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

"Ling'er!"

An hysterical roar broke out as Chen Luo pushed through the onlookers. He looked at the blood on the ground, his body trembling, his face filled with utter despair.

People around snapped back to their senses and frightened, they retreated.

"Be on guard!"

A middle-aged Cultivator shouted sternly. He instinctively looked towards Yang Jian.

Only a Saint King could have the means to execute Xu Ling directly in their presence.

Yang Jian looked up, his Divine Sense rapidly extending, but failed to capture any suspicious presence.

Chen Luo knelt in front of the blood, unable to accept the reality before him. Just a moment ago, he had felt like the happiest man in the world, but now he felt as though he had fallen into hell.

Xiaochuan in Yang Jian's arms seemed to feel something too and began to cry loudly, but Chen Luo could no longer pay attention to him.

The patriarch of the Chen family approached Yang Jian and asked with a frown, "Saint King, what's going on?"

Although he did not like Xu Ling, she was, after all, a descendant of the Xu Family. Her death in front of them, if spread, would tarnish the Chen family's reputation.

"I'm not sure either, it's truly strange..." Yang Jian answered, passing Xiaochuan to the patriarch of the Chen family before vanishing on the spot.

The rest of the Chen family regained their senses and promptly stepped out of the hall to be on guard.

Chen Luo suddenly looked up at the patriarch of the Chen family, pleading desperately, "Father, save Ling'er! Save her!"

The patriarch took a deep breath and said, "Her soul has dispersed, it's beyond salvation..."

He was also filled with fear. If it wasn't the Saint King, then what exactly had happened?

Xu Ling's death was too bizarre, shocking not only Chen Luo but also them.

At this moment, what the patriarch of the Chen family feared the most was Chen Luo also meeting with an accident, but he was helpless. He didn't even dare to approach Chen Luo, afraid that he too might suffer a calamity.

Gu An, far away at the Supreme Sect, witnessed all this. Everything happened too quickly. In an instant, he captured Xu Ling's soul, using his own power of Cause and Effect to protect her soul and prevent it from being ravaged by mysterious forces of cause and effect.

If that mysterious existence could execute Xu Ling, couldn't it also kill others?

This was Gu An's greatest concern, which is why he hid Xu Ling's soul. He couldn't always keep an eye on Xu Ling.

Fortunately, nothing further happened, only Xu Ling died.

Yang Jian returned to the Chen estate and gathered with the Chen family to discuss the death of Xu Ling. Suddenly, Chen Luo severed his own meridians, destroying his Golden Core, intending to disperse his soul. Yang Jian immediately intervened but Chen Luo was still left a cripple.

Seeing this, Gu An also felt some emotion.

His intervention saved Chen Luo and Xu Ling, but it brought them another kind of disaster.

He suddenly felt confused. If the mastermind was targeting him, why go after Xu Ling and not those close to him?

Many of those he cared about had a Cultivation Level below the Mahayana Realm.

Could it be that the mastermind wanted Xiaochuan to tread an irredeemable path and lure Gu An away from this universe?

While protecting Xu Ling's soul, Gu An could feel the power of that Cause and Effect, not as strong as his, but certainly coming from another universe. Without crossing universes, it was difficult to assess which was stronger or weaker.

Gu An stood up, descended from the tree, and looked toward Zhu Xi, "Continue your cultivation. I have some things to attend to."

With those words, Gu An vanished on the spot.

He stepped into the Hidden Spirit Palace located at the bottom of the sea.

The Deep Sea Dragon Carp, in the midst of cultivation, did not sense Gu An's arrival.

Gu An raised his right hand and released Xu Ling's soul, then used nature's spiritual energy to reconstruct her flesh.

Xu Ling had a long life span ahead. As long as her allotted lifespan had not ended, she could regroup her flesh, an easy feat for Gu An; the challenge lay in transcending ordained fates.
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Xu Ling's flesh was reconstructed, along with her clothing, just as she appeared right before her death.

The Deep Sea Dragon Carp sensed her breath, opened its eyes, and upon seeing its master, it stood up in surprise, hurrying over.

Xu Ling, as if she had woken from a nightmare, sat on the ground, breathing heavily, her head covered in sweat. She looked up to see Gu An, looking as handsome as an Immortal God from paintings, her eyes full of fear.

"You needn't worry, I won't harm you, but you can no longer return. A power beyond the Nine Heavens of the Immortal Path wants to harm your son, thus they killed you. From now on, you'll cultivate here. In time, I'll bring your husband here. Later, you'll manage Medicine Valley for me, and one day, you three will be reunited," Gu An said before disappearing, leaving Xu Ling, a Mahayana Cultivator, to rapidly come to terms with reality.

