Saint Who Lay Low

Ever since Lu Xian was taught a lesson by Gu An, he had become much more restrained. When Gu An visited Tianya Valley again, Lu Xian remained in seclusion, focused on cultivating. Luo Hun mentioned that Lu Xian was eager to break through to Nascent Soul Realm as soon as possible.

Gu An, curious, asked why Lu Xian was in such a rush. Luo Hun shrugged, saying he didn't know. This explanation reassured Gu An; despite Lu Xian's occasional eccentricities, he knew how to keep his mouth shut.

This matter was put behind them.

Gu An had also studied the map Lu Xian gave him, but the location was too far from the Tai Cang Dynasty, so he put the matter on hold for the time being.

What if the area was occupied by Mahayana Realm cultivators?

He couldn't afford to take such a risk!

Currently, with the thriving development of the three medicine valleys, his accumulation of lifespan was substantial. Even without any significant breakthroughs, his lifespan was growing quickly.

In the blink of an eye, two months had passed.

The autumn hues spread across the Xuan Valley. On this particular day, just before noon, Ye Lan came to visit Gu An.

They hadn't seen each other for almost a year, and Ye Lan had been missing him. As soon as she entered the room, she hugged him tightly.

"Junior Sister!" Gu An called out, his tone carrying a hint of reproach.

Ye Lan released him and chuckled. "What's wrong with a hug? It's just a greeting between senior and junior disciples. Don't think too much about it. I'm not concerned with matters of romance right now. I just want to focus on cultivation."

Gu An rolled his eyes at her before turning around to pour her tea.

Earlier, he had subconsciously cast a Lifespan Investigation spell on her, and the results left him feeling a bit heavy-hearted.

[Ye Lan (Foundation Establishment, Fifth Layer): 56/130/130]

A normal Foundation Establishment cultivator could live over 200 years, but Ye Lan had advanced through pill consumption thanks to Gu An's help. Her cultivation had long since hit its limit.

What would happen when Ye Lan reached 130 years of age?

Would she succumb to the Five Decays of Heaven and Man and die, or would she fall into madness, her blood qi turning against her?

Gu An sighed inwardly, deciding that he must pass on the Dao Yan Technique to her. She still had 74 years left—maybe there was a chance it could help.

The Dao Yan Technique involved accumulating spiritual energy, and Gu An had a bold idea.

What would happen if one practiced the Dao Yan Technique while frantically consuming spiritual energy pills?

Ye Lan, unaware of her senior brother's thoughts, began recounting her recent experiences during her missions.

The Law Enforcement Hall had been dispatched to protect Crown Prince Li Dai, with their enemy being the Ephemeral Blossom Sect. Over the course of more than half a year, Ye Lan had experienced seven or eight battles, surviving them all with no major injuries.

Gu An already knew about this since he occasionally checked on her with his divine sense. The disciples of the Law Enforcement Hall mostly served as scouts. The real battles were fought by Nascent Soul realm cultivators.

"Senior Brother, the only reason we managed to make it back was because a powerful Void Crossing Realm cultivator arrived to protect the Crown Prince. Above Nascent Soul is Divine Transformation, and above that is Void Crossing. This senior was incredible. With a single palm strike, they obliterated an Ephemeral Blossom Sect Divine Transformation realm devil cultivator. We all thought we were doomed, but it turns out the Crown Prince had such a powerful protector. Apparently, this person wasn't even from Tai Xuan Sect," Ye Lan said, her tone filled with excitement as she spoke of the powerful cultivator.

Gu An raised an eyebrow, feigning surprise. "That impressive? How old was that senior?"

"They say he's already nine hundred years old." Ye Lan replied, carefully watching Gu An's expression as she spoke.

She had once suspected that Gu An might be the legendary Sword Master of Dao. During the chaos in the outer sect, her White Spirit Sword had sensed the presence of the Azure Swan Sword, which had been used to carve the two characters for "Righteous Path" on the Heaven Mending Platform.

However, after further investigation, she learned that the Sword Master of Dao was likely a cultivator far beyond the Divine Transformation Realm, making her question her earlier suspicions.

