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

Chapter 39 Nascent Soul Blocks the Way, Despicable

"What's the big deal?"

Gu An smiled and asked, "When I arrived at the outer city today, I did feel that the atmosphere was not right, and I had an inexplicable sense of tension."

Ye Lan said, "The sect leader is vying for power with a certain elder. Some time ago, the emperor of the dynasty came to the Tai Xuan Sect and selected that elder's personal disciple as the national teacher, granting him the official rank of a first-grade immortal. He also announced this to the world, which greatly boosted the morale of that elder's side. They also spread unfavorable rumors about the sect leader."

Lu Jiujia was beaten to a punch by her, and his eyes were filled with resentment. After she finished speaking, he quickly added, "The sect leader's style is domineering and has offended many elders. In recent years, there have been repeated cases of disciples being injured or killed and demonic invasions in the territories outside the outer sect. Many elders in the sect are dissatisfied with this. Now that the emperor is supporting them, the sect leader's enemies will naturally not tolerate it. How can things not be chaotic with such a struggle?"

Gu An asked curiously, "Doesn't the sect leader have absolute power? Isn't he the strongest cultivator in the Tai Xuan Sect?"

“Of course not. The sect leader was also elected by the elders. Moreover, in terms of cultivation within the Tai Xuan Sect, the strongest person is not the sect leader, but the eldest disciple of the true lineage. It is said that he is the most talented person in the Tai Xuan Sect in a thousand years. He goes out to explore and rarely returns. I have heard a rumor that if he wants to be the sect leader today, he will be the sect leader at the latest tomorrow.” Lu Jiujia replied, his tone becoming excited when he talked about the eldest disciple of the true lineage.

"That's amazing? What's his name?"

"Ahem, I haven't found out yet."

Lu Jiujia coughed lightly, trying to cover up his embarrassment.

Ye Lan rolled her eyes at him, then looked at Gu An and said softly, "I did hear a lot of inside stories in the Enforcement Hall. The open and covert struggles within the sect's main city have spread to the inner and outer sects. Senior brother, you have to be careful in Xuan Valley. Those people are capable of anything to fight for power."

Gu An chuckled and said, "Surely not? Does anyone really dare to slaughter Xuan Valley and then frame the other side?"

Upon hearing this, Gu An himself panicked.

If someone is already raising greedy and angry demons outside the outer gate, what else is impossible?
Ye Lan noticed his worry, reached out and held his hand, comforting him, "Senior brother, don't be afraid, I will find a way to persuade the Enforcement Hall to increase patrols in the various medicine valleys of the outer sect."

Gu An naturally pulled his hand back. He had only been distracted for a moment, yet she had managed to sneak up on him.

Well, actually he saw it, but he was afraid that his reaction was too fast and would arouse suspicion from his junior brothers and sisters.

Lu Jiujia chuckled to himself, only to be glared at by Ye Lan.

“You all need to be more careful than I am. Power struggles like this are far more dangerous than going out to slay demons,” Gu An said earnestly.

Lu Jiujia was very confident, saying that he could not possibly die.

Ye Lan said that she was in the law enforcement hall, and no one dared to touch her easily.

The Enforcement Hall oversees all other halls. Joining the Enforcement Hall grants one power superior to that of ordinary disciples. However, disciples of the Enforcement Hall do not have as much training time as ordinary disciples. They are responsible for handling any incidents that occur in any hall.

Gu An looked at Ye Lan, his heart filled with emotion.

Having only been out of the valley for a few years, Ye Lan has undergone a complete transformation. She is no longer the little girl who used to follow him around. Now she is heroic and capable, making people feel reliable.

The three of them drank and chatted.

Most of the time, it was Lu Jiujia and Ye Lan who did the talking, and through their words, Gu An gained a lot of understanding of the situation of the Tai Xuan Sect.

He felt very gratified that his junior brothers and sisters, whom he had mentored, were taking care of him in return, which gave him a unique sense of accomplishment.

