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

Late at night, the Ji Mansion was dimly lit. Gu An walked leisurely through the corridors, and childhood memories kept surfacing.

As the starting point of Gu An's life, he had deep feelings for the Ji Mansion. From childhood to adulthood, he lived quite well in the Ji Mansion. Apart from the incident when he smashed the flower bed and was nearly punished by having his hand cut off, he had a good life without being bullied by other Ji Family members. Although there were occasional conflicts among the house servants, it never escalated to a point of deadly enmity.

Having not returned for a hundred years, the Ji Mansion felt both familiar and unfamiliar to him.

What was familiar were the furnishings and environment, which had not changed much. What was unfamiliar were the people.

There were many branches of the Ji Family, and the Ji Mansion he was in was just one among many, with branches spread across three generations.

Before the Demon Catastrophe, the Ji Family had hidden in the Seven Stars Spirit Realm. Only the main family and the high-ranking and talented disciples went into hiding. After the catastrophe, those who had hidden in the Seven Stars Spirit Realm returned to their respective homelands to continue developing the family.

Gu An even saw branches of the Ji Family on the ocean, though they stayed close to the mainland, not daring to venture far because the demons in the ocean were powerful, and high-level demons could be encountered frequently.

The person with the highest cultivation level in this Ji Mansion was in the Unification Realm. Back then, those in the Unification Realm were beings he had to look up to.

Suddenly.

Gu An detected a faint soul aura, piquing his interest. He immediately walked toward that direction.

Along the way, figures passed by him; he even walked through the courtyard walls as if everything there was illusory to him.

Gu An saw a familiar face, the court guardian who almost cut off his hand back then.

A hundred years had passed; the guardian now had gray hair and looked aged. He no longer appeared fierce but rather kind and gentle.

Gu An merely glanced at him, having no thought of seeking revenge. Indeed, it was his fault for smashing the flower bed back then. The guardian was just doing his duty, and now, their realms were worlds apart. Why should he hold a grudge?

The Ji Mansion was large, and Gu An walked leisurely as if on a casual stroll.

An hour later, he arrived at the place where the mysterious soul resided, which turned out to be the ancestral hall of the Ji Mansion.

He passed through the door and saw rows of spirit tablets, all of Ji Family's ancestors, and the soul was hidden within the main spirit tablet.

Gu An approached the spirit tablet, noting the name on it.

Ji Zhan!

A soul was hidden deep inside the spirit tablet, an old man, lying on his side, seemingly napping.

He was hidden in the Power of Cause and Effect, not in an ordinary exotic space, where beings couldn't detect his presence with Divine Sense.

Ji Zhan turned over as if dreaming, unaware that someone was spying on him.

Gu An cast Life Span Detection on him, but the data came back as zero, not even displaying his realm.

In the unseen, Ji Zhan had countless connections with the entire Ji Mansion, threads of cause and effect among them, one involving Ji Xiaoyu.

Ji Zhan was an ancestral bloodline of Ji Xiaoyu.

Following Ji Xiaoyu's line of cause and effect, Gu An saw a segment that was very blurry, even to his eyes.

Ji Xiaoyu's cause and effect seemed off, giving Gu An an eerie feeling as if Ji Xiaoyu had suddenly become someone else at a certain stage.

Looking closely, the change seemed to occur when Ji Xiaoyu was ten years old.

He did not dwell on it, for he wasn't here to investigate Ji Xiaoyu. Ji Xiaoyu possessed the Primordial Daoist Talisman, so having special causes and effects was not surprising. Read new chapters at m_v-l'e|m,p| y- r

Gu An did not stay long and quickly turned away from the ancestral hall.

Deep within the spirit tablet, Ji Zhan suddenly turned over and sat up. He scratched his head, muttering: "Strange, just now I felt a sense of unease. Could it be that the Ji Family is facing another calamity?"

"Blame it on that Seven Stars Spirit Realm. Sigh, the current generation truly lacks ambition, always relying on others. I can only watch and hope that she can restore the Ji Family to its former glory."

Ji Zhan lay down again and continued to sleep.

For him, time had no meaning. He was accustomed to indulging in dreams, enjoying the reincarnations he created for himself.

...

At dawn, the sunlight swept from the horizon.

Chi Bei stood on the beach, frowning as he gazed into the distance. His face was pale. During the battle in Divine Exotic City, he had been stung by the Immortal-Swallowing Scorpion from the Seven Stars Spirit Realm, and the scorpion venom had not been fully purged from his body.

A figure emerged from the forest behind him. It was Chi Jiuxiao, the genius from the Star Sea Congregations.

"Master, An Hao that kid was really outrageous. I passed on my Divine Skills to him, and he mastered them last night. It's simply unnatural…"

Chi Jiuxiao cursed as he approached, resentful of An Hao's extraordinary talent.

He had indeed been defeated, acknowledging that An Hao's talent and comprehension surpassed his own.

Chi Bei did not respond, still staring into the distance.

"Master, what are you looking at?" Chi Jiuxiao couldn't help but ask when he saw his master lost in thought.

Chi Bei snapped back to reality and said: "The spiritual energy over the sea seems unusual. I suspect there is an anomaly somewhere, possibly related to the recently rumored World-Destroying Sea Tide."

Chi Jiuxiao frowned and said: "What World-Destroying Sea Tide, it must be the Seven Stars Spirit Realm causing trouble. That huge rift appeared too coincidentally!"

