Chapter 314: Tianlong and the Ji Family |
Chapter 314 Tianlong and the Ji Family
As Gu An continued absorbing Long Zhan’s memories, his hostility toward the Nirvana God Emperor began to fade.
Long Zhan was insane.
Before his wife Han Jiaor passed away, he still exercised some restraint. But after venturing beyond the heavens, he completely unshackled himself and went on a rampage.
The War Court he established operated with pure dominance—submit and prosper, resist and perish!
The realm he sacrificed was completely innocent—just randomly chosen by him. The countless lives within didn’t even have time to react before the entire world was reduced to dust.
Gu An used to think Xiao Shengtian was wild enough, but compared to Long Zhan? He didn’t even come close.
If Gu An had the power to kill Long Zhan back in the Divine Essence Realm, he absolutely would’ve acted.
After fully merging with Long Zhan’s memories, it felt like he had personally lived that entire life—becoming the Heavenly Dragon Emperor, achieving greatness, yet looking back filled with regret and remorse.
When the memory transmission ended, Gu An was still lost in it.
He was Gu An—and also Long Zhan.
That strange feeling was hard to describe, like reliving a past life in the present.
Same soul, different personalities.
After inheriting Long Zhan’s life memories, Gu An gained more than just insight into the Dao—he also obtained Long Zhan’s ultimate divine ability:
Heavenly Dragon Reincarnation Grand Dharma Aspect!
This divine art could manifest a supreme Dharma aspect embodying his ultimate Dao laws—and even summon aspects of his past lives to fight alongside him.
When Long Zhan first created this technique, he had intended to cultivate it through reincarnation, creating endless Dharma aspects across lifetimes. But once he unexpectedly unlocked the ability to seize lifespans, he stopped developing this art and instead evolved his divine abilities using stolen years.
Gu An slowly opened his eyes—and vanished from the island, reappearing in Ye Lan’s residence.
At that moment, Ye Lan was still in a Dao comprehension state.
Gu An sat down and continued reflecting on Long Zhan’s life.
Long Zhan, having surpassed the Nine Tribulations of the Immortal Dao, was incredibly powerful. That feeling of controlling all life, manipulating rules with a wave of his hand—it still fascinated Gu An just thinking about it.
At the same time, he couldn’t help but feel dread toward the Nirvana God Emperor’s terrifying strength.
He really had been crushed by the Nirvana God Emperor with a single hand—he hadn’t even seen the Emperor’s true form.
It was a power that transcended time and space, one that stood above the laws of the universe.
Having learned Long Zhan’s life story, Gu An no longer bore the same resentment toward the Nirvana God Emperor. Unlike Chu Lu or Xiao Shengtian, Long Zhan had brought it on himself.
Still, Gu An felt conflicted.
If Reincarnation Evolution truly worked, wouldn’t he also create monstrous evildoers?
Even if he didn’t mean to, he couldn’t control the personalities born in each cycle.
But the benefits of Reincarnation Evolution were massive—it would allow him to retain countless techniques, divine abilities, and combat experience, deepening his understanding of reincarnation itself. Giving that up... was just too hard.
After thinking it through, Gu An realized he was trapping himself in his own web. Why overthink it?
The path to strength can’t always avoid harming the innocent. Morality is often defined by perspective—like war. Are the people of an enemy nation not innocent?
At most, if he encounters another case like Long Zhan in the future, he’d simply choose not to activate the lifespan-seizing ability and rely on cultivation alone.
Truth be told, even without that power, Long Zhan’s talent was still monstrous.
Gu An began reviewing the cultivation method for the Heavenly Dragon Reincarnation Grand Dharma Aspect.
Something about it felt oddly familiar. Like he’d seen it somewhere before.
Then it hit him.
The Heavenly Dragon Suppressing Demons Aspect of the Ji Family—it was strikingly similar in concept.
He decided he’d ask Ji Xuanyu about it later. She’d already returned to the Ji Family and inherited some divine abilities—she might be able to demonstrate it.
The sun set, the moon rose.
One night passed.
Ye Lan gradually awoke, feeling as if she’d just had a dream—a dream she couldn’t quite recall.
When she opened her eyes, the entire world around her seemed... different.
Her gaze fell on the table, where Gu An was reading a book.
Gu An turned and smiled. “You’re awake?”
【Ye Lan (Transformation Stage, Fifth Layer): 222/600/800】
Her max lifespan had increased by 200 years!
Gu An let out a sigh of relief and smiled.
At least it worked!
Though… the effect was a bit underwhelming. After all, he was a Divine Thought True Immortal.
Gu An studied Ye Lan closely and noticed a faint, nearly undetectable aura dissipating from within her—like the laws of the world, but even harder to perceive.
“How did I fall asleep?” Ye Lan asked in confusion.
Gu An rolled his eyes. “You’re asking me? What, you think I drugged you or something? I didn’t even blame you—I came all this way, and you just nodded off mid-conversation, left me hanging.”
Ye Lan looked sheepish. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”
“You were clearly cultivating in your sleep—not just napping. How could I dare interrupt?”
As he spoke, Gu An stood up.
“I’m leaving. I’ll visit you again sometime.”
“Senior Brother, stay a few more days?”
“Can’t. Medicine Valley needs me.”
“Oh really? I heard you’re just the kind who dumps all the work.”
“Me? No way!”
