Saint Who Lay Low

Du Ye came quickly and left just as swiftly. Gu An could sense his excitement, as if he truly considered himself a member of the Ji family.

Gu An was also curious about the Inner Sect. Using the excuse of the Ji family banquet, this would be a great opportunity to explore it.

He planned to use these few days to gather more spirit stones so that he could make some purchases in the Inner Sect.

By the time night fell, Gu An quietly left Xuan Valley. Heading in the opposite direction from where he had previously broken through, he traveled about fifty miles before coming to a stop.

Sitting before a cliff, he brought up his attribute panel.

He immediately focused on Eight Directions Step and invested 5,000 years of lifespan into it.

This movement technique not only enhanced combat abilities but also made escape easier, so it was crucial to improve.

As soon as he made the decision, a series of prompts appeared:

[You have invested 5,000 years of lifespan into Eight Directions Step for evolutionary cultivation.]

[You have cultivated Eight Directions Step for one year and successfully mastered it.]

[You have cultivated Eight Directions Step for ten years, and your understanding of the technique has reached its peak, enhancing your insight into movement techniques.]

[You have cultivated Eight Directions Step for fifty years and gained new insights, upgrading Eight Directions Step to Eight Directions Mystical Step.]

[You have cultivated Eight Directions Step for one hundred years, and your comprehension of Eight Directions Mystical Step has reached its pinnacle, further improving your insight into movement techniques.]

...

[You have cultivated Eight Directions Step for three hundred years, and your mastery has returned to its essence, catching a glimpse of spatial laws. Your Eight Directions Mystical Step has advanced to Kirin Step.]

...

[You have cultivated Eight Directions Step for one thousand years, and your Kirin Step has returned to its essence, enhancing your comprehension of movement and space. Your Kirin Step has upgraded to Heavenly Dragon Mysterious True Step.]

...

[You have cultivated Eight Directions Step for 4,000 years, and your perseverance has resonated with the heavens and the earth. Your Heavenly Dragon Mysterious True Step has reached its limit, advancing to Infinite Vanishing Celestial Step.]

[You have cultivated Eight Directions Step for 5,000 years, and your Infinite Vanishing Celestial Step has reached a state of perfection, further enhancing your comprehension of space.]

From Eight Directions Step to Eight Directions Mystical Step, Kirin Step, Heavenly Dragon Mysterious True Step, and finally Infinite Vanishing Celestial Step!

Gu An was thrilled, and soon, a vast amount of knowledge poured into his mind. He quickly activated the Lifespan Barrier and immersed himself in the new technique.

Half an hour later, Gu An opened his eyes.

He first checked the Lifespan Barrier, noting that it had only consumed 200 years of lifespan.

While passing on cultivation techniques and spells doesn't directly increase one's cultivation, it still requires the absorption of spiritual energy. After all, in evolutionary cultivation, one is always in an environment filled with spiritual energy.

Compared to breaking through to the Void Crossing realm, this technique hadn't consumed much spiritual energy.

Gu An looked back at his attribute panel, lost in thought.

His cultivation still needed to improve, but with things being unstable recently, he couldn't afford to attract attention.

He also wanted to enhance his techniques before increasing his cultivation. His next plan was to visit the Inner Sect and see if there were any available five-element cultivation techniques. If not, he would just have to grit his teeth and continue mastering the Divine Wood Pure Yang Technique.

After some deliberation, Gu An decided to invest in the Demon Shadow Divine Art that Jiang Qiong had passed on to him, which was highly recommended for spies. He was curious to see how well it suited that role.

He decided to invest a moderate amount: 2,000 years of lifespan.

[You have invested 2,000 years of lifespan into Demon Shadow Divine Art for evolutionary cultivation.]

[You have cultivated Demon Shadow Divine Art for ten years and achieved the initial mastery of the technique.]

[You have cultivated Demon Shadow Divine Art for one hundred years, reaching a state of perfection with the art, allowing you to perform it faster.]

