Saint Who Lay Low

Mastering the Royal Extreme Sword Technique would secure the position of Crown Prince?

Gu An silently listened as he picked herbs.

The Royal Extreme Sword Technique was something he was very familiar with.

Maybe, if Li Ya had ambitions for the throne, he could give him a few pointers.

Wait!

Gu An suddenly felt something was off. He suspected that Li Xuandao had deliberately said those things for him to hear. The pavilion wasn't shielded with any formation.

Then, he remembered that Li Xuandao's ambition was to become an immortal emperor.

For an emperor, the greatest threat was often the Crown Prince. Even without cultivation, mortal emperors often became wary of their Crown Princes as they aged, and few Crown Princes ascended the throne without trouble.

Could it be that Li Xuandao intended to use Li Ya to remove the Crown Prince?

That seemed very likely!

Gu An stopped overthinking and focused on picking herbs, deciding to let father and son fight it out among themselves.

Since Li Xuandao was around, Gu An didn't leave immediately after harvesting the herbs. He only departed early the next morning.

When he left, Li Xuandao remained, saying he would stay a while longer. Gu An suspected Li Xuandao was planning to watch the drama unfold as the righteous and demonic factions clashed.

After returning to Xuan Valley, Gu An gathered Wu Xin and the others, warning them that the demonic path would soon attack, advising them not to wander off. This made the disciples quite nervous, including Wu Xin.

Gu An decided he would spend his nights in Xuan Valley from now on. With Elder Tian and fifty Core Formation cultivators stationed at the Third Medicine Valley, it was safe. However, Xuan Valley was different, as it was only guarded by a group of ordinary disciples.

Although Xuan Valley's contribution to his longevity income had become smaller over time, the Eight Views Heavenly Cave hidden below was still invaluable. Even though the valley's income wasn't much, he couldn't bring himself to abandon it.

Ten days later.

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

Gu An stood by the wooden fence, watching from afar as a sword-bearing woman in green, wearing a bamboo hat, approached. The cold wind blew her robes, making her seem even more ethereal.

[Yang Ni (Nascent Soul Stage Level 9): 214/780/1360]

A two-hundred-year-old Nascent Soul cultivator. Not bad.

Gu An mused quietly, stepping forward to greet her.

"I am Gu An, the master of this valley. May I ask for your name?" Gu An asked as he approached, raising his hand.

Yang Ni suddenly appeared in front of him, startling him into taking a step back.

"Let me see your other Valley Master token," Yang Ni transmitted her voice coldly, though her voice was quite melodious, hinting at her beauty.

Gu An immediately produced the Tianya Valley token. Yang Ni took it, inspected it, and then handed it back.

"I was sent by His Majesty to protect you. From now on, I'll be your outer sect disciple." Yang Ni transmitted her voice again.

Gu An nodded and said aloud, "Ah, so Elder Han recommended you. I've been waiting for quite some time."

With that, he turned and led Yang Ni towards the pavilion.

As they walked, the other disciples in the valley cast curious glances. Yang Ni's appearance was enough to draw attention.

Once inside, Gu An closed the door. "Everyone here is only at Qi Refining level, so there's no need to worry," he said.

Yang Ni waved her hand, and a layer of spiritual energy formed a blue barrier over the door.

Very cautious!

After setting the barrier, Yang Ni placed her sword on the table, removed her bamboo hat, and let down a cascade of white hair. She turned to look at Gu An, her face youthful, appearing to be in her early twenties.

Her features were delicate and beautiful, though her cold expression gave off a chilling aura, making it hard to appreciate her beauty directly.

She studied Gu An for a moment before asking, "I've heard that you have a close relationship with Li Ya?"

"That's right. Senior Brother Li and I both worked as servant disciples in this valley. We entered the sect on the same day," Gu An replied.

Hearing this, a smile broke across Yang Ni's face, a smile that could easily captivate anyone.

Gu An, however, didn't think much of it, as he had met the even more beautiful Ji Xiaoya.

"That kid has always been stubborn, never getting along with his siblings. I'm surprised he became friends with someone like you, a servant disciple," Yang Ni remarked.

That phrasing…

Yang Ni then took out a green jade bracelet from her storage bag and said, "This is a high-grade magical tool that can store spiritual energy. Consider it a gift."

A tool that stores spiritual energy?

How rare.

Gu An quickly declined, "I can't possibly accept this. You were sent to protect me, and I wouldn't dare accept such a gift."

"Just take it. Li Ya's mother is my sister. Since you're close to Li Ya, you're considered my junior," Yang Ni said impatiently, tossing the bracelet to him before turning to examine the bookshelf.

"Carry on with whatever you were doing. Don't mind me."

Gu An caught the bracelet and wanted to protest that this was his pavilion, but it was clear that Yang Ni intended to stay, so he dropped the matter.

Ever since meeting Shen Zhen, Gu An had stopped leaving any incriminating items in the pavilion. After a brief hesitation, he decided to leave and not disturb Yang Ni.

Despite Yang Ni's presence, life in Xuan Valley continued as usual, as she rarely left her room and interacted little with the other disciples.

However, when Gu An headed to the Third Medicine Valley, she insisted on accompanying him, and he had no choice but to bring her along.

