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

Mystic Pure Tree?

Gu An hadn't expected Lu Lingjun to discover the mysteries of the Mystic Pure Tree so quickly. To him, this matter was not forbidden. On the contrary, it brought him more inspiration.

In the future, he could use the Mystic Pure Tree to motivate the disciples to work harder!

Gu An pondered and said, "Alright, but you can only go there at night. You must leave after dawn. The Mystic Pure Tree is an asset of the Sect, and many Great Cultivators will be watching. Understand?"

As soon as Lu Lingjun heard this, she quickly thanked Gu An.

Seeing this Unification Realm nine-layer Great Cultivator so respectful before him, Gu An felt quite emotional.

Wasn't he the same?

Despite possessing great cultivation, he still had to act cautiously because they were all dissatisfied with their current situations and believed they could ascend further.

After a brief conversation, Lu Lingjun bid her farewell and left.

Upon closing the door, Lu Lingjun descended the stairs, wondering to herself, "What book is 'Green Hero Travelogue'? It even surpasses the Nine Revolutions Golden Body Art."

Although Gu An moved quickly, she had still managed to see the book's title in a flash.

She decided to go to the Outer City later to investigate further.

Having arrived at the Great Heaven and Earth Spirit Realm, Lu Lingjun was curious about everything here, yet also filled with awe. That's why she started as a Servant Disciple, familiarizing herself with this world first before gradually advancing.

Her goal was to be an Elder of the Supreme Sect; Third Medicine Valley was just a stepping stone.

On her way, Lu Lingjun couldn't help but wonder what the cultivation level of the Sect Leader of Supreme Sect was like.

It must be higher than hers, right?

...

Late at night, in the North Sea Mountain, a fierce wind whipped through the area, carrying snowflakes with it.

Gu An sat meditating under a tree, slowly opening his eyes, which flickered with sharp light.

He had just spent a hundred thousand years of his lifespan to advance the Ji Family's Divine Technique from Heaven and Earth Path Gang to Heaven and Earth Dominator Body and then to Daoist Gang Primal Energy.

Once Daoist Gang Primal Energy was perfected, the invisible and colorless primal energy would automatically protect his body, warding off evil spirits and resisting various spells and divine skills. Moreover, he could manipulate the Daoist Gang Primal Energy to attack enemies, both offensive and defensive.

Gu An began refining the Daoist Gang Primal Energy, having inherited the evolving memory. He simply needed to run the technique according to the sorcery to master it.

An hour later, the Daoist Gang Primal Energy was perfected; he could store the Daoist Gang Primal Energy on the surface of his skin, allowing others to touch him but not harm him.

Gu An still had 430,000 years of lifespan left and hesitated whether to continue enhancing the Taicang Divine-Shocking Sword.

The Taicang Divine-Shocking Sword was already very powerful, and it seemed that enhancing it further might not be very meaningful.

His intuition told him that enhancing the Wood Spirit Sword Technique might be stronger than the Taicang Divine-Shocking Sword because his cultivation technique had a Wood Attribute, and he temporarily did not obtain the Sorcery of Five Elements.

But since he already had a sword technique, practicing another seemed pointless. It would be better to focus on one completely.

Perhaps in a hundred years, a hundred thousand years of lifespan might not mean much to him. It would still be timely to practice the Wood Spirit Sword Technique.

Forget it!

He decided to focus on other spells and divine skills first.

Actually, with Gu An's eight-layer Mahayana Realm cultivation, any spell in his hands could exhibit overwhelming power against those in the Mystic Heart Realm. He wouldn't challenge stronger foes across realms, so enhancing these spells and divine skills was done in preparation for future breakthroughs.

After much consideration, Gu An decided to enhance the Gathering Spirit Divine Finger taught by Lv Baitian.

The Gathering Spirit Divine Finger was particularly unique; not only did it gather the caster's Spiritual Power, but it also gathered the surrounding Spiritual Energy, meaning this technique could borrow the power of heaven and earth.

Gu An had a bold idea.

