Gu An had truly underestimated the White Spirit Mouse's range of activity. He followed the White Spirit Mouse for more than ten miles, yet it still showed no sign of stopping.
The farther they got from Mystic Valley, the lower his spirits sank.
Although he had been to the Outer Sect before, he had only traveled along a single route.
With Mystic Valley as the center, once he went beyond a radius of twenty miles, he felt danger lurking everywhere, even though he was already at the seventh level of the Foundation Establishment Realm.
Fortunately, the White Spirit Mouse did not keep going forever. When they were nearly twenty miles away from Mystic Valley, it finally stopped.
This was still a stretch of mountains. A small stream flowed down from between the peaks, and the White Spirit Mouse stopped beside it and began circling around.
Gu An walked over. Both banks of the stream were thick with flowers and grass, scattered with stones of all sizes.
He grabbed the White Spirit Mouse, then swept out with his right leg.
Boom—
Grass clippings flew everywhere, and chunks of stone shot in all directions. With a single sweep of his leg, Gu An cleared out a large patch of open ground.
He focused his gaze and found a square stone slab by the stream.
Good heavens!
A manhole cover?
Gu An walked over to the slab and crouched down. Mysterious patterns were carved into its surface. Whether they were words or images, he had never seen anything like them.
He could sense wisps of spiritual energy leaking from the slab's edges. Perhaps that was why the White Spirit Mouse had been able to find this place.
Those in the Foundation Establishment Realm possessed divine sense. It was an invisible, untouchable force. Once extended, divine sense was like opening the Heavenly Eye, able to peer through objects and inspect what lay within.
Gu An rarely used it normally, but that did not mean he lacked divine sense. In truth, one could begin cultivating divine sense upon reaching the seventh level of Qi Refining.
He immediately gathered his divine sense, intending to pierce through the stone slab and spy on the space below.
However, the instant his divine sense touched the slab, a mysterious force rebounded it, making his body tremble.
So strong?
Even the divine sense of the seventh level of the Foundation Establishment Realm could not penetrate its restriction...
Gu An hesitated. With such a powerful restriction, could there be some tremendous danger hidden beneath it?
Spiritual energy surged within. Either it was nurturing some heavenly treasure, or someone was cultivating in seclusion below.
No!
He could not act rashly!
He would observe it for a while first!
Gu An released the White Spirit Mouse, then moved the surrounding stones and weeds to cover the mysterious stone slab. Only after thoroughly concealing it did he seize the White Spirit Mouse and turn back toward the valley.
The White Spirit Mouse squeaked incessantly, but he ignored it.
After returning to Mystic Valley, Gu An did not mention the matter to anyone, as though he had never left the valley at all.
Over the following nights, aside from completing his daily tasks, Gu An would visit the vicinity of the stone slab to inspect it.
Night after night, there was never any sign that the cover around the slab had been disturbed.
Besides that, Gu An discovered that Wuxin went into the mountain forest every night, though he had no idea what Wuxin was searching for.
He did not expose Wuxin. His instincts told him that Wuxin's identity was far from simple.
At the second level of Qi Refining, Wuxin already had a lifespan of more than three hundred years. He had likely cultivated some extraordinary art.
Gu An had specifically observed Wuxin's cultivation with his divine sense before, but he could not make heads or tails of it. It looked no different from ordinary cultivation by absorbing qi.
And so, the blazing summer passed.
Mystic Valley gradually became blanketed in withered yellow. Gu An opened seventeen plots in the surrounding forests, and the workload grew heavier. Xiao Chuan and the others had to patrol them all every day.
One evening.
Cheng Xuandan came to find Gu An and signaled with his eyes for Gu An to follow. Master and disciple headed toward the northern peak.
As Gu An looked at Cheng Xuandan's back, his feelings were complicated.
Cheng Xuandan's lifespan had decreased again. His age now matched his remaining lifespan, meaning his death was near.
Although Cheng Xuandan had tricked him, he had indeed done much for Gu An. When a person was about to die, Gu An could not help feeling somewhat sorrowful.
He tried hard to convince himself not to be sad.
What he sought was the path of immortal cultivation and eternal life. There would be no shortage of partings through life and death in the future. Sooner or later, he would get used to it.
Of course, that was only if he could keep living.
Wuxin, who was watering the plants, spotted Gu An and Cheng Xuandan. He could not help raising an eyebrow.
He silently remembered the direction the two had gone. There had to be something unusual in that patch of forest.
After entering the forest, Cheng Xuandan said, "I will take you to the entrance leading underground. You must not tell anyone else about this place, including your junior brothers and sisters. They may be close to you today, but once they leave Medicine Valley and gain experience in the outside world, they will become strangers to you."
Gu An did not refute him. He had always understood that clearly.
As long as Xiao Chuan and the others had not given up on becoming Outer Sect disciples, they would part ways sooner or later.
After hesitating for a moment, Gu An asked, "Master, were you originally one of Thousand Autumn Pavilion's people, or were you chosen by Thousand Autumn Pavilion later?"
Cheng Xuandan's steps were heavier than before. He answered, "My experiences were the same as yours. This identity was inherited through my master."
Gu An fell silent.
He suddenly felt that Cheng Xuandan was pitiful too.
"After I helped my master do certain things, I could no longer cast off this identity. But I do not regret it."
Hearing his master's words, Gu An wanted to speak but stopped himself.
I have not done anything yet. Can I still make it ashore?
Cheng Xuandan began recounting his experiences with his own master. From his description, his master had possessed a strange temperament—strict at times, lively and uninhibited at others, like a child.
In his words, his master had been an old child who never grew up.
They circled around to the back of the peak, where Cheng Xuandan stopped before a mountain wall covered in moss and creeping vines.
