Chapter 117: Do You Really Need a Sword to Kill Him?

Gu An and Wu Jue exchanged their insights on enlightenment, talking well into the early hours of the next day. Both of them gained a great deal from the conversation.

Before parting, Wu Jue once again reminded him not to reveal his enlightenment to anyone else.

Seeing Wu Jue's cautiousness, Gu An smiled and gave his assurance.

As Gu An left, Wu Jue couldn't help but smile.

In all the years he had spent in the Tai Xuan Sect, Gu An was the first real friend he had made. Previously, he had always been self-conscious and shy, never daring to interact much with others. The only person he was close to was his master, so his master's death had been a huge blow to him.

Wu Jue turned and went back into his room to continue his cultivation, already looking forward to his next conversation with Gu An.

After spending about half an hour in the city, Gu An returned to the Third Medicine Valley. After checking on the valley, he hurried away once more.

He went to Xuan Valley for a short while before heading to the Xuantian Cave Mansion.

Xuantian Cave Mansion was already home to many medicinal herbs, but it was still far from being completely filled.

Gu An planned to grow all the fifth-tier and above herbs here, as this was his private domain—a place truly known to no one else.

While Jiang Qiong and Hao Long knew about the Eight Views Heavenly Cave, Xuantian Cave Mansion was a secret known only to Gu An.

As he was busy planting herbs, he sensed battle energy coming from the north.

The energy of the Nine Nether Path still lingered after several months. The Nine Dynasties continued to send cultivators to battle there, temporarily holding back the chaos of the Ephemeral Blossom Sect.

This was expected—if the Ephemeral Blossom Sect had been far stronger than the Nine Dynasties, they would have already swept through them all.

Gu An didn't pay much attention to the distant battle; he focused on planting his herbs.

He planned to spend the night in Xuantian Cave Mansion. Since it was the end of the month, he didn't want to miss the opportunity in case Li Ya needed to contact him.

After Gu An and Li Ya had come to an agreement, Li Ya hadn't revealed his presence at the end of the month, possibly due to circumstances beyond his control. Gu An wasn't in a rush; every month at the end of the month, he would visit Xuantian Cave Mansion and use his divine sense to search for Li Ya's energy in the north.

After planting all the seeds he brought, Gu An set up another formation. When night fell, he activated the Nine Extremes Yin-Yang Body, transforming into his shadow form, and headed north.

Under the night sky, Li Ya stood on a mountaintop, the North Sea Heavy Sword strapped to his back. Looking ahead, the mountain range stretched endlessly, while the night sky was shrouded in dark clouds, hiding the stars and moon.

"This place is so far from the Northern Sea Mountains—I wonder if the Ancestor will be able to find me," Li Ya thought anxiously.

The voice of the old ancestor echoed in his mind, "The great cultivators of the Nine Dynasties keep appearing, yet they are still unable to shake that female cultivator. Once the main forces of the Ephemeral Blossom Sect arrive, the danger will only increase. Even the arrival of the Ancestor might not be able to turn the tide."

The ancestor believed that Gu An was the Li Family's ancestor, but he had no confidence in his abilities.

Though the ancestor was stronger than him in his prime, the Ephemeral Blossom Sect's main branch also had cultivators of the same level, and more than one at that.

Li Ya fell into silence after hearing this.

He turned his head, spreading his divine sense wide, wary of being followed by any Ephemeral Blossom Sect cultivators.

Once he was sure that no one had followed him, Li Ya removed the heavy sword from his back and sat down to meditate.

He placed the sword across his lap, gently running his fingers along its edge, feeling its sharpness.

He had already grasped a sliver of the Tai Cang Divine Shocking Sword's sword intent. The more he studied it, the more profound it seemed. Once he mastered this sword technique, he would be able to dominate those of the same level and even challenge those above his own.

The cold wind blew, biting even without the presence of snow.

Time passed slowly.

A figure silently appeared behind Li Ya, watching him intently.

