Chapter 344: Cultivation Holy Land

Only after hearing Long Yao’s explanation did Chen Yuan realize the Gu Dao lineage in the Miaojiang Land was so varied.

To be honest, however, if the Gu Dao lineage wanted to truly flourish, the Gu God Sect’s model was actually the most effective path.

Previously, the Gu Dao in Miaojiang was passed down only within small communities like clans and villages, limiting the pool of potential disciples.

Take Long Yao’s Long Family Village, for instance. How many people could one village have? A few hundred at most.

And Long Yao’s master had to choose a successor from among those few hundred people. This method of inheritance was extremely unstable; the lineage could grow progressively weaker until it died out completely.

Of course, Chen Yuan would never say such a thing in front of Long Yao.

“In that case, doesn’t that mean it’s impossible for me to refine the Blood Spirit Heaven-Tearing Gu? Your master is being hunted by the Gu God Sect and has vanished without a trace. The sect is a pack of ravenous beasts, so I can’t just serve myself up on a platter.”

Long Yao nodded. “Exactly. But rest assured, Master Chen. Once I return to Miaojiang with these top-tier Poisonous Insects, I will immediately search for my master. I’ll notify you the moment I have any news. My master would surely want to see the Blood Spirit Heaven-Tearing Gu, a creation of our ancestor, re-emerge in the world.”

As she spoke, a look of bitter resentment crossed Long Yao’s face. “The Gu God Sect and my Long Family share a blood feud. Sooner or later, I will annihilate the Gu God Sect and avenge my master!”

Chen Yuan froze for a moment as a thought suddenly occurred to him.

In the future, when the world descended into chaos, the Miaojiang Land would not be spared.

A rebel army had risen in Miaojiang back then. Aside from fighting the Court, their first major act was to annihilate the Gu God Sect.

It was only a minor detail in the grand scheme of things, so the rebel leader’s name wasn’t even mentioned, and Chen Yuan had mostly ignored it.

‘Thinking about it now, could it be that the leader of that rebel army is the future Long Yao?’

The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.

Her surname was Long, she was from a major Miaojiang clan, and she was the successor to the lineage of the Great Diviner of Miaojiang, Long Tianxi. Her foundation was profound.

Furthermore, she harbored a deep-seated hatred for the Gu God Sect. The possibility that she would be the one to destroy them in the future was extremely high.

“In that case, I will await your good news, Miss Long.”

Chen Yuan smiled. He quite enjoyed befriending these future powerhouses.

“Oh, right, Master Chen. Besides these Poisonous Insects, there’s another treasure over there.”

Long Yao suddenly pointed to the center of the Cold Pool. A large stone, inscribed with an array, protruded from the water like a small island.

“Oh? That stone?”

Long Yao explained, “That is the Land of Gu Refining for the Ten Thousand Gu Hall. The process of refining and fusing Poisonous Insects is quite troublesome. In the Gu Dao traditions of Miaojiang, each family has its own exclusive Land of Gu Refining to provide powerful Spiritual Qi for the fusion process. I just examined it. The Ten Thousand Gu Hall’s Land of Gu Refining is not only the core of Spiritual Qi for the entire hall, but the flow of time inside it is different from the outside world. Cultivating inside for one hour is equivalent to cultivating for ten days, or even longer, in the outside world. This way, many Poisonous Insect fusions that would normally take several months can be completed in just a single day here. The Spiritual Qi in this Cold Pool is still abundant, so the Land of Gu Refining should still be functional. Master Chen, there’s no need to rush off. You can cultivate here for a while, until all the Spiritual Qi is depleted.”

Chen Yuan’s interest was piqued. ‘This is an excellent spot.’

“In that case, we can both enter and cultivate together.”

Long Yao shook her head. “Once this Land of Gu Refining is activated, the consumption of Spiritual Qi is astonishing. If I were to join you, the consumption rate would multiply. The Poisonous Insects I carry aren’t suitable for refining here. I need to find my master so she can help me properly refine these top-tier insects. My entering would just be a waste of Spiritual Qi. Besides, this place is dangerous. Even though the Master of Ten Thousand Gu Hall is dead, there’s no telling if there are other vicious Poisonous Insects lurking nearby. You should enter and cultivate with peace of mind, Master Chen. I’ll act as your Guardian outside.”

In truth, the place was still useful to her. Even if she couldn’t refine the top-tier Poisonous Insects, she could still work on her others.

But using such a place to refine her other insects would be a terrible waste. It was far better to let Chen Yuan have it all.

Chen Yuan had been so generous, giving her the body of the Master of Ten Thousand Gu Hall without a second thought. She, in turn, would not be stingy.

Hearing this, Chen Yuan didn’t refuse. He stepped directly onto the giant stone in the center of the lake.

In that instant, the light of the Array Dao on the great stone flared to life, and a vast, surging tide of Spiritual Qi converged on Chen Yuan.

At the same time, the flow of time around him seemed to freeze.

To be precise, it hadn’t frozen. Rather, everything in the outside world had slowed to a crawl.

From Chen Yuan’s perspective, the ripples on the Cold Pool’s surface now moved with excruciating slowness. Falling leaves outside seemed suspended in mid-air. Even Long Yao’s blinks looked like they were in slow motion.

Chen Yuan estimated that time in the outside world was passing more than a hundred times slower than it was here. One hour of cultivation here was equivalent to ten days outside.

