“Why resign oneself to fate… why…”
The youth trembled all over, his eyes filled with despair.
Dark clouds blanketed the sky, as if destiny obscured the sunshine of his life, leaving no sight of hope.
The mysterious woman in the building did not answer, nor did she offer any comfort. She had once felt the same despair when she came across those two characters.
She did not resent that man either; after all, he warned her before he left. Yet, she couldn’t withstand her family’s persuasion and got caught up in the disputes, leading to her descendants having to hide in the mountains, humbly lamenting the unfairness of fate.
Just then, the youth suddenly felt a sharp pain in his palm, which frightened him into reflexively letting go, throwing the crumpled paper away.
He instinctively looked at his palm and saw many blood-red lines appear, quite ghastly. He seemed to realize something, raised his head, and fixed his gaze on the blood-stained paper ball before scrambling over to it.
He picked up the paper, unfolded it, and to his surprise, found that the words “resign to fate” had disappeared, replaced by three large characters.
Supreme Sect!
“Supreme Sect… what does this mean…” the youth murmured, frowning.
He had certainly heard of the Supreme Sect, the legendary number one sect above all dynasties.
With his talent, how difficult it would be to enter the Supreme Sect.
Suddenly, a figure appeared beside him; a woman wearing a black Daoist robe with white hair, yet a face that was young and comely.
She was none other than the Princess of Tianwei, Si Yan’er, who had once been engaged to An Hao.
She snatched the paper from the youth’s hand and scrutinized the characters. Her brows furrowed tightly, her eyes filled with complex emotions.
“Weren’t you the one who told me not to try to ingratiate myself with that elder… Why then leave a secret message for your descendants to go to the Supreme Sect? Did you know this day would come, or were you worried about the safety of your progeny?”
Si Yan’er mumbled to herself, her tone complex—a mix of surprise, reluctance, anger, and resentment.
The youth stood up, his legs weak; it took him a while to steady his stance.
“Grandmother… what does the ancestor mean? That I should go to the Supreme Sect?” He asked nervously, his eyes full of anticipation.
Si Yan’er took a deep breath and said, “Yes, go to the Supreme Sect.”
The youth, overjoyed, turned to leave immediately.
“Wait, do you even know where the Supreme Sect is located? How far away it is?” Si Yan’er suddenly called out to him.
The youth turned his head and said, “The Supreme Sect is so famous, I should be able to find out by asking around.”
“With your pace, it will take ten years to get there, by which time you might already be dead.”
Si Yan’er stared at him, saying emotionlessly.
Upon hearing this, the youth’s face turned pale.
Si Yan’er turned her back and walked towards the attic, leaving behind a sentence: “Just wait, I’ll take you to the Supreme Sect.”
The youth, with a look of delight, quickly knelt to thank Si Yan’er.
Meanwhile.
An Hao was cultivating in the Immortal Dynasty, unaware of what his descendants were going through.
He meditated on a cliff, facing a vast and magnificent waterfall, its thunderous roar deafening, below was a lake as vast as the ocean, covered with a mist that made the place seem like a paradise on Earth.
A figure appeared behind An Hao, a woman in a white dress, gazing at him with eyes full of admiration.
“An Hao, the Immortal Dynasty has issued a Qi Fortune bounty, why don’t you take part? With the support of the dynasty’s Qi Fortune, your cultivation level will grow faster, much better than painstakingly meditating,” said the woman in the white dress, her voice gentle and tender.
An Hao, with his back to her, did not open his eyes, replying, “To seek the path of immortality solely through Qi Fortune might not be right. I believe more in the mana that I cultivate myself.”
The woman in the white dress smiled and said, “That’s true. With your extraordinary talent, you can reach the pinnacle of the Immortal Path on your own. It’s just a matter of time.”
An Hao did not respond; the only sound was the clamor of the waterfall striking the lake’s surface.
The woman in the white dress continued to watch An Hao, not finding it dull.
After a long while.
“Please return, Fairy. Perhaps I misunderstood your intentions. In any case, I will never remarry in this lifetime. I once had a wife, but in pursuit of immortal cultivation, I’ve cut off our relationship, and I do not wish to become involved with another woman in more than just friendship.”
An Hao finally spoke, his tone calm but resolute.
Upon hearing this, the woman’s face subtly changed. She wanted to say something but couldn’t as she looked at An Hao’s back.
She watched his silhouette for a while, eventually turning to leave.
Only after she’d gone did An Hao open his eyes, a look of melancholy in his gaze.
“So many years have passed, are you still well?”
An Hao murmured to himself, an image of a bright and playful girl appeared before him, her smile and glance, even after hundreds of years, unforgettable to him.
…
A year later, near the Supreme Sect, in the forests.
Si Yan’er and the young man were on their way, with the young man carrying a large bundle that bent his back.
He looked at his grandmother walking ahead and couldn’t help asking, “Grandmother, why not teach me to cultivate instead? Otherwise, I truly might die of exhaustion.”
When the grandmother took out a flying artifact, he was stunned, never imagining she was so powerful.
He had also questioned his grandmother why she hadn’t stepped in to save his grandfather, his father, to which Si Yan’er replied that she was too far away to intervene in time.
Regarding why she didn’t seek revenge, it was for his sake too.
The enemy was a powerful family with an immortal in their ranks, certainly not someone she could contend with.
Learning the reasons, the youth’s desire to cultivate and become an immortal grew stronger.
