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

Under the might of Di Xie, Zhou Ye ultimately withdrew with his men. Before leaving, Zhou Ye still harbored hostility towards Gu An. However, it did not reach the level of hatred, only dissatisfaction, and a desire to teach him a lesson.

Afterward, Di Xie laid his cards on the table with Gu An, revealing his true identity, and left with a look of shock on Gu An's face.

He turned his back to Gu An, sighed slightly under the gaze of many disciples on both sides of the street.

From now on, it would be challenging for him to befriend Gu An, as the difference in status and cultivation level was clear.

Even if he had the inclination to form a bond, Brother Gu would probably feel pressured, wouldn't he?

Di Xie smiled self-deprecatingly.

Gu An continued to ride the Blood Prison Great Saint around the street. After nearly two ancient hours, they finally left the city.

On the way to the Third Medicine Valley, Gu An introduced the Supreme Sect and those noble families to the Blood Prison Great Saint.

The Blood Prison Great Saint listened intently, for Gu An had said that he would let him go after a thousand years. Once free, he would still need to understand this Great Heaven and Earth, so it was best to accumulate knowledge now.

"Do you know why I captured you?" Gu An asked nonchalantly.

The Blood Prison Great Saint was no fool and thought it must be related to those two half-human, half-demon individuals.

"You might think this world is nothing special, but it is far more dangerous than you imagine. This is also why I hide my cultivation level. Serving me for a thousand years, first to atone for your sins, and second to temper your character. I hope you cherish it."

Gu An spoke softly. If the Blood Prison Great Saint performed well, he wouldn't mind teaching him the Primordial Reincarnation Skill.

The Primordial Reincarnation Skill and the Path of Returning Primordial Spirit were, in a sense, a perfect match. It was just right to use the Blood Prison Great Saint to experiment and see if it was effective.

"Moo..."

The Blood Prison Great Saint responded. Although he could not speak human words, Gu An understood his submissive intention.

In fact, the mindset of the Blood Prison Great Saint had already changed. He had thought before that following Gu An might be an opportunity.

At least Gu An could be his protector!

If it hadn't been Gu An who took action against him back then, but another immortal cultivator of similar cultivation level, he might have already died and vanished.

Putting himself in someone else's shoes, if someone attacked his disciple or junior, he wouldn't show mercy either.

Within the circle of Great Cultivators in the Spirit Realm, there was a saying: It is better to provoke the Blood Prison Great Saint himself than to suppress his juniors.

The Blood Prison Great Saint's pace wasn't fast, and Gu An didn't rush him. During the ride, it seemed as if he was talking to himself, while the Blood Prison Great Saint didn't feel annoyed.

For some reason, he always felt that Gu An had changed recently.

Even a casual remark from him felt inexplicably calming to the Blood Prison Great Saint.

He didn't believe it was an illusion. It must be related to Gu An's cultivation level.

Perhaps he could learn something by following Gu An.

...

After the bustling and busy Spring Festival, Gu An continued his simple life. During this period, no one from the Zhou Family caused trouble for Gu An, perhaps fearing Di Xie or knowing about his relationship with Lv Baitian.

In any case, Gu An didn't mind.

Nowadays, he wouldn't regard the Zhou Family as a threat. If Zhou Ye harbored any intent to kill him, he would resolve it immediately.

In the days that followed, he would go to the Inner Sect City once a month to sell his medicinal herbs and accumulate spirit stones.

He had already spotted a more prosperous cultivation city overseas, planning to go there in the future to purchase a large number of high-rank medical herbs and plant them in his Grotto Heaven.

The days were busy yet purposeful and not at all dull for him.

In the blink of an eye.

Over half a year had passed, and Gu An turned ninety-seven years old.

The demonic qi in the north grew thicker, and in a few more years, the so-called Evil Demon might break the seal.

The first Sword Dao Tournament in the world was in full swing, and Gu An was also watching the excitement.

In the distant Demon Land.

In the underground space where An Hao parted ways with Xuan Tianyi, Ji Xuanling stood at the edge of a cliff, looking down at the magma with a frown. He saw several skeletons floating and sinking.

Behind him stood a group of Seven Stars Spirit Realm cultivators.

"Below should be the sealed place of the Evil Demon, right?"

"The demonic qi here is truly terrifying. We must have the seniors of our realm come to handle it."

"A message has already been sent. We shall hold our ground here first to prevent other cultivators from entering and ruining the plan."

"You never know when the Evil Demon will break the seal. If it suddenly happens, we won't be able to hold out."

Ji Xuanling ignored their chatter, his gaze lingering on the distant cave wall. He saw numerous shocking cracks, indicating a great battle had occurred there before.

One of the cracks made him frown.

"Could it be him?" Ji Xuanling thought of Xuan Tianyi.

He had fought with Xuan Tianyi countless times and was well aware of his combat methods.

The thought of Xuan Tianyi possibly dying here made him inexplicably uneasy.

"Wait, the seal hasn't been broken yet, so why would someone be fighting here? Could someone have tried to stop Xuan Tianyi? Who could have arrived here before the Seven Stars Spirit Realm?"

Ji Xuanling furrowed his brows deeply, a terrifying suspicion arising in his mind, making his face turn even grimmer.

Meanwhile.

In the main hall of the Supreme Sect's main city.

An Hao stared intently at Lv Baitian sitting at the head seat, while Lv Baitian frowned deeply.

