Soon, the news that Gu Longyu had transcended the Core Formation Heavenly Tribulation spread, but no one was surprised. He was already an acupoint-opening master, so it didn’t surprise them. It would be stranger if he had failed.

  The only one surprised was Gu Longyu himself. In the Huang Realm, he had only needed to transcend the Acupoint Opening Heavenly Tribulation or Core Formation Heavenly Tribulation once. After that, he could form the spiritual core or martial body afterward. For example, if he crossed the Core Formation Heavenly Tribulation, he would immediately form his spiritual core, and he could form his martial body after reaching the peak of the Body Transformation Realm without undergoing the Acupoint Opening Heavenly Tribulation. The reverse was also true.

  Recalling the strange environment, Gu Longyu stared into the sky, wondering if the Heavenly Dao had changed. If it had, who caused it?

  Gu Longyu suspected the Buzhou Immortal Sect. Even during his peak, he had been most wary of the Buzhou Immortal Sect of the three hegemonic forces. The Concealed Emperor, who was said to have existed since the creation of the Buzhou Immortal Sect, was highly suspicious. Had the three hegemonic forces not banded together, he would rather have waited until he reached the Origin Immortal Realm before taking action at the earliest.

  Regardless, Gu Longyu knew that he was too weak to know the truth right now. Before he could talk about uncovering the truth of the world, he had to deal with worries suitable for his level—like that pair of ‘eloped’ lovers.

  Unfortunately for Gu Longyu, his father received no news about Tianyi and Daoyi since that clash.

  Although Peak Master Gu didn’t fly into a rage after learning about the death and injuries of his deathsworn servants, it still darkened his mood. Of the two Nascent Soul grandmaster deathsworn servants, one could be saved, but the other was in a precarious situation. Even if he were saved, the effort and price would not be worth it. For now, Peak Master Gu put him in stasis to see if he could raise another deathsworn servant to the Nascent Soul Realm. If not, he would bite the bullet and heal the deathsworn servant.

  As for the matter of Gu Longyu killing the enforcers, Peak Master Gu just gave him a stern warning without any real punishment. Luckily, the only witnesses were his deathsworn servants. Otherwise, Peak Master Gu would have had to deal with a mess.

  Gu Longyu knew his father would let him go without even slapping his wrist, so that was why he was so daring. In fact, even if his father wanted to punish him, Gu Longyu would accept it. In his eyes, it was more important to pin crimes onto Tianyi’s head and increase the animosity between him and the Rising Dragon Sect.

  Of course, this was a measured approach. He knew how much his father loved him, just as much as the hope his father had for him. Even if the punishment were painful, it would not harm his foundation. It might even become a blessing in disguise.

  While waiting for information, Gu Longyu honed himself. He occasionally left the Dragon Spine Mountain Range to ostensibly hone himself. In reality, he was acting out a play for his father. No matter how talented a cultivator was, they couldn’t reach the peak without experiencing challenges. So although he could just stay in the sect and slowly regain his power, he left in order not to make his father suspicious.

  After all, if he had a child and learned that the child was actually someone with fully reincarnated memories, Gu Longyu would extract the soul and torture him for the deception.

  In addition, Gu Longyu could increase his wealth by searching for treasure troves, resource points, and inheritances. The wealth would speed up his cultivation. Although he could get the resources from his father, it made him feel uncomfortable to receive everything so easily. He still had a sense of shame.

  Besides, his father might give him challenges in order for him to access those resources. The proportion of difficulty to reward was definitely ludicrous, but even an immortal alchemist’s wealth was not enough for Gu Longyu to practice all his techniques.

  The most crucial was dragon blood. The higher the quality of blood, the stronger his Supreme Dragon Martial Body would become. Subsequently, so too would his immortal body once he stepped into the Immortal Realm. Laying a deep foundation now would only benefit him in the future.

  Unfortunately, dragons had perished too long ago on Dragonsleep Planet. Gu Longyu had only two options right now. One, to hunt the monsters and demons possessing the dragon bloodline. Unfortunately, too long had passed, and the dragon’s influence had diminished greatly. Unless one of those monsters or demons experienced atavism, it would not benefit him much.

  So, Gu Longyu chose the second option: to find the bones of dead dragons and absorb the marrow inside. Of course, it would be even better if it were the bones of a true dragon.

  Gu Longyu didn’t search aimlessly. One perk of the Supreme Dragon Martial Body was its sensitivity to dragon parts. Thanks to it, he knew that the rumor that the Dragon Spine Mountain Range had a true dragon skeleton under it was true. His father had paid a high price to acquire a drop of refined true dragon blood. It was the reason he could form the Supreme Dragon Martial Body in the first place.

  Unfortunately, Gu Longyu could not use all the dragon materials under the mountain for his benefit. Even if his father was willing, the other peak masters would not sit idly by. At least he couldn’t acquire all those resources right now, forcing him to search elsewhere.

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  He was rather lucky, discovering the grave of a first-generation descendant of a true dragon. It wasn’t the first one he had encountered, but it was still a good haul. Gu Longyu estimated that several true dragons had perished on this planet. Otherwise, the situation of every creature possessing some dragon bloodline could not be explained. Rather than a planet that true dragons died on, it seemed closer to a mass grave where someone had thrown dragon corpses.

  Decades later, Gu Longyu sat in front of a large serpentine skeleton over a hundred meters long. The only feature that differentiated it from a snake—albeit a colossal one—were the stubby horns growing out of its skull. The years had decomposed all the flesh on the bone, and even the color had turned ivory white. Yet, the cartilage and ligaments remained strong, forcibly maintaining the skeleton’s original shape.

