Cicada Concubine ignored Li Ya, her gaze fixed on Li Xuanyu as she smiled enchantingly. "Li Xuanyu, weren't you the proud daughter of heaven? How did you end up in such a sorry state? It seems you Li Family siblings are no match for us."
Xu Ruye stepped toward Li Ya.
Li Xuanyu suddenly hurled the sword in her hand. Mid-flight, the blade split into four sword shadows that shot together toward Xu Ruye.
Xu Ruye reacted swiftly. With a sweep of his right hand, the purple qi in his palm erupted like blazing flames, forcibly blocking Li Xuanyu's sword.
Cicada Concubine appeared behind Li Xuanyu like a ghost. A Red Fan appeared in her hand, and with a forceful sweep, rolling crimson poison mist surged forth, forcing Li Xuanyu to leap away.
The crimson poison mist rapidly spread through the mountain forest. A giant python could vaguely be seen darting through the fog; wherever it passed, red mist billowed up, surrounding Li Ya and Li Xuanyu in the blink of an eye.
Li Xuanyu landed beside Li Ya and swept her gaze around. Cicada Concubine was nowhere to be seen, while Xu Ruye hovered above the forest, looking down at them.
"This is Taixuan Sect territory. You dare harbor murderous intent?" Li Ya asked in a deep voice.
The corners of Xu Ruye's lips rose as he mocked, "I heard long ago that Taixuan Sect's territory is vast. Ever since the current sect master took office, Taixuan Sect's control over its borderlands has steadily weakened. It seems they want the sect's disciples to settle their conflicts in these outer regions. The Eight Outer Sect Cities are like a wall—inside it are righteous sects and famous schools, while outside it is a world where the weak are meat for the strong, no different from the Demonic Path."
"After fighting this long, no one has come. It seems Taixuan Sect has not stationed anyone beyond the Outer Sect at all. Today, I'll kill you, then abduct your sister. At worst, I won't attend the World Outer Sect Assembly. What do you think?"
"And those people in Medicine Valley—I'll kill them too. For Princess Li to personally come and shelter them, their relationship with you must be far from shallow."
Xu Ruye seemed to think of something and licked his lips.
"Buy me some time," Li Xuanyu said softly. Then she sat down cross-legged and rapidly formed hand seals. A wisp of Golden Flame appeared between her brows, flickering in and out of sight.
Li Ya's eyes narrowed. His body suddenly dipped before he leaped up. His sword rose overhead like Sword Qi bursting from the earth, its momentum charging into the heavens. The violent force made the forest within several dozen zhang shake fiercely, sweeping up the rolling red mist as well. Beneath the dusk sky, the spectacle was magnificent.
Xu Ruye smiled disdainfully and swiftly drew a Purple Great Banner from the Storage Bag at his waist. Embroidered on the banner was a ferocious Vicious Ghost, as though it might leap from the fabric at any moment.
He turned his left palm over and struck downward. Spiritual power erupted from his body, forming a massive palm shadow that crushed down and forcibly suppressed Li Ya's Sword Qi.
Li Ya frowned. His spiritual power was far inferior to Xu Ruye's; he could not contend with him at all.
Before his eyes, the Purple Great Banner in Xu Ruye's hand erupted with a purple whirlwind that left his soul dizzy and bewildered.
Not good!
Li Ya's expression changed drastically as a powerful wave of dizziness washed over him. What terrified him most was that his body could not fall.
"He wants to seize your soul! How utterly audacious!"
The Old Ancestor's voice rang in Li Ya's mind, filled with shock and fury.
Li Ya grew even more panicked upon hearing it.
"Let me taste the flavor of a Taicang Imperial Lineage soul!" Xu Ruye snarled, his eyes brimming with greed.
Whoosh—
A piercing shriek tore through the air from afar, making Li Ya, locked in a midair stalemate, instinctively glance over. Even Li Xuanyu, who had been sitting in meditation and circulating her power, could not help raising her eyes.
A single leaf streaked across the sky carrying fierce Sword Qi, swift as lightning, shooting straight for Xu Ruye.
