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

At the summit of Mortal World Peak, in a courtyard at the mountain's top, Gu An gathered with a group of Heaven and Earth Flying Immortals. Everyone present was either a Peak Master or Main Peak Elder of Mortal World Peak.

The courtyard was simple and not very expansive, filled with various flowers and trees, and the faint scent of sandalwood lingered in the air. Gu An was exchanging pleasantries with everyone.

No matter how high one's realm might be, social interaction is inevitable.

Gu An did not resist it. After all, he intended to stay at Mortal World Peak for the long term; this place was destined to become an important source of life span for him.

Overall, the atmosphere was harmonious, with no apparent scheming or rivalry in sight.

The Master of the Main Peak, just as Gu An had guessed, was none other than a Carefree Primordial Immortal, and not of a low realm at that.

[Eternal Daoist Lord (Carefree Primordial Immortal Level 6): 267907/780000/1500000]

A maximum life span of one million five hundred thousand years!

Exceeding Shen Xinzi's 999999 years suggested reaching the Carefree Primordial Immortal realm heralded a transformation in the limit of one's life span.

With just Level 6 of Carefree Immortal achieving seven hundred eighty thousand years of life span, the Divine Immortal of Wondrous Dharma must certainly surpass one million years, and the higher Dao Void Mysterious Immortals would have life spans of several million years, or even more.

Gu An was unable to even estimate how long the Divine Thought True Immortals had lived; they were ancient beings to him.

Compared with them, Gu An was like an infant.

After rotating through interactions with each person, Gu An became a listener.

The Millennial Peak Meeting would host a banquet to exchange insights with the higher echelons of various sects and also conduct peak combat competitions. The first aim was to promote healthy internal competition, and the second was to demonstrate Mortal World Peak's strength to the world. As for recruiting disciples, that was just a side matter; with Mortal World Peak's current foundations, they hardly cared about the number of new disciples.

After a while, the high-level meeting of Mortal World Peak adjourned, and Gu An flew off alone toward Dingtian Peak.

He spread his divine thought and already caught sight of Lu Lingjun and Shen Xinzi.

Shen Xinzi was not a concern, for with his Ninth Layer Wandering Immortal realm cultivation, he was treated well wherever he went. However, Lu Lingjun, who was only at the Mystic Heart Realm, couldn't enjoy the same treatment. Without the Holy Mother of Western Spirit accompanying her, Lu Lingjun had to stay inside her temporary residence.

She was living atop a mountain peak with a broad view. Many cultivators and demons who passed by cast surprised glances at her, which made the color of her cheeks unpleasant.

Gu An glanced at the situation briefly before taking his gaze back, not taking much interest in it.

Upon returning to Dingtian Peak, Gu An wandered around leisurely as no disciples recognized him along the way.

There were many winding mountain paths on Dingtian Peak. Along the way, he saw courtyards of disciples—some growing flowers and plants, some with empty yards, and others raising demon beasts and insects, providing an entertaining stroll for him.

Dingtian Peak had several mountain cities, akin to the fortresses of the Supreme Sect, where nearly anything one wished for could be purchased, except that these cities weren't as crowded as those of the Supreme Sect.

As Gu An passed by a mountain city, a voice reached him, its tone filled with surprise.

"Master!"

Gu An turned his head to see Xu Xi approaching briskly.

Upon seeing Gu An, her ears reddened and she shyly lowered her head, reminding Gu An of An Xin.

But An Xin was not shy, she was gentle.

Gu An smiled and asked, "Where's your brother? Why are you here alone?"

Xu Xi, still keeping her head down and holding her sleeves, softly answered, "He went to Debating Peak. He wants to see if he can meet any acquaintances or clansmen."

Debating Peak was specially prepared for receiving Mortal World Peak's guests, and the current Millennial Peak Meeting had brought the quiet Debating Peak to life.

