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

Chapter 198: Master Understands You

Late at night, in a pavilion within Xuan Valley, candlelight flickered. The room was warm with the scent of tea brewing. Zhen Qin sat on a small stool, staring at the teapot, lost in thought.

Gu An was writing a book. After finishing a page, he admired his work, growing more pleased the longer he looked at it.

"Disciple, come take a look."

His voice snapped Zhen Qin out of her daze.

She quickly stood up and walked over to him, taking the paper from his hands to read it carefully.

"The Seven Great Saints… Great Sage Who Pacifies Heaven, Ox Demon King?"

She looked at Gu An in surprise. "Master, isn’t your bull downstairs also called Ox Demon King? Did you just write him into your book?"

Gu An chuckled. "Why not?"

"Of course you can… it’s just that your writing style is…" Zhen Qin hesitated.

Master has this kind of talent?

Then again, since her master didn’t cultivate, he must have plenty of time to dabble in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.

After finishing the page, she handed it back to him. "It’s really well-written. Just this passage alone—it feels like it’s on par with Romance of the Gods! Master, are you planning to publish it? I hope you can surpass Pan An…"

She suddenly stopped mid-sentence, her eyes widening in shock.

Pan An… Gu An…

Her expression turned odd as she quickly pressed, "Master… don’t tell me you’re actually Pan An?"

Gu An smiled. "That’s my biggest secret, and I’m only telling you. Now, will you tell me what’s been troubling you?"

He had already sensed that Zhen Qin wanted to share something but was holding back. By revealing himself as Pan An, he coaxed her into speaking.

Even though he already knew the truth, he couldn’t expose his identity outright. What she needed was to confide in someone she trusted.

Zhen Qin clenched her teeth. "I don’t want to bring trouble upon you, Master!"

"If you don’t say anything and something happens, not only will you implicate me, but it will also weigh on my heart. That would be harming me even more." Gu An shook his head.

Hearing this, Zhen Qin felt a weight lift from her shoulders—for the first time tonight, she smiled.

At Gu An’s gesture, she walked around the desk and sat down before finally opening up about Su Han’s death.

Gu An got up to pour tea, and Zhen Qin watched his back carefully, searching for any reaction.

Yet, she saw nothing.

Has Master already stopped caring about Senior Brother Su?

She couldn’t blame Gu An—she owed Su Han for protecting her, but her master owed him nothing.

Gu An placed a steaming bowl of tea before her and calmly said, "The dead are gone. You should live according to his wishes, not inherit his hatred."

"But—"

"Think about his last words to you. What do you think he wanted you to do?"

Gu An cut her off, his tone firm.

Zhen Qin fell silent.

Gu An continued, "Forget whether you can even defeat Nightshade Ghost Mother—this world is vast. Will you really spend your entire life hunting her down? Focus on cultivation. See the world your senior brother wanted to see. Do what he wished to do but never could. That’s the best way to honor him.

"There’s a reason for everything. Your senior brother was burdened with karma. Now that you’ve inherited his strength, you also inherit his fate. Whether you use it to do good or to deepen his sins—that choice is yours."

Zhen Qin’s thoughts spun in a storm, her gaze complicated.

Gu An wasn’t in a hurry—he was merely guiding her. Truly letting go was something she had to do herself.

She lifted her eyes to look at him.

Right now, Gu An appeared weak in her eyes. After inheriting Su Han’s cultivation, she had reached the Nascent Soul Stage, and her power was still growing. She had begun to view others from a lofty perspective.

Yet tonight—she felt ashamed.

What’s the point of strength without wisdom?

She took a deep breath. "Master, if I do good, can it really help Senior Brother Su?"

Gu An answered, "I don’t know. But at the very least, it will free you from this burden. And that is what he would have wanted."

Zhen Qin smiled, her mischievous nature returning.

"Master, you’re really Pan An! You kept it from me for so long. Before, I even thought you were the author of The Secrets of Taixuan!"

"Cough cough—Nonsense! How could I be that kind of person?"

Wait…

She reads The Secrets of Taixuan?

Gu An’s expression turned strange. Shen Zhen was a real menace—how many people had he poisoned with that book?

Zhen Qin huffed. "Who told you to enjoy reading Adventures of the Green Hero?"

"That’s all rumors! Don’t believe them!"

And just like that, master and disciple began bickering.

—

After a while, Gu An changed the topic. "I know about Reverse Fate Divine Art. Someone once offered to pass it down to me. I can help you become a True Legacy Disciple so that you can walk a righteous path of cultivation."

Zhen Qin was stunned—she hadn’t expected her master to have such a connection!

"Master, who was it? Are they powerful?"

Gu An smirked. "Sect Master Lü Baitian. What do you think?"

"Hiss… Doesn’t that mean you’ll become a great Integration Stage cultivator in the future?"

"I never agreed. Besides, the man’s lifespan is long—he might outlive me. Keep this matter to yourself, or it’ll cause unnecessary trouble."

"Mm, I understand! Master, not to brag, but I’m already at the Nascent Soul Stage. Hiding my cultivation these past few years was so frustrating!"

Zhen Qin began complaining about her struggles.

Gu An laughed. "Master understands."

"You? Understand?!"

"Fine, I don’t. Can I just hit you instead? You dare show off in front of your master?"

Their conversation soon turned into another playful quarrel.

By the time dawn was breaking, Zhen Qin finally headed downstairs.

