Steadily becoming a saint, the immortal officials hired me to tend the horses - Chapter 81

Chapter 81: Chapter 81 Ancient Gold- Swallowing Insect, Demon Path Besieges Supreme Sect

Gu An looked at Li Ya who climbed in through the window and said helplessly, “What treasure could be better than my windowsill?”

Li Ya, dressed in green, walked to the table, took a bag from his waist, placed it on the table, and said with a smug smile, “This treasure, you will definitely like.”

Gu An probed with his divine sense, frowned, and asked, “Why are they just bugs?”

“These are Ancient Gold-Swallowing Insects. Their jaws can bite through any gold, iron, or ore in the world. If fed with golden attribute spirit energy, they can grow even stronger. There are sixteen in total here, one of them is a queen. They are quite good for guarding the house and can also help you dig the ground,” Li Ya said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Gu An became interested and asked curiously, “How do you make them recognize their master?”

“There is a special recognition ritual. You have to drip your blood essence onto the queen insect to establish a soul connection,” Li Ya said, following by handing Gu An a thin secret book from his storage bag.

Gu An took it but did not open it immediately. Instead, he asked, “How did the Hundred Clan Assembly go?”

Li Ya pulled over a chair from the side, sat opposite Gu An, and sighed, “It wasn’t smooth, but it was enlightening. The world is truly full of experts and talents. My talent was nothing at the assembly of the Nine Dynasties and Hundred Clans. I barely made it into the top hundred, and Zhou Tongyou only made it into the top ten.”

Seeing how optimistic he seemed, Gu An felt slightly less worried.

Li Ya began to recount what he had seen and heard at the Hundred Clan Assembly, and Gu An listened attentively.

Halfway through, Gu An even got up to pour some wine, listening while drinking.

Li Ya kept talking until dusk and still had more to say.

Gu An lamented, “So it seems only our family’s Third Miss can pose a threat to Lv Xian?”

“Her Qilin Step is indeed formidable. She was the only one able to wound Lv Xian. Unfortunately, she encountered a Heavenly Tribulation after taking nine steps, temporarily halting the combat. She hasn’t been seen since,” Li Ya nodded.

“Heavenly Tribulation? What does that mean? Is the Qilin Step that powerful?”

Gu An was surprised. He had taken countless steps over the past two years and hadn’t encountered any Heavenly Tribulations.

Li Ya shook his head, “How would I know? Maybe she has some hidden secret within her body.”

Innate Daoist Talisman!

Gu An sighed in his heart. Is she cheating?

“Compared to Ji Xiaoyu, Lv Xian’s strength was what shocked me the most. He is my next target and I will challenge him and win next time,” Li Ya said with fighting spirit.

Gu An asked, “Didn’t you just say he broke all your limbs? Don’t you hate him?”

Li Ya shook his head, “It was a normal sparring match, nothing to hate. Besides, I refused to admit defeat at the time. I heard from a senior that he’s also a pitiful person. He has other remnant souls within him that want to seize his body. That’s why he sometimes acts friendly, sometimes violent.”

Other remnant souls?

Gu An breathed a sigh of relief. If that’s the case, then he was reassured.

He had been worried that Lv Xian was an immortal reincarnated. Now it seemed that wasn’t the case.

“What do you mean by other remnant souls?” Gu An asked in confusion.

“Not sure. It might be related to some treasure or maybe he was possessed. Anyway, he will be tormented until he clears those souls. No wonder he was never mentioned in the Supreme Sect before. Perhaps the Lv Family kept him protected. By the way, his father was the previous Sect Leader, Lv Baitian.”

“Lv Baitian went into deviation while cultivating, and his son is tormented by residual souls. Is it just a coincidence?”

Li Ya frowned as he spoke, then sighed and said, “If Lv Xian were not affected by the residual souls, he might have already formed his Nascent Soul. His power would be unimaginable.”

Gu An laughed, amused that he was starting to sympathize with Lv Xian.

“By the way, who was that senior you mentioned? He sounds amazing,” Gu An asked, feigning curiosity.

“An unnamed senior. Sorry, I can’t reveal more,” Li Ya replied.

Heh, must be the old master inside you!

Gu An could sense the growing presence of a soul within Li Ya.

He suddenly thought of something. Before reaching the Unification Realm, he could sense the soul within Li Ya. Those great cultivators in the Void Crossing Realm should be able to detect it too.

Judging by Li Ya’s words, it seemed no one had discovered this.

Was it because Gu An’s cultivation technique was too strong, or was there another reason?

Even though it was getting late, Li Ya showed no sign of leaving. He kept chatting with Gu An, describing the landscapes he saw during his travels.

They talked until the next morning when Li Ya finally left.

After he left, Gu An picked up the secret book left by Li Ya and began studying how to make the Ancient Gold-Swallowing Insects recognize him as their master.

…

Under a clear sky, in the Third Medicine Valley.

Gu An stood in front of Elder Tian, raising his right hand. On the back of his hand was a golden insect resembling a beetle but with larger mandibles.

“Ancient Gold-Swallowing Insect, this creature is very rare, hard to find even within the Taicang Dynasty,” Elder Tian praised.

“This was a gift from my senior brother, Li Ya. He placed in the top hundred at the Hundred Clan Assembly and brought this insect back for me. It can help patrol the Medicine Valley in the future,” Gu An said with a smile. He had mentioned Li Ya to Elder Tian several times. If Elder Tian ever regained his position as Sect Leader, hopefully, he would remember Li Ya and cultivate him with care.

