Chapter 731: The Only Mount of the Heavenly Emperor

Time flew by like an arrow. Another five hundred thousand years had passed since Li Xianyou left.

Inside the Wushi Dao Field.

Gu An sat by the lakeside painting. He painted a scene of mountains and rivers, though his mind drifted beyond the Nine Spirit Continent.

Li Ya had extraordinary comprehension of the Hunyuan Dao Emperor path. In just five hundred thousand years, he had achieved the realm of Hunyuan Dao Emperor. During these years, he hadn’t sparred with others, instead immersing himself wholly in cultivation.

Though he had kept a low profile, his disciple, Li Xianyou, had stirred up trouble.

Li Xianyou had fallen in love with a girl. But the girl had a marriage arranged by her family. She had fled the marriage and met Li Xianyou by chance.

The two decided to face the family's pressure together. However, by a cruel twist of fate, the girl was forced to her death within her own family. Now, not only her family wanted to kill Li Xianyou, but also the family who had arranged her marriage was hunting him down to avenge their shame.

Both families were ancient and powerful clans, each with ancestors at the Dao Repository Free Immortal Realm.

Gu An merely watched silently. He wasn’t worried about Li Xianyou’s safety—because Li Ya would take action.

In the coming battle to rescue his disciple, Li Ya would showcase a sword dao so brilliant it would shake the world. He would become the undisputed number one sword cultivator and, later, the most publicly acknowledged top cultivator in the Heavenly Spirit Great World.

Li Ya would carry forward the prestige of the Hunyuan Dao Emperor path, setting a target for countless future cultivators to chase.

Aside from Li Ya, Gu An also paid attention to others. He saw Zhang Buku following Heaven-Stabilizing God down into the vast void between the Three Thousand Great Worlds, diligently cultivating.

Zhu Xi, with the help of that Supreme Purity Golden Immortal, was also steadily tightening her control over the Taiwei Great World.

The Taiwei Great World had deep foundations. By rights, with Zhu Xi’s strength, she shouldn’t have been able to become the lord of the world. But because Tai Shang Jue had destroyed the Shen Court, many of the powerful cultivators were hesitant, fearing Tai Shang Jue might return to stir up trouble again. They needed the Sheng Court as a shield. This gave Zhu Xi her opportunity.

When the Great Contention of the Heavenly Sons started, those ancient forces would definitely rise up against the Sheng Court, trying to reclaim their lost power. But that was a matter for the future. For now, Zhu Xi could sit securely as the world’s ruler for a very long time.

While watching the happenings beyond, Gu An continued painting. Each stroke of his brush carried profound dao intent, making everything within the painting seem alive. Flowers and grasses swayed as if touched by the wind, as real as life.

Blood Prison Saint came to stand beside Gu An, wearing a flattering smile. “Master, the geniuses on Nine Spirit Continent are getting more and more numerous. So many people are begging to join us. When do you think we should open the doors of Wushi?”

Gu An replied casually, “What? You want to accept disciples too?”

“I wouldn’t dare! I’m your mount—how could I accept disciples? If I did, the junior generations wouldn't know how to address each other. If rifts formed, it’d be troublesome. I just think Wushi should grow stronger. After all, after so many years of accumulation, Nine Spirit Continent has a strong foundation now.” Blood Prison Saint chuckled.

The stronger Wushi became, the more he would benefit. Just thinking about being admired by countless Wushi disciples made him excited.

He even had a bigger ambition.

He wanted to become the only mount of the Heavenly Emperor!

Gu An said lightly, “Once we open this gate, it'll be like a great river bursting its banks—unstoppable.”

“Master, why stop it? If you're afraid of trouble, you can let An Xin and the others manage things. If you're worried about future generations causing chaos, you can just set down strict sect rules.” Blood Prison Saint asked, confused.

The one thing he didn’t consider was that Gu An was wary of the Heavenly Court.

Not that it mattered much—after all, to Blood Prison Saint, Gu An was the strongest being. Besides, Wushi was so far removed from the Heavenly Court.

Not to mention, even among countless sects with greater influence than Wushi, none had yet suffered divine punishment.