A replacement had already been placed inside the Hidden Spirit Palace, now possessing the Cultivation Level of the Heaven-Encompassing Free Immortal. Here, the power of Cause and Effect from outside the universe could hardly harm Xu Ling, and it would not even detect her whereabouts.

Upon hearing Gu An's words, Xu Ling was left stunned, her eyes vacant.

The Deep Sea Dragon Carp stood to one side, touching its head, unsure of how to strike up a conversation. It was also pondering Gu An's previous words.

An existence surpassing the Nine Heavens of the Immortal Path? And who is this woman's son?

Silence fell upon the Hidden Spirit Palace.

After a while,

Xu Ling took a deep breath, stood up, and bowed to the Deep Sea Dragon Carp, asking, "My name is Xu Ling. May I know how to address you, and could you introduce me to this place and the senior who was here just now?"

Her heart was shocked. What level of cultivation would someone who can casually mention beings beyond the Nine Heavens of the Immortal Path possess?

Young lady?

Upon hearing this, the Deep Sea Dragon Carp's face revealed a gentle smile, which warmed Xu Ling's heart and made her feel a sense of closeness to him.

...

Late at night,

Chen Luo, with his hair disheveled, sat in a chair, his eyes empty. His mother was holding Xiaochuan, trying to comfort him, hoping he could come to terms with his situation, but unfortunately, he was not at all receptive.

It was then that Yang Jian walked into the room and said to Chen Luo, "There is still hope for your wife to be alive."

Upon hearing this, Chen Luo's head shot up. He immediately rushed toward Yang Jian, grabbed his arms, and asked urgently, "Really? What should I do? What do you need from me?"

Yang Jian, with a serene expression, said, "Go to the Supreme Sect in the Tai Cang Continent, and you will know what to do."

As soon as he heard this, Chen Luo let go and ran straight for the door.

Chen Luo's mother wanted to call out to him, but Yang Jian stopped her, suggesting with significant meaning, "He has now lost all his cultivation, which is a good opportunity to temper him. Let him go to the Supreme Sect on his own. Do not assist him."

Chen Luo's mother hesitated and asked, "Is it the Supreme Sect where the Supporting Dao Sword Venerable is?"

Yang Jian nodded slightly, and Chen Luo's mother immediately breathed a sigh of relief, even showing a hint of surprise in her eyes.

The name of the Supporting Dao Sword Venerable was one she had heard of—the saint who saved all living beings. Such an existence would not plot against her son.

She couldn't help but look down at her grandson in her arms, wondering to herself, "My dear grandson, who exactly are you reincarnated from, that even the Supporting Dao Sword Venerable would protect you?"

Those who practice Immortal Cultivation always believe in past and present lives. Knowing that her grandson had a past life, she did not reject the idea. Instead, she liked him even more.

Perhaps this grandson would bring a prosperous opportunity to the Chen family.

...

It was winter, and snowflakes were fluttering down.

Gu An stood on the tower, watching the snow. Since Xu Ling's mishap, he had always been watching over Xiaochuan. Fortunately, that force of cause and effect hadn't caused any trouble again.

But in fact, the existence behind the scenes had succeeded—he had made Xiaochuan return to a state without his parents.

This gave Gu An some inspiration.

The power of cause and effect could actually transcend the universe.

He decided that from now on, his main focus would be to research the power of cause and effect and strengthen his own Way of Cause and Effect.

In the previous years, he had been perceiving different Dao Rules. Now, thinking about it, it seemed better to develop one particular Dao to its extreme first.

He saw Chen Luo alone in a boat, in the boundless vast sea. The small boat that Chen Luo was on was like a fallen leaf in the Vast Sea, which could be submerged at any time.

Although Gu An wanted to temper Chen Luo's character, he hadn't actually left Chen Luo to face the journey alone. After all, Chen Luo had no cultivation level.

All along the way, Gu An had already helped Chen Luo deal with many troubles he could not contend with. The rest of the journey would have to rely on his willpower.

Yang Jian had already left the Chen family. Before departing, the head of the Chen family hoped that Yang Jian would bestow a name. Yang Jian hesitated quite a bit, but fortunately, he received a transmission from his master.

Chen Chuan!

That was the name for Xiaochuan in this life. It was quite ordinary, but coming from the mouth of Yang Jian, it gave the Chen family even more hope.

Did the Saint King hope for this child to be as unyielding and persistent as the mountains and rivers?

Xu Ling stayed in the Hidden Spirit Palace, getting along very well with the Deep Sea Dragon Carp and proclaiming each other as sisters. She had not noticed that the Dragon Carp was a male demon, considering the Dragon Carp's cultivation level was a bit higher than hers.

Life returned to calm once again.

The cause and effect of Xiaochuan did not trouble Gu An. Instead, it was like a game of strategy.

When he became strong enough, he would certainly drag out the existence behind the scenes.

He even considered using the power of cause and effect to annihilate the other party across the universe in the future.