Two Thousand Years of Evolution, Great Vast God-Startling Sword

"I can't accept this. How could I take a sword your mother left for you?" Gu An waved his hands in refusal. He was speaking the truth; a sword with such a background likely carried deep entanglements and would only bring trouble.

Li Ya looked down at the scabbard, his thoughts drifting into memory. "This sword is named Heavenly Abode. It has been with me since I was three years old. I can no longer unleash its full power, and I am no longer qualified to wield it. It is better left with you; perhaps in this Medicine Valley, it can wait for someone fated to have it."

Gu An asked in confusion, "Why are you not qualified? This sword wouldn't happen to be related to the Imperial family, would it? If so, I dare not take it."

The mere thought of becoming entangled with the Li family gave him a headache.

Admittedly, the sword was beautiful and he liked it, but he wanted his life to remain undisturbed even more.

Li Ya looked at him and smiled. "You wouldn't understand even if I told you. Rest assured, this sword will not bring you trouble. The Li family wouldn't dare seize it either, because it was a token of love from my father the Emperor to my mother. With it in your possession, the Li family would not dare do anything to you upon seeing it. If you ever encounter trouble you cannot resolve in the future, you can take this sword to Changluo and find my father."

"How could a person of my lowly status ever meet the Emperor?"

"Don't worry. The moment Heavenly Abode appears in Changluo, my father will sense it. In short, you must accept it, otherwise, I won't eat this fruit."

Then don't eat it!

Gu An almost blurted it out, but he held his tongue.

He looked at the Heavenly Abode sword again. Come to think of it, he still didn't possess a single magic tool of his own. The inheritance Cheng Xuandan left behind consisted only of talisman papers; there were no magic tools, not even a sword.

What is there to fear!

I am a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator!

If I truly encounter an insurmountable problem, I can just throw the sword at them!

Gu An took a deep breath and reached out to grab Heavenly Abode. The sword had some weight to it, and his right hand trembled as he lifted it, causing Li Ya to burst into laughter.

"Junior Brother Gu, even if your aptitude is mediocre, don't forget to practice in your spare time. You must practice the Li Family Seven Swords I passed on to you," Li Ya said earnestly.

Gu An held the Heavenly Abode sword with both hands and nodded with a forced smile.

Heh.

Young man, your judgment still needs a lot of work!

And so, Li Ya settled into Medicine Valley. Gu An personally arranged a courtyard for him where no one would disturb him.

Li Ya sat cross-legged on the bed with the half-eaten Azure Vine Fruit beside him. He formed hand seals and continuously circulated his energy to heal his wounds.

A pale blue phantom emerged from Li Ya's body and hovered in the room. It was an elderly man with a kind and benevolent appearance, his Daoist robes fluttering slightly, exuding the aura of an enlightened master.

Li Ya opened his eyes and spoke, "Ancestor, what kind of fruit is this? Its medicinal efficacy is so overbearing..."

The soul-form elder, addressed as Ancestor, first waved his hand, causing the space in the room to ripple. He then stroked his beard and smiled. "It should be the Azure Vine Fruit, produced by the sacred Azure Vine Tree of the Thousand Autumn Pavilion. The Azure Vine Fruit is at least a sixth-tier item; you are quite lucky."

"A fruit from the Thousand Autumn Pavilion? The Thousand Autumn Pavilion has infiltrated deep enough; no wonder the Taixuan Sect views them as a major enemy," Li Ya muttered to himself.

The Ancestor looked at the Azure Vine Fruit and said, "The Thousand Autumn Pavilion and the Taixuan Sect have held a grudge for over a thousand years. Both sects have planted many pawns within each other. Your Junior Brother Gu is quite lucky; had he not met you, the Azure Vine Fruit would have brought him catastrophe."

Li Ya shook his head. "It is not that he is lucky, but that he is kind and values loyalty. People like him will always be rewarded. On the contrary, the one who is lucky is me."

