Steadily Becoming A Saint, The Immortal Officials Hired Me To Tend The Horses
/ Steadily becoming a saint, the immortal officials hired me to tend the horses Chapter 102
Chapter 102: Chapter 102: Defying Destiny, the Green Vine Tree's Fear
Gu An waited for over half a year, passing his sixtieth birthday, yet still hadn't received the Ji family's seventh-tier Spirit Tree.
He believed Ji Xiaoyu wouldn't deceive him, just that the Ji family's processes were a bit complicated and required more time.
In comparison, the Supreme Sect was much more efficient, having quickly delivered the Mystic Pure Tree they promised.
On a scorching summer day, Gu An was sowing seeds in the Third Medicine Valley. Gu Yu was beside him, chatting non-stop about the Supreme Immortal Venerable.
This year, the plot of the Supreme Immortal Venerable reached its climax, with the protagonist Gu Yu teaming up with the second male lead Zhou Tongyou to battle the demon causing chaos in the world, tantalizing countless readers.
Gu An was in a good mood because he had just spent ten thousand years of his lifespan last night to advance the Great Yin-Yang Transformation to the Nine Extremes Yin-Yang Body.
The Nine Extremes Yin-Yang Body retained its previous abilities to prevent spying and deduce causality, and added a doppelgänger technique, allowing him to create nine doppelgängers. He could manipulate them to fight or carry out tasks.
Upon returning, he specifically tested using a doppelgänger to pick medicinal herbs, but unfortunately, just like before, it didn't extend his lifespan.
He could only be down-to-earth!
While burying seeds, Gu An pondered what combat techniques to enhance next.
Originally, he wanted to improve once a month, but in the past year, he frequently sensed Great Cultivators from the Unification Realm battling in the North Sea Mountains, so he delayed his plans to become stronger.
Gu Yu couldn't help but look at Gu An and asked, “Hey, were you seriously listening?”
Without looking up, Gu An casually replied, “I can't write the book according to your ideas. Just wait and see.”
“How long will it take to finish the Supreme Immortal Venerable?” Gu Yu asked quietly.
In a ten-mile radius, only the two of them were present, so they weren't worried about being overheard.
“It should be soon, not many years left.”
“What will you write next?”
“We'll see, I might not write anymore.”
“No way, if you stop writing, it would be a huge loss for the Immortal Cultivation World.”
“It would actually be a good thing if I stop—cultivators shouldn't waste time sneaking around reading books every day.”
“Nonsense, who reads every day? You write only a few words a year. We all read in our spare time from cultivation.”
The two began to bicker. When Gu Yu took out the latest Supreme Secret Records, Gu An finally believed he hadn't been slacking off reading books.
Gu An stored the Supreme Secret Records in his storage bag, then asked, “Have there been any significant events in the Immortal Cultivation World recently?”
Gu Yu secretly despised his actions, then said, “Indeed, there have. The Demon Path and the Ephemera Sect have been battling in the North Sea Mountains for over half a year now. The Thousand-Autumn Pavilion and the Wanyin Sect were almost wiped out by the Ephemera Sect and are almost disbanded. At this rate, in two or three years, the Ephemera Sect could unify the Demon Path.”
Mentioning the Ephemera Sect made his tone excited again.
“The Ephemera Sect and the Supreme Sect are bound to clash, and this battle will unify the Immortal Cultivation World of the Taicang Dynasty. The sect isn't in a hurry, which suggests they are confident of victory.”
Hearing this, Gu An couldn't help but think of Lv Baitian's lifespan limit, doubting whether Lv Baitian could successfully break through.
Regarding the lifespan limit, Gu An was helpless. He couldn't just point out the existence of the lifespan limit to others.
The lifespan limit was like a destiny everyone on the path of Immortal Cultivation fought against. Who would believe in fate?
Gu An felt there had to be a way to break the fate, but it was hard to find.
The two chatted for another hour before Gu Yu left, saying that the Gu Sect had been secluding themselves lately, seemingly preparing to confront the Ephemera Sect, and that he too needed to cultivate diligently to help the Supreme Sect when the time came.
