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Chapter 134: Becoming the Master of Tai Xuan Gate
Chapter 134: Becoming the Master of Tai Xuan Gate
The sky was vast and clear, and the autumn breeze brought a pleasant mood.
Third Herb Valley:
Gu An was busy plucking herbs, while Lu Lingjun followed closely behind, carrying a bamboo basket to collect the herbs he had wrapped.
"I don't see you doing anything significant, so why do I need to protect you?" Lu Lingjun complained.
An inner sect elder guarding an outer sect disciple? If word got out, it would be a disgrace to the inner sect elders of Tai Xuan Gate!
"I don't trouble you most of the time. You enjoy the perks of being an inner sect elder and can cultivate under the Xuan Qing tree. Many elders are envious of you," Gu An said nonchalantly, unable to hide the smile tugging at his lips.
The herbs they were harvesting were all sixth-grade, each capable of extending one's lifespan by sixty to a hundred years!
Gardening was so much more rewarding!
Killing a combined realm cultivator would likely yield a similar amount of lifespan, and it would also create grudges!
Hearing Gu An's words, Lu Lingjun found them reasonable, but she still felt that her task was beneath her status. It showed that Lu Baitian did not respect her.
Lu Lingjun had already set a new goal in her mind.
And that was to become the Master of Tai Xuan Gate!
Since Lu Baitian had tied her and Gu An together, she needed to build a better relationship with him.
Gu An still had a lot of advantages. Just the high-grade herbs in this herb valley gave him a significant amount of leverage.
From now on, she would protect Gu An and use his herbs to win people over, forming a power group centered around the two of them. She would bide her time and make her move gradually.
As Lu Lingjun thought of this, a smile suddenly bloomed on her face, like a flower in full bloom. Gu An happened to glance over and felt goosebumps rise on his skin.
"What's that look for? Are you plotting something against me?" Gu An asked warily.
Lu Lingjun smiled sweetly. "How could I plot against you? You're my valley master. If it weren't for you making the connection, how could I have received such treatment?"
"Ahem, now I don't even restrict your cultivation time under the tree. In terms of benefits, the current arrangement is even better, isn't it? After all, there are only a handful of seventh-grade treasure trees in Tai Xuan Gate," Gu An coughed lightly, then continued harvesting the herbs.
"Yes, yes, you're right. I owe you a debt of gratitude, and I will repay it in the future," Lu Lingjun agreed.
"That's more like it."
Lu Lingjun no longer disturbed Gu An's work.
After a stick of incense had burned, the two returned.
Along the way, Lu Lingjun asked, "Valley Master, don't you want to improve your cultivation? You managed to make it onto the Golden Roll, which shows that your talent isn't bad. It's just that you don't like to cultivate."
The higher Gu An's cultivation, the better it would be for her plans!
"Even if it's not bad, I'm certainly not a genius. I made it onto the Roll with the help of a magical artifact. Don't try to persuade me. Even if I cultivate diligently and live for seven to eight hundred years, most of my life will have been spent cultivating. Why not just enjoy life instead? By not cultivating, I'm avoiding a detour. My talent is nowhere near as impressive as yours," Gu An argued convincingly. For some reason, Lu Lingjun felt a tinge of sadness.
As an ascender, she had indeed seen too many people who had exhausted their lives yet failed to escape their fate.
Countless people cultivated bitterly their entire lives, only to die during tribulation, killed by enemies, or fall prey to inner demons.
Even she, as she reminisced, wondered if the happy moments in her life truly added up to as many as this young man before her had experienced.
At that moment, Gu An's image in Lu Lingjun's mind changed.
Despite his low cultivation, he possessed a kind of openness and perspective on life that others could hardly match.
Lu Lingjun quickened her steps to match Gu An's pace and asked, "Valley Master, do you think I should follow your example?"
"Follow my example? That's a joke. Your realm has already proven your talent. Life is about striving. Since my talent is lacking, I strive for a fuller life. You, on the other hand, have exceptional talent, so you should strive for a longer life," Gu An replied casually. He had no intention of letting others follow in his footsteps, as his ability to seize lifespans was unique.
His words were merely meant to conceal his true strength, not to guide others.
Lu Lingjun's admiration for Gu An grew after hearing his response.
The two chatted as they made their way back to the pavilion area.
It was only in the evening that Gu An finally arrived at the Xuan Tian Cave Abode.
Half a month had passed since he had exchanged abilities with Xuan Miao Zhenren.
Gu An had planted the seven seventh-grade heavenly treasures he received from Xuan Miao Zhenren in the Xuan Tian Cave Abode. He wasn't worried about the abode being exposed. Even if it was discovered in the future, he could always move it by shrinking the entire mountain with the large and small as-you-wish.
Because these seven seeds were of high grade, he visited once every day to ensure they grew straight and didn't conflict with each other.
After inspecting them and finding no issues, a smile appeared on his face.
These days, he was constantly harvesting lifespans, so traveling back and forth was not tiring but rather interesting.
For his next breakthrough, he planned to open a new cave abode elsewhere and recruit someone to manage it while he focused on harvesting.
The person managing the cave abode should be able to endure loneliness.
But that was a story for another day.
He walked up to the wooden house, took out the Purple Micro Array Record, and a pile of array materials, and began attempting to set up an array.
The new cave abode would definitely need a lot of arrays, so he wanted to be prepared.
At the same time, thousands of miles away, in a Taoist temple hidden in the mountains.