The Ancestor nodded. "That is true. In the world of immortal cultivation, such people are indeed rare. However, you need not feel too guilty. Giving him Heavenly Abode means far more to him than the Azure Vine Fruit."

Hearing him mention Heavenly Abode, Li Ya sighed. "I have failed my mother's expectations, but I truly do not wish to fight for the throne. I only want to avenge her, then travel the world and stay far away from the struggles of the imperial court."

"Heavenly Abode is one of the three great Imperial swords of Taicang. To fully utilize its power, one must master the Imperial Pole Sword Technique. Your Nine Astonishing Swords are only at the minor success stage; it will likely take you another hundred years to master the Imperial Pole Sword Technique," the old man mused.

Li Ya fell silent.

The Ancestor teased, "You couldn't even easily defeat that little fellow named Shi Yang; you must work harder. You should know that your fourth brother has already reached the Golden Core stage."

Li Ya took a deep breath, stopped responding, and closed his eyes to continue healing.

The Ancestor looked out the window. Although the windows were tightly shut, he could hear the laughter of Xiao Chuan and the others.

"This is a good place, far from worldly strife. Unfortunately, those who carry a mission are destined not to belong here."

"Forget it, I cannot dwell on it any longer. I must return to slumber to preserve my spirit."

Late at night, the Mystic Valley was silent.

Gu An used the Dragon Force Divine Origin Technique to conceal his aura and left the Mystic Valley without a sound. He arrived in a mountain forest over twenty miles away.

He sat under a tree, pulled up his attribute panel, and locked his gaze on the Li Family Seven Swords.

How many years of lifespan should I invest?

After much thought, he decided to invest a bit more to increase his actual combat power.

Two thousand years it is!

Once this investment is made, I will focus on saving up to one hundred thousand years of lifespan!

He immediately chose to invest two thousand years of lifespan. As soon as this thought occurred, the first digit of his lifespan changed from four to two.

[You have invested two thousand years of lifespan into the Li Family Seven Swords for evolution and practice.]

[You practiced the Li Family Seven Swords for ten years, mastering the sword technique. You began to contemplate more possibilities.]

[You practiced the Li Family Seven Swords for fifty years, reaching the pinnacle of the sword technique. Your Li Family Seven Swords evolved into the Seven Sword Formula.]

[You practiced the Li Family Seven Swords for three hundred years. Your Seven Sword Formula reached its pinnacle, and the Seven Sword Formula evolved into the Nine Astonishing Swords.]

[You have practiced the Li Family Seven Swords for five hundred years, your Nine Astonishing Swords have reached perfection, and you have condensed your own sword intent.]

[You have practiced the Li Family Seven Swords for one thousand years, your Nine Astonishing Swords have returned to simplicity, and the Nine Astonishing Swords have advanced into the Imperial Pole Sword Technique.]

[You have practiced the Li Family Seven Swords for one thousand two hundred years, your sword intent has condensed its own Imperial Qi of Heaven and Earth, and your comprehension of the sword path has improved.]

[You have practiced the Li Family Seven Swords for one thousand eight hundred years, your Imperial Pole Sword Technique has returned to simplicity, your sword intent has stirred the sword path, you have gained insight into the true meaning of the sword path, you have entered a state of epiphany, and the Imperial Pole Sword Technique has advanced into the Great Vast God-Startling Sword.]

[You have practiced the Li Family Seven Swords for two thousand years, your Great Vast God-Startling Sword has reached the realm of mastery, and your comprehension of the sword path has improved.]

A series of prompts popped up frantically. Upon seeing that the evolution time had reached one thousand years, Gu An immediately activated the Longevity Barrier.

He was afraid of disturbing the mysterious existence underground as well as the soul within Li Ya.

When all the prompts subsided, a massive amount of memory flooded into his mind. The ground began to surge with spiritual energy, but this energy did not drill into his body; instead, it circled around him. Within the spiritual energy, wisps of cold light gradually condensed, resembling sword light, flickering with an extraordinary luster under the dark night.

