Gu An chatted with Xuan Tianyi for a full two ancient hours. Before leaving, Gu An even gave him half a set of Journey to the West.
So many years had passed, he had already written Journey to the West, but he wanted to release it later and kept refining his calligraphy, so he had rewritten Journey to the West many times.
The reason for giving Xuan Tianyi only half was because he was afraid Xuan Tianyi might leak it.
Always leave some suspense!
After Xuan Tianyi left, Gu An followed downstairs and rode the Blood Prison Great Saint to the Mystic Valley.
Ye Lan was waiting for him in the pavilion. He dismounted from the Blood Prison Great Saint’s back and leisurely went upstairs.
When the two met, they exchanged pleasantries.
Over the past year, Ye Lan had been very busy and could only come to see him during the Spring Festival.
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“Senior Brother, you are turning a hundred this year. How about a celebration?” Ye Lan asked with a smile.
Gu An shook his head and said, “Why would a cultivator celebrate a big birthday? No need, I don’t like trouble.”
Ye Lan nodded and didn’t press further. She just mentioned it casually. After all, a hundred years was an important milestone.
They started chatting. Ye Lan didn’t have any special reason to see Gu An, she just missed him.
They talked about everything, from the Supreme Sect to the Immortal Cultivation World, and even about the common folk. Most of the time, Ye Lan did the talking, and Gu An chimed in.
A long time passed.
Gu An was concerned about her Primordial Reincarnation Skill.
Ye Lan said that she practiced it daily, although her cultivation level hadn’t increased, she could feel the accumulation of the Primordial Reincarnation Skill.
Gu An took out a large number of prepared supreme-grade elixirs for her, telling her to take them promptly. In twenty years, she would need to unseal the Primordial Reincarnation Skill.
By then, it was unknown how much her maximum lifespan would increase.
Faced with Gu An’s gifts and arrangements, Ye Lan did not refuse and instead showed a happy smile.
Seeing her smile, Gu An couldn’t help but shiver.
“Junior Sister, don’t misunderstand, I will always be your Senior Brother,” Gu An said seriously.
Ye Lan nodded with a smile. She stood up, walked to Gu An’s side, and placed her hands on his shoulders.
It had always been him who patted others’ shoulders; only his Junior Sister could pat his.
Ah, well, she was his Junior Sister, after all.
“Sit down, no hands-on.”
“Oh, Senior Brother, I won’t do anything inappropriate, just like last time.”
“You dare mention last time?”
“What’s wrong with a little touch? I promise I won’t go further.”
“Don’t speak such bold words, sit down, I have something to tell you.”
“Say it, I’ll just stand by your side.”
…
Three days later, Gu An rode the Blood Prison Great Saint to the Outer Gate City. He made his way to the Book Collection Hall.
The Great Elder of the Book Collection Hall, Feng Shang, personally received Gu An. After they were seated, Feng Shang asked with a smile, “Shattering the Void is finished. Do you have a new book in mind?”
Though Shattering the Void’s reputation wasn’t as great as Investiture of the Gods, it made a lot of money, benefiting not only him but the entire Outer Gate City as well.
Their Outer Gate City had become the top among the eight outer gate cities, with Sword Venerable Fudao in martial and Pan An in literature.
Every time he read Investiture of the Gods, Feng Shang felt Gu An resembled Sword Venerable Fudao.
But thinking that Gu An was not yet a hundred years old, he found his speculation absurd. Though perhaps Pan An was somehow related to Sword Venerable Fudao, maybe this was why Pan An refused to write about Sword Venerable Fudao, fearing people might discover the connection.
Gu An took out five books from his storage bag, which were the first half of Journey to the West.
Feng Shang picked up the topmost book and, seeing the cover, he couldn’t help but read aloud, “Journey to the West?”
The name sounded ordinary.
He was a bit disappointed, but considering Pan An’s fame, even an ordinary book would earn spirit stones.
He began to read, and after a few moments, his expression changed slightly. He straightened his back and read more intently.
As time went on, his right hand began to tremble.
