Chapter 192 Stealing the Sky and Changing the Sun, Insatiable Desire Immortality: Grinding Experience Starting as a Paper Craftsman

Immortality: Grinding Experience Starting as a Paper Craftsman

Chapter 192 Stealing the Sky and Changing the Sun, Insatiable Desire

The long night is coming to an end.

Changqing Peak, the back mountain of Liuyun Sect.

A thin layer of white frost covered the bluestone steps, and a few insects chirped shortly in the withered grass.

The wind blows through the purple bamboo forest covering the mountains and fields, and the bamboo leaves rustle as if falling in a drizzle.

In the secret room on the top floor of the Supply Pavilion, the glow of the luminous pearl was shrouded by an invisible barrier.

Gu Yan sat cross-legged on a white jade futon.

He had just broken through to the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm, and the spiritual energy within his body had not yet fully subsided.

The Divine Demon Nascent Soul slowly rotated within his dantian, achieving a strange balance between the golden righteous energy on the left and the dark red blood energy on the right.

With each breath, the air in the sealed room would distort slightly.

Gu Yan opened his eyes, and the bloodshot color deep in his pupils slowly faded, restoring a warm and clear luster.

Very light footsteps came from outside the door.

With a thought, Gu Yan immediately concealed all his powerful aura, disguising himself as a severely injured person with unstable spiritual power and depleted blood and qi.

His face turned as white as a sheet of paper, and his breathing became intermittent.

"Come in."

The heavy black iron stone door slowly slid open to both sides.

Shen Youwei, dressed in a blue Daoist robe symbolizing her status as an inner sect elder of the Liuyun Sect, walked in carrying a jade tray.

On the tray were several jade slips that radiated a warm luster.

Since Gu Yan forcibly elevated her to the Golden Core stage a few days ago, Shen Youwei has naturally taken over many real powers within the inner sect of the Flowing Cloud Sect and become the sole steward of the Material Pavilion.

To outsiders, she was the most trusted confidante of the Holy Son Gu Changsheng, and also the head of logistics for the entire Demon Extermination Alliance.

"Junior Brother Gu, this is the second batch of supplies sent by various sects yesterday, as well as the battle report from the front line of Tianlang Pass."

Shen Youwei walked to Gu Yan's side, looked at his pale face, and a trace of heartache flashed in her eyes.

She handed the jade slip to Gu Yan very gently, as if afraid of disturbing him.

Gu Yan took the jade slip and casually scanned it with his divine sense.

The contents of the battle report were as he had expected.

The meat grinder on the border of the Great Yan Kingdom was running perfectly. The disciples of the Cangxuan and Guixu sects suffered heavy casualties, and the Blood Fiend Puppets under Hua Moyang's command also lost nearly 100,000.

Both sides were so engrossed in the fight that they couldn't stop.

As for the list of supplies, it was densely packed with hundreds of thousands of mid-grade spirit stones, as well as tens of thousands of various magical artifacts and pills.

"The situation at the front is critical, and supplies are being consumed faster than we anticipated."

Shen Youwei said in a low voice, her tone tinged with worry.

"I just checked the storeroom and found that the batch of spiritual items you retrieved last night to repair your Dao foundation has been completely used up. Junior Brother Gu, your body..."

Shen Youwei had no idea that Gu Yan had swallowed all those supplies to break through his cultivation level.

In her view, Gu Yan extracted those massive amounts of resources entirely to repair the Dao foundation damaged during the Grand Competition.

Despite consuming enough resources to buy a medium-sized sect, Gu Yan's face remained deathly pale, which deeply distressed her.

Gu Yan put down the jade slip, covered his lips with a handkerchief, coughed lightly twice, and pretended to be weak.

"Senior Sister Shen, there's no need to worry. Repairing your Dao Foundation is a heaven-defying act, something that can't be accomplished overnight. These resources haven't been wasted; I can feel the vitality within my body slowly recovering."

Looking at Shen Youwei's beautiful face, Gu Yan's tone became very gentle.

"I'm leaving everything at the Supply Pavilion to my senior sister. If anyone has any doubts about where the supplies are going, she just needs to pin the blame on me. She must not get into any conflict with them."

Shen Youwei bit her lip and nodded vigorously.

"Don't worry, as long as I'm here, the Supply Pavilion will be fine. If anyone dares to question you, I'll risk my life to prevent them from setting foot on Evergreen Peak."

Gu Yan smiled slightly and reached out to pat Shen Youwei's hand.

Just then.

A warning array outside Changqing Peak suddenly lit up with a blinding red light.

