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

The rising sun cast its rays, the sunlight streaked across the North Sea, swept over the mountains, and skimmed through the forests where Gu An was.

At this moment, his cultivation level had reached the seventh layer of the Mahayana Realm, and he was striving to break through to the eighth layer.

Gu An brought up his Attribute Panel and saw that he still had 370,000 years of life span remaining, and felt he could further enhance his combat techniques.

But he couldn't continue today.

After a night of struggle, the Spiritual Energy in the area had become sparse. He was worried about disrupting the ecology of the North Sea Mountain, so he decided to wait for some time for the North Sea Mountain to recover its Spiritual Energy before returning.

His next goal was to accumulate ten million years of life span!

The mere thought of that number was frightening, but Gu An was full of fighting spirit.

The life of a cultivator was incredibly long; he could take his time and first decide which Spells, Divine Skills, and Ultimate Skills to enhance.

Time continued to pass.

When Gu An reached the eighth layer of the Mahayana Realm, the speed at which his physical body absorbed nature's Spiritual Energy slowed down.

He waited patiently for the breakthrough to finish.

After an entire night, the Life Span Barrier consumed more than 20,000 years of life span, which showed how much of a commotion Gu An had caused.

Gu An spread his Divine Sense to see how extensive his perception range had become.

A multitude of mountain and river sceneries entered his sight. He saw many Demons, Ghosts, Cultivators, and even behemoths like the Ancient Relic Species.

Gu An reveled in the wonderful sensation of the Mahayana Realm's Divine Sense.

Suddenly, he spotted someone familiar.

Li Xuandao!

This guy was crossing Tribulation in a valley. Gu An saw the Formations inside the valley and all those Spirit Stones, bottles, and pots, and couldn't help twitching at the corner of his mouth.

No wonder Li Xuandao's breakthroughs were so rapid; not only was he naturally gifted, but he also splurged resources like this!

Thinking about how he had crossed Tribulation with his physical body alone during his cultivation evolution, Gu An couldn't help but feel pained.

Forget it.

He shouldn't compare like this, after all, he had never actually gone through a Tribulation in reality; he should be content.

Gu An observed for a while longer and felt that Li Xuandao's Tribulation Crossing was likely to be successful.

Then he turned his attention to other locations, mainly wanting to check on Li Ya's whereabouts.

Soon, his Divine Sense captured Li Ya's aura. That guy was hiding in a cave, and by the looks of his aura, it seemed as if he had been injured again.

Sigh, such a reckless fellow, don't die out there.

Gu An decided to find Li Ya later and guide him under another identity.

The old grandpa inside Li Ya wasn't very effective!

Gu An also caught sight of Sky Dragon who was bullying a group of Minor Demons, proudly proclaiming his ambition to become a great king.

Eventually, Gu An's Divine Sense enveloped the entire North Sea Mountain, with every nook and cranny within his sight. This feeling of overlooking everything fascinated him.

Those Unification Realm Demons and Cultivators appeared no different from ordinary creatures in his eyes.

It had to be said that the North Sea Mountain really was a place of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. He sensed no fewer than a hundred auras of the Unification Realm here, of course, those who reached the ninth layer of the Unification Realm were rare, less than five, including Lu Lingjun who had not yet left the North Sea Mountain.

Gu An indulged in the sense of power that belonged to him alone.

When his cultivation stopped growing and his body ceased to absorb Spiritual Energy, he lifted the Life Span Barrier and stood up.

He stretched languidly, the sunlight filtering through the gaps in the leaves and falling on him, making him feel reborn.

Indeed, no achievement, wealth, or emotion in the world could compare to the sensation of growing stronger!

...

Li Ya walked out of the cave, and the sunlight made him squint and furrow his brows. His upper body was wrapped in white cloth, stained with blood in many places.

He lifted his right hand, motioned through the air, and a Heavy Sword flew out from the cave, landing in his hand. His right arm trembled, and his face showed a pained expression.

