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

Chapter 36: Mysterious Yellow Dragon Qi Technique, Comprehending Divine Abilities

After Li Ya's departure, Gu An immersed himself in the construction of Xuan Valley, with his days of leisure becoming fewer as the young demon sheep caused quite a bit of trouble.

At just four months old, they ran through the forest as effortlessly as leopards from his previous life on Earth. If it weren’t for the fact that everyone in the valley was a cultivator, these sheep would have already escaped into the wild.

Gu An had to study the Ziwei Formation Manua left by Jiang Qiong, learning some basic restrictions to reinforce the sheep pens.

After half a year, Gu An sent Wu Xin and Xiao Chuan to the Outer Sect to recruit two more servant disciples, named Chen Hong and Zhen Xiao'er. Their mediocre aptitude made Gu An quite satisfied.

The number of servant disciples in Xuan Valley now reached ten, making the valley lively every day.

Time passed swiftly, like a galloping horse that could never be caught again.

In the blink of an eye, three years went by.

Once again, it was autumn.

Xiao Chuan was inspecting the various gardens, followed by rows of ducks, marching in great formation.

On the mountain peaks surrounding Medicine Valley, disciples sat cross-legged, gathering spiritual energy, while the occasional rustling in the forest signaled Tang Yu and Su Han chasing after the demon sheep.

Gu An emerged from the western forest, smiling.

He had just harvested another batch of herbs, gaining hundreds of years of lifespan. His goal of reaching 100,000 years of lifespan was drawing nearer.

As of now, Gu An’s lifespan had already reached 80,000 years.

Over the past three years, he had earned close to 50,000 years of lifespan, mainly because many of the herbs he had been cultivating had matured. He also earned 10,000 years by helping Outer Sect disciples manage their caves.

Zhen Qin, the petite disciple, came running out of the forest with a bamboo basket on her back. She quickly made her way to Gu An's side and asked eagerly, "Master, can you teach me how to refine pills today?"

A dry leaf was stuck in her hair, and the strands on the sides of her face were slightly disheveled.

Gu An chuckled, “Of course, but you’ll need to use your own herbs. That way, you’ll be more careful.”

Zhen Qin had overheard Gu An talking about taking a Youth Retaining Pill, and since then, she had become deeply interested in alchemy, pestering him endlessly for half a year.

“I’ve already prepared everything!” Zhen Qin said excitedly, bouncing up and down like a young girl who never seemed to grow up.

Whoosh—

A piercing sound passed overhead, and Gu An instinctively looked up, throwing out a lifespan investigation.

Another Nascent Soul cultivator!

This year, more than ten Nascent Soul cultivators had flown over Xuan Valley, making Gu An increasingly uneasy. He had a nagging feeling that something big was happening.

Not even the grand tournament of Outer Sect disciples had attracted so many Nascent Soul cultivators.

No, this won’t do!

He needed to focus on upgrading Dragon Force Divine Essence Art. If a cultivator far stronger than a Nascent Soul expert showed up and saw through his cultivation, what then?

Gu An silently made up his mind.

Over the years, the Dragon Force Divine Essence Art had become less effective in extending his lifespan. At best, it could now add one year for every six months of cultivation. In another decade, it might not extend his life at all.

With that thought, Gu An took Zhen Qin back to his pavilion to begin teaching her alchemy.

Late that night, Gu An quietly made his way to Eight Views Heavenly Cave.

Since Jiang Qiong's departure, Gu An had explored the other six tunnels. At the end of each one, he found corpses similar to Meng Lang’s, refined through different techniques of the Ten Thousand Gu Mysterious Technique by Cheng Xuandan and Jiang Qiong.

For now, Gu An had no plans to touch these Gu corpses.

He walked straight to the Ancient Vine Tree, sat down, and lifted the hem of his robe to prepare for meditation.

At that moment, a black shadow fell from the tree and burrowed into his lap.

It was a small black dragon!

