https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-15-The-Millennium-Pavilion-Master-of-the-Dark-Valley/12573990/
Chapter 16: The Seventh Layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm, Mysteries of the Mountains and
Chapter 16: The Seventh Layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm, Mysteries of the Mountains and Forests
After being invited by Gu An, Wu Xin remained silent the entire time, from the moment he left the Menial Hall to the moment he nodded in agreement. Gu An suspected he might have invited a mute to join their sect.
For Wu Xin, becoming a menial disciple as soon as possible was his top priority at the moment. His first impression of Gu An was a favorable one, so he readily agreed.
The reason for his haste in becoming a disciple was that he was a spy from the demonic path.
He originated from the demonic sect, Qian Qiu Pavilion, and was the youngest son of one of its pavilion masters. Due to his inferior talent compared to his brothers, he had volunteered to become a spy.
Firstly, it was a way to escape the oppressive environment at home, and secondly, he wanted to see if he could achieve something noteworthy.
If not, then so be it.
Wu Xin looked at Gu An and Cheng Xuandan ahead of him, and he had already formed a preliminary judgment about them.
One was a kind and simple ordinary cultivator.
The other was an old man nearing the end of his life.
From their conversation, the Medicine Valley did seem quite laid-back and had a pleasant atmosphere.
...
As heavy snowflakes filled the air, Xuan Valley was enveloped in a white haze, and the world seemed to be of a single color.
Bang!
Wu Xin was kicked and fell onto the snowy ground, the snow splashing onto his face as he clutched his chest in pain.
"Lu Jiujia! Why are you being so serious?" Ye Lan reprimanded from the side.
Lu Jiujia stood in the snow, slowly retracting his leg. He raised his chin and hummed, "Sparring should be taken seriously; only then can there be improvement."
His cultivation had already reached the fifth layer of the Qi Refining Realm, making him the strongest cultivator in Medicine Valley on the surface. Ye Lan's cultivation was at the fourth layer of Qi Refining, while Xiao Chuan and Gu An were both at the third layer.
Wu Xin, who was only at the second layer, was no match for Lu Jiujia.
"Damn... Why are these menial disciples so strong..." Wu Xin's mentality was on the verge of collapsing.
Seeing Lu Jiujia practicing his leg techniques, Wu Xin couldn't help but want to give it a try. But he never expected to be defeated by Lu Jiujia's powerful kicks.
What he didn't know was that Lu Jiujia had an excellent senior martial brother. Over the years, Gu An had taken time every day to spar with Lu Jiujia. Lu Jiujia would always lose despite giving it his all, and day after day, his leg techniques had become very sophisticated, and his physical strength was also considerable.
Wu Xin didn't believe in bad luck and thought that he had just been careless. He got up and pounced on Lu Jiujia again.
Bang! Bang!
Lu Jiujia kicked out twice more, sending Wu Xin flying and falling to the ground once more.
Wu Xin felt like his arm was about to break, and at the age of fifteen, he lay in the snow, tears of humiliation streaming down his face.
Why was he so weak...
This was not the life of a spy that he had imagined. Aside from climbing mountains and diving into fires, even if he lost, it should have been during a mission to steal intelligence...
He had actually been defeated by an ordinary menial disciple who seemed average in every way.
"If I hadn't cultivated this technique... With my talent... How could I suffer such humiliation?"
Wu Xin clenched his fists tightly. Ye Lan and Lu Jiujia's bickering voices rang out, grating on his ears.
Lu Jiujia looked at Ye Lan and said discontentedly, "He's a boy, not a fragile girl. Get out of the way and stop favoring him. When Big Brother Gu kicked me down, why didn't you say anything then?"
Ye Lan glared at him and said, "How did I not say anything? I stood up for you, and you even shouted at me. And Big Brother Gu didn't kick you as hard as you kicked Wu Xin. Think about it carefully. When Big Brother Gu spars with you, does he not wait for you to display all your leg techniques before he lightly defeats you? But look at you; you're just being rough and reckless. What can Wu Xin possibly learn from sparring with you?"
