Chapter 155: Chapter 155 Shattering Void, Engagement

Zuo Lin’s words made Di Xie’s expression suddenly unnatural, but what Zuo Lin said next left him not knowing whether to laugh or cry:

“You must be a genius. I’ve never misjudged anyone’s talent or qi fortune.”

Zuo Lin looked smug, lifting his chin and gesturing for Di Xie to look at Gu An, saying, “Don’t be fooled by this kid’s mere Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivation Level. He’s not simple either. In fact, my judgment has proved correct—he’s now a Golden List Genius.”

Gu An walked over, resignedly saying, “What sort of genius am I? Making it onto the Golden List was just good luck.”

Zuo Lin pulled Gu An to sit down and then had Di Xie and Gu An introduce themselves to each other.

Di Xie was very composed and treated Gu An quite well, showing none of the airs of a Guest Elder.

Zuo Lin was very interested in Di Xie, and upon hearing that Di Xie wanted to learn about Sword Venerable Fudao, he didn’t hide anything and began telling stories of Sword Venerable Fudao’s exploits.

Di Xie listened attentively.

Before he came, he had heard that the number one cultivator of the Nine Dynasties was either the Taoist of Immortality from Three Pure Ones Mountain or the Sword Venerable Fudao from Supreme Sect.

Among them, Sword Venerable Fudao was the most mysterious. Though he had repeatedly aided the Supreme Sect, no one knew his true identity.

Gu An found it amusing to listen to Zuo Lin boast about his other identity.

At the same time, he was also observing Di Xie.

In the following half an hour, Gu An didn’t sense any malice from Di Xie and could only hold back his suspicions for the time being.

A great demon calamity was imminent, and a Mystic Heart Realm Great Demon had infiltrated the Supreme Sect, the purpose of which was unknown.

Gu An feared Di Xie might suspect him, so he took the chance to slip away.

There was plenty of time to come, and he could slowly observe Di Xie since Di Xie was planning to comprehend Sword Intent at the Heavenly Repair Platform.

In the days to come, Gu An would use his Divine Sense every day to observe Di Xie.

The more he watched, the more he felt Di Xie might truly harbor no ill will; he just seemed to earnestly want to learn swordsmanship.

Before, when Di Xie had swept the surroundings with his Divine Sense, he was probably just looking for Sword Venerable Fudao.

…

Spring went and autumn came; two years passed in the blink of an eye.

In these two years, Gu An’s lifespan had increased rapidly. Star-Master Cave had provided him with an enormous amount of lifespan; his life span had already broken through six million five hundred thousand, getting ever closer to the ten million mark.

One day, Gu An visited the Book Collection Hall in the Outer Gate City and, under the name Pan An, published a new book titled “Shattering Void.”

Liu Chang, the elder who had once taken care of Pan An, had passed away, and he was received by Feng Shang, the Great Elder of the Book Collection Hall.

Feng Shang was thrilled to receive Pan An for the first time, bombarding Gu An with compliments and guaranteeing that he would handle the book’s follow-up matters well.

Only after an hour at the Book Collection Hall did Gu An manage to get away.

Feng Shang was simply too enthusiastic!

In Feng Shang’s eyes, Gu An was a tremendous opportunity; as long as he arranged Pan An’s new book properly, his career would skyrocket!

After leaving the Book Collection Hall, Gu An strolled around the city. As the Supreme Sect grew stronger each year, the Outer Gate City became very bustling. Every street was crowded, and even stalls appeared, selling all kinds of odd and remarkable items. In the last year, Gu An had taken to wandering the city streets whenever he was free.

As he walked, Gu An spotted a familiar face.

“Du Ye.”

Gu An approached to greet him. Both being house servants of the Ji Family and having been accepted into the Supreme Sect together, their relationship was not close, but they would chat if they bumped into each other in the Outer Sect.

Du Ye was fiddling with a small gourd at a stall. Hearing Gu An’s voice, he reluctantly set the gourd down, stood up, and looked at Gu An.

