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

Chapter 159 Jiang Qiong Returns, Hands in the Dark
Has the Old Master Kusong died?

Gu An was somewhat dazed upon hearing Gu Zong's words.

Although he and Patriarch Kusong were not close friends, they had a pleasant chat when they went to the inner sect library.

Upon hearing the news of the passing of the Old Ancestor Kusong, he had an indescribable feeling.

"The Supreme Elder has fallen. I remember that Old Ancestor Kushin was at the Profound Heart Realm, right?" Zhen Qin said, frowning.

When the Ephemeral Flower Sect attacked, the Old Ancestor of Dry Pine fought a great battle with the Crimson Dry Venerable, which made his Daoist name spread throughout the Tai Xuan Sect. He had become a great cultivator in the Tai Xuan Sect whose reputation was second only to the Sword Venerable of Supporting the Dao.

Upon hearing the news of his demise, even Zhen Qin, who had no connection with the Old Ancestor Kusong, felt saddened.

Gu An looked up at the horizon and saw dark clouds, indicating that a storm was about to break.

The fall of Patriarch Kusong shocked the entire Tai Xuan Sect, and the news quickly spread throughout the cultivation world.

Three days later, Gu An arrived at the inner city as scheduled to participate in the worship of the Old Ancestor Kusong. Hundreds of thousands of disciples in the city observed a moment of silence and listened to the sect elders recount the life story of the Old Ancestor Kusong. Even the new disciples who had just joined the Tai Xuan Sect felt grief.

After recounting the life story of Patriarch Kusong, the Tai Xuan Sect also revealed for the first time the great calamity of demons that would erupt decades later, causing an uproar in various cities.

In the days that followed, all the sects of the Taicang Dynasty announced the matter, and the peace in the cultivation world was once again broken, with all cultivators feeling a sense of crisis.

There have already been those who have fallen at the Profound Heart Realm. This calamity is even more terrifying than the previous chaos caused by the Ephemeral Flower Sect.

Autumn passes and winter comes.

Winter snow gradually covered the Xuan Valley.

On this day, Gu An waited early in the Xuan Gu Pavilion because he sensed a familiar aura approaching.

In the dead of night, a figure appeared in front of Gu An's window.

Gu An went to open the window and let the person in.

This was a woman in white wearing a bamboo hat. After entering the house, she took off the hat, turned around and looked at Gu An, who was setting up a protective barrier, and asked with a smile, "My dear grand-disciple, have you missed me?"

After Gu An finished imposing the restriction, he turned around and stood in front of her, asking curiously, "Where have you been all these years? Are you alright?"

He threw a lifespan probe at Jiang Qiong.

Jiang Qiong (Sixth Level of Nascent Soul Realm): 243/700/5490

Ok?
The maximum lifespan is 5,490 years!

Gu An remembered that Jiang Qiong's maximum lifespan was over 2,400 years.

It seems there is a great opportunity within the Path of the Nine Netherworlds!

Jiang Qiong laughed and said, "I went to a mysterious place and obtained a great opportunity. What kind of person am I, your grandmaster? How could I not have a good time?"

Seeing Gu An's concerned expression, Jiang Qiong felt a warmth in her heart.

There are still people in this world who remember her.

Gu An asked Jiang Qiong to sit down first, and then he began to make tea.

"Grand-disciple, how have you been these past years?" Jiang Qiong asked, her gaze sweeping over the furnishings in the room.

Gu An, with his back to her, said, "As always, tending to flowers and plants, reading books. Oh, by the way, in the previous Golden List Competition, I even made it into the top 500, thanks to the magical artifact bestowed upon me by the seniors of the sect..."

Speaking of the Golden List Competition, he was very proud and deliberately showed off to Jiang Qiong.

In the past, Jiang Qiong might have been surprised, but after experiencing the chaos of the Ephemeral Flower Sect and venturing into the Nine Netherworlds, her perspective has undergone a complete transformation.

Faced with Gu An's boasting, she only found it amusing, but at the same time felt very gratified.

She was happy to see that the boy was doing well.

