The Deep Sea Dragon Carp did not understand what “steaming” meant, nor did it grasp the concept of “char-grilling,” but its cultivation level was not low, and it could sense the hostility in Gu An’s voice, which filled it with extreme panic.
Gu An watched it cry incessantly, and he felt amused.
Such a coward, and yet it deliberately sought out danger—how peculiar.
Wait a minute!
Could this fellow be like Zhu Xi, who also loved to act?
Gu An decided to teach it a harsh lesson, so he cast an illusion on it.
Immediately afterward, the Deep Sea Dragon Carp saw a fish that looked exactly like itself being steamed, then char-grilled. When it saw the char-grilling, its fish skin was scorched black, crisped up, and oozed oil; it could not take it anymore.
Accompanied by a spasm, the Deep Sea Dragon Carp at Gu An’s feet fainted dead away.
“It’s this weak?”
Gu An used his foot to flip the Deep Sea Dragon Carp’s body, and seeing that it remained motionless, he felt even more exasperated.
After hesitating for a moment, Gu An moved the Deep Sea Dragon Carp to a distant part of the sea. Discover stories at empire
“If you come back, you’re certainly dead. If you dare to reveal my location, your end will be even more miserable than what you’ve seen.”
Gu An transmitted his words into the Deep Sea Dragon Carp’s mind. Given the realm of the Deep Sea Dragon Carp, when it awoke, even if it did not understand the language of the human race, it would still understand what Gu An meant to express.
…
As the clouds dispersed, beside the great lake, An Hao stood with his back to the Saint Ancestor, gazing up at the sky.
The Saint Ancestor looked at An Hao with increasing satisfaction in his eyes, as if viewing a rare treasure.
“I never thought you could master the Heavenly Dao Divine Record so quickly. Given time, there will be no one in this world who can rival you,” the Saint Ancestor praised.
An Hao turned his head and glanced at the Saint Ancestor from the corner of his eye, asking, “Has Shengtian managed to master this skill?”
The Saint Ancestor replied, “Of course, but you will surpass him sooner or later.”
Upon hearing this, An Hao fell into contemplation.
Having mastered the Heavenly Dao Divine Record, he deeply understood the strength of this skill, which gave him a greater appreciation for Shengtian’s might.
Even in the Immortal Dynasty, all immortals deemed the Holy Court’s Shengtian the strongest in the world. How powerful must one be to win the respect even from rival forces regarding one’s strength?
“I must leave now. Thank you, senior, for your teachings. I will never forget this kindness,” An Hao said.
He turned around and bowed to the Saint Ancestor.
The Saint Ancestor asked, “Will you make an enemy of the Holy Court in the future?”
An Hao looked at him and answered, “I am not sure; no one can predict the future. However, I can assure you, I will not make enemies with the Holy Court on behalf of the Immortal Dynasty. My joining was solely for the pursuit of greater strength.”
The Saint Ancestor nodded, smiling, and said, “Junior, may you attain Nirvana early. Once you do, you will awaken your true power and feel the force of the Heavenly Dao, the supreme way in this world.”
An Hao acknowledged, then turned and leaped, transforming into a white light that sped away, disappearing into the distant clouds in the blink of an eye.
The Saint Ancestor watched his departure with a sense of wonder, musing, “I thought this was a declining epoch, but now it seems to be the sign of a prosperous era. Who knows, looking back in a million years, what myths will have emerged…”
While the Saint Ancestor was ruminating, Gu An was also reflecting.
Inside the Hidden Spirit Palace.
Standing on the path between the medicine gardens, Gu An looked into the distance, murmuring, “This guy really is persistent.”
He was referring to the Deep Sea Dragon Carp.
Since their last encounter, sixty years had passed. After several days of silence, the Deep Sea Dragon Carp began its search for the Hidden Spirit Palace—a quest that lasted for sixty years.
Over those sixty years, most of the disciples from the Third Medicine Valley and Mystic Valley had changed, and in the mundane world, several generations had passed on.
The Deep Sea Dragon Carp, having traversed many seas and faced countless dangers, finally arrived in the sea area of the Hidden Spirit Palace. Now, it was covered in wounds, its scales no longer the resplendent sheen of old; here a few were missing, there some were gone, presenting a very pitiful sight.
Its will moved Gu An; he could discern that throughout those years, the Deep Sea Dragon Carp had not divulged his or the Hidden Spirit Palace’s existence to other demon creatures.
Without probing for information, the creature had managed to find its way here. It seemed to possess hidden talents unknown to all.
Under normal circumstances, given the distance, even a Mahayana Realm might have difficulty finding the Hidden Spirit Palace in sixty years.
Ah, well.
Gu An shook his head and continued to pick medicinal herbs.
He opened his attribute panel while gathering the herbs.
[Name: Gu An]
[Life Span: 612/958,702,371]
[Physique: Mixed Yuan Refined Void Body]
[Cultivation Level: Taoist Hidden Immortal Realm Perfect]
…
Almost ten billion years of life span!
Awesome!
Gu An was in high spirits. This was life span he had earned through hard work, not through theft or slaughter, and he felt a great sense of accomplishment.
The world was stirring with excitement. Great powers and geniuses were emerging one after another, while he quietly developed his strength, watching the struggles of the world. He was racing toward longevity at an even faster pace, and the feeling was exhilarating.
The more he thought about it, the happier Gu An became, and he couldn’t help but hum a tune.
After he finished gathering the medicinal herbs, he returned to the Supreme Sect.
The Deep Sea Dragon Carp had just entered the region; it would take another month or two to get near the Hidden Spirit Palace, so he was not in a hurry to meet it.
If the Deep Sea Dragon Carp were to die on this last stretch of road, it would indicate that such fortune was not in its destiny, and no one could be blamed for that.
