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

Hearing Zhu Xi's words, Gu An felt quite uncomfortable.

Could this fellow be planning to take this opportunity to monopolize the medicinal herbs and then slander him?

Gu An simply decided to continue waiting; he wanted to see what Zhu Xi would do.

He watched Zhu Xi and noticed that no matter how much spiritual energy she absorbed, her cultivation level did not change at all; her small body seemed to harbor a black hole that could devour everything.

Interesting.

This girl's physique is not simple, no wonder she has a life span of 9999 years.

After about half an hour, all the spirit flowers by the lake were drained and withered.

Zhu Xi took a deep breath, then with a terrified expression, she turned and left.

Gu An hovered in the night sky, lost in thought.

The spiritual energy and medicinal effects Zhu Xi had just devoured were enough for an ordinary cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Realm to reach the Nascent Soul Realm. Of course, in reality, a cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Realm could not have absorbed so much spiritual energy from the spirit flowers at once.

Not only had Zhu Xi succeeded, but her cultivation level had not increased at all.

What exactly was this physique?

Gu An began to recall the memories of Long Zhan and Lu Han; they had lived for hundreds of thousands of years, fought countless battles, and perhaps had seen similar physiques.

Soon, Gu An's brow furrowed.

Could it be...

An unusual glint flashed in Gu An's eyes as he grew more intrigued by Zhu Xi.

After a while, a large group of cultivators flew in, and when they saw the large number of withered spirit flowers by the lake, they all looked alarmed.

"Has there been a thief?"

"Who dares to steal the treasures of heaven and earth from Moonfall Divine Lake, that's simply courting death!"

"If someone could sneak into Moonfall Divine Lake and absorb the energy and medicinal effects of the Purple Orchid flowers all at once, their cultivation must be high."

"Could it be a spirit beast from the lake?"

"Could it be the act of an Immortal Spirit from the Immortal Dynasty? Recently, they've been making a lot of noise."

Listening to the seniors' discussions, Zhu Xi stood by, looking fearfully apprehensive, and nobody imagined she was the one who had absorbed the spirit of the Purple Orchid flowers.

After a long discussion, the cultivators of Moonfall Divine Lake couldn't come to a conclusion and prepared to report the matter to the higher-ups. Before leaving, they comforted Zhu Xi not to be afraid anymore.

Zhu Xi returned to her quarters by herself. Along the way, she was deep in thought, her brow tightly furrowed, occasionally looking around with vigilance, making Gu An admire her acting skills and strong conviction.

After entering her house, Gu An saw Zhu Xi reveal a smile.

From worry to contentment, the speed of her change in demeanor impressed even Gu An.

Seeing that Zhu Xi was about to change clothes, Gu An stopped observing her, turned, and left to continue his own herb gathering journey.

That evening, Gu An picked many more medicinal herbs in Moonfall Divine Lake, which added to the already tense atmosphere within.

After that night, Gu An did not return to Moonfall Divine Lake to gather herbs.

With so many sects in the world, gathering everywhere, he could quickly accumulate a life span.

...

As summer passed and autumn arrived, the Third Medicine Valley was covered in a panorama of withered scenery.

Gu An looked at his attribute panel, a smile forming on his face, only one million years away from reaching a life span of one billion years.

Indeed, not taking the righteous path increases life span more rapidly.

But the sects from which Gu An had gathered herbs all thought a great calamity was imminent, all on high alert.

Gu An purposefully chose sects far apart to prevent them from connecting and making a big fuss.

Although he didn't steal those medicinal herbs, his behavior of gathering was still suspicious.

Now some sects thought it was the work of demon beasts or spirit beasts, others thought it was an enemy warning them. It must be said, these sects were quite perceptive; after each of Gu An's harvests, they quickly started guarding.

Gu An turned off the attribute panel and stood up.

He flexed his muscles as his divine sense looked towards the distance.

He was watching Zhu Xi from Moonfall Divine Lake.

