Under the dim snowy night, Zuo Yijian's Sword Intent formed a shocking, tyrannical pillar of energy that churned the wind and snow, linking heaven and mountain. Scorching flames rose within the pillar, transforming into a fire dragon that soared into the sky.
Zuo Lin stared, dumbfounded. He had never imagined that his father's Flame-Devouring Sword Technique had reached such a realm. He had never even heard of it.
Boom!
A tremendous roar suddenly struck from behind Zuo Lin, like thunder bursting from nowhere. Startled, he instinctively turned around. Before his face had fully turned, brilliant sword light shone across it. His eyes widened as, from the corner of his vision, he caught a dazzling streak of sword light sweeping in from the dark horizon.
That sword light was so brilliant that words could not describe it. The snow filling the sky was blasted apart by it, forming enormous waves of air, as though the entire night sky were about to be pierced through. The sight shook Zuo Lin to his core.
Zuo Lin's mind went blank. He had no time to think.
The dazzling sword light tore through the night sky and swept over his head. The fierce wind it raised instantly activated the Formation around him. A barrier of energy appeared around him, rippling violently as though it might shatter at any moment.
Before Zuo Lin's eyes, the dazzling sword light crashed into Zuo Yijian's Sword Intent with the unstoppable force of dead wood collapsing before a raging wind.
Zuo Yijian reacted faster than Zuo Lin, yet no matter how fast he was, he could not match his opponent.
He had no time to execute his sword technique and could only forcefully resist with his own Sword Intent.
Boom!
The terrifying pillar of energy enveloping him was directly scattered. The Crimson Flame Dragon vanished in an instant, and Zuo Yijian's Sword Intent was forcibly crushed.
His robes tore apart, and blood burst from the surface of his body.
His eyes widened, and a leaf was reflected in his pupils.
"How could this be..."
That thought flashed through Zuo Yijian's mind. He did not even have time to feel fear before the leaf pierced into his shoulder. Terrifying Sword Qi erupted, blasting him backward and sending him through one mountain after another before he finally crashed into a forest dozens of miles away.
A hollow passage had been shot through the night sky. The snowflakes nearby turned into mist the moment they approached, hanging among the mountains in a magnificent sight.
On the mountaintop, Zuo Lin stood within the Formation, staring in disbelief toward the direction where his father had vanished.
Then he collapsed to his knees, unable to accept what he had seen.
His invincible father had actually lost...
And he had lost without the slightest power to fight back...
Ten miles away, atop a mountain.
Gu An maintained his hand-waving posture. The cold wind mixed with flying snow made his white robes billow fiercely, while his gaze beneath the Mask remained utterly calm.
How could your hundred years of cultivation contend against the two thousand years of lifespan I invested?
Gu An thought this to himself. He had already shown mercy. He had not aimed for Zuo Yijian's head, but his shoulder.
He turned and left, disappearing into the vast snow as though he had never come.
At dawn, Gu An led the disciples through their exercises as usual.
As Zhen Qin twisted her waist, she looked at the sky and said, "The snow seems to be lighter today."
Wuxin looked into the distance and said, "It is not only the snow that has weakened. That powerful Sword Intent has also disappeared."
The moment those words were spoken, the other disciples became excited.
"Could that person have already left?"
"Possibly. They say sword cultivators seeking enlightenment through the sword must find places of beautiful mountains and clear waters to perceive nature. This place of ours can hardly be considered blessed land."
"Do not let your guard down. What if he is only taking a nap?"
"Have you forgotten the lightning tribulation from a few days ago? Would a Great Cultivator of that realm need to nap?"
Listening to their argument, Gu An could not help laughing.
He gave a false cough and said, "Focus on your exercises. Whether that senior has left or not, we will find out soon enough."
Hopefully, no one else would come nearby to undergo tribulation or seek enlightenment through the sword.
If he accidentally struck too heavily, the scene would not be pretty!
Over the next two days, no Sword Intent blanketed heaven and earth again. The Mystic Valley disciples could finally be certain that the other party had left. Thus, Mystic Valley returned to its old rhythm of life.
