If I become a saint, a celestial official will summon me to raise horses.

Chapter 45 Become My Apprentice
Gu An turned around and saw Li Ya's childhood friend, Zuo Lin, walking towards him.

After many years, Zuo Lin's cultivation has only reached the third level of the Foundation Establishment Realm, and he is probably still obsessed with sword practice.

Gu An turned around, clasped his hands in a salute to him, and said, "My family summoned me to do something, so I came."

"You have a family? Weren't you originally a servant?" Zuo Lin asked curiously.

Gu An replied, "I am indeed a servant, a servant of the Ji family. Our Third Miss is about to hold a banquet, and I and other servants are here to assist her."

"What? You're from the Ji family?" Zuo Lin's eyes widened.

Gu An countered, "Didn't Senior Brother Li tell you?"

Zuo Lin shook his head and said, "He didn't say. What a coincidence, my father was also invited by the Ji family, and I came along to join in the fun. Isn't the Ji residence in the back? Where are you going?"

He had always been interested in Gu An, feeling that Gu An was not simple, so he didn't want to miss the opportunity to meet him.

"I plan to take a stroll around the inner city."

"Then I'll accompany you. Although I'm not an inner disciple, I've come here quite often thanks to my father's connections," Zuo Lin said warmly, and Gu An did not refuse.

The two chatted as they walked.

When Zuo Lin talked about his father, Gu An gained a deeper understanding of the hierarchy within the Tai Xuan Sect.

Generally, disciples will move up a level after reaching a certain level, but some people will take the path of power. Zuo Yijian is one such example; he entered the Elders' Hall.

Unlike other halls, the Elder Hall is the power center of the city. The threshold for the outer Elder Hall is the Core Formation Realm, while the threshold for the inner Elder Hall is the Divine Transformation Realm.

The Elders' Hall holds absolute power in each city. It is said that in the main city of a sect, the Elders' Hall has even greater power and can even decide the position of sect leader. Therefore, some Nascent Soul cultivators choose to stay in the outer sect as elders to continue to seek their own benefits.

Zuo Yijian arrived at the inner sect, but he couldn't join the Elders' Hall yet. However, he became the head of the inner sect's library, which was quite prestigious.

"It's all the fault of Sword Immortal Feiye. He's driven my father mad. Now he spends all his time reading Investiture of the Gods and doesn't practice swordsmanship at all," Zuo Lin said indignantly.

Gu An asked, "Don't you think Investiture of the Gods is good?"

“That’s really good. Let me tell you, my favorite character is Yang Jian. Why isn’t he a sword cultivator?” Zuo Lin became even more talkative when he started talking about Investiture of the Gods.

Gu An sighed inwardly, realizing that he had underestimated the impact of Investiture of the Gods on the cultivation world.

At first, Gu An felt secretly pleased as Zuo Lin praised Pan An, but after a while, he lost interest. After all, he wasn't the real author; he mainly wrote books to earn spirit stones.

Afterwards, Gu An asked Zuo Lin to take him to the Sutra Repository.

The biggest difference between the Sutra Repository and the Book Repository is that the Sutra Repository is full of cultivation techniques and spells.

On the way, Gu An asked if there were any Five Elements cultivation techniques, but was met with disdain from Zuo Lin.

In the world of cultivation, cultivation techniques are basically all about cultivating a single attribute, even for those with multiple spiritual roots, unless someone wants to start over.

Even if one's cultivation level remains the same after retraining, the process of rebuilding spiritual energy is enough to drive most cultivators to the brink of collapse.

Cultivating immortality is not like practicing martial arts; it requires years of accumulation. No one wants to retrace the path of decades or hundreds of years, let alone those old monsters who have cultivated for thousands of years. They will only grit their teeth and move forward, deeply studying one path. It is precisely because of this that the path of cultivating immortality has flourished in a hundred different ways.

Upon arriving at the Scripture Pavilion, Gu An indeed couldn't find any Five Elements cultivation techniques. However, he still purchased the basic cultivation techniques for the other four attributes, choosing the cheapest ones, since he could always improve them by spending his life.

The spirit stones should be used primarily to buy seeds!

