While the player is in Battle Through the Heavens, the system is in The Great Ruler.

Chapter 261 Another Simulation: The Secrets of the Gu Realm, the Spirit Insect Breeding Farm!
Half an hour later,

Lu Yu arrived at a secluded courtyard deep within the Lingbao Pavilion.

Before even entering the hospital, a burst of silvery laughter and crisp arguing could be heard coming from inside.

"Zi Yan, stop right now! This Blood Essence Demon Fruit isn't for you!"

"Oh, Sister Xian'er, don't be so stingy! It looks so pretty, it must taste delicious!"

In the courtyard, a fairy doctor dressed in pristine white stood blocking the path of the herb garden, looking at the purple-haired girl before her with a mixture of amusement and exasperation. The girl, with her bright eyes, white teeth, and graceful figure, was none other than Zi Yan.

She was staring at a spiritual fruit shrouded in blood-red energy in the herb garden, her eyes filled with eager anticipation.

"Ahem." Lu Yu coughed lightly and stepped into the courtyard.

"Brother Lu Yu!" Upon hearing this, Zi Yan immediately abandoned the spirit fruit and flashed to Lu Yu's side, grabbing his sleeve to complain, "Sister Xian'er bullied me, she wouldn't even give me a single fruit!"

Little Fairy Doctor shook her head helplessly and smiled gently at Lu Yu: "You're here. Don't listen to her nonsense. That Blood Essence Demon Fruit is the main ingredient for refining the 'Bone Regeneration and Blood Fusion Pill,' and it's almost ripe. How can we let her waste it as a snack?"

Looking at the familiar scene before him, Lu Yu couldn't help but smile. He reached out and ruffled Zi Yan's hair: "When are you going to get rid of this gluttonous habit? You're already a Battle Saint, what use are eighth-grade medicinal herbs?"

Zi Yan blushed and pouted, saying, "I just think it looks pretty! Besides, it must taste good too..."

Little Fairy Doctor stepped forward, her gaze falling on Lu Yu, and asked softly, "Is everything settled? What did Senior Gu Yuan say?"

Lu Yu smiled slightly: "My father-in-law has already made things clear. Although he had some reservations about having you all by my side, he has ultimately agreed."

He paused, then looked at Little Fairy Doctor: "However, the elders of the ancient clans probably won't accept it so easily. Fortunately, my father-in-law said he wouldn't interfere and would let us handle it ourselves."

Upon hearing this, Zi Yan immediately puffed out her chest: "What's there to be afraid of! If they dare to cause trouble, I'll let them taste the power of the Ancient Void Dragon!"

Little Fairy Doctor seemed thoughtful: "After all, the Ancient Clan is Xun'er's maternal family, so it's best not to make things too tense."

She looked at Lu Yu gently, "As long as you can handle it well, we will support your decision."

Lu Yu felt a warmth in his heart and was about to say something when he saw Zi Yan quietly slip to the edge of the herb garden and reach out to pick the Blood Essence Demon Fruit.

"Zi Yan!" the two called out in unison.

Zi Yan stuck out her tongue and awkwardly withdrew her hand, causing Lu Yu and Little Fairy Doctor to exchange a smile.

……

After a few days,

Lu Yu handed the three jade bottles to Little Fairy Doctor and said, "All the poisonous medicinal herbs that we plundered from the Soul Palace and the Earth Palace have been refined into Grade 8 pills for you."

Little Fairy Doctor took the jade bottle, feeling the pure and powerful medicinal power within. A hint of surprise flashed in her beautiful eyes: "These are all eighth-grade, nine-colored pills. It must have taken a lot of effort."

Lu Yu smiled slightly: "There are three kinds of pills here: 'Netherworld Poison Spirit Pill', 'Myriad Poisons Heart Tempering Pill', and 'Azure Heaven Yellow Spring Pill'."

He gently opened one of the jade bottles, and a strange medicinal fragrance immediately filled the air. "The Netherworld Poison Spirit Pill can help you stabilize your foundation, the Myriad Poisons Heart Tempering Pill can temper your calamity-inducing body, and as for this Azure Heaven Yellow Spring Pill..."

