Ji Xiaoya stood in front of the pavilion, gazing up at the second-floor window.
She was curious—where was Gu An planning to go this time?
After a while, Gu An came downstairs again.
Ji Xiaoya immediately stepped forward to block his way, saying, "Let me make this clear. When you come back, you have to play a game with me."
Gu An looked at her and nodded. "Alright, I'd like to see how much your cultivation has progressed over the years."
Satisfied with his agreement, Ji Xiaoya smiled and stepped aside.
Gu An raised his hand and ruffled her hair gently before walking away at a brisk pace.
Ji Xiaoya turned and watched him leave. Her hand instinctively reached up to touch her head, and her thoughts drifted back to her childhood.
It had been a long time since he had done that.
"Time really flies," Ji Xiaoya murmured to herself, her tone tinged with melancholy.
Elsewhere.
Gu An arrived at Xuan Valley, but he didn't leave immediately. Instead, he went to observe the cultivation progress of An Shengtian and Jiang Shi.
The master-disciple pair liked to train in the woods. By now, Jiang Shi had little left to teach An Shengtian; most of their time was spent discussing cultivation techniques and helping each other refine their understanding.
When Gu An appeared, both of them were visibly excited, which made Gu An feel slightly uneasy.
Have I been too indifferent to them?
He had long understood their thoughts but had been too lazy to teach them directly, believing that leaving them to their own devices would better temper their hearts and spirits.
Gu An raised his right hand, and five manuals appeared in his palm. He told them to each choose one.
The master and disciple were no fools. They chose different manuals—Heaven and Earth Innate Art for one, and Dao Gang Primordial Qi for the other.
After offering a few words of encouragement, Gu An turned and left.
The two of them clutched the manuals, their hearts surging with excitement. When their eyes met, they felt a shared sense of destiny, as though their futures had just been illuminated.
"Cultivate diligently. Don't let Master down. And don't think about leaving anymore. Protecting Xuan Valley is our lifelong duty," Jiang Shi said sternly.
An Shengtian nodded. He shared the same resolve.
He would only descend the mountain to seek vengeance. Once his revenge was complete, he would return to repay the kindness shown to him.
Training under the Sword Master of the Dao for a thousand or ten thousand years—whatever it took—was nothing as long as they lived. No matter how long they spent under his tutelage, there would be no end in sight.
After leaving Xuan Valley, Gu An began walking toward the distance on foot.
His gaze turned toward the Reincarnation Vortex in the skies beyond.
He had decided to enter the vortex for training. Previously, he had sent an avatar to investigate. The Reincarnation Vortex wasn't another world, but rather a transmission channel, rich with the rules of reincarnation, connecting countless realms.
This was also why Xiao Chuan had not returned—he had reincarnated into another world.
Gu An had pondered the matter for years and concluded that breaking through in the Desolation Domain was far too risky. If he attracted the attention of the Heavenly Spirit God, would they conduct a thorough search? Or perhaps invite more mysterious immortal deities?
Although he wasn't sure where the immortals hunting Ji came from, Gu An harbored deep wariness of their backing and didn't want to draw their attention.
As these thoughts swirled in his mind, he strolled forward, moving as though he were sightseeing. His pace was unhurried.
An hour later.
Gu An stepped out of the Heavenly Spirit World.
It was as if an invisible staircase lay beneath his feet, and he ascended step by step into the sky.
As Gu An continued his ascent, he passed through the battlefield of two Divine Thought True Immortals. Their battle engulfed the skies, their spells shaking the heavens and earth, but not a single ripple of their power affected Gu An. He walked directly through their clash as if he were a phantom.
Their divine abilities passed through him harmlessly, incapable of even grazing his robes, as though he didn't exist within their perception.
Step by step, Gu An ascended the invisible staircase, his gaze fixed downward. He observed the vast expanse of the world below.
Above him stretched the cosmos, with battles raging across countless realms. The Tai Cang Continent was but a drop in the ocean compared to the endless skies. War consumed every corner of existence; there was no sanctuary untouched by conflict.
The ongoing strife between the Immortal Dynasty and the Sacred Court showed no signs of abating, while countless other sects and empires took advantage of the chaos to pillage and expand. The entire Heavenly Spirit World was shrouded in an ominous aura of slaughter and death.
As Gu An approached the Reincarnation Vortex, he withdrew his gaze and tilted his head upward.
The vortex, formed by the power of Yuanxu Immortal Ancestor, had grown stronger.
Endless souls surged toward the vortex, their incorporeal forms exuding an ethereal and enigmatic presence. The living could neither see nor touch them.
Without breaking his stride, Gu An stepped into the vortex.
Within the vortex, darkness surrounded him. The wandering souls he had seen earlier were no longer visible. What remained was a chaotic amalgamation of reincarnation, karma, destiny, and soul-related Dao principles, all tangled together, rendering the laws of the Dao unstable and turbulent.
Gu An was unfazed. He had already experienced this path through his avatar and knew what to expect.
He continued forward.
After a seemingly endless journey, faint starlight appeared in the distance. As he took another step, the starlight grew exponentially.
Each point of light represented a world, ranging from massive realms like the Heavenly Spirit World to smaller ones akin to the Blood Prison Saint's home or Lu Lingjun's lower world.
Gu An required a world abundant in spiritual energy, so he naturally sought a grand world.
The path through the vortex had no end. He passed by countless realms without stopping until he spotted one comparable to the Heavenly Spirit World in size and vitality. His pace quickened as he made his choice.
Emerging from the darkness, Gu An found himself amidst the cosmic void.
Even as he exited the Reincarnation Vortex, his vision lingered on the karmic threads of reincarnation. He observed souls flowing ceaselessly toward a grand world. The moment they touched the glowing outer layer of the world's heavenly Dao barrier, they vanished.
Rebirth.
The scene was unexpectedly beautiful.
Gu An thought so, turning away and stepping deeper into the void.
This new grand world was still surrounded by the Desolation Domain, far removed from the Heavenly Spirit World. Even with his divine sense, Gu An couldn't glimpse the faintest trace of his original world.
It was as if he had entered a completely different universe.
Half an incense stick later.
Gu An sat cross-legged on the remains of a desolate continent. The vast landmass drifted within the Desolation Domain. It was comparable in size to the Tai Cang Continent but utterly barren, devoid of vegetation, life, or vitality—a wasteland of silence and death.
He activated his Lifespan Barrier, creating a protective dome around himself. However, instead of beginning his breakthrough immediately, his gaze shifted toward the horizon.
It seemed his luck was poor.
Not far away, two Free Immortals were locked in a fierce battle.
Gu An's curiosity was piqued. He watched the battle intently, captivated by the clash. These two weren't as strong as the late Divine Lord God Cicada, but their power was undeniable. As Free Immortals, their fight shook the Desolation Domain, causing spiritual energy and Dao principles to surge violently.
After a while, Gu An turned his head in another direction, his expression becoming peculiar.
In the dark expanse of space, he noticed a floating skull resembling a human head. It hovered eerily, just like him, observing the ongoing battle from afar.
The skull emanated a foreboding aura unlike anything Gu An had encountered before. Even the profound laws of reincarnation couldn't produce such a presence.
"What kind of aura is this?" Gu An frowned. His curiosity deepened, and a desire to investigate further grew within him.
The ominous aura stirred an inexplicable hostility within him—a primal urge to destroy the skull at once.
As Gu An observed, the skull began to move. It shifted into a strange, elusive state, one that even Free Immortals wouldn't be able to detect.
Was it planning to target the two Free Immortals?