Seeing the Heavenly Buddha intervene, Gu An suddenly thought of Yang Xian's master, the Myriad Sword Immortal Ancestor.
Even in a life filled with suffering, there would always be people who brought light, offering hope and warmth.
The prompts continued. After being unable to defeat Xuan Mo Emperor, Yongsheng temporarily abandoned the thought of reclaiming the Immortal Emperor Eyes. Instead, he set off toward the Ethereal Immortal Court to fulfill the task assigned by the Heavenly Buddha.
[At the age of 90,181, you returned to the Ethereal Immortal Court, once again entering Jinlan Immortal Manor, where you were personally received by the manor lord. Upon learning of your parents' deaths, your clan members grieved and tried to comfort you. You relayed the task given to you by the Heavenly Buddha. The manor lord did not refuse; instead, he enthusiastically led you to the Ethereal Immortal Palace. Along the way, you learned about the relationship between Spirit Mountain and the Ethereal Immortal Court. The current lord of the Ethereal Immortal Court was a close friend of the Heavenly Buddha. In the past, the Heavenly Buddha had sent disciples to cultivate at the Ethereal Immortal Court, and now, it was time for the Ethereal Immortal Court to send disciples to Spirit Mountain.]
[You met the Ethereal Dao Emperor and sensed that he was just as unfathomable as the Heavenly Buddha. After careful selection, you took the Ethereal Immortal Court's genius, Yao Xuan, as your disciple. With Yao Xuan, you left the Ethereal Immortal Court and headed toward Spirit Mountain.]
[At the age of 90,182, while traveling along the Path of the Grand Dao, you and Yao Xuan discovered a spiritual lake and decided to meditate there.]
Seeing Yongsheng take Yao Xuan along, Gu An felt an ominous premonition in his heart.
He had a nagging feeling that Yao Xuan would die and that her death would deeply impact Yongsheng.
Fortunately, things did not unfold as he had expected.
Decades later, the two successfully returned to Spirit Mountain without encountering any major obstacles. Throughout the journey, Gu An was not given any choices.
However, in the same year that Yao Xuan entered Spirit Mountain, she confessed her feelings to Yongsheng. Unlike Yongsheng, who had become a disciple of Spirit Mountain, Yao Xuan was merely there for cultivation. Once she left, she would resume her identity as a disciple of the Ethereal Immortal Court. Thus, the rules of Spirit Mountain did not restrict her.
This time, Gu An was given a choice.
Carefully recalling previous events, he confirmed that Yongsheng had not developed romantic feelings for Yao Xuan. So, he chose to reject her.
[You rejected Yao Xuan's confession. She did not become angry or sad. Instead, she smiled mischievously and declared that she would shatter your Buddhist heart sooner or later. After Yao Xuan left, you turned your attention back to the Bodhi Sacred Tree and sought insight into your heart.]
What followed were more years of cultivation.
Even without the ability to steal lifespans, Yongsheng's cultivation speed remained astonishing.
Though there were no more choices or hardships, Gu An still found the events intriguing.
At the age of 300,000, Yongsheng attained the Profound Origin Free Immortal Realm.
At the age of 1,000,000, he reached the Vast Heaven Free Immortal Realm.
There were no cycles of reincarnation tribulations. He purely relied on cultivating beneath the Bodhi Sacred Tree. Many Buddhist cultivators frequently visited him, marveling at his unparalleled talent.
[At the age of 1,004,236, Yao Xuan visited you, announcing her decision to embark on the Path of the Grand Dao to attain the title of Dao Sovereign. Since you also intended to take this path, you decided to accompany her.]
[At the age of 1,004,250, you and Yao Xuan arrived at the Path of the Grand Dao. She took out a treasure bestowed by the Ethereal Immortal Court to track the fortune of the Grand Dao. As you traveled together, you engaged in Dao discussions. To your surprise, you discovered that Yao Xuan's comprehension of the Dao was nearly on par with yours.]
[At the age of 1,004,367, you and Yao Xuan were ambushed by Dao Seekers from the Primordial World. After an intense battle, you realized that a form of fortune had settled upon you, deepening your understanding of the Dao Sovereign Realm.]
