Chapter 1 Giant Tree

Giant trees propped up the sky, draped in thousands of verdant shadows.

A youthful figure hovered, cross-legged, above the open wilderness.

The entire world seemed to revolve around him.

A biting wind swirled.

Grass blades bowed.

Where he sat, countless leaden clouds gathered at the zenith, churning with ceaseless thunder. Within the clouds, faint serpentine lightning writhed, yet no heavy rain ever fell… This scene unfolded before the eyes of two figures beneath the giant tree.

"Worthy of being Lord Divine Seat."

Tie Wu wiped the sweat from his brow.

His eyes gleamed with fervent light.

The distant figure, amidst the swirling gales, was but a vague silhouette, yet it radiated a pressure that made the world itself bow in submission… As the first "Apostle" of the Pure Land, Tie Wu had tilled and cultivated its grasses and plants for so long that he felt a deep connection with their spirits.

Now, with Gu Shen's appearance, the "spirits of grass and wood" within this realm felt compelled to prostrate themselves.

To prostrate before the world's creator!

To praise their God!

Even… the giant tree behind him seemed to share this sentiment, its countless verdant shadows swaying in the wind, like unseen arms shielding Gu Shen from the cold and offering warmth—

Hong Zhong stared blankly at this scene.

It was a sight so awe-inspiring that he was rendered speechless, unable to even utter "Aba Aba."

The source essence of heaven and earth, the breath of the wind, all revolved around Gu Shen, and even these two surviving "soul-spirits" of the Pure Land felt a pull.

"Lord Divine Seat seems to be 'breaking through'?"

Tie Wu tilted his head, pondered for a long time, then shook his head and said, "No, that's not right… What realm does Lord Divine Seat still need to break through…"

Within this spiritual divine domain, he had no way of sensing Gu Shen's cultivation level.

Everything relied on guesswork.

Moreover, due to the taming power of the Underworld Fire Seed, any "soul-spirit" revived within the divine domain was essentially acknowledging Gu Shen as its master. Therefore, no matter how Tie Wu looked at it, he could only perceive Gu Shen as incomparably lofty, as unapproachable as the heavens themselves.

After much deliberation,

Tie Wu formed a hypothesis.

"Lord Divine Seat… no longer needs to break through… Then he must be creating some kind of 'miracle'… Hmm, could it be a Breathing Technique?"

The distant youthful figure's chest seemed to rise and fall gently.

The entire world, with his breath, seemed to contract and expand, performing a slow, rhythmic pulsation.

Tie Wu's pupils constricted.

Why did he feel as if the "seasons" of the entire Pure Land were changing?

The burgeoning vitality of spring's rebirth was still present, but with Gu Shen's every breath, sweat beaded on his back, and he felt the oppressive weight of the leaden clouds above intensify.

The entire world… seemed to be growing restless?

Was it… transitioning from spring to summer?

Tie Wu and Hong Zhong's breathing grew rapid, but alas, the leaden clouds overhead slowly dissipated after a few seconds, and the restless heat of the "spring to summer" transition gradually faded… A cooling breeze swept through, dispelling the heat and leaving them feeling much lighter.

…

…

"One hundred and thirty-fourth… failure…"

Gu Shen sat amidst the wind's breath and slowly opened his eyes.

The creation of the second volume of the Breathing Technique had once again ended in failure.

He exhaled slowly, dispelling the gathering gloom. He felt little disappointment. The "Four Seasons Wilderness" left behind by Mr. Gu Changzhi was such that most transcendent beings could secure a stable spiritual cultivation up to the twelfth level with just one volume, either the Startled Awaking or the Grain Rain.

And true geniuses, like Bai Xiu, an S-level talent, could comprehend and master two volumes of the Breathing Technique in their early stages of cultivation, thus grasping the complete "Breath of Spring."

This was the greatest gift Gu Changzhi had left to the world.

An unprecedented, top-tier "opening Breathing Technique."

Everything in this world revived and began life in the spring. The same was true for the cultivation of transcendent beings. Geniuses capable of comprehending the complete "Breath of Spring" could create their own subsequent "Breathing Techniques," following the laws of nature to develop "Breath of Summer," "Breath of Autumn," and so on, tailored to their own needs.

Mr. Gu Changzhi had passed away.

He left behind the most vibrant and life-filled "Startled Awaking and Grain Rain" to future generations.

As for the bleakest and most desolate "Great Cold," he had kept it for himself.

"Regarding the 'Breath of Summer,' I still seem to lack something…"

"Is it because the seeds and grains of the 'Pure Land' have not yet been harvested?"

Gu Shen looked out over the wilderness, lost in thought.

The current cultivation had allowed the Pure Land to reach a considerable scale, appearing vibrant and prosperous, but the seeds planted were sprouting and growing at an extremely slow pace… as if suppressed by some "rule."

His "Pure Land" was a unique miracle!

But a miracle did not mean that it could break the rules.

The development of the "Pure Land" was closely related to his own "spiritual power" and "source essence quantity." If "spiritual power" was insufficient, the growth of these spirits of grass and wood would be unable to continue… Similarly, if "source essence" was lacking, the entire Pure Land would wither.

"So… I need to break through to allow these 'seeds' to grow…"

Gu Shen rubbed his chin and murmured, "Or rather, do I need to push the 'Pure Land' into summer to comprehend the second volume of the Breathing Technique?"

This question stumped Gu Shen.

Cause and effect were intertwined, making it difficult to find the beginning.