"Most special is this pill, which I modified based on the Heavenly Spirit Pill formula. It is prepared for you to break through to the ninth level of Dou Zun."

As he spoke, he took out another jade slip: "This contains detailed instructions on how to take the pills and precautions. With your current cultivation level, once you have fully refined these pills, you should be able to break through to the Half-Saint realm."

Little Fairy Doctor was touched and said softly, "You've worked hard. Actually, even if I just swallowed these herbs directly, my cultivation progress wouldn't be much slower..."

Lu Yu waved his hand and laughed, "With a ninth-grade Xuan Dan alchemist like me here, how could I let you make do like this? It's that girl Zi Yan who's been jealous these past few days, seeing that I've only been busy refining pills for you."

Mentioning Zi Yan, Little Fairy Doctor couldn't help but smile. She carefully put away the jade bottle, a determined look flashing in her eyes: "Don't worry, I will definitely break through as soon as possible and won't hold you back."

The two chatted for a while, then smiled at each other and stood up in unison.

Little Fairy Doctor gently straightened her clothes, her ear tips slightly red: "Then I'll go into seclusion first. I'll make good use of these pills."

Lu Yu gazed at her gently and reached out to smooth a strand of hair at her temple: "Go. When you emerge from seclusion, I will personally check your cultivation progress."

Watching Little Fairy Doctor's departing figure disappear into the room, Lu Yu turned and walked towards another quiet room. As the stone door slowly closed, a gentle smile appeared on his lips.

Inside the quiet room, Little Fairy Doctor sat cross-legged, but did not immediately begin cultivating. She gently stroked the still-warm jade bottle, recalling her intimate moments with Lu Yu the previous night, a blush creeping onto her face. Those intimate scenes flashed through her mind, causing her heart to flutter slightly.

"Now is not the time to be distracted."

She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm her mind. The jade bottle opened, and the first Netherworld Poison Spirit Pill melted instantly upon entering her mouth, its pure medicinal power flowing through her limbs and bones.

Meanwhile, in the quiet room next door...

With a thought, Lu Yu slowly unfurled a pale blue light screen.

"it's time."

"let's start."

[Ding! Extracting a simulated identity for the host—]

[One, Mercenaries of the Northern Spirit Realm—You were born into poverty, the offspring of a pair of mercenaries from the Northern Spirit Realm of the Hundred Spirits Continent. Abandoned by your parents at a young age, you were fortunate to be taken in by a kind old man.]

[Second, Descendant of the Ice Spirit Clan—You are a descendant of a branch of the ancient Ice Spirit Clan, residing in a cruel lower plane called the Gu Realm, where the strong prey on the weak, and only the fittest survive.]

[Third, the Liu Family's Stable Slave—You are from the Liu Region, one of the nine major domains of the Northern Spirit Realm. Due to an accident, you were sold into the Liu family as a slave to raise their black-scaled horses.]

[Please make your choice—] "None of these seem like good identities..."

"The mercenary died at the start, and the horse slave needs time to develop. Why don't we go check out this lower plane? They're all low-level characters anyway."

Lu Yu frowned, then pondered for a moment before making his choice.

[Selection successful, identity loading...]

[Simulation begins——]

[In your first year, at the age of fifteen, after awakening your memories at the Enlightenment Ceremony and becoming a first-tier Gu Master, you did not display your prowess. Instead, you chose to keep a low profile and secretly cultivate the incredibly powerful Nine Heavens Sword Primordial Spirit Chapter.]

[In the second year, relying on your unparalleled alchemy skills, you created a new pill called "Life-Burning Breakthrough Pill," which consumes your potential. With the power of this pill, you leaped to become a third-tier Gu Master, at the cost of only ten years of lifespan remaining. Subsequently, you refined a large number of life-extending pills, increasing your lifespan to one hundred years.]

[Afterwards, relying on the Three Yang Thunder Technique, you refined an enhanced version of the Life-Burning Breakthrough Pill, breaking through to the fourth-tier Gu Master level.]

[After breaking through to a higher realm, this time you chose to strike first, secretly infiltrating the secret chamber of the White Village Ancestor. At the crucial moment when he was in seclusion breaking through a bottleneck, you swiftly killed him and used the "Shape-Changing Pill" to change your appearance, perfectly disguising yourself as the White Village Ancestor emerging from seclusion.]

