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

Chan Ji ignored Li Ya, fixating her gaze on Li Xuanyu as she taunted with a bewitching smile, "Li Xuanyu, aren't you the Girl of Heavenly Pride? Why do you look so disheveled? It seems you and your brother are no match for us."

Xu Ruye stepped forward, moving towards Li Ya.

Li Xuanyu suddenly threw her sword, which midway split into four shadows, all converging on Xu Ruye.

Xu Ruye reacted swiftly, waving his right hand as a purple aura burst out like flames, forcibly blocking Li Xuanyu's sword.

Chan Ji appeared behind Li Xuanyu like a ghost, brandishing a red fan and forcefully fanning it to release rolling clouds of red poison mist, compelling Li Xuanyu to leap away.

The red poison mist spread rapidly through the forest, and within it, a massive python moved swiftly, causing the red mist to rise wherever it passed, quickly enveloping Li Ya and Li Xuanyu in a matter of moments.

Li Xuanyu landed next to Li Ya, scanning the surroundings, unable to see Chan Ji's figure while Xu Ruye hovered above the forest, looking down at them.

"On Supreme Sect's territory, do you dare harbor murderous intentions?" Li Ya asked gravely.

Xu Ruye's lips curled upwards as he mockingly said, "I've heard that since the current Sect Leader assumed leadership, the Supreme Sect's control over the borderlands has weakened continuously. It seems the intention was for the disciples in the borderlands to resolve conflicts themselves.

The eight Outer City forts are like a wall, within which lies reputable sects, but outside, it's survival of the fittest, no different from the Demon Path."

"Up till now, no one has come to intervene, it seems beyond the Outer Sect, Supreme Sect hasn't deployed anyone on guard. Today, if I kill you and capture your sister, it wouldn't matter if we don't attend the Global Outer Sect Conference, what do you think?"

"And those from Medicine Valley too, I'll kill them all. Having Princess Li come out to protect them must mean they share a close bond with you."

Xu Ruye seemed to recall something, licking his lips.

"Buy me some time," Li Xuanyu whispered softly, and then she sat down cross-legged, her hands moving quickly in a spell-casting motion as a faint golden flame emerged at her brow.

Li Ya's expression tensed; he suddenly crouched before leaping up, his sword raised above him. Like sword qi erupting from the ground, his powerful force caused the surrounding forest in a radius of dozens of meters to shake violently, stirring the rolling red mist in a grand spectacle under the dusk sky.

Xu Ruye scoffed dismissively and quickly pulled a purple banner embroidered with a ferocious evil ghost from his storage bag, as if it could burst forth at any moment.

He flipped his left hand downward as a surge of Spiritual Power erupted, forming a massive palm imprint that smashed down, forcefully suppressing Li Ya's sword qi.

Li Ya frowned, his Spiritual Power far inferior to Xu Ruye's, incapable of contending with it.

Under his gaze, Xu Ruye's purple banner exuded a purple whirlwind that muddled his Divine Soul.

This isn't good!

Li Ya's face paled, a strong dizziness sweeping over him, the most terrifying part being his body unable to fall.

"He wants to capture your soul, truly reckless and audacious!"

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The voice of the Martial Master resonated in Li Ya's mind, the tone alarmed and angry.

Hearing this, Li Ya grew even more panicked.

"Let me taste the flavor of a Taicang imperial lineage soul!" Xu Ruye said with a gruesome smile, his eyes filled with greed.

Whoosh——

A sharp sound of cutting through the air came from afar, causing Li Ya, who was paralyzed in mid-air, to instinctively glance over, as Li Xuanyu who was meditating and cultivating energy also couldn't help but look up.

A leaf carried along an intense sword qi, slicing through the sky at a breathtaking speed, heading straight for Xu Ruye.

Xu Ruye's gaze flickered unintentionally, but the leaf was so fast he could hardly react.

Bang!

His head burst open, blood mist drifting, enveloping the forest with red fog that was swept away by a strong wind, tumbling Li Ya to the ground. Li Xuanyu, exerting her own Spiritual Power to withstand the strong wind, was still forced to hurriedly get up.

"Mr. Xu!"

Amidst the fierce wind, Chan Ji screamed out, just about to leap up when another whooshing sound came, forcing her to turn her head. The terrifying strong wind pressing down on the red poison mist swept over her body, her robes forcefully pulled back, outlining her perfect body curves.

Reflected in her eyes was a falling leaf.

Bang!

The leaf penetrated her skull, blood splattered painting the forest, and the leaf continued its relentless path, cutting down several trees, stirring up clouds of dust, eventually piercing into the trunk of a large tree.

Thump! Thump!

The body of Xu Ruye hit the ground, followed by Chan Ji's body falling. Soon after, only the sound of the wind remained in the forest.

Li Ya propped himself up, sitting on the ground with disheveled black hair, completely dumbstruck.

Not far away, Li Xuanyu was similarly scared, looking at the corpses of Xu Ruye and Chan Ji, she found herself in a daze.

"A leaf slays the enemy, such a domineering sword qi. This person must be at least of Nascent Soul Realm and highly skilled in the Sword Dao!" the Martial Master's voice echoed in Li Ya's mind.

Startled awake, Li Ya quickly stood, clasping his fist and shouting, "May I know which senior has lent their hand?"

Hearing this, Li Xuanyu also stood, looking around.

Unfortunately, no one responded to them.

"Boy, go check there!" the Martial Master's voice rang out again, urging Li Ya to walk in a certain direction.

