https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-81-Xuanwu-Shockwave-Palm-the-Heavenly-Spirit-Root-Revealed/12575222/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-83-The-Battle-Between-Righteous-and-Demonic-Paths-Guarding-the-Medicine-Valley/12575224/
Chapter 82: Ancient Metal-Devouring Insects, Demon Path Besieging the Tai Xuan Gate
Chapter 82: Ancient Metal-Devouring Insects, Demon Path Besieging the Tai Xuan Gate
Gu An looked at Li Ya, who had climbed through the window, and said helplessly, "What treasure could be better than my windowsill?"
Li Ya, dressed in a cyan robe, strode to the table and took out a bag from his waist, placing it on the table with a proud smile. "This treasure, you will definitely like."
Gu An probed with his spiritual sense and furrowed his brows in confusion. "Why is it a bug?"
"This is the Ancient Metal-Devouring Insect. Its jaws can bite through all metals and minerals in the world. If you feed them metallic spiritual energy, it will help them grow stronger. There are a total of sixteen of them here, including one queen. They're perfect for guarding our sect, and they can also help you dig." Li Ya explained with a smile.
Gu An's interest was piqued, and he asked curiously, "How do I get them to recognize me as their master?"
"There's a special method of recognition. You'll have to drip your essence blood for the queen and establish a soul connection with her," Li Ya said, taking out a thin secret manual from his storage bag and handing it to Gu An.
Gu An took the manual but didn't open it immediately. Instead, he asked, "So, how is the Hundred Races Assembly going? Is everything proceeding smoothly?"
Li Ya pulled a chair and sat down across from Gu An. "It's not exactly smooth sailing, but it has been eye-opening. The world is truly filled with experts and geniuses as numerous as the fishes in the river. My talent pales in comparison to the gathered geniuses of the Nine Realms and Hundred Races. I could only barely make it into the top hundred, and Zhou Tongyou barely managed to enter the top ten."
Hearing Li Ya's optimistic tone, Gu An felt some of his worries melt away.
Li Ya began recounting his experiences and the wonders he witnessed at the Hundred Races Assembly, and Gu An listened intently.
Midway through the narration, Gu An even got up to pour some wine, listening and drinking as Li Ya continued his tale.
Even as dusk fell, Li Ya showed no signs of stopping his enthusiastic storytelling.
"So, it seems that only our Third Young Miss can threaten Lu Xian?" Gu An mused.
"Her Qilin Step is indeed powerful. She's the only one who managed to injure Lu Xian. It's a pity that after taking nine steps, she triggered a heavenly tribulation and had to stop the duel. I didn't see her again after that," Li Ya nodded.
"Heavenly tribulation? What does that mean? Is the Qilin Step that formidable?"
Gu An was puzzled. Forget about nine steps, he had taken countless steps back and forth in the past two years, yet he had never encountered any heavenly tribulation.
Li Ya shook his head. "How would I know? Maybe she has some secret within her body."
Prenatal Dao Talisman!
Gu An's heart stirred. Was this the path to...cheating?
"Compared to Ji Xiaoyu, Lu Xian's strength is what shocked me the most. From now on, he's my goal. I will challenge him and win," Li Ya declared passionately.
"You mentioned that he broke your arms and legs. Don't you hate him?" Gu An asked.
Li Ya shook his head. "It was a normal spar, nothing to hold a grudge over. Besides, I didn't want to admit defeat back then. I learned from a senior that Lu Xian is also a pitiful person. He has other residual souls within his body, fighting to seize control of his physical body. That's why he sometimes acts friendly and sometimes violent."
Other residual souls?
Gu An breathed a sigh of relief. If that was the case, then he could rest easy.
He had been worried that Lu Xian was a reincarnated immortal, but now it seemed that wasn't the case.
"What do you mean? Why are there other residual souls?" Gu An asked, confused.
"I'm not sure. It might have something to do with a treasure, or perhaps someone tried to seize his body. Anyway, until he cleanses his body of the residual souls, he will continue to suffer. No wonder we never heard of him in the Tai Xuan Gate before. Maybe he was being protected by the Lu family. By the way, his father is the previous sect master, Lu Baitian."
