To comprehend all laws and attain immortality

A vast collection of fantasy novels to satisfy your reading preferences.

"Brother Gu, you're finally back!"

Hou Ying rushed forward excitedly, her hands trembling as she grasped Gu Fan's.

"I had some free time, so I came back to visit."

Gu Fan patted Hou Ying on the shoulder and sighed, "Hou Ying, you've grown up."

Hou Ying smiled sheepishly and said, "Brother Gu still looks the same as he did back then. I should be the one who has grown old."

After saying this, Hou Ying hurriedly led Gu Fan into the mansion.

Following Hou Ying's guidance, Gu Fan admired the luxurious mansion before him, listening to Hou Ying's incessant narration.

"Back then, Brother Gu sent me to study. I didn't expect that I would actually have some talent. In less than two years, I passed the preliminary examination and then went on to achieve official rank."

"After serving as an official in the imperial court for several years, my mother unfortunately caught a cold and returned to her hometown to observe the mourning period, and never went back."

"Students from the surrounding area came to visit me, so I simply opened a school so that poor students like me could have a place to study, and I also did some book printing business on the side."

Hou Ying's face darkened as she spoke of her mother's passing, and she shook her head, saying, "Before she passed away, my mother was still thinking about my eldest brother, regretting that she couldn't see him one last time."

Gu Fan recalled the stubborn woman in his mind and nodded slightly, saying, "Cultivation makes one oblivious to the passage of time; it's because I haven't returned enough."

As the two were talking, they arrived at an old courtyard.

Gu Fan's expression changed drastically.

Although the courtyard was old, it did not appear dilapidated. Even the moss in the corners of the walls was kept clean, and there were no weeds in the cracks between the stones, indicating that someone cleaned it regularly.

This is Gu Fan's former residence.

When Gu Fan saw the Hou family mansion from the outside, he thought that the original Gu family had been demolished and rebuilt. Unexpectedly, Hou Ying had preserved it. He couldn't help but take a few steps forward to admire it closely and reminisce about the past.

Behind her, Hou Ying said softly, "This house has always been kept, in the hope that my elder brother might come back one day."

Gu Fan turned around and smiled, "Thank you for your thoughtfulness."

The two recounted what had happened over the years, with Hou Ying doing most of the talking and Gu Fan listening.

Then a butler stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Master, the banquet is ready."

Hou Ying suggested, "Brother, you haven't been back for many years, please have a few more drinks."

Gu Fan readily agreed and followed Hou Ying into a hall.

Many people were already waiting outside the hall; they were all Hou Ying's wives and children.

Hou Ying has four sons and three daughters. The eldest is already twenty years old, and the youngest is not yet ten years old. They were all invited to pay their respects to Gu Fan.

After a few rounds of drinks, Hou Ying forced a smile and suggested, "Brother, do you think my children have... do they have spiritual roots?"

Upon hearing this, all seven children perked up their ears.

Over the years, they had heard many stories from their father, and they had long heard of Gu Fan's name, yearning for the existence of immortals.

Gu Fan teased, "Didn't you say back then that you didn't want to cultivate immortality?"

Hou Ying chuckled twice: "Back then, wasn't my mother still alive? Besides, I don't have any spiritual roots anyway."

Gu Fan shook his head and sighed, "Alright, let's all come forward and give it a try."

Hou Ying was overjoyed and quickly had her children come forward one by one.

"Um...no."

Still no.

Gu Fan had tested three people in a row, and when he got to Hou Ying's youngest son, he paused.

"Mid-grade spiritual root".

Hou Ying was overjoyed. The child, only a little over ten years old, was also stunned upon hearing this, almost jumping for joy, muttering, "I'm going to be an immortal!"

Gu Fan made him stand aside and checked the remaining people as well, confirming that only one of them had a spiritual root.

"Only one has a spiritual root."

After he finished speaking, the others were disheartened, and one of the girls even wiped her eyes and started to cry.

"One is fine, one is fine." Hou Ying was already very satisfied and instructed, "Wen Zhao, quickly kowtow to your uncle."

With a "plop," the young man knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Wenzhao thanks Uncle!"

After carefully questioning Hou Wenzhao, Gu Fan learned that he was only fourteen years old. He then looked at Hou Ying and asked, "Once you enter a sect, you're separated from immortals and mortals. Are you sure you want him to cultivate immortality?"