  However, that ivory sheen started to fade, becoming brittle gray. In complete contrast, a gold-red aura shrouded Gu Longyu’s body. When the bones became completely gray, losing all luster, they crumbled into dust.

  Gu Longyu opened his eyes, his pupils shaped like slits, and his irises possessing a golden color. They were the eyes of a dragon. He blinked. His pupils returned to circles, but his eyes still retained that inhuman color.

  He exhaled. “Finally. My Supreme Dragon Martial Body has reached its limit. Absorbing any more dragon blood is useless. The only way to reach perfection is to absorb true dragon blood.”

  Unfortunately, his long years of searching did not reveal the location of any true dragon bones. “If worse comes to worst, I’ll see if I can take some from the Rising Dragon Sect.”

  Decades had passed, and his spiritual cultivation had reached the peak of the Core Formation Realm. Although he did not have a heavenly spiritual root, Gu Longyu leveraged his Supreme Dragon Martial Bloodline and another drop of true dragon blood to form a Dragon Pearl Core.

  Gu Longyu returned to the Rising Dragon Sect. He planned to undergo his Nascent Soul Heavenly Tribulation before leaving and searching for true dragon bones again. Unexpectedly, his father sought him out after he stabilized his cultivation base.

  “Did you find traces of Tianyi and Daoyi?”

  Upon hearing this, Peak Master Gu’s expression darkened. He didn’t direct his anger at his son, but at the couple. “That pair are like cockroaches. As soon as we get news of them, they scurry away into some unknown corner.”

  Gu Longyu nodded. When they first received news of the couple’s sighting, he immediately made his way there. Unfortunately, it was a wasted trip, as the two had already long left. This happened several more times, which made Gu Longyu stop searching for them at the first sightings anymore. That didn’t mean he gave up, though.

  “No, it’s a recent discovery. There was a strange phenomenon on an uninhabited planet that changed the weather. The sect sent scouts and discovered a spatial crack. We suspect it leads to a sealed immortal grotto, but more importantly, it released dense dragon qi.”

  “Is there a true dragon corpse?” Gu Longyu asked, eyes lighting up. What’s this? Someone sent him a pillow just as he was feeling sleepy.

  “Unsure, but the Immortal Grotto is very peculiar. Currently, only those below the Core Formation Realm can enter. A while before that, only those still in the Qi Gathering Realm could enter. As we speak, the seal should be loosening up and core formation masters should be able to enter,” Peak Master Gu said. “The sect plans to send a batch of members into the Immortal Grotto to scout it out and grab as many resources as possible. It’d be best if you could return before the seal completely breaks and the immortals enter. Of course, the resources must be handed over to the sect, but they will reward you.”

  Peak Master Gu’s eyes turned shifty. “Of course, resources used in the immortal grotto are considered your spoils. And if you can hide some of the resources, it’s considered your ability and your spoil too.”

  Gu Longyu and his father shared a cunning smile, but it swiftly vanished. “When do we leave?”

  “Now. They already left, and I was just waiting for you before joining,” Peak Master Gu said.

  The two boarded the Dragon Horn Ship and left for the island. When they arrived, the immortal grotto was still in the process of unsealing, and core formation masters could not enter just yet.

  Peak Master Gu greeted his fellow sect members, while Gu Longyu only nodded but otherwise ignored everyone. While most people greeted them back, one immortal snorted in displeasure. He was the Dragon Roar Peak Master.

  Peak Master Gu’s actions ultimately couldn’t be hidden. While there was no concrete evidence, circumstantial evidence existed, so suspicions arose. Most glossed over it, while the Dragon Roar Peak Master openly displayed his displeasure. He knew it was futile to take any legal action, so he didn’t. That didn’t stop him from criticizing and making trouble.

  Because Peak Master Gu was in the wrong in this matter, many members of the Rising Dragon Sect mediated and often took the Dragon Roar Peak Master’s side. Of course, it might also include an element of suppressing Dragon Horn Peak.

  That old geezer. Once I have enough power, I’ll eliminate you at the first chance, Gu Longyu thought.

  “Ignore Dragon Roar Peak Master. He’s still saddened by his disciple’s betrayal,” Weisheng said as he walked forward. “By the way, I haven’t congratulated you on successfully overcoming your Nascent Soul Heavenly Tribulation.”

  “Hmm,” Gu Longyu grunted, showing no signs of engaging in small talk.

  Weisheng forced a smile, continuing the conversation. “I could have crossed the Nascent Soul Heavenly Tribulation, but I got news of the Dragon Grave Grotto, so I suppressed my cultivation.”

  When Gu Longyu still ignored him, he almost couldn’t maintain his smile. Finally, he gave a flimsy excuse and left. After leaving, his expression darkened. “Hmpf, what’s with your arrogance? Isn’t it just because you have a good father that you reached the Nascent Soul Realm ahead of me? In a real battle, I’d win.”

  Did Gu Longyu know Weisheng’s thoughts? Yes. Did he care? No. In his eyes, Weisheng was an inconsequential person, not worthy of his attention.

  Instead, Gu Longyu was staring at the group of loose cultivators congregating nearby. No, he was staring at a pair specifically.

  The pair was composed of a man and a woman. Both of them looked to be in their mid-thirties. They had flawless features, but nothing outstanding. The only noteworthy thing was that the woman had a bulging belly. Clearly, she was pregnant.

  But it was the man who attracted Gu Longyu’s attention. The two looked nothing alike, but he sensed a close connection—like the one between close blood relatives. He narrowed his eyes. A skin mask? Did I finally encounter another clone?

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