Gu An, seeing her in this state, smiled broader. He then took out a secret book and handed it to Xu Xi, saying, "Meeting is destiny; consider this spell book a welcome gift. You may pass it on to Xu Ruohai as well."

Xu Xi looked up, instinctively stepping back and waved her hand, saying, "If not for master, we might not have been able to join Mortal World Peak. How can we accept another spell book? We will train diligently and earn spell books with our efforts."

Gu An gave her a stern look and said, "Then what kind of master am I? Take it!"

Xu Xi had no choice but to accept.

Seeing her at a loss, Gu An then chuckled and said, "If you feel bad, how about doing me a favor? Have you been busy lately?"

Xu Xi quickly shook her head, replying, "Not busy, not busy at all."

"Go to Debating Peak, to the dwelling of the Bitter Sea Buddha Sect. Look for a person named Lu Lingjun. Keep her company wherever she wants to go these days. If she asks, just say it's arranged by your master. Do not reveal my name. If she has any requests that you can fulfill, help her out. Your master won't let you suffer for it," Gu An instructed, then raised his hand to project the image of Lu Lingjun into Xu Xi's mind.

Xu Xi hesitated for a moment before accepting the task.

With a wave from Gu An, she bowed respectfully and took her leave.

Watching Xu Xi leave, Gu An smiled to himself.

Arranging this was partly to help Lu Lingjun broaden her horizons, and also to train Xu Xi a bit—this had been a spur-of-the-moment decision for him.

Gu An continued his descent down the mountain, enjoying the scenery along the way.

...

In the courtyard,

Lu Lingjun sat in front of a stone table, idly flipping through a book. Beside her, the White Spirit Demon Emperor lay sprawled across the table.

A figure descended from the sky, and Lu Lingjun instinctively looked up, then rose to her feet.

"Lu Lingjun?" Xu Xi asked.

Lu Lingjun subconsciously nodded, feeling somewhat uneasy.

Xu Xi was wearing the daoist robe of Mortal World Peak, her face beautiful, her posture dignified, and exuding an aura of immortality. In her presence, Lu Lingjun couldn't help but feel intimidated.

The difference between them was like that between immortals and mortals!

Although Xu Xi was shy in front of Gu An, she was at ease facing Lu Lingjun. Precisely because of this serenity, the aura of Nirvana Realm manifested, overwhelming Lu Lingjun of the Mystic Realm with pressure.

Lu Lingjun's mind raced, wondering if she had offended someone.

"My master sent me to you. Do you have any places you'd like to go? I can accompany you. If you have any needs, you can ask me, until the end of the Millennial Peak Meeting," Xu Xi continued.

She was puzzled inwardly about why her master would take care of such a minor cultivator.

She then thought, weren't she and her brother similar to this girl in her master's eyes?

Perhaps this girl had also met her master on the road and caught his eye.

"May I ask who is the master of senior?" Lu Lingjun asked cautiously.

Xu Xi responded, "My master is the Peak Master of Dingtian Peak."

The Peak Master of Dingtian Peak!

As an Ascender, Lu Lingjun couldn't keep her composure at this revelation, and the White Spirit Demon Emperor's eyes widened as well.

Having been told by the Holy Mother of Western Spirit that the Peak Masters of Mortal World Peak were extraordinary beings, especially those of divine peaks, of which Dingtian Peak was one, Lu Lingjun couldn't fathom how such an exalted being would know of her.

For a moment, Lu Lingjun felt nervous and unsettled.

...

At dusk, Gu An returned to Third Medicine Valley.

Ji Xiaoyu came to greet him, curiously asking, "Where have you been these past two days?"

Gu An replied, "A Daoist friend of mine is hosting a banquet, and I have to attend as a guest."

Ji Xiaoyu nodded, then said, "I had another dream while cultivating today. Shall we talk about it?"

I don't want to get involved with your great karma! Gu An thought helplessly, but he immediately said aloud, "Of course, no problem."

They both ascended to the upper floor.

