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

The sky was high and the air was brisk, early autumn's breeze making one's mood cheerful.

Third Medicine Valley.

Gu An was picking medicinal herbs, while Lu Lingjun followed closely, carrying a bamboo basket to collect the bundled herbs he handed over.

"I see you not doing anything significant on normal days; why do I need to guard you?" Lu Lingjun said with a trace of resentment.

An Inner Sect Elder guarding an Outer Disciple?

If word got out, it would be a disgrace to the Inner Sect Elders of the Supreme Sect!

"I haven't troubled you much on normal days either. You enjoy the treatment of an Inner Sect Elder, and you even get to meditate under the Mystic Pure Tree. Many elders envy you," Gu An said nonchalantly, unable to keep a smile from curving his lips.

Now, the harvest was all sixth-grade medical herbs, each one bringing sixty to a hundred years of life span!

Gardening surely was more delightful!

Killing a Unification Realm Cultivator would give about the same life span, with much more grudge involved!

Hearing Gu An's words, Lu Lingjun found them logical, but still felt that her task was beneath her status, showing at least that Lv Baitian didn't respect her.

Lu Lingjun had already set a new goal in her heart.

That was to become the Sect Leader of the Supreme Sect!

Since Lv Baitian had tied her and Gu An together, she had to establish a better relationship with him.

Gu An had significant advantages, especially with the high-rank medical herbs in this Medicine Valley, which were enough to grant him substantial influence.

In the future, she would protect Gu An and use his medicinal herbs to draw people in, establishing a power group centered around them, and gradually plot their course.

Thinking this, a smile suddenly bloomed on Lu Lingjun's face, like a lively flower, which Gu An happened to witness causing him to shiver.

"What's with that expression, you aren't scheming against me, are you?" Gu An asked warily.

Lu Lingjun smiled and said, "How could I scheme against you? You are my Valley Master. Without your connections, how could I have the treatment I have today?"

"Cough cough, nowadays I don't even restrict your cultivation time under the tree anymore. The outcome is better now, isn't it? After all, the Supreme Sect's seventh-grade precious trees are few and far between," Gu An feigned a cough and said, then continued to bend down picking herbs.

"Yes, yes, you're right, I owe you a favor, and I'll repay it in the future."

"That's more like it."

Lu Lingjun no longer disturbed Gu An as he worked.

30 minutes later, the two returned.

Along the way, Lu Lingjun asked, "Valley Master, don't you want to improve your cultivation level? Making it onto the Golden List shows your qualifications aren't bad, it's just that you don't love to practice."

The higher Gu An's cultivation level, the more it would benefit her grand plans!

"Even if not bad, I'm definitely not a genius. My place on the List is thanks to magic artifacts. Stop persuading me. Even if I live for seven or eight hundred years with arduous practice, most of that time would be spent on cultivation. Why shouldn't I just enjoy life?

Not practicing is avoiding detours since my talents are not as incredible as yours," Gu An argued with conviction, not knowing why, but Lu Lingjun felt a bit of melancholy.

As an Ascender, throughout her journey, she indeed had seen too many who spent their lives without escaping their fate.

Countless people practiced arduously their entire lives and still died during Tribulation Crossing, were killed out of revenge, or succumbed to inner demons.

Even for her, upon reflection, has she had as many happy moments in her life as this person has?

At this moment, Gu An's image in Lu Lingjun's heart began to change.

Although Gu An's cultivation level was low, he possessed a kind of enlightenment and perspective on life that was hard for others to match.

Lu Lingjun hastened her step to keep up with Gu An and asked, "Valley Master, then do you think I should learn from you?"

"Learn from me? Ridiculous. Your realm has already demonstrated your talents; life is about striving. I lack the talents, so I strive for the richness of life; you have the talents, you should pursue the length of life," Gu An said offhandedly, certainly not letting anyone else emulate him, for he could harvest life spans, while others couldn't.

His argument was merely to conceal his real strength, not actually to guide others.

After hearing this, Lu Lingjun respected Gu An even more.

The two talked and made their way back to the loft area.

It was not until evening that Gu An arrived at the Mystic Heaven Cave Mansion.

A fortnight had passed since he swapped Divine Skills with Sage Xuan Miao.

Gu An planted the seven seventh-grade celestial treasures Sage Xuan Miao gave him inside the Mystic Heaven Cave Mansion; he wasn't worried about revealing the mansion since, if it were to be exposed, he could relocate it by shrinking the entire mountain with Great and Minor Ruyi and moving it elsewhere.

Because these seeds were of high grade, he made a trip here every other day, fearing they might grow incorrectly or clash with each other.

After checking everything and making sure there were no problems, Gu An smiled.

He spent all year reaping life spans, so running back and forth did not tire him but rather filled him with enthusiasm.

At his next breakthrough, he planned to establish another cave elsewhere, recruit people to manage the new cave, and he would take care of harvesting.

Those managing the cave should ideally be able to endure solitude.

But all that was for another time.

He approached the wooden house, brought out the Ziwei Array Chronicles and a pile of formation materials, and began trying to construct a formation.

The new cave would definitely need many sets of formations; he needed to prepare in advance.

Meanwhile.

Thousands of miles away, hidden in a Taoist temple within the forest.

Sage Xuan Miao sat in front of the Pill Furnace, cultivating the Nine Extremes Yin Yang Body, his hands continuously changing spells, faint dark green Demonic Qi emerging from his body, encircling him.

