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

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Dustless Wastelands.

Dawn.

Because of the cloud cover above, the desolate plains were never graced by the sight of the sun or the moon.

Atop a ruined wall, dozens of cultivators were gathered, among them the Vice Sect Leader of the Supreme Sect, Ji Hantian. Looking towards the horizon, worry furrowed their brows.

"That demoness is truly too powerful. Without a Mystic Heart Realm cultivator, no matter how many of us join forces, it will be futile."

"Our dynasty does not possess any Mystic Heart Realm cultivators."

"Our sect does have one, but they've been gone for eight hundred years, and their whereabouts are hard to trace."

"How many Mystic Heart Realm Great Cultivators stand behind the Ephemera Sect?"

"We are out of options, there is no turning back!"

They were all rulers of various dynasties and sects, with each one's cultivation level reaching the Unification Realm. Before the upheaval caused by the Ephemera Sect, each was a legendary figure within the nine dynasties of the Immortal Cultivation World, capable of great deeds that could alter heaven and earth. Yet gathered here for many days, they were helpless and dared not act rashly.

Already, many Unification Realm cultivators had perished beneath the Ephemera Tree. Some acted alone, while others had launched an all-out assault, all returning defeated, their spirits shaken by the terror of the Mystic Heart Realm.

Ji Hantian suddenly raised his right hand, revealing a finger ring that burst forth with strands of flowing light that entered the space between his eyebrows.

His face revealed a look of surprise, and then he lowered his hand, and said, "Gentlemen, the Supreme Elder Xuan Quan of my Supreme Sect has returned and is on his way here. We will be able to launch an attack alongside him! Our Elder Xuan Quan has attained the Mystic Heart Realm!"

Upon these words, the cultivators of the various sects all turned their eyes towards him, similarly surprised.

For a moment, praises for the Supreme Sect echoed, prompting Ji Hantian to stand straighter.

Although the Supreme Sect was the strongest of the Taicang Dynasty, it was not necessarily in the top three of the nine dynasties. If the Supreme Sect could establish unparalleled merits in the face of the calamity brought by the Ephemera Sect, its fame would surely resonate throughout the world and attract many more families and cultivators to join in the future.

The mood atop the cliff took a turn for the better, as everyone saw hope in defeating the demoness of the Ephemera Sect.

Meanwhile.

Thousands of miles away.

The Ephemera Tree, hundreds of feet tall beneath roiling clouds, stood like a fearsome giant with its branches extended like claws touching the sky.

Vines hung from the branches, most with corpses tied to their ends; some of the bodies writhed slightly, eyes bloodshot, necks bulging with veins, a sight of utter misery.

Amidst the sea of people, Jiang Qiong looked at the hanging cultivators, her delicate eyebrows furrowed.

She reached for the blood-red Ephemera Seal on her wrist, and her heart filled with anxiety.

If things continued like this, she feared she would be either killed by the cultivators of the nine dynasties or devoured by the Ephemera Tree—waiting passively for death was not an option.

But what could she do?

The Ephemera Seal limited her freedom.

Jiang Qiong glanced at the middle-aged man beside her and sent him a telepathic message, "Father, do you still trust the Ephemera Sect?"

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Seated next to her, the man was her father, one of the Pavilion Masters of the Thousand-Autumn Pavilion, named Jiang Lang. Not only had he brought Jiang Qiong, but other disciples as well, to join the Ephemera Sect.

Jiang Lang's expression was dark, and he did not respond.

He was well aware that he had been deceived, but what could he do now?

The Ephemera Tree was decorated with numerous bodies of Unification and Void Crossing cultivators. With his capabilities, how could he possibly escape?

He turned to look in another direction. On the outskirts of the million strong followers of the Ephemera Sect, four cultivators were meditating. Their presence alone deterred any of the devout from acting recklessly.

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At the moment, the only people who could leave were those with close ties to the higher-ups of the Ephemera Sect or those deemed trustworthy.

Yet Jiang Lang belonged to neither category.

He was a man of Sect Hierarch Zhong Liang and should have enjoyed privileges, but with Zhong Liang's fall, his subordinates were scattered, treated like prisoners, barely trusted even though they were accepted.

Jiang Qiong, seeing her father's demeanor, knew she could not rely on him.

After all.

From the very beginning, the only person she could truly rely on was herself.

Jiang Qiong looked towards the Ephemera Tree once more, her gaze turning resolute.

She must not fall here!

No sooner had her thoughts settled than a ray of light shone upon her face, causing her eyes to widen.

Not just her—all present were illuminated.

Looking up, they saw the dark clouds above the Ephemera Tree parting, revealing a gaping hole nearly a thousand miles in diameter, with sunlight streaming through, interspersed with flecks of snow.

The woman in black seated on the Array Platform raised her head to see, her eyes behind the mask flashing fiercely.

It wasn't just her; the four Great Cultivators from the Ephemera Sect who were standing guard at the perimeter also looked upwards.

Under the sunlight, the Ephemera Tree began to tremble as if it disliked the sunlight.

"Who is this eminent personage, and why not show yourself?"

The woman in black stood up, her voice cold as she called out loudly, her voice echoing across the entire land.

A figure appeared out of nowhere in the sky above the Ephemera Tree—it was Gu An who had used the "Nine Extremes Yin Yang Body".

Gu An looked down upon everyone below, his eyes capturing the figure of Jiang Qiong.

From his high vantage point, the million followers of the Ephemera Sect looked like captives, relegated to sitting on the ground, while a few cultivators stood at the periphery, clearly tasked with guarding those who were seated.

To trust the Ephemera Sect and end up like this, truly a tragedy!

Gu An quickly cast several Life Span Detection spells.