Meanwhile, in the secret chamber, you also unexpectedly obtained a fourth-level demonic Gu master's inheritance, "Blood Gu Devouring Yuan Technique," as well as a substitute Gu puppet that was about to be completed.

[In the third year, you delved deeper into the Substitute Gu puppet and discovered a hidden secret—this puppet could actually teleport and switch places with the original body, and could withstand a fatal blow in a critical moment, making it a life-saving weapon. This piqued your interest.]

[Soon after, you delved into the Substitute Gu Puppet, painstakingly refining and upgrading it to the fourth tier. However, you discovered that to further upgrade it to the fifth tier, the required resources were extremely rare, practically impossible to find throughout the entire Southern Frontier.]

Therefore, you have to set your sights on Guyue Village, which is adjacent to Bai Village.

[In the fourth year, you orchestrated a scenario where you "coincidentally" happened to be passing by when the young master of Guyue Village was besieged by powerful enemies, and intervened to save him with your fourth-level Gu Master cultivation. To gain his trust, you bravely took a poisonous palm strike from the enemy, sustaining serious injuries but successfully rescuing the young master. The Guyue Village chief was extremely grateful and treated you as an honored guest.]

In the fifth year, you used your superb alchemy skills to refine a "Breakthrough Pill" for Gu Yuefeng, the young master of Gu Yue Village, enabling him to advance to the fourth rank. Afterwards, you continued to offer him various rare and precious pills, gradually becoming the young master's most trusted confidant.

Seeing your exceptional cultivation and alchemy skills, and noting that you have saved him from danger on several occasions, Gu Yuefeng strongly recommended you to the village chief, betrothing his younger sister, Gu Yueyu, to you. To gain access to Gu Yue Village's core secrets and resources, you gladly accepted the marriage, officially becoming a son-in-law of Gu Yue Village.

After your marriage, you and Gu Yueyu treated each other with respect. Drawing on your past life's experiences, you often discussed cultivation with her and guided her in her practice. Your wisdom and erudition gradually moved her, and your feelings for each other deepened. Through this relationship, you gained access to the Gu Yue Village's scripture library.

[In the sixth year, you developed a fifth-tier substitute Gu puppet, and your cultivation had already reached the half-step Gu Immortal realm. However, remembering the lesson learned last time, you did not rush to break through this time.]

Just then, the old chieftain met with misfortune while exploring ancient ruins, and his soul lamp suddenly went out. The three elders of the village joined forces to launch an attack, attempting to forcibly seize the position of chieftain.

[You remained calm under pressure, first using a substitute Gu puppet to create the illusion that Gu Yue Peak was still in seclusion, then trapping the three elders with an ingenious formation, and finally assisting Gu Yue Peak in quelling the rebellion with swift and decisive measures.]

[Following this incident, Gu Yuefeng, grateful for your assistance, fully opened the Gu Yue Village's secret vault to you. Not only did you find several rare materials for refining your natal Gu, but you also unexpectedly discovered a black bone fragment gleaming with a ghostly light.]

[After probing with your soul power, you unexpectedly discover—this is clearly a fragment of the inheritance scroll of a spirit insect master from a vast world!]

Suppressing the turmoil in your heart, you held the bone fragment and inquired about its origins from Gu Yuefeng. He frankly admitted that he had obtained it while exploring the forbidden area of ​​"Fallen Immortal Valley" in the Southern Frontier, supposedly from the relics of a fallen Gu Immortal. "This bone fragment is made of a special material, and no one in the village can decipher its inscriptions, so it has been kept in a secret vault," Gu Yuefeng added.

[You calmly put away the bone fragments, claiming you needed to study their mysteries. Back at your residence, you used your soul power, comparable to a Gu Immortal, to carefully probe the area, discovering a hidden secret: this realm is called the "Gu Spirit Realm," an experimental ground for a powerful clan in the Great Thousand Worlds to cultivate Gu worms, and the so-called "fallen Gu Immortal" is very likely an awakened being who has discovered the truth!]

In the seventh year, under the guise of travel, you personally ventured into the Fallen Immortal Valley to investigate. Deep within the valley, you discovered a destroyed teleportation array. The lingering aura within its runes convinced you—this predecessor had attempted to escape this realm!