"Lu Baitian went insane from his cultivation, and his son is being tormented by the residual souls in his body. I wonder if it's just a coincidence," Li Ya frowned, and then sighed. "If Lu Xian weren't affected by the residual souls, he might have already formed his Nascent Soul by now. His potential is unimaginable."
Gu An couldn't help but feel happy to hear that Li Ya even sympathized with Lu Xian.
"Right, who is this senior you mentioned? He sounds powerful," Gu An asked, feigning curiosity.
"A senior who wishes to remain anonymous. Sorry, I can't reveal his identity," Li Ya replied.
Hehe, it must be the old man inside you!
Gu An could sense that the soul within Li Ya was growing stronger.
He suddenly thought of something. Even before reaching the Fusion Realm, he could sense the soul within Li Ya. Surely, those great masters at the Crossing Void Realm would have noticed it as well.
From Li Ya's tone, it seemed like no one had discovered this.
Was it because Gu An's cultivation technique was too strong, or was there another reason?
Even as night fell, Li Ya showed no signs of leaving. He continued chatting with Gu An, now sharing the sights he had seen during his travels.
It was only at the break of dawn the next day that Li Ya finally took his leave.
After he left, Gu An picked up the secret manual Li Ya had left behind and began studying how to get the Ancient Metal-Devouring Insects to recognize him as their master.
...
Under the clear sky that stretched for tens of thousands of miles, the Third Medicine Valley.
Gu An stood before Elder Tian, his right hand raised. On the back of his hand rested a golden insect that, at first glance, resembled a golden beetle, except its mouthparts were larger.
"Ancient Metal-Devouring Insect," Elder Tian exclaimed, "This is a rare find. It's difficult to come across such a creature even within the Great Azure Empire."
"My senior brother, Li Ya, gave this to me. He achieved a ranking within the top hundred in the Hundred Races Assembly and brought this back as a gift. In the future, they can help us patrol the Medicine Valley," Gu An smiled. He had mentioned Li Ya to Elder Tian more than once. If Elder Tian ever regained the position of sect master, he might remember Li Ya and give him special attention.
Old Man Tian nodded and said, "It seems that this Li Ya is indeed a genius, and he values friendship and righteousness. A single Ancient Metal-Devouring Insect is priceless, let alone sixteen of them."
Gu An opened the bug bag at his waist, and the Ancient Metal-Devouring Insects flew out. Among them was one that was twice the size of the others. It landed on his shoulder, while the rest circled around him.
Little River, who was passing by, couldn't help but come over, and Gu An began to show off his insects.
By the time evening fell, all the menial disciples in the Third Medicine Valley had witnessed the power of the Ancient Metal-Devoring Insects. Gu An didn't do this purely out of bragging rights; he wanted to ensure that the other menial disciples wouldn't attack the insects during their patrols in the future.
...
Time flew by, and three years passed in the blink of an eye.
Gu An had crossed the threshold of fifty years old. During these three years, his life had been peaceful and fulfilling. His lifespan had already exceeded three hundred thousand years, and his annual lifespan harvest continued to increase.
One day.
Little River brought Ye Lan down from the teleportation formation.
Gu An had been playing with the white spirit rat, which was as chubby as a large dog. Upon seeing Ye Lan's arrival, he immediately got up to greet her.
Ye Lan's expression was grim, and she said to Gu An, "Senior Brother, let's talk inside."
Gu An nodded and led Ye Lan upstairs.
Little River walked towards the white spirit rat, but it turned and ran away, causing Little River to pick up a stone and throw it at the rat in frustration. Unfortunately, he missed.
On the other hand.
Gu An entered the house and closed the door.
As he turned around, he heard Ye Lan speak, "Senior Brother, Wu Xin is a spy from the Demon Path!"
Upon hearing this, Gu An's expression changed, and he frowned and asked, "What nonsense are you spouting? Do you have any evidence?"
Ye Lan pulled out a stack of papers and said, "These are all the disciple records left behind by the Demon Extermination Hall. The person who brought Wu Xin into the sect wasn't a spy from the Demon Path, but if you investigate their connections further, you'll find that they were all spies. Furthermore, over the years, the Thousand Autumn Pavilion has been searching for the son of one of their pavilion masters. That person just so happens to be a monk with an indelible scar of precepts on his head."
