“`
Crack—
An emaciated foot stepped out from within the coffin, treading upon a piece of charcoal and snapping it in two.
Gu An saw that it was a raggedly dressed woman with disheveled hair, her body grotesquely thin as if drained of flesh and blood. The robe on her body was faintly recognizable as a white garment, with both sleeves and pant legs tattered. She staggered out, resembling a ghastly specter.
Jiang Qiong slowly lifted her face, her features equally withered, her eye sockets sunken, her eyes bulging and terrifying.
Her gaze fell upon Gu An, who hastily lowered his head, frightened.
“Good disciple, I owe you a lot for helping me with alchemy these five years, allowing me to recover swiftly…” Jiang Qiong squeezed out a smile, even more horrifying, with a foul breath escaping her mouth.
She no longer referred to herself as “this seat” but as “I,” which made their relationship seem much closer.
Gu An, suppressing his discomfort, said, “It is the duty of a disciple. But there is something that puzzles me.”
“Ask away.”
As Jiang Qiong spoke, she trembled toward the pill furnace.
Gu An, watching her, asked, “If alchemy could help you recover faster, why did you not have my master help you with alchemy before?”
Cheng Xuandan thought Jiang Qiong had been dead for seventy years, meaning she had hidden here for seventy years, and Cheng Xuandan had never realized she was still alive.
Jiang Qiong replied with a forced, humorless smile, “Because I don’t trust him. Your master became my disciple under duress. His heart is fickle; who knows when he might betray me. Half of the disciples he took on are now lying in these coffins.”
Gu An fell silent.
He believed Jiang Qiong spoke the truth because Meng Lang had ended just like that.
Jiang Qiong sat before the pill furnace and with a wave of her hand, the piled herbs beside her flew into the furnace.
“Five years have passed. What level are you at in the Foundation Establishment Realm?” Jiang Qiong inquired.
Gu An’s apparent cultivation level was at the fifth layer of the Energy Cultivation Realm, but Jiang Qiong was convinced he was at the Foundation Establishment level.
Gu An replied, “I’m close to reaching the third level.”
“That’s slow. Don’t neglect your daily training. When I, your Martial Master, was eighteen, I reached Foundation Establishment, and at forty, Core Formation. If not for spending decades researching the Alchemy Dao and formation spells afterwards, I would already be at the Nascent Soul Realm cultivation level.
Have you heard of the Nascent Soul Realm?” Jiang Qiong said nonchalantly, eyes fixed on the pill furnace.
Gu An promptly nodded, “The Nascent Soul Realm, those are Immortals, rarely seen by Outer Disciples.”
“Humph, ‘Immortals’ is but a term for stronger cultivators. Once I have fully recovered, I will find a place to attempt reaching the Nascent Soul Realm. Then, you will have a Nascent Soul Realm pillar to rely on. How does that make you feel, excited?” Jiang Qiong’s tone became smug toward the end.
Her voice was sultry, starkly contrasting her ghastly image.
“Thank you for looking after me, Martial Master. Is there anything I can assist you with?” Gu An stepped forward and offered.
Jiang Qiong replied, “Just stand by and watch, see how I perform alchemy, and we can chat in the meantime.”
With a pat of her hand, she indicated for Gu An to sit beside her.
Gu An sat down but kept his distance from her, all the while remaining vigilant.
No matter how kind Jiang Qiong was to him, he would never let his guard down until she had left.
Meng Lang was a lesson to be learned; likely, he never suspected Cheng Xuandan before his death.
Jiang Qiong asked about his background, and he divulged without concealing anything, roughly speaking of his life. Of course, he did not mention the Ji Family, only saying he had been a house servant before his Spirit Root was discovered, and thereafter he joined the Supreme Sect.
After chatting for about an hour, Jiang Qiong allowed Gu An to leave, instructing him to return for the next three nights. If things went well, there would be a generous reward.
Gu An arrived as agreed.
The third night had come.
Gu An sat across from the pill furnace, holding the Yin Yang Art in his hands, occasionally asking Jiang Qiong for clarifications.
