Jiang Qiong returned home but stayed only for one night before leaving. Gu An could sense her renewed fighting spirit, much like when she first restored her physical body, full of vigor.
Gu An also had high hopes for her future. If she could lead the remaining followers of the Ephemera Sect onto a righteous path, it would be a meritorious deed.
Although the Ghost Mother of Ephemera was using Su Han, they merely desired to return to their homeland. Meanwhile, Su Han needed someone to protect him. Both sides were using each other, and who would have the last laugh depended on their own abilities.
Everyone had their own life journey. Even those closest to Gu An, Ye Lan, Zhen Qin, and Li Ya, were living their own lives of immortal cultivation, only occasionally visiting Gu An for a chat.
After Jiang Qiong left, Gu An’s life continued as usual.
Even though he had reached the Ninth Layer of the Wandering Immortal Realm, he did not find planting flowers and herbs tedious, as he had higher goals to pursue.
Since the medicinal herbs had to be picked personally to gain life span, Gu An rarely used his clone technique. As for receiving guests and handling matters, he was too lazy to use his clones. Throughout the year, the instances requiring another persona to handle were few and far between. Such occasions added variety to his tranquil life, which he naturally enjoyed experiencing first-hand.
Every day held fascination for Gu An.
…
Tianwei, Heavenly Palace Mountain.
Heavenly Palace Mountain was nestled among vast mountains, with a massive palace sitting at the peak. A stone staircase extended from the foot of the mountain to the summit, unobstructed by trees, thus the palace was referred to as the Heavenly Palace, and ascending the mountain was lauded as reaching the heavens.
On the Ascending Heaven Steps of Heavenly Palace Mountain, Su Han approached with a bone sword in his hand. His black robe fluttered, and his long hair danced in the wind. He looked up at the figure on the mountaintop, a look of unwillingness on his face.
The person standing at the summit was An Hao.
An Hao wore a gold-trimmed white robe, with a dragon crown on his head. His wrist guards, belt, and boots were all exquisitely ornate and gleamed with brilliance. He looked down on Su Han from the mountain top, a smirk of arrogance and pride playing on his lips.
“Hateful Heaven Divine Sword? That’s all? I heard you can devour others’ spiritual power, but even though you take shortcuts, your cultivation growth is slower than mine?”
An Hao’s voice resounded under the vast sky, full of heroism.
Su Han looked up at An Hao, not angry, but with a complex expression in his eyes.
At that moment, several figures appeared in the woods at the base of the mountain. They moved like spectres, quickly positioning themselves behind Su Han.
Nine Nether Thirteen Evil!
Su Han raised his sword to block them.
The third of the Nine Nether evil spirits, Li Sanyou, said in a deep voice, “If you don’t deal with this boy, you won’t be able to devour the cultivation of those cultivators in the palace!”
Su Han responded calmly, “He’s from the Supreme Sect. I don’t want to deal with a disciple of the Supreme Sect.”
The seventh of the Nine Nether evil spirits, Li Qiyou, mocked, “You can injure him without taking his life.”
Seeing the Nine Nether Thirteen Evil appear, An Hao squinted. He raised his right hand, and a long sword materialized in his palm.
Bathed in sunlight, the blade glimmered with a radiant arc.
Su Han frowned, hesitating.
The Nine Nether Thirteen Evil did not wait for him to decide and started to ascend the steps.
Rumble—
Clouds in the sky churned, quickly transforming into thunderclouds. A powerful sword intent enveloped the Nine Nether Thirteen Evil and Su Han.
Su Han’s eyes widened, looking up at An Hao in horror, unable to maintain his composure from before.
“Such sword intent… how could it be…”
Su Han knew that An Hao was younger than him. He couldn’t comprehend how An Hao had cultivated such a powerful sword intent.
“To have honed the Taicang Divine-Shocking Sword to such a degree? What is your relationship with Sword Venerable Fudao?”