Xu Ruye instinctively glanced toward it, but the leaf was simply too fast. He had no time to react.
Bang!
His head exploded outright. A mist of blood scattered through the air, while the red fog blanketing the forest was swept away by a powerful gust. Li Ya was thrown over and crashed to the ground. Li Xuanyu mobilized her spiritual power to resist the gale, yet she was still pressed into hurriedly standing up.
"Brother Xu!"
Within the howling wind, Cicada Concubine cried out in alarm. Just as she was about to leap up, another shriek split the air. She turned her head, but the terrifying gale drove the crimson poison mist over her body, violently tugging her robes backward and outlining her perfect figure.
A leaf was reflected in her pupils.
Bang!
The leaf pierced through her head. Blood splashed and scattered through the forest, while that leaf continued flying at breakneck speed, severing tree after tree and kicking up rolling clouds of dust before finally embedding itself in the trunk of a large tree.
Thud! Thud!
Xu Ruye's corpse fell to the ground, followed by Cicada Concubine's body. Then, only the sound of wind remained in the forest.
Li Ya propped himself up and sat on the ground, his black hair whipping wildly around him. He was completely dumbfounded.
Not far away, Li Xuanyu was likewise terrified. Looking at the corpses of Xu Ruye and Cicada Concubine, she fell into a daze.
"Flying leaves slaying enemies—what overbearing Sword Qi! This person is at least in the Nascent Soul Realm, and his attainments in the sword path are extraordinarily high!" The Old Ancestor's voice rang in Li Ya's mind.
Li Ya snapped awake and hurriedly rose to his feet. Cupping his hands, he called out, "May I ask which senior has taken action?"
Hearing this, Li Xuanyu also stood and looked around.
Unfortunately, no one answered them.
"Boy, go take a look over there!" The Old Ancestor's voice sounded again, urging Li Ya toward a certain direction.
Li Ya immediately walked over. He staggered unsteadily; his injuries, compounded by the attempted soul seizure, left him feeling miserable.
Li Xuanyu went to inspect Xu Ruye and Cicada Concubine's corpses instead. She even stabbed each of them twice, using Sword Qi to grind their hearts to pieces.
Li Ya walked a full two hundred zhang before stopping in front of a tree. His gaze fell upon its trunk, and his expression abruptly changed.
"How could this be..."
Li Ya said in a trembling voice. Following his gaze, a leaf was embedded in the trunk. A thread of Sword Qi coiled around the leaf, and the entire trunk was already cracked, as though it could explode at any moment.
"This person struck from ten li away. I can only capture the direction, not his aura."
The Old Ancestor's voice was full of emotion. Then he clicked his tongue in amazement. "It seems Taixuan Sect is not quite so bad after all. A Great Cultivator is keeping watch outside."
Li Ya stared at that leaf and did his best to calm himself.
At that moment, Li Xuanyu walked over from behind him. When she clearly saw the leaf, she too froze.
Night fell. In Mystic Valley, the valley master's pavilion was festooned with lights and decorations. Gu An and his disciples sat around a large round table, raising cups and trading drinks amid a joyous atmosphere.
Xiao Chuan and Tang Yu were competing in drinking. This martial uncle, Xiao Chuan, was already flushed red, yet he refused to admit defeat. Ignoring everyone else's attempts to stop him, he continued drinking.
The wine they drank was no ordinary wine. It was Spirit Wine Gu An had specially bought from the Outer Sect. One jar cost two Low-grade Spirit Stones, equivalent to two months of a Handyman Disciple's stipend.
"We encountered two Demonic Cultivators today. There won't be more Demonic Cultivators coming later, will there?" Su Han suddenly asked. The moment he spoke, the atmosphere at the dinner table cooled at once.
Everyone's smiles vanished, and they all began to worry.
Gu An smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. Outer Sect disciples are patrolling. Didn't you all see them today? Perhaps after this incident, the patrols will become even tighter."
He was not worried in his heart, for he was immersed in joy.