Eventually annoyed by the questioning, Jiang Qiong couldn’t help but curse, “You’re not tricking me, are you, boy? Reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm at such a young age, yet so slow on the uptake?”
Gu An protested, “Alchemy is alchemy, Energy Absorption is Energy Absorption, aren’t they?”
Jiang Qiong suddenly didn’t know what to say, but then her attention was grabbed by the pill furnace.
More and more steam began to emerge from the furnace, and the small holes on the lid turned dark green, eerily odd.
Gu An shivered as he watched; what kind of elixir was she concocting?
Could it be a Poison Elixir?
Jiang Qiong’s eyes shone with excitement. She fell silent, staring intently at the pill furnace.
Time ticked by, second by second.
Gu An remained on alert, prepared for any sudden attack from Jiang Qiong.
Some time passed.
A dull thud came from within the pill furnace, and with it, a grotesque smile spread across Jiang Qiong’s face, uglier than a cry.
She lifted her right hand, fingers poised, and the lid of the furnace flew off. Her hand moved quickly, snatching a pill that emerged from the furnace, popping it into her mouth before Gu An could react.
So fast!
As if afraid Gu An would snatch it.
After swallowing the elixir, Jiang Qiong immediately sat cross-legged and began cultivating energy. In less than three breaths, wisps of white vapor rose from her body.
Gu An stood up and slowly stepped back, widening the distance between them.
More and more white vapor appeared, coiling around Jiang Qiong, obscuring her figure as if she was a zombie amidst the mist.
Gu An constantly checked her Life Span, on guard against her potential breakthrough to the Nascent Soul Realm.
Jiang Qiong’s current Life Span began to increase. Gu An was witnessing someone’s Life Span grow in raw numbers for the first time, and the sight was utterly shocking.
He suddenly became very interested in Jiang Qiong’s elixir. What kind of miraculous elixir was it?
Not only Jiang Qiong’s Life Span was increasing, but her aura was also intensifying, quickly surpassing that of the Foundation Establishment Realm.
A true Elixir Formation Realm cultivator!
“`
Gu An keenly noticed that Jiang Qiong’s physical body was recovering, growing increasingly thicker as if a balloon were being inflated.
Pretty impressive!
He patiently waited.
Gradually, the sound of Jiang Qiong’s breathing filled the cave, growing heavier and heavier until, in the end, it was like the roar of a wild beast.
After a long while.
Jiang Qiong’s panting abruptly ceased, and Gu An noticed her realm hadn’t broken through to the Nascent Soul Realm, so he wasn’t so tense.
Amidst the white mist, Jiang Qiong stretched lazily, showing off her graceful figure, which was unrecognizably different from before.
As she emerged from the mist, her hair was still disheveled, and her clothes were in tatters, but beneath the worn-out garments was skin white as snow, making Gu An’s face heat up in the dim light of the cave, causing him to avert his gaze.
“It’s been a long time since I walked like this.”
Jiang Qiong said in a reminiscent tone as she walked up to Gu An, leaning forward with her hands brushing her hair aside, and asked, “What do you think, my obedient grand-disciple, does your Martial Master look beautiful?”
Gu An took a quick glance, and although her face was dirty, her facial features indicated that she was indeed a rare beauty who, in his opinion, could only be compared with Ji Xiaoyu of the Ji Family and Li Xuanyu, an Outer Disciple.
“Martial Master is indeed of unparalleled beauty in the world, but this disciple is more concerned about the state of your health, has your injury fully healed?”
Gu An asked with clasped hands, his words sincere.
Get well soon and be on your way!
“Fully healed is still a long way off; I need to rest for another five years,” Jiang Qiong laughed, her bright eyes surveying Gu An, evidently pondering something.
Phew!
She suddenly struck out at Gu An with a palm as fast as lightning, then stopped just in front of his chest, the forceful wind pulling his robes backwards wildly.
Jiang Qiong asked with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile, “Why didn’t you dodge?”