Gu An was very interested in this girl whose actions were so different, feeling a sense of kinship with her.

Zhu Xi's talent was extraordinary, but for now, within Moonfall Divine Lake, she was just an ordinary disciple, which is why she was responsible for guarding a lake.

Gu An guessed that her reason for wanting to guard the lake was to facilitate her own theft.

Boom—

Suddenly, a thunderous roar came from outside the window, but Gu An was not startled because the source of the noise was extremely distant from the Taicang Continent.

The disciples within the Third Medicine Valley were startled but did not panic; instead, they started to wonder what kind of great power was clashing.

The friction between the Immortal Dynasty and the Holy Court was increasing, almost to the point of declaring war.

In Gu An's view, both sides were still testing each other.

Last year, Gu An had seen two Dao Void Mysterious Immortals battle in Outer Heaven, generating a great commotion that caught the attention of the Great Cultivators of the Mortal World.

Gu An walked downstairs.

As he descended the stairs, his gaze turned towards the valley entrance where someone was coming.

It was Zhang Xianwang from the Immortal Dynasty.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

After entering the valley, Zhang Xianwang scrutinized everything along the path.

The Third Medicine Valley was quite famous within the Supreme Sect, and those cultivators visiting the Supreme Sect often came to stroll through the Third Medicine Valley. Gu An rarely greeted them personally, given the large number of disciples within the Medicine Valley.

Zhang Xianwang's gaze swept over Shen Xinzi, then glanced at the Nine-Finger Divine Lord, who was playing chess, thinking to himself that their reputations were indeed well-deserved.

The two Wandering Immortals were not enough to shock him, a Carefree Primordial Immortal; he was just curious how Gu An, currently at the Nascent Soul Realm, had managed to attract so many beings of the Immortal Path to gather here.

From a distance, Zhang Xianwang saw Gu An and immediately walked towards him.

Gu An stood downstairs, pretending not to see him, walked towards the Medicine Garden in front, and then stopped in front of a wooden railing to check the medicinal herbs in the garden.

As Zhang Xianwang approached, Gu An turned his head, his face showing a surprised expression.

"Daoist Zhang, what brings you here?"

Faced with Gu An's question, Zhang Xianwang smiled and said, "I've come to take you to the Immortal Dynasty."

Upon hearing this, Gu An hesitated and said, "After much deliberation, I don't really want to go to the Immortal Dynasty, Daoist Zhang, thank you for your kindness."

Zhang Xianwang frowned and said, "After experiencing the previous blessing of the Immortal Dynasty, do you still not believe the power of the Immortal Dynasty is real?"

"I do believe, but I can't part with everything I have now," Gu An said helplessly.

Zhang Xianwang stared at him and said, "If you go to the Immortal Dynasty, you can establish everything you currently have. You should understand that the most important thing in cultivation is your own future prospects."

Gu An took a deep breath and said, "Everyone has their own aspirations; my pursuit is not just about future prospects."

Zhang Xianwang's brows furrowed tighter, just as he was about to say more, Ji Xiaoyu suddenly came over.

"Going to the Immortal Dynasty might not necessarily lead to a better future," Ji Xiaoyu said to Zhang Xianwang, her tone indifferent, her words blunt, clearly showing no fondness for Zhang Xianwang.

Zhang Xianwang saw the Dao Patterns on Ji Xiaoyu's forehead and looked perplexed.

His eyes shifted back and forth between Gu An and Ji Xiaoyu's foreheads.

Ji Xiaoyu came to stand beside Gu An, turned to face Zhang Xianwang.

"What do you mean by that?" Zhang Xianwang asked, curious about her identity, but her previous words had displeased him.

Ji Xiaoyu replied, "The opponent of the Immortal Dynasty is the Holy Court. By pulling him to the Immortal Dynasty, you're not leading him to a better future but to a path of swords and fires. You probably can't be sure that the Immortal Dynasty will definitely defeat the Holy Court."

