บท 33: Chapter 33 Stirring the Outer Sect, Sealing as a God
In the dim snow-laden night, Zuo Yijian's Sword Intent formed a shocking and overbearing column of energy, churning the wind and snow, connecting heaven and mountain. Scorching flames rose from within the pillar, transforming into a fiery dragon that ascended into the sky.
Zuo Lin was dumbfounded as he watched, never expecting his father's Flame Devouring Sword Technique to reach such a level. He had never heard of such a thing before.
Boom!
A vast roar suddenly attacked from behind Zuo Lin, like a sudden clap of thunder, startling him into turning around instinctively. His face hadn't fully turned when the bright sword light illuminated it, his eyes widened, and he caught a glimpse of a dazzling sword light streaking across the darkened sky from the corner of his eye.
That sword light was incredibly bright, indescribable in words. The snowflakes in the sky were impacted by the sword light, forming a massive wave of energy, as if the night itself would be pierced by it, deeply shocking Zuo Lin.
Zuo Lin's mind went blank, with no time to think.
That dazzling sword light cut through the night sky, whizzing over his head, activating the formations around him instantly. An energy shield appeared around him, violently fluctuating, ready to burst at any moment.
Under Zuo Lin's gaze, the dazzling sword light collided with Zuo Yijian's Sword Intent with an unstoppable, overwhelming force.
Zuo Yijian reacted faster than Zuo Lin, but not as fast as his opponent.
He didn't have time to use his swordsmanship and could only rely on his own Sword Intent to resist forcibly.
Boom!
The terrifying energy column surrounding him was directly scattered, the red flame dragon vanished instantly, and Zuo Yijian's Sword Intent was forcefully crushed.
His robe was torn, blood burst from his body.
His eyes widened, his pupils reflecting a leaf.
"How is this possible…"
Such a thought flashed through Zuo Yijian's mind; he didn't even have time to feel fear before the leaf pierced his shoulder. Terrible Sword Qi erupted, forcing him to shoot back, smashing through mountains, finally crashing into the forests over a dozen miles away.
A clear path was shot through the night sky, with the nearby snow turning into mist upon approach, hanging between the mountains, a spectacular sight.
Atop the mountain, Zuo Lin stood within the formation, disbelievingly staring in the direction of his father's disappearance.
He then collapsed to the ground, unable to accept what he had seen.
His father, undefeated in battle, had been defeated...
And defeated utterly without the ability to resist...
Ten miles away, atop a mountain.
Gu An maintained his hand-swinging posture, his white robes fluttering fiercely in the cold wind mixed with snowflakes; his eyes were calm behind the mask.
"Can your hundred years of Dao Practice really withstand the investment of my two thousand years of Life Span?" Gu An thought to himself, knowing he had been merciful by aiming not at Zuo Yijian's head but his shoulder.
He turned and left, disappearing into the vast snow as if he had never been there.
...
At dawn, Gu An led the disciples in drills as usual.
Zhen Qin twisted her waist and looked at the sky, saying, "The snow seems a little lighter today."
Wuxin looked into the distance and added, "Not just lighter snow, that powerful Sword Intent has also disappeared."
Upon hearing this, the other disciples immediately became excited.
"Could it be that person has already left?"
"Possibly, they say that Sword Cultivators seeking Sword Enlightenment must find a place with mountain spirits and charming water to comprehend nature; our place is hardly a land of fortune."
"Don't be careless, what if he's just napping?"
"Did you forget the Tribulation from the other day? Does a Great Cultivator of that level need to nap?"
Listening to their debate, Gu An couldn't help but chuckle.
He feigned a cough and said, "Focus on your drills, whether that senior has left or not, we will find out later."
He hoped there would be no more nearby Tribulation crossings or Sword Enlightenment seekers.
If he accidentally overdid it, the scene wouldn't be pretty!
Over the next two days, there was no Sword Intent covering the heavens and the earth, and the Profound Valley disciples could confirm that the person had left. Since then, Profound Valley had returned to its usual rhythm of life.