Chi Bei did not reply, thinking those comments were pointless.

At that moment, a seven-colored radiance descended from the sky, landing beside them, instantly drawing their attention. They turned to see a figure within the radiance.

It was a mysterious figure enveloped in dark purple demonic qi.

Chi Jiuxiao's eyes widened: "Sword Venerable Fudao?"

Chi Bei could not forget the scene where Gu An easily killed two Wandering Immortals, and he quickly bowed. No matter what, the other had saved his life, so he should pay his respects.

"Thank you for looking after my disciple all these years," Gu An said.

Chi Bei was about to speak when Gu An suddenly appeared in front of him, reaching out with his right hand. Two fingers pointed at Chi Bei's chest, rendering him immobile instantly.

"Master!"

Chi Jiuxiao was startled, instinctively wanting to rush forward.

"Stay put!"

Chi Bei shouted, even using his mana to restrain Chi Jiuxiao.

"The senior is detoxifying me…" Chi Bei took a deep breath and said slowly, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

As Gu An's mana entered his body, he suddenly felt insignificantly small.

In the face of this power, the Wandering Immortal Realm was so weak, vulnerable.

How powerful were the Heaven and Earth Flying Immortals?

Although Chi Bei was a Wandering Immortal, he lacked the confidence to reach the Heaven and Earth Flying Immortal Realm in the future. It seemed only one great realm apart, but he couldn't imagine how to break through to the Heaven and Earth Flying Immortal Realm.

Chi Jiuxiao was overjoyed at his master's words.

He had been constantly worried about his master's poisoning, feeling helpless and anxious. He never expected An Hao's master could purge the Immortal-Swallowing Scorpion's poison.

After a few breaths, Gu An withdrew his hand and said: "I'd like to spend some time alone with my disciple."

Then he turned and walked into the forest. Chi Jiuxiao quickly bowed, not daring to obstruct him.

Chi Bei felt the poison in his body dissipating, and with it, the weight on his heart. He looked at Gu An with awe.

Such a terrifying poison, yet he could easily expel it…

Little did he know, Gu An could have eradicated the poison instantly but deliberately prolonged the process, even so, it was beyond Chi Bei's reach.

Chi Jiuxiao quickly came to Chi Bei's side, concerned about his condition.

Deep within the island, hundreds of miles away in the mountains, An Hao sat cross-legged on a mountainside, cultivating.

Divinity Transformation Realm, Fourth Layer!

Still stunning.

Gu An stood behind An Hao, reflecting on his current cultivation level.

An Hao was now only ninety-four years old, and a ninety-four-year-old cultivator in the Divinity Transformation Realm, Fourth Layer, would surpass Li Xuandao in no time. An Hao was still the fastest cultivator Gu An had ever known.

At one hundred twenty-eight years old, having reached the ninth layer of the Carefree Immortal Realm, Gu An said: "Based on your cultivation level, you haven't been slacking."

An Hao abruptly opened his eyes, turned around, showing a look of surprise and joy. He quickly stood up, excitedly asking: "Master, what brings you here?"

Gu An replied: "I came to check on you."

Hearing this, An Hao became even happier, rushing to Gu An, asking various questions, losing his usual composure.

In front of Gu An, he still seemed like that lively, mischievous boy.

The master and disciple talked for a long time before Gu An got to the point: "How is your practice of the Yang Wood Primordial Skill progressing?"

An Hao's Spirit Root Qualification was strong, not because of a single-root attribute but because each of his spirit roots was of Heavenly Spirit Root level.

In other words, An Hao could cultivate the Five Elements Skill.

Practicing the Heaven and Earth Primordial Skill was not considered abandoning his current practice because the two cultivation techniques were from the same origin.

"Very well, I have already cultivated the Yang Wood. This spiritual wood can absorb Spiritual Power, and it's quite domineering…" An Hao eagerly described his accomplishments, not wanting to disappoint his master.

After he finished, Gu An said: "I will teach you a higher-level cultivation technique, the Yang Wood Primordial Skill is just one foundation of this technique."

Upon hearing this, An Hao's eyes lit up, and he quickly nodded.

"This technique cannot be disclosed, as it may attract calamities. Also, your Tribulation Crossing will be more difficult than cultivators of the same realm, so be mentally prepared." Gu An reminded him.

An Hao suddenly realized: "Heavenly Tribulation is related to the cultivation technique? No wonder my tribulations always astonish others."

Gu An continued, saying: "Recently, I have taken on another disciple. Your junior apprentice's qualification is also outstanding, not inferior to yours. As the senior apprentice, you must set an example and not be surpassed by him."

A junior apprentice?

An Hao frowned, feeling a sudden tension.

If someone else had said this, he would have dismissed it, believing no one could match his qualifications.

But hearing it from his master, he didn't doubt it. There was someone with qualifications comparable to his, possibly younger, giving him a sense of urgency.

"Master, what is my junior apprentice's name?" An Hao cautiously asked.

"One day, you will meet and get to know each other because you are cultivating the same technique." Gu An answered.

Could it be Li Ya?

An Hao thought of the Taicang Divine-Shocking Sword that Li Ya had used.

Soon, he dismissed this guess. Li Ya was older than him and wasn't considered a genius, at least in his eyes, quite ordinary.