Steadily becoming a saint, the immortal officials hired me to tend the horses - Chapter 85

Chapter 85: Chapter 85: The First Trial of the Divine Finger, Xu Lian Demon Lord

Outer Gate City.

The city wall was lined with outer disciples, including Ye Lan and Zhen Qin. They frowned and looked into the distance. Not just them, all the disciples were looking in the same direction, as if facing a great enemy.

Heavy snow covered the land and mountains. The wind howled, and amidst the swirling snow, the outlines of mountains could be seen faintly.

Gu gu——

A mysterious bird cry rang out again, as if beings from the underworld were approaching, causing the hearts of the disciples on the wall to pound like war drums.

Gradually, a shadow appeared in the snow-covered expanse, making all the disciples’ faces change.

“W-what is that?” Zhen Qin stammered, her voice low as if asking herself.

Ye Lan’s eyes were also wide open. She considered herself knowledgeable, yet she was stunned by the current sight.

The enormous shadow resembled a black ocean advancing, vast and boundless, connecting the ends of the sky. The mysterious bird cries grew louder.

Anyone facing such a huge shadow would feel fear, as if an abyss was approaching.

A tremendous pressure emanated from within the city, startling the disciples into turning their heads. They saw dozens of flying swords soaring into the sky, surrounded by golden spiritual power. With a roar, the flying swords shot forward, gathering golden spiritual power together, resembling a giant golden phoenix flying over the city wall.

The golden phoenix spread its wings over a hundred feet wide, magnificent in momentum. Yet, when it flew towards the terrifying shadow at the horizon, it seemed small.

The golden phoenix tore through the flying snow, unstoppable, crashing into the terrifying shadow. Immediately, golden light burst forth, the howling wind and snow forced the outer disciples on the wall to raise their arms to shield themselves.

“Your Excellency Demon Emperor, what are you waiting for?”

A cold voice rang out, drowning out all other sounds in the world.

On the Heavenly Repair Platform.

The Underworld Demon Emperor slowly rose. In the distance, a great cultivator at the fifth level of the Void Crossing Realm stood up facing him, their eyes meeting.

“I didn’t expect you to be the legendary Underworld Demon Emperor, you hid well.”

This Supreme Sect elder spoke coldly, raising his right hand, a jade ruler appearing in his grasp.

Several other Supreme Sect cultivators stood up, each exuding an aura far surpassing the Divinity Transformation Realm, causing the other cultivators on the platform to stand up and retreat.

The Ghost Mother of Ephemera retreated as well, looking no different from ordinary cultivators.

“Heh heh.”

The Underworld Demon Emperor let out a chilling laugh, his calm face quickly contorted as waves of demonic qi surged from his robe, spreading in all directions.

Rumble——

The sound of thunder came from the sky, as rolling thunderclouds surged from all directions, pressing down on the flying snow, forming a thick white mist, creating an oppressive atmosphere.

The Underworld Demon Emperor raised his eyes, a mocking expression on his face. He suddenly squatted down, slapping the ground, causing the demonic qi covering the Heavenly Repair Platform to churn violently. Evil ghosts crawled out of the demonic fog, letting out roars that shook the heavens and earth.

The great battle between righteous and demon paths erupted!

…

In Mystic Valley.

Gu An was leading the disciples in inspecting the medicinal herbs. The wind howled, causing snow on the mountains to slide continuously, and the distant rumbling persisted.

Yang Ni stood next to Gu An, not shoveling snow, her eyes fixed on the sky, frowning.

Wuxin approached Gu An nervously, “Senior Brother, the commotion is quite loud!”

Gu An cursed inwardly. Didn’t Jiang Qiong say it wouldn’t reach this Outer Gate City?

Why did it feel like the Demon Path was invading from here?

“Don’t worry, the Supreme Sect won’t be easily breached.” Gu An consoled.

He felt the intense demonic qi in the Outer Gate City but didn’t know where it came from.

Wuxin was worried, but his hands didn’t stop moving, a result of Gu An’s years of teaching.

As thunderclouds gradually covered the sky, the snow began to weaken, which was good for Mystic Valley.

After clearing the snow from various gardens, Gu An had Wuxin gather the disciples together while he and Yang Ni stood far away.

“Can the Supreme Sect really hold out?”

“What is that sound? It’s terrifying!”

“I don’t know what the situation is in the Outer Gate City, it’s a good thing we’re in the Medicine Valley.”

“Who knows, maybe a demon cultivator will target us.”

“Shut up, you jinx!”

The disciples were tense and fearful, unable to calm down. The pressure from the great cultivators’ battle, the demonic qi, the demonic pressure, and various other conditions stimulated their senses. They had never experienced such feelings before.

Gu An glanced at the disciples a hundred feet away, then looked at Yang Ni beside him, asking via voice transmission, “With your strength, how strong an enemy can you deal with?”

“As long as it’s not a Divinity Transformation Realm, I can kill as many as come.” Yang Ni’s response was confident, but Gu An wasn’t pleased.

Because it was certain there would be Divinity Transformation Realm enemies.

At this moment, a figure flew in from the distance at high speed, landing quickly in the valley. Who else but Li Ya?

“Senior Brother Li!” Wuxin called out in surprise. Li Ya was an inner sect disciple, a genuine Core Formation Realm expert. His arrival was enough to excite Wuxin.

As for Yang Ni, Wuxin viewed her as merely a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator, surely not as strong as Li Ya.

