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

After sending Ye Lan away, Gu An's life continued. Though his heart harbored some melancholy, he did not stop his pursuit of becoming stronger.

He would leave his home every other day to gather medicinal herbs from various Medicine Valleys and take the chance to guide the guardians of these valleys. His days were fulfilling.

As summer gave way to autumn, withering yellow slowly blanketed the landscape of Great Heaven and Earth.

On this day,

a man dressed in black descended from the sky, landing on a mountain peak at the edge of the Third Medicine Valley. His long black hair fluttered, his robe billowed, and he exuded a vigorous spirit.

It was Li Ya!

After hundreds of years, he returned and looked upon the Third Medicine Valley with profound emotions.

His gaze swept across every corner of the Third Medicine Valley, finding many places both familiar and unfamiliar. When his eyes landed on a certain pavilion, a complex expression appeared on his face.

Even though he had reached the Nirvana Realm, facing old friends, he was still anxious.

Every time he thought of calling Gu An the Primordial Ancestor, his face would burn with embarrassment. Despite preparing himself mentally for hundreds of years, his emotions still fluctuated with the memory.

But then he thought, if not for Gu An's care, how could he have achieved what he had today?

Just the existence of Divine Exotic City within him gave him an unstoppable confidence.

Li Ya took a deep breath, ready to descend the mountain when suddenly he noticed two people rushing up the side of the mountain, one after the other. Quickly, they came before Li Ya.

The Blood Prison Great Saint eyed Li Ya, his gaze teasing.

The one who caught up from behind, Long Qing, stopped and looked at Li Ya thoughtfully. Suddenly realizing something, he asked, "Could you be Elder Li Ya?"

Li Ya nodded slightly. He had some impression of Long Qing, though not a clear one, but judging from Long Qing's form of address, the boy must be a disciple of Gu An.

"Master often mentions you, saying that you became a Daughter of Heaven and got carried away, never coming back to visit him," Long Qing said with a smile. He wasn't particularly interested in Li Ya, only having heard Gu An mention him occasionally.

Hearing this, Li Ya's expression darkened instantly as he coldly huffed, "Did he really say that?"

The Blood Prison Great Saint cut in before Li Ya could react, "You little brat, have you forgotten me?"

His first battle in Celestial Spirit Great World was against Li Ya and Zhang Buku, after which he was suppressed for nearly a thousand years.

Although he now considered it a blessing in disguise, he couldn't help but feel annoyed at Li Ya, and Li Ya would ridicule him every time he came back to the valley and saw him transformed into an Ox Demon.

In fact, when he was an ox, he felt like everyone was mocking him. In his eyes, even their smiles seemed detestable.

Li Ya's gaze fell on the Blood Prison Great Saint, examining him closely.

Then, Li Ya's face changed drastically. Without another word, he lifted his right hand and summoned Divine Exotic City, which rapidly grew in size, suspended high in the Celestial Vault.

Long Qing looked up as well, his mouth agape, stunned by the sight of Divine Exotic City.

His Qi Power was formidable, but having spent most of his time in the Supreme Sect, he rarely saw such ultimate treasures.

Li Ya glared fiercely at the Blood Prison Great Saint and asked in a deep voice, "How come you're here?"

The Blood Prison Great Saint used to be hideously violent, and though his appearance had not changed, his demeanor was now miles apart, which had initially prevented Li Ya from recognizing him.

Remembering the battle from years ago, Li Ya couldn't help but think of Zhang Buku, and his mood turned irritable.

Zhang Buku had always been a thorn in his side; he felt that he had failed to take care of Zhang Buku, which led to Zhang's current involuntary state and unknown fate.

The Blood Prison Great Saint said scornfully, "I've been here for a thousand years, and you're asking me? It should be I who asks you. Every time you return, I'm here, but you, with eyes but no pearls, fail to recognize me."

Li Ya furrowed his brow, trying to recall.

Long Qing looked left and right, thinking to himself, "Why aren't they fighting yet?"

He often sparred with the Blood Prison Great Saint and, never having won, he wanted to see the Great Saint get his comeuppance.

Li Ya's Cultivation Level might not match the Blood Prison Great Saint's, but even Long Qing had heard of the notorious Divine Exotic City.

It was said to be a Pseudo-Immortal Dao Ultimate Treasure capable of contending with a Wandering Immortal!

The appearance of Divine Exotic City attracted more and more disciples to fly over. Li Ya calmed down and immediately withdrew Divine Exotic City into his palm.

The Blood Prison Great Saint's appearance here indicated he was no longer an enemy; at the very least, he had been taken in by Gu An.

Speaking of which, he had no deep grudge against the Blood Prison Great Saint. It was only a fight for a chance encounter back in the day, and he had been defeated quite miserably.