When he read about Sun Wukong causing havoc in the Heavenly Palace, he couldn’t help but slap his thigh in excitement.
Gu An shook his head and laughed. He stood up and said, “The books are yours. Leave the rest to you.”
Having worked with the Book Collection Hall for so many years, he naturally didn’t worry about them deceiving him.
Upon hearing this, Feng Shang quickly stood up, excitedly saying, “Journey to the West will definitely be a hit. This is a divine book comparable to Investiture of the Gods. No, it’s even better than Investiture of the Gods!”
Journey to the West had a stronger narrative ability and the plot was highly engaging. Watching Sun Wukong’s birth, his struggle for kingship, and his journey to the sea to seek immortality, he felt it resonated well with the cultivators in the Immortal Cultivation World. Furthermore, when the Heavenly Court appointed Sun Wukong as the Horses’ Fortune, and he endured humiliation in Heaven, he couldn’t help but anticipate Sun Wukong’s rebellion.
He hadn’t expected Sun Wukong to actually cause havoc in the Heavenly Palace!
It was truly powerful!
Feng Shang genuinely admired Gu An, who could think of anything. Moreover, the spells, dharma treasures, and powers in Journey to the West felt real, as he had heard similar legends before.
There were stories of a Dragon Palace under the sea, immortals in the heavens, and sages overseas, among others.
Gu An smiled at him and, without saying much, turned and left.
Feng Shang watched Gu An walk out the door, with sunlight shining on him, feeling dazed.
Truly an immortal!
Gu An found the Blood Prison Great Saint and rode it away from the Book Collection Hall.
Along the street, he occasionally encountered old acquaintances, greeting them with a smile.
After the Ji Family withdrew from the Supreme Sect, the Zhou Family also switched to the Cangtian Sect. The departure of the two great families happened quietly. Had it been decades earlier, the Supreme Sect would have been severely weakened, but now, there didn’t seem to be any impact. Instead, the Supreme Sect had grown even stronger.
However, Gu An heard other family names from the passing cultivators.
This was the Supreme Sect. When some left, others would take their place.
This was a sign of continuous prosperity!
Who knew when the Supreme Sect would reach the levels of the Seven Stars Spirit Realm and the Star Sea Congregations?
At that time, how many of his old acquaintances would still be around?
Gu An’s thoughts drifted with the bumping of the ox’s back, fantasizing about scenes thousands or even tens of thousands of years in the future.
…
A blink of an eye.
Another year passed.
This year, the Supreme Sect’s First Under Heaven’s Cultivation Level Tournament was about to commence, but the hottest topic was a book.
Journey to the West!
With the release of Pan An’s Journey to the West, the entire Immortal Cultivation World was shaken!
Initially thought to be another mediocre book like Supreme Immortal Venerable or Shattering the Void, it turned out to be a classical type like Investiture of the Gods!
Great Sage Equalling Heaven Sun Wukong became the most popular name in the three dynasties’ Immortal Cultivation World!
Pan An was once again elevated to a god-like status. With just one Journey to the West, people no longer doubted his talent, and some even claimed that Journey to the West was superior to Investiture of the Gods!
Lv Baitian seized the opportunity to leverage the popularity of Journey to the West, declaring that the person who won the top spot in the First Under Heaven’s Cultivation Level Tournament would earn the title of Great Sage.
This ignited even more interest and anticipation for the First Under Heaven’s Cultivation Level Tournament!
Because of Journey to the West, Pan An’s fame within the Supreme Sect even overshadowed Sword Venerable Fudao for a while.
Pan An had initiated a trend of book-chasing in the Immortal Cultivation World. Now, he once again outshone Sword Venerable Fudao through his literary work.
In fact, many Immortal Cultivation stories had emerged after Pan An, but most cultivators still felt Pan An’s writings were the best. Gu An thought this was due to the initial euphoria of the first read, as the Immortal Cultivation World certainly had many literary talented cultivators.
One day.
Gu An rode the Blood Prison Great Saint once again to the Outer Gate City. He felt there would be some excitement to watch today.