[At the age of 1,004,405, Yao Xuan accumulated victories over 10,000 Dao Seekers vying for the title of Dao Sovereign and achieved this status before you.]
[At the age of 1,004,423, you too amassed victories over 10,000 Dao Seekers pursuing the title of Dao Sovereign. The fortune of the Grand Dao converged upon you, elevating you to the highest tier of Dao Sovereigns, and your cultivation advanced exponentially.]
[At the age of 1,004,576, you and Yao Xuan unexpectedly encountered your former master, Xuan E Patriarch. Overjoyed, you engaged in a heartfelt reunion. However, mid-conversation, Xuan E Patriarch suddenly attacked you. Yao Xuan stepped in to assist, yet even together, you were no match for him. Xuan E Patriarch captured Yao Xuan and demanded that you dismantle your Bodhi Golden Body, or else he would obliterate Yao Xuan's soul. You must now decide whether to comply.]
The awaited choice had arrived!
As expected, Xuan E Patriarch harbored ulterior motives. He had killed Yongsheng's father and sent Yongsheng to Spirit Mountain, likely intending to use the power of Spirit Mountain to cleanse Yongsheng's misfortune.
Yongsheng had known Yao Xuan for countless years. They had walked the Path of the Grand Dao together. Even if love was absent, Yao Xuan surely held a significant place in his heart.
Just as Gu An hesitated over his choice, he suddenly noticed something was off with Shen Zhen.
She remained seated before the great cauldron, but her entire demeanor seemed dazed, her eyes vacant. It was as if she was trapped in a nightmare. Gu An could hear her thoughts.
His expression turned odd, a feeling of absurdity welling up inside him.
How could this be?
He realized that Shen Zhen's thoughts perfectly mirrored Yao Xuan's current predicament.
Could Shen Zhen and Yao Xuan be connected through reincarnation?
Gu An pondered for a moment before deciding to take a gamble.
He would bet on the Heavenly Buddha making a move!
Compared to Xuan E Patriarch, the Heavenly Buddha was Yongsheng's true master.
[You chose to dismantle the Bodhi Golden Body. Watching you do so, Yao Xuan was heartbroken to the extreme. In that moment, she unexpectedly broke free from Xuan E Patriarch's suppression and severely wounded him. The fortune of the Grand Dao on the Path of the Grand Dao surged toward Yao Xuan madly. One after another, powerful figures rushed over. Sensing the change in situation, Xuan E Patriarch attempted to flee, but Yao Xuan unleashed her divine ability, eradicating him completely, leaving no trace of his existence.]
Damn, Yao Xuan was that fierce?
[Due to dismantling your Bodhi Golden Body, your Dao heart trembled, and your soul was thrown into turmoil. Before losing consciousness, you saw Yao Xuan rushing toward you.]
[At the age of 1,007,321, you finally regained consciousness. You found yourself in a dark and desolate realm with a bonfire burning nearby. To your shock, you saw the figure of Xuan Mo Emperor. Instinctively, you wanted to attack him, only to realize that your cultivation was completely gone. Xuan Mo Emperor, however, did not strike you down. Instead, he explained why he had taken your Immortal Emperor Eyes.]
[It turned out that the Immortal Emperor Eyes were the supreme divine ability of the Tai Chu Imperial Domain. Even if their wielder perished, the eyes would reincarnate on their own. The previous owner of your Immortal Emperor Eyes had offended the Heavenly Court. Once the eyes fully awakened, the Heavenly Court would inevitably sense them. Xuan Mo Emperor had taken them to protect you. Moreover, the curse of misfortune upon you was not something he had cast, but rather an unresolved karmic curse lingering from the previous incarnation of the Immortal Emperor Eyes. Even after reincarnation, it could not be entirely dispelled.]
[Upon learning the truth, you fell into deep self-doubt. You began to believe that your parents had died because of you. You also discovered that Xuan E Patriarch was also from the Tai Chu Imperial Domain. Upon sensing the presence of the Immortal Emperor Eyes within you, he had developed greed for them. Xuan Mo Emperor hoped that you would inherit the legacy of the previous owner of the Immortal Emperor Eyes—the Dao Thief Emperor—and reassemble the Dao Thief Immortal Sect to resist the rule of the Heavenly Court. You hesitated, uncertain whether to accept the position of sect master.]
