Chapter 695: Ascending the Heavenly Steps

Li Ya looked toward the old man by the river and narrowed his eyes. “Who are you, and how do you know me?”

The coarse-clothed boy halted too, watching nervously. This old man’s aura was deep and unfathomable, and he had just revealed his master’s origins in a single sentence. No matter how he looked at it, this man was anything but ordinary.

The old man slowly stood up and turned around to face Li Ya. His face was deeply wrinkled, and his eyes were hollow and chilling, like a bottomless abyss.

“What if I told you—I’m an immortal god. Would you believe me?” The old man stared at Li Ya, his tone indifferent.

Li Ya raised a brow. “Once one reaches Nirvana Realm, they’re free to call themselves ‘immortal’. There’s no shortage of so-called immortals in this world. Why wouldn’t I believe you?”

Immortal god!

The coarse-clothed boy was stunned. He immediately unfastened the hemp ropes around his body, his eyes full of caution as he watched the old man closely.

He had experienced the loss of his home and family, so his vigilance was high.

“I am the Huang Feng Immortal Lord of the Heavenly Court, standing above the three thousand great worlds. Everything in your eyes... is no bigger than my palm in mine.”

As he spoke, the old man raised his right hand and stared at his own palm.

Such arrogant words made Li Ya frown. He grew wary inside, preparing to fight at any moment.

“In the past several hundred thousand years, I’ve sent people more than once to aid you, to pass down techniques. Of course, your current achievements are due to your own fortune and the help of other benefactors as well. But make no mistake—the immortals have been watching you.”

Huang Feng Immortal Lord lifted his gaze and locked eyes with Li Ya. As their eyes met, Li Ya somehow believed him without knowing why.

Li Ya asked, “So what is it that you want? Are you asking me to repay a favor?”

Huang Feng Immortal Lord asked back, “If I gave you the chance to join the ranks of the immortals, would you take it?”

“What’s the price?”

“Once you’re among the immortals, the Heavenly Will will assign you a duty and divine authority. I won’t ask you to do anything for me.”

That made Li Ya’s brows furrow even deeper.

He stared intently at Huang Feng Immortal Lord, as if trying to see through him.

The old man continued, “To be honest, you weren’t chosen just because of your destiny. The real reason... is because of Sword Master of the Dao. I believe he has some misunderstandings about the Heavenly Court and the immortals. If there’s no true conflict, there’s no need to become enemies.”

“If you become an immortal and understand the workings of the Heavenly Court, you could serve as a bridge between them and Sword Master of the Dao.”

“In the future, a devastating calamity will descend upon the three thousand great worlds. We should face it together.”

Hearing Gu An’s name, Li Ya’s frown eased a little.

That explanation actually made sense. While he was proud, he didn’t really believe he was important enough to attract the attention of an immortal god.

He didn’t know where the Heavenly Court was, but just hearing the name alone was enough to convey a power far beyond imagination.

Li Ya asked, “If that’s the case, why not speak to him directly? Or don’t tell me—you can’t find him?”

Huang Feng Immortal Lord turned to look at the sky. He spoke slowly, “There’s already an immortal by his side. Sooner or later, someone will speak with him. As for you, I approached you just to show my sincerity.”

Li Ya thought for a moment and said, “Then can I speak with him first—before coming back to you?”

Huang Feng Immortal Lord looked at him and smiled gently. “Of course. But first, let me take you to see the Heavenly Court.”

As he finished speaking, he waved his sleeve abruptly, sweeping up both Li Ya and the coarse-clothed boy. In an instant, all three vanished from the grassland.

Far away in the Tai Cang Continent, Gu An hadn’t stopped what he was doing.

He continued picking medicinal herbs.

Xuanmiao Zhenren followed beside him. After five hundred thousand years, he had completely mastered the Demonic God Physique, reaching the Free Immortal Realm, and the strength of his physical body had become even more terrifying.

