“What’s wrong with you?” Jiang Qiong asked with a furrowed brow, her expression growing colder as she continued, “Is someone giving you a hard time?”
Hearing this, Gu An revealed a smile and said, “It’s nothing, I was just thinking about the story of a book.”
“Really?” asked Jiang Qiong, looking doubtful.
“Truly,” Gu An laughed. “Actually, I was thinking of leaving before you finished your seclusion. That way, you might feel guilty for missing me. But you came so quickly, it caught me a little off guard.”
After all, he was a Divine Thought True Immortal. Even though Lu Han’s memories were heavy and vast, he could quickly detach from them.
To him, Lu Han was just a past life.
Lu Han was him, but he was Gu An!
With Gu An’s words, the worry in Jiang Qiong’s heart dissipated. She rolled her eyes at him and said in an irritated tone, “You sure have quite the imagination. I wouldn’t feel the slightest bit guilty.”
“Is that so? It seems I’ve overestimated our relationship.”
“Hmph, but I’m still quite happy that you came looking for me. It’s rare to see you leave the Supreme Sect.”
“It’s just that I suddenly thought of you. Every time, it’s you who comes to find me. It’s about time I came to you, especially since the Supreme Sect and the Juhua Sect have established a good relationship.”
The two chatted away. As Gu An spoke, he observed Jiang Qiong’s fate, peering into her destiny.
Without undergoing nirvana, all mortals are just spirits. Gu An could see the end of Jiang Qiong’s life with one glance.
Jiang Qiong’s fate was remarkably intricate, with innumerable variations—essentially a multitude of possible trajectories.
Within her destiny, Gu An could not see himself, but he knew the reason there were so many branches in Jiang Qiong’s future was because of him; his choices could change her destiny. However, all branches of destiny flowed toward the same conclusion—death.
Some led to peaceful passing, others to death in battle, and some to deviation during cultivation, resembling a tree of fate spreading its branches.
Fate seemed so cruel!
Having fused with Lu Han’s life experiences, Gu An had a deeper insight into the workings of fate, understanding the mysterious forces that could, at any moment, disperse predestined paths.
Gu An conjectured that these were perhaps the slivers of opportunity left by the Three Thousand Great Dao, the slim chance for sentient beings to transcend mortal limits.
As long as Jiang Qiong could achieve nirvana, her destiny would be toppled and reshaped.
Gu An thought of his own fate—what was it like?
Being part of it, he could not peer into his own destiny. Fate was the confluence of all causality in life. Although those who could peer into fate could not see their own destinies, they could deduce the causality related to themselves and make predictions.
If Gu An could observe Jiang Qiong’s fate, then surely more powerful beings could perceive the destiny of a Divine Thought True Immortal. Fate was not set in stone; the masses lacked the power to change their choices, merely swept along by the grandeur of the mortal world.
Beings above the Nine Heavens of the Immortal Path could certainly see the great currents enveloping the Divine Thought True Immortal. How, then, could one transcend fate? Discover stories at empire
During his conversation with Jiang Qiong, Gu An continued to ponder this question.
Two ancient hours later.
Gu An stood up to take his leave.
“Can’t you stay a couple more days?” Jiang Qiong asked, trying to persuade him to stay.
“I’ve been out for four days already; it’s time to go back. There are several Medicine Valleys waiting for my management,” Gu An replied.
Jiang Qiong glared at him. “What’s the point of having so many disciples? By that reasoning, as the leader of a sect, shouldn’t I be even busier?”
“We’re different,” Gu An said, shaking his head. “Besides, now that I’ve come once, it will definitely be more convenient in the future. We are both cultivators; there will be plenty of opportunities to meet.”
Jiang Qiong huffed, unable to persuade him, and could only send him off.
She escorted Gu An all the way to the gate of the Juhua Sect. After he flew away, she remained standing there, gazing in the direction he departed.
The Juhua Sect disciples guarding the gate curiously wondered about the relationship between that man and their sect leader, who had personally seen him off.
On the way back, Gu An was targeted by some people, which Jiang Qiong secretly took care of from the shadows.
Because of Jiang Qiong’s follow-up, Gu An’s speed back to the valley slowed down.
Once Jiang Qiong was no longer following him, he was still ten thousand miles away from the Supreme Sect when he stepped into it.
Next, he planned to spend time comprehending the Way of Fate.
…
As time trickled by, twenty years passed in the blink of an eye.
For Gu An, those twenty years flew by quickly. Aside from gathering medicinal herbs, he spent most of his time confined in his room.
Many new disciples completed their Foundation Establishment without ever having the chance to interact with him. An Xin became the leading disciple of the Third Medicine Valley, with the power to distribute Foundation Establishment Pills. She had twenty deacons under her command, and the Medicine Valley was managed in an orderly fashion.
This year, at the beginning of summer.
Gu An stepped out of his door and strolled downstairs. He looked up at the azure sky and felt an immense sense of freedom and joy, a contented smile spreading across his face.
His meditation on the Way of Fate could be put on hold for now; he planned to relax for a few years.
In these twenty years, he had mastered Lu Han’s strongest Divine Skill, named the Destruction Dao Seal!
The Destruction Dao Seal was gained from Lu Han’s comprehension of the River of Fate. This Divine Skill could strip away an enemy’s causality, causing them to be repelled by the Rules of Heaven and Earth and leaving indelible scars; this damage would become an eternal flaw in his opponent.
Lu Han had used this Divine Skill to injure the Black Profound Emperor.
If Gu An encountered the Black Profound Emperor in the future, he would be able to identify him through the scars left by the Destruction Dao Seal. No matter which Divine Skills the opponent used, they could not hide the wounds caused by the Destruction Dao Seal.
