Time flies, and two years passed in the blink of an eye.

During these two years, no Beastmaster Sect disciples came looking for Gu An. This allowed him to live a life that, while filled with constant anxiety, was peaceful and safe.

Huang Xuan did send a letter, mentioning that three Beastmaster Sect disciples had tracked him down. Fortunately, he had mastered the Blood-Burning Escape and successfully fled. At the end of the letter, he warned Gu An to remain vigilant.

Over these two years, the Qingyuan Sect had thoroughly investigated the Spirit Stone mine within the You Kingdom. It was a small-scale mine, but the Beastmaster Sect's resistance was incredibly tenacious, preventing the Qingyuan Sect from breaching its core defenses.

The sect had already dispatched four Foundation Establishment True Cultivators and over a hundred Qi Condensation disciples to the Yun-You border. The two sides were locked in a brutal tug-of-war. Today you kill two of my disciples; tomorrow I slaughter one of your clans.

With the Golden Core True Persons abstaining from the conflict, the two sides fought fiercely, completely deadlocked.

Fortunately, Blackrock Commandery was quite far from the border. No Beastmaster Sect disciples dared to venture this deep, so Gu An remained undisturbed.

Xiao Wenyuan, however, seemed unaccustomed to such peaceful days. He frequently went to the front lines to fight, with each trip lasting anywhere from ten days to three months.

He had slain three Beastmaster Sect disciples, obtaining a wealth of cultivation resources. His cultivation level had risen accordingly, allowing him to break through to the eighth layer of Qi Condensation.

Meanwhile, Gu An remained holed up at White Mirror Lake, raising his fish, crafting talismans, and practicing his techniques.

The Black Spirit Fish had been harvested again half a month ago, and Xiao Wenyuan had taken them to the front lines to sell. The cultivators at the Yun-You border were locked in constant combat under harsh conditions, yet they carried plenty of Spirit Stones. Thus, the Black Spirit Fish were never hard to sell.

Thanks to Gu An's heavy investment of Spirit Rice and Spirit Bran, combined with Xiao Wenyuan's advice, one hundred and forty-two Black Spirit Fish had matured last year. This year, an entire batch of one hundred and eighty-six had matured together.

It could be said that most of Gu An's energy was focused on raising the Black Spirit Fish and Blood Moon Eels. When the environment was safe, he raised them with confidence; when it was dangerous, he raised them with anxiety.

After all, this concerned his path to immortality, so he had to keep raising them.

[One of your Black Spirit Fish has died of natural causes, returning a cluster of Spiritual Qi to you!]

[One of your Black Spirit Fish has died of natural causes, returning a cluster of Spiritual Qi to you!]

[One of your Black Spirit Fish has died of natural causes, returning a cluster of Spiritual Qi to you!]

A faint smile curled at the corner of Gu An's mouth. Xiao Wenyuan had been gone for half a month, and this batch of Black Spirit Fish was mostly sold out. For the past two days, the notifications of Spiritual Qi feedback had been ringing incessantly, allowing Gu An to take another massive step forward from the baseline of the sixth layer of Qi Condensation.

That's right, Gu An had already reached the sixth layer of Qi Condensation.

Two days ago, the death of several Black Spirit Fish provided the final clusters of Spiritual Qi needed to push Gu An past his critical bottleneck, allowing him to break through successfully.

Over the following two days, the remaining forty-plus Black Spirit Fish died off completely. Thanks to the Spirit Source Feedback, Gu An's new cultivation level was thoroughly consolidated.

Watching Xiao Wenyuan struggle and fight bitterly outside, nearly dying several times just to break through a single layer of cultivation, Gu An felt deeply gratified.

These Black Spirit Fish truly understood gratitude. Knowing how hard their master worked to raise them, they generously contributed their Spiritual Qi upon death.

"If I ever achieve immortality, I will not keep this glory to myself. I will definitely come back and retrieve your souls from the underworld!"

Gu An sighed inwardly as he stood up from his meditation cushion.

Two years had passed, and Gu An's appearance had matured considerably. His originally delicate features had grown more defined, with sharp brows and starry eyes, exuding a temperament as gentle as jade.

He pulled the Snow-Bristle Brush from his Storage Bag, spread out a sheet of Talisman Paper, and calmed his breathing.

After a moment, the soft, snow-white brush tip was saturated with pitch-black Spiritual Ink. He slowly set down his strokes on the cyan Talisman Paper.

He was drawing a Water Shield Talisman. Gu An was now a First-Grade Middle-Tier Talisman Master.