It was Gu An, in his shadow form, observing Li Ya's progress in swordsmanship.

Not bad. He hadn't wasted the swordsmanship techniques Gu An had passed on to him.

"He's here…"

The ancestor's voice echoed in Li Ya's ears again, this time with a tone of mixed emotions.

Hearing this, Li Ya opened his eyes and turned around. Upon seeing Gu An, he quickly rose and bowed, lifting the North Sea Heavy Sword as he did.

By now, Li Ya could lift the sword with one hand.

"Greetings, Ancestor!"

Gu An had no intention of correcting Li Ya's misunderstanding. As long as he didn't guess his true identity, that was enough.

"Tell me about the situation with the Ephemeral Blossom Sect," Gu An said, speaking in a voice different from his usual tone.

Li Ya began to report.

The entire force of the Ephemeral Blossom Sect had gathered at the entrance of the Nine Nether Path. Their numbers exceeded a million, and every one of them bore the Ephemeral Blossom Seal, making it impossible for the wavering cultivators to escape.

He also mentioned the Ephemeral Blossom Tree, which grew stronger every day as cultivators perished in their attempts to fight the sect, becoming its nourishment.

Even the fearless Li Ya showed signs of fear when discussing this tree.

Gu An wasn't particularly concerned with these details; his curiosity lay in how strong the top figures of the Ephemeral Blossom Sect's main branch were.

Unfortunately, Li Ya didn't know. They spent most of the conversation discussing the battles around the Ephemeral Blossom Tree, but nothing about what lay deeper within the Nine Nether Path.

"I see now why you've been sneaking out. You're trying to pass along information. It seems your backer is helpless, unable to respond."

A mocking voice echoed from behind them, causing Li Ya's face to pale as he looked beyond Gu An.

Emerging from the forest was Jing Hongke, dressed as a scholar. Gu An, who had his back to him, didn't turn around.

"Shadow Arts? I wonder which master from the Thousand Autumn Pavilion you are," Jing Hongke said with a smirk, placing the book chest he carried in front of him and opening it.

Before Gu An could respond, Li Ya urgently said, "Ancestor, that's Jing Hongke! He's the one who captured my ancestor's soul. He's incredibly strong—you must not take him lightly!"

Gu An tilted his head slightly, casting a sidelong glance at Jing Hongke.

[Jing Hongke (Body Fusion Realm, Ninth Layer): 1209/3020/3030]

A Body Fusion cultivator at the ninth layer—no wonder he was so arrogant.

With such a cultivation level, he could easily roam unchallenged in the Tai Cang Dynasty.

Gu An slowly turned around, watching as Jing Hongke rummaged through his chest. He didn't rush; instead, he let Jing Hongke continue with his theatrics.

A cultivator at the ninth layer of the Body Fusion Realm rummaging for something with his hands? It was obvious that Jing Hongke was trying to mess with both Gu An's and Li Ya's minds, confident that he had them cornered.

"Ancestor? So you're family. Then I'll be sure to torture you to death right in front of him, so he can give up on his foolish ideas," Jing Hongke sneered.

Li Ya, alarmed, hurried to Gu An's side, offering the North Sea Heavy Sword to him.

"Do I really need a sword to kill him?"

Gu An's raspy voice left Li Ya stunned, while Jing Hongke's movements froze.

Jing Hongke lifted his eyes to meet Gu An's gaze. They stood on a slope, Gu An looking down on him.

Though Jing Hongke couldn't see Gu An's face, something about his posture made him uneasy.

Suddenly, Jing Hongke pulled a scroll from his chest, and as it unfurled, terrifying waves of molten lava burst forth, covering the sky in an overwhelming display of power.

Li Ya stood frozen, unable to react.

But Gu An raised his right hand at lightning speed, sending out a streak of energy that pierced through the molten lava and shot straight through Jing Hongke's throat. Blood sprayed from the back of his neck.

Jing Hongke's eyes widened in disbelief.

As his body began to collapse, a foot landed on his back.

