Gu An sensed an extraordinary Reincarnation aura emanating from Zhang Shi. He speculated that Zhang Shi had reincarnated and wasn’t just any ordinary reincarnation but bore some similarity to Ji Xiaoyu.
Could it be that Zhang Shi was a Great Power currently undergoing a Reincarnation Tribulation?
Gu An pondered this in his mind but did not continuously stare at Zhang Shi.
After a while, the Nine-Finger Divine Lord successfully defeated his opponent and immediately waved to Zhang Shi.
This fellow actually claimed to have a 30% chance of winning against him. To him, this was an outright provocation.
A Nascent Soul Realm cultivator daring to fantasize about winning against him?
Did he think he was Gu An?
Under the encouragement of a group of cultivators, Zhang Shi walked to the chess table, sat down, and started to play chess with the Nine-Finger Divine Lord, who allowed him the first move. A fierce battle thus began.
Gu An watched for a while before moving to the side to find others to play chess with.
Whether Zhang Shi could win against the Nine-Finger Divine Lord or not, Gu An didn’t care; he just wanted to relax for a while.
Half an hour later, Gu An had won two consecutive games of chess and stood up to leave.
Zhang Shi and the Nine-Finger Divine Lord were still playing. At that moment, Zhang Shi furrowed his eyebrows, hesitating over his moves, while the Nine-Finger Divine Lord wore a smug smile, mockingly criticizing his slow play, accusing him of trying to wear out his opponent.
Gu An smiled and walked toward the distant Mystic Pure Tree.
The White Spirit Rat was napping under the tree, while An Xin was practicing Qi Absorption Cultivation. This tree had become their fixed cultivation spot, which other disciples couldn’t enjoy unless they performed exceptionally well.
Approximately 30 minutes passed.
Zhang Shi put down his chess piece and said, “I lost.”
The Nine-Finger Divine Lord, smiling smugly, said, “To beat me, you’d need another hundred thousand years.”
Zhang Shi stood up, bowed to him, and then took his leave.
Losing interest, the Nine-Finger Divine Lord stood up, making room for others. The audience wasn’t too shocked, after all, the Nine-Finger Divine Lord was the second-best chess player in the Medicine Valley, second only to the founder, Gu An.
Zhang Shi began wandering around the valley, moving along the wooden railing, admiring the orderly, splendid Medicine Gardens.
A figure brushed past him, causing a slight change in his expression.
He turned his head to look; Long Qing was walking briskly towards Shen Xinzi, not noticing him.
“This aura… the Dragon Clan…”
Zhang Shi murmured softly, though his voice was quite faint, Gu An, who was nearby playing with the White Spirit Rat, heard it.
Gu An kept his composure, but his curiosity about Zhang Shi’s true identity grew.
Zhang Shi watched Long Qing leave. He did not linger for too long but chose to continue his stroll.
Gradually, he passed by the Venerable Pavilion of Gu An.
The door opened, and a figure suddenly blocked his path—Sun and Moon Netherworld Emperor.
Seeing the suddenly appearing Sun and Moon Netherworld Emperor, Zhang Shi was not frightened but instead studied him.
With a cold expression on his face and a shift in his Divine Thought, the Sun and Moon Netherworld Emperor formed a barrier around them, ensuring no one but Gu An could hear their conversation.
“Who are you?” the Sun and Moon Netherworld Emperor asked sternly.
Smiling, Zhang Shi responded, “Sun and Moon Netherworld Emperor, since you are here, I presume one of the Yin Yang Four Emperors, the Reincarnation Path Emperor, has also reincarnated here?”
As soon as these words were spoken, a murderous intent flashed in the eyes of the Sun and Moon Netherworld Emperor.
Zhang Shi continued, “There’s no need to be tense. The Reincarnation Path Emperor’s undergoing of the Reincarnation Tribulation is already public knowledge, and the Holy Court will not intervene.”
Hearing this, the Sun and Moon Netherworld Emperor’s expression softened.
He inhaled deeply and asked, “May I know the elder’s name?”
