Chapter 158 Winter is Coming

The image ended there.

Gu Shen opened his eyes.

This time... he had returned to the Moonrise City Disaster Zone.

The snow wind howled, and unknowingly, Gu Shen's back was already soaked with sweat.

He never expected that just a chance mental exploration would allow him to glimpse the secrets between the former King of the Underworld and the Traveler, two "God Seats."

Clearly, the images recorded on Black Snow Mountain... came from the black gem in his hand, which the Traveler called "Pitch Stone."

Gu Shen lowered his head.

His eyes flashed with strange light.

Able to endlessly devour spirit... an ancient stone with a texture similar to "jade?"

After hearing the Traveler's introduction, he felt that this black gem was very similar to the "jade thumb ring" in his mental sea.

The cold wind was like a knife, and the snow mountain like an anvil.

He stood up, his expression a little desolate.

The clues about the [Traveler]... were intricate and intertwined. Even after collecting the mental fragments of the black gem and glimpsing some details of the deal between the Traveler and the King of the Underworld, he still couldn't unravel them.

"Teacher, Senior Brother, Senior Sister..."

Gu Shen murmured softly, "Were you... really swallowed by the snow tide?"

The Empress had verified the Traveler's spirit, and that memory couldn't be faked.

Being swallowed by the snow tide must be true.

But what happened after being swallowed?

At this moment, Gu Shen suddenly felt a little ironic... He suddenly thought of the scene of the Traveler and the King of the Underworld cursing each other. This curse was only effective for the oath-taker, but why did he feel like a poor person bearing the curse?

After the mausoleum turmoil ended.

Gu Shen began to worry... about the future after he merged with "Netherfire." The century-old tree in the Gu family ancestral hall would wither overnight, and his close friends and acquaintances would also be tainted with misfortune.

He had only absorbed a wisp of Netherfire.

If he completely merged with "Netherfire" in the future, what would happen?

...

...

Gu Shen sat on the snow mountain in the Moonrise City Disaster Zone for a whole day.

A day was not long for transcendents.

He sat cross-legged in the withered snow, silently facing the [Gate] that had disappeared into the void.

Gu Shen knew.

The [Gate] opened by his teacher and senior sister hadn't opened even after a year.

Not to mention a day, even if he sat here for another ten days, no miracle would happen...

All he did this day was "silence."

Mr. Shu led him into the door of transcendent cultivation, teaching him and imparting knowledge. Gu Shen kept it in his heart. This old guy seemed unreliable on weekdays... but he was indeed the teacher in East Continent who was best at "teaching disciples."

In the Deep Sea Area, there was a saying: Those who melt a fire seed must abandon something in order to gain something.

Yes.

From mortal to god.

The "Seven Gods" seemed to be "saints" treading on clouds, untouched by dust. They were detached, ethereal, and could not be contacted by mortals.

They naturally had to abandon, and abandon more than mortals imagined.

Before becoming a God Seat, the Empress of North Continent was just a little girl following Gu Changzhi, ignorant of the world.

And now.

She sat alone on the second floor of the pavilion, for several years, even dozens of years.

The world flocked to the path of becoming a god. For a wisp of "fire seed dream," they could abandon their bottom line and snatch it madly... even if the dream shattered, they would have no connection with the word God Seat.

But for the real "chosen ones" who embarked on this path.

No "fire seed dream" was needed.

Every step they took was actually the "path to becoming a god."

Moving forward sometimes meant abandoning.

Gu Shen stared at the clean snowflakes fluttering in front of him. The news of his teacher being swallowed by the snow tide was like a choice given to him by "Netherfire."

The demon in the ruler was suppressed.

But the demon in the heart was always invisible and could not be bound.

That wisp of flame danced in the wind.

Deep in his heart lake, a voice seemed to be telling him.

"Abandon these, and you will get more."

The sadness that surged in Gu Shen's heart during this day of meditation had subsided... It wasn't that he was cold-blooded, but that sadness and joy in this world were all like this. No matter how strong the initial impact was, it would always fade with time.

No matter how much you wanted to keep it.

In the end, it was all in vain.

Gu Shen didn't listen to the temptation of "Netherfire" to deliberately be indifferent and sever this connection.

He didn't amplify the sorrow in his heart lake to remind himself that he should shed tears of sadness at this moment.

He didn't cut off a trace of mortal desires.

Nor was he bewitched by the nightmare demon in his heart lake.

Gu Shen just calmly, silently, felt all of this.

The snow tide collapsed, and there was no news.

But he believed in his heart... that the teacher and the others were still alive...

No evidence, just a hunch.

If he refined the "King of the Underworld Fire Seed" and achieved the body of a God Seat, then he would cross the Old World, tear apart the storm, and personally verify his hunch—

But now, all he could do was wait.

The cold wind poured over his head.

The vague and chaotic, always elusive inspiration in his heart suddenly became clear in this moment of meditation.

...

...

The Pure Land World was originally in the season of "Spring," but for some reason, it suddenly ushered in a burst of desolation...

