Soul-Shaking Bell, Yin-Yang Art

In the mountain forest, Gu An could not refuse Li Ya, so he ended up performing a clumsy set of the Li Family Seven Swords. He then realized that pretending to be inept was much harder than pretending to be a master.

Facing Gu An's stiff sword moves, Li Ya offered criticism for quite a while before beginning to patiently teach him how to practice the sword.

Through his sword moves, Gu An could tell that he was already cultivating the Nine Astonishing Swords. He could be considered a genius, at least with more natural talent for the sword than Gu An.

When the next day arrived, Li Ya still wanted to drag Gu An out to practice.

Gu An couldn't take it anymore!

"Brother Li, I have no talent for the sword, so let's just forget it. My life will only span a few decades; wouldn't it be a waste to spend it in bitter cultivation? Compared to practicing the sword, I would much rather plant and water flowers."

Gu An said helplessly, secretly circulating the Dragon Strength within his body to irritate his eyes until they turned red.

Li Ya, holding his sword, saw this and suddenly felt a tightness in his chest.

What was he doing?

Repaying Junior Brother Gu in a way he liked?

Wasn't this just another form of harm?

Li Ya couldn't help but think of his childhood, when his imperial father forced him to study alongside his older brothers, yet he could never learn the things they excelled at.

He sighed, walked up to Gu An, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Junior Brother Gu, it was my lack of consideration. I am sorry."

Gu An forced a smile and said, "It's nothing, Senior Brother. You were only thinking of me, it's just that I am unteachable and lack the talent."

The more he acted this way, the more guilty Li Ya felt.

The two sat down and began to chat about their first year in the valley, diluting the tense atmosphere of sword practice.

In the following days, Li Ya no longer pestered Gu An to practice, but he still set aside an hour to teach Xiao Chuan and the others.

For Xiao Chuan and the others, whose dreams had not yet been extinguished, being able to learn swordplay from an Outer Sect disciple was a rare opportunity.

Five days later, Li Ya prepared to leave.

Gu An led his junior brothers and sisters to see Li Ya off at the valley entrance. Xiao Chuan and the others were very reluctant to part, as they had learned so much from him.

"Senior Brother, this place will always be your home. Come back and visit often," Gu An said with a look of reluctance.

Home?

A ripple stirred in Li Ya's heart, though his face remained light and breezy as he said, "Mm, I will return."

With that, he turned and left. Dressed in black, he looked like a mass of black flames in the forest, burning fiercely; the bleakness of the autumn wind could not extinguish his fire.

Gu An felt that he was burning with some kind of fighting spirit, which might be related to the injuries he sustained this time.

Only after Li Ya disappeared into the depths of the forest did Gu An retract his gaze. He turned to his junior brothers and sisters and smiled, "Cultivate well, and go to the Outer Sect to find Senior Brother Li soon to bring glory to our Mystic Valley."

Lu Jiujia immediately made a bold declaration, swearing to enter the Outer Sect.

Xiao Chuan said the same, though his confidence was clearly not as strong.

Ye Lan was lost in thought, wondering what she was contemplating.

Wuxin spoke up, "I won't go to the Outer Sect. I want to stay with Senior Brother for the rest of my life!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone looked at him in surprise, including Gu An.

This kid...

Gu An felt a bit moved. Had he misunderstood Wuxin?

During these days, Wuxin had been very well-behaved and had not been wandering around and touching things in the middle of the night. Furthermore, nothing had ever gone missing in Mystic Valley, so it was impossible to conclude that Wuxin had malicious intent for the time being.

Since that was the case, he would assign more chores to Wuxin in the future.

Ye Lan felt regretful; how could Wuxin have snatched the chance to say those words first?

At the same time, she realized that perhaps in her heart, Senior Brother was important, but not as important as cultivating immortality to pursue longevity.