Knock, knock—

The door was gently tapped, and without opening his eyes, Sage Xuan Miao said, "Come in."

As the words fell, the door was pushed open, and a Fox Demon youth walked in.

He knelt in front of Sage Xuan Miao and said softly, "Master, I just had a nightmare."

"What nightmare?"

"I dreamt that the sky tore apart, countless demons and cultivators burst forth, wantonly slaughtering all the living beings on the ground. I also saw a massive and terrifying tree with a face growing on it..."

The fox demon youth replied, his voice trembling as he spoke, unsure whether due to fear or the chill wind blowing in from outside.

Sage Xuan Miao opened his eyes, the demonic qi around him dissipating. He took out a compass and began to cast spells for divination.

The fox demon youth watched him, deeply curious about the compass in his hand.

The compass burst into light, with tiny stars ascending. Sage Xuan Miao raised his other hand toward the forehead of the fox demon youth.

Instantly, the fox demon youth could not move. He widened his eyes, his gaze shifting upward.

Sage Xuan Miao's finger drew out strands of light from his forehead from a distance, then led them into the light star above the compass.

Boom—

A wave of energy burst forth from above the compass, followed by the light stars exploding, forming an illusion—the very nightmare the fox demon youth had.

In the illusion, the sky continuously ripped apart, with dark cracks spreading across the mountains and forests. Countless demons and black-robed cultivators emerged, sweeping through everything in the woods. Wherever they went, black mist spread, all things withered, and living beings turned to bones.

The terrifying scenes made Sage Xuan Miao frown.

After watching for a while, his expression drastically changed because he saw the North Sea!

The fox demon youth looked as well, equally afraid, not wanting to recall his own dream.

After a long time.

Sage Xuan Miao put away the compass, walked out of the Daoist temple, and into the courtyard. He took out a piece of yellow paper, quickly wrote several lines, folded it, and then burned it with his own spiritual fire.

The yellow paper turned to flying ashes, which shimmered with a faint light, quickly disappearing.

The fox demon youth asked from behind, "Master, what are you doing?"

"I'm sending a message to our sect."

"Is it the Three Pure Ones Mountain you often talk about?"

"Correct."

"Master, when can you take me to Three Pure Ones Mountain?"

"Practice diligently. Outer Disciples who wish to enter the Three Pure Ones Mountain must pass through numerous trials. Your cultivation level and character are not yet sufficient."

Sage Xuan Miao casually replied, gave the fox demon youth a word of caution, and then left the Daoist temple.

The moonlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, shining on the fox demon youth. He watched the direction in which Sage Xuan Miao departed, his innocent face slowly turning stern, his eyes flashing with a cold light.

"Mountain God, huh..."

...

Inside the Mystic Heaven Cave Mansion, Gu An set down the brush and talisman paper in his hand, his expression stern.

[The Underworld Fox Demon has developed hostility toward you, wary of your strength. Do you wish to perform Life Span Detection on it?]

Wary?

What degree of hostility does this entail?

Should I kill it?

Just thinking about the Underworld Fox Demon's maximum lifespan of 14,000 years made him uncomfortable.

Although demons generally have much longer lifespans than humans of the same realm, any who live up to ten thousand years are considered Great Demons.

Gu An looked up, his divine sense seeing Sage Xuan Miao approaching him.

Meet with Sage Xuan Miao first, then decide.

Thirty minutes later.

Sage Xuan Miao arrived in the woods and knelt on the ground, calling out loudly, "I have a matter that requires the presence of the Mountain God."

As his voice fell, the Mountain God appeared on a nearby tree branch without any warning, which secretly impressed Sage Xuan Miao with the vastness of the Mountain God's divine skills.

Before Gu An could speak, Sage Xuan Miao took out the compass and, while performing a spell, relayed the dream of his disciple.

Once the compass had recreated the dream, Sage Xuan Miao added, "There was the North Sea in the dream. This could be a calamity originating from the North Sea."

Gu An inwardly cursed.

Ephemera Sect again!

The tree in the dream was the Ephemera Tree. It seems the Ephemera Sect Main Lineage is preparing to launch a major assault on the Nine Dynasties.

Just how many Ephemera Trees are there?

Gu An felt an urge to completely obliterate the Ephemera Sect to prevent these folks from interfering with his farming.

But before that, Gu An planned to teach the Underworld Fox Demon a lesson.

"Your disciple is no ordinary person. Whether he is a curse or a blessing, it's hard to tell." Gu An said leisurely.

Upon hearing this, Sage Xuan Miao's face turned pale.

He seemed to recall something, and cold sweat began to bead on his forehead.

Gu An found this reaction quite strange.

Did my words have such a great impact?

Sage Xuan Miao remembered what his master had once told him, "Xuan Miao, in your life, you face nine tribulations, each a matter of life and death, arising from your interactions with the mortal world. They are inescapable, irremovable, only by breaking through can you achieve Nirvana."

He looked at Gu An again, his eyes filled with respect.

Truly a Mountain God, able to see through fate and causality.

Taking a deep breath, he slowly stood up and then bowed deeply to Gu An, saying, "Thank you for your guidance, Mountain God. I will be careful!"

Having said this, he turned and left.

Gu An tilted his head, his face under the theatrical mask full of confusion.