Beneath a snowy night, deep within the mountains.
Gu An crouched down and plucked the last Ephemera flower from the snow, then tossed it into his storage bag.
He still harvested only one year of life span, but he was not dissatisfied, as he had harvested nearly five hundred thousand years of life span this month, pushing his total life span past a million years once again.
How exhilarating!
After tonight, there would be no Ephemera flowers left in plain sight within the Taicang Dynasty.
In a single month, he had picked over a million Ephemera flowers, half of which did not even have a year’s life span, having sprouted not long ago.
If Gu An didn’t pick them, the cultivators of the Taicang Dynasty would have cleared them away, so he had no choice but to pick them whenever he saw them, chancing his luck.
He couldn’t very well ignore the safety of the world’s populace and not allow others to clear Ephemera flowers, and he likewise feared the Ephemera Sect.
Life could be accumulated slowly, but if the Ephemera Sect’s plan succeeded and he couldn’t resist, things would have gone terribly wrong!
In the dimly lit woods, Gu An stretched lazily, then headed for a nearby city.
It was nearly dawn, and he planned to stroll around within the city walls.
Always staying in Medicine Valley wasn’t good, and stepping out occasionally to take in the landscape and foreign scenery could help him gain insights.
Ever since he encountered Wu Jue’s state of enlightenment, Gu An had been contemplating the concept of enlightenment.
He felt that enlightenment depended not only on chance but also on life experience.
The sun was slowly rising.
From a city a hundred li away, the noise started to pick up, signaling the start of a new day.
At noon, Gu An sat on the second floor of an inn drinking alcohol, positioned by the window overlooking the streets where martial heroes shouted and displayed their martial skills.
Where there were people, there was the Martial Arts World. Even though everyone within the Taicang Dynasty knew of immortal cultivation, ninety percent of the people couldn’t cultivate, giving rise to the world of martial arts. They existed independently from the world of cultivators, having their own glory and disputes.
In the entire city, Gu An could only sense three other cultivators, who, like him, were disguised as mortals.
The Immortal Cultivation World was facing threats from the Ephemera Sect, with endless demons looming outside the nine dynasties, yet the mortal populace remained unaffected.
Most of their lives spanned merely a few decades; by the time their lives ended, the great calamity of demons might still not have arrived.
This was the difference between immortals and mortals.
Cultivators and mortals lived under different temporal rules.
Gu An pondered the differences between immortals and mortals, stirring many feelings within him.
He wanted to see if such thinking could lead him into a state of enlightenment.
However, he sat for an entire day without entering a state of enlightenment, though he didn’t feel his time was wasted.
Occasionally sitting down, not speaking, and experiencing the myriad states of human existence held its own kind of pleasure.
Dusk fell again, and the snow that had paused for a day began to fall once more.
Gu An stood up, left some silver, and then departed.
He did not leave the city directly, but started wandering the streets among the crowd, letting the falling snow land on him as he immersed himself in the mortal world.
Only by the next morning did Gu An finally return to the valley.
Arriving at the Third Medicine Valley, Gu An saw that the disciples had gathered together, creating quite a lively scene.
From afar, he heard the disciples discussing the Supreme Elder.
A Supreme Elder had returned!
This news shook the entire Supreme Sect, and the identity of that Supreme Elder had also been disclosed: a Supreme Elder who had lived fifteen hundred years, whose cultivation level was remarkably profound.
Currently, with the Supreme Sect facing threats from the Ephemera Sect, the return of the Supreme Elder greatly boosted the sect’s morale.
The leading orthodox powers had regained their disdainful dominance!
This Supreme Elder had the name Xuan Quan, known as Ancestor Xuan Quan.
Gu An guessed he had returned because the Supreme Sect had informed him that Ancestor Xuan Tian had been killed by the Ephemera Sect.
After listening for a while, Gu An continued to pick herbs.
During the herb-picking process, he reflected on the insights from the past two days.
Although he hadn’t entered the state of enlightenment, a new rune had formed on his Mystic Heart.
The Mystic Heart could gather divine skills; Gu An had reached the ninth layer of the Mahayana Realm, but this divine skill was still brewing. Its formation depended not on cultivation level but on insight.
He already had an idea, which he would continue to refine until the divine skill solidified.
Three days later.
Gu An visited the Outer Sect’s Book Collection Hall, where Elder Liu, as always, received him personally.
Having not seen him for several months, Gu An noticed that he had aged a lot, and his vitality was deteriorating.
[Elder Liu (Foundation Establishment Realm Layer Nine): 258/270/340]
Seeing the other’s life span, Gu An sighed inwardly.
Elder Liu’s cultivation level had clearly been elevated through elixirs, hence his lower life span relative to others in his realm.
Having been close for many years, the two had become friends despite the difference in their ages. Seeing an old friend approaching death, he inevitably felt some melancholy.
But he had long been prepared.
Sooner or later, he would bid farewell to everyone around him. The path of prolonged life was destined to be lonely.
Even if he later found a way to extend the utmost limits of life span, it would only be an enhancement. To make someone immortal was immensely difficult, and Gu An could not transfer his own life span to others.
This anticipated loneliness didn’t upset Gu An but rather strengthened his resolve.
The more so, the more he wanted to live on!
He wanted to visit the Mortal World on behalf of his old friends to see the wonders of the next ten thousand years and to witness the transformation of the ocean and fields in ten million years.
“Elder Liu, this is the last volume of Supreme Immortal Venerable.” Gu An took out a book from his storage bag and said with a smile.
