On the hillside, the gentle breeze swept by, stirring the robes of Gu An as he stared intently at the stone statue in front of him, his Divine Sense having already penetrated the statue to capture the remnant soul within.
The image of this remnant soul was identical to that of the stone statue; it was an old man, with his soul body curled up as though in deep slumber.
The voice that had spoken earlier had been triggered by some kind of restriction, which would activate whenever a living being entered this cave dwelling.
Moreover, during his previous exploration, Gu An had discovered that there were other Teleportation Arrays within this minor heaven and earth of the cave dwelling. Including the one they arrived from, there were a total of eight Teleportation Arrays, each corresponding to a different direction, which led him to speculate even more about this cave dwelling.
A Mahayana Cultivator’s cave!
Gu An lifted his hand and moved the remnant soul out from within the stone statue; a glowing orb appeared in his hand.
[Daoist Star-Master (Mahayana Realm Layer Three): 0/0/0]
All zeros?
Does this mean Daoist Star-Master is completely dead?
He immediately extended his Divine Sense into the remnant soul of Daoist Star-Master and performed the Soul Capturing Skill to search his memories.
Boom—
From the distance came a thunderous noise, the sound of An Hao and Si Yan’er in battle, entangled with a group of wooden puppets.
Gu An did not turn around, focusing earnestly on the Soul Search.
An Ancient Hour later.
The remnant soul in Gu An’s hand dissipated into smoke and clouds.
Daoist Star-Master had indeed perished long ago. He had left behind his remnant soul in the hopes of waiting for an opportunity for resurrection or to seize another body. However, the secret technique he used to preserve his remnant soul could not withstand the erosion of time.
As the years passed, his Soul Power was completely depleted, and what remained was only a Soul Shell, which retained some of his memories.
Daoist Star-Master hailed from the Seven Stars Spirit Realm, which was the Holy Land of this continent.
Within the memories of Daoist Star-Master, Gu An learned a horrifying truth.
The Demon Ancestor actually originated from the Seven Stars Spirit Realm!
Daoist Star-Master, along with several fellow disciples, was ordered to bring the Demon Ancestor out, to foster the Demon Ancestor, and to let the Demon Ancestor create the Demon Clan. Later, for reasons unknown, Daoist Star-Master broke away from the Seven Stars Spirit Realm, traveled south across the sea, and attempted to flee the continent.
He was attacked by other Cultivators of the Seven Stars Spirit Realm, badly injured, and eventually hid in the Tianwei territory to create a Grotto Heaven, from where he never emerged again until his life’s end.
Gu An did not see the true form of the Demon Ancestor in Daoist Star-Master’s memory. The Demon Ancestor was sealed within a wooden box, and Daoist Star-Master and his fellow Cultivators were very wary of the Demon Ancestor. They placed the wooden box down and left, unsealing it from a distance and then making a swift escape.
However, the towering Demon Energy released upon unlocking the wooden box made a deep impression on Daoist Star-Master.
Beyond this memory, the rest were all scenes of Daoist Star-Master nurturing Spirit Beasts within the Grotto Heaven.
That the Demon Ancestor was related to the Seven Stars Spirit Realm was vastly different from the legends that Tian Yao’er had heard.
Gu An conjured many possibilities in his mind, but he had no urge to investigate this matter.
Daoist Star-Master was a Mahayana Realm Cultivator; this indicated that within the Seven Stars Spirit Realm, there could very well be Immortals.
He must not appear within the sight of the Seven Stars Spirit Realm now.
His greatest advantage was the absence of grudges and enemies, allowing him to quietly grow stronger.
Having thought this through, Gu An turned around and prepared to pick the herbs here. He could also transport a batch of heavenly materials and treasures away.
…
In the evening, Gu An returned to the Third Medicine Valley.
The afternoon’s harvesting alone allowed him to claim more than three hundred thousand years of life span. He could continue to harvest in the future because the Grotto Heaven was vast and had already developed its own ecosystem, so he did not eradicate everything.