Of course, without knowing the full strength of the Black Profound Emperor, Gu An would try to avoid using the abilities of Lu Han, Xiao Shengtian, and Chu Lu.
Being slain thrice by the Black Profound Emperor was no coincidence; surely the emperor was seeking him.
As Gu An pondered the Black Profound Emperor, Ji Xiaoyu approached him, examining him closely, “You seem to have changed somehow, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.”
Gu An glanced at her, and said with a soft laugh, “Perhaps I’ve become more handsome.”
Ji Xiaoyu appeared thoughtful.
Gu An could sense the aura of fate on her. Her Cultivation Technique had clearly delved into the Way of Fate. Perhaps it was for this reason that she was able to sense the change in Gu An.
Fortunately, the disparity in their cultivations was so great that Ji Xiaoyu could never discern Gu An’s true Cultivation Level.
After chatting for a while, Gu An found An Xin and left the Supreme Sect with her.
After confirming no one was tailing them, he took An Xin towards Mortal World Peak.
An Xin closed her eyes, and when she opened them next, they had arrived at Mortal World Peak.
So fast!
An Xin now felt what Yang Jian had once experienced.
The higher her cultivation, the more she marveled at her master’s strength.
“Master, what Divine Skill is that? It’s so fast,” An Xin couldn’t help but ask.
As Gu An led her across the clouds, looking ahead, he replied, “You guessed right; it’s the Stepping Path of Ages Step that you’ve been practicing.”
An Xin’s eyes widened in surprise.
No wonder that Step Technique was so difficult to master. When perfected, could it traverse the Mortal World?
An Xin developed an unprecedented expectation for the Stepping Path of Ages Step.
Soon, the master and disciple arrived at Dingtian Peak.
Gu An first went to gather medicinal herbs, greeting disciples along the way. News of his return spread rapidly across Dingtian Peak.
With Gu An’s joining, Mortal World Peak grew more tolerant towards Dingtian Peak. The Direct Disciples managed to secure greater benefits for Dingtian Peak, benefiting the entire peak. All the disciples privately mythologized Gu An, knowing their Peak Master’s exceptional strength.
Strolling along, Gu An nonchalantly picked herbs, appearing to deliberately enter the lives of his disciples. Everyone he spoke to along the way was more excited.
Occasionally, Gu An would even help the disciples gather medicinal herbs, picking but not taking, leaving those disciples feeling honored and shocked.
Gradually, Gu An heard some news.
The Immortal Dynasty was about to emerge!
On Mortal World Peak, one could learn about various major events in the Great Heavenly Spirit Land. Gu An also heard about the longstanding feud between the Immortal Dynasty and the Holy Court.
The two forces had been warring for many years until Shengtian ascended the throne, and the Mortal World basked in peace at last.
Shengtian was certainly the strongest in the Great Heavenly Spirit Land, but no one knew how powerful he truly was.
The emergence of the Immortal Dynasty would inevitably provoke oppression from the Holy Court. Once friction sparked between the two, the tranquil days in Mortal World would end.
Despite experiencing several calamities, the Broken Sea Domain’s influence was too small to affect the whole world. Broadly speaking, the Great Heavenly Spirit Land had maintained peace for hundreds of thousands of years.
An Xin was also very interested in these events. It was her first time hearing about the Immortal Dynasty, and she didn’t realize that the Mortal World harbored a force capable of contending with the Holy Court.
After a while.
Gu An took An Xin to a courtyard on the mountain’s peak. An Xin began cultivating, and Gu An wrote in the yard to relax.
His main purpose for coming today was to take a breather.
A moment later, he suddenly felt something and looked up.
His gaze pierced through the sky and shot out into the depths of the universe.
He sensed a strange aura coming from the Silent Destruction Domain.
This sensation was distinctly uncomfortable.
Before long, he saw a redwood coffin flying out from the darkness; it was a deep red coffin that seemed to have blood plasma sticking to it, surrounded by wisps of black vapor visible to the naked eye.
There was something inside the coffin!
Could it be another entity targeting the Heavenly Demon Fetus?
Gu An thought to himself, with no intention of intervening. The presence and absence of concealment of the deep red coffin must have alerted the Holy Court.
Indeed, Gu An saw many figures flying out from the Holy Land where the Holy Court was based, the weakest among them being Carefree Primordial Immortals!
What a powerful foundation!
Gu An was again shocked by the strength of the Holy Court. This was just the first-response team they’d sent out, and it was hard to imagine the terrifying power the Holy Court could unleash if they went all out.
However, Gu An saw a Divine Immortal of Wondrous Dharma confront the deep red coffin, resisting with his immense mana. He displayed an expression of agony as his flesh rapidly dissolved into blood, spilling onto the coffin and quickly congealing.
His Immortal Soul of Wondrous Dharma, however, managed to escape by a hair’s breadth.
Such frightening power!
Gu An couldn’t see how the deep red coffin had devoured the Divine Immortal of Wondrous Dharma; it was a force he had never seen before.
One could surmise that the entity within the deep red coffin was not a Heavenly Demon, or at least not one he had encountered before.
The deep red coffin approached the Great Heavenly Spirit Land swiftly and irresistibly.
It seemed as though the cultivators flying out from the Holy Court had received orders—they all stopped and even made way.
What did this mean?
Gu An frowned slightly.
Could it be that the deep red coffin was related to the Holy Court?
While pondering, Gu An lowered his head and continued to write.
“Let the tall ones handle it when the sky falls,” as the saying goes. Since the Holy Court was also part of the Great Heavenly Spirit Land, he was curious to see what would happen next.