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

Xuan Yuan Zizai Xian.

What is Xuan Yuan, and what is to be free?

Gu An seemed to be surrounded by myriad scenes, violently clashing against his will at times, with images from the past, images from the future, growing more chaotic, more frenzied.

He didn't know how much time had passed.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes, his consciousness arriving in a vast and glittering starry sky, no longer surrounded by those intricate and tangled scenes. Discover hidden stories at empire

His world appeared to become quiet all at once.

His eyes regained their clarity, and one by one, figures walked out from within him, standing before him and turning to face him.

A total of five figures!

They were Chu Lu, Xiao Shengtian, Long Zhan, Lu Han, and Ji!

His five reincarnated selves!

Gu An watched them, his eyes gradually firming.

Behind these five reincarnated selves, in the depths of the starry sky, more figures emerged, their identities indiscernible to Gu An, but he could sense they were also his reincarnated selves.

Once he truly began to reincarnate, these selves would obtain their own identities.

Their appearance signified that Gu An had yet to sever his attachment to the cycle of reincarnation.

Although they dressed differently, their figures resembled Gu An; with each step they took, they flashed forward a great distance, rapidly closing in on him.

Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, their numbers surged, and soon, the starry sky before Gu An was occupied by these countless figures, densely packed.

Gu An continued to sit cross-legged, gazing at his reincarnated selves before him, his expression unchanging.

He was observing his reincarnated selves, and all his reincarnated selves were watching him, as if he were facing his true self.

At this moment, Gu An's Daoist Heart gradually became enlightened.

The original heart was not necessarily the true heart, nor were later gains necessarily obstacles.

His current thoughts represented his true heart; any moment he acted upon his own wishes was an expression of that heart.

As long as his true heart did not conflict with his principles, it signified the right course of action for him.

Even if the outcome of some matters was unfavorable, what of it?

All he could pursue was his own life; at most, he could assist others, but he could not control their wills.

Even if the outcome was destruction, wouldn't a period of pleasure before that destruction also count as a gain?

Setting aside karma and fate, Gu An needed to consider his own pursuits.

Longevity?

Too vacant!

Through his cultivation so far, Gu An increasingly understood the principle that the Tao is endless; how high must one's realm be to achieve longevity?

If faced with a stronger being, could he maintain that longevity?

Gu An reviewed all his memories, including those of his reincarnations.

His eyes gradually emitted brilliance.

With a boom!

The whole universe shattered, and Gu An's consciousness returned to the present; he was still sitting cross-legged on the broken continent, protected by the Life Span Barrier.

Xuan Yuan Zi Zai Xian Realm, Early Stage!

The breakthrough was still ongoing!

Gu An's perception of the Tao became clearer; his comprehension of cause and effect, fate, and reincarnation deepened.

These were mere transformations in the essence of his life; if one spoke of power, his mana far surpassed that of the Taoist Hidden Immortal Realm!

While the Tao Spiritual Energy continued to flood his body, Gu An began to probe this universe.

His Divine Thought could see farther away.

First, he saw a colossal gate deep in the universe, very similar to the Land of Extreme Fall, where the Heavenly Spirit God who executed Ji was guarding such a gate.

Boundary Gate!

When executing Ji, the Heavenly Spirit God had mentioned the gate's name, adding that anyone who approached the Boundary Gate was defying the Heavenly Dao and deserved to be utterly annihilated!

Could every universe have a Boundary Gate?

Gu An saw that there was no one beneath the Boundary Gate, a silent and eerie void.

Intuition told him that drawing near to the Boundary Gate would lead to trouble.

He withdrew his gaze and looked in the direction of another Great Heaven and Earth; his Divine Thought captured all creatures within it, even overhearing their interactions.

This Great Heaven and Earth was named the Great Vacuous Heaven and Earth and was home to three Free Immortals, also in a state of chaos.

The disturbances in Outer Heaven had already caused unrest within the Great Vacuous Heaven and Earth; factions of all kinds were striving to appease the creatures.

Gu An muttered an apology in his heart, but at that moment, he had no way to change his position and could only wait.

He needed to advance; it was just unfortunate for the Great Vacuous Heaven and Earth.

Suddenly hit by an idea, Gu An lifted his right hand, and mana converged into seeds within his palm; he scattered them toward the Great Vacuous Heaven and Earth, where they disappeared into thin air as soon as they were released.

"Consider this my recompense," thought Gu An. As he acted, he looked again towards the Great Vacuous Heaven and Earth and saw changes in its future.

The fate of the Heaven and Earth developed branches; some branches dissipated, leaving others to extend, to grow and spread.

Gu An even saw that in the distant future, the Great Vacuous Heaven and Earth would collide with the Great Heavenly Spirit Land.

Indeed, any variable could bring both fortune and calamity.

Gu An felt this way inside but held no regrets.

Even without him, the Great Vacuous Heaven and Earth would eventually face variables.

What are variables?

They are forces that the rules of this Heaven and Earth cannot restrain; anything from beyond this realm could become a variable.

Time continued to flow; Gu An's mana soared, and he did not neglect the Life Span Barrier, the digits representing his Life Span flickered rapidly, but the numbers did not decrease significantly.

An hour later.

Gu An's mana had finally soared to perfect completion within the Xuan Yuan Zizai Immortal Realm, leaving him with over a billion years of life span.

He stood up, twisted his neck, his body shimmering with a golden light, enchanting and mysterious—the radiance of a Mixed Yuan Daoist Golden Body.

