https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-257-The-Former-Master-of-Divine-Anomaly-City/12811785/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-295-True-Blood-of-the-Immortal-King/12811787/
Chapter 258: The Variable
Chapter 258: The Variable
As night fell, fireworks lit up the sky in the Third Medicine Valley, a dazzling and beautiful sight.
The pavilion area was filled with tables, and thousands of people were toasting and conversing, a magnificent scene.
Gu An ignored the Nine-Fingered Divine Lord’s gaze and chatted idly with You Ying, inquiring about Lulingjun’s situation.
In truth, he had been keeping an eye on Lulingjun all along. Lulingjun had established the Ascension Sect and formed an alliance with the TaiXuan Gate to occupy an island, currently busy mining spirit ores. Overall, things were going smoothly.
Youying had been corresponding with Lulingjun through letters. In the world of cultivation, letters were either sent using spells, magical artifacts, or spirit beasts. Youying, from the Star Sea Sect, had a means of communication that connected her to the ocean.
After a while, Gu An found an excuse to leave and headed to the Xuan Valley to visit the disciples there.
Deep into the night, after the disciples had returned to their rooms, he finally made his way to Nianchu’s cave residence to celebrate with Tianyao, Tianqing, and Tianbai.
Unlike others, the three women had no family left and would follow him for the rest of their lives. Therefore, Gu An never forgot to include them in the festivities each year.
While enjoying the delicious food, Gu An inquired about Tianyao’s cultivation progress.
Tianyao’s cultivation had reached the Sixth Stage of the Soul Transformation Realm, which was quite impressive. Her natural talent was strong, and with a constant supply of medicinal herbs and elixirs, her cultivation speed was naturally fast.
However, Gu An was more concerned about her mastery of the Primordial Immortal Art and the Infinite Freedom Step.
Cultivation was the main trunk, but spells and abilities were the branches and leaves—both were essential.
Tianyao was quite proud of her achievements, her nose nearly reaching the sky with her smugness.
Gu An feared she might become complacent, so he recounted the cultivation progress of An Hao and Yang Jian, without revealing their names, referring to them only as his two disciples.
As he spoke, Tianyao’s head gradually lowered.
Tianqing and Tianbai sat on either side of Gu An, listening like they were at a storytelling session, occasionally gasping, which made Tianyao even more uncomfortable.
When Gu An finished, Tianyao pouted her lips and said, "So what? I’ll surpass them eventually."
Gu An smiled and said, "You are also my disciple. How about you formally become my disciple?"
"No way! Absolutely not!" Tianyao stood up abruptly, her eyes wide and her teeth clenched, a momentary transformation making her less adorable than usual.
Gu An sighed, "Why are you so agitated? If you don’t want to, that’s fine. I don’t even want to take you in!"
Tianyao sat back down, turning her head away.
Tianqing covered her mouth and giggled, "Miss doesn’t want to be a disciple; she wants to be the mistress!"
Tianyao’s face turned bright red, but she wasn’t angry. Gu An noticed her secretly giving Tianqing a thumbs-up, a discreet gesture hidden under her sleeve.
Tianbai joined in, teasing Tianyao, who blushed and tried to clarify, only making it worse.
Gu An watched their exaggerated performance and sighed inwardly.
It seemed he would have to train their acting skills; they were too clumsy. He feared they might not be reliable enough for future tasks.
That night, Gu An stayed with them at their insistence.
Under the tree, Gu An leaned against the trunk, holding a book in his hand.
Tianyao was reading "Journey to the West," but her thoughts were entirely on him.
She looked at the mask on Gu An’s face, wanting to remove it but afraid he would be angry.
Despite their close relationship, she always feared losing everything. Even when she acted cute, she listened carefully to Gu An’s tone, afraid of displeasing him.
"Do you want to take off my mask?"
Gu An suddenly asked. Tianyao instinctively wanted to deny it, but hearing his gentle tone, she couldn’t help but nod.
Gu An removed his mask and placed it on Tianyao’s face.
Tianyao quickly pulled it off, thinking Gu An was teasing her, but then she noticed he hadn’t put on another mask.
Seeing Gu An’s handsome face, she was momentarily stunned.
Because Gu An always wore a mask, she had always imagined the worst, thinking he had a hideous or terrifying face. She never expected him to be so handsome.
Gu An was willing to remove his mask because they had been together for so many years, and Tianyao had severed all ties with the outside world. Knowing his true appearance wouldn’t cause any issues.
Of course, the most important reason was that he was now strong enough to face any challenges on the continent, if not the entire world.
"I know you’ve always wanted to see my face. Tonight, let you be happy. After tonight, you must cultivate even harder. Don’t always have wild thoughts. Since I’ve taken you in, I won’t abandon you. You are destined to be with me for the longest time. Look to the future. One day, I will take you out to travel and see the world, just like Laozi in 'Journey to the West.' His subordinate, the Blue Ox Demon, could even challenge Sun Wukong. I hope you can stand on your own in the future. Your strength is my pride."
Gu An spoke with deep sincerity, and his words were heartfelt.
Whether it was An Hao or Yang Jian, they would eventually leave him.
Yelan had her own cultivation path, and regardless of her lifespan, Tianyao, with her limit of 18,000 years, would be the one who could accompany him the longest.
Tianyao was deeply moved and nodded vigorously, saying, "Master, rest assured. I will never let you down, and I will train Tianqing and Tianbai well. I am your pride, and they are mine. If they can become top-tier powers in the world, you will surely be even more proud."
