https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-173-A-Belated-Meeting-Journey-to-the-West/12575747/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-175-A-Calamity-Rarer-Than-Once-in-Ten-Thousand-Years/12575751/
Chapter 174: The Celestial Trap, The Divide Between Immortals and Mortals
Chapter 174: The Celestial Trap, The Divide Between Immortals and Mortals
With the arrival of a new year, the Spring Festival was livelier than ever, especially with the addition of Gu Zong and Xuantianyi to the Third Medicine Valley. Upon hearing that the chief disciple of Zhen Chuan had become sworn brothers with the valley master, the four hundred miscellaneous disciples were thrilled and looked at Gu An with admiration.
Xuantianyi kept trying to engage him in conversations about Daoist Xun Chun, which caused Gu An no small amount of distress.
It wasn't until evening that Gu An made an excuse to leave and return to Xuangu Valley to celebrate the festival with his junior martial sister and disciples.
The disciples gathered around the table, drinking and chatting merrily.
Ye Lan and Zuo Qin began recounting tales of the cultivation world.
The number of demons and monsters in the Land of Five Dynasties had not decreased despite the actions of various sects; instead, their numbers were growing. Moreover, evil cultivators and villains were also on the rise.
Many believed that the human race was doomed, and so they indulged in hedonistic pleasures, murdered and stole treasures, or fled south to sea. In short, chaos reigned in both the cultivation world and among the common folk.
As long as the demon calamity remained unresolved, the world would continue to be in turmoil.
Zuo Qin had also complained about why the Mountain God did not intervene, but Gu An, pretending not to be the Mountain God, remained silent.
"The Mountain God once said, 'Why should I protect the human race? If demons worship me, should I not support them as well? The strength of a race ultimately depends on itself and not the favoritism of immortals,'" Ye Lan said with a philosophical air.
Having served in the Enforcement Hall for so long, she had witnessed countless sins and thus had a profound understanding of life.
The more evil she encountered, the more she cherished Gu An, Zuo Qin, and Xiao Chuan.
In the end, many cultivators would find themselves alone and lonely. To have companionship in life was a blessing.
Gu An listened quietly, occasionally interjecting.
No matter how chaotic the world became, he had no intention of shouldering all its burdens.
However, he would occasionally descend from the mountain to help those in need, as long as it did not affect the overall situation of the world. He would lend aid to those with whom he had a karmic connection.
After all, he was still unsure of the strength of the Seven Star Spirit Realm. Even if he knew, he couldn't protect the continent on his own. If he did, all future calamities would fall upon his shoulders, and any enemies targeting the continent would come for him first. Just thinking about it gave him a headache.
Zuo Qin brought up Su Han again. Rumor had it that Su Han had followed Jiu You and the Thirteen Horrors to Tian Wei. Not long ago, Su Han had devoured the spiritual power of a Transformation Realm cultivator, shocking the cultivation world.
The Great Xuan Gate had also sent a powerful cultivator to kill Su Han, but he was severely injured by Jiu You and the Thirteen Horrors.
Gu An thought that the reason the cultivator was only severely injured and not killed was probably because Jiu You and the Thirteen Horrors valued their relationship with the Fudao Sword Master.
As the world underwent constant changes, Gu An preferred to remain an observer.
His targets were the Demon Emperor and the Demon Ancestor.
When the demon calamity broke out and the world descended into chaos, he would take the opportunity to eliminate the Demon Emperor and the Demon Ancestor, eradicating the greatest source of the calamity. The remaining demons and monsters would then serve as whetstones for the cultivators of the world.
The conversation continued deep into the night, and Ye Lan and Zuo Qin decided to stay at Xuangu Valley, planning to leave the next day.
Ye Lan even came to his loft to share some private words.
As they chatted, Ye Lan suddenly blew out the candles in the room.
"Junior Martial Sister, what are you doing?" Gu An asked.
"Senior Martial Brother, I fear that calamity may strike at any time. I don't want to have any regrets if I die," Ye Lan replied.
"Here you go again?"
"Senior Martial Brother, I won't be your Dao companion, but can we cherish the feelings we have now?"
"Junior Martial Sister, it shouldn't be like this between you and me!"
