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

Chapter 969: Chapter 961: One of a Kind

The Red Dust Supreme sensed Gu An’s gaze, which filled his heart with anticipation.

Day after day of toil, with most of the time each day spent in meditation and enlightenment—in such a life, they could not sense any malice from Gu An. In their eyes, Gu An was mysterious.

Whenever Gu An looked at him, he would wonder, was Gu An about to speak with him?

In his heart, he still longed for these days to end; he would even wonder if Gu An was putting them to the test.

Someone more powerful than he, yet not killing him—such a broad vision was far beyond his imagination.

It was not just him; the other servants of illustrious backgrounds harbored similar hopes.

Yet, Gu An merely swept his gaze over them, then continued on his way.

Watching Gu An’s figure fade into the distance, everyone felt a sense of loss in their hearts.

To the current Gu An, harvesting mature medicinal herbs was still a fascinating matter; he greatly enjoyed this, gaining much satisfaction as his life span increased.

After toiling for half a day, Gu An brought the Ghost Mother of Ephemera into a wooded grove, guiding her cultivation.

Though the Ghost Mother of Ephemera was busy with miscellaneous tasks, she would cultivate whenever she had any spare time, and the presence of the Red Dust Supreme and the others put more pressure on her.

It was not that she feared she could not suppress them, but rather she was afraid of disgracing her master.

The lower her cultivation level, the more she would lower her master’s prestige.

After Gu An led her into a state of enlightenment, he lifted his head and admired the scenery within the woods. He had come to these woods before, but every time he sat here and watched, he saw a different landscape.

As he gazed, his eyes turned toward the distance.

Ever since capturing the Great Infinite Demon Ancestor, Gu An would, from time to time, take moments to observe the Outer Heaven, gazing into the depths of Chaos.

Even though he had already seen the Great Infinite Demon Ancestor beyond Chaos, whenever he looked into Chaos itself, Chaos seemed boundless.

Chaos was infinite, yet there existed a universe outside of Chaos—this presented a very complex space, which deeply intrigued Gu An.

…

In the Celestial Court, within a vast palace, Yang Jian, clad in silver armor and a black robe, strode forward with a Three-Pointed Double-Bladed Saber in hand, exuding an awe-inspiring presence.

His gaze swept over everything along his path, filled with curiosity.

Immortal techniques had been laid throughout the grand hall, making the space feel even vaster. The myriad phenomena arrayed in order, special spiritual energy surged, and with each step it was as if he walked on clouds. Looking up, he saw a brilliant starry sky—bewitching and beautiful.

Yang Jian walked all the way to the front of the steps. Raising his head, he looked toward a white-robed figure seated cross-legged above the steps, smiled, raised his hand in salute, and said, “Yang Jian pays his respects to Elder Li!”

That white-robed figure was none other than Li Ya!

Li Ya kept his gaze fixed on Yang Jian, his heart full of mixed emotions.

Only after ascending to immortality did he realize the vast chasm between immortals and mortals. He had once been lost, too, but in the end he chose to remain true to his original heart—he wanted to change the Celestial Court, and change the Heavenly Dao.

Looking at Yang Jian again, he thought of how Yang Jian had achieved immortality billions of years before he did. This made him marvel at Gu An’s methods.

After some brief reminiscing, Li Ya asked, “Do you know where Junior Brother Gu is nowadays?”

At these words, Yang Jian gave a wry smile. “To tell you the truth, I do not know either. I, too, wish I could find him.”

Li Ya looked at him deeply, then asked, “Yang Jian, what do you think of the Celestial Court as it is now?”

Hearing this question, Yang Jian restrained his expression and replied seriously, “I’m just a Star Monarch, serving under the Eternal Life Venerable. The Venerable never lets me get involved in the internal struggles of the Celestial Court. He once told me something, which might be of help to you, Elder.”

“And what did he say?”