Li Ya ignored Wuxin, quickly approaching Gu An, his gaze assessing Yang Ni with a slight frown. He then looked at Gu An, urgently saying, “Junior Brother Gu, evacuate. It’s too dangerous here. Now all the Outer Gate Cities and Inner Gate Cities are in a great battle. There’s a traitor in the Supreme Sect, using a teleportation array to send enemies in!”

Huh?

Li Ya didn’t recognize Yang Ni?

Gu An’s face turned serious, “I can’t abandon the Medicine Valley, and even if we escape, where can we go?”

Honestly, Li Ya’s arrival both moved and troubled him.

Gu An wasn’t actually panicked about the demon path invasion. He just didn’t like having people around, making it inconvenient to take action.

“Isn’t it easy to hide? We can’t stay in the Medicine Valley!” Li Ya said gravely.

Gu An shook his head, “If you want to hide, you hide. Senior Brother Li, you don’t need to save me. I can’t abandon my disciples!”

Mystic Valley had more than twenty servant disciples, making it difficult to move together. It was a good excuse for him.

Li Ya was about to speak when Yang Ni suddenly said, “Someone’s coming!”

Li Ya instinctively looked up, as did Gu An.

They saw rolling thunderclouds forming a huge vortex in the sky, with a figure falling from it, aiming directly at Mystic Valley.

The figure descended like a falling star, landing on a northern mountain peak, raising snow and mist.

“Wuxin, you sure made it hard for me to find you. I didn’t expect you to be hiding here. Where did you get the courage to infiltrate the Supreme Sect as a spy?”

A contemptuous, cold laugh echoed through Mystic Valley, startling everyone to look at Wuxin.

The disciples around Wuxin exclaimed and retreated.

Wuxin looked up at the person on the peak with a grim face, eyes full of hatred.

The person on the peak wore a blood-patterned black robe, with disheveled hair and handsome features, but his brows were full of killing intent. His smile was hideous as he looked at Wuxin like a crawling insect.

[Bai Wu (First Layer of Nascent Soul Realm): 203/790/980]

Gu An saw the result of the life span detection and remained unflustered.

He dared to let the other party enter the valley, sensing their cultivation level wasn’t a threat. He was just being cautious, verifying it.

Li Ya frowned, looking at Wuxin from afar, a flicker of killing intent in his eyes.

Wuxin seemed to know Bai Wu’s fierceness, gritting his teeth, “I’ll go back with you, just don’t hurt anyone else!”

“That won’t do, my orders are to kill everyone in the Supreme Sect, including insignificant servant disciples!”

Bai Wu licked his lips, taunting, “And who said I was taking you back? Today, you will be buried with them. I can bring your head back.”

“Hmph!”

A cold snort suddenly sounded, making Bai Wu’s pupils shrink. He glanced over reflexively to see a woman in green appear next to him out of thin air, drawing her sword to slash.

It was Yang Ni!

He leaped aside but still got slashed on the arm, blood splattering.

Yang Ni continued her assault, the two battling on the peak. Sword qi surged, and demonic qi spread like mist. They quickly flew into the sky to fight.

Li Ya couldn’t help but look at Gu An, asking, “Who is she?”

“Your mother’s sister, Yang Ni, don’t you recognize her?” Gu An replied quietly.

Li Ya’s expression became bewildered, mumbling, “Why is it her…”

Gu An noted his expression, feeling puzzled.

What did that mean?

Could it be they didn’t get along?

Gu An didn’t ask and said, “I’ll check the forest, there’s a lot of medicinal herbs planted in there.”

Saying that, he ran towards the woods.

Li Ya wanted to stop him, but Yang Ni’s battle captured his attention.

“Damn it!” Li Ya cursed, leaping to support Yang Ni.

In truth, Yang Ni didn’t need his help; she was already overwhelming Bai Wu. Within ten breaths, Bai Wu was covered in blood. Despite his wide and aggressive spells, Yang Ni’s movement technique was too exquisite, allowing her to dodge easily.

Seeing Bai Wu so miserable, Wuxin’s eyes widened. He hadn’t expected Yang Ni to be so formidable.

Where did Senior Brother find such a powerful great cultivator?

On another side.

Gu An reached the forest’s edge, turning his back to Mystic Valley, looking at the distant mountains.

He raised his right hand, thumb pressing on middle finger, aiming into the distance.

He sensed a Void Crossing Realm presence hundreds of miles away, lingering suspiciously.

Too close to his Medicine Valley, it must be killed!

Just the right time to test Elder Tian’s Gathering Spirit Divine Finger.

He had mastered Gathering Spirit Divine Finger. Though not proficient, it should be enough to kill a Void Crossing Realm demon cultivator!

Spiritual power compressed at his middle finger. He didn’t gather surrounding spiritual energy, fearing it would alert Yang Ni and the others.

Hundreds of miles away.

On a flat land between the mountains, a group of demon cultivators was assembling an array platform.

A formidable demon cultivator stood nearby, watching quietly.

He was named Xu Lian, one of the Demon Lords of the Heavenly Extinction Sect, at the fourth level of Void Crossing Realm, toying with a white flame in his right hand, his expression indifferent.

A Heavenly Extinction Sect disciple approached softly, “Master, the array should be completed in half an hour.”

Xu Lian Demon Lord replied indifferently, “Finish it immediately, prepare…”

Before he could finish, his face suddenly changed, instinctively looking aside.