As the Sword God's sword intent erupted, Gu An glimpsed his past through the waves of sword qi.
Through the long years, each peak battle in sword dao constantly pushed the Sword God's sword dao to higher realms.
After defeating his opponents, the Sword God would absorb their sword dao, thus enhancing his own.
The Sword God raised his right hand, the sword qi pointing toward Gu An. In an instant, countless sword shadows appeared in the darkness behind him, emitting different kinds of sword intent. It was as if a sea of stars suddenly lit up, and the vast sword light shone on Gu An. Yet, it couldn't drive away the demonic aura emanating from his Heavenly Nether Purple Micro Saint Dao Body.
Gu An followed by raising his sword, the Tian Su Sword aimed directly at the Sword God.
As he lifted his sword, an incredibly grand silver sword shadow appeared behind him, quickly solidifying. It was as massive as the heavens and earth. If one were to move the entire Heavenly Spirit World, they would find that only half of this sword's length would remain.
Eternal Boundless Divine Sword!
The strongest sword technique evolved from the Li Family's swordsmanship!
Gu An did not use Yang Xian's Sacred Heart Sword Dao, fearing that the Sword God might recognize it.
Even without the Sacred Heart Sword Dao, Gu An was confident in defeating the Sword God.
Even if they were in the same realm!
Gu An had merged the memories of Long Zhan, Lu Han, Ji, Yang Xian, and others from his past life. In essence, he had become those people, plus his own lifespan evolution, making his strength unfathomable.
Except for the unresolved Ji, Gu An felt that he was unlikely to lose in the same realm, and moreover, he and the Sword God were not opponents of the same realm.
The imposing sword intent of the Eternal Boundless Divine Sword felt like the sharpest will in the universe, causing the Sword God to frown slightly.
The Sword God did not underestimate Gu An, but still, he was taken aback by Gu An's sword intent.
"What is the name of this sword dao?" the Sword God asked.
"Eternal Boundless Divine Sword."
Gu An pointed his sword at him, and the Eternal Boundless Divine Sword, in its return to simplicity state, exploded with a dazzling light, causing half the universe's void to brighten.
After repeating the name "Eternal Boundless Divine Sword," the Sword God immediately waved his hand. The sword qi slashed out, and countless sword shadows behind him erupted with sweeping sword qi, charging toward Gu An.
Meanwhile,
The Heavenly Spirit World, which had just returned to sunlight, trembled. The beings who had survived the calamity were once again shocked, especially the sword cultivators across the world. Their swords quivered incessantly, as if ready to be drawn at any moment.
The Jue Luo Sword Master, who was meditating on the Dao of Heaven, raised his head, a look of disbelief on his face.
"What a domineering sword dao... and there are even two types…"
The Jue Luo Sword Master muttered to himself, his spiritual sense quickly reaching out to the universe, but he quickly retracted it and placed his right hand over his chest.
His sword dao suffered a backlash!
If he hadn't reacted quickly enough, his sword dao would have likely collapsed.
However, he couldn't see the figures of Gu An and the Sword God, only sensing two immense sword daos.
Even without seeing the masters of the sword dao, the Jue Luo Sword Master guessed immediately.
It must be the Sword Master of the Dao and the Sword God!
He had suspected that the Sword God had come to this universe earlier, but when the two actually began to fight, he was once again shaken.
What kind of sword dao attainment would allow one to possess such a vast momentum?
The celestial phenomenon lasted less than ten breaths before the world quickly returned to calm. However, the beings still dared not relax, nervously waiting for fear that a more terrifying calamity might arrive.
On the other side,
In the forest.
Gu An sat on a rock by a small stream, summoning his attribute panel.
[Name: Gu An]
[Lifespan: 2,144/7,907,228,501]
[Physique: Hunyuan Wujitian Body]
[Cultivation: Perfected Innate Golden Immortal Realm]
...
7.9 billion years of lifespan!
Before today, his lifespan was only 100 million years, but now, it had increased by a staggering 7.8 billion years in one go.
Thank you, War Court!
Gu An felt emotional. Killing enemies indeed brought the fastest gains in lifespan. He had stored up a ten billion years of lifespan, and it had been used over the course of many years.