So it all came back to the Heavenly Court again!
What role exactly did the Heavenly Court play in the vast world of the Grand Dao?
Gu An immediately made his choice, choosing to avoid the direct confrontation.
[You refused to become the sect master of the Dao Thief Immortal Sect. Xuan Mo Emperor was not angered. Instead, he returned the Immortal Emperor Eyes to you and informed you that after saving you, Yao Xuan had suffered a backlash from the laws of the Grand Dao and had fallen into the Abyss of Reincarnation, doomed to eternal damnation with no chance of rebirth. You refused to believe this and swore to find Yao Xuan no matter what.]
[At the age of 1,016,351, you fully fused with the Immortal Emperor Eyes. With their domineering divine abilities, you restored your Bodhi Golden Body and regained your full cultivation, even growing stronger than before. You then set out across the Three Thousand Great Worlds in search of Yao Xuan. Xuan Mo Emperor chose to follow you. No matter how you tried to reject him, he refused to leave.]
From then on, Yongsheng began wandering, unlocking new locations in the prompts as he traveled.
In his journey, he inevitably encountered both grudges and alliances. Gu An frequently faced choices, most of which were life-and-death decisions.
If he met someone who wanted to kill him, even if the opponent surrendered after defeat, Gu An would show no mercy.
If he encountered beings in distress and it was within his power to save them, he would make Yongsheng step in to help.
Through this process, Gu An could feel how Yongsheng's personality was gradually shaping itself.
This guy had an innately dominant nature.
Later on, Yongsheng began commanding Xuan Mo Emperor to act on his behalf.
As the number of slain enemies grew, Yongsheng's reputation spread far and wide. Eventually, someone discovered that his Immortal Emperor Eyes originated from the Dao Thief Emperor. Overnight, his name became synonymous with evil. Even Spirit Mountain dispatched envoys to capture him, demanding that he return to erase his cultivation and relinquish the Immortal Emperor Eyes.
But Yongsheng had already developed an obsession—he needed the power of the Immortal Emperor Eyes to find Yao Xuan. Without even giving Gu An a choice, he directly refused the demands of the Buddhist cultivators from Spirit Mountain. A battle broke out between both sides, leading to Yongsheng's complete fallout with Spirit Mountain.
"So he still ended up on this path."
Gu An sighed while reading the prompts.
At the same time, he became increasingly curious about what kind of atrocities the Dao Thief Emperor had committed for even Spirit Mountain to fear him.
From this perspective, the Dao Thief Emperor's execution by the Heavenly Court might not have been an act of tyranny but a necessary measure to eliminate evil.
As time passed, more and more people sought trouble with Yongsheng. Some were motivated by grudges, while others wanted to eliminate the power of the Dao Thief Emperor and claim the fortune of the Heavenly Dao for themselves. Meanwhile, Spirit Mountain remained relentless, continuously sending powerful Buddhist cultivators to capture him. This resulted in both Yongsheng and Xuan Mo Emperor suffering severe injuries.
Amidst the endless battles, Yongsheng proclaimed himself emperor. From that day forth, he was known as the Yongsheng. Upon hearing his title, many cultivators trembled with fear, choosing to flee rather than risk crossing paths with him.
Gu An grew concerned. With events escalating this far, it was only a matter of time before the Heavenly Court was alerted. No matter how strong Yongsheng had become, he was unlikely to survive an encounter with the full might of the Heavenly Court.
[At the age of 1,368,922, you and Xuan Mo Emperor entered the Tai Ze Great World. There, you interfered with the laws of reincarnation and triggered a backlash from the Tai Ze Great World itself. You and Xuan Mo Emperor fell into peril. After a fierce battle, you captured the World Lord of Tai Ze Great World and stepped into the cycle of reincarnation. As a result, the Tai Ze Great World fell into chaos, with the balance of yin and yang completely overturned.]
Tai Ze Great World… Gu An remembered this place. The mystical World Lord of the Divine and Immortal Realms had once been sent there. Now, Tai Ze Great World had grown vast and boundless, far surpassing Tianling Great World in scale.
Gu An wondered whether traces of Yongsheng's legacy still remained in today's Tai Ze Great World.