When Gu An reached him, Du Ye greeted him with a smile, asking, “Are you here treasure hunting too?”

Gu An laughed and replied, “There aren’t that many treasures to find. I’m just browsing and enjoying the buzz. How have you been lately?”

Ninety-two-year-old Du Ye looked just over forty. He hadn’t taken any Youth-Preserving Pills when he was younger, unlike Gu An, who appeared youthful.

In the Immortal Cultivation World, not every cultivator seeks a youthful appearance; some believe that maturity conveys more presence.

“Ah, don’t get me started. I attempted the Foundation Establishment recently and failed, wasting a Foundation Establishment Pill in the process,” Du Ye said gloomily.

He was genuinely a low-level cultivator in the Immortal Cultivation World, of mediocre talent, who had to do odd jobs for young masters from significant families for cultivation resources.

Gu An consoled him, then took out a medicine bottle with two Foundation Establishment Pills inside.

“This…” Holding the medicine bottle, Du Ye hesitated. He didn’t want to accept Gu An’s charity, but he couldn’t bear to refuse.

For a low-level cultivator like him, reaching the Foundation Establishment was a lifelong dream.

Gu An smiled and said, “Don’t mention it; after all, we grew up together. I hope you live a few more decades. When we’re old, we can reminisce about our youth.”

Hearing this, Du Ye felt a warm sensation and remembered that he had once told Gu An to seek his help if he ever encountered any troubles. If there was any way he could help, he wouldn’t hesitate.

Half a lifetime later, Gu An had never sought his help; instead, Du Ye began to owe Gu An favors.

Du Ye lightly patted Gu An’s shoulder, no longer refusing. He put the medicine bottle into his Storage Bag.

“By the way, I heard something recently; our third miss has been betrothed,” Du Ye suddenly said in a low voice.

Hearing this, Gu An was stunned and asked with curiosity, “Betrothed? To whom?”

Hearing of Ji Xiaoyu’s engagement, his heart couldn’t help but ripple.

Perhaps it was because Ji Xiaoyu had once saved him as a child.

Even after growing up, Ji Xiaoyu had been kind to him, not treating him like a house servant and giving him many things to help with his Cultivation.

Could even such a Girl of Heavenly Pride not escape an arranged marriage?

Thinking of this, Gu An felt quite emotional.

Du Ye shook his head and said, “How would I know? But it seems that only the engagement is set, there’s no date for the wedding yet. I think the young master and the others are very happy, so the other party must be quite significant.”

“That’s a given, being able to marry into the Ji Family is beyond our imagination,” Gu An said with a laugh.

The two of them chatted for a bit more, and then Gu An bid farewell to Du Ye.

He didn’t go back to Medicine Valley but continued to wander around the city.

…

The Book Collection Hall acted quickly and in less than a month, ‘Shattering Void’ appeared in the Book Collection Halls of various cities.

Riding on the reputation accumulated from ‘Investiture of the Gods’ and ‘Supreme Immortal Venerable’, Pan An’s new book caused a sensation as soon as it hit the shelves, sweeping through the Supreme Sect.

A month later, the name ‘Shattering Void’ had spread throughout the Taicang Immortal Cultivation World and started reaching the other eight dynasties.

Lu Lingjun also bought the book and as soon as she finished reading, she went straight to Gu An.

“It’s written quite well. The male protagonist harbors a Great Demon inside him that leads the way on his journey of Immortal Cultivation despite his mediocre talent, but…” Lu Lingjun frowned as she spoke.

“What ‘but’?” asked Gu An.

“Why is it called ‘Shattering Void’?”

She stared intently at Gu An, as if trying to see through him.

Gu An responded with a puzzled look, “Didn’t you say that ascending is your pursuit in your homeland? Doesn’t ‘Shattering Void’ appeal to you?”

Hearing this, Lu Lingjun couldn’t help but nod, saying, “Indeed, it’s very appealing. Then you should continue writing it well.”