One second layer Mystic Heart Realm, four ninth layer Unification Realms!

The Ephemera Tree beneath him possessed the same maximal life span as the previous tree he saw, and it was just over five hundred years old.

Growing so quickly, on how many bodies had it fed?

Gu An raised his right hand, within the palm a green sword shadow began to condense.

"Impudence!"

The woman in black let out an angry shout. In one stride, she reached Gu An's side, a blood-red sword appearing in her hand which she swung at him.

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This sword strike unfurled as if ten thousand evil ghosts pounced towards Gu An, and the entire firmament plunged into a momentary blood red light.

But it was merely a moment!

Boom!

The woman clad in black was sent flying backward, sweeping over the heads of a million sect followers, crashing through the ground's surface, her fate unknown.

Everyone witnessing the scene was deeply moved.

How could this be possible!

Everyone inwardly exclaimed in shock.

During this time, the woman in black had fully displayed her formidable strength, almost invincible under the heavens. No matter how strong or renowned a cultivator came attacking, they would be effortlessly suppressed by her.

How could such a mighty being appear so powerless before this person?

Gu An lifted his left hand, his index finger shooting out a beam of intense light, sweeping across the firmament and piercing through the rolling dust, striking the spot where the woman in black had fallen.

A prompt emerged before Gu An's eyes:

[You have successfully seized forty-seven years of life span from the Night Cultivator Fairy (Second Layer of Mystic Heart Realm)]

Not bad!

With another reach of Gu An's left hand, he remotely captured the Mystic Heart of the Night Cultivator Fairy.

The Mystic Heart dispersed the rolling dust and fell into his hand, only to be tossed into his storage bag.

Seeing the bad turn of events, the four Unification Realm Nine Layers Great Cultivators guarding the Ephemera Sect's million followers in all four directions immediately fled in different directions.

Gu An raised his hand and quickly tapped four times.

Breaking Path Divine Light!

Four beams of intense light, like shooting stars, fell, and while the eyes and Divine Senses of a million sect followers couldn't catch their trajectory, everyone felt the four people's prospects were grim.

All of a sudden, silence fell upon the world.

"There is actually such a person in the Thousand-Autumn Pavilion..." Jiang Lang murmured to himself, still in shock.

Jiang Qiong was equally frightened, secretly relieved that she hadn't caused trouble in the Thousand-Autumn Pavilion before.

One after another, four prompts sprang forth before Gu An. He released the green sword shadow in his right hand, the tip pointing directly at the Ephemera Tree.

Feeling the crisis, the Ephemera Tree trembled violently, its vines releasing corpses as they drifted upwards in unison.

In the watchful eyes of a million Ephemera Sect followers, a ferocious, twisted face emerged from the main trunk of the Ephemera Tree.

"What is that?"

"A demon tree... It really is a demon tree!"

"That face..."

"We've been deceived!"

"No... it can't be..."

A thunderous uproar rose among the million sect followers, not everyone was like Jiang Qiong. Many of them, having reached this point, still harbored illusions, or could only cling to illusions.

Rumbling—

The ground trembled, giant vines burst through the surface, lashing towards Gu An, scaring a million sect followers into frantic flight, some seizing the chance to flee the area.

Yet, there were those who desperately rushed into the Nine Nether Road, including Jiang Qiong.

The terrifying Sword Intent burst from the green sword shadow in Gu An's palm as if a Divine Weapon had descended from the heavens, arriving with a brilliant sword light.

"This Sword Intent... Sword Venerable Fudao..."

Jiang Qiong, while flying, looked up at Gu An's figure and thought to herself in fear.

So Sword Venerable Fudao was this powerful!

The green sword shadow, carrying the Sword Intent of the Taicang Divine-Shocking Sword, fell from above. As cultivators just got to their feet, nowhere near escaping the battlefield, the green sword shadow landed on the Ephemera Tree's crown.

This time, with an overwhelming Sword Intent, it forcefully suppressed the Ephemera Tree, turning it from top to bottom into ashes.

As the sword shadow hit the earth, the ground shattered, fissures spreading rapidly in all directions, looking from the sky like an expanding giant spider web.

Gu An watched Jiang Qiong flee into the Nine Nether Road; he did not stop her.

After today, even if Jiang Qiong stayed, it was doubtful she could find a foothold.

He sensed dozens of Unification Realm presences swiftly approaching from afar, and immediately vanished from the spot.

As for the million sect followers, Gu An had harbored the intent to kill, but he also feared that many, like Yang Ni and Li Ya, had been deceived or forced into the sect. The causal entanglements were too great; he dreaded killing the wrong person.

To kill wantonly, how would that differ from the Ephemera Sect?

He didn't wish to be labeled a great demon and later be besieged by the whole world.

Yet, even so, with that sword strike of his, many cultivators were still shaken to death.

That was not Gu An's concern.

Everyone must pay the price for their choices; he was already restraining the goodness in his heart by not killing them all.

A series of prompts crazily popped up before Gu An's eyes as his figure disappeared into thin air.

The earth continued to split open, the rolling dust rising, grand and vast.

Ji Hantian and others rushed from afar, the wind carrying the dust hitting their faces, and their Divine Senses had already previewed the scene where the Ephemera Tree was destroyed.

"Hahaha, our Supreme Sect's Sword Venerable Fudao has made his move!"

An impatient Ji Hantian laughed loudly, boasting about the might of Sword Venerable Fudao.

Another cultivator from the Supreme Sect?

The leaders of the sects were deeply stirred; that surge of Sword Intent had left them terrified, feeling that no matter how they cultivated in this life, they would never reach such heights.

After the destruction of the Ephemera Sect, they would need to reevaluate the depth of the Supreme Sect's foundations!