https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-52-Internal-Strife-The-Third-Medicine-Valley/12575104/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-54-Your-Sword-is-Incredibly-Fast/12575106/
Chapter 53: Gu An's Anger and Realization
Chapter 53: Gu An's Anger and Realization
In the evening, as the sun dipped towards the horizon, Gu An stood atop a cliff, gazing down at the valley of medicinal herbs before him, a look of satisfaction on his face.
Before him lay a series of mountains, not too tall, with a vast valley in between. The valley stretched for over ten miles in length and was two to three miles wide. The edges of the valley were lined with rows of trees, forming a natural barrier that shielded it from the wind.
Ancient Feather stood beside him and said, "There are Inner Sect disciples' caves nearby, not just one. As long as you don't venture beyond a hundred miles from here, you won't encounter any demonic beasts."
Gu An nodded, his eyes filled with anticipation. What he saw was not just a valley of medicinal herbs, but an endless stream of longevity.
Ancient Feather patted Gu An's shoulder and then took off on his flying sword. Gu An leaped into the air, diving towards the valley, his limbs surrounded by visible waves of air as he manipulated the wind with his Wind Riding Technique.
Ancient Feather, standing on his flying sword, turned back for a moment, raising an eyebrow in surprise, but he did not turn around again.
After landing, Gu An first walked to the entrance of the valley, where a plain, wordless stone tablet stood. Using his finger as a sword, he inscribed four characters with his sword qi.
Third Valley of Medicine!
The name was simple because he knew he would have many more valleys in the future.
Looking at his handwriting, Gu An was pleased. In his spare time from writing books, he had practiced calligraphy, and his strokes now had a sharp edge to them, exuding a fierce energy.
After admiring his handwriting for a while, Gu An began to look for a place to build a pavilion.
He planned to set up the teleportation formation first.
As dusk turned to night, Gu An sat by the campfire, flipping through a book that Xi Xiao Yu had given him. It explained how to set up the teleportation formation she had provided.
It must be said that the cultivation world in this world was indeed very advanced. Reading this book was like reading an instruction manual, a simplified version at that. The teleportation formation that Xi Xiao Yu had given him already had restrictions set up, and he just needed to assemble it in the order described in the book.
Gu An intended to stay up all night to set up the teleportation platform. Once the formation was complete, he would lead a few disciples to sow the seeds.
Activating the teleportation formation required spirit stones, and he had plenty of money now. Aside from the income from the "Investiture of the Gods," Ancient Feather had just given him a thousand high-grade spirit stones, enough for him to spend lavishly for a long time.
A night passed, and Gu An successfully set up the teleportation platform. He immediately took off on his flying sword.
Back in the Mysterious Valley, he set up a teleportation platform next to his pavilion, and his actions attracted all his disciples to gather around and watch.
Xiao Chuan asked him what he was doing, and he didn't hide it from them.
When they heard that Gu An was about to take over another valley of medicinal herbs and set up a teleportation formation, the disciples became curious and asked questions one after another.
Gu An answered their questions while setting up the formation.
It was noon by the time he finished setting up the formation. Under everyone's watchful eyes, he placed spirit stones into the grooves of the formation pillars. Once the spirit stones were in place, he channeled his spiritual power into the activation mechanism.
Rumble!
The teleportation formation activated, causing the ground to tremble slightly. The formation pillars emitted a brilliant light that converged to form a light curtain.
Gu An turned to his disciples and said, "Wu Xin, go to the Outer Sect and recruit three miscellaneous disciples. Su Han, Zhen Qin, and Ye Yan, follow me. The rest of you will stay in the Mysterious Valley."
Upon hearing this, Zhen Qin, and the other two immediately stepped forward excitedly and followed Gu An into the teleportation formation.
Before long, the light curtain dissipated, and the formation platform returned to calm.
On the other side.
In the Third Valley of Medicine, Gu An began to instruct the three disciples to clear the weeds while he took charge of building the pavilion.