"Boy, your wounds have just healed and you're already practicing Swordsmanship? Are you underestimating the weight of the North Sea Nether Iron, or overestimating the power of the Dragon Image Divine Primordial?" The ancestor's voice sounded in Li Ya's ear, filled with helplessness.

Li Ya grinned, "I have to hurry with my cultivation; there isn't much time left for me. I have to catch up with the recruitment of disciples by the Holy Land you mentioned."

The ancestor responded irritably, "That Holy Land isn't a must-go place; it's the path taken by noble families."

"But didn't you once say that the Li Family also reached a glory comparable to the Zhou Family and the Gu Family? Although I don't wish to be a prince, I have a duty to uphold the prosperity of the Li Family!"

Li Ya picked up the North Sea Heavy Sword and walked toward the clearing ahead.

Behind him was a small hill, surrounded by forests, with only an area about five zhang in diameter that was clear.

After the anomaly of the previous night, the ground was covered with various rocks and fallen leaves. The cloud seas in the sky were torn apart, allowing shafts of sunlight to thread through, forming streaks of rainbow light, beautiful and enchanting.

Li Ya gritted his teeth as he swung the Heavy Sword in his hand.

This sword, which he had forged under the guidance of his ancestor, was made from the rare North Sea Nether Iron. It weighed ten thousand jin, and upon infusing it with Spiritual Power, its weight would double.

Without utilizing Spiritual Power, it was very strenuous for Li Ya's injured body to wield it.

Suddenly!

A gust of wind swept in from the depths of the forest, startling Li Ya into turning and instinctively raising his sword to defend.

With a thud!

Li Ya was knocked flying, crashing against the mountain wall, sending rubble flying, and involuntarily spitting out a mouthful of blood. Upon landing, he planted the heavy sword on the ground, yet still fell to one knee, the white cloth rapidly reddening as all his wounds reopened.

"Hmph, human brat, hand over the Dragon Image Divine Primordial!"

A hoarse voice rang out, and a sinister figure emerged from the forest, a man dressed in a black robe with the head of a fox and surrounded by Demon Energy, long claws on each hand as dreadful as five sharp knives.

Li Ya glared at the figure and gritted out the name, "Resentful Fox King!"

The Resentful Fox King stared back at Li Ya, his brow suddenly furrowing, his face contorting violently, "You've been poisoned by my Fox Poison, and yet you can still stand; have you already swallowed the Dragon Image Divine Primordial?"

By the end, his voice had become sharp, making the surrounding trees tremble.

Li Ya gripped the hilt of his sword with both hands, gasping for breath, and yelled inwardly, "Ancestor, I still need to rely on you!"

The ancestor couldn't help but wail, "Do you really think my soul power is endless? Just saving you these past few nights has nearly drained me!"

"I don't believe it, you always say that!"

"Rascal! How could my Li Family have produced an unworthy descendant like you!"

"Who asked you to reside in my body, deliberately devouring my Spiritual Power, changing the manifestation of my spirit root, causing me to be detected as having a Mixed Spirit Root talent!"

"You..."

Li Ya and the ancestor bickered in their minds, growing more agitated with each exchange, causing Li Ya to start coughing uncontrollably.

The Resentful Fox King stepped toward him, his murderous intent locking onto Li Ya, making him feel as if he were in a cold cellar.

Just then.

It suddenly darkened before Li Ya's eyes, and he instinctively looked up to see a dark purple figure standing in front of him.

It was him...

Li Ya remembered, back when he was gravely injured outside Mystic Valley by Elder Chen, it was this mysterious Demon Cultivator who saved him.

The ancestor had said that this Demon Cultivator used the Thousand-Autumn Pavilion's Demon Shadow Divine Skill!

Li Ya had racked his brains before, but could not understand what connection he had with the Thousand-Autumn Pavilion, and could only chalk it up to coincidence.

But now, he was shocked.

The mysterious Demon Cultivator had appeared again!

