Dao Equaling the Heavens
Chapter 277 - 186: Ascending the Earth Rankings, Reaching the Pinnacle!

Chapter 277: Chapter 186: Ascending the Earth Rankings, Reaching the Pinnacle!

Upon hearing these words, everyone present fell silent.

As the most exceptional talents of the Human Race in the present age, and the most gifted generation in thousands of years, they could have reached the pinnacle in any era.

Yet, it seemed there was a pattern: among a group of the exceptional, there always was a monster, even though their natural gifts were already sufficient.

The Three Pure Daoist was that monster; his cultivation journey was like that of a Great Divine Power reincarnated, advancing by leaps and bounds in an unstoppable manner.

Likewise, in very little time, he had achieved what others spent their whole lives striving for. This was the true nature of the exceptional, only that the difference between the strong and the weak was as vast as that between heaven and earth.

The geniuses set the stage for the exceptional ones, and the exceptional ones would highlight an extraordinarily unique individual. In the past, it was Xiao Yunyi; he was the first to gain fame and once single-handedly challenged the younger generation of the Buddhist, Taoist, and Demon sects with his sword and won.

Chi Yu Zi and Jun Yan were both defeated by Xiao Yunyi; Jade Sword Buddha, having a special identity, typically wasn’t counted among the younger generation, nor did she actively participate in the competition.

Later, Xiao Yunyi was defeated by the Three Pure Daoist, and eventually, he descended into madness. Today, it was only natural for the Three Pure Daoist to be overthrown, but Gu Wen’s pace was abnormal.

In nine months, while they were still engaged in Qi Cultivation at that time period, Gu Wen had already become stronger than those who had been cultivating for decades.

Truly a talent of an Immortal.

Pragmatically, Gu Wen asked, "Is there any benefit to being first on the Earth Ranking?"

As if expecting this question, Yu Hua smiled and said, "The three rankings themselves offer no rewards, at least not during the time in Immortal Land. Only after the competition in Immortal Land has completely ended and there’s no possibility for the rankings to change, will Two Realms City grant treasures to the exceptional ones on the list. Historically, the top rank could receive a Taoist Soldier, and of course, there are some additional rewards, but that would also require the City Lord of the Two Realms to take a liking."

"City Lord of the Two Realms?"

Gu Wen heard a name he had never heard before.

Beside him, Jun Yan explained, "The owner of the Two Realms City, a supreme being of spatial manipulation, no one knows his name or from whom he learned. Many speculate that he is an Innate Divine Beast. The Two Realms City he founded is a vital transit point for long-distance movement in the Cultivation World. In essence, any common person who travels thousands of miles by Flying Boat relies on the Two Realms City."

Every special place in the universe, without exception, is the cultivation ground of a Great Divine Power. This is true for Heavenly Spring Mountain, and it is true for Burial Abyss, where Jun Yan was born.

Gu Wen then asked, "Is this great power a Demi Immortal or an Immortal?"

"That’s indeterminate; at least, I don’t know...hehehe..." Jun Yan’s words were half-finished when the right side of his face became covered in Demonic Qi, and a rough, unpleasant voice answered Gu Wen’s question.

"He is an Immortal, a downright stingy one at that."

Gu Wen revealed his Immortal Sword and stepped toward Jun Yan, poised to strike at his waist, when Jun Yan quickly waved his hands and said, "No need, I have already reached an agreement with that old fellow..."

Pfff!

The residual image of the Immortal Sword directly pierced through Jun Yan. Gu Wen indifferently said, "How do I know if you are Jun Yan? If you are, this sword won’t kill you."

Good, truly ruthless!

Jun Yan’s eyes slightly widened, then he raised his thumb, gasping and enduring the pain, he said, "Very good, I really didn’t choose the wrong person. Although what he said is indeed correct, and I haven’t lost control, but better safe than sorry."

This time he really didn’t have a problem; indeed, he had made a deal with the Heavenly Corpse, allowing it to come out and breathe anytime. But what Jun Yan needed was Gu Wen’s caution—his Sword Intent could suppress the many Old Demons within him.

"Your condition is getting worse."

Gu Wen’s gaze grew intense. Recently, Jun Yan’s loss of control had been happening more frequently, and nothing had gone wrong yet, but a Great Demon escaping the body was imminent.

"Due to the Life Span Tribulation, Burial Abyss might be destroyed; the old thing behind me is in a hurry to become Immortal," explained Jun Yan. "I’ll explain more later; you handle your own affairs first."

Gu Wen nodded; this was also what was initially agreed upon.

He would handle Chi Yu Zi and Jun Yan with his Immortal Sword, while they provided him protection. Now that both had helped him a lot, it was time for him to fulfill his promises.

Under everyone’s gaze, Gu Wen walked out of the Grotto Heaven and stood atop the mountain, looking up at the sky.

"Are you not planning to conceal yourself for a while this time?"

Yu Hua came to his side, her body slightly leaning forward to look at Gu Wen, whose features were regular and clear, nothing like the precious sons typically pursued by ordinary people. Among cultivators, he was quite ordinary, even carrying a mix of sweat and the smell of blood left from days of fighting.

Rough, vulgar, mundane.

When he first met him, he was like a cautious and suspicious rat from a sewer. But such an ordinary person had, in nine months, climbed to the first place on the Earth Ranking and the third on the Human Ranking.

"Can’t I?" Gu Wen retorted.

Yu Hua shook her head. "Of course you can, on the contrary, I think it’s appropriate."

He had changed, transformed into the person she had hoped for.

Nine months at the pinnacle of the Earth Ranking, a feat unprecedented through the ages, and this path was undoubtedly full of thorns. Jianmu, Ten Thousand Demons, Demi Immortals, and all the great powers about to die would focus their attention on him.

Heaven and earth allow the existence of geniuses, but mediocrities cannot accept the emergence of geniuses.

Just as in the past, when her ancestor rose to power, old factions of The Three Pure Ones, heads of various sects of the Human Race, the Ten Great Demon Saints, the Seventy-two Cave Heaven Masters, the Twelve Demon Ancestors... it was only by traversing this path that the name Qingcang was established.

How far Gu Wen’s invincibility would extend, she could not know, and she probably wouldn’t see that day. Immortal lifespans span cycles of millennia, with ten thousand years per cycle, and twelve hundred thousand years per era. Without becoming Immortal, death is inevitable in the end.