If Xuan Gu disciples are scattered in various halls of the outer sect, or even enter the inner sect, wouldn't he have all the power and influence?

Gu Anguang felt excited just thinking about it.

Two hours later, Lu Jiujia left first. Gu An declined Ye Lan's invitation to go to her residence to taste the delicacies, and then left the outer city with a reluctant expression.

Riding on his flying sword, soaring against the wind, Gu An was in a very good mood.

The sky gradually turned crimson, and dusk was approaching.

Gu An's apparent cultivation level had reached the ninth level of Qi Refining, so his flight speed was not slow. He admired the undulating mountains and forests along the way.

In the blink of an eye, half an hour had passed.

Suddenly, Gu An, who was flying, saw a figure fly out of the mountains and forests ahead and quickly approach him, so he slowed down.

An old man in white robes came riding on a sword, carrying a gourd of wine in his hand. His nose was as red as a date, as if he had just been drunk.

"My little friend, please stay!"

The voice of the white-robed elder came, and Gu An could sense that the other party's cultivation aura was at the Foundation Establishment stage, but just to be on the safe side, he still used a lifespan probe.

Lin Futian (Nascent Soul Realm Level 1): 603/800/840

Good guy!
Nascent Soul Realm!
Gu An cursed the other party inwardly for being insidious, having actually cultivated a secret technique to conceal their cultivation level.

The two quickly met in the air. Lin Futian had a friendly smile on his face and said, "Young friend, I am Lin Kun, a disciple of the Outer Sect's Enforcement Hall. There is something I need to ask you. Recently, there have been many spies from the demonic path. How about we go to the woods to talk?"

Gu An nodded. At this point, it probably wouldn't work if he refused, so he might as well play it by ear.

The two quickly landed in the forest, and Gu An casually picked two leaves.

Lin Futian stepped forward and asked mysteriously, "Young friend, have you ever heard of Xu Ruye of the Ten Thousand Yin Sect?"

Xu Ruye?
That's very familiar!
I killed him!
He could never forget how Xu Ruye and Chan Ji tried to move into his medicine valley and even injured Li Ya.

Gu An feigned confusion and asked, "I've heard of the Wan Yin Sect, but who is Xu Ruye?"

“Xu Ruye was a genius of the Wanyin Sect, and his father was the vice leader of the Wanyin Sect. He died in this area, and recently many spies from the Wanyin Sect have been investigating the cause of his death,” Lin Futian said, stepping forward. Gu An immediately stepped back, keeping his distance from him.

Seeing his wary expression, Lin Futian grinned: "What? Young friend, you don't suspect I'm a spy for the Wan Yin Sect, do you?"

Gu An shook his head and said, "This junior dares not, but this junior has never heard of Xu Ruye. Since you are a member of the Enforcement Hall, why do you need to ask me?"

"Hahaha--"

Lin Futian laughed loudly. He suddenly waved his sleeve, and surging spiritual power spread like mist, quickly covering an area of ​​several miles in radius.

Gu An panicked, raised his sword with his right hand, and looked at him nervously.

Lin Futian then opened the wine gourd, and a foul smell of alcohol wafted out. He grinned maliciously, "Don't be afraid, your fifteen fellow disciples are inside with you..."

Gu An gritted his teeth and asked, "Who exactly are you? What is your background? Even if I die, can't I at least die knowing why?"

"Didn't you guess it?" Lin Futian sneered. He raised his hand and grabbed at Gu An from a distance, a powerful spiritual force binding him and forcibly pulling him towards him.

Gu An's face showed despair as his body soared into the air and flew rapidly toward Lin Futian.

Lin Futian grabbed him with his left hand, while holding the wine gourd in his right hand and poured it into his mouth.

boom!
Suddenly, Gu An in the air unleashed a terrifying aura, instantly shattering his spiritual power.

Lin Futian's pupils suddenly dilated, and a leaf was reflected in his eyes.

