Chapter 674: Projecting the Creation of the Dao

“Xuan Mo Emperor…”

In the Wushi Dao Field, under a tree, Gu An lay quietly reading a book. As someone who had inherited the memories of Yongsheng, he naturally remembered the Xuan Mo Emperor.

The Xuan Mo Emperor had once been the most capable person under Yongsheng’s command. He helped him oversee the Dao-Thief Immortal Sect and aided him in the search for Immortal Lady Yao Xuan.

But ever since Yongsheng, against the Xuan Mo Emperor’s pleas, had insisted on leaving the Dao-Thief Immortal Sect to search for Yao Xuan and had even wounded the Xuan Mo Emperor in the process—the two had parted ways for good.

He hadn’t expected that after so many years, the Xuan Mo Emperor was still alive.

From his calculations, the Xuan Mo Emperor had been brought in by the Ethereal Immortal Court. His role was to create a crisis for the group of prodigies, forcing them into a situation where they would kill one another. Then, the Ethereal Immortal Court would step in and drive him away.

The Ethereal Immortal Court wasn’t some evil sect. Having their disciples kill one another was something they absolutely wouldn’t tolerate. These disciples came from different immortal manors, and many of their clansmen were also within the court. If they were to turn on each other, it would definitely stir up unrest, maybe even shake up the entire power structure.

Gu An couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. As expected, no matter where you go, there’s always some hidden darkness.

With Tian Hao’s current strength, even with the help of his Dao treasures, surviving to the end was going to be incredibly difficult. The other prodigies within that palace were far from weak.

The disciples of the Ethereal Immortal Court did not listen to the Xuan Mo Emperor’s words. Instead, they banded together to launch a joint assault against him. The Xuan Mo Emperor’s cultivation had already reached the Heaven-Opening Grand Luo Immortal Realm, far beyond what this group of prodigies could handle.

In no time at all, every one of the talented disciples was subdued.

The Xuan Mo Emperor then unleashed a divine ability that severed time and space. Even if a thousand or ten thousand years passed in this sealed space, it would only be the blink of an eye in the outside world. This cast the disciples of the Ethereal Immortal Court into complete despair.

Eventually, someone broke down. Once the first blow was struck against a fellow disciple, the slaughter erupted.

Tian Hao didn’t take the initiative to participate in the bloodshed. He tried his best to avoid the others. But even so, someone still came for him.

It seemed the Ethereal Immortal Court had been provoked by something, and was now accelerating the training of their disciples. They wanted to cultivate combat strength even faster.

As for the reason behind this, Gu An couldn’t deduce it.

If he couldn’t divine the cause, then eight or nine out of ten times, it was connected to the Heavenly Court.

Although the Ethereal Immortal Court wasn’t within the Great Thousand World, the fact that so many immortals and gods had once come from there meant it was entirely possible for them to get entangled in the Heavenly Emperor’s power struggle.

Gu An had no intention of interfering. Though Tian Hao wasn’t the strongest among them, he was destined to survive.

Because Tian Hao was the reincarnation of a Heavenly Son—there would be powerful beings within the Ethereal Immortal Court who would warn the Xuan Mo Emperor.

And that’s exactly what happened. When Tian Hao was gravely injured, the Xuan Mo Emperor personally intervened and sent him out of the illusion.

That great battle continued for a long time within the illusion conjured by divine power, but in the real world, it only lasted a brief moment.

Seeing that Tian Hao was safe, Gu An retracted his gaze.

He wasn’t just reading—he was also in the midst of condensing the fortune of the Hunyuan Dao Emperor.

If the Hunyuan Dao Emperor was to truly exist, then real, tangible fortune had to be created. Fortune that cultivators could obtain and wield.

To achieve this, he had performed Lifespan Projection five times, seeking enlightenment on the Grand Dao of Fortune.

Each time he used Lifespan Projection, a reincarnated self would appear somewhere within the Heavenly Spirit Great World. Thankfully, none of these reincarnated selves left behind any legendary titles. At most, they became psychological shadows in the hearts of a few peerless prodigies after being defeated, something they'd remember for the rest of their lives.

Each Lifespan Projection required ten million years, and after performing it five times, Gu An's path of fortune reached an entirely new level.

“As expected, having cheats really makes things easier.”

Gu An sighed inwardly.

After five rounds of Lifespan Projection, condensing the fortune of the Hunyuan Dao Emperor was no longer a difficult task.

This process didn’t just advance the creation of the Hunyuan Dao Emperor—it also boosted his own cultivation.

Gu An continued reading while immersing himself in the process of shaping fortune.

