Steadily becoming a saint, the immortal officials hired me to tend the horses Chapter 114

Chapter 114: Chapter 114 Ephemera Gathering, Path Enlightenment

Gu An was not swayed by Shen Zhen's words. Drawing someone's battle process was too offensive, and he was not lacking in high-rank medicinal herbs at present. Unless Shen Zhen offered him a Seventh-Order Medicinal Grass, he would remain uninterested.

Shen Zhen came from the Daotian Sect of the Great Yu Dynasty, an extremely distant place. Even conveying a single message would take an indeterminate amount of time.

Gu An said, “The whole city is in chaos, how can I be in the mood to paint, Ms. Shen? We should find a place to hide to avoid…”

Suddenly, a thunderous noise interrupted Gu An's words. The entire inn shook violently, and dust surged in from the windows, engulfing the two of them.

Shen Zhen quickly wrapped her arm around Gu An's waist and rushed out of the inn, arriving at the back courtyard.

Gu An tried to free himself from her grip, but she held him tightly. With a serious look in her eyes, she looked towards the back of the inn and whispered, “Don't move.”

Gu An had no choice.

Did she really think she could protect him, a great cultivator of the ninth layer of the Mahayana Realm?

Shen Zhen frowned and took a flute from her storage bag with her left hand. Following her gaze, a figure flew out from the dust on the other side of the inn.

Gu An recognized him. It was Zhang Hong, an Inner Sect disciple who often meditated at the Heavenly Repair Platform. Gu An always saw him whenever he visited the platform. Unexpectedly, Zhang Hong turned out to be a spy from the Ephemera Sect.

Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, Zhang Hong glanced at Gu An and Shen Zhen and immediately swung his sword at them.

A streak of Sword Qi broke through the roof and charged towards them.

The Sword Qi was too fast, so fast that Shen Zhen could only instinctively raise her flute to block it.

Bang!

The Sword Qi exploded, collapsing the entire inn and raising clouds of dust.

Zhang Hong leaped up and swiftly fled, while numerous figures pursued him relentlessly from behind.

All around, the entire Outer Gate City was in a chaotic battle. Even the Great Elder Lv Songhan was fighting, while the city protection array in the sky twisted violently, on the verge of breaking apart.

As the Sword Qi dissipated, Shen Zhen pulled Gu An out. Both were in a disheveled state.

“Ms. Shen, are you alright?” Gu An asked with concern, though he could see that Shen Zhen's injuries were not life-threatening.

Zhang Hong was at the first layer of the Nascent Soul Realm. Although Shen Zhen had blocked his Sword Qi, she had suffered internal injuries.

Being able to block a sword from a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator with a Core Formation Realm cultivation level, Shen Zhen indeed had some skills.

Blood dripped from her chin beneath her veil. She maintained her composure and said calmly, “I am the Holy Daughter of the Daotian Sect. How could a nameless person harm me? Let's find a place to hide first.”

She let go of her right hand and then quickly walked ahead, with Gu An following closely behind.

The entire city was in battle. The two dared not fly and had to traverse the streets on foot.

Fortunately, they encountered disciples from the Law Enforcement Hall who led them to an underground palace to take refuge. The underground palace was extensive, sheltering many disciples, most of whom were servant disciples.

Shen Zhen found a place to sit cross-legged, took out a bottle of elixir from her storage bag, and began to cultivate and heal after consuming it.

Gu An did not disturb her. He scanned the underground palace, and after confirming there were no abnormalities, he also sat down and closed his eyes to observe the world with his Divine Sense.

The entire Supreme Sect was in turmoil, not just the Outer Gate City. Battles raged in all the cities.

Lv Baitian and others, sensing the unrest in the Supreme Sect, were all hurrying back.

Without the support of the Golden Spirit Venerable, the Supreme Sect would surely overcome this internal conflict, albeit with some casualties in the process.

Gu An's Divine Sense focused mainly on the Third Medicine Valley and the Mystic Valley.

The Mystic Valley, located outside the Outer Gate, remained unthreatened since the Ephemera Sect spies were causing chaos within the Supreme Sect.

The Third Medicine Valley was under protection, with Gu Yu leading a group of cultivators to guard it. Fierce battles had already erupted.

As long as the medicinal herbs remained untouched, Gu An was not inclined to intervene. The Supreme Sect needed this trial by fire.

Time passed by.

As Unification Realm great cultivators returned, skirmishes in the cities quickly subsided.

In less than thirty minutes, there was no more fighting in the Outer Gate City where Gu An was located.

A figure emerged from the tunnel, shouting joyfully, “The battle is over, everyone can come out.”

Hearing this, the disciples smiled, stood up, and helped each other out.

Shen Zhen stood up as well. Looking at Gu An, she said, “Why aren't you helping me? Look at the others.”

Gu An laughed, “I don't think you're that seriously injured. Once we return to the Medicine Valley, you can pick a batch of medicinal herbs as a reward for protecting me just now.”

Shen Zhen smiled but did not respond and walked towards the crowd with Gu An.

After leaving the underground palace, Gu An reached the street. He looked up to see the sky shrouded in dark clouds, with fire dragons formed by spiritual power swirling majestically, appearing as if divine beings were protecting the city.

Gu An saw a figure of a Unification Realm great cultivator hovering thousands of feet in the air. During the earlier battle with the Golden Spirit Venerable, this person had looked quite haggard. Now, however, he seemed invincible and overbearing.