A voice rang out, belonging to the Ghost Mother of Ephemera.
As soon as she spoke, the Nine Nether Thirteen Evil stopped in their tracks.
The name Sword Venerable Fudao made them cringe in fear. Luckily, they had not attacked An Hao earlier.
An Hao snorted coldly, “Why ask so many questions? If you want to fight, then fight!”
The Taicang Sword Intent caused the thunderclouds to gather into a human face. If Gu An saw this, he would feel gratified, as An Hao had taken the mastery of the Taicang Divine-Shocking Sword to a new level.
“Retreat!”
The Ghost Mother’s voice rang out, and the Nine Nether Thirteen Evil turned and descended the mountain without hesitation.
As they walked past Su Han, they nudged his shoulder.
Su Han followed them down, but he couldn’t help but glance back at An Hao.
It was the first time he had seen someone scare off the Ghost Mother of Ephemera, which made his feelings more conflicted.
“If I had a background like his, I wouldn’t be in this situation…”
Su Han quickly disappeared into the forest with the Nine Nether Thirteen Evil.
At the mountain top, An Hao quietly exhaled, despite his arrogance. The Nine Nether Thirteen Evil had put him under tremendous pressure.
His master was truly formidable!
Wherever he went, he thrived!
An Hao felt proud, then turned and walked towards the Heavenly Palace.
Before he reached the door, Si Yan’er poked her head out from within, looking at An Hao excitedly.
As An Hao approached, she softly asked, “So your master is Sword Venerable Fudao?”
An Hao pressed her head, not uttering a word, and walked straight into the Heavenly Palace.
…
Late autumn, Third Medicine Valley.
Gu An sat on the staircase of a pavilion, watching the disciples clear the autumn leaves. The Third Medicine Valley was vast and its scenery magnificent, making him feel content.
The weather was pleasant, the wind was gentle, everything seemed wonderful. The only blemish was a strong surge of demon energy gathering in the north.
Gu An used his divine sense, at the Wandering Immortal Realm, to see endless demons surrounding a mountain. The mountain appeared as if it had been sliced by the Heavenly Sword, its top flat, with an altar standing on it.
The area around the altar was filled with great demons, the lowest of which were at the Mystic Heart Realm, and one had even reached the Nirvana Realm!
Gu An speculated that the one of the Nirvana Realm must be the Demon Emperor.
A stronger demon energy than the Nirvana Realm was amassing within the altar.
Demon energy pervaded the lands and skies, and the clouds above churned, occasionally a meteor would fall, resembling an apocalyptic scene.
Moreover, Gu An sensed the presence of great cultivators around the demons. Some of these cultivators also had the aura of the Nirvana Realm.
Evidently, these cultivators were from the Seven Stars Spirit Realm, and they were waiting for the resurrection of the Demon Ancestor.
“Neither human nor demon, what an interesting world.”
Gu An laughed softly, his tone mocking. He retracted his divine sense and then took out the Daoist Xunchun’s writings to peruse.
He had no intention of prematurely stopping the demonic calamity. He planned to act unexpectedly against the Seven Stars Spirit Realm, and now was not the right time.
The sun set and the moon rose.
An Xin arrived at the staircase, asking, “Master, why are you sitting here?”
Gu An looked at her, smiling, “Enjoying the moonlight. How about you? How has your cultivation been lately?”
After merging with the Water Spirit Pearl, An Xin’s maximum life span hadn’t changed. Treasures of extraordinary rarity in this world couldn’t easily alter one’s life span limits, but he could feel that An Xin’s energy absorption speed had greatly improved.
An Xin smiled sweetly and said, “Pretty good, thanks to you, Master. I promise to cultivate herbs well to make up for your loss.”
“A sixth-grade herb is priceless; it might take you a lifetime to make up for it.”
“No problem. As long as you don’t mind, Master, I’m happy to stay in the Medicine Valley for a lifetime.”
