“Do you want me to meet him?”
Gu An picked up a book from the table and smiled warmly at Lu Jiujia.
He no longer cared about mere talent.
But humans are not emotionless plants—Lu Jiujia and that disciple shared a deep bond, almost like father and son, and he wished to secure a better future for the disciple, which prompted him to speak to Gu An.
Seeing his fellow disciple’s smile, Lu Jiujia gave an awkward smile and a false cough, saying, “I do hope you can meet him; not only is his talent outstanding, but he is also very diligent.”
“If that’s the case, bring him up.”
Gu An shook his head with a chuckle, dismissing the brotherly relationship. Lu Jiujia had been so dedicated for many years without complaint—who was he to refuse him this small favor?
Even without revealing his true cultivation level, Gu An could change someone’s life with just a word, thanks to his five hundred years of networking in the Supreme Sect.
Upon hearing this, Lu Jiujia’s eyebrows shot up in joy, and he quickly thanked Gu An before hurrying off.
Gu An began to read. Although he spent most of his time away from Mystic Valley, Lu Jiujia often stocked the place with books, ensuring that he always had something different to read.
It wasn’t long before Lu Jiujia returned.
A young man followed him, dressed in modest cloth garments. His features were not particularly handsome, but he had a fair complexion and a somewhat slender frame.
The young man was extremely nervous and looked at Gu An only briefly before lowering his gaze, daring not to look again.
Lu Jiujia stepped forward to introduce the young man, while Gu An sent a Life Span Detection towards him.
[Jiang Shi (Foundation Establishment Realm second layer): 23/350/4800]
A life span of four thousand eight hundred years—truly, a rarely seen talent.
“Disciple Jiang Shi pays respects to Master!”
Jiang Shi knelt down, bowing reverently.
Gu An habitually peered into Jiang Shi’s karma, deducing his past and future before showing a gentle smile and saying, “Rise. There’s no need for such formalities here in Mystic Valley.”
Jiang Shi looked up, saw his smile, and relaxed significantly before standing up to speak.
Gu An kept deducing while casually talking with Jiang Shi, taking interest in his cultivation practice.
This was Jiang Shi’s first encounter with a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator. Although nervous inside, he spoke naturally, neither servile nor overbearing.
Seeing Jiang Shi’s demeanor, Lu Jiujia smiled in satisfaction, feeling that Jiang Shi was not embarrassing him.
In his view, his brother had met countless talents—if Jiang Shi had been daunted, he would surely be looked down upon by Gu An.
Not to mention Li Ya or An Hao, let alone someone like Wu Jue in their sect, who was so spirited he had to address Gu An as “Brother Gu.”
Suddenly, Gu An deduced something, his expression turned unnatural, but his tone did not change.
After a while, Gu An said, “Hmm, I am aware of your situation; you may go down and continue your cultivation.”
Jiang Shi paused momentarily, then bowed and left.
When he was downstairs, Lu Jiujia finally asked Gu An, “Brother, what do you think? Can this boy meet your standards?”
Gu An pondered, “His talent is indeed good; I can introduce him to a master.”
Lu Jiujia pressed, “Can’t he follow you for cultivation?”
With Jiang Shi’s aptitude, finding a master should be easy, but in Lu Jiujia’s eyes, having Gu An as his master would be the greatest path for Jiang Shi.
For several hundred years, though he never asked, he felt that his brother shared an inseparable bond with Sword Venerable Fudao.
The precursor, Flying Leaf Sword Immortal, always made moves around Mystic Valley, and Sword Venerable Fudao’s renowned battle had coincidentally saved him and Ye Lan, Zhen Qin—a multitude of factors were too coincidental to ignore.
And the Innate Reincarnation Skill, such a miraculous skill is unmatched in the Supreme Sect!
He was wise enough not to question Gu An, nor dare to discuss this matter with anyone else.
If Jiang Shi could follow Gu An for cultivation, he might later gain the favor of Sword Venerable Fudao.
“Jiujia, you like him that much?” Gu An stared at Lu Jiujia and asked.
Lu Jiujia replied, “When he was seven, I brought him to Mystic Valley and watched him grow up, just like a son to me.”
Gu An sighed, “If I personally take him in, he would be bound to Mystic Valley, and you might die because of him, and he will also cause great trouble.”
According to his calculations, Jiang Shi appeared to have a good character but was unscrupulous in his pursuit of immortal cultivation.
After hundreds of years, gaining a position even as a Servant Disciple in Mystic Valley was challenging; the Chores Hall would select suitable disciples for Mystic Valley for profit, leading to current disciples being either rich or noble.
At the age of seven, in order to enter Mystic Valley, he had found out in advance the list arranged by Chores Hall for Mystic Valley and drugged those he viewed as threats to miss their chance.
No one suspected a seven-year-old child, so he succeeded.
After entering Mystic Valley, even if some doubted him, no one dared to trouble him.
After that, Jiang Shi behaved very cautiously, concealing his true nature well.
Gu An predicted that in the future, he would steal the Ultimate Skill from the Supreme Sect, causing their cultivators to hunt him down, and Lu Jiujia, in an attempt to protect him, would mistakenly be killed by a cultivator from the Supreme Sect.
Even though this was a future without Gu An’s intervention, it at least showed that Jiang Shi was not simple; as long as he maintained his current relationship with Lu Jiujia, trouble would inevitably come.
Gu An had calculated thousands of possible deaths for Lu Jiujia, most of them related to Jiang Shi.
