Chapter 677: The Appearance of an Old Friend

“What kind of opportunity?”

Jiang Qiong’s eyes lit up with curiosity as she asked. She firmly believed that Gu An wouldn’t deceive her, so her heart was already brimming with anticipation for the future of the Gathering Flower Sect.

Gu An spoke calmly, “There are three thousand Daos. Aside from cultivating spiritual energy to become an immortal, there are many other aids. In my hand is an opportunity known as the Hunyuan Dao Emperor. If you succeed in becoming a Hunyuan Dao Emperor, no one in the same realm will be your match. Your path of cultivation will be smoother than others, and you’ll comprehend the Dao more easily. Of course, becoming a Hunyuan Dao Emperor is not easy. All I can give you is the chance. Whether or not you succeed depends on your own effort and fortune.”

“Hunyuan Dao Emperor?”

Jiang Qiong’s heart surged with excitement just from hearing the name.

The name alone sounded powerful and awe-inspiring.

Gu An then waved his sleeve, and a gentle breeze swept across Jiang Qiong’s face. In an instant, her consciousness became dazed, drifting into the Path of the Grand Dao.

The Hunyuan Dao Emperor had just been created. To become powerful, it needed not only time but also seekers of the Dao. The more people who studied it, the stronger it would become.

Destiny, by nature, required spread and propagation. Every living being carried a spark of Dao creation within them. These sparks couldn’t be felt by the beings themselves, but as they pursued a goal or ideal, their fate would naturally draw closer to that target, forming an invisible and intangible force of destiny.

The more beings that chased after the Hunyuan Dao Emperor, the faster its destiny would grow.

This process would also benefit Gu An’s own cultivation. At the same time, he could channel his own strength through the Hunyuan Dao Emperor, passing it on to other cultivators—a mutually reinforcing cycle.

While Jiang Qiong was immersed in the creation of the Hunyuan Dao Emperor, Gu An poured himself a drink.

He had already decided to keep the truth about the Hunyuan Dao Emperor being his own creation a secret. Even his own disciples would not be told.

Jiang Qiong was merely the beginning. Gu An intended to let everyone he cared about walk the path of the Hunyuan Dao Emperor.

Of course, if someone didn’t wish to pursue it, he wouldn’t force them.

But he believed there wouldn’t be anyone who could turn down the chance to become a Hunyuan Dao Emperor.

Just like how the title of Dao Emperor was irresistible to cultivators across the realms, the allure of an additional power to enhance one’s cultivation was almost impossible to resist.

So, in the years that followed, Gu An began to pass on the destiny of the Hunyuan Dao Emperor to his disciples and old friends.

He merely told them that the Hunyuan Dao Emperor was a different tier of destiny, distinct from a Dao Emperor.

Just as he had predicted, not a single one of them turned it down.

When it came to Li Ya and Wu Jue, Gu An didn’t show up in person. Instead, he arranged it so they encountered the opportunity by “accident,” making them believe they had stumbled upon the greatest fortune under heaven.

Through the destiny of the Hunyuan Dao Emperor, they sensed the vastness of the Grand Dao and even felt like their very souls were rising above the countless great worlds.

However, to truly become a Hunyuan Dao Emperor, they would still need to reach the stage of Lifespan Projection.

That required a deep resonance with the Dao—a level of cultivation that demanded immense comprehension.

In this part, Gu An would not help them.

If the Hunyuan Dao Emperor were something chosen by his will, then it would never surpass the Dao Emperor level.

…

Within the Path of the Grand Dao, amidst a vast stretch of void.

A man in red robes with white hair was walking through the void, stepping forward with a sword beneath his feet. His features were handsome, his posture tall and straight—like an Immortal Lord wandering through the skies.

His name was Fang Xuan, a Vast Heaven Free Immortal.

Suddenly, his expression turned pale.

He instinctively raised his hand to clutch his chest, his face contorted with pain.

“Damn it… I survived the Heaven Spirit World, and it’s only been a few hundred thousand years, yet I’m going to die here on the Path of the Grand Dao? Heaven… you really love messing with me…”

Fang Xuan thought bitterly.

Not long ago, he had stumbled upon two prodigies fighting for the position of Dao Emperor.

He had stayed behind to watch the battle, but ended up being ambushed by one of them.

Now, he was burdened with misfortune and unbearable pain.

He had finally reached the Vast Heaven Free Immortal Realm, and he had also dreamed of becoming a Dao Emperor. But before he even stepped onto the path of becoming an Emperor, death was already knocking at his door.