Gu An believed that even a Dao Repository Free Immortal wouldn’t be able to do anything to him now.

Such progress wasn’t exaggerated. After all, the Demonic God Physique was a rare blessing from the Heavenly Court.

Now, Gu An no longer used the miniature, masked puppet form to interact with him—instead, he faced him with his true self.

Xuanmiao Zhenren followed beside Gu An like a Dao child, asking him questions about his cultivation. Gu An listened patiently, answering each one carefully.

Once Gu An finished picking the mature medicinal herbs, Xuanmiao Zhenren began to sow seeds.

Gu An didn’t leave immediately. He waited inside the courtyard, his gaze resting on a row of stone statues by the courtyard wall. Every single one was a sword deity statue sculpted by Xuanmiao Zhenren in honor of the Sword Master of the Dao.

When Xuanmiao Zhenren returned to the courtyard, Gu An asked, “Why bother making these statues? I don’t need belief, and I don’t need the living to remember me.”

He meant it. His cultivation journey had never relied on the faith of others or the merits of heaven and earth.

“They should remember,” Xuanmiao Zhenren said earnestly. “You may not need belief, but the world must not forget you. That’s just my selfish thought—because I know this world doesn’t mean much to you. If no one remembers you, you’d have no reason to stay.”

The higher his cultivation climbed, the more reverence Xuanmiao Zhenren had for Gu An.

Even with his Dao heart, he still longed for the stars beyond and the great thousand worlds. But Gu An could quietly live in seclusion here and had saved the world more than once.

Gu An didn’t respond to that. Instead, he smiled and said, “That clansman of yours is about to become an immortal.”

“Clansman? You mean Li Ya?” Xuanmiao Zhenren asked, frowning slightly.

He already knew about Gu An’s connection to Li Ya. At the time, he had sighed that Li Ya truly had incredible luck.

Though they both bore the surname Li, he and Li Ya were essentially strangers. From his point of view, neither of them would have had the chance to ascend without Gu An’s help.

“There are immortal gods trying to recruit him. They want to persuade him to ascend—and they’re calling it a way to win me over,” Gu An said with a laugh. He looked up at the sky, as if his gaze had already locked onto Li Ya.

Xuanmiao Zhenren caught the meaning behind Gu An’s words and asked, “If this is a scheme, will you intervene?”

Gu An answered calmly, “Let him see the Heavenly Court for himself. He must make his own choice. Even if their real target is me, for him, this is a rare, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

These words filled Xuanmiao Zhenren with awe. Compared to Gu An’s openness, the scheming of those immortal gods of the Heavenly Court seemed utterly petty.

If the lord of the Heavenly Court doesn’t cut it, they should just let this senior take the throne instead!

That thought quietly surfaced in Xuanmiao Zhenren’s heart as he looked at Gu An.

…

Above the sea of clouds, Huang Feng Immortal Lord, Li Ya, and the coarse-clothed boy suddenly appeared out of thin air.

The boy dropped straight onto the cloud surface. He had just opened his mouth when his gaze was drawn to the sight above him.

Following his eyes, the sky above was a brilliant blue, and beyond the uppermost dome of the sky was the boundless starry cosmos.

It was a surreal and dreamlike sight.

The heavens and the universe were seamlessly connected—without the slightest sense of discord.

Li Ya was also mesmerized by the majestic view overhead. He could sense the spiritual energy here was far richer than in the Heavenly Spirit Great World.

A single day of cultivation here might be equal to several months of cultivation in the Heavenly Spirit Great World.

So this… was the Heavenly Court?

Huang Feng Immortal Lord spoke, “This is not the Heavenly Court, but it leads to it. The Heavenly Court exists above all planes—it cannot be reached simply by traversing the universe. One must ascend the Heavenly Steps.”

“In the Heavenly Court, not every immortal god can ascend the Heavenly Steps. Even the Heavenly Spirit God who guards the Heavenly Spirit Great World has never once set foot on them.”