

Yang watched as Gu An flicked his fingers, releasing a streak of blue flame.

He was even more in awe now.

“Master, what realm are you truly at?” Yang mustered the courage to ask.

Gu An casually replied, “Scattered Immortal Stage.”

“What is a Scattered Immortal?”

“Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul, Soul Transformation, Void Transformation, Integration, Profound Mind, Grand Ascension—these are the nine mortal stages. Beyond that is the Immortal Path. Nirvana is the first step into the Immortal Path, and Scattered Immortal is the second.”

Yang sucked in a sharp breath.

The Blood Prison Great Saint was also hearing about the Immortal Path for the first time.

“So my master is just two major realms above me?”

He had his doubts—he suspected Gu An was hiding even more.

Thankfully, Yang asked what he wanted to know: “What comes after Scattered Immortal?”

“That’s for you to discover in the future.”

Gu An answered lightly. While he was willing to reveal some of his strength, he wouldn’t lay everything bare—he had to keep some cards up his sleeve.

Recently, he had been considering breaking through to an even higher realm. If the World-Drowning Cataclysm truly erupted, Celestial Ascension alone might not be enough.

Still, he wasn’t too worried.

If the mortal world was flooded, he could escape into the outer heavens or create a cave realm under the sea, bringing his people with him and forming a world of his own.

The Trial Begins

Yang continued asking about the differences between each realm, and Gu An patiently answered, making Yang feel bolder.

He realized his master wasn’t as intimidating as he had thought—he was actually quite gentle.

Gu An treated all his disciples with kindness, including him. But because Yang had always seen him as someone to cling to, he couldn’t help but feel pressured.

Once Gu An finished preparing the medicinal herbs, he instructed Yang to enter the cauldron.

Yang hesitated. “Do I need to take off my clothes?”

“No need,” Gu An replied.

Ordinary robes couldn’t block spiritual energy anyway.

Sitting inside the cauldron, Yang was incredibly tense. His hands gripped the hem of his clothes tightly, and sweat beaded on his forehead.

The Blood Prison Great Saint stepped onto the cauldron’s rim and said, “Kid, the path of cultivation is grueling. Many times, you just need to tell yourself—just a little longer, just one more moment. Endure, and the pain will pass.”

Yang took a deep breath and looked up at him. “Senior Ox, what realm are you at?”

Since his master was a Scattered Immortal, surely the ox was powerful as well.

Otherwise, why would his master bring only this beast?

The Blood Prison Great Saint glanced at Gu An. Seeing him nod, the ox smirked proudly.

“I am at the eighth level of the Grand Ascension Stage! And I am not a mere ox demon—I am the Heavenly Saint of the Blood Prison! I ascended from the lower realms…”

He launched into an elaborate tale of his glorious history, leaving Yang slack-jawed in amazement.

“Grand Ascension Stage, eighth level?!”

He knew that the Taixuan Sect only had two publicly known Grand Ascension cultivators.

Who would have thought that his master’s ox was actually at that level?!

The shock hit him so hard that he felt like he was dreaming.

Gu An waved the Blood Prison Great Saint aside, and the ox had no choice but to shut up and move away, looking completely unbefitting of a Grand Ascension expert.

Gu An took out a pill and handed it to Yang.

“Swallow it, then follow the breathing technique I taught you. I’ll guide your cultivation. No matter how much it hurts, you must circulate the energy properly. Otherwise, you’ll die—no god or immortal will be able to save you.”

Yang had just wanted to ask about the Great Luo Immortal, but Gu An turned away before he could speak.

So, he simply threw the pill into his mouth.

As soon as it melted, his throat burned, and an unbearable heat spread through his body.

At that moment, Gu An’s voice echoed in his ears, transmitting a technique directly into his mind. At the same time, an overwhelming force entered his body, guiding him to absorb the surrounding spiritual energy.

Thus, the trial began.

The Agony of Rebirth

The technique that Gu An was guiding Yang Shi through was none other than the Myriad Forms Qi Technique!

This technique, derived from the Qi Cultivation Art, had been continuously refined until it became an advanced body-tempering method. Though Gu An rarely engaged in close combat, his physique was already immensely powerful.

Moreover, the Myriad Forms Qi Technique had an additional benefit—it concealed one’s true aura. This would allow Yang Shi to hide his cultivation level in the future, making it a perfect choice for him.

