Chapter 195: Be Careful, Fu Daojian Zun May Pat You on the Shoulder
Chapter 195: Be Careful, Fu Daojian Zun May Pat You on the Shoulder
In the dark of night, strong winds stirred up the trees, causing them to sway violently. The firelight from the temple flickered in the breeze, and dust clouds billowed up from the foot of the mountain.
Li Ya smashed into the mountain forest, his physical body piercing the mountain wall. Dust quickly engulfed him, and his Heavy Sword of the North Sea was sent flying hundreds of feet away, embedding itself in a millennium-old tree and splitting its trunk.
Zhang Bukou hovered in the air, holding the stone axe in one hand. He anxiously looked downward and asked, "Fellow Daoist Li Ya, are you alright?"
Li Ya's sword intent was truly formidable. Zhang Bukou had no choice but to unleash his Divine Axe that Severed the Heavens, and in that instant of striking Li Ya down, he was both glad and worried that he might have killed him.
The two had met by chance, and he never killed without just cause.
Zhang Bukou raised his left hand and waved away the dust below. His gaze fell on Li Ya, who lay among the shattered mountain rocks.
Li Ya hung his head, bloodied all over.
That axe blow just now had nearly torn his physical body to pieces. Fortunately, he had consumed the Dragon Elephant Divine Origin, or else he wouldn't have been able to withstand the strike.
Zhang Bukou quickly flew to Li Ya's side, feeling flustered and unsure of what to do.
Li Ya struggled to lift his head, one eye closed as he gritted his teeth and asked, "What kind of monster are you..."
"I'm sorry, I didn't do it on purpose. I really didn't. It's just that you're too formidable, and I had to go all out..." Zhang Bukou hastily explained.
Hearing this, Li Ya felt slightly reassured.
But he still felt terrible!
Fortunately, his ancestor's soul remained in Sanqing Mountain, or else he would have lost face completely!
Soon after, with Zhang Bukou's support, Li Ya landed on the ground and sat cross-legged to begin healing his injuries. Zhang Bukou, on the other hand, went to retrieve Li Ya's Heavy Sword of the North Sea.
Half an hour later...
Li Ya opened his eyes and looked at the anxious Zhang Bukou beside him, feeling rather helpless.
If Zhang Bukou had taunted him, he could have been angry, but Zhang Bukou's attitude was so kind that he couldn't bring himself to reprimand him, especially since it was his suggestion to spar in the first place.
"How old are you?" Li Ya asked.
"Seventy-one," Zhang Bukou replied.
"..."
The ninety-seven-year-old Li Ya felt injured once more.
At this moment, he truly understood the saying that there are always people greater than you.
He could accept losing to An Hao, after all, An Hao was renowned throughout the world. But losing to a nameless half-human, half-demon in the wilderness made him feel miserable.
Li Ya grit his teeth and endured the pain as he asked, "Who's your master?"
Zhang Bukou scratched his head. "I don't have a master. I do have a master's brother, though. But I acquired these skills from a cave myself."
A cave?
Li Ya thought of the fortuitous encounters his ancestor had mentioned. He never expected someone to have such good fortune, surpassing his own decades of hard work by sheer accident...
Seeing Li Ya's confusion, Zhang Bukou shared his experiences, omitting Gu An's existence. After all, he had promised Gu An that he wouldn't bring him any trouble.
Listening to Zhang Bukou's story, Li Ya didn't know what to say.
Where did this dark horse come from?
Why couldn't he ever come across such opportunities? They say he, Li Ya, is the heaven-chosen one of the Li family, blessed with great fortune. But compared to Zhang Bukou, he was far behind.
The two of them became acquainted through this sparring match and continued chatting.
Countless miles away, Gu An, who was slaying demons, smiled and then turned to walk into the darkness.
Zhang Bukou and Li Ya stayed in the temple for two more days before setting off together northward, heading towards the land of demons in search of opportunities.
During this time, Zhang Bukou offered to teach Li Ya the axe techniques he had learned, which moved Li Ya deeply.