He then vanished on the spot, directly burrowing into the Reincarnation Vortex and then heading toward the Great Heavenly Spirit Land.

With one step into the Reincarnation Vortex and another step out, and yet another step, he had already arrived near the Supreme Sect.

This was none other than the Eternal Measuring Heaven Dao Step!

The vast expanse that lay between the Great Void Heaven and Earth and the Great Heavenly Spirit Land was immense, such a distant place that even for a Free Immortal, it was hard to reach, and even with the existence of the Reincarnation Vortex at present, how vast the Reincarnation was. How many could find their way home in such a short time inside it?

Gu An inhaled the scent of flowers and grass in the mountains and his face revealed a smile.

This place still made him feel at ease.

Now approaching noon, just a night had passed, and Gu An had already surpassed the Taoist Hidden Immortal, reaching the higher Xuan Yuan Zizai Immortal.

And within the Great Heavenly Spirit Land, within this universe, he had yet to encounter the Taoist Hidden Immortal.

Of course, the Heavenly Spirit God guarding the Boundary Gate did not count.

Gu An looked up and could already make out the figure of the Heavenly Spirit God. The fact that the Heavenly Spirit God could live to the utmost epoch was enough to prove his power.

In the eyes of numerous cultivators, doesn't he represent immortality, eternal life?

Gu An did not take any more glances at the Heavenly Spirit God, for fear of being noticed by him.

With his strength, confronting the Heavenly Spirit God was still very dangerous; moreover, he had no enmity with the Heavenly Spirit God, so why provoke him?

Within the Great Heavenly Spirit Land, he already had the confidence to deal with anything.

There was no need to be so cautious next, but he still had to keep one hand hidden.

Gu An could let people know he was the Sword Venerable Fudao, but he could not let them know how strong he really was.

What he contested for was not the transient strength but the future of countless eons.

No matter how the world changed, how the sun, moon, and stars shifted, he wanted to witness all the changes forever!

He intended to live longer than the Great Heaven and Earth, longer than the great Dao itself!

He aimed to become a symbol of eternity!

He wanted to enjoy the solitude of immortality!

Gu An's lips curved upward, his right hand touching the passing flowers and grass, and after being brushed by his fingers, those flowers and plants all burst with vitality, slightly quivering as if about to become sentient.

After another hour, Gu An leisurely set foot into Mystic Valley.

Inside the valley, there were disciples weeding, others sowing seeds, and some cultivating spells, resembling a small sect bustling with life.

Seeing Gu An return, the disciples immediately greeted him.

After spending 30 minutes in Mystic Valley, Gu An returned to the Third Medicine Valley.

The Third Medicine Valley was now the center of his life; the place that Mystic Valley occupied in his heart was no longer so important.

As he arrived at the Third Medicine Valley, a figure appeared out of nowhere in front of Gu An.

It was Ji Xiaoyu!

Ji Xiaoyu was about to speak when her gaze suddenly fixed; she stared at Gu An, her brows furrowing.

Gu An was dressed the same as the day before, but there was a significant change in his demeanor that even made Ji Xiaoyu pause.

"Shall we go, to play chess, to your abode, or to the dojo?" Gu An asked with a smile.

The so-called dojo was the area for playing chess, where dozens of chess tables were set up. Every day, people would come to play.

Ji Xiaoyu gathered her thoughts and said, "Let's go to the dojo. I've also been wanting to really feel life lately."

Gu An heard the implication in her words but did not say much more and immediately led her to the dojo.

"Last night…" Ji Xiaoyu couldn't help but ask as she turned to look at Gu An, full of confusion.

Gu An, looking forward, laughed and said, "I went to practice last night and had a bit of an epiphany."

"It seems you've had quite the realization."

"That's right, you should see who I am."

Gu An said proudly, and Ji Xiaoyu felt like punching his smug smile, but as he laughed in such a way, she felt their relationship return to normal, with the distance she felt a moment ago completely vanished.

Ji Xiaoyu studied Gu An and said, "You wouldn't be hiding your cultivation level, would you?"

Although Gu An's cultivation level had not increased, she thought carefully and realized that his aura was constantly changing, and this was definitely not an illusion.

"You guessed it right. In fact, I'm very strong now. Even if your true form awakens, you might not be my match. Master Puti actually wrote about me," Gu An glanced at her seriously.

Ji Xiaoyu rolled her eyes at him.

All of the dojo's chess tables were occupied, but when Gu An arrived, two disciples voluntarily gave up their seats, and the cultivators playing chess had their eyes drawn to Gu An.

As Gu An and Ji Xiaoyu sat down, a good number of people gathered around.

The Nine-Finger Divine Lord also arrived, looking at Gu An with a strange expression; he likewise felt that Gu An's demeanor had changed dramatically.

What was the story with this boy?

Could he be related to Sword Venerable Fudao?

The Nine-Finger Divine Lord had always been baffled by how Gu An managed to win against him and suddenly had a bold thought.

Could it be that Sword Venerable Fudao was advising Gu An on his chess play?

Maybe!

Yes!

That must be it!

The Nine-Finger Divine Lord's gaze toward Gu An was filled with anger. The boy had no sense of martial morality!

Gu An let Ji Xiaoyu make the first move, and she did not hold back.

After seven moves, Gu An sensed that Ji Xiaoyu was mobilizing the power of the Primordial Daoist Talisman.

She indeed came prepared!

The Nine-Finger Divine Lord, shocked, looked towards Ji Xiaoyu and marveled inwardly. What kind of power was this?