That moment, the entire Pure Land world transitioned from spring to winter.

The Breathing Method began to operate in reverse.

The drooping leaves of the *susu* tree were covered in a layer of ice crystals, and thousands of branches and leaves swayed with the frigid wind… A chill emanated, and a majestic frost spread, like an invisible mist, enveloping the entire wilderness.

If the seasons were reversed, the leaves would not remain green.

From life to death, the iron laws were overturned.

Gu Shen quietly watched this scene… The "Nether Fire" flickered, and a faint gray haze covered his heart.

If he became the King of the Underworld, sitting high on the throne, then in the River of the Underworld, drifting with the current, would be wisps of wandering souls.

Death would always accompany him.

Annihilation would be held in his palm for a long time.

For others, that final hurdle, as difficult as reaching the heavens, did not seem to pose too much of an obstacle for Gu Shen…

After reversing the Breathing Method.

Gu Shen knocked on the threshold of the "Winter Breathing."

He looked at the trees full of white snow and whispered, "Great Cold… This is the 'Great Cold' that even Mr. Gu Changzhi did not comprehend?"

……

……

Outside the snow cliff.

Rust Bone, Purple Rain, and A'liou Er waited quietly not far away.

Gu Shen sat there, unmoving.

They were here to "protect the Dao" for him.

They were the most powerful titled figures in the Northern Continent, and from the moment Gu Shen sat down, they felt the changes in the young man's mental strength… His heart was silent, his spirit restrained, which was clearly a sign of "comprehension."

However, they did not know that Gu Shen initially did not intend to comprehend anything, but only used his mental strength to scavenge the remaining fragments of the black gemstone… and that was why he sat down on the snow-capped cliff.

But now, Gu Shen was truly immersed in comprehension.

The snow flakes that fluttered in the sky above the cliff originally landed on his body, piling him up into a snowman.

But at this moment, those snowflakes avoided him.

This was not a deliberate release of mental resistance…

But rather, Gu Shen seemed to have merged into one with this heaven and earth.

The snow naturally avoided him.

A'liou Er frowned slightly as she watched this scene, unable to understand it.

She was already a titled transcendent, and still the Empress's… Why couldn't she see through the spirit of a Tier 3 transcendent?

When Gu Shen was invited to the Northern Continent, she felt something was amiss.

This young man's "sea of consciousness" seemed to be protected by something… At that time, based on the induction of the owl emblem, she guessed that this was likely the protection bestowed by the new God of Battle.

But now.

She had to re-examine Gu Shen.

"Gu Shen's spiritual aura… seems to have undergone some changes again?"

At this moment, Gu Shen's sea of consciousness was completely restrained.

Even a titled figure… could not see its depth.

No, rather than "restrained," it was more like "annihilation." Reversing the Breathing Method was a truly unprecedented path, and perhaps only Gu Shen could have thought of it and been able to do it.

The benefit of reversing the seasons was that he would go from death to life.

But the disadvantage… was that his second volume of the Breathing Method did not inherit the "Spring Breathing," but directly climbed to the peak of the spirit, the summer of sprouting.

Instead, it was direct annihilation!

This kind of annihilation was reflected in all aspects… If it weren't for what they saw with their own eyes, Gu Shen sitting on that mountain wall, even a titled powerhouse like A'liou Er would find it difficult to sense Gu Shen's existence with mental probing alone.

Once Gu Shen activated "Great Cold."

The Pure Land world would be frozen and withered.

Correspondingly, his sea of consciousness would also fall into annihilation…

He was a withered stone, a broken snowflake, an inanimate part of this world.

The three titled figures, watching this scene, all showed surprise and disbelief.

Rust Bone, however, caught the noteworthy word in A'liou Er's words: "again?"

"Gu Shen's spiritual cultivation… is progressing too quickly."

A'liou Er said solemnly, "Lord Rust Bone, he wasn't like this when he first came to the Northern Continent. Leaving Gu Fort and the reopening of the Duolu River, these two missions… his mental strength has probably improved more than once. Now, this is the third time it has improved."

"Hmm…"

Rust Bone narrowed his eyes and nodded slowly.

The Great General stared at Gu Shen. The young man's annihilated sea of consciousness seemed to merge with the heaven and earth, becoming a void. Even he could not see the specific strength of his spirit.

"This young man is probably more terrifying than Mu Wanqiu under your command…"

Rust Bone gave this evaluation.

The people of the Northern Continent have always been known for their belligerence and protectiveness, and only in rare cases… would they admit that they were inferior to others.

"Xiao Qiu's mental state still needs to be polished."

Purple Rain said softly, "Although both are at the seventh level, she is indeed inferior to Gu Shen… Gu Shen saved her life during the previous restart mission."

"Seventh level?"

Rust Bone heard this, turned his head, and asked with a low laugh, "Xiao Wen, are you sure his transcendent realm… is only at the seventh level…"

Purple Rain was stunned.

"His sea of consciousness… is probably already at the 'Tier 4 level'." Rust Bone said calmly, "It is reasonable for a Child of Blessing to die at the hands of such a person."

As soon as he said this, the three fell silent.

The case of the Child of Blessing of Light City has been concluded.

The Saint Arbitrator returned without success.

