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

[You have successfully acquired 9,670 years of life span from the Dark Soul Ancestor (Divine Immortal of Wondrous Dharma Realm, third level)]

Looking at the prompt before him, Gu An remained indifferent. If it were not for the other party charging at him directly, he would not have bothered to kill him.

The reason he did not perform the Soul Search was because the space within the stone pillar still concealed other Heavenly Demons!

Gu An casually responded, "It's just a demon soul. Its realm, high or low, doesn't matter."

Doesn't matter?

Zhu Xinglan opened his mouth but didn't know what to say.

Gu An's Divine Thought locked onto the space inside the stone pillar, where, within that pitch-black space, there existed yet another aura of a Heavenly Demon that was even more terrifying.

His Divine Thought captured the location of that Heavenly Demon.

It turned out to be a demon egg!

The demon egg, formed from Demonic Qi and about a zhang tall, emitted a faint glow, like the weak starlight in the dark universe.

Gu An's Divine Thought penetrated the demon egg and saw a Demon Infant.

He saw the Demon Infant entwined with heavy and complex karma, even making him feel uneasy, his intuition telling him that eradicating the Demon Infant would bring greater trouble.

He withdrew his Divine Thought and also stopped his actions, restoring the Restriction on the stone pillar.

He turned and said to Zhu Xinglan, "From now on, no one must enter this place, and you must not disturb this stone pillar. There is a fearsome Heavenly Demon inside, difficult to handle, and it has yet to awaken."

Hearing this, Zhu Xinglan immediately became nervous and muttered, "Heavenly Demon... Sure enough, the previous problem has not been completely resolved."

Gu An couldn't help but ask, "Did the previous internal upheaval on Dingtian Peak have to do with the Heavenly Demon?"

"That's right, that terrible evil demon was a Heavenly Demon. It's said that the former Peak Master was transformed by the Heavenly Demon. The Sect feared that spreading the word would stir up greater turmoil, so they concealed the fact…" Zhu Xinglan nodded, his face full of worry.

The greater turmoil he referred to was the Holy Court, which has the deepest apprehension for Heavenly Demons.

Gu An suddenly thought of You Yingying and Shen Xinzi. Could there be other Heavenly Demon reincarnations in the world?

He felt it was very likely.

He sensed he had triggered an extraordinary side plot.

He did not want to get involved, so he prepared to seal this place, especially since the Demon Fetus was still in slumber.

"As such, it's even more crucial not to speak of this, understood?" Gu An cautioned.

As for informing the Holy Court, he had considered it, but the matter of him casually killing a Divine Immortal of Wondrous Dharma could likely be exposed due to that, and Mortal World Peak does not trust the Holy Court either, otherwise they would not have concealed the matter of the Heavenly Demon.

After all, he came here to plant herbs; the well-being of Mortal World Peak has nothing to do with him.

Of course, when he becomes strong enough to ignore the karma of the Demon Fetus, he could then erase the being, giving himself greater peace of mind.

Zhu Xinglan nodded, but the deep furrows in his brow did not smooth out.

The Blood Prison Great Saint looked thoughtfully at the stone pillar.

Afterward, they left the cave, Zhu Xinglan began to seal the entrance and Gu An rode the Blood Prison Great Saint back to the mountaintop.

The Blood Prison Great Saint had many questions he wanted to ask, but he was afraid of being overheard by the Great Cultivator, so he had to swallow his words.

In the following time, Gu An began picking medicinal herbs at Mortal World Peak. Zhu Xinglan had already set up a large Medicine Garden, which was guarded by disciples on regular days.

When Gu An personally came to pick herbs, the disciples were initially taken aback by the honor but later got used to it. Of course, no matter how approachable Gu An seemed to be, they always remained reserved.

After half a day's stay on Dingtian Peak, Gu An left with several hundreds of thousands of years of life span.

He came to pick herbs once a month, and the life span income from Dingtian Peak last year had already broken a million years, surpassing his foundation on the Taicang Continent.

After returning to the Supreme Sect, just as the Blood Prison Great Saint was about to speak, Gu An stopped him.

"Remember what I said when we left, don't ask, you will see through everything eventually," Gu An's words made the Blood Prison Great Saint grow respectful.

He felt that his master was instructing him.

His nature was too impulsive, which is why he ended up like this, indeed needing to cultivate his Daoist Heart.

In Mortal World Peak, Gu An was the revered Peak Master, and in the Supreme Sect, he was just an ordinary Valley Master.

Watching Gu An chatting and laughing with the Servant Disciples, the Blood Prison Great Saint was incredibly impressed. He felt the master wasn't pretending; in the master's heart, all sentient beings truly are equal.

The distinction of strength lies in one's Cultivation Level, but the life of every creature is equal.

The Blood Prison Great Saint increasingly felt there was much to learn from his master, such as this way of interacting with others which surely would lead to many good connections. If someone could defy the heavens and change their fate, these tales might spread far and wide in the future.

However, his realization was quickly shattered.

Because that detestable fat mouse came to harass him again.

What made him most exasperated was that the fat mouse became even faster!

How could he feel that this mouse also possessed peerless talent?

This was too absurd!

Gu An then started to inspect the different sectors within Medicine Valley. Although the Third Medicine Valley seldom had trouble, he still had to perform his duties on the surface, to prevent the disciples from slacking.

Summer passed, and autumn arrived.

In the early autumn season, within the Outer World Cave...

Tian Yao'er, Tianqing, and Tian Bai were attacking Gu An together. The three demons constantly changed their movement techniques, their Demon Energy rolling like a dragon, surrounding Gu An.