Su Han used his sword, Ye Yan used a spear, and Zhen Qin used leg techniques to cut down the weeds.
Ever since Luo Hun had taught Ye Yan a set of spear techniques, he had begged Gu An for an iron spear. This spear was not an ordinary one; Gu An had bought it from the Outer Sect, and it could channel spiritual power, making it the lowest-grade spiritual weapon.
As Gu An had no interest in spear techniques, he didn't watch Ye Yan's spear practice.
Since Ye Yan started training with the spear, his strength had improved day by day. In Gu An, he saw a true genius for the first time in the Mysterious Valley.
While Ye Yan's cultivation level improved slowly, his actual combat strength increased rapidly. After only six months of spear training, Tang Yu and Su Han combined were no match for him, which was a huge blow to the other two.
This also made Gu An think about his own understanding and realization. Realization was the only thing that couldn't be directly improved by exchanging it for longevity.
In this world, it seemed that one's innate talent and spiritual root quality couldn't determine everything.
The reason Gu An had called Su Han, Zhen Qin, and Ye Yan was also to give them some pointers. During the incident with Qiu Qianli, the three of them had performed well and earned his favor. He decided to cultivate them carefully and help them go further.
The Third Valley of Medicine was located between the Inner and Outer Sects, where the spiritual energy was more abundant, which would aid their cultivation. Occasionally, Gu An could also give them some extra guidance.
All three of them had hardworking personalities, and they didn't rest until they had finished weeding the entire valley. They even secretly competed to see who could work faster.
By the time they had cleared all the weeds, Gu An had already built four pavilions.
The four of them gathered in front of the pavilions to rest. Su Han looked at Ye Yan with a hint of dissatisfaction in his eyes.
Ye Yan, on the other hand, was much calmer now that he had started training with the spear. He had become more and more restrained.
Zhen Qin, wiping the sweat from her face, asked Gu An, "Master, is this place so big that just the three of us are enough?"
"Of course, it's enough," Gu An said with a soft laugh. "Back then, I managed the Mysterious Valley by myself, and your Senior Brother Meng Lang and Senior Brother Li Ya were lazy and shirked their duties all day."
Looking back at those old conflicts, he found them amusing. It was a pity that those people from the past were no longer around.
After hearing this, Zhen Qin asked more questions about Gu An's past.
Su Han and Ye Yan listened intently as well; they both respected Gu An greatly.
Ye Yan's spear techniques, though not taught by Gu An, still made him feel indebted to his master. If not for Gu An, that mysterious cultivator would never have come to Xuan Gu, nor would he have been bestowed with these spear techniques?
After chatting for half an hour, everyone continued with their tasks.
Three days later.
The Third Medicine Valley had been sown with seeds of medicinal herbs, but it still looked like a barren land as the seeds needed time to sprout and grow.
Gu An led them back to Xuan Gu to pack their belongings before moving to the Third Medicine Valley to settle in.
The remaining menial disciples were curious about this, and some even wanted to go to the Third Medicine Valley, but Wu Xin kept them in check.
As the Valley Master of Xuan Gu, Wu Xin couldn't let people leave!
Xuan Gu was his foundation!
And so, all three of Gu An's medicine valleys began their operations, marking the beginning of a beautiful farming life.
...
A month had passed since the seeds were sown in the Third Medicine Valley, and Zhen Qin, along with the other two, took turns guarding the valley while Gu An only visited occasionally.
They only needed to spend a little time each day inspecting the various gardens, and the rest of the time was spent cultivating.
As evening approached, the sky turned crimson.
Zhen Qin walked out of the house, stretching lazily and looking refreshed.
The cultivation technique taught by Jiang Qiong had greatly improved her progress, far beyond what it used to be, so her zeal for cultivation had reached new heights.
She turned her head and saw Ye Yan still practicing his spear techniques on the hillside at the valley entrance.
"Not absorbing spiritual energy, what's the use of just practicing the spear?" Zhen Qin muttered to herself. Instead of joining the crowd, she took the opportunity to rest and went to check on the various gardens.
