Hearing Lu Xian's words, Tianqing, Jiang Shi, and the others couldn't help but roll their eyes. However, they didn't bother arguing with him. Instead, they began discussing what kind of treasures they each wanted.
An Xin took note of their requests, recording them carefully before setting out to find the others.
Half an hour later, she arrived at Gu An's courtyard. At that moment, Gu An was seated before a massive cauldron, his right hand engulfed in the flames of the Three Pure True Fire. He gazed at the fire in his hand, his expression calm, lost in thought.
"Master, I've asked everyone," An Xin said softly as she approached, holding a stack of papers.
She found it strange—given her master's abilities, why would he need her to run errands? Wouldn't it be easier to communicate with everyone directly?
She suspected her master was simply teasing her. But as a disciple, what could she say?
"Set them aside," Gu An instructed, casually tossing the Three Pure True Fire beneath the cauldron. "Next, you will assist me."
As soon as he finished speaking, countless rare minerals and medicinal herbs flew out from his sleeves, hovering in the air.
An Xin's eyes lit up. She had always wanted to learn artifact refinement. She also wanted a treasure that truly suited her.
Gu An remained seated, using spells from a distance to guide the refining materials into the cauldron.
An Xin walked up and used her divine sense to peer inside.
Gu An planned to forge treasures imbued with his own Dao Will, creating divine artifacts that belonged solely to his path. The process would be long and arduous.
By noon the next day, Gu An handed over the responsibility to An Xin and left on his own.
He was heading out to gather spiritual herbs—an essential step. Since he had long curbed his killing intent and greed, he could not afford to be careless in the collection process.
Now, his yearly lifespan income had stabilized at around thirty million years. He could push it higher, but he wasn't interested in overworking himself or drawing unnecessary trouble.
The Heavenly Spirit Grand World had already regained order, and there were no imminent threats from foreign powers. This was an ideal time for Gu An to focus on cultivation. However, karma was unpredictable—he had to ensure that no external forces disrupted the peace, especially the Heavenly Court.
As long as the Heavenly Dao remained over the Heavenly Spirit Grand World, Gu An could never ignore the looming threat of the Heavenly Court.
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, a thousand years had passed.
At noon, inside the Wushi Dao Field, Gu An lay on a rocking chair, pulling up his status panel for a quick look.
[Name: Gu An]
[Lifespan: 11,587 / 78,746,346,201]
[Physique: Hunyuan Reincarnation Immortal Physique]
[Cultivation: Measuring the Heavens Golden Immortal Realm (Peak)]
Nearly eighty billion years of lifespan!
Gu An contemplated when he should attempt his next breakthrough.
He had already honed himself in every possible way. In theory, one hundred billion years of lifespan should be enough to ensure success, but what if something went wrong?
It would be best to wait until he had two hundred billion years before taking the risk.
He sat up and transmitted a message to Tian Yao'er. Moments later, she appeared in the courtyard, her eyes brimming with excitement.
"Master, is my treasure ready?"
Ever since Gu An had announced a thousand years ago that he would forge divine artifacts for everyone, anticipation had only grown. The longer they waited, the greater their expectations became.
With Gu An's cultivation, refining treasures was hardly difficult. If it took this long, it could only mean one thing—the treasures would be incredibly powerful!
Gu An smiled and nodded. With a wave of his sleeve, a white silk ribbon emerged from the cauldron. It floated like drifting clouds, radiating an ethereal glow before settling into Tian Yao'er's hands.
Tian Yao'er's eyes shone with delight. She instantly fell in love with the silk ribbon.
"This is the Cloudveil of Flowing Years, a Dao Artifact I refined," Gu An explained. "It contains profound Dao Intent, which you can use to aid your cultivation. Your current realm is still too low to unleash its true power."
The moment he finished speaking, the Cloudveil of Flowing Years burst into radiant light, enveloping Tian Yao'er. She stood frozen, absorbing the inheritance of the artifact.
Gu An had imbued it with knowledge, allowing her to understand the method of recognizing it as its master.
Seated nearby, An Xin had a peculiar expression on her face.
She stared intently at the Cloudveil of Flowing Years.
Over the years, she had been keeping watch over the refining process, but she had never once seen this treasure take shape. In fact, for most of that time, Gu An hadn't even been around—she had been the one keeping an eye on the cauldron.
Could it be… that the artifact had already been completed long ago?
She never hesitated to ask questions, especially when it came to her master.
"This is a Dao Artifact, a treasure of the Great Dao itself," Gu An responded. "Its forging process cannot be perceived directly. You can only sense it through your Dao Insight. If you didn't notice it before, it simply means your Dao isn't strong enough yet."
Hearing this, An Xin felt a wave of shame.
Gu An often preached the Dao to them, and each session was a stroke of great fortune—an opportunity that countless cultivators would never encounter in their lifetime.
Yet despite this, she had failed to grasp the essence of his teachings. She was deeply embarrassed.
What she didn't realize was that her Dao comprehension was already extraordinary. Even many True Immortals with powerful divine senses couldn't match the depth of her Dao Insight.
Gu An could discern that everyone within the Dao Field possessed the ability to fight beyond their current realm. However, he didn't explicitly state this fact.
With someone at the Measuring the Heavens Golden Immortal Realm guiding them, such results were to be expected.
