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

Chapter 85 The Sky-Covering, Sun-Swallowing Nether Bird!
Does mastering the Imperial Sword Technique guarantee one the position of Crown Prince?
Gu An was picking grass while eavesdropping.

He's very familiar with the Imperial Sword Technique!
He could ask Li Ya when he had time; if Li Ya wanted to vie for the throne, he could offer some guidance.

and many more!

That old man has ulterior motives!

Gu An sensed something was wrong. He suddenly suspected that Li Xuandao had deliberately told him that the pavilion was not isolated by any restrictions.

He then remembered something else: Li Xuandao's ambition was to become an immortal emperor.

For the emperor, the greatest threat is probably the crown prince. Even without cultivating immortality, emperors of mortal dynasties will be wary of the crown prince when they get old, and there are not many crown princes who can successfully inherit the throne.

Could it be that Li Xuandao intends to use Li Ya to eliminate the Crown Prince?

It's really possible!
Gu An stopped thinking about it and focused on picking grass, letting the father and son fight it out themselves.

Because Li Xuandao was there, Gu An did not leave immediately after picking the herbs, but left early the next morning.

When he left, Li Xuandao was still there, saying he wanted to stay a while longer. He suspected that Li Xuandao wanted to watch the battle between the righteous and the demonic forces.

……

After returning to Xuan Valley, Gu An gave Wu Xin and the others a few instructions, saying that the demonic path was about to attack and that they should not run around recklessly. This made the disciples very nervous, including Wu Xin.

Gu An planned to stay overnight in Xuan Valley from now on. The Third Medicine Valley had Elder Tian and fifty Core Formation Realm cultivators, so it was very safe. Xuan Valley was different; it only had a group of menial disciples.

Nowadays, the life-span income provided by Xuan Valley is becoming smaller and smaller, but the Eight Scenery Caves below Xuan Valley are different. Moreover, even though the life-span income from Xuan Valley is not much, he is reluctant to give it up.

Ten days later.

The Nascent Soul Realm cultivators arranged by Li Xuandao arrived at Xuan Valley.

Gu An stood in front of the wooden railing and looked into the distance. A woman in green, wearing a bamboo hat, walked towards him with a sword in her hand. The cold wind blew her clothes, making her look even more ethereal.

Yang Ni (Ninth Level of Nascent Soul Realm): 214/780/1360

A Nascent Soul cultivator at two hundred years old, with excellent aptitude.

Gu An thought to himself, then walked towards Yang Ni.

"My name is Gu An, and I am the owner of this medicine valley. May I ask who you are, my friend..."

Gu An approached and raised his hand to ask.

Yang Ni suddenly appeared in front of him, and he pretended to be startled, taking a step back.

"Let me see your other Valley Master Token," Yang Ni transmitted her voice. Her voice was cold but also melodious, and one could tell from her voice alone that she was a beauty.

Gu An immediately took out the token of Tianya Valley, which Yang Ni snatched away, examined, and then returned to him.

"I was sent by His Majesty to protect you. From now on, I will be an outer disciple by your side," Yang Ni transmitted again.

Gu An nodded and said, "So it was Elder Han who recommended you. I've been waiting for you for a long time."

After saying that, he turned around and led Yang Ni towards the pavilion.

Yang Ni followed in his footsteps, and the other disciples in the valley cast curious glances at her. Yang Ni's appearance made people want to take a second look.

After entering the room, Gu An closed the door and said, "Everyone in the valley is at the Qi Refining Realm, so there's no need to worry."

Yang Ni raised her hand and waved, her spiritual power transforming into a cyan restriction imprinted on the door.

Very cautious!
After doing all this, Yang Ni walked to the table, put down the sword, and took off her bamboo hat. Her long, white hair cascaded down her back. She turned to look at Gu An. She looked very young, as if she were in her early twenties.

Her features were pretty and delicate, but her eyes and brows exuded a coldness, giving her the feeling of an ice queen. That coldness made it easy for people to overlook her beauty and not dare to look directly at her.