They bantered for a bit, but in the end, Gu An left without hesitation.
Ye Lan walked him to the front gate.
Gu An suddenly stopped and turned to look at her. “In your heart… what’s more important—morality, or love?”
He asked this because he’d been thinking about Long Zhan and Fairy Ziyuan’s falling out. Though Long Zhan brought it upon himself, his lonely end still left Gu An sighing.
As arrogant as Long Zhan was, he treated those close to him well—he just couldn’t tolerate anyone going against him.
Ye Lan froze, then gave a soft smile. “Even if you were evil, I wouldn’t follow your path—but I’d still follow you, as long as you never abandon me.”
Gu An smiled. “Don’t overthink it. I was just pondering some story plots. I’m way too much of a coward to do anything truly evil.”
With that, he waved and walked away.
Ye Lan stared at his back, lost in thought.
…
With summer approaching, the weather had turned cool and pleasant.
In the woods.
Gu An looked eagerly toward Ji Xuanyu, who had stepped into the clearing.
The red Dao markings on her forehead flared to life, and her aura shifted dramatically. She raised her right hand, channeling spiritual energy in an exquisitely precise pattern. Behind her, a golden wheel rapidly formed—like a glowing circular gate, inscribed with mysterious, intricate patterns.
As the golden wheel opened, golden dragons surged forth from the radiant light.
Her Heavenly Dragon Suppressing Demons Aspect was different from the one in her past life, but Gu An could tell at a glance—this divine technique shared the same origin as the Heavenly Dragon Reincarnation Grand Dharma Aspect. It was simply the weaker version, far less refined and profound.
This realization shook Gu An to his core.
That technique was created by Long Zhan himself. Could it be that the Ji Family had some connection to him?
According to Long Zhan’s memories, he only passed it down to his son, Long Xin. Which meant… Long Xin had inherited and passed it on?
From Chu Lu and Xiao Shengtian’s life timelines, their worlds seemed to operate on a different timeline than Gu An’s.
Could Reincarnation Evolution project into the past?
Ji Xuanyu deactivated the divine form and walked over. “How was it?”
Although she didn’t know why Gu An wanted to see it, the Heavenly Dragon Suppressing Demons Aspect was well-known and sharing it didn’t violate clan rules.
“Impressive. Makes me tremble in awe. The one who created it must’ve been a godlike figure. Does your family have any records of who invented it?” Gu An asked sincerely.
Ji Xuanyu thought for a moment. “It’s ancient—said to have been created by one of our ancestors, but I don’t know exactly who. If you’re that curious, I can look into it when I go back.”
Gu An nodded. “I really am curious. I want to write a book, using your family as inspiration.”
Ji Xuanyu smiled. “Then the Vice Sect Master will be waiting for your Ji Family epic.”
They chatted for a while longer. Ji Xuanyu wanted to show off more divine arts, but Gu An wasn’t interested, so she gave up.
The two of them headed toward Medicine Valley.
“That technique—the Heavenly Dragon Suppressing Demons Aspect—was created by the Reincarnation Dao Emperor. Or rather… I’ve seen her use it before.”
A voice rang out from the woods ahead. It was Qie Wuxing.
Ji Xuanyu frowned, clearly annoyed.
Gu An had already noticed Qie Wuxing eavesdropping and didn’t mind. He’d been suspecting a connection to the Reincarnation Dao Emperor anyway.
As of now, in the Ji Family, only the Reincarnation Dao Emperor could travel beyond the heavens.
Qie Wuxing saw Ji Xuanyu’s expression and chuckled. “She once told me that on the far side of the universe, there’s a world far vaster than anything we can imagine.”
Hearing that, Gu An suddenly wondered if the Dragon Clan or the War Court still existed.
Of course, it was just a passing thought.
Even though he now carried Long Zhan’s memories, he had no intention of contacting the Dragon Clan or the War Court.
Hiding quietly in the Heavenly Spirit Realm was the way to go.
No matter how strong you are, someone out there can still crush you.
“Why are you always eavesdropping on us?” Ji Xuanyu snapped, the markings on her forehead glowing again.
Qie Wuxing raised a hand. “I meant no harm. Just helping clear things up. If you can become the Reincarnation Dao Emperor, I’ll be nothing but happy.”
With that, he vanished into thin air.
Gu An reassured her, “Don’t mind him. Later, I’ll crush him on the chessboard.”
Ji Xuanyu withdrew her Dao markings and nodded slightly.
To Gu An, this was just a minor detour—he’d learned what he needed. He didn’t feel the need to dig further.
The karmic ties to Long Zhan were too heavy—he had no desire to get involved.
Still, the incident stirred his imagination.
If Reincarnation Evolution could project into the past… just how strong was the Black Profound Emperor now?
And what about the Nirvana God Emperor? Was the Heavenly Spirit Realm already on his radar?
Gu An knew he had to be even more cautious moving forward. No one could find out about his lifespan-seizing ability.
A flock of birds soared from the forest, flying into the distance, silhouettes swallowed by sunlight.
Five years flew by in a flash.
That year, a piece of shocking news swept across the land:
The Severed Sea Domain was established!
Founded by Saint Heaven, it now occupied the region the Grand Cold Demon Sect once sought to massacre—centered around the Severed Sea Rift.
The announcement spread fast. It reached the mainland, where Emperor Li Xuandao issued an imperial edict:
The continent would now be known as Taicang Continent!