However, he just thought about it and wouldn't start a massacre over it. The lessons from the lifespan cycle had been too many. The reason he had managed to grow steadily to this point was that he had concealed his ability to steal lifespan.
He even suspected that the reason why the Annihilation God Emperor was so obsessed with the Dragon Clan was because Long Zhan became stronger through slaughter. Perhaps the Annihilation God Emperor thought that the members of the Dragon Clan could rapidly grow stronger through killing, which was why he kept taking the Dragon Clan's descendants' bodies.
Gu An then thought of the Sword God he had just fought.
To prevent his identity from being exposed, Gu An severely injured the Sword God. After the Sword God fled, it was likely that he would need many years to recover, but at least he wouldn't die.
Whether it was Long Zhan or Yang Xian's identity, Gu An didn't want to expose them.
The lifespan cycle was much more advanced than the reincarnation he had encountered so far. The lifespan cycle could project into the past and future, even altering fate. It was terrifying.
If this matter were to be exposed, Gu An would undoubtedly attract the attention of more powerful beings who would see him as a threat.
He saw the Sword God vanish into the Sword Dao River, disappearing from sight.
The Sword Dao River, Fate River, Time River, etc. — these were all existences independent of the universe. One could only reach them through the Dao, and they were dangerous and mysterious. Whether they could lead to other universes was still uncertain. Perhaps the Sword God had arrived via the Sword Dao River.
But Gu An also felt that the boundary gates were not just for show. To traverse the universe, one had to ultimately surpass the Heavenly Spirit God.
Time quickly passed in Gu An's thoughts.
Half an hour later, the beings of Heavenly Spirit World finally relaxed. Though they didn't understand exactly what had happened, the fact that the world had returned to peace was a good thing.
Another half hour passed, and Yi Xiaoqiang and his group finally arrived at the agreed location. When they saw Gu An, they were overjoyed and immediately rushed over to him.
Three of the young ones started crying loudly. The sudden darkness had frightened them terribly.
Gu An smiled at them but didn't comfort them, letting them vent their emotions.
Yi Xiaoqiang looked at Gu An and asked, "Immortal, do you know why the sky suddenly darkened earlier?"
Gu An shook his head, "How would I know? I only understand some cultivation techniques. Did you really think I'm an immortal? This world is much bigger than you think. In the future, exploring it yourself will be more interesting than asking me."
Upon hearing this, Yi Xiaoqiang fell into deep thought.
After their emotions calmed down, Gu An began to teach them the Qi Refining method. All five of them had good talents, and within half a day, they had all managed to cultivate a trace of spiritual energy.
It was only when evening arrived that Gu An allowed them to return.
Compared to their first departure, the five of them were much more relaxed. They now felt that Gu An truly intended to teach them.
After watching them disappear into the depths of the forest, Gu An walked in the opposite direction.
With one step, he arrived thousands of miles away. This was a place rarely visited by people, full of spiritual energy, where flowers, grass, and tree demons outnumbered beast demons.
Gu An arrived at the top of a high mountain. Standing on the cliff's edge, he focused his mind and began to open the lifespan Dao Field.
[Please select the area for the Dao Field to be opened.]
A prompt appeared, and Gu An immediately confirmed his choice.
He quickly circled a 5,000-mile radius.
[This will consume 500,000,000 years of lifespan. Do you wish to continue?]
500 million years of lifespan? Not bad, this is acceptable!
Gu An had been worried that opening the Dao Field would consume an enormous amount of lifespan, even possibly draining it completely. If that were the case, he would have to abandon the Dao Field.
Once his thought fell, he clearly felt the space tremble. At the same time, a large amount of memories flooded into his mind. He could now grasp everything within the Dao Field clearly.
Additionally, he needed to store lifespan in the Dao Field to prevent strong enemies from invading. The Dao Field's highest defense would be equal to his cultivation level, and each time it was attacked, the corresponding lifespan would be deducted.
After a moment's hesitation, Gu An decided to store 1 billion years of lifespan in the Dao Field.
In Heavenly Spirit World, no one could launch a strong attack on his Dao Field, so he stored the lifespan as a precaution.