"Senior Martial Brother, I really like you..."
"Stop right there!"
"Senior Martial Brother, don't force me to use force!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! The sounds of fists and feet connecting filled the room.
...
The next morning, Gu An and Ye Lan descended the stairs, Gu An walking ahead with a smug look on his face.
Ye Lan rubbed her wrists and shot him a resentful glance.
The previous night, the two had come to blows. Ye Lan had intended to force herself on him, but she hadn't expected to be unable to defeat Gu An. In the end, she hadn't succeeded, and she couldn't help but feel disappointed.
However, the memory of being held down by Gu An brought a smile to her face.
"So Senior Martial Brother likes it a little rough..." Ye Lan was beginning to understand Gu An a little better.
She quietly rubbed her buttocks, counting the number of times Gu An had struck her the night before.
After their morning exercises, Ye Lan and Zuo Qin departed.
Gu An, on the other hand, quietly made his way to the Eight Scenic Wonderlands.
As he approached the wisteria tree, Jiang Qiong, eyes closed, said, "It was the Spring Festival last night, wasn't it? Quite a ruckus."
"Yes, I brought some pastries made by the disciples."
Gu An replied and then squatted down to retrieve the pastries and fine wine he had brought.
Jiang Qiong opened her eyes and looked at him, asking, "Do you like your Junior Martial Sister Ye?"
"To say that I don't like her at all would be a lie, but I feel that accepting her now would hinder our cultivation," Gu An answered honestly.
"Oh? How so?" Jiang Qiong asked with interest.
"Once a person enters your heart, you can't help but think about them constantly. If we were to confirm our relationship, our feelings would turn into responsibilities, and everything I do would take her into consideration. This would undoubtedly affect my cultivation. I'm not afraid of being influenced, but I want her to cultivate with a peaceful mind, free from my influence," Gu An explained sincerely.
He was speaking from the heart.
Ye Lan had poor talent, and now she needed to find a way to cultivate the Pre-Heaven Cycle Technique to change her lifespan limit.
Gu An could choose to spend the last hundred years of her life with her, but he didn't want her lifespan to be limited to just a hundred years.
"If our love is to endure, why fret over daily meetings?" Gu An picked up the wine bowl and offered it to Jiang Qiong.
Jiang Qiong looked into his clear eyes, feeling as if she was seeing him in a whole new light.
This little guy is quite the romantic.
Jiang Qiong countered, "How can you be sure you'll outlive her? What if you die first? She cultivates diligently in the first half of her life, only to be filled with regrets in the latter half. What then?"
Gu An smiled proudly and said, "To be honest, I now possess two medicine valleys, with an abundance of medicinal herbs. Even if I don't cultivate much, relying on pills and elixirs, living for a few hundred years won't be difficult."
"A few hundred years?"
Jiang Qiong found this amusing. This boy's aspirations were indeed humble.
But for some reason, the thought of Gu An leaving the world hundreds of years later while she continued her pursuit of the ethereal path of immortality made her heart inexplicably restless.
"Come, let's drink! We won't stop until we're drunk!"
Jiang Qiong suddenly said with a straight face.
Gu An immediately raised his bowl.
Half a shichen later, when Jiang Qiong wanted to continue drinking, Gu An saw that the situation was taking a turn for the worse and tried to make an excuse to leave, but Jiang Qiong grabbed him.
Jiang Qiong even started forcing the drink on him, and to hide his cultivation, he had no choice but to pretend that he couldn't hold his liquor.
This was spirit wine; if a Foundation Establishment cultivator drank too much, they would definitely get drunk.
In the end, he had no choice but to pretend to be drunk and lie on the ground.
Jiang Qiong sat on the ground, looking at Gu An, and breathed a sigh of relief.
"This little brat is clearly at the Foundation Establishment stage, how can he hold his liquor so well?" Jiang Qiong wondered to herself, her face flushed. She had almost been out-drank by Gu An.
If it got out that a Nascent Soul cultivator couldn't hold her liquor against a Foundation Establishment cultivator, it would be a huge joke.
She sat there, gazing at Gu An, her eyes unfocused as her thoughts wandered.
