If I become a saint, a celestial official will summon me to raise horses.

Chapter 118 Killing him requires a sword?
Gu An and Wu Jue exchanged their insights on enlightenment, talking until the early morning of the next day, and both benefited greatly.

Before parting, Wu Jue once again instructed him not to reveal his enlightenment to anyone else.

Seeing how cautious the other party was, Gu An smiled and assured them.

Wu Jue watched Gu An leave, a smile spreading across his face.

Having lived in the Tai Xuan Sect for so many years, Gu An was the first true friend he had ever made. Before, he was very self-conscious and dared not communicate much with others. The only person he was familiar with was his master, so his master's death was a great shock to him.

Wu Jue turned and went back into the house to continue his cultivation, while looking forward to his next conversation with Gu An.

After staying in the city for half an hour, Gu An returned to the Third Medicine Valley. After inspecting the valley, he left in a hurry.

He first stayed in Xuan Valley for about half an hour, and then came to Xuan Tian Cave.

The Xuantian Cave has already planted quite a few medicinal herbs, but it is still far from being fully planted.

Gu An plans to plant herbs of the fifth rank or higher here. This is his private territory, a place that no one knows about.

Jiang Qiong and Hao Long knew about the Eight Views Cave Heaven, but only he knew about the Mysterious Heaven Cave Mansion.

During the planting process, he sensed the atmosphere of battle coming from the north.

The aura of the Nine Netherworld Path still lingers, having persisted for several months. The Nine Dynasties have continuously dispatched cultivators to fight, temporarily curbing the unrest caused by the Ephemeral Flower Sect.

This is normal. If the Ephemeral Flower Sect were far stronger than the Nine Dynasties, it would have swept through the Nine Dynasties long ago.

Gu An paid no attention to the battle in the distance; he focused on planting grass.

He could stay in the Xuan Tian Cave tonight, since it was already the end of the month, and he couldn't miss the chance if Li Ya wanted to contact him.

After Gu An and Li Ya made their agreement, Li Ya did not reveal his presence on a mountaintop at the end of the month. Perhaps he had no choice. Gu An was not in a hurry. In any case, he would come to Xuantian Cave at the end of each month and use his divine sense to explore the north to search for Li Ya's presence.

And so, Gu An planted all the seeds he had brought, and also set up a formation. When night fell, he used the Nine Extremes Yin Yang Body, transformed into a demonic shadow, and headed north.

……

Under the cover of night, Li Ya, carrying the Beihai Heavy Sword, arrived at the mountaintop. He looked up and saw towering mountains stretching as far as the eye could see. The night sky was shrouded in dark clouds, obscuring the stars and moon.

"This place is so far from the North Sea Mountains, I wonder if the Ancestor will be able to find me," Li Ya thought worriedly.

The ancestor's voice echoed in his mind: "Nine great cultivators have appeared one after another, yet they have been unable to shake that female cultivator. When the main lineage of the Ephemeral Flower Sect descends, it will be even more dangerous. Even if the ancestor arrives, he will not be able to turn the tide."

He also believed that Gu An was the ancestor of the Li family, but he did not have faith in the ancestor.

The progenitor was at a higher level than he was in his lifetime, but there were also such people within the lineage of the Ephemeral Flower Sect, and more than one.

After hearing this, Li Ya fell silent.

He turned his head to look, his mind scattered, fearing that a cultivator from the Ephemeral Flower Sect was following him.

After confirming that no one was following him, Li Ya took off his heavy sword and then sat down to meditate.

He placed the greatsword on his lap, carefully stroking it and feeling the blade.

He has already mastered a trace of the sword intent of the Tai Cang Jing Shen Sword. The longer he studies the Tai Cang Jing Shen Sword, the more he feels that this sword technique is unfathomable. Once he masters this sword technique, he will be able to fight freely within the same realm, and even beyond.

A cold wind blew by, and although there was no snow, it was still bitterly cold.

I don’t know how much time has passed.

A figure appeared behind Li Ya, watching him silently.

It was Gu An, who was using the Nine Extremes Yin Yang Body technique, who was observing Li Ya's swordsmanship.

