If I become a saint, a celestial official will summon me to raise horses.

Chapter 258 Variables
As night fell, fireworks lit up the Third Medicine Valley, creating a dazzling and beautiful spectacle.

The attic area was filled with dining tables, and thousands of people were drinking and chatting, which was quite a sight.

Gu An ignored the Nine-Fingered Divine Lord's gaze and chatted idly with You Yingying beside him, inquiring about Lu Lingjun's situation.

He had actually been keeping an eye on Lu Lingjun. Lu Lingjun's Ascension Sect had been established and had joined forces with the Tai Xuan Sect to occupy an island. Currently, they were busy mining spirit mines, and overall, things were developing very smoothly.

You Yingying had been corresponding with Lu Lingjun. In the cultivation world, letters were either exchanged using magic spells or magical artifacts, or delivered by demonic pets. You Yingying came from the Star Sea Sect and possessed communication methods that connected to the ocean.

After chatting for a while, Gu An took the opportunity to leave and head to Xuan Valley to visit the disciples there.

It wasn't until late at night, after his disciples had returned to their rooms, that he came to Nianchu Cave to celebrate the festival with Tian Yao'er and the other two girls.

Unlike others, Tian Yao'er and her two daughters have no family left and will follow him for the rest of their lives, so Gu An never forgets them during festivals.

While enjoying the delicious food, Gu An inquired about Tian Yao'er's cultivation progress.

Tian Yao'er's cultivation has now reached the sixth level of the Nascent Soul Realm, which is quite fast. She is naturally gifted, and with the continuous intake of medicinal herbs and pills, her cultivation growth rate is naturally not slow.

More than her cultivation level, Gu An was concerned about her achievements in the Innate Immortal Technique and the Limitless Free Step.

Cultivation is the trunk of a tree, but spells and supernatural powers are the branches and leaves; neither can be missing.

Tian Yao'er was quite proud of her cultivation achievements, her delicate nose almost touching the top of her head, looking very pleased with herself.

Fearing she might slack off, Gu An recounted the cultivation progress of An Hao and Yang Jian, without revealing their names, only referring to them as his two disciples.

As she listened, Tian Yao'er slowly lowered her head.

Tianqing and Tianbai sat on either side of Gu An, as if listening to a storyteller, occasionally exclaiming in surprise, which made Tian Yao'er even more uncomfortable.

After Gu An finished speaking, Tian Yao'er pouted and said, "What's so great about them? I'll surpass them sooner or later."

Gu An laughed and said, "You're also my disciple, why don't you just become my master?"

"No! Absolutely not!" Tian Yao'er stood up abruptly and said excitedly. Her eyes widened and she looked like she was gritting her teeth. At this moment, she even looked somewhat demonic and no longer had her usual cute appearance.

Gu An said helplessly, "Why are you so agitated? If it's not okay, it's not okay. I'm too lazy to accept it anyway!"

Tian Yao'er sat down and turned her head away.

Tianqing covered her mouth and laughed, "Miss doesn't want to be an apprentice, she wants to be the mistress!"

Upon hearing this, Tian Yao'er's pretty face instantly turned red. She wasn't angry. Gu An noticed that she secretly gave Tian Qing a thumbs-up, a very discreet gesture hidden under her sleeve.

Tian Bai joined in the teasing and joking with Tian Yao'er. Tian Yao'er shyly tried to clarify, but the more she explained, the worse it got.

Gu An watched their affected performance and sighed inwardly.

It seems I'll have to train their acting skills; they're too clumsy. I'm afraid it wouldn't be reliable to let them handle things in the future.

That night, despite their earnest urging, Gu An chose to stay there.

Under the tree, Gu An leaned against the trunk, holding a book in his hands.

Tian Yao'er was reading Journey to the West, but her mind was entirely on him.

She looked at the mask on Gu An's face, wanting to take it off, but afraid that Gu An would get angry.

