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

Chapter 127 The Immortal King's Crown, the Evil Emperor
Gu An used lifespan detection on the thirteen figures in the woods and found that all thirteen people had the same cultivation level, all at the third level of the Integration Realm, and were also the same age.

They all share the surname Li.

Gu An couldn't help but think of the Nine Nether Thirteen Fiends who had previously alarmed the cultivation world.

What are these people doing at Tai Xuan Sect?
There are still several years until the Golden List Awards Ceremony.

Seeing that they weren't moving fast, Gu An didn't rush to stop them, wanting to see what their purpose was.

The large coffin caught Gu An's attention. He probed the coffin with his divine sense and found a skeleton inside. The skeleton exuded an eerie feeling and wore a dark gold crown on its head. The gems on the crown had disappeared, leaving only grooves. Even so, it still looked extraordinary.

About half an incense stick's time has passed.

The thirteen figures stopped in unison. Li Shouyou, who was at the front, turned around, waved his hand, and the four people carrying the large coffin put it down and began to open the coffin.

Just as the coffin lid was opened, a hand suddenly pressed down on it.

The thirteen people all looked toward the end of the coffin, where they saw Gu An standing there, his body shrouded in dark purple demonic energy, his right hand pressing against the coffin lid.

The woods fell silent.

The thirteen people neither ran nor attacked; the other twelve all looked at Li Shouyou.

They were completely black, like ghosts, their true faces obscured, and their emotions impossible to discern.

Li Shouyou nodded slightly, then knelt down. Seeing this, the other twelve people followed suit and knelt down.

"The Nine Netherworld Thirteen Fiends pay their respects to the Sword Venerable Fudao!"

Li Shouyou said in a deep voice, his voice not loud, but his words were clear.

Gu An was surprised. Had these people come specifically to see him?
No wonder they're behaving strangely; it doesn't seem like they're about to invade.

Gu An spoke up: "Give me a reason not to destroy you."

These thirteen people must be ghost cultivators, surrounded by ghostly energy, but they still possess human blood and vitality.

Li Shouyou replied, "We are the Thirteen Fiends of the Nine Netherworlds, sent by the Ghost Mother of the Ephemeral Flower to present the Immortal King's Crown to the Sword Venerable Fudao, in order to help the Sword Venerable regain his terrestrial immortal status!"

The Ephemeral Flower Demon Mother?

Gu An was even more surprised. The cultivation level of the Ephemeral Flower Ghost Mother was one minor realm lower than that of the Thirteen Fiends of the Nine Netherworlds. How could she command these people?
"Why?" Gu An asked.

He did not sense any hostility from these thirteen people, which suggests they may not be lying.

Li Shouyou replied, "This is the Ghost Mother's order. She has been studying your sword intent at the Tai Xuan Sect for many years and discovered that you have mastered the Tai Cang Jing Shen Sword. This sword technique was popularized by the Li family of the Tai Cang Dynasty, but in fact, this sword technique was not created by the ancestor of the Li family, but came from the Immortal King of the Tan Hua Sect, who is also the ancestor of the Ghost Mother."

"That's why the Ghost Mother came to the Taicang Dynasty, hoping to find the ancestral inheritance before the Ephemeral Flower Sect destroyed the Taicang Dynasty. Two hundred years ago, the Ghost Mother came here, but unfortunately the descendants of the Li family were mediocre and no one could comprehend the Taicang Shocking Divine Sword, so the Ghost Mother could only lie dormant."

Gu An's Tai Cang Jing Shen Sword did indeed come from the Li family, but he did not expect that the Li family's ancestor was related to the Tan Hua Sect.

"Does your Ghost Mother want the Tai Cang Jing Divine Sword?" Gu An asked.

Li Shouyou replied, "The Ghost Mother wishes to invite you back to the Ephemeral Flower Sect so that you may reclaim your position as sect leader with the sword intent of the Tai Cang Jing Shen Sword!"

After hearing this, Gu An fell silent.

What is this routine?
Driving a tiger to devour a wolf?

Gu An pushed open the coffin lid with one hand and found that the coffin was quite sturdy and contained a lot of restrictions, so it was probably a magic artifact.