Upon hearing this, Lu Jiujia's dissatisfied expression turned into one of contemplation. Indeed, that was how it usually went.
It was because he could always go all out that he could improve and gain more insights.
Being on the receiving end of a one-sided beating didn't really teach him anything...
Lu Jiujia felt ashamed and, at the same time, even more grateful to Gu An.
His senior martial brother had always been so good to him.
Ye Lan helped Wu Xin up and saw that his eyes were red. She quickly comforted him, "Don't mind him; he's doing it for your own good. He wants to spar seriously with you so that you can both improve together. He's just someone who likes to be stubbornly competitive."
Lu Jiujia saw Wu Xin's red eyes and felt embarrassed, scratching his head awkwardly.
"Jiujia, your leg techniques have improved. Come, let's practice."
A gentle voice came from behind, and Lu Jiujia turned to see Gu An approaching with a spring-like smile on his face.
Lu Jiujia immediately nodded eagerly, his confidence having swelled recently as he believed he could defeat his senior martial brother.
Ye Lan and Wu Xin looked at Gu An, and Wu Xin was secretly curious. Was this senior martial brother really that amazing?
Could he really defeat Lu Jiujia despite being two minor realms lower?
Gu An stopped and waved at Lu Jiujia, who grinned and took a step forward, standing before Gu An.
Bang!
Lu Jiujia was sent flying, sliding through the snow for several meters and leaving a long trench in his wake.
His eyes were now full of stars, and he almost passed out, feeling as if his internal organs were shifting and causing him immense pain.
Wu Xin was stunned.
Such fast legs!
He hadn't even seen how Gu An had kicked.
Ye Lan, on the other hand, was smiling so widely that her eyes curved like crescent moons. She quickly walked up to Gu An and praised his increasingly swift leg techniques.
Gu An ruffled her hair affectionately and then turned to Wu Xin, asking, "Wu Xin, do you want to learn leg techniques in the future?"
Wu Xin's maximum lifespan was higher than that of ordinary people, and he could also be considered to have the potential of a genius. He couldn't afford to have his arms or legs injured by Lu Jiujia.
"I do!" Wu Xin replied firmly, his tone resolute and unlike his usual gentle self.
The distant Lu Jiujia began to wail, attracting Gu An's attention.
Gu An walked up to him and looked down at him, humming, "Stop pretending. Senior Martial Brother is asking you, do you like sparring like this?"
Lu Jiujia lay on the ground, slightly turning his body and peeking at Gu An with one eye. Seeing his serious expression, he quickly covered his eyes again and said painfully, "Senior Martial Brother, I was wrong..."
Gu An pulled him up and patted the snow off his body while speaking softly, "A true strong person is not one who defeats someone stronger than themselves. It is someone who can control their arrogance and not bully those weaker than themselves.
Lu Jiujia rubbed his chest, thoughtfully pondering Gu An's words.
Ye Lan and Wu Xin also heard this, especially Wu Xin, whose heart was shaken. He never expected that such a high-caliber individual was hiding in this small Medicine Valley.
In Qian Qiu Pavilion, bullying the weak was the norm. He was weak, so even his father and brothers bullied him.
"He's right!" They can't be considered strong at all! Wu Xin thought to himself, and the way he looked at Gu An changed.
"Let Lu Jiujia be the one to teach you leg techniques for now." Gu An patted Lu Jiujia's shoulder and said. Lu Jiujia quickly nodded, not daring to refuse.
Afterward, Gu An took Ye Lan up the mountain to check on the seeds that had been planted not long ago. Xiaochuan was also on the mountain.
As for Cheng Xuandan, after he returned, he locked himself in his room and didn't come out. Gu An visited him once, and he said that he was recuperating. After that, Gu An didn't dare to disturb him.
Days passed, and with Wu Xin's addition, Medicine Valley became livelier. Lu Jiujia and Xiaochuan loved to tease him, and the sounds of the three of them horsing around would occasionally ring out through Medicine Valley.
At the end of the year, as night fell, Gu An was reading in his room. He was no longer reading the Green Hero's Journey but another book called The Secret History of Qian Qiu Pavilion.