She mocked herself internally, how could this kid have guessed that she was an Ascender?

Then, they started discussing the book ‘Shattering Void’, and Lu Lingjun made many demands. Gu An wasn’t agreeable at first, but when she brought out a pile of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, he changed his tune, saying he would consider it.

Lu Lingjun was amused by his greed.

After Lu Lingjun left, he took out ‘Daoist Xunchun’ and started to read.

‘Shattering Void’ was only written because someone asked for it, but the classics that are truly worth appreciating are in ‘Daoist Xunchun’!

With the release of Pan An’s book, the Servant Disciples of Mystic Valley and the Third Medicine Valley also began discussing it, and Pan An’s name proved to be more influential than Gu An had imagined.

Half a month later.

When Gu An returned to the Third Medicine Valley, he sensed Lv Baitian’s presence.

Counting the days, it had been more than ten years since he last saw him.

Gu An went to the attic to meet with the long-waiting Lv Baitian. He closed the door of the room and then approached Lv Baitian, raising his hand in salute.

Lv Baitian looked the same as he had many years ago. He gestured for Gu An to sit down.

After Gu An took his seat, Lv Baitian finally asked, “What made you think of publishing a book recently?”

“It was a spur of the moment thing. Did you read it too?” replied Gu An.

“I did. It’s not as good as ‘Investiture’.”

“That’s true,” Gu An said sincerely. He believed that himself.

Lv Baitian changed the subject abruptly, “Is Su Han your disciple?”

Upon hearing this, Gu An feigned nervousness and asked, “He used to be. What about him?”

Lv Baitian stared at Gu An and said, “He has also cultivated the ‘Defying Fate Divine Skill.’”

“What?” Gu An was visibly shocked.

He hastened to explain, “I didn’t teach it to him. Over these years, I haven’t even seen him.”

Since Lv Baitian had passed the ‘Defying Fate Divine Skill’ to Gu An, he had barely practiced it because he couldn’t abandon his cultivation to start over.

Lv Baitian snorted and said, “Of course, I know you didn’t pass it on. As a matter of fact, I didn’t create the ‘Defying Fate Divine Skill’ either. I also received it from someone else.”

“I can tell you directly that ‘Defying Fate Divine Skill’ comes from the Ephemera Sect. Now that Su Han has also learned it, it indicates that the remnants of the Ephemera Sect have not been completely eradicated.”

Gu An’s eyes widened, displaying a look of disbelief.

He thought of the Nine Nether Thirteen Evil and the Ghost Mother of Ephemera. Could it be that they had approached Su Han?

“Sect Leader, you…” Gu An looked at Lv Baitian, unsure of what to say, a mix of emotions crossing his face.

He really wanted to say, “I also have an identity concerning the Ephemera Sect.”

“I am the Sect Hierarch of the Ephemera Sect!”

Lv Baitian chuckled, “Don’t worry. I just have karma with the Ephemera Sect. I don’t actually come from there. In my youth, I made a Daoist Friend who was from the Ephemera Sect. Before she died, she passed the ‘Defying Fate Divine Skill’ on to me. It is because of this skill that I could achieve what I have.”

“Don’t talk about this past to anyone. If you do, I surely won’t be able to hold onto my position as Sect Leader. Ever since the Supreme Elders returned, my position has become increasingly unstable.”

He concluded with a self-deprecating laugh.

Gu An immediately responded, “Of course, I won’t speak of it, as long as you don’t harm the interests of the Supreme Sect.”

Lv Baitian glared at him, feigning annoyance, but he was inwardly very pleased.

He’s truly worthy of being the Sect Leader I picked!

Following that, Lv Baitian said, “Su Han has learned the ‘Hateful Heaven Divine Sword’ and inherited the ‘Defying Fate Divine Skill’. His progress will be rapid from now on. How close are you with him? If you’re close, be cautious. It’s clear that Su Han has a mastermind behind him. I’m afraid that person will come after you to make Su Han hate this world even more.”