Steadily becoming a saint, the immortal officials hired me to tend the horses Chapter 101

Chapter 101: Chapter 101 Wind of Ephemera, Archenemy

“You…”

Zong Ying's eyes widened, his voice trembling. He couldn't believe what he was feeling.

He had exerted all his strength but still couldn't break free from Gu An's grasp. It wasn't just that he couldn't break free; he couldn't even unleash his power. Under normal circumstances, the power of someone in the Unification Realm exploding would instantly collapse this Medicine Valley.

His Qi and Spiritual Power couldn't escape from his body; an unimaginable force was suppressing him all over, a feeling he had never experienced before.

He was a cultivator in the Unification Realm!

In a place of nine dynasties, he came and went as he pleased!

Despair filled Zong Ying's heart as he realized he was doomed, but he didn't want to die!

“Spare me, Senior!” Zong Ying gritted his teeth, pleading without any pride of the Unification Realm.

Gu An had already isolated the surrounding space with his Spiritual Power, making their conversation inaudible to the outside world.

He had a general guess about Zong Ying's identity, so he didn't immediately resort to killing. He asked, “Give me a reason not to kill you.”

Up until now, Zong Ying hadn't harbored hostility towards Gu An, likely out of utter fear.

“I'm known as the Ghost Thief… I came to steal the Mystic Pure Tree not for myself, but for the mortal world… Senior, since you are an expert of the Supreme Sect, you should understand the disparity in resources in the Immortal Cultivation World. The Supreme Sect occupies too many cultivation resources, while the Spirit Energy is scarce among commoners. Those without distinguished family backgrounds simply cannot break through. At this rate, the Immortal Cultivation World will only belong to aristocrats…”

Zong Ying spoke quickly, and towards the end, his eyes even reddened.

Gu An felt a pang of admiration, thinking, what excellent acting.

He agreed with the Ghost Thief's idea of protecting the common people, which was truly chivalrous. However, you can't steal from me!

“You already know my strength, I have to kill you to prevent any leaks.” Gu An said expressionlessly.

At these words, Zong Ying nearly had his soul scared out of his body. His eyes darted as if thinking of something, and he quickly said, “I have a curse technique that can make me completely obey you without defiance. If I defy you, I will suffer misfortune and die violently!”

An opportunity!

He might be able to deceive him!

The fear in Zong Ying's heart subsided, replaced by excitement.

[Zong Ying harbors hostility towards you and hates you to the bone. Would you like to use Life Span Detection on him?]

Just when I was about to spare you, you bear hostility towards me?

Interesting.

Gu An became intrigued and asked, “What curse technique?”

Zong Ying explained, “This is the Heavenly Judgment Curse. As long as we both form the skill style, I then swear to you, and it can be established.”

“Fine, come with me then, let's find a secluded place to form the curse.” Gu An said, pulling Zong Ying towards a distant transmission array platform.

Zong Ying was still suppressed by his Spiritual Power and couldn't move, but he felt relieved, thinking the other believed him.

Being led by Gu An, he pondered.

Who exactly is this person?

To suppress someone in the Unification Realm so easily, could he have reached the Mystic Heart Realm?

Could he be a Supreme Elder in seclusion from the Supreme Sect?

The more he thought, the more alarmed he became. This must be reported to the sect.

Thus, they transmitted to the Mystic Valley and then left it. During this time, some disciples cast curious glances at them, but seeing they were chatting and laughing, quickly looked away.

After leaving the Mystic Valley several miles behind, Gu An confirmed no one was following and stopped.

They stayed in the forest, where Zong Ying was unable to break free from Gu An's Spiritual Power suppression.

Zong Ying smiled obsequiously and asked, “Senior, can we begin?”

Gu An nodded, also showing a smile.

Seeing Gu An's smile, Zong Ying's face changed drastically, sensing danger instinctively. Before he could think much, a powerful divine sense invaded his mind.

Soul Capturing Skill!

In a dim great hall, Zong Ying knelt on one knee, his gaze fixed on the mysterious shadow on the steps. The shadow was shrouded in black mist, making it impossible to discern the true form.

“Your Energy Concealing Skill is the most formidable; you should probe the depths of the Supreme Sect.” The mysterious shadow spoke in a cold male voice, devoid of any emotion.

Zong Ying hesitated, “Lv Baitian has resumed his position as the Sect Leader of the Supreme Sect, and his cultivation is at the ninth layer of the Unification Realm. Are we really going to confront them head-on?”

The mysterious shadow responded, “This is an order from the mainline. We must annex the Taicang Dynasty before the Great Calamity of the demons arrives. The Taicang Dynasty, being coastal, is crucial to our sect's future plans.”

Upon hearing this, Zong Ying asked excitedly, “An order from the mainline? Is the mainline finally able to help us?”

“Yes, the failure two hundred years ago dissatisfied the mainline. Though we have infiltrated the Taicang Dynasty, compared to the achievements of other branches, we have embarrassed the Ephemera Sect. You should first probe the foundation of the Supreme Sect. When a Great Cultivator from the Mystic Heart Realm of the mainline arrives, we will then wage war against the Supreme Sect.”

Hearing the mysterious shadow's words, Zong Ying immediately agreed excitedly, seeing this as a great opportunity to earn merit!

The scene shattered, and Gu An's divine sense continued to explore other memories of Zong Ying.

This scoundrel wasn't a Ghost Thief at all, he just borrowed the Ghost Thief's name to make the Supreme Sect prepare early, thus he could understand how many powerhouses the sect concealed.

The reason he didn't use the name of the Ephemera Sect was to avoid alerting the enemy. If he failed, he could still survive as a Ghost Thief.

