When I Achieved Sainthood, the Immortal Official Actually Called Me to Raise Horses!

Chapter 130: The Breakthrough and the Midnight Battle

Chapter 130: The Breakthrough and the Midnight Battle

"Who is it?"

The one who asked wasn't Gu An, but Lü Xian, with Yi Liuyun also looking curiously at Li Xuandao.

The Sword Sovereign of the Righteous Path had an unparalleled reputation, to the point where many believed he was the strongest cultivator in the Taicang Empire.

Li Xuandao smirked. "He has a close connection to Li Ya."

Gu An's heart skipped a beat.

How did he figure that out?!

Lü Xian frowned. "Li Ya? What connection?"

Li Xuandao shook his head. "The specifics are not for me to disclose—I wouldn’t want to offend the old master."

Gu An internally sighed in relief.

After that, the conversation shifted to other geniuses from the Golden Ranking Tournament.

Li Xuandao praised the tournament, feeling that Lü Baitian had finally wisened up, no longer as reckless as before.

They chatted for an hour before Li Xuandao finally let Gu An leave.

This time, he brought a batch of high-grade spirit tree seedlings, which greatly interested Gu An.

The quality of herbs in Horizon Valley was improving as well, which indirectly proved Li Xuandao’s increasing influence.

Even though the herbs technically belonged to Li Xuandao, Gu An could harvest lifespan from them—so he hoped Li Xuandao would continue to prosper.

…And Lü Baitian as well—as long as everyone got along peacefully!

In cultivation, momentary victories didn’t matter.

Whoever lived the longest was the true winner.

By late autumn, Gu An barely made it into the top 500 in the Golden Ranking Tournament, relying on the Thousand Shadows Pearl.

For his next match, he planned to intentionally lose.

Despite his winning streak, no one remembered his name.

His battles were too difficult and visually unremarkable, and his opponents weren’t well-known either.

At noon, in Xuan Valley, Gu An was helping Ye Lan with the Innate Reincarnation Technique.

Ye Lan had already been eliminated, but instead of feeling discouraged, her determination had only grown stronger.

They spent several hours discussing the technique, resolving many of Ye Lan’s confusions.

"Senior Brother, your understanding of this technique is incredibly deep," Ye Lan marveled. "You must have been secretly practicing it. No wonder your cultivation hasn’t improved."

Internally, Ye Lan’s respect for the Sword Sovereign deepened.

The Sword Sovereign was already a peerless master of swordsmanship, yet he also possessed such a powerful technique?

She was now convinced that the Sword Sovereign was Gu An’s master.

After all, when she had been in danger, Gu An had taken the Qinghong Sword to find the Sword Sovereign and saved her life.

She had even suspected that Gu An himself was the Sword Sovereign, but considering the Sword Sovereign’s terrifying cultivation, Gu An’s age didn’t match.

Gu An didn’t bother correcting her. This explanation worked just fine.

He raised his right hand, summoned a storage bag, and handed it to her.

"Take this with you and focus on your training."

Ye Lan didn’t even check its contents before fastening it to her belt.

Before leaving, she said, “Senior Brother, it’s best to keep your distance from Senior Brother Li Ya for now. The sect is investigating all members of the Li Family, and though their motives are unclear, it’s definitely not something good.”

Gu An frowned slightly but nodded.

He wasn’t particularly worried about the investigation—this wasn’t the first time such things had happened.

The Taixuan Sect, despite being the foremost righteous sect, had never been free of internal strife.

Whether or not it endangered Li Ya, Gu An couldn’t intervene—he couldn’t possibly watch over Li Ya all the time.

Everyone has their own life to live.

Whether good or bad, as long as they overcame their struggles, those experiences would belong to them alone.

A few days later, Gu An arrived at the Golden Ranking Tournament and immediately surrendered in his match, shocking his opponent.

A month later, the top 100 were officially revealed.

Among them, Wu Jue was the only Foundation Establishment cultivator—every other contestant was at least at the Core Formation Stage.

This news spread quickly, skyrocketing Wu Jue’s reputation.

When Lü Baitian later delivered the Sixth-Grade Spirit Tree as a reward, Gu An mentioned Wu Jue, hoping Lü Baitian would find him a good master.

This made Lü Baitian look at Gu An differently.

“You managed to spot this kind of talent ahead of time, and you still say you’re unfit to be sect master?” Lü Baitian laughed.

Gu An smiled. “It’s just coincidence. The Taixuan Sect has plenty of geniuses—this only proves the sect’s deep foundation, not my foresight.”

Lü Baitian was pleased with his response.

Even if it wasn’t sincere, it was the kind of diplomatic speech fit for a sect master.

“As for Wu Jue, I can’t promise anything. He has already become a disciple of Zhou Yu.”

Zhou Yu, one of the Venerable Elders of the Taixuan Sect, held more power than the Elder Hall.

Becoming his disciple meant Wu Jue’s future was limitless.

Gu An suddenly thought of the True Legacy First Disciple, who was not Lü Baitian’s direct disciple but still stood at his side.

Clearly, even accepting disciples required careful political maneuvering.

Of course, the main reason was that Lü Baitian wasn’t strong enough—he couldn’t single-handedly suppress the three great noble families.

"I’m planning to make a move against the Li Family," Lü Baitian suddenly revealed.

"But don’t worry—I won’t harm Li Ya."

Hearing this, Gu An immediately bowed in respect.

Lü Baitian waved his hand dismissively.

"The Golden Ranking Tournament will elevate the Taixuan Sect to new heights, but potential dangers still lurk.

"Besides the Nightshade Sect’s main bloodline at the other end of Nine Nether Path, there are also forces within the Nine Dynasties plotting against us.

"To avoid unnecessary trouble, I’ll be coming to Medicine Valley less often from now on.

"You need to stop slacking off and focus on cultivation. Got it?"

By the end, he sounded exasperated.

After all, he had already passed down the Reverse Fate Divine Art to Gu An, yet Gu An hadn’t produced any results.

Gu An nodded. "I’ll take good care of Medicine Valley, and I won’t let the Taixuan Sect down."

Lü Baitian glared at him before standing up and leaving.

As he disappeared into the snow-covered Third Medicine Valley, his figure quickly vanished into the swirling blizzard.

Another Spring Festival has arrived.

The Golden Ranking Tournament ended the day before the festival.

At dusk, Gu An joined the disciples of Xuan Valley for the celebrations.

Just then, Zhen Qin returned from the Outer Sect, discussing the final rankings of the tournament.

The sect would publish a book detailing the backgrounds of the top 100 participants, serving as an official record.

There was no surprise in the championship—An Hao took first place.

However, the runner-up was neither Lü Xian nor any of the royal descendants.

Instead, it was Xuanmiao Zhenren of the Three Pure Mountains, whose duel with An Hao had already become legendary.