Gou in the world of comprehension

Chapter 1468 The Essence and Characteristics of Evil Spirits
Upon hearing what the Divine Lord Hongshang said, Su Fan's lips twitched almost imperceptibly. In his heart, he had already thoroughly criticized this so-called "fundamental law".

The "Primordial Purple Cloud Azure Profound Qi Nourishing Method" is, to put it nicely, highly compatible and adaptable to various cultivators' physiques; to put it bluntly, it's specifically designed for cultivators with such poor aptitude as him.

The fundamental method, "Hun Yuan Zi Xia Qing Xuan Yang Qi Fa," is, to put it nicely, highly compatible; to put it bluntly, it's designed for cultivators with such poor aptitude as him.

It's no surprise that this lousy cultivation method would be completely ignored by the "Guangfa Dao Sect".

After all, which cultivator who can join a super sect isn't exceptionally talented? Who would even look at this kind of "jack-of-all-trades" thing?

There probably aren't many disciples with such poor aptitude as Su Fan since the sect was founded.

This kind of low-level, subpar cultivation method would surely gather dust in the Dharma Hall of the "Guangfa Daozong" (a Daoist sect of martial arts).

Okay, let's go with this one.

Su Fan sighed helplessly to himself.

Unfortunately, there are countless profound fundamental techniques in the "Guangfa Daozong" sect, but even the best techniques depend on suitability.

For someone with his terrible aptitude, those top-tier cultivation techniques are like a pie in a painting—tempting to look at, but completely unusable for him.

Having solved the fundamental cultivation method for his future integration realm, Su Fan was not in a hurry to leave.

He had his own plans in mind; he couldn't possibly go back empty-handed after making such a rare trip to the secret palace.

The old fellow, Hongshang Shenzun, is an ancient relic who has lived for countless years in the Guangfa Dao Sect. Calling him a living fossil of the sect would be an understatement.

In terms of insight and knowledge, there is probably no one else in the sect who can compare to him.

It's rare to get in touch with this old guy, so if I don't take the opportunity to get some "freebies," then this trip would be a waste.

Thinking of this, Su Fan immediately composed himself, put on a respectful smile, and once again cupped his hands in a gesture of seeking guidance.

"Senior brother, I've heard that in ancient times, many cultivators would deliberately choose special environments when breaking through their cultivation levels..."

"Yo..."

Hongshang God Venerable raised an eyebrow, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

"You've got some knowledge, kid. There aren't many people in the sect who still know about this these days..."

At this point, he habitually picked up the teacup on the table, wanting to take a sip of the spiritual tea to moisten his throat, but the cup was already empty, with only a few dry tea leaves remaining.

With quick reflexes, Su Fan immediately fawned over, picked up the spirit tea canister beside him, and deftly brewed a pot of fresh tea, carefully filling it to the brim for the Divine Venerable Hong Shang.

His eagerness was just like that of a servant attending to his master.

Next, the God of Hongshang started talking and explained the secrets of cultivation in ancient times to Su Fan.

This old guy is truly remarkable; his knowledge is like a bottomless pit. No matter what Su Fan asks, he can quote extensively from classical texts and speak eloquently.

You should know that he guards this secret hall year-round, and he rarely sees anyone throughout the year.

Especially now, during the inter-realm war, no disciples have entered this grotto for several years.

The old man has been cooped up here all by himself for years; he's practically turning into mold from boredom.

Now that he sees that Su Fan is sweet-talking, polite, and willing to listen to his chatter, he feels more favorably toward him.

And so the old man and the young man chatted for a while, and before they knew it, it was evening. Su Fan then got up to say goodbye.

After the explanation from the Divine Venerable Hongshang, the mystery that had been weighing on Su Fan's mind for so long was finally completely solved.

According to the old man, cultivators in ancient times really did choose special environments when breaking through, just as Su Fan had heard. In fact, many of them even specifically chose extreme environments.
Such as the depths of volcanoes, the frigid ice plains, the thunderous secret realm...

This was probably a fairly common practice in ancient times.

Moreover, if a cultivator can successfully break through in such an environment, their magical power and divine soul will merge with the characteristics of this environment.

For example, those who break through in a volcano will have magic with a burning effect, while those who break through in an ice field will have extreme cold.

However, the drawback of this approach is also obvious: how to integrate these traits after the breakthrough is an enormous challenge.

Especially for those cultivators who choose to break through in extreme environments, a slight misstep can sow the seeds of future problems on their cultivation path, and may even affect the foundation of their Great Dao.

However, on the other hand, every cultivator who can successfully integrate the characteristics of an extreme environment is no ordinary person, and their future achievements are limitless.

But those that failed to merge ended up in much worse shape.

Either you get stuck in your cultivation level and can't improve for the rest of your life, or you damage your foundation and your cultivation level regresses instead of progressing.

Even worse, some lose control and become possessed by demons, ultimately ending up with their souls scattered.

Upon hearing this, Su Fan broke out in a cold sweat, which trickled down his spine and soaked his undershirt.

Damn it...

I was right.

He cursed inwardly, thinking, "Looks like I'm one of those unlucky 'very few' people."