[You have cultivated Demon Shadow Divine Art for two hundred years, reaching the pinnacle of mastery, further enhancing your insight into movement techniques.]

...

[You have cultivated Demon Shadow Divine Art for five hundred years, and your mastery has returned to its essence, advancing to Free Demon Body Art.]

...

[You have cultivated Demon Shadow Divine Art for one thousand years, and your Free Demon Body Art has reached its peak, improving your insight into movement techniques and causality.]

[You have cultivated Demon Shadow Divine Art for 1,300 years, and your Free Demon Body Art has returned to its essence, upgrading to Grand Yin-Yang Transformation.]

[You have cultivated Demon Shadow Divine Art for 2,000 years, and your Grand Yin-Yang Transformation has reached its pinnacle, further enhancing your insight into movement techniques and causality.]

From Demon Shadow Divine Art to Free Demon Body Art, and finally to Grand Yin-Yang Transformation! It had only evolved twice, which showed that this secret technique was already extraordinary. Clearly, Jiang Qiong hadn't lied to him.

Gu An quickly activated the Lifespan Barrier again and immersed himself in the new insights.

After a long while.

He slowly opened his eyes, revealing his joy.

This secret technique was indeed perfect for a spy!

The Demon Shadow Divine Art allowed the user to cover their body in demonic energy, forming a shadow that even divine senses couldn't penetrate. The Grand Yin-Yang Transformation was even more formidable, making it impossible to dispel the technique. The user could maintain the demonic shadow state even until death, and after death, their true identity would never be revealed. Moreover, the technique couldn't be divined, and no magical artifacts could forcefully expose the true form of the user.

Too overpowered!

With this technique, Gu An could do many things in the future.

Especially when paired with the Infinite Vanishing Celestial Step, it was unbeatable. The Infinite Vanishing Celestial Step allowed for the mysteries of spatial shifts, where every step could bring forth a manifestation that could both evade and attack, filled with endless possibilities.

Gu An checked his attribute panel again and was quite satisfied.

Name: Gu An

Lifespan: 34/30,823

Spiritual Root: First-Class Five Element Spiritual Roots (Wood and Earth prominent)

Cultivation: Void Crossing Realm, First Layer

Techniques:

Fire Control Art (Untrained)

Divine Wood Pure Yang Technique (Peak Mastery)

Mysterious Yellow Dragon Qi Technique (Mastery)

Alchemy (Novice)

Ten Thousand Gu Mysterious Technique (Untrained)

Yin-Yang Art (Untrained)

Skills:

Gale Phantom Kick (Proficient)

Tai Cang Divine Shocking Sword (Proficient)

Infinite Vanishing Celestial Step (Perfection)

Grand Yin-Yang Transformation (Mastery)

Wood Spirit Sword Technique (Novice)

Ziwei Formation Manual (Novice)

Spells:

Soul Capture Technique (Novice)

Sword Control Technique (Proficient)

Bewitching Eyes (Untrained)

Poisonous Wood Formation (Novice)

Wind Control Technique (Proficient)

Corpse Control Technique (Untrained)

Divine Abilities:

Mysterious Yellow Dragon's Might (Minor Success)

Tonight's harvest was excellent!

Gu An deactivated the Lifespan Barrier, stood up, and took a step forward. His figure instantly disappeared, reappearing dozens of feet away in the forest. He took another step and vanished again.

It seemed like he was teleporting—this was the wonder of the Infinite Vanishing Celestial Step, and he had only scratched the surface. The maximum distance he could cross was far greater than this.

Before long, Gu An returned to Xuan Valley.

...

By noon, under a bright sun.

Gu An stood in the bustling city, gazing at the tall buildings around him with curiosity. The street he was on was packed with people, and there were even beasts wandering among them. Above, cultivators flew back and forth. The sheer scale of this city suggested it housed hundreds of thousands of people.

Tai Xuan Sect had four inner cities, each with tens of thousands of disciples. It was incredible.

Gu An realized he had underestimated Tai Xuan Sect's strength and the vastness of the Tai Cang Dynasty.

