When I Achieved Sainthood, the Immortal Official Actually Called Me to Raise Horses!

Shen Zhen spoke seriously, causing Gu An’s face to twitch.

Is this a compliment?

Why does it feel like a personal attack?

If I revealed my cultivation, even your dad might not measure up!

Gu An continued to try convincing her, but Shen Zhen refused to change the name no matter what.

In the end, Shen Zhen offered to trade a cultivation manual for the rights to his name. Reluctantly, he agreed.

After Shen Zhen left, Gu An remained in his loft, flipping through the manual she had given him.

Xuan Yin Art!

It was a musical cultivation technique capable of injuring internal organs or confusing the enemy’s senses—versatile and powerful.

This was exactly the kind of technique Gu An lacked, and he decided to delve deeper into it later.

After reading through the Xuan Yin Art once, he stashed it in his storage bag and left.

A month later, Gu An arrived at the outer sect city. His first stop was the Alchemy Hall to submit this year’s harvest.

Elder Zhu Qinglu received him. Noticing Zhu Qinglu’s tired complexion and the faint demonic aura within him—similar to that of Lu Jiu Jia—Gu An asked, “Elder Zhu, you don’t look well. What happened?”

He didn’t fully understand how the demonic cultivation in the outer sect worked, but he knew people had gone missing. This time in the city, he noticed that many disciples carried subtle traces of demonic energy. Most of them were hall disciples, not ordinary ones.

Are they colluding willingly, or are they being manipulated?

He couldn’t say, and Shen Zhen hadn’t shared much information.

Zhu Qinglu chuckled. “Just a side effect of my cultivation, nothing to worry about. You have a medicine valley in the inner sect, don’t you? Move there soon. Don’t stay in the outer sect anymore. Lately, demonic cultivators have been running rampant, and it’s too dangerous outside.” ȑ

Gu An probed further. “Many people have told me the outer sect is dangerous these days. If that’s the case, why hasn’t the higher-ups sent more people to eliminate the demons?”

“And what’s with the area under construction in the city? It’s taking up nearly a quarter of the town.”

As soon as he arrived, he noticed numerous disciples laying stones in the city center. These weren’t ordinary stones—they were imbued with spiritual energy.

It looks like they’re building a massive altar.

Zhu Qinglu replied nonchalantly, “The higher-ups have their reasons, ones we can’t speculate on. All we can do is protect ourselves. As for the construction, it’s a formation platform. Once completed, it will protect the outer sect.”

Seeing Zhu Qinglu’s indifferent attitude, Gu An felt he wasn’t trustworthy—perhaps someone benefiting from the situation.

Deciding not to press further, Gu An exchanged a few polite words and left.

Standing in the street outside the Alchemy Hall, he gazed at the platform under construction.

The sky was overcast, casting a gloomy shadow over the once lively and sunlit outer sect city, making it resemble a demonic stronghold.

Gu An stood there for a long moment before finally turning away.

An autumn breeze swept through the street, rustling his robes. The Qinghong Sword at his waist swayed slightly, its sheath gleaming coldly.

After leaving the city, Gu An went to manage the caves under his care.

When he reached Li Xuanyu’s cave, he found her inside.

“From now on, you don’t need to come anymore. I’ll be heading to the inner sect. Here’s your payment,” Li Xuanyu said from her seat at the table. With a wave of her hand, a pile of spirit stones appeared on the table.

Gu An bowed in thanks and went to collect the stones into his storage bag. Without saying much, he turned to leave.

As he walked away, Li Xuanyu suddenly asked, “I heard your leg techniques are impressive?”

Gu An paused, turning back to her. “Did Senior Brother Li Ya tell you that? My leg techniques are nothing compared to his.”

Recently, when Li Ya stayed in Xuan Valley, he saw Tang Yu practicing the Residual Wind Kick and mentioned how Gu An had subdued Meng Lang with it.

He really went and told her so soon…

“Hmm, just something I heard,” Li Xuanyu said calmly. After a pause, she added, “I look forward to seeing you in the inner sect someday. Let’s see how we measure up then.”

Gu An, puzzled, replied helplessly, “How could I possibly compare to you, Senior Sister? I’ll never catch up to you.”

“Go now,” she said, cutting him off and effectively dismissing him.

Gu An had no choice but to leave.

After leaving her cave, Gu An felt no particular burden on his mind.

As long as I never admit to it, what can Li Xuanyu do to me?

Late at night, Gu An moved through the dense forest. That afternoon, he had informed Wu Xin he would be leaving and wouldn’t return until the following day.

The reason for notifying in advance was his preparation for a breakthrough.

Breaking through to the next realm would inevitably cause a commotion. If disciples came looking for him and found him absent from his quarters, it might arouse suspicion.

Since his trip to the outer sect city, Gu An had felt an intense atmosphere of danger.

The ruling elders practicing demonic arts, noble disciples fleeing the outer sect... all these signs are unsettling.

Though the Void Transformation Stage Ninth Layer was powerful, the Taixuan Sect was not without Void Transformation experts. After days of deliberation, Gu An decided to advance by one major realm before dealing with these issues.

At worst, I’ll delay unlocking the Million-Year Lifespan function by a year!

This time, he traveled far, covering 300 li under the cover of night. He stopped in a dense forest, sensing two Nascent Soul presences nearby.

One of them was familiar: Zuo Yijian!

The Sword Maniac of Cang Lake—Gu An had encountered him near Xuan Valley before, where he had injured Zuo Yijian while disguised as the Flying Leaf Sword Immortal. Since then, he had only seen him once at the Ji Family estate.

