Starting as a stray dog, I embarked on a journey of cultivation.

As the formation continuously drained his lifespan, Lingxi Zhenren's aging process became visibly rapid.

His once composed face quickly became gaunt, and his already graying beard and hair even began to fall out.

His face was covered with deep wrinkles, and in just a few breaths, he looked as if he had aged a hundred years, and his energy and spirit had been drained away.

Lin Shuang, who had been quietly protecting the Dharma, only then realized that something was wrong.

Previously, Master's aura was clearly calm and his condensation of the Longevity Pill went smoothly, but in an instant, his aura weakened, his body withered, and his life force rapidly disappeared.

This is clearly a fatal backlash from the formation!

Upon realizing this, he disregarded the warning not to disturb the formation and leaped into the formation, landing at its core.

She moved quickly, raising her hand to forcibly pull the completely frozen and exhausted Lingxi Zhenren away from the main array eye, and landed him on the empty paper outside the array.

With the core person of the formation being forcibly taken away, the entire closed-loop Longevity Refining Formation instantly lost its support.

The next moment, the formation trembled violently, the crimson light in the sky faded away layer by layer, and the dark red array patterns on the ground dimmed and dissipated one after another, completely ceasing to operate.

The valley returned to its deathly silence.

The ninety-nine old rogue cultivators remained seated cross-legged, their physical restraints still in place, unable to move.

However, everyone's aura became much calmer and more robust, and their previously depleted vitality was slightly replenished, clearly indicating that they had all received a share of the life essence extracted from the Spirit Seat True Person.

Although the average lifespan gained was not much, it could be considered a blessing in disguise, as they all lived an average of one and a half years longer.

Lin Shuang gently placed the withered and frail Lingxi Zhenren on the ground. Looking at her master, who was old and frail and seemed on the verge of death at any moment, she was extremely flustered and hurriedly asked with concern, "Master! How did you become like this? You seem to have aged more than a hundred years in an instant!"

Master Lingxi struggled to open his heavy eyelids, his breath weak. He slowly raised his withered, trembling fingers, pointing intently at the center of the formation. His voice was hoarse, like sandpaper: "There's something strange about the formation... something is secretly causing it to reverse!"

That one short sentence almost exhausted all his strength.

Upon hearing this, Lin Shuang was immediately shocked. Her spiritual energy instantly tensed up, and she drew her long sword from her back and held it horizontally in front of her, ready for battle.

The next second, she raised her voice and shouted sharply towards the edge of the valley: "Everyone, the situation has changed! Return to the valley immediately! All personnel assemble!"

Upon hearing the sound, the black-robed cultivators who had been scattered and patrolling outside the valley immediately turned back. Eighty or ninety black figures quickly surged into the valley, surrounding the entire formation area firmly in the center.

Just then, Gou An, who had been sitting still and pretending to be an elderly rogue cultivator, finally slowly got up from the center of the formation.

He casually brushed the dust off his clothes, calmly approached Lin Shuang step by step, and said with a slightly sarcastic tone:

"If I hadn't come out and broadened my horizons, I really wouldn't have known that cultivators in the world would use such a wide variety of methods to prolong their lives, some of them sinister and vicious. It's truly an eye-opener."

Seeing Gou An stand up, Lin Shuang's pupils contracted sharply, her sword-wielding arm tensed slightly, and she demanded sharply, "Who are you? Why can you still move?"

Gou An suddenly stopped, his gaze sweeping coldly over everyone present. A smirk appeared on his lips as he spoke loudly, "Since you have asked so sincerely, then I will mercifully tell you."

"I am the Guardian of the Mysterious Realm! My duty is to apprehend evil cultivators and punish wicked people throughout the world."

"You used people as furnaces and longevity as medicine to set up this vicious longevity-refining array, harming innocent cultivators. Your crimes are unforgivable."

"Today I have come to act on behalf of Heaven and punish you."

After hearing Gou An's account, all the black-robed cultivators in the room turned pale instantly, and panic gripped them.

"What! He's a Guardian of the Xuan Guard!"

"What should we do?"

"It's over. We've been taken down by the Xuan Guards; our chances of survival are slim!"

Although they were all low-level cultivators, they had heard of the great name of the Zhixuan Guard and were immediately thrown into a panic.

This is a top-tier law enforcement force jointly established by more than thirty righteous sects in the world. Its members are all highly skilled, decisive in killing, and specialize in dealing with all kinds of evil cultivators and devious practices.

Any evil cultivator or demon cultivator targeted by the Xuanwei rarely has a chance of survival.

The black-robed cultivators who surrounded them were just a group of low-level Qi Refining cultivators who dared to commit evil deeds because of the Spirit Seat True Person.

Seeing that even the Spirit Seat True Person, with his Yuan Dan cultivation, was exhausted and on the verge of death, and that the opposing side was the righteous Xuan Guard, his courage instantly collapsed completely.

It's unclear who was the first to turn and flee, but once someone took the lead, the remaining black-robed cultivators also began to scramble to escape, their morale completely collapsing.

The group, which originally numbered eighty or ninety, scattered in an instant and disappeared without a trace. No one dared to linger for even a moment longer.

In the vast valley, in an instant, only Lin Shuang remained, standing alone with her sword, fiercely protecting the weakened and fallen Ling Xi Zhenren, facing Gou An alone.

Instead of chasing after it himself, Gou An took off the black snake bracelet from his left wrist and casually tossed it into the air.

"Big Black, dinner's ready! How much you can eat is up to you!"

Before the words were even finished, the black snake bracelet instantly transformed into a giant black-scaled python. With a shake of its body, it pounced forward and chased after the fleeing black-robed cultivators.

Not long after, screams echoed from the distant mountains and forests.

"Aren't you going to run?" Gou An looked at Lin Shuang and questioned her.