Gu An took the papers and examined them carefully.
These documents also recorded whom they had interacted with, and Wu Xin was among those mentioned.
Wu Xin had visited them several times when he went to the outer cities.
How careless! Why aren't they more meticulous in their actions?
Gu An scolded inwardly, but he didn't panic because it was Ye Lan who had discovered this matter.
After he finished reading, he looked up at Ye Lan and asked, "How many people know about this?"
"For now, just me. Usually, the Enforcement Hall doesn't bother to investigate menial disciples. We did find out that there's a valley master in the outer Medicine Valleys who is a spy for the Thousand Autumn Pavilion, but we haven't identified who it is yet. We wanted to continue our investigation, but someone above forbade us from doing so." Ye Lan furrowed her brows, her dissatisfaction evident.
"Who stopped your investigation?"
"The Grand Elder of the Outer Sect, Jiang Qiong, but her people said that the order came from the Inner Sect."
Gu An suddenly felt that it was a good thing to have Jiang Qiong as the Grand Elder of the Outer Sect; she could shield him from the wind and rain.
Although Gu An hadn't done anything for the Thousand Autumn Pavilion, with the existence of the Cangteng Tree, he knew he could never truly be free of suspicion. He didn't want his peaceful farming life to be disturbed.
Gu An stepped forward, grabbed Ye Lan's shoulders, took a deep breath, and said, "Junior Sister, this matter must be kept under wraps. Even if Wu Xin is from the Demon Path, after getting along with him for so many years, Senior Brother believes that he's not a bad person."
Ye Lan's face turned slightly red as Gu An held her, and she lowered her eyes and said, "Senior Brother, are you also a part of the Thousand Autumn Pavilion? If you are, I'm willing to follow you."
"How could that be possible? I was born in the Tai Xuan Gate, and I will die as a ghost of the Tai Xuan Gate."
"I don't care. Wherever you go in the future, you must take me with you."
"Then can you keep this matter a secret?"
"Yes, I've already destroyed the other evidence. Only this copy in your hands remains."
Gu An let go of her and put the papers into his storage bag.
He decided not to destroy them just yet, keeping them as insurance.
Ye Lan continued, "This is actually a minor issue. I know that you will protect him, but I came to find you because of something more important. The Demon Path is preparing to besiege the Tai Xuan Gate, and this time it's for real. There's a traitor among the elders in the main city of the sect. This information was obtained by a spy from the Enforcement Hall who infiltrated the Myriad Yin Sect, and it has already been reported to the higher-ups. The Four Inner Cities are currently preparing for battle."
"There are many great cultivators from other sects and empires in the Outer Sect who have stayed there for many years. The Tai Xuan Gate finds it difficult to drive them away. If the Demon Path truly attacks, the Outer Cities may be in great danger. There might even be spies from the Demon Path waiting to collude with the enemy from within."
"The Demon Path is coming?"
Gu An frowned and asked, "In recent years, the number of disciples in the Tai Xuan Gate has increased significantly. How dare they come?"
"It is said that they have joined forces with the Demon Race and plan to destroy the Tai Xuan Gate together and then divide the empire of the Great Qing Empire among themselves." Ye Lan replied with a grave expression.
"They've joined forces with the Demon Race?" Gu An was puzzled. Didn't these demon sects know about the great demon catastrophe that would arrive a hundred years later?
After Ye Lan shared some more intelligence, she hurriedly left. Gu An personally saw her off at the teleportation formation, sending her from Xuan Valley to the Outer Cities, thus maintaining the proper rules.
As Gu An prepared to return to his house, he suddenly spotted Old Man Tian sitting beneath an old tree.
Speaking of which, it had been a long time since he had checked on Old Man Tian.
That fellow had gone to the Supplementary Heaven Platform and improved his cultivation by two layers, but he hadn't made a sound since then, which was rather strange.
As Gu An thought about this, he sent out a lifespan probe.
---
(End of Chapter)
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