Come On, Son! You Got to Breakthrough Now!

Taoist Palace Realm Ninth Layer!

It meant that he had reached the peak at this level.

"The so-called Semi-Saint is actually just the Taoist Palace Realm Ninth Layer. It's just that those with a profound accumulation at the Taoist Palace Realm Ninth Layer are distinct from the common cultivators at this same layer, thus they can be called Semi-Saints."

"Now that I have broken through to the Taoist Palace Realm Ninth Layer, I can also be considered a cultivator at the Half-Saint Realm!"

Gu Qingfeng introspected his Dan Tian Dao Palace, only to see his Primordial Spirit had grown to eighty-one inches.

The eighty-one-inch Primordial Spirit lurking in the Dao Palace seemed to resonate with the physical body's blood qi, but there was an indescribable barrier as if obstructing the fusion of the two.

Seeing this.

Gu Qingfeng's expression changed subtly, and suddenly he attained some enlightenment.

"This is why the End of Dharma Era makes it difficult for Saints to emerge from heaven and earth!"

"To authenticate as a Saint, one must merge the Dao Palace Primordial Spirit with the physical body, transforming them into one entity, and subsequently enhance one's blood qi and Divine Thought immensely to command the power of heaven and earth.

Only such a powerhouse can be termed a Saint!"

What is a Saint?

Gu Qingfeng was of course clear.

After all, he had obtained the Nirvana Dao Scripture that directly pointed to the peak of the Great Saints, which described the methods of authenticating as a Saint and the mysteries of the Saint Realm.

However, different Cultivation Techniques had their differences when authenticating as Saints.

For instance, the authentication as a Saint within the Nirvana Dao Scripture required the Heavenly Phoenix Divine Body, without which truly successful cultivation was practically impossible.

Nonetheless.

Gu Qingfeng didn't pay too much attention to the restrictive requirements of the Nirvana Dao Scripture.

After all, the Nirvana Dao Scripture has its constraints, and he, Gu Qingfeng, also has his own advantages.

So.

Looking at the remaining Upgrade Points, Gu Qingfeng did not hesitate to invest all of them into the Nirvana Dao Scripture.

...

"Consuming one Upgrade Point, Nirvana Dao Scripture First Level cultivation successful!"

"Consuming two Upgrade Points, Nirvana Dao Scripture Second Level cultivation successful!"

"Consuming..."

...

Before long.

Gu Qingfeng's aura permeated, and the memories related to the Nirvana Dao Scripture emerged in his mind.

In that long memory, he saw his arduous cultivation of the Nirvana Dao Scripture, which seemed impossible without the Heavenly Phoenix Divine Body, making the cultivation of this technique genuinely unattainable.

However.

Reliant on his own enlightenment, Gu Qingfeng had, with several times the effort, forcibly cultivated the Nirvana Dao Scripture to the beginner level and then steadily advanced.

This prolonged period could be a hundred years or even a thousand years, but how long exactly was unclear, even to Gu Qingfeng himself.

When the surge of memory subsided, he unawares had cultivated the Nirvana Dao Scripture to the standard of the Grandmaster Second Level.

...

Name: Gu Qingfeng

Age: 56/6000

Realm: Taoist Palace Realm Ninth Layer

Martial Arts: Heavenly Vein Scripture (Second Layer), Heavenly Blade (Perfection), Great Wilderness Fist Scripture (Perfection), Divine Sun Scripture (Perfection), Ancient Heavenly Blade (Perfection), Purple Extreme Dao Scripture (Perfect), Lei Feng Scripture (Not entered), Nirvana Dao Scripture (Grandmaster Second Level), Heavenly Phoenix Divine Skill (Not entered)

Upgrade Points: 72

...

"The Grandmaster Second Level, although it steps into the Divine Transformation Realm, has also subtly enhanced my strength!"

"If I truly break through Nirvana Dao Scripture to the Saint Realm, I'm curious, whether the suppression of heaven and earth in the End of Dharma Era can be broken—"

Gu Qingfeng looked at his attribute panel, lost in thought for a moment.

By stepping into the Taoist Palace Realm Ninth Layer and touching the so-called Half-Saint Realm, Gu Qingfeng finally understood why no Saints emerged in this era.

End of Dharma Era.

Heaven and earth naturally impose suppression.

Even the most astonishingly talented individuals find it hard to overcome the suppression of heaven and earth to achieve the Saint Realm.

Nevertheless.

The attribute panel obviously did not fall into this category.

Gu Qingfeng believed that if he had enough Upgrade Points, he might be able to authenticate as a Saint in the End of Dharma Era.

