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

Leave the Supreme Sect?

Gu An was stunned, not expecting Du Ye to come to him with this matter.

How could he possibly leave the Supreme Sect!

His foundation was still here!

And where could the Ji Family go after leaving the Supreme Sect?

Gu An frowned and asked, "Why leave?"

Du Ye replied, "It seems to be related to the great disaster of the demons, the family has already found a place to avoid the catastrophe. No matter what, as long as the family can take you and me with them, we should be grateful. Get ready, the exact time of departure is not yet determined. When it's really time to go, do not delay."

Gu An shook his head, "I cannot leave, tell the family thank you for the kind offer, but I plan to stand with the Supreme Sect through thick and thin."

Upon hearing this, Du Ye was stunned, his eyebrows instantly furrowed.

He said gravely, "Gu An, don't forget where we come from."

"Sorry, I have repaid the Ji Family for their upbringing with medicinal herbs over the years, but I have yet to repay the kindness of the Supreme Sect. I can't leave, you go ahead, I'll stay," Gu An said earnestly.

Du Ye, irritated, wanted to lecture Gu An, but he was afraid to be overheard by other servant disciples.

"There's still time, think it over for yourself. When the demons invade the Taicang Dynasty, by then you won't be able to hide even if you want to!" Du Ye left these words behind and stormed off, his sleeves flapping in the wind.

He came quickly, and left just as fast, but this time without a smile on his face.

Gu An felt warmth in his heart at Du Ye's anger; at least it showed that Du Ye cared for him, otherwise he wouldn't bother with his life or death.

But he truly could not leave the Supreme Sect.

If the Supreme Sect could not survive the demon calamity, it would still not be too late for him to flee.

With Gu An's cultivation level, if he truly wanted to escape, who could stop him?

It wasn't until dusk that Gu An arrived at the Eight Scenic Caves.

Jiang Qiong was sitting beneath the Green Vine Tree cultivating, with a large cauldron in front of her and the elixir fire still burning underneath it.

Sensing Gu An's presence, Jiang Qiong asked casually, "Why have you come, didn't you just visit a few days ago?"

Approaching the large cauldron, Gu An glanced into the brewing potion and said, "Today, people from the Ji Family came to find me, they said they are preparing to withdraw from the Supreme Sect and asked me to get ready."

After hearing this, Jiang Qiong opened her eyes, her lovely brows furrowed, as she asked, "Are you leaving?"

If Gu An left, a new disciple of the Supreme Sect would surely take over the Mystic Valley, which was not good news for her.

A trace of irritation she couldn't quite articulate welled up in her heart.

"Not leaving. I've refused. My dilemma is, by avoiding the great demon calamity, where can the Ji Family possibly hide?" Gu An sighed.

He came here precisely to probe for information from Jiang Qiong, perhaps she was in the know.

Jiang Qiong replied sarcastically, "Probably to the Seven Stars Spirit Realm, which is a holy land, a place even demons dare not invade. I heard before that the Ji Family was planning to betroth Ji Xiaoyu to a prodigy of the Seven Stars Spirit Realm. It seems true, and it looks like the Ji Family has managed to cling onto a high branch."

Indeed it was the Seven Stars Spirit Realm!

Gu An looked at Jiang Qiong and asked with a furrowed brow, "Is the Seven Stars Spirit Realm that powerful?"

"Of course it's powerful. On this earth, dynasties change, and racial wars are incessant. Only the Seven Stars Spirit Realm has always been there. Tell me if they're not formidable. In a sense, the Seven Stars Spirit Realm is the true ruler of this land.

The ones who were after me are cultivators from the Seven Stars Spirit Realm because I got to the opportunity they wanted first," Jiang Qiong said with sarcasm.

After listening to this, Gu An was tempted to say that if she, a practitioner of the Nascent Soul Realm, could snatch an opportunity from the hands of the Seven Stars Spirit Realm cultivators, then the Seven Stars Spirit Realm couldn't be all that powerful.

Jiang Qiong seemed to see through his thoughts, saying, "The foundation of the Seven Stars Spirit Realm is strong. They should have a Great Heaven and Earth not inferior to the lands of the nine dynasties, with numerous noble families, and a vast number of disciples. The young ones I ran into on the Nine Nether Road were just a group out on a training journey.

All of those fellows were under a hundred years old but possessed Nascent Soul Realm cultivation levels. The Seven Stars Spirit Realm is indeed fearsome."

An awed expression appeared on her face; even as she was pursued by cultivators of the Seven Stars Spirit Realm, she held no desire for revenge, as the gap in power between them was too vast.

A Great Heaven and Earth not inferior to the lands of the nine dynasties?

Gu An's curiosity about the Seven Stars Spirit Realm grew.

No wonder the Seven Stars Spirit Realm doesn't interfere in the continent's racial conflicts—it seems that even if the humans on earth are exterminated, the race will still have legacies left to persist.

Afterward, Gu An asked a few more questions, and Jiang Qiong told him everything she knew. The more he understood, the deeper his wariness of the Seven Stars Spirit Realm became.

Intuition told him that after surviving the great demon calamity, the Seven Stars Spirit Realm might trigger the next disaster.

Gu An wasn't worried though; his strategy was to act only when he had absolute certainty.

If he could fight, he would fight; if not, where there's life, there's hope!

"Your third miss is set to marry into the Seven Stars Spirit Realm. Are you happy for her, or not?" Jiang Qiong suddenly asked teasingly.

Gu An casually responded, "The third miss is the Girl of Heavenly Pride, and her suitor will surely be the Son of Heaven's Pride. I am definitely happy for her."

"Really? There's not a hint of regret in your heart?" Jiang Qiong asked with a smile.