After all, these gardens were her master's pride and joy.
On the other side.
As the sunset, Ye Yan continued his spear practice, his sweat pouring down like rain. Despite his sore body, he didn't stop.
The spear techniques he practiced were his only chance, and he didn't want to miss this opportunity or remain a menial disciple forever!
"Why are you practicing outside when there's more spiritual energy inside the valley?" a voice asked, startling Ye Yan, who turned to see a figure standing in the air ten zhang away. The man stood on a tree with one foot, his blue robe fluttering in the wind, exuding an immortal aura.
When did he appear?
Ye Yan was secretly alarmed. He sheathed his spear and turned to face the man, asking loudly, "Senior, what brings you here?"
Gu An had told him that this place was already within the Inner Sect's territory, and any cultivator they encountered should be addressed as senior to show respect.
The blue-robed man had a face that couldn't be considered handsome, but his eyes were piercing, making it hard to look directly at him.
"I just happened to pass by and saw you practicing the spear. Your spear techniques are extraordinary, with a built-in spiritual energy absorption and body tempering technique. It's quite rare."
Zhou Tongyou jumped down from the tree and walked towards Ye Yan.
Seeing him approach, Ye Yan felt tense. What should he do when his master wasn't around?
"You still haven't answered my question," Zhou Tongyou reminded him, his tone indifferent, but the more indifferent he sounded, the more pressure it put on Ye Yan.
Ye Yan replied with a stiff smile, "Behind me is my master's medicine valley. It's only been a month since we planted the seeds, and I don't want my cultivation to affect the growth of those herbs."
"Did your master teach you this set of spear techniques?"
"No, it was a friend of my master."
"To be able to make such a friend, your master must be extraordinary as well. May I ask your master's name?"
"My master's name is Gu An."
As Ye Yan replied, he felt confused, not understanding what the other party was trying to do.
Zhou Tongyou stopped in his tracks and gestured with his hand, saying, "How about a friendly spar? I won't use spiritual power or artifacts, just my techniques against yours. What do you say?"
Ye Yan frowned, feeling hesitant.
"You're not scared, are you?"
Zhou Tongyou's words ignited Ye Yan's fighting spirit. He hadn't been afraid of facing a powerful demonic cultivator before, so why would he be afraid of the man before him?
...
At noon, Gu An arrived at the Third Medicine Valley via the teleportation formation. He first scanned all the gardens with his spiritual sense and, finding no issues, turned his attention to his disciples.
Soon, his gaze landed on Ye Yan, who was practicing his spear techniques at the valley entrance.
As Gu An walked towards him, Ye Yan noticed and slightly turned his body, presenting his back to his master.
"Ye Yan, why are you injured?" Gu An asked as he approached.
Ye Yan hesitated for a moment before turning to face Gu An. His face was bruised and swollen, and there was even a palm print on his left cheek.
Ye Yan told Gu An about what had happened the previous evening, and as soon as Gu An heard this, he became furious.
Someone dared to bully his disciple!
"What's his name? Will he come again?" Gu An asked.
"I don't know, he didn't say. He just mentioned that he would come find me again when he's less busy."
"Don't be afraid, your master will stand up for you!"
Gu An patted Ye Yan's shoulder and then took out some healing pills for him to consume.
For the next few days, Gu An stayed in the Third Medicine Valley, but the man who had beaten Ye Yan never showed up.
However, when Gu An went to take care of his cave abode in the Outer Sect and returned, he found that Ye Yan had been beaten again.
The man had beaten Ye Yan and left.
This cycle continued, and over the next two months, Ye Yan was beaten up a total of four times, each time when Gu An wasn't around.
Gu An began to suspect that the man was deliberately avoiding him.
One noon, Gu An was reading a book under a tree, with a slope below him that connected to the valley entrance, allowing him to see Ye Yan practicing his spear.
Suddenly.
Gu An sensed something, and his eyebrows furrowed. He muttered to himself, "He's finally here!"
(End of Chapter)
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