Not bad, it did not disappoint the swordsmanship he left behind.

"he came……"

The old ancestor's voice rang in Li Ya's ears, his tone complex.

Upon hearing this, Li Ya opened his eyes, turned his head, and immediately got up when he saw Gu An. He then raised the Beihai Heavy Sword and bowed to Gu An.

Now he can lift the Beihai Heavy Sword with one hand.

"Meet the ancestor!"

Gu An didn't bother to explain Li Ya's title; as long as no one guessed his true identity, that was fine.

"Tell me about the situation of the Ephemeral Flower Sect," Gu An said, speaking in his usual different voice.

Li Ya began to report the situation.

Now, all the followers of the Ephemeral Flower Sect have gathered at the entrance to the Path of the Nine Netherworlds, numbering over a million. Every cultivator in the Ephemeral Flower Sect has been imprinted with the Ephemeral Flower Seal, making it impossible for those wavering cultivators to escape.

He mentioned the Epiphyllum tree, where almost every day monks would go to fight the Epiphyllum Cult, only to die and become nutrients for the tree.

Mentioning this tree, even the usually fearless Li Ya showed a look of fear on his face.

Gu An didn't care about any of that; he was only curious about how strong the strongest person in the Tan Hua Sect's lineage was.

Unfortunately, Li Ya didn't know either. They talked for a long time about the battle around the Epiphyllum Tree, without mentioning the situation inside the Nine Nether Path.

"So that's why you sneaked out. You were trying to pass on intelligence. It seems your backer is also helpless and unable to respond to you."

A disdainful laugh rang out, startling Li Ya so much that his expression changed drastically, and he looked behind Gu An.

A scholar-like figure emerged from the woods, while Gu An, whose back was to him, did not turn around.

"The Shadow Demon Art, may I ask which master of the Thousand Autumns Pavilion you are?" Jinghongke asked with a smile. He then took down the book box on his back, placed it in front of him, and reached out to rummage through it.

Before Gu An could speak, Li Ya said urgently, "Ancestor, his name is Jinghongke. He's the one who stole my ancestor's soul. He's very strong, so you can't be careless!"

Gu An turned his head, glancing at Jing Hongke out of the corner of his eye. [Jing Hongke (Ninth Level of the Integration Realm): 1209/3020/3030]

A ninth-level Integration Realm cultivator, no wonder he's so arrogant.

Such cultivation level is enough to dominate the Taicang Dynasty!
Gu An slowly turned around and looked at Jing Hongke, who was looking for something. He wasn't in a hurry and looked at Jing Hongke's clothes.

A great cultivator at the ninth level of the Integration Realm needs to search for things with his bare hands?

This guy clearly thinks he has Gu An under his thumb and is deliberately trying to mess with Gu An and Li Ya's mentality.

"Ancestor? So you're from the same family. Then I'll torture you to death in front of him, so he'll give up any wicked thoughts he shouldn't have." Jinghongke sneered.

Upon hearing this, Li Ya immediately went to Gu An's side and presented him with the Beihai Heavy Sword.

"Do I need a sword to kill him?"

Gu An's hoarse voice made Li Ya pause, and Jing Hongke's rummaging also stopped.

Jinghongke looked up at Gu An. The two were standing on the slope, with Gu An taller than him.

He couldn't see Gu An's true face, but for some reason, looking at the other person's figure made him feel uneasy.

He suddenly pulled a scroll from his book box. As the scroll was opened, terrifying lava erupted, blotting out the sky and creating a magnificent spectacle.

Li Ya stood frozen in place, unable to react at all.

With lightning speed, Gu An raised his right hand and flicked his finger, sending out a beam of light that pierced through the terrifying magma and forcefully struck Jing Hongke's throat, causing blood to spurt from the back of his neck.

Jinghongke stared wide-eyed, his eyes filled with disbelief.

As he leaned back, a foot stepped on his back.

boom!
The mountains trembled violently. Under Li Ya's gaze, the powerful Jinghongke, who had once driven him to despair, was trampled underfoot by the Ancestor, sending rubble flying.

"Ugh..."

Jinghongke spat out a mouthful of blood. He discovered in despair that his spiritual power was suppressed within his body and could not leave it. He was even unable to use magic to move around.

