The Emperor's Recruitment

A three-thousand-year maximum lifespan?

Gu An was startled by the other man's lifespan information. This was his first time encountering someone with such aptitude.

And he was at the eighth layer of Spirit Transformation!

It was just that this lifespan seemed far too low. It did not match Gu An's expectations for Spirit Transformation cultivators. Could a Spirit Transformation cultivator only live eight hundred and ninety-nine years?

Gu An guessed that the other man might have suffered injuries and lost some of his lifespan.

He immediately walked over, pondering inwardly. He guessed that this man might be one of Taixuan Sect's higher-ups, but he could not act too respectfully, since the man had suppressed his aura.

If he revealed that he could see through the man's cultivation, the man would surely hound him relentlessly. He might even treat him as a Demonic Path spy.

Li Xuandao walked deeper into the valley, surveying the gardens along the way.

Gu An came before him and cupped his fists. "I am Gu An, Master of Mystic Valley. May I ask this friend's name and purpose for coming here?"

Li Xuandao's gaze settled on Gu An. His eyes were indifferent, carrying immense pressure.

Then he smiled, and that pressure vanished without a trace, making it seem like an illusion. He said gently, "I am Xuandao. I came from Cang Province to visit my child in Taixuan Sect. The journey was long, and I have been worn out by travel. I wish to borrow your valley for a few days to rest and recover my spiritual power. Would the Valley Master be willing to take me in?"

Upon hearing that, how could Gu An refuse? He immediately agreed, then called for Xiao Chuan and had him arrange accommodations for Li Xuandao.

Gu An did not stare at Li Xuandao, lest he arouse the man's suspicions.

His surname is Li, and he came to visit his child. Could he be from the Imperial Family? Gu An wondered.

There were so many Medicine Valleys in the Outer Sect, yet he had specifically come to Mystic Valley. Nine times out of ten, this had something to do with Li Ya.

Gu An continued inspecting the gardens. Everything remained as usual.

Meanwhile.

Xiao Chuan led Li Xuandao to an unoccupied house and said, "The place is humble, so please do not mind it. If you need anything, tell me or any of the other disciples at any time."

Li Xuandao nodded, then asked, "On my way here, I saw sheep in the mountains, with disciples tending them. Aren't you a Medicine Valley? Why do you raise so many sheep?"

Xiao Chuan did not hide anything. He replied, "The valley originally only grew medicinal herbs, but my Spirit Root aptitude is limited, so I gave up on entering the Outer Sect. When Senior Brother learned that I liked raising livestock, he fulfilled my wish. We also earn Spirit Stones from it, helping more disciples cultivate and enter the Outer Sect sooner."

"Oh? Is your senior brother that Valley Master?"

"That's right."

"Then he truly is a good man, to think so much for all of you."

"Of course! My senior brother is the best person in the world..."

At Li Xuandao's praise, Xiao Chuan immediately brightened and began extolling Gu An without end.

This made Li Xuandao even more interested in Gu An. He asked about more of Gu An's deeds, while Xiao Chuan gave it no further thought, pulled Li Xuandao down to sit, and spoke with even greater enthusiasm.

As Gu An inspected the gardens, the corners of his mouth rose. I didn't spoil that foolish kid for nothing.

Whether Li Xuandao was connected to Li Ya or was a Taixuan Sect higher-up, the better Gu An's image was, the less harm there could be.

Surely Li Xuandao could not be from Thousand Autumn Pavilion?

Wait!

Thousand Autumn Pavilion!

Gu An's spine suddenly turned cold, and his smile froze.

Better safe than sorry!

He would have to be even more cautious around Li Xuandao from now on. A careful sailor sailed a ship for ten thousand years.

Li Xuandao's arrival stirred the curiosity of the other disciples. After all, visitors rarely came to Mystic Valley.

That day, after moving in, Li Xuandao did not come out again, as though he truly was recovering his spiritual energy.

Because of Li Xuandao's arrival, Gu An did not dare go to Eight Sceneries Grotto-Heaven. That night, he honestly remained in the pavilion.

