Demon Slaying, Gaining 60 Years of Cultivation From the Start
Chapter 1292 - 246: Strength Growth, Fourth-Rank Divine Powers (Three updates of 10,000 words each, please subscribe!)

For cultivators at the Unity Realm, lifespans were exceedingly long, where a single session of secluded meditation could last years, even decades, or longer.

Indeed, upon reaching the Heavenly Realm, one session of retreat might equate to the entire lifetime of a mortal, or it could be even more enduring.

Cultivation required not just talent and insight, but time, or rather patience, was also extremely crucial.

This was why there were late bloomers who soared above the rest later on in life, because of this very principle.

While two months had passed in the Saint Realm, thanks to the Time Dilation Cauldron and its one-to-ten flow of time, Gu Chen had been in seclusion for over six hundred days.

The Flower of Marvelous Method had long been exhausted—he couldn’t sustain such a lengthy retreat even by consuming it bit by bit.

Fortunately, with the aid of half a piece of broken jade, Gu Chen had plunged into the deepest understanding of the Dao. Over this period, he had tidied up all the insights from his cultivation journey thus far. It could be said his gains were vast.

Name: Gu Chen

Cultivation Techniques: Solar Scripture (Fifth Level), Nine Revolutions Emperor’s Scripture (Fifth Level), Immortal Sacred Body (Eleventh Level), Soul Map (Eleventh Level), Samsara Scripture (Fifth Level), Illusory Annihilation Traceless (Fifth Level)

Divine Abilities: Nine Dragons Annihilation (Fifth Rank), Skyspan Escape (Fifth Rank), Heavenly Eye (Fourth Rank), Ten Directions Collapse (Fourth Rank), Nine Heavens Thunder Movement (Fourth Rank)

Cultivation Age: 26,000 years

Realm: Mid-stage Unity Realm

Merit Points: 0

Divine Power Value: 300

These were the results of Gu Chen’s six hundred plus days of seclusion—his strength had surged forward massively once again, with his own accumulation and the help of the Flower of Marvelous Method and the broken jade!

All four newly deduced cultivation techniques had advanced by one level, and the two older techniques, the Immortal Sacred Body and the Soul Map, had leaped up by an entire two levels.

As a result, both Gu Chen’s physical body and soul had seen a tangible enhancement.

At the same time, the last three divine abilities all reached the fourth rank. This was Gu Chen’s most significant gain from the retreat, having put most of his effort into it.

"Fourth rank divine abilities are truly arduous," Gu Chen murmured as he opened his eyes.

The Flower of Marvelous Method, the half piece of broken jade, plus more than six hundred days—each element was indispensable.

Without them, raising three divine abilities to the fourth rank in the Unity Realm would have been impossible.

In fact, if such an achievement were known to the outside world, even the strongest of beings, including the undying legacy holders and rulers of the top ten races, would be astounded.

After all, no one within the Unity Realm could achieve such a feat, and even the top powers in the Heavenly Realm might not be able to do so!

It was precisely because Gu Chen hadn’t reached the Heavenly Realm yet; otherwise, with the unleashing of three fourth-rank divine abilities, he could obliterate most Great Powers of the higher realms.

Moreover, this wasn’t all—Gu Chen’s mastery of the Moving Mountain Seal, Seal of the Sea, and Earth-breaking Seal, these three divine abilities combined, could match the power of fourth-rank divine abilities.

Within the Unity Realm, possessing so many fourth-rank divine abilities was tremendously rare even compared to the Great Powers.

"If only the Divine Power value wasn’t just three hundred; then it wouldn’t have been so difficult," Gu Chen glanced at his panel.

Those three hundred points of Divine Power value were what he had obtained from slaying the demon inside Gu Yan’s body, and since the divine abilities were of such high grade, he hadn’t been able to use them yet.

"The physical body at the eighth turn still has quite a distance to go, but once the treasures of the Saint Realm open, I believe it will be enough!" Gu Chen’s eyes sparkled. This retreat had significantly improved his physical body as well.

However, it made him realize how challenging the eighth turn of the physical body was.

"The soul has grown to nine feet, with only nine inches left to reach early-stage Perfection." At this moment, Gu Chen introspected and found that compared to the physical body, the soul had improved even more.

This was mainly because comprehending the Dao also enhanced one’s soul, not to mention the effect of the Flower of Marvelous Method.

"There’s still about half a month before the treasures open. I hope you all can step into the Heavenly Realm as soon as possible." Gu Chen sat cross-legged, his body radiant, his black hair cascading down, his eyes immeasurably deep and shining brightly.

He yearned for a powerful opponent to emerge, to truly test his current strength!

Within the Unity Realm, it was impossible. Only those exceptional geniuses in the Saint Realm or, as Long Yi mentioned, the successors from the Ninth Heaven, could potentially give Gu Chen a real fight once they broke through to the Heavenly Realm.

Otherwise, within the Unity Realm, no one could stand against even a single fifth-rank divine ability from Gu Chen.

With multi-layered accumulation in various aspects, his gap with peers had widened to the point of being insurmountable for them, only perhaps by surpassing Gu Chen by an entire major realm could they have a chance.

"I wonder if there’s any news of Qinyan and Xidie." At this thought, Gu Chen’s brow furrowed slightly.

Then, he left his retreat to venture outside.

Though he had been in seclusion for more than six hundred days, it all felt like just yesterday for Gu Chen, who was immersed in comprehension.

Besides, in the Saint Realm, only just over two months had passed.

However, when Gu Chen emerged from his retreat this time, he was met with empty space, discovering that Long Yi, Yun Zishu, and Yuán had disappeared.

Long Yi had left a message for Gu Chen before departing, indicating that they had found traces of Gu Qingyan and Princess Xidie but were being pursued and hunted; in their urgent situation, they had rushed off directly.