Its slender body was about two feet long, with a pair of dragon horns and whiskers, covered in tiny black scales. Its four claws were sharp, and it closely resembled the dragons from ancient Chinese mythology, only its color was different.

This was the sacred beast of the Gu Hao Sect—Sky Dragon!

While stroking it, Gu An checked its lifespan.

[Sky Dragon (First Rank): 1/965/18000]

Its lifespan had increased again!

When it was first born, it only had a lifespan of five hundred years, but in just one year, its lifespan had nearly doubled.

No wonder it had the potential to grow into a ninth-rank beast!

Gu An recalled the process of Sky Dragon acknowledging him as its master last year and smiled.

When it was first born, Sky Dragon had bitten him right away, causing Gu An to fling it away in anger. Then, it had pitifully crawled back to nuzzle him.

Gu An felt that Sky Dragon wasn’t acknowledging him as its master but rather recognizing him as family through his blood.

They had established a sort of soul resonance—he could sense its thoughts but couldn’t directly control its life and death.

Sky Dragons only ever serve one master. While they are violent by nature, they are fiercely loyal.

“Good boy, go eat.”

Gu An took out the carcass of a demon sheep he had killed just the day before. The kill had only netted him three years of lifespan.

Sky Dragon's eyes lit up as it grabbed the demon sheep with its claws and flew to the side.

The demon sheep was several times larger than Sky Dragon, yet it held it as though it weighed nothing, its claws making it seem almost weightless.

Gu An opened his attribute panel and looked at the techniques section, investing 2,000 years of lifespan into Dragon Force Divine Essence Art.

This technique could hide his cultivation and aura and was his fundamental support, more important even than the Divine Wood Pure Yang Technique.

[You have invested 2,000 years of lifespan to evolve your Dragon Force Divine Essence Art.]

[You cultivate Dragon Force Divine Essence Art for 10 years. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth refines your body, enhancing your blood and qi.]

[You cultivate Dragon Force Divine Essence Art for 100 years. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth refines your body, further enhancing your blood and qi.]

[You cultivate Dragon Force Divine Essence Art for 200 years. Your Dragon Force Divine Essence Art reaches the peak of perfection.]

[You cultivate Dragon Force Divine Essence Art for 400 years. One day, you capture the true essence of the earth. Your Dragon Force Divine Essence Art returns to its original state and evolves into Earth Vein Emperor Qi Technique.]

…

[You cultivate Dragon Force Divine Essence Art for 1,500 years. You sense the essence of the earth’s rules. Your Earth Vein Emperor Qi Technique surpasses its limits and evolves into Mysterious Yellow Dragon Qi Technique.]

[You cultivate Mysterious Yellow Dragon Qi Technique for 1,800 years. Your understanding of the technique deepens, and you achieve mastery.]

[You cultivate Mysterious Yellow Dragon Qi Technique for 2,000 years. You reach the pinnacle of understanding, and you comprehend the divine ability—Mysterious Yellow Dragon’s Might.]

A series of notifications appeared before Gu An.

Dragon Force Divine Essence Art had evolved into Earth Vein Emperor Qi Technique, then into Mysterious Yellow Dragon Qi Technique!

It even came with a divine ability!

Gu An was elated, feeling that his luck this time had been extraordinary.

A vast amount of knowledge flooded his mind, immersing him in a sea of profound Daoist techniques.

The Sky Dragon, busy gnawing on the demon sheep, glanced back at him, its gem-like eyes filled with curiosity.

The grass around Gu An began to glow with faint green energy, swirling around him as he unconsciously inhaled and exhaled. In the distance, there seemed to be the faint sound of a dragon’s roar.

The Mysterious Yellow Dragon Qi Technique refined the body using the essence of the earth, uniting the body with the natural world. The so-called dragon’s roar was actually the sound of the earth itself.

Two hours passed before Gu An finally awoke.

He opened his eyes and immediately frowned.

The grass around him had withered. He quickly stood up and scanned the plants in Eight Views Heavenly Cave. After ensuring that the spirit flowers and herbs were unharmed, he sighed in relief.