She looked Gu An up and down and asked, "I heard you have a good relationship with Li Ya?"

“That’s right. Senior Brother Li also worked as a menial disciple in this medicine valley before. We entered on the same day,” Gu An replied.

Upon hearing this, Yang Ni smiled, a smile that possessed a captivating and stunning beauty.

Gu An didn't think much of it, after all, the Ji Xiaoyu he knew was even more beautiful.

"That kid has always been stubborn and doesn't get along with his brothers and sisters. I never expected that he could build a friendship with a handyman disciple like you," Yang Ni exclaimed.

That's right to say...

Yang Ni took out a cyan jade bracelet from her storage bag and said, "This is a high-grade magic artifact that can store spiritual energy. Consider it a gift for our first meeting."

Storing spiritual energy?

That's quite rare.

Gu An quickly waved his hand and said, "This is unacceptable. Senior came here to protect me, how could I dare to accept a gift?"

"Just take it. Li Ya's mother is my sister. Since you're close to Li Ya, you're naturally my junior!" Yang Ni said impatiently. She threw the jade bracelet at him and then turned to walk towards the bookshelf.

"Go about your own business, don't worry about me."

Gu An caught the jade bracelet and wanted to say that this was his building and it wasn't convenient, but seeing Yang Ni's posture, she clearly wanted to stay here, so he had no choice but to give up.

Since meeting Shen Zhen, Gu An has stopped leaving anything in the building that could be hidden from others. So after hesitating for a moment, he turned and left without disturbing Yang Ni.

Yang Ni's arrival did not disrupt Xuan Gu's rhythm of life, because she rarely left the room and did not interact with other disciples.

When Gu An was about to go to the Third Medicine Valley, she insisted on going with him, so Gu An had no choice but to take her along.

Upon arriving at the Third Medicine Valley, she was taken aback and began to re-evaluate Gu An.

This handyman disciple is no ordinary person!

Gu An wasn't afraid that she would tell Li Xuandao, because perhaps Li Xuandao had already found out about the Third Medicine Valley, and it would be difficult to hide this matter.

Anyway, he has a clear conscience.

He wasn't afraid if Li Xuandao became suspicious of him because of this. In his heart, his fear of Li Xuandao was far less than his fear of the Tai Xuan Sect.

And so, Yang Ni followed Gu An on his tour of the medicine valley, watching him pick herbs and then sow them.

A month later, Yang Ni developed some feelings for Gu An.

Gu An was too honest and gentle with the servants and disciples. Such a person posed no threat to anyone, which is why she understood why Li Ya could take a liking to Gu An.

The days passed by.

Winter snow fell, covering every medicinal valley in Gu'an.

Li Xuandao had said that the demonic path would invade the Tai Xuan Sect at the end of the year, which made Gu An worry about this every day, as the demonic path might attack one day.

This day.

Xuangu.

Gu An and Wu Xin were leading their disciples to shovel snow, while Yang Ni stood watching from a distance in front of a wooden fence, her hands clasped around her sword.

"Senior brother, what realm is this outer disciple at?" Wu Xin asked in a low voice beside Gu An, full of curiosity.

Yang Ni's posture looks very strong.

"What's it to you? This is my disciple, you can't have him." Gu An said irritably.

Wu Xin chuckled and said, "Senior brother, you really understand me. When are you going to arrange a Foundation Establishment disciple to be my assistant? I'll be so impressive wherever I go."

"If I really arranged it for you, would you dare to accept?"

Upon hearing this, Wuxin seemed to realize something, gave an awkward smile, and stopped talking.

Gu An continued shoveling snow.

After a while, he seemed to sense something, his brow furrowed slightly, but he did not stop what he was doing.

Yang Ni, who was far away, also sensed something. She leaped up and flew to the top of the mountain on the south side. Her action caused everyone in the valley to look up.

