Chapter 228: 9999 Years of Maximum Lifespan

Gu An, who had been feeling down, looked at the excited Ye Lan and gradually felt his mood improve.

No matter what, he had at least extended Ye Lan’s lifespan by 470 years and helped her cultivation progress from the Foundation Establishment Stage to the Transformation Stage. Her future would be much brighter from now on.

With nearly 500 years ahead of her, who knew? Maybe she’d find her own opportunities along the way.

Gu An smiled and occasionally chimed in as Ye Lan spoke.

Once she finished, he said, “I recommend you join the Inner Sect.”

Ye Lan nodded, her face full of longing. “If I can’t progress any further in this life, at least experiencing the world of great cultivators wouldn’t be a regret.”

From the moment Gu An stepped into the room, Ye Lan had noticed something was off about his expression.

Thinking back on all his past reminders and warnings, she came up with many possibilities. But one thing was certain—her senior brother was deeply worried about her lifespan.

Yet, Ye Lan wasn’t afraid, nor did she feel disappointed. Instead, she felt content.

Without her senior brother’s help, she might not have even reached the Foundation Establishment Stage and would’ve remained an errand disciple for life. Everything she had now felt like a dream.

“If I truly only have a few hundred years to live, senior brother, you don’t have to feel regret. If fate allows, we’ll meet again in the next life, won’t we?” Ye Lan blinked and chuckled softly.

Gu An was momentarily stunned before smiling. “Yes, if fate allows, not even reincarnation can keep us apart.”

The two talked about the future and the past. This time, Gu An didn’t leave. Instead, he stayed the night at Ye Lan’s residence, and they chatted until dawn without feeling the slightest bit tired.

The next morning, Gu An left.

Ye Lan walked him to the gate, watching his departing figure as a familiar feeling of emptiness crept into her heart.

Now that her cultivation had advanced, she felt more and more that her senior brother was no ordinary person.

Perhaps he had long since reached a certain realm. After all, he was someone the Sword Sovereign of the Righteous Path had personally recognized.

Ye Lan was certain of one thing—if Gu An and the Sword Sovereign had only met once, the Sword Sovereign wouldn’t have used the Qinghong Sword on his behalf back then.

Gu An had simply chosen to keep their relationship a secret to avoid trouble. Ye Lan could understand that.

“Senior brother, I will stay by your side for the rest of my life.”

A smile appeared on her face, filled with anticipation.

The future was far away, and she didn’t want to think too much about it. She just wanted to cherish the present.

For now, Ye Lan’s situation was settled. Unlike the Dao Yan Technique, which could only lift cultivation restrictions once in a lifetime, the Innate Reincarnation Technique could be cultivated repeatedly. Ye Lan would continue suppressing her cultivation, only releasing it again in a few hundred years. By then, her lifespan limit should increase again. However, Gu An wasn’t certain whether the effects would be as dramatic as the first time.

Still, it was at least a hope.

In a few hundred years, his own cultivation would undergo transformations as well. Perhaps, by then, he could find a way to defy fate and change Ye Lan’s destiny.

Compared to Ye Lan, though, Gu An was more worried about Xiao Chuan.

That guy never put in effort when it came to cultivation. Even if he lifted his cultivation restrictions, his progress would be limited—certainly far inferior to Ye Lan’s.

But Xiao Chuan had long since seen through life and death. He didn’t fear it. Because of that, Gu An felt less regret.

Everyone had their own choices. Everyone would face partings. Gu An wasn’t the type to stubbornly resist fate. If there was nothing he could do, then all he could do was cultivate harder and see the ultimate peak of the Immortal Dao on behalf of those who could not.

That summer wasn’t as hot as the previous years.

Inside the Third Medicine Valley—

Gu An walked downstairs, gazing at the valley bustling with life. A smile spread across his face. His mood was quite good.

In the distance, You Yingying was instructing An Xin and a few other female disciples in spellcasting. Although her cultivation level was low, she knew a lot of spells.

Meanwhile, the Blood Prison Great Saint was once again chasing the White Spirit Mouse. The two were evenly matched—every time he was about to catch it, the White Spirit Mouse would skillfully evade him, driving him into a furious rage. But no matter how much he fumed, he refused to give up, continuing the chase relentlessly.

Ten years had passed, and Lu Lingjun had yet to return.

Using his divine sense, Gu An discovered that her Ascension Sect was beginning to take shape. However, one of the ascenders had offended a prominent overseas noble family, resulting in years of conflict and entanglement.

Gu An merely observed from the sidelines, uninterested in getting involved.

Lu Lingjun had suffered multiple injuries but hadn’t been in mortal danger.

One thing was undeniable—ascenders were incredibly resilient. Even when facing powerful enemies, they refused to give in. They would rather fight to the bitter end than let go of their grievances.

Just then, Xiao Chuan approached Gu An. “Senior brother, I just recruited a hundred errand disciples. Do you want to take a look?”

Over the years, many disciples had established their Foundation and left, while new ones constantly joined. The total number of disciples had surpassed 900.

Since he had nothing better to do, Gu An nodded and followed Xiao Chuan to the grassy area at the edge of the Pavilion District.

There, a hundred errand disciples stood nervously, whispering among themselves.

“Will the Valley Lord accept us?”

“He should, right? That senior disciple brought us here himself.”

“This Third Medicine Valley isn’t ordinary. Every year, several Foundation Establishment disciples graduate and enter the Outer Sect.”

“I heard the Valley Lord is the Sect Master’s disciple.”

“The most important thing is that he’s really generous.”