His gaze fell on the skeleton in the coffin. Although it was lifeless, the skeleton was very strange. Just to be on the safe side, he still cast a lifespan probe on it.

[Evil Emperor (Great Ascension Realm Level 5): 7600/9999/9999]

Good guy!
It can still be probed, and its lifespan is exactly the same as An Hao's.

Gu An remained expressionless. He leaped up and landed on the edge of the coffin, looking down at the Evil Emperor's skeleton.

The Thirteen Fiends of the Nine Netherworlds immediately knelt down, remaining silent.

Gu An's eyes suddenly widened, and two cold glints shot out from them.

boom!
The Evil Emperor's bones were instantly blasted to dust, leaving only the Immortal King's Crown lying inside the coffin, while the bottom of the coffin was pierced by the Divine Light of Breaking the Dao.

The Nine Netherworld Thirteen Fiends looked up, glanced at it, and then lowered their heads again.

A notification appeared before Gu An's eyes:

You have successfully seized 320 years of the Evil Emperor's (Grand Ascension Realm Level 5) lifespan.

Gu An immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Damn!

I was almost scared to death!
Who would have thought that this skeleton was still alive, and with a cultivation level of the fifth level of the Mahayana Realm!
In that instant, Gu An imagined many possibilities, and he even felt that he had saved the world from a disaster.

The name "Evil Emperor" doesn't sound like a good thing at all.

Moreover, he was feigning death and hiding inside a coffin, clearly harboring a shocking conspiracy.

Gu An raised his hand and took the Immortal King's Crown into his hand. He did not grab it with his bare hands, but used his spiritual power to attach the Immortal King's Crown to avoid physical contact with it.

He looked at Li Shouyou and asked, "Do you know the Evil Emperor?"

Upon hearing this, Li Shouyou was stunned for a moment, then quickly said, "To tell you the truth, this skeleton is the skeleton of the Evil Emperor. Five thousand years ago, during the internal strife of the Ephemeral Flower Sect, the Evil Emperor was ambushed by a villain and poisoned. He was unable to gather his spiritual power, and in desperation, he put on the Immortal King's Crown. As a result, he was immediately drained of his life force and turned into skeleton. Therefore, the Immortal King's Crown was listed as an evil artifact by the Ephemeral Flower Sect, and no one dared to touch it."

"If that's the case, why do you still dare to send this thing to me?" Gu An's tone revealed a chilling killing intent.

Li Shouyou calmly replied, "If one masters the Tai Cang Jing Shen Sword, the Immortal King's Crown will sense its sword intent and recognize it as its master. The person who created this crown will be the same person who created the Tai Cang Jing Shen Sword." Gu An continued, "What is the relationship between the Ephemeral Flower Ghost Mother and the Evil Emperor?"

"The Ghost Mother is a descendant of the Evil Emperor."

"How could she send her ancestor's remains to me? Isn't she afraid of offending me?"

"The Ghost Mother hates her own bloodline. She was turned into an evil ghost by her father when she was young. So she is looking for the descendants of the Li family. The Li family has nothing to do with her bloodline. The ancestor of the Li family was just a disciple of the Tanhua Sect. She wants others who inherit the Tai Cang Jing Divine Sword to seize the position of the Tanhua Sect leader and complete her revenge."

How can you be so sure you can find me?

"The Ghost Mother said that as long as we approach the outer city where the Heaven-Mending Platform is located, even if we hide our cultivation, you will still notice us because the difference in cultivation level is too great."

The method of concealing one's aura used by Li Shouyou and others is indeed formidable; only Gu An could see through it.

To this day, they have not revealed a trace of their presence.

Gu An continued to question him, and Li Shouyou answered each question.

After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Gu An pondered and said, "I accept the Immortal King's Crown. You may all leave now."

Li Shouyou flipped his hand and took out a short flute, saying, "This is the Nine Nether Flute. As long as you play it, we will come immediately and be at your command. From now on, you are the leader of the Ephemeral Flower Sect, at least in our hearts!"

Gu An raised his hand and then used his divine sense to investigate. After confirming that there were no surveillance cameras or reverse tracking restrictions inside, he put it into his storage bag.