Occasionally, cultivators flew over Mystic Valley. The disciples had long grown accustomed to it, but only Gu An knew that those people might be investigating Zuo Yijian's injuries, because he had inspected one cultivator with sixth-layer Nascent Soul Realm cultivation.
Night fell.
After several days apart, Gu An came to Eight Sceneries Grotto-Heaven to visit Jiang Qiong.
After paying his respects, Gu An said, "That senior Zuo Yijian seems to have already left."
Jiang Qiong was not cultivating. She was refining pills, staring at the flames beneath the pill furnace as she said, "He did not leave. He is either dead or injured now."
"What? Why do you say that?" Gu An asked, feigning shock.
He even added, "He is a Great Cultivator of the Nascent Soul Realm!"
Jiang Qiong rolled her eyes at him and said irritably, "So what if he is in the Nascent Soul Realm? There are realms beyond the Nascent Soul Realm. A few days ago, two powerful Sword Intents fought. One of them far surpassed Zuo Yijian's Sword Intent, and the battle ended in an instant. That proves the other person's strength vastly exceeded Zuo Yijian's."
Hearing this, Gu An secretly reveled in it.
On the surface, however, he frowned and hesitated. "Then could Mystic Valley be in danger?"
"Do not worry. Several days have already passed. When you see ants by the roadside, would you want to step on every one?" Jiang Qiong turned back to the pill furnace and spoke softly.
She appeared calm, but her heart was filled with urgency.
She realized that she might already have fallen out of touch with the cultivation world.
Seventy years were enough for dynasties to rise and fall. She had reached the Golden Core Realm in only forty years. Who knew what the cultivation world looked like now?
"When breaking through and undergoing tribulation in the future, you must be more cautious. Do not imitate Zuo Yijian. Perhaps he thought no one would dare disturb him, never realizing that the Taixuan Sect's internal strife is fierce," Jiang Qiong said faintly.
Gu An asked in surprise, "You mean the person who attacked Zuo Yijian was a Taixuan Sect cultivator?"
"Of course. Great Cultivators from other sects would not dare rashly intrude into the Taixuan Sect, and that person vanished very quickly without a second battle erupting. He could only be someone from the Taixuan Sect." Jiang Qiong nodded.
You really guessed it right!
After Gu An made his move last night, he quickly left the scene. The moment he returned to Mystic Valley, he sensed several powerful divine senses sweep past him, frightening him into a cold sweat.
Fortunately, his Dragon Force Divine Origin Technique was powerful enough!
Jiang Qiong clearly had many feelings to express, and she began teaching Gu An how to travel through the cultivation world in the future.
After chatting for quite a while, Gu An finally extricated himself from her and went to look at the Hao Dragon egg.
Jiang Qiong had placed the Hao Dragon egg beneath a tree. Dry grass was piled around it, and many talisman papers were laid beneath the grass. Jiang Qiong's spells were drawn upon them, helping the Hao Dragon egg better absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
What would the Hao Dragon look like after it was born?
Gu An had already begun imagining himself standing atop a True Dragon and roaming the mortal world.
The news of Zuo Yijian's grave injury had an even greater impact than Gu An expected. Even after more than half a month had passed, he often heard people discussing it along the way whenever he came to the Outer Sect.
In the past, news of Nascent Soul Realm cultivators was rarely heard in the Outer Sect. Yet now the entire city was talking about Zuo Yijian, perhaps because he had only recently undergone tribulation.
Before undergoing tribulation, Zuo Yijian had been an Outer Sect elder, and his strength ranked among the very best in the Outer Sect.
Gu An followed Zhu Qinglu, an elder of the Alchemy Hall, to the Outer Sect's Library Hall.
The Library Hall oversaw all book buildings in the Outer Sect, including the Scripture Pavilions in various places.
Cultivation manuals, unorthodox scriptures, strange tales, travel journals, and all other books that entered the Taixuan Sect had to be registered with the Library Hall.
