Gu An closed Travels of the Green Hero and asked without changing expression, "Don't they spar all the time? How did it turn into a fight?"
Zhen Qin withdrew her gaze and said urgently, "Second Senior Brother used a sword technique, and Eldest Senior Brother mocked it for being too soft. Second Senior Brother got upset. He has already stabbed Eldest Senior Brother, and he still refuses to stop!"
The moment Gu An heard this, he rose to his feet.
Master and disciple hurried downstairs.
By now, the onlookers had stopped cheering and were instead constantly trying to persuade Su Han.
Under the night sky, Su Han's hair hung loose around his face, making him look like a vicious ghost. He swung his sword madly, blood light actually glowing in his eyes. Tang Yu, facing him, was in a wretched state. His robes had been slashed into strips, and two horrifying wounds marked his chest. Blood streamed down, dyeing his trousers red.
Wuxin and Xiao Chuan wanted to step in and stop him, but Su Han's sword moves were too fierce for them to get close.
When they saw Gu An arrive, the disciples quickly made way.
In two strides, Gu An stepped between them. His left hand seized Su Han's right wrist, while his left arm blocked Tang Yu's leg.
Tang Yu was sent staggering back, inwardly shocked. How could Master's arm be so hard?
Then he let out a breath of relief, his gaze toward Su Han full of lingering fear.
With Gu An gripping his wrist, Su Han could not move. Gu An squeezed hard, and the sword in Su Han's hand clattered to the ground.
"Wake up!"
Gu An shouted in a low voice. Su Han shuddered all over, and the bloodthirsty hatred in his eyes began to fade.
Wuxin, standing nearby, was secretly stunned.
Eldest Senior Brother moved so fast!
Although Gu An had already reached the ninth layer of Qi Refining, they had never considered him a true expert. Mainly because Gu An often belittled himself.
Gu An's move just now had overturned Wuxin's understanding.
He suddenly felt that Eldest Senior Brother was not simple.
Xiao Chuan, on the other hand, was used to it. Back then, Gu An had also subdued the crazed Meng Lang.
Perhaps Gu An's Spirit Root aptitude was mediocre, but in Xiao Chuan's eyes, Gu An was highly capable in actual combat. At the very least, he made Xiao Chuan feel secure.
The other disciples were likewise intimidated by Gu An's move. It was their first time seeing Gu An fight, yet he had so easily suppressed Tang Yu and Su Han, both at the seventh layer of Qi Refining.
Zhen Qin was the first to cheer, breaking the silence, and the others crowded around afterward.
"Master, so you're actually this formidable!"
"Second Senior Brother, wake up!"
"Master, has Second Senior Brother gone mad from a cultivation deviation?"
"It's all Eldest Senior Brother's fault. He just had to mock Second Senior Brother. I've never seen Second Senior Brother this angry before."
The disciples chattered all at once, while Gu An merely stared at Su Han.
Su Han gasped for air, and his body suddenly went limp like mud. Yet Gu An was holding his right hand, so he could not collapse to the ground.
He raised his head and looked weakly at Gu An. "Master... I..."
Before he could finish, his head tilted to one side, and he fainted outright.
Gu An had two disciples help Su Han back to his room, then turned to look at Tang Yu.
Facing his master's gaze, Tang Yu's face turned bright red. He did not know how to defend himself, but he also felt wronged. After all, he was the one who had been injured.
"Go back and stop the bleeding first," Gu An said expressionlessly.
Upon hearing this, Tang Yu quickly bowed and left.
Gu An looked at the others and said, "Why are you still standing around? No cultivation today?"
With that, he turned and walked toward the pavilion.
The disciples watched his retreating figure and exchanged glances.
Though Gu An had not said anything particularly harsh, they all thought he was angry.
Little did they know that Gu An simply was not in the mood to lecture them.
That night, every disciple in the valley had thoughts of their own and found it difficult to calm their minds.
Gu An remained alone in the pavilion. In the latter half of the night, he sensed several powerful divine senses sweep overhead.
His battle with Lin Futian had ultimately drawn the Taixuan Sect's attention.
Early the next morning.
Su Han came to visit Gu An. He had come to apologize.
"What use is apologizing to me? The one you hurt wasn't me." Gu An looked at him and spoke calmly.
Su Han gritted his teeth. "He was the one who mocked my swordsmanship first."
Gu An asked, "Then did you tell him where that sword technique came from?"
"I..."
"You and Tang Yu entered Medicine Valley on the same day. The two of you have always been closest. You know what kind of person he is. He speaks carelessly, but his nature is not bad."
Gu An's tone was somewhat stern. Having lived together for so many years, he did not want his disciples to turn against one another and become enemies.
He did not forcibly stop Su Han from continuing to cultivate the Hating Heaven Divine Sword. Such a thing could not be stopped at all. If he tried, he might even lose the bond between master and disciple.
Su Han recalled his years with Tang Yu and could not help feeling ashamed.
At first, Tang Yu had merely teased him about his poor swordsmanship. Su Han had long been stifling frustration over his inability to master the Hating Heaven Divine Sword, so the two exchanged sharp words. Tang Yu was angered as well, and his words became increasingly unpleasant, until Su Han's rage rushed to his heart and he fell into madness in an instant.
"Master, I was wrong. I'll go find Eldest Senior Brother right away," Su Han said seriously after taking a deep breath.
"Don't wait. Go now. Your master also needs to inspect the medicinal herbs."
He stood and walked toward Su Han.
The two left the pavilion one after the other. Su Han closed the door behind him, then followed Gu An's footsteps and could not help asking, "Master, aren't you going to ask why I lost control like that last night?"
Without turning back, Gu An said, "It was probably related to your Hating Heaven Divine Sword. Your father passed this sword technique down to you. Whether you cultivate it or not is not for your master to decide. Think it through yourself. What is most important in your heart?"