Gu An, performing the Great Yin-Yang Transformation, looked towards the Resentful Fox King and sensed that the opponent was merely comparable to the Cultivation Level of the Divinity Transformation Realm.

To be on the safe side, he still threw out a Life Span Detection, after all, this thing didn't cost him any lifespan.

[Resentful Fox King (Divinity Transformation Realm Four Layers): 1409/2900/3400]

Well, a quite honest demon!

The Resentful Fox King, unable to see through Gu An's cultivation level, immediately grew nervous and asked, "Who are you?"

Gu An raised his hand and pointed off into the distance, signaling for him to leave quickly.

Gu An disliked killing opponents without grudge or grievance, he was already able to seize lifespan from medicinal herbs, and wanted to keep some leeway for his humanity, to avoid becoming addicted to killing, which could lead to reckless or even arrogant behavior, and eventually cause a great disaster.

The Resentful Fox King's expression fluctuated between gloom and brightness, but ultimately, he clenched his fist, turned around, and left.

[Resentful Fox King develops a grudge against you, hating you to the bone; do you wish to perform Life Span Detection on it?]

A line of prompt suddenly appeared before Gu An's eyes.

Hmm?

To hate to the bone just like this?

He chose the path of death!

Gu An raised his right hand, plucked at the air, and the horrifying Spiritual Power of the Mahayana Realm burst forth, directly causing the Resentful Fox King to explode and perish, his Primordial Spirit turning to ash.

Without using any Spell or Divine Skill!

Simply oppressed with Great Spirit Power!

If the opponent had been carrying a Storage Bag, Gu An might have been gentler in his approach.

Following that, Gu An received the prompt to seize lifespan, not bad, he seized one hundred and ninety years, in line with his previous estimate, lifespans were taken between ten to twenty percent of the opponent's remaining Life Span.

Li Ya, who was kneeling on the ground, was stunned.

A Demon King of the Divinity Transformation Realm just died like that?

He didn't even see how the Demon Cultivator made a move, to be killed from a distance?

"How is this possible! What realm is he?"

The ancestor exclaimed in shock within Li Ya's heart, his voice trembling.

This time, Gu An heard the soul voice in Li Ya's heart.

Even the Mahayana Realm cannot hear the voices of living beings, but the soul inside Li Ya was communicating with Soul Power, and each word spoken produced a slight fluctuation, which could not escape the Perception of the Mahayana Realm.

Gu An turned to look at Li Ya, frightening him into retreating quickly until he pressed tightly against the rock wall.

"This person's cultivation realm is likely even higher than mine in life!" the ancestor said solemnly, his tone tinged with a hint of melancholy.

He felt that Li Ya was doomed, and so was he!

Hearing this, Li Ya completely panicked.

All along, he believed that the ancestor was the most powerful, and that was why he dared to be reckless because he had the ancestor to back him up.

Now that the ancestor was unable to shield him, how could he not be terrified?

Gu An looked at Li Ya, who was close to dying from fear, and felt like laughing, but he really feared scaring Li Ya to death, and thus focused his Spiritual Power in his throat to change his voice and said, "I've saved you for the second time, do you think I want to kill you?"

Upon hearing this, Li Ya immediately felt relieved, but Gu An's next sentence made him tense again.

"If I truly wished to kill you, even the soul in your body would not be able to help you." the-place-MVLeMpYr

He can see through the soul in my body?

Li Ya was terrifed, this was even more unsettling than the threat of being killed.

Gu An raised his hand and from a distance drew the North Sea Heavy Sword into his hand, the sword weighing ten thousand jin felt as light as a feather in his hand, but the force of the wind it stirred up indicated the sword's weight.

Seeing the other party holding the sword, Li Ya's heart rose to his throat, unclear about the other party's intentions.

"Boy, your swordsmanship is too slow, its rate of improvement displeases me. I'll teach you a set of swordsmanship, how does that sound?" Gu An's deep and aged voice sounded, leaving Li Ya dumbfounded.