Heavy snow fell, and the world was shrouded in white. From inside the valley, Yang Ni's figure on the mountaintop was blurry, as if she could be swallowed up by the blizzard at any moment.

"What's wrong with her?" Wu Xin couldn't help but ask Gu An.

Gu An looked up and said, "I don't know either. I'll ask her when she comes down."

cuckoo-

A light, melodious bird song rang out, echoing between heaven and earth, so loud that even the wind could not drown it out.

The sudden bird call made everyone frown, looking left and right, trying to find the direction from which the sound came.

Wu Xin seemed to realize something, his expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly shouted, "Everyone back inside! Quickly!"

As he spoke, he pulled Gu An toward the attic complex.

Gu An broke free from his hand and said, "You guys go in first, I have to keep an eye on the medicine valley."

Wu Xin turned around and said urgently, "That's a demonic creature from the Thousand Autumns Pavilion, the Devouring Nether Bird. It's definitely not something a Foundation Establishment cultivator can handle!"

"Go back first, I won't fight it! Don't forget who you are!" Gu An said in a deep voice.

Upon hearing this, Wu Xin could only grit his teeth, turn around, and run away.

Soon, only Gu An remained in the valley, while the other disciples pressed their faces against the windowsills, gazing at the sky with extreme tension.

Gu An had already sensed the aura of the Devouring Nether Bird.

Very strong!

Comparable to the Void Transcending Realm!
Huhu——

A gust of wind came from the south, stirring up rolling snow waves that swept through the medicine valley. Gu An looked at the swaying herbs and felt very distressed, but with Yang Ni and the other disciples present, he could not reveal his cultivation level. He could only go to the highest-grade herb area and use his Foundation Establishment realm spiritual power to protect them.

At this moment, Yang Ni appeared out of thin air beside him, then took out a large flag, planted it in the ground, and raised her palm to inject spiritual power into the flagpole.

The large flags waved, forming a light curtain that enveloped them, directly isolating them from the wind and snow.

Yang Ni breathed a sigh of relief, turned to look at Gu An, and scolded, "Are you crazy? What do these herbs have to do with you? Didn't you sense the demonic energy?"

Gu An replied, "I sensed it, but if I can sense it, then the great cultivators of the Tai Xuan Sect must be able to as well..."

boom--

A terrifying wind pressure suddenly descended. Gu An looked up and saw that Wu Xin and the other disciples were in the same situation, all of them staring wide-eyed.

The vast snow fog was shaken away, and a terrifying giant bird that blotted out the sky appeared in the sky. It was passing by Xuan Valley. Because of its enormous size, Xuan Valley was plunged into darkness and could not get out of the darkness for a while.

Even Gu An was astonished by the size of the Devouring Nether Bird. In his eyesight, the Devouring Nether Bird's wingspan exceeded a hundred miles, which was quite exaggerated.

There were also the auras of many demonic cultivators on the back of the Devouring Nether Bird, numbering at least tens of thousands.

Its destination was the outer city of Tai Xuan Sect!
"The Devouring Nether Bird of Qianqiu Pavilion is a sixth-order demonic creature with the demonic power to destroy dynasties. This is the first time I've ever seen one." Yang Ni looked up at the demonic creature in the sky and murmured to herself, her eyes revealing fear.

Gu An didn't reply. He was staring at the Devouring Nether Bird, hoping that the bird wouldn't target his Xuan Valley.

As the Sky-Devouring Bird flew over Xuan Valley, sunlight shone down, illuminating the valley, followed by falling snow, as if a vast white mist had descended.

This scene brought a sigh of relief to all the disciples in the valley.

Gu An could already sense the aura of a battle between powerful cultivators in the distance.

Cross the virtual realm!
And there are more than two!

They are far away from them; the battle must be coming from other outer city gates.

Thank you Feng Chenmo and Luo Zixi for donating 100 Qidian Coins each!
The third update!
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(End of this chapter)