Early the next morning, Gu An led the disciples through their exercises as usual. Hearing the commotion, Li Xuandao came out to watch, and Xiao Chuan enthusiastically greeted him.

Gu An merely nodded at Li Xuandao. He did not deliberately avoid him.

Once the morning exercises began, Li Xuandao had not cared at first, but the longer he watched, the more interesting he found them.

After the exercises, Gu An dismissed the disciples. He pulled a book from his robes and began reading while walking toward the pavilion.

At a time like this, he had to remain calm. He could not let Li Xuandao's arrival disrupt his way of life.

However, just as he entered the courtyard, Li Xuandao caught up with him.

"Valley Master, what are you reading?" Li Xuandao asked with a smile.

Gu An turned around and raised the book in his hand. "Investiture of the Gods. Have you read it?"

Li Xuandao's smile widened. "I have indeed. I can even recite it forwards and backwards."

"Oh? Then we are kindred spirits?"

"Hahaha, from the moment I saw you, Valley Master, I felt as though we had known each other at first sight. Shall we discuss Investiture of the Gods?"

Hearing Li Xuandao's insincere words, Gu An could only smile and agree.

He invited Li Xuandao upstairs. After Li Xuandao sat down, Gu An began boiling water and making tea, using spiritual power to kindle the fire.

Li Xuandao glanced around the room's furnishings and asked, "Valley Master, what do you think of King Zhou?"

What the hell!

Testing me right away?

With his back to Li Xuandao, Gu An placed tea leaves into the cups and said, "Judging only from the story, he was cruel and heartless. But upon closer examination, some of his actions seem rather unreasonable."

Li Xuandao sighed. "Exactly. When I first read it, I thought King Zhou was foolish and tyrannical. But after reading it again, I felt something was off. In the world of the book, Immortal Gods truly existed. King Zhou could not possibly have been unaware of that. Yet under such circumstances, he still dared desecrate Nuwa's sacred statue. That was not conduct befitting the ruler of a dynasty."

"And Nuwa as well. She stood high above all others, yet when faced with a mortal who had desecrated her, she did not punish him directly. Instead, she sent a fox spirit to corrupt the emperor's heart and plunge the world into chaos. Could such conduct truly be called that of an immortal or a god?"

Gu An turned around, carried the tea cups to the table, and set one before Li Xuandao.

He smiled. "There are indeed many unreasonable parts, but this is ultimately a story invented by people. Contradictions were written in for the sake of making it entertaining, so it is understandable."

He could not determine Li Xuandao's identity, so he kept his stance deliberately ambiguous.

Li Xuandao shook his head. "Perhaps the story is false, but the world it reveals is real. That is, gods exist three feet above one's head, and man finds it difficult to triumph over heaven."

Gu An had not expected this to be how he interpreted Investiture of the Gods.

"If King Zhou had been powerful enough to stand above all the Immortal Gods and sects, how do you think the story would have been written?" Li Xuandao asked.

Gu An thought for a moment. "Then the final battle would not have been against Master of Heaven. It would have been against King Zhou."

Li Xuandao paused, then could not help laughing. He lifted his tea cup and blew away the steam.

Gu An could not read his smile and could only remain silent.

After taking a sip of tea, Li Xuandao began asking after Mystic Valley's plantings. He even inquired about specific cultivation details, and Gu An answered every question.

"You entered Taixuan Sect but did not seek the immortal path, instead focusing on growing flowers and grass. Was that born of helplessness, or do you truly enjoy it?" Li Xuandao asked.

Gu An smiled bitterly. "Both. There is helplessness, but there is also love. Everyone has their own pursuits. Immortality may not be life's only meaning. Of course, if my aptitude were exceptional, I would also pursue immortality."

Li Xuandao teased, "You truly are an interesting fellow. You do not conceal anything at all."

"When one looks back on the past and ahead to the future, life can be summed up in only four words: finding joy amid suffering," Gu An replied with a shrug.

He grew even more suspicious that Li Xuandao was from Thousand Autumn Pavilion and wanted to test his attitude toward Mystic Valley.

