Chapter 84

The stone stele seemed to have no end, and the supplies on his body were already exhausted. The few small magical treasures left in the gourd were of no help in the current situation. At the unknown height of the stone stele, a fall would certainly result in a gruesome death.

The long robe on his body had become loose; there was no need to look to know that the once-knotted muscles had now become withered and shriveled. This was the erosion of time; in old age, the body would shrink, and the flesh would wither, which was a common occurrence.

Gu Xuyao clearly felt that the yuan force within his body was beginning to weaken, a sign that a cultivator was approaching the end of their lifespan, known as "yuan return."

A cultivator's lifespan is limited, and the only way to extend it is to continuously cultivate and reach a higher level of cultivation, thereby increasing one's lifespan.

When the lifespan is nearing its end, the physical body begins to decay first, and the yuan force originally tightly locked within the body starts to dissipate. At this time, the immortal root or divine jade would automatically gather the yuan force, releasing it only when the cultivator uses it. Once released, it is extremely difficult to restore to peak strength.

Many cultivators nearing the end of their lifespan do not engage in major battles for this reason, reserving that last bit of yuan force, which might still allow them to break through.

Regaining some strength, Gu Xuyao sat up, listening to the howling wind. The wind, like a devil, quietly shattered his confidence and determination. Even Gu Xuyao did not want to try climbing again.

Moving his body, he heard an unusual sound. Looking around, he discovered that in this inconspicuous depression, there were several sets of bones that had rotted to the point where it was impossible to distinguish who they belonged to. Time had left its mark; these bones did not seem to have been there for long, as in this depression, a fierce wind blew every second, gradually decomposing the yellowish bones, turning them into bone powder that was swept into the air, heading to an unknown destination.

"Apparently, I am not the only one who has come here. But they, perhaps like me, lost all their strength here and ultimately chose to die in this dry and quiet place, which might not be a bad choice..."

Looking at the unnamed "fellow cultivators," Gu Xuyao's confidence was completely shattered by the silent power of the stone stele. Perhaps he would follow in their footsteps and die peacefully here, rather than being smashed into a puddle of mud and lying with the damp and cold earth.

"Perhaps I do not have the ability to leave this place. Those few cultivators who left are truly admirable..."

The stone stele seemed to have no end, at least not within Gu Xuyao's current level of cultivation. But as he let his mind wander, he seemed to grasp something.

"No, those few people were not great cultivators either, and they died in depression after leaving. Although I cannot be certain, their cultivation levels were definitely not much higher than mine..."

"A person who dies with resentment indicates that their determination was not strong. How could such a cultivator leave this place? Could it be that I have taken the wrong path..."

The light in Gu Xuyao's eyes gradually became intense. He stood up, walked to the edge of the depression, and extended his hand, feeling the fierce wind. His white hair danced in the wind, almost obscuring his eyes.

After a short while, his mind became clear. Suddenly, he flipped over and began to climb upward again!

However, calling it climbing, with his exhausted body, it was impossible to advance against such a fierce wind. Gu Xuyao was already using all his strength just to resist the wind.

But he did not give up. His eyes shot out a determined look, and the yuan force within his body rapidly depleted. His body began to tilt, and the remaining yuan force could no longer fully resist the wind's force!

Finally, the yuan force within his body was exhausted, and Gu Xuyao, unable to resist the wind's force, was blown about. The only thing keeping him from being swept away was his arm, which was already numb, gripping the edge of the stone stele!

At this point, Gu Xuyao had no way to turn back. Even if he wanted to return to a sheltered area, it was impossible. His hand began to loosen, and he ultimately succumbed to the wind's force.

But he was not willing to give up. He was not willing to die in the White Mist Cloud Marsh. He still had many things to accomplish. At the same time, he was waiting, waiting for an unknown hope!

He let out a long, loud cry! He let out a long, loud cry!

At the moment his fingers completely lost their grip, he shouted out his determination to the sky. Unfortunately, his cry was completely drowned out by the howling wind after a few miles, and finally, Gu Xuyao's helpless body was swept away.

Miracles often happen when people least expect them. Gu Xuyao's body, which was being tossed about, suddenly rose straight up, carried by the wind at a speed he had never experienced before, piercing through the white mist and reaching the sky!

He did not know how long he flew, but the wind was so strong that it made it impossible for him to see clearly. Vaguely, he seemed to see that the stone stele had no inscriptions after a certain height. By the time the wind stopped, he was standing at the top of the stone stele.

