The Path to Immortality Begins as a Sect's Menial Servant

A tall and graceful figure, snow-white thighs, jet-black long hair, and delicate features—at the center of her brows, a beauty mark…

The woman inside the storage ring lay motionless, like a sleeping maiden, completely unconscious, with not a single piece of clothing on her body.

Inside the ring, there was even a jade bed prepared for her. On the bed was a simple Spirit Gathering Array, with piles of spirit stones arranged beside it. Spiritual energy gathered and nourished this woman.

Could she be the female cultivator who had come to buy the Second Grade Fire Spirit Fruit that day?

But Li An quickly realized that wasn't the case. First, this woman was taller and fuller than the female alchemist from that day—details that couldn’t escape the eyes of Li An, who had had numerous wives in his past life.

Second, this Spirit Gathering Array had clearly been set up for several years.

In other words, this woman had been imprisoned in the storage ring for many years.

“So she has a Mid-Grade Yellow Water Spiritual Root… No wonder.”

Li An examined her carefully and immediately understood.

This woman was the furnace vessel of that demonic cultivator.

Moreover, there were traces of Yin-Yang Demonic Qi within her body… Clearly, she had been dual-cultivated by that demonic cultivator multiple times.

Li An hesitated in his heart. What should he do with this woman?

If he ignored her and simply discarded the ring, the spiritual energy within would eventually be exhausted, the ring would collapse, and the woman would die inside.

That seemed like the safest option.

After all, if Li An saved her, it would bring potential danger. There would then be someone in the world who knew that Li An had killed that demonic cultivator.

In the end, Li An put the ring away without interfering for now.

He planned to gather some information the next day to see if he could identify who this woman was.

After all, someone with a Mid-Grade Yellow Spiritual Root would definitely be an elite or genius within a sect—not some nameless figure.

“Looks like that demonic cultivator really was powerful… likely a close aide of the Horse Face of Death…”

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been given a Mysterious Grade technique, nor a furnace vessel with a Mid-Grade Yellow Spiritual Root.

Unfortunately, Li An didn’t even know which level of Qi Refining that demonic cultivator had reached…

He’d killed him too quickly.

The demonic cultivator hadn’t even gotten a chance to make a move before he was dead.

The next day.

Li An temporarily closed the shop and didn’t open for business. Then he went out for a walk.

Everyone he met along the way greeted him warmly.

In just a day, Li An’s name had spread throughout the Market District. After all, the story was too dramatic—a Talisman Master’s greed had destroyed the plot of a powerful demonic cultivator and saved an entire Market District…

Nicknames like “Black-Hearted Talisman Master” and “Nemesis of the Demonic Path” spread quickly.

Though those names weren’t flattering, Li An actually found them comforting.

This was ideal—becoming a public joke was harmless.

As for business, it would definitely take a short-term hit. People coming to buy talismans from his store would likely be more cautious, afraid of getting fake ones… but it didn’t matter. The fortune he made this time around was something that ten years of talisman sales might not yield.

Li An arrived at the central plaza of the Market District, where many message boards were posted—requests for specific items, sales of rare materials… and also wanted notices and bounty postings.

Li An focused on the ones related to demonic cultivators.

There were many, especially the bounty on the Horse Face of Death—it was incredibly generous, reaching over a thousand spirit stones.

There were also other notorious and ruthless figures from the demonic path with long lists of crimes.

Eventually, Li An’s gaze locked onto a somewhat yellowed bounty notice.

The issuer: a Second Grade Alchemist, a Core Formation Cultivator—Gu Songxi.

Bounty content:

“My beloved disciple, Gu Hong, a First Grade Alchemist, was captured by a demonic cultivator three months ago at the Liuyang River Market District and has been missing since.

A reward of 1,000 spirit stones will be given for any clues.

If anyone can rescue her, I am willing to do anything within my power for that person.”

Beneath the bounty notice was a portrait of Gu Hong. Though the image had yellowed with time and was hard to see clearly, the beauty mark between her brows… Li An remembered it.

He recalled that before he left the Clear Sun Sect, Xu Qiuhui had gathered him and Tan Qingxue for a final meeting, and had mentioned that a disciple of an alchemist had been captured outside the Liuyang River Market District…

It had to be Gu Hong!

After casually glancing over the other postings, Li An turned and left.

“Talisman Master Li, don’t be afraid—the Market District is safe!”

“Yeah, even though that demonic cultivator put a bounty on you, if anyone dares touch you, we’ll be the first to stop them!”

Many around him called out with smiles.

To them, it was perfectly normal for Li An to be especially concerned about news related to demonic cultivators—after all, he had been targeted with a bounty.

Before heading out, Li An also paid attention to the news outside the Market District. It was said that nearly everyone who went to Liyang Valley had been wiped out, with only a few escaping.