Gu An fell into a state of enlightenment.

He did not know how much time had passed before he gradually woke up.

At this time, it was not yet dawn.

Gu An first looked at the consumption prompt for the Longevity Barrier.

Good grief, just by contemplating the technique, he had actually consumed three hundred years of his lifespan!

Fortunately, he had thoroughly mastered the Great Vast God-Startling Sword, and his understanding of the sword path had reached a state of perfection. This profound feeling put him in a wonderful mood.

Looking at the attribute panel again, he saw that the Li Family Seven Swords in the unique skills column had changed to the Great Vast God-Startling Sword, with the words "mastery" marked in parentheses.

He did not get up immediately but took out Heavenly Abode, placed the scabbard horizontally across his legs, pressed his hands onto the scabbard, and closed his eyes.

He was feeling the sword intent of this blade.

Once the sword's intent merged with his own, he would be able to subdue this precious sword.

There were actually restrictions inside this precious sword, and quite a few of them, like various magical barriers waiting for the sword master to break through them with divine sense and spiritual power.

Gu An did not understand restrictions, but fortunately, he already possessed his own sword intent, which passed through the restrictions.

Half an hour later.

Gu An stood up, threw Heavenly Abode into his Storage Bag, and walked toward Mystic Valley.

With one step, he hovered in mid-air, sword qi condensed beneath his feet, and he stepped on the sword to depart.

When he arrived within ten miles of Mystic Valley, he landed and continued to walk on foot, suppressing his aura to the extreme.

The night gradually passed, and the sky in the east gradually revealed a pink hue.

Morning arrived.

Li Ya pushed open his door, faced the morning sun, and stretched, feeling refreshed and invigorated.

The medicinal effect of the Azure Vine Fruit was truly too strong!

He was no longer in such discomfort and felt that he would be fully recovered in a few more days!

Li Ya wore a smile as his gaze turned to the grass beside the garden in the distance, where Gu An was leading his junior brothers and sisters in exercises.

Those sets of movements made Li Ya curious.

Although the movements were very slow, they inexplicably made him feel that there was something profound about them.

Li Ya immediately walked over. When he reached Gu An's side, Gu An greeted him, and he nodded in response.

"What are you practicing?" Li Ya asked curiously.

Gu An replied with a smile: "This is something I learned from an old man when I was a child. It can strengthen the body and maintain a good mental state. I lead them in practicing it every day so they have a good spirit to start a new day."

Lu Jiujia complained: "Actually, I feel like it's useless."

Xiao Chuan glared at him and said: "That's because your aptitude is dull."

Li Ya then said: "Actually, it is useful, but you have to keep at it for a long time."

Speaking as an Outer Sect disciple, these words naturally carried weight.

Gu An glanced at Li Ya, feeling that Li Ya had become much softer, actually able to say such a high-EQ thing.

In fact, the reason he led his junior brothers and sisters in exercises was mainly to let their thoughts completely detach from cultivation and dreams, so as not to ruin his flowers and plants.

"When you finish practicing, shall I teach you a set of sword techniques?" Li Ya said with a chuckle.

Xiao Chuan and the others were immediately excited when they heard this, thanking him one after another, calling him Senior Brother Li Ya.

Li Ya looked at Gu An and said: "You should join too. It just so happens that you have a sword in your hand now, so practice more."

Gu An nodded with a smile.

Fine.

Let me test whether your Li Family Seven Swords have been practiced to the right level!

Li Ya's participation made the atmosphere even more lively. Watching his junior brothers and sisters making noise, he didn't feel annoyed at all; instead, he felt happy.

It wasn't until noon that Li Ya pulled Gu An into the mountain forest.

"Show me your Li Family Seven Swords. Once you enter the gate early, I can teach you real sword techniques. This set of Li Family Seven Swords is just basic sword moves," Li Ya said seriously.

Li Ya: Today I am asking for votes on behalf of Junior Brother Gu. As long as you vote, I will teach you the Li Family Seven Swords in your dreams!