Gu An chuckled and said, "Like it’s written in the Grand Mystic Immortal? In the future, when they offend someone and you have to step in, will you then force me to step in as well?"
Tian Yaoye giggled, "Exactly, after dealing with the small fry, you come in as the big boss."
"Nonsense, your master will always be young."
"You do look young."
The two of them began chatting, imagining the future.
Gu An found the conversation quite enjoyable. He could only talk about the future with Tian Yaoye; discussing such matters with others was impossible, as they had no idea about his cultivation level. Even if they did know, how could mere mortals discuss the future with an immortal?
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, but it was difficult to find common ground.
...
The next morning, Gu An arrived at the Third Medicine Valley.
As soon as he stepped off the teleportation platform, the Nine-Fingered Divine Lord approached, trying to pull him along. Gu An quickly stepped back and asked sternly, "Senior, what do you want?"
The Nine-Fingered Divine Lord retracted his hand and cleared his throat, saying, "I want to play another game, no, best two out of three."
He realized he might have been a bit too forward but thought Gu An was overreacting.
If he truly wanted to harm Gu An, Gu An wouldn’t stand a chance.
What Gu An was actually afraid of was accidentally killing the Nine-Fingered Divine Lord.
In the presence of Dao Gang Yuan Qi, the Nine-Fingered Divine Lord and Guo Guhong were no different!
"Fine, let’s play," Gu An said with a straight face. The Nine-Fingered Divine Lord didn’t mind and turned to lead the way.
Today, I will crush you to the last piece! Gu An thought to himself. The Nine-Fingered Divine Lord had almost cost him a life of immortality, and he needed to teach him a lesson!
An hour later.
Gu An stood up, stretching lazily. The surrounding disciples noticed the Nine-Fingered Divine Lord’s grim expression and dispersed, leaving the two of them alone under the tree.
The Nine-Fingered Divine Lord stared at the chessboard, his eyes vacant.
He couldn’t accept this reality.
In the distance, Li Ling Tian stood beside Yang Jian, asking curiously, "Who is that Daoist? He seems quite formidable."
Yang Jian replied, "He’s an elder of the TaiXuan Gate. What do you think of his background?"
With that, he turned and continued sweeping the ground.
Li Lingtian sized up the Nine-Fingered Divine Lord, thinking that an elder of the TaiXuan Gate must be very powerful. Maybe he should find an opportunity to spar with him?
Li Lingtian desperately needed a victory to build his confidence. The other disciples in the valley were too weak to be worth mentioning, and he couldn’t bypass Yang Jian to challenge Gu An. So, he set his sights on the Nine-Fingered Divine Lord.
This old man loves to play chess with mortals; perhaps he would also spar with a junior like him.
Yes, he would ask the Nine-Fingered Divine Lord to suppress his cultivation to the Core Formation realm and see if he could fight across realms.
Although losing to Yang Jian had been a major blow to his confidence, he didn’t think he lacked talent.
He just chose the wrong opponent!
He couldn’t believe he would make the same mistake twice.
He couldn’t even beat Gu An in chess; how could he possibly win in a magical duel?
Li Lingtian’s face broke into a grin as he thought about it.
Under the tree, the Nine-Fingered Divine Lord looked up at Gu An, asking sternly, "Impossible, I shouldn’t have lost to you. Who are you, really?"
As a Wandering Immortal, why should he lose?
Gu An lifted his head and laughed smugly, "I am an immortal. What do you think?"
"An immortal?"
"Yes, you can call me the Chess Immortal."
"Get lost!"
"Ha!"
Gu An turned and swept away, leaving.
The Nine-Fingered Divine Lord watched him go, a bitter smile on his face.
No matter how he looked at it, Gu An didn’t seem to be disguising himself as a powerful cultivator. His cultivation was that of a Wandering Immortal, but his insight far surpassed that of a Wandering Immortal.
He couldn’t help but look back at the chessboard.
Could it be that he hadn’t fully grasped the essence of Go?
Even if he could predict countless scenarios, what did it matter?
Go was about variables and unpredictability.
The Nine-Fingered Divine Lord frowned deeply, lost in thought.
...
Spring gave way to summer, and the temperature in the world steadily rose.
One day, Gu An, Yang Jian, and Li Lingtian set out for the Horizon Valley. Gu An rode on the back of the Blood Prison Great Sage’s ox, moving slowly.
Li Lingtian followed behind, looking listless.
Clearly capable of flying, Gu An insisted on walking. Was he deliberately tormenting him?
But seeing Yang Jian walk without a change in expression, Li Lingtian had to endure. He couldn’t let Yang Jian outdo him in this.
Rumble—
Thunder rumbled in the distance. Li Lingtian looked back and saw storm clouds rolling in.
Yang Jian seemed to sense something, stopping and turning to look, his brows furrowed.
Li Lingtian walked over, puzzled, "What’s wrong?"
Yang Jian ignored him and followed the Blood Prison Great Sage.
Li Lingtian felt hurt. Yang Jian always treated him coldly, which made him quite depressed. He knew he was insignificant in Yang Jian’s eyes.
Indeed, if he were Yang Jian, he wouldn’t bother talking to someone with such a significant gap in strength.
Yang Jian approached Gu An and asked, "Master, I have a very uneasy feeling, as if something big is about to happen."
Gu An replied, "Perhaps a calamity is indeed coming."
Yang Jian asked, puzzled, "Could it be that the Seven Star Spirit Realm still harbors malicious intentions?"
Gu An didn’t answer but instructed, "Feel carefully. I want to know what you can sense."
(End of Chapter)
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