Facing their offensive, Gu An seemed quite at ease, with just a wave of his hand, he could resolve their Spells.

Tian Yao'er stepped on the Nine Extremes Freedom Steps and appeared behind Gu An. She struck with her palm, from which fire surged, rapidly expanding into the shape of a Phoenix and swallowing him whole.

The next second, the fire Phoenix immediately scattered, causing Tian Yao'er to be shaken and fly backward.

Gu An then raised his leg, and countless shadows burst forth, causing Tianqing and Tian Bai to lose their composure, unable to defend in time. They were hit by the leg shadows one after another and were knocked flying, landing clumsily far away.

The three demons struggled to get up, looking at Gu An with aggrieved expressions on their faces.

"If this were a real fight to the death, you would be dead by now. There aren't many people out there who will indulge you like I do," Gu An commented nonchalantly while withdrawing his leg.

Tian Yao'er widened her eyes and asked, "Is every creature out there as powerful as you?"

"There are always people beyond you, heavens beyond heavens," Gu An casually answered. He had already restrained himself enough not to injure them.

"Is that so?" Tian Yao'er was skeptical; she always felt that whenever Gu An mentioned fearing this and that, it was all to scare them, while he himself seemed forever calm and composed.

Gu An snorted, "Anyway, you still need more practice."

Tianqing and Tian Bai immediately approached, clinging to Gu An's arms and sweetly agreeing with master.

This made Tian Yao'er grit her teeth with irritation. Why did it seem as though the other two had been spoiled rotten?

After Gu An gave a few more pieces of advice, he took his leave.

Tian Yao'er immediately pounced on Tianqing and Tian Bai, and the second battle commenced.

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...

The autumn wind swept through, blowing a leaf into the courtyard where an elderly man in rich attire was sweeping the floor.

It was none other than the aged Xiaochuan.

Xiaochuan held the broom with both hands and swept slowly, as if his sweeping was not just cleaning the ground, but also a gesture of refinement.

A young boy ran into the yard, spotting Xiaochuan and couldn't help but exclaim, "Grandfather, why are you sweeping again? Is sweeping that fun? It's not like we have no servants in the house."

The young man wore blue clothes, had a fair face, and appeared to be around fifteen or sixteen years old, with his hair tied up high, exuding youthful vigor.

Xiaochuan didn't stop his sweeping but replied with a kindly smile, "It's not about fun; it's a habit. Sweeping helps me reminisce about the past. When you get old like me, you too will love to look back. You're young and don't understand."

The boy stepped forward, hands on his hips, discontentedly saying, "Grandpa, I heard you once practiced in the Immortal Sect. Why don't you recommend us to enter the Supreme Sect and cultivate? Cultivation is not forbidden to ordinary people. Over the years, cultivators have appeared in the city from time to time, and the Magistrate's grandson has even gone for cultivation."

"Grandpa, although our family has money, it's not enough. We must think long-term."

He rambled continuously, while Xiaochuan watched him complain without getting angry.

Once he finished, Xiaochuan suddenly asked, "What if you go to the Immortal Sect and discover your cultivation talent to be very ordinary, inferior to anyone around you, being left behind by them continuously, what would you do?"

The boy glanced with disbelief, "How could I be that bad?"

"Your Grandfather I was just that bad."

"But people are different, right? If someone with exceptional talent emerged from our family, wouldn't that be a blessing for generations, and even you would benefit."

"Heh, your uncle once went to an Immortal Cultivation Sect. His talent was mediocre, and he nearly died in a conflict with cultivators. Whether someone is extraordinarily talented or not, these eyes of mine can see," Xiaochuan shook his head and said, as each descendant grew up, they would come and ask him these questions. He had also sent children to practice, but the results were always unsatisfying.

Of course, he didn't send them to the Supreme Sect; he didn't want to cause more trouble for his senior brother.

If they couldn't succeed in other sects, how could they go to the Supreme Sect?

"But can you really see that clearly?" the boy asked with wide eyes, his face turning red with urgency.

Just as Xiaochuan was about to respond, his eyes suddenly widened.

Gu An walked into the courtyard, looking around as if searching for something.

When Gu An spotted Xiaochuan, he too broke into a smile.

Noticing his grandfather's expression, the boy turned his head to look and then frowned, sizing up Gu An and asking, "Who are you? I haven't seen you before?"

Thwack!

Xiaochuan smacked the back of his head, not too harshly, and scolded with a smile, "Do you remember everyone in the house, apart from the maids? Beat it!"

The boy pouted but had to leave, sizing up Gu An as he went.

[Chuanyue (Qi Cultivation Realm, first level): 15/80/180]

Gu An gestured playfully at Chuanyue, causing Chuanyue to glare at him.

Once the boy left, Xiaochuan stepped forward and hugged Gu An excitedly.

"Senior Brother, how come you're here?" Xiaochuan was ecstatic.

Gu An was slightly annoyed, "When your grandson was here, why didn't you call me Senior Brother?"

Xiaochuan grinned, "That was to prevent him from clinging to you once he realized your identity. You are a high cultivator of the Supreme Sect, at least in his eyes."

Looking at the signs of aging on Xiaochuan's face, Gu An felt a sense of nostalgia.

"Why stop the children from seeking the Immortal path?"

"I'm not stopping them; they just want to use my connections to get in. If they truly possess the talent, they will rise even without my intervention," Xiaochuan shook his head. His words seemed to make sense to Gu An.

Decades had passed, and Xiaochuan had become more mature, with the sediment of years evident on him, no longer the silent youth who once followed Gu An.

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