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

Hearing Shen Zhen's words, Gu An almost lost his composure; he quickly clarified, "How could that be possible? I was just scaring you; I could never write such a book."

He had to explain to protect his innocence from being tarnished by Shen Zhen.

Shen Zhen stared at him as if she wanted to see right through him, while he remained calm and guilt-free.

"Alright, I believe you," Shen Zhen said softly, but her tone was different from before, making Gu An unable to decipher her thoughts.

Gu An walked over to the tea table and started heating water for tea.

Only after he had set a teacup in front of Shen Zhen did she say, "Actually, I came to discuss another matter with you."

"Speak," Gu An replied, then sat down at the table.

Shen Zhen began, "It is said that the Elder Tian from the Medicine Valley was actually the current Sect Master Lu Baitian; is that true?"

Gu An felt there was no need to hide this, so he nodded.

Speaking of which, since the great battle six months ago, neither Gu Zong nor Ji Hantian had returned, so it was unknown whether they had been dealt with by Lv Baitian.

Gu Zong was not much of a concern, clearly being part of Lv Baitian's faction, but Ji Hantian had cursed at Lv Baitian in the Third Medicine Valley and openly expressed his desire to become the sect leader.

"I would like you to introduce me to Sect Master Lu in my personal capacity, not representing the Daotian Sect," Shen Zhen said, fixing her gaze on Gu An.

Gu An frowned, showing hesitation.

Shen Zhen took out a redwood box from her storage bag and said, "This is a sixth-grade spirit tree, Purple Mist Bamboo. A single section can form a bamboo forest, planted at the edge of Medicine Valley it automatically forms a Purple Mist Maze Array, and its bamboo shoots are superior medical ingredients, highly prized."

"What do you mean by this, what is our relationship? Is there a need for such gestures?" Gu An said in a deep voice, then put the redwood box into his storage bag, continuing sternly, "For your matter, just a word is enough, and I will help. But do not take this as a precedent!"

Shen Zhen was stunned for a moment, then suddenly burst out laughing, covering her mouth with her hand.

Her eyes really looked beautiful when she laughed.

Gu An thought to himself that by joking like this, the awkward atmosphere between them dissolved and their subsequent conversation resumed its usual tone.

After a long talk, Shen Zhen finally left.

Gu An then began wandering around Medicine Valley, selecting a suitable place to plant the Purple Mist Bamboo.

Eventually, he chose to plant it in the southern edge mountains and assigned Tang Yu to specifically guard the area.

He began to anticipate Lv Baitian's arrival.

It was not for Shen Zhen's sake that he was eager; he was concerned about Lv Baitian's promise.

Lv Baitian had said that Gu An could turn to him for anything he needed!

Gu An, for now, did not desire a fourth Medicine Valley but high-rank medical herb seeds to gradually replace the low-rank ones. If he could fill a hundred-mile radius with high-rank seeds, his life-span income would see a significant leap.

If he reached a million-year life span and unlocked new functions, he planned to elevate himself fully!

Days passed.

Finally, at the beginning of autumn, Lv Baitian arrived.

He was dressed in a dragon-embroidered black robe, his black hair coiled under a jade crown, his demeanor majestic—a stark contrast to the former Elder Tian, now fully embodying the aura of a sect leader.

Upon meeting, Gu An immediately threw a Life Span Detection at him.

[Lv Baitian (Unification Realm Nine Layers): 755/3150/3200]

Oh boy, he indeed reached the Ninth Layer of the Unification Realm!

Moreover, his life span was nearing its limit; it was difficult for him to progress further.

Gu An suddenly thought about something: previously, when Chu Xian deployed the great sacrifice array in the Outer Sect, could it have been prepared for Lv Baitian?

No, that cannot be—since Lv Baitian had annihilated the Chu Family, it surely wasn't his doing.

Gu An pondered this as he greeted Lv Baitian.

The two entered the house to talk.

Lv Baitian took out four books from his storage bag, placing them on the table, and said, "Following your suggestion, I established the Venerable Pavilion; here are the four members of the Venerable Pavilion for you to review."

Upon hearing this, Gu An immediately picked up a book and noticed that it contained not only the members' names and portraits but also various detailed information, including their life experiences.

He quickly flipped through it, seemingly in a cursory manner, but in reality, he memorized all the information.

The last book was about Sword Venerable Fudao, listing only the name and exploits, known in the Immortal Cultivation World as the Flying Leaf Sword Immortal and revered in the Supreme Sect as Sword Venerable Fudao.

Sword Venerable Fudao, Gu Gua, Ji Hengshi, Zhou Yu!

How extravagant—the three strongest clans of the Taicang Dynasty!

And they were all of the Unification Realm cultivation level!

Gu An had yet to meet these three.

Until now, he had encountered six Unification Realm cultivators: Lv Baitian, Ji Hantian, Gu Gua, Ji Hengshi, Zhou Yu, and Lei Zhen—and these were not even the full strength of the Supreme Sect.

Gu An always remembered that the strongest of the Supreme Sect was the True Inheritor, who had already left the Taicang Dynasty.

He wondered if the Supreme Sect had any Supreme Elders?

While feeling overwhelmed, Gu An asked, "Sect Master, is it appropriate for me to see this kind of thing?"

Lv Baitian chuckled, "If next time you want to write something like 'Investiture of the Gods,' you could incorporate the Supreme Sect into it. The depiction of the Supreme Sect in 'Supreme Immortal Venerable' is quite superficial, not profound enough."

"I'll look into it later; let me finish 'Supreme Immortal Venerable' first," Gu An replied. 'Supreme Immortal Venerable' had at least five million characters, and he published only one volume a year, each volume about a hundred thousand characters, occasionally even taking two years for one volume. The end was still far off.

