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

Meng Lang asked, "What do you mean? You two haven\'t defeated that spy from the Demon Path?"

Upon hearing this, Shi Yang\'s face couldn\'t hold back his emotions.

He took a deep breath and said, "Indeed, they were better than us. My cultivation level is at the Fifth Layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm, and my cousin\'s is at the Fourth Layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm. The Demon Path cultivator who easily defeated us has an immeasurable cultivation level.

If you have any clues, tell us as soon as possible to avoid leaving troubles for yourselves."

Once he mentioned his cultivation level, Meng Lang, Xiaochuan, and others all gasped in shock.

Meng Lang felt scared and quickly asked, "Since you are not his match, why do you still dare to seek him out? Why not ask the Inner Sect Disciple to come help?"

Shi Yang responded, "We have our own backup."

He was increasingly annoyed by Meng Lang, who was too irritating for his blunt way of speaking.

Gu An took the opportunity to say, "If the person is truly a spy from the Demon Path and you both were easily defeated, that\'s unreasonable. I observe that both your injuries are not severe. Could the Demon Path be so benevolent?"

Shi Yang looked at him, his eyes conveying subtle thoughts. After thinking, he replied, "It\'s indeed hard to determine, but both Outer Disciple and Inner Sect Disciple have their own caves and wouldn\'t come here to breakthrough. There must be something fishy. You really don\'t have any clues?"

Li Xuanyu sized up Gu An, who feigned tension and dared not make eye contact with the two Outer Disciples.

"Both of you, it seems my disciples indeed haven\'t seen any spy from the Demon Path," Cheng Xuandan spoke up, breaking the awkward atmosphere.

Shi Yang wanted to speak, but Li Xuanyu spoke first, "If that\'s the case, then we shall take our leave."

After saying that, she raised her hand in a salute to Cheng Xuandan, then turned and left.

Shi Yang could only follow her steps, glaring at Meng Lang before he left.

Xiaochuan turned his head to look at Gu An, wanting to say something, but was stopped by Ye Lan, who put her finger to her lips to signal silence and kept giving meaningful looks.

Cheng Xuandan, without saying more, turned and walked towards his loft.

After watching Shi Yang and his companion leave the valley, Gu An then walked towards his own courtyard, with others closely following behind; Xiaochuan seemed to have more to say but refrained.

Gu An glanced at him and smiled, asking, "What, do you think my leg techniques could be powerful enough to defeat two cultivators from the Foundation Establishment Realm?"

Xiaochuan\'s face turned red and he couldn\'t help but scratch his head.

Meng Lang snorted with laughter and said annoyingly, "Your elder brother is only at the Third Layer of the Qi Cultivation Realm, and besides, the Residual Wind Leg technique he practices is one of the most common leg techniques in the Outer Sect. How could he possibly be the Demon Path spy mentioned by the Outer Disciples?"

Lu Jiujia nodded. He really didn\'t consider Gu An as a spy from the Demon Path. In his eyes, the elder brother was the gentlest, kindest person he had ever met.

Ye Lan, however, was somewhat dissatisfied and said, "Even if it\'s the most common leg technique, the elder brother will eventually master it."

The event of Gu An suppressing Meng Lang with one leg move had not reached Meng Lang\'s ears, as instructed by Gu An; neither younger brother nor sister had let it slip.

Meng Lang shook his head in amusement, then left alone to practice his spells in the forest.

Ye Lan watched his departing figure, angrily clenching her fists, her cheeks puffing out.

"Alright, let\'s each continue our cultivation and strive to enter the Outer Sect early," Gu An said with a smile, then gestured with his hands for his younger brothers and sisters to disperse.

Elsewhere.

Above the mountains, Shi Yang and Li Xuanyu flew side by side with sword control. Their speed was moderate, their eyes scanning the area below.

"Cousin, I always felt there was something off about Medicine Valley just now," Shi Yang said, a cold light flickering in his eyes.

