Chapter 257: Chapter 257: Variables

Night fell, and fireworks rose in the Third Medicine Valley, brilliant and beautiful.The pavilion area was filled with dining tables, with over a thousand people toasting and drinking, making for a spectacular scene.

Gu An ignored the Nine-Finger Divine Lord's gaze and chatted with You Yingying next to him, inquiring about Lu Lingjun's situation.

He had actually always been following up on Lu Lingjun. Lu Lingjun's Ascension Sect had already been established and had joined forces with the Supreme Sect to occupy an island. They were currently busy mining spirit mines. Overall, things were going smoothly.

You Yingying had always been in correspondence with Lu Lingjun. In the Immortal Cultivation World, letters were either exchanged using spells or dharma treasures or delivered by demon pets. You Yingying came from the Star Sea Congregations and had communication means connected with the ocean.

After chatting for a while, Gu An took the opportunity to leave and went to the Mystic Valley to visit the disciples there.

It wasn't until late at night when the disciples returned to their rooms that he went to the Nianchu Cave to celebrate the festival with Tian Yao'er and the other two girls.

Unlike others, Tian Yao'er and the two girls no longer had family. They would follow him for their whole lives, so every year during festivals, Gu An would never forget them.

While enjoying the delicacies, Gu An was also concerned about Tian Yao'er's cultivation.

Tian Yao'er had now reached the sixth level of the Divinity Transformation Realm. It was not slow progress at all. She was already talented, and with the continuous consumption of medicinal herbs and elixirs, her cultivation progressed rapidly.

More than her cultivation level, Gu An was more concerned about her achievements in the Primordial Earth Immortal Skill and the Limitless Freedom Step.

Cultivation level is the main trunk of the tree, but spells and divine skills are the branches and leaves; both are indispensable.

Tian Yao'er was very proud of her cultivation achievements, holding her delicate nose high, looking quite complacent.

Gu An was worried she might slack off, so he spoke about the cultivation progress of An Hao and Yang Jian, though he didn't mention their names, only referring to them as two disciples. Continue reading at mvl

As she listened, Tian Yao'er's head gradually lowered.

Tianqing and Tian Bai, sitting on either side of Gu An, listened as if they were hearing a story, occasionally exclaiming, making Tian Yao'er feel even worse.

When Gu An finished, Tian Yao'er pouted and said, "What's so great about them? Sooner or later, I'll surpass them."

Gu An laughed and said, "You are also considered my disciple. Why don't you formally acknowledge me as your master?"

"No way! Absolutely not!" Tian Yao'er stood up immediately, excitedly speaking with her eyes wide open and her teeth gritting, looking somewhat demonic rather than her usual cute self.

Gu An helplessly said, "Why are you so agitated? If not, then not. I am unwilling to accept anyway!"

Tian Yao'er sat down and turned her head away.

Tianqing chuckled and said, "The young lady doesn't want to be a disciple. She wants to be the mistress!"

Hearing this, Tian Yao'er's pretty face turned a bright red. She wasn't angry, and Gu An noticed that she stealthily gave a thumbs-up to Tianqing, a very concealed action hiding under her sleeves.

Tian Bai joined in the fun, teasing Tian Yao'er. Tian Yao'er tried to clear it up, but the more she explained, the worse it got.

Gu An watched their staged performance and secretly sighed.

Looks like I need to help them improve their acting skills in the future, it's too clumsy. It won't be reliable to let them handle tasks.

That night, at their persistent request, Gu An chose to stay overnight.

Under the tree, Gu An leaned against the trunk, holding a book in his hands.

Tian Yao'er was reading Journey to the West, but her mind was entirely on him.

She looked at the mask on Gu An's face, wanting to take it off but afraid Gu An would get angry.

Though their relationship was already close, she always feared losing everything. Even when acting spoiled, she gauged Gu An's tone, afraid of his displeasure.

"You want to take off my mask?"

Gu An suddenly asked. Tian Yao'er instinctively wanted to deny it but couldn't help nodding upon hearing his gentle tone.

Upon hearing this, Gu An took off his mask and placed it on Tian Yao'er's face.

Tian Yao'er hurriedly pulled off the mask, thinking Gu An was teasing her, only to realize that Gu An hadn't put on another mask.

Seeing Gu An's handsome face, she was stunned.

Because Gu An always wore a mask, she always thought the worst, imagining he had an ugly or frightening face. She didn't expect such good looks.

The reason Gu An was willing to remove his mask was that after so many years of interaction, Tian Yao'er was already completely isolated from external causes and effects. Even if she knew his true face, it wouldn't matter.

Of course, the most important reason was that he was strong enough. Though not unmatched in the world, he could at least face all causes and effects on this land.

"I know you've always wanted to see my face. Tonight, I'm letting you be happy. From tonight onwards, you must work harder in your cultivation. Stop overthinking. Since I've accepted you, I will not abandon you. You are destined to be the longest companion with me. Look to the long term. One day, I will take you out to travel and see the world. Like the Green Bull Spirit under Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad in Journey to the West, it could trouble Sun Wukong. I hope you can also stand alone in the future. Your strength is my honor."

Gu An spoke sincerely. These words were from his heart.

Be it An Hao or Yang Jian, one day they would eventually leave him.

Ye Lan also had her own cultivation journey. Regardless of how many years she had left, Tian Yao'er, with a maximum lifespan of eighteen thousand years, was the one who could accompany him the longest.

Tian Yao'er was deeply moved after hearing this. She nodded heavily and said, "Master, don't worry. I won't let you down. I will also train Tianqing and Tian Bai well. I am your honor. They are my honor. If they can become top experts in the world, it will make you even prouder."

