My little sect, which disappeared a thousand years ago, has become a sacred site!

The Celestial Sacred Land has no celestial background. In this Nine Heavens Realm, in terms of lineage and seniority, it is much shallower than those sects with celestial backgrounds.

The Holy Land rose to prominence after the Immortal Path was severed, and had no support from the Immortal Realm.

This is also one of the reasons why some forces secretly looked down on the Celestial Holy Land in the early years.

Because the path to immortality was severed, the immortal artifacts, talismans, and other means that those forces relied on were either impossible to transmit or became rarer with each use, becoming life-saving treasures that they dared not use lightly.

In addition, with the Holy Land's strength growing stronger, cultivators from other major families who had reached the Tribulation Transcending Realm would choose to ascend after reaching perfection, so there were not many Tribulation Transcending Realm perfection experts left behind.

Unable to ascend now, the number of Tribulation Transcending Realm cultivators in the Holy Land has rapidly increased over the past thousand years, making it one of the top forces in the entire Nine Heavens Realm.

Although the path to immortality has been severed for a thousand years, it has not remained entirely unchanged.

Unable to ascend, a large number of cultivators who had completed their tribulation were stranded in this realm. Unwilling to have their path cut off, they exhausted their wisdom and found another way out of their predicament.

Over time, a new realm title gradually emerged above the Tribulation Transcending Realm—Half-Immortal.

Cultivators at this level possess magical power, spiritual soul, and comprehension of the laws far surpassing ordinary cultivators who have reached the peak of tribulation. Although they have not undergone the baptism of immortal energy and the reshaping of their immortal body and soul, and have not truly stepped into the immortal realm, their strength is already incomparable to what it was before.

Correspondingly, weapons have also entered new levels. The original weapon ranks were divided into Mortal, Spirit, Profound, Earth, and Heaven, and each rank was further divided into four grades: lower, middle, upper, and extreme. Now, a new level called "Half-Immortal" has been added.

Listening to Bai Ling'er's account, Gu Changyuan finally gained a comprehensive and clear understanding of the Nine Heavens Realm.

The time when the Immortal Path was severed coincided perfectly with the time when he was taken away by the spatial turbulence.

He would never believe that the two of them were unrelated.

Thinking of this, a cold killing intent flashed in Gu Changyuan's eyes.

He was unjustly "exiled" for a thousand years, barely surviving in the desolate Ruins of Chaos, and suffering countless hardships.

This imperial court... must pay the price!

......

During their casual conversation, Gu Changyuan's fingers, which were holding the teacup, paused almost imperceptibly, and a glimmer colder than ice flashed in the depths of his profound eyes.

He didn't turn his head, but simply placed the teacup back on the table, casually grabbed at the air beside him with his right hand, and then pulled it outwards.

The movements may seem effortless, but they contain an immense force capable of tearing through space.

"Ugh—!"

A short scream rang out, accompanied by faint ripples as space was violently torn apart.

The next instant, a figure was forcibly dragged from outside the protective array of the Celestial Holy Land, which was some distance away, into this courtyard and slammed hard onto the bluestone ground.

"puff!"

The man spat out a mouthful of blood, and the protective aura around his body instantly dimmed and shattered. His aura weakened, clearly indicating that most of his cultivation had been destroyed in the grab and throw, leaving him unable to move.

That was none other than a cultivator with the cultivation level of the mid-stage of the Tribulation Transcending Realm.

"Li Jue?!"

When Bai Ling'er saw who it was, her beautiful face instantly turned frosty, and her tone was cold and disgusted.

Gu Changyuan didn't even glance at the disheveled spy on the ground, but simply asked:

"Who is this person? Which faction does he belong to? What is his relationship with the Holy Land?"

He had anticipated that his ascent to the summit of Dengxiantai would attract the attention of various forces, some curious and some wary.

However, this person's spying intent was not only undisguised, but also carried a sinister hostility and greed, which was no longer a simple "concern".

"Reporting to Master, he is Li Jue, the sixth elder of the Black Fiend Sect."

Bai Ling'er quickly explained.

"The Black Fiend Sect is considered a dominant force in the Eastern Continent and Western Regions, and its strength should not be underestimated."

In the early years of the Holy Land's expansion, it clashed with them over an ancient Yin vein, fighting several times and suffering losses on both sides, thus creating a considerable grudge.

They have always coveted my Holy Land, but now, fearing its power, they dare not launch a full-scale open invasion.

As soon as Bai Ling'er finished speaking, the last trace of warmth in Gu Changyuan's eyes vanished completely.

He didn't ask any more questions, and didn't even give Li Qianjue, who was staring wide-eyed in terror on the ground and seemed to want to beg for mercy or threaten him, any chance to speak.

He simply gave the figure a perfunctory clenching of his fist with an indifferent expression.

"Snap... Pfft!"

The sickening crack of bones shattering and the muffled thud of flesh being crushed sounded almost simultaneously.

Li Qianjue's neck twisted at an eerie angle, the light in his eyes instantly faded, and he couldn't even let out a scream.

Immediately afterwards, a wisp of purple-gold flame ignited at Gu Changyuan's fingertip, and the flame instantly engulfed Mo Xuanfeng's corpse.

Not only did the flames burn the physical body, but they also completely engulfed the soul, refining it inch by inch without leaving a trace.

Just before he made his move, he also sealed Gu Xing'er's five senses for a moment.

Children shouldn't look at these things.

Bai Ling'er was also startled by her master's sudden and extremely decisive action.

Although she was already the head of a sect and had experienced many storms, her master's ruthless and decisive manner in treating cultivators undergoing tribulation as ants still made her feel somewhat unfamiliar.

But then I thought of how my master had struggled and fought for 1,100 years in the hellish environment of the Chaotic Ruins...

This callous disregard for life may be the very necessity for survival.

Thinking of this, the initial shock turned into a deeper sense of bitterness and heartache.

With a wave of his hand, Gu Changyuan summoned several storage artifacts and protective magic treasures that had been extracted from Li Qianjue, which floated to his front.

Without even glancing at it, he casually wiped away any remaining divine soul imprints and auras, then handed it to Bai Ling'er. His expression had returned to its previous gentleness, as if the killing god from before was just an illusion.

"These things, though not many, are what this scoundrel has amassed over the years. You can decide what to do with them, whether to store them in the treasury or to reward his disciples."

Bai Ling'er composed herself and respectfully accepted it:

"Yes, Master."

With a slight thought, she put these items into her storage space, preparing to hand them over to the warehouse for inventory and registration later.

The courtyard returned to tranquility, as if the brief, bloody episode had never happened.

Gu Changyuan and Bai Ling'er returned to the house and continued their conversation, discussing the changes in the Holy Land over the past thousand years, the growth of the disciples, and the power struggles with external forces... Time slowly passed during their conversation.

As the sun began to set, a secluded meditation room near the courtyard suddenly erupted with a powerful and intense burst of spiritual energy without warning.

A crimson light shot into the sky, with faint illusions of flames rising up, and the scorching heat could be clearly felt even through layers of restrictions.

Immediately afterwards, powerful spiritual energy fluctuations also erupted from two other directions, one carrying a sharp sword intent and the other accompanied by a swift wind, which were signs that Yun Tianhe and Han Feng were about to emerge from seclusion.