From the moment of his birth in his second life, Gu Chengyu's eyes were set solely on the elusive and passionless path of eternal life.
He walked the Path of the Heartless Sword.
His progress was alarmingly fast, as if he were born to embody this very way.
His life-bound magical artifact, a green jade pendant, was a treasured heirloom of his family in this life, nurtured within his dantian since childhood.
As his cultivation deepened, he repeatedly tempered this jade with endless sword intent and his heart's essence blood, until it finally transformed into a translucent sword of pure green jade, its chime clear and piercing.
Even more remarkably, through repeated baptisms by heavenly tribulations and the crucible of battle, this sword developed a nascent consciousness.
Gu Chengyu bestowed upon it a name: "Henceforth, you shall be called Qingyu."
The green jade sword trembled slightly, as if with joy.
From then on, Gu Chengyu, the Heartless Sword Venerable, and Qingyu became an unmatched legend in the Jiuhuan Cultivation World.
Wherever his sword pointed, all techniques were shattered.
By the time he reached the peak of the Mahayana stage, only two individuals in this realm held the greatest hope of breaking through the void and ascending to the upper world.
One was the Saintess of the Harmony Union Sect, renowned for her innate seductive charm that could topple kingdoms and captivate all beings. The other was Gu Chengyu, hard as iron, his heart devoted solely to the sword.
To increase her chances of ascension, the Harmony Union Saintess set her sights on Gu Chengyu.
If she could use her supreme seduction arts to stir the heart of this foremost practitioner of the Heartless Path and steal his primordial yang along with the greater part of his cultivation, her path to ascension would become smooth and unobstructed.
She appeared before Gu Chengyu just prior to his tribulation, her beauty peerless, her allure penetrating to the bone. A single glance or smile from her was enough to stir the heart of a Buddha or cause an Arhat to fall from grace.
Had it been the previous life's unrestrained and romantic Young Master Gu, he might have truly been interested in sampling the flavor of the cultivation world's finest seductress.
But the Gu Chengyu before her merely slowly raised his eyes, their depths calm and undisturbed.
"You disturb my cultivation. Your crime warrants death."
Without the slightest hesitation, Qingyu was drawn.
The sword intent was vast and mighty, disregarding all soul-bewitching seduction arts, and struck directly at the Saintess's consciousness.
The Harmony Union Saintess let out a shriek as her immortal body began to crumble piece by piece.
However, that innate seductive physique was truly bizarre and extraordinary.
Though her flesh was destroyed, her form did not dissipate. A mass of energy, containing the pure cultivation of a peak Mahayana expert and the power of her innate seductive source, condensed without scattering. It swirled in the air, emitting a light that was both alluring and dangerous.
Gu Chengyu frowned slightly, finding it an eyesore.
He pointed like a sword, summoning the Nine Heavens' thunderfire and his own heartless sword intent, forcibly refining and purifying that enormous mass of energy.
In the end, a radiant spiritual pill fell into his palm.
He didn't even glance at it, casually tossing it into the depths of his storage ring.
The heavenly tribulation arrived as scheduled, yet failed to harm him in the least.
Qingyu sang, piercing straight through the highest heavens!
As the thunderclouds scattered and the immortal gate opened, the guiding light of ascension descended, and out jumped that familiar blue-haired figure once more: Xiao Qi.
He was extremely excited now, circling around Gu Chengyu. "Wow! Sword Venerable! Big shot! You are just too awesome!"
"I never thought the first consciousness I'd receive after successfully taking form would be one ascending directly!"
"With your combat power, you'd be a bona fide War God even in the upper world! From now on, this little brother is following you!"
However, upon hearing the words "War God," Gu Chengyu's brow furrowed.
War God? It was easy to imagine—ascending would merely mean changing locations to continue fighting and killing, selling his strength and life to some so-called upper world faction.
He had already attained eternal life and comprehended the great Dao. Why should he go to the so-called upper world to be under another's control?
With endless lifespan and formidable power, wouldn't it be better to break through spatial barriers and travel through myriad worlds?
After all these years of fighting and killing, he had truly grown somewhat weary.
"I'm not going," Gu Chengyu stated flatly, cutting off Xiao Qi's incessant chatter.
"Huh?" Xiao Qi was stunned, his smile freezing on his face. "Not going? Why? That's the upper world! Countless people beg for the chance and can't get it..."
Before he could finish, Gu Chengyu had already vanished into the void.