Lu Jiujia couldn't help but mock Wuxin for being a sycophant, and for a moment, Xiao Chuan, Ye Lan, and Wuxin began to bicker with him again.

Gu An led them back to the valley, his mind drifting toward the underground.

Li Ya had left, so it was time to prepare to resolve the trouble beneath the ground.

Late at night, Eight Sceneries Grotto-Heaven.

Gu An held the Heavenly Abode Sword Sheath and arrived before Meng Lang. Meng Lang, whose seven orifices were sealed by dirt, was still lying on the grass.

"There are traces of disturbance in the surrounding grass. Someone has indeed been here."

Gu An keenly sensed the subtle changes in the grass around Meng Lang. It would be difficult for someone with ordinary cultivation to notice this, but he was able to detect it because he had specifically observed it when he left last time.

He squeezed the Heavenly Abode Sword in his hand and then stepped toward the hole from which Meng Lang had originally emerged.

Soon, he vanished into the darkness.

This tunnel did not have many crystals and was quite dim, but for the divine sense of a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator, it had no effect at all.

A cold, spiritual wind blew through the tunnel, fluttering Gu An's robes. His divine sense had already reached the end of the tunnel first.

It was a spacious stone chamber. Although it was not as large as the main chamber of the Eight Sceneries Grotto-Heaven, it was not small either. Coffins stood within it, and a blue-green crystal the size of a water vat was embedded in the ceiling. Under the eerie light, these coffins looked truly terrifying.

There was nothing else besides the coffins.

Gu An's divine sense immediately captured a living person lying inside one of the coffins; that faint vitality could not escape the divine sense of a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator.

Gu An did not sense any danger from this trace of vitality, but he did not let his guard down.

He continued forward for a long time before finally reaching the end of the tunnel.

Standing at the entrance, he cautiously poked his head in and asked tentatively, "Is anyone there?"

No one answered him, as if the chamber were completely empty.

Gu An picked up a pebble from the ground and tossed it inside. With a clack, the stone struck a coffin. The coffin did not move, but he acted as if startled, his eyes widening.

He instinctively stepped back, putting on a display of terror.

Why hasn't there been a sound yet?

If I keep acting like this, it's going to get awkward!

Gu An felt anxious. The reason he was putting on this performance was to determine the attitude of that existence. After all, the other party had never harmed him before, and he didn't want to kill an innocent person by mistake.

At the very least, he needed to be able to live with himself!

Gu An gritted his teeth, suddenly drew his sword, and charged into the chamber, hacking wildly. With a crack, the Heavenly Abode Sword struck a coffin lid and got stuck. He gave it a hard tug, and due to the momentum, he stumbled back two steps.

"Pfft—haha—"

A soft laugh rang out, sounding jarringly sharp within the chamber.

Gu An almost had goosebumps; it was the voice of a woman, and at first listen, it sounded like a female ghost laughing.

Holding the Heavenly Abode Sword, he scanned his surroundings nervously, spinning in circles, terrified that some demon or ghost might charge out at him.

"Kid, are you Cheng Xuandan's disciple?"

That mysterious female voice sounded again, her coquettish tone leaving much to the imagination.

Gu An quickly replied, "That's right, Senior. Cheng Xuandan is my master. Who are you, and why are you here?"

"Anyone who can be here is naturally your grandmaster. Cheng Xuandan is my disciple. The fact that you can get in means his time has come, right?" The mysterious voice suppressed her laughter, her tone tinged with a hint of melancholy.

Gu An responded, "So you are my grandmaster. Greetings, Grandmaster. My master's time has indeed come. He said he was following your example, wishing to find a place unknown to others to welcome the end of his life."

The chamber fell into silence.

Gu An remained vigilant. If the other party tried to make a move on him, regardless of whether she was his grandmaster or not, he would not be merciful.

The Heavenly Abode Sword in his hand had yet to taste blood!

A long while passed.