Shaking his head, Zhang Shi replied, “I will not tell you my background to avoid bringing trouble to you and the Reincarnation Path Emperor. Today, I came here merely for chess.”
The Sun and Moon Netherworld Emperor fell silent for a moment, then stepped aside, no longer blocking Zhang Shi.
Zhang Shi stepped forward, walking past him.
“The Qi Fortune of this Medicine Valley is on the verge of erupting. Tell the Reincarnation Path Emperor, since he has entered the Reincarnation Tribulation, not to cling to the mortal dust, as the biggest taboo in the Reincarnation Tribulation is trying to be a Savior.”
Leaving these words behind, Zhang Shi walked away without turning back.
Gu An, hearing this, reduced his interest in Zhang Shi by a notch.
Zhang Shi actually mistook Ji Xiaoyu for Sword Venerable Fudao!
The Sun and Moon Netherworld Emperor didn’t argue for Ji Xiaoyu and quickly disappeared from the spot.
In the time that followed, Zhang Shi toured the Third Medicine Valley and then flew toward the Outer Gate City.
Seeing that Zhang Shi had no intention of causing trouble, Gu An stopped paying attention to him.
Most days in the Third Medicine Valley were uneventful. Occasionally encountering a being of extraordinary origin was just a minor episode in Gu An’s life.
…
Twelve years later.
Boom!
A figure descended from the sky, crashing into the forest, creating a terrifying wind that uprooted several trees, sending grass and debris flying.
Dressed in white, An Xin landed on a tree trunk. She held a treasure sword, looking up with furrowed brows, her hand trembling as she gripped the sword.
In the distance, the Blood Prison Great Saint crawled on the cliff, enduring the fierce wind, his gaze fixed on a distant battle.
Gu An stood in the air, holding the Qinghong Sword, looking down at An Xin with a smile, “Is this all you’ve got?”
On hearing this, a cold light flashed in An Xin’s eyes. She took a step forth, appearing behind Gu An like a blink, her treasure sword cleaving horizontally, the strong Sword Intent materializing tangibly.
Gu An drew his sword with a backhanded grip, blocking An Xin’s Sword Intent and following the blade’s direction, scattering the distant sea of clouds.
Seeing that An Xin, from the ninth level of the Divinity Transformation Realm, could manifest such Sword Intent, Gu An was secretly pleased.
The girl had cultivated diligently and it was not in vain; just her Sword Intent alone was comparable to the Void Crossing Realm. Combined with her Stepping Path of Ages Step, her strength far surpassed the Divinity Transformation Realm and she was starting to show the makings of a prodigy.
When An Xin found that her Sword Intent couldn’t shake Gu An, she stepped again and appeared above the forest several kilometers away, her treasure sword no longer in hand.
Her eyes narrowed and she pointed at Gu An with her right hand’s finger, turned into a sword.
Boom—
A dominant, vast Sword Intent descended from the sky. Gu An looked up and saw a beam of light that seemed to slash down from Outer Heaven. The beam erupted with Sword Qi, forming a brilliant sword shadow a hundred meters long. It was a magnificent sight.
Gu An’s lips curved up; the girl had finally mastered it.
His repeated preachings over the years were not in vain.
The brilliant sword shadow fell with incredible speed, engulfing Gu An’s figure and then crashing into the mountains and rivers. The ground shook, clouds of dust rose rapidly, and fierce winds ravaged everything in all directions. It was like the apocalypse, shaking the entire vast island.
Blood Prison Great Saint watched, his heart secretly startled; he too recognized that An Xin’s Sword Intent had surpassed the Divinity Transformation Realm.
The master had really raised this girl well!
In that moment, Blood Prison Great Saint became even more convinced that the Ancient Treasure Body possessed by Yang Jian was bestowed by his master!
An Xin gasped for breath, the winds tossing her hair. She kept her gaze fixed ahead, not believing her swordsmanship could hurt her mentor. She was on the alert for her mentor’s sudden reappearance.
Snap!
Suddenly, a hand landed on An Xin’s shoulder, making her heart leap and her formidable presence scatter.