Why would he destroy a place that could provide life span in the long term due to momentary greed?
Only plants that contained Spiritual Power or Spiritual Energy could be harvested by him for life span. Such plants were considered heavenly materials and treasures. Despite the vastness of the Grotto Heaven, the majority of the plants were ordinary. The rich Spiritual Energy within the Grotto Heaven was due to the Restrictions preventing the leakage of Spiritual Energy.
An Hao and Si Yan’er were still in that Grotto Heaven and had even made friends with the Spirit Beasts inside, posing no immediate danger.
Daoist Star-Master had left behind Cultivation Techniques and Divine Skills for legacy, enough for An Hao and the others to explore for many years.
Just as he returned to his loft, Lu Lingjun came looking for him.
After closing the door, Lu Lingjun sat down at the table and said, “Don’t go wandering around every day. Today, I sensed a powerful Divine Sense coming from the Outer City. As soon as the other party detected my Divine Sense, they withdrew it, and I couldn’t track their whereabouts.”
“You mean there could be danger within the Supreme Sect?” Gu An frowned and asked.
Lu Lingjun nodded and said, “The other party should be from the Demon Clan. Their Divine Sense is different from that of Cultivators. I used to deal with demons quite often, so I can tell.”
Being able to evade the pursuit of Lu Lingjun meant that the other party was also of the Mystic Heart Realm!
A demon of the Mystic Heart Realm?
Gu An prepared to investigate the Supreme Sect that night to at least ensure that the other party posed no threat to his Medicine Valley.
“With you here, no matter if it’s a demon or a human, they definitely won’t dare to touch my Medicine Valley. I will have to rely on you to protect the Third Medicine Valley in the future. Don’t worry, I will personally take care of those herbs for you!” Gu An said with a smile, his words brimming with admiration, which Lu Lingjun found very pleasing.
Lu Lingjun snorted, “Don’t worry, unless the Mountain God descends, no one can damage the Third Medicine Valley.”
Having reached the Mystic Heart Realm, she regained the pride she once had in the Lower Realm, overlooking the world. She felt that her path of Immortal Cultivation had just begun!
The two chatted for a while until Lu Lingjun revealed the true reason for her visit.
Warning Gu An about the Great Demon in the sect was just a pretext; her real intent was for Gu An to write a book with her as the main character, like the books about the Supreme Immortal Venerable.
“You’re a Mystic Heart Realm Cultivator; if you wish, you can make a name for yourself easily. Why do you need me to write it?” Gu An said, hesitating.
He didn’t expect Lu Lingjun to have such a hobby.
Lu Lingjun raised an eyebrow, “Just tell me what you want in return.”
“You’re here again! What kind of talk is that!”
“When I returned from the Taichen Dynasty before, I sensed the presence of an eighth-grade Spirit Tree, hidden within a certain sect. If you help me write the book, once the deed is done, I’ll go steal that tree for you.”
“You dare to steal it, but I don’t dare to take it.”
“I can use a secret technique to seal the tree. Once the commotion subsides, you can find a place to plant it.”
“I don’t have anywhere to plant it…”
“Stop pretending, you definitely have a secret, otherwise, why do you often go out on normal days?”
“Cough cough, don’t talk nonsense. Writing the book is negotiable, but don’t slander me, understood?”
Hearing Gu An’s words, Lu Lingjun couldn’t help but laugh, saying, “Yes, yes, I’m not slandering you, you don’t have any secrets, you are wholly devoted to Supreme Sect, absolutely selfless.”
“Hmm, that’s more like it. Now, tell me your story, I’ll find inspiration from it,” Gu An said with a satisfied nod, then spoke.
Having some free time lately, writing a book was also fine, to show off his calligraphy skills for the world to see Pan An’s foundation!
Lu Lingjun’s thoughts drifted into memories as she started to tell her own story.
And she spoke through the entire night.
As the sky was about to brighten, Lu Lingjun finally left Gu An’s loft.
Tang Yu, who was practicing his cultivation early in the morning, caught sight of this scene and was taken aback. He quickly averted his gaze, pretending not to have seen.