As she passed by the Blood Prison Great Saint, she squatted down and patted his head. Smiling softly, she whispered, "Little Bull, I can be a Nascent Soul cultivator now. Cool, huh?"

The Blood Prison Great Saint opened his eyes, gave her a side-eye, and snorted.

Ridiculous.

He had finally figured it out—this entire upper realm was full of lunatics.

Zhen Qin chattered at him a bit longer before leaping into the sky and flying toward the Outer Sect City.

—

At noon, Gu An used his disciple token to contact Lü Baitian and arranged for Zhen Qin’s status to be upgraded.

Hearing that she had inherited the Reverse Fate Divine Art, Lü Baitian became intrigued and readily agreed.

As night fell, Gu An left Xuan Valley, stepping onto the Infinite Free Step and heading west. He traversed vast mountain ranges and crossed into the ocean.

Step by step!

At his current cultivation—Ninth Level of Roving Immortal Stage—he could cover incredible distances.

This time, he crossed a hundred steps and landed on a small continent.

Standing on the beach, he spread his divine sense, scanning the land.

He saw numerous demons but no human cultivators.

This place shouldn’t be at risk of being sunk by deep-sea colossi.

Gu An walked into the forest—not rushing to find a breakthrough spot, but first examining the land’s conditions.

—

Meanwhile, in the Demonic Domain…

Inside a dimly lit tunnel, Xuantian Yi and An Hao moved forward.

An Hao was visibly nervous, constantly glancing behind him.

"Cultivators use divine sense to observe, not their eyes."

Walking ahead, Xuantian Yi spoke casually. "Didn’t Lü Baitian teach you that?"

An Hao looked at Xuantian Yi’s back, feeling slightly reassured.

This man was the only known Grand Ascension cultivator in Taixuan Sect. Across the Three Dynasties, he was second only to his master among human cultivators.

Following Xuantian Yi, even if danger arose, he should at least have a chance to escape alive.

Still, unease gnawed at him. "I can’t shake the feeling that this journey has been too smooth. No demons blocking us… almost like we were let in on purpose."

"Perhaps," Xuantian Yi replied absentmindedly.

Not long after, they emerged from the tunnel and arrived at the edge of a cliff. Before them stretched a vast underground cavern, its depths filled with churning lava, glowing like a blazing lake of fire.

Xuantian Yi gazed down, the firelight flickering across his face, casting shifting shadows.

An Hao also peered below, but his expression was tense.

"This demonic aura is incredibly dense… could the Sealed Demon be hiding beneath?" he asked in a hushed voice.

Xuantian Yi spoke calmly, "You’ve been following us long enough. Time to come out."

At his words, An Hao’s eyes widened in alarm, and he immediately scanned the surroundings.

Then, from the distant cave walls, seven shadowy figures emerged, each shrouded in swirling demonic energy.

Xuantian Yi murmured, "I didn’t tell you earlier because I was worried you’d split off and make yourself an easier target. Just watch—I’ll deal with these lurking rats."

With that, he stepped forward, walking through the air.

An Hao remained cautious, drawing his sword and keeping his guard up.

—

Meanwhile, beneath a large tree, Gu An sat in meditation, his back resting against the trunk.

He had already activated his Lifespan Barrier.

Looking up through the gaps in the leaves, he saw a crescent moon hanging in the night sky.

Tonight’s weather was good.

It felt like even the heavens were celebrating with him.

Gu An’s lips curled into a smile as he summoned his attribute panel.

[Name: Gu An]

[Lifespan: 96 / 10,376,008]

[Physique: Profound Saint Body]

[Cultivation: Ninth Level of Roving Immortal Stage]

Ten million, three hundred and seventy-six thousand years of lifespan!

Since his breakthrough attempt to the Celestial Ascension Stage had failed, he would need to wait twenty thousand years before trying again.

Rather than wasting time, Gu An decided to gamble a million years on his cultivation.

Fifty attempts.

Who knew? Maybe luck would be on his side.

He began his cultivation evolution.

[You have cultivated for twenty thousand years, attempting to forcibly break through to the Celestial Ascension Stage using your profound mastery of the Primal Heaven and Earth Art. You have triggered Heaven's Divine Will Cataclysm but failed to overcome it. Your tribulation attempt has failed.]

Failure.

Failure.

Gu An remained unfazed.

He wagered another two million years—whether he succeeded or not, it didn’t matter.

As expected, all of them failed.

Undeterred, he invested one million more years.

One after another, identical failure messages flashed before his eyes.

A hundred failed attempts.

Maybe fifty more would do it?

More failure messages.

This time, Gu An’s expression stiffened.

Three million years—and not a single success?!

He couldn’t help but stare at the words "Heaven’s Divine Will Cataclysm" on his panel.

Just what kind of tribulation was this?!

He suddenly had the urge to see someone else try it in real life, just so he could witness what kind of monstrous ordeal it was.

Taking a deep breath, he gambled another 500,000 years.

Failure.

Failure.

The repeated failures began to shake his Dao heart.

Until—

Suddenly, one message was longer than the rest.

[You have cultivated for 380,000 years, attempting to forcibly break through to the Celestial Ascension Stage using your profound mastery of the Primal Heaven and Earth Art. You have triggered Heaven's Divine Will Cataclysm.

You endured the tribulation.

You have successfully broken through to the Celestial Ascension Stage, First Level.]

At long last, success!