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

Gu An cast several Life Span Detection spells towards the thirteen figures in the forest and found that their Cultivation Levels were uniform, all at the third layer of the Unification Realm, and their ages were the same as well.

All with the surname Li.

Gu An couldn't help thinking of the Nine Nether Thirteen Li that had previously disturbed the Immortal Cultivation World.

What were these people doing at the Supreme Sect?

There were still several years until the Golden List Conference.

Seeing they were not moving quickly, Gu An was not in a hurry to stop them, wanting to see what these fellows intended to do.

The large coffin caught Gu An's attention, his Divine Sense penetrated the coffin and found a skeleton inside exuding a strange aura, and it even wore a dark golden crown on its head. The jewels had vanished, leaving behind each empty socket, yet it still appeared extraordinary.

About half an incense stick's time had passed.

The thirteen figures stopped simultaneously, with Li Shouyou at the forefront turning around and gesturing. The four carrying the large coffin followed by placing it down, then started to unveil the coffin.

The moment the coffin lid was lifted, a hand suddenly pressed on it.

The thirteen looked towards the end of the coffin to see Gu An standing there, wrapped in dark purple Demonic Qi, with his right hand pressing on the coffin lid.

The forest fell into silence.

These thirteen did not flee nor attack; the other twelve all looked towards Li Shouyou.

Their bodies were pitch-black like ghostly shadows, their true faces obscured, making it impossible to read their emotions.

Li Shouyou nodded slightly, then knelt down, and the rest of the twelve followed suit and knelt as well.

"Nine Nether Thirteen Li pay respects to Sword Venerable Fudao!"

Li Shouyou said in a deep voice, not particularly loud, but his enunciation was clear.

Gu An was taken aback; were these people specifically here to find him?

No wonder their behavior was odd; it didn't resemble an invasion posture.

Gu An spoke, "Give me a reason not to annihilate you all."

These thirteen must be Ghost Cultivators, surrounded by ghostly Qi, but they still possessed human Qi-Blood and vitality.

Li Shouyou responded, "We are the Nine Nether Thirteen Li, commanded by the Ghost Mother of Ephemera to present the Immortal King Crown to Sword Venerable Fudao, to assist in reclaiming your position among the Land Immortals!"

Ghost Mother of Ephemera?

Astonishment grew in Gu An's heart; the Ghost Mother of Ephemera's Cultivation Level was a minor realm lower than that of the Nine Nether Thirteen Li, how could she command them?

"Why?" Gu An asked.

He did not sense any hostility from them, which suggested they might not be lying.

Li Shouyou answered, "It is the Ghost Mother's command. She has studied your Sword Intent at the Supreme Sect for many years and realized that you must have mastered the Taicang Divine-Shocking Sword.

This swordsmanship was promoted by the Imperial Family of the Taicang Dynasty from the Li Family; however, in truth, it was not created by the Primordial Ancestor of the Li Family but came from the Ephemera Sect's Immortal King, who is also the ancestor of the Ghost Mother."

"For this reason, the Ghost Mother came to the Taicang Dynasty, wishing to find the ancestral heritage of the Ephemera Sect before it destroyed the Taicang Dynasty. Two hundred years ago, the Ghost Mother had visited, but unfortunately, the descendants of the Li Family were mediocre and no one understood the Taicang Divine-Shocking Sword, forcing the Ghost Mother to lie in wait."

Indeed, Gu An's Taicang Divine-Shocking Sword came from the Li Family, but he had not expected the Li Family's Primordial Ancestor to be related to the Ephemera Sect.

"Does your Ghost Mother want to obtain the Taicang Divine-Shocking Sword?" Gu An asked.

Li Shouyou replied, "The Ghost Mother wishes to invite you back to the Ephemera Sect and use the Sword Intent of the Taicang Divine-Shocking Sword to reclaim the position of Sect Hierarch!"

After hearing this, Gu An fell silent.

What kind of ploy was this?

To set a tiger to fight a wolf?

Gu An pushed the coffin lid with a palm, noting the durability of this coffin and the abundant Restrictions within it; it was likely a Magic Artifact.