The ten-day period had arrived. The day before, Gu An had gone to the Outer Sect to help the disciples manage their residences. By the time he finished, it was morning. Now, at noon, he met up with Du Ye, and the two of them used a teleportation array to directly reach the Inner Sect city.

According to Du Ye, the Outer Sect was thousands of miles from the Inner Sect. The area in between housed Tai Xuan Sect's tamed beasts, training grounds for disciples, and Medicine Valleys where high-grade spirit herbs were cultivated.

"Teleportation arrays are truly remarkable. I need to study them more," Gu An thought to himself. He had already asked Du Ye about it—anything could be purchased in the Inner Sect, including formations, as long as one had enough spirit stones or spirit qi pills.

In the cultivation world, spirit qi pills also served as currency. Not only could they restore a cultivator's spiritual power, but they could also be used in place of spirit stones. The major sects had standardized these pills, with each one containing as much spiritual energy as a low-grade spirit stone and having the same value.

Since Li Xuandao had asked him to manage the Medicine Valley, Gu An had been planning to expand his herb gardens.

If every herb garden had a teleportation array, wouldn't things be much more convenient?

"Gu An, hurry up!"

Du Ye called from ahead, prompting Gu An to quicken his pace.

Along the way, Du Ye introduced the various buildings they passed, and Gu An listened attentively, making plans to explore the city later.

The Ji family banquet would last several days, so he had plenty of time.

Not only was Gu An listening, but he was also using his Lifespan Investigation technique.

To his surprise, there were no cultivators below the Foundation Establishment realm. The weakest were in the Core Formation realm, but most of these were over 200 years old.

After walking a few streets, Gu An finally spotted someone in the Foundation Establishment realm, a forty-year-old at the ninth layer. He was clearly a genius who had entered the Inner Sect due to his extraordinary spiritual roots.

It seemed Du Ye deliberately walked slowly to give Gu An a chance to observe the surroundings, which Gu An appreciated.

Half an hour later.

They arrived at a grand estate. The estate spanned several miles, with high walls surrounding it, and the plaque above the gate had two large characters inscribed:

Ji Mansion!

Well, this was bold. Could it be that all the Inner Sect disciples of the Ji family lived here?

Gu An couldn't help but feel uneasy.

If things continued like this, one day, Tai Xuan Sect might suppress the Ji family, and when that happened, he'd truly become a Ji family spy.

Although he was affiliated with Tai Xuan Sect, deep down, Gu An felt a stronger connection to the Ji family.

The Ji family had raised him, helped him grow into who he was, and had led him to join Tai Xuan Sect, the top sect in the dynasty. The debt of gratitude he owed them couldn't be repaid merely by supplying low-grade spirit herbs.

Of course, Gu An wouldn't go out of his way to repay the Ji family, but if they ever needed his help, as long as their request wasn't too outrageous, he wouldn't refuse.

At the gate of the Ji Mansion stood two Foundation Establishment cultivators on guard. Gu An used Lifespan Investigation and saw that they were both over a hundred years old. Clearly, they were not geniuses but rather servants of the Ji family, much like Gu An and Du Ye.

Du Ye quickly stepped forward and presented his token, his posture humble as he bowed and scraped.

"You're here to relieve us, then. At sundown, we'll take you to your quarters," said one of the guards, a man named Zhang Yan.

Du Ye didn't dare refuse and immediately agreed.

Thus, Gu An and Du Ye began their guard duty as soon as they arrived.

Gu An stood beside a stone qilin statue when an idea struck him.

"Du Ye, can you cover for me? I'll give you a hundred low-grade spirit stones. I need to head to the Inner Sect market to buy some herb seeds—this is also for the Third Miss," Gu An said.

Du Ye was momentarily taken aback. He wanted to refuse, but the offer was too tempting to turn down.

One hundred low-grade spirit stones!

This kid was generous!

And so, after handing over the stones, Gu An left, beginning his solo exploration of the Inner Sect city.

He hadn't walked far when a familiar voice called out, "Gu An, what are you doing here?"