The city was bustling with people, cultivators coming and going ceaselessly, very lively, almost like celebrating the Spring Festival. Gu An saw many cultivators in strange costumes, and even shape-shifting demons.
Now, the Supreme Sect had begun recruiting demon clan disciples, with great results. Each year, around ten thousand shape-shifting demons would come to apprentice.
The main character in Journey to the West being a demon had made the entire demon community more favorable towards the Supreme Sect.
Arriving at the surroundings of the Heavenly Repair Platform, the Blood Prison Great Saint halted. He heard people around talking.
“Have you read Journey to the West? The Book Collection Hall put up another batch yesterday, and I managed to get a copy.”
“Then lend it to me. I read an unofficial version that doesn’t contain Pan An’s handwriting.”
“Recently, more and more people have been challenging the Heaven-Cutting Axe. They say that whoever can lift the Heaven-Cutting Axe can secure the top spot in the First Under Heaven’s Cultivation Level Tournament.”
“You’re joking. Even the champion can’t possibly lift the Heaven-Cutting Axe!”
Some were talking about Journey to the West, some about Sword Venerable Fudao, but most were discussing the First Under Heaven’s Cultivation Level Tournament.
Gu An silently counted down.
After a while.
He thought to himself, Here it comes.
A dominating aura enveloped the Heavenly Repair Platform, followed by a loud voice that echoed throughout the city:
“I am the foremost cultivator of Lingxia, Qiao Dai. All of you move aside. I want to challenge the Heaven-Cutting Axe!”
Boom!
The entire city trembled. Everyone looked towards the sky above the Heavenly Repair Platform and saw a majestic figure floating in the air. It was a man in a yellow robe, wearing a golden crown and a python belt, with an aura like a swirling dragon around him.
Gu An cast a Life Span Detection spell on him.
[Qiao Dai (Mahayana Realm Ninth Layer): 898/8900/8900]
An extreme lifespan of 8900 years!
Among Nirvana ded, he was second only to An Hao and the Blood Prison Great Saint, even surpassing Xuan Tianyi.
Gu An could feel that this person contained qi-blood beyond the Mahayana Realm.
Of course, it was only beyond, reaching the Nirvana Realm was impossible.
The weakest in the Nirvana Realm was stronger than the strongest in the Mahayana Realm. This境界 was the barrier between the mortal and the immortal!
People around the Heaven-Cutting Axe gave way, and Qiao Dai descended.
Many were discussing where Lingxia was.
Gu An knew about Lingxia. It was the dynasty in the far north of the continent, created by the Seven Stars Spirit Realm. Everyone in that dynasty was a descendant of the Seven Stars Spirit Realm cultivators.
But the territories of the three dynasties hadn’t interacted with Lingxia yet.
Zuo Yijian stood beside the Heaven-Cutting Axe, eyeing Qiao Dai.
Qiao Dai exuded an emperor’s aura, and with each step, a dragon’s roar accompanied him, which made Zuo Yijian secretly marvel.
When he reached the Heaven-Cutting Axe, Qiao Dai didn’t try to lift it immediately. Instead, he looked at Zuo Yijian and said, “Move away, so you don’t get hurt!”
“You…”
Zuo Yijian was instantly infuriated, crumpling the Journey to the West in his hand.
An Elder in the Unification Realm appeared out of thin air and said, “Listen to him, everyone back off.”
Upon hearing this, Zuo Yijian reluctantly retreated. The cultivators meditating around the righteous words also got up, including Di Xie.
Ji Hantian appeared among the crowd, watching Qiao Dai with solemn eyes.
The Ji Family had close ties with the Seven Stars Spirit Realm, and he had met Qiao Dai in the Seven Stars Spirit Realm. At that time, he was still young, and Qiao Dai was already the most famous genius in the Seven Stars Spirit Realm.
Though most of the Ji Family had joined the Seven Stars Spirit Realm, Ji Hantian had a strong aversion to it, which made him dislike Qiao Dai.
He couldn’t help but say, “Without Immortal Path cultivation, don’t dream of challenging!”