Chapter 240: Vow to Protect

Looking at Li Ya, whose face was full of fighting spirit, An Hao remained indifferent. If it were before, he might have looked forward to a duel with Li Ya. But now, the only thing on his mind was that junior brother he had never met.

Li Ya possessed a supreme immortal treasure, making him vastly different from before. Naturally, An Hao no longer saw himself as Li Ya’s match.

However, setting aside the supreme immortal treasure, An Hao truly didn’t think Li Ya was qualified to be his opponent.

Li Ya assumed An Hao was hesitant to fight and said, “Don’t worry. When facing you, I won’t use that treasure. But if it’s against others, I won’t hold back. It’ll be the perfect chance to showcase the might of Taixuan Sect.”

Zhang Bukui, standing beside them, snorted. “I don’t mind you using that treasure. In fact, I’d love to test its sharpness myself.”

An Hao looked at Zhang Bukui. He had encountered him before—back then, Zhang Bukui and Li Ya were already inseparable, though they hadn’t officially introduced themselves.

An Hao was quite interested in Zhang Bukui. He could sense the immense vitality within him. In terms of raw strength, Zhang Bukui was undoubtedly stronger than Li Ya.

“What’s your name?” An Hao stared at Zhang Bukui and asked.

“Zhang Bukui,” he replied, “Li Ya’s sworn brother.”

Li Ya’s mouth twitched slightly, but he didn’t deny it.

An Hao nodded and said nothing more, turning away.

Li Ya grew intrigued. Taking a step forward, he suggested, “We three all hail from Taixuan Sect and joined the Starsea Sect Alliance in the same batch. Regardless of wins and losses in the future, how about we support each other?”

An Hao nodded, not objecting.

In his heart, Taixuan Sect still held a high position. Helping fellow disciples was natural to him.

Li Ya and Zhang Bukui stepped forward, standing beside An Hao, and started chatting about their past experiences. At first, An Hao wasn’t particularly interested, but as he listened, he gradually found himself drawn in.

These two… were such battle maniacs?

Before long, Zhang Bukui and Li Ya started bickering, shifting blame onto each other. An Hao suddenly felt a bit envious of them—no matter where they went, they had each other’s backs.

Thinking of his junior sister, An Xin, An Hao let out a sigh.

Even he felt that fate was unfair.

While Li Ya and the others were making their mark in the Starsea Sect Alliance, far away in Taixuan Sect, Gu An and his disciples were living their lives as usual, just as they had for the past decade.

Ten years passed in the blink of an eye.

Gu An had reached the age of 139. That summer, Taixuan Sect was preparing to host the Heavenly Rankings Tournament, plunging the sect into an unprecedented level of excitement.

In the attic of Third Medicine Valley, Gu An examined his status panel—his lifespan had recovered to eight million years. He was quite satisfied.

Back when he broke through to the Free Soaring Immortal Stage, just maintaining his Lifespan Barrier had consumed nearly a million years of his lifespan. Gaining four million years over the past decade was steady progress.

His next goal was to push his lifespan to one hundred million years. At that point, he would focus on fully enhancing his attributes before attempting another breakthrough to a higher realm.

Though his lifespan was increasing at a rate of four million years per decade, making one hundred million seem like a distant goal, Gu An wasn’t in a hurry. He still had an ace up his sleeve—the Otherworldly Celestial Realm.

The Seventh-Grade Spirit Herbs inside the Otherworldly Celestial Realm weren’t something that matured within mere decades. Additionally, Gu An regularly planted high-grade seeds there every month.

What he was currently focused on was collecting Immortal Dao Spirit Trees.

Last year, during Daoist Tang Hai’s private auction, an Immortal Dao Spirit Tree had appeared. Unfortunately, the price skyrocketed to an astronomical amount, and since Gu An had been consistently purchasing high-grade medicinal herbs, he couldn’t afford it.

The one who won the tree was a powerful grandmaster from the Starsea Sect Alliance—a cultivator with a strong background and vast wealth.