Despite their close relationship, she was always afraid that it would all disappear. Even when she acted coquettishly, she had to listen to Gu An's tone, for fear of displeasing him.

"You want to take off my mask?"

Gu An suddenly asked, and Tian Yao'er instinctively wanted to deny it, but hearing his gentle tone, she couldn't help but nod.

Upon hearing this, Gu An removed his mask and pressed it against Tian Yao'er's face.

Tian Yao'er quickly pulled off her mask, thinking that Gu An was teasing her. But when she looked closely, she found that Gu An was not wearing another mask.

Looking at Gu An's handsome face, she couldn't help but be stunned.

Because Gu An always wore a mask, she always thought the worst, assuming that Gu An had an ugly or terrifying face, but she never expected him to be so handsome.

Gu An was willing to remove his mask because after so many years together, Tian Yao'er had completely severed ties with the outside world, so even if she knew his true face, it wouldn't matter.

Of course, the most important reason is that he is strong enough. He may not be invincible, but he can at least face all the causes and effects on this continent.

"I know you've always wanted to save face for me. Tonight I'll make you happy. After tonight, you'll have to cultivate even harder and stop overthinking. Now that I've taken you in, I won't abandon you. You're destined to be my longest-lasting companion. Think long-term. Sooner or later, I'll take you on a journey to see the world, just like Laozi in Journey to the West. Even his Green Ox Demon could stump Sun Wukong. I hope you can stand on your own in the future. Your strength is my pride."

Gu An spoke earnestly, and these words were from the bottom of his heart.

Whether it's An Hao or Yang Jian, they will leave him sooner or later.

Ye Lan also has her own cultivation journey. Regardless of how many years she can live, no matter how you look at it, Tian Yao'er, whose maximum lifespan is 18,000 years, is the person who can accompany her the longest.

Tian Yao'er was deeply moved after hearing this. She nodded emphatically and said, "Master, don't worry, I will definitely not let you down. Moreover, I will take good care of Tian Qing and Tian Bai. I am your face, and they are my face. If they can become top-notch experts in the world, then you will definitely have even more face."

Gu Anle laughed and said, "Just like in the novel 'The Supreme Immortal Venerable'? In the future, if they offend someone and provoke you to take action, will you force me to take action as well?"

Tian Yao'er said with a grin, "Yes, after we beat the little ones, it's time for the big ones. You're the old one."

"Nonsense, your master is forever young."

"He does look very young."

The two started a conversation and began to dream about the future.

Gu An also had a good time chatting. He could only talk about the future with Tian Yao'er. He couldn't talk to anyone else around him because no one knew his cultivation level. Even if they did, how could a mortal talk about the future with an immortal?
It's not that he's unwilling, it's just that it's difficult for them to understand each other.

……

The next morning, Gu An arrived at the Third Medicine Valley.

As soon as he stepped off the teleportation platform, Nine-Fingered Divine Lord came up to him, trying to pull him up. He quickly stepped back and asked in a deep voice, "Senior, what do you want to do?"

Nine-Fingered Divine Lord withdrew his hand, coughed lightly, and said, "I want to play another round with you, no, best two out of three."

He realized he had been a bit offensive, but felt Gu An was overreacting. If he wanted to harm Gu An, Gu An wouldn't be able to escape.

Little did he know, Gu An wasn't afraid of being harmed by him, but rather afraid of being shocked to death.

Before the Daoist Primordial Qi, the Nine-Fingered Divine Lord was no different from Guo Guhong!

"Alright, let's play then!"

Gu An said with a straight face. Nine-Fingered Divine Lord didn't mind and turned to lead the way.

Today I will slaughter you without leaving a single piece of armor!
Gu An thought to himself, "The Nine-Fingered Divine Lord almost cost me my life as a wandering immortal. I must teach him a lesson!"
After one stick of incense.