During his evolution, could he possibly use the power of heaven and earth to disperse a heavenly tribulation with just one finger?

The thought alone was quite thrilling to him.

Hopefully, his evolving self would be smart!

Gu An immediately invested a hundred thousand years of lifespan into the Gathering Spirit Divine Finger.

The Gathering Spirit Divine Finger advanced to Sky-Reaching Finger, then upgraded to Breaking Path Divine Light.

A torrent of memories flooded into Gu An's mind, immersing him completely.

The finger technique underwent transformation, evolving from being limited to the fingers to being able to be executed from any part of the body!

As the Spiritual Energy in the North Sea Mountain continued to sink, all creatures discussed it widely; they had grown accustomed to the sinking Spiritual Energy, so they were not afraid, only curious about what exactly was happening.

Another hour went by.

Gu An opened his eyes and inwardly exclaimed.

Such a dominant Breaking Path Divine Light!

This spell specialized in breaking all kinds of formations, restrictions, and defensive spells and divine skills. It could also directly destroy an enemy, causing their body and path to perish.

This round of enhancements hadn't been a mistake!

Gu An smiled and then stood up. He dispelled the Life Span Barrier and walked toward the deeper part of the forest. It was still early before dawn, and he prepared to enjoy the scenery of North Sea, meanwhile going to check on Li Ya.

Li Ya was still at the edge of North Sea, diligently practicing the Taicang Divine-Shocking Sword.

When Gu An had initially taught him the swordsmanship, he had also infused a Sword Intent within the North Sea Heavy Sword to guide his practice.

With the guidance of Sword Intent, Li Ya's progress was swift, far easier than the arduous self-comprehension he underwent during evolution.

The trees in the North Sea Mountain forest were tall, giving one the sensation of having been shrunk. The forest was filled with Demon Energy, and Gu An even saw spirit beasts similar to the White Spirit Rat, peculiar and varied, some adorable and some extremely ugly.

As Gu An enjoyed the scenery along the way, thousands of miles away by a lake in North Sea, Li Ya stood bare-chested, wielding the North Sea Heavy Sword and swinging it toward the bright moon. read-first-on-NovelFire

The shimmering surface of the lake held the moon aloft, with snowflakes scatterings, resembling stars falling.

Li Ya's body was drenched in sweat, his muscles taut with each sword swing, radiating a sense of power.

"Never mind how well you have mastered the Taicang Divine-Shocking Sword, your physical body has thoroughly merged with the Dragon Image Divine Primordial, and your strength is comparable to that of a fourth-tier demon beast."

The voice of the elder rang out, filled with admiration.

Li Ya's lips curled up in a smile as he continued to practice his swordsmanship without responding.

He had already begun to imagine defeating Lv Xian, Zhou Tongyou, and Ji Xiaoyu, intending to astonish all the clans and rebuild the peak of the Li Family.

"Impressive swordsmanship, truly a formidable young man." A voice sounded from the side, startling Li Ya so much that he turned around to see a scholar-dressed man walking along the beach.

Dressed in white, carrying a bookcase on his back, wearing a cloth hat, and holding a folding fan, he appeared to Li Ya in the moonlight like a fierce ghost.

Li Ya frowned and asked, "What do you want?"

Having stayed in the North Sea Mountains for many years, he had encountered both demons and evil spirits, and by now, no being could frighten him.

The scholar in white smiled and said, "I hail from the Ephemera Sect. You can call me Traveler of Graceful Crane. I've seen your swordsmanship is quite good, and your qi-blood far surpasses those of the same realm. How about it, join the Ephemera Sect with me?"

The Ephemera Sect!

Li Ya frowned. Over the past two years, the Ephemera Sect and various demonic sects had waged great battles in the North Sea Mountains, which he had naturally encountered.

He resolutely responded, "I am a disciple of the Supreme Sect. Thanks for your kind offer."

To him, he still took pride in the Supreme Sect, and in his eyes, how could a sect of unclear origin like the Ephemera Sect compare to the righteous, great Supreme Sect?