The Great Knight went to the small courtyard in the Hanging Mountain and staked his reputation on convicting Gu Shen… Unfortunately, Jia Wei's last gamble failed miserably. When the Saint Arbitrators left the Central City, they only took away a city full of scolding and contempt.

But the important thing was, what happened in the River of the Underworld, probably not even Her Majesty knew.

The second half of the Black Snow Mountain was full of miasma.

There was no way to investigate!

How Meng Xiao died… This question was not only being investigated by Light City, but also by countless transcendents in the deep-water area of the Central City. Everyone cared about the truth of the matter, but no one knew what the truth was.

Therefore, even Purple Rain believed that if Jia Wei could not find Gu Shen guilty, then the truth of the matter was very simple, that Gu Shen was originally innocent.

"You… why do you say that?"

Purple Rain raised her head and looked at the towering figure like a mountain. She said nervously, "Did you see something, or… did you find some clues?"

The man with the sword laughed softly, "What clues are there? Do you think I'm a god?"

Although Gu Shen was not from the Northern Continent.

But after hearing this, Purple Rain breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's just… some things don't need evidence, do they?"

Rust Bone said leisurely, "Exclude all the impossible options, and what remains is the answer."

Did the Child of Blessing really die under the Traveler's shock?

The possibility was too low.

The Legion Commander had seen the internal archives of the restart mission… When Lu Zhe went to the second half of the Black River to rescue them, the Traveler had already been subdued by Her Majesty. Gu Shen and Mu Wanqiu, these two Tier 3s, were able to survive, so how could Meng Xiao, a Tier 4 captain, have died here? Was he really too unlucky and stepped on by the Traveler?

Excluding those impossible options, one can get the reason why Jia Wei went to the small courtyard in the Hanging Mountain.

Meng Xiao was killed.

Killed by… Gu Shen.

"Gu Shen's 'sea of consciousness' is so powerful that it is the only one I have ever seen in my life. Never has there been a transcendent who can possess such a powerful and pure spirit at Tier 3… Even Gu Changzhi, who was in his prime, did not achieve this step."

The God of Battle, Gu Changzhi, once entered the service of Light City in the Western Continent.

And Rust Bone also diligently practiced his skills under Light City.

The two had a duel at the peak of their youth… The outcome was naturally self-evident. Gu Changzhi had never tasted defeat in his life, and everyone who fought him only had one ending: defeat. Rust Bone was no exception.

However, being able to duel with Gu Changzhi was a lifelong honor for a genius.

"Perhaps… he is a three-realm transcender."

Rust Bone smiled and said, "Of course, I have no evidence. Just like I said he killed Meng Xiao… This is a matter without evidence, so you can rest assured that no matter how crazy those Saint Arbitrators are, it's useless. They have no evidence, and Meng Xiao can only be 'accidentally killed'."

"Three-realm transcender?"

A'liou Er and Purple Rain both fell into silence.

It had been a long time since they had heard this term… because it was too far away, it was simply not something that mortals could accomplish.

A two-realm transcender was already the ceiling for geniuses.

Mu Wanqiu's combat power could sweep the new generation of her peers in the Northern Continent! Absolutely invincible among Tier 3s!

But three realms… what was the concept?

"Are you saying… that Gu Shen's current sea of consciousness can be compared to 'Tier 4'?" A'liou Er rubbed her eyebrows and muttered, "This is too… unbelievable…"

"After losing to Gu Changzhi, I knew that this guy was someone I could never catch up with in my life."

Rust Bone said indifferently, "Of course, I don't care about this kind of failure. Who would want to compete with the sun for victory or defeat?"

"That duel was an important reason why I brought 021 under my command. Even if the Gu family of Changye was despised by the world back then… as long as Gu Changzhi didn't die, no one would dare to touch him."

"Now Bai Shu has become the new God of Battle… but I still believe that the number one family in the Eastern Continent is still the Gu family, and it will definitely be the Gu family in the future." Rust Bone said calmly, "What Gu Changzhi left behind is more than just the 'Spring Breathing'. The Gu family's blood flows with the radiance like the sun. This Breathing Method is the Gu family's greatest legacy, and many geniuses will emerge from them."

"Wait a minute… Spring Breathing?"

A'liou Er realized the abnormality of Gu Shen's mental state.

Spring Breathing was not so desolate and cold!

"So," she murmured, "Gu Shen… is cultivating the Breathing Method in reverse?"

"Hmm…"

Rust Bone lowered his eyes, and a complex meaning flashed in his pupils: "Although I don't know how this young man did it… but by cultivating in this way, he has embarked on a path completely opposite to that of Gu Changzhi back then. Every strand of his spirit at this moment will be full of 'killing intent', 'sternness', 'annihilation'… From life to death, the ending is death, and from death to life, it may be life."

"If Gu Changzhi died on the final 'Great Cold', then perhaps the path Gu Shen is taking now may be the correct one."

Above the snow cliff.

Gu Shen opened his eyes.

Great Cold… Comprehension complete.

The scale of his sea of consciousness did not increase, and the amount of his spiritual power did not change at all, but with the reverse development of the second volume of the Breathing Method, he could feel that his spirit had become more refined and more lethal!

Now the Pure Land was a desolate and cold place!

If he used the "Pure Land Domain" again, the creatures shrouded in the spiritual domain… would probably be directly frozen and annihilated!