Gu An stood up and stretched. The surrounding disciples noticed that Nine-Finger Divine Lord's expression was very unpleasant, so they all dispersed. For a moment, only the two of them remained under the tree.

Nine-Fingered God stared blankly at the chessboard.

He couldn't accept this fact.

In the distance, Li Lingtian stood beside Yang Jian and asked curiously, "Who is that Taoist priest? He seems quite extraordinary."

Yang Jian replied, "He is an elder of the Tai Xuan Sect. Do you think he has a powerful background?"

After saying that, he turned around and continued sweeping the floor.

Li Lingtian sized up the Nine-Fingered Divine Lord, secretly thinking that the elder of the Tai Xuan Sect must be very powerful.
How about we find an opportunity to spar with him?
Li Lingtian desperately needed a victory to build his confidence. The other disciples in the valley were too weak to be worth mentioning, and he couldn't bypass Yang Jian to challenge Gu An. So he set his sights on the Nine-Fingered Divine Lord.

This old man loves playing chess with ordinary people; perhaps he can also have a friendly match with this younger man.

Well, when the time comes, he'll suppress his cultivation level to the Core Formation stage, and he wants to test whether he can fight across realms.

Although losing to Yang Jian was a great frustration for him, he did not think he lacked talent.

He just picked the wrong opponent!

He didn't believe he could make the same mistake a second time.

I can't even beat Senior Brother Gu at chess, so I'm definitely no match for him in a magical duel!
Li Lingtian thought of a brilliant idea and a simple smile appeared on his face.

Under the tree, the Nine-Fingered Divine Lord looked up at Gu An and asked in a deep voice, "Impossible, I shouldn't have lost to you. Just who are you?"

He's a wandering immortal, why should he lose?

Gu An looked up and laughed smugly, "I am an immortal, what do you say?"

"Fairy?"

"That's right, you can call me the Chess Master."

"roll!"

"cut!"

Gu An turned his head, flicked his sleeves, and left.

Looking at his retreating figure, Nine-Fingered Divine Lord gave a wry smile.

No matter how you look at it, Gu An doesn't seem like a great cultivator in disguise. Although his cultivation level is at the Wandering Immortal stage, his vision is far beyond that.

He couldn't help but shift his gaze to the chessboard.

Has he not yet grasped the essence of Go?
Even if we extrapolate to countless scenarios, so what?

Go is all about variables.

Nine-Fingered God frowned, lost in deep thought.

……

As spring fades into summer, the temperature between heaven and earth continues to rise.

On this day, Gu An led Yang Jian and Li Lingtian to Tianya Valley. He rode on the back of the Blood Prison Great Sage's ox and moved forward slowly.

Li Lingtian followed behind, looking listless.

He could fly, but he insisted on walking. Was Senior Brother Gu deliberately tormenting him?

Seeing Yang Jian walk without changing his expression, he could only endure it; he couldn't lose to Yang Jian in this respect.

Rumbling--

A distant rumble of thunder echoed in the distance. Li Lingtian turned around and saw thunderclouds surging in from the horizon.

Yang Jian seemed to sense something, stopped, turned around, and frowned.

Li Lingtian walked over and asked, puzzled, "What's wrong?"

Yang Jian ignored him and turned to follow the Blood Prison Great Sage.

Li Lingtian was deeply hurt. Yang Jian always ignored him, which frustrated him greatly. He realized that he was insignificant in Yang Jian's eyes.

Indeed, if he were Yang Jian, he wouldn't bother talking to someone whose strength was so vastly different from his own.

Yang Jian came to Gu An's side and asked, "Master, I have a very uneasy feeling. I feel like something big is about to happen."

Gu Anying replied, "Perhaps a calamity truly will occur."

Yang Jian asked in confusion, "Could it be that the Seven Star Spirit Realm still harbors treacherous intentions?"

Gu An did not answer, but instructed, "Feel it carefully, I want to know what you can feel."

The third update!

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(End of this chapter)