However, Li Ya, who was determined to dedicate himself to the path of the sword in this life, refused. He realized that his loss was not due to his sword techniques but because the other party's physique far surpassed his own.
Li Ya began to wonder if he would encounter great opportunities by following Zhang Bukou.
Sigh, if only Junior Brother Gu knew that he had been injured again, he would definitely worry.
...
Time flew by, and a year passed in the blink of an eye.
In early May of this year, Gu An's total lifespan reached a hundred million years. The number of demons in the Three Kingdoms land had decreased significantly, so he no longer went down the mountain and returned to his previous life of farming.
Although the world was experiencing a trend of heading northward in search of opportunities, the number of new disciples joining the Tai Xuan Gate was increasing year by year, so the sect was always bustling.
This year, the number of miscellaneous disciples in the Third Medicine Valley exceeded six hundred, a quarter of whom were new replacements. The disciples who left had all advanced thanks to the Foundation-Building Pills bestowed by Gu An, so Gu An's influence in the Tai Xuan Gate was growing.
Now, whenever he went to the outer sect cities, disciples would greet him along the way.
The number of miscellaneous disciples in the Mysterious Valley had also reached fifty. Gu An wanted to expand the scope of the Medicine Valley, and Outer Sect Great Elder Lv Songhan readily agreed. Gu An's "Shattering the Void" had also brought him many benefits, coupled with the Lu family's instructions, so he would try his best to accommodate Gu An's requests.
On this day, Gu An arrived at the North Sea Mountain Range and transformed into the Mountain God to inspect Xuan Miao Zhenren's progress.
Xuan Miao Zhenren had also recruited some little demons to help him, giving him more time to cultivate.
When the Mountain God arrived, he immediately got up to greet him and accompanied him to gather herbs. During this process, he talked about some recent events in the North Sea Mountain Range.
Although the Demon Calamity had ended, cultivators would still often fight over treasures or grievances. He, as the Mountain God, had saved many people, wanting to spread the name of the Mountain God far and wide.
It is worth mentioning that although the name of the Mountain God was widely spread, only Xuan Miao Zhenren could sense Gu An's presence.
Gu An speculated that others had not seen him, and while disciples of the Law Enforcement Hall like Zhen Qin had seen him, they did not worship him. Disciples of the Tai Xuan Gate only revered Fu Daojian Zun.
"Mountain God, what are your thoughts on the Holy Land?" Xuan Miao Zhenren suddenly asked, his expression slightly tense.
As Gu An picked herbs, he casually asked, "Why do you ask that?"
Xuan Miao Zhenren replied, "I always felt that the Demon Calamity was related to the Holy Land. Also, there's the recent talk about the fearsome demon. I found some information in the historical records of Sanqing Mountain that suggest this fearsome demon appeared after the birth of the Demon Ancestor. There are no clues as to where it came from or why it came here."
"Sanqing Mountain also claims to be a Holy Land. If you have such suspicions, why not investigate the Seven Star Spirit Realm?" Gu An asked nonchalantly.
Was Xuan Miao Zhenren trying to get him to make a move against the Seven Star Spirit Realm?
That was out of the question!
Gu An would not act recklessly until he had a full understanding of the Seven Star Spirit Realm.
Xuan Miao Zhenren took a step forward and lowered his voice. "We did try to investigate in the past, but it once brought upon us a calamity that nearly wiped us out. Since then, Sanqing Mountain has never dared to bring up the topic of the Holy Land again, and even my master is very wary of them."
Gu An was not surprised. The Three Dynasties Lands had gone through countless dynastic changes and the rise and fall of sects. Only the Seven Star Spirit Realm remained unchanged, and there must have been forces that suspected them but dared not offend them.
"Then be careful tonight. Someone from there is coming to look for you." Gu An suddenly smiled, causing Xuan Miao Zhenren to freeze.
The reason Gu An had come to pick herbs today was that he sensed two Grand Ascension Realm auras approaching the North Sea Mountain Range, and one of them had set off from the Tai Xuan Gate.
Xuan Miao Zhenren wanted to ask more, but Gu An refused to say anything further.
