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

Ancestor Kusong is dead?

Gu An felt somewhat dazed upon hearing the words from Gu Zong.

Although he was not a close friend to Ancestor Kusong, their conversations during visits to the Book Collection Hall in the Inner Sect were always enjoyable.

Learning of the fall of Ancestor Kusong, he felt an indescribable sensation.

"The Supreme Elder has fallen; I remember that Ancestor Kusong was at the Mystic Heart Realm, wasn't he?" Zhen Qin frowned as she spoke.

Originally, when the Ephemera Sect attacked, Ancestor Kusong's great battle with Venerable Chi Qian had spread his Daoist title throughout the Supreme Sect, elevating his prestige to only second to Sword Venerable Fudao.

Even Zhen Qin, who had never interacted with Ancestor Kusong, felt saddened by the news of his demise.

Gu An looked up at the sky, where he saw dark clouds indicating that a storm was about to come.

The fall of Ancestor Kusong shocked the entire Supreme Sect, and the news quickly spread throughout the Immortal Cultivation World.

Three days later, as expected, Gu An arrived at the Inner Sect City to participate in the mourning of Ancestor Kusong; hundreds of thousands of disciples silently grieved, listening to the Elders narrate Ancestor Kusong's life achievements, even the newly entered disciples of the Supreme Sect felt deep sorrow.

After recounting the life of Ancestor Kusong, for the first time, the Supreme Sect publicly announced a grand calamity with demons set to erupt decades later, causing an uproar across various cities.

In the days that followed, each sect of the Taicang Dynasty also declared the news, once again disrupting the peace in the Immortal Cultivation World as all cultivators felt a sense of crisis.

A Mystic Heart Realm Cultivator had already fallen; this calamity would be even more terrifying than the previous turmoil caused by the Ephemera Sect.

Autumn passed and winter arrived.

Winter snow gradually covered Mystic Valley.

That day, Gu An arrived early at the attic in Mystic Valley, waiting, as he sensed a familiar aura approaching.

At midnight, a silhouette appeared in front of Gu An's window.

Gu An went to open the window and let the newcomer inside.

The visitor was a white-robed woman wearing a bamboo hat. After entering, she removed her bamboo hat and turned to look at Gu An, who was setting up restrictions, and smiled, "Dear disciple, have you missed me?"

After setting the restrictions, Gu An turned and approached her, curiously asking, "Where have you been all these years? Are you well?"

He threw a Life Span Detection at Jiang Qiong.

[Jiang Qiong (Nascent Soul Realm Level 6): 243/700/5490]

Hmm?

A maximum life span of five thousand four hundred and ninety years!

Gu An remembered Jiang Qiong's previous maximum lifespan was only around two thousand four hundred years.

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It appeared she had a great opportunity on the Nine Nether Road!

Jiang Qiong laughed, "I went to a mysterious place and gained a great opportunity. What kind of person do you think your Martial Master is? Could I possibly not fare well?"

Noticing Gu An's concerned expression, Jiang Qiong felt warmth in her heart.

There were still people in this world who cared for her.

Gu An let Jiang Qiong sit while he started to make tea.

"Disciple, how have you been these years?" Jiang Qiong asked, her gaze wandering over the furnishings in the room.

With his back to her, Gu An responded, "As usual, planting flowers, reading books. Oh, and during the previous Golden List conference, I made it into the top five hundred thanks to a Magic Artifact bestowed upon me by a senior..."

Talking about the Golden List conference, he felt quite proud, purposely boasting to Jiang Qiong.

If it had been earlier, Jiang Qiong might have been surprised, but after experiencing the turmoil of the Ephemera Sect and venturing the Nine Nether Road, her views had drastically changed.

Faced with Gu An's boasting, she only felt amused and very reassured.

Seeing that the young man was doing well made her happy too.

After Gu An finished speaking, he brought the hot tea to the table. Sitting down, he began pouring tea while asking, "What about you, can you share a bit about your experiences?"