After Gu An finished speaking, he brought the hot tea to the table. After sitting down, he poured the tea and asked, "What about you? Can you tell me something?"

Jiang Qiong smiled and said, "I've offended a big shot and need to hide in the Eight Views Cave for a while. Are you sure you want to know?"

Upon hearing this, Gu An immediately shook his head and said, "Then forget it. As for you wanting to hide, then hide. I definitely won't betray you."

Jiang Qiong had taught him a lot before, and since the Eight Views Cave Heaven originally belonged to Jiang Qiong, taking her in was naturally not a problem.

Most importantly, Gu An already knows who is hunting down Jiang Qiong.

Before going to the Ancient Hao Sect, Gu An discovered Jiang Qiong's figure during a divine sense probe. The reason he accepted the leader's token of the Ephemeral Flower Sect was to leave it for Jiang Qiong.

It just so happens that Jiang Qiong is ambitious!
The two cultivators at the Transcendent Realm were chasing Jiang Qiong, but they had lost track of her and were now wandering around the nearby Great Yu Dynasty.

Hearing Gu An's words, Jiang Qiong smiled. She raised her hand and took out a long white jade bottle, saying, "The spiritual juice inside is a good thing. You should take a sip every month, but not too much, to avoid disrupting your qi and blood. This spiritual juice can improve your physical attributes."

"How can you do that? You should keep it for yourself."

"I've already drunk a lot, this is what's left. This stuff can't work for me anymore, so you can keep it. You're not allowed to refuse!"

Jiang Qiong said with a stern face, and Gu An had no choice but to accept it.

After chatting for half an hour, the two moved to the Eight Views Cave.

Gu An revealed that the Cang Teng tree had developed sentience, but Jiang Qiong disagreed, saying that the Cang Teng tree in Qianqiu Pavilion also had sentience.

Earlier, when they were in the attic, Gu An had already sent a telepathic message to the Cang Teng Tree, instructing it on what things could be said and what things could not be said.

Upon returning to Bajing Cave Heaven, Jiang Qiong could feel that the spiritual energy here was even more abundant than before, which made her very satisfied with Gu An.

"Grand-disciple, Qianqiu Pavilion has been disbanded, and my relatives have died tragically. From now on, I will have to rely on you for survival. You won't mind, will you?" Jiang Qiong raised her hand and leaned on Gu An's shoulder, asking with a smile.

Gu An took a half step to the side and said, "How could I dislike it? I still want to learn formations from you." Then, he went to the old vine tree, dug out the Ji family's divine treasures, and handed them to Jiang Qiong.

This was stolen by Jiang Qiong from the Ji family banquet years ago; it contains records of the divine powers of Heaven and Earth.

Gu An had already mastered the Daoist Qi of Heaven and Earth and even upgraded it to Daoist Yuan Qi. Now, even if he was careless and an enemy of the same realm ambushed him, it would be difficult for him to kill instantly, as the Daoist Yuan Qi could protect his body on its own.

Looking at the divine scriptures in her hand, Jiang Qiong's eyes were filled with complex emotions. For some reason, her feelings were complicated.

Seeing her expression, Gu An knew something was wrong.

Will she be moved?
He immediately made an excuse to leave.

Watching his departing figure, Jiang Qiong thought to herself, "That kid is really stupid; he didn't even bother to study it properly."

She could sense that the restrictions on the Divine Path Treasury were still in place and had not been broken, so she assumed that Gu An had not touched it.

Being so foolish will inevitably lead to trouble sooner or later.

We need to teach him!

……

Jiang Qiong's return did not change Gu An's life. He would only go down to the Eight Views Cave once every seven days. He prepared various medicinal herbs for her in advance and told her not to pick them, but to leave them for him to pick.

Jiang Qiong had known about his fetish for a long time, so after returning to Bajing Cave, she did not do anything reckless. Gu An had already prepared the medicinal herbs, so why should she take action?
Because of the death of Patriarch Kusong, the atmosphere at Tai Xuan Sect was colder than in previous years this winter.

At the end of the year, a major event occurred: the Hanlu Dynasty surrendered, and the Taicang Dynasty annexed the Hanlu Dynasty, breaking the pattern that had lasted for nine dynasties and a thousand years.