"Master, what should we do?" An Hao asked in a deep voice, with a sense of foreboding in his heart.

Lv Baitian did not display the fury An Hao expected but remained silent instead.

"Senior Xuan is the only Mahayana Realm cultivator we have in the Supreme Sect. We cannot abandon him!" An Hao said through gritted teeth.

Lv Baitian looked at him and said, "You said it yourself: the only one. If even he couldn't withstand it, what can we do?"

"Unless the Sword Venerable Fudao intervenes, but we don't even know where he is. We can't ask the entire sect to beg him for one person, right?"

An Hao's expression changed several times.

Because when he failed to summon his master that night, he thought his master didn't want to get involved. Afterward, he stopped calling for help and rushed back to the Supreme Sect.

His master was unwilling to intervene, and the Supreme Sect didn't want to; what should he do?

What bothered An Hao the most was that he couldn't blame anyone.

If he had the strength, he wouldn't need to beg!

The Supreme Sect had countless disciples; it was impossible to sacrifice them all for one person.

His master didn't owe him or the Supreme Sect anything. Why should he keep cleaning up after him?

Suddenly, An Hao thought of something. He turned around and removed his robe, exposing his back, saying, "This is left by Senior Xuan, seems to be some kind of restriction. My divine sense couldn't decipher it."

Lv Baitian looked up, eyes widening abruptly, and appeared behind An Hao in a flash.

He gripped An Hao's shoulders tightly, preventing him from moving.

"So, that's it..."

Hearing Lv Baitian's words, An Hao, though confused, didn't interrupt his master's examination of the restriction on his back.

...

Mid-autumn, the first Sword Dao Tournament in the world concluded, and the champion was a sword dao great cultivator from the Gu Family. Di Xie ranked second.

Gu An also watched the final battle between Di Xie and the Gu Family great cultivator. If Di Xie hadn't insisted on using a sword, he might not have lost.

Though Di Xie was at the Mystic Heart Realm, his swordsmanship was exceedingly immature.

The first Sword Dao Tournament in the world attracted the entire Immortal Cultivation World's attention, bringing immense profit to the Supreme Sect.

Other sects began to emulate the Supreme Sect, hosting various tournaments. However, at this stage, cultivators were more interested in the spectacular combat demonstrated in the first Sword Dao Tournament in the world.

After the tournament, An Hao sought out An Xin. The siblings hadn't seen each other for a long time and were very happy, talking for a long while.

Gu An noticed that An Hao seemed to have something on his mind, but his relationship with An Hao wasn't close enough to inquire.

Before leaving, An Hao found Gu An, thanked him for taking care of An Xin, and gifted him many high-rank medical herb seeds. After some polite refusal, Gu An reluctantly accepted them.

The two didn't talk for long before An Hao took his leave.

Gu An watched An Hao's departing figure, guessing it was related to his experience in the Demon Land.

"Disciple, fear not. Once he emerges, he's dead."

Gu An thought silently and suddenly recalled Xuan Tianyi.

An Hao had previously spent time with Xuan Tianyi. Why had only An Hao returned?

He immediately used his divine sense to scan the entire continent but couldn't find Xuan Tianyi.

Had Xuan Tianyi sailed away?

But he hadn't seen him depart!

Gu An's gaze fixed on that demonic qi-laden area, where numerous Seven Stars Spirit Realm cultivators had gathered, including Ji Xuanling, who had previously visited the Supreme Sect.

Aside from the deep underground and a few obscure hidden realms, the only remaining place he hadn't explored was the sealed area of the Evil Demon.

Could it be that Xuan Tianyi was captured by the Seven Stars Spirit Realm or had fallen into the sealed area of the Evil Demon?

...

Two months later, the north erupted with terrifying demonic qi, as dreadful as the demonic might of the Demon Ancestor, alarming the Three Dynasties.

Standing up in the Third Medicine Valley, Gu An turned to look.

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Not far away, the Blood Prison Great Saint also gazed northward, secretly alarmed.

What terrifying demonic qi!

This Great Heaven and Earth truly hid dragons and tigers!

Who might be behind this demonic qi?

Gu An only took one glance before continuing to pick medicinal herbs.

The Blood Prison Great Saint glanced at Gu An, seeing his calm demeanor, and felt relieved.

Come to think of it, he wasn't clear about Gu An's true cultivation level.

Disciples in the valley were also disturbed by the distant demonic might. They gathered in groups, discussing the matter.

They immediately associated it with the Evil Demon!

Since the Holy Land's emergence and the spread of the legend of the Evil Demon, it had become a significant concern among people.

After the eruption, the demonic might persisted, not dispersing, though it didn't affect the disciples' lives. It made them feel oppressed and uneasy.

Early the next morning, many cultivators flew over the Third Medicine Valley, heading north.

Gu An's divine sense observed the Three Dynasties, noting that various sects were sending many cultivators toward the Demon Land.

He wasn't worried. Judging from the current aura, the Evil Demon was at the level of a loose immortal and had not completely broken free from the seal.

He wanted to see if the Seven Stars Spirit Realm would truly assist the Three Dynasties' human race in resisting the Evil Demon.

Meanwhile.

In a forest, Zhang Buku followed Li Ya, unable to restrain himself from asking: "Brother Li, with such demonic qi, it must be the legendary Evil Demon. We should stay away and let the great cultivators handle it."