Chapter 685: Chapter 677: The Visage of an Old Friend
“What opportunity?”
Jiang Qiong’s eyes lit up with curiosity, and she asked eagerly. She trusted Gu An wouldn’t deceive her, so she already began looking forward to the future of the Gathering Flower Sect.
Gu An said, “The Great Dao encompasses three thousand paths; besides Qi Absorption for Immortal Cultivation, there are many aids. I have an opportunity in hand called the Primordial Dao Emperor. By achieving the Primordial Dao Emperor, within the same realm, no one can defeat you. You will find it easier to attain Enlightenment than other cultivators. Of course, becoming a Primordial Dao Emperor is no easy task. I can only provide an opportunity; success depends on your efforts and fortune.”
“Primordial Dao Emperor?”
Hearing this name, Jiang Qiong was instantly excited.
Just from the name, she felt it was formidable.
Gu An then waved his sleeve, and a gust of clear wind brushed Jiang Qiong’s face, causing her to become slightly dazed, her consciousness floating into the Great Dao.
The initial opening of the Primordial Dao Emperor requires not only time but also Dao Seekers. The more people comprehend it, the stronger it becomes.
Destiny inherently needs to spread. Every living being carries the creation of the Great Dao, which they cannot perceive, but when they move toward a certain goal, the creation aligns with that target, forming an intangible, imperceptible destiny.
The more beings pursuing the Primordial Dao Emperor, the faster its destiny grows.
This process also aids Gu An’s Dao Practice. Of course, he can also transmit his power to all cultivators through the Primordial Dao Emperor, complementing each other.
While Jiang Qiong was immersed in the creation of the Primordial Dao Emperor, Gu An began drinking wine.
He decided to conceal the fact that the Primordial Dao Emperor was his own creation. Even his disciples wouldn’t know the truth.
Jiang Qiong was just the beginning. Gu An would lead those he cared about into the Primordial Dao Emperor. Of course, if someone didn’t want to become a Primordial Dao Emperor, he wouldn’t force them.
But he thought no one could refuse to become a Primordial Dao Emperor.
Just like the attraction of the Daoist Emperor to the world, cultivators find it hard to refuse additional power to enhance themselves.
Thus, in the years that followed, Gu An transmitted the destiny of the Primordial Dao Emperor to his disciples, old friends, only saying that the Primordial Dao Emperor was a destiny rank different from the Daoist Emperor. Just as he anticipated, no one refused to become a Primordial Dao Emperor.
When dealing with Li Ya and Martial Resolution, Gu An didn’t appear in person but allowed them to encounter the opportunity to become a Primordial Dao Emperor in a serendipitous manner. This made both extremely happy, thinking they had found the greatest opportunity in the world. Through the destiny of the Primordial Dao Emperor, they sensed the vastness of the Great Dao, even feeling their souls had transcended the Great Thousand World.
To truly become a Primordial Dao Emperor, reaching the stage of soul projection is required, where the cultivators need to resonate with the Great Dao. That is a high level of achievement, a process in which Gu An would not assist them.
If the Primordial Dao Emperor were chosen by his will, it could never surpass the Daoist Emperor.
…
On the Path of the Great Dao, in a void space.
A man in red with white hair was treading a sword, his features handsome and posture upright, like an Immortal Monarch wandering the void.
His name was Fang Xuan, a Heaven-Encompassing Free Immortal.
Suddenly, his face turned pale, and he couldn’t help raising his hand to clutch his chest, showing a pained expression.
“Damn it, I survived the Celestial Spirit Great World, and after merely tens of thousands of years, I am to die on the Path of the Great Dao? Heaven, you truly love to toy with me…”
Fang Xuan thought bitterly. Not long ago, he encountered two prodigies battling over the Daoist Emperor. Because he stayed to watch, one of them secretly attacked him, cursed him with bad luck, and left him in great distress.
He had just managed to become a Heaven-Encompassing Free Immortal; he also aimed to be a Daoist Emperor. Yet, before setting foot on the Emperor Road, he was about to die.
His heart filled with confusion, he couldn’t help but think of the battle between the Battle Court and the Supporting Dao Sword Venerable back then. He thought he had great destiny for surviving under the Supporting Dao Sword Venerable.