Gu An raised an eyebrow and spread his hands, "Indeed, it's regrettable. Actually, I admire the third miss, but alas, with my mediocre talents, I'm not worthy of pursuing her. Since I can't have her, I can only comfort myself and wish her happiness."

The smile on Jiang Qiong's face vanished as she scoffed, "You sure take it easy. You're right, if status and talent don't match, love will only bring you harm. Keep your composure, and don't fall in love lightly in the future," she cautioned.

Gu An nodded, "I don't need to fall in love. There are plenty of female disciples in the valley."

"Oh? Is that why you don't love cultivating?"

"What I mean is, if I want a daoist friend, it's not a difficult task, but I don't want to."

"That's more like it," she said. "The Martial Master has lived longer than you and knows daoist friends can't be relied upon. How many daoist friends have abandoned their partners at critical moments of life and death? How many calculate against their partners for personal gain?

The Martial Master hopes you won't get attached easily, that you'll be more cautious, because the Martial Master has your best interests at heart."

"Then have you ever had a Daoist Partner?"

"If I had, your Martial Master would have long been dead."

Jiang Qiong began to earnestly instruct Gu An, and Gu An also sought advice with pointed questions.

More than an ancient hour later, Gu An finally departed.

Jiang Qiong watched Gu An's retreating figure, thinking to himself, "This kid actually doesn't call me Martial Master, he's got quite a wild streak."

...

The tail end of summer eventually slipped away, and autumn arrived once again.

Gu An came to Tianya Valley and noticed that there was an additional person inside the valley.

Since Lv Xian and Yi Liuyun left, Tianya Valley had only Luo Hun and three monkey demons for company. As a result, Gu An brought Luo Hun many books, even a chess set.

Actually, even if he hadn't brought these things, Luo Hun wouldn't have found it dull, after all, he was a cultivator.

But because Gu An did bring them, it made him more prone to distraction. He would often curse Gu An internally for being devious, yet he couldn't refuse the well-written works of Daoist Xunchun and Green Hero Travelogue.

Gu An walked down from the mountain slope, looking far off at the figure standing in front of the wooden railing.

[Ji Ruolai (Nascent Soul Realm, Level 8): 96/700/3900]

Ji Ruolai?

Gu An raised his eyebrows. He had heard this name before; it was Ji Xiaoyu's biological older brother, who was taken away to the main family for cultivation at a young age. He had never met the man, only heard about him from other house servants.

He hadn't expected Li Xuandao to have even lured Ji Xiaoyu's brother to his side.

Luo Hun descended from the sky, landing beside Gu An, introduced Ji Ruolai to him, and asked, "You should have heard of him, given that you're also from the Ji Family."

Gu An nodded.

The two approached Ji Ruolai from behind, who was gazing at the flowers and plants in the garden, looking distracted. Only when Luo Hun called out to him did he snap out of his reverie.

He turned around to face Gu An and the other, saying, "Is this Valley Master Gu An?"

Gu An raised his hand in greeting and said, "I've seen the Second Young Master before."

Ji Ruolai waved his hand, "Here, I must address you as Valley Master. His Majesty said that from now on, I'll be assisting you."

Though the talents who came to Tianya Valley had to assist Gu An, they had free access to the medicinal herbs within the valley. Therefore, Ji Ruolai was very cordial with Gu An.

However, Gu An didn't really need their assistance; it would be better to grant them a small favor.

"The Second Young Master can focus on cultivating in peace. Sun Da and others are in charge of the valley's mundane affairs," Gu An said with a soft chuckle.

Ji Ruolai nodded, then began to exchange pleasantries with him.

Gu An noticed a strange cold energy within Ji Ruolai's body, circling around his Golden Core.

After chatting for a while, Gu An made an excuse to leave, as he needed to gather herbs.

Ji Ruolai watched Gu An's retreating figure, deep in thought.

Luo Hun, however, caught up with Gu An and asked in a low voice, "The Supreme Secret Records you were looking for before, did you find them?"

Gu An suppressed the urge to roll his eyes and replied in a low voice, "I haven't found them. The book has vanished without a trace, let's forget about it. Aren't Daoist Xunchun's works and Green Hero Travelogue enough for you to read?"

Luo Hun could only sigh regretfully, then left.

Gu An shook his head, smiling wryly.

Who knows where Luo Hun heard about it, but he somehow knew about the Supreme Secret Records and even asked Gu An to purchase them.

Gu An didn't want to distract him from his cultivation, so he never really bought them for Luo Hun.

All the blame lies with Shen Zhen for leading astray the customs of the Immortal Cultivation World!

...

Late at night, inside a dilapidated temple.

Thump!

A man in plain clothes fell to the ground. After his right foot twitched a few times, he was completely lifeless.

A man in black stood by, none other than Su Han.

Having just absorbed the plain-clothed man's Spiritual Power, Su Han cultivated energy with both hands, trying his best to harmonize it. Judging from his furrowed brows, he was struggling.

There were also four other corpses nearby, both male and female, all dead.

A wave of ghostly energy seeped through a hole in the roof, forming the figure of Ghost Mother of Ephemera.

Bathed in the moonlight, the pale face of Ghost Mother of Ephemera was terrifying. She stood aside, watching Su Han.

After a long while.

Su Han opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of foul air.

Ghost Mother of Ephemera said, "I have already disclosed your whereabouts; within seven days, a large number of cultivators will come to assassinate you. I will have the Nine Nether Thirteen Evil hold off the Great Cultivators. You must seize the opportunity and not let a single one escape."

Su Han nodded, then asked, "Ghost Mother, why are there so many people seeking death? I have no grievances with them."

Ghost Mother of Ephemera replied calmly, "Some want to kill you to establish a reputation, others aim to kill you in exchange for rewards from the Sword Sect. The root reason they seek your life is because you're not strong enough, and they think they can kill you."