Chapter 240: Sworn to Protect

Looking at Li Ya, who was full of fighting spirit, An Hao remained indifferent. If it were before, he might have anticipated a duel with Li Ya. But now, his mind was only occupied by the thought of his yet-to-be-seen junior disciple.

Li Ya now possessed an Immortal Dao Treasure, making him a completely different person. An Hao naturally wouldn't consider himself Li Ya's equal at this stage.

However, removing the Immortal Dao Treasure from the equation, An Hao didn't think Li Ya deserved to be his opponent at all.

Li Ya mistook An Hao's silence for reluctance and added, "Don't worry, when I fight you, I won't use that treasure. But against others, I won't hold back—it's the perfect chance to showcase Tai Xuan Sect's might."

Zhang Buku, standing to the side, snorted, "I don't care if you use that treasure. I actually want to test its power myself."

An Hao glanced at Zhang Buku. He had encountered him before; back then, Zhang Buku and Li Ya were already inseparable, though they hadn't formally introduced themselves.

What interested An Hao the most about Zhang Buku was his immensely powerful blood energy. Based on his instincts, Zhang Buku's actual strength was far superior to Li Ya's.

"What's your name?" An Hao asked, staring intently at Zhang Buku.

Zhang Buku replied proudly, "I'm Zhang Buku, Li Ya's sworn brother."

Li Ya's face twitched slightly but didn't refute it.

An Hao nodded and said nothing more, turning back around.

Li Ya became more intrigued and took a step forward. "The three of us all hail from Tai Xuan Sect and entered Star Sea Sect at the same time. No matter who wins or loses in the future, let's help each other out, shall we?"

An Hao nodded without objection.

In his heart, Tai Xuan Sect held a high status. Helping his sect's fellow disciples was something he considered natural.

Li Ya and Zhang Buku moved closer and stood by An Hao's side. They began chatting about their past experiences, sharing stories of their travels and battles. Initially, An Hao didn't pay much attention, but as the tales grew more vivid, he found himself drawn in.

Were these two always this battle-hungry?

Before long, Zhang Buku and Li Ya began bickering, shifting blame back and forth. An Hao watched the exchange and suddenly felt a pang of envy. Wherever they went, the two of them seemed to have each other's backs, sharing hardships and triumphs.

An Hao thought about his junior sister, An Xin, and sighed softly.

Even he felt that fate had been unfair.

…

While Li Ya, Zhang Buku, and An Hao were carving a path through Star Sea Sect, Gu An and his disciples continued their tranquil lives in Tai Xuan Sect.

Ten years passed in the blink of an eye.

By this time, Gu An was one hundred thirty-nine years old. That summer, Tai Xuan Sect prepared to host the much-anticipated Heaven Rankings Tournament, plunging the sect into an unprecedented state of excitement and prosperity.

Inside the Third Medicine Valley, within a small pavilion—

Gu An studied his attribute panel and was satisfied to see his lifespan restored to eight million years.

After breaking through to the Unrestrained Primordial Immortal, his lifespan barrier had consumed nearly one million years. Over the last decade, he had managed to accumulate over four million additional years, a steady and reassuring gain.

Next, Gu An planned to reach ten million years of lifespan. At that point, he would comprehensively enhance his attributes before breaking into even higher realms.

Though gaining ten million years seemed far off with his current rate of progress, Gu An wasn't worried. He had a trump card—the Pocket Dimension.

Inside the Pocket Dimension, the seventh-grade spiritual herbs required decades, sometimes centuries, to mature. Each month, Gu An would plant more high-grade seeds, ensuring a steady harvest in the future.

What he truly sought now were Immortal Dao Trees.

The previous year, at a private auction hosted by Tang Hai True Person, an Immortal Dao Tree had appeared. However, its price skyrocketed to absurd heights. Despite his usual wealth from years of buying high-grade herbs, Gu An couldn't secure the tree. It had been purchased by a Star Sea Sect elder with immense financial backing.