Zuo Lin was puzzled as to why he bought cultivation techniques of different attributes, to which he replied that they were for his disciples, which made Zuo Lin respect him greatly.

Back in Xuan Valley, Zuo Lin could sense his attitude towards the menial disciples.

Gu An not only flattered Li Ya, who came from the royal family, but he was also very kind to people of lower status. Perhaps Li Ya was right; he really was a good person.

Zuo Lin looked at Gu An's profile and thought to himself.

"Brother Zuo, could you take me to see the formation?" Gu An asked with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Zuo Lin immediately agreed.

The result left Gu An somewhat disappointed.

Teleportation arrays do exist, but they are all incredibly expensive, and he simply can't afford them!

He could only consider it another day. Although he was a cultivator at the Void Transcending Realm, it was not appropriate to forcibly take it.

Upon arriving at the inner sect, Gu An felt that the Tai Xuan Sect must be hiding some old monsters at the Transcendent Realm, since the threshold for becoming an inner sect elder is the Divine Transformation Realm, and above that is the sect's main city.

Thinking about it carefully, the Tai Xuan Sect is indeed powerful. So many demonic cultivators died in the outer sect, yet the demonic path didn't dare to launch an attack on the Tai Xuan Sect. Moreover, even a Core Formation Realm spy like Jiang Qiong only dared to operate outside the outer sect.

If the Tai Xuan Sect were a large map, Gu An would only be active in a small corner.

It wasn't until evening that Gu An said goodbye to Zuo Lin and returned to the gate of the Ji residence. Du Ye was still waiting for him, which touched him somewhat.

"Why did you take so long to get back? You couldn't have gotten in without me!" Du Ye complained.

Gu An smiled and patted his shoulder. He didn't say anything more, and the two entered the Ji residence.

Upon entering, Gu An sensed numerous auras. It turned out that the Ji residence also had isolation restrictions, and he even detected the aura of a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator.

Along the way, he threw out his lifespan probe to everyone he met.

The Ji family has many people, and many of them are geniuses.

Although Ji Xiaoyu only brought five people into the Tai Xuan Sect, the Ji family has more than one branch, and every year there are disciples flocking to various sects.

After a short while, Du Ye brought Gu An to meet Ji Lin, the renowned genius of the outer sect.

【Ji Lin (Foundation Establishment Realm Level 9): 36/330/900】

A thirty-six-year-old at the ninth level of the Foundation Establishment Realm is very strong!
It's estimated that he also took quite a few pills.

Seeing Ji Lin's thoughts, Gu An took out the herbs he had prepared in advance.

Ji Lin was not arrogant and treated Gu An quite well. He made a lot of promises to Gu An, and Gu An pretended to be excited, which brought the meeting to a satisfactory end.

Afterwards, Du Ye led Gu An to a place to stay. The two shared a courtyard, but fortunately, each had their own room. Nothing happened that night.

The next morning, just as dawn broke, Gu An was pulled out of the hospital by Du Ye.

The two men stood guard at the gate. Not only them, but also more than a dozen other cultivators were on guard. Under the leader's arrangement, they stood in two rows, ready to welcome the distinguished guests of today's banquet.

Half an hour later, guests began to arrive.

The first one is a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator!

After that person entered the mansion, Gu An overheard the other servants discussing that he was from the Inner Sect's Enforcement Hall and wielded considerable power.

As time went on, more and more guests arrived, and the weakest of the leaders of each group was at least at the Nascent Soul stage, with a significant proportion also at the Divine Transformation stage.

No wonder Li Xuandao had to hide his cultivation level. Although the eighth level of the Nascent Soul Realm was strong, he was still far from being invincible.

The arrival of one person caught Gu An's attention. This person was none other than Fu Xiong's master, named Luo Xunye. Gu An had memorized his face when searching Fu Xiong's soul.

Luo Xunye (Ninth Level of Nascent Soul Realm): 254/804/1300

A 250-year-old at the ninth level of the Nascent Soul Realm can be considered a genius.

The Ji family, who were the consuls in front of the government, clearly had a good relationship with Luo Xunye, and the two even exchanged pleasantries for a while.

Who would have thought this person was a demonic cultivator?

Gu An silently thought that he hadn't said a word from beginning to end, just stood there, which was quite comfortable.