“He said, no matter who wins or loses, in the Celestial Court, anyone who takes part in the struggle is destined to be a loser.”

Yang Jian spoke with great gravity. He had also heard about the upheaval caused by Li Ya and admired this Elder—to dare to speak boldly as soon as he arrived, stirring the entire Celestial Court to discuss him.

Yang Jian had once been a celebrated prodigy in the Human World, but upon arrival in the Celestial Court, he discovered just how mediocre he truly was.

Every Immortal God, before becoming immortal, was a legendary figure across all realms—some even invincible in their era. Without his master’s guidance, he would never have had the qualifications to ascend to immortality.

His impression of Li Ya was still stuck in the era of the Celestial Spirit Great World. He knew a bit about Merit Immortals and thought that Li Ya’s ascension was based on merit. He worried Li Ya’s understanding of the Celestial Court was insufficient, and so had come to advise him.

Li Ya’s bold words had already entangled him in the Celestial Court’s internal conflict. Yang Jian suspected some transcendent entity was secretly fanning the flames behind the scenes.

When Li Ya first stepped into the Palace of the Polestar, why did the New Heavenly Emperor ask him how he viewed the Celestial Court?

There are implications here that must not be probed too deeply!

After hearing Yang Jian’s words, Li Ya also understood the underlying message. Though he had not run into real trouble in his short time as an immortal, he could already sense the exclusion from the Heavenly Court’s Immortals.

To this day, Yang Jian was the first Immortal God to visit him—enough to show the Celestial Court’s rejection of him.

But Li Ya was unhurried. He had already become immortal, unrestrained; as long as he continued to do good and accumulate merit, no Immortal God could do anything to him.

Only by becoming a Merit Immortal can one know the strength of Merit Immortals.

“A Supreme Immortal is hosting a banquet, inviting many Immortal Gods to attend, including a number of other Merit Immortals. Elder Li, would you like to come with me? Perhaps you’ll deepen your understanding of the Celestial Court because of it.” Yang Jian continued, extending the invitation.

Li Ya raised his brow, hesitating: “If I go, will I make things difficult for you?”

In his heart, he wanted to connect with other Immortal Gods—after all, just sitting in the Taoist Palace, he would never understand the Celestial Court, and without understanding, how could he seek to change it?

By relying on himself alone, changing the Celestial Court was impossible. Therefore, he needed like-minded companions to gather strength.

The other Merit Immortals made for good choices.

“You won’t, don’t worry. This was also instructed by the Venerable himself. All the Merit Immortals are going—no one will say anything if you go too.” Yang Jian shook his head.

Li Ya hesitated for a moment, then slowly nodded. A smile flickered across his face. “Yang Jian, you are thoughtful.”

He felt Yang Jian was leveraging that Venerable’s authority to help him integrate into the Celestial Court. But if it was truly the Venerable’s intention, why didn’t the Venerable come himself?

His immortal position was, after all, higher than that of a Star Monarch. Sending a Star Monarch to win him over was almost an affront.

“Elder Li, can you tell me about Central Heaven? How did you become a Merit Immortal? I once traveled in Central Heaven, but sadly did not stay long.” Yang Jian asked with curiosity writ large on his face.

The Immortal Gods of the Celestial Court were all very interested in Central Heaven, known as the center of the Heavenly Dao, and often came down to the mortal world in secret to travel there.

Li Ya, naturally, would not refuse Yang Jian’s request; so he began to recount his journey from the time he ascended to Central Heaven.

Yang Jian listened attentively. Li Ya’s path to immortality was far more arduous than he’d imagined.

Upon hearing that Li Ya had even founded his own branch of Daoism, Yang Jian’s admiration rose to new heights.

This Elder Li truly had grand ambition and perseverance!

Yang Jian had met another Merit Immortal before. That Merit Immortal was arrogant and had already been tainted by the Celestial Court’s style; so he hoped Li Ya would become a different kind of Merit Immortal.

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