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

Divine Exotic City appeared, and the entire dim world was illuminated by dazzling golden light; among it, Li Ya stared dumbfoundedly at his surroundings.

He could feel that the power of Divine Exotic City was stronger than when he had used it, and it was incomparable.

This meant that the voice from earlier was telling the truth!

Thinking about it, he had never truly mastered the power of Divine Exotic City; it was always commanded by Divine Exotic Immortal Spirit.

Above the clouds, the Master of Divine Exotic Realm looked at the ever-expanding Divine Exotic City, his eyes flickering, unsure of his thoughts.

Zhang Buku, however, felt a surge of relief—should Sword Venerable Fudao truly arrive, then Li Ya would be saved.

In his heart, Sword Venerable Fudao was an invincible existence, a belief shared by all creatures from the Taicang Continent.

A figure materialized next to Li Ya; he glanced over, his pupils suddenly dilating.

It was that familiar demonic shadow!

The dark purple Demonic Qi did not seem evil in his eyes but rather appeared endearing.

Gu An tilted his head, glancing towards Li Ya.

Li Ya quickly raised his hand in salute and said, "Primordial Ancestor…"

Words jammed in his throat, unable to be spoken.

Boom—

Rolling thunderclouds quickly covered the blood-red heavens, countless thunderbolts twirling like dragons and snakes, immensely spectacular, plunging the land into oppression.

The sea of clouds formed a giant face, occupying most of the sky, making everything between heaven and earth seem insignificant.

Zhang Buku looked up at this giant face, speechless with shock, feeling an extremely terrifying pressure that he had never experienced before.

Even the Master of Divine Exotic Realm looked solemn.

The strength of the Master of Divine Exotic Realm was comparable to that of a Carefree Primordial Immortal, yet he did not possess the comfort of a Carefree Primordial Immortal.

This giant face was truly the Divine Immortal of Wondrous Dharma!

An existence surpassing the Carefree Primordial Immortal!

The Master of Divine Exotic Realm couldn't help but turn his gaze towards Gu An inside Divine Exotic City, thinking expectantly, "Sword Venerable Fudao, how will you face this?"

Even the powerful Great Cold Demon Sect that besieged the continent in the past couldn't achieve such a presence!

"Sword Venerable Fudao, why have you not accepted the rewards from the Holy Court?"

An aged voice sounded again, stern in tone.

Gu An slightly lifted his head, his voice reverberating across the heaven and earth, "Why must I accept? Am I considered a demon if I do not join the Holy Court?"

If the Holy Court truly thought this way, Gu An couldn't help but be more wary of the Qi Fortune.

Is Qi Fortune not a form of bondage?

"None of such, but refusing to join the Holy Court surely has some dubious reason. Sword Venerable Fudao, why do you refuse to show yourself? What exactly are you apprehensive about?" The aged voice boomed like thunder, echoing unceasingly.

Gu An, hearing this, lost all interest in conversing.

"Three breaths' time; if you don't leave, don't blame me for lacking respect for the Holy Court," Gu An's voice was chilling, putting the entire heaven and earth on edge for a killing spree.

The giant face above clearly changed, but it did not respond.

Three breaths' time seemed so prolonged at this moment.

Zhang Buku and Li Ya dared not even breathe, and the Master of Divine Exotic Realm likewise awaited the decision of that mysterious existence.

Such a formidable being, and even Sword Venerable Fudao could disregard it; the Master of Divine Exotic Realm was profoundly moved, believing his choice was right.

He could easily kill Li Ya, but the reason he hadn't was purely out of respect for Sword Venerable Fudao!

After three breaths.

Gu An raised his right hand, his palm facing the giant face in the sky.

"Sword Venerable…"

As he began to speak, the giant face in the sky suddenly vanished, and Gu An withdrew his hand.

The world instantly fell into silence.

Li Ya's eyes widened; he saw the rolling thunderclouds silently torn open, creating a giant hole exactly where the mysterious giant face had been.

He instinctively looked towards Gu An, seeing an old man enveloped in mist in Gu An's palm, the elder full of panic, unable to struggle or escape.