Li Ya immediately went, trembling and in pain, severely affected by the soul capturing.

Li Xuanyu went to check the bodies of Xu Ruye and Chan Ji, stabbing them twice with her sword, using sword qi to pulverize their hearts.

Li Ya walked about two hundred paces before stopping in front of a tree, his gaze falling on the trunk, causing his face to suddenly change.

"How could this be…"

Li Ya said, trembling, following his gaze to a tree leaf stuck in the trunk, swirling with a thread of sword qi, the whole trunk already split as if it might explode at any moment.

"This person made their move from ten miles away. I could only capture the direction, unable to detect their presence."

The elder's voice was filled with emotion, and he followed up with admiration, "It seems the Supreme Sect isn't so bad after all, with a Great Cultivator watching over the surroundings."

Li Ya looked at the leaf, struggling to calm his emotions.

At that moment, Li Xuanyu approached from behind him, and she, too, was stunned when she saw the leaf.

...

Night fell, and in Mystic Valley, the Valley Master's pavilion was brightly lit and decorated, Gu An and the disciples seated around a large round table, clinking cups and exchanging drinks, the atmosphere merry.

Xiaochuan and Tang Yu were competing in a drinking contest, Xiaochuan, already flush-faced, refused to admit defeat despite others' attempts to dissuade him, and continued drinking.

The drink they were enjoying was not ordinary liquor but Spiritual Wine specially bought by Gu An from the Outer Sect, a jar valued at two Low-Grade Spirit Stones, equivalent to two months' salary of a Servant Disciple.

"Today we encountered two Demon Cultivators; there won't be more coming after, will there?" Su Han suddenly asked, and with these words, the atmosphere at the table chilled.

Smiles faded, and worry set in among everyone.

Gu An reassuringly smiled and said, "Don't worry, there are Outer Disciples patrolling. Didn't you see them today? Maybe after this incident, the patrolling intensity will be increased."

He wasn't worried himself because he was immersed in joy.

Killing Xu Ruye and Chan Ji, he had successfully seized a hundred and twelve years of life span.

He was contemplating the pattern of the life spans he had seized, only able to discern that the years taken depended on the remaining life span of the target, ranging between half to two percent, and specifics were random.

Though the life span seized from cultivators was higher, Gu An did not look forward to encountering such situations again.

Too many enemies killed would eventually bring trouble, better to stack up life span securely through medicinal herbs.

There are always others out there, and even if one grows strong through killing others, encountering a far stronger opponent would still result in death.

He could not determine how high the strongest cultivation in the Mortal World could be.

Yet he felt that if he could just survive for thousands of years, he might truly become unbeatable in the Mortal World.

Upon hearing Gu An's words, everyone felt reassured, and the mood became merry again.

Gu An didn't dwell on his own matters, beginning to chat with his junior brothers and sisters, asking about their upcoming cultivation goals. The atmosphere continued to rise, and even he began to drink.

The first Spring Festival in Mystic Valley was a great success.

Until late into the night, everyone dispersed.

Gu An then went to the Eight Scenic Caves.

Jiang Qiong was cultivating under a Green Vine Tree, surrounded by Demonic Qi, appearing rather eerie.

Gu An, carrying a meal, approached her and said, "Martial Master, today is Mystic Valley's Spring Festival, this meal was prepared by my junior sister. Would you like to try it? Hope it helps you restore your power soon."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Qiong opened her eyes, her confusion evident as she asked, "Spring Festival? What is that?"

Gu An recited the prepared explanation, claiming he heard it from an elder.

"Hmm, setting a festival is indeed a good idea, it unifies people," Jiang Qiong nodded in approval, then looked at the basket of wood boxes in Gu An's hand.

Gu An promptly set the basket down, taking out dishes one by one, along with a small jar of wine.

Spying this, Jiang Qiong's eyes lit up, and she said thoughtfully, "Since it's your kind intention, I must not refuse."

She directly grabbed a bowl of food and began shoveling it into her mouth, gobbling it down.

Gu An hurriedly poured the wine for her and asked curiously, "Martial Master, there's something I've been unclear about."

"You say…" Jiang Qiong mumbled unclearly, then took the bowl of wine, drinking it in one gulp, with moisture, either oil or wine, around her mouth.

"Why does Thousand-Autumn Pavilion place spies outside the Outer Sect? It feels like nothing significant can be gleaned about Mystic Valley," Gu An asked.

Jiang Qiong gave him a glance, saying irritably, "Who asked you to gather intelligence? Your role is to guard and wait until the Green Vine Tree fully matures, then this place will become a base for the Thousand-Autumn Pavilion. Others will handle intelligence gathering."

Hearing this, Gu An became even more uneasy.

What?

To become a base?

Gu An frowned and asked, "Is Mystic Valley the only possible base?"

"Of course not, besides Mystic Valley, there are at least five other Medicinal Valleys under the control of spies from the Thousand-Autumn Pavilion. They are unaware of each other's identities, but they reached the position of a True Disciple a hundred years ago, and today, they might already be of Elder-level," Jiang Qiong casually responded.

Gu An fell silent.

Had the Supreme Sect already become so permeable?

Jiang Qiong put down her cleaned plate, picking up a large drumstick and chuckled, "The taste isn't bad. Although I have long practiced fasting, satisfying my cravings occasionally is also nice. As a reward, later I'll teach you a secret technique from the Thousand-Autumn Pavilion."