#673 - People's minds are fickle
After parting with Zhu Xi, Gu An's life returned to tranquility. He delved into creating his own Dao, but this path was incredibly difficult, often causing even a Dao-Reaching Great Luo Immortal like him to ponder deeply.
Time flowed swiftly.
Another hundred thousand years passed.
In this year, the Taiqian Dynasty launched a surprise attack on the Dao Court, igniting the flames of war in the mortal realm.
Within the imperial garden of the Taicang Dynasty's imperial palace,
Li Xuandao poured wine for Gu An while lamenting, "That Taiqian is truly formidable, daring to launch an attack on the Dao Court. Regardless of success or failure, the courage of the Taiqian Emperor is enough to earn my admiration."
Taiqian was the strongest dynasty in the world. Although the Taicang Dynasty had not been annexed, it could still feel its imposing power.
If Taiqian hadn't had a feud with the Dao Court, Li Xuandao believed that Taiqian would have attacked the Taicang Continent sooner or later.
Gu An played with the jade statue Li Xuandao had given him and smiled, "What? Does Your Majesty also want to learn from Taiqian?"
He had visited Taiqian before, and a warlike atmosphere permeated Taiqian from top to bottom. The war against the Dao Court was not because of grudges but to realize their ambition for hegemony.
Behind Taiqian were many powerful sects, which was also their confidence.
Next, the two forces would fight for thousands of years, plunging the world into darkness until Zhao Rushen led the Dao Court to suppress Taiqian and ascend to the throne of the Dao Court Lord, thus bringing the Taichu Era to an end.
What followed would be the Taigu Era, which was even longer than the Taichu Era. The final battle of the Taigu Era would leave the mortal realm barren, leading to the Huanggu Era.
He was now a Carefree Yuan Immortal, and although he couldn't compare to the cultivation speed of Wu Shi's disciples, he was considered fast in the world.
The two talked about world affairs, occasionally mentioning Li Ya, Yang Jian, Long Teng, and others.
Now, the person Li Xuandao valued most was not Yang Jian or the princes, but Long Teng.
As the son of Long Qing and the current ancestor of the Long family, Long Teng had grown up, his cultivation reaching the Wonderful Dharma Spirit Immortal stage. He symbolized the strongest talent of the Taicang Dynasty and was a world-renowned peerless genius.
Li Xuandao asked curiously, "By the way, I've always wanted to ask, Long Teng's cultivation speed is getting faster and faster, even Yang Jian is surprised. Is it because you are secretly nurturing him?"
Wonderful Dharma Spirit Immortal was the sixth heaven of the Immortal Dao, able to roam outside the heavens. Reaching the Wonderful Dharma Spirit Immortal realm before a million years old was a peerless talent that was rare among billions of beings.
Gu An raised his glass and smiled, "It's best not to speak what you see through."
He really liked Long Teng and often transformed into other people to get close to Long Teng. Long Teng's achievements today were thanks to his Dao intent. When Long Teng was cultivating, his Dao intent enveloped Long Teng, helping him comprehend the Dao.
Long Teng was unaware of this.
In fact, although Gu An's Dao intent could help people, it was more of a catalyst. If Long Teng's comprehension was extremely mediocre, even if he helped him with Dao intent every day, he would not be able to cultivate him to his current level.
Li Xuandao was even happier after hearing this and began to offer wine.
The two drank for a full two hours before Gu An bid farewell and left.
Li Xuandao looked at Gu An's departing figure and couldn't help but ask, "Gu An, how long can these days last?"
A hundred thousand years was so long for him, especially since he was an emperor. He faced more partings and deaths than ordinary people.
He had even sent away many descendants, and the officials in the court had been replaced batch after batch.
Only when facing Gu An would his heart calm down, and he would feel that some things could not be erased by time.
The most ruthless was the imperial family. Li Xuandao had completely become a lonely man.
Gu An raised the jade statue in his hand and said, "Until you are tired of it."
Li Xuandao watched him disappear suddenly, shook his head, chuckled, and muttered to himself, "How could I be tired of it..."
His expression gradually became complicated. He did not get up and remained sitting at the wine table, wondering what he was thinking.
After leaving the Taicang Dynasty, Gu An appeared on the sea of clouds, walking forward leisurely.
"People's hearts are constantly changing after all."
Gu An sighed, not wanting to interfere too much with Li Xuandao's life.
Li Xuandao had been an emperor for too long. When the Taicang Dynasty stopped expanding, internal conflicts would erupt. He had executed rebellious members of the royal family, which made his relationship with the royal family more and more distant.
And Li Ya and Li Lingtian had long been carefree in all directions, never returning.
When Gu An didn't look for him, he always stayed in his bedroom or imperial study, either cultivating or reading.
It wasn't just Li Xuandao; other old friends also encountered life's difficulties to varying degrees. These difficulties were not caused by the environment but more by their state of mind.
The path of cultivating immortality was long and arduous. When they couldn't break through for many years, their fighting spirit would weaken, and their thoughts would become chaotic.
Ambitions and emotions intertwined, just like the hearts of people in the mortal world, complex and difficult to control.
Not to mention them, Gu An would occasionally become impetuous, especially when the path of creating his own Dao was not smooth.
Because of this, Gu An liked to travel around the world. He had visited all the major sects and dynasties in the world.
The various kinds of creatures always allowed his Dao heart to calm down quickly.
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The reason he looked for Li Xuandao to drink today was because his path of creating his own Dao was finally showing signs of progress. He was in a good mood and wanted to find a friend to drink with.
Li Ya was busy with his own vendettas, so Gu An couldn't find him and could only find his father.
When Gu An and Li Xuandao met, Gu An was still very weak, so when he saw Li Xuandao, he could think of when he was weak. This was a feeling that friends made after becoming strong could not bring.
Soon, Gu An disappeared above the sea of clouds.
He came to Xiao Lan's cave and switched with his clone.
Xiao Lan was about to come out of seclusion.
After returning from the Great Dao Path, her cultivation speed slowed down. Even after a hundred thousand years of seclusion, she could not see any hope of breaking through, which made her very irritable.
"Brother Gu!"
Before the person arrived, the voice came first.
Gu An, who was admiring the flowers and plants, was about to turn around when he was pounced on by Xiao Lan.
Without saying a word, Xiao Lan wanted to kiss him and take off his clothes.
Although there were only two of them in the cave, Gu An was experiencing such rudeness for the first time.
Several days later.
Xiao Lan stood up from the grass. She tidied her clothes, looked into the distance, and sighed, "Brother Gu, I suddenly feel that I am not a real genius. I am also starting to encounter bottlenecks."
Gu An followed her up, looked at her profile, and asked, "Why don't you and I spar?"
Xiao Lan turned to look at him and shook her head slightly.
"Brother Gu, I don't need to rebuild my confidence by winning against you. Even if I win against you many times, my Dao will not increase because of it." Xiao Lan said, with a look of nostalgia on her face.
If she defeated a strong enemy on the Great Dao Path, when the battle ended, the Great Dao spiritual energy would surge into her, and she could quickly increase her cultivation in a short period of time.
That feeling was so wonderful that she still missed it.
"Who said I wanted to lose to you?"
Gu An's voice interrupted Xiao Lan's thoughts, causing her to meet his gaze.
Xiao Lan was stunned. It was the first time she had seen Gu An's expression so serious.
She pursed her lips and said, "What? You want me to go easy on you?"
Gu An stared at her and said quietly, "Even if you go all out, you can't win against me."