Gu An was also thinking things over.

Although he always said he didn’t want to establish a sect, in reality, he had been doing exactly that.

Besides, he couldn't always shelter his disciples. It was time to let them stand on their own.

Seeing that Gu An said nothing, Blood Prison Saint didn’t press further. Instead, he focused on the painting.

"This painting..." Blood Prison Saint’s eyes lit up. Although the painting showed only mountains and rivers ahead, his eyes could see the vast Three Thousand Great Daos flowing within it.

Each river of Dao surged endlessly, like a kaleidoscope shifting before his eyes.

Gu An put down his brush and handed it to Blood Prison Saint.

"From here on, you paint it. Then show it to me."

Leaving those words behind, Gu An turned and left. Blood Prison Saint, holding the brush, was instantly excited, his eyes full of anticipation.

He completely forgot about the matter of Wushi’s expansion, thinking only about how to complete the painting.

Gu An walked into the mountains and soon arrived at the other end of the mortal world.

The Mortal Peak, Ding Tian Peak.

Even after more than three million years, he was still the peak master of Ding Tian Peak. He didn’t interfere much in the affairs of Mortal Peak, so it hadn't become a top-tier sect of the current era.

The strongest cultivator of Mortal Peak was only at the Dao Repository Free Immortal Realm. Fortunately, Dao Lord Yongnian, the peak’s master, had no ambitions to dominate, focusing only on stabilizing the Dao lineage.

Because of this mindset, time passed quickly in Mortal Peak.

Not long after Gu An arrived, Dao Lord Yongnian appeared in his courtyard.

"Peak Master, have you been lying in wait for me?" Gu An asked casually while picking herbs.

Yongnian Dao Lord couldn’t sense Gu An’s aura, but he could feel the subtle disturbances in the courtyard—of course, that was only because Gu An hadn’t deliberately concealed himself.

If Gu An wished, Yongnian Dao Lord would have no way of detecting him.

Yongnian Dao Lord wore a white Dao robe, exuding the air of an immortal. His smile was warm and kind. Within Mortal Peak, he was beloved by all disciples, regarded as a good person.

"That’s right. Lately, I’ve run into some confusion and wanted to ask for your advice," Yongnian Dao Lord said with a smile. Gu An returned once every month. Over time, the two had become something like friends—at least, that’s how Yongnian Dao Lord saw it.

From the moment they met, Gu An had always seemed mysterious to him. He believed Gu An's cultivation was profound beyond measure. After so long, Yongnian Dao Lord even suspected Gu An was a Dao Repository Free Immortal himself, because even the other Dao Repository Free Immortals in the sect couldn’t track Gu An's movements.

To him, a Dao Repository Free Immortal was already a towering existence, even though the world still had higher realms like the Profound Origin Free Immortal and the Vast Heaven Free Immortal.

As for legends like the Sword Sovereign of Dao Support, that was something he didn’t even dare think about.

Gu An didn’t stop what he was doing and asked casually, "What confusion could I possibly solve for you?"

Yongnian Dao Lord chuckled, "It’s about the Hunyuan Dao Emperor. Didn't I tell you before that I obtained a Hunyuan Dao Emperor’s inheritance? I wanted to give it to you, but you refused. In my view, you must be a Hunyuan Dao Emperor yourself. That’s why your cultivation is unfathomable and why you were so indifferent about it."

Gu An didn't respond.

The Hunyuan Dao Emperor’s inheritance Yongnian Dao Lord had received wasn’t something Gu An had given him. As more and more Hunyuan Crystals appeared across the Three Thousand Great Worlds, the Heavenly Spirit Great World had produced one too, and Yongnian Dao Lord had just happened to find it.

It could only be said that Yongnian Dao Lord truly had good fortune.

"Alright, alright. I haven't achieved the Hunyuan Dao Emperor Realm yet. I just started exploring it earlier than you," Gu An replied helplessly.

Yongnian Dao Lord’s smile grew even wider. "As I thought, you secluded yourself on Mortal Peak to better comprehend the Dao!"