Tie Wu and Hong Zhong looked up.

During this time, Gu Shen had been constantly comprehending the "Breath of Summer."

The two of them had become accustomed to the sudden changes in this world.

According to the usual practice, a gust of hot wind should have blown.

And then a hearty rain should have fallen.

Muffled thunder rumbled, and they were drenched in sweat.

But today... it seemed suddenly different.

The top of the Pure Land World was no longer like before, with cloud waves surging like the sea and thunder rumbling. Instead, a large patch of black swept across the entire world, instantly turning the sky dark, and it was oppressively black.

Suffocating.

Tie Wu and Hong Zhong were both stunned.

They felt a chill from the bottom of their hearts...

Desolation, withering, dimness!

Gu Shen came to his Pure Land, and with a wave of his hand, he separated Tie Wu and Hong Zhong from himself. He stood under the giant Susu Tree, and countless sprouting grass blades all bowed their heads.

In the past, when he saw the vibrant appearance of this Susu Tree, a sense of "warmth and peace" would naturally arise in Gu Shen's heart.

But now, his state of mind was only frozen, cold.

Gu Shen did not resist the withering in his heart lake.

He gazed at the giant tree...

The Susu Tree, with ten thousand leaves drooping, slender branches dancing lightly in the wind, as if responding to Gu Shen's gaze.

Soon.

A layer of fine frost condensed on the surface of these branches and leaves.

The whole world became cold.

"Am I... comprehending the 'Breathing Method' in reverse?"

Gu Shen reached out and gently embraced a branch.

All along, he had been stuck on the threshold of the "Breath of Summer" and unable to break through. But this time, the news of his teacher's misfortune came, and he meditated in silence, but pushed the "Breath of Spring" one step in the opposite direction.

This step.

Perhaps Mr. Gu Changzhi, who created this method, had not even thought of it.

Since ancient times.

The four seasons, spring, summer, autumn, and winter, have all followed this order.

Therefore, Gu Changzhi's "Breath of Spring" was the most magical and powerful of all the "entry-level breathing methods" for transcendents!

The revival of all things, the initial birth of vitality!

No breathing method was more suitable for transcendents than the Breath of Spring!

However, thinking carefully, although spring, summer, autumn, and winter conformed to the laws of nature, cultivating in this way might not be the best order of comprehension for transcendents... The further back, the more silent it became.

If the state of mind became silent, the spirit would inevitably become silent as well.

Mr. Gu Changzhi only comprehended "Great Cold" until the moment of his death... Perhaps corresponding to the name "Great Cold," the completion of this last volume of breathing methods meant that his life had come to an end.

Of course.

Gu Changzhi's fall was not related to his cultivation. He experienced an extremely terrifying source energy storm in the [Old World] and had a life-and-death duel with the out-of-control King of the Underworld... When he returned to Changye, he was already seriously injured and difficult to heal.

But what if the last volume he comprehended was not "Great Cold," but "Great Heat," which meant the peak of vitality?

Gu Shen stood blankly under the Susu Tree.

At this moment, the long-locked "threshold" received a very strange answer—

What if the "Four Seasons Breathing" was cultivated backward?

Yes, this was probably a heaven-defying idea that Mr. Gu Changzhi hadn't even thought of... Countless transcendents who cultivated the "Breath of Spring" reached their spiritual peak in the "Breath of Summer" and then had to bear the desolation of the "Breath of Autumn" and the silence of the final "Breath of Winter!"

But if they cultivated backward.

From silence, to revival!

This was destined to be a more difficult path than "following the order." It was extremely difficult to go from spring to winter... Even if someone had this idea, they would probably retreat on the path of trying it.

Because if their foundation was not strong enough and they directly tried to comprehend silence... they might really fall into silence.

But Gu Shen was different.

"The King of the Underworld is the god who controls the silence of all living beings."

He murmured, "What if I try silence... what will happen?"

As soon as he said this.

The winter wind howled, and the entire Pure Land instantly went from spring to winter. Those young seedlings that had sprouted were instantly covered with a layer of frost. They were frozen in the reverse-flowing "season."

But strangely.

In this "Divine Domain," Gu Shen, as the absolute master, could still decide... the growth of these crops.

He came to a barren piece of new soil and squatted down.

A tender seedling sprouting green buds was frozen with white frost.

Gu Shen stretched out his palm and slowly "pulled it up." This tender seedling, with the lifting of Gu Shen's palm, constantly broke through the soil. The consumption of transcendent source substance suddenly accelerated. As the tender seedling "grew," a large amount of white frost and ice debris crackled out.

After a while, Gu Shen looked at the "withered wood" as tall as a person in front of him, smiled softly, and said, "So... reverse breathing is feasible. I just need to pay more source substance as the price for the world's growth..."

He raised his head, looked at the Susu Tree that nurtured everything and contained infinite possibilities, and murmured.

"In that case."

"Let the Pure Land... enter winter."