However, Gu An wasn’t about to make an enemy over a single tree. An Immortal Dao Spirit Tree wouldn’t instantly grant him a million years of lifespan. Besides, Taixuan Sect had maintained a good relationship with the Starsea Sect Alliance for years. His disciple, An Hao, was also thriving within the Starsea Sect Alliance, so there would be future opportunities.

With the Heavenly Rankings Tournament approaching, Gu An saw a perfect chance to accumulate wealth. He was looking forward to the excitement to come.

Standing up, he prepared to head to Xuan Valley—an old acquaintance had returned.

Descending the stairs, Gu An called for Yang, then used the Blood Prison Great Saint to teleport to Xuan Valley.

Over the years, the disciples of Xuan Valley had grown familiar with both the Blood Prison Great Saint and Yang, fully aware of their connection to Gu An.

Instead of heading upstairs, Gu An began patrolling the valley’s gardens, with Yang and the Blood Prison Great Saint following closely behind.

A decade had passed. Now thirty-two years old, Yang had reached the second level of the Core Formation Stage. At his age, this was an exceptional cultivation speed—making him one of the top prodigies of the era.

However, considering that at age twenty, Yang had only been at the third level of the Qi Refining Stage, his potential was even more staggering.

Yang continued to conceal his cultivation, appearing as if he was only at the seventh level of Qi Refining.

Having cultivated Myriad Forms Qi Technique and Primal Heaven and Earth Art, his vital energy was incredibly powerful. Gu An estimated that even Nascent Soul cultivators wouldn’t be able to withstand his sheer physical strength.

Under Gu An’s guidance, Yang had become more composed, neither arrogant nor impatient, exuding the demeanor of a true senior disciple.

“I heard that the Dao Lord of Cang Heaven Sect has arrived,” Yang casually remarked while chatting with the Blood Prison Great Saint about the Heavenly Rankings Tournament.

The Blood Prison Great Saint was also quite interested. The two discussed others but never mentioned their own cultivation levels—a habit instilled in them by Gu An over the years.

After a while…

A figure streaked across the sky—it was Li Ya.

Yang turned his head, a look of curiosity flashing in his eyes.

What a powerful aura!

Li Ya rode his sword like an immortal descending from the heavens.

Sheathing his sword, he quickly approached the edge of the garden and greeted Gu An.

Gu An smiled. “Senior Brother Li, what brings you here? Wait a moment.”

Li Ya nodded but couldn’t help glancing at Yang.

Though Yang’s cultivation level seemed low, his presence was extraordinary.

Who is this person to Junior Brother Gu? Li Ya wondered.

After handing over some medicinal herbs to a miscellaneous disciple, Gu An led Yang toward Li Ya.

Introducing Yang, Gu An had him greet Li Ya.

“Yang greets Senior Uncle,” Yang said, cupping his fists with a composed demeanor. Though Li Ya’s aura was formidable, it was nowhere near Gu An’s. If Gu An hadn’t concealed his cultivation, there was no way they could be considered fellow disciples.

Hearing this, Li Ya asked curiously, “Are you the Yang from

Romance of the Gods

?”

Yang nodded. “I’ve loved

Romance of the Gods

since I was a child. After joining the sect, I changed my name to reflect my aspirations.”

Li Ya chuckled and pulled out a treasured sword from his storage pouch, handing it to Yang.

Yang glanced at Gu An. Seeing his master nod in approval, he accepted the gift.

Li Ya then pulled Gu An toward the attic, signaling Yang to follow—something that made Li Ya hesitate for a moment.

“Yang is my true disciple,” Gu An explained with a smile. “I’m teaching him everything I know. Let him come along—he should broaden his horizons.”

Li Ya took another look at Yang.

I see… in the future, if he runs into trouble while traveling, he can always come to me.

Yang quickly thanked him.

Gu An chuckled to himself—Li Ya had guessed his intent, but got it completely wrong.

I’m not helping Yang find a backer. I’m helping Li Ya find one.