Seven days after Gu Yu left, the Elixir Hall issued an order to collect medicinal herbs from the various Medicine Valleys in advance. Even the Third Medicine Valley saw Lv Family and Ji Family cultivators coming to collect large quantities of medicinal herbs, signaling that something major was about to happen.
Gu An didn't think the Ephemera Sect was coming, but rather that Lv Baitian was preparing to challenge destiny and break through to the Mystic Heart Realm.
In the blink of an eye, summer turned to autumn.
One noon, Gu An arrived at Tianya Valley and saw that Li Xuandao was also there, having already reached the Void Crossing Realm.
Gu An had only ever seen one other Void Crossing Realm cultivator over two hundred years old.
This guy appeared to be at the First Layer of the Core Formation Realm, maintaining a low profile.
The two sat for a conversation at a stone table in front of a pavilion, and Li Xuandao praised Gu An's exceptional planting abilities. Thanks to the medicinal herbs cultivated by Gu An, he managed to break through to the Core Formation Realm smoothly.
Without these medicinal herbs, Li Xuandao would have had to request Yi Liuyun to transplant a Golden Core for him, which would not have been as strong as breaking through and condensing the Golden Core himself.
To this, Gu An could only smile and attribute it to Li Xuandao's strong aptitude.
Seeing Li Xuandao's smile, Gu An could guess that he was secretly delighted, thinking that no one knew of his Void Crossing Realm cultivation.
“Gu An, how is Yang Ni doing over by you?” Li Xuandao asked with a smile, raising his teacup.
“She's doing well. She's started planting medicinal herbs too, becoming one of us,” Gu An replied.
“Planting medicinal herbs?”
Li Xuandao's expression became intriguing.
Gu An suddenly recalled that Lv Baitian had mentioned that two hundred years ago, the Ephemera Sect once controlled the Imperial Family. Was Li Xuandao's cultivation technique possibly from the Ephemera Sect?
Zong Ying was the best proof, able to conceal his cultivation. Even those with higher realms would find it hard to detect.
Combined with the fact that Yang Ni planted ephemeras…
Good heavens!
Was there an Ephemera Sect undercover agent beside me?
The more Gu An thought about it, the more likely it seemed.
Li Xuandao continued, “The Immortal Cultivation World has been unstable lately, so you need to be careful.”
Gu An followed up, “Are you referring to the Ephemera Sect, uncle?”
“Exactly.”
“Uncle, as the emperor, what is your view on the Ephemera Sect?”
Li Xuandao's face remained calm as he said, “Ambitious wolves, bringing calamity to the common people.”
Hearing this, Gu An was momentarily stunned. That didn't sound like something an Ephemera Sect member would say.
Li Xuandao began recounting past events, revealing that his father had been controlled by the Ephemera Sect, turning the court into a money-making tool for them. When the scandal was exposed, his father was killed by the Ephemera Sect. Li Xuandao had to enlist the Supreme Sect's help, and because he provided intelligence at that time, the Supreme Sect supported him to the throne, as he wasn't the crown prince.
Li Xuandao's tone was filled with hatred towards the Ephemera Sect, making it unlikely he was faking it.
“I may want to challenge the Supreme Sect, but that's an internal struggle within the dynasty. If the Ephemera Sect fights the Supreme Sect, I will certainly support the Supreme Sect with all my might,” Li Xuandao said coldly, his eyes flashing with killing intent aimed at the Ephemera Sect.
Gu An asked in surprise, “If the Ephemera Sect is so malicious, and nobody knows their headquarters' location, why do so many people join them?”
Li Xuandao explained, “Because of the ephemera. It's said that the ephemera can change a cultivator's aptitude and even extend their lifespan. Plus, they offer generous cultivation resources to their members, so people keep joining.”
“Based on the information I have, the Ephemera Sect's foundation is extremely strong, possibly even stronger than the entire Taicang Dynasty. What we're dealing with now is just a branch of the Ephemera Sect.”