After Ji Xiaoyu set up restrictions, only then did she sit down at the desk, frowning slightly as she said, "I dreamed that I was in a dimly lit space surrounded by stars, some of them immensely vast. I was surrounded by many demons and fighting..."

Outer Heaven?

Having never been to Outer Heaven, the mortal spirits of this world couldn't imagine what it looked like, so Ji Xiaoyu could only describe it as a dimly lit space.

Listening attentively, Gu An quickly determined that Ji Xiaoyu's dream involved Heavenly Demons.

Had she been to the Silent Destruction Domain in a past life?

He wasn't surprised; he had known for a long time that Ji Xiaoyu was no ordinary person. What puzzled him was not only that Ji Xiaoyu's previous lifetimes had battled with the Heavenly Demon Army, but she also mentioned a terrifying being.

This being commanded the Heavenly Demons.

"He said that no matter how many times I reincarnate, he would be waiting for me to challenge him..." Ji Xiaoyu took a deep breath and said, the memory of the fierce battles in her dreams causing her to grip the teacup in her hands tightly.

After a moment of thought, Gu An comforted her, "Don't worry, you won't be able to challenge him for many years, maybe not even in this lifetime. Anyway, I can't imagine how to slash a star so large with a single sword stroke."

Although his words were a bit harsh, they indeed comforted Ji Xiaoyu.

Just then, a voice came:

"That is the Heavenly Demon Emperor, who once single-handedly suppressed the Great Heavenly Spirit Land."

The voice of Stealing the Five Elements!

As he spoke, he appeared out of nowhere inside the room.

Ji Xiaoyu frowned but did not speak out.

The identity of Reincarnation Path Emperor was revealed to them by Stealing the Five Elements, so Gu An did not stop him from entering.

"Suppressed the Great Heavenly Spirit Land? How strong must that be?" Gu An cautiously asked.

With a grave expression, Stealing the Five Elements replied, "Very strong, unimaginably so. Even the Reincarnation Path Emperor once mentioned to me that her destiny was to challenge the Heavenly Demon Emperor, but she soon reincarnated, and her fate entered the cycle of reincarnation."

Gu An pressed on, "You mean the Heavenly Demon Emperor won't attack our realm actively?"

"Correct, the establishment of the Holy Court has kept the Heavenly Demons' ravages at bay. As long as the Dao Level of Shengtian remains intact, there's no way for the Heavenly Demon Emperor to reach us. The being behind me has also been to the land of the Heavenly Demons and was cursed as a result. It's a place of utter horror, beyond my comprehension. However, seeing her growth rate in this life, it will be hard to encounter Heavenly Demons without thirty thousand years," said Stealing the Five Elements, casting a glance at Ji Xiaoyu.

Gu An did not speak further, but adopted a shocked expression.

It was entirely normal for a mortal to be shocked upon hearing of the existence of Heavenly Demons, or so Stealing the Five Elements thought Gu An should seem.

After hearing this, Ji Xiaoyu returned to calm.

Stealing the Five Elements continued to describe the might of the Heavenly Demons.

A good while later, he left.

The room fell silent.

Gu An sighed and said, "He said that not even the Sword Venerable Fudao could defeat the Heavenly Demon Emperor. This is a good thing; at least you don't have to worry for now."

Looking at him, Ji Xiaoyu's gaze was serene as she said, "I had hoped to lead a peaceful life and pass away peacefully, but after what he said, I suddenly don't want to die. I want to cultivate to the level where I can meet that Heavenly Demon Emperor."

Taken aback, Gu An replied, "Having a larger goal is certainly a good thing."

Ji Xiaoyu rose from her seat and turned to leave.

Just as she reached the door, she turned her head back and said, "Why don't you give up either? I've dreamed of many people. Some started from nothing and ended up shining brilliantly. If you could be by my side to fight the Heavenly Demon Emperor, wouldn't that be wonderful?"

With that, she turned her head and pushed the door to leave.