Unlike An Hao, who sought justice in the world of immortal cultivation, An Xin, aware of her mediocre talents, only cared about this Medicine Valley.
There were hundreds of disciples in the valley, so life was not dull. Occasionally, she would visit the Outer Gate City. She had no worries and enjoyed these days greatly.
Seeing An Xin’s bright smile, Gu An couldn’t help but smile too.
Then I will provide for her for a lifetime.
Gu An treated his disciples well, not for any return. Could these disciples surpass him in power?
He simply enjoyed creating good relationships. Having affection for others who reciprocated his kindness gave him satisfaction.
The master and disciple chatted idly, and An Xin mentioned the White Spirit Rat, saying it was too fat and needed some exercise.
Thus, Gu An entrusted the White Spirit Rat to her, permitting her to handle it as she wished, which made her very happy.
One night passed.
Early the next morning, many Supreme Sect disciples flew northward. Some even flew over the Third Medicine Valley, making an impressive spectacle and causing the valley’s disciples to talk excitedly.
After watching for a while, Gu An stepped onto the Transmission Array Platform.
An ancient hour later.
Gu An arrived at Tianya Valley.
He saw Lv Xian had returned, meditating on a cliff facing the valley’s entrance.
Seeing him from afar, Lv Xian nodded slightly as a greeting.
Gu An nodded back and walked into the valley.
Two years had passed, and the world’s landscape had greatly changed. Now only three dynasties remained, the Taicang Dynasty, the Tianwei Dynasty, and the Great Jiang Dynasty.
Among them, the Taicang Dynasty possessed the most extensive territory. The Great Jiang Dynasty was at the bottom because they hadn’t participated in the internal wars, being too busy fighting demons.
After Gu An finished harvesting the medicinal herbs, he had three monkey demons plant the seeds.
Luo Hun came to Gu An’s side and said, “Your majesty wants you to hasten to increase your cultivation level to the Ninth Layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm, and reach the Core Formation soon.”
He raised his hand, took out an ornate box, and handed it to Gu An.
“His majesty said that with your current status in the Supreme Sect, someone will surely help you form your core. This is a Golden Core he prepared in advance since he can’t find the time to return himself.” Luo Hun’s eyes showed curiosity.
He was curious about Gu An’s current status in the Supreme Sect. Unfortunately, Li Xuandao’s letter did not specify.
Gu An put the box into his storage bag and asked Luo Hun to thank Li Xuandao on his behalf.
Luo Hun whispered, “The book?”
Gu An discreetly took out a book, “This is the latest Green Hero Travelogue. Green Hero himself gave it to me, and no third person has seen it yet.”
Luo Hun accepted it with joy.
At that moment, Ji Xiaoyu’s brother, Ji Ruolai, appeared behind Luo Hun, looking at Gu An, asking, “Have you met Xuan Tianyi?”
Luo Hun moved aside to give him room.
Gu An asked, “Why do you ask?”
“Green Hero Travelogue is written by Xuan Tianyi,” Ji Ruolai said expressionlessly. Luo Hun was embarrassed, quickly leaving.
Gu An nodded, “Indeed, we have sworn brotherhood.”
Hearing this, Luo Hun stopped, looking at him in disbelief.
Ji Ruolai squinted his eyes, carefully examining Gu An.
Lv Xian, who was meditating on the cliff, opened his eyes. The name Xuan Tianyi was well-known to him. In the current world of immortal cultivation, who didn’t know the Supreme Sect’s true inheritor?
Ji Ruolai stared at Gu An and said, “It seems Xuan Tianyi likes your Investiture of the Gods.”
“Investiture of the Gods? What do you mean?”
Luo Hun suddenly stepped forward, looking at Ji Ruolai with a frown, “Are you saying Investiture of the Gods was written by Gu An?”
Ji Ruolai nodded.
Luo Hun looked at him in disbelief. This news was more shocking than Gu An and Xuan Tianyi’s sworn brotherhood.