Some were excited, some were anxious, and some were so nervous they trembled.

Seeing Xiao Chuan and Gu An approach, they all fell silent.

Their eyes landed on Gu An, immediately stunned by his appearance and presence.

So young!

So handsome!

Gu An swept his gaze across them, activating his lifespan perception.

Over the past decades, Xiao Chuan had recruited many errand disciples, some of whom had hidden talents. However, none had a lifespan limit exceeding a thousand years, so Gu An had never given them special attention.

Scanning through, most had a lifespan limit of one or two hundred years, with the occasional three-hundred-year anomaly.

【Yang (Qi Refining Stage, Third Layer): 15/97/9999】

Hmm?

Yang?

Even Erlang Shen showed up?

And… the same lifespan limit as An Hao?

Gu An’s gaze locked onto Yang. He gestured toward him and transmitted a message to Xiao Chuan, instructing him to call the boy forward.

Yang wore a simple gray robe, his face slightly tanned—he had the look of someone who had done farm work all his life. His features were decent, and if properly groomed, he could appear quite handsome.

Standing among the crowd, he was entirely unremarkable.

As Xiao Chuan approached, everyone held their breath, nervous yet expectant.

Xiao Chuan patted Yang’s shoulder. “Come with me.”

Yang was stunned for a moment before hurrying forward, feeling uneasy. He feared that Gu An had taken a disliking to him.

When he stood before Gu An, he heard him say, “Introduce yourself.”

Yang snapped back to reality and quickly replied, “My name is Yang. I’m from Longhu Town in Xu Prefecture. I’m fifteen years old, and my family has nine members…”

Before Gu An could respond, Xiao Chuan interrupted with a frown, “Yang? Which Yang? What Yang?”

Scratching his head awkwardly, Yang said, “It’s the Yang from

Romance of the Gods

and

Journey to the West

. I really like those books, so when I joined Taixuan Sect, I changed my name to Yang. My old name was Yang Xiaohu… but it sounded awful.”

The surrounding disciples burst into laughter.

Gu An let out a sigh of relief.

Scared the hell out of me!

For a moment, he had thought this kid was actually the Yang from

Romance of the Gods

. After all, a near-ten-thousand-year lifespan was no joke.

Gu An had only encountered three individuals with a lifespan limit of 9,999 years—An Hao, the Blood Prison Great Saint, and now, Yang.

He carefully examined Yang again, noticing that his bones were quite unusual. His spiritual root was a mixed Five Elements Root, but his physique was fundamentally different from ordinary people. This was something that only those at the Immortal Dao level could detect.

His bones required an immense amount of spiritual energy to awaken and restore their full potential.

In other words, if Yang never unlocked his true physical abilities, he would be no different from any other errand disciple.

Without his lifespan perception, even Gu An might not have noticed his unique qualities.

If Yang hadn’t met Gu An, he would likely have lived and died in obscurity. The Taicang Empire had very few high-level cultivators, so Yang would have almost no chance of being discovered.

Xiao Chuan scowled and said, “You really had the guts to name yourself after Erlang Shen? That god is known for his handsomeness, and you think you can match him?”

He, too, was a fan of

Romance of the Gods

and

Journey to the West

, so he had a favorable impression of Yang.

In

Romance of the Gods

, Gu An had added the subplot of Yang Jian saving his mother on Peach Mountain, making his character more fleshed out and even more popular than Nezha.

The other errand disciples continued laughing, making Yang’s face turn bright red. He wished he could find a hole to crawl into.

Gu An spoke calmly, “Choosing a new name upon stepping onto the path of cultivation is a way to express one's aspirations. From now on, you will be called Yang.”

Since Gu An had spoken, the others didn’t dare mock him further.

After offering some polite encouragement, Gu An explained some of the valley’s rules. He also promised that as long as the disciples worked hard, he would help them reach the Foundation Establishment Stage and pursue the path of immortality.

With that, he turned and left.

Gu An would not take someone as a disciple based on lifespan alone. He would observe Yang’s character first. If Yang proved to have a good heart, Gu An wouldn’t mind giving him a helping hand. However, if his nature was despicable, then he could live out his extraordinary lifespan in mediocrity and never amount to anything.

Since Gu An had singled Yang out, the other disciples quickly flocked to him, eager to form connections. Yang was overwhelmed by the sudden attention.

Watching Gu An’s departing figure, his heart was filled with gratitude.

Without Gu An’s acknowledgment, his name would have continued to be the butt of jokes.

He clenched his fists in determination—he would prove himself and earn the right to receive a Foundation Establishment Pill one day!

Back in his residence, Gu An shifted his gaze to An Hao.

Compared to Ye Yan, Su Han, and Zhen Qin, An Hao was his true disciple—the one who had inherited his techniques and martial arts. His expectations for An Hao had always been high.

An Hao had already reached the ninth level of the Nascent Soul Stage. The terrifying part? He wasn’t even a hundred years old yet.

At that moment, An Hao was cultivating on a small island in the middle of the ocean. Liang Jiuxiao and Dan Bei were also on the island, instructing him.

Both of them were astonished by An Hao’s immense talent. If they hadn’t known that An Hao had a Grand Celestial Stage master, they would have fought to take him as their own disciple.

Gu An noticed that Dan Bei’s cultivation level was slowly declining—clearly, the poison from the Devouring Immortal Scorpion couldn’t be fully neutralized.

He needed to find an opportunity to pass down the advanced techniques of the

Yang Wood Primordial Art

to An Hao. Otherwise, An Hao might eventually be surpassed by Li Ya and Zhang Bukui.