But thinking further, Su Fan felt extremely frustrated.

According to the Divine Venerable Hongshang, those who dare to choose extreme environments for breakthroughs are all the chosen ones of major sects and top families, with their talent, resources, and comprehension all at their peak.

In Su Fan's eyes, these people were a bunch of crazy people who weren't afraid of death.

But he's different from those lunatics! They willingly jump into the fire, while he was forced into a corner, where he would die if he didn't jump. It was a purely desperate act.

Thinking of this, Su Fan couldn't help but take a deep breath, his chest feeling tight and constricted.

To be honest, if there were any other way, Su Fan would not have chosen to do this.

However, after Hongshang God Venerable's explanation, the anxiety he had been carrying for several years finally subsided.

Since breaking through to the Integration Realm, he hasn't had a single good night's sleep.

Let alone completely merging with the evil spirit energy in his soul, he didn't even understand what this evil spirit energy was all about.

For no other reason than that he had no reference point at all.

Because cultivators in this era don't choose special environments when they break through, where would he find insights and experiences in this area?

He wanted to integrate the characteristics of evil spirits, but he could only explore it little by little, like walking in the dark.

It is estimated that those chosen ones in ancient times also faced similar problems.

But they are different. They are all the chosen ones, with top-notch talent and comprehension. They also have sects and families to rely on, experience and secrets left by their elders, and can find experts to guide them when they encounter problems.

Then look at himself; he has nothing.

Without talent, background, or experience, what do you have to compare with others?

The more Su Fan thought about it, the more his head ached. His temples throbbed, and he was so worried that he almost pulled out his own hair.

He was self-aware enough to never consider himself a prodigy.

In all honesty, he had already chosen a place for his breakthrough at the "Guangfa Daozong" and never intended to do so in the Evil Spirit Realm.

That's just fate.

As for why no one does it anymore, the Divine Venerable Hongshang didn't elaborate, but Su Fan could guess the general idea.

First of all, those special environments are mostly thin in spiritual energy, and cultivators need a huge amount of spiritual items to make up for the spiritual energy gap when they break through.

In ancient times, spiritual energy was abundant, and there weren't as many cultivators as there are now. However, all sorts of spiritual objects and cultivation resources were everywhere, so people could afford to play around with them.

But things are different now. The spiritual veins are depleted and resources are scarce. Even maintaining daily cultivation requires careful budgeting. Where are there so many spiritual items for people to squander?

Thinking about this, Su Fan couldn't help but feel a chill of fear.

If it weren't for the fact that he had massacred more than a dozen Celestial Race planes in recent years and seized mountains of spoils, let alone breaking through to the Integration Realm, it would be questionable whether he could even survive.

Even if he managed to break through to the Integration Realm by sheer luck, he had already squandered all the savings he had accumulated over the years, losing everything in one fell swoop.

Su Fan, who was once wealthy, is now destitute. It's as if he's back to square one overnight.

Su Fan couldn't help but sigh. He was already a Nascent Soul cultivator, but he was so poor that he wondered how he would survive in the future.

Fortunately, this guy is very easygoing; he only worried about it for a short while before forgetting about it.

Su Fan has this one good point: when he encounters something he can't figure out, he simply stops thinking about it to save himself the trouble of racking his brains.

In his view, there's always a way out, and things will work themselves out.

Who knows, one day you might wake up and suddenly have an epiphany, and all your problems will be solved.

Furthermore, the game panel also showed an item called "Evil Spirit Origin Trait," but progress was extremely slow, and it was still only at the beginner level.

Evil Spirit Origin Trait: Beginner 15/100
Although the progress was heartbreakingly slow, it at least gave him a glimmer of hope.

Su Fan's intuition told him that the characteristics of this extreme environment must be something very high-end.

He even had a vague suspicion that this trait might be an important criterion for selecting cultivators, even in the Upper Realm.

Of course, this is just his wild speculation, and no one can say for sure whether it's true or not.

However, Su Fan did come up with a way to accelerate the fusion of the "evil spirit origin traits".

The method is actually very simple: practice.

Right now, "Shan Hai Jie Yu" and "Xin Guang Tian" are locked in a fierce battle, with battlefields everywhere. Isn't this the perfect opportunity for him to hone his skills?

Furthermore, Su Fan is now so poor that he has almost nothing left.

Now, apart from a few magical treasures, he can't even find a single low-grade spirit stone in his storage ring, let alone any other rare spiritual materials.

When he returned to the front lines this time, he had only one thought in his mind.

That means I have to make some money no matter what, otherwise I won't be able to improve my cultivation, and I won't even be able to eat properly.

With his appetite, he really can't support himself.

After much thought, he could only decide to target the batch of "stock" he had on hand.

These were the benefits prepared for him by the sect, the cultivation resources he hadn't used when he broke through to the Integration Realm.

Now that he has successfully broken through to the Integration Realm, these things are no longer of any use to him.

I'm barely able to afford food right now, so I'd better find a reliable place to auction them off as soon as possible and get some spirit stones to tide me over.

There's nothing he can do, he's just too damn poor right now.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Su Fan got out of bed.

After having a quick breakfast, he headed straight for Jiang Changting's cave.

