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 116
Chapter 116: Chapter 116 Kindred Spirits
On a snowy night, deep in the mountains.
Gu An squatted down, picked the last ephemeral flower from the snow, and threw it into his storage bag.
He only harvested one more year of lifespan, but he was not dissatisfied, because this month he had already harvested nearly five hundred thousand years of lifespan, pushing his total lifespan over a million years again.
It was so satisfying!
After tonight, there would be no more ephemeral flowers on the surface in the Taicang Dynasty.
In one month, he had picked over a million ephemeral flowers, half of which hadn't even reached a year old, having just sprouted.
If Gu An didn't pick them, the cultivators of the Taicang Dynasty would clear them, so he could only pick them whenever he saw them, gambling on his luck.
He couldn't ignore the safety of the world and forbid others from clearing the ephemeral flowers, and he also feared the Ephemera Sect.
He could slowly accumulate lifespan, but if the Ephemera Sect's plan succeeded and he had no power to resist, he would be ruined!
In the dim forest, Gu An stretched lazily and then walked towards the nearby city.
It was almost dawn, and he planned to stroll around the city.
Being cooped up in Medicine Valley all the time wasn't good; occasionally getting out to see the scenery and the sights of the exotic realms could help him gain insights.
Since he encountered Wu Jue's path enlightenment, Gu An had been pondering enlightenment.
He felt that enlightenment relied not only on opportunity but also on life experiences.
The sun gradually rose.
The city a hundred miles away began to stir with noise, signaling the start of a new day.
At noon, Gu An sat in the second-floor tavern, drinking wine. He sat by the window, watching the street below, where martial arts heroes were performing their skills.
Where there were people, there was the martial arts world. Even though everyone in the Taicang Dynasty knew about the existence of immortal cultivation, ninety percent of people couldn't cultivate, which led to the birth of the martial arts world. They stood apart from the immortal cultivation world, having their own excitement and grievances.
In the entire city, Gu An only sensed three other cultivators, and like him, they were pretending to be ordinary people.
The immortal cultivation world was facing the threat of the Ephemera Sect, with countless demons eyeing them greedily outside the Nine Dynasties, while the ordinary people lived unaffected.
Most of them only lived for a few decades, and by the time their lives ended, the great demon calamity might not have even arrived.
This was the difference between immortals and mortals.
Cultivators and mortals lived under different time rules.
As Gu An contemplated the difference between immortals and mortals, many emotions surged in his heart.
He wanted to see if he could enter a state of enlightenment through such reflections.
However, he sat there all day without entering the state of enlightenment, but he didn't feel it was a waste of time.
Sitting quietly sometimes, not speaking, and experiencing the countless facets of the mortal world had its own unique pleasure.
Dusk settled again, and the snow that had stopped for a day began to fall once more.
Gu An stood up, left some silver coins, and then departed.
He didn't leave the city directly but started to wander the streets, mingling with the crowds, letting the snow fall on him, immersing himself in the mortal world's hustle and bustle.
Only at dawn the next day did Gu An return to the valley.
When he reached the Third Medicine Valley, he saw disciples gathered together, chattering excitedly.
From a distance, he heard the disciples discussing the Supreme Elder.
A Supreme Elder had returned!
This news shook the entire Supreme Sect. The identity of the Supreme Elder, who had lived for fifteen hundred years with cultivation reaching the heavens, had been revealed.
At the moment, the Supreme Sect was facing the threat of the Ephemera Sect, and the return of the Supreme Elder had greatly boosted the sect's morale.
The righteous sect of the world regained its domineering aura!
This Supreme Elder's title was Mystic Spring, also known as Xuan Quan.
Gu An guessed that he had returned because the Supreme Sect informed him that Ancestor Xuan Tian had been killed by the Ephemera Sect.
After listening for a while, Gu An continued to pick medicinal herbs.
As he picked the herbs, he was still contemplating the insights from the past two days.
Although he hadn't entered a state of enlightenment, his Mystic Heart had gained another talisman.
The Mystic Heart could gather divine skills, and Gu An, at the Mahayana Realm Nine Layers, had a divine skill brewing. Condensing divine skills depended not on cultivation level but on insights.
He already had an idea, and as he continued to perfect it, the divine skill would naturally form.
Three days later.
Gu An arrived at the Outer Sect's Book Collection Hall, where Elder Liu often personally received him as always.
After not seeing him for several months, Gu An noticed that he had aged significantly, his complexion also declining.
[Elder Liu (Foundation Establishment Realm Ninth Layer): 258/270/340]
Looking at the other's lifespan, Gu An sighed internally.
Elder Liu's cultivation level was obviously elevated by elixirs, so his lifespan was shorter than those of the same realm.
Having known each other for many years, their relationship had become profound, beyond the bounds of age; Gu An couldn't help but feel melancholic about his old friend's impending departure.
However, he had long been prepared for this.
He would eventually say goodbye to everyone around him. The path to longevity was destined to be lonely.
Even if he found a way to extend the limit of lifespan in the future, it would just be an improvement. Making people immortal was incredibly difficult, and Gu An couldn't transfer his lifespan to others.
This anticipated loneliness didn't sadden Gu An; instead, it made him more resolute.
The more so, the more he wanted to live on!
He wanted to see the mortal world after ten thousand years, the splendors of ten million years, and the vicissitudes of hundreds of millions of years.