An Xin flew in, landing at the edge of the cliff. She glared at the Blood Prison Great Saint and Long Qing, then turned to Li Ya, performed a gesture of respect with her hand, and said, "Elder Li Ya, Master has been waiting for you for a long time. Please come with me."

Li Ya remembered An Xin and was somewhat astonished.

After so many years, An Xin no longer looked like an ordinary woman; in every gesture, there was the demeanor of a high practitioner who had attained the Dao.

He compared An Xin with the esteemed daughters from the major sects, and An Xin was hardly any less impressive—indeed, she possessed a unique charm.

It seemed Gu An was quite adept at teaching disciples.

That's what Li Ya thought, and then he was reminded that An Hao was also Gu An's disciple, which made him feel even more distressed.

His greatest opponent in life was a disciple of Gu An, the Primordial Ancestor he respected and appreciated most was Gu An—no matter how he looked at it, his life seemed to be under Gu An's shelter, although always getting hurt, he somehow always managed to escape death.

While thinking, Li Ya followed An Xin and left.

Long Qing looked towards the Blood Prison Great Saint and asked, "Did you two have any past grievances?"

The Blood Prison Great Saint sneered dismissively and said, "He was never a threat to me."

After he explained what had happened back then, Long Qing was filled with emotion.

The strongest in one realm, ascending, and then due to not looking where he was going, he bullied someone with a powerful backing and wound up being made a mount?

That was utterly terrifying!

Long Qing felt even more reverence for the world. He thought that if the Blood Prison Great Saint had encountered someone other than Master, he would probably already be dead.

There weren't many strong beings as kind and magnanimous as Master in this world.

...

Boom, boom, boom—

The muffled sound of thunder rumbled incessantly, like barbaric fierce beasts growling in unison, making the entire world incredibly oppressive.

Over the desolate land strewn with corpses, ravines and cracks crisscrossed, and splatters of blood decorated the ground. Countless cultivators and demons all stood there, most of them wounded, all looking despairingly at the dim celestial vault.

Above the surging black clouds, a figure emitting a radiant golden light stood firmly. Clad in golden battle armor with a red sash around his waist, his breastplate adorned with a Qilin's head, breathing flames from his mouth and nose. Above was a handsome yet indifferent face; this person wore a golden helmet exuding grandeur and power, with a golden great cauldron floating behind him, amidst which dragon tails fluttered.

All living beings before him were no different from ants and insects.

He looked down at the creatures below, seemingly searching for something.

A figure appeared out of nowhere beside him, a woman in black with disheveled black hair and wearing a dark silver eye-mask, ghost-like in appearance.

"Emperor, the destiny of this realm has been severed, and it is about to collapse. Shall we move on to the next world?" the woman in black asked, her voice pleasant to hear, albeit icy.

The man in golden armor remained unmoved, his expression still detached, and said, "What do you think, where would the descendants of the Long Clan be hiding, and does the Supporting Dao Sword Venerable have any relation to the Long Clan?"

The woman in black answered, "From what we can see so far, there seems to be no connection. The Supporting Dao Sword Venerable is protecting the beings of a world, of course, the descendants of the Long Clan might also be hiding in the Celestial Spirit Great World, but that's an existence even the incarnations of the Divine Emperor cannot defeat. We cannot act rashly."

The man in golden armor narrowed his eyes and snorted, "Even the incarnation of the Silent Destruction God Emperor is nothing more than the Daoist Zang Zizai Immortal, and moreover his physical body has yet to reach the true state of the Daoist Zang Zizai Immortal."

The woman in black did not continue the conversation.

The man in golden armor raised his hand, the great cauldron behind him trembled violently, emitting dragon roars. In a moment, the celestial vault twisted violently, the ground below started to shatter, rocks and corpses flew up, countless beings cried out, and the entire world plunged into noise and chaos.

"When I have consumed a hundred worlds, I will open the path to war. Then, no matter where the descendants of the Long Clan are hiding, whether or not the Supporting Dao Sword Venerable is involved with them is inconsequential. The Battle Court will crush all who stand in the way, leaving our foes destroyed beyond revival."

The man in golden armor murmured to himself as if speaking to his own soul.

Lightning clouds were drawn into the mouth of the cauldron, and the debris of the world—rocks, corpses, and beings—were all swept towards the golden great cauldron. The scene was filled with despair and chaos.

This great cauldron was devouring the Great Heaven and Earth!

The man in golden armor and the woman in black stood unflinchingly amidst the cries and deaths of living beings, waiting for the world to break and vanish.
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The man in golden armor suddenly sensed something, his eyes sharpening, his head tilted slightly as a streak of sword qi tore through space, zipping past him.

He reached out to grab the sword qi, then frowned, scanning all around with a look of suspicion and surprise.