A small planet in the eighteenth layer of hell:
Gu Hai shaved off a mountain peak. Then, he took out a large palace hall from a spatial bracelet and placed it down.
The bloodthirst had already peaked. However, Gu Hai could suppress it. The Classic of the Dao and Virtue aside, he had learned many methods of suppressing one’s mental demons and blocks. This bloodthirst could not affect Gu Hai.
This place was like Earth. However, there were no animals or plants. It was completely barren, a dead world.
There were stars all around—boundless and infinite—but no life.
The entrance to this world would only open more than one hundred million years later.
Gu Hai smiled bitterly. One day outside is about one hundred thirty million years here? Can I endure it?
Shangguan Hen was still lying in the coffin, using the Tortoise Breathing Technique to cope with the mental frustration and bloodthirst. Who knew when he would wake up?
Gu Hai took out various jade strips containing the secret techniques of Earth’s many deities and buddhas. He needed to study them thoroughly.
As Gu Hai cultivated a different path, he could not cultivate these techniques unless he started from scratch. However, just because he could not cultivate them did not mean he could not use them as points of reference. He could take his time studying them.
He tidied up these techniques, organizing them into categories for convenience, so he would not be too bored.
“Aside from these cultivation techniques, there is also the Thirty-Three Line-Pair World Go Puzzle.” Gu Hai took out the Thirty-Three Line-Pair World Go Puzzle.
This was a map of the Thousand Islands Sea.
It would not be that easy to derive the Thirty-Three Line-Pair World Go Puzzle from this map, as it was unclear which islands were white Go stones or black Go stones; there were countless variations. Gu Hai needed time to figure this out.
However, he did not lack for time now.
One would come back to life even if one died in the eighteenth layer of hell. Any Soul Energy or strength expended would slowly replenish. He did not have to worry about being exhausted to death.
Then, Gu Hai took out the Earthly Soul Register.
“The Earthly Soul Register? It can absorb the Essence in the world. It can help me absorb Essence during this time and aid me in my Middle Heavenly Palace Realm cultivation, so the first thing to do is refine the Earthly Soul Register,” he said seriously.
Holding the Earthly Soul Register, he worked on refining it.
While using the Tortoise Breathing Technique, Shangguan Hen continuously recited the Classic of the Dao and Virtue. He finally woke up after one hundred years.
After waking up, Shangguan Hen still found the bloodthirst somewhat unbearable. He continued lying in the decaying coffin until he became accustomed to it.
Then, the black tortoise sat up slowly.
He found himself in a large plaza. The coffin he lay in was in the plaza’s center.
The light of the star serving as the sun was glaring. Nearly a thousand planets revolved in the surroundings, slowly spinning.
“The arrangement of the Thousand Islands Sea’s islands?” Shangguan Hen felt startled when he noticed this.
After all, Shangguan Hen had stayed there for a long time. When he saw the one thousand planets following the Thousand Islands Sea’s arrangement, he immediately understood that Gu Hai had done this.
“Your Reverence?” Shangguan Hen called out, feeling curious.
Shangguan Hen turned his head and saw a white-clad, white-haired old man sitting cross-legged on a nearby rock.
The old man had his head raised, quietly sitting there and observing the arrangements of the distant planets.
“Your…Your Reverence, is that you?” Shangguan Hen was appalled.
Only now did the white-haired old man’s eyelids move as if he was awakening.
“Shangguan Hen, you finally woke up!” The old man smiled faintly.
“Your Reverence, why-why have you become like this?” Shangguan Hen asked worriedly.
“It’s fine. We just mentally and physically exhausted ourself. We will recover after resting for ten days!” The white-haired old man smiled faintly.
The white-haired old man was Gu Hai.
Gu Hai had put his full effort into studying this Go puzzle, greatly exhausting himself mentally and physically.
However, Gu Hai was not worried. The eighteen layers of hell had restorative properties. He just needed to stop draining himself, and he would recover.