"Young brother, writing books is a fine idea. I support you. If it passes, I will put in a word for you and have them increase the scale of your first batch of books."
Zhu Qinglu walked ahead and turned back with a smile.
Ever since he had benefited from the Azure Vine Fruit, he had treated Gu An like one of his own juniors—at least on the surface.
Gu An smiled. "Then I must thank you for your support, Senior. I certainly will not forget your kindness."
"Hahaha, saying that makes us strangers."
Zhu Qinglu stroked his beard and laughed. Though he said so, the smile on his face grew even brighter.
The Library Hall was enormous, no smaller than the Alchemy Hall. After passing through corridor after corridor, the two arrived in a great hall. An old man sat by a table drinking tea, while rows upon rows of bookshelves could be seen in the side hall.
"Elder Liu, it has been a long time. How have you been recently?" Zhu Qinglu stepped over the threshold, cupped his hands, and said with a beaming smile.
Gu An immediately cast Lifespan Inspection.
[Liu Chang (Ninth-layer Foundation Establishment Realm): 226/270/340]
Upon seeing Zhu Qinglu, Liu Chang immediately set down his teacup and rose to greet him.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Liu Chang pulled Zhu Qinglu over to sit down. They spoke of the last time they had met, and later even discussed their shared past of entering the Taixuan Sect together two hundred years ago.
Gu An stood behind Zhu Qinglu with an earnest, curious expression. Liu Chang occasionally glanced at him and felt rather satisfied.
After chatting for nearly half an hour, Zhu Qinglu finally explained why they had come.
"Easy enough, easy enough. Young man, give me your book. I will take a glance. If I determine it can be distributed, then this matter is settled." Liu Chang looked at Gu An and said with a broad tone.
Gu An immediately took out the book he had written.
Liu Chang accepted it, lowered his eyes, and smiled. "Investiture of the Gods? A fine title."
He began reading, while Zhu Qinglu got up and walked toward the nearby bookshelves.
Gu An stood obediently at the side.
At first, Liu Chang paid it no mind and read casually. But as he continued, his body gradually straightened.
At that moment, a young man in white stepped inside and loudly said, "Old Liu, do you have any books about sword cultivators? I want to see who in the Taicang World could defeat the Canghu Sword Fanatic with a single leaf!"
Liu Chang raised a hand, signaling him to be quiet.
Gu An turned to look and instinctively cast Lifespan Inspection.
[Gu Yu (Eighth-layer Foundation Establishment Realm): 34/291/1402]
A genius!
This was not the first time Gu An had seen such a genius, so he did not give Gu Yu another glance.
Gu Yu moved beside Liu Chang and bent down to look at the Investiture of the Gods in his hands.
Before long, Gu Yu became engrossed as well.
A full half hour passed.
Zhu Qinglu came over and asked in surprise, "Brother Liu, were you not just going to take a quick look? Why have you been reading for so long?"
Then he glanced at Gu An.
What had this boy written?
Could he have crossed the line?
Liu Chang looked up blankly for a moment, then stood and stared intently at Gu An. "Did you really write this?"
Gu An nodded, thinking, That is right. One of my Earth ancestors wrote it.
Zhu Qinglu frowned and asked, "Is there a problem? If it will not do, I will have him go back and rewrite it."
"No problem. It is wonderful."
Liu Chang shook his head. Looking at Gu An again, he said, "This book can be distributed. You have talent. I will set your profit share at thirty percent. Of the Spirit Stones earned from each book sold, fifty percent will go to the sect and twenty percent to the Library Hall."
Naturally, Gu An did not dare object. He hurriedly bowed in thanks.
Zhu Qinglu nodded slightly, feeling that Liu Chang had given him face.
Liu Chang smiled and asked, "Will the author's name be your real name?"
Gu An shook his head. "Forget it. I am afraid I might encounter trouble in the future."
"Use Pan An as the author's name."
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Gu An had made two consecutive moves, and his reputation had already risen. Guess what his first title would be?
Before you continue