Even though the old man was speaking, Li Ya couldn't hear a word.

Gu An then disappeared from the spot.

Divine Exotic Immortal Spirit appeared on Li Ya's shoulder, tiny hands patting her small chest, looking extremely relieved.

Zhang Buku and the Master of Divine Exotic Realm were also stunned. What they had thought would be an unprecedented great war, the Master of Divine Exotic Realm had even prepared for the world to shatter, yet the mysterious Great Power from the Holy Court was just taken away like this?

How high could Sword Venerable Fudao's realm be?

The Master of Divine Exotic Realm was filled with fear, a terrifying thought suddenly occurring to him.

Could it be that Sword Venerable Fudao was truly a Heavenly Demon, and from the beginning, he stood in opposition to the Holy Court?

…

The waves crashed against the shore, Gu An sat on the rock, having already activated the Life Span Barrier, his right hand opened, containing the old man sitting cross-legged inside, who was indeed the Divine Immortal of Wondrous Dharma stationed at the Domain Master city of the Broken Sea Domain.

Gu An was performing the Great Imprison Soul Immortal Technique, searching the other's memories.

This person, named Luo Xuzi, was a reincarnation of the Heavenly Demon, holding a Third Grade Heavenly Position in the Holy Court, one of the confidants of the Great Nether Saint King.

Luo Xuzi's many memories were protected by a mystery spell, which would shatter and dissipate automatically if invaded, all related to the Great Nether Saint King.

Unfortunately, such methods were akin to child's play before Gu An's Divine Sense; he easily deciphered them and glimpsed into Luo Xuzi's dealings with the Great Nether Saint King.

The creation of the Broken Sea Domain was indeed set by the Great Nether Saint King, within it was his arch-nemesis, the Candle World Saint King. Initially, the Great Nether Saint King merely wanted to exterminate the Candle World Saint King, keeping him eternally in Reincarnation; many under his command took this opportunity for their gain, leading to the calamity in the Broken Sea Domain.

After Gu An made his move, the Great Nether Saint King regarded him as an enemy. Now, the Great Nether Saint King suspected Gu An might also be a reincarnation of the Heavenly Demon, hence he sent Luo Xuzi over.

According to Luo Xuzi's memories, the Great Nether Saint King was not a Heavenly Demon, but he was fervently searching for the reincarnation of the Heavenly Demon, his intentions unknown to anyone.

It appears it wasn't the Holy Court aiming for Sword Venerable Fudao but the Great Nether Saint King's intent.

The Holy Court had profound depth and numerous factions; viewing the Broken Sea Domain, it seemed vast, but in the eyes of the Greater Heavenly Spirit Land, it was but trivial, not even reaching the eyes of the Standard First Rank Heavenly Position.

The Third Grade Heavenly Position, also known as the Holy King, was not short of position holders in the Holy Court; ascending further were the Second Grade Heavenly Position's Holy Minister and the First Grade Heavenly Position's Holy God.

After searching Luo Xuzi's soul, Gu An extinguished his soul.

He wasn't concerned about further tricks from the Great Nether Saint King; in fact, he was looking forward to seeing what the Great Nether Saint King would do next.

Facing an unknown adversary, regardless of how powerful his minions were, they would fall discreetly; wouldn't the Great Nether Saint King feel pressured?

Although the Holy Court didn't care about the Broken Sea Domain, the epic battle between Gu An and the Great Cold Demon Sect from years ago did reach the Holy Court. The Holy Court's ability to recruit Sword Venerable Fudao also showed that most of the upper echelons in the Holy Court were favorable towards Sword Venerable Fudao's actions, which is why the Great Nether Saint King only dared to operate from the shadows.

A prompt appeared before Gu An; he had seized over twenty thousand years of Luo Xuzi's life span.

Tsk tsk, these Great Powers really are brash, acting so recklessly.

Of course, facing an existence like Gu An, even if they hide their true forms, Gu An would find a way to locate them.

