Ye Qingxue felt quite disgruntled as she listened to her master heap praise upon Gu An; despite having only met Gu An a few times, she spent all day and night with her master.
In her eyes, her master was strict and decisive, wielding tremendous power, the strongest woman she had ever seen.
She too wanted to become a female cultivator like Ye Lan.
It was precisely because of this that it was particularly unpleasant for her to watch Ye Lan ingratiate herself with Gu An, but she dared not show her anger in front of her master.
[Ye Qingxue feels hostility towards you and wants to beat you up. Do you wish to perform a Life Span Detection on her?]
A notification appeared before Gu An’s eyes, causing him to pause. He couldn’t help but glance at Ye Qingxue.
Ye Qingxue was staring at Gu An, but as soon as she met his gaze, she quickly turned her head away, her face and even her ear tips flushed red as though they were about to bleed.
Gu An shook his head with a smile, not taking her seriously.
What would be the point of taking issue with a fourteen-year-old child?
If it wasn’t murderous intent, he was too lazy to care about it.
He dealt with people daily; naturally, some would be dissatisfied with him. It didn’t mean he should kill anyone who harbored dissatisfaction towards him.
Ye Lan had no idea what Ye Qingxue was thinking. After giving her a few words of advice, she walked over to Gu An.
Considering it was rare for Gu An to visit, Ye Lan was preoccupied with him, even thinking that Ye Qingxue was somewhat in the way.
Seeing her come over, Gu An stopped paying attention to Zhu Xi and focused on chatting with Ye Lan.
An hour later, Ye Qingxue took her leave.
Once her presence had faded, Ye Lan could no longer contain herself and pounced on Gu An.
“Be careful about the impression you’re making. What if your disciple comes back?”
“What about it? I’m not afraid of anyone knowing.”
“You’re a Law Enforcement Elder now; you should be mindful of the impact!”
“If it means losing my position as a Law Enforcement Elder, then so be it. I miss you so much, Elder Brother…”
“You can’t touch there…”
“Elder Brother, you smell so good!”
The autumn wind swept away the dead leaves from the trees; the leaves, once they fell to the ground, seemed unwilling to give up and fluttered in the air, struggling for a long time before finally landing helplessly in the corner of the wall.
…
In a dimly lit grand hall, countless figures were scattered around, humans and demons alike, all wrapped in Demonic Qi, making for a terrifying sight.
All their gazes were fixed forward, on a stone platform suspended a red and purple orb of light, displaying a silhouette. This figure seemed to sit lazily on a throne made of bones, as if in another world.
He too was surrounded by Demonic Qi, covered in thick armor, and at his feet lay a black lion with a ferocious face, three tails, each tail ending in a snake’s head, hissing with tongues flickering.
He was the Heavenly Demon Great Emperor, the ruler of the Heavenly Demon clan, and the mastermind behind the Sky Demon Great Sect.
“So you’re saying, you’re also unclear about who’s pulling the strings behind the Xuanyou Divine Dynasty?”
The voice of the Heavenly Demon Great Emperor emanated from within the orb; his tone was icy cold, quieting every Heavenly Demon in the hall.
The black-robed elder at the forefront spoke up, “Your Majesty, the opponent hails from Xuan You, the Reincarnation Land, and indeed we cannot discern any concrete information from the mortal world.”
The others concurred; over the years, they had sent many spies and even turned some people from the Xuanyou Divine Dynasty, yet they were constantly unable to gather useful intelligence.
The Heavenly Demon Great Emperor fell silent for a while before speaking, “What is the stance of the Xuanyou Divine Dynasty then?”
A woman in red responded, “They wish to gather the souls of the dead. They want all beings in the Great Heavenly Spirit Land to perish, which, in a sense, aligns with our intentions because we too wish to destroy the Great Heavenly Spirit Land.”
The fingers of the Heavenly Demon Great Emperor began to tap on the armrest, adorned with skulls—the tapping sounds chiiling everyone in the hall into silence.
After a long while.
The Heavenly Demon Great Emperor finally spoke, “If that’s the case, then let us fully unleash the great calamity upon the world, and let the Great Heavenly Spirit Land feel despair ahead of time.”
As his words fell, the three-tailed black lion at his feet howled upwards, its roar deafening.
The Heavenly Demons in the hall kneeled, silent, all staring fervently at the Heavenly Demon Great Emperor.