"Wherever Master is, I will be there!" Lin Shuang took a step forward, his aura spreading out, which allowed Gou An to analyze his cultivation level and strength.

He was also at the Yuan Dan stage, even a few levels higher than the Ling Xi Zhenren who became her master, probably at the late Yuan Dan stage.

Although Gou An and the Demon Transformation Stage 1 are both one step away from condensing the Golden Core, their actual strength is not the same.

Once a demon breaks through to the Demon Transformation Realm at the ninth rank, its demon core will transform into a demon core, while the Yuan Dan cultivator's Yuan Dan is still just an unformed gaseous inner core.

At this point, the cultivation level of a demon that has condensed its demon core is greater than that of a Yuan Dan cultivator but slightly less than that of a Jin Dan cultivator. Furthermore, the speed at which a demon core can be cultivated into a Jin Dan is faster than the speed at which a Yuan Dan can be condensed into a Jin Dan.

Therefore, even if Gou An is just an ordinary late-stage demon transformation monster, he still has a more than 70% chance of winning against Lin Shuang, who is in the late-stage Yuan Dan realm.

Not to mention that Lin Shuang is now facing Gou An!

"You're more ethical than those who ran away!" Gou An sneered, raising his hands to the side, and sharp claws instantly sprouted from his ten fingers.

"You!" Lin Shuang was even more shocked upon seeing this: "You're a demon cultivator!"

However, Gou An did not answer her question. Instead, he leaped into the air and transformed into a black gust of wind, rushing straight towards Lin Shuang.

In an instant, Gou An was close by.

The wolf's claws, accompanied by a sharp, tearing sound, viciously clawed at Lin Shuang's chest.

Lin Shuang's gaze sharpened, and she dared not be negligent. With a rapid flick of her wrist, she instantly unleashed a dense array of sword flowers with her longsword.

The swords intertwined to form a shield, attempting to block and deflect the force.

boom!

The immense force carried by the claws was transmitted wildly along the sword, instantly numbing Lin Shuang's arm.

Gou An did not stop, launching a continuous and frenzied attack with one claw after another.

Under Gou An's onslaught, Lin Shuang was forced to retreat repeatedly, leaving two shallow furrows in the ground beneath her feet.

Throughout the entire battle, Gou An did not use any magic, engaging in close-quarters combat the whole time.

It's rare to find an opponent weaker than myself, so I definitely need to seize this opportunity to practice more and improve my skills.

Lin Shuang could only defend passively, dodging in a sorry state, completely suppressed and beaten, without even the slightest chance to retaliate.

After a fierce exchange, Lin Shuang was covered in wounds and was forced to retreat. Her robes were even torn in several places by Gou An's sharp claws, revealing some of her fair skin.

But she remained firmly in front of Lingxi Zhenren, refusing to retreat even a step, and even when she was struck hard, she would not allow Gou An to get any closer to Lingxi Zhenren behind her.

After a series of attacks, Gou An suddenly stopped to rest and asked curiously, "Is this old man your father? Why is he so protective of him? He'd rather risk his own life than let him live like this?"

Lin Shuang clutched her chest wound, taking the opportunity to catch her breath. Despite her injury, her eyes remained resolute: "My master not only saved my life, but also taught me cultivation and gave me a way to live."

"If it weren't for him, I would have turned into a handful of dust long ago. Now that my master is in danger, how can I be afraid of death and abandon him!"

Upon hearing this, Gou An couldn't help but laugh out loud: "A wicked cultivator who harms people, could he possibly save your life? He probably has ulterior motives!"

Before Lin Shuang could refute, Lingxi Zhenren, who had been lying on the ground with a weak breath, had regained some strength by swallowing pills and slowly got up.

With a flick of his wrist, he produced a round, dark red pill, which he then quickly handed to Lin Shuang, his voice urgent: "Shuang'er, you are no match for him! Quickly take this pill and use its power to break through your cultivation level. Only in this way can you kill this villain!"

Gou An's nose twitched slightly, and his keen sense of smell instantly discerned the details of the elixir, making his mind immediately clear.

Back when they were in the Blackwater region, Li Qiufeng of the Xuanchun Sect had taken similar forbidden drugs.

This pill can indeed allow the user to unleash strength far exceeding their current cultivation level in a short period of time, but the user will immediately suffer a backlash after the effects of the medicine wear off.

Lin Shuang took the pill without suspicion and immediately opened her mouth to swallow it.

Seeing this, Gou An couldn't help but remind him, "This pill is a forbidden drug!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Shuang was slightly taken aback.

Gou An seized the opportunity to continue, "After consuming it, one can indeed unleash tremendous power for a short period of time, but the cost is damage to the meridians, which is difficult for all living beings to repair."

Lin Shuang, who was holding the blood-red forbidden pill between her fingers, paused slightly upon hearing this, a hint of hesitation flashing in her eyes.

But when she turned her head and glanced at the Spirit Master behind her, who was on the verge of death, and then looked at Gou An in front of her, who was overwhelming her, all her hesitation vanished instantly.

The next instant, she tilted her head back, opened her mouth, and swallowed the forbidden pill in her hand without hesitation.

The pill entered his throat and instantly transformed into a surge of violent and volatile spiritual energy, exploding within his body.

Like a mighty river rushing into a small stream, creating huge waves.

From Gou An's perspective, a visible crimson wave suddenly erupted from Lin Shuang, sweeping across the entire valley.

Her originally stable late-stage Yuan Dan cultivation level surged at a visible speed, temporarily boosting her cultivation to the Golden Core realm!

Seeing Lin Shuang like this, Gou An sighed helplessly, then flicked his right wrist and the Divine Iron Hammer landed in his hand.

"Be careful now, this hammer... is very heavy."