“Is…is that so? Your Reverence, how long was I asleep?” Shangguan Hen asked as he got out of the coffin.
Gu Hai looked at one hundred stone marks drawn at the side and smiled.“This planet’s orbit is similar to that of outside, so one hundred years have passed.”
As expected, Gu Hai’s white hair slowly turned black after some time.
“One hundred years already?” Shangguan Hen felt slightly startled.
“How do you feel now?” Gu Hai asked.
“Much better. However, there is still a feeling of frustration,” Shangguan Hen replied with a forced smile.
“That is a good thing. It will help you temper your character.” Gu Hai smiled back.
“Uh…yes!” Shangguan Hen nodded.
“You lost your cultivation?” Gu Hai looked at Shangguan Hen.
Shangguan Hen nodded. “Yes. However, I am satisfied with just surviving.”
“Losing your cultivation is fine!” Gu Hai nodded.
Evidently, Mending Heaven Energy was not omnipotent. It could not restore everything—just the physical aspect and not the cultivation.
“During this time, we picked out a cultivation technique for you. Cultivate it properly,” Gu Hai said.
“Oh?”
Gu Hai proffered a jade strip.
Shangguan Hen received the jade strip and took a look.
“The Eight Nines Profound Technique has seventy-two transformations. It cultivates the physical body and an extremely strong defense. It merges sorcery, Buddhist, Daoist, demonic, ghostly, and animal spirit cultivation techniques into one. It was a divine technique created by a group of Buddhists, Daoists, animal spirits, and demons working together,” Gu hai said seriously.
Shangguan Hen took a look and showed joy on his face.
“Your Reverence, is this Sun Wukong’s cultivation technique?” Shangguan Hen asked with pleasant surprise.
“That’s right!” Gu Hai smiled.
“The Eight Nines Profound Technique has eight sets of nines for a total of seventy-two. That means there are seventy-two layers. Which layer has Sun Wukong reached?” Shangguan Hen asked out of curiosity.
“It? I heard that it cultivated to the fifty-fourth layer,” Gu Hai said.
“The fifty-fourth layer, and he is already so powerful?” Shangguan Hen marveled.
Gu Hai sighed softly, “A monkey’s nature is too rash. It was born a stone monkey with incredible talent. It cultivated very quickly, reaching the fiftieth layer in a mere seven years. Unfortunately, cultivating further requires patience. It is extremely smart but incredibly rash, so it has difficulty progressing. Even so, it is very powerful. Unfortunately…hah…”
“Your Reverence, rest assured. This subject will cultivate properly,” Shangguan Hen said seriously.
Gu Hai looked at Shangguan Hen and nodded. “You are not as talented as Sun Wukong, but you are determined. The eighteenth layer of hell will help you temper your will. He took seven years, but it does not matter whether you take seventy years, seven hundred years, seven thousand years, or seventy thousand years. Time is on your side.”
“Huh? This is the eighteenth layer of hell?” Shangguan Hen’s face stiffened.
“What’s wrong? Afraid?” Gu Hai smiled.
“No. I will be fine with Your Reverence around. If I truly cannot take it, I can just use the Tortoise Breathing Technique,” Shangguan Hen said with a bitter smile.
“When Sun Wukong struck out on its own, leaving its master, it had cultivated to only the fiftieth layer. Every ninth layer results in a qualitative change. Back then, Sun Wukong ate countless immortality peaches and medicinal pills. It had also been refined in the Eight Trigram Furnace for a long time. As a result, it managed to complete the sixth set of nine. If you want to complete the eighth set of nines, you will have to work hard,” Gu Hai said.
“Your Reverence, rest assured. I will work hard. However, the eighteenth layer of hell does not seem to have much Spiritual Energy,” Shangguan Hen said worriedly as he held the jade strip.
“That’s why I chose this cultivation technique. This cultivation technique focuses on tempering the physical body and does not have a high requirement on Spiritual Energy. There are no special requirements on Spiritual Energy, either. We have plenty of spirit stones you can use for Spiritual Energy,” Gu Hai said seriously.
