Chapter 257: The Former Master of Divine Anomaly City
Chapter 257: The Former Master of Divine Anomaly City
In the imperial study, Ye Yan responded to Li Xuandao, "I’m not sure. When I left, I didn’t see Master associating with any great cultivators."
He was also puzzled.
He believed that Xuan Gu had extraordinary luck; Su Han, who had once caused chaos in the Taicang Imperial Cultivation Realm decades ago, was his senior brother.
Thinking of Su Han still made him sigh.
Back then, he, Zhen Qin, and Su Han had followed Gu An to the Third Medicine Valley to cultivate. Who would have thought they would achieve such heights?
Although Su Han’s fate was unknown, the chaos he caused had already proven his strength. They were no longer the obscure, nameless cultivators they once were.
After hearing his words, Li Xuandao fell silent, lost in thought.
For a moment, the imperial study was filled with an oppressive silence. Both men were deep in their thoughts, wondering if Gu An had a powerful mentor behind him.
After a long while, Li Xuandao spoke, "You may leave. The negotiations with the Da Jiang Dynasty are almost over. You need to prepare for the sea voyage. This matter concerns the thousand-year plan of Taicang, so it must be handled with care."
"Understood!"
Ye Yan accepted the order and bowed before leaving.
Li Xuandao gazed out the window, his eyes distant.
"I must advance to the Xuanxin realm soon; otherwise, many things cannot be accomplished." Li Xuandao thought to himself.
Compared to Li Lingtian’s achievements, he cared more about himself.
So far, only Lu Xian knew about his hidden cultivation level, and even Lu Xian was unsure of his exact realm.
Li Xuandao’s ambitions were vast. He wanted to be an emperor who lived forever, always in power. For this, he needed the strength to protect himself.
Li Lingtian’s recent setback was also beneficial. It would make him work harder, avoiding any trouble for his imperial authority.
With this thought, Li Xuandao smiled.
"Yang Jian, not bad. I look forward to your future."
...
Under the blue sky and white clouds.
In the mountains, Li Ya sat in meditation on a lake, his bare upper body surrounded by mist. His hair fluttered continuously, and he exuded a powerful aura, causing the lake to ripple with a shimmer of light of sword light light, sword light.
A figure leaped over the towering mountains, descending from the sky and landing on the lake, causing ripples without touching the water.
It was Zhang Buku!
Zhang Buku wore a robe made of animal skin, with long hair reaching his waist, exuding a wild and untamed aura.
He placed his hands on his hips and laughed, "Brother Li, An Hao has caused another uproar recently. Do you want to know about it?"
Li Ya didn’t open his eyes and replied, "Go on, what has he done this time?"
The three of them had joined the Star Sea Sect together. Although Li Ya was renowned within the sect for his control of Divine Anomaly City, his growth rate couldn’t compare to An Hao’s.
An Hao was the greatest genius of the Tai Xuan Sect, and this remained true in the Star Sea Sect. He outshone all the other geniuses.
"He has cultivated the Fiery Treasure Body. It’s said that this body type dominated the human realm in ancient times. Although the Star Sea Sect has a cultivation method, he is the first to achieve it in tens of thousands of years," Zhang Buku said with a sigh. After consuming a demon core, his talent had also transformed, making him a genius, but he still fell far short of An Hao.
Whenever he met An Hao, he felt awkward. Both came from the Tai Xuan Sect and had to be polite, but he deeply disliked An Hao.
This dislike had no reason. He just found An Hao’s face irksome, as if he had seen him somewhere before.
Li Ya opened his eyes, his brows furrowing.
He had always taken An Hao as his goal, but the more he pursued, the more powerless he felt.
An Hao seemed to be the protagonist of this world, and anyone in his presence would pale in comparison.
The Fiery Treasure Body was something he had heard of. Once cultivated, the body would transform into a radiant sun, becoming invincible.
Zhang Buku continued, "The sect is preparing to explore the Broken Sea Rift today. I’ve signed up. Are you coming?"
Li Ya shook his head, "I need to improve my cultivation. I don’t want to go, but if you really want me to accompany you, I can consider it."
Zhang Buku snorted, "I don’t want you to come. Following you brings bad luck. I just wanted to inform you, so you don’t miss me."
Li Ya glared at him, irritated, "Go away, you’re the one who’s unlucky!"
The two bickered, and when Zhang Buku mentioned Gu An, Li Ya was defeated.
Satisfied, Zhang Buku left.
Li Ya watched Zhang Buku’s back, inwardly cursing. When Zhang Buku returned, he would teach him a lesson.
...
Another Spring Festival arrived.
In the Third Medicine Valley, the disciples were busy decorating, and Li Lingtian joined them, mainly following Yang Jian. Seeing Yang Jian working, he had no choice but to follow suit.
In the pavilion.
Gu An was discussing a mysterious book with Shen Zhen. Both expressed their views, each trying to outdo the other, but neither could convince the other.
Suddenly.
Gu An seemed to sense something and furrowed his brows.
Shen Zhen noticed his change in expression and waved a hand in front of him, asking, "What’s wrong? Are you angry?"
Gu An shook his head, "No, I just thought of something and got distracted."