Li Xuandao set down his tea cup and asked, "What do you think of His Majesty? Do you think he is King Zhou?"

Gu An froze.

Wasn't that a rather forced change of topic?

How had they suddenly begun discussing the emperor of the Great Cang Dynasty?

Could it be that he was not from Thousand Autumn Pavilion after all, but truly Li Ya's relative?

Gu An's thoughts raced like lightning. "I do not know much. Before entering Taixuan Sect, I was only a household servant. Now that I am in this Medicine Valley, I hear even less news from the outside world. Why? Has His Majesty done something?"

Li Xuandao smiled. "Not exactly. It is simply that he has reigned for too long, and there is much discussion of him both at court and among the people. The secular world seems to believe that an emperor cannot remain on the throne too long—that after reigning for long enough, he will inevitably become muddleheaded and incompetent. The cultivation world fears even more that the emperor may achieve the Dao through cultivation, allowing imperial authority to stand above the cultivation world."

Gu An grew nervous.

Too many social strata were involved in those words. He did not dare speak carelessly.

Seeing that Gu An did not dare respond, Li Xuandao smiled teasingly. "Do you think it is better for an emperor to reign for a long time, or for one to be replaced every few decades?"

Gu An knew that he was at the eighth layer of Spirit Transformation, so he did not dare refuse to answer.

After pondering for a moment, Gu An said, "In my view, it depends on the reigning emperor's character. If he is virtuous and capable of governing the realm well, there is no problem with him remaining on the throne indefinitely. But if such an emperor still has many years left to live and yields the throne to an incompetent son, that would be a disaster for the people. The common people do not care about eternity. They only live for a hundred years. If they suffer in this life, they will blame that emperor for giving up the throne."

Li Xuandao laughed again. Gu An could clearly sense that his mood had improved.

Wait!

Li Ya's relative, surnamed Li. First he discussed King Zhou, then he asked about the current emperor...

Gu An had heard at the Ji Family that the emperor of the Great Cang Dynasty also cultivated, and that he had already reigned for two hundred years.

"You speak reasonably. I truly should not listen to those voices. I should go see for myself how the people live," Li Xuandao said with a chuckle.

At those words, Gu An's expression changed drastically. He asked in astonishment, "You... Your Majesty is the current emperor?"

As he spoke, he started to rise.

Li Xuandao raised his hand, and a powerful pressure forced Gu An back down. Gu An did not resist, lest the other man see through his cultivation.

"Keep your voice down. You need not treat me as an emperor. Just regard me as Li Ya's father. You may call me Uncle," Li Xuandao said with a smile. His smile was gentle, without the slightest imperial majesty.

Yet Gu An had no idea how to respond.

An emperor at the eighth layer of Spirit Transformation!

This was serious trouble!

Li Xuandao said, "Take out Heavenly Abode."

Upon hearing that, Gu An immediately took the Heavenly Abode Sword from his Storage Bag.

The moment Li Xuandao saw the Heavenly Abode Sword, his gaze became complicated. He picked up the scabbard and gently stroked it.

Gu An recalled what Li Ya had said. The Heavenly Abode Sword had been a sword his imperial father gave to his mother. After her death, it had passed into his hands...

Now, seeing Li Xuandao's expression, Gu An began imagining the tangled love and grudges between Li Xuandao and Li Ya's mother.

After a long while.

Li Xuandao put down the Heavenly Abode Sword and pushed it toward Gu An. "Within Taixuan Sect, Li Ya has the best relationship with you. I heard that you even saved him. Keep this sword. I bestow it upon you. From this day onward, you are the master of the Heavenly Abode Sword."

"Furthermore, I intend to establish a Medicine Valley near Taixuan Sect, where many high-grade medicinal herbs will be planted. Come help me manage it. I will not treat you poorly. In the future, helping you reach Foundation Establishment, or even Golden Core, will be no difficult matter. But you must understand one thing: outwardly, you will remain a disciple of Taixuan Sect, but your heart will belong to me."

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