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

Gu An was merely puzzled in his mind and did not investigate the thoughts of Lv Baitian and Lv Xian.

No matter what these people's identities were or what schemes they harbored, as long as they did not affect him, he was too lazy to bother.

The human heart is unfathomable, and to investigate each one would be utterly exhausting.

Gu An began to make idle conversation with Lv Xian, who now treated him with great respect, daring not to show the slightest frivolity.

After chatting for quite a while, Gu An finally departed.

Everyone in the valley had grown accustomed to him not spending the night in Tianya Valley.

After Gu An left, Lv Xian found Yi Liuyun and began to spar to prepare for the Golden List Tournament.

Only two years remained until the Golden List Tournament.

…

As the years gently passed by, the lands of the nine dynasties entered a period of peace, and the Supreme Sect's Golden List Tournament attracted the attention of people from all over, becoming a grand event seen once in a century.

Two years later, as the Golden List Tournament approached, cultivators crossed over Mystic Valley each day.

Unlike before, the Supreme Sect deployed many disciples to patrol, protecting all the servant disciples of the outer sect and maintaining its image as the orthodox authority under heaven.

Seventy-two-year-old Gu An was in the attic receiving Ye Lan.

The first batch of disciples who had gone to train on the Nine Nether Road had all returned, ready to participate in the Golden List Tournament and bring glory to the Supreme Sect.

Having not seen her for many years, Ye Lan's disposition had matured, now possessing the elegance of a talented female cultivator. She remembered Gu An's words and continued to practice the Daoist Expansion Skill, hence her cultivation level had not increased.

The two sat opposite each other chatting, with Ye Lan vividly describing the wonders of the Nine Nether Road, and Gu An listened with great interest.

The Nine Nether Road, though called a road, might better be described as a secret realm teeming with demons and ghosts, having its own ecosystem and harboring many exceptional heaven-and-earth treasures.

Ye Lan mentioned encountering cultivators and demons from lands outside the nine dynasties during her journey on the Nine Nether Road. Listening to her descriptions, Gu An imagined many scenes and found them very intriguing.

After chatting for an ancient hour, Gu An eventually asked, "Are you going to participate in the Golden List Tournament?"

Ye Lan nodded and replied, "Yes, the elder gave me an invitation, all hundred disciples from the Nine Nether Road must participate. The first Golden List Tournament must be conducted splendidly, and we cannot tarnish the Supreme Sect's reputation."

Gu An blinked, feeling a bit helpless.

Could he not even give out the invitations he held?

Shen Zhen, Gu Yu, and Zuo Lin all had invitations, but the disciples in the valley, being of mediocre aptitude, would only labor in vain and likely suffer if they participated.

"Brother, why don't you participate too? Although your cultivation level might not be up to par, your strength is no small matter," Ye Lan said with a gentle laugh, always remembering that Gu An's leg technique was very strong.

Gu An's cultivation level had not increased, and he likely spent most of his time practising his leg techniques, so his strength must indeed be formidable.

Gu An said exasperatedly, "I can't even defeat you, so participating in the Golden List Tournament would just be asking for trouble, wouldn't it?"

After hearing this, Ye Lan did not persuade him further and began to discuss the major events of the Immortal Cultivation World.

It wasn't until evening that Ye Lan finally left Mystic Valley.

Gu An stood on the terrace with a smile on his face.

Ye Lan's maximum lifespan had increased by one year. Though trivial, it proved that the Daoist Expansion Skill was indeed somewhat effective.

The maximum lifespans of Chu Jingfeng, Lu Jiujia, and Xiaochuan did not increase, likely related to their level of dedication. Moreover, the spiritual energy of the Nine Nether Road was much denser than that of Medicine Valley.

Gu An turned and went back inside to continue studying the Ziwei Array Chronicles.

This book deepened Gu An's mastery of formations, and he was moving closer to becoming a true Mahayana cultivator.

A Mahayana cultivator is not just about the cultivation level but also encompasses rich life experiences and research into various auxiliary paths. Gu An did not need to cultivate and could use his time to accumulate knowledge in other areas.