"Master, is Martial Grandmaster dead or alive now?" Gu An could not help asking.
He thought of the stone slab he had been keeping watch over. It was not far from Mystic Valley, and the lord of Mystic Valley was a spy of the Demonic Path. He had reason to suspect that the slab had been left behind by Cheng Xuandan's master.
Cheng Xuandan replied, "Before he passed away in meditation, he bid farewell and left. I will follow his example. Tomorrow, I will depart as well. Everything in Medicine Valley will be entrusted to you."
Gu An's brows furrowed. What concerned him was not Cheng Xuandan, but Cheng Xuandan's master.
In other words, Cheng Xuandan's master might still be alive?
Cheng Xuandan took a compass from his sleeve. He pushed aside a patch of vines on the mountain wall, found a groove, and pressed the compass into it. As he infused it with spiritual power, the compass began to tremble and emit a faint glow.
Gu An could clearly sense Cheng Xuandan's aura growing weaker.
He could not help worrying that Cheng Xuandan might suddenly die here.
The mountain wall began to shake. The sound was not loud. Soon, an opening appeared in the wall, so low that Gu An had to bow his head to enter.
Cheng Xuandan said, "Go in. I will wait for you outside."
Gu An hesitated. "Master, give me the compass. After you leave, I will go in."
Cheng Xuandan smiled, then removed the compass and handed it to Gu An.
A stone door emerged within the opening in the mountain wall, sealing it shut again without the slightest gap. It looked perfectly intact, nothing like there had ever been an entrance there.
Cheng Xuandan turned and headed down the mountain, with Gu An following behind.
"The underground space has its own complete Formation. If you wish to grow spiritual herbs or flowers that you do not want others to know about in the future, you may choose to do so below," Cheng Xuandan said softly, as though arranging his final affairs.
Gu An listened attentively. His heart was equally conflicted. He was grateful for what Cheng Xuandan had done for him, yet deep down, he still held a thread of caution.
Until the very end, he could not let down his guard.
Cheng Xuandan was about to die anyway. He could relax after Cheng Xuandan died.
From then on, Gu An would offer incense to Cheng Xuandan every year. He could show him respect then.
They descended the mountain very slowly. Cheng Xuandan's voice was faint as he explained everything underground. Gu An listened carefully. There were many details; it did not seem fabricated.
By the time they returned to Medicine Valley, night had fallen.
Cheng Xuandan gave Gu An his final words. "The road of life is long. Mediocre talent can sometimes be a good thing. You can do what you want to do."
Gu An watched him return to the pavilion. Even after Cheng Xuandan closed the door, Gu An remained standing where he was, staring ahead, unsure what he was thinking.
After lingering there for half an hour, Gu An finally headed toward his own courtyard.
His junior brothers were cultivating in their respective rooms, and the courtyard was quiet.
That night, Gu An cultivated without pause.
As dawn neared, he heard Cheng Xuandan's footsteps. He walked to the window and watched Cheng Xuandan descend the stairs.
Cheng Xuandan staggered, walking very slowly.
He did not look in Gu An's direction. After coming downstairs, he headed straight toward the valley entrance.
Even after Gu An watched his back vanish beyond the valley entrance, he did not leave the window.
When the sun rose over the eastern mountain, the first ray of morning light swept over the mountaintop and shone upon Gu An, stretching his shadow long.
After Xiao Chuan, Lu Jiujia, Ye Lan, and Wuxin woke one after another, they all sensed that something was off about Medicine Valley's atmosphere.
They soon discovered what was wrong. At this hour, their senior brother would usually lead them in training. The body-tempering art called Fledgling Eagle Taking Flight truly held a measure of profound mystery.
Gu An, who never missed a day regardless of wind or rain, had unexpectedly not led their morning exercises today.
It was not until noon that Gu An appeared and gathered them together, announcing that Cheng Xuandan had left. From this day onward, he was the lord of Medicine Valley.
Xiao Chuan and the other three were somewhat agitated. They repeatedly asked where Cheng Xuandan had gone. Since Li Ya left, Cheng Xuandan had become gentler and treated his disciples quite well, so they all held an excellent impression of him.
Only Wuxin was not deeply affected.
After half an hour of commotion, his junior brothers and sister finally dispersed.
Gu An came to the mountaintop and gazed into the distance in the direction Cheng Xuandan had departed.
Only after Cheng Xuandan's figure had completely disappeared from view did he enter Cheng Xuandan's room.
Cheng Xuandan's pill furnace was still there. On the table beside it lay many things: a Storage Bag, letters, numerous keys, and even a pot of spiritual flowers.
He picked up the letter and read it. Its contents were simple:
'Your master only knows that you enjoy picking flowers and plants. Before leaving, I have left behind a fifth-grade Tiger Blood Flower for you to harvest, as a farewell gift.'
A smile appeared on Gu An's face, and then he picked up the Storage Bag.
This was what interested him the most.
How could an immortal cultivator not have a Storage Bag?
And so, he began examining the inheritance Cheng Xuandan had left behind.
It was not until evening that Gu An left Cheng Xuandan's pavilion. A purple cloth pouch now hung from his waist—the very Storage Bag Cheng Xuandan had left behind.
He headed toward the northern peak, arriving at the mountain wall where the underground entrance was located. He took a compass from the Storage Bag and pressed it into the groove on the mountain wall.
Accompanied by a low rumble, an opening appeared before him.
Gu An removed the compass, lowered his head, and entered the opening. After only five steps, the passage suddenly widened, while the entrance began to close.
Gu An's life as valley lord was about to begin~
Gu An: Fellow Daoists, on my first day as valley lord, could you cast a few votes to support me as the one calling the shots?
Before you continue