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

Chapter 996 Xuanqing's Intuition

After listening to Xuanqing Xingjun's words, Gu An remained noncommittal.

Xuanqing Xingjun thought he didn't take it seriously, so he continued to persuade him, adopting a very humble attitude.

In Xuanqing Xingjun's mind, Gu An was stronger than the Heavenly Emperor. This was mainly because he underestimated the Heavenly Emperor and felt that the Heavenly Emperor was far inferior to the previous Heavenly Emperor, otherwise the Heavenly Court would not have been in so much chaos.

The reasoning was wrong, but the guess was correct.

After a long silence, Gu An slowly spoke, "Could it be that the responsibility of the Heavenly Lord of Merit Suppression is to protect all the immortals of merit?"

His calm tone put Xuanqing Xingjun under pressure.

Xuanqing Xingjun knew that it was really unreasonable to seek out Gu An for such a matter, but he had no other choice.

"Heavenly Lord, I can only turn to you. In my eyes, the banner of the Immortal of Merit can only belong to you, senior. And the only being who can truly change the Heavenly Dao can be you."

Xuanqing Xingjun spoke with such sincerity that he was almost in tears.

Even when facing the Heavenly Emperor, he had never shown such an attitude, which Gu An found somewhat amusing.

This guy has a very good intuition. Even though he has never seen Gu An's full strength, he is convinced that Gu An is one of the top beings in the Heavenly Dao.

Intuition is a mysterious thing. Some people repeatedly challenge Gu An, never believing in his strength, while others simply believe he is extremely strong based on the books he has written.

Gu An was quite interested in Xuanqing Xingjun. Although Xuanqing Xingjun was not strong, the complexity of his karma was such that, apart from the Heavenly Emperor, it would be difficult to find a second immortal or god in the Heavenly Court.

Xuanqing Xingjun kept pleading with Gu An, praising him to the point that Heaven could not do without him.

"This is a small matter, but..."

Gu An finally relented, but he deliberately left a question hanging.

"Please, Heavenly Lord, speak up. I will do what I can, and I will do everything in my power to ask for help even if I cannot. This is a contribution to the Heavenly Way, and I am willing to give everything!"

Xuanqing Xingjun spoke with heartfelt sincerity, appearing as if he were willing to sacrifice his life for the Heavenly Dao.

Gu An asked leisurely, "What is your opinion of Emperor Hongyang?"

Xuanqing Xingjun was stunned, somewhat unsure of Gu An's meaning.

Is inquiring about the emperor's affairs an attempt to get involved in the struggle for imperial power?

He always felt that Gu An wasn't that kind of person.

After thinking it over, he decided to trust Gu An.

"I know Emperor Hongyang too well. It's no exaggeration to say that no one knows him better than me. I was guarding his family's residence even before he was born..."

Xuanqing Xingjun began a lengthy discourse, starting from the birth of Emperor Hongyang, unfolding Emperor Hongyang's life and letting Gu An judge for himself what kind of person Emperor Hongyang was.

Gu An had long known about Emperor Hongyang's background, and he could say that no one knew Emperor Hongyang better than him, including Emperor Hongyang himself.

Like Hongyi, Emperor Hongyang was destined to become a saint from birth, and was one of the primordial wills.

The so-called Primordial Will is merely a facade; the Nine Great Daos are their true origin.

They are the greatest opportunity and the strongest force in the chaos.

Now, the Chaos and Heavenly Dao powers have sensed the existence of the Nine Great Daos, most notably Hongyi and Hongyang.

Hongyang's birth was the Heavenly Emperor's choice, and the Heavenly Emperor also wanted to utilize the will of Hongmeng.

Tragically, Emperor Hongyang was unaware of his fate.

Gu An's concern wasn't about the opportunity Hongyang represented, but rather about seeing how the celestial beings in Heaven viewed him.

Gu An didn't see the opportunities in the Great Dao Nine Realms, but they would become the center of chaos and the great trend of the Heavenly Dao. By observing them, he could see into the distant future.

The person closest to Emperor Hongyang was Xuanqing Xingjun, whose opinion of Emperor Hongyang was contradictory. He felt that Emperor Hongyang had the potential to become the Heavenly Emperor, but he also believed that Emperor Hongyang might become a cruel Heavenly Emperor, which made him very conflicted, unsure whether he should support Emperor Hongyang.

After Xuanqing Xingjun finished speaking, he looked at Gu An and said with emotion, "Your Highness Hongyang has unlimited potential to change the Heavenly Dao, but even I, who have watched him grow up, cannot figure out his temperament. I have mixed feelings about him."

Gu An added, "If he wants to choose a divine steed in the future, he can pick whatever he wants."

Xuanqing Xingjun asked cautiously, "Do I need to know that this was your arrangement?"

"Need not."

Xuanqing Xingjun breathed a sigh of relief, but secretly thought to himself, since the Heavenly Lord does not seek any reward, he must make the Emperor Hongyang feel grateful to him.

Gu An told him not to say it, but he insisted on saying it.

If Gu An asked him to speak, he might hesitate.

Gu An felt somewhat helpless about Xuanqing Xingjun's thoughts. Did this guy have a rebellious streak?

"Then...when will the Heavenly Lord depart? I fear they won't be able to wait..."

Xuanqing Xingjun asked cautiously, not forgetting the purpose of his visit.

Chaos is far from the Heavenly Dao. Even if the Heavenly Lord of Merit and Virtue is highly accomplished, it will probably take him a long time to reach Chaos.

"Set off? Is such a trivial matter worth me setting off for?"

Gu An said disdainfully, then raised his hand and grabbed a piece of jade hanging from Xuanqing Xingjun's belt, which broke free of the rope and flew into his hand.

Xuanqing Xingjun was stunned for a moment, and was about to speak when he saw Gu An throw the jade stone at him.

He had no time to dodge; the jade grazed his cheek, and he could feel the sharp, swift wind.

Xuanqing Xingjun subconsciously turned around to look, but could no longer see the jade stone. He turned to look at Gu An, his expression astonished and his eyes filled with confusion.

"Alright, your request has been fulfilled. You may leave now."

Gu An tilted his head, propped his cheek with his right hand, closed his eyes, and looked exhausted.

Xuanqing Xingjun found it absurd. Those meritorious immortals were far away in the Chaos. How could Gu An possibly solve the problem by simply throwing a piece of jade in the Heavenly Court?

Although the jade stone possessed spiritual energy and a certain degree of destiny, it was nothing special in the Heavenly Court. The reason he kept it was because it was a gift from someone he had saved, and he felt that this sentiment was very precious.

Can this piece of jade fly into the chaos?

Xuanqing Xingjun was filled with doubts, but seeing that Gu An had already closed his eyes, he dared not ask any further questions.

That's it.

Trust him!

After making his decision, Xuanqing Xingjun suddenly became clear-headed. He straightened his back, bowed to Gu An, and said, "Thank you for your help, Heavenly Lord!"

He spoke loudly, and after finishing his sentence, he turned and left, looking quite elated.

Gu An pursed his lips. This guy is a wonderful person, but why are you making such a loud noise?

……

Beneath the mesmerizing starry sky, a continent lies dormant, like an ancient tortoise perched in the heavens.

Compared to those bizarre and enormous nebulae, this continent appears tiny, yet standing on it, the land seems boundless, with undulating mountains that seem to bear the marks of a stubborn resistance against the passage of time, desolate and bleak.

Hundreds of meritorious immortals sat together, all practicing their internal energy, their faces extremely grim. Li Ya was among them.

(End of this chapter)