The news of Lu Lingjun being an Elder of the sect had already spread throughout the valley, and the disciples all treated her with respect from a distance.
“Master is truly formidable, even managing to handle an Elder of the sect. Indeed, a good appearance can bridge the gap in cultivation levels,” Tang Yu thought to himself.
When Lu Lingjun returned to her own loft, Gu An heard her talking to the White Spirit Demon Emperor.
Lu Lingjun’s loft was protected by profound restrictions, unfortunately, they were ineffective against Gu An, and since their lofts were adjacent, it was easy for Gu An to hear her movements.
“Can his book really help contact other Ascenders?”
“It’s hard to say, but it’s worth a try. Pan An’s reputation has spread across the territories of the nine dynasties; I can’t exactly go around announcing that I’m an Ascender, can I?”
“Right, but your idea is quite good. If you can unite other Ascenders to form your power, it will be of great help to you when you seek to seize the position of Sect Leader.”
Hearing this, Gu An put down the pen in his hand and fell into deep thought.
…
At noon, within the Outer City walls.
On the Heavenly Repair Platform.
A man dressed in white reached the bottom of the character ‘Repair.’ He admired the Sword Intent contained within the character, his eyes filled with amazement.
“Just this Sword Intent alone, Sword Venerable Fudao would be invincible in the Mystic Heart Realm. It’s just unknown if he has reached an even higher realm.”
The man in white was secretly stunned; he squatted down and reached out to touch it.
“Hey, don’t touch it carelessly, beware the Sword Intent hurts your hand!”
A voice came from the side, it was none other than Zuo Lin.
Ever since Sword Venerable Fudao had used his father, Zuo Yijian’s, sword to slay an enemy, Zuo Yijian had not returned to the Heavenly Repair Platform, spending all his days sequestered in his room, contemplating that sword, undisturbed even by his son.
Zuo Lin had no other way to comprehend Sword Venerable Fudao’s Sword Intent and could only continue to sit on the Heavenly Repair Platform.
The man in white looked at Zuo Lin and asked with a smile, “Brother, how long have you been on the Heavenly Repair Platform?”
Zuo Lin replied, “Since these two characters appeared, I’ve been meditating here. Your face is unfamiliar; is this your first visit?”
He scrutinized the man in white with a suspicious look.
There were too many tales about the Heavenly Repair Platform, and he couldn’t help but speculate.
The man in white laughed and said, “I come from the Chentang Dynasty, and I was just accepted into Supreme Sect this year, becoming a Guest Elder of the Outer Sect. My reason for joining Supreme Sect was precisely because of Sword Venerable Fudao.”
Upon hearing this, Zuo Lin immediately waved him over, beckoning him to sit beside him.
The man in white hesitated not, swiftly sitting down next to him.
Just as Zuo Lin was about to speak, he suddenly caught sight of someone, his eyes immediately lit up, and he shouted, “Gu An, come over here quick!”
In the distance, Gu An was wandering through the crowd, looking completely idle.
After hearing Zuo Lin’s call, he hesitated for a moment but still walked toward Zuo Lin.
The man in white turned his head to look, and upon seeing that the person Zuo Lin called was only a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator, he retracted his gaze.
Gu An cast a Life Span Detection spell toward him.
[Di Xie (Mystic Heart Realm, third layer): 2450/8000/19000]
He’s a monster who has lived for over two thousand years!
The reason Gu An came to the Outer City was precisely for Di Xie.
The monster that disturbed Lu Lingjun was none other than Di Xie!
Di Xie had cultivated a special technique that left not a trace of Demon Energy on him, but unfortunately for him, his technique could not evade the Divine Sense of a Mahayana Realm Great Cultivator.
Watching Gu An slowly approach, Zuo Lin said to Di Xie, “Don’t judge me by my low cultivation level, but I have an Exquisite Spirit Heart. The moment I saw you, I knew you weren’t simple.”
At those words, Di Xie’s heart tightened.