Immediately afterwards, a powerful voice, like rolling thunder, resounded from the sky directly above Changqing Peak.

"Lu Zheng, the deputy head of the Enforcement Hall of the Cangxuan Sect, has come to pay a visit to Alliance Leader Gu on the orders of Elder Zhou. The matter is urgent, and we request that Alliance Leader Gu appear in person."

His voice carried an undisguised coldness and chilling intensity.

Shen Youwei's expression changed.

"It's Lu Zheng from the Cangxuan Sect. He's nicknamed the Iron-Faced Judge. He's a rigid and strict man who is in charge of oversight within the alliance. His sudden appearance at the Liuyun Sect at this time, with such a tough attitude, suggests he's up to no good."

Gu Yan slowly stood up, draped a heavy fox fur cloak over his body, concealing his tall and imposing figure.

"Blood is being shed on the front lines, while supplies are disappearing like water. If he can't detect anything amiss, then the Cangxuan Sect is truly a bunch of fools."

A barely perceptible sneer curled at the corner of Gu Yan's lips.

"Let's go, Senior Sister Shen, let's go meet this iron-faced judge. Remember, no matter what happens later, don't make a sound, just cooperate with me."

Changqing Peak, the main hall for welcoming guests.

The palace gates were wide open.

A cold wind howled as it rushed into the hall.

Lu Zheng, dressed in a black and white Tai Chi robe, stood ramrod straight in the center of the hall.

His face was chiseled, his eyes were sharp as an eagle's, and he exuded a powerful aura of a peak early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

Behind him followed two stern-faced Golden Core deacons from the Cangxuan Sect.

With Shen Youwei's support, Gu Yan slowly walked into the main hall.

He walked very slowly, stopping to catch his breath every few steps, like an old man in his twilight years.

Lu Zheng frowned deeply as he looked at Gu Yan's appearance.

He did not perform the grand ceremony for Gu Yan like the other elders of the Cangxuan Sect, but simply cupped his hands slightly.

"Alliance Leader Gu, I have come late at night to disturb your meditation. I hope you will forgive me. However, the battle at the front is intense, and there are some things I must ask you in person."

Lu Zheng's voice was resounding and echoed in the empty hall.

Gu Yan walked to the main seat and sat down, pulling his fox fur coat tighter around himself and weakly raising his hand.

"Master Lu, you're too kind. As the Alliance's Inspector, please feel free to ask any questions you may have."

Lu Zheng stepped forward, his gaze fixed intently on Gu Yan.

"Alliance Leader Gu, may I ask why the strategic resources the alliance has collected from various sects over the past half month have been consumed so quickly? The battle reports sent back from the front lines show that only half of the pills and spirit stones have been distributed to the soldiers. Where has the remaining half, a massive amount of resources worth three million mid-grade spirit stones, gone?"

Upon hearing this, the air in the hall seemed to freeze.

The two Golden Core deacons following behind Lu Zheng had their hands already on the hilts of their swords at their waists.

Shen Youwei was furious and was about to step forward to argue, but Gu Yan stopped her with a look.

Faced with Lu Zheng's aggressive questioning, Gu Yan neither lost her temper nor offered any explanation.

He simply looked at Lu Zheng quietly, and a deep sadness and weariness gradually surfaced in his clear eyes.

"Master Lu believes that I embezzled those resources."

Gu Yan's voice was soft, yet it carried a bitterness that struck straight to the soul.

Lu Zheng snorted coldly, neither humble nor arrogant.

"I only care about the ledger, not the person. I admire Alliance Leader Gu's noble character. But these resources are enough to influence the battle on the front lines. If Alliance Leader cannot provide a reasonable explanation, I will risk being punished by Elder Zhou to seal off the supply depot and investigate thoroughly."

Looking at Lu Zheng's righteous and awe-inspiring appearance, Gu Yan suddenly coughed violently.

He coughed so hard it was excruciating, and his whole body was trembling.

Shen Youwei hurriedly stepped forward and patted his back, her eyes red-rimmed.

Gu Yan removed the handkerchief covering his mouth, revealing a shocking pool of black blood.

Lu Zheng's eyes narrowed slightly, but he still did not back down, standing still and staring intently at Gu Yan.

"Since Hall Master Lu wants to know the truth..."

Gu Yan threw the blood-stained handkerchief into the brazier beside him, then slowly stood up, supporting himself on the back of the chair, his gaze becoming incredibly profound.

"Then please follow me, Hall Master Lu. But I must make this clear first: what you are about to see concerns the life and death of a million cultivators in the Eastern Continent. Once you leave this door, you must keep it to yourself."