Recalling the birth of the Pure Land Su Xu tree and the Breath of Spring, it was difficult to say who had pushed whom, who had determined whom… The path of cultivation was a series of interlocking links.

Now, he was stuck at this bottleneck.

"My cultivation time is still too short…"

Gu Shen thought for a moment and came to this conclusion.

What kind of stunning and brilliant figure was Mr. Gu Changzhi?

He had spent decades opening up the four seasons and creating eight volumes of Breathing Techniques… and he himself had only been cultivating for two years to reach the threshold of the "Breath of Summer."

If Mr. Gu Changzhi had a spirit and saw his current progress, he would probably be surprised.

Gu Shen murmured, "My cultivation speed is already fast enough. I can't be too eager to achieve the second volume of the Breathing Technique."

He shook his head and cleared his mind.

Gu Shen decided to temporarily slow down his comprehension of the "Breath of Summer." This was not the same as cultivation like "Impacting the Golden Hoop"… It was not that the more attempts, the better.

Comprehending the Breathing Technique required the right time, place, and people.

This was not a task that could be accomplished with hard work alone.

Even for a peerless genius like Gu Changzhi, if there was no inspiration, trying again and again would only be futile and a waste of time.

Gu Shen glanced at Tie Wu and Hong Zhong over there, and a wisp of thought swept over, and an invisible wind enveloped him… He hid his figure, but in reality, he was still sitting cross-legged above the dome of the Four Seasons Wilderness.

"How is the news about the Saint Adjudicators these days?"

He had been in secluded cultivation in the small courtyard on Suspended Mountain for seven days.

These seven days had been peaceful.

Because of the message he had released in advance, no outsiders had come to disturb him.

"Grand Duke Casting Snow's airship has just returned to Central City… The Saint Adjudicators' investigation into the Dolu River Disaster Zone has ended." Chu Ling's figure was pieced together from blurred code.

She appeared beside Gu Shen, looking down at the thriving Four Seasons Wilderness with him.

Countless blades of grass lifted her up.

"Jia Wei and those Saint Adjudicators… are currently under tremendous pressure from public opinion." Chu Ling said, "Their investigation probably won't last long."

"Mm."

Gu Shen didn't feel happy hearing this news.

"For some reason… my mind is a little uneasy."

He stretched back, and in the void, countless pieces of steel twisted out of thin air to form a throne to catch him.

Gu Shen supported his forehead and muttered to himself with a headache, "I've clearly made preparations, but where does this feeling of unease come from…?"

The small courtyard on Suspended Mountain was filled with the ancient writings of Qing Tomb.

These ancient writings could prevent the outflow of spiritual power.

In addition, Meng Xiao's sealed item, which he carried with him, had been burned to ashes by Blazing Fire.

The mage robe and bracelet were placed by Gu Shen in the Pure Land domain within his spiritual sea.

After thinking it over,

He couldn't think of… what "secret technique" the Saint Adjudicators could use to find him, but that was the most terrifying thing.

Not knowing what cards the opponent would play.

Gu Shen took a deep breath and raised his palm. With a "whoosh," a cross pendant appeared in Gu Shen's palm.

He held the [Protection of the Goddess of Destiny] and asked in a low voice, "Did the Saint Adjudicators discover any clues in the Dolu River Disaster Zone?"

"…"

The pendant, of course, would not answer.

But it could provide some feedback to Gu Shen's questions.

A moment of silence.

"No clues?"

Gu Shen frowned and asked again, "So… they found me because Bright City has some unique soul sensing ability?"

"…"

Still silent.

It seemed that it wasn't a technique that directly "locked onto people."

This time, Gu Shen pondered for a long time on the throne.

His voice was hoarse as he asked, "My sense of unease… is related to Meng Xiao's 'relics,' right?"

"…!"

This time, the pendant gave a different answer, emitting a wisp of spirit that signified affirmation.

Gu Shen narrowed his eyes and immediately leaned forward.

He reached out and grabbed, and a crystal-clear bracelet instantly swept in from the distant void… After he washed away the "aura of light" from the bracelet, it had become dull, lusterless, and gloomy.

"Is it related to this bracelet?"

The only possibility that Gu Shen could think of was this "Disaster Divination Bracelet," which he couldn't even figure out!

He was very clear.

This was Meng Xiao's relic… Although Meng Xiao might not have told Bright City about this heaven-defying treasure.

But what if those Saint Adjudicators had some records?

Gu Shen wouldn't foolishly take out the bracelet and wear it. These days, he had been pressing the mage robe and bracelet under the Pure Land Su Xu Tree… to ensure nothing went wrong.

"Could it be… someone can spiritually sense this bracelet?"

Gu Shen's expression suddenly turned gloomy. He stared at the bracelet that he had completely "cleansed" once… If the [Protection of the Goddess of Destiny] hadn't given an affirmative answer, he would never have thought of this possibility.

Was this Bright City's method?

Inconceivable!

Fantastic!

At this moment, in the real world, a group of Saint Adjudicators arrived outside the small courtyard on Suspended Mountain.

The Dolu River investigation had just ended.

After obtaining guidance from the [Temple], Jia Wei directly took his subordinates and the list of people from Grand Duke Casting Snow's airship… And the person ranked first on the list was none other than Gu Shen!

"Dong dong dong—"

The red-armored Grand Knight knocked on the courtyard door of the small courtyard on Suspended Mountain with a blank expression.

…

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(ps: I know you guys are not comfortable with the cliffhanger, so there will be another chapter before 12 noon tomorrow. You can join the subscription group, if there are any updates, I will notify you in it.)