In the darkness, Gao Xuan sensed no one around him and only then did he open his eyes.

His spiritual power was still unable to extend outward, and undoubtedly, this body was not his either.

The trial of the Nine-Revolutions Divine Cicada was not over yet.

This time, Gao Xuan discovered his spiritual power was even more restricted, to the point he couldn't even perceive his own state.

Gao Xuan sat up and stretched out his hands towards the window.

The paper-covered window was very dim, with only a few rays of daylight leaking through the gaps, allowing him to see his own hands.

The hands were long and slender, with rough calluses on the palms and fingertips, and black dirt under the nails, clearly the hands of someone who did manual labor.

However, this body seemed quite young.

Gao Xuan could feel the vigorous vitality within him, and when he touched his face, he assumed he wasn't too ugly. He also felt something below, confirming he was still a man.

Judging by the texture and style of the clothing on him, it seemed like ancient Daoist robes.

It was the coarsest kind of fabric, unevenly dyed, appearing somewhat blue, somewhat black.

The inner clothing was also made of rough hemp, with no need to mention the undergarments.

The cloth shoes were muddy, and the white cloth socks were blackened. Gao Xuan found that a peach wood sword was hung on the earthen wall.

A wooden sword, really?

Gao Xuan weighed it in his hand; it was merely for rituals, with no practical combat value.

After studying the surroundings a bit, Gao Xuan felt a bit frustrated.

This was clearly ancient times, and he was probably a Daoist or a Daoist child. What's unfortunate was that he was very poor.

Gao Xuan had been to ancient times in the Book of Genesis, and to be honest, he had no interest in ancient times.

With underdeveloped transportation, production, and information, living as a wealthy person in the ancient world could mean enjoying cheap labor.

As a poor person, life was truly unlivable.

Having passed the trials twice, Gao Xuan roughly understood the meaning behind the Nine-Revolutions Divine Cicada; he could clear the challenge naturally by dying of natural causes.

What about accidental death?

Gao Xuan had an intuition that if he died accidentally, he would truly die. This intuition was given to him by the Six-winged Celestial Cicada deep within his spirit core.

Thus, in the last level, he frantically expended life force, aiming to die sooner and finish things.

Gao Xuan felt there should be other ways to pass. Dying naturally every time would be too boring.

The most important thing was that it had little meaning.

Of course, it's hard to say what a bug might think.

Gao Xuan bore some resentment towards the Nine-Revolutions Divine Cicada, with his spirit trapped in its world, unsure of his physical state outside.

If the time inside and outside were synchronized, he would need to hurry and clear the level quickly.

The Celestial Battle Realm was fraught with danger, not suitable for long stays. Moreover, his body, without conscious control, was in an extremely perilous situation even with the protection of the Mechanical Combat Body and Eight Extremes Divine Weapon.

Gao Xuan spaced out for a while, and suddenly a memory flashed in his mind.

He remembered, this body was also named Gao Xuan, a seventeen-year-old Daoist child at the Three Yang Daoist Temple.

The Three Yang Daoist Temple was a dilapidated temple, and his master was called the Ancient Dao, though he didn't know his real name.

The Ancient Dao had just the one apprentice. The Daoist temple was notably desolate, with hardly anyone coming to offer incense.

Only when a wealthy family around had a death could the master and apprentice earn some money and eat some meat.

Or if a place was haunted by ghosts or monsters, they could earn a living by exorcising them.

Unfortunately, wealthy families don't always have people dying... nor are there always ghosts or monsters, leaving the master and apprentice's life quite difficult.

Gao Xuan sorted through his memories and discovered a problem: there truly were ghosts and monsters in this world.

This was somewhat eerie...

No wonder there was a peach wood sword hanging on the wall. But judging by its crude workmanship, it was probably hand-carved by the Ancient Dao, and it seemed to have no mana.

Gao Xuan tried; he couldn't use the Thunder Skill. Although he had cultivated the Thunder Divine Monarch, it clearly differed from the laws of this world; no matter how powerful the Thunder Divine Monarch was, he couldn't wield it here.

Moreover, his spiritual power was more restricted.

The situation seemed somewhat unfavorable...

Gao Xuan casually tidied up his clothing, then picked up a wooden basin from the corner of the wall and stepped out the door.

He came to the broken water jar at the entrance and looked at his reflection in the water. Hmm, he looked decent.

Ruby lips, white teeth, elegant brows, bright eyes. At least one ten-thousandth of his true self's charm.

But after long exposure to the elements, his face had many cracks. His topknot was messy and greasy, looking a bit pitiful.

Gao Xuan ran to the shabby kitchen, heated a pot of water, and used some dry grass to light wood and boil the water.

It is worth mentioning that the ignition was from a hidden fire at the bottom of the stove. This was clearly deliberately left so it could be rekindled.

Gao Xuan had never done these tasks, but having lived so long with rich survival experience and memories from his true self, he was quite adept at it.

Once the water boiled, Gao Xuan found some soapberries and washed his face and hair thoroughly twice.

Washing long hair as a man was troublesome, especially without a hairdryer. After washing his hair, Gao Xuan could only rub it madly with his hands and then shake his head vigorously to dry it.

The remaining hot water wasn't wasted; Gao Xuan took out several sets of old clothes to wash.

It must be said, the original owner of this body was quite lazy, living in such slovenliness.

Of course, this was also due to limited conditions.

The firewood had to be specifically chopped from the mountains, cut, and dried, which was really quite troublesome.

These old clothes were coarse, unevenly dyed, and after a few washes, the dye would all be gone. Clothes washed frequently would easily fray and become damaged.

Gao Xuan's lifebound marvel was the Six-winged Celestial Cicada, evolving towards a perfect body and spirit.

As for personal hygiene, Gao Xuan was still quite particular.

No matter how bad the environment, Gao Xuan intended to keep himself as clean as possible.

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