"Many cultivators from your Supreme Sect, including elders, have joined our sect. The Supreme Sect will eventually be replaced by the Ephemera Sect, so joining the Ephemera Sect sooner is the right path," the Traveler of Graceful Crane said, smiling broadly.

Li Ya's expression turned cold, and he lifted his sword towards the Traveler of Graceful Crane, "So, you're saying I can't refuse?"

Seeing him raise his sword, the Traveler of Graceful Crane laughed, "Young one, you think you are above all because you hold the soul of a great elder within you?"

As he finished, he suddenly attacked Li Ya.

Li Ya's expression changed as he raised his sword to defend.

...

Gu An had been wandering around the forest for several hours, and only when dawn was about to break did he leave, stepping with the Limitless Freedom Step.

He arrived at the beach where Li Ya was, and from a distance, he spotted Li Ya sitting collapsed in front of a rock, his head buried in his arms. The North Sea Heavy Sword lay on the sand, enduring the continual wash of the waves.

Hmm?

Somethin appeared amiss!

Gu An keenly sensed that the soul within Li Ya had vanished.

He immediately walked towards Li Ya.

It was only as he approached that Li Ya heard his footsteps.

Li Ya slowly lifted his head. Upon seeing Gu An, surrounded by demonic qi, his expression dramatically changed. He hurriedly scrambled up and knelt before Gu An.

"Primordial Ancestor! Please save my elder! He has been captured by the Traveler of Graceful Crane from the Ephemera Sect!"

Li Ya urgently spoke, his voice even breaking into a sob.

The reason he felt like crying was because he believed Gu An to be the Primordial Ancestor of the Li Family, and in front of his own ancestor, his emotions completely overwhelmed him.

Gu An asked in an aged voice, "What happened?"

MWhile he spread his divine sense to search for traces of Li Ya's soul aura.

He had never met the Traveler of Graceful Crane, so instead of looking for him directly, he searched for the soul aura.

Li Ya began to recount his earlier encounter.

After being defeated by the Traveler of Graceful Crane and suffering humiliation, the Traveler of Graceful Crane took his soul, claiming that if he wanted to save that soul, he should join the Ephemera Sect and find him.

The Li Ya who had diligently cultivated for years felt he had completely changed, but against the Traveler of Graceful Crane, he was utterly powerless, and his confidence was shattered.

Gu An did not find the soul's traces, guessing it was hidden by the Traveler of Graceful Crane. He was not panicked, believing that if he seriously searched, he would eventually find the Traveler of Graceful Crane.

"Why didn't you choose a safe place to practice your swordsmanship, and instead practiced here without even a formation?" Gu An suddenly asked.

He felt Li Ya was commendable in every aspect, except for one bad habit: he was too reckless.

Relying on having his grandfather inside him, he was reckless in his actions and always ended up injured.

This incident would be a good lesson for him!

"I..."

Li Ya wanted to respond, but he was so ashamed he couldn't rationalize his actions.

The reason he chose this place was precisely to attract attacks from demons and ghosts, enabling him to improve during combat.

Of course, his confidence stemmed from the elder's soul within him.

"You always escape from death, but have you ever thought, does it not burden him?" Gu An asked.

Thinking of how often the elder reprimanded him for his recklessness, Li Ya felt even more embarrassed and wished he could hide in a hole.

Seeing his distressed demeanor, Gu An felt a pang of sympathy and couldn't bear to be too harsh.

"You should join the Ephemera Sect," Gu An suddenly said.

Li Ya looked up in shock, unable to believe what his revered ancestor was suggesting.

"The Ephemera Sect harms people. You infiltrate the Ephemera Sect, and at the end of each month, find a mountain peak and release your aura. I will be able to locate you. When the Ephemera Sect gathers, I will make my move," Gu An said indifferently.

Li Ya hurriedly responded, "But isn't that very dangerous? The entire demon path is no match for the Ephemera Sect. It is said that the Ephemera Sect has members beyond the Void Crossing Realm, and not just one!"

Gu An retorted, "The Void Crossing Realm, is it strong?"

Li Ya was silenced.