Jiang Qiong, smiling, said, "I offended some powerful figures and had to hide in the Eight Scenic Caves for a while. Are you sure you want to know?"

Upon hearing this, Gu An immediately shook his head, saying, "Then let's not talk about it. As for hiding, go ahead. I certainly won't betray you."

Jiang Qiong had taught him a lot in the past, and since the Eight Scenic Caves belonged to her, harboring her was unquestionably the right choice.

What was most important was that Gu An already knew who was pursuing Jiang Qiong.

Before visiting the Ancient Sky Sect, Gu An had discovered Jiang Qiong's whereabouts through a Divine Sense investigation. He had accepted the Sect Hierarch token from the Ephemera Sect with the intent to give it to Jiang Qiong.

Jiang Qiong indeed had great ambitions!

The ones chasing Jiang Qiong were two Void Crossing Realm Cultivators who had lost track of her and were currently wandering in the nearby Great Yu Dynasty.

Reacting to Gu An's words, Jiang Qiong smiled and raised her hand, drawing out a white jade bottle, "The spirit juice inside this is beneficial; take a sip each month, no more, to avoid disrupting your Qi-Blood. This spirit juice will enhance your intrinsic qualities."

"How could I accept this? You should save it for yourself."

"I've already consumed a lot; this is what's left. It no longer benefits me, so keep it, and don't refuse!"

With a stern face, Jiang Qiong spoke, and Gu An, hearing her, had no choice but to accept.

After talking for an hour, they moved to the Eight Scenic Caves.

Gu An shared that the Green Vine Tree had developed spiritual intelligence. Jiang Qiong was unimpressed, stating that the Green Vine Trees of Thousand-Autumn Pavilion also possessed spiritual intelligence.

Earlier in the attic, Gu An had communicated to the Green Vine Tree, cautioning which matters it could discuss and which it could not.

Returning to the Eight Scenic Caves once more, Jiang Qiong could sense that the spiritual energy here was even richer than before, which pleased her greatly about Gu An.

"Disciple, the Thousand-Autumn Pavilion is disbanded, and my relatives have perished. From now on, I will have to rely on you; you won't mind, will you?" Jiang Qiong rested her hand on Gu An's shoulder and asked with a smile.

Gu An took half a step to the side and said, "How could I despise that, I still want to learn formations from you."

Afterward, he arrived beneath the Green Vine Tree, dug up the Divine Power Collection of the Ji Family, and handed it to Jiang Qiong.

This was something Jiang Qiong had snatched from the Ji Family's banquet years ago, which recorded the Heaven and Earth Path Gang Divine Skills.

Gu An had already mastered the Heaven and Earth Path Gang and had even advanced it to Daoist Gang Primal Energy. Now, even if he was careless, it was very hard for an enemy of the same realm to kill him in an instant, as the Daoist Gang Primal Energy could autonomously protect him.

Looking at the Divine Power Collection in her hand, Jiang Qiong's eyes reflected complex emotions, and for some reason, her mood was somewhat mixed.

Seeing her expression, Gu An silently cursed his luck.

She couldn't be touched, could she?

He immediately found an excuse to leave.

Jiang Qiong watched his retreating figure and thought, "This young man is really foolish, not even bothering to study it at all."

She could feel that the restrictions within the Divine Power Collection were still intact and hadn't been broken, so she assumed Gu An hadn't tampered with it.

So foolish, he was bound to encounter trouble sooner or later.

I have to teach him a lesson!

...

Jiang Qiong's return didn't change Gu An's life. Every seven days, he descended into the Eight Scenic Caves, and he had prepared various herbs in advance for her, asking her not to pick any herbs, leaving the task to him.

Jiang Qiong already knew his quirks, so upon returning to the Eight Scenic Caves, she didn't interfere since Gu An had prepared the herbs, why should she make a move?

Due to the death of Ancestor Kusong, the atmosphere at the Supreme Sect this winter was colder than in previous years.