Xuan Miao Zhenren sat in front of a pill furnace, cultivating the Nine Extremes Yin-Yang Body. His hands constantly changed seals, and strands of dark green demonic energy seeped out of his body, swirling around him.
There was a soft knock on the door.
Without even opening his eyes, Xuan Miao Zhenren said, "Come in."
As the door opened, the fox demon youth entered and knelt before his master. In a low voice, he said, "Master, I just had a nightmare."
"What kind of nightmare?" Xuan Miao Zhenren inquired.
"I dreamt that the sky tore open, and countless demons and cultivators poured forth, slaughtering all living beings in their path. I also saw a massive and terrifying tree, and on that tree was a face..." The fox demon youth's voice trembled as he spoke, whether from fear or the chill wind blowing in from outside.
Xuan Miao Zhenren opened his eyes, and the demonic energy surrounding him dissipated. He took out a compass and began to cast a divination spell.
The fox demon youth watched him, his curiosity piqued by the compass in his master's hands.
The compass burst into light, and specks of starlight rose into the air. Xuan Miao Zhenren raised his other hand and pointed at the fox demon youth's forehead.
The youth found himself unable to move as his eyes widened, his gaze shifting upward.
Xuan Miao Zhenren's finger plucked threads of light from the youth's forehead, drawing them out into the starlight above the compass.
Boom—
A wave of energy burst forth from the compass, and the starlight exploded, forming a vision of the fox demon youth's dream.
In the vision, the sky was torn asunder, black fissures spreading across the mountain forest. Countless demons and black-robed cultivators surged forth, sweeping through everything in their path. Wherever they went, black mist spread, causing all life to wither and living creatures to turn into bones.
The horrifying and gruesome spectacle caused Xuan Miao Zhenren's brows to furrow.
After watching for a while, his expression changed drastically as he caught sight of the North Sea!
The fox demon youth also felt afraid, even though it was his own dream. He had no desire to relive it.
Time passed.
Xuan Miao Zhenren put away his compass and left the Taoist temple, stepping into the courtyard. He took out a piece of yellow paper and quickly wrote down a message, folded it, and then burned it with his spiritual fire.
The yellow paper turned to ash, the ashes glowing faintly before disappearing.
The fox demon youth asked, "Master, what are you doing?"
"I'm sending a message to the sect."
"The Sanqing Mountain you often mention?"
"Yes."
"Master, when will you take me to Sanqing Mountain?"
"Focus on your cultivation. For an outsider to enter Sanqing Mountain, they must undergo numerous assessments. Your cultivation and mindset are not yet sufficient." Xuan Miao Zhenren replied casually, then added a word of caution to his disciple before leaving the temple.
The moonlight shone through the gaps in the leaves, illuminating the fox demon youth as he stared in the direction of his master's departure. His harmless-looking face gradually turned cold, and a chilling light shone in his eyes.
"The mountain god..."
...
Inside the Xuan Tian Cave Abode, Gu An put down his brush and talisman paper, his face grim.
[The Yellow Spring Fox Demon bears hostility towards you and is wary of your strength. Do you want to perform a lifespan investigation on him?]
Wary?
How deep does this hostility run?
Should I kill him?
The thought of the Yellow Spring Fox Demon's limit of 14,000 years of lifespan made Gu An uncomfortable.
While demons had a much longer lifespan than humans of the same realm, anyone who lived for tens of thousands of years was considered a formidable demon.
Gu An looked up, his divine sense perceiving Xuan Miao Zhenren approaching.
He decided to meet with Xuan Miao Zhenren first.
After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.
Xuan Miao Zhenren arrived in the mountain forest and knelt on the ground, calling out, "I have a request to make of the Mountain God."
Before he could finish his sentence, the Mountain God appeared out of thin air on a branch not far away, surprising Xuan Miao Zhenren with his vast powers.
Without waiting for Gu An to speak, Xuan Miao Zhenren took out his compass and began to cast a spell, recounting the dream his disciple had told him.
As the compass finished replaying the dream, Xuan Miao Zhenren added, "There is the North Sea in the dream, which may indicate an impending calamity for the North Sea."
"Troublesome," Gu An muttered to himself.
It was the Church of the Ephemeral Flower again! The tree in the dream was the Ephemeral Flower Tree, indicating that the leader of the Ephemeral Flower Sect was preparing to launch a full-scale attack on the Nine Kingdoms.
Just how many Ephemeral Flower Trees were there?
Gu An felt a desire to completely destroy the Ephemeral Flower Sect to prevent them from interfering with his peaceful life.
But before that, he decided to teach the Yellow Spring Fox Demon a lesson.
"Your disciple is not simple. It's hard to tell if he will bring fortune or disaster," Gu An said casually.
Hearing this, Xuan Miao Zhenren's face paled, and he broke into a cold sweat as if he had remembered something.
Gu An found his reaction strange.
Did my words have such a great impact? Xuan Miao Zhenren recalled his master's words from long ago: "Xuan Miao, you will face nine tribulations in your life, and each one will be a life-and-death crisis. They arise from your interactions with the secular world, and you cannot avoid or escape them. Only by overcoming these tribulations can you achieve nirvana."
He looked at Gu An with newfound respect in his eyes.
Indeed, the Mountain God can see through fate and causality.
Xuan Miao Zhenren took a deep breath and slowly stood up, bowing to Gu An. "Thank you for your guidance, Mountain God. I will be cautious!"
With that, he turned and left.
Gu An tilted his head, confusion evident on his face, hidden behind the opera mask.
(End of Chapter)
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