Boom!

The mountain shook as rocks flew in all directions. Under Li Ya's stunned gaze, the once-invincible Jing Hongke was pinned beneath Gu An's foot, his body shattered.

"Ugh…"

Jing Hongke coughed up blood, horrified to find his spiritual energy completely suppressed, unable to leave his body. He couldn't even cast any spells to escape.

He had never experienced such oppressive force before.

Even a cultivator at the Profound Heart Realm couldn't suppress him like this.

Could this man be beyond the fifth layer of the Profound Heart Realm?

Jing Hongke's mind was filled with disbelief.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Gu An continued to stomp on his back, over and over. Each blow sent cracks through the mountain, while blood pooled beneath Jing Hongke's broken body.

Gu An, his entire form wreathed in dark purple demonic energy, looked like a demon god straight out of the Yellow Springs. Even Li Ya couldn't help but feel a chill of fear.

The ancestor's soul within him fell silent.

After nine devastating stomps, Jing Hongke was completely incapacitated.

Gu An's right foot ignited with Taiqing True Fire, engulfing Jing Hongke's body. As the fire consumed him, Gu An stepped back and casually extracted Jing Hongke's soul, holding it in his left hand while picking up his book chest with his right.

Jing Hongke's body burned to ash within moments. Gu An's shadowy form then vanished, leaving behind only a single remark:

"From now on, just try to survive. There's no need to seek me out."

Li Ya stood on the mountainside, staring in silence at the ashes of Jing Hongke's body.

After a long while, he couldn't help but ask in his mind, "Do you still believe that the Ancestor cannot stand against the main forces of the Ephemeral Blossom Sect?"

The ancestor's soul remained silent.

Back in Xuantian Cave Mansion, Gu An sat at a stone table, using the Soul Capture Technique on Jing Hongke's soul.

As expected, Jing Hongke wasn't from the Nine Dynasties—he hailed from the main branch of the Ephemeral Blossom Sect and had arrived long ago.

Three hundred years ago, the main branch of the Ephemeral Blossom Sect had come to the Nine Dynasties, dispersing its members. While his fellow disciples carried out the main branch's grand schemes, seeking puppet sects to control, Jing Hongke had wandered alone, searching for immortal opportunities.

His arrogance stemmed from his status as a core disciple of the main branch, with significant backing.

Two hundred years ago, upon encountering the powerful Lu Baitian, he had realized he was no match and had gone into hiding for two centuries.

The main reason the Ephemeral Blossom Sect's main branch had come to the Nine Dynasties was that they knew the region would eventually be devoured by demons. In their eyes, the human race here was doomed, and it was better to offer them up as nourishment for the Ephemeral Blossom Tree.

The tree thrived on the spiritual energy and flesh of human cultivators, and if it could devour all the humans of the Nine Dynasties, it could transcend fate and reach the legendary Ninth Tier.

At that level, the Ephemeral Blossom Tree could open the Nine Nether Path at will, allowing the main branch to travel freely wherever they pleased.

Through Jing Hongke's memories, Gu An also learned about the hierarchy of the main branch. The Golden Spirit Sovereign, whom he had killed earlier, was one of the branch's hundred masters, each of whom possessed Profound Heart Realm cultivation. The leader of the main branch had surpassed the Profound Heart Realm five hundred years ago, entering the legendary Mahayana Realm.

In other words, the main branch had only one Mahayana Realm cultivator.

Could the leader have reached the ninth layer of the Mahayana Realm after five hundred years?

Gu An pondered silently.

Several hours later, he withdrew his divine sense, ending Jing Hongke's soul and gaining two hundred and nine years of lifespan.

His right hand rested on the book chest, fingers tapping lightly as his eyes glimmered with resolve.

No more waiting!

Tomorrow, he would eliminate the Ephemeral Blossom Tree beneath the Nine Nether Path. The longer he delayed, the greater the risk. After all, even if he didn't act, the main branch of the Ephemeral Blossom Sect would never stop!