Chapter 237: The Soul of the Ji Family Ancestor

Late at night, the Ji Residence was dimly lit. Gu An strolled through the corridors, childhood memories surfacing one after another.

The Ji Residence was the starting point of his life, and he still held deep feelings for it. He had lived well here from a young age, aside from that one time he crashed into a flowerbed and nearly had his hand chopped off. Other than that, his days had been peaceful—he had never been bullied by the Ji family’s younger generation. Conflicts between family members occasionally arose, but they never escalated to the point of irreconcilable enmity.

After a hundred years away, looking at the Ji Residence again, he felt both familiar and estranged.

Familiar, because the furnishings and environment had hardly changed.

Estranged, because the people were different.

The Ji family had many branches, and the Ji Residence he was in was merely one among thousands. There were Ji family branches spread across all three dynasties.

Before the Demonic Cataclysm, the Ji family had taken refuge in the Seven Star Spirit Realm, but only the main family and the upper echelons of each branch had gone. After the catastrophe ended, those who had taken shelter there returned to their respective homelands to continue developing the family.

Gu An had even seen Ji family branches over the ocean. However, those branches remained close to the mainland, not daring to venture too far, as the creatures of the sea were powerful, and high-level demonic beasts were all too common.

The strongest cultivator in this Ji Residence was at the Integration Stage. Thinking back, there was a time when an Integration Stage expert was someone he had to look up to.

Suddenly.

Gu An sensed a faint soul presence, sparking his curiosity. He immediately headed in that direction.

Along the way, shadows passed him by, some directly crossing paths with him. He even walked straight through courtyard walls, as if everything around him were mere illusions.

He spotted a familiar face—his old guard from back then, the very one who had nearly chopped off his hand.

A hundred years had passed, and the man’s hair had turned white with age. He no longer had that fierce and intimidating demeanor; instead, he looked kind and gentle.

Gu An merely glanced at him without any thought of revenge. After all, it had been his own fault for breaking the flowerbed back then, and the guard had only been doing his duty. Besides, the gap between their realms was now insurmountable—they weren’t even in the same world anymore. Why would he hold a grudge?

The Ji Residence was vast, but Gu An wandered through it leisurely as if taking a stroll through a garden.

An hour later, he arrived at the source of the mysterious soul’s presence.

The ancestral hall.

He passed through the doorway and saw rows of ancestral tablets—each belonging to a past patriarch of the Ji family. The soul was hidden within the main ancestral tablet.

Gu An approached and read the name inscribed on it.

Ji Zhan!

Deep within the tablet, an old man’s soul lay curled up, seemingly napping.

The soul was concealed within Karmic Force, not in an ordinary alternate space. No living being could detect its presence through divine sense alone.

Ji Zhan turned in his sleep, as if dreaming. He remained unaware that someone was observing him.

Gu An cast his Lifespan Perception toward him, but all the readings came back as zero—not even his cultivation level was displayed.

Ji Zhan was intricately connected to the entire Ji Residence through Karmic Threads, one of which was linked to Ji Xuanyu.

Ji Zhan was Ji Xuanyu’s ancestral patriarch.

Tracing Ji Xuanyu’s karmic thread, Gu An noticed a strange distortion. Even he couldn’t see through that section clearly.

Something was wrong with Ji Xuanyu’s karma. It felt eerie, as if at some point, he had suddenly become a different person.

Upon closer inspection, the anomaly had appeared when Ji Xuanyu was ten years old.

Gu An didn’t dwell on it. Investigating Ji Xuanyu wasn’t his purpose here. Given that Ji Xuanyu possessed an Innate Dao Sigil, it wasn’t surprising for his karma to be unusual.

He didn’t stay long and soon turned to leave the ancestral hall.

Deep within the tablet, Ji Zhan suddenly sat up, scratching his head as he muttered, “Strange… why did I feel uneasy just now? Could it be that the Ji family is facing another calamity?”

He sighed, “It’s all because of that damn Seven Star Spirit Realm… Sigh, the younger generation these days has no ambition, always relying on others. Too bad I can only watch. Hopefully, she can restore the Ji family to its former glory.”

With that, Ji Zhan lay back down and continued his slumber.

To him, time was meaningless. He was used to immersing himself in dreams, enjoying the endless cycles of his own self-created reincarnation.

Dawn at the Shore

As the morning sun rose over the horizon, Dan Bei stood on the beach, gazing into the distance with a pale face.

During the Battle of Divine Anomaly City, he had been stung by a Devouring Immortal Scorpion from the Seven Star Spirit Realm, and the venom still lingered in his body.

A figure emerged from the forest behind him.

It was the Starsea Sect’s prodigy, Dan Jiuxiao.

“Master, that brat An Hao is unbelievable! I taught him my divine technique, and he mastered it in a single night—this is just unfair…”

As he approached, Dan Jiuxiao ranted, frustration evident in his voice. Just mentioning An Hao’s talent made him furious.

He had completely conceded defeat. An Hao’s talent and comprehension were clearly superior to his own.

Dan Bei remained silent, still staring into the distance.

“Master, what are you looking at?” Dan Jiuxiao asked, unable to hold back his curiosity.

Dan Bei finally snapped out of his daze and replied, “Something is wrong with the spiritual energy over the ocean… I suspect some kind of phenomenon is occurring. It might be related to the rumors of the Apocalyptic Sea Tide.”

Dan Jiuxiao frowned. “Apocalyptic Sea Tide? I bet it’s just another scheme from the Seven Star Spirit Realm. That giant rift appeared way too conveniently!”

