Gu An was not pleased by his rapid breakthrough, as he constantly felt a taut string in his heart, fearing that someone might come.
The Supreme Sect was so vast, and in the hundred miles around Medicine Valley, it was rare to see a trace of anyone. Could he have avoided alerting the Great Cultivator?
As Gu An was thinking, he suddenly sensed two powerful presences approaching from afar, stronger even than Chu Jingfeng had been initially.
Whatever you fear always comes true!
He was in the middle of advancing from the fourth to the fifth level of the Foundation Establishment Realm and couldn’t conveniently rise, and even if he attempted to flee now, escaping those two would be difficult.
Big trouble!
Gu An nervously felt the two encroaching presences, and when they were less than a hundred yards apart, they stopped on the opposite sides of a mountain peak.
He was in a dim forest, dressed in a dark green robe, and the dust flying around made it hard to see his true face.
Sensing that the two were not aggressively coming over, Gu An sighed in relief.
It seemed they were wary of him as well and dared not disturb him rashly.
Gu An’s cultivation level continued to increase. With movements being so loud and due to being separated by a mountain, he couldn’t hear the two people’s conversation, making him constantly unable to relax.
By the time he broke through to the fifth level of the Foundation Establishment Realm, the two on the other side of the mountain had still made no move.
Gu An’s rate of cultivation growth began to slow down. He lifted his right hand, pressing it against the tree trunk behind him, connecting his spiritual power with the trunk. A green light appeared on the trunk, winding around his palm.
As the green light completed its circuit, he withdrew his right hand and pulled a piece of wooden mask directly from the tree trunk.
He placed the mask over his face and with the fingers of his other hand, he carved out two eye holes, the carved portions falling away, leaving a complete mask over his face.
Spiritual power continued to drill into his body, but he was already able to stand up.
Feeling that the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was settling, a loud voice came through:
“May I ask which Daoist Friend is breaking through here, and why not do it within your own cave?”
This voice was very serious, clearly suspecting that Gu An was not a disciple of the Supreme Sect.
Gu An hesitated about whether he should respond.
He was just a Servant Disciple. Having succeeded in Foundation Establishment within a few years of joining, even though he could smoothly enter the Outer Sect, risks still remained!
The noise he caused tonight was too great. If those two knew his identity, surely a third and fourth person would come to know, and what if someone harbored malicious intent against him?
It was no wonder Gu An was overthinking, having grown up as a house servant, he was all too familiar with the vicious nature of people.
Gu An, while tying the mask with vines, pondered with eyes flashing cold light, gleaming eerily in the night.
Not possible!
He couldn’t expose himself!
Gu An didn’t want to get embroiled in trouble; even becoming an Outer Sect Disciple wasn’t necessarily good for him.
The Supreme Sect would not foster disciples for nothing; Outer Sect disciples had to undertake Sect assignments, inevitably placing themselves in mortal danger.
Once his cultivation was completely stable, he stood up, his face obscured by the mask except for his eyes, still surrounded by spiraling currents of energy.
At that moment, he sensed two presences swiftly approaching from the mountain; clearly, they now considered him an intruder.
Gu An dared to keep silent also because he assessed that their cultivation levels were not very strong. If he felt they were too powerful to contend with, he wouldn’t have thought so much.
He immediately turned and dashed deeper into the forest.
Whoosh—
A slicing sound came from behind Gu An, and he looked back to see a cold gleam rushing toward him in the dim forest, breaking branches along its path, followed by a woman.
This woman was dressed in white, her right arm extended straight, her palm facing the sword handle, connected by spiritual power. The blade emitted a fierce sword qi, unstoppable, flashing like a startled swan through the forest.
In an instant, her sword had reached Gu An’s back, less than half a yard away.
Gu An’s left foot landed, his body shifted backward, and as he simultaneously crouched with his left leg, the blade just flew over him.
The woman in white widened her eyes, her face enveloped in shadows of the night, but the blade light shone right into her eyes, those stunning, shocking eyes filled with astonishment.
Time seemed to slow down, but it was over in a blink!
As Gu An crouched, his right leg kicked backwards, striking the abdomen of the woman in white with a force she had never experienced before. Her consciousness plunged into oblivion, and blood spewed from her mouth.
Thud!
The woman in white flew back, crashed against a large tree, then fell to the ground, her condition unknown.
“How dare you!”
A furious shout came, and Gu An fixed his eyes to see a figure cloaked in green light rapidly approaching, leaving behind a series of afterimages.
So fast!
Gu An’s eyes couldn’t keep up with the movement technique of the other, and in his panic, he immediately deployed the Gale Shadowless Leg.
He had no real combat experience, having dealt with the Demon of Greed by merely using a slap, so facing a formidable opponent, he dared not close in.
Spiritual power surged into his right leg as he shifted a step backward, his right leg lashing out violently.
As he lashed out, a gale sprang up from nowhere, howling toward the figure cloaked in green light.
Within the green light was a man wielding a sword, his pupils suddenly dilated, filled entirely with leg shadows.
Dust filled the air, a row of trees were knocked down, leg shadows overwhelmed the swordsman, rolling on through dozens of yards with a mighty uproar.
Gu An retracted his leg and plunged into the darkness.
The forest returned to calm as the dust settled, revealing the swordsman lying on the ground, motionless.
…
At dawn.
Ye Lan walked out of the house, her gaze habitually turned toward the courtyards of her Senior Brothers, and over not-so-high courtyard walls, she saw their figures.
“They really are diligent; I can’t afford to fall behind,” Ye Lan thought to herself as she hurried along.