The top of the stone stele was a small open area, about three miles in size. The ground was still the hard, unknown stone. There was nothing in front of him except another stone stele in the center.

Dragging his aged body, he approached the stone stele. The size of this stone stele was more normal, and the characters inscribed on it were ones Gu Xuyao could understand.

"Thousand waves, ten thousand traces, once traversed the Four Demon Seas, slaying all demons, crossed ninety-nine whirlpools, tamed the mad wolves of the Western Sea, old friend, Canghai Realm, Qiao."

The characters were very ancient, clearly not written by the same person who wrote the large characters on the stone stele.

"Canghai Realm, Qiao..." Reading the words on the stone stele, Gu Xuyao could not form a concept. He did not even know how large the Lingxiao Realm was, let alone that there was another realm called the Canghai Realm in the cultivation world!

"Scoundrel."

As Gu Xuyao was reading the stone stele, a sudden shout startled him.

"Seeing the tombstone of the Qiao family, why do you not kneel immediately? With sincere nine prostrations, you can leave the Cloud Marsh, leaving its memory here forever!"

Hearing this, Gu Xuyao felt somewhat happy, as it confirmed that his previous actions were correct.

Inspired by the bones and the successful cultivators who left the Cloud Marsh, Gu Xuyao finally understood the meaning of "reaching the sky." This term had two meanings: the first was standing at the top of the stone stele, the closest point to the sky, but the hidden meaning was to reach one's own "sky."

The sky is what every cultivator aspires to. The Heavenly Dao controls the cultivation world, and the sky represents the ultimate path. Each cultivator's "sky" is their limit.

When Gu Xuyao was in the depression, he had not reached his limit, but he wanted to give up, just like those skeletons. Once one gives up, they can only wither and die on the stone stele. Cultivators who dare not climb the stone stele have no right to ask for their ultimate limit. Only those like Gu Xuyao, who know it is a dead end but still do not give up, using their last bit of yuan force and strength, have the right to reach the top of the stone stele!

"Bang!"

A bolt of lightning struck, landing right next to Gu Xuyao's feet. Although there was no major explosion, the residual yuan force in the air clearly told Gu Xuyao that if the lightning struck him, he would be completely disintegrated.

"Scoundrel! I give you a chance, and you still do not kneel?! After three counts, if you still do not kneel, I will consider it disrespect, and no one can save you!"

The voice came again, not giving Gu Xuyao time to think, and began counting down.

Kneel or not, this was the last question before him. Gu Xuyao knew that kneeling would definitely allow him to leave the White Mist Cloud Marsh, as it had no reason to play with a small cultivator. However, his principles told him that this unknown person, who had created the White Mist Cloud Marsh and killed countless cultivators, was not a good person. Now, he wanted Gu Xuyao to kneel to him?

A man's knees are worth gold. Gu Xuyao was not stingy with this one kneel, but kneeling must be meaningful and worthy of himself!

"Two!"

The countdown was halfway through, and Gu Xuyao had already made up his mind. Although he felt for the Qiao family, he could not change his principles. What he said, he would do!

"One!"

The voice finished counting, and the sky roared. Lightning shot out, striking Gu Xuyao's head.

He had no way to dodge. The lightning, as thick as a child's arm, struck Gu Xuyao's crown without hesitation, entering his body!

Instantly, he lost consciousness, but he did not know that his body was not scorched black by the lightning. On the contrary, his body was intact, and yuan force was rapidly gathering within him. Not only that, his aged face began to gradually return to its original state, and the power of the Cloud Marsh was waning!

The unconscious Gu Xuyao gradually rose, his white hair turning black again, and his withered muscles becoming knotted once more. Finally, Gu Xuyao's face returned to the appearance he had when he first entered the Cloud Marsh. At this moment, another bolt of lightning struck, hitting Gu Xuyao, and in the next instant, he disappeared from the White Mist Cloud Marsh!

"Boom!"

The lightning struck, which was very rare in the Earthquake Marsh, but no one noticed it because, as the legend deepened, fewer and fewer cultivators believed in the White Mist Cloud Marsh, so there were fewer cultivators around it. By now, its name represented more of a terror.

However, this was a good thing because Gu Xuyao was riding this bolt of lightning back to the Earthquake Marsh.

The lightning did not harm him in the slightest. On the contrary, he was now sitting at the edge of the white mist, surrounded by surging yuan force. Any experienced cultivator could see that Gu Xuyao was breaking through his cultivation level!