Steadily becoming a saint, the immortal officials hired me to tend the horses
Chapter 90: Chapter 90: As Time Passes, Ranked in the Venerable Pavilion

Generally, Gu An was not interested in cultivators from the Demon Path and avoided them as much as possible, but there was one exception.

That was Xu Jue!

Xu Jue previously led a demon army to besiege Ji Xiaoyu, allowing Gu An to gain over 50,000 years of life span, and Gu An was deeply impressed by him.

After leaving Mystic Valley, Gu An flew towards the direction of the Outer City. He had flown a great distance before he utilized the Great Yin-Yang Transformation, turning into a demon shadow, and disappeared into the forests, stepping on the Infinite Traceless Mystic Heaven Step.

Two hundred miles away from Mystic Valley, in a dense forest, Xu Jue was meditating under a tree. His hair was unkempt, wearing a tattered black robe, and he was in a very sorry state.

Small flags wrapped around him, and a faintly visible protective barrier shielded him.

The Vice Sect Hierarch of the Wanyin Sect suddenly changed his complexion, and then he spat out a mouthful of black blood onto the grass, causing the weeds to wither and emit wisps of black smoke.

"Damn Ji Family..."

Xu Jue gritted his teeth, his tone filled with hatred.

During the pursuit by Ji Chen, he had also encountered an attack by other Great Cultivators of the Ji Family, nearly losing his life, and he felt somewhat frightened upon recalling the event.

The Demon Path, uniting the power of the five sects--Thousand-Autumn Pavilion, Ancient Sky Sect, Wanyin Sect, Heavenly Extinction Sect, Cold Poison Valley--was repelled in just one day, and the power of the Supreme Sect chilled Xu Jue's heart.

Xu Jue thought of the Ji Family members within his sect, and he suddenly wanted to return and kill all the Ji Family Cultivators.

However, just thinking about the strength of the Ji Family, he sighed.

Forget it.

Just endure a bit longer!

One day, he would annihilate the entire Ji Family!

As Xu Jue was lost in thought, a strong gust of wind suddenly attacked from deep within the forest, causing him to instinctively look over.

Boom!

The formation around him suddenly shattered, and a purplish-black figure appeared out of nowhere in front of him, pressing a finger to his temple, an overwhelming aura enveloping him and leaving him unable to move.

"Demon Shadow Divine Skill... which expert from the Thousand-Autumn Pavilion are you?"

Xu Jue's complexion drastically changed, and he asked cautiously.

Could there be such a powerful existence in the Thousand-Autumn Pavilion?

He was at the ninth layer of the Void Crossing Realm, and even though he was seriously injured, his level was not something that a Void Crossing Realm could suppress.

"I have a question for you," Gu An spoke, his voice hoarse.

Xu Jue breathed a sigh of relief on the inside, responding politely, "Senior, please go ahead!"

Damn Thousand-Autumn Pavilion!

I must lead the Wanyin Sect to flatten you!

All of a sudden, Gu An remembered that Xu Jue was Xu Ruye's father, and Xu Ruye had died at his hand.

"Never mind."

As soon as Gu An's voice rang out, a burst of sword qi flowed through his fingertip, piercing Xu Jue's temple, and then severely damaging his Primordial Spirit.

Xu Jue's pupils dilated, and before his body hit the ground, Gu An employed the Soul Capturing Skill to search his memory.

The spells of Jiang Qiong's sect were all very useful, and Gu An could use them for a long time.

The memories of someone at the ninth layer of the Void Crossing Realm were immensely vast, but Gu An only searched for the spells related to the demon army, and just from yesterday, making it easy to look up.

Thirty minutes later.

Gu An withdrew his hand, and Xu Jue collapsed to the ground.

[You have successfully seized 153 years of life span from Xu Jue (Void Crossing Realm Ninth Layer)]

Not bad, the life span burst is high!

Gu An suddenly found Xu Jue pleasing to the eye; he took Xu Jue's storage bag and then incinerated his corpse into ashes.

After doing all this, he then departed.

He didn't return to Mystic Valley, but actually went to the Outer City.

Outside the Outer City, a majestic giant mountain had appeared, which on closer inspection was actually the corpse of a giant bird.