Hearing Gu An’s words, Lu Jiujia’s expression changed drastically. He didn’t reflexively rebut, but carefully reminisced.
Had it been someone else who said this, he would certainly have been annoyed, but coming from his Senior Brother, he couldn’t help but seriously ponder.
Although he valued Jiang Shi, how could Jiang Shi compare to his Senior Brother in his heart?
Even as he held Jiang Shi in high esteem, he did not take it upon himself to teach the Innate Reincarnation Skill to Jiang Shi.
“I understand!”
Lu Jiujia took a deep breath, dropped these words, raised his hand in salute, and turned to leave.
Gu An didn’t say more and continued reading.
Jiang Shi still didn’t pose a threat to him.
By evening, Gu An left Mystic Valley and reached the Third Medicine Valley.
He first found An Xin, revealed everything about the Chen family, and arranged for An Xin to visit the Inner Sect City tomorrow.
The Great Elder of the Inner Sect City was from the Lv Family, and, which the relationship between Gu An and Lv Baitian, the Lv Family would definitely take action.
…
Summer passed and autumn arrived, and in the blink of an eye, half a year had passed.
That night.
Lu Jiujia was cultivating in his house when he heard a knock on the door and, without opening his eyes, said, “Come in.”
The door was pushed open, and Jiang Shi walked in, approaching Lu Jiujia to salute.
“What is it?” Lu Jiujia asked, his tone indifferent.
Jiang Shi could sense the distance in his tone.
“Eldest Senior Brother, I was wrong!”
Jiang Shi suddenly knelt down, his tone somber.
In Mystic Valley, there was only one master, which was Gu An. Even though they were like father and son, Jiang Shi could only call Lu Jiujia ‘Eldest Senior Brother.’
Lu Jiujia opened his eyes and furrowed his brows.
Jiang Shi pressed his forehead to the ground and, gritting his teeth, said, “Although I’m not clear what exactly Master told you that day, I can feel your attitude. I admit that as a child, I did wrong, but I had no choice—before my family was annihilated by the Emperor, they secretly sent me to Supreme Sect, and I had to find a way to preserve my life. At the age of seven, Mystic Valley was the most formidable place I had heard of, so I…”
He confessed all his childhood actions.
Lu Jiujia was quite shocked after hearing this. He hadn’t expected him to have done such things, no wonder Senior Brother had an issue with him.
But as he listened, Lu Jiujia’s feelings became complex.
He saw his own reflection in Jiang Shi; he too had made mistakes, and if not for his Senior Brother’s care, he would have died long ago.
Although Jiang Shi’s mistakes weren’t as severe as his, he couldn’t let Jiang Shi cling to his Senior Brother.
After Jiang Shi finished speaking, Lu Jiujia sighed.
Jiang Shi looked at Lu Jiujia, his eyes red, and did not stand up for a long time.
Lu Jiujia, with a complex expression, said, “Don’t blame your Master. It’s me not wanting you to cause trouble in Mystic Valley.”
Jiang Shi hurriedly replied, “How could I possibly blame him? Over the years, I’ve received so many elixirs in Mystic Valley. Without Master’s protection, how could I possibly have reached Foundation Establishment so quickly? It was my fault after all. If I were Master, I would have expelled a disciple like me from Medicine Valley long ago.”
Thinking of Gu An, Jiang Shi truly had no complaints, only more awe.
He had thought that no one knew of his childhood actions, but it turned out his master knew. Knowing this, yet still not abandoning him, how could he repay kindness with resentment?
In previous years, he had also seen his master. Each time, his master would nod at him with a smile. Before, he merely thought his master was kind and didn’t remember him, but now, knowing that his master had long understood his past, he felt his master was truly magnanimous, with the bearing of a sage.
In fact, he was disgusted with his own past actions, but he had been driven to a dead end.
At that time, his family was about to be executed, and he heard that the Valley Master of Mystic Valley had a very good relationship with the Great Cultivator, Li Ya, who was also the most favored son of the current Emperor, so Mystic Valley became his only path to life.
Lu Jiujia looked at him with many things he wanted to say, but when the words came to his lips, he couldn’t utter them.
“There are two paths for you, either go to a Sub-sect, where Master will arrange a way out for you, and he will certainly not mistreat you, or stay in Mystic Valley and cultivate earnestly and temper your nature,” Lu Jiujia said softly.
Jiang Shi quickly said, “I choose to stay in Mystic Valley! I definitely won’t let you and Master down!”
“Do you want to hear my story?” Lu Jiujia stared at Jiang Shi, his expression turning somber.
Jiang Shi naturally wanted to listen, so Lu Jiujia began to recount his own past, starting from when he joined Supreme Sect.
Meanwhile.
Gu An was in the Hidden Spirit Palace at the bottom of the sea.
He looked at the palace he had crafted, very satisfied. In the dim seabed, Hidden Spirit Palace glowed a ghostly blue, its walls reflecting the wave light, with two phoenix-shaped statues standing at the main gate.
He was about to walk toward Hidden Spirit Palace when he suddenly sensed something and turned his head.
In the eastern direction, a massive creature was approaching—a giant fish with a large head and small body, stretching a thousand feet long, resembling a mountain range. It was chasing a small fish, like Mount Tai chasing a pebble.
The small fish was extremely fast, darting like lightning. No matter how the giant fish chased, it just couldn’t catch up.
Gu An’s eyes narrowed, the surrounding seawater churned, luring the little fish to change direction and escape towards the Hidden Spirit Palace.