After heading upstairs, Li Ya began recounting his experiences in the Starsea Sect Alliance. He had now become a True Legacy Disciple, though among the True Legacy disciples, his cultivation level was the lowest—his main reliance being Divine Anomaly City.

Though Yang had joined Taixuan Sect late, he had still heard of Divine Anomaly City.

To think that the Taixuan Sect disciple who had seized Divine Anomaly City decades ago was none other than his Senior Uncle!

He suddenly had a suspicion—did his master secretly help Li Ya win Divine Anomaly City?

“By the way, I heard that the Starsea Sect Alliance has internal ranking assessments. Did you participate?” Gu An suddenly asked.

Li Ya’s expression immediately stiffened. “I did… My ranking was decent. I made it into the top one hundred. I became a True Legacy disciple through my own strength!”

Gu An clearly didn’t believe him. Over the years, Li Ya had relied heavily on the power of Divine Anomaly City.

“I heard An Hao also participated. How did he rank?” Gu An pressed further.

Li Ya’s face became even more awkward.

Yang’s eyes lit up as he asked, “Master, are you talking about An Hao, the number one genius of Taixuan Sect?”

Gu An nodded. “That’s right, it’s him.”

Yang fell into deep thought.

Li Ya hesitated before vaguely responding, “His ranking was good too. Without using Divine Anomaly City, I really couldn’t match him.”

Gu An raised an eyebrow. “Oh? You two fought again?”

Li Ya was stifled. Gu An is doing this on purpose, right?

Trying to embarrass me in front of a junior?

He had indeed fought An Hao. He had relied on Divine Anomaly City to suppress many grandmasters. But when he faced An Hao, he had chosen not to use it, wanting a fair fight—and ended up suffering a crushing defeat.

That battle had become well-known within the Starsea Sect Alliance, with An Hao stepping over his name to rise in fame. It was a bitter memory for Li Ya.

Though frustrated, he didn’t regret it. An Hao had always been his target, and he wanted to know just how far apart their strength truly was.

Gu An, however, was quite pleased.

Hah, so my disciple beat Li Ya? That feels oddly satisfying.

No, no—this mentality is dangerous!

Quickly changing the subject, Gu An shifted the conversation to the Heavenly Rankings Tournament.

Li Ya explained that he had returned because Taixuan Sect had summoned him back. The sect needed the power of Divine Anomaly City to deal with powerful overseas cultivators.

Since this was Taixuan Sect’s first time hosting the Heavenly Rankings Tournament, Lü Baitian wanted to ensure their sect retained the number one position—even if the opponents were cultivators from the Holy Lands or overseas grandmasters.

Gu An chuckled. Lü Baitian really has no shame.

Still, he couldn’t blame him. After all, in cultivation battles, magical treasures were part of a cultivator’s strength. Besides, who didn’t rely on powerful artifacts?

Well, aside from Gu An himself.

“Senior Brother Li, what do you think of my disciple?” Gu An suddenly asked. “In five hundred years, I’ll have him compete in the Great Rankings Tournament. Maybe by then, you’ll be facing him.”

Li Ya glanced at Yang. “His cultivation is a bit low. If he wants to fight for the number one spot in the world, he’ll need some serious fortune.”

Yang remained silent, standing obediently by Gu An’s side.

Gu An laughed. “I don’t know about that. But I have a feeling that my disciple is blessed with great fortune. One day, his name will shake the world.”

He sighed. “Though I don’t know if I’ll live to see that day… I still hope that when the time comes, you two will support each other. The path of cultivation is difficult—relying on oneself alone is not enough.”

Hearing this, Li Ya felt a pang of sorrow.

He knew that Gu An’s talent was limited, and he couldn’t pursue longevity like himself.

Li Ya spoke seriously, “Don’t worry. Your disciple is my disciple. As long as I live, I will protect him with my life. If anyone wants to harm him, they’ll have to step over my dead body first.”

Yang looked at Li Ya, a change appearing in his gaze.