Li Xuandao's prestige soared, and even the outer disciples of the Tai Xuan Sect were discussing him.

If he could truly unify the world, he would surely be remembered in history!

Gu An heard from the outer gate that Li Xuandao had begun to send troops to the Wuzhen Dynasty. This time, the people had no complaints and were praising Li Xuandao instead.

It is said that the distant Tianwei Dynasty is also at war, and the current emperor has ambitions no less than Li Xuandao's.

It is worth mentioning that the news of the death of the Old Ancestor Xing Yan did not spread, and Tian Wei did not question Tai Xuan Sect about Si Zong's death, clearly intending to swallow this bitter pill.

These things were none of Gu An's business, so he just listened to the excitement.

As the New Year approaches, Ye Lan and Zhen Qin come to visit Gu An to celebrate the holiday.

Gu An divided the spiritual essence given by Jiang Qiong into three portions and gave them to Ye Lan, Zhen Qin, and Xiao Chuan separately, telling them not to tell anyone.

Just after the Spring Festival, the Tai Xuan Sect began recruiting disciples to explore the land of demons.

Faced with an inevitable calamity, the Tai Xuan Sect did not want to sit idly by and wait for its demise, so it offered generous rewards to attract its disciples to investigate.

Some disciples whose time was running out or who were encountering difficulties in their cultivation eagerly signed up, while Gu An told Ye Lan and Zhen Qin not to participate, and fortunately the two girls listened.

In the years that followed, news about demons continued to reach the Tai Xuan Sect.

The number of demons and monsters in various regions of the Nine Dynasties is increasing, which is clearly a sign of a demonic calamity.

Time flies by like a fleeting moment.

Two years later, in late autumn.

Under the cover of night, in a mountain forest, Di Xie walked.

He stopped in his tracks. From the darkness ahead, a flock of black crows flew out. These crows swept past Di Xie and landed on a large tree behind him, coalescing into a figure, pitch black and eerie, its true form obscured.

"His Majesty is looking for you. Aren't you going back?" the mysterious figure said.

Di Xie retorted, "What's the point of going back? Aren't we going south sooner or later?"

His tone was full of sarcasm.

"Why are you so resistant to His Majesty's plan?" the mysterious figure asked in a deep voice.

Di Xie scoffed, "Isn't the world big enough? Even in the land of demons, there are countless mountains that are not under his control. Why must he exterminate the human race?"

The mysterious figure snorted, "The demon race and the human race are irreconcilable enemies. Only by annihilating the human race can we ensure our safety."

"But there are still humans overseas. How long will it take to wipe them out? I think he has been bewitched by the sorcerer!"

"Do not speak ill of the Demon Master!"

"Anyway, I don't care. I'm not going back. I'm going to cultivate in the Tai Xuan Sect. Don't come looking for me again. If you're caught by the Sword Venerable Fu Dao, even if you die, I won't lift a finger!"

After saying this, Di Xie turned and left.

The mysterious figure said coldly, "Sword Master Fudao? The withered pine patriarch of the Tai Xuan Sect died at my hands. If I were to encounter Sword Master Fudao, I would make him suffer the same fate as the withered pine patriarch, boiled into meat soup!"

Di Xie did not turn back and disappeared into the darkness.

The mysterious figure snorted coldly, transformed into a flock of black crows, and flew away from the mountains and forests, heading north.

The flock of black crows flew extremely fast and soon left the Taicang Dynasty.

Half an hour later, the crows flew over the Beihai Mountains and arrived at the forests of the Taichen Dynasty.

The crows flew into the mountains and landed beside a small river, where they reformed into human form. This time, he revealed his true form: a crow's head and a human body, covered in black feathers, with his wings folded on his back. He crouched down and submerged his hands in the river.

The night was slightly cool, and the river surface shimmered with light.

Snapped!
A hand suddenly pressed on his shoulder, causing his face to stiffen.

Third update. Today's update was faster; I feel better now.
Please vote for me with your monthly tickets!
By the way, I'd like to recommend a new book; you might want to check it out if you're interested.
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(End of this chapter)