Gu An laughed and said, "Just like what's written in the Supreme Immortal Venerable? In the future, if they offend others and need you to step in, which forces me to step in?"

Tian Yao'er giggled and said, "Yes, beat the small ones first, then the big ones. You are the older one."

"Nonsense, your master will always be young."

"You do look young."

They started chatting, envisioning the future.

Gu An also enjoyed talking. He could only talk about the future with Tian Yao'er. It was impossible with others around him because they didn't know his cultivation level. Even if they knew, how could mortals talk about the future with immortals?

It's not that he didn't want to, but it was hard to connect on the same level.

...

The next morning, Gu An arrived at the Third Medicine Valley.

As soon as he stepped off the transmission array platform, the Nine-Finger Divine Lord greeted him, trying to pull him, but he quickly withdrew and asked in a deep voice, "Senior, what do you want to do?"

The Nine-Finger Divine Lord withdrew his hand, coughed, and said, "I want to have another game with you, no, a best of three."

He also realized he was a bit presumptuous but felt Gu An's reaction was too excessive.

If he intended to harm Gu An, Gu An wouldn't be able to escape.

Little did he know, Gu An wasn't afraid of being harmed by him but was afraid of accidentally shocking him to death.

In the face of Daoist Gang Primal Energy, the Nine-Finger Divine Lord and Guo Guhong made no difference!

"Alright, let's play!"

Gu An said with a stern face. The Nine-Finger Divine Lord didn't mind and turned to lead the way.

Today, I'll defeat you utterly!

Gu An thought to himself. The Nine-Finger Divine Lord had almost cost him a Wandering Immortal's life and must be properly punished!

Half an incense stick's time later.

Gu An stood up and stretched. The disciples around noticed the Nine-Finger Divine Lord's grim face and dispersed, leaving only the two of them under the tree.

The Nine-Finger Divine Lord stared at the chessboard, his eyes vacant.

He couldn't accept this reality.

In the distance, Li Lingtian stood beside Yang Jian, curiously asking, "Who is that Daoist? He seems quite extraordinary."

Yang Jian replied, "He is an elder of the Supreme Sect. Do you think his background is significant or not?"

After speaking, he turned around and continued sweeping the grounds.

Li Lingtian observed the Nine-Finger Divine Lord and thought to himself that the elders of the Supreme Sect should be quite powerful, shouldn't they?

Why not find an opportunity to spar with him?

Li Lingtian urgently needed a victory to build his confidence. The cultivation of other disciples in the valley was too weak to mention. He couldn't bypass Yang Jian to challenge Gu An, so he set his sights on the Nine-Finger Divine Lord.

This old man liked playing chess with mortals. Maybe he could also spar with him, a junior.

Hmm, he could ask him to suppress his cultivation realm to the Core Formation Realm. He wanted to see if he could fight across realms.

Although losing to Yang Jian deeply frustrated him, he didn't think he lacked talent.

He just chose the wrong opponent!

He didn't believe he could choose wrong twice?

If he couldn't even beat Senior Brother Gu in chess, then he surely wouldn't be better in combat!

Thinking of this, Li Lingtian showed a silly smile on his face.

Under the tree, the Nine-Finger Divine Lord lifted his head and looked at Gu An, asking in a deep voice, "Impossible. I shouldn't have lost to you. Who exactly are you?"

He was a Wandering Immortal. Why did he lose?

Gu An looked up and smiled smugly, saying, "I am an immortal. What do you say to that?"

"An immortal?"

"Exactly, you can call me the Chess Immortal."

"Get lost!"

"Tch!"

Gu An turned and left, his sleeves brushing away.

Watching his back, the Nine-Finger Divine Lord revealed a bitter smile.

No matter how he looked at it, Gu An didn't seem like a disguised great cultivator. Though his cultivation was at the level of a Wandering Immortal, his vision far surpassed that realm.

He couldn't help but shift his gaze back to the chessboard.

Could it be that he hadn't truly understood the game of Go?

Even after deducing countless possibilities, so what?

Go was all about variability.

The Nine-Finger Divine Lord furrowed his brows, falling into deep thought.

...

Spring passed and summer came, and the temperature of the world continued to rise.

On this day, Gu An brought Yang Jian and Li Lingtian to Tianya Valley. He rode on the back of the Blood Prison Great Saint's bull, slowly moving forward.

Li Lingtian followed behind, dispirited.

Obviously, they could fly, but instead, they had to walk. Was Senior Brother Gu intentionally tormenting him?

But seeing Yang Jian walk calmly, he could only endure. He couldn't lose to Yang Jian in this regard.

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Thunder roared in the distance, and Li Lingtian turned back to see storm clouds churning on the horizon.

Yang Jian seemed to sense something, stopped, turned back to look, and frowned deeply.

Li Lingtian walked over and asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

Yang Jian ignored him, turned, and followed the Blood Prison Great Saint.

Li Lingtian felt hurt. Yang Jian's indifference always made him frustrated. He understood that in Yang Jian's eyes, he wasn't worth mentioning.

Yes, if he were Yang Jian, he wouldn't talk much with someone significantly weaker either.

Yang Jian came up to Gu An and asked, "Master, I have an uneasy feeling, as if something big is going to happen."

Gu An replied, "Perhaps indeed a disaster is looming."

Yang Jian asked in confusion, "Could it be that the Seven Stars Spirit Realm hasn't given up?"

Gu An didn't answer but instructed, "Carefully sense it. I want to know what you can feel."