Gu An’s face stiffened as he replied, “I didn’t have time to react…”
In reality, however, that was not the case. In his eyes, Jiang Qiong’s movements were too slow. In a flash, his Dragon Strength could have counteracted her Spiritual Power.
Her stopping wasn’t sparing Gu An’s life; it was saving her own.
Jiang Qiong couldn’t help but chuckle, her laughter shaking her whole body, and she even ended up clutching her stomach.
Gu An watched her laugh without saying anything to interrupt.
After a good while, Jiang Qiong finally turned and walked toward the Pill Furnace, saying, “Don’t worry, I won’t kill my own disciples and grandchildren. Even when Cheng Xuandan wanted to betray me, I spared his life. I even took his protection to hide within the Supreme Sect. As long as you are filial to me, I will never let you down. If someone bullies you, I won’t just stand by and watch.”
Upon hearing this, Gu An couldn’t help but laugh as well.
Jiang Qiong stood in front of the Pill Furnace, turned to Gu An, and said, “Leave behind a set of new clothes and you can go back. Come again tomorrow night, I will teach you spells.”
Gu An immediately took out a set of his own white robes from the Storage Bag, gently placed them on the ground, and then raised his hand to salute Jiang Qiong before taking his leave.
It wasn’t until he disappeared into the darkness that Jiang Qiong turned around. She approached the white robes and picked them up from afar with a lift of her hand. She sniffed their scent and let out a light chuckle.
…
At dawn, Gu An was training the people of Medicine Valley.
A figure approached the entrance of the valley.
It was Li Ya.
Li Ya was still clad in black, his sharp aura more imposing than five years ago, exuding the demeanor of a strong individual.
His arrival immediately captured everyone’s attention.
“It’s Brother Li Ya!” Xiaochuan exclaimed in surprise.
Gu An immediately walked toward Li Ya, instructing the others to continue their drills.
As he approached Li Ya, about to speak, Li Ya beat him to it: “Let’s talk upstairs in your building.”
Hm?
Something important?
Gu An instantly tensed up, what matter was so important that Li Ya personally made the trip?
He led Li Ya straight to the loft, and after climbing the stairs and entering the room, he closed the door.
Li Ya walked over to the table, waved his hand, and a Green Vine Fruit appeared on the table, rendering Gu An speechless.
“A Green Vine Fruit appeared in the Elixir Hall of the Outer Sect four years ago, I purchased it. But due to heavy duties, I never had the chance to give it to you,” Li Ya said with a smile.
Gu An’s expression turned strange.
Li Ya asked, “What’s wrong?”
Feeling that he couldn’t hide the truth, Gu An cleared his throat and said, “I was the one who sold this fruit to the Elixir Hall.”
In order to avoid suspicion, he had sold it at a low price, which earned him praise from the Elder of the Elixir Hall for his grateful heart toward the Sect.
Gu An had dared to sell it because Li Ya had mentioned that Green Vine Fruits were not rare in the Supreme Sect, not in the Outer Sect but certainly in the Inner Sect, which, to be precise, possessed strange and precious treasures of the world.
He never imagined that Li Ya would buy it back…
Li Ya helplessly said, “This… turned out quite ridiculous… Such a fruit can enhance Qi-Blood and is a very rare heavenly material. How could you sell it? For how many Spirit Stones?”
“Twenty Mid-Grade Spirit Stones…”
“What? I spent ten Top-Grade Spirit Stones!” Li Ya’s eyes widened.
One Top-Grade Spirit Stone was equivalent to one hundred Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.
Both fell into silence at the same time.
In fact, Gu An felt it wasn’t a bad deal; by relying on the Green Vine Fruit, he had established a good relationship with Zhu Qinglu of the Elixir Hall. Over the next four years, Zhu Qinglu took good care of him, offering many conveniences. However, facing Li Ya, he felt somewhat embarrassed.
Li Ya said somberly, “Let’s just consider it a contribution to the Sect. Besides this fruit, there’s another matter for which I’ve come to you.”