By killing Xu Ruye and Cicada Concubine, he had successfully seized one hundred and twelve years of lifespan.
He was summarizing the patterns in the amount of lifespan seized. All he could determine was that the years taken amounted to somewhere between five and twenty percent of the target's remaining lifespan. The exact amount was not fixed; it felt rather random, dependent on luck.
Although killing cultivators granted more lifespan, Gu An did not hope to encounter such matters again anytime soon.
Kill too many enemies, and trouble would sooner or later come knocking. It was better to accumulate lifespan through medicinal herbs as he was doing now. At least that was safer.
There were always people beyond people, and heavens beyond Heaven. Even if Gu An could rapidly grow stronger by killing enemies, if he encountered a foe far beyond him, he would still die.
He could not determine how high the strongest cultivation in the mortal world could reach.
But he felt that as long as he lay low for a thousand or ten thousand years, he should become invincible in the mortal world.
After hearing Gu An's words, everyone felt they made sense, and the atmosphere became cheerful again.
Gu An did not keep dwelling on his own affairs. He began chatting with his junior brothers and sisters, asking about their upcoming cultivation goals. The mood grew ever more exuberant, until eventually even he began drinking.
Mystic Valley's first Spring Festival was considered a complete success.
It was not until deep into the night that everyone dispersed.
Gu An then went to the Eight Sceneries Grotto-Heaven.
Jiang Qiong was sitting beneath the Azure Vine Tree, meditating and circulating her power. Demonic qi coiled around her body, making her look grim and terrifying.
Gu An carried food over to her and said, "Martial Ancestor, today is Mystic Valley's Spring Festival. My junior sister made this food. Would you like to try some? I wish for your power to recover soon."
Hearing this, Jiang Qiong opened her eyes and asked in confusion, "Spring Festival? What kind of festival is that?"
Gu An recited the explanation he had prepared. No matter who asked, he would say he had heard it from some old man.
"Mm, establishing a festival is indeed not bad. It can unite people's hearts." Jiang Qiong nodded approvingly, then looked toward the wooden basket box in Gu An's hand.
Gu An immediately set down the wooden basket box and took out the dishes one by one, along with a small jar of wine.
Jiang Qiong's beautiful eyes immediately lit up. She pondered for a moment, then said, "Since it is a gesture of your goodwill, I cannot refuse to eat it."
She directly picked up a bowl of food and began shoveling it into her mouth, wolfing it down.
Gu An hurriedly poured her wine and asked curiously, "Martial Ancestor, there is something I have never understood."
"Go ahead..." Jiang Qiong said indistinctly. Then she accepted the wine bowl and drained it in one gulp. Her lips were covered in moisture; it was impossible to tell whether it was oil or wine.
"Why did Thousand Autumn Pavilion plant spies beyond the Outer Sect? It feels like Mystic Valley cannot gather any intelligence at all," Gu An asked.
Jiang Qiong rolled her eyes at him and said irritably, "Who told you to gather intelligence? Your purpose is to stay here in peace and wait. Once the Azure Vine Tree has fully grown, this place will become a Thousand Autumn Pavilion stronghold. Others will handle intelligence gathering."
Hearing this, Gu An grew even more uneasy.
What?
It was going to become a stronghold too?
Gu An frowned and asked, "Could Mystic Valley be the only place that can serve as a stronghold?"
"Of course not. Besides Mystic Valley, the masters of at least five other Medicine Valleys are Thousand Autumn Pavilion spies. They simply do not know one another's identities. As early as a hundred years ago, Thousand Autumn Pavilion spies had climbed to the position of True Disciple. By now, they are likely already figures at the elder level," Jiang Qiong answered casually.
Gu An fell silent.
Taixuan Sect had become a sieve full of holes?
Jiang Qiong put down the empty plate, picked up a large chicken drumstick, and smiled. "The taste is not bad. Though I long ago stopped eating, occasionally indulging the appetite is not bad either. As a reward, I'll teach you a Thousand Autumn Pavilion secret technique later."
Before you continue