His gaze landed on the skeleton within the coffin; despite being lifeless, the skeleton felt exceptionally sinister. To be safe, he still sent a Life Span Detection towards it.

[Evil Emperor (Mahayana Realm fifth layer): 7600/9999/9999]

What a surprise!

He could still detect it and the maximum Life Span was exactly like An Hao's.

Gu An remained composed as he leaped and landed on the edge of the coffin, looking down at the Evil Emperor's bones.

The Nine Nether Thirteen Li immediately knelt, not making a sound.

Gu An's eyes suddenly widened, and two streaks of cold light burst forth.

Boom!

The Evil Emperor's bones were instantly shattered into dust, leaving only the Immortal King Crown lying inside the coffin, while the bottom of the coffin was pierced by the Breaking Path Divine Light.

The Nine Nether Thirteen Li looked up, gave a glance, and then lowered their heads again.

A prompt appeared before Gu An:

[You have successfully seized 320 years of Life Span from the Evil Emperor (Mahayana Realm fifth layer)]

Gu An sighed with relief.

Damn it!

He had almost been scared to death!

Who would have thought that this skeleton was still alive, and with a Cultivation Level of the Mahayana Realm fifth layer!

In that moment, Gu An imagined many possibilities and even felt that he had resolved a major disaster for the common folk.

The name Evil Emperor did not sound like anything good.

Moreover, this one feigned death, hiding inside a coffin, clearly harboring a shocking conspiracy.

Gu An raised his hand and drew the Immortal King Crown towards him; he did not grab it directly, but used his Spiritual Power to envelope the crown, preventing his body from making contact.

He glanced at Li Shouyou and asked, "Do you know about the Evil Emperor?"

Upon hearing this, Li Shouyu was momentarily stunned and hastily said, "To be completely frank, these bones are indeed those of the Evil Emperor. Five thousand years ago, the Ephemera Sect was in chaos. The Evil Emperor was ambushed by a traitor, struck by a deadly poison, unable to gather Spiritual Power.

In desperation, he put on the Immortal King Crown and in an instant, his vitality was drained, turning him into white bones. Henceforth, the Ephemera Sect deemed the Immortal King Crown an Evil Artifact, which no one dares to touch."

"Knowing this, you still dared to bring this thing before me?" Gu An's tone was laced with bone-chilling murderous intent.

Li Shouyu responded calmly, "If the Taicang Divine-Shocking Sword is perfected, the Immortal King Crown will sense the Sword Intent and acknowledge its master. The creator of this crown is the same individual who forged the Taicang Divine-Shocking Sword."

Gu An continued to inquire, "What connection does the Ghost Mother of Ephemera have with the Evil Emperor?"

"The Ghost Mother is a descendant of the Evil Emperor."

"Why would she bring her ancestor's remains to me? Is she not afraid of causing offense?"

"The Ghost Mother detests her own bloodline. As a child, she was turned into an Evil Ghost by her own father's machinations. Thus, she sought out the descendants of the Li Family, who are unrelated to her by blood. The Primordial Ancestor of the Li Family was merely a disciple of the Ephemera Sect.

She wants someone who can inherit the Taicang Divine-Shocking Sword to seize the position of Sect Hierarch of the Ephemera Sect and complete her revenge."

"How could you be so sure that you'd be able to find me?"

"The Ghost Mother once said that as long as we approached the Outer City where the Heavenly Repair Platform is located, even if we were to conceal our Cultivation Level, you would notice us due to the vast disparity in our powers."

The energy-concealing techniques practiced by Li Shouyu and the others were indeed formidable, visible only to Gu An.

Up to now, they had not revealed a trace of their aura.

Gu An continued his questioning, and Li Shouyu answered each one.

After about 30 minutes, Gu An pondered and said, "I will keep the Immortal King Crown. You all may leave now."

Li Shouyu took a Short Flute from his sleeve and said, "This is the Nine Nether Flute. As long as you play it, we will come as soon as possible, awaiting your orders. From now on, you are the Sect Hierarch of the Ephemera Sect, at least in our hearts!"

Gu An reached out and, using his Divine Sense, made sure there were no surveillance, tracking restrictions, or other traps within. Only then did he place it into his Storage Bag.