…
As the year came to a close, with snow covering the Great Heaven and Earth, soon to melt, the Supreme Sect began preparations for the Spring festival.
The Third Medicine Valley was also in the midst of preparing for the Spring festival. Unlike previous years, it was said that Gu An was planning a grand celebration, much to the anticipation of the disciples.
“Come on, tell me, what are you up to?” Shen Zhen urged Gu An, looking quite beautiful today in a white dress and a silver jade phoenix crown, embodying elegance and nobility.
As Gu An was writing, he casually responded, “You’ll know when the time comes.”
This made Shen Zhen even more curious, but no matter how much she pressed him, Gu An simply wouldn’t spill the beans.
Feeling it futile, Shen Zhen stood up to leave.
It wasn’t long after her departure that Wu Jue arrived, also inquiring about Gu An’s preparations.
Now that Gu An was linked with Sword Venerable Fudao, every word and action of his was the center of attention. Rumors of his preparing a grand celebration had the higher echelons of the sect abuzz.
More and more of the upper-level members were convinced that Gu An was Sword Venerable Fudao; if Sword Venerable Fudao was planning a celebration, how could they not be concerned?
Nevertheless, Gu An still did not reveal the truth, leaving Wu Jue to depart in frustration.
In the following time, a stream of visitors came to see Gu An.
Down at the pavilion.
Long Qing, holding a wooden stick, looked up at the second floor and asked Blood Prison Great Saint, “You’re guarding master every day, do you have any insider news?”
Blood Prison Great Saint lay on the ground and glanced at him, ignoring the question.
Long Qing squatted down, pulling out a White Jade Bottle from his storage bag, whispering in a mysterious tone, “This is Heart-Cleansing Jade Honey, exceedingly rare. I have only two bottles, and I’m sharing one with you.”
The Blood Prison Great Saint opened his eyes and revealed a smile, saying, “You’ve put in some thought, kid, so I’ll give you a hint. The Master wants to create an Immortal Realm existence, right here in the valley, in the Third Medicine Valley.”
Upon hearing this, Long Qing’s eyes widened, and his heartbeat quickened. He carefully asked, “Master, whom will you choose?”
“I have no idea,” replied the Blood Prison Great Saint.
Using his Divine Sense to open the bottle, the Blood Prison Great Saint drew out the liquid and swallowed it in one gulp. His bovine eyes then bent into a smile, clearly pleased.
Long Qing stood up and turned to look towards the second floor, his imagination beginning to run wild.
As the Spring Festival drew near, the grapevine buzzed with news that Sword Venerable Fudao of the Supreme Sect was about to create an Immortal Path Realm existence.
The higher ranks of the Supreme Sect kept the news from the ears of the disciples of various departments within the sect, suppressing the information. Once they had finished arranging the Spring Festival affairs for the Supreme Sect, they hurried over, eager to join the excitement.
As noon approached,
Vice Sect Leader Ji Hantian entered the valley and was taken aback by the bustling scene. Find exclusive stories on empire
So many people!
He even noticed that the big shots from the families had arrived faster than him.
While pondering this, he went up to greet them. Even as Vice Sect Leader, he still needed to greet those Great Cultivators proactively.
At the entrance of the valley,
several Cultivators arrived, including Zhu Xi.
Dressed in azure garments, Zhu Xi was curiously looking over the Third Medicine Valley.
Having first visited the Supreme Sect’s sub-sect to learn about the relationship between the Supreme Sect and Sword Venerable Fudao, she wanted to establish herself there. Thus, she came to the main sect. After some inquiries, the Third Medicine Valley became her first choice; to be precise, it was the first choice for most new disciples entering the sect.
However, entering the Third Medicine Valley wasn’t so easy now. Zhu Xi had barely managed to get the opportunity to visit the Third Medicine Valley for the festival by giving gifts.
Walking ahead of her was an Elder from the Book Collection Hall, brimming with excitement as if he were introducing his own domain. He was introducing the Third Medicine Valley.
He was on good terms with Gu An, making him feel sort of at home here.
Zhu Xi was curious about the Valley Master Gu An. She had heard that this Valley Master was a disciple of Sword Venerable Fudao, who didn’t compete or fight over matters, was amiable with others, and was more than willing to train disciples. Inside the Supreme Sect, Gu An had an excellent reputation; Zhu Xi hadn’t heard a bad word about him.