“Elder Liu, this is the last volume of the 'Supreme Immortal Venerable'.” Gu An took a book out of his storage bag and smiled.
Elder Liu took the book and curiously asked: “I thought you would wait a few more years. How did it come out so soon?”
“The story needed to end, and coincidentally, it concludes with the protagonist joining forces with the people of the world to slay the demon and bring peace. Doesn't this align perfectly with the current world situation?” Gu An smiled.
He paused for a moment and then said: “Although my qualifications are mediocre and I lack the strength to change the world, if I can inspire the people's fighting spirit, it will be a small contribution.”
Elder Liu did not open the book but praised: “Your books have already influenced many people. Before you, cultivators rarely read outside their practice. The name Pan An has taken on the aura of a sage.”
“Elder Liu, you're exaggerating.”
“Hahaha, what are you writing next?”
“I don't plan to write anything for now. I will see what the future holds.”
“Indeed, a masterpiece often comes about by chance and cannot be forced.”
The two chatted casually, with Elder Liu reminiscing about their first meeting. Gu An listened intently and responded just as earnestly.
After talking for two ancient hours, Elder Liu suddenly said: “Once the final volume of 'Supreme Immortal Venerable' is arranged, I will resign from the elder position and prepare to leave the Supreme Sect to revisit my hometown.”
“It has been two hundred and forty years since I joined the sect. I wonder if my hometown has changed.”
He already sensed his imminent end.
People often wish to return to their roots before they die.
Gu An couldn't help but think of Cheng Xuandan, who also left alone before his end.
“I wish Elder Liu a smooth journey.” Gu An smiled gently as if unaware of Elder Liu's impending end.
After bidding farewell to Elder Liu, Gu An went to the Elixir Hall.
He did not enter the hall but stood in the street, looking at its sign.
Because of Elder Liu, he thought of Zhu Qinglu.
Zhu Qinglu, an elder of the Elixir Hall, was also responsible for liaising with Gu An. He, too, did not have many years left to live.
This indicated that in the coming years, Gu An would continuously say goodbye to old friends.
In this place, Gu An entered a state of selflessness.
He didn't know how much time had passed.
Suddenly, Gu An awoke, his vision returning, seeing a disciple standing in front of him.
It was none other than Wu Jue, who had previously achieved path enlightenment.
“Brother, are you alright?” Wu Jue asked cautiously.
He had passed by and was drawn by Gu An's state, suspecting that Gu An had entered a state of enlightenment similar to his own. As he got closer, he realized it was the disciple he had encountered the day his own enlightenment ended.
Fate was indeed wondrous.
That day, this disciple witnessed his enlightenment. Today, he witnessed the disciple's enlightenment.
Wu Jue developed a fondness for Gu An and had been guarding nearby to avoid interruption. He had stood for quite a while. When Gu An suddenly opened his eyes, he thought he might have disturbed him and felt a bit uneasy.
Gu An had indeed entered a state of enlightenment earlier, and his Mystic Heart had gained another talisman. He looked at Wu Jue and smiled: “I'm fine. Have we met before?”
Wu Jue smiled and said: “Yes, back then I was under the tree, and you asked if I was alright, just like how I am asking you now.”
Gu An cast a Life Span Detection on him.
[Wu Jue (Foundation Establishment Realm Second Layer): 63/280/1040]
How did he gain another five hundred years?
Had this guy recently achieved enlightenment again?
Who was this person really?
This was ridiculously extraordinary!
Han Ming had only achieved enlightenment once in his life, yet Wu Jue had done it twice in two months?
“You must have entered a state of enlightenment just now. Shall we find a place to talk?” Wu Jue invited him eagerly.
Gu An didn't refuse, as it suited him well.
Then, he followed Wu Jue to his private courtyard. After closing the door, they sat down to converse.
Wu Jue became quite enthusiastic, actively sharing his experiences.
He had been an orphan since childhood, brought to the Supreme Sect by his master. His master, an Outer Disciple, found him hanging on a tree while on a mission. His parents had abandoned him but didn't want him to be eaten by wild beasts, so they hung him on the tree.
In the Supreme Sect, Wu Jue's spirit root qualification was mediocre, but under his master's protection, he had a good life. It wasn't until recently that his master was killed by a cultivator of the Ephemera Sect on a mission, news he got from his master's companion. He felt as if the sky had fallen.
The very next day, the Ephemera Sect attacked. Watching the cultivators fight, Wu Jue was perplexed, not understanding why people had to fight to the death. In his confused state, he achieved enlightenment.
After sharing his story, he looked at Gu An and asked: “Brother Gu, what led to your enlightenment?”
Gu An replied: “My enlightenment was also related to life and death. An old friend I've known for decades is approaching his end.”
He spoke calmly, but Wu Jue sensed that he must have been deeply saddened. However, the reason for Gu An's enlightenment made Wu Jue feel a deeper connection with him.
“Brother Gu, don't share your enlightenment experience with others. After my enlightenment, I found that my energy absorption speed increased, and even my comprehension improved. My master always taught me to be humble and keep things to myself,” Wu Jue said earnestly.
Gu An nodded, smiling inwardly. It seemed Wu Jue's master was someone with similar beliefs.
But he thought Wu Jue's enlightenment wasn't simply due to sudden clarity. Enlightening twice because of his master's death?
It didn't make sense!
Chapter end
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