Chapter 672: Hunyuan Dao Emperor

Seeing that Gu An wasn’t joking at all, Xiao Lan felt puzzled inside, but she also had her own pride—she wasn’t about to admit defeat just like that.

“Then let’s do it!”

Xiao Lan raised her hand and beckoned at Gu An, striking a pose that resembled a grandmaster’s demeanor.

Gu An curled the corners of his mouth into a faint smile. With a slight shift of his right foot, the entire world around them suddenly changed. The sky darkened in an instant. The grass and flowers on the earth vanished without a trace, and a boundless barren wasteland stretched out beneath their feet.

The abrupt shift in scenery made Xiao Lan’s expression change dramatically. She looked around quickly, sensing that everything surrounding her didn’t seem like an illusion.

What’s going on?

She turned her head and stared at Gu An warily. “Are you really my Gu gege?”

Gu An smiled. “Lan’er, think carefully—do you really know where I came from? Ever since you became aware of the world, I’ve been living in the Xiao Estate. But before I arrived at the Xiao Estate, do you know who I was?”

“Who are you?”

Hearing Gu An’s words, Xiao Lan’s uneasiness completely disappeared. As long as Gu An was still him, she wasn’t afraid.

Gu An drew the Azure Swan Sword, his hand gripping the scabbard. “Show me your full strength first.”

A sharp glint flashed in Xiao Lan’s eyes. In the blink of an eye, her figure moved.

Boom—

Xiao Lan appeared out of thin air right in front of Gu An. She held the White Spirit Sword in her hand, the sword tip stopping just ten centimeters from Gu An’s shoulder. Beneath their feet, the earth shattered, and countless fragments of stone flew into the air. It felt as if even heaven and earth couldn’t bear the pressure and were on the verge of collapse.

But it was precisely that last ten centimeters—no matter what she did, she couldn’t push any closer.

Her pupils widened in shock. She hadn’t expected Gu An to be this powerful.

Gu An’s hand was still on the scabbard of the Azure Swan Sword. With a light push forward, Xiao Lan instantly felt a terrifying force crashing into her like a mountain-shattering tide. She couldn’t resist it at all and was sent flying, just like an arrow shot through the air, vanishing toward the distant edge of the world.

Along the way, Xiao Lan smashed through dozens of towering mountains. A massive cloud of dust and debris followed her flight, creating a spectacular sight of chaos and destruction. Countless boulders floated in mid-air, the entire region swept into turmoil.

Soon after, Xiao Lan flew back out from the rolling dust clouds. She didn’t look battered—her body was wrapped in a visible aura of energy. As she looked in Gu An’s direction, her eyes were filled with shock and fear.

In that split second earlier, she had truly felt like she was going to die.

The earth and mountains were trembling violently. Off in the distance, a sky-high dust storm surged upward. Amidst the turbulent and overwhelming sandstorm, a figure shot up into the sky at high speed—it was Gu An.

Xiao Lan could clearly feel Gu An’s gaze falling upon her. She no longer had time to think about why he was so powerful. She immediately raised her sword, and sword intent erupted into the sky. Countless sword shadows materialized around her, increasing in number with astonishing speed, their coverage expanding rapidly.

In the blink of an eye, sword shadows filled the land for tens of millions of miles. Endless waves of sword energy rose into the sky with Xiao Lan’s sword as the lead. The countless blades looked like stars flying into the cosmos, their trails of sword qi forming luminous tails, like a sea of auroras, radiant and overwhelming.

Xiao Lan swung her sword at Gu An. All the sword shadows in the surroundings followed her motion, unleashing waves of sword qi that shook the heavens and earth with unstoppable momentum.

The ground quaked, and the sky was torn apart. In front of this boundless and overwhelming sword energy, everything else seemed fragile and insignificant.

Gu An didn’t use any divine abilities. He simply flew straight at Xiao Lan.

His speed suddenly skyrocketed!

Like a thunderbolt, he ripped through the endless ocean of sword qi, as if splitting the sky in half.

Clang—

The White Spirit Sword in Xiao Lan’s hand collided with Gu An’s sword scabbard. In that moment, she felt her blood and qi surging violently—an unbearable sensation coursing through her body.