Just as Gu An was about to lose his patience and speak, the voice sounded again: "Did that Cheng Xuandan tell you my identity?"

Gu An replied in a low voice, "Master told me everything. You come from the Thousand Autumn Pavilion, and he also told me to be ready at any time to receive people from the Thousand Autumn Pavilion..."

"Looking at you, timid and cowardly, and the way you were so cautious when you came in, you probably weren't here of your own volition, were you? Only after he entrusted the Valley Master position to you did you learn all of this?" the other party asked teasingly.

Gu An sighed; everything was left unsaid.

This time, he wasn't acting; he was truly helpless.

"Since you have already taken him as your master, you are naturally my grand-disciple. You will guard this place for me for another ten years. After ten years, I will be able to leave the Taixuan Sect, and I won't cause you any trouble."

Hearing this, Gu An couldn't help but ask, "May I ask for your name, Grandmaster?"

"My surname is Jiang, given name Qiong. As for my reputation in the cultivation world, it's better left unsaid."

Jiang Qiong?

The name sounded quite pleasant, though he wondered how many years she had lived.

As Gu An was thinking, a coffin in front of him suddenly opened, startling him into raising his sword.

Two items flew out from the coffin and landed before him.

He looked down to see a small black bell and a secret manual.

"Consider this a meeting gift for my grand-disciple. The Soul-Shaking Bell can command all the Gu techniques of the Myriad Gu Profound Technique. As long as you ring it, all the corpse-Gu in this cave will obey your orders."

"That manual is my cultivation method, the Yin-Yang Art. The Yin-Yang Art contains the techniques for refining the Soul-Shaking Bell—something even your master couldn't learn."

Jiang Qiong's voice came through, sounding somewhat weary.

Gu An quickly bowed in thanks, unable to help but ask, "My aptitude is mediocre, Grandmaster. Why are you being so kind to me?"

"Heh, mediocre aptitude? Kid, although I don't know what strange technique you practice, your actual cultivation is definitely not just at the fourth level of Qi Refining. You should have already reached Foundation Establishment, right? To reach Foundation Establishment at such a young age makes you a genius. You are able to suppress your arrogance and focus on hiding in the Outer Sect as a chore disciple. Although I don't know what you are carrying, at the very least, you seem to have a strong resistance toward the Taixuan Sect."

"Your aptitude satisfies me, and your style of doing things is even more to my liking. Cultivate well; later, I will pass on more spells to you. Once you inherit my mantle, I will recommend you to enter the Thousand Autumn Pavilion as a true disciple."

Jiang Qiong returned to her earlier coquettish laughter. Gu An's expression changed; he felt as if he had been seen through, and he felt quite embarrassed.

Gu An took a deep breath and said, "Thank you, Grandmaster. If you have any instructions, feel free to tell me at any time."

With that, he stooped to pick up the Soul-Shaking Bell and the Yin-Yang Art, then turned and left.

Jiang Qiong's voice no longer echoed in the chamber, and Gu An quickly returned to the Eight Sceneries Grotto-Heaven.

He sat cross-legged under the tree and began to flip through the Yin-Yang Art.

He pondered whether Jiang Qiong harbored any malicious intent.

If it were only for ten years, there was nothing to fear; he was not only in the Nascent Soul Realm, but he also mastered the Great Vast God-Startling Sword.

Jiang Qiong was clearly not a good person; she was merely wary of Gu An's Foundation Establishment strength. How could she go from fearing a Foundation Establishment cultivator to being able to suppress a Nascent Soul Realm expert with a flip of her hand in just ten years?

She had not just arrived here to hide; according to Cheng Xuandan, she had already been dead for seventy years.

He would take advantage of these ten years to find ways to extract more spells and secret manuals from her. If she left honestly after ten years, Gu An would not act against his own teacher.

However, if she harbored any ill intent, Gu An would have no choice but to let the Heavenly Abode Sword taste blood.

What should he have for lunch?