That night,

Gu An secretly went to the North Sea Mountain Ridge, where he hid under a tree, activated the Life Span Barrier, and then invested 50,000 years of life span into the Daoist Expansion Skill.

Since the Daoist Expansion Skill was effective, he decided to enhance it and see what would happen.

Alerts crazily appeared before Gu An's eyes, and eventually, the Daoist Expansion Skill advanced to the Daoist Mystic Skill!

With just 20,000 years of life span, the Daoist Expansion Skill advanced to the Daoist Mystic Skill, and the remaining 30,000 years were just to enhance mastery.

Gu An then invested another 50,000 years of life span.

This time, during the cultivation evolution that lasted 20,000 years, the Daoist Mystic Skill advanced to the Primordial Reincarnation Skill!

The quick addition of the word "Primordial" indicated that the Daoist Expansion Skill was not of a low grade to begin with, which is why currently only Ye Lan and Wuxin had mastered it.

Afterwards, the Primordial Reincarnation Skill enabled him to master a divine skill called the Path of Returning Primordial Spirit.

Gu An began to inherit the Primordial Reincarnation Skill, as Earth Spirit Energy surged into his body, and vast memories occupied his mind.

The Primordial Reincarnation Skill, possessing the mysteries of the Daoist Expansion Skill, also extended the secrets of accumulating cultivation level through countless lifetimes.

After cultivating the Primordial Reincarnation Skill, one's cultivation level would no longer increase, but by accumulating spiritual power, it could transform one's aptitude. Unlike the Daoist Expansion Skill, which could remove restrictions only once per lifetime, this could be done repeatedly. The more cultivation level accumulated each time, the greater the transformation of aptitude.

Furthermore, the Primordial Reincarnation Skill would also create a soul imprint. After a cultivator's death and subsequent reincarnation, the memory of this skill would awaken once the person reached adulthood in the next life, accumulating life after life, until becoming an immortal or until their soul perishes and the path of reincarnation ends.

The Path of Returning Primordial Spirit, a type of sealing divine skill, is extremely dominant. It could suppress a living being's cultivation level to a certain realm, or even completely seal it, turning someone into a mortal spirit without cultivation!

Those subjected to this seal could only be freed using the Path of Returning Primordial Spirit. Even if a being of great power far surpassing Gu An's cultivation level tried to help, it would cause spiritual power to run wild, leading the sealed person's cultivation to become chaotic and die instantly.

After understanding this divine skill, Gu An quite liked it.

He just lacked such methods!

As for the Primordial Reincarnation Skill, he considered it mastered and was too lazy to spend more time on it. He was not concerned about myriad lifetimes, just this lifetime!

However, this skill could indeed be used by those he cared about.

Through the memories of the Primordial Reincarnation Skill, Gu An came to a harsh realization.

Nine Layers of Immortal Path, each layer harder than the last.

The first layer is Nirvana, but what is Nirvana? It's the state where Mortal Spirits shed their mortality. Before reaching Nirvana, a lifespan cannot exceed ten thousand years, but only after Nirvana can one undergo a fundamental transformation in life, dramatically increasing lifespan.

Gu An suddenly realized that the maximum lifespan might not only represent talent but could also represent the longest time each being could exist in the world, essentially a measure of one's life.

For example, An Hao could use nearly ten thousand years to pursue the realm of Nirvana, whereas Ye Lan had less than two hundred years. Regardless of how many opportunities the latter had, it was all in vain.

The Daoist Expansion Skill could help Ye Lan extend her time in the world, but only to a limited extent. Even if Ye Lan mastered the Primordial Reincarnation Skill, her lifespan could at most increase several times.

Gu An slowly opened his eyes, his gaze profound.

"Heavenly Destiny..."

...

With the arrival of summer, the Golden List conference of the Supreme Sect proceeded as scheduled.

Participants of the Golden List conference were all cultivators under five hundred years of age, whose foundational qualities would be specifically tested by the Supreme Sect.

Li Ya gave Gu An the entry post for the Golden List conference, which he did not know whom to give and felt it wasteful to discard, so he chose to register. Leveraging his youth of seventy-two years, he successfully registered.