She looked at Gu An and saw his expression was completely indifferent, his gaze void of emotion.

That cold look deeply provoked Xiao Lan. She leapt into the air and disappeared from Gu An’s sight, reappearing behind him in an instant.

Xiao Lan summoned seventy-two great banners, instantly surrounding Gu An. Almost in the blink of an eye, the formation was activated. Tens of thousands of bolts of lightning exploded, weaving a net of destruction over Gu An.

Gu An slowly turned around. Just as the lightning was about to touch him, it completely vanished. Around him, a boundary formed—an area that nothing could touch.

Xiao Lan’s face changed slightly. She put the White Spirit Sword away into her storage pouch and formed seals with both hands. The lightning changed color, transforming into streaks of purple thunder that looked like dragons and serpents, crazily charging toward Gu An. The formation’s light surged as well, illuminating the entire world.

“That’s all you’ve got?”

Gu An’s voice rang out, instantly igniting Xiao Lan’s fighting spirit.

Boom! Boom! Boom...

The heavens rumbled, the earth kept shattering, stone fragments flew skyward, and the dim sky above began to twist—as though it could no longer withstand this overwhelming battle.

One hour later.

In the ruins.

Xiao Lan was half-kneeling on a massive rock. One hand gripped the White Spirit Sword, using it to support her body. Her hair was messy, her clothes torn and dirtied, looking thoroughly battered and exhausted.

She struggled to lift her eyes and saw Gu An descending from the sky, floating before her.

Compared to her, Gu An looked like he hadn’t even fought a battle. There wasn’t a speck of dust on him—no sweat, no blood on his face.

“How’s my strength?” Gu An asked.

Xiao Lan curled her lips and said, “Very strong. I can’t beat you.”

After the initial shock, she felt a bit wronged. A few days ago, they had been so sweet. Now, he was being so strict.

Gu An smiled. “As long as you can defeat me, you’ll be able to reach the level of Dao Sovereign Emperor. I can teach you how to cultivate.”

Hearing this, Xiao Lan looked at him. She slowly stood up and asked, “You’ve been to the Path of the Grand Dao?”

“I have.”

“Then when I was telling you about it before, why did you pretend to be so curious?”

Xiao Lan said with a hint of resentment, feeling like she had been played.

Gu An replied, “I went there in a previous life. Everyone has a past life—you do too. If you want, I can help you recover your past life memories right now.”

Xiao Lan frowned and followed up, “What realm are you actually in? Why are you hiding your cultivation? And you… toward me…”

She wanted to ask whether Gu An truly had feelings for her—but she felt like those words couldn’t come out.

Gu An smiled and said, “I can’t tell you my realm for now. When you surpass me with your own power, you’ll understand. As for hiding my cultivation, it’s because I don’t want to draw trouble. I like peace and quiet. You know my temperament. As for whether I’m sincere with you, there’s no need to doubt. The reason I went to the Xiao Estate back then was because of you.”

Xiao Lan’s brows furrowed even tighter. She was no longer the naive girl she once was. Only when facing Gu An did she show that same innocence.

“Is it because of my past life?” Xiao Lan asked.

Gu An nodded.

Xiao Lan fell silent.

Gu An could hear her thoughts, so he softly comforted her. “No matter past or present life, you are you. The only difference is in memory. If I only cared about the you from before, I would’ve helped you regain your memories long ago.”

Xiao Lan took a deep breath and asked, “You can help me become a Dao Sovereign Emperor?”

Gu An landed in front of her and replied, “I can. But I can also lead you down another path—one that’s just as great as that of a Dao Sovereign Emperor.”

“What path?”

“Hunyuan Dao Emperor.”

Xiao Lan’s expression changed. She had never heard of that title before. But just from the name, she could sense it was far from ordinary.

She couldn’t help but ask, “Is Hunyuan Dao Emperor also a type of Destiny Rank?”

Gu An smiled. “That’s right. But the path to becoming a Hunyuan Dao Emperor is different from the Emperor’s path. It doesn’t rely on slaughter. It relies on comprehension.”