That guy was too infuriating!

Shi Yang thought of Meng Lang\'s ugly demeanor, growing angrier as he dwelled on it.

Li Xuanyu\'s expression was icy as she softly said, "I think that Servant Disciple was right; perhaps the other party isn\'t a spy from the Demon Path but simply doesn\'t want to be recognized. The fact that we\'re still alive is the best proof."

Shi Yang frowned and said, "There\'s someone like that within the Outer Sect? It feels like they have at least a Nine Layers Foundation Establishment cultivation, and that leg technique I\'ve never seen before must be some Ultimate Skill. His background must be significant."

"We will know eventually."

Li Xuanyu looked towards the horizon, a frown tightly knitting her brows as if she thought of something.

Shi Yang also sank into silence. Both were famously talented within the Outer Sect, and the thought of their previous night\'s opponent also being an Outer Sect Disciple struck him hard.

...

As summer gradually came, the summer in Supreme Sect was extremely hot, with the whole world seeming to warp. Lu Jiujia, who was tilling the ground, was emitting white steam all over.

Gu An, now twenty-one, was in the courtyard practicing alchemy. In front of him was a small cauldron, he watched the boiling potion, hesitant whether to throw the herbal medicine in his hand into it.

Alchemy is really a skill!

As Gu An struggled, Meng Lang rushed into the courtyard, hurried into his own house, and in less than ten breaths, he came out with a bundle.

"Gu An, I\'m going for the Outer Sect examination. Once I make a name for myself, I\'ll come back and take care of you!"

With these words, Meng Lang excitedly left.

Outer Sect examination?

Gu An was surprised. Meng Lang was only at the Seventh Layer of Qi Cultivation, how was he taking the examination?

If one couldn\'t demonstrate outstanding talent at the entrance, they could only wait until Foundation Establishment was successful to enter the Outer Sect.

This was the Supreme Sect, the number one Sect of the Taicang Dynasty!

A Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator would be revered in some third-rate sects, but in Supreme Sect, they could only be an Outer Sect Disciple.

Gu An looked in the direction Meng Lang had run off to, seeing Cheng Xuandan descending the stairs.

Cheng Xuandan was actually taking Meng Lang out of the valley together.

Gu An felt there was something fishy about this, but even if he tried to stop it now, Meng Lang wouldn\'t listen; the fellow had become obsessed with becoming an Outer Sect Disciple.

"Why bother with it, I am pursuing the path of immortality. If I get involved in this and that, will I ever have peace?"

Gu An thought so, and his gaze turned resolute.

He continued with his alchemy, striving not to think about Meng Lang.

Consequently, he sat in front of the small cauldron for a day and successfully produced a pile of medicinal dregs.

It was not until deep into the night that he stealthily slipped out.

He did not leave Medicine Valley for Meng Lang but for his own cultivation. Two months had passed since Shi Yang and Li Xuanyu had left, and he was ready to start his daily regimen.

From then on, every deep night, he would sneak out and invest a year of his life span into his cultivation level.

This particular infusion of life span to enhance cultivation was similarly loud, but thankfully not as much as before, and it ended quickly.

The next day, Gu An took the opportunity to ask Ye Lan how her cultivation went last night, and this time she did not hear any disturbances, having achieved a smooth practice.

Gu An was utterly relieved; his daily plan could be implemented!

Days went by.

After half a month since Cheng Xuandan and Meng Lang had left, with no return, Gu An could affirm that Meng Lang\'s chances were slim.

Previously, when Zhang Chunqiu went to the Outer Sect, he would return in at most seven days, never having such a delay.

As Xiaochuan and two others inquired when their master would return, Gu An could only divert their focus, urging them to concentrate on their cultivation.

Two months later, Cheng Xuandan finally returned.

Cheng Xuandan\'s head was full of white hair, and he did not wear his cloth hat. His appearance greatly shocked Xiaochuan and the others, who all crowded around him, and so did Gu An.