"I'm sure!" Hou Ying said solemnly, "Wen Zhao himself wants to go. Since he has spiritual roots, wouldn't he regret it for the rest of his life if he didn't go?"

"Alright then." Gu Fan nodded, then suddenly realized that Hou Ying didn't seem to know much about his ancestor's affairs.

After all, Gu Fan had settled the mother and son in Lin'an City and never returned. It was only after that that he obtained Xia Lingfeng's belongings.

So Gu Fan recounted the origins of the Xia family, which made Hou Ying sigh with emotion.

Hou Wenzhao, his eyes red with rage, knelt down and said, "When I achieve success in my cultivation, I will surely avenge my ancestors!"

Hou Ying was moved by what he heard, but shook his head and said, "We should avenge our ancestors' grievances if we can, but my son should prioritize his own survival."

Hou Wenzhao was then taken away to prepare his luggage, while Gu Fan and Hou Ying drank and chatted until the moon was high in the sky.

......

The next day.

Gu Fan piloted the Sky-Breaking Shuttle, taking Hou Wenzhao into the air.

Hou Wenzhao waved his hand with tears in his eyes, trying hard not to cry out.

"Kid, if you want to cry, just cry. What kind of behavior is this, holding it in!"

Chang Yuan suddenly emerged from Gu Fan's sleeve, his tongue lolling out, and spoke through divine sense.

Previously, Chang Yuan and the gourd had shrunk and hidden in his sleeves. When Hou Wenzhao first saw Chang Yuan, he was immediately startled. Upon hearing the voice transmitted through his mind, he trembled and said, "A...monster!"

It wasn't until the gourd popped out and made a funny face to coax him that he finally stopped crying and started laughing.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and Cloud Realm Mountain was already in sight.

It is worth mentioning that Hou Wenzhao also chose Lingxi Peak, which forced Gu Fan to make another trip to Zixiao Temple.

He chose to respect Hou Wenzhao and Song Lian's choices.

"I just hope I won't regret it later," Gu Fan thought to himself.

......

After returning to his sect, Gu Fan didn't have many peaceful days.

With Chang Yuan's physical body reshaped, the Qing Shi Palace essentially gained another glutton, constantly clamoring for pills.

Given its digestive speed, if Gu Fan were to eat it freely, he would probably be reduced to begging for food.

The gourd was not to be outdone, and its Devouring Heaven Secret Technique also improved after the Spirit Forging.

In order to feed the two spirit beasts, Gu Fan had to find another way to earn merit points.

Fortunately, the opportunity came soon.

Chen Suzhen's seal and magical artifacts were corroded by acid, and she wanted to reforge one, so she came to visit Gu Fan.

After discussing it, Gu Fan spent half a month crafting an extremely fine top-grade magic weapon, the Eight-Sided Water-Splitting Sword, for Chen Suzhen, thus opening up a market for it among Foundation Establishment disciples.

After that, relying on second-tier spirit talismans and occasional weapon-refining business, he accumulated a lot of merit.

......

Time flies like water, and seven years have passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, Gu Fan walked out of the Service Hall with a pained expression.

Just now, he exchanged all the good deeds he had accumulated over seven years for spiritual materials, preparing to forge a new magical artifact.

"There's only one year left to compete for the right to the throne; we need to hurry."

On the way back to Qing Shi Palace, Gu Fan thought to himself.

The competition for the position of true disciple of the Lingxiao Sect is held once every sixty years, and the next one will be next year.

Through Xuanji Zhenren's connections, Gu Fan has learned that three disciples have stepped down this time, meaning there are only three disciple positions available.

However, there are nearly thirty people who are qualified to participate in the competition. Most of them obtained their qualifications through twenty Silver Order recruitments, but a few people completed two Gold Order recruitments.

Among Gu Fan's acquaintances were Liu Daoyuan, Lin Qian'er, Chen Suzhen, and Li Fengyi.

Due to limitations in his cultivation, Meng Wei has not yet broken through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, and can only regretfully miss out.

Although Gu Fan has risen to fame in recent years, the one who has attracted the most attention is not him, but Xu Changsheng.

Years have passed, and Xu Changsheng is only one step away from the late stage of Foundation Establishment, making him almost universally recognized as one of the next generation of true disciples.

This means there's one less position to compete for!

Gu Fan's eyes gleamed as he thought about the possibility of sparring with Xu Changsheng.

"I am determined to obtain the position of true successor!"