While Tian Yao'er was still absorbing the inheritance of the Cloudveil of Flowing Years, Gu An turned his gaze toward the distant horizon and muttered, "Still unwilling to give up?"
An Xin, who overheard him, curiously asked, "Master, who are you talking about? Tang Cai?"
Several hundred years ago, Tang Cai had left to find Li Ya, unable to suppress her longing. Before departing, she had called out to An Xin outside the Dao Field's forest to bid her farewell.
Gu An chuckled, "Not her. I'm talking about a little demon you haven't met before."
Seeing that he wasn't willing to say more, An Xin didn't press further.
To her, since her master often traveled far and wide, he must have left countless opportunities scattered across the realms. She just wondered when Wushi Dao Field would welcome new members.
As such thoughts passed through her mind, time continued to flow rapidly.
The news of Tian Yao'er obtaining a Dao Artifact quickly spread throughout the Dao Field. Soon after, the Cloudveil of Flowing Years expanded, blanketing the entire sky above the Dao Field, exerting an overwhelming pressure upon all within. No one could move under its might. This drove everyone into a frenzy—including An Xin herself.
An Xin even felt that the Cloudveil of Flowing Years was no weaker than her master's Pen of Destiny. How could she not be excited?
Gu An maintained his principle—one Dao Artifact every thousand years.
The second person to receive a Dao Artifact was Shen Zhen, who obtained the Void Rebirth Zither. Its strings could shake the very foundations of fate, karma, and reincarnation, making it an incredibly domineering artifact.
Next was Blood Prison Saint, who was gifted a great blade—Heaven-Shattering Blood Prison Blade—imbued with the Dao of Slaughter and carrying the potential to command the laws of destruction.
Jiang Shi received the Immortal-Slaying Flying Blade, another Dao Artifact centered around slaughter. Being a fan of the Investiture of the Gods, he immediately associated it with the legendary Immortal-Slaying Flying Saber, growing deeply fond of it.
Tianqing obtained the Azure Swan Exquisite Pagoda, while Tianbai received the White Spirit Exquisite Pagoda. These two Dao Artifacts were no weaker than the others, and when used in tandem, their power increased significantly. Their names were derived from Ye Lan's White Spirit Sword and Gu An's Azure Swan Sword.
An Shengtian acquired the God-Shaking Spear, imbued with the battle intent of ancient warlords. In terms of sheer slaughter power, it was second only to the Heaven-Shattering Blood Prison Blade.
Chen Chuan obtained the Reincarnation Severing Dao Sword, allowing him to comprehend the Great Dao of Reincarnation. Gu An hoped this would help him recover the memories of his past life.
Lu Xian received the Twelve Extreme Heaven Suppression Beads—a set of twelve silver beads capable of either creating or devouring worlds, resonating with the Dao of Devouring.
An Xin was gifted the Six Paths Mirror, an artifact capable of reflecting the reincarnation cycle, as well as sending others into reincarnation itself.
Throughout the process of refining these Dao Artifacts, Gu An was also comprehending the deeper mysteries of the Great Dao.
The Three Thousand Dao permeate all things, and with his Dao Sovereign Ability, Gu An could directly comprehend them at an astonishing rate.
Each of these Dao Artifacts possessed power surpassing even the Supreme Immortal Treasures and would continue to grow stronger as their wielders advanced in their respective Dao paths. Their potential was immeasurable.
At the very least, they were all stronger than Li Ya's Nine Absolute Sacred Heart Sword!
With one Dao Artifact crafted every thousand years, nine thousand years had passed, and everyone—except Ephemeral Blossom Ghost Mother—had received their artifact.
At over twenty thousand years old, Gu An now had a lifespan exceeding three hundred forty billion years!
As sunlight poured down, everyone gathered around An Xin, eagerly inquiring about her Six Paths Mirror. Her face beamed with excitement and joy.
"It's finally done. Now I can focus on breaking through."
Gu An silently thought to himself.
Looking back, nine thousand years had already passed. Even for him, time had flown by astonishingly fast.
Without external threats, these nine thousand years had been uneventful—a repetitive cycle of daily cultivation and refinement.
From the moment he began refining the Cloudveil of Flowing Years, he had dedicated ten thousand years to forging Dao Artifacts for his disciples. This entire process had also been a form of cultivation for himself. Over these ten thousand years, even without utilizing his lifespan transformation ability, his strength had significantly improved.
"Master, besides you, is there anyone else who can refine Dao Artifacts?" Chen Chuan asked curiously, gazing at Gu An.
He gripped the Reincarnation Severing Dao Sword tightly. Even after holding onto it for two thousand years, he still cherished it immensely.
The others also turned their attention toward Gu An, awaiting his answer.
Gu An smiled, "Perhaps. But all of your Dao Artifacts were forged from my Dao. In the future, I can help strengthen them further, and through them, I can always stay connected to you."
Hearing this, everyone grew even more excited.
Did this mean that even if they traveled across the realms, they could always rely on Gu An?
"Master, why don't you establish a sect? You don't need to take in a large number of disciples, but at least it would give us a banner to stand under. That way, when we introduce ourselves, we can proudly state which sect we come from—it would also bring you honor!"
Blood Prison Saint suddenly proposed, and the others immediately chimed in agreement. It was something they had secretly discussed for years, just waiting for the right moment to bring it up.
Gu An had long been aware of their discussions. Over the years, he had also considered this matter.