Gu An suppressed his aura to the minimum, confident he wouldn’t be noticed by the Nascent Soul cultivators.

A few li away, above the forest canopy, Zuo Yijian floated in mid-air. Dressed in blue robes, he was surrounded by five treasured swords that orbited him, exuding the grace of a true sword cultivator.

Facing him was a burly man in a billowing black robe. The man wielded a long staff, his thick eyebrows framing his sharp, leopard-like eyes. His square face radiated authority, and the violent aura surrounding him bent the trees below.

“Zuo Yijian, why aren’t you in the inner sect studying your books? Why must you stand in my way?” the black-robed man asked coldly.

Zuo Yijian remained expressionless. “Chen Xuanjin, as the Outer Sect Grand Elder, you cultivate demonic arts and harm your fellow disciples. I am not blocking you—you’ve brought this upon yourself. I am here on Heaven’s behalf to put an end to you.”

Chen Xuanjin laughed dismissively, his voice dripping with contempt. “Do you not know who I serve?”

With a snort, he struck his staff against the ground. Purple light burst forth, forming a complex, mystical array over a hundred zhang wide.

As the array’s edge neared Zuo Yijian, it was blocked by invisible sword intent. From above, the array looked as though a section was missing.

“I know perfectly well. I can’t deal with him, but I can deal with you. Killing you might not stop the next Outer Sect Grand Elder from committing evil, but at least I can protect the disciples here for now.”

Zuo Yijian’s tone remained calm, but the five swords around him unsheathed simultaneously, their radiance illuminating the night sky.

“You want to kill me?”

Chen Xuanjin sneered, his expression twisting with rage. His aura exploded, and a fierce wind shook the forest for ten li in every direction.

Zuo Yijian’s expression shifted slightly, his eyes narrowing.

“You, a mere Nascent Soul First Layer, think you can kill me, a Nascent Soul Ninth Layer cultivator? Zuo Yijian, do you think just because you have your master’s backing, I won’t dare kill you?”

“You’ve chosen the path of power, yet refuse to blend in with the masses. That in itself is your greatest mistake. Saving a few mediocre outer sect disciples—how does that compare to saving the entire Taicang Empire? If you don’t understand the weight of this choice, your life has been for naught!”

Chen Xuanjin stood tall, his oppressive aura pressing down on the sword shadows around Zuo Yijian, causing his five swords to tremble.

“I’ll give you one last chance,” Chen Xuanjin said. “Turn back now, and it’s not too late. Either return to reading your Romance of the Gods, or die.”

As he spoke, the black staff in his hand released waves of demonic energy, coalescing into a massive black dragon that coiled around him.

Zuo Yijian took a deep breath. “Since you mentioned Romance of the Gods, are you familiar with the Immortal Execution Sword Array?”

Immortal Execution Sword Array!

Chen Xuanjin’s face changed drastically, his eyes wide with shock.

Even Gu An, watching from a distance, was astonished.

"One breath transforms into three pure forms; the mysteries of the gourd encompass Mount Sumeru…"

As Zuo Yijian recited these words, the swords around him trembled violently before scattering to form an array. A murderous aura surged skyward.

Gu An, standing beneath a tree, was stunned.

He can deduce Daoist techniques from a book?

Is he some kind of genius?

Even Chen Xuanjin was startled and immediately launched an attack.

The battle erupted instantly! The heavens quaked, the earth trembled, and the forest collapsed.

Gu An stood beneath the tree, unmoving, his eyes reflecting the glow of swords as he fixed his gaze on Zuo Yijian.

Ten breaths later, the fight was over.

Gu An exhaled in relief.

D**n, that scared me half to death!

He had almost believed that Zuo Yijian had actually deduced the Immortal Execution Sword Array from Romance of the Gods. If that were true, wouldn’t it mean the tales in the book were real? That would be unimaginable!

Zuo Yijian had instead used a self-created sword technique. It was indeed formidable, allowing him to hold his ground against a Nascent Soul Ninth Layer Grandmaster, but he couldn’t last long.

The remaining clouds in the night sky dispersed. The once lush mountains and forests were now barren, with dust rising into the air.

Chen Xuanjin hovered mid-air, panting heavily, his face a mix of fear and relief as he looked down at the swirling dust below.

He could sense that Zuo Yijian was still alive, and his brows furrowed deeply. He hesitated.

Though he wanted nothing more than to kill Zuo Yijian, reason prevailed—slaying him would undoubtedly bring trouble.

Even as a Nascent Soul cultivator, Chen Xuanjin knew he was just a pawn in the grand schemes of the Taixuan Sect.

At that moment, the sound of something cutting through the air startled him. His eyes darted towards the source, and his pupils constricted sharply.

A cold gleam streaked across the night sky, scattering the dust and sending countless leaves whirling in its wake. It was as if an icy sword had sliced through the fabric of time itself.

Lying amidst the rubble, Zuo Yijian instinctively opened his eyes, sensing something amiss. The dust above him was swept away in an instant, revealing the night sky. In the darkness, a radiant light pierced through, brilliant and dazzling.

“It

Zuo Yijian’s eyes widened as he witnessed the leaf surrounded by sword energy pierce through Chen Xuanjin’s chest. Blood splattered across the night sky.

In that moment, Zuo Yijian finally understood.

The Flying Leaf Sword Immortal had not struck him maliciously back then but had been guiding him. Otherwise, how could he have survived?

Now, the Flying Leaf Sword Immortal had appeared again to save him, leaving him both elated and ashamed.

Who is this senior?

...