Su Han slowed to a stop. Standing before the stairs, he blankly watched Gu An's back.
What was most important?
Gu An had no time to worry over conflicts among his disciples. He had already said what needed to be said. If they could not get along, then he would have them leave Mystic Valley in the future, never to meet again even at the ends of the earth.
Gu An began inspecting the medicinal herbs in each garden, checking which ones were nearing maturity.
He had to accumulate a hundred thousand years of lifespan as quickly as possible, so he directly harvested some herbs that were close to reaching maturity.
Naturally, Gu An did not touch the herbs still far from maturity. He was not so heartless as to destroy his own foundation.
He now had many ways to obtain lifespan, so he was not particularly anxious.
Above the mountain forest, cultivators stood upon magical artifacts and hovered in the air, looking down at the figures of Law Enforcement Hall disciples searching through the woods. Ye Lan was among them.
Chu Jingfeng stood atop a Flying Sword. His empty right sleeve fluttered in the wind, and his entire person exuded an air of weathered hardship, no longer possessing the high spirits of his youth.
An old man rode over on a gourd and handed a leaf to Chu Jingfeng. "It was most likely the Flying Leaf Sword Immortal who acted. The Wine Soul Gourd of Lin Futian, the helmsman of the Myriad Yin Sect, was found nearby. It contains the souls of fifteen Taixuan Sect disciples."
Chu Jingfeng accepted the leaf and examined it carefully. Its surface was covered in tiny sword marks, impossible to notice at a casual glance.
He pondered for a moment before saying, "So the Flying Leaf Sword Immortal truly is one of our fellow sect members?"
The old man nodded. "That should be the case. His previous attack on Zuo Yijian was likely a conflict between factions. Judging by how easily he exterminated Lin Futian, if he had wanted to kill Zuo Yijian, Zuo Yijian absolutely would not have survived."
Chu Jingfeng fell silent.
The old man looked at his fluttering right sleeve and said, "Jingfeng, it is time to let go of this knot in your heart. Have your arm reattached soon. Otherwise, if you keep practicing swordsmanship with your left hand, it will be hard to reverse the habit later."
"Why should I reattach it? The Flying Leaf Sword Immortal can use a leaf as a sword. Why must I hold a sword in my right hand?" Chu Jingfeng asked in return.
Hearing this, the old man shook his head with a bitter smile and stopped trying to persuade him.
Within the mountain forest.
Ye Lan stood inside a ravine, looking toward its end, which seemed to stretch all the way to the ends of the earth. Her eyes were full of shock.
"I heard it was the Flying Leaf Sword Immortal who acted. This terrifying sight was caused by a single leaf." A female disciple walked over, clicking her tongue in amazement.
The surrounding disciples marveled at the Flying Leaf Sword Immortal's power, and Ye Lan was also filled with longing.
Just what realm did one have to cultivate to in order to possess such terrifying strength?
Ye Lan turned to look in another direction, worry appearing in her eyes.
Ever since Lin Futian's death, batches of cultivators had flown over Mystic Valley every few days. Most were in the Foundation Establishment Realm, and Gu An occasionally caught sight of Ye Lan among them.
She never came down to visit Gu An, as though she were merely passing by.
But she had passed over Mystic Valley four times in a single month. How could Gu An fail to understand her feelings?
"This girl..."
Gu An stood before the window, watching the cultivators disappear into the distance. His heart felt warm.
He summoned his Attribute Panel. Looking at his lifespan of ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety years, he clenched both hands within his sleeves.
It was about to happen!
Tonight, he would break through to the next realm!
Because he had forcibly harvested so much over the past month, his lifespan yield would decline during the coming year. However, after another year, it should recover and continue growing.
He had even deliberately left room for ten years of lifespan, waiting to secretly harvest them tonight.
He was going to savor the feeling of burning lifespan!
Seeing that it was still early, Gu An simply could not sit still any longer and went downstairs.
Upon entering the courtyard, he spotted Su Han in the distance, practicing swordsmanship atop the eastern hill. Since that night's conflict, Su Han had become withdrawn, and the others did not dare disturb him, afraid he might go mad again.
Tang Yu's relationship with Su Han had recovered. After learning the origins of the Hating Heaven Divine Sword, Tang Yu apologized to Su Han. But afterward, he only trained even harder.
An apology was an apology, but he did not want to lose to Su Han again. After all, he was the Eldest Senior Brother.
Gu An came to the wooden fence around the garden and looked out, a smile on his face.
"Master, what has you so happy?" Zhen Qin ran over and asked curiously.
Gu An rubbed her head and smiled. "What? Does your master usually smile too little?"
Zhen Qin giggled. "Master, since you're in such a good mood today, why not teach me the Residual Wind Leg?"
Gu An asked in surprise, "Didn't you hate practicing swords and legs? Why the sudden change of heart?"
"I want to become a Law Enforcement Hall disciple just like Martial Aunt Ye Lan!" Zhen Qin clenched her fists excitedly.
It turned out that Wuxin and Xiao Chuan had also spotted Ye Lan earlier. They had sighed in admiration together, and Zhen Qin, who had been weeding nearby, overheard them. When she learned that Ye Lan's Daoist robe belonged to the Law Enforcement Hall, Zhen Qin began to admire her greatly.
Gu An laughed. "All right, then I'll teach you."
It would be good to send this girl away sooner. She was always interrupting him while he was reading!
And so, Gu An began teaching Zhen Qin the Residual Wind Leg.
Only after deep night fell and all the disciples had returned to their rooms did Gu An secretly leave Mystic Valley. Before departing, he also picked two third-grade medicinal herbs from the garden.
Before you continue