Gu An saw An Hao receiving guidance from a Free Immortal, who was none other than the Saint Ancestor of the Holy Court!
He explored An Hao’s karma and understood the interactions between the two.
To Gu An’s amazement, the Saint Ancestor wished to groom An Hao into the next Shengtian. An Hao had refused, but the Saint Ancestor insisted on imparting his teachings, even if An Hao would not become the Shengtian.
Gu An couldn’t help but marvel at An Hao’s unparalleled Qi Fortune.
The first time he met An Hao, he couldn’t resist lending a hand and for some inexplicable reason, he took a liking to the young man.
Since embarking on the path of immortality, An Hao had made more friends than enemies, which was key to his smooth progression.
After joining the Immortal Dynasty, to receive the highest inheritance from the arch-enemy of the dynasty, the Holy Court, if that’s not being a favored child of Heaven, Gu An didn’t believe it.
While he was reflective, this was Gu An’s prized disciple, and he could not let An Hao come to harm.
He carefully predicted and made sure the Saint Ancestor wouldn’t harm An Hao before he could be at peace.
He withdrew his Divine Thought and continued chatting with Ji Xiaoyu.
After decades of a cold war, Ji Xiaoyu had a lot to say, as if she wanted to express all her accumulated words, and Gu An, being a great conversationalist, kept her spirits high, quickly drawing out her continuous laughter.
Meanwhile,
In the Holy Court, within the Tao Realm.
Beside a misty lake, the Saint Ancestor sat on a round rock, eyes opening to glimpse the occasionally visible An Hao on the lake surface, his brow furrowing.
“Strange, why am I suddenly feeling uneasy…”
The Saint Ancestor thought in surprise; since becoming a Free Immortal, he hadn’t had such a feeling.
He could see the past and future of all things, and even if he faced an unbeatable opponent, he was confident in his escape.
To say bluntly, unless his time was near, it was impossible for him to die.
With such power, how could he feel such inexplicable unease?
While pondering, the Saint Ancestor kept his eyes on An Hao, his gaze filled with expectation.
“This world is becoming more dangerous, with more and more unpredictable people and events emerging between heaven and earth, with Heavenly Demons lurking from the Outer Heaven. How long can a Free Immortal maintain peace?”
“This young man’s talent is rarely seen, comparable to a Shengtian. Looking at his past, he always encounters mentors, even has the mysterious Holy Sword as a master. Only he could resolve the ancient irreconcilable grievances of the Great Heavenly Spirit Land…”
The Saint Ancestor’s eyes gleamed brighter.
From the first glance at An Hao, he was attracted.
This attraction was inherent, and even as a Free Immortal, he felt drawn to it; of course, this ‘attraction’ was just a favorable impression and would not influence his major decisions. If An Hao offended him, he would not be lenient.
He valued An Hao because he saw him as a bearer of a Great Fortune of Energy Movement.
He had encountered such a Great Fortune holder two million years ago, someone he revered and aspired to emulate, sadly, he didn’t know whether they were dead or alive now.
The Saint Ancestor’s thoughts gradually drifted to the distant past, and a blurry figure appeared in his eyes.
…
Days later, Gu An went to the Main City of the Sect to find Li Ya, and the two drank heartily for a day and a night.
Indeed, with Ji Xiaoyu around, Li Ya found it hard to speak his mind. Only when he was alone with Gu An could he let his guard down and talk about the hardships of these years.
Something recently troubled him—it was his relationship with Li Xuandao.
From childhood, he felt that his father, the Emperor, did not like him, with this feeling intensifying after his mother’s death.
Now over five hundred years old, he suddenly discovered Li Xuandao actually loved him deeply, even sending someone to invite him back to the Imperial City. How could his feelings not be complex?
“Now that he knows I’m successful, he wants to win me over, not a chance. He has a genius child, let that genius inherit his throne. What’s he want with me?” Li Ya spoke dejectedly.
Gu An didn’t know what comfort to offer.
In fact, Li Xuandao’s cultivation level was stronger than Li Ya’s, and Li Xuandao had no intention of passing the throne to his descendants. He wanted to remain Emperor forever.
For this reason, Gu An thought that Li Xuandao’s invitation for Li Ya to return might be genuine.
However, he couldn’t intervene in other people’s father-son relationships.
Lv Baitian’s relationship with his son, Lv Xian, was even worse. Over the years, Lv Baitian would often tell Gu An about his helplessness and regret when dealing with Lv Xian.
Looking at Li Ya, Gu An thought he definitely should not have children; it would be too troublesome.
Just thinking about the break between Long Zhan and Long Xin in the Lifespan Samsara gave him a headache.
Even with a high cultivation level, one couldn’t please everyone, especially when conflicts arose among close relatives—it only added to the emotional burden.
At least Gu An felt his current life was quite good, treating his disciple like a child. If the disciple courted death, he would help if possible, and if not, then so be it, with no pressure and at most heartache.
“Senior brother, do you know how Xiaochuan spent his last hundred years?” Gu An suddenly asked.
Li Ya was startled, naturally remembering Xiaochuan. He frowned and asked, “Xiaochuan died?”
Gu An nodded and said, “Yes, it happened many years ago. In his final years, he was entangled by his descendants’ troubles, affecting his cultivation, but he had no regrets, even enjoying it.”
Li Ya frowned.