Gu An withdrew his hand and smiled, “Not bad, today’s performance finally satisfied me. You are worthy to chase after Hao’er and Jian’er.”
An Xin turned her head and saw her mentor’s smiling face. Suppressing her palpitations, she forced a smile and said, “It’s all thanks to your excellent teaching, Mentor. They never received such devoted guidance from you.”
She suddenly remembered a legend from the Supreme Sect.
It was said that before Sword Venerable Fudao killed someone, he liked to pat their shoulder.
She had thought it a mere rumor before, but now it seemed otherwise…
Too terrifying!
Just being patted like that made her feel suffocated.
The terror of feeling her soul scatter was beyond comparison!
Gu An sheathed the Qinghong Sword and turned to An Xin, saying, “You lack a suitable sword, but I will not help you find one. Use your Sword Intent to temper your own sword.”
An Xin wiped the sweat from her forehead and asked, “Sword Intent can also temper a sword?”
“Of course. When you become powerful enough, your sword can become an Immortal Path Supreme Treasure.”
“Immortal Path Supreme Treasure?”
An Xin’s eyes lit up, her breathing became hurried.
With the Taicang Continent gradually catching up to the Immortal Cultivation World, the strength of Immortal Path Supreme Treasures sank deep into people’s hearts. Such treasures were considered Church Treasures even overseas, and Li Ya’s Divine Exotic City possessed only a Pseudo-Immortal Path Supreme Treasure.
Thinking about one day tempering her own Immortal Path Supreme Treasure, An Xin felt extremely excited.
What level of Dao would she have then?
She began to look forward to that day.
What would An Hao’s reaction be when he saw her then?
“Let’s go, it’s time to head home.”
Gu An flew toward Blood Prison Great Saint, and An Xin hurriedly followed.
“Mentor, you know so much about Immortal Path Supreme Treasures, you couldn’t be the legendary Immortal King, could you? At least you’re at the same realm as the Immortal King. I guess you are at least at the seventh layer of Immortal Dao—no, the eighth!”
An Xin excitedly asked. The existence of the Nine Heavens of Immortal Path had also been known in the continent’s Immortal Cultivation World. She had heard that the most powerful individuals had only reached the fourth layer of Immortal Dao. She estimated her mentor’s cultivation level as seventh layer, which was already a high estimate.
Gu An laughed, “Not that impressive, I am just a Loose Immortal.”
“I understand, a Loose Immortal without a fixed power, right?”
An Xin giggled. The Holy Court had named Sword Venerable Fudao as the Holy Sword, Mortal World Peak named the mentor as Peak Master, the Supreme Sect even reserved a position in the Venerable Pavilion for the mentor, and there was also Immortal Seeking Island overseas. She guessed her mentor had even more backgrounds that hadn’t been revealed.
Gu An smiled and remained silent, not bothering to explain.
In An Xin’s eyes, Nine Heavens of Immortal Path was the limit of Immortal Path; how could he, someone who had surpassed the Nine Heavens of Immortal Path, explain that to her?
Summer insects cannot speak of ice!
Thirty minutes later, Gu An rode on Blood Prison Great Saint and returned to Third Medicine Valley, with An Xin following close behind.
Just arrived, Gu An sensed a familiar presence.
It had been a long time since he had seen this person.
Zhou Tongyou!
Gu An had once written him into Supreme Immortal Venerable as the second protagonist; this man was also one of the foremost geniuses of the Taicang Dynasty. After suppressing his power level and losing to Gu An, they had formed a friendship.
The last time Zhou Tongyou came, hoping to defeat Gu An, he instead lost to Yang Jian.
After losing to Yang Jian, at the subsequent Golden List conference, he lost to Wu Jue, helping Wu Jue thoroughly embark on the path of a genius.
Since then, Gu An hadn’t seen him.
Centuries had passed; back then, Gu An was just at the Carefree Primordial Immortal realm. Time truly flies.
Gu An had not yet seen Zhou Tongyou, but he was already feeling nostalgic.
He dismounted and took An Xin to find Zhou Tongyou.
Zhou Tongyou was watching people play chess, not noticing Gu An’s approach.