Back in the Seven Stars Spirit Realm, the Thousand-Faced Divine Lord who escaped from Gu An's clutches could also be located by him now; but seeing him behave, Gu An didn't pursue him.

Immortal cultivation was never easy; if one could recognize the situation and act accordingly, Gu An would still admire that.

To date, regarding the Thousand-Faced Divine Lord escaping from his hands, frankly, he was somewhat looking forward to seeing how far the Thousand-Faced Divine Lord could go.

Gu An stood up and vanished from the rock.

…

In the main city of the Broken Sea Domain, inside a dim grand hall.

Domain Master Qing Songzi stood on the steps, hands clasped behind his back, his eyebrows deeply furrowed.

"How come it suddenly went quiet? Could it be that even Elder Luo Xuzi is not a match for Sword Venerable Fudao? Even if he is not, there shouldn't be silence…" Qing Songzi thought, frowning.

Dressed in a green robe, he exuded a calm demeanor, appearing in his forties, with the oppressive aura of someone in power.

He possessed the cultivation level of the seventh layer of the Carefree Primordial Immortal Realm and was recognized by the Holy Court as the Domain Master of Broken Sea Domain. He had never felt as anxious as he did today.

The Sea Breaking Rift was just below; if there were any battles, he would definitely detect them immediately.

He now dared not extend his Divine Sense into the Rift for fear of provoking trouble.

Even if Luo Xuzi failed, Sword Venerable Fudao likely wouldn't dare confront the Holy Court directly; he just needed to pretend ignorance.

Just then, a series of footsteps approached.

Lu Xianyi came walking briskly, leaving a trail of afterimages.

He stopped before the steps, raising his hand in salute to Qing Songzi and smiling, "I wonder why the elder has summoned me; what is the matter?"

Qing Songzi turned to look at him, revealing a smile as he said, "I and your father are fellow disciples; what elder are you speaking to? That's too formal; call me your teacher-uncle from now on."

"Teacher-uncle."

Lu Xianyi responded, his mind already calculating—the other clearly needed him, which was why he showed such an attitude.

As for the Great Nether Saint King behind Qing Songzi, he was also aware.

Could it be that the main city of the Broken Sea Domain was thwarted by Sword Venerable Fudao?

Lu Xianyi inwardly chuckled, knowing that over the years, many of the Holy Court's pieces infiltrated the Taicang Continent and even the Supreme Sect to investigate Sword Venerable Fudao; he could guess that the Great Nether Saint King was somewhat unrelenting.

The Great Cold Demon Sect was a powerful weapon in the hands of the Great Nether Saint King, gaining considerable power and authority by performing numerous dirty tasks for the Holy Court; hence, his power continued to grow, and the errors he made weren't likely to shake his position.

Indeed, the calamity in the Broken Sea Domain was seen as a mistake by the Great Nether Saint King by the Holy Court, but such a mistake wasn't considered significant. Even several could deduce the Great Nether Saint King's plans against the Candle World Saint King, many choosing to turn a blind eye.

Weighing the ruling Holy King against the Reincarnated Holy King was an easy choice.

Qing Songzi looked at Lu Xianyi and asked with a smile, "Sword Venerable Fudao refuses to accept the Qi Fortune from the Holy Court; having stayed in the Supreme Sect for so many years, what do you think should be done? Should he be left to his own devices, or should his background be investigated?"

Lu Xianyi thought to himself, as expected, and after pondering, he said, "Teacher-uncle, do you think Sword Venerable Fudao is formidable?"

"Of course, he's formidable, beyond my comparison," Qing Songzi answered without hesitation.

Lu Xianyi continued, "Since that is the case, why bother to offend him? Wouldn't it be sufficient to just manage the Broken Sea Domain well?"

Qing Songzi frowned.

Lu Xianyi meaningfully said, "Sword Venerable Fudao appeared in the land of the reincarnation of the Candle World Saint King; these two very likely have a connection. Why Sword Venerable Fudao hides his identity is worth considering. Teacher-uncle, my father once said, surviving in the Holy Court is like walking on thin ice, no matter how high one's cultivation level is; staying alive is the most important."