Only the weeds had died, and the important plants were fine.

He would have to be more careful in the future!

Whether it was improving his techniques or breaking through, he would have to leave Eight Views Heavenly Cave to avoid draining its spiritual energy dry.

Sitting down again, Gu An reviewed the Mysterious Yellow Dragon Qi Technique and began practicing according to its method.

He condensed a wisp of Mysterious Yellow Dragon Qi, uniting his body with nature.

By now, the Sky Dragon had finished eating and was lying next to the demon sheep's remains, sleeping soundly. The only sound in the cave was the rustling of the wind.

…

At dawn, Gu An descended from his pavilion. He had changed into a green robe, his black hair loosely tied behind his head, with two strands hanging by his ears, exuding the carefree and ethereal aura of a cultivator.

Though his body hadn’t fully adapted to the Mysterious Yellow Dragon Qi Technique yet, he wasn’t in a rush. With nightly practice, he estimated he’d master it in a month.

The Mysterious Yellow Dragon Qi Technique came with a divine ability called Mysterious Yellow Dragon’s Might, which didn’t require separate cultivation. Once the Mysterious Yellow Dragon Qi was formed, the Dragon’s Might would naturally follow.

The so-called Dragon’s Might was, in fact, the might of heaven and earth, capable of intimidating all living beings.

Gu An began leading his disciples in their morning exercises. As they gathered, they could all sense that Gu An was in an exceptionally good mood.

Zhen Qin, ever curious, asked, "Master, what made you so happy today?"

“Nothing much. I read a book last night called Investiture of the Gods. If you all have free time, you can borrow it from the library.” Gu An smiled as he led the exercises.

Xiao Chuan's eyes lit up. "I know Investiture of the Gods! Almost everyone in the Outer Sect has a copy. They say it records ancient secrets of the cultivation world."

The other disciples grew interested and began questioning Xiao Chuan about the content of the book.

Gu An didn’t say much more, his mind still occupied with the Mysterious Yellow Dragon Qi Technique.

Over the next month, he practiced the technique every night, finally succeeding in condensing a wisp of Mysterious Yellow Dragon Qi in his abdomen. His ability to conceal his cultivation and aura reached a whole new level.

Feeling relieved, Gu An could now relax and continue lying low.

That year passed as peacefully as the previous ones. For Gu An, tranquility was the best outcome.

As the winter snow began to melt, Xuan Valley prepared for the New Year celebrations, with all the disciples bustling about.

Gu An sat under a tree, deeply absorbed in reading The Adventures of Green Hero.

Zhen Qin approached him with her hands behind her back and leaned down to ask, "Master, what would you like to eat tomorrow night? I’ll cook for you."

Without looking up, Gu An replied, "Anything. Whatever you make, I’ll eat."

Curious, Zhen Qin leaned over, trying to see what he was reading, but he stopped her.

"Hurry along and start preparing the dishes. If you delay tomorrow’s festival, I won’t teach you alchemy anymore!" Gu An pretended to be stern.

Zhen Qin pouted but had no choice but to leave.

As she walked away, Gu An faintly heard her muttering, "Always reading those improper books."

His mouth twitched. Who had been spreading this rumor?

Ruining my reputation!

Now, the disciples of Medicine Valley all knew he liked reading The Adventures of Green Hero. Although they didn’t dare mention it in front of him, they often teased him in private.

Gu An stood up and tucked the book into his robe.

Starting today, I’m quitting!

He walked out of the courtyard, intending to inspect the gardens. Suddenly, his gaze was drawn to the entrance of the valley, and his brow furrowed.

A man in white robes was walking toward him, appearing to be in his thirties. He had a handsome face and an extraordinary bearing.

What made Gu An frown was that he couldn’t sense this man’s aura.

He immediately threw out a lifespan probe.

[Li Xuandao (Divine Transformation Realm, 8th Layer): 230/899/3020]