A Heaven-Swallowing Dark Bird!

Its corpse lay on the ground, thousands of feet tall, even larger than the surrounding mountains.

Gu An rode his flying sword, looking from afar, his heart filled with curiosity. Where did such a gigantic beast live on ordinary days?

He felt that the Taicang Dynasty probably didn't have a habitat for this bird, guessing it was captured by the Demon Path from outside the nine dynasties.

After the great battle, every gate of the Outer City had become more strict, carefully inspecting each disciple entering and leaving.

After Gu An entered the city, he first went to look for Ye Lan.

He encountered Ye Lan on patrol on a street.

"Senior brother, why have you come?" When Ye Lan saw Gu An, her cold face immediately burst into a smile, and her subordinates tactfully dispersed. They had seen Gu An before and knew the relationship between the two.

"Came to see you, how are you, not injured, right?"

Gu An asked with concern, and Ye Lan shook her head, then took him aside and started talking about yesterday's events.

After yesterday's great battle, the Outer City suffered heavy casualties, mainly because a terrifying demon named the Underworld Demon Emperor launched an attack within the city, causing the formation of the Outer City to be breached and leading to a tough battle.

Eventually, the Underworld Demon Emperor left, becoming a shadow in the hearts of everyone in this Outer City.

Upon hearing this, Gu An felt even more the cruelty of the Immortal Cultivation World.

Fortunately, the people he cared about were all unharmed.

After chatting with Ye Lan for a while, Gu An said his farewells and left.

He went to the surroundings of the Heavenly Repair Platform, where there were much fewer people than before, and most of those left were injured.

The Ghost Mother of Ephemera was still there, and her body was stained with blood, as if she truly was a disciple fighting for the Supreme Sect.

It seemed that she was not part of the same group as the Demon Path or the Underworld Demon Emperor.

After inspecting the Heavenly Repair Platform, Gu An went to replace Jiang Qiong. Ϻ?Ѵ*Ⅼ@Ξ$М&РƳЯ!

Jiang Qiong was within the mansion. After Gu An closed the door, he looked at her and asked, "Didn't you say that this city would not be implicated?"

Jiang Qiong sat on a chair, her complexion ill-looking; her qi-blood was unstable, and she clearly had been injured as well.

"The situation has changed. The intelligence I received was false. It seems that Thousand-Autumn Pavilion has already begun to suspect me," Jiang Qiong said somberly after taking a deep breath.

Upon hearing this, Gu An felt a surge of joy and said, "In that case, why not abandon the dark and seek the light, and sever ties with Thousand-Autumn Pavilion altogether!"

He had too many spy identities, and he himself felt guilty; he needed to discard some.

Jiang Qiong shook her head and said, "It's not that easy."

Gu An did not comfort her but asked, "By the way, did the Sword Venerable Fudao appear?"

He was very concerned about who was impersonating him!

"Fake. That person is not the Sword Venerable Fudao at all but a spy from the Demon Path who had been lurking in the Supreme Sect for hundreds of years. Claiming to be Sword Venerable Fudao, once the Demon Path understood his background, their wariness decreased, and they launched a great war," she said.

Jiang Qiong couldn't help massaging her temples as she mentioned this.

Gu An asked in astonishment, "The Demon Path is harming each other? Or has that person degenerated, becoming bait for the Supreme Sect?"

Jiang Qiong shook her head and said, "I'm not sure. My mind is a mess right now. It is said that Chu Tianqi has already fled, and Lv Baitian, who had died, took over as sect leader again, prepared to investigate the entire Supreme Sect. For the time being, you should visit me less often. I need to address the thorough investigation ordered from above.

This morning, I received a message that the Venerable Pavilion will soon be established within the Supreme Sect, ranking above the Hall of Elders. The Sword Venerable Fudao is one of them, and the sect leader will also select three people from the Hall of Elders to join the Venerable Pavilion."

"The Venerable Pavilion will re-govern the Supreme Sect and eradicate any improper practices."

Lv Baitian truly listened to Gu An's advice.

It's good to follow good advice!

Gu An proposed this not only to deal with Lv Baitian but also in genuine hopes of improving the Supreme Sect. Since Lv Baitian was too busy to manage, it was better to let others do it.