Zhang Xianwang's face turned ugly, and he said in a deep voice, "I naturally believe that the Immortal Dynasty will have the last laugh; I'm not trying to harm him."

Ji Xiaoyu continued, "You may have good intentions, but at this critical juncture, joining the Immortal Dynasty is really not a good thing. At the very least, we should wait until this conflict is over, right?"

Gu An felt the divine sense of the Sun and Moon Netherworld Emperor locking onto Zhang Xianwang; if Zhang Xianwang made any wrong moves, he might be annihilated in an instant.

He quickly spoke up, "Daoist Zhang, thank you for your kindness; she is also considering my well-being. I apologize on her behalf; her words are indeed somewhat harsh."

As he spoke, Gu An raised his hand in respect towards Zhang Xianwang, causing Ji Xiaoyu to pout.

Zhang Xianwang took a deep breath and smiled, "No matter, she does make sense, and I wasn't thoughtful enough. Let's leave it at that."

Gu An, worried that Zhang Xianwang might feel uncomfortable, then invited him for a drink, which Ji Xiaoyu did not join, merely watching Zhang Xianwang's retreating figure.

Zhang Xianwang stayed in the Third Medicine Valley for an ancient hour before departing. He planned to return to the Immortal Dynasty, and it was uncertain if he would come back in the future.

Although Gu An had turned him down, Zhang Xianwang still hoped he could live a peaceful life and, before leaving, even gifted him a magic artifact.

Gu An tried to refuse, but Zhang Xianwang solemnly said, "Our meeting was a form of fate. The world is about to fall into great chaos; having an extra magic artifact by your side is a good thing. I hope we can still have a drink together in the future."

Upon hearing this, Gu An no longer refused, merely expressing his gratitude and wishing him well in the future.

After bidding farewell to Zhang Xianwang, Gu An went to a hillside at the edge of the Medicine Valley and sat on the grass, beginning to enjoy the sunset.

His eyes held the entire world, capturing the myriad states of all beings.

Watching those battles, Gu An's determination to make a breakthrough only grew stronger.

After reaching a life span of one billion years, he must make a breakthrough immediately!

Gu An looked up, searching the heavens for an appropriate place to make his breakthrough.

...

Late at night.

Gu An took action again, this time heading to the Bitter Sea Buddha Sect.

Despite being located in a barren land, the Bitter Sea Buddha Sect cultivated numerous heavenly and earthly treasures, its legacy by no means inferior to that of Purple Pill Palace or Moonfall Divine Lake.

The Bitter Sea Buddha Sect had several Divine Immortals of Wondrous Dharma; fortunately, there were no Dao Void Mysterious Immortals, so no one could detect Gu An's movements.

It is worth mentioning that Gu An saw Lu Lingjun again.

Lu Lingjun was meditating quietly under an old tree.

Gu An went to her medicine garden and helped her gather medicinal herbs without her noticing.

Tonight, Gu An was going to strive for a life span of one billion years!

The Bitter Sea Buddha Sect's mountain peak was vast, with countless medicine gardens on its slopes. Even though he only picked mature medicinal herbs, Gu An had only walked one-third of the way and had already successfully gathered a life span of several hundred million years.

Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks because two notifications emerged before his eyes:

[Your life span has broken through one billion years for the first time, initiating the life span simulation function]

[Life Span Simulation: Consume life span to conduct simulations; you can simulate everything in reality as well as imagine and create. The life span consumed during the simulation will be determined based on the matter being simulated.]

A smile spread across Gu An's face; finally, a new function had appeared, and now he could conduct his breakthrough with peace of mind.

Simulating everything sounded very powerful.

Gu An immediately had numerous ideas, such as simulating tribulation crossing, combat, and acting.

However, whether the simulations would be identical to reality remained to be observed; if they were, that would be quite interesting.

Gu An continued walking forward.

Since he was already here, he would finish gathering before considering those possibilities.