"Thinking of something? You don’t respect me!" Shen Zhen glared, angry.
She stood up, put the book in her storage bag, and left.
Gu An didn’t stop her; he was too lazy to indulge her.
He sat back in the precious chair that Shen Zhen had been occupying, communicating with the spirit of the Divine City in his mind.
“Are you sure?” he asked inwardly.
The spirit of the Divine City responded, “Yes, it’s his aura. Although I’ve never met him, his aura lingers in the city. I can’t possibly be mistaken. The former owner of Divine City is in that great rift!”
The great rift it referred to was the massive crack that cut across the ocean, which had sparked rumors of an apocalyptic tidal wave.
The spirit of the Divine City had just sensed the former owner from within that great rift.
Gu An wanted to learn more about the former owner’s cultivation level, but unfortunately, the spirit didn’t know much.
In its words, the Divine City had left the hands of the former owner before it came into being.
This was true for all spirit entities of immortal treasures; they could only serve one master. Once their master fell, the spirit would also dissipate.
At this moment, Li Ya was still in the Star Sea Sect, far from the ocean rift, but the spirit of the Divine City had sensed that aura.
Gu An cast his gaze toward the great rift and noticed numerous cultivators fleeing from it, as if something terrifying was pursuing them.
When his divine sense approached the rift, he felt a powerful aura that made him hesitant to probe further.
If it could make him feel so weak, there was likely a free-roaming primordial immortal hiding within the rift.
Gu An retracted his divine sense and stopped looking.
There were countless major forces in the world, and powerful cultivators innumerable. As long as they didn’t threaten him, he didn’t care. Besides, the great rift was incredibly far from the mainland, with two continents and countless islands in between.
Gu An chatted with the spirit of the Divine City for a while, confirming that the former owner could no longer control the city, which put his mind at ease.
He got up and walked down the stairs, seeing the busy disciples in the valley and smiling.
“Disasters keep happening in the world, but if they could be delayed by a few decades, that would allow a generation to live in peace.”
With that thought, he descended the stairs and headed toward where the most disciples gathered.
It was under an old tree where dozens of disciples were clustered, discussing animatedly. Two of them were playing chess, one of whom was the Nine-Fingered Immortal.
The other was the best chess player in the valley, one of the most senior disciples, respectfully called Old Lu. He had stayed in the Third Medicine Valley for a hundred years, from his youth to old age, because of his mediocre cultivation aptitude. He had no intention of leaving the Medicine Valley.
At this moment, Old Lu was frowning deeply, his right hand trembling as he held the chess piece, hesitant to make a move.
The Nine-Fingered Immortal looked composed, but he was secretly relieved.
This old man was too good at chess, almost making him lose!
Ever since playing Go in the Third Medicine Valley, the Nine-Fingered Immortal had become obsessed with it, finding endless mysteries on the board, similar to the great Dao of heaven and earth. So, he would come to the Third Medicine Valley to play chess every so often.
Go was invented by Gu An and had yet to spread beyond the Medicine Valley.
Gu An had created Go out of boredom and had no intention of promoting it, even in his previous life, he was only at the level of an amateur.
At this moment, Gu An squeezed through the crowd, seeing Old Lu sweating profusely, and said, “Little Lu, why don’t I take your place?”
A shameless immortal, bullying the ordinary children of the Medicine Valley? How dare he!
Old Lu looked up and saw Gu An, quickly standing up to let him take his place. The other disciples were excited.
In their minds, Gu An was the best chess player, after all, he had created the game.
Seeing Gu An sit down, the Nine-Fingered Immortal smiled, “Little friend, do you think there’s still a chance to turn this around?”
Gu An smiled, “If I had come three moves later, there would indeed be no hope.”
The Nine-Fingered Immortal’s smile froze instantly.
The reason the immortal was so good at chess was because he could instantly deduce countless possibilities, choosing the best move. From the moment Old Lu made his first move, the Nine-Fingered Immortal had seen the outcome.
Once he knew the rules of Go, the Nine-Fingered Immortal could easily defeat ordinary people. However, it was precisely because he could deduce countless possibilities that he felt the profundity of Go.
He played chess not to win, but to experience the process and comprehend his own Dao through the game.
He hadn’t expected Gu An to see through his chess strategy.
Under his watchful gaze, Gu An picked up a piece and placed it on the board, instantly turning the tide, making him frown.
He immediately made his move, and Gu An followed.
Unlike others who played slowly, their moves were swift.
It was a test of deduction ability!
The surrounding disciples watched in awe, not daring to breathe.
Li Lingtian also squeezed in to join the fun, watching the two play with interest for the first time.
Piece after piece, the sound of the pieces falling formed a kind of music, carrying a fierce momentum.
Suddenly.
The Nine-Fingered Immortal stopped, withdrawing his hand from mid-air and putting the piece down. He frowned and said, “I lose.”
Upon hearing this, cheers erupted from the crowd. Old Lu wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled broadly.
The Nine-Fingered Immortal stared at Gu An, as if trying to see through him.
Although this boy had a somewhat transcendent aura, his cultivation and physique didn’t seem impressive. How could he win?
(End of Chapter)
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