The leaf, surrounded by sharp sword energy, moved with lightning speed, piercing directly through Lin Futian's brow. Blood splattered as the leaf streaked away.

Rumbling--

The trunks of the trees were blasted apart, and dust rose up, making it look like a giant gray wall that stretched for miles.

Lin Futian trembled all over, his face filled with disbelief. He exclaimed in shock and anger, "You... you actually concealed your cultivation... despicable..."

Gu An took a step forward and stood in front of him, his right index and middle fingers pressed together like a sword against his chest.

boom!
The sword energy erupted, instantly shattering Lin Futian's physical body and dispersing the dust behind him. It was incredibly domineering, causing trees on both sides to fall outwards, revealing a ravine several miles long.

Suddenly, a figure flew out from the billowing dust. It was an infant, but with an aged face, which looked strange. It was Lin Futian's nascent soul.

He flew at full speed toward the horizon, when suddenly he heard a whooshing sound.

He subconsciously turned his head to look, and a leaf rushed towards him, instantly destroying his nascent soul, and a cloud of blood mist bloomed in the air.

Gu An raised his hand and grabbed his flying sword. He took a step forward, sword energy emanating from his body, and he transformed into a sword shadow, speeding away and quickly disappearing into the mountains and forests.

He didn't head towards Xuan Valley, but instead went in another direction. As he sped along, a notification popped up:
You have successfully seized 25 years of Lin Futian's (Nascent Soul Realm Level 1) lifespan.

It's a bit short, but there's nothing we can do about it. Although Lin Futian is at the Nascent Soul stage, at 603 years old, he only has 197 years left to live.

Gu An didn't think much of it. He took a long detour and then returned to Xuan Valley as quickly as possible.

He climbed through the window into the attic hall, sat down at the table, and with a swift movement of his right hand, snatched a jar of wine from the wine cabinet. He then began to drink it in large gulps.

After taking a sip of wine, he gently put the wine jar down. His right hand trembled slightly, and his heart was pounding.

"Whoosh..."

Gu An tried to calm himself down.

That's fucking terrifying!
I ran into a demonic spy on my way home!
Gu An was worried that his actions had caused too much of a stir, so he decided to stay out of the valley for the next month to avoid the limelight.

"No, it's too dangerous... Today they've jumped out of the Nascent Soul realm to block me, but one day they might appear at the Divine Transformation realm, or even higher..."

Gu An quickly brought up his attribute panel. Looking at his lifespan of over 91,000, his anxiety subsided somewhat.

The path of cultivation is truly fraught with danger. Even an ordinary cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining can be intercepted by a powerful cultivator at the first level of Nascent Soul. Isn't that frightening?

Gu An thought of the fifteen souls inside the wine gourd and couldn't help but feel sorry for them.

Next, he plans to forcibly harvest a batch of herbs to try and extend his lifespan to 100,000 years, hoping to unlock new features, and then immediately spend his life to achieve that!

Gu An took a deep breath, took out the Qingxia Travelogue from his pocket, and tried to distract himself.

As night fell, cheers from the disciples rang out from outside the window. Gu An used his divine sense to investigate and found that Tang Yu and Su Han were sparring again, while the other disciples watched the spectacle.

Normally, he would have gone down to watch the excitement, but he wasn't in the mood now.

He read the Travelogue of the Green Knights carefully, and his heart had calmed down, though he was still a little worried.

after awhile.

Footsteps approached, and then the door was pushed open. Zhen Qin rushed in and said, "Master, Senior Brother and Second Senior Brother are fighting!"

Her gaze fell on the cover of "The Travels of Qingxia," and she couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

Thank you Liu Mengxi for the 500 Qidian coins!
Six thousand words during the new book launch period is already quite fast, yet some people are still asking me to update more frequently upon release today. I'm both amused and exasperated. The new book launch period requires exposure and building momentum; I'll definitely update more after it's officially released.
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(End of this chapter)