He jumped down from the coffin and signaled the Nine Nether Thirteen Evil to leave.

The Nine Nether Thirteen Evil bowed to him and then lifted the coffin and departed.

Gu An did not immediately return to the valley. Instead, he sat down under a tree and placed the Immortal King Crown in front of him.

According to Li Shouyu, millennia ago, the Mortal World had an Immortal Dynasty. Everyone could practice Immortal Cultivation, and there was no Emperor back then. The ruler of the Immortal Dynasty proclaimed himself the Immortal King, commanding the land and the immortals.

Eventually, disaster struck the Immortal Dynasty: calamities were unending, Cultivators faced constant inner demons, plagues spread, and in a mere decade, the dynasty went from its zenith to destruction.

The Immortal King survived, but the Immortal Dynasty was no more. He dared not claim to be an Immortal or challenge Heaven's might anymore.

In the years that followed, his descendants founded the Ephemera Sect. One of the Sect Hierarchs created the Taicang Divine-Shocking Sword, its Sword Intent startling the firmament and invoking celestial tribulation—hence the name Divine-Shocking. This Hierarch believed he had reached the level of his Immortal King ancestor, but still, he could not achieve eternal life.

Facing the end of his days, he forged the Immortal King Crown using his own Cultivation Level. The crown contained the power of the Immortal King, and successive Hierarchs of the Sect studied it but failed to subdue it, instead finding misfortune befall them because of it.

Gu An probed the Immortal King Crown with his Divine Sense, but even a Cultivation Level of the ninth layer of the Mahayana Realm could not penetrate it.

He certainly didn't dare to test it with his own Sword Intent. Setting aside whether Li Shouyu was lying, even if it was the truth, this method had never been proven, given that no one had ever succeeded before.

Upon reflection, Gu An felt that the artifact was too sinister and better off not kept close by.

He stood up and, using the Limitless Freedom Step, quickly made his way to the North Sea Mountain.

He dived straight into the bottom of the North Sea and buried both the Immortal King Crown and the Short Flute in the seabed's mud, placing Restrictions on them.

He could examine them later after breaking through a few major realms.

After all, Gu An didn't need to borrow the power of the Immortal King Crown.

Once everything was done, Gu An quickly returned to Mystic Valley and continued to celebrate the festival with his disciples.

...

Life returned to normal for Gu An after the Nine Nether Thirteen Evil had departed, free from further disturbances.

Three years swiftly passed by.

Gu An turned seventy years old.

On this day, in Tianya Valley.

Gu An had just finished picking herbs, in good spirits, he personally delivered the herbs to the storeroom.

As he stepped outside, he saw Lv Xian approaching.

Upon seeing him, Lv Xian's expression turned awkward.

Ever since being defeated by Gu An, he dedicated himself to relentless training, his Cultivation Level dramatically increasing, now having reached the sixth level of the Nascent Soul Realm.

A Nascent Soul Realm Level Six at ninety-nine years old!

Quite astounding!

Yet, Lv Xian felt defeated. Despite consuming numerous Elixirs, he still had not managed to break through to the Divinity Transformation Realm before reaching one hundred.

"Are you competing in the Golden List grand tournament?" Lv Xian approached and asked.

Gu An laughed, "Why would I? With my talents, I would only embarrass myself."

Lv Xian's mouth twitched. He took a deep breath and said, "I'm planning to participate. Three years ago, one night, I suddenly felt a great deal of pressure lifted off me. These past three years, I haven't been affected by inner demons or dreams. It's a good opportunity to join the Golden List tournament, to relax."

Relax?

Others would probably suffer for it.

Gu An mentally critiqued as he felt the residual spirit within Lv Xian's body.

Huh?

One spirit less; it was seven spirits before, now only six remain.

That night three years ago...

Gu An suddenly thought of something—could it be that the Evil Emperor also left a remnant spirit in Lv Xian's body?

That didn't make sense.

What possible connection could the Evil Emperor have with Lv Xian?

The Evil Emperor was a long-dead Hierarch of the Ephemera Sect, while Lv Xian was the biological son of Lv Baitian...

Wait a second!

Could it be that Lv Baitian had a connection with the Ephemera Sect?