He jumped off the coffin and gestured for Jiuyou Shisanli to leave.

The thirteen fierce spirits of the Nine Netherworlds bowed to him, then lifted the coffin and left.

Gu An did not return to the valley immediately, but instead sat down under a tree and placed the Immortal King's Crown in front of him.

According to Li Shouyou, tens of thousands of years ago, there was a Celestial Dynasty in the human world, where everyone could cultivate immortality. At that time, there was no emperor, and the ruler of the Celestial Dynasty called himself the Celestial King, ruling over the immortals and gods on the land. Later, the Celestial Dynasty encountered misfortune, natural disasters occurred one after another, cultivators encountered inner demons one after another, and plagues spread. From its peak to its destruction, it only took ten years.

Although the Celestial King survived, the Celestial Dynasty no longer existed, and he dared not call himself a Celestial again, nor dared to challenge the might of Heaven.

In the years that followed, his descendants founded the Tanhua Sect. One of the sect leaders created the Tai Cang Jing Shen Sword, whose sword intent shocked the heavens and brought about a heavenly tribulation, hence the name Jing Shen (meaning "shocking the gods"). This sect leader believed that he had reached the realm of his ancestor, the Immortal King, but he still could not live forever. So, when his life was about to end, he used his own cultivation to forge the Immortal King Crown. This crown contained the power of the Immortal King, and all the sect leaders in the past had studied it, but they could not subdue the Immortal King Crown. Instead, they were plagued by misfortune because of it.

Gu An used his divine sense to probe the Immortal King's Crown, but even with his cultivation at the ninth level of the Mahayana Realm, he was unable to penetrate it.

He dared not use his own sword intent to test it. Even if Li Shouyou was lying, this method might not be true, since no one had ever succeeded.

After thinking it over, Gu An felt that this thing was too eerie and it was best not to keep it around.

He stood up, used the Limitless Free Step, and quickly arrived at the North Sea Mountain Range.

He dived directly to the bottom of the North Sea, buried the Fairy Crown and Piccolo in the seabed mud, and sealed them with a protective barrier.

I'll delve into it again after I break through several major realms.

Anyway, Gu An doesn't need to borrow the power of the Immortal King's Crown.

After finishing all this, Gu An quickly returned to Xuan Valley to continue celebrating the festival with his disciples.

……

After the Nine Netherworld Thirteen Fiends left, Gu An's life returned to peace, and no one bothered him anymore.

Three years passed quickly.

Gu An turned seventy.

On this day, in Tianya Valley.

Gu Angang was in a good mood after picking the herbs, and personally delivered them to the storeroom.

He had just stepped out when he saw Lü Xian approaching.

When Lü Xian saw him, her expression immediately became unnatural.

Since being defeated by Gu An, he has been cultivating diligently every day, and his cultivation level has increased rapidly. He is now at the sixth level of the Nascent Soul Realm.

A ninety-nine-year-old Nascent Soul Realm sixth level!

That's outrageous!
But Lü Xian felt frustrated. Despite consuming so many pills, he ultimately failed to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm before the age of one hundred.

"Are you participating in the Golden List Competition?" Lü Xian asked, leaning closer.

Gu An laughed and said, "Why would I participate? With my qualifications, I would only embarrass myself."

Lu Xian's lips twitched. He took a deep breath and said, "I'm going to participate. One night three years ago, I suddenly felt much less pressure. In the past three years, I've also been free from the influence of inner demons and dreams. It's a good opportunity to participate in the Golden List Competition and relax."

Relax?

Others are likely to suffer.

Gu An mentally complained as he followed along, sensing the remnant soul's aura within Lü Xian's body.

Huh?
One of his remnant souls is missing; he previously had seven souls, but now he only has six.

Three years ago, on a night...

Gu An suddenly realized something: Could it be that the Evil Emperor also left a remnant soul in Lü Xian's body?
This is unreasonable.

What is the relationship between the Evil Emperor and Lu Xian?
The Evil Emperor was the long-deceased leader of the Ephemeral Flower Sect, and Lü Xian was the biological son of Lü Baitian...

and many more!

Could Lü Baitian be connected to the Ephemeral Flower Sect?
Update begins!
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(End of this chapter)