You quietly return to Guyue Village and begin a covert investigation of the Southern Frontier families that have produced Gu Immortals. Leveraging Guyue Village's intelligence network, you quickly identify three ancient families: the Tian family, the Xiong family, and the Shi family. These families all produced Gu Immortals, but all mysteriously disappeared, leaving behind only legends of their "ascension to the upper realms."

[You crafted three special fifth-tier substitute Gu puppets, disguising them as a wandering merchant, a herb gatherer, and a vagabond martial artist, respectively, to infiltrate the cities where these three families resided. Simultaneously, under the pretext of seclusion, you had another substitute puppet impersonate you in Guyue Village.]

[In the eighth year, you secretly visited the former ancestral homes of the three great families and made a startling discovery in the underground palace of the Shi family's ancestral residence. Strong spatial fluctuations lingered there, and the walls were covered with coded messages pleading for help: "This realm is a prison; ascension means death."]

[You also found half a broken jade slip in the secret chamber, which records the cycle by which powerful clans from the upper realm harvest the strongest beings in this realm—every hundred years, they would take away all cultivators who had reached the Gu Immortal realm under the guise of "ascension."]

[In the ninth year, based on the clues you gathered, you set up monitoring arrays in the ancestral lands of the three great families. Sure enough, you sensed faint spatial fluctuations, fluctuations identical to those found in the teleportation arrays unique to the Great Thousand World. You confirmed that these families had already been under the close watch of the powerful clans of the Upper Realm.]

In the tenth year, you quietly returned to Guyue Village, sealing all your discoveries within a specially crafted memory vessel. You knew that to break free from this prison, you needed to rely on an even more powerful force.

After careful consideration, you've decided to risk trying the "Great Floating Pagoda Technique." This clan-protecting technique, originating from the ancient Floating Pagoda clan, is extremely distinctive; ordinary forces dare not imitate it, nor dare they offend it.

[You combined the power of the Floating Pagoda with Gu techniques, creating a unique method for refining the "Floating Pagoda Gu," and further researched the method for refining the Floating Pagoda Immortal Gu. This Gu is a one-time use Immortal Gu that can elevate the rank of the Great Floating Pagoda.]

[In the twelfth month, you will have everything ready. You will have opened a secret chamber a thousand feet underground in Guyue Village to begin refining the Immortal Gu.]

The instant the Floating Pagoda Immortal Gu took shape, you clearly felt a terrifying will sweep across it, and the entire secret chamber suddenly froze, as if space itself had solidified at that moment.

An elderly man in a star-patterned robe slowly emerged from the void. His gaze swept over the Floating Pagoda beside you, a knowing glint in his eyes: "So it's a young friend from the Floating Pagoda Clan undergoing training here. This realm is the trial ground of my Spirit Insect Clan. Please grant me this favor."

[You were startled. Although the Spirit Insect Clan was not as powerful as the Ancient Buddha Clan, they were still a super force that ranked among the top in the Great Thousand Worlds. The old man seemed polite, but in reality, he had completely locked onto you with the pressure of a Great Perfection Earthly Sovereign. Knowing that it was not the right time to conflict, you immediately stopped your cultivation, stood up, and calmly cupped your hands: "Since this is a noble's trial ground, this junior should naturally step aside."]

Seeing your understanding, the old man showed approval. With a flick of his sleeve, a spatial passage slowly opened: "This bottle of Nine-Turn Profound Spirit Liquid is a gift to you, young friend, as an apology."

A white jade bottle landed in your hands, the spiritual liquid inside emitting a refreshing fragrance that soothed the soul. You could sense that this was a treasure at least comparable to a Grade Earth Divine Pill.

You calmly put away the jade bottle, knowing your journey was now complete. You nodded slightly to the old man, then turned and stepped into the spatial passage.

[This simulation ends——]

You can choose one of the following three items.

【I. Substitute Gu Puppet (Tier 5)】

[Second, Floating Pagoda Immortal Gu (Supreme Level)]

[Three, Nine-Turn Mystic Spirit Liquid (Supreme Grade)]

(End of this chapter)