Before he could return to the front lines, he had to report to Jiang Changting, who was in charge of coordinating the sect's disciples; that was the rule.

Jiang Changting was taken aback when Su Fan suddenly showed up at his door. When he heard Su Fan's purpose, he was even more surprised.

"Uncle-Master, you're... not planning to wait for a breakthrough opportunity inside the sect anymore..."

Su Fan had anticipated his question, and immediately put on a helpless and regretful expression, shrugging his shoulders.

"Sigh... You can't force a breakthrough. The opportunity for a breakthrough just won't come. I can't just stay here in the sect forever. I have to find another way..."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Changting felt a surge of sympathy for his martial uncle.

The opportunity for a cultivator to break through is a mysterious and profound thing; some people may achieve it by meditating for just one night.

But some people have to wait ten years, a hundred years, or even a lifetime to grasp that spark of inspiration.

"Then I wish my martial uncle a speedy breakthrough and that his cultivation will reach a higher level..."

Upon hearing this, Su Fan gave a bitter smile and continued speaking.

"Thank you for your kind words. I was just thinking that instead of waiting idly in the mountain gate, it would be better to go to the front lines and try my luck. Maybe fighting in real combat will bring me a breakthrough sooner..."

Jiang Changting had no reason to object and quickly helped Su Fan complete the registration procedures.

After bidding farewell to Jiang Changting, Su Fan went directly to the sect's teleportation hall and left the "Guangfa Dao Sect" mountain gate through the teleportation array.

With a blinding flash of white light, his figure appeared steadily on the teleportation array at the front-line base.

Stepping out of the teleportation hall, Su Fan didn't linger at all and headed straight for the "Guangfa Daozong" base's encampment.

While he was at the mountain gate, he would receive battle reports from the front every few days, giving him a general understanding of the current battle situation.

The great battle between "Shan Hai Jie Yu" and "Xin Guang Tian" has now reached a fever pitch.

The war potential unleashed by the Mountain and Sea Realm plane that just invaded "New Guangtian" was truly terrifying.

It's also possible that there were too many strange beasts in that dimension, and they were also thinking of consuming some of them.

In any case, every day a steady stream of strange beasts poured into "New Guangtian," rushing towards the defense line like a tide, turning the front line into a giant meat grinder.

If it weren't for the strong support from other star regions, "Xin Guangtian" would probably have collapsed long ago and been overrun by the forces of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Before long, Su Fan arrived at the main hall of the Guangfa Dao Sect.

He took out his identity jade talisman and handed it to the disciple on duty for verification. After confirming his identity, he was led to pay his respects to Jiang Hua, the deity in charge of frontline affairs.

As soon as Jiang Hua saw Su Fan walk in, his gaze swept over him, and his expression changed instantly.

He could tell Su Fan's current level at a glance, and his tone was full of surprise.

"You're something else, kid. You broke through to the Integration Realm without a sound. Did you break through inside the mountain gate? I didn't sense a thing..."

Su Fan sighed inwardly. This was why he hadn't wanted to reveal his cultivation level too early; it was too troublesome to explain.

It's important to understand that when a cultivator breaks through to such a crucial realm as the Integration Realm, the commotion is absolutely significant.

Logically speaking, all the Nascent Soul Realm experts in the entire "New Guangtian" should be able to sense the energy fluctuations during the breakthrough.

But when he broke through, there was absolutely no sound. If this were to get out, it would inevitably arouse suspicion and even lead people to question him about the details of his breakthrough.

Su Fan had long ago decided to keep the truth about the breakthrough to himself.

Not to mention the Divine Venerable Jiang Hua in front of him, he didn't intend to reveal a single word to even his Uncle Hong Ling, who had taken good care of him.

Fortunately, God Jiang Hua didn't dwell on the matter too much and quickly changed the subject.

"Looks like you're back this time to return to the front lines..."

Su Fan nodded immediately, a grateful expression on his face.

"The sect has always taken good care of me. Now that the battle on the front lines is critical, I can't just stay in the sect and enjoy a leisurely life forever. I should do my part and contribute to the sect..."

Hearing this made Jiang Hua feel extremely comfortable, and his gaze towards Su Fan held a hint of approval.

"It's good that you have this intention. I think you shouldn't go to Hongling's place this time you come back. I heard that the situation there is quite difficult recently. Why don't you stay here with me? I can take care of you a bit more..."

That old man is shameless.

Uncle Hongling has been eagerly awaiting my return; he's probably been longing for it for ages. How could he change his mind at the last minute?

He maintained a respectful expression, his tone gentle yet firm in his refusal.

"Thank you for your kindness, Senior Brother, but I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. Junior Brother Hongling already informed me and has been waiting for me to return and help. If I suddenly stay here with you, I'm afraid it will delay things there..."

Jiang Hua, the Divine Lord, had only mentioned it casually to test Su Fan's thoughts. Seeing his resolute attitude, he did not press the matter further.

"Alright, since you've put it that way, I won't force you. But when you go to Hongling's side, you must be extra careful. The front lines are dangerous, so don't just focus on fighting and forget about your own safety..."

(End of this chapter)