Elder Tian nodded, “It seems this Li Ya is indeed talented and devoted. A single Ancient Gold-Swallowing Insect is invaluable, let alone sixteen.”

Gu An opened the insect bag at his waist, and the Ancient Gold-Swallowing Insects flew out. One of them, twice the size of the others, landed on his shoulder while the rest hovered around him.

Passing by, Xiaochuan couldn’t help but come over and Gu An began showing off the insects.

By the evening, all the servant disciples in the Third Medicine Valley had witnessed the Ancient Gold-Swallowing Insects. Gu An wasn’t just showing off; he wanted to prevent the servants from attacking the patrolling insects in the future.

…

Seasons passed, and three years went by quickly.

Gu An crossed the fifty-year mark. These three years had been peaceful and fulfilling. His life span had exceeded three hundred thousand years and continued to increase annually.

One day.

Xiaochuan arrived at the transmission array platform with Ye Lan.

Gu An was playing with a White Spirit Rat as big as a dog. When he saw Ye Lan coming, he immediately got up to greet her.

Ye Lan’s face looked troubled. Facing Gu An, she said, “Senior Brother, let’s talk inside.”

Gu An nodded and led Ye Lan upstairs.

Xiaochuan went towards the White Spirit Rat, but it turned and ran away. Angry, Xiaochuan picked up a stone to throw at it but missed.

Meanwhile.

Gu An closed the door after entering the room.

He had just turned around when Ye Lan spoke, “Senior Brother, Wuxin is a spy from the Thousand-Autumn Pavilion!”

Upon hearing this, Gu An’s expression changed slightly. He frowned and asked, “Nonsense, what evidence do you have?”

Ye Lan took out several sheets of paper and said, “These are all records left by the Demon Extermination Hall of the disciples. The person who brought Wuxin into the sect was not a demonic spy, but his subsequent connections were all demonic spies. Besides, the Thousand-Autumn Pavilion has been searching for the son of a Pavilion Master, who happens to be a monk with indelible scars on his head.”

Gu An took the papers and examined them closely.

The papers outlined the interactions of the spies, including visits Wuxin had made to the Outer Gate City to see them.

Careless!

Why didn’t he act more prudently?

Gu An silently cursed but didn’t panic, as Ye Lan was the one who discovered this.

After reading, Gu An looked up at Ye Lan and asked, “How many people know about this?”

“Just me for now. The Law Enforcement Hall usually doesn’t investigate servant disciples. We discovered that there’s a Valley Master in the Outer Sect’s Medicine Valley working for the Thousand-Autumn Pavilion, but we haven’t identified who it is yet. We wanted to investigate further, but someone above us ordered us to stop,” Ye Lan said angrily.

“Who ordered you to stop?”

“Outer Sect Great Elder, Jiang Qiong, but her people said it was an order from the Inner Sect.”

Gu An suddenly thought that Jiang Qiong being the Outer Sect Great Elder might actually be beneficial, as she could shield him.

Although Gu An had never worked for the Thousand-Autumn Pavilion, the Green Vine Tree made it impossible to wash his hands clean, and he didn’t want his peaceful farming life disturbed.

Gu An stepped forward, grabbing Ye Lan’s shoulders, and took a deep breath, saying, “Junior Sister, this matter must be suppressed. Even if Wuxin is from the demonic path, after so many years together, I believe he is not a bad person.”

Blushing, Ye Lan lowered her eyes and said, “Senior Brother, are you also from the Thousand-Autumn Pavilion? If you are, I’m willing to go with you.”

“How could that be? I was born as a person of the Supreme Sect, and I will die as a ghost of the Supreme Sect.”

“I don’t care, wherever you go, take me with you.”

“Can you suppress this matter then?”

“Yes, the other evidence has been destroyed, only what’s in your hand remains.”

Gu An released her and threw the papers into his storage bag.

Better keep it just in case.

Ye Lan then said, “This is actually a minor issue. I know you will protect him. I came to tell you something bigger. The demonic path is preparing to attack the Supreme Sect, and this time, it’s real. Someone in the Hall of Elders in the Main City has betrayed the Supreme Sect. This information came from a Law Enforcement Hall spy within the Wanyin Sect and has been reported upwards. The four Inner Sect Cities are preparing for war.”

“There are many cultivators from other sects and dynasties in the Outer Sect. They have been there for years and can’t be expelled easily. If the demonic path attacks, the Outer Gate City might be very dangerous, with demonic spies possibly aiding the enemy.”

Demonic path attack?

Gu An frowned and asked, “The Supreme Sect’s disciple count has skyrocketed over the years. How dare they attack?”

“They’ve allied with the Demon Clan, planning to destroy the Supreme Sect and then divide up the Taicang Dynasty,” Ye Lan replied with a serious expression.

Allied with the Demon Clan?

Gu An was puzzled. Didn’t these demonic sects know about the upcoming hundred-year demonic calamity?

After sharing more information, Ye Lan left in a hurry. Gu An personally escorted her to the transmission array platform to send her to the Mystic Valley and then the Outer Gate City to follow protocol.

Returning to his room, Gu An suddenly noticed Elder Tian sitting under an old tree.

It had been a while since he last checked on Elder Tian.

The old guy had his cultivation level increased by two layers at the Heavenly Repair Platform, but had been quiet ever since, which was strange.

As he thought about this, Gu An cast a life span detection spell.