It wasn’t until dusk fell that he finally stood up.

He walked toward the peak where he resided. As he lifted his right hand, streams of energy swirled around his palm. The wind lent momentum to it, there was the flow of water, the flicker of fire, all blended into one.

This was the fortune of the Hunyuan Dao Emperor!

It looked gentle on the surface, but inside, it carried the explosive strength of the Grand Dao of Power.

After thinking it over, Gu An decided to inject a trait of ferocity and might into the Hunyuan Dao Emperor.

The Hunyuan Dao Emperor—renowned for being powerful!

Just thinking about it made his blood boil with excitement!

Based on that solid foundation of strength, the Hunyuan Dao Emperor could then walk various Daos, each forming its own fortune and path.

By the time Gu An arrived outside his own courtyard, the fortune in his hand had already condensed into a solid shape, writhing like a dragon-serpent.

Shen Zhen, who was sitting cross-legged in front of the artifact refining cauldron, turned her head and glanced over. Gu An immediately scattered the fortune in his palm.

“What was that just now in your hand?” Shen Zhen asked with curiosity.

Gu An smiled and said, “Just a little spell trick. You’ve been sitting here in meditation for a thousand years, aren’t you going to take a break?”

He deliberately let a bit of the Hunyuan Dao Emperor’s fortune leak out for Shen Zhen to sense, to make it easier to guide her into the Dao later on.

Recently, Shen Zhen had hit a bottleneck in her comprehension of the Dao of Karma. She didn’t go out to enjoy nature anymore and instead spent her days meditating in front of the artifact refining cauldron.

The reason she chose to meditate here was because there was a Dao treasure inside the cauldron that contained the power of the Dao of Karma.

“Don’t start telling me again that a little relaxation helps with comprehension—I’m done believing that,” Shen Zhen puffed out her cheeks and glared at Gu An.

Gu An couldn’t really argue with her. Back when he was creating his own Dao, he had also hit bottlenecks, and it had been a terrible experience. That’s why he was now choosing to rely on his own methods to break through.

After chatting for a while, Gu An returned to his room alone.

Next, he planned to consider where to set the path of proving the Dao for the Hunyuan Dao Emperor.

It couldn't be that anyone who wanted to become a Hunyuan Dao Emperor in the future would have to come find him. If he did it that way, it would completely limit the development of the Hunyuan Dao Emperor.

The Dao Emperor placed their path of attainment on the Path of the Grand Dao, which served as a great guide. The Path of the Grand Dao was where the three thousand Daos converged—there were no rules there, not even the Heavenly Court could control it. It gave cultivators a space to pursue freedom.

He could do the same—place the proving path of the Hunyuan Dao Emperor on the Path of the Grand Dao.

Let’s call it the Hunyuan Emperor Road!

Adding two extra characters than “Emperor Road” alone made it sound more grand and appealing!

Gu An didn’t act immediately. He chose to perform another round of Lifespan Projection.

This time, he wanted to strengthen his Dao of Creation.

To turn things that were never meant to exist into real, lasting existences—the Dao of Creation was the most crucial part.

No act of creation could be separated from the Dao of Creation!

Once again, he projected toward the Three Thousand Great Worlds. Gu An was already very practiced and didn’t care much for the process anymore. All he waited for now was the result.

…

Snow blanketed the land, covering thousands of miles of mountains belonging to the Qiankun Sect.

Inside a large hall, Yi Qingshan, Lin Chen, and other top-level figures of the Qiankun Sect sat surrounding a handsome young man in yellow robes.

That person was none other than Yuan Luo—the reincarnation of the Chaos Wraithfiend.

Today’s Yuan Luo had already proved himself. He was the number one prodigy in the world and the pride of the Qiankun Sect.

“Did you gain anything from your trip to the Cangming Mysterious Sea?” Yi Qingshan stroked his beard and asked with a warm smile. His expression was kind—he had watched Yuan Luo grow up, and in his heart, Yuan Luo was his life’s greatest pride.

As for Tian Hao, he was someone from Wushi, after all. Yuan Luo, on the other hand, had been fully nurtured by the Qiankun Sect and had nothing to do with Wushi.

The others also smiled while looking at Yuan Luo. The more they looked at him, the more satisfied they were. This Yuan Luo was becoming more and more perfect in their eyes.

Upon hearing the Sect Master’s question, Yuan Luo’s face darkened. He gritted his teeth and said, “I lost to someone. And his cultivation wasn’t even higher than mine.”

The moment these words were spoken, everyone in the hall was stunned.