However, experts from the Clear Sun Sect had already arrived to assist, hunting down the demonic cultivators and rescuing survivors.

Even if Tan Qingxue had, as Li An said, gone to buy Cloudstep Boots and other valuables, the odds of survival were slim.

Night.

Inside Li An’s room.

After some thought, Li An activated the storage ring. A soft white light flashed, and Li An entered its space.

He examined the woman’s body, covered her with a robe, and then infused a stream of spiritual energy. The woman immediately coughed and slowly awoke.

There was confusion in her eyes. Sensing the robe covering her body, she was clearly surprised. When she looked up, she saw a young man standing before her!

“Who… are you?”

She asked cautiously.

Li An replied, “Outer Sect Disciple of the Clear Sun Sect—Li An!”

He did not conceal his identity and continued, “That demonic cultivator was killed by me through careful planning. I unintentionally acquired his storage ring, which led me here… May I ask who you are? Were you imprisoned by that demonic cultivator?”

Upon hearing this, the woman became visibly emotional. “You’re from the Clear Sun Sect?! That’s wonderful… Please, help me get out of here!”

She was extremely anxious, her beautiful eyes welling up with tears from excitement.

All these years, she had been trapped inside the storage ring, no different from being a slave to that demonic cultivator, tormented endlessly—life worse than death!

Li An said, “Please, don’t panic… the villain is dead, and you are safe now.”

Gu Hong tried to say more, but Li An continued, “The outside world is still dangerous. You’ve been under the control of a demonic cultivator for years, your cultivation has been damaged, and you still carry demonic Qi within you. If you leave now, you may fall back into their hands.

It would be safer to stay in the ring and recover first, then leave.”

Li An’s suggestion immediately earned her agreement. She gratefully nodded. “Thank you, Daoist Li. You are thoughtful indeed…”

Li An smiled and brought out some food. “I imagine you haven’t eaten or drunk anything for years. I’ve prepared some food—please have a bite.”

He presented a bowl of spiritual rice, a bowl of braised meat, and even a small bottle of spiritual wine.

Seeing this, Gu Hong couldn’t hold back her tears. After so many years, she finally saw a glimmer of hope to live and leave this place…

“Tomorrow, I’ll try to get you some Cleansing Qi Pills to purge the demonic Qi from your body.

Also, here are fifty spirit stones. Please use them to cultivate and recover your strength.”

Li An set down fifty spirit stones, then said, “I won’t disturb your rest any longer. I’ll take my leave.”

With that, he exited the ring.

Inside the ring, Gu Hong put on the clothes Li An had given her, then picked up her chopsticks and started eating the spiritual rice, tears falling from her eyes…

In his room.

Li An remained calm and composed.

After learning Gu Hong’s identity, he had begun considering the matter carefully.

If he reported it directly to the sect, the sect would surely reward him with a large bounty and contribution points.

But in that case, his act of saving Gu Hong would be exposed—and more importantly, it wouldn't be cost-effective.

After he reported it, the matter would become an exchange between the sect and Gu Songxi, and the gratitude would go to the Clear Sun Sect.

Li An planned to take things slowly, first building a good relationship with Gu Hong, then finding the right opportunity to send her away.

This way, the gratitude of Gu Songxi and his disciple would belong to Li An personally.

After all, alchemists were incredibly valuable allies—especially a Second Grade Alchemist like Gu Songxi.

The next day.

Li An went directly to the sect’s pill store and spent a hefty sum on a batch of spiritual herbs.

The excuse was simple: after being targeted by a demonic cultivator, he panicked and wanted to quickly improve his cultivation.

Among them were a few First Grade Cleansing Qi Pills.

It cost him 200 spirit stones in total.

However, for Li An—now flush with cash—that was nothing.

He had received 400 spirit stones as a deposit from the demonic cultivator and had sold nearly 300 Breaking Seal Talismans, earning over 700 spirit stones.

Later, he also looted over 300 spirit stones from the demonic cultivator’s storage bag.

After deducting the cost of talisman paper and brushes, and the 200 just spent, he still had about 1,000 spirit stones left.

He wasn’t short on money.

“They’ve been rescued—two disciples from the Clear Sun Sect who went to Liyang Valley have been saved!”

Just then, a piece of news spread quickly!

“It’s Tan Qingxue from the Talisman Store, and Wang Song from the Weapon Pavilion!”

Li An was surprised—Tan Qingxue was still alive?

On the street, several Clear Sun Sect cultivators rushed toward the pill store.

“Is Shopkeeper Zhao Gang here? Come quickly—we need your help to save lives!”

Leading the group was a peak Qi Refining cultivator, carrying a blood-soaked woman in his arms—none other than Tan Qingxue!

(End of Chapter)