"I\'m fine, just need a few days of rest,"

Cheng Xuandan waved his hand weakly as he gently pushed Lu Jiujia away and then headed to his loft.

Gu An furrowed his brows deeply.

He saw that Cheng Xuandan\'s cultivation had fallen to the second layer of the Energy Cultivation Realm, and even his life span was shortened, remaining only two years.

He had initially thought Cheng Xuandan intended to sabotage Meng Lang, either by snatching his body or turning Meng Lang into a puppet; instead, Cheng Xuandan appeared as though he was on the brink of death.

As Gu An watched Cheng Xuandan\'s retreating figure, he fell into deep thought.

Ye Lan, thinking he was worried about Cheng Xuandan, spoke out to comfort him: "Big senior brother, don\'t worry, master will be fine."

Gu An looked at her and smiled, nodding.

After chatting with his junior brothers and sisters for a few moments, Gu An left alone.

"I feel something is off about master," Lu Jiujia said to Xiaochuan in a low voice, frowning and with a severe look in his eyes.

Xiaochuan nodded and added, "Indeed, something\'s off."

Lu Jiujia leaned close to his ear, starting to whisper.

Meanwhile, Ye Lan kept gazing at Gu An\'s disappearing figure.

...

After Cheng Xuandan returned, he stayed locked in his room, and Gu An could sense him practicing healing spells, though his aura grew weaker by the day.

Just as it was nearly winter, Cheng Xuandan finally emerged from his room. He called out to Gu An from afar, and Gu An immediately ran to him.

"Master," Gu An greeted with respect.

Cheng Xuandan\'s hair was completely white, including his beard and eyebrows, and some brown spots even appeared on his face, making him look extremely aged.

"Come, I\'ll take you to the Outer Sect," Cheng Xuandan said with a stroke of his beard and a gentle smile.

Gu An couldn\'t help but ask, "What are we going to do at the Outer Sect?"

"Don\'t you want to be the Valley Master in the future?" Cheng Xuandan countered.

Upon hearing this, Gu An\'s heartbeat quickened, but his expression dramatically changed to one of panic, and asked anxiously, "Master, what\'s wrong? Please don\'t scare me!"

Seeing him so flustered, Cheng Xuandan\'s gaze softened even more.

"Come, let\'s talk on the way," Cheng Xuandan said and then turned, heading out of the valley.

Gu An quickly instructed Xiaochuan, who was closest to him, and then followed Cheng Xuandan\'s steps.

After leaving the valley, Cheng Xuandan headed towards the woods, now unable to fly with sword control, which meant they would have to walk to the Outer Sect.

All of a sudden, Gu An really wanted to turn back and tell Xiaochuan and the others not to pick the herbs that were about to ripen, waiting instead for his return.

As the master and disciple walked through the woods, Gu An tried to offer his help to Cheng Xuandan, but it was politely declined.

"The Sect\'s stipend for the Valley Master is limited. You have to be careful recruiting Servant Disciples in the future, and you\'ll also need to deliver a certain amount of yield every year..." Cheng Xuandan walked ahead, talking casually.

Gu An appeared to be listening intently, but he was also alert.

After all, Meng Lang\'s fate was still uncertain.

Cheng Xuandan\'s pace wasn\'t fast, and given the many hills nearby, it took them half an hour to cover a few miles.

Gu An was beginning to become impatient; how long would it take to reach the Outer Sect?

He even considered carrying Cheng Xuandan.

As they crossed a small stream, Cheng Xuandan suddenly asked, "Why do you not inquire about Meng Lang\'s whereabouts?"

Gu An feigned confusion and asked, "Didn\'t he go to attend the Outer Sect assessment? Did he not pass?"

"I lied to him; he has already been turned into Medicine Poison by me,"

Cheng Xuandan answered as he continued walking forward, seemingly unafraid of Gu An attacking him from behind.

Gu An, hearing this, remained expressionless. He carefully sensed the surroundings to make sure no one else was around.