Now it seems it was indeed just good luck.
On the Path of the Great Dao, his talent wasn’t extraordinary. He was even defeated by contenders for the Daoist Emperor in the Profound Yuan Free Immortal Realm.
Looking back on his life, he was a renowned genius of the Battle Court since childhood, yet he had never done anything worth boasting about, always failing. He once found comfort in the idea of poor timing, but now?
Fang Xuan’s eyes gradually dimmed, his mana roiling within, painful memories surfacing that he wished not to recall.
He flew towards a nearby meteor. Upon landing, disregarding the flying sword, he staggered to a mountain wall, sat against it, and tried to meditate and cultivate energy.
“Pff—”
A mouthful of black blood spurted from his mouth, splattering on the ground and turning into scalding black smoke as it dissipated.
He spat not only blood but also his Dao Practice; they were fragments of his Dao Fruit.
His Dao Fruit was shattering.
Fang Xuan was unable to cultivate energy; he leaned back against the mountain wall, his head drooping.
At this moment, he looked so weak, but such scenes were not uncommon on the Path of the Great Dao. He remembered the dead he’d seen before.
He once admonished himself to be cautious, never to follow in their footsteps.
But he never expected…
Fate was already before his eyes.
Fang Xuan’s lips curled, revealing a self-mocking smile.
Suddenly.
A light appeared before him, capturing his attention. He instinctively looked up and saw a light at the end of the cliff ahead.
For some reason, he felt compelled to see that light clearly.
He was dying anyway; he couldn’t die so disgracefully!
If he were to die, he would die standing!
Fang Xuan took a deep breath and forced himself to his feet, walking shakily forward.
He was only a few dozen feet from the cliff’s edge, yet it felt like a lifetime’s journey.
When he finally reached the cliff’s edge, his chin was stained with black blood, his entire being appearing miserably tragic.
At the cliff’s edge, he finally saw the existence within that light—a piece of silver crystal, like a fragment of some creation, emitting light while rotating.
“This is…”
Fang Xuan murmured. As he recognized the silver crystal, his spirit condition surprisingly improved somewhat.
He involuntarily raised his hand to touch the silver crystal.
When his fingertip made contact with the silver crystal, a strong light burst forth, engulfing him in an instant.
…
Supreme Sect, Third Medicine Valley.
Under an old tree, Gu An, transformed into a middle-aged cultivator, was playing chess with the Nine-Fingered Divine Monarch.
Even though he had left the Supreme Sect for hundreds of thousands of years, because his Sword Intent atop the Heaven-Repairing Platform had yet to disperse, many still came in pursuit of the Supporting Dao Sword Venerable. Emperor Tianhong once came in the past.
The Supreme Sect might not have been a top sect in the world, but its fame was immense.
Gu An’s eyes slightly changed as he placed down the chess piece in his hand, somewhat surprised in his heart.
“Unexpectedly, this person has such fortune…”
Gu An sensed someone stepping into the Primordial Emperor Road of the Primordial Dao Emperor on the Path of the Great Dao; this person had some causal ties with him, being a cultivator from the Battle Court whom he had spared in the past.
The cause and effect on the Path of the Great Dao are complex, especially concerning such destiny ranks as the Primordial Dao Emperor. Gu An couldn’t discern who in the future would become a Primordial Dao Emperor, so Fang Xuan’s success came as a surprise.
It’s truly a case of fate playing tricks, turning foe into friend.
Sitting opposite Gu An, the Nine-Fingered Divine Monarch stared at the chessboard, his brows furrowed tightly. He occasionally glanced up at Gu An, then back at the board, thinking deeply.
After a while.
The Nine-Fingered Divine Monarch looked up at Gu An and said, “This Fellow Daoist, you remind me of an old friend.”
Gu An chuckled and asked, “Who?”
The Nine-Fingered Divine Monarch stood up, walked to the side, turned his back to Gu An, and stroked his beard sentimentally, saying, “He was someone who disappeared almost four hundred thousand years ago. His chess skills were second only to mine. I see his style in you.”
Gu An glanced at the board and internally scoffed.
Is he trying to take this chance to end the game?