He must become powerful!
“We’re almost there; what need is there to cultivate now?” Si Yan’er’s voice came from ahead.
Upon hearing this, the youth was instantly overjoyed and quickly hastened his pace.
He began to inquire about his ancestor’s relationship with the Supreme Sect.
This time, Si Yan’er did not hide the truth.
“Your ancestor, named An Hao, was the foremost talent in the world, and now he is venturing in an even more distant realm; he is the pride of the Supreme Sect…”
As Si Yan’er spoke, a wistful expression crossed her face.
She remembered An Hao’s spirited visage.
She harbored no resentment for An Hao’s decision, after all, it was her own heart that had stirred first, not to mention that before leaving, An Hao had left behind several treasures. It was for this reason that the Si Family, following their downfall, could survive with her descendants.
When the youth heard the name An Hao, it seemed somewhat familiar. But as he listened to his grandmother praising him, the youth did not feel excited; instead, his expression grew even more somber.
The stronger An Hao was, the more the youth despised him.
What of it if he was the world’s most talented?
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In his eyes, he was just a negligent forebear, probably not all that impressive!
The two continued their conversation as they moved forward, with most of the speaking done by Si Yan’er, while the youth said very little.
As they walked, figures appeared in front of them; the first to enter their sight was a man riding a demon bull, followed by a woman.
Si Yan’er had long since sensed their presence, with one of them being a Nascent Soul Realm Cultivator, undoubtedly a disciple of the Supreme Sect. Therefore, she wanted to approach these two to lead them into the Supreme Sect.
She quickened her pace, with the youth following closely behind, his gaze fixed on the Blood Prison Great Saint.
What a magnificent bull!
Gu An patted the head of the Blood Prison Great Saint, signaling it to stop.
An Xin turned her head to look and quickly set her sights on the youth, her brows furrowing soon after.
[An Yuan (Energy Cultivation Realm, level one): 17/25/5000]
Gu An looked at the youth’s lifespan without a change in expression, but internally he felt puzzled—why was his lifespan so short?
He came here with An Xin because he had calculated the arrival of Si Yan’er and the other person; he also predicted the plight of An Hao’s descendants, but upon truly encountering An Yuan, he was still surprised.
His lifespan was unreasonably short, especially considering that there was no sign of illness.
Si Yan’er approached An Xin and, with a salute of her hand, said, “My name is Si Yan’er, from the former land of Tianwei. May I ask if you two are disciples of the Supreme Sect?”
“You’re called Si Yan’er?”
An Xin’s eyes widened in shock as she asked.
Si Yan’er inquired with suspicion, “Have you heard of my name, Miss?”
“Of course, I’ve heard. My senior brother mentioned you to me!”
“Your brother is…”
Si Yan’er, too, became excited, hearing An Hao mention his sister.
An Xin did not conceal her identity, and upon revealing it, the two women embraced each other as if reuniting after a long parting.
An Yuan stared blankly at An Xin, not expecting this woman with the grace of an immortal to be his ancestor’s junior sister.
So young, she looked about his age!
“Who is this?”
Si Yan’er turned her attention to Gu An, asking with curiosity.
An Xin hastily introduced, “This is my master, although not the same as the one shared with my senior brother; he is my second master.”
Si Yan’er suddenly understood: she, of course, knew who An Hao’s master was—the renowned Sword Venerable Fudao!
This fact, she had not mentioned to An Yuan.
Gu An smiled and asked, “You aren’t here looking for An Hao, are you? He has already joined the Immortal Dynasty, and even a Mahayana Cultivator would need decades, even a hundred years to reach the Immortal Dynasty from the ends of the earth.”
The Immortal Dynasty!
Si Yan’er immediately lapsed into a daze; she had naturally heard this name, as the Yuanxu Ancestor who opened Reincarnation came from the Immortal Dynasty.
Has he already reached such a state…
Si Yan’er suddenly felt fortunate: fortune that she had not been overbearing in the past—had she clung to him in the Taicang Continent, would An Hao have achieved such greatness?
“Come back to the valley with us first; we can talk more after a few days’ rest.”
Gu An’s words matched Si Yan’er’s intentions. She swiftly bowed in thanks and gestured for An Yuan to speak.
An Yuan, just coming to his senses, quickly bowed in salute.
The group headed towards Mystic Valley.
An Xin and Si Yan’er walked arm in arm at the front, while An Yuan cautiously followed behind the Blood Prison Great Saint.
The Blood Prison Great Saint turned its head to glance at An Yuan, a strange look in its eyes.
An Yuan felt uneasy all over, watched by the demon—could it be wanting to eat him?
“He indeed looks quite a bit like An Hao; it’s just that the talent is far inferior. I didn’t expect the offspring of such a genius to be so disappointing,” the Blood Prison Great Saint remarked.
Upon hearing this, an irate An Yuan glared, but he dared not retort.
Gu An slapped the Blood Prison Great Saint on the back and said crossly, “Why speak so of the younger generation? Do you believe I could make you worse off than him?”
The Blood Prison Great Saint, shivering all over, did not dare to speak further.
An Yuan curiously looked at Gu An, feeling a newfound fondness for him.
For some reason, from that first glimpse of Gu An, he felt a great liking for him, sensing that his smile was so gentle, bringing him a feeling of kinship.
Gu An waved An Yuan over, beckoning him to stand beside the Blood Prison Great Saint.