Arriving in the courtyard, she briskly approached Gu An and greeted him politely, “Senior Brother.”
Gu An smiled and nodded at her.
“Senior Brother, are you planning to do some work today?” Ye Lan asked curiously, as Gu An was dressed in an old cloth robe, which he only wore during harvesting times.
Gu An replied, “Yes, I’m planning to take some time this afternoon to go up the mountain.”
Not dwelling on it any further, Ye Lan continued, “There was a fierce wind last night that scared me from cultivating. I was afraid the chaos in the spiritual energy might disrupt my energy absorption. Senior Brother, I heard from Senior Brother Meng that you once encountered a demon attack. What happened during that time?”
While watching Xiaochuan and Lu Jiujia practicing the Residual Wind Leg, Gu An began to recount the incident.
He was always patient, no matter to whom he was speaking.
An hour later, after the junior brothers and sisters had left, Gu An had some time to relax. He lay under a tree, one hand holding Green Hero Travelogue, the other playing with a White Spirit Rat, thoroughly enjoying his leisure.
At that moment, he was still thinking about the two people he encountered the previous night.
He had already restrained his power, so he hoped he hadn’t killed those two, right?
Gu An felt somewhat uneasy, as after all, he bore no grudge against those two.
In the absence of a grudge, Gu An did not wish to kill anyone.
With such concerns, Gu An endured a rather distressing day.
As the sun set and the moon rose, noon arrived the following day.
Steping before a wooden railing to read, Gu An suddenly caught sight of figures at the mouth of the valley; focusing, he noticed there was more than one person.
A man and a woman!
Gu An silently breathed a sigh of relief; it was good they were alive.
He used Dragon Strength Divine Primordial Skill to suppress his cultivation level to the third tier of the Qi Cultivation Realm, ensuring he wouldn’t be recognized.
Soon, Cheng Xuandan emerged from the loft and briskly walked up to the two individuals, bowing with his fists clasped. Standing before him was a woman in white and a man in blue.
The woman in white had a cold, resplendent beauty, her skin fair and smooth like cream, with almond eyes and willow brows, her right hand holding a sword sheath, exuding an unapproachable, proud aura.
The man in blue was also handsome, with a tall posture and ornate robes, though his face was somewhat pale.
Both were Outer Disciples of the Supreme Sect, the man named Shi Yang, and the woman named Li Xuanyu.
Confronting Cheng Xuandan, Shi Yang smiled and clarified their intention.
After listening to Shi Yang, Cheng Xuandan responded, “These past few days, no one else has come to Medicine Valley.”
Cheng Xuandan had lived for a hundred years, experienced everything, so he appeared very composed.
Shi Yang glanced toward Medicine Valley and said, “Could you summon your disciples here?”
Cheng Xuandan had no objections. He turned, sank his breath to his lower belly, and shouted loudly. Hearing this, Gu An and others ran over.
“Xiaochuan, go fetch Senior Brother Meng as well,” Cheng Xuandan instructed.
Upon hearing this, Xiaochuan immediately turned and ran to find Meng Lang.
Shi Yang and Li Xuanyu started examining Gu An and the two others, their brows furrowed, remaining silent.
Cheng Xuandan was silent too, waiting for Meng Lang to arrive.
Taking this opportunity, Gu An checked the life spans of the two Outer Disciples; the previous night had been too urgent to check.
[Li Xuanyu (Foundation Establishment Realm Fourth Level): 24/245/1670]
[Shi Yang (Foundation Establishment Realm Fifth Level): 25/298/1304]
Impressive!
Both geniuses, over twenty years old and already in the Foundation Establishment Realm, plus their maximum life spans stretching over a thousand years, with Li Xuanyu’s even higher than Li Ya’s.
Both surnamed Li; could this girl also be from the Imperial Family?
Gu An was secretly shocked, grateful he hadn’t revealed his identity the previous night.
Before long, Xiaochuan brought Meng Lang, who appeared irritable.
Upon seeing Meng Lang, Shi Yang narrowed his eyes and communicated telepathically to Li Xuanyu beside him, “Sister Li, this child’s energy is turbulent, showing signs of deviation. Although his cultivation level is very low, he might be connected to the person we are looking for.”
Li Xuanyu stared at Meng Lang, her cold eyes seeming to see right through him.
Meng Lang, feeling their gaze and noting their distinguished appearance, promptly reined in his expression. He lowered his head and stood next to Gu An, Xiaochuan following closely behind.
Cheng Xuandan then asked, “Two nights ago, several miles outside Medicine Valley, a mysterious cultivator was breaking through a significant barrier, suspected to be a spy from the Demon Path. Have you seen anyone else these past few days?”
Impressive!
Spies from the Demon Path too!
Gu An internally remarked but showed a frown of concern on his face.
Meng Lang’s eyes widened as he exclaimed, “Not another demon invasion?”
“Again? What do you mean?” Shi Yang demanded, staring at Meng Lang.
Unable to hold his tongue, Meng Lang immediately blurted out the previous incident involving the Demon of Greed, which also implicated an Inner Sect Disciple. Shi Yang’s expression shifted slightly.
Is this area so dangerous?
Shi Yang suddenly lost his interest in pursuing the matter further.
Seizing the opportunity, Gu An asked, “Elder ones, have you encountered the spy from the Demon Path? Could you provide us with some clues?”
The others nodded, the word “demon” heightening their tension.
Shi Yang pondered and said, “It was too dark that night, but I remember his leg technique was very fast.”