She had grown up with Gu An and knew his age.

A Void Crossing Realm cultivator in their fifties?

That was unheard of in the cultivation world!

Plus, Gu An had always denied being Sword Master of Dao, which led her to believe that perhaps he was a disciple of the famed sword master instead.

Regardless of the truth, Ye Lan felt she wasn't worthy of her senior brother at this point. That's why she no longer confessed her feelings for him openly, focusing instead on improving her own cultivation.

Once her cultivation had caught up, and when Gu An was ready to take a dao partner, that would be her chance!

Gu An sighed and remarked, "Junior Sister, the enemies you're encountering are becoming stronger and stronger, but your cultivation seems to have stagnated. How about you try cultivating with my technique?"

"What technique?" Ye Lan asked curiously.

Gu An had already given her the Gale Phantom Kick, which had become her most potent fighting technique. So, she wasn't about to underestimate any technique he suggested.

Perhaps this technique was passed down from the Sword Master Fudao!

Gu An began to explain the Dao Yan Technique, and Ye Lan listened carefully.

Once he finished, she couldn't help but ask, "Senior Brother, you've been surrounded by countless medicinal herbs, yet your cultivation doesn't seem to advance. Is it because of this Dao Yan Technique?"

Gu An nodded. "This is an extraordinary technique, a true treasure. I'm only passing it on to you, so don't tell anyone else."

Hearing this, Ye Lan's heart warmed, but she hesitated. "If I practice this technique, won't it burden you?"

She understood that Gu An would surely give her a constant supply of pills to aid in her cultivation, which would undoubtedly delay his own progress.

Gu An smiled. "If you're worried, then don't practice it. You could wait for your lifespan to run out, and I'll live on for a few more centuries. By then, I'll just take a few new junior sisters and enjoy life with them."

"No way! I'll practice it!" Ye Lan said, glaring at him.

With that, Gu An handed her the Dao Yan Technique, which he had already written out.

After accepting it, Ye Lan took out a black wooden box from her storage bag and said, "This is a gift I prepared for you. I originally planned to give it to you after our conversation, but now it feels like my gesture isn't enough after you gave me such a precious technique."

Gu An took the black wooden box, smiling. "Junior Sister, what are you saying? You've given me countless treasures over the years. You're the person who's been the best to me."

The Sixth-Grade Human-Faced Tree had come from Ye Lan, and every time she visited, she brought various medicinal herbs.

Gu An had refused these gifts in the beginning, but Ye Lan convinced him by saying it was a way to repay him for the pills he had given her. If he refused again, it would feel ungrateful, so now, the two of them happily exchanged gifts.

Hearing Gu An's words, Ye Lan smiled sweetly and explained, "This is a piece of Dark Vine, likely at the Fifth Grade. Although it's just a small fragment, after about ten or twenty years of nurturing, it should fully recover. Once matured, it can guard your home and even block divine sense detection."

Gu An opened the box and saw a small, charcoal-like piece of vine with only a faint hint of vitality.

He wasn't disappointed. Considering Ye Lan's cultivation level, it was already impressive that she had managed to acquire this fragment. Even the Human-Faced Tree she had given him had been just a root, but it had since begun to recover.

They spent the rest of the evening talking about what had been happening in the cultivation world.

Gu An listened with interest.

Recently, a group of mysterious cultivators known as the Thirteen Fiends of the Nine Netherworlds had appeared. They had forcefully broken into the Wan Yin Sect and stolen its most prized treasure before making a swift escape, stunning the entire cultivation world.

Besides that, there was another major event: Gu Hao Sect had successfully raised a Sky Dragon. The entire sect's morale was soaring, and all across the various regions, people were talking about how Gu Hao Sect was on the rise.

The Sky Dragon was the very same one Gu An had raised. He had previously scouted Gu Hao Sect and found that the dragon was thriving and being well taken care of, so he hadn't worried too much.

Based on what Ye Lan said, the cultivation world was still relatively peaceful. The Ephemeral Blossom Sect had quieted down and wasn't clashing with other demonic sects, but Gu An knew this was just the calm before the storm.