Of course, Gu An had no fear of Yang leaking this technique. He would eventually refine it further, reaching an even higher level.

Yang Shi began following the guidance of the power within him, absorbing spiritual energy while carefully remembering the breathing patterns his master had taught him.

Time passed.

Inside the cauldron, the medicinal broth had started to boil.

Yang’s skin turned red from the heat, but he didn’t care about the burning sensation. What truly consumed his mind was the unbearable pain that wracked his bones and muscles.

Pain!

The agony far exceeded his expectations!

It was as if a million insects were gnawing at his bones while his muscles were being torn apart and stitched back together repeatedly!

His master’s voice constantly echoed in his ears, keeping his mind from spiraling into fear.

As long as Gu An was there, an inexplicable sense of security filled Yang Shi’s heart.

“Just hold on for a little longer… just a little longer…”

As time passed, the pain intensified.

His hair started floating, his veins bulged grotesquely against his flushed skin, and sweat poured down his body, mixing with the medicinal broth.

Then—

Crack!

A horrifying noise echoed from within his body, sending shivers down the Blood Prison Great Saint’s spine.

It sounded like bones grinding against each other.

For the first time, the ox felt a tinge of fear.

“Is he really… defying fate?”

The Blood Prison Great Saint was shaken.

In his mind, Gu An had always been an immortal beyond reach, capable of incredible, godlike feats.

Turning his gaze toward Gu An, he found the man standing by the lake, his back facing the cauldron. His posture was calm and composed, as if this was nothing out of the ordinary.

“To him, altering fate is just a trivial task?”

What the Blood Prison Great Saint didn’t know was that Gu An wasn’t actually altering fate—he was merely restoring Yang Shi’s true potential.

At this moment, Gu An was multitasking—one part of his mind guiding Yang Shi’s cultivation while the other extended his divine sense into the ocean, searching for a suitable place for his breakthrough.

“I wonder… what realm lies beyond Celestial Ascension?”

A flicker of excitement passed through Gu An’s eyes.

With his current lifespan of 160 million years, he should have enough time to make the leap.

But he hesitated.

Should he also upgrade his cultivation techniques and divine abilities?

Right now, his techniques were already at an incredibly high level, but further refining them would cost tens of millions—perhaps even hundreds of millions—of years of lifespan.

Would he still have enough time left to break through afterward?

Suddenly—

“AHHHHHHHH!!”

Yang Shi let out a bloodcurdling scream, snapping the Blood Prison Great Saint out of his thoughts.

The ox flinched, feeling a deep unease.

“This… this pain seems even worse than when I absorbed divine beast blood!”

Yet, Gu An remained indifferent.

He had complete confidence in the pill he had given Yang Shi.

That pill wasn’t ordinary—it was worth 100 supreme-grade spirit stones, equivalent to 10,000 high-grade spirit stones or 100 million low-grade spirit stones!

For reference, outer sect errand disciples only earned one low-grade spirit stone per month. Even the Third Medicine Valley and Xuan Valley provided higher stipends, but nothing as extravagant as this.

With such a pill, Yang Shi might even break through directly—it all depended on how much his body could absorb.

The Awakening of a Monster

Time trickled by.

After some time, Yang Shi’s screams abruptly ceased.

The Blood Prison Great Saint’s eyes widened in shock.

He turned back toward the cauldron, and what he saw left him speechless.

Yang Shi was floating above the cauldron, still in a meditative posture.

His long black hair billowed wildly, his skin glowed an eerie red, and—most unsettling of all—his aura made the Blood Prison Great Saint’s instincts scream in warning.

It was the feeling of encountering a predator!

RUMBLE—

Thunder rolled in the sky.

At some point, thick storm clouds had gathered overhead, and an ominous pressure began to descend.

Heavenly Tribulation was forming!

The Blood Prison Great Saint was horrified.

“Just what kind of fate is being rewritten here?! This is ridiculous!”

Even though he had fused with divine beast blood and undergone a drastic transformation, Yang Shi’s new presence still made him wary. That alone proved just how terrifying Yang Shi’s new body was.

Turning his gaze back to Gu An, he saw that the man still hadn’t moved.

Even as the storm brewed above, Gu An stood there, completely unshaken.

It was as if… he didn’t consider this Heavenly Tribulation a threat at all.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep