Chapter 222: The magical fairy recognized the master!

Chapter 222 The magical fairy recognized the master!

Facing the enraged Nine-Fingered Divine Lord, Gu An remained calm. Holding the Phoenix, he spoke leisurely, “If you carefully sense it, you will understand that this karma is not something you can claim.”

Hearing this, the Nine-Fingered Divine Lord, who was just about to attack, instinctively spread out his divine sense.

A few breaths later, his expression changed drastically, his eyes flashing with fear.

All around them, countless Soul Ghosts continued to emerge, recklessly throwing themselves at them, their shrill howls echoing across the heavens.

Suddenly, Gu An crushed the Phoenix in his hand.

In an instant, all the Soul Ghosts disintegrated into ashes, and the chaotic uproar came to an abrupt halt.

From afar, Chu Jingfeng, standing atop a gourd, turned his head and caught sight of Gu An. His face paled in shock.

Dark purple demonic shadows coiled around the figure…

“Fu—”

He had barely uttered a syllable when an overwhelming divine sense locked onto him, silencing him in terror.

The Nine-Fingered Divine Lord took a deep breath to steady himself. He gazed at Gu An and asked, “What do you intend to do?”

Even he could sense that beneath the earth, an even more terrifying presence was brewing.

Just from its aura alone, he knew it was beyond his power to resist.

Gu An gave no reply. Instead, he flipped his palm and pressed it downward.

Boom!

The ground shattered.

Chunks of rock soared into the sky, and the entire world seemed on the verge of collapse.

The overwhelming force radiating from Gu An made even the Nine-Fingered Divine Lord tremble.

“Just how strong is he?” The divine lord wondered, feeling an unexpected sense of relief.

Had he recklessly attacked earlier—or had the opponent launched a sneak attack instead—his fate would have been grim.

From above, Chu Jingfeng also looked downward anxiously.

Massive boulders levitated around him, soaring toward the heavens.

Looking into the distance, he saw the land itself fracturing at the horizon, stretching endlessly beyond sight.

The sheer scale of the destruction made him hold his breath.

Suddenly, his eyes widened in terror.

As the land crumbled, an immense black entity emerged from below—vast and boundless.

Just looking at it made his scalp tingle with dread.

Beneath the daylight, that absolute blackness was beyond terrifying.

From above, it was clear that the black entity was shifting and writhing.

But it was too massive to discern its form, let alone identify what it was.

Gu An fixed his gaze on it.

【Divine Anomaly Spirit (Celestial Ascension Stage, Third Layer): 0/0/0】

There was no lifespan value—only a cultivation realm.

Without hesitation, Gu An clenched his suspended right hand.

Below, the colossal Divine Anomaly Spirit began to shrink at a visible speed.

This was a divine ability—Pocket Universe in the Palm!

Earlier, he had used this same technique to capture the Phoenix.

Now, he was going to seize a Celestial Ascension-level Divine Anomaly!

The Divine Anomaly Spirit struggled wildly, but once ensnared by Gu An’s magic power, it had no chance of escape.

Before the astonished gazes of Nine-Fingered Divine Lord and Chu Jingfeng, the gigantic black entity shrank at an alarming rate.

Eventually, the Divine Anomaly Spirit was compressed into a small mass of black mist, endlessly twisting and morphing within Gu An’s grasp.

Then, Gu An disappeared—leaving the two men behind, standing in stunned silence.

For a long time, neither spoke.

Finally, Chu Jingfeng flew beside his master and asked nervously, “Master, what do we do now?”

He knew that the figure he had just seen was the Sword Sovereign of the Righteous Path—but he chose to keep that a secret.

To all disciples of Taixuan Sect, the Sword Sovereign was the most revered existence.

Time and time again, he had saved Taixuan Sect and the Three Dynasties.

Chu Jingfeng felt that he owed the Sword Sovereign his life.

So, he chose to protect him.

Even if he revealed the Sword Sovereign’s identity, it would only drive the Nine-Fingered Divine Lord into deeper despair.

From what he had just witnessed, it was clear—his master was no match for the Sword Sovereign at all.

At this realization, Chu Jingfeng was overwhelmed with emotion.

During his time following the Nine-Fingered Divine Lord, he had thought his master was superior to the Sword Sovereign.

He had believed himself to be incredibly fortunate.

But now…

His worldview shattered.

He couldn’t help but wonder—just how powerful was the Sword Sovereign?

One thing was certain: the Sword Sovereign was not a true disciple of Taixuan Sect.

He was merely hiding there, shielding the sect as a favor.

The Nine-Fingered Divine Lord took a deep breath.

“We leave.”

Having his Divine Anomaly Spirit stolen angered him.

But Gu An’s display of Pocket Universe in the Palm was enough to kill any thoughts of pursuing it.

Besides, the aura of that Divine Anomaly Spirit had been beyond his control.

Had the mysterious figure not intervened, he might have been devoured, transformed into a Soul Ghost himself.

Hearing his master’s words, Chu Jingfeng secretly sighed in relief.

He had been worried that his master might be too stubborn.

Having spent so much time exploring Divine Anomaly City, he had already gained plenty of opportunities.

Now, he just wanted to return to Taixuan Sect and enter seclusion.

Elsewhere.

In an isolated minor world, Gu An arrived at a secluded realm devoid of living beings.

The sky was dim, and the land was covered with trees resembling twisted ghosts.

He gazed at the Divine Anomaly Spirit in his hand.

It no longer resisted.

Instead, it trembled in fear.

Just as Gu An hesitated over what to do with it, it suddenly burst apart and drilled into his palm.

The process happened in an instant.

By the time Gu An thought to stop it, he suddenly felt its emotions.

It was begging.

Silence fell over Gu An.

Soon, he realized that his own magic power was merging into the Divine Anomaly Spirit—a sensation he had never experienced before.

He was taking control of it.

And in doing so, he was also taking control of Divine Anomaly City.

After the time it took for a stick of incense to burn—

The Divine Anomaly Spirit reformed in Gu An’s palm.

From now on, Gu An was its master.

And the true ruler of Divine Anomaly City.

A complex feeling rose in his heart.

Had he forcibly resisted, the Divine Anomaly Spirit would have perished.

So, he had no choice but to accept it.

Of course, if he wished, he could now easily obliterate it.

But as its new master, Gu An gained a deeper understanding of Divine Anomaly City.

Even if the Divine Anomaly Spirit was destroyed, so long as the city remained, a new one would eventually be born.

Whether it would still be the same Divine Anomaly Spirit was another question.

Because this one… was terrified of dying.

“Master.”

A childish voice suddenly echoed in Gu An’s mind.

It sounded like a young boy.

Gu An asked, “Can you share your power with others while hiding my identity as your true master?”

The Divine Anomaly Spirit wriggled in his palm before morphing into a small, pitch-black figure—a child-sized doll with no hair, no facial features, standing only about ten centimeters tall.

It tilted its head, pondered briefly, and responded, “I can… but won’t that make you unhappy?”

Gu An smirked. “No. I need you to protect someone for me.”

Then, he disappeared once more.

Gu An arrived in another realm—a dense forest.

Among the trees, Li Ya and Zhang Bukui were resting, sitting cross-legged in meditation.

Through his divine sense, Gu An instructed the Divine Anomaly Spirit to seek out Li Ya.

Immediately, the Divine Anomaly Spirit leaped from his hand and hopped towards Li Ya.

Among everyone in Divine Anomaly City, the person Gu An cared about the most was undoubtedly Li Ya.

Though Li Ya had encountered many opportunities, he was clearly not on the same level as geniuses like An Hao and Lü Xian.

That was why Gu An had chosen to help him.

As for An Hao, with or without Divine Anomaly City, he was destined to rise.

If he joined the Starsea Sect Alliance, he would eventually obtain an immortal treasure on par with the Dragon-Slaying Spear, even without a pseudo-Supreme Immortal Treasure like Divine Anomaly City.

After all, the Dragon-Slaying Spear was immensely powerful—allowing Egg Jiuxiao to display combat strength comparable to a Scattered Immortal.

The Divine Anomaly Spirit hopped along merrily, its aura so faint that Li Ya and Zhang Bukui had no idea it was approaching.

They remained focused on their meditation.

When the Divine Anomaly Spirit finally landed on Li Ya’s shoulder, he instinctively opened his eyes in alarm.

“Changle–One–Two!”

The Divine Anomaly Spirit called out in a strange voice before diving straight into Li Ya’s face.

Startled, Li Ya jumped to his feet.

“What was that?!”

He frantically touched his face, but found nothing there.

Beside him, Zhang Bukui was also startled and quickly rushed over.

When he heard that something had entered Li Ya’s body, Zhang Bukui panicked.

The two of them searched frantically, using their divine sense to scan Li Ya’s body—but they found nothing.

After a long moment, Li Ya suddenly froze, his expression turning strange.

“Brother Ji, are you okay?” Zhang Bukui asked anxiously.

Taking a deep breath, Li Ya looked at Zhang Bukui, his expression complicated.

“Brother… I think I’ve been recognized as the master of an immortal spirit.”

“What?!”

Zhang Bukui’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes…”

“Why you?”

“What do you mean? You think I don’t deserve it?”

“You? Deserve it?!”

“You! Show some respect! I can now command the Soul Ghosts—if you want to leave, you’d better watch your tone!”

“Brother Ji! We’re in this together!” Zhang Bukui quickly backpedaled.

“You damn bastard, always talking nonsense…”

From a distance, Gu An listened to their bickering, a smirk forming on his lips.

Surrounded by demonic energy, he turned and vanished once more.

He was the true master of Divine Anomaly City.

While inside, he could perceive every minor realm, as well as the Soul Ghosts hidden beneath them.

The sheer number of Soul Ghosts was staggering.

Even now, Divine Anomaly City was in a state of restoration—once fully recovered, it would become even stronger, eventually regaining its status as a true Supreme Immortal Treasure.

Such treasures were eternal.

Even if heavily damaged, they could restore themselves over time—a fact that made Gu An view them in a new light.

But before that…

Gu An planned to harvest all the natural treasures within the city.

Everything inside Divine Anomaly City now belonged to him.

Why should he let others benefit from it?

Elsewhere, beneath the rolling thunderclouds…

Jiang Qiong sat meditating at the edge of a cliff.

Below her, a roaring river of magma surged, sending waves of heat crashing against the mountains on either side.

She opened her eyes, her brows furrowing.

“Why isn’t she back yet…”

She muttered to herself.

She had arrived in Divine Anomaly City two days ago alongside Nightshade Ghost Mother.

While Jiang Qiong tended to her injuries, Nightshade Ghost Mother had left to investigate.

But two days had passed, and she had yet to return.

A flicker of worry crossed Jiang Qiong’s heart.

She had never fully trusted Nightshade Ghost Mother, but after spending so much time together, she had grown to rely on her capabilities.

Could something have happened to her?

She was always extremely cautious.

So what could possibly be keeping her?

Jiang Qiong fell deep into thought.

If Nightshade Ghost Mother had really gotten into trouble…

Then with Jiang Qiong’s current strength, not only would she fail to seize the Divine Anomaly Spirit, she would have trouble even escaping.