When the main branch of the Ephemeral Blossom Sect finally arrived, the cultivation world would once again be thrown into turmoil!

Deep in the Northern Sea Mountain that night, the spiritual energy began to sink, once again stirring all life in the region.

Gu An was meditating inside his Lifespan Barrier, enjoying the improvement in his cultivation. He had just spent 3,000 years of lifespan to advance to Mahayana Realm, ninth layer.

After about half an hour, he spent another 50,000 years of lifespan on enhancing his alchemy skills.

He had initially hoped to improve his alchemy through his own efforts but had come to realize that even alchemy required innate talent.

The investment of 50,000 years of lifespan allowed his alchemy to reach the level of the Taiqing Dao of Alchemy, greatly enhancing his comprehension of alchemy.

A flood of knowledge poured into his mind, and he became deeply absorbed in it.

The alchemy technique he practiced was the basic one used in the Tai Xuan Sect, but different sects had their own variations, leading to different outcomes.

Taiqing Dao of Alchemy even came with a spell called Taiqing True Fire, which not only improved the efficiency of refining pills but could also be used in combat.

Those 50,000 years of lifespan had been well spent!

When Gu An finally awoke, he raised his right hand, igniting a blue flame on his fingertip, a smile forming at the corner of his mouth.

Looking at his Lifespan Panel, he saw he still had 490,000 years left. He was truly rich!

He deactivated his Lifespan Barrier, stood up, and prepared to leave.

His gaze then fell upon a section of the mountain wall not far away.

The disturbance caused by the sinking spiritual energy had toppled the weeds in front of the wall, revealing a crack from which a peculiar wisp of energy was leaking. This energy was different from the usual five-elemental energies.

Immediately, Gu An moved closer, extending his divine sense into the crack.

Soon, his divine sense encountered a restriction.

Only someone with Void Crossing Realm cultivation could break through it.

Realizing this, Gu An didn't forcefully break through the barrier. Instead, he activated the Nine Extremes Yin-Yang Body, transforming into a shadowy figure, and with a step of the Infinite Free Step, he slipped inside.

After passing through several layers of restrictions, Gu An found himself in a vast underground space.

This space was even larger than the Eight Views Heavenly Cave, with an underground lake in the center, a vast field of grass stretching three hundred meters long and a hundred meters wide, and a row of ancient trees lining the edges.

Beside one of the ancient trees stood a dilapidated wooden hut.

Gu An couldn't sense the presence of any cultivators or demons within this space, only fish swimming in the lake. One of them, a massive creature over six feet long, seemed to be a type of spiritual beast.

As Gu An walked forward, he passed by a stone tablet engraved with four large characters:

Xuan Tian Cave Mansion!

The spiritual energy here was extremely abundant, even stronger than in the Eight Views Heavenly Cave. Gu An used Lifespan Investigation on the row of trees.

They were all Sixth-Grade Clear Mind Trees.

Not bad!

Gu An felt a surge of excitement. If no one else claimed this place, he could use it as his fourth medicine valley.

The other three—Xuan Valley, Third Medicine Valley, and Tianya Valley—were all too visible, and he kept his treasures hidden in the Eight Views Heavenly Cave. But that place was small and couldn't accommodate everything.

As Gu An continued walking toward the wooden hut, he noticed a moss-covered stone table with two books resting on it.

One was an unnamed book, and the other was a manual titled:

Heaven-Sundering Divine Axe!

What a domineering name!

Gu An picked up the unnamed book and began to read through it.

It turned out to be the will left by the master of the Xuan Tian Cave Mansion.

The master, known as Xuan Tian Ancestor, had once been a cultivator of the Profound Heart Realm!

As Gu An read further, his brow furrowed.

The Xuan Tian Ancestor had been one of the Tai Xuan Sect's Grand Elders. After leaving the sect, he had created the Xuan Tian Cave Mansion, intending to retreat and seek enlightenment, but he had fallen into inner demon deviation. In his final moments, he had left the cave mansion, heading to the demon-infested lands beyond the nine dynasties.

The Heaven-Sundering Divine Axe was Xuan Tian Ancestor's ultimate technique, one of the Nine Great Legacies of the Sacred Land!