Dan Bei didn’t respond. He found such discussions pointless.

At that moment, a radiant multicolored light descended from the sky, landing beside them.

Both of them turned to look and saw a mysterious figure shrouded in dark purple demonic energy.

Dan Jiuxiao’s eyes widened in shock.

“The Sword Sovereign of the Righteous Path?!”

Dan Bei would never forget how Gu An had effortlessly slain two Roving Immortals in that battle. He immediately bowed in respect—after all, Gu An had once saved his life.

“Thank you for taking care of my disciple all these years,” Gu An said.

Just as Dan Bei was about to reply, Gu An suddenly appeared right in front of him.

Before he could react, Gu An reached out with his right hand, placing two fingers on Dan Bei’s chest.

In an instant—Dan Bei couldn’t move.

“Master!”

Dan Jiuxiao panicked and instinctively tried to rush forward.

“Don’t move!”

Dan Bei shouted in a commanding tone, even using his spiritual power to hold Dan Jiuxiao in place.

“Senior is removing my poison…” Dan Bei took a deep breath and muttered, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

As Gu An’s spiritual power entered his body, he suddenly realized how insignificant he was.

Compared to this power, even Roving Immortals were pitifully weak.

Was the Celestial Ascension Stage truly this terrifying?

Even though Dan Bei himself was at the Roving Immortal Stage, he had no confidence in ever reaching Celestial Ascension. Though it was just one stage above him, he had no idea how to even begin breaking through.

Dan Jiuxiao was overjoyed.

His master’s poison had long been a thorn in his heart, yet he had been helpless to do anything about it. Now, An Hao’s master had easily removed it.

A few moments later, Gu An withdrew his hand.

“I’d like to speak with my disciple alone,” he said.

Without another word, he turned and walked toward the forest.

Dan Jiuxiao quickly bowed and didn’t dare to stop him.

A Meeting Between Master and Disciple

Deep within the island’s mountainous region, several hundred miles away from Dan Bei and his disciple, An Hao sat cross-legged on a mountain slope, diligently cultivating.

Nascent Soul Stage, Fourth Layer.

Even now, his progress remained astounding.

Standing behind him, Gu An silently observed his disciple’s current cultivation level, feeling a wave of emotion.

At only ninety-four years old, An Hao had already reached the fourth layer of the Nascent Soul Stage. Surpassing Li Xuandao was only a matter of time. He was still the fastest cultivator Gu An had ever known.

At one hundred and twenty-eight years old, Gu An himself had reached the Ninth Layer of the Free Immortal Stage, an accomplishment unparalleled in history.

Breaking the silence, he said, “Judging by your progress, you haven’t been slacking off.”

An Hao’s eyes snapped open.

Seeing his master, his face lit up with joy, and he quickly leaped to his feet, excitement barely contained.

“Master! Why are you here?”

Gu An replied casually, “Just came to check on you.”

Hearing that, An Hao became even more elated. He stepped closer, bombarding Gu An with eager questions. Gone was his usual composed demeanor—standing before his master, he was once again the lively, mischievous youth of old.

After chatting for a while, Gu An finally got to the main point.

“How is your practice of the

Yang Wood Primordial Art

coming along?”

An Hao’s spiritual root talent was unique—it wasn’t just a powerful single spiritual root. Rather, each of his elemental roots was at the Heavenly Spiritual Root level.

In other words, he could cultivate all five elemental arts to their highest potential.

For him, practicing the

Primal Heaven and Earth Art

wasn’t considered abandoning a previous cultivation method to start over, because both arts originated from the same source.

An Hao immediately nodded, excitement in his voice.

“It’s going great! I’ve already cultivated

Yang Wood

! This type of spirit wood can devour spiritual energy—it’s incredibly dominant…”

He spoke enthusiastically, listing out his achievements, eager to prove himself in front of his master. After all, he rarely got to see Gu An, and he didn’t want to disappoint him.

Once An Hao finished, Gu An said calmly, “I’ll pass down a higher-level cultivation technique to you.

Yang Wood Primordial Art

is merely the foundation of this technique.”

An Hao’s eyes lit up instantly.

He nodded excitedly.

“This technique must remain a secret,” Gu An warned. “It will easily attract tribulations. Also, once you start cultivating it, your heavenly tribulations will become even fiercer than those of other cultivators. You must be prepared.”

An Hao suddenly realized something.

“Heavenly tribulations are influenced by cultivation techniques? No wonder my tribulations always shock everyone…”

Gu An continued, “Recently, I took on another disciple. Your junior brother is also extraordinarily gifted—his talent rivals yours. As his senior brother, you must set an example. Don’t let him surpass you.”

Junior brother?

An Hao frowned, instantly becoming tense.

If someone else had said this to him, he would have scoffed, convinced that no one in the world could match his talent.

But since it came from Gu An, he didn’t doubt it for a second.

It turned out there really was someone whose talent equaled or even surpassed his own… and this person was younger than him.

A sense of urgency immediately filled his heart.

“Master, what’s my junior brother’s name?” he asked cautiously.

Gu An simply smiled.

“One day, you will meet. When the time comes, you’ll recognize each other—because you both cultivate the same technique.”

An Hao’s mind started racing.

Could it be… Li Ya?

He thought back to Li Ya’s mastery of the

Taicang Frightening God Sword

.

But in the next moment, he dismissed the idea.

Li Ya was older than him, and in his eyes, wasn’t even close to being a true genius. At best, he was ordinary.