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

Once Gu An’s cultivation completely stabilized, he deactivated the Lifespan Barrier.

This time, the Lifespan Barrier consumed over 8,000 years. At this rate, activating it in the future would undoubtedly become a massive drain on his lifespan. He needed to find ways to earn more lifespan. While he might seem wealthy now, should he ever decide to make a comprehensive breakthrough, his accumulated lifespan would fall far short.

Gu An stood, stretched lazily, and then placed a hand over his chest.

The Integration Stage felt like a transitional phase—less segmented than earlier realms—yet it posed a tremendous test of cultivation accumulation. Gu An could sense that the next realm was connected to the heart. The formation of something within his heart seemed to be an omen, though he couldn’t yet determine its exact nature.

He began to walk forward, utilizing the Infinite Trace Celestial Step. With each step, he traveled hundreds of miles, his divine sense spreading outward to examine the nuances of the ninth level of the Integration Stage.

Suddenly, Gu An stopped, his gaze locking in one direction, brows furrowed. After a moment’s hesitation, he moved toward the source of his attention.

By a small mountain stream, a blood-stained, dirt-covered boy stood clutching a large stone before a cliff face. Behind him was a girl, equally disheveled, who stared fearfully ahead.

Across the stream, trees were pushed aside as a two-zhang-tall wolf demon emerged from the forest. The creature walked upright, its deep black fur gleaming even in the morning light. Its eyes glowed menacingly as it stared at the two children, foul breath puffing from its mouth.

The boy trembled, his arms shaking, but he bravely stepped forward. Neither child noticed the figure appearing silently atop the mountain behind them—Gu An.

Gu An, now dressed in white robes and wearing a specially crafted mask, looked down at the two children. The mask was one he had idly created, imbued with divine sense isolation wards.

The mountain breeze fluttered his robes as his gaze fell upon the children. Activating lifespan detection, he was taken aback by the results:

A 9,999-year lifespan limit?

Gu An wondered if he was hallucinating. This surpassed even the human record held by Ji Xiaoyu. Did this boy possess an Innate Dao Rune as well?

Just then, the wolf demon lunged at Goudan. Gu An waved his hand casually, and a streak of sword energy slashed between the demon and Goudan. Rocks shattered, and water sprayed into the air. Startled, the wolf demon froze before turning and fleeing.

Dust billowed, making Goudan squint and cough. When the dust cleared, a massive crack, half a zhang wide and stretching over a hundred zhang long, had appeared beside the stream. It looked as though it had been split open by a giant sword.

The sound of footsteps startled Goudan. He spun around, gripping the stone tightly, and saw Gu An approaching.

Though Gu An looked human, his masked appearance made Goudan hesitant to lower his guard.

“Are you… human or demon?” Goudan asked cautiously, his voice trembling and weak.

Gu An replied, “Naturally human. If I weren’t, why would I save you?”

He altered his voice to sound older, as if in his forties or fifties.

Hearing this, Goudan exhaled in relief but still held onto the stone. A trace of admiration flashed in Gu An’s eyes.

“Where is your home? I’ll take you back,” Gu An said.

Goudan fell silent. Behind him, Xiaohua suddenly burst into tears.

“My parents… eaten by demons…” she sobbed intermittently, her voice choked. Her emotional outburst made Goudan’s eyes redden.

Goudan then recounted their ordeal. A group of demons had attacked their village, devouring the adults and taking the children to this area. Each day, they watched their companions being cooked into soup. Last night, it had been their turn, but a sudden earthquake sent the demons fleeing. At dawn, they escaped from their cave, only to be tracked by a wandering wolf demon. Ŗ

Gu An listened in silence, experiencing for the first time the harsh suffering of the mortal world.

Born into the Ji Family, Gu An had never faced the threat of demons. Later, he joined the Taixuan Sect, and by relying on lifespan extraction, his path had been smooth and unobstructed.

In contrast, these two children had truly lived a bitter existence. Compassion stirred in Gu An’s heart, but Goudan’s exaggerated lifespan made him hesitant to take the boy with him.

Such an extreme lifespan would undoubtedly draw immense trouble if Goudan embarked on the path of immortality. Gu An even suspected that Goudan carried extraordinary destiny. Perhaps this was why he alone survived his family’s demise—why Gu An happened to break through near this area just in time, and why the wolf demon failed to kill him.

Too many coincidences. When coincidences piled up, they ceased to be mere coincidences.

Gu An couldn’t shake the thought—was this boy a Child of Destiny? Yet, seeing that the two children were now orphans without anyone to rely on, he couldn’t bring himself to abandon them. After some thought, he decided to take them to a safe place first.

In a single step, Gu An appeared behind Goudan, lifted him effortlessly, and then moved to Xiaohua’s side. With one child in each hand, he sped through the air with incredible agility.

Frightened by Gu An’s movement technique, both children stopped crying, their bodies stiff with tension.

Ten breaths later, Gu An stopped in a forest, gently setting the children down. He retrieved a bottle of pills from his storage pouch and poured half a pill into each of their mouths.

The sudden influx of medicinal energy made the children choke briefly, but as the pills dissolved, a warm current flowed down their throats, spreading to their bones and meridians. The sensation was so miraculous that both stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

Gu An seated himself cross-legged in front of them and asked, “Do you want to cultivate immortality?”