Occasionally, Cultivators would fly over Profound Valley, but the disciples were used to it by now. Only Gu An knew that those people might be investigating Zuo Yijian's injury since he had detected a Cultivator with a Nascent Soul Realm level six Cultivation Level.
At night.
After several days apart, Gu An visited Jiang Qiong at the Eight Scenic Cave Heaven.
After greeting her, Gu An said, "That senior, Zuo Yijian, seems to have left already."
Jiang Qiong wasn't cultivating but was performing Alchemy. She stared at the flames under the Pill Furnace and said, "He hasn't left; he's either dead or injured now."
"What? How can you say that?" Gu An feigned shock as he asked.
He even added, "He is a Great Cultivator of the Nascent Soul Realm, after all!"
Jiang Qiong glanced at him and said unenthusiastically, "What of the Nascent Soul Realm? There are Realms beyond that. A few days ago, two powerful Sword Intents fought, one of which far exceeded Zuo Yijian's. Moreover, the fight ended in a moment, indicating the other's strength was much greater than Zuo Yijian's."
On hearing this, Gu An felt secretly pleased inside.
On the surface, however, he frowned and hesitated to ask, "Could Profound Valley be in danger?"
"Don't worry; it's been several days. Would you bother to step on an ant you see by the roadside?" Jiang Qiong turned back to the Pill Furnace and said softly.
Though she looked calm, she was filled with urgency inside.
She realized she might be out of touch with the Immortal Cultivation Realm.
Seventy years were enough for dynasties to change, and she had reached the Core Formation Realm in just forty years; who knew what the current state of the Immortal Cultivation Realm was like.
"In the future, when you break through Crossing the Tribulation, you must be cautious. Don't emulate Zuo Yijian; he probably thought no one would dare to disturb him, not knowing that the internal strife within the Supreme Sect is fierce," said Jiang Qiong ominously.
Gu An asked in surprise, "Are you saying the one who attacked Zuo Yijian is a cultivator from the Supreme Sect?"
"Of course, the Great Cultivators from other Sects wouldn't dare to barge into the Supreme Sect unchallenged, and besides, the assailant disappeared quickly without a second battle; he can only be someone from the Supreme Sect," Jiang Qiong nodded and explained.
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"I knew you'd guess it right!"
Gu An had quickly left the scene of the incident the previous night, and as soon as he arrived at Profound Valley, he felt several powerful divine senses sweep over him, causing him to break out in a cold sweat.
Luckily his Dragon Strength Divine Primordial Skill was strong enough!
Jiang Qiong clearly had a lot of feelings, and she began to teach Gu An how to navigate the world of immortal cultivation in the future.
After a long conversation, Gu An finally got away from her and went to check on the Hao Dragon Egg.
Jiang Qiong had placed the Hao Dragon Egg under a tree, surrounded by dry grass, with many talisman papers layered underneath, adorned with Jiang Qiong's spells, to aid the egg in better absorbing nature's spiritual energy.
Who knows what the Hao Dragon will look like when it's born?
Gu An had already begun to fantasize about riding a True Dragon and roaming the Human World.
...
The news of Zuo Yijian's serious injury had a bigger impact than Gu An had anticipated, and even after half a month had passed, when he came to the Outer Sect, he often heard people talking about it along the way.
In the past, news about Nascent Soul Realm cultivators was seldom heard in the Outer Sect, but now the whole town was buzzing about Zuo Yijian, perhaps because he had newly crossed the tribulation.
Before crossing the tribulation, Zuo Yijian was an Elder of the Outer Sect and one of the most powerful cultivators there.
Gu An followed Elder Zhu Qinglu of the Elixir Hall to the Library Hall of the Outer Sect.
The Library Hall managed all the book buildings of the Outer Sect, including the Scripture Pavilions scattered across various locations.
Cultivation techniques, side-door scriptures, unusual tales and travels, any books that flowed into the Supreme Sect had to be registered at the Library Hall.
