Steadily becoming a saint, the immortal officials hired me to tend the horses - Chapter 872 - 864 The Vast Gap

Chapter 872: Chapter 864 The Vast Gap

Below the Star Sea, the expansive dark earth stretched endlessly, a flicker of fire stood conspicuously against the darkness. Upon closer inspection, thousands of cultivators sat around a massive bonfire.

Li Ya sat cross-legged at the forefront, placing his treasure sword upon his lap.

He was healing while simultaneously seeking sword enlightenment.

Throughout the endless years, he had encountered numerous people who aided him, from unparalleled great powers to Immortal Gods descending to the mortal realm. The assistance from various destined individuals had already paved a path in his Sword Dao uniquely his own.

Regardless of their motives for helping him, he remained true to himself, and everything he had experienced forged his current Sword Dao.

Despite emerging victorious in the battle against the three Golden Crows, one had escaped, and he realized this would bring about a greater calamity. He must become as strong as possible to protect the disciples around him.

The surrounding disciples did not disturb him, chatting in whispers about today’s battle or discussing the way of cultivation in groups of twos and threes.

Day transitioned into night.

Months passed in the blink of an eye.

Li Ya did not seek a place to hide because as long as he remained in this Great Thousand World, there was no point in hiding anywhere.

Until one morning, not long after dawn, flames descended from the sky, making the earth feel like it was within a furnace. The tens of thousands of disciples following Li Ya looked up, all frowning.

A gigantic Golden Crow, its wings spanning millions of miles, hovered above the celestial vault, obscuring the heavens and skies. From their angle, its wings seemed larger than the celestial vault itself, as a fiery sea engulfed the sky, burning fiercely, causing the temperature between heaven and earth to soar abruptly.

Li Ya stood up, lifting his gaze skyward to see a figure atop the head of the Golden Crow, whose fierce intense flames could not conceal their form.

He couldn’t help but furrow his eyebrows. With just one glance, he felt he was not a match for the opponent.

“You dared harm my child, mortal; you court death!”

A cold, indifferent voice reverberated across heaven and earth, causing a look of confusion to flash in Li Ya’s eyes.

He had slain two Golden Crows, how could that merely be considered hurting?

Could it be that those two Golden Crows were not dead?

He had no time to think further; grabbing his sword, he unsheathed it, unleashing an immense sword intent that transformed into a sea of silver light, blanketing the ground and isolating it from the scorching heat from the sky.

“Disciples, continue resting; your master will return shortly.”

With these words left behind, Li Ya’s figure transformed into a sword light, soaring upwards to attack the Golden Crow in the sky, igniting a massive battle.

Simultaneously.

On a distant mountain peak, Gu An and An Xin stood on a cliffside observing this battle.

An Xin furrowed her brows, saying, “Isn’t that person’s cultivation nearing the Heaven-Balancing Golden Immortal Realm?”

Gu An replied, “Yes, it is already nearing the breakthrough period. He is your opponent. As your master, I remind you that your divine skills might be ineffective against him, so do not be careless.”

Th𝙞𝘴 𝕔hⱥpτ𝙚r ıѕ p𝟬𝐬†𝙚ɗ b𝗒 Ⱪ𝑖𝓉ɛп𝕠ⱴ𝗲𝗹

An Xin nodded, then leapt into the air, flying towards the distance. Although the battle had just begun, she could feel that Li Ya was definitely not the opponent’s match; the longer the delay, the greater the likelihood of Li Ya’s downfall.

The reflection of Li Ya’s figure appeared in Gu An’s pupils as Li Ya was descending.

Facing the mysterious being atop the Golden Crow, he couldn’t withstand even a single move. The opponent waved his hand downward, dispersing his sword intent, causing his mana to collapse and blood to spurt from his body, nearly shattering him.

Seeing Li Ya plummet, all the disciples panicked.

However, Li Ya’s sword intent still enveloped the ground, preventing them from flying out. They could only watch as Li Ya fell into the Sword Intent Array, with one disciple swiftly catching his blood-soaked form.

Li Ya, hair disheveled and face stained with blood, opened his eyes to see the loftily perched Golden Crow, his eyes filled with unwillingness.

Earlier, he sensed he would lose, but never imagined he would be defeated so swiftly.

What realm could the opponent possibly be?

That palm struck terror in Li Ya, lacking any earth-shattering destruction. Yet, the dao intent of that palm pressed heavily upon him, leaving him no room to escape.

It’s over!

A sense of despair engulfed Li Ya; at this moment, a figure flashed across his mind.

He knew if he spoke, that person would definitely appear.

His own life was of no consequence, but he had so many disciples below. He couldn’t bear to see his beloved disciples die here.

“Master, are you alright?”

The male disciple holding Li Ya asked nervously, bringing him to the ground as other disciples surged forth like a tide.

Li Ya opened his mouth, blood continuously pouring out; to his horror, he discovered a chilling mana was ravaging his body, trying to prevent him from speaking.

“Gu…”

Li Ya desperately forced out one word, but couldn’t utter a second. His pupils trembled, plunging him into unprecedented panic.

The disciples had never seen Li Ya displaying such an expression before, stirring both shock and rage among them. They all looked up, faces twisted with fury, glaring at the Golden Crow in the sky with eyes filled with hatred, void of any fear.

Tens of thousands of hate-filled faces gazed skyward, causing the mysterious high existence to frown. He was a tall man clad in a red robe, with a dark red serpent coiled around his waist, black scales crawling across half his face, resembling a half-man, half-demon.

Just as he was about to strike, he abruptly turned his head to see enormous purple eyes emerging at the ends of the world, peering into the tiny world below.

A figure appeared out of thin air behind him, swinging a sword to strike. As he shifted form, transforming into countless illusionary clones spreading across the sky above the Golden Crow, he focused his gaze ahead to see a white-clothed woman standing atop the Golden Crow, coldly staring at him.

It was An Xin!

The red-robed man immediately led his countless clones to assault An Xin, who was charging back at him.

With a roar!

The massive Golden Crow exploded, gusts mixed with heat waves swept towards all corners of heaven and earth, blinding Li Ya and his disciples with fire waves. But soon, the fire waves dissipated, revealing the celestial vault, leaving them wide-eyed in disbelief.

The bright celestial vault now hosted countless densely packed purple eyes of varying sizes, impossible to count, causing any observer to shiver with unease.

Li Ya clearly observed the true form of the newcomer, expressing delight and suddenly no longer felt the need to speak. The agony within his body faded with it.

“Junior Brother Gu, even this you can hear?”

Li Ya felt a sense of joy, mistaking it for Gu An hearing his inner voice and immediately dispatching An Xin.

Simultaneously, he was astonished by An Xin’s strength.

He had never crossed blades with An Xin but had met many times, remembering her as a regular disciple from the Third Medicine Valley of the Supreme Sect. Even with her closeness to Gu An, her cultivation level was ordinary.

Watching An Xin battle the red-robed man, displaying overwhelming divine skills and spells, he clearly noticed the vast disparity between himself and An Xin.

Could even the slightest disciple around Junior Brother Gu be stronger than him?

Recalling Zhen Qin’s hesitant expression when facing him before, Li Ya couldn’t help but let out a bitter smile.

So that’s how it is…

The surrounding disciples were equally astonished by An Xin’s might, feeling as if the celestial vault had been ripped apart. The extraordinary scenes, as if the outer space was collapsing, with every divine skill and spell exchanged between An Xin and the red-robed man, stimulated their eyes and souls.