Gu An reflected, “Blood is thicker than water, it’s not just a saying. Think about it, did your father ever mistreat you? Suppressed you? At most, he was just not that caring. It’s not so atrociously evil requiring a severance of father-son relations, right?”
“You’re a well-known cultivator, and each time you leave, many, many years pass before you return. Sometimes, I’m not even sure when will be the last time I see you. Maybe your father thinks similarly, fearing to leave regrets.”
Listening to Gu An’s words, Li Ya opened his mouth but finally just sighed.
He knew Li Xuandao had limited talent, now only at the Nascent Soul Realm, and Gu An’s words made sense.
“When I leave next time, I might not return for hundreds of years.”
At that moment, Li Ya felt loneliness as well as fear.
He feared that many years later, he would be left alone in the world, without family or friends.
Li Ya looked at Gu An and asked, “Junior Brother Gu, how about you come with me to the Holy Court to cultivate? I’ll find a way for you to stay there.”
His tone was resolute since, in his life, he had made many acquaintances, but most of them had been relationships of convenience.
Gu An was his first true friend. There had been another person before, Zhang Buku, but his whereabouts were unknown, with his life or death uncertain.
Li Ya thought of the scene where Gu An would die, and he felt terrible even if it were a peaceful death.
“I’d rather not. Isn’t going to the Holy Court just asking for trouble? Oh, brother, don’t overthink it. Maybe I have a natural destiny to live a long life of ten thousand years?” Gu An shook his head, and his easy smile made Li Ya feel even more distressed.
Why should someone as good as Junior Brother Gu be limited by his talent, while someone as arrogant as An Hao can always laugh last?
Li Ya felt that the heavens were so unfair.
“Forget it, let’s just drink.”
Gu An urged and started looking forward to the scene thousands of years later, when Li Ya would find that he still wasn’t dead.
Sorry, brother, but your junior is bound to live longer than anyone.
…
Li Ya only stayed at the Supreme Sect for a month before leaving. Gu An, with a spectator’s amusement, spied on Li Ya’s return to the Imperial City.
As he expected, the meeting between Li Ya and Li Xuandao was extremely awkward. Even though Li Xuandao tried hard to force a smile, he couldn’t dissolve the awkwardness between father and son.
However, the fact that the two could sit down and talk was a good start.
It’s worth mentioning that Li Ya’s first encounter with his younger brother Li Lingtian was unpleasant.
The brothers fought, and henceforth, Li Lingtian had one more opponent he wanted to defeat.
Royal family affairs are really complicated!
Gu An felt this way at the moment.
Until the end of the year, Gu An saw another family matter. The Ji Family came to find Ji Xiaoyu, wanting her to return to the family, but she refused, causing a stiff conflict.
Unlike in her previous life, Ji Xiaoyu had grown up this time and had become even tougher, beyond the control of the Ji Family.
Li Ya’s and Ji Xiaoyu’s situations further solidified Gu An’s resolve not to start a family.
At least not for now.
Gu An hadn’t yet achieved longevity and had many enemies to surpass. How could he be hindered by familial ties?
If he already had family, he would naturally take great care of them, but since he didn’t, there was no need to deliberately create familial bonds to satisfy emotional needs.
Another new year arrived, bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new.
After several days of festivity, Gu An visited the Hidden Spirit Palace alone.
Over the years, this place continuously produced Low-Rank Medical Herbs, allowing Gu An to harvest them each time he visited.
He had just started collecting when he furrowed his brows.
“Why has it come again?”
He talked to himself. Only he and his clone were in the dojo of the Hidden Spirit Palace, and his clone couldn’t communicate with him.
He was referring to a very fast little fish that approached the dojo every now and then. Even though his clone cast spells to drive it away, it never gave up.
It seemed that the more he drove it away, the more it was attracted to this place.
Gu An decided to teach the little fish a lesson.
He stood up and walked to an open area nearby. With a thought, a one-meter-long fish appeared in front of him, and he stepped on it to pin it down.
It was a goldfish resembling a carp, with scales brighter than gold and quite handsome. Its eyes were like gems.
The goldfish widened its eyes, looking completely bewildered.
[Deep Sea Dragon Carp (Unification Realm, Second Layer): 8504/12000/15000]
To have lived eight thousand five hundred years and still be so small!
Gu An found it curious, as most demons grew larger as their Cultivation Level increased.
Heavenly demons like Tian Yao’er, Tianqing, and Tian Bai had very large true forms.
The Deep Sea Dragon Carp started to struggle violently, but no matter how it thrashed, it couldn’t free itself from Gu An’s foot.
Under Gu An’s suppression, it seemed to have no cultivation, making little noise and not posing any threat to nearby medicinal herbs.
Gu An took out the Qinghong Sword, looking like he was about to kill it.
The Deep Sea Dragon Carp shut its eyes in terror and trembled incessantly.
To Gu An’s amusement, he saw tears streaming from its eyes, resembling pearls as they squeezed out.
“Scared now? Will you dare to swim here again?” Gu An asked.
The Deep Sea Dragon Carp opened its eyes and hurriedly shook its head.
Gu An suddenly frowned, hesitating, “But you’ve already discovered my dojo. Letting you escape might bring me trouble later. Never mind, I’d better eat you. Should I steam you, or should I grill you?”
The Deep Sea Dragon Carp’s eyes widened in extreme fear, and its tears streamed down.
