https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-80-Ephemeral-Ghost-Mother-Lu-Xian-s-Return/12575221/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-82-Ancient-Metal-Devouring-Insects-Demon-Path-Besieging-the-Tai-Xuan-Gate/12575223/
Chapter 81: Xuanwu Shockwave Palm, the Heavenly Spirit Root Revealed
Chapter 81: Xuanwu Shockwave Palm, the Heavenly Spirit Root Revealed
Upon hearing that Li Ya was injured, Gu An felt annoyed.
This guy was a bit too rough, and now he was even belittling Li Ya!
Gu An had previously thought that even if Lu Xian won against Li Ya, he would go easy on him out of respect for Li Xuandao. He didn't expect this guy to be so arrogant, not even giving Li Xuandao any face in his tone.
Yi Liuyun appeared out of thin air in front of Lu Xian, frowning as he asked, "Why did you hurt His Highness? Wouldn't it be enough to just knock him out?"
It was clear that Li Xuandao often spoke of Li Ya in front of him.
"What's it to you? Is he not to be touched? And compared to the Crown Prince, he's nothing," Lu Xian retorted with a frown, his tone dissatisfied.
"Even if he's not the Crown Prince, he's still a prince whom His Majesty cares about!" Yi Liuyun's tone was stern.
Ruo Hun remained silent, his expression clearly showing his displeasure as well.
Lu Xian huffed, "Not allowed? Then beat me up and break my arms and legs!"
At that moment, he spotted Gu An approaching and immediately grew excited, hurrying over to meet him.
"Valley Master, I've won first place in the Hundred Races Assembly. What do you think? Want to cultivate with me?" Lu Xian said, taking out a golden token from his waist pouch, on which was written 'First Place on the Qianlong Ranking'.
Gu An nodded, "Then I shall learn."
Upon hearing this, Lu Xian immediately pulled him to the side.
Yi Liuyun looked at Ruo Hun and asked, "Should we inform His Majesty about this?"
Ruo Hun thought for a moment and replied, "No need. His Majesty has definitely sent people to keep an eye on His Highness Li Ya."
Yi Liuyun sighed and shook his head before disappearing from the spot.
Gu An followed Lu Xian to a vacant area, with the three monkey demons scampering over to stand curiously by their side.
"What kind of magic do you like?" Lu Xian asked, rubbing his palms together eagerly.
"Anything but sword techniques," Gu An replied.
This had been agreed upon beforehand, and he didn't want to go back on his word.
However, that was as far as he was willing to bend; Lu Xian injuring Li Ya was another matter entirely.
"Then I'll teach you a palm technique! I have a very powerful set of palm skills, and it was with this move that I broke Li Ya's arms and legs." Lu Xian smiled proudly, glaring at Yi Liuyun in the distance as he finished speaking, clearly directing his words at him.
"Then teach me, let me see how powerful it is," Gu An nodded.
Lu Xian immediately began to impart the palm technique, demonstrating the moves while explaining the mental techniques.
Xuanwu Shockwave Palm!
The name sounded formidable!
Gu An watched intently.
Ready to give Lu Xian a hard time.
The sun shone brightly, gradually sinking towards the west.
As evening fell, Lu Xian's face was filled with frustration as he exclaimed, "Are you really unable to remember, or are you messing with me on purpose?"
His voice was loud, startling Ruo Hun and Yi Liuyun, who quickly flew over, fearing that he would make a move.
Gu An sighed, "I told you, my aptitude and comprehension are both poor. You didn't believe me and insisted on teaching me, and now you're getting impatient."
"It's not that... Surely no one can be this slow?" Lu Xian was at a loss. Gu An didn't seem to be pretending, though.
Yi Liuyun spoke up, "The Valley Master's cultivation is all due to pill consumption. I told you before, stop trying to convince others. Everyone's situation is different."
Ruo Hun added, "His Majesty values his planting abilities."
He emphasized the word 'values'.
Lu Xian took a deep breath, "I don't believe it. I must teach him!"
"Next time, I have to go back now," Gu An quickly interjected.
"You're not allowed to leave!"
As soon as Gu An heard this, he turned and walked away, with Yi Liuyun and Ruo Hun quickly blocking Lu Xian's path.
"Damn it, Valley Master, you must come back! If you cultivate the Xuanwu Shockwave Palm, you'll have the power to protect yourself, and even strive for a heavenly mandate, reaching even higher realms!" Lu Xian called out to Gu An's retreating figure.
Gu An couldn't understand him; why was he so cruel to his opponents yet so keen on teaching others?
Had he gone mad from his dreams?
As Gu An pondered this, he mounted his sword and swiftly disappeared into the twilight.
In the days that followed, every time Gu An visited, Lu Xian would teach him magic, but no matter what he taught, Gu An just couldn't seem to grasp it. However, Lu Xian was persistent, and if one technique didn't work, he would simply move on to the next.
Time flew by.
The end of the year arrived.
Snow covered the mountains and forests as far as the eye could see.
A man in white, his face masked, emerged from the forest, followed by two others—An Hao and An Xin.
Usually lively, even An Hao was silent at this moment.
Gu An stopped in his tracks, gazing at the snow-capped mountains in the distance, and said, "If we continue for a few hundred more li, we'll reach the outer gate of Tai Xuan Men. When we get there, reveal your spiritual power, and they will take you into the city to test your spirit roots."
An Xin's eyes were red as she asked, unable to hold back her tears, "Master, when will we see each other again?"
"I saved you on a whim; this is a connection that shouldn't have formed. Naturally, we won't meet again after this, and you must not mention me to anyone," Gu An said, his back turned to them.
He had indeed taught An Hao and An Xin cultivation without any ulterior motives, simply on a whim.