Elder Liu took the book, curious, “I thought you were going to wait a few more years. How come it came out so soon?”
“The story should also come to an end. Isn’t it perfect that the conclusion has the protagonist joining hands with the people of the world to eliminate demons and bring peace to the world? Doesn’t it echo the current state of affairs in the world?” Gu An laughed.
He paused and said, “Although I am of mediocre talent, lacking the power to turn the tide, if I can inspire the fighting spirit of the people, that would also count as a contribution, however modest.”
Elder Liu didn’t flip through the book but admired, “Your book has influenced many. Before you, cultivators rarely read books beyond cultivation. The name Pan An now carries an air of a sage.”
“Elder Liu, you jest. It’s not that exaggerated.”
“Haha, what are you planning to write next?”
“I don’t feel like writing for the time being. I’ll see later.”
“That’s also true. A masterpiece comes by chance, and it cannot be rushed.”
The two chatted casually, and Elder Liu began to talk about the scene when the two first met. Gu An listened intently and responded earnestly.
After chatting for two ancient hours, Elder Liu suddenly said, “After I get the last volume of Supreme Immortal Venerable arranged, I will resign from the position of Elder and prepare to leave the Supreme Sect to visit my hometown.”
“Having joined the sect two hundred and forty years ago, I don’t know if my hometown has changed.”
He already sensed that his end was near.
People wish to return to their roots before they die.
Gu An couldn’t help but think of Cheng Xuandan, who had also left alone when his end was near.
“Then I wish Elder Liu a smooth journey.” Gu An said softly, laughing as if unaware of Elder Liu’s impending end.
After bidding farewell to Elder Liu, Gu An went to the Elixir Hall.
He didn’t enter the Elixir Hall; he just stood on the street, looking at the signboard of the Elixir Hall.
Because of Elder Liu, he thought of Zhu Qinglu.
Zhu Qinglu was the elder of the Elixir Hall, also the person responsible for handing things over to Gu An, and he too didn’t have many years left.
It foreshadowed that, in the years to come, Gu An would continue to say goodbye to old friends.
At this moment, Gu An entered a forgetful state.
Time passed unknowingly.
Gu An suddenly awoke, his vision clearing, and a disciple was standing in front of him.
It was Wu Jue who had previously achieved Path Enlightenment.
“Brother, are you alright?” Wu Jue asked carefully.
He was passing by and was attracted by Gu An’s state. He suspected that Gu An had entered a state of Path Enlightenment like him; only when he approached did he realize that this was the disciple he had met on the day he finished his Path Enlightenment.
Fate truly is marvelous.
That day, this disciple encountered him during his Path Enlightenment; today, he encountered this disciple during Path Enlightenment.
Wu Jue felt a fondness for Gu An and decided to stay nearby to keep people from disturbing him. He had been guarding for a while and thought he had disturbed Gu An when he suddenly opened his eyes, which made him somewhat nervous.
Gu An had indeed entered a state of Path Enlightenment; his Mystic Heart had gained another rune. He looked at Wu Jue and smiled, “I’m fine. Have we met before?”
Wu Jue smiled and said, “Yes, I was under a tree back then, and you asked me if I was alright, just like I’m asking you now.”
Gu An cast a Life Span Detection on him.
[Wu Jue (Foundation Establishment Realm Second Layer): 63/280/1040]
How did he gain another five hundred years?
Did this guy achieve Path Enlightenment again recently?
What is his background?
This is too exaggerated!
Han Ming achieved Path Enlightenment only once in his life; Wu Jue has achieved it twice in two months?
“Did you just enter a state of Path Enlightenment? Shall we find a place to talk?” Wu Jue suggested.
Gu An agreed, which suited his intentions.
Later, he went to the private residence of Wu Jue, and after they both entered and closed the room door, they sat down to talk.
Wu Jue became very enthusiastic, voluntarily sharing his experiences.
He had been an orphan since childhood and was raised by his master at the Supreme Sect. His master, an Outer Disciple, found him hanging on a tree while out on a mission; he was still a baby, abandoned by his parents who apparently feared he would be eaten by wild beasts.
In the Supreme Sect, Wu Jue’s Spirit Root Qualification was mediocre, but he lived well under his master’s protection, until recently when his master was killed by a disciple of the Ephemera Sect while on a mission. He learned of this from his master’s traveling companion, and it felt as if the sky had collapsed on him.
Coincidentally, the next day, the Ephemera Sect attacked, and watching the cultivators fight, Wu Jue felt puzzled, unable to understand why people must fight to the death. In this state of confusion, he entered a state of Path Enlightenment.
After Wu Jue finished, he looked at Gu An and asked, “Brother Gu, what caused you to achieve Path Enlightenment?”
Gu An replied, “My Path Enlightenment was also related to life and death. An old friend of many decades is nearing his end.”
He spoke very calmly, but Wu Jue felt he must be very sad, though Gu An’s reason for Path Enlightenment also made Wu Jue feel closer to him.
“Brother Gu, we must never speak of the matter of Path Enlightenment with others. After I achieved Path Enlightenment, I found that my Energy Absorption speed increased and even my understanding improved. My master always cautioned me from childhood that one must not be too ostentatious in actions and always hold a reserve,” Wu Jue said seriously.
Gu An nodded, amused inwardly.
It seemed Wu Jue’s master was a man of the same path.
Yet, he felt Wu Jue’s Path Enlightenment was not due to sudden understanding, because his master’s death led to two instances of Path Enlightenment?
Unreasonable!