Traveling the world for hundreds of years, it was the first time she heard of such a remarkable person. Coupled with the earth-shattering exploits of Sword Venerable Fudao, she was looking forward to meeting Gu An.
Zhu Xi looked around, curious about everything inside the Third Medicine Valley.
As they approached the dojo, An Xin suddenly approached.
The Elder from the Book Collection Hall greeted An Xin warmly. Gu An had introduced An Xin to all his contacts within the Supreme Sect, and they were all aware of Gu An’s attitude towards An Xin, so everyone treated An Xin warmly.
“Today, Elder Li, we must have a good drink, not returning until we’re drunk. My master often talks about you,” said An Xin with a bow and a hearty laugh.
These words made Elder Li feel quite comfortable, his spine straightening up. He pinched his beard and glanced at the disciples beside him, who looked up to him in admiration.
An Xin turned her gaze to Zhu Xi and asked with a smile, “May I ask if you are Zhu Xi, Miss Zhu?”
Stunned, Zhu Xi and the others, including Elder Li, looked at her in surprise.
“I am, what about it?” Zhu Xi asked cautiously. While she was a Cultivator of the Void Crossing Realm and hid even greater strength, she was very cautious within the Supreme Sect. It was her survival instinct.
“Don’t be nervous,” An Xin said with a smile. “My master told me to take good care of you; he knew you would come.”
“Your master?”
Zhu Xi grew even more nervous. She had encountered many Great Cultivators who could divine destiny, and she always kept her distance from such entities to avoid trouble.
An Xin nodded and said, “My master is the Valley Master. Come on, I’ll take you to settle in.”
After saying this, she bowed to Elder Li, excusing herself.
Under everyone’s watchful gaze, Zhu Xi didn’t dare to flee and had no choice but to follow An Xin reluctantly.
Elder Li and his disciples were astonished. Zhu Xi had such a connection?
Suddenly, Elder Li felt the medicinal herbs he had collected for Gu An were a bit hot to handle. But thinking of Gu An’s smiling face, he calmed down again.
Gu An wasn’t a petty person; at worst, he would return the herbs.
Yes, that’s it. He could also prepare a gift for Zhu Xi and take the opportunity to apologize to Gu An, thereby increasing his chances for more interaction.
A smile spread across Elder Li’s face as he suddenly found Zhu Xi rather agreeable.
On the other side,
Zhu Xi couldn’t help but ask why Gu An was looking for her, but An Xin said she didn’t know either.
“You don’t have to worry. If my master has noticed you, it must mean he has a good impression of you. Maybe he will even take you as his disciple. Just settle in comfortably as if it was your own home, and if you encounter any problems in the future, you can come to me. I forgot to tell you, I am the head disciple of the valley and in charge of everything,” An Xin said, turning her head towards Zhu Xi with a gentle smile.
Zhu Xi was touched by her smile, warming up to her and feeling her stress dissipate.
With such a kind personality, the Valley Master might indeed be a rare good person.
Zhu Xi thought to herself. Although An Xin’s Cultivation Level was only at the Nascent Soul Realm, she didn’t look down on her. Instead, Zhu Xi wanted to deepen their friendship.
An Xin thought to herself, “She doesn’t seem to recognize my master. Could she be the offspring of one of my master’s old friends?”
She did not think of Zhu Xi as a genius. When she said Gu An might take Zhu Xi as a disciple, it was just a habit of making big promises, something she learned from Gu An. A few kind words didn’t cost anything, and maybe she could forge a closer relationship.
The two women chatted warmly as they proceeded.
Underneath an old tree, Jue Luo Sword Monarch stood up, looking at the commotion in the distance, and muttered, “Such clamor!”
Suddenly, he caught sight of someone, causing him to exclaim in surprise.
It was a white-haired old man, leaning on a cane in one hand and resting the other on his waist, just entering the valley and looking around.
“The Free Immortal… Reincarnation Tribulation… This aura feels so familiar, as if I’ve seen it somewhere.” Jue Luo Sword Monarch pondered to himself, his eyes fixed on the white-haired old man.
The white-haired old man seemed to sense something, turned his head to look, and when he saw Jue Luo Sword Monarch, his white eyebrows furrowed.