Shen Zhen gazed upwards as well. After confirming the battle had truly ended, she said to Gu An, “I need to return. You should also go back soon.”

With that, she turned and left.

She tried to appear relaxed, but once out of Gu An's sight, he noticed she suddenly sped up.

Shen Zhen's injuries would likely require months of rest to fully recover.

Gu An began to stroll through the city. Wherever he passed, he saw many buildings damaged, with injured disciples coming and going, inspecting the city.

Gu An sensed the presence of Zhen Qin and Ye Lan, both uninjured, so he did not seek them out.

The mysterious aura he had felt a few days ago was still there. As it came from too far away within the Taicang Dynasty, Gu An could not discern its origin.

He speculated it might be related to the Nine Nether Road.

Before dying, the Golden Spirit Venerable had said that the main lineage of the Ephemera Sect was about to arrive, indicating that this calamity had just begun. More Mystic Heart Realm great cultivators were likely to appear in the future.

It truly was a troublesome time!

Gu An mused, his gaze suddenly drawn to a distant figure.

A disciple was walking among the crowd. He looked unremarkable, in both appearance and cultivation level, and few people paid attention to him as he walked along the street.

Gu An was drawn to him because there was an indescribable aura about him that felt somewhat familiar.

Time for a life span detection!

[Wu Jue (Foundation Establishment Realm Second Layer): 63/280/310]

Such a life span was not outstanding in the Outer Gate.

Gu An thought as he looked at Wu Jue, soon understanding why the aura felt familiar.

Path Enlightenment!

The other party was in Path Enlightenment, no wonder he seemed somewhat dazed while walking the streets.

Gu An became interested and observed Wu Jue closely, wanting to see the state of Path Enlightenment from the perspective of an onlooker.

He had undergone Path Enlightenment before. After that experience, he was unsure of the specific changes that had occurred, as he often used life span to enhance himself, which could obscure any transformations. He could not discern whether the improvements came from his own powers or the life span evolution.

Gu An began to follow Wu Jue, maintaining a distance of several feet.

As they walked down various streets, Gu An suddenly felt Wu Jue's aura surge. This surge was not an elevation in his cultivation level but rather another profound change.

He instinctively used life span detection again.

[Wu Jue (Foundation Establishment Realm Second Layer): 63/280/340]

Hmm?

His maximum life span had increased by thirty years!

This was the first time Gu An had seen someone's maximum life span increase.

Was this the transformation brought by Path Enlightenment?

No wonder Han Ming claimed that after Path Enlightenment, one's Sword Dao advanced rapidly. It seemed even aptitude and comprehension improved.

Gu An was secretly astonished, growing more interested in Wu Jue.

In the wasteland, over a thousand Ephemera Sect cultivators gathered in front of an array platform, whispering among themselves. Their gazes frequently turned to the black rift on the array platform.

The black aura had disappeared, but a black space rift remained in the sky, reflecting a dark red sky, like the entrance to an exotic world.

Elder Chi Han sat in the front, frowning.

For some reason, he suddenly felt uneasy.

He tried to calm down and closed his eyes to cultivate.

The sun set, and the moon rose. A night passed.

In the early morning.

A sound of footsteps appeared on the array platform, startling Elder Chi Han to open his eyes. Not only him, but many cultivators instinctively opened their eyes to look.

“The Golden Spirit Venerable is dead. Summon all Ephemera Sect members to gather here.”

A cold voice resonated in everyone's ears. The speaker was a woman in black, her face masked, with an ephemera pattern on it.

Her words caused an uproar among the Ephemera Sect members.

They knew the Golden Spirit Venerable was the title of the man in a purple robe they had seen earlier. How could such a powerful figure have died within a few days?

Was the Supreme Sect truly so formidable?

Jiang Qiong in the crowd also frowned, shocked by the strength of the Supreme Sect.

Elder Chi Han's expression changed dramatically, but he did not hesitate. He stood up and issued orders to gather the Ephemera Sect.

At that moment, far away in the Supreme Sect, Lu Lingjun was equally astounded.

The news of Sword Venerable Fudao slaying the Ephemera Sect demon had spread throughout the sect, with disciples everywhere celebrating this feat. Inner Sect disciples even came to the Third Medicine Valley, loudly proclaiming this achievement, inspiring excitement among the valley's disciples, who resumed discussions about Sword Venerable Fudao's prowess.

Taking advantage of the situation, Gu An took his leave and flew to the Outer Gate City.

Upon entering the city, he moved quickly, turning corners until he reached a street.

There, he saw Wu Jue, who had enlightened, standing under an old tree, facing its trunk, lost in thought.

Gu An sensed he had awakened from Path Enlightenment and was probably organizing his thoughts.

[Wu Jue (Foundation Establishment Realm Second Layer): 63/280/540]

His maximum life span had increased from three hundred ten to five hundred forty years, nearly doubling!

Gu An was very curious about what Wu Jue had realized.

Thinking this, Gu An pretended to pass by, approached Wu Jue from behind, and asked with concern, “Brother, are you alright?”

Wu Jue turned around hastily, looking flustered, and waved, “Nothing, I was just deep in thought about a cultivation technique and got lost in it.”

He then offered an embarrassed smile, clasped his hands in salute to Gu An, and walked away.

Gu An watched his back but did not pursue, silently deciding to observe him more in the future.

A maximum life span of five hundred forty years was not enough to stand out in the Outer Gate, but he would see if Wu Jue continued to enlighten further.

Chapter end

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