At the end of the year, a major event occurred—the Hanlu Dynasty had surrendered, and thus the Taicang Dynasty had annexed the Hanlu Dynasty, breaking the established dynamics of the nine dynasties for a millennium.

Li Xuandao's prestige soared, and even the Outer Sect of the Supreme Sect discussed him.

If he could truly unify the land under heaven, his name would surely be immortalized in history!

In the Outer Sect, Gu An heard that Li Xuandao had already started sending troops to the Wuzhen Dynasty. This time, there were no complaints from the common people; instead, they praised Li Xuandao.

It was said that the distant Tianwei Dynasty was also waging war, with the current emperor possessing an ambition no less than that of Li Xuandao.

It's worth mentioning that the downfall of Ancestor Xingyan had not spread, and Tianwei didn't question the Supreme Sect over Si Zong's death, clearly indicating they intended to swallow the loss without objection.

These matters were irrelevant to Gu An; he treated them as mere entertainment.

With the new year, Ye Lan and Zhen Qin came to celebrate with Gu An.

Gu An divided the Spirit Juice given by Jiang Qiong into three parts, giving them separately to Ye Lan, Zhen Qin, and Xiaochuan, instructing them to not reveal it to anyone.

Just after the Spring Festival, the Supreme Sect began recruiting disciples to scout the Demon Lands.

Facing an inevitable crisis, the Supreme Sect didn't want to sit idly by, thus attracting disciples with generous rewards to explore the area.

Disciples who were nearing the end of their potential or those encountering difficulties in their cultivation eagerly registered. Gu An advised Ye Lan and Zhen Qin not to participate, and fortunately, both women heeded his advice.

In the following years, news about demons continuously flowed into the Supreme Sect.

Demons were increasing across all Nine Dynasties, clearly a prelude to the coming calamity of demons.

Time flew, fleeting as a white steed flashes past a crack.

Two years later, during late autumn.

Under the cover of night, within a mountain forest, Di Xie was walking.

He stopped, and from the darkness ahead, a flock of black crows flew out. The crows swept past Di Xie and landed on a large tree behind him, coalescing into a shadowy figure, dark and eerie, its true features hidden.

"The Emperor is looking for you. Aren't you going back yet?" the mysterious figure spoke.

Di Xie retorted, "Go back for what? Isn't it just a matter of time before we move south again?"

His tone was filled with sarcasm.

"Why are you so resistant to the Emperor's plan?" the mysterious figure asked sternly.

Di Xie mocked, "Isn't this world large enough? Even in the Demon Lands, there are countless peaks that he doesn't control, so why must he exterminate the human race?"

The mysterious figure snorted, "The Demon Clan and the Human Race are irreconcilable. Only by wiping out the human race can we ensure our safety."

"But there are still humans overseas. How long will the extermination last? I think he is bewitched by the Demon Master!"

"Don't speak ill of the great Demon Master!"

"Regardless, I don't care. I'm not going back. I want to cultivate at the Supreme Sect. Don't come looking for me anymore. If Sword Venerable Fudao catches you, even if you die, I won't intervene!"

Having said this, Di Xie flung his sleeves and left.

The mysterious figure spoke coldly, "Sword Venerable Fudao? Ancestor Kusong of the Supreme Sect also died by my hand. If I encounter Sword Venerable Fudao, I will ensure he meets the same fate as Ancestor Kusong, boiled into broth!"

Di Xie did not look back, disappearing into the darkness.

The mysterious figure scoffed coldly and transformed into a flock of black crows, flying out of the forest and heading north.

The flock of black crows flew swiftly and soon left the Taicang Dynasty.

An hour later, the crows flew over the North Sea Mountain and arrived in the forests of the Taichen Dynasty.

The crows flew down to a small river, landing nearby, and once again coalesced into a figure. This time, it revealed its true form: a crow-headed humanoid draped in black feathers, with folded wings on its back. It crouched down, dipping its hands into the river water.

The night air was cool, and the river's surface shimmered.

Snap!

A hand suddenly pressed on its shoulder, causing its face to stiffen.