There were too many people in the Hall of Elders, and by the time their opinions were unified, it was already chaotic below. The establishment of the Venerable Pavilion should relieve some of the Supreme Sect's distress.

Then, Jiang Qiong took out a storage bag, saying it contained high-rank seeds she had obtained in exchange for eighty percent of her savings. All of them were above the fifth rank. She urged him to visit her again when these herbs matured.

It meant they would not see each other for several years.

It seems the situation Jiang Qiong faced was very perilous; neither Thousand-Autumn Pavilion trusted her, nor was it impossible for the Supreme Sect to track her down.

She truly was treading on thin ice.

Gu An could only wish her good luck in his heart before leaving with the storage bag, his mood uplifted.

...

The siege of the Supreme Sect by the five Demon Sects swept through the Immortal Cultivation World like a whirlwind, shaking the entire Taicang Dynasty.

The strength of the Supreme Sect also made the entire Demon Path tremble, and in the following period, the Immortal Cultivation World fell into an eerie calm.

After Lv Baitian reassumed leadership, he decisively founded the Venerable Pavilion, weakening the power of the Hall of Elders and thoroughly investigating Demon Path spies, executing over a thousand of them.

After Chu Tianqi fled, the Chu family faced Lv Baitian's furious retaliation. Every descendant of the Chu family within the sect was suppressed—some died, some were imprisoned, and some disciplined young disciples had their cultivation removed, received a curse seal, and were sent to the Outer Sect as servant disciples.

Mystic Valley welcomed a Chu surnamed servant disciple.

And it was someone Gu An knew.

Chu Jingfeng!

When Gu An had just entered the Supreme Sect, he was attacked by a Demon of Greed in Medicine Valley. At that time, Cheng Xuandan summoned the Inner Sect Disciple Chu Jingfeng, who ended up breaking an arm and later helped Gu An clear the evil cultivators around Mystic Valley allied with the Demon of Greed.

Seeing Chu Jingfeng across from him, his face aged, made Gu An deeply melancholic.

The last time they talked, Chu Jingfeng promised him that he could seek the Chu Family's help if he ever encountered any troubles.

As time changed, the Chu Family had completely fallen.

Chu Jingfeng still kept his one-armed figure, wearing tattered clothes, his hair messy, his face covered with stubble, looking disheveled and desolate.

"Brother Chu, as long as one is alive, there is still hope. Work hard, and as long as you behave well, the upper echelons might revoke your punishment," Gu An said, trying to comfort him.

Wuxin had quietly left, and now that he was in charge of Mystic Valley again, he needed to cultivate new talents.

He felt that Chu Jingfeng was a good choice.

If Chu Jingfeng behaved well later, he might teach him Daoist Expansion Skill that Wuxin had passed to him.

Daoist Expansion Skill relied on accumulating Spiritual Power to break limits; maybe it could save the crippled Chu Jingfeng.

Chu Jingfeng numbly nodded, not saying a word.

Gu An did not make it difficult for him, explained some matters, and then let him leave.

When Chu Jingfeng left the room, he even closed the door behind him, his manner very humble; but from his demeanor, Gu An saw not respect but despair.

Alas!

Poor thing!

Gu An shook his head, picked up a pen, and began to write a book.

A half-year had passed since the great war between the righteous and the demons. Winter went, and spring went, and it was another summer year; he too had turned fifty-one, with many new insights on life, ready to express them in his book.

Only in the evening did Gu An walk out of the attic, and through the Transmission Array Platform, he arrived at the Third Medicine Valley.

He sensed Shen Zhen inside his own house.

Since half a year ago when Gu An threatened to write about her in his book, they had cut off contact.

Her appearance now, could it be that she was here to settle accounts?

After all, being a Holy Daughter, how could she not care about her face?

As Gu An thought this, he walked upstairs to replace Shen Zhen.

Upon entering the room, he saw Shen Zhen sitting at a table, wearing a veil, doing nothing, just calmly looking at him.

Something was off!

Not like her usual self!

Could she be about to lose her mind?

Hurriedly, Gu An closed the door, then turned to look at her, about to ask, but she preemptively asked, "Have you started writing 'Medical Hero Travelogue' yet?"