He didn't expect anything in return from them, and he hoped their relationship would end here.
Suddenly, An Hao knelt down, followed by An Xin, and they both kowtowed to Gu An.
This time, Gu An didn't stop them, accepting their three loud bows. An Hao's forehead was broken and bloody, but he didn't feel any pain. His eyes were fixed on his master's retreating figure with determination.
An Hao would never forget the terrifying experience he had in the demon's cave, nor the despair he felt when facing the wolf demon.
"Master, whoever you are, I will never forget your kindness. I will cultivate diligently, shake the world with my name, and become the strongest person under the heavens. When that time comes, if you hear my name and need my help, just call for me, and I, your disciple, will die a thousand deaths without complaint!"
An Hao's voice was deep and resolute, and at just fourteen years old, he exuded a firmness beyond his years.
Gu An waved his sleeve, and a gust of wind and snow swept in from the distance, causing An Hao and his sister to instinctively raise their arms to shield themselves.
"If you want to help me, you should first live for a thousand years!"
Gu An's voice drifted away on the wind, and by the time the snow had passed, the two of them looked up and saw that he was gone.
An Xin turned to look at An Hao, awaiting his decision.
He stood up, gazed into the distance, and said softly, "An Xin, we must not disappoint Master."
An Xin nodded vigorously, and the siblings continued on their way, the swirling snow before them seeming ready to engulf them.
Gu An, meanwhile, returned to Xuan Gu.
He first checked on the medicinal herbs in Xuan Gu, then made his way back to his own loft, his spiritual sense always locked onto An Hao and his sister.
Although they were less than three hundred li away from Tai Xuan Gate, he still worried, as the place was now teeming with all sorts of people.
In the following days, wherever he went and whatever he did, he would always detach a part of his spiritual sense to keep watch over An Hao and his sister, until they finally arrived safely at the outer gate of Tai Xuan Gate.
The young An Hao revealed his cultivation base of the ninth layer of Qi Refining, immediately startling the elders of the outer sect city, who received them personally.
The reason they had chosen this nearby outer sect city was mainly because there were many powerful cultivators within, and An Hao would be less likely to be ambushed or possessed.
...
The new year arrived, bringing with it the spring festival.
Xuan Gu.
Gu An, Ye Lan, Zhen Qin, Wu Xin, Xiao Chuan, Tang Yu, and the others gathered around a long table to celebrate the holiday, while the other servant disciples sat at another table, toasting and chatting.
"Have you heard? Recently, an outer disciple with a Heavenly Spirit Root was recruited. Even the elders of the main sect city were astonished. His name is An Hao, and he's only fourteen years old this year. He's almost at the Foundation Establishment stage; it's incredible! Compared to him, I feel like I've been cultivating like a pig!" Zhen Qin held her wine bowl, exclaiming in amazement.
A Heavenly Spirit Root!
Everyone was intrigued, and Wu Xin couldn't help but ask, "Is it true? We haven't had a Heavenly Spirit Root in the Great Cang Empire for hundreds of years."
"It's true," Ye Lan nodded. "The Law Enforcement Hall even guarded him for a few days until he was taken away by the Sect Master." She was calmer than Zhen Qin.
The group discussed the Heavenly Spirit Root at length, with Wu Xin sharing many legends that caused Ye Lan to frown.
"How does this kid know so much? I hope he's not up to something."
Ye Lan eyed Wu Xin, thinking to herself. Although they had known each other for many years, people could change.
She decided to check Wu Xin's entry records just to be sure.
Gu An listened to the group's discussion about An Hao, a smile appearing on his face.
There was now another interesting thing to look forward to in his farming days: watching An Hao's growth and progress.
They chatted for a long while before turning to the topic of the cultivation world. Apparently, there was a demon disaster in Chang Luo of Cangzhou, with demons attempting to assassinate the emperor. The emperor had narrowly escaped, and in his fury, he was now investigating the matter, and had even wiped out entire families.
Knowing that Li Xuandao was hiding his cultivation at the ninth layer of the Transformation stage, Gu An felt no worry and instead listened with great interest.
As the new spring festival arrived, bidding farewell to the old year and ushering in the new, the night of revelry lasted until dawn. When the morning sun rose, Ye Lan and Zhen Qin took their leave.
Gu An did not immediately depart Xuan Gu, but instead sneaked into the Eight Scenery Cave Heaven to bring delicacies to Haolong.
Under the Cangteng tree, Haolong was delighted to see Gu An and quickly swam around him. Now nearly twenty feet long, his dragon horns had fully grown, and he looked like a true dragon, his black dragon scales shimmering with a cold light.
"Master, when can you take me out?" Haolong rubbed against Gu An's face, his voice pitiful.
Gu An rubbed his head and smiled. "Didn't I tell you? After you've fully grown, there will be many people eyeing your meat, just like how you look at mutton."
"How big do I have to be? I feel very strong now, and you may not even be my match," Haolong complained.
Although Gu An had practiced his swordplay under the tree, he had never revealed his true strength, and even Haolong was unaware of it.
Hearing Haolong's words, Gu An felt that things couldn't continue like this.
"I'll think of something," Gu An mused.
He decided to seek out Jiang Qiong to see if she knew any transformation techniques that could turn Haolong into a snake, allowing him to accompany Gu An on his outings.
Haolong was thrilled at the idea and even cheered, causing Gu An to laugh.
After spending an hour in the Eight Scenery Cave Heaven, Gu An left. He did so because he had sensed a familiar presence approaching Xuan Gu.
Back in his loft, Gu An pretended to read a book.
Before long, a figure leaped through the window, and before their feet touched the ground, a voice rang out, "Junior Brother Gu, guess what treasure I've brought back for you?"
(End of Chapter)
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