Lu Zheng's expression hardened, and he clasped his hands in a deep voice.

"As long as it can be proven that the whereabouts of the supplies were legitimate, I, Lu, am willing to swear on my conscience that I will never reveal a single word of it."

Gu Yan nodded and led Shen Youwei and Lu Zheng toward the secret chamber beneath Changqing Peak.

A long, winding stone staircase leads deep underground.

There were no lights on the rock walls on either side, and the further down you went, the colder and more biting the air became.

Lu Zheng followed behind Gu Yan, his mind extremely wary.

He even secretly withheld a teleportation talisman meant for sending a distress signal.

After walking for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a massive bronze gate covered with intricate array patterns appeared before them.

Gu Yan bit her fingertip and flicked a drop of blood onto the bronze door.

The gate suddenly opened.

A blinding golden light surged from the door, instantly illuminating the entire underground passage.

Lu Zheng squinted and looked into the doorway. He was struck dumb, frozen in place.

Behind the bronze door is a huge artificial cave.

In the center of the cave, a golden compass ten feet tall floats.

This compass is not a physical object, but rather a composite of pure, righteous energy and countless profound celestial runes.

The compass slowly rotated in mid-air, radiating a sacred aura that inspired awe and reverence.

Directly below the compass, piles of spirit stone fragments and elixir waste covered the entire ground.

The enormous amount of resources that disappeared were all used to keep the golden compass running.

"This...this is..."

Lu Zheng's voice trembled as he sensed a terrifying aura belonging to a Nascent Soul stage expert emanating from the golden compass.

Gu Yan walked to the edge of the compass, tilted his head back, and the golden light illuminated his pale face.

"This is the celestial celestial compass."

Gu Yan's voice carried a martyr-like resolve.

"Master Lu, do you really think that we can fight those tireless demons on the front lines to a standstill because of the exquisite battle formations of our Eastern Continent?"

Gu Yan turned around and pointed to the huge compass.

"The red-robed demon in the depths of the Great Yan Kingdom possesses a supreme demonic treasure that allows him to glimpse the secrets of heaven. Every troop movement and ambush of our troops at the front lines cannot escape his eyes. If it weren't for my master passing down this Heaven-Covering Star Chart before his departure, used to deceive the secrets of the Eastern Continent, the soldiers at the front lines would have been surrounded and slaughtered by the demon army long ago."

Gu Yan's words struck Lu Zheng's heart like a heavy hammer.

"However, activating such a heaven-defying formation requires a massive amount of spiritual energy. My master is not here, and in the entire Eastern Continent, apart from me, the one who inherited a trace of his essence, no one else can drive this formation."

Gu Yan slowly raised his hands.

The veins on his wrists bulged high, and strands of golden primordial power were being forcibly drawn from his body and continuously injected into the star-covering disc.

As the source was extracted, Gu Yan's face visibly turned ashen, and his life force became extremely weak.

"I kept half of the resources and used them all to replenish the energy consumed by this star chart. But that's not enough, far from enough. Mortal spirit stones simply cannot satisfy the appetite of the Heaven-Covering Star Chart. I can only use my own lifespan and the Dao foundation that I just repaired to fill this bottomless pit."

As Gu Yan finished speaking, his body suddenly swayed, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

The blood was mixed with tiny golden specks, which were the most precious source of a cultivator's essence.

Of course, this was just a disguise created by Gu Yan using the righteous energy from the left half of his Divine Demon Nascent Soul to wrap the waste blood expelled from his body.

But in Lu Zheng's view, this was Gu Changsheng burning his life and weeping blood, enduring the pain of being torn to pieces alone for the sake of the people of Dongzhou.

"Junior Brother Gu."

Upon seeing this scene, Shen Youwei let out a heart-wrenching cry and rushed forward to tightly embrace the swaying Gu Yan.

This is a genuine expression of emotion.

Gu Yan didn't tell her that this was also acting; only Shen Youwei's genuine despair and tears were the perfect catalyst for this performance.

Lu Zheng's unwavering resolve to enforce the Dao shattered into dust upon seeing the golden pool of primordial blood.

What is he doing?

He was suspicious of a saint who was burning himself to ashes little by little for the sake of the soldiers on the front lines.

He was using cold, hard ledgers to interrogate a peerless genius who had risked his life.

"Smack."

A crisp slap echoed inside the cave.

Lu Zheng slapped himself hard across the face.

The dignified Nascent Soul stage cultivator, with red eyes, knelt down in front of Gu Yan with a thud.