But to become a Saint, a significant number of Upgrade Points were needed.

When the Divine Sun Scripture reached Perfection, Gu Qingfeng had also tried to Breakthrough, only to realize it required a full twenty thousand Upgrade Points.

Calculating at ten times the consumption for a Breakthrough, it implied that each level's advancement in the Saint Realm would require two thousand Upgrade Points.

This consumption.

Was four times that of the Dao Palace Realm.

Additionally—

The Nirvana Dao Scripture is currently at the Grandmaster Realm, and if I want to elevate this cultivation technique to the Dao Palace Realm as well, it would require several thousand upgrade points at the very least.

Then comes the assault on the Saint Realm.

Gu Qingfeng conservatively estimated that he would need about ten thousand upgrade points to truly achieve a breakthrough.

Ten thousand upgrade points was no small number.

So far, the total upgrade points that Gu Qingfeng had genuinely obtained amounted to just over ten thousand.

Afterwards,

Gu Qingfeng redirected his attention back to his own body.

The Nirvana Dao Scripture of the Grandmaster Realm brought limited changes to his current state.

But even so, it was evident that the Nirvana Dao Scripture was much more powerful than the Divine Sun Scripture.

After all,

the former was, in the end, a cultivation technique that directly pointed to the pinnacle of Great Saints.

Every single level it established laid a foundation that ordinary cultivation techniques could not match.

Of course,

this was not to say that the Divine Sun Scripture was weak, but that the Nirvana Dao Scripture was simply too strong.

Subsequently,

Gu Qingfeng spent several days to thoroughly research his current state and then reached out to grab the Ten Thousand Soul Banner.

Now, the eerie aura within the Ten Thousand Soul Banner had reduced to the freezing point; when Gu Qingfeng's divine thought entered it, he found that only a few oddities remained.

The remaining strange entities had been almost entirely dissolved by the recently absorbed vitality.

Seeing this,

Gu Qingfeng's expression shifted slightly, and then with a flick of his finger, a drop of his weak vital blood fell into the banner.

In an instant,

the Ten Thousand Soul Banner trembled.

Several oddities, as if they had seen some supreme delicacy, immediately overcame their inherent fear and lunged at the drop of vital blood.

In a flash,

these few oddities had divided and consumed all the vital blood.

In less than a moment,

the aura on the oddities became more solid, and they had indeed broken through to the Master level; if classified according to the old Nine States division, they should be called Floating Tomb-level strange entities.

However,

the classification of oddities in the Nine States only went up to Yama, which is also the Grandmaster level.

Thus,

instead of calling Master level oddities Floating Tombs, Gu Qingfeng preferred to use the conventional term.

"Three Master-level oddities, although not exactly influential, could prove to be a significant help in the future if cultivated properly!"

"Additionally, even I can't fully see through the Ten Thousand Soul Banner now; I fear its origins are not simple."

Gu Qingfeng looked at the Ten Thousand Soul Banner in his hand, and with his cultivation breakthrough and a broadened perspective, he could sense that this treasure was not as simple as he had initially thought.

At least with Gu Qingfeng's current level of cultivation, he could not deduce any clues about the Ten Thousand Soul Banner.

Furthermore,

when Gu Qingfeng tried to infuse his power into the banner, he could not destroy this precious artifact.

Seeing this,

Gu Qingfeng became even more convinced that the Ten Thousand Soul Banner was no ordinary item.

With his current Semi-Saint cultivation, and a formidable strength far surpassing that of a Semi-Saint, he could shatter a Holy Weapon, yet he was helpless against the Ten Thousand Soul Banner.

From this, it could be seen that this treasure was extraordinary.

Thinking of the ancient secrets of the Nine States, Gu Qingfeng had reasons to suspect that the Ten Thousand Soul Banner might also have an unusual origin.

After studying the Ten Thousand Soul Banner for a while, Gu Qingfeng tossed it into the Heavenly Cloud Ring.

This treasure—

he planned to carry with him.

Perhaps at some time, the Ten Thousand Soul Banner could play a role.

As for leaving it in the Grinding Blade Hall, that would simply be allowing a treasure to gather dust.

After all, the Ten Thousand Soul Banner was different from other Divine Weapons; others could withstand the tempering by the Blade Intent here, but clearly, the Ten Thousand Soul Banner was not suitable.

Immediately,

Gu Qingfeng stood up to leave his retreat.

The door of the Grinding Blade Hall, closed for over a year, opened; then Gu Qingfeng's divine thought spread out, instantly covering the entire Gu Family Manor.

Shortly after,

with one step, Gu Qingfeng's figure had disappeared in front of the Grinding Blade Hall.