About half an hour later, Gu An spotted another spy from Qianqiu Pavilion.

Jiang Qiong!

Jiang Qiong (Nascent Soul Realm Level 1): 192/700/2490

After seven years, she actually succeeded in overcoming her tribulation so quickly!

Jiang Qiong was dressed in the robes of an inner disciple, her expression aloof and cold. She was no longer as frivolous as she had been when facing Gu An. She merely glanced at Gu An, and the two did not exchange any words until she entered the Ji residence.

"Why is she here? It can't be just to celebrate, can it?" Gu An wondered.

Is Jiang Qiong planning something against the Ji family?

"Pan..."

Suddenly, a joyful shout caught Gu An's attention. Gu Yu, whom he had met once before in the outer sect library, was walking quickly toward him.

Behind Gu Yu was a middle-aged man dressed in fine clothes, with an extraordinary aura, but his aura was weak, clearly indicating that he had cultivated some kind of aura-concealing technique.

Gu An subconsciously sent a lifespan probe.

[Ancient Sect (Second Level of Void Transcending Realm): 690/1805/2800]

Good guy!
Cross the virtual realm!
The Tai Xuan Sect really does have a Void Transcending Realm expert hidden inside!
This person also has the surname Gu, and is clearly related to Gu Yu by blood. He had previously felt that Gu Yu was not simple.

"Gu An, are you a member of the Ji family?" Gu Yu asked excitedly as he approached Gu An.

Gu An nodded and said, "I am just a servant."

"With your talent, why be a servant! I'll have my father recruit you into the inner sect!" Gu Yu said with great pride, drawing the attention of the Ji family members around him.

Gu Yu turned to Gu Zong and said, "Father, he's the person I often mention. Why don't you take him under your wing?"

The cultivators following Gu Zong were all at the Nascent Soul and Divine Transformation realms. Upon hearing Gu Yu's words, they all curiously sized up Gu An.

Oops!

How did things go wrong because of this kid?

Gu An cursed inwardly.

Gu Zong frowned and said, "What kind of behavior is this in front of so many people!"

Gu An breathed a sigh of relief. Great cultivators are indeed different; they know not to break the rules in public.

Gu Zong looked at Gu An, his stern expression suddenly disappearing, and he revealed a gentle smile, saying, "Young friend, my name is Gu Zong. Why don't you become my disciple?"

Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed drastically, and Du Ye looked at Gu An in disbelief.

Gu Angang breathed a sigh of relief, but then felt a surge of relief return.

"My spiritual root aptitude is mediocre, and I'm afraid I'm not suitable to become your disciple..." Gu An said helplessly.

Gu Zong smiled and said, "I don't consider aptitude when accepting disciples, I only look at my first impression. What you wrote is good, I like it very much."

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, how could Gu An agree? Besides, he didn't like to take someone of the same cultivation level as his master; he had no choice but to become Cheng Xuandan's disciple in the first place.

"I still need to discuss this matter with others. I hope you will understand, senior," Gu An said, taking a deep breath and feigning difficulty.

Upon hearing this, Gu Zong burst into laughter. He walked forward, patted Gu An on the shoulder, left a message, and entered the Ji residence:
"After the banquet, let's have a good talk. It's fine if you don't become my apprentice; just do me a favor, and I'll fulfill all your requests."

Gu Yu winked at Gu An, then followed in his father's footsteps.

As soon as the guests entered the mansion, the Ji family members around him gathered around and asked him what he had written that made the ancient emperor value him so highly.

An old cultivator joked, "You didn't write the Investiture of the Gods, did you?"

Gu An smiled and said, "I do wish I had written it."

Du Ye snorted, "How could he possibly have written Investiture of the Gods? It's probably something related to planting medicinal herbs."

The others joined in the commotion, and after this ordeal, Gu An's presence was suddenly brought to the forefront.

Just as Gu An was about to escape, a cultivator from the Ji family walked out of the mansion and said, "Who is Gu An? The Third Miss invites you in!"

Thank you to Mugeqing for the 500 Qidian Coins donation and to Bububaoxiaoyu for the 100 Qidian Coins donation!
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(End of this chapter)