His heart was full of confusion. He couldn’t help but recall that battle long ago between the War Court and the Sword Master of the Dao. Back then, he had believed that surviving the Sword Master’s hand meant he was favored by immense fortune.

Now that he thought about it, maybe he had just been lucky.

On the Path of the Grand Dao, his talent wasn’t extraordinary. He had even been defeated by a contender for Dao Emperor in the Profound Origin Free Immortal Realm.

Looking back at his life, he had always been one of the most famous prodigies in the War Court since childhood. But honestly, he had never done anything worth being proud of.

He had failed again and again. In the past, he could still comfort himself, saying it was all bad timing.

But now?

Fang Xuan’s eyes gradually dimmed. The spiritual power in his body surged wildly, and memories he didn’t want to recall surfaced one by one before his eyes.

He flew toward a nearby meteor and landed. Without even caring about the flying sword beneath him, he staggered to a mountain wall and slumped down to sit against it, attempting to meditate and channel his power.

“Puh—”

A mouthful of black blood sprayed from his lips, splashing to the ground and immediately turning into scorching black smoke that vanished in the air.

What he spat out wasn’t just blood—it was part of his Dao cultivation, fragments of his Dao Fruit.

His Dao Fruit was crumbling.

Fang Xuan was too weak to circulate his cultivation technique. He slumped against the mountain wall, his head bowed low.

Right now, he looked unbelievably frail. But this kind of scene wasn’t rare on the Path of the Grand Dao. He himself had seen similar corpses before.

He had once warned himself to always tread carefully, to never walk down the path of those who died miserably on the road.

Who would have thought...

Fate had always been looming right ahead.

Fang Xuan's lips curled into a bitter, self-mocking smile.

Suddenly.

A light appeared before his eyes. It instantly captured his attention.

He instinctively looked up.

He saw a glow at the edge of the cliff in front of him.

He didn’t know why, but he had a sudden urge to see what that light was.

Since he was going to die anyway, he couldn’t just go like this—so cowardly and pathetic!

If he had to die, he’d rather die standing.

Fang Xuan took a deep breath and forced himself to stand up. Shakily, he moved toward the cliff.

He was only a few dozen zhang away from the edge, but it felt like he was walking for an entire lifetime.

By the time he reached the edge, black blood had stained his chin, and he looked utterly miserable.

Finally arriving at the cliff’s edge, he saw clearly what was inside that glow. It was a piece of silver crystal, like a shard of some kind of artifact. It was spinning slowly, giving off a radiant light.

“This is…”

Fang Xuan murmured. The moment he saw the silver crystal clearly, his mind cleared up a bit.

He raised his hand almost involuntarily and reached out to touch the silver crystal.

As soon as his fingertip touched it, a blinding light burst out and engulfed him completely.

…

Tai Xuan Sect, the Third Medicine Valley.

Under an ancient tree, Gu An—disguised as a middle-aged cultivator—was playing chess with the Nine-Finger Divine Lord.

Although he had left the Tai Xuan Sect for hundreds of thousands of years, the sword intent he left behind on the Heaven Mending Platform had yet to fade. Many people still came in search of the Sword Master of the Dao. Even the Tianhong Emperor had once come here.

The Tai Xuan Sect might not be a top-tier sect, but its name was widespread.

Gu An’s expression subtly shifted. He placed a chess piece down and looked surprised.

“Didn’t expect this guy to have such fortune…”

Gu An sensed that someone on the Path of the Grand Dao had stepped onto the path of the Hunyuan Dao Emperor.

That person was someone with whom he still had karmic ties—a War Court cultivator he had once spared.

The karmic threads on the Path of the Grand Dao were complicated, especially when tied to the Hunyuan Dao Emperor, which was a destiny tier. Even Gu An couldn’t predict who might become one.

It really was fate playing games. It could be said that an enemy had now become a friend.

Opposite Gu An, the Nine-Finger Divine Lord frowned deeply at the chessboard. He kept glancing between Gu An and the board, lost in thought.

After a long while.

The Nine-Finger Divine Lord looked up at Gu An and said, “You, fellow Daoist, remind me of an old friend.”

Gu An smiled cheerfully and asked, “Who?”

The Nine-Finger Divine Lord stood up and walked a few steps away, turning his back to Gu An. He stroked his beard and sighed emotionally, “He disappeared nearly four hundred thousand years ago. His skill in chess was second only to mine. I see his style in the way you play.”

Gu An glanced at the board and scoffed internally.

Trying to end the match with sentimentality, huh?