Blessed with such immense Spiritual Qi, Chen Yuan wasted no time. He immediately began to recover the energy he had expended fighting the Master of Ten Thousand Gu Hall, first restoring his condition to its peak before beginning his other training.

At this point, Chen Yuan had already reached a bottleneck in terms of pure power.

No matter how much he cultivated, he wouldn’t be able to reach the Solidifying Pill realm. Therefore, instead of just accumulating True Essence Internal Power, it was better to focus on increasing his combat prowess.

First, Chen Yuan focused on deepening his mastery of the Purple Sky Demon Slaying Sword. He aimed to bring his proficiency with this Secret Technique to the same level as his Shenxiao Evil-slaying Sword, hoping to find an opportunity to merge the two ultimate Thunder Techniques.

After that, Chen Yuan prepared to cultivate the *Sumeru Free Observation of the Hidden Treasure Realm*.

The *Sumeru Free Observation of the Hidden Treasure Realm* required him to construct a Hidden Realm within his Sea of Consciousness to cultivate his Intention Root.

This Secret Technique for cultivating Spiritual Power was incredibly complex. The esoteric Sanskrit characters flowed into Chen Yuan’s mind, constantly rearranging and combining as they merged into his Sea of Consciousness.

To Chen Yuan’s surprise, the *Inner Vision God Observation Method* actually had an amplifying effect on his practice of the *Sumeru Free Observation of the Hidden Treasure Realm*.

The *Inner Vision God Observation Method* didn’t just give him greater control over his power. Under its amplifying effects, his Spiritual Power was also enhanced, allowing him to construct the Hidden Realm in his Sea of Consciousness with greater speed and precision.

This process alone took Chen Yuan a full twenty days to complete. Of course, from Long Yao’s perspective, only two hours had passed.

Meanwhile, Long Yao wasn’t idle either. While recovering her strength, she was also communicating with the three top-tier Poisonous Insects she had captured.

To unleash the true power of these three top-tier Poisonous Insects, they still needed to be refined and commanded with a special Secret Gu Technique.

However, she could only accomplish that after finding her master. For now, she could only rely on the fundamental abilities of a Gu Master to communicate with and soothe the Poisonous Insects, placing her brand upon them.

This way, she could barely command the three top-tier insects herself. Although she could only utilize their basic powers, it would still be an added asset to her strength within the Endless Immortal Palace.

After she finished communicating with one Poisonous Insect and branding it, Long Yao glanced at Chen Yuan with a hint of surprise.

She had encountered many Martial Artists from the Central Plains and seen how they cultivated.

Yet Chen Yuan’s method of cultivation was strange. The power emanating from him was exceedingly profound. To Long Yao, it felt somewhat similar to the power her master radiated when using a Secret Technique to refine Poisonous Insects.

However, Long Yao only spared him a single glance before returning her attention to the next Poisonous Insect.

‘This Master Chen is so formidable. He must possess some profound Secret Technique of his own.’

Meanwhile, back in the Cold Pool, Chen Yuan’s Sea of Consciousness had transformed into a golden expanse.

This golden space was filled with sacred Buddha Light, and countless Sanskrit Spell Seals were inscribed upon its surfaces.

The space within seemed both infinitely large and infinitesimally small. A world in a grain of sand, all at the whim of his thoughts.

This was the first step in cultivating the *Sumeru Free Observation of the Hidden Treasure Realm*: constructing the Hidden Realm within his Sea of Consciousness.

With the Hidden Realm successfully constructed, Chen Yuan’s Spiritual Power surged dramatically.

Next, Chen Yuan had to cultivate his Intention Root within this Hidden Realm. He then had to perform a Visualization by combining the cultivation techniques he practiced, his understanding of himself, and even his various insights into the heavens and the earth. Finally, he would manifest an ‘Observation’.

Chen Yuan didn’t have the slightest clue how to approach this.

A proper Martial Artist from the Militan Temple would have focused on training their Intention Root from the very moment they started on the path of the Martial Dao.

Therefore, once they finally formed their Hidden Realm, manifesting their own ‘Observation’ was a natural progression.

However, while Chen Yuan lacked a clear path, he possessed the *Emperor’s Qi Observation Skill*.

The *Emperor’s Qi Observation Skill* could be used not only on others but also on himself. Combined with the *Inner Vision God Observation Method*, it could achieve an effect of Introspection.

Of course, this Introspection wasn’t for viewing his own flesh and Meridians, but for observing his spiritual ‘self’.

To see the self, to see the heavens and the earth, to see all living things.

Under the dual empowerment of the *Emperor’s Qi Observation Skill* and the *Inner Vision God Observation Method*, everything was laid bare before him: the Martial Dao he had cultivated, the path he had walked, and even the latent insights buried in his subconscious. It all presented itself as a tangled, twisting mass of threads.

Now, all Chen Yuan had to do was to completely untangle this mass of threads, then condense and transform them to manifest his own unique ‘Observation’.

The process was incredibly complex and astonishingly time-consuming.

Ten hours had passed in the outside world. For Chen Yuan, inside, one hundred days had gone by, yet he still hadn’t successfully mastered the *Sumeru Free Observation of the Hidden Treasure Realm*.

Of course, Chen Yuan’s efforts were not in vain. He was already beginning to see results.

The previously tangled mass of threads now danced with a distinct rhythm. All Chen Yuan needed to do was condense and transform them to manifest his unique ‘Observation’.

However, the water level in the Cold Pool had already dropped by more than half. It was about to run dry and likely wouldn’t last much longer.