The Golden List conference unfolded in one-on-one battles, with no fixed duration, continuing until completion. The Supreme Sect would heal the injured to maintain participants' condition as much as possible.

The Supreme Sect would set up a special formation that allowed the more advanced cultivator to suppress their tendency to dominate by matching their opponent's level, ensuring a level of fairness.

When the Golden List conference began, Gu An was watching from the eaves of an Outer Sect building with Ye Lan. They were sitting opposite each other, a small table between them, accompanied by Spirit Melons, Spirit Fruits, and fine wine.

Following their gaze upwards, a massive light screen hovered above the Outer Sect, reflecting scenes of combat.

Gu An did not recognize the two cultivators currently engaged in combat, but that didn't stop him from enjoying the spectacle.

Ye Lan, peeling fruits for Gu An, said, "Brother, the cultivation technique you passed on to me is too difficult, even more so than the previous one. I don't know when I'll be able to master it."

Gu An replied, "Cultivation, huh, it's never easy."

The Daoist Expansion Skill could at most double the lifespan, while the Primordial Reincarnation Skill could increase it several times. If Ye Lan managed to master it, living up to eight hundred years in this life could not be considered impossible.

For someone with Ye Lan's talent, this was already a tremendous blessing.

Ye Lan smiled and said, "I will definitely master it, don't worry."

At that moment, a thunderous roar of excitement surged through the city.

It turned out that the first battle had concluded.

"The winner is Duan Xu from the Flame Sect of the Great Zhao Dynasty!"

Gu Zong's voice emanated from within the large light screen, stirring discussions throughout the city.

Ye Lan looked at the light screen and laughed, "That's truly impressive."

Gu An nodded, then raised his cup to drink.

"Brother Gu!"

A voice came from the side, and Gu An and Ye Lan turned to see Wu Jue appearing on a nearby rooftop, looking at them with a very unpleasant expression.

Having not seen him in five years, Wu Jue's cultivation was still at the ninth level of Foundation Establishment, but his Qi-Blood was entirely different from before.

After neglecting him for five years, his life span must have skyrocketed, right?

Gu An had the feeling of opening a blind box as he cautiously launched a Life Span Detection towards him.

[Wu Jue (ninth level of Foundation Establishment): 74/350/7600]

Seventy-six hundred years!

Goodness!

The guy had completely become a dragon now!

Wu Jue suddenly appeared on the rooftop where Gu An and Ye Lan were, standing seven steps away. He frowned and asked, "And who is this lady? Are you being fair to Ms. Shen?"

With that said, Ye Lan narrowed her eyes and looked at Gu An, asking, "Who is Ms. Shen?"

Gu An, feeling pressured, immediately said, "This is my junior, Ye Lan. What does Ms. Shen count for compared to her? My relationship with Ms. Shen is merely social."

Upon hearing this, Ye Lan's expression softened.

Wu Jue said angrily, "Never mind Ms. Shen, why didn't you look for me after you were done with your tasks?"

Ye Lan was stunned.

She had thought that Wu Jue had some connection with Ms. Shen and had come to defend her honor, but his tone changed so suddenly.

Gu An shook his head and said, "Why are you speaking so loudly? I didn't want to disturb your cultivation. What, do you want to fight me now?"

Wu Jue, with his face flushed with anger, muttered, "How could I possibly fight you..."

Ye Lan could sense that Wu Jue was not simple, observing his embarrassed appearance made her even more curious about his relationship with Gu An.

Then, Gu An gestured for Wu Jue to sit down. Although reluctant, Wu Jue still sat beside Gu An.

"Junior sister, this is a friend I made, Wu Jue. He is also participating in the Golden List conference." Gu An introduced.

Ye Lan nodded at Wu Jue.

Wu Jue scratched his head and said, "I'm able to participate in the Golden List conference thanks to a pass from Brother Gu."

Ye Lan looked at Gu An, her gaze skeptical.

Brother's methods are quite impressive.

He registered himself and still managed to get a pass for someone else.