This book came from the Medicine Valley's library, and he didn't know if it was genuine or not. In any case, he was reading it for fun.
The flickering light of the oil lamp swayed slightly, and strands of cold wind slipped through the window cracks, but Gu An, who had already reached the sixth layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm, was unperturbed.
After finishing reading that page, he put down the book and prepared to get up to carry out his daily routine.
Suddenly, he heard faint movements coming from the neighboring house. Someone had walked out of the room, their steps light, but they couldn't escape his sharp ears.
It's Wu Xin! Gu An was very familiar with the aura of everyone in Medicine Valley and immediately identified the person's identity.
He quietly listened to Wu Xin's footsteps. Wu Xin was heading toward the library and started browsing through the books after entering the building.
"What is he looking for?" Gu An was filled with curiosity.
In his impression, Wu Xin was very honest. Whatever task Gu An assigned, Wu Xin would carry out diligently, unlike Lu Jiujia, who would occasionally slack off.
In addition to being honest, Wu Xin also had a competitive streak that was second only to Lu Jiujia's. From time to time, he would spar with his senior martial brothers and, despite losing repeatedly, he would persist and not give up.
Could this kid be looking for secret manuals?
Gu An thought of this and felt a bit sorry for his junior martial brother.
Starting tomorrow, he would personally teach his junior martial brother.
Wu Xin searched for about half an hour before quietly returning to his room.
After a while, Gu An got up and quietly left his room. He was going to carry out his daily routine in the mountains a dozen or so miles away.
...
Yet another summer arrived.
Gu An had turned twenty-two, and his lifespan had already exceeded four thousand years. He planned to continue saving up until he reached tens of thousands of years before using them.
Half a year passed, and through his daily routine, his cultivation successfully broke through to the seventh layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm, but his apparent cultivation was still at the third layer of the Qi Refining Realm.
As time went on, Gu An became more and more curious about the seven-layered spirit tree that Cheng Xuandan had mentioned. He had even tried to search for it, but he couldn't find the entrance to the underground area.
Wu Xin would also occasionally sneak around in the middle of the night to explore. Once, the two of them almost ran into each other, but fortunately, Gu An's exceptional hearing allowed him to discover Wu Xin in time.
As noon approached, Gu An squatted under a tree, observing his White Spirit Mouse.
The White Spirit Mouse was spinning wildly in front of him, full of vigor.
"Did it grow up? But spring has already passed..." Gu An thought in confusion.
He had raised the White Spirit Mouse for several years, and its size hadn't changed. Without Li Ya, he couldn't determine the growth stage of the White Spirit Mouse.
This little guy had been spinning in front of him for a while now.
As if understanding Gu An's words, the White Spirit Mouse suddenly jumped up and bit Gu An's hand before quickly running away.
Gu An didn't feel any pain, so he wasn't angry. His gaze followed the White Spirit Mouse, and he saw that it had stopped and was spinning wildly in the same place again.
Wait a moment!
Could it be...
Gu An thought of something and quickly got up to walk toward the White Spirit Mouse.
Seeing him coming, the White Spirit Mouse stopped spinning and ran toward the mountain forest. In no time, the two of them disappeared into the mountain forest.
Wu Xin stood under the tree, looking in the direction Gu An had left. He frowned and thought, "It's the mountain forest again. According to Lu Jiujia, Li Ya and Meng Lang both liked to go to the mountain forest to cultivate alone. Big Senior Martial Brother's leg techniques are far superior to his cultivation realm. Could there be a secret to the mountain forest?"
The more he thought about it, the more possible it seemed, and he didn't chase after Gu An. Instead, he planned to secretly go and take a look at night.
On the other side.
Gu An followed the White Spirit Mouse over mountains and through valleys, eventually leaving Medicine Valley.
This little guy's range of activity is quite large, huh? Gu An realized that he had underestimated the White Spirit Mouse, and he became even more curious about where the White Spirit Mouse would lead him.
Previously, Li Ya had said that the White Spirit Mouse was known as the Treasure-Seeking Mouse.
Could it have found the seven-layered spirit tree?
(End of Chapter)
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