"Alliance Leader Gu, I was blind to suspect you of embezzling funds."

Lu Zheng banged his head on the ground, making a loud thud on the bluestone slab.

"The Alliance Leader is suffering the backlash alone in the rear, yet he still has to endure the suspicion of us mere mortals. I, Lu, am guilty beyond redemption."

With Shen Youwei's support, Gu Yan weakly raised his hand, gesturing for Lu Zheng to get up.

"I don't blame Master Lu for being ignorant, but I beg you to keep this a secret and never let the soldiers at the front know about it. If they know I'm burning my life in the rear, their morale will be thrown into chaos. Once that demon notices the Star Chart's weakness, my entire Eastern Continent will be doomed."

Gu Yan's words made Lu Zheng so ashamed that he wished he could disappear into the ground.

He stood up, the sharpness in his eyes completely replaced by fervor and reverence.

Lu Zheng gritted his teeth, took out a jade box made of Nine Nether Ice from his storage ring, held it with both hands, and handed it to Gu Yan.

The jade box was opened, and inside lay a yellowish-brown crystal that seemed to beat like a heart, radiating an incredibly rich vitality of the earth.

"Alliance Leader, this is a peerless treasure, the Earth Vein Spirit Embryo, that the Cangxuan Sect prepared to nurture the spirit of its protective array. Before leaving, Elder Zhou entrusted it to me for safekeeping in case of emergency at the front. Now it seems that only by offering this to the Alliance Leader can we slightly compensate for the depletion of the Star Chart and save the Alliance Leader's life."

Lu Zheng held the jade box high with both hands, his tone extremely resolute.

"Please, Alliance Leader, accept this! If you fall, there will truly be no hope for Dongzhou."

Gu Yan looked at the earth vein spirit embryo, a hint of extreme greed flashing in his deep eyes.

This is a rare treasure of heaven and earth, nurtured for ten thousand years beneath the earth of Dongzhou. The energy contained within it is enough to push his Divine Demon Nascent Soul to a higher level.

He was overjoyed inside, but put on a troubled expression on his face.

"This earth vein spirit embryo is the foundation of the Cangxuan Sect. How dare Changsheng claim it as his own?"

"If the Alliance Leader does not accept this, I, Lu, will kneel here forever." Lu Zheng said resolutely.

Gu Yan leaned weakly against Shen Youwei's chest, his eyes flickering as he looked at the earth vein spirit embryo.

He struggled to raise his hand, declined several times, and finally, under Lu Zheng's threat of suicide, he "reluctantly" accepted the treasure.

Lu Zheng nodded heavily, filled with awe and self-reproach, and backed away from the secret room to hurriedly deal with the follow-up matters.

The sealed room fell silent again.

Gu Yan was still barely breathing. He looked at Shen Youwei, who was still sobbing, with a gentle yet weary gaze.

"Senior sister, I'm tired too. I need to refine this earth vein spirit embryo immediately to stabilize the consumption of the star plate. You've worked hard all night too, go back and rest first. There are formations protecting this place, no one can get in."

Shen Youwei refused to leave. She bit her lip and finally, after Gu Yan's repeated assurances and requests, she reluctantly let go.

"Then I'll stand guard outside the door. If you feel unwell at all, be sure to call me."

Shen Youwei wiped away her tears, gently left the secret room, and closed the heavy stone door behind her.

Until all the footsteps disappeared.

The sacred and inviolable golden pressure deep within the secret chamber, along with the so-called tragic aura of sacrificing one's origin, vanished in an instant.

Gu Yan's originally pale face turned rosy at a speed visible to the naked eye.

He straightened his back, and the so-called celestial disc that blotted out the sky vanished as specks of light with a flick of his finger.

This so-called Heavenly Star Chart is nothing more than a high-level illusion he created using the righteous energy of the Divine Demon Nascent Soul, and has no real function.

Gu Yan reached out and took out the Earth Vein Spirit Embryo from the jade box.

Those crystal-clear yellow crystals contain the essence of the earth's veins accumulated by the Cangxuan Sect over ten thousand years.

He opened his mouth, and a surge of dark red light swept through, swallowing the peerless treasure whole.

"Lu Zheng's income is enough to cover the gains of three months of fighting on the front lines. He's truly a generous and impartial judge."

Gu Yan closed his eyes, feeling the rapidly growing spiritual power within his body.

"Please rise, Hall Master Lu. As long as Dongzhou is safe, I don't care if I lose my life. Please keep this a secret for me, Hall Master Lu, and don't let the disciples on the front lines be distracted."