Gu An asked, “What else did you see?”

Seeing that Gu An wasn’t doubting her, Ji Xuanyu continued.

She saw herself being hunted by many people, saw herself diving into the depths of the sea to discover a palace, and even saw herself soaring into the sky to pluck the stars, among other things.

After listening, Gu An said, “Feel free to come here more often if you have time.”

Unexpectedly, Ji Xuanyu shook her head and replied, “Forget it. My intuition tells me I shouldn’t try to recall those memories.”

With that, she turned and left.

Watching her retreating figure, Gu An suddenly felt that her reincarnation wasn’t just about improving her innate talents.

Thinking about it carefully, the power contained within Ji Xuanyu’s Innate Dao Sigil was already incredibly strong—she didn’t need to enhance her potential before reaching Nirvana.

Could there be another reason? Was her soul instinctively avoiding awakening her past life’s memories?

Gu An shook his head, unwilling to dwell on it. In any case, Ji Xuanyu wouldn’t be staying in the Third Medicine Valley forever.

By late summer, Gu An arrived at Seeker’s Island.

Sweeping his divine sense across the area, he no longer sensed the presence of the Seeker of Immortality Daoist. That guy really ran away?

Gu An shook his head, then wandered onto the streets. This time, he didn’t call for Hu Xiaojian.

Besides buying seeds, he also wanted to gather information on Tian Wuchang.

Right now, battles were raging all over the ocean. Even Celestial Ascendants were fighting, and more and more Divine Anomaly Wraiths were escaping from the Severed Sea Rift—some in hordes, others acting alone.

The ones acting alone were all incredibly powerful. Since Gu An hadn’t been keeping a constant watch over the Severed Sea Rift, he came to hear the latest news.

As expected, the entire city was abuzz with discussions about the Severed Sea Rift and the Divine Anomaly Wraiths.

Rumor had it that nine Divine Anomaly Wraith Kings resided within the Severed Sea Rift, each possessing the power to rival a grand sect. Some even wielded supreme treasures of the Immortal Dao.

The Starsea Sect Alliance’s main force had encountered one such Divine Anomaly Wraith King, suffering heavy losses, and still failed to capture it.

So far, three of the nine kings had been identified—Tian Wuchang, Ni Jiuyou, and Yin Yang Luan.

All three had three-character names, and each wielded earth-shattering power.

Tian Wuchang stormed into a faction on par with the Starsea Sect Alliance, devoured a prodigy alive, and left without a care—earning instant infamy.

Ni Jiuyou created the Nine Nether Sea Fog, which was now spreading across the ocean, reducing all life in its path—both above and below the sea—to nothing but bones.

Yin Yang Luan was even more terrifying, capable of seizing the souls of living beings and turning them into his ghostly soldiers.

The three Divine Anomaly Wraith Kings weren’t working together, yet each one brought catastrophic disaster to the seas.

That was the bad news.

The good news? An Immortal Dao Supreme Treasure had appeared within the Severed Sea Rift and was claimed by a divine monk from the Bitter Sea Buddhist Sect.

The Bitter Sea Buddhist Sect hailed from an extremely distant land, unfamiliar to the cultivators of Seeker’s Island, but it was known to be incredibly powerful.

Gu An wandered around for about an hour before starting his herb purchases.

However, before he could finish, ominous dark clouds rolled in, covering Seeker’s Island in a suffocating darkness.

Though he had already sensed the island’s impending danger, Gu An remained calm and continued buying herbs without panic.

By the time he stepped out of the shop, Seeker’s Island was already as dark as midnight.

His gaze swept toward a nearby alley. A claw suddenly emerged from the pitch-black wall, followed by a sinister ghostly figure crawling out.

Its entire body was jet-black, covered in crimson cracks, and it bore a striking resemblance to the thousand-foot-tall shadow from the terrifying ocean waves.

After landing, the creature looked up. Six eerie eyes lined its face, and in an instant, its gaze locked onto Gu An.

With a thunderous boom, an ear-piercing chorus of shrieks echoed throughout the city—tens of thousands of monsters howling in unison.

The Six-Eyed Wraith let out its own screech and lunged at Gu An like a bolt of lightning, reaching him in the blink of an eye.

Boom!

The wraith instantly exploded into ghostly mist.

Gu An stepped onto the street. All across the city, battles erupted. Cultivators and demons soared into the skies, while countless Divine Anomaly Wraiths shot up like a rain of arrows, relentlessly hunting them down.

He waited, but no lifespan prompt appeared, dashing his hopes of gaining lifespan from slaying the wraiths.

If there was no profit to be made, then there was no reason to stay.

Activating the Infinite Free Step, Gu An swiftly left Seeker’s Island.

Back at Taixuan Sect, he leisurely made his way into Xuan Valley.

The summer heat kept the disciples indoors, focused on their cultivation. Meanwhile, Gu An climbed upstairs to rest. It wasn’t until dusk that he strolled toward the Third Medicine Valley.

Lately, he had been wandering around more often. He looked busy, but in reality, he wasn’t doing much—he simply enjoyed this kind of life.

As soon as he returned, Gu An spotted the Nine-Fingered Divine Lord playing a game of Go.

His opponent was no ordinary person—it was none other than Lu Lingjun’s master, the Western Spirit Mother.

Lu Lingjun stood nearby, watching. This piqued Gu An’s interest, and he walked over to join the fun.

Just as he arrived, he heard the Nine-Fingered Divine Lord chuckle, “I accept my win.”

The disciples around him praised his skill.

The Western Spirit Mother, however, remained calm. She looked at the Nine-Fingered Divine Lord and asked, “May I ask for your esteemed name? Which sect do you hail from?”