He didn’t dare bring Goudan directly back to the sect, but he could teach them the basics of cultivation. Later, they could apply to join the Taixuan Sect themselves, severing any direct connection to him.

Gu An figured that gifting the sect a top-tier talent would also make up for the years of offenses caused by his frequent absorption of spiritual energy.

“You’re an immortal?” Goudan exclaimed, his face brimming with excitement.

“I am not,” Gu An replied. “I am merely striving to become one. Since you two have no place to go, I will teach you the method of cultivation. One day, you can join the Taixuan Sect and find a home there.”

Gu An deliberately altered his voice to avoid being recognized if they encountered him at the sect in the future.

Goudan nodded eagerly and even knelt to kowtow, calling Gu An “Master.” Turning to Xiaohua, who was still in a daze, Goudan pressed her head down and urged, “Quick, call him Master!”

Instinctively, Xiaohua mumbled, “Master!”

Gu An initially wanted to refuse, but the hopeful expressions on their faces softened his resolve.

Curse it all! Was this the influence of great fortune?

Gu An doubted it was simple sentimentality; it felt as though Goudan’s extraordinary luck was affecting him. Cultivation revolved around destiny and karma, intertwined with the unseen and intangible forces of the world.

“Fine. I will teach you a cultivation technique. Listen carefully and commit it to memory,” Gu An said sternly.

The children immediately straightened, sitting upright and focusing on him with rapt attention.

Gu An taught them the first level of the Yang Wood Primordial Art, a technique he himself cultivated. He wasn’t worried about Goudan mastering it completely; even after amassing a lifespan of a million years, there would still be room for him to improve this art.

In truth, he was curious to see how far Goudan could develop the technique.

To this day, Gu An wasn’t entirely sure how the techniques and divine arts he possessed ranked within the broader cultivation world.

Time passed swiftly.

By the time Gu An finished his explanation, half a day had gone by. Most of his focus was on explaining to Xiaohua, as Goudan memorized the technique after hearing it just once.

A lifespan of 9,999 years doesn’t lie!

Gu An instructed Goudan to begin practicing on his own while he provided one-on-one guidance to Xiaohua.

“Master, I feel something inside me! Is this spiritual energy?” Goudan’s sudden shout interrupted their session that afternoon. He sounded ecstatic.

Xiaohua widened her eyes in disbelief but soon lowered her gaze, her face clouding with disappointment.

Gu An remained calm. “Shouting like that—what kind of behavior is that? Do you want to draw demons here?”

Hearing this, Goudan promptly shut his mouth.

As dusk fell, Xiaohua finally memorized the first level of the Yang Wood Primordial Art.

By the next morning, Goudan had fully embarked on the path of cultivation, while Xiaohua had yet to generate any spiritual energy.

This was normal; those with average Five Element Spiritual Roots typically needed a month to sense spiritual energy. Gu An wasn’t disappointed with her progress.

At dawn, Gu An prepared to leave.

“Goudan, I have some matters to attend to. I’ll be back by nightfall. Look after your junior sister,” Gu An instructed.

Goudan immediately opened his eyes, leapt to his feet, and asked nervously, “Master, you’ll really come back, right? Please don’t abandon us! I promise I won’t shout again.”

Hearing this, Xiaohua also stood up and ran over, hugging Gu An’s waist to stop him from leaving.

Amused yet exasperated, Gu An spoke in a firm tone. “I’m going to slay demons. If you follow me, you’ll only drag me down.”

Upon hearing this, Xiaohua reluctantly let go.

Goudan’s eyes darted thoughtfully before he suddenly suggested, “Master, since we’re cultivators now, why don’t you give us new names?”

To Goudan, having names bestowed by their master would solidify their bond and make them feel closer.

Gu An hesitated for a moment before raising his right hand. With a swipe of his finger, he used sword energy to write characters in the dirt.

Goudan eagerly ran over to watch, standing at his master’s side.

Although they came from a remote mountain village, the children had been taught by a local teacher. Thus, Goudan could barely recognize the characters Gu An had written.

Once Gu An finished writing, Goudan couldn’t help but ask, “An… An what? Master, what’s the last character?”

“You will be called An Hao. ‘Hao’ represents the heavens. I hope you can be the support—like the sky—for your junior sister and carve out your own place in the world.”

“As for Xiaohua, her new name will be An Xin. I wish for you to live a life of peace and contentment, cherishing joy and serenity,” Gu An said calmly.

With that, he vanished into thin air.

Now named An Hao, Goudan looked up, but Gu An was already gone. Squatting down, he stared at his new name in the dirt, murmuring to himself, “An Hao… Hao…”

It seemed he wanted to memorize the character for ”Hao.”

Beside him, An Xin also squatted down, quietly accompanying him as they studied the characters on the ground.

Meanwhile, Gu An sped toward the Taixuan Sect. By the time he reached Xuan Valley, Wu Xin was still leading the disciples in practice.

Walking through the valley entrance, Gu An noticed several cultivators flying across the sky. Evidently, the commotion from the previous night had alarmed the Taixuan Sect.