Saint Who Lay Low

Pass on the sword technique?

Gu An instinctively resisted.

He had already mastered the Tai Cang Divine Shocking Sword, the Wood Spirit Sword Technique, and even had the Heaven-Hating Divine Sword on his skill panel. There was no need to waste time or lifespan learning another sword technique.

After all, he could upgrade his sword techniques using his lifespan. Why bother learning so many?

Feigning reluctance, Gu An said, "Senior, I'm not really interested in swordsmanship. To be honest, I'm not interested in combat techniques at all. I don't even cultivate much. My real passion lies in planting flowers and herbs."

Han Ming paused for a moment, then frowned.

Gu An quickly explained, acting as though he were scared. "Senior, please don't take offense. You can ask around. Everyone in the valley knows my nature. My spiritual root isn't very good, so rather than wasting my limited lifespan chasing after the vague goal of becoming an immortal, I'd rather live freely and enjoy my short two hundred years."

Han Ming stared at him, saying nothing.

Gu An, seeing that the situation might escalate, stopped talking.

Surely, he couldn't beg Han Ming not to teach him, right?

After a while, Han Ming sighed and said, "I finally understand why you can enter a state of enlightenment so easily. Your state of mind has already surpassed that of most cultivators. You've let go of obsessions and are experiencing the myriad aspects of the mortal world. This might make it easier for you to grasp the true essence of the universe."

The two of them continued to discuss enlightenment, and Han Ming no longer insisted on teaching him swordsmanship.

They talked for an entire day and night before Han Ming left, planning to explore the Tai Xuan Sect and search for a suitable disciple.

Gu An suggested one person: Zuo Lin.

Coincidentally, Han Ming knew Zuo Yijian, so he agreed to go and observe Zuo Lin.

After Han Ming left, Gu An resumed his patrol around the Third Medicine Valley.

Old Man Tian came over, curious, and asked, "Valley Master, that cultivator seemed quite extraordinary, but his clothing indicated he's from the Great Yu Dynasty. Why was he looking for you?"

"He wanted to take me as his disciple and teach me swordsmanship."

"You didn't accept, did you?"

"Of course not. If I accepted, it would be like betraying the Tai Xuan Sect. I might not be powerful, but I'm loyal to the sect," Gu An casually responded, but the sincerity in his tone was undeniable.

Old Man Tian didn't think Gu An was pretending. Having been in the valley for many years, he knew Gu An was serious about everything he did, especially with how he treated the Outer Sect disciples. Despite not being enthusiastic about cultivation, Gu An's character was truly without flaws.

Old Man Tian continued to accompany Gu An on his patrol, checking the herbs along the way, while the two chatted sporadically.

During their conversation, Gu An asked Old Man Tian for his thoughts on master-disciple relationships.

Having lived for over seven hundred years, Old Man Tian had accumulated much wisdom. Gu An was interested in his perspective, not necessarily to follow it, but because it was always helpful to hear more.

Meanwhile, news of Han Ming, the Sword Maniac from the Great Yu Dynasty, challenging the Sword Master of the Dao spread quickly throughout the Tai Xuan Sect. Everyone who heard the news was filled with anticipation.

Han Ming was a renowned sword cultivator, and the Sword Master of the Dao was currently the most famous cultivator in the Tai Xuan Sect. Who wouldn't want to witness their duel?

Most importantly, the disciples of the Tai Xuan Sect were eager to see the Sword Master of the Dao in person, to witness his grandeur firsthand.

Half a month later, when Gu An visited Tianya Valley, he overheard Luo Hun and Yi Liuyun discussing the upcoming duel.

This made Gu An hesitate.

He hadn't intended to accept the challenge, thinking the Tai Xuan Sect had plenty of experts to prevent Han Ming from defacing the Heaven Mending Platform.

But now, with so many people talking about it, not showing up would damage his reputation.

No, he had to speed up his progress!

Han Ming was a genius who could kill opponents across cultivation realms. With Gu An only in the first layer of the Body Fusion Realm, what if things went wrong?

He had to reach the ninth layer of the Body Fusion Realm before the duel!

Gu An thought Han Ming seemed like a decent person, so he decided to give him a proper defeat. Who knows, maybe Han Ming would have another breakthrough after losing.

Late at night, Gu An moved rapidly through the forest, his steps carrying him a hundred miles in a single stride. He was quickly distancing himself from the Tai Xuan Sect, using the Infinite Vanishing Celestial Step.

He couldn't keep drawing from the sect's spiritual energy without feeling guilty. This time, he decided to find a desolate place to break through.

He was determined to reach the ninth layer of the Body Fusion Realm in one go!

Life was unpredictable, and there were always people disrupting his plans and his growth pace.

After traveling nearly twenty thousand miles, Gu An finally stopped. He was deep in the mountains, where the air was thick with demonic and ghostly energy.

Sitting under a tree, Gu An activated his Lifespan Barrier and began meditating.

He couldn't keep wandering. If he did, who knew where he would end up?

He started by investing one thousand years of lifespan into his cultivation, successfully advancing to the second layer of the Body Fusion Realm as the surrounding spiritual energy rushed toward him.

Next, he invested another thousand years of lifespan.

One thousand years, followed by another.

When he reached the ninth layer of the Body Fusion Realm, he had spent a total of eighteen thousand years of lifespan. After the fifth layer, each layer required three thousand years to break through, which was related to the density of the surrounding spiritual energy.

Still, it was acceptable. After all, breaking through from the ninth layer of the Void Crossing Realm to the first layer of the Body Fusion Realm had cost him over twelve thousand years of lifespan.