He had never felt such oppressive force before.

Even a Grandmaster of the Profound Heart Realm could not exert such suppression on him.

Could it be that he has already reached the fifth level of the Profound Heart Realm or higher?

The astonished traveler sensed the absurdity.

boom! boom! boom……

Gu An began stomping his feet, stepping on Jing Hongke's back one step at a time. More and more bloodstains appeared under Jing Hongke, and cracks appeared in the mountain.

Surrounded by dark purple demonic energy, Gu An looked like a demon god from the underworld. Even Li Ya couldn't help but feel a sense of fear.

The ancestral soul within him also fell silent.

After being stomped nine times, Jinghongke had lost his fighting ability.

Gu An's right foot ignited with the Taiqing True Fire, which attached itself to Jing Hongke's body. He then retreated, using his left hand to extract Jing Hongke's primordial spirit, and his right hand to lift the book box beside him.

The body of the astonishing stranger was quickly burned to ashes, and Gu An's figure vanished along with it, leaving only one sentence:

"From now on, just try your best to live. You don't need to come looking for me again."

Li Ya stood on the hillside, gazing at the ashes of Jinghongke, and remained silent for a long time.

After a while.

He couldn't help but ask himself, "Do you still think that the Founder has no chance against the main lineage of the Ephemeral Flower Sect?"

The ancestor did not answer.

……

Inside the Xuan Tian Cave, Gu An sat at a stone table, casting a soul-capturing spell on Jing Hongke's primordial spirit.

As expected, Jinghongke was not from the Nine Dynasties; he came from the lineage of the Tanhua Sect, and he arrived very early.

Three hundred years ago, the main lineage of the Ephemeral Flower Sect descended upon the land of the Nine Dynasties. He and several fellow disciples were separated. The other disciples went to carry out the main lineage's grand plan and find a suitable puppet sect, while he traveled alone, seeking immortal destiny.

The reason he dared to act so uniquely was because he was a core disciple of the main lineage and had a distinguished background.

Two hundred years ago, he witnessed the powerful Lü Baitian and realized he was no match for him, so he avoided his sharp edge and lay low for two hundred years.

The reason why the main lineage of the Ephemeral Flower Sect came to the Land of Nine Dynasties was because they knew that the Land of Nine Dynasties would be devoured by demons. In their view, the humans here would die sooner or later, so it would be better to offer them up to the Ephemeral Flower Tree.

The Epiphyllum tree is most fond of the spiritual power and flesh of human cultivators. If it can devour people from nine dynasties, it can transcend destiny and reach the legendary ninth-order realm.

At that time, the Epiphyllum tree could open the Path to the Netherworld at any time, providing convenience for the Epiphyllum sect's main lineage to act, allowing them to go wherever they wanted.

Through Jinghongke's memories, Gu An learned about the hierarchical status of the main lineage of the Tanhua Sect. The Golden Spirit Venerable he had previously killed was one of the hundred Venerables of the main lineage. All one hundred Venerables had the cultivation of the Profound Heart Realm, and the master of the main lineage had even crossed the Profound Heart Realm five hundred years ago, reaching the legendary Mahayana Realm.

In other words, the main lineage of the Ephemeral Flower Sect only has one person at the Mahayana Realm!

In five hundred years, could that lineage leader have reached the ninth level of the Mahayana realm?

Gu An thought to himself silently.

Several hours later, he withdrew his divine sense, then finished off Jinghongke and took away two hundred and nine years of his lifespan.

Gu An rested his right hand on the book box, his index finger tapping lightly on it, his eyes flickering.

No more waiting!
Tomorrow we'll deal with the Epiphyllum tree under the Nine Netherworld Road to avoid any unforeseen complications. In any case, even if he doesn't take action, the Epiphyllum Sect's lineage won't give up!
Thank you to Yu Zhiwu for the 1128 Qidian coins, Zhi Qiu Da Zizai for the 100 Qidian coins, Xue Rengui for the 100 reading coins, and Wo Zhen Bu Shi Chao Ren for the 100 Qidian coins!
Update begins!
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(End of this chapter)