Gu An, on the other hand, started calculating the time.
After three shichen, he got up to leave. Having been drunk once already, if Jiang Qiong tried to stop him again, he wouldn't hold back.
Time passed.
Suddenly, Jiang Qiong came and squatted in front of Gu An, reaching out to push away the hair on his face.
Gu An's heart raced with tension.
Wait a moment!
Could this old demon be coveting my flesh? Gu An thought it absurd. Why were so many women attracted to him?
Was it just because he was handsome?
Hadn't these female cultivators ever seen a handsome man before?
By his ear, he heard Jiang Qiong's soft murmur, "This brat is getting better-looking by the day, how strange..."
After achieving the Flying Immortal stage, even when Gu An concealed his cultivation, his appearance and aura gave off a sense of transcendence from the mortal world.
Jiang Qiong thought that it was because she had developed feelings for him that his image in her eyes had changed.
"Ai, what am I thinking? He's my grand-disciple, and although I'm a demon cultivator, I can't act recklessly..."
Jiang Qiong withdrew her hand and sat down.
She fell silent.
After a while, she suddenly kicked Gu An, right in the waist.
Gu An cursed inwardly. Why was this woman kicking him? Jiang Qiong kicked again, and Gu An rolled away, moving out of her reach, then shouted, "Let's drink some more... who's your master... I don't acknowledge you... you definitely can't drink more than me..."
Seeing him drunk and disorderly, Jiang Qiong couldn't help but laugh out loud.
After that, Jiang Qiong didn't make any more trouble.
When the three shichen were up, Gu An got up in a daze and saw that Jiang Qiong was meditating, so he immediately slipped away.
Although Jiang Qiong didn't open her eyes, the corners of her mouth turned up.
After leaving the Eight Scenic Wonderlands, Gu An returned to Heavenly Phoenix Mountain and Nie Chu's cave abode. He first harvested some medicinal herbs and then sternly guided Tian Yao'er in her cultivation.
He took out his frustration from Jiang Qiong on Tian Yao'er.
Tian Yao'er didn't think much of it, and when Gu An wanted to leave, she hugged his arm and tried to keep him there, scaring him into immediately disappearing from the spot.
Back at the Third Medicine Valley, Gu An kept pondering a question.
Was it that spring had arrived, stirring emotions in all beings, or was he just unlucky?
Why had Ye Lan, Jiang Qiong, and Tian Yao'er all made advances towards him? Thankfully, Lu Lingjun had only been verbally flirtatious and hadn't truly considered him as a Dao companion.
It was all a trap set by Heaven!
It wanted him to fall into the depths of these women's affections and then be drawn into mortal struggles. Ye Lan and the other two would inevitably encounter all sorts of troubles, and if he established a relationship with them, how could he stand idly by?
The more he intervened, the more likely he would attract the attention of powerful beings.
Cause and effect were intricate matters, and the more advanced his cultivation, the more reverence Gu An felt for the concept of cause and effect.
The intersections and connections of mortal lives seemed coincidental, but they actually followed a certain pattern.
As Gu An thought about this, he walked towards his loft, contemplating the intricacies of cause and effect.
In the distance.
Xiao Chuan stood by the wooden railing, smiling as he watched the spirit dogs he raised fighting with each other. His gaze suddenly landed on Gu An, who was walking upstairs.
For some reason, Xiao Chuan found himself staring, lost in thought.
With his back turned, Gu An gave him an indescribable feeling, a feeling that he might take flight at any moment.
It was a strange sensation.
Xiao Chuan snapped out of his daze and smiled at himself.
"My senior martial brother has already sworn brotherhood with a Great Vehicle cultivator. He's no longer of the same class as me. I can only rely on his care to live, and when I pass away, he will still be young..."
Xiao Chuan's thoughts brought a sense of emotion.
Regarding Gu An, he felt admiration but no jealousy. He believed that his senior martial brother deserved his current situation.
When he died, if there truly was a Yama's Domain, he would also pray for his senior martial brother's smooth journey to immortality, a life free of worries.
"Xiao Chuan, the White Spirit Mouse has returned!"
An Xin suddenly ran over, interrupting his train of thought.
(End of Chapter)
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