After they finished picking the herbs, Gu An took a portion and left the rest for Xuan Miao Zhenren before disappearing into the forest.
Xuan Miao Zhenren's mind was in a mess as he thought about facing someone from the Seven Star Spirit Realm that night.
...
In the twilight, the North Sea glittered with ripples.
Ji Xuanling stood on the shore, holding a book with the words "Sword Sovereign Myth" on its cover.
A figure appeared beside him out of thin air—a man wearing a golden-threaded red robe, with a red gemstone embedded in his headgear, burning with scarlet flames. His right hand rested on his waist, and his eyebrows exuded an air of arrogance.
"Why are you slower than me?" Ji Xuanling asked casually.
Lin Chen glared at Ji Xuanling and humphed, "That question should be mine to ask."
He changed the subject and asked, "After staying in the Tai Xuan Gate for a year, have you found any information about Fu Daojian Zun?"
"The information is right here. Do you want to see it?" Ji Xuanling raised the book in his hand and asked with a smile.
Lin Chen snatched the book from his hand and quickly scanned it with his divine sense. He looked up at Ji Xuanling and said coldly, "Are you playing games with me?"
Ji Xuanling lifted his chin and said, "Lin Chen, who told you that I came to the Tai Xuan Gate to investigate Fu Daojian Zun?"
Lin Chen frowned.
Ji Xuanling continued, "The higher-ups want us to get on good terms with Fu Daojian Zun. He must be at the ninth layer of the Scattered Immortal Realm or even a higher realm. Such a powerful cultivator couldn't have appeared out of thin air. Perhaps he's from some overseas sect. It's a pity that Lin Xian died, but we can only blame his lack of strength. Even a Scattered Immortal like him couldn't escape death. I advise you to give up that thought."
Lin Chen coldly mocked, "Is your sect always so compromising? Fu Daojian Zun dared to kill my father. Are you sure he has any respect or good intentions toward the Seven Star Spirit Realm?"
Ji Xuanling shrugged and said, "You should ask him yourself. I don't want to die. To be frank, my family sent me here to build a connection with the Tai Xuan Gate, which is to say, to build a connection with Fu Daojian Zun."
Hearing this, anger flashed in Lin Chen's eyes.
He slammed the book into Ji Xuanling's chest and turned to leave.
Ji Xuanling caught the book and reminded him with a smile, "It's getting dark. Be careful, Fu Daojian Zun might pat you on the shoulder."
Lin Chen stopped and turned to look at him, while Ji Xuanling held up the book in his hand.
Immediately after, Lin Chen disappeared from the spot.
Ji Xuanling's mouth curved into a smile, and he sat down to continue reading the book.
Night fell.
Lin Chen arrived at the Mountain God Temple where Xuan Miao Zhenren was located to inquire about the Mountain God. He suspected that the Mountain God was Fu Daojian Zun. How could there be two Immortal Realm cultivators in the Three Dynasties Lands at the same time? As a disciple of the Seven Star Spirit Realm, he had never seen the Mountain God in Ancient Xianli.
Lin Chen claimed that the Holy Land wanted to recruit the Mountain God and that he was sent for this purpose.
Xuan Miao Zhenren was cautious and only said that the Mountain God's whereabouts were hard to predict. He also wanted to meet the Mountain God, which was why he stayed at the temple.
After asking many questions and not getting the answers he wanted, Lin Chen harbored murderous intentions, but he held back because he feared that the Mountain God might be nearby.
He suddenly noticed the little wooden figurine in Xuan Miao Zhenren's hand and asked, "Is that a figurine of the Mountain God? Can you give it to me?"
In his free time, Xuan Miao Zhenren had carved quite a few wooden figurines of the Mountain God to spread his name.
He tossed the little wooden figurine to Lin Chen.
Lin Chen took it and left without another word.
He walked through the forest in the dark of night, his thoughts troubled. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that the Mountain God might be Fu Daojian Zun, and the killing intent in his eyes grew harder to suppress.
Second update, asking for monthly votes at the start of the month~~
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report