Upon seeing the Third Medicine Valley, she was visibly astonished, and she began reevaluating Gu An.

This servant disciple is far from ordinary!

Gu An wasn't worried that she would report this to Li Xuandao; it was likely Li Xuandao already knew about the Third Medicine Valley. It would be hard to keep something like this hidden.

In any case, his conscience was clear.

If Li Xuandao began to doubt him because of this, Gu An wasn't concerned.

To him, Li Xuandao was far less of a threat than Tai Xuan Sect itself.

With Yang Ni in tow, Gu An continued his work, harvesting herbs and planting new seeds.

A month passed, and Yang Ni began to develop some respect for Gu An.

He was an honest man, treating even the servant disciples kindly. Such a person posed no threat to anyone. She now understood why Li Ya valued Gu An as a friend.

Days passed.

Winter arrived, blanketing all of Gu An's medicinal valleys in snow.

Li Xuandao had said that the demonic path would invade Tai Xuan Sect by the year's end. As such, Gu An spent every day on edge, uncertain when the attack would come.

One day, in Xuan Valley, Gu An and Wu Xin were leading the disciples in clearing snow. Yang Ni stood by the wooden fence, sword in hand, observing from afar.

"Senior Brother, what realm is that outer sect disciple at?" Wu Xin whispered, clearly curious.

Even from a distance, Yang Ni's stance exuded power.

"None of your business. She's my disciple, and you can't have her," Gu An replied gruffly.

Wu Xin chuckled, "Senior Brother, you know me too well. When will you assign me a Foundation Establishment disciple to assist me? I'd look quite impressive."

"Would you even dare accept one?"

At those words, Wu Xin seemed to recall something, his smile turning sheepish as he remained silent.

Gu An continued shoveling snow.

After a while, he felt something unusual and frowned but didn't stop his work.

At the same time, Yang Ni sensed something as well. She leaped to the southern mountaintop, her swift movements drawing the attention of everyone in the valley.

Amid the heavy snowfall, the world had become a white blur. From the valley, Yang Ni's figure on the mountain seemed faint, as if she could be swallowed by the blizzard at any moment.

"What's happening?" Wu Xin couldn't help but ask Gu An.

"I don't know either. We'll ask her when she comes back down," Gu An replied.

Goo goo—

A series of bird cries echoed through the sky, so clear and haunting that even the howling wind couldn't drown them out.

The sudden bird calls caused everyone to frown, glancing around in search of the source.

Wu Xin's face suddenly paled, and he shouted, "Everyone, back inside! Quickly!"

He grabbed Gu An's arm and tried to drag him towards the pavilions.

Gu An pulled free, saying, "You go ahead. I need to watch over the valley."

Wu Xin turned back, his voice urgent, "That's the Swallowing Heaven Netherbird of Thousand Autumn Pavilion! It's not something you can handle!"

"You go. I'm not fighting it! Don't forget who you are!" Gu An said sternly.

Reluctantly, Wu Xin bit his lip and ran off.

Soon, Gu An was the only one left outside, while the other disciples watched from the pavilion windows, trembling with fear.

Gu An could now clearly sense the Swallowing Heaven Netherbird's aura.

It was incredibly strong!

Comparable to the Void Crossing Realm!

Whoosh—

A violent wind gusted from the south, sending waves of snow crashing into the medicinal valley. Gu An watched his precious herbs swaying and felt a pang of heartache. But with Yang Ni and the others present, he couldn't reveal his true strength. So, he walked over to the highest-grade herb plot and used his Foundation Establishment-level spiritual power to protect it.

At that moment, Yang Ni appeared beside him, planting a large flag into the ground and channeling spiritual energy into it with her palm.

The flag waved, forming a barrier that shielded them from the wind and snow.

Yang Ni sighed in relief and turned to Gu An, scolding him, "Are you insane? What do these herbs have to do with you? Haven't you sensed the demonic aura?"

Gu An replied calmly, "I've sensed it. But if I can feel it, so can the Nascent Soul cultivators of Tai Xuan Sect..."

Boom!

A terrifying pressure suddenly descended. Gu An and the other disciples all widened their eyes.

The swirling snow was blown away, revealing a massive, sky-covering bird above. The Swallowing Heaven Netherbird passed over Xuan Valley, its enormous body plunging the valley into darkness.

Even Gu An was stunned by its sheer size. From what he could tell, the Swallowing Heaven Netherbird had a wingspan of over a hundred li, truly colossal.

On its back, Gu An sensed the presence of countless demonic cultivators—at least ten thousand of them.

Its destination was Tai Xuan Sect's outer city!

"That's Thousand Autumn Pavilion's Swallowing Heaven Netherbird! A sixth-rank demonic beast, capable of obliterating kingdoms. This is my first time seeing one." Yang Ni muttered in awe, a trace of fear in her eyes.

Gu An remained silent, focusing on the bird, hoping it wouldn't take an interest in his valley.

After the Swallowing Heaven Netherbird passed overhead, sunlight once again bathed the medicinal valley, followed by a gentle snowfall that resembled a descending white mist.

Everyone in the valley breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Gu An could already sense powerful cultivators engaging in battle in the distance.

Void Crossing cultivators!

And more than two of them!

Though the battle was far away, it seemed to be occurring near the outer cities of Tai Xuan Sect.