Gu Yuan thus fell into a peaceful life, with no surprises.
He trained at home, went on missions, completed missions, delivered missions, returned home, and trained.
Day after day, Gu Yuan spent three years in Yuanshan City like this.
Due to his extraordinary talent and his naturally diligent nature, Gu Yuan continuously took on missions for three years, exchanging them for resources and undergoing blood replacement three times.
His blood qi had transformed into a special kind of blood qi imbued with extreme yang intent, providing a significant damage bonus against demons and strange entities, making Gu Yuan virtually invincible in combat.
The next step was to break through to the Blood Qi Realm and become a Xuan-tier Demon Suppressor. Once he achieved this, Gu Yuan would travel to the capital of the Great Qian Dynasty. All Xuan-tier Demon Suppressors were managed by the Demon Suppression Division headquarters in the capital.
In simple terms, Gu Yuan would become part of the headquarters, no longer belonging to a branch.
...
As night deepened, the entire Yuanshan City settled into rest. Due to the curfew, only the sounds of the night watchman echoed through the streets.
In the rented courtyard.
Gu Yuan sat cross-legged in the courtyard, his blood qi circulating constantly, causing the skin on his body to become hot and red.
A scorching aura emanated from Gu Yuan, enveloping the entire courtyard like a blazing furnace.
Gu Yuan opened his eyes, a flash of fiery red light disappearing within them. The blood qi in his body had begun to boil. It was time.
With a movement of his hand, Gu Yuan produced a fiery red pill. It emanated a strange, pleasant fragrance that could easily draw one into a daze.
This was the crucial pill for breaking through to the Blood Qi Realm: the Blood Qi Pill!
Today was the day he would break through to the Blood Qi Realm.
A resolute expression shone in Gu Yuan's eyes as he swallowed the pill whole.
Instantly, Gu Yuan felt an energy far more scorching than the blood qi flowing within his own body erupt from his stomach.
Gu Yuan immediately began circulating the "Extreme Yang Art." Through his continuous cultivation, this technique was expected to allow him to reach the ultimate realm, so Gu Yuan had not switched his cultivation method.
He had basically exchanged his contribution points for resources and pills, spending very little on cultivation techniques and martial skills. In three years, Gu Yuan had visited the Sutra Pavilion only a handful of times.
*Swish!*
The sound of circulating blood qi filled the air as Gu Yuan continuously channeled his blood qi to absorb the scorching medicinal power emanating from his stomach.
The skin on his body turned red from the medicinal power, resembling a perfectly cooked shrimp.
His flesh, bones, and internal organs were all being continuously strengthened by this medicinal power.
This Blood Qi Pill had taken him three months of missions plus his previous contribution points to exchange for. It could help one quickly break through to the Blood Qi Realm and also temper the user's body, truly a miraculous elixir.
Gu Yuan spent the entire night refining the medicinal power.
Currently, apart from the memories in his mind, nothing else was accelerating his cultivation.
For instance, his Dao Fortune Heavenly Map and system had not appeared, as if he were truly the Gu Yuan of this world.
Even the fate he encountered in the previous mission world was absent, let alone the legacy of the Martial Ancestor.
For three years, Gu Yuan had searched for the Martial Ancestor's legacy, but found nothing.
However, it was fine without these things. After all, this body's talent was protagonist-level in this world, incredibly powerful. Without the help of a system or the Dao Fortune Heavenly Map, his growth speed was just a bit slower, which was inconsequential.
The next morning, Gu Yuan tidied himself up and headed to the Demon Suppression Division.
He had successfully broken through to the Blood Qi Realm. Once one reached this realm, the immensely powerful blood qi within their body could support a martial artist in launching outward attacks, such as sword qi or blade qi.
These attacks could be seen, and their power was vastly superior to the Blood Replacement stage. This was just after the breakthrough.
Indeed, in this world where physique and blood qi were paramount, the difficulty of fighting across levels had greatly increased. Mostly, whoever had stronger blood qi was stronger.
Gu Yuan sighed at the vast difference between the two realms.
Upon reaching the Demon Suppression Division, Gu Yuan went directly to the logistics department.
This department managed all matters concerning Demon Suppressors, including the advancement of their ranks.
At the logistics counter, Gu Yuan tapped the counter to alert the person inside.
A sleepy-looking individual emerged from below and appeared before Gu Yuan.
"Hello, what can I do for you?" the person asked, rubbing their eyes.
"I need to upgrade my Demon Suppressor rank," Gu Yuan said, handing over his token and stating his purpose.
"Alright, please wait a moment." Hearing Gu Yuan's words, the person took Gu Yuan's token and placed it on a special instrument.
The instrument began to display Gu Yuan's total contribution points.
The person took out a small notebook and began recording Gu Yuan's figures.
After finishing everything, they returned the token to Gu Yuan and said with a smile, "Hello, Demon Suppressor Gu. Your contribution points are sufficient. I have submitted your request to upgrade your Demon Suppressor rank to headquarters. You can proceed to headquarters to be promoted to a Xuan-tier Demon Suppressor."
Gu Yuan nodded, took back his token, and smiled, "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
With that, Gu Yuan left the logistics department. His belongings were mostly packed, and he just needed to rent a horse. Then he could head to the capital's Demon Suppression Division headquarters. He had never been to the capital before, and a sense of anticipation welled up within him.
He took a good horse from the Demon Suppression Division stable, rode it home to collect his packed luggage, and then left Yuanshan City directly for the Demon Suppression Division headquarters.
The capital was about several hundred kilometers away from Yuanshan City. Riding a horse would take about a week.
After all, this was ancient times, not modern times. The journey would not be smooth sailing, and he might even encounter things that could add to his achievements.
...
*Rumble!*
Lightning tore through the dark sky, briefly illuminating the world. A torrential downpour descended without warning.
"Quick, quick! There's a small temple ahead, hurry inside to take shelter from the rain!" a deep voice boomed through the forest, carrying a distinct presence.
Several people, braving the heavy rain, plunged into the abandoned mountain god temple.
Heavy rain, night, a mountain god temple—this was a sure sign of impending doom.
"Damn it, what rotten luck! Why did it have to rain so hard? My clothes are all soaked."
A complaining voice echoed from the center of the mountain god temple, breaking the silence that was otherwise filled with the sound of rain.
"Alright, alright, stop complaining. Let's dry our clothes first. Fortunately, we found a place to shelter, otherwise, we'd have to push forward in the rain."
Another voice chimed in, comforting the others. Silence fell again within the mountain god temple, broken only by the drumming of the rain.