Xiu Yanqi felt a slight pain between his brows, and then a figure appeared in his sea of consciousness.

This was a young man with delicate features, red lips, and white teeth.

Xiu Yanqi was stunned; after all, this was his sea of consciousness. How did this person intrude?

Immediately, he reacted swiftly, intending to take action.

However, though his reaction was fast, Gu Yuan’s action was faster!

Gu Yuan raised his hand, and a sword light materialized from thin air, slicing through the void to land on Xiu Yanqi’s head.

At this moment, Xiu Yanqi was merely in a divine soul state, appearing quite ethereal.

In contrast, Gu Yuan, though merely a divine fragment, possessed an exceptionally high-quality divine soul, appearing even more solid than Xiu Yanqi.

Pfft—!!!

With a soft sound, Xiu Yanqi was split apart by the sword.

"Ah—!!!"

Even though Gu Yuan’s sword carried only a wisp of sword intent, it inflicted severe damage on Xiu Yanqi.

He let out a shrill, wretched scream as his entire divine soul shattered, turning into a mass of black-gray, translucent mist.

This mist trembled and surged, quickly reassembling into Xiu Yanqi’s form, though noticeably more ethereal than before.

Fortunately, this was Xiu Yanqi’s sea of consciousness, where Gu Yuan’s divine techniques were suppressed, their power significantly reduced, thus preventing Xiu Yanqi from being utterly destroyed.

His divine soul injured, his consciousness became muddled, mouth uttering some bizarre nonsense.

Nonetheless, Gu Yuan’s sword light struck Xiu Yanqi again.

This time, Xiu Yanqi wasn’t so lucky.

Being struck by the sword, he let out a shrill, short scream and then disintegrated, turning into a wisp of smoke, quickly refined by Gu Yuan’s raised hand.

Moments later, having acquired Xiu Yanqi’s memories, Gu Yuan’s entire figure burst with a "puff," turning into strands of mist, spreading through the sea of consciousness, beginning to accept this temporary shell.

Meanwhile, outside,

Xiu Yanqi suddenly opened his eyes, the light around him gradually fading.

Once he stood up, a maid beside him presented him with tea, snacks, and spirit fruits, her actions skillful, clearly out of habit.

"Xiu Yanqi does know how to enjoy himself..."

Gu Yuan sat down at a stone table, tasting the sweet and delicious snacks, sipping the fragrant and pleasant spirit tea, feeling somewhat sentimental.

Despite Xiu Yanqi’s average cultivation, merely a third-grade pill formation practitioner, his enjoyments and daily cultivation resources in the Southern Border Cultivation Realm surpassed many Golden Core cultivators of the same grade.

Even Li Changsheng, the first true inheritance of Medicine King Mountain where Gu Yuan belonged, could at most match him in these aspects, truly remarkable.

In fact, Gu Yuan understood this had little to do with identity; it mainly boiled down to the differences between the East Sea and Southern Border regions.

Compared to the impoverished Southern Border, the East Sea Cultivation Realm was extremely resource-rich, even surpassing the most prosperous Central Earth Cultivation Realm.

This meant that, though both Golden Core great cultivators, the cultivation resources acquired by those from East Sea major sects were significantly more than those from Southern Border major sects.

This was one reason for the thriving geniuses in the Southern Border Cultivation Realm.

Of course, while cultivation resources were important for cultivators, they weren’t the main measure of cultivation achievements.

Despite Xiu Yanqi’s abundant daily indulgences, he was ultimately only a third-grade pill formation, not first grade.

Thus, in cultivation, one may cultivate laws, walk the path, and practice divine techniques; yet, ultimately, it comes down to the "person."

At that moment, a middle-aged cultivator stepped forward, bowed, and said:

"Young Master, yesterday you instructed me to invite Third Young Master. However, Third Young Master’s manager, Lu Xue, said Third Young Master is currently in seclusion. The servant has informed Third Young Master, who will visit once out of seclusion."

"Oh? Really?"

The now Gu Yuan-occupied Xiu Yanqi paused, then set down the teacup and said, "In that case, let’s wait."

He then waved his hand, "Alright, you may go."

"Yes, Young Master!"

The middle-aged cultivator said no more, bowed, and withdrew.

Once alone, Gu Yuan smirked slightly. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Having acquired all of Xiu Yanqi’s memories, he naturally understood why Xiu Yanqi had sought out Xiu Yanqing yesterday.

Simply put, Xiu Yanqi was ruthless and domineering. As the eldest son of Little Iron Cloud Island, he was an accomplished figure among the third-generation disciples, determined to maintain his status by suppressing others.

Thus, Third Young Master Xiu Yanqing was among those targeted for suppression.

However, to Gu Yuan, this was merely idle amusement, not a concern.

His task now was to use the identities of Xiu Yanqi and Xiu Yanqing to temporarily lay low and strike when the time was right.

...

One morning, the weather was fine.

The eastern horizon gradually lit with a silvery dawn, as the sea breeze carried a salty tang.

Meanwhile, Gu Yuan, as Xiu Yanqing, was perched atop a mountain peak, inhaling the purple qi from the east.

What Xiu Yanqing cultivated was not a celestial rank Daoist scripture, but a middle-grade earth tier transmitted by True Daoist Xiu. In Gu Yuan’s eyes, the mana cultivated by this Daoist scripture was moderate and harmonious, absorbing heaven and earth primordial qi, the power of sun essence and moonlight, resonating with the natural rhythm of the great Dao.

These days, Gu Yuan externally practiced Xiu Yanqing’s cultivation technique, but in reality, he was secretly organizing his own knowledge.

Three years had passed since he began cultivation.

This time was not long, yet to Gu Yuan, it was unforgettable.

Moreover, although the Daoist scriptures, divine techniques, and talents he cultivated were mostly superior and peak, in essence, they were somewhat scattered.

Fortunately, after forming a Golden Core, Gu Yuan used four great divine techniques as the core to govern various divine techniques, talents, and root bones.

As for his future path, Gu Yuan knew he must plan differently.

Recently, he nurtured the Creation Cyan Lotus, acquiring the Creation Spirit Body, experiencing yet another transformation.

Now, his physique had changed, no longer limited to the water Dao technique, allowing him to delve into other five elements and even Yin and Yang attributes of Dao techniques.

If Gu Yuan cultivates primarily with "The Grand Abyssal Dao Chapter," and supplements with the remaining four great divine techniques, progressing systematically, he could very well attain the Primordial Spirit True Immortal path.

But the issue is, doing so would waste the Daoist-level talent of the Creation Spirit Body.

Furthermore, singularly cultivating the water element remains somewhat one-dimensional.