Lin Yan chuckled as he looked at the two captured Blood Path Gu Immortals. Choosing the Turbulent Sea Area for Immortal Ascensions of Gu Immortal Seed had never been entirely accidental. Part of his intention had been to draw Ding Qi and Ding Yan back to their own territory and see whether they could restrain themselves.
In the end, they attacked first. Since their greed had brought them here, they could hardly blame him for what followed.
Fairy Hua Die had warned him about Ding Qi and Ding Yan, but why would he fear them? His cultivation had reached Rank Seven, and he could already unleash Rank Eight battle strength. The brothers should have been worried about encountering him.
More importantly, Lin Yan had use for them. He intended to use the Ni Family descendants to search for the Dream Realms left behind by Ni Xiang and Ni Ren. To trace their bloodline across such a distance, suitable Blood Path Immortal Gu would make the process much easier.
Blood Relations Immortal Gu would naturally have been the best choice. Unfortunately, it was currently held by Heavenly Court and served as one of the cores of the Rank Eight Immortal Gu House, Demon Judgment Board. Obtaining it under present circumstances was simply unrealistic.
That made Ding Qi and Ding Yan much more convenient. There was also a wild Rank Seven Heart Blood Immortal Gu that would appear in the future. It was similarly suitable for deduction involving bloodlines, but that opportunity was still too distant to solve Lin Yan's present problem.
"Blood Path itself is actually quite an excellent cultivation path. Unfortunately, Heavenly Court and the major righteous path forces have suppressed it for generations. Blood Path Gu Immortals are hunted almost everywhere, turning such a useful path into one of the most hated paths in the five regions."
Lin Yan shook his head and put the matter aside for the moment. The repeated tribulations had caused Lifespan Gu to form throughout the Turbulent Sea Area, and he naturally had no intention of leaving them behind.
By the time he finished collecting them, they contained a total of five hundred and thirty years of lifespan. Together with the one hundred and eighty years he already possessed, Lin Yan now held more than seven hundred years of lifespan in reserve.
He did not use any of them. Lin Yan was only around twenty-seven years old, so lifespan was nowhere near becoming a problem for him. These Lifespan Gu could prove far more valuable if preserved until they were truly needed.
Only after storing them away did he finally turn his attention back toward Ding Qi and Ding Yan. Soul searching came first, followed by the creation of their Dream Realms, the extraction of their Immortal Gu, the plundering of their accumulated resources, and finally the preservation of their immortal apertures.
Lin Yan was familiar with the process by now. After preserving the brothers' apertures, he sealed them with the Desolations Flame Thunder Immortal Formation. Including those obtained earlier, he now possessed six immortal apertures.
These could eventually serve as rewards for his subordinate Gu Immortals. Even If they became useless, he could simply use his improved Thunder Fire Reverse Refinement to break them down into immortal materials.
The two Blood Path Immortal Gu taken from Ding Qi and Ding Yan were even more useful. Both were Rank Six: Blood Trace Immortal Gu and Blood Oath Immortal Gu. Lin Yan examined them carefully, but neither was unfamiliar to him.
Blood Trace Immortal Gu specialized in tracking targets through bloodline connections. It was almost exactly what he needed for locating the traces left behind by Ni Xiang and Ni Ren. Blood Oath Immortal Gu was different, with effects resembling Information Path that could form restrictions and agreements through blood.
Obtaining both at once had saved Lin Yan a considerable amount of effort. With the matters in the Turbulent Sea Area temporarily settled, his attention naturally shifted toward the Dream Realms accumulated during this period.
There were quite a few of them, but most originated from Rank Six Gu Immortals. With Lin Yan's current Dream Path methods, exploring them no longer carried much difficulty. During the following month, he entered one Dream Realm after another.
Different environments, different lives, different cultivation experiences. What had once required tremendous effort during his previous life could now be digested efficiently, allowing Lin Yan to recover his former attainments at an astonishing pace.
The Dream Realms of Ding Qi and Ding Yan brought the greatest gains. Both men had been genuine geniuses of Blood Path, each possessing quasi-Grandmaster attainment, and together they had even managed to create Blood Trace Immortal Gu and Blood Oath Immortal Gu.
After fully exploring both Dream Realms, Lin Yan's understanding of Blood Path rose rapidly. By the time he emerged from the final dream, his Blood Path attainment had already reached Grandmaster.
Thunder Path also advanced considerably. Many of the Huang Family Gu Immortals cultivated Flame Path, Thunder Path, Earth Path, or Refinement Path, and their Dream Realms contained decades of experience, insight, mistakes, and breakthroughs.
After absorbing these gains, Lin Yan's Thunder Path attainment advanced the furthest among them, reaching quasi-Grandmaster. The remaining Dream Realms broadened his foundation even further across numerous other paths.
Aside from several uncommon paths such as Moon Path, Painting Path, Restriction Path, Phantom Path, Food Path, Luck Path, Yin-Yang Path, and several paths that had not yet been properly created in the current era, Lin Yan had regained at least Master attainment in nearly every major path.
When the final Dream Realm ended, Lin Yan slowly opened his eyes. A month of continuous exploration had restored an enormous portion of what he had once possessed, and he carefully reviewed the changes in his attainments.
Flame Path remained the highest at Great Grandmaster, while Wisdom Path followed at quasi-Great Grandmaster. Earth Path, Formation Path, Information Path, Blood Path, and Refinement Path had all reached Grandmaster, while Dream Path and Thunder Path stood at quasi-Grandmaster.
Metal Path, Wood Path, Water Path, Space Path, Time Path, Sound Path, Light Path, Dark Path, Shadow Path, Wind Path, Cloud Path, Qi Path, Star Path, Poison Path, Illusion Path, Strength Path, Soul Path, Enslavement Path, Bone Path, Sword Path, Transformation Path, Ice and Snow Path, and Flying Path had all reached to Master attainment.
Only Heaven Path and Human Path remained at quasi-Master. At this point, Lin Yan had already recovered more than half of the attainment he possessed during his previous life.