Seeing that he still had over two hundred thousand years of lifespan remaining, Gu An was in a great mood, enjoying the feeling of his cultivation soaring.

The ground shook, and fierce winds blew from all directions as green energy waves surged beneath him.

"Roar—"

In the distance, a deafening roar echoed—a demonic beast was howling.

Gu An's heart trembled. The aura of that demonic beast was no weaker than a Divine Transformation Realm cultivator. There was a terrifying monster lurking in this area.

Good thing he hadn't come this far for his earlier breakthroughs. If he had, he might have ended up as monster food.

Soon, other demonic beasts began to roar as well, their voices rising one after another, blending into a cacophony that seemed to shake the heavens.

The night sky churned with dark clouds, obscuring the stars and moon. It was hard to tell whether the clouds were natural or made of demonic energy.

At that moment, Gu An felt like he was trapped in a demonic domain, surrounded by the cries and wails of countless demons, their voices terrifying and chilling.

Ahead, the forest trembled violently as if it were about to be uprooted.

In the darkness beyond the trees, a massive mountain began to move. With his sharp eyesight, Gu An could make out a giant demonic beast, at least three hundred feet tall, its form resembling a tortoise carrying a mountain on its back. As it moved, dust and debris flew into the air.

Around the mountain-like creature, countless wandering souls and ghosts swirled, like an army following it.

No wonder, despite the many cultivators in the Tai Cang Dynasty, they couldn't rid the world of all its demons and monsters. Along the way, Gu An had overheard villagers talking, confirming that he was still within the Tai Cang Dynasty's borders.

The Tai Cang Dynasty was vast—larger, it seemed, than Earth in his previous life. With such a huge territory, it was no wonder there were countless monsters and ghosts hiding within.

The other eight dynasties were likely not much smaller than the Tai Cang Dynasty, but according to Shen Zhen, the combined territories of the Nine Dynasties were just a small corner of this continent.

This world was unimaginably vast!

Endless streams of spiritual energy surged into Gu An's body, continuously raising his cultivation.

No wonder it had taken eighteen thousand years of lifespan to reach the ninth layer of the Body Fusion Realm. The amount of spiritual energy required was enormous. Gu An suspected the disturbance was affecting an area of tens of thousands of miles, possibly even reaching the Tai Xuan Sect.

If breaking through to the ninth layer caused such a commotion, what would happen when he attempted higher realms? Would it alert the entire dynasty?

The main issue was that condensing eighteen thousand years of spiritual energy into a short time meant drawing an immense amount of energy from the surroundings. Once the local spiritual energy was exhausted, it had to be pulled from other regions. After all, it took time for the earth to replenish its energy.

No matter. I'll break through first and deal with the consequences later.

No one could stop him from getting stronger!

Gu An closed his eyes, ignoring the chaos around him.

In a spacious cave, the firelight flickered wildly, casting long shadows over a large cauldron.

The cauldron was massive, at least a meter in diameter, with a raging fire beneath it. The broth inside boiled furiously, bones rising and falling in the bubbling water.

Nearby, two human children—one boy and one girl, no older than twelve or thirteen—were bound and huddled against the cave wall.

The boy was using the rough surface of the wall to grind at the ropes around his wrists. Though his hands were already bloody, he didn't wince, his movements only growing faster. White bone could be seen beneath the torn skin of his wrists.

The girl, kneeling next to him, stared nervously at the cave entrance, fear etched into her features.

Suddenly, a low, croaking sound echoed from outside the cave, like the guttural call of a giant toad. The boy's movements froze, and despair filled his eyes.

The shadow of a massive figure appeared on the cave wall, casting its bulk over the two children. Their faces turned ashen.

Then, suddenly, the massive figure seemed to be yanked backward, vanishing from the cave entrance.

A sharp, crunching sound followed from outside, as if something was being devoured. The boy pressed himself against the wall, covering his mouth to keep silent.

The girl shut her eyes tightly, not daring to look.

As the earth's spiritual energy surged downward, the demons began to flee. The night was far from peaceful.

Two hours later, Gu An had only reached the sixth layer of the Body Fusion Realm. By his calculations, he wouldn't reach the ninth layer until dawn.

His speed at absorbing spiritual energy had increased several times compared to previous breakthroughs, but the time required had still stretched longer.

Under normal circumstances, cultivators in the Body Fusion Realm wouldn't cause such a disturbance when breaking through. They would gradually accumulate spiritual energy, rather than trying to absorb the amount they'd need for centuries or even millennia all at once.

Gu An waited patiently.

Time flew by.

At dawn, as the first ray of sunlight broke across the sky, the mountain forest was still shrouded in demonic energy, swirling like thick mist.

Sitting under a tree, Gu An suddenly opened his eyes.

The ninth layer of the Body Fusion Realm, achieved!

Upon reaching this level, Gu An could feel a significant increase in his spiritual awareness and senses. It even felt like his heart was beginning to condense spiritual power, as though something was about to grow inside him.

The speed at which he was absorbing spiritual energy began to slow, and Gu An felt that he had grown a hundred times stronger than before.

The ninth layer of the Body Fusion Realm was worlds apart from the first!

Gu An was confident that no Body Fusion Realm cultivator in the first layer could defeat him.

This thought had barely crossed his mind when a cold sweat broke out over his body.

He had almost strayed from the Dao!

I can't think like this. The ones who get killed by someone from a lower realm must have this exact mindset!

He couldn't afford to underestimate anyone. He had to be ready at all times, fully prepared to face any threat. Only then could he give his best in every battle!