Ephemera?
Changing aptitude?
Gu An raised an eyebrow, no wonder Yang Ni sat meditating in the Ephemera Garden.
But he remained skeptical about the ephemera's effects. Could a sixth-tier medicinal herb really defy nature?
Li Xuandao continued to narrate the Ephemera Sect's actions from two hundred years ago. Back then, entire cities' populations would often disappear, leaving only empty cities behind. To this day, Li Xuandao hadn't found out where those people went, but their fate was undoubtedly grim.
Listening to this was like hearing ghost stories for Gu An, completely engrossed in the tales.
The Ephemera Sect was indeed incredibly sinister!
It was said that the Ephemera Sect's followers weren't limited to cultivators, but included demons and ghosts. This reminded Gu An of the Ghost Mother of the Ephemera still left on the Heavenly Repair Platform.
After chatting for a full hour, Li Xuandao hadn't finished his story, yet Gu An was not bored.
Suddenly.
A prompt appeared before Gu An.
[Zhong Liang harbors ill will towards you and wants to kill you. Do you wish to perform Life Span Detection on him?]
Zhong Liang?
Who's this?
A complete stranger!
Gu An was puzzled. He was usually kind to others and rarely made enemies.
The name sounded significant, and Gu An silently chose yes.
[Consuming 100 years of lifespan is required. Do you wish to continue?]
So pricey?
Gu An couldn't help but ask, “Uncle, have you heard of Zhong Liang?”
Li Xuandao frowned deeply and said, “Has the Ephemera Sect begun contacting you?”
“Is this person from the Ephemera Sect?” Gu An asked, suddenly tense, immediately opting to continue in his mind.
[Zhong Liang (Third Level of Unification Realm): 1462/2900/3000]
Third Level of Unification Realm!
Gu An's brow furrowed as he carefully considered how the other party had identified him.
Was it because of Zong Ying?
No, he had checked many times to ensure there were no messaging items from other Great Cultivators on Zong Ying, and Zong Ying had been dead for half a year.
Who was it then?
Gu An, realizing the Ephemera Sect had targeted him, felt a sudden urge to infiltrate their headquarters and eliminate them.
Unfortunately, the Ephemera Sect had no central headquarters, at least not in Zong Ying's memories. Zong Ying and that mysterious figure always met in different places.
“Two hundred years ago, Zhong Liang was the Sect Hierarch of the Ephemera Sect, who fled after being severely injured by Lv Baitian. Where did you encounter him?” Li Xuandao asked gravely.
Gu An shook his head, saying, “I once had a chance encounter with him outside the Supreme Sect outer sect. He invited me to seek an opportunity, but I refused. Talking with you today reminded me of him, and I never thought he would be an Ephemera Sect demon.”
Li Xuandao didn't doubt Gu An's words but considered many possibilities.
Could it be that Zhong Liang was targeting Li Ya, or maybe even himself?
Li Xuandao's expression darkened further.
The name Zhong Liang took away their interest in chatting. Subsequently, Gu An inspected Tianya Valley before leaving hastily.
Returning to the Mystic Valley, Gu An went to the tunnel within the Eight Scenic Caves.
He wanted to search Zong Ying's storage bag again, just in case.
As soon as he arrived, he saw with his Divine Sense a vine from the Green Vine Tree fiddling with Zong Ying's storage bag. Keeping his energy concealed, he made no footsteps and quietly approached.
As he stepped out of the tunnel, the Green Vine Tree was visibly startled, with its vine retracting instantly.
Gu An approached it coldly and said, “Since you've gained Spiritual Wisdom, why are you hiding? Are you afraid of me? Be careful, or I'll burn you!”
As he finished speaking, Spirit Power Fire ignited in his right hand.
The animosity from Zhong Liang had put him in a foul mood.
Hearing his words, the Green Vine Tree shuddered, leaves falling, and a gentle female voice spoke, “I… I'm not afraid of you, but of that tree…”
Chapter end
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