“Yes!” Shangguan Hen answered.
“One cultivates the divine in the Lower Heavenly Palace Realm. You are the Black Tortoise Prime and have the black tortoise deity. It can help you there, so there is no need to worry. One cultivates Essence in the Middle Heavenly Palace Realm. The eighteen layers of hell is a place for collecting Essence. We have a long time ahead of us, enough for you to accumulate Essence. As for the Upper Heavenly Palace Realm’s energy, it does not matter. You can refine Essence into energy. That way, it will be purer and benefit the Eight Nines Profound Technique,” Gu Hai analyzed.
“Yes!” Shangguan Hen said joyfully, clutching the cultivation technique.
In the following days, Gu Hai gave Shangguan Hen pointers on the Eight Nines Profound Technique. During these days, the ancient Gu Hai’s age regressed. His white hair turned black, and his wrinkles disappeared, slowly recovering to normal.
Gu Hai handed over a spatial bracelet. “Here are one hundred million superior-grade spirit stones. Use these first.”
“Yes!” Shangguan Hen said gratefully and nodded.
Gu Hai nodded back, then no longer bothered with Shangguan Hen, busying himself with his own things.
Gu Hai had used one year to figure out the black Go stones and white Go stones of the Thirty-Three Line-Pair World Go Puzzle. What came next was the horrifying part.
This Go puzzle was incredible. Even with Gu Hai’s Go skills, at the level of the Thirty-Two Line-Pair World Go Puzzle, he found it extremely draining to simulate the Go puzzle.
Even after simulating it for one hundred years, Gu Hai still had not completed it.
“No wonder Old Mister Guan Qi used this to face the Six Paths Immortal. It is so complicated. Could this be the limit?” Gu Hai said with a frown.
After gaining nothing from studying the Go puzzle for one hundred years, Gu Hai rested for a while. He sank his consciousness into his body.
Although Gu Hai created a vast amount of Essence as a Middle Heavenly Palace Realm cultivator, this was pitifully scarce compared to his humongous earthly soul. Like a drop of water in the sea, it was inconsequential.
“The Middle Heavenly Palace. Indeed, who knows when I will reach the Upper Heavenly Palace if I rely on only ordinary cultivation methods? No, there might not even be a chance in this life,” Gu Hai said with a bitter smile.
Fortunately, Gu Hai had refined the Earthly Soul Register.
The Earthly Soul Register absorbed the drifting Essence in the world. It seemed to have some sort of reaction to being in the eighteen layers of hell. The absorption suddenly increased severalfold, possibly even a hundredfold or a thousandfold.
While others could not see Essence, Gu Hai could. There seemed to be a vast whirlpool around the Earthly Soul Register, frantically sucking up the Essence of the Hell Path Secret Realm. The surging Essence rushed towards the Earthly Soul Register.
In a mere one hundred years, the Essence had reached the same level as when Gu Hai first saw the Earthly Soul Register—an accumulation of eight hundred thousand years.
“What I lost previously was nothing. I already regained it all? Eight hundred thousand years’ worth of Essence has accumulated already?” Gu Hai smiled.
Buzz!
Gu Hai’s earthly soul opened its mouth and sucked up all the Essence.
He waited to make a breakthrough. However, he felt shocked after a while.
“Eight hundred thousand years’ worth of accumulation by a talented cultivator cannot even let me break through one layer?” Gu Hai said in shock.
He had started in the Middle Heavenly Palace Realm’s first layer and was still in the first layer. There was no change. Is the Essence insufficient?
Gu Hai: “…”
Smiling bitterly and feeling helpless, he said, “Never mind. I’ll just take it slow. It turns out that reaching consummation of my earthly soul makes it so difficult to cultivate. Fortunately, there is plenty of time.”
Gu Hai sighed. Then, he took out the cultivation techniques from Earth’s deities and started studying them.