"Young brother, the idea of writing a book is good; I support you. If it can be approved, I'll speak up and have them increase the print run of your first batch of books."
Zhu Qinglu walked ahead, looking back with a smile.
Ever since he had taken advantage of the Cang Teng Fruit, he had treated Gu An like one of his own kin, at least outwardly.
Gu An smiled and said, "Then thanks for the help, elder. I won't forget your kindness."
"Ha ha ha, don't be so formal," Zhu Qinglu stroked his beard and said with a smile, though the smile on his face had grown even more resplendent.
The Library Hall was huge, no smaller than the Elixir Hall, and after passing through corridor after corridor, they arrived in a grand hall where an old man sat drinking tea by a table, with rows of bookshelves visible in a side hall.
"Elder Liu, long time no see, how have you been recently?" Zhu Qinglu crossed the threshold, clasped his hands in greeting, and spoke with a beaming face.
Gu An immediately cast a Life Span Detection.
[Liu Chang (Foundation Establishment Realm 9th Floor): 226/270/340]
Liu Chang set his teacup down and stood up to greet Zhu Qinglu when he saw him.
After exchanging pleasantries, Liu Chang pulled Zhu Qinglu to sit down, and they reminisced about the last time they met, even going back as far as two hundred years ago when they had both entered the Supreme Sect together.
Gu An stood behind Zhu Qinglu, with a keen, curious look, and Elder Liu occasionally cast satisfied glances at him.
After chatting for nearly half an hour, Zhu Qinglu finally made his intentions clear.
"Sure thing, young man, give me your book, I'll give it a scan, and if it's fit for distribution, then it's a done deal," Liu Chang said to Gu An with a large grin.
Gu An immediately took out his finished book.
Liu Chang took it and, after a glance, smiled and said, "The Investiture of the Gods? Nice name."
He began to leaf through it, while Zhu Qinglu stood up and wandered towards a bookshelf nearby.
Gu An respectfully stood by.
At first, Liu Chang was casual, but as he read on, he began to sit up straight.
Suddenly, a young man in white strode in and said loudly, "Elder Liu, do you have any books on Sword Cultivators? I want to see who in the Tai Cang World can defeat the Sword Enthusiast of Cang Lake with a single leaf!"
Liu Chang raised his hand, signaling him to be quiet.
Gu An turned his head to look, and subconsciously cast a Life Span Detection.
[Gu Yu (Foundation Establishment Realm 8th Floor): 34/291/1402]
A prodigy!
Gu An had seen such geniuses before, so he did not give Gu Yu another look.
Gu Yu leaned in next to Liu Chang, peering at The Investiture of the Gods in his hands.
Soon enough, Gu Yu also seemed entranced.
A full half hour passed.
Zhu Qinglu came over, surprised, and asked, "Brother Liu, weren't you just going to take a quick look? Why so long?"
He followed Liu Chang's gaze to Gu An.
What did this kid write?
Didn't step out of line, did he?
Liu Chang looked up, paused for a moment, then stood up, staring intently at Gu An, and asked, "Did you really write this?"
Gu An nodded, thinking, indeed, it was written by one of my ancestors from Earth.
Zhu Qinglu frowned and asked, "Is there a problem? If it's not acceptable, I'll have him rewrite it."
"No problem, it's fascinating," Liu Chang shook his head, and again looking at Gu An, said, "This book can be released. Your talent is commendable; I'll set your profit share at thirty percent, with fifty percent of the spirit stones from each book's sales to be handed over to the Sect, and twenty percent to the Library Hall."
Gu An, of course, dared not object, and quickly expressed his thanks.
Zhu Qinglu nodded slightly, feeling that Liu Chang had given him face.
Liu Chang then smiled and asked, "Will the author's name be your real one?"
Gu An shook his head and replied, "Let's not, I don't want to run into problems down the line."
"Then the author's name will be Pan An."
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