Gu An didn't regret it. There was no point in creating enemies over a single tree. Besides, an Immortal Dao Tree wouldn't immediately yield enough lifespan to be worth the trouble. For now, Tai Xuan Sect and Star Sea Sect shared friendly ties, and An Hao was living comfortably within Star Sea Sect.

There would be other chances in the future!

As the Heaven Rankings Tournament approached, Gu An was ready to take advantage of the event. It was the perfect opportunity to gather resources while enjoying the spectacle.

He stood up and prepared to head for Xuan Valley. A familiar face had returned.

Descending the stairs, Gu An called for Yang Jian and mounted the Blood Prison Saint, teleporting directly to Xuan Valley.

The disciples in Xuan Valley were no longer surprised to see Blood Prison Saint or Yang Jian. Everyone knew about their close relationship with Gu An.

Instead of going upstairs, Gu An began inspecting the valley's herb gardens. Yang Jian and Blood Prison Saint trailed behind him.

Over the last ten years, Yang Jian had grown significantly. Now thirty-two years old, he had reached the Core Formation Realm second layer. Such an age and cultivation were already considered top-tier talent. However, considering that Yang Jian had been at the Qi Refining Realm third layer at twenty years old, his natural talent was nothing short of extraordinary.

Yang Jian continued to conceal his true strength. On the surface, his cultivation appeared to be at the Qi Refining Realm seventh layer.

With his mastery of Universal Shape and Form Technique and Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi Technique, Yang Jian's blood energy had grown terrifyingly strong. Gu An speculated that even Nascent Soul Realm cultivators would struggle to withstand Yang Jian's physical power.

Under Gu An's careful guidance, Yang Jian had also become more composed and disciplined, possessing the demeanor of a true senior disciple.

"I heard the Dao Monarch of Cang Tian Sect has arrived," Yang Jian muttered to Blood Prison Saint as they discussed the Heaven Rankings Tournament.

Blood Prison Saint shared his enthusiasm, both of them curiously discussing other participants without ever mentioning their own cultivation. This restraint had been drilled into them by Gu An over the years.

After a while—

A figure approached from the distant horizon, flying toward them at great speed. It was Li Ya.

Yang Jian turned his head, his eyes gleaming with curiosity.

What an imposing aura!

Li Ya arrived on his sword, descending like an immortal from the heavens.

After sheathing his sword, he quickly walked to the edge of the garden and greeted Gu An.

Gu An smiled and said, "Senior Brother Li, what brings you here? Wait for me a moment."

Li Ya nodded but couldn't help casting his gaze toward Yang Jian.

Though Yang Jian's cultivation appeared low, his bearing was anything but ordinary.

"What's the relationship between this person and Gu An?" Li Ya thought to himself.

After a while, Gu An handed over some herbs to a miscellaneous disciple, then led Yang Jian toward Li Ya.

Gu An introduced Yang Jian and gestured for him to pay his respects.

"Yang Jian greets Senior Uncle." Yang Jian cupped his fists, neither servile nor overbearing. Although Li Ya's aura was strong to him, it paled in comparison to Gu An. If Gu An didn't suppress his cultivation, the two of them wouldn't even be considered peers.

Hearing this, Li Ya asked curiously, "Are you named after the Yang Jian from Investiture of the Gods?"

Yang Jian nodded. "I loved Investiture of the Gods as a child. After entering the sect, I changed my name to inspire myself."

Li Ya chuckled and took out a treasured sword from his storage pouch, presenting it to Yang Jian.

Yang Jian glanced at Gu An. Seeing Gu An nod in approval, he accepted it.

Li Ya grabbed Gu An and headed toward the pavilion, motioning for Yang Jian to follow. This made Li Ya hesitate slightly.

"Jian'er is the disciple I've truly taken under my wing. I'm teaching him everything I know. Let him come along; it'll be good for him to gain some experience," Gu An said with a smile.

Hearing this, Li Ya gave Yang Jian another thoughtful look.

He immediately understood Gu An's meaning.

"Understood. In the future, if you run into trouble while out adventuring, you can come to me for help," Li Ya said confidently, smiling with pride. Yang Jian quickly thanked him.

Gu An found this amusing. Li Ya had completely misunderstood his intentions.

He wasn't helping Yang Jian find a backer; he was helping Li Ya find one!

Once they ascended the pavilion, Li Ya began recounting his experiences in Star Sea Sect. By now, he had become one of the sect's True Disciples, though his cultivation was the weakest among them. He had earned this status primarily because of Mysterious Divine City.

Even though Yang Jian had entered the sect later, he had heard of Mysterious Divine City's fame.

He was astonished to learn that the Tai Xuan Sect disciple who had claimed Mysterious Divine City decades ago was his Senior Uncle.

A sudden thought crossed his mind—was it possible that Li Ya had been able to acquire Mysterious Divine City because his master had intervened?

"By the way, I heard Star Sea Sect has an internal assessment. Did you participate?" Gu An suddenly asked.

Li Ya's expression grew slightly awkward. "I participated, and I did quite well, breaking into the top one hundred. I earned the status of True Disciple with my own strength."

Gu An didn't believe him. Over the years, Li Ya had relied heavily on Mysterious Divine City's power.

"I heard An Hao also participated. How did he rank?" Gu An pressed.

Li Ya's face grew even more uncomfortable.

Yang Jian's eyes lit up, and he asked, "Master, are you referring to Tai Xuan Sect's number one genius, An Hao?"

"Yes, that's him," Gu An replied.

Yang Jian fell into deep thought.

Li Ya hesitated, then said vaguely, "His ranking wasn't bad either. Without using Mysterious Divine City, I can't compare to him."

Gu An raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? Did the two of you face each other again?"

Li Ya's face darkened. Was Gu An doing this on purpose? Embarrassing him in front of his junior?

He had indeed crossed paths with An Hao. Relying on Mysterious Divine City, Li Ya had suppressed countless powerful cultivators. But when he faced An Hao, he chose not to use Mysterious Divine City for fairness. The result? A humiliating defeat.

This incident had spread throughout Star Sea Sect, with An Hao's name rising in fame while Li Ya's was trampled in the process.

Although he felt frustrated, Li Ya didn't regret it. An Hao had always been his benchmark. He wanted to see how far his own strength was from An Hao's.

Gu An couldn't help but chuckle. Knowing that his disciple had defeated Li Ya gave him a strange sense of satisfaction.

Sigh, I shouldn't feel like this…

Changing the topic, Gu An began discussing the upcoming Heaven Rankings Tournament.

Li Ya explained that the Tai Xuan Sect had summoned him back because they needed the power of Mysterious Divine City to deal with the powerful cultivators arriving from overseas.

After all, this was Tai Xuan Sect's first time hosting the Heaven Rankings Tournament, and Lü Baitian hoped to maintain their dominance as the number one sect, even against Holy Land disciples and overseas cultivators.

Gu An thought Lü Baitian was a bit shameless, but he couldn't criticize him. Magic treasures were part of a cultivator's strength. After all, aside from Gu An himself, what cultivator didn't rely on treasures in battle?

"Senior Brother Li, what do you think of my disciple? Five hundred years from now, I'll have him participate in the Heaven Rankings Tournament. Who knows? Maybe he'll meet you again," Gu An said cheerfully.

Li Ya glanced at Yang Jian and said, "His cultivation is still too low. To compete for the top, he'll need great opportunities."

Yang Jian remained silent, standing obediently to the side.

Gu An smiled and said, "I believe my disciple has great fortune. One day, he'll shake the heavens. I may not live to see that day, but I hope you can support one another on the path of cultivation. This road is not one to walk alone."

Hearing this, Li Ya felt a pang of emotion.

He knew Gu An's talent was mediocre and that Gu An wouldn't be able to compete for eternal life as he could.

Li Ya stood up and said solemnly, "Don't worry. Your disciple is my disciple. As long as I live, I will protect him. If anyone wants to harm him, they'll have to step over my dead body first."

Yang Jian looked at Li Ya, his expression shifting subtly.