Returning to the Third Medicine Valley just after midday, the hot summer breeze blew into the valley, and sunlight shone on the Seven Stars Mirror in Gu An’s hand, refracting a dazzling light.
Gu An used the Seven Stars Mirror as a fan, leisurely strolling forward while waving it to cool down.
An Xin suddenly ran over, stopping in front of him, and said, “Master, Wu Jue is in trouble!”
Gu An asked, “What happened?”
“Today I went to the Inner Sect City and heard that he has been thrown into the dungeon of the Supreme Sect, apparently for harming a fellow sect member,” An Xin replied quickly.
Upon hearing this, Gu An furrowed his brow and said, “I’ll go to the Inner Sect.”
After speaking, he turned and left.
An Xin breathed a sigh of relief. Telling his master about the situation was enough; with his master’s capabilities, resolving it wouldn’t be difficult.
Less than half an hour later, Gu An, following the guidance of a dungeon disciple, reached the seventh floor underground.
Having been with the Supreme Sect for six hundred years, this was his first visit to this place. As the Supreme Sect grew stronger, the restrictions of the dungeon steadily increased; it was said that the eighteenth underground floor imprisoned an Immortal.
The dungeon disciple halted in front of a cell, briefly explained a few things, and then turned and left.
Moving beyond the fifth floor underground was not something just anyone could decide to do; Gu An had pulled some strings, so the dungeon disciple was quite courteous to him.
The cell was made from special redwood, its surface carved with talismans and containing multiple layers of restrictions.
Gu An looked inside the cell door; it was dim inside, and Wu Jue, with his hair disheveled, leaned against the wall, sleeping.
Inside the dungeon, cultivation was not possible; spiritual energy was cut off, and Wu Jue had become noticeably thinner.
Gu An had known when Wu Jue had been caught, but he was not worried about Wu Jue’s death given the protections within the Supreme Sect, so he didn’t come earlier.
When An Xin found Gu An, from the standpoint of causality logic, Gu An should visit Wu Jue, too.
Gu An, who studied the Way of Cause and Effect, began to see the causality in the world as a game. He was willing to abide by the rules of the game unless the game annoyed him, at which point he would change it.
“Brother Wu, I’ve come to see you,” Gu An said, simultaneously casting a Life Span Detection on Wu Jue.
[Wu Jue (Unification Realm fifth floor): 614/4500/8300]
Eh?
His maximum life span finally increased!
This kid really needed to experience hardship to reach Path Enlightenment. Everything coming too easily was not good.
The Wu Jue in the dark slowly opened his eyes, his vision was blurred, only able to make out a silhouette outside the cell door.
After Gu An called out to him again, Wu Jue’s vision suddenly became clear.
“Brother Gu…”
Wu Jue looked at Gu An, his face full of shame, not knowing what to say.
He was still very touched; the crime he had committed was serious, and the Fang family had formidable influence, leading the Supreme Sect to abandon him.
Those friends of his had been avoiding him like the plague. Having been imprisoned for so long, Gu An was the first to visit him. How could he not be moved?
“Why aren’t you speaking? Do you not recognize me?”
Gu An feigned seriousness as he asked. He had already deduced the incident regarding Wu Jue killing a fellow member.
The incident couldn’t be entirely blamed on Wu Jue. The fellow member was also a genius of the Supreme Sect, who had borne a grudge against Wu Jue for a previous defeat and disliked him.
After Wu Jue was defeated by Zhou Tongyou, he went out to gain experience and encountered the genius. Taking advantage of his numbers, he mocked Wu Jue as inferior to Zhou Tongyou, wasting the Sect’s investment. Wu Jue was not one to be bullied easily.
An argument broke out between them, which escalated into a fight. The other party bore the intent to kill, leading Wu Jue to retaliate with full force and eventually, a tragedy occurred.
Since there were other sect members present, Wu Jue chose to return to the sect and report the incident, but those sect members turned against him, claiming Wu Jue struck first.
And so, Wu Jue was thrown into the dungeon, tarnishing his reputation.
Regardless, Wu Jue indeed had killed a fellow sect member, and as a Righteous Path Sect, such a crime was truly unforgivable in the eyes of the Supreme Sect.
Wu Jue felt he had made a mistake and was too ashamed to face Gu An.
“I don’t disown you, it’s just that I’m too ashamed to face you,” said Wu Jue, taking a deep breath and attempting to stay calm.
Ever since he became known as a genius, too many people flocked around him, all of whom were nice to him. Along with being at different stages, Wu Jue met with Gu An less and less; sometimes, he would even forget Gu An was his most important brother.
Now that he had fallen, all those close friends refused to see him, yet it was Gu An who came.
In that moment, Wu Jue was filled with self-mockery.
“What exactly happened?”
Gu An asked, pulling Wu Jue out from his dejection.
Wu Jue calmed himself and began to recount the events and the reasons behind them.
After a while.
When Wu Jue finished speaking, Gu An stayed silent for a moment, then said, “It cannot all be blamed on you. Didn’t anyone upstairs believe you?”
Wu Jue replied helplessly, “How could they believe it? It’s not like they can use Soul Searching Skill on those people, and even if they did it to me, how many would be willing to believe?”
Gu An said, “No problem, I will speak to the Sect Leader about it.”
Wu Jue responded, “The Sect Leader has already spoken with me, asking me to bide my time until the controversy settles somewhat, and then he will find a way.”
As the Supreme Sect grew stronger, Lv Baitian, being the Sect Leader, found his authority diminishing.
Gu An comforted him, “No problem, I will speak with him again. If that doesn’t work, I will ask others to speak up as well. I refuse to believe that the so-called Sheng Family can have their way all alone within the Supreme Sect!”