Of course, he could currently only draw one type of Middle-Grade Talisman, and his success rate barely reached thirty percent. He could just manage to avoid losing money, since the price of a Water Shield Talisman was far higher than that of a Water-Gathering Talisman, while the cost of raw materials hadn't increased nearly as sharply.

In recent years, as the conflict between the Qingyuan Sect and the Beastmaster Sect intensified, the demand for talismans had surged. Every time Xiao Wenyuan went to the border, he would help Gu An sell a few. Cumulatively, Gu An had managed to save over five hundred Spirit Stones.

Gu An currently had seven Water Shield Talismans and twenty Fireball Talismans stored in his Storage Bag, which he had kept aside purely for self-defense.

To have Spirit Stones left over but lose one's life-that would be the ultimate tragedy.

Once Xiao Wenyuan brought back the profits from selling this latest batch of Black Spirit Fish, Gu An would have nearly seven hundred Spirit Stones.

That would be more than enough to buy a Top Grade Magical Artifact.

However, Gu An definitely wouldn't waste his wealth on a Magical Artifact. Buying more spirit beasts would be far more cost-effective for his long-term growth.

"Phew!" Gu An let out a long sigh as a fresh Water Shield Talisman was completed.

Placing the talisman into his Storage Bag, Gu An reached for another sheet of Talisman Paper, preparing to continue.

"Gu An! Gu An!"

An urgent voice echoed from outside the window, causing Gu An to frown.

Gu An was incredibly familiar with Xiao Wenyuan's voice. Over the past two years, the two had gotten along very well, abandoning the formal address of "Fellow Daoist."

However, Xiao Wenyuan was a highly courteous individual who would never disturb someone rashly. As a fellow cultivator, he knew exactly how taboo it was to interrupt someone during practice.

Why was he so out of sorts today?

Gu An's expression turned grave. Connecting this to the fact that Xiao Wenyuan had just returned from the front lines, his heart sank heavily with a terrible premonition.

Could the Qingyuan Sect have lost?

With this thought, Gu An quickly put down his Snow-Bristle Brush and strode out of the room.

"Brother Xiao, what's happened? Why are you so alarmed? Has there been a sudden shift at the front lines?"

At that moment, Xiao Wenyuan leaped down from a cyan Spirit Boat and hurried into the courtyard.

"The front lines achieved a major victory. Our forces have breached the perimeter of the Spirit Stone mine," Xiao Wenyuan announced. Yet, there was no joy in his voice; instead, it carried a deep, heavy worry.

Gu An was completely baffled, unable to understand his anxiety. Xiao Wenyuan didn't beat around the bush and explained, "Two days ago, Senior Wang Yang of the Qingyuan Sect activated the Golden Wind Form-Scattering Gourd, refining and killing a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator of the Beastmaster Sect, completely breaking the stalemate."

"The Beastmaster Sect was unable to hold the line and retreated into the depths of the Spirit Stone mine, using the Thousand-Spiral Rain Lotus Formation to dug themselves in."

"Now, the entire Spirit Stone mine has turned into an absolute meat grinder. Cultivators are dying by the day."

"I heard from some Qingyuan Sect disciples that a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator has proposed conscripting nearby cultivation clans from the Yun Kingdom, rogue cultivators, and even sect disciples currently out on local missions to reinforce the front."

"I remembered that your garrison duty is almost over. See if you can pack up and leave early! Do not get press-ganged into that slaughterhouse!!"

After hearing Xiao Wenyuan's words, the veins on Gu An's forehead throbbed violently.

It had only been a few days, and such a catastrophic shift had occurred at the front lines.

I refuse to become a Frontline Fodder Baby!!!

Gu An's mind raced as he calculated his escape routes. Strictly speaking, the official duration of his mission had already concluded. The only reason he hadn't left was that he was waiting for the next disciple to arrive for the handover.

A formal handover allowed the incoming garrison disciple to quickly understand the local affairs of the commandery, just as Senior Brother Chu had done for him. However, even if he skipped the handover entirely, no real harm would be done; it would simply force the next disciple to spend a bit more time figuring things out on their own.

After all, White Mirror Lake yielded no official resources. The Black Spirit Fish were entirely Gu An's private property, meaning there was nothing tangible to hand over.

Reaching this conclusion, Gu An made up his mind. He would run first and deal with the consequences later. At worst, his mission evaluation rating would take a hit.

This wasn't the chaotic beginning of the war; the sect was no longer as strictly paranoid about disciples entering and leaving the borders of the Yun Kingdom. Furthermore, Gu An had a perfectly legitimate reason to head back. Returning to the sect now was his safest bet.