The Ghost Thief acted righteously, and the Supreme Sect, being a righteous sect, might not kill a Ghost Thief.

If it weren't for Life Span Detection warning him, Gu An might really have been deceived by him.

For a long time.

In reality, an hour passed in the forest.

Zong Ying fell dead in front of Gu An with a thud, his eyes rolled back, his body stiff. He had been completely exorcised; his primordial spirit was shattered by Gu An's powerful Spiritual Power, and his soul perished before his body.

Gu An expressionlessly took Zong Ying's storage bag, then burned his corpse with Spirit Power Fire.

Killing Zong Ying awarded him two hundred and forty years of life span, but this did not improve his mood.

In Zong Ying's memory, there was no Heavenly Judgment Curse. What Gu An saw was his heinous acts of murder, pillaging, extermination, bullying female cultivators, refining souls to make ghost devices, and more—a truly evil person.

This sharply worsened Gu An's impression of the Ephemera Sect.

He had previously thought the conflict between the Ephemera Sect and the Supreme Sect was just a normal sect rivalry, but now he believed life under the Ephemera Sect's rule would be much worse.

Although the Supreme Sect also had darkness within, the cultivators at the Unification Realm were not as debased.

“Mystic Heart Realm, huh…”

Gu An thought to himself, then turned and left.

The autumn wind blew into the forest, scattering Zong Ying's ashes. In the air, the ashes completely disappeared, leaving no trace.

Gu An first went to the Eight Scenic Caves to check Zong Ying's storage bag, destroying anything suspect to prevent revealing the location of the Eight Scenic Caves, keeping only the cultivation resources.

The storage bag of a Great Cultivator in the Unification Realm was indeed extraordinary—countless magic artifacts, strange and varied, many elixirs, and even quite a few low-level elixirs.

After spending an hour sorting through them, Gu An finally left the Eight Scenic Caves.

Returning to the Mystic Valley, Gu An went to find Yang Ni to see how the ephemeras were growing.

He found Yang Ni meditating in the Ephemera Garden, cultivating. Previously, she had been absorbed in her cultivation and wasn't attracted by Gu An and Zong Ying. Normally, people from the Elixir Hall, Law Enforcement Hall, and Ji Family would occasionally visit Gu An, so she was accustomed to it.

Of course, the main reason was that Zong Ying's Energy Concealing Sorcery was extremely powerful.

“Why are you cultivating here?” Gu An asked, noticing that Yang Ni was absorbing the Spiritual Energy from the ephemeras, which wasn't beneficial for their growth.

Yang Ni opened her eyes and said, “Cultivating in the valley to avoid exposing my cultivation level.”

Gu An directly pulled her up and led her to his pavilion, saying, “Cultivate in my room. I recently set a restriction there, the disciples cannot spy on what happens inside.”

Yang Ni frowned, but couldn't directly refuse Gu An, and could only follow him back to the valley.

Winter arrived, and snow covered the Third Medicine Valley.

Gu An was reading in his room when Ji Xiaoyu suddenly visited him. He quickly put away the Supreme Secret Records and got up to greet Ji Xiaoyu.

Ji Xiaoyu closed the door and set a restriction, then asked, “Did you gain the insights from the Shenzhou Scripture in a dream?”

After studying the Shenzhou Scripture for half a year, she had many insights.

Gu An solemnly said, “This is not a cultivation technique, but life philosophy. It helps you stabilize your mind. A calm mind allows you to cultivate better.”

“Not gleaned from a dream?”

“Of course not. I encountered an elder in the Outer Sect who gave me the Shenzhou Scripture, saying something about the simplicity of the Dao and a bunch of other things. Over the years, I have often studied the Shenzhou Scripture, and though my cultivation hasn't grown, my state of mind has become increasingly calm and open. Nothing worries me anymore, and I am not obsessed with anything.”

Gu An shook his head as he spoke. Hearing this, Ji Xiaoyu gave him a deep look.

Ji Xiaoyu said, “This book is indeed useful. My state of mind has become much calmer since reading it, and I no longer think about things I can't achieve for now.”

“I want to take this book back to the Ji Family. Do you agree? If so, I will try to get you a seventh-grade Spirit Tree. The Ji Family's resources are no less than the Supreme Sect's.”

“Of course, if you disagree, I will not force it and promise not to leak the Shenzhou Scripture.”

A seventh-grade Spirit Tree?

The Ji Family has such resources?

Gu An suppressed his excitement and said calmly, “Of course I agree. The thoughts of Kongzi mentioned in the scriptures are about conveying one's philosophy to the world. How can I keep it private?”

The Shenzhou Scripture was a compilation of sayings from Laozi, Kongzi, Zhuangzi, and other ancient saints of Huaxia. Gu An had marked their names in the book to construct their immortal images.

Hearing this, Ji Xiaoyu smiled and began discussing the Shenzhou Scripture with Gu An.

They talked for a long time before she took her leave.

Just before reaching the door, Ji Xiaoyu turned around and said to Gu An, “Now that you hold such a significant position in the Third Medicine Valley, your status has changed. You must have heard of the Ephemera Sect. If someone from the Ephemera Sect tries to recruit you, do not agree.”

“Why?”

“The Ephemera Sect acts deceitfully and is not righteous. Engaging with them won't lead to good outcomes, and the Ji Family is their archenemy.”

The real reason must be the latter, right?

Gu An silently mocked, while also sensing the pressure the Ephemera Sect was exerting on the Supreme Sect. Ji Xiaoyu's words surely implied she knew many had been recruited by the Ephemera Sect.

Chapter end

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