The vast income from the Spirit Stones brought by the Supreme Immortal Venerable was enormous, far surpassing that from the "Investiture of the Gods." He was unwilling to let go of it just yet.

Lu Baitian smiled but didn't urge further.

Gu An timely mentioned Shen Zhen's request, and Lu Baitian agreed immediately, saying they could meet today without any hesitation.

Gu An then asked, "Sect Leader, do you still stand by what you told me before?"

"What? Changed your mind and want to be Sect Leader now?" Lu Baitian asked with narrowed eyes, his tone quite pleased.

"No, you said I could come to you anytime I needed something. I want more high-rank medical herbs. I could even help you grow them, and deliver them to you once they're mature. I want to learn about all sorts of exotic plants and strengthen my path of cultivation through planting," Gu An hurriedly explained.

The path of cultivation through planting...

Lu Baitian's lips twitched, and his gaze was peculiar.

In the end, Lu Baitian agreed, saying he would send someone with the seeds of the medical herbs after a few days.

Afterward, Gu An stood up to look for Shen Zhen and bring him to meet Lu Baitian.

After the two met, Gu An went downstairs and did not disturb their conversation.

This time, Lu Baitian deployed a restriction that even Gu An couldn't eavesdrop through.

The two talked for one ancient hour before dispersing, with Lu Baitian leaving first and Shen Zhen standing beside Gu An, watching him leave.

Shen Zhen turned to him, smiling, and asked, "Aren't you curious about what we talked about?"

Gu An shook his head, "I dare not ask, nor do I want to know. I fear the trouble it might bring."

"I provided him with a piece of intelligence in exchange for the most powerful musical spell from the Supreme Sect. Once I master it, I'll perform it for you," Shen Zhen said with a smile. Then, she leapt up and flew towards her cave.

Gu An didn't think much about it. Whatever Shen Zhen did was her own business, as long as it didn't threaten him.

He started looking forward to Lu Baitian's delivery of high-rank medical herb seeds.

Five days later, Lu Baitian's man arrived, handing Gu An a storage bag. He inspected it with his divine sense.

The grade was very high, with the quantity reaching up to several hundred thousand seeds. There was also a booklet and a letter inside.

Gu An returned to his room to read the letter. Lu Baitian wrote that these seeds were provided from his personal resources, not using the wealth of the Supreme Sect. If Gu An grew them well, he could keep half of the profits; if not, he must become his disciple.

Seeing this, Gu An felt rather helpless.

He couldn't understand why Lu Baitian was so adamant about taking him as his disciple.

Could it be that my personal charm has conquered him?

...

In the blink of an eye, five years passed.

In these five years, nothing significant happened in the Supreme Sect, and Gu An's days became quite mundane, with Ye Lan, Shen Zhen, Li Ya, Jiang Qiong, and Gu Yu all busy with their cultivation, rarely seeking him out.

Although the great battle between good and evil ended quickly, its impact was significant.

One noon, Gu An used the Teleportation Array to travel to Mystic Valley.

He was in a good mood, humming a tune.

He had calculated earlier that his life span income this year could exceed one hundred thousand, and his current total life span had already surpassed seven hundred thousand years.

With a million years in life span very close, he was eager to grow stronger.

Upon arriving at Mystic Valley, he sensed Li Ya's presence; Li Ya was upstairs drinking tea with Yang Ni.

Li Ya wasn't concealed, so Gu An headed straight for the loft.

After entering, Li Ya was the first to speak, "Junior Brother Gu, I'm preparing to leave the Supreme Sect to undertake trials in the North Sea Mountain, not returning until I reach the Nascent Soul Realm."

Gu An, curious, asked, "What is the North Sea Mountain?"

Li Ya smiled and said, "The North Sea Mountain is to the north of the Taicang Dynasty, about the size of the entire dynasty, surrounded by dynasties on all sides. It's a gathering place for demons and a place for cultivators to seek fortune and undergo trials. Of course, it's also very dangerous."

Hearing this, Gu An suddenly felt that the North Sea Mountain might be suitable for his next breakthrough.

Moving from the Nine Layers of Unification Realm to a higher realm was beyond his imagination. It would be best to stay away from the Supreme Sect!

Yang Ni interjected, "You're not looking for the North Sea Kun Fish, are you?"

Li Ya scratched his head and said, "You caught me. News broke out a couple of years ago about a sighting of the North Sea Kun Fish in the North Sea Mountain. I want to check it out, got nothing else to do, and it's a good chance to escape those arranged by my father."

Gu An sat down and pressed on, "What's the North Sea Kun Fish?"

Yang Ni glanced at him and said, "You should still remember the Heaven-Swallowing Dark Bird, right? There exist in this world ancient relic species, different from ordinary demons. They have colossal bodies, and the difficulty of their shape-shifting far surpasses that of the Demon Clan.

Because of their gigantic nature, they are revered as Mountain Gods or Sea Gods in various places and are elusive."

Gu An grew even more interested and started to inquire about other ancient relic species in the world.

Yang Ni casually described a few, which made his heart race.

"Alright, I have to go now. A prodigy named An Hao has recently emerged in the sect. At 22, he's already preparing for Core Formation, which is unbelievable. I need to work harder on my cultivation and not become his stepping stone," Li Ya said as he stood up.

Upon hearing this, Gu An also felt that An Hao's pace of cultivation was indeed fast.

This showed that Lu Baitian held An Hao in high regard, investing a lot of cultivation resources in him.

As Gu An pondered, Li Ya jumped out of the window and left.

An old habit he couldn't kick!

Gu An turned to Yang Ni and asked, "He's gone, what about you?"

"I'm not leaving. Staying with you to garden seems rather enjoyable and much preferable to constant battling," Yang Ni replied.