The Nine-Fingered Divine Lord waved his hand. “It’s just a game of Go. No need for so many questions. Has the Bitter Sea Buddhist Sect not taught you proper manners?”

At his words, the Western Spirit Mother’s expression darkened, but she said nothing more. Rising from her seat, she bowed slightly to the Nine-Fingered Divine Lord before turning to leave.

Lu Lingjun didn’t follow. Instead, she looked at Gu An curiously and asked, “How did you manage to beat this senior?”

The Nine-Fingered Divine Lord’s face immediately turned grim. He started inviting others to play another round, eager to redeem himself.

Gu An grinned smugly. “I originally wanted to live as an ordinary mortal, but since you ask, I suppose I have no choice but to reveal the truth—I am a Chess Immortal, seeking the Dao through the black and white of Taiji, experiencing the trials of fate in the mortal world.”

Lu Lingjun rolled her eyes.

Nearby, Elder Lu’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Valley Master, are you really a Chess Immortal?”

The other disciples also stared at Gu An excitedly. Whether it was true or not, their admiration greatly satisfied him.

Ah, what teachable young ones!

Gu An chuckled. “Just messing with you. If I were really a Chess Immortal, would I be stuck here running errands?”

The disciples laughed along, continuing to flatter him.

As Gu An basked in their praise, Lu Lingjun shook her head with a smile.

The Nine-Fingered Divine Lord found Gu An contradictory—sometimes worldly and sometimes utterly detached. Perhaps it was this contradiction that made his playstyle so unpredictable.

Afterward, Lu Lingjun pulled Gu An aside to speak privately.

“The girl staying below your loft—can you let me take her as my disciple?” she asked expectantly.

Gu An immediately shook his head. “She’s the Ji family’s prodigy. She’s only temporarily staying with me. If you want to take her as a disciple, you’ll have to ask the Vice Sect Master.”

Lu Lingjun pouted. “Ji Hantian? He’d definitely refuse. He was already against me founding the Ascension Sect, afraid I’d take away Taixuan Sect’s talents.”

Gu An smirked. “Then what are you doing now?”

“I just can’t stand to see good talent go to waste.”

“If you can’t bear to see Taixuan Sect’s talent go to waste, does that mean you plan to take all of them?”

“You brat, is that how you see me?”

As their playful banter continued, Gu An suddenly asked, “Your master is from the Bitter Sea Buddhist Sect? What kind of sect is that? Where is it located?”

Lu Lingjun’s face grew serious. “It’s far from here. Even if Ji Hantian spent his whole life searching, he’d never find it.”

Gu An joked, “That far? You’re not planning to become a nun, are you?”

“Stop talking nonsense. Let’s change the subject.”

Lu Lingjun quickly diverted the conversation, seemingly unwilling to discuss the matter further.

After chatting for a while, Lu Lingjun finally left.

Gu An, on the other hand, made his way back to his loft.

As he reached the entrance, Ji Xuanyu suddenly rushed out from inside, saying she had something important to tell him.

The two of them went upstairs.

After taking a seat, Gu An looked at Ji Xuanyu sitting across from him and asked, “What is it?”

Ji Xuanyu hesitated for a moment before saying, “Hold on, Valley Master Brother, just read your book for a bit first.”

Seeing her acting all nervous and secretive, Gu An found it amusing. He didn’t press her and instead picked up Romance of the Gods and started reading.

“Valley Master Brother, why are you reading Romance of the Gods? Everyone says you like Adventures of the Green Hero,” Ji Xuanyu asked curiously.

Gu An’s expression immediately darkened. He set down his book and asked with a straight face, “Who said that?”

“Tang Yu, Peng Chang, and Chen Jie.”

“Don’t listen to their nonsense. Tomorrow, I’ll make sure to teach them a lesson. How dare they slander their elders like that?”

“Slander? Isn’t Adventures of the Green Hero a good book?”

“Enough questions. Just read your book.”

Gu An tossed a copy of Journey to the West over to Ji Xuanyu and then focused on reading his own book.

Half an hour later, Ji Xuanyu finally put down Journey to the West and let out a sigh of relief. “They’ve finally left. Two people came to the valley today, and they made me feel really uncomfortable. One of them even wanted to take me as a disciple, but I refused.”

Gu An sensed that the Western Spirit Mother and Lu Lingjun had already flown away and was secretly surprised.

Ji Xuanyu was only at the ninth level of the Qi Refining Stage, yet she could already sense the Western Spirit Mother’s presence?

She even knew exactly when the Western Spirit Mother left?

That wasn’t simple at all.

Gu An asked, “Why did they make you feel uncomfortable? Have you seen them before?”

Ji Xuanyu shook her head. “No, but when I was spacing out under the Sevenfold Purity Tree before, I saw some visions. There were people with a similar aura to them in those visions. Those people wanted to capture me.”

Hmm?

Could Ji Xuanyu have had a past-life grudge against the Bitter Sea Buddhist Sect?

It seemed he needed to keep an eye on the Western Spirit Mother. If she recognized Ji Xuanyu, things could get troublesome, and he didn’t want the disciples of the valley to get caught up in any conflict.

“Valley Master Brother, you’d best keep your distance from them. I have a bad feeling that nothing good will come from getting too close,” Ji Xuanyu said seriously.

Gu An nodded. “Don’t mention this to anyone else. We don’t want to stir up unnecessary trouble.”

Ji Xuanyu agreed readily. “Don’t worry, I’m only telling you. Besides you, I feel like there’s no one else in this world who wouldn’t harm me. It’s a strange feeling, but that’s truly how I feel.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep