Chapter 89: Chapter 89: Turning the Tide: Emperors and Immortals
An Hao, upon hearing Lv Baitian's words, couldn't help but reassess Gu An. In his eyes, Gu An seemed too ordinary. His previous action of standing in front of Gu An was merely an instinctive reaction, after all, his master had also protected him when he was weak.
How could such a mediocre person be pursued for the position of Sect Leader?
Facing Lv Baitian's gaze, Gu An took a deep breath and said, "It still won't do, Sect Leader. For all the years we've spent together in Medicine Valley, please spare me. I truly don't want to cause trouble; I just want to live a quiet life tending to my grass."
Upon hearing this, Lv Baitian frowned.
No one had ever dared to refuse him, and not just once.
Gu An continued, "The Vice Sect Leader mentioned that you usually only care about cultivating. You probably want to transfer your position to me so I can handle things for you. Why not establish another level above the Elders, limit it to three people, and have all major and minor Sect decisions made by these three, selected from the Hall of Elders, only answering to the Sect Leader?
Also, ensure that the position of Sect Leader can only be chosen from among these three, so the Hall of Elders won't oppose it."
Hearing this, Lv Baitian's tightly knotted brows relaxed. He looked deeply at Gu An without responding, his gaze then turned to An Hao.
"What is your name, and what relation do you have with Chu Tianqi?" Lv Baitian asked.
An Hao immediately responded with a fist and palm salute, "My name is An Hao, I am sixteen years old, and I have been in the Supreme Sect for over three years. Chu Tianqi is my master."
The kid was smart, intentionally clarifying the time he joined the sect and his age.
It articulated his talent and also indicated a shallow relationship with Chu Tianqi.
Gu An thought relivedly, if Lv Baitian insisted on killing An Hao, then he would not hold back.
To be frank, no matter how you looked at it, Lv Baitian was not a fit Sect Leader, but what Chu Tianqi did was even more outrageous.
"An Hao, are you that Heavenly Spirit Root? The peerless genius who was taken away by the Hall of Elders shortly after entering the Outer Sect?" Gu An seemed to recall something and exclaimed.
An Hao nodded, his expression neither humble nor arrogant as he calmly looked at Lv Baitian.
Lv Baitian sized him up and then said, "If I let you become my disciple, would you be willing?"
An Hao immediately answered, "Of course I am willing, but I cannot act against my master. Although I have only met him a few times, there is still the name of master and disciple."
Under someone's roof, one must bow their head!
An Hao was very wary of Lv Baitian in his heart; the Cultivation Technique Lv Baitian displayed earlier was too sinister and similar to that of a Demon Cultivator.
But, he had to survive.
What was Chu Tianqi?
His true master was only one!
Lv Baitian laughed, stepped down the stairs, and walked towards Gu An and An Hao.
"From now on, An Hao, you are my sole direct disciple. As for Gu An, since you do not wish to acknowledge me as your master, I will not force you. After this ordeal is past, if you have any needs, you can still find me. I will visit you often."
Lv Baitian spoke with a gentle demeanor, his expression and tone no longer as domineering as before, resembling a kind elder.
He waved his sleeve, and Gu An and An Hao were swept away by his Spiritual Power.
When An Hao opened his eyes again, he found himself in the sky, standing on a dark cloud, with Lv Baitian in front of him and Gu An beside him.
Lv Baitian erupted with a terrifying aura, startling the thunderclouds in the sky and causing countless Cultivators in the city below to look up.
He flicked his finger, and a burst of Strength Energy shot out, crossing tens of miles to annihilate a Divinity Transformation Realm Demon Cultivator, obliterating both body and spirit.
Gathering Spirit Divine Finger!
The Gathering Spirit Divine Finger he performed was not as loud as when Gu An performed it, but its lethality was no less formidable.
He soared into the city on clouds, flicking his fingers to kill demons, one demon per finger, unstoppable.
An Hao was dumbfounded. What kind of Spell was this?
Gu An felt the aura of Lv Baitian growing stronger, this guy's Cultivation Level was still increasing.
More and more people noticed Lv Baitian, the Demon Cultivators were trembling, while the Supreme Sect's morale soared.
"Who is that? So powerful!"
"Wait, isn't that the former Sect Leader? How could that be!"
"You mean Sect Master Lu? He is Sect Master Lu?"
"Hss—That Demon Cultivator had killed hundreds of Core Formation Realm disciples, and he just annihilated him with one finger, what level of cultivation is this?"
"This aura... my God..."
A tremendous uproar erupted from the Inner Sect City below, as Gu An and An Hao stood behind Lv Baitian, witnessing his slaughter.
The news of Lv Baitian's revival spread quickly, with disciples from various Demon Path Sects passing the message. In less than 30 minutes, all the battlegrounds within the Supreme Sect were aware that Lv Baitian had revived and was rampantly slaughtering.
In another Inner Sect City.
A group of Demon Cultivators was setting up an Array Platform amidst ruins. The purple-robed woman at the forefront frowned and asked her disciple in a solemn voice, "Where is Xu Lian Demon Lord? Why hasn't he formed the array yet?"
No one could answer her. Other disciples of the Heavenly Extinction Sect were also anxious; they sensed an extremely terrifying aura from afar, causing them to shiver with fear.
Far away in Mystic Valley, Yang Ni and Li Ya also felt it.
Standing on top of a mountain, Li Ya frowned and asked, "What realm is this?"
Yang Ni didn't answer, for she wasn't sure either.
All she could sense was that the aura wasn't Demonic Qi, but rather righteous and mighty, signifying that the Supreme Sect would likely emerge victorious.
She was not surprised by this; throughout history, the Supreme Sect had managed to turn dangers into safety. In this land, no Immortal Cultivation Sect had stood as long as the Supreme Sect.
...
In Tianya Valley.
Li Xuandao, Lv Xian, Yi Liuyun, and Luo Hun stood on a mountain top, side by side, looking in the direction of the Supreme Sect.
"Defying Fate Divine Skill, truly unimaginable, indeed the foremost remarkable skill of this age." Li Xuandao remarked.
Yi Liuyun snorted, "What remarkable skill, it's clearly an evil skill, and the corruption of the Supreme Sect started from him."
Lv Xian nodded and said, "The old man isn't always in seclusion, rather he often pretends to be unaware of many things. I estimate that his feigned death was intended to purge the Supreme Sect and incidentally strike at the Demon Path. This has always been his style; he is too arrogant, believing that with his own cultivation level, he fears no turmoil."
Speaking of Lv Defeated Sky, his tone was complex.
"If that person were still around, Lv Defeated Sky would have a tough time," Yi Liuyun sighed.
Lv Xian resumed the conversation, the two of them discussing Lv Defeated Sky.
Li Xuandao looked into the distance, his eyes deep.
After a long while.
Realizing that Li Xuandao had been silent for too long, Lv Xian consoled him, "Your Majesty, don't worry. Although the old man is strong, his aptitude is not as good as mine. Give me time, and I will surpass him eventually!"
Li Xuandao laughed, "Then you must strive to grow, for I cannot wait forever."
"On the day I reach Unification, I will take down the old man's head and present it to Your Majesty!"
Lv Xian said confidently, making Luo Hun unable to help but give him a sidelong glance.
...
At dusk.
Gu An landed on the grass in the Third Medicine Valley, looking up to find Lv Defeated Sky and An Hao nowhere in sight.
He had followed Lv Defeated Sky around the Inner Sect and killed in a circle. Since Lv Defeated Sky said that he did not wish to be the next Sect Leader, he could not let Gu An witness what was to come, thus he had dropped him off along the way.
Apart from Lei Zhen, Lv Defeated Sky had not encountered other Unification Realm Great Cultivators temporarily, but the strength displayed by Lv Defeated Sky gave Gu An a sense of crisis.
Now the two of them were on good terms, which was fine, but what if they broke off?
Gu An could feel that Lv Defeated Sky possessed a strong killing intent, which wasn't present when he had taken the guise of Elder Tian.
It must be said, this guy really could restrain his nature, making him the most terrifying kind of person.
While thinking, Gu An began examining the nearby herbs.
It wasn't long before a figure flew over and landed beside him, it was Shen Zhen.
"The person who brought you back earlier, was that the former Sect Leader of the Supreme Sect, Lv Defeated Sky?" Shen Zhen asked curiously, her voice tinged with excitement.
Gu An nodded and asked, "Why? Are you very interested?"
"Of course, he is the lifelong enemy my father acknowledged. How did he come back to life? What did you see while following him?" Shen Zhen was beyond excited, even taking out paper and pen.
Gu An couldn't help but roll his eyes and said, "Big sister, could you gather intelligence a bit more subtly? You're brave, but I'm scared. I don't want to be treated as a traitor."
He always felt that Shen Zhen was not so naive or simple, but she had no reason to harm him; therefore, there was only one possible explanation.
Machiavellian!
She probably just liked to see others in awkward situations.
Shen Zhen was relentless, pestering Gu An continuously until he could no longer bear it.
"If you keep following me, I'm going to write 'Medical Hero Travelogue,' and you'll be the first woman the protagonist meets. I'll even draw it, definitely more lifelike than what you draw!" Gu An glared and said.
Upon hearing this, Shen Zhen's face instantly turned red. She glared at Gu An, stomped her foot in humiliation, and then turned and flew away.
Gu An was stunned, wondering why she didn't scold him.
This expression didn't seem like anger.
Gu An shook his head in amusement and continued checking the medicine valley.
The moon rose as the sun set.
The night was not peaceful for the Supreme Sect. By the time Gu An returned to Mystic Valley, he could feel powerful Divine Senses sweeping by intermittently, the Demon Qi and Demon Energy waning, indicating the Supreme Sect was likely victorious.
Under the moonlight, flakes of snow began to drift down.
Gu An and Li Ya sat on the doorstep, speaking softly about the history of the Supreme Sect, mostly with Li Ya speaking and Gu An asking questions.
They continued until dawn when Li Ya's Inner Sect Disciple Token received an order, summoning all Inner Sect Disciples back to the city, making it necessary for him to bid farewell to Gu An.
After Li Ya left, Gu An looked towards Yang Ni and transmitted his voice, "The great war between righteousness and evil is about to end, aren't you going back too?"
Yang Ni glanced at him and also used the Sound Transmission Skill to ask, "When did I say I would only protect you until the end of this battle?"
"What do you mean?"
"From now on, I'll stay by your side; that's Li Xuandao's intention."
"Really?"
"You can go ask him if you like."
Gu An was silent for a moment, then continued by transmitting his voice, "Is His Majesty powerful?"
He wanted to understand Li Xuandao from others' perspectives.
Li Xuandao aspired to be an eternal Emperor, but was suppressed by the Immortal Cultivation Sects, with the most powerful and influential person in these sects not being Lv Defeated Sky?
Li Xuandao also poached Lv Defeated Sky's son, Lv Xian; Gu An sensed that a confrontation between these two was inevitable.
With Li Xuandao's talents, it was indeed possible for him to rise to power.
His public identity was only at the Core Formation realm, perhaps to guard against Lv Defeated Sky.
Isn't their confrontation a clash between sovereign and Immortal paths?
"In terms of cultivation level, mediocre; but as for imperial tactics, he is indeed formidable," Yang Ni transmitted back with a mocking tone, clearly harboring resentment towards Li Xuandao.
Just as Gu An was about to inquire further, he suddenly sensed something and then spoke out, "Help me guard the Medicine Valley for another half day; I need to make a trip to the Outer Sect City."
There was a fish from the Demon Path that had slipped through the net nearby!