https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-90-Turning-the-Tide-Emperor-and-Immortal/12575237/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-92-A-Lifespan-of-700-000-Years-an-Ancient-Legacy/12575246/
Chapter 91: The Passing of Time and a Place Among the Honored
Chapter 91: The Passing of Time and a Place Among the Honored
Usually, Gu An had little interest in Demon Path cultivators and tried to avoid them as much as possible. However, there was one exception—Xu Jue!
Xu Jue had led an army of demons to besiege Ji Xiaoyu, and it was during that battle that Gu An had gained over fifty thousand years of lifespan. Thus, Xu Jue had left a deep impression on him.
After leaving Xuangu Valley, Gu An flew towards the outer city. After traveling a great distance, he finally used the Grand Yin-Yang Transformation to turn into a demonic shadow and disappeared into the mountains with his footsteps shrouded by the Infinite Traceless Mysterious Heaven's Steps.
In a dense forest two hundred miles away from Xuangu Valley, Xu Jue sat under a tree, meditating. His hair was disheveled, and his black robe was torn, giving him a disheveled appearance.
He was surrounded by small flags, and a faint light barrier protected him.
Suddenly, the deputy leader of the Manyin Sect's face changed, and he spat out a mouthful of black blood that landed on the grass, causing it to wither and emit tendrils of black smoke.
"Damn the Ji family..."
Xu Jue gritted his teeth, his voice filled with hatred.
While being pursued by Ji Chen, he had also encountered other powerful Ji family cultivators, and he had nearly lost his life. Even now, thinking back on it made him feel afraid.
The Demon Path united the power of the five sects: the Qianqiu Pavilion, the Guhao Sect, the Manyin Sect, the Tianjue Sect, and the Cold Poison Valley. Yet, in just one day, they had been repulsed by the mighty Tai Xuan Gate, and this filled Xu Jue with dread.
Thinking of the members of the Ji family in his own sect, Xu Jue suddenly felt the urge to return and slaughter them all.
But then he sighed as he thought of the Ji family's strength.
Never mind.
I'll endure for now! One day, I will destroy the entire Ji family!
Just as Xu Jue was lost in thought, a gust of wind suddenly blew in from the depths of the forest, drawing his attention.
Boom!
The array surrounding him suddenly shattered, and a purple-black figure appeared out of thin air in front of him. A finger pressed against his glabella, and a terrifying aura enveloped him, immobilizing him.
"Demon Shadow Divine Ability... Which senior from the Qianqiu Pavilion are you?"
Xu Jue's face changed dramatically, and he asked cautiously.
Was there such a powerful existence in the Qianqiu Pavilion? He himself had cultivated to the ninth layer of the Void Crossing realm, and even though he was severely injured, he shouldn't be suppressed by someone at the Void Crossing realm.
"I have one question for you," Gu An said, his voice hoarse.
Xu Jue breathed a sigh of relief and replied perfunctorily, "Please speak, senior!"
Damn the Qianqiu Pavilion!
I will lead the Manyin Sect to crush you!
Gu An suddenly remembered that Xu Jue was Xu Ruye's father, and Xu Ruye had died at his hands.
"Never mind."
As Gu An's voice sounded, a sword qi shot out from his fingertip, piercing through Xu Jue's glabella and heavily injuring his primordial spirit.
Xu Jue's pupils dilated, and before he could fall to the ground, Gu An used the Soul-Seizing Technique to search his memories.
Jiang Qiong's techniques were very practical, and Gu An would be able to use them for a long time.
The memories of a ninth-layer Void Crossing cultivator were immense, but Gu An only searched for information about the demon army's techniques, which Xu Jue had just obtained yesterday, making the search relatively easy.
After a stick of incense worth of time had passed, Gu An retracted his hand, and Xu Jue fell to the ground.
[You have successfully taken 153 years of lifespan from Xu Jue (ninth layer of the Void Crossing realm).]
Not bad, a significant amount of lifespan gained!
Gu An now looked at Xu Jue with more favorable eyes. He took Xu Jue's storage bag and then burned his corpse to ashes.
After doing all this, he finally left.
He did not return to Xuangu Valley but instead went to the outer city.
Outside the outer city, there was a majestic giant mountain. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be the corpse of a giant bird.
The Swallowing Heaven Dark Bird!
Its corpse lay on the ground, thousands of feet tall, dwarfing the surrounding mountains.
Gu An stood on his flying sword, observing it from a distance with curiosity. Where did such a giant beast live in its daily life? He felt that the Great Cang Imperial Court probably did not have a habitat for this bird and estimated that the Demon Path had captured it from outside the Nine Courts.
After the great battle, the outer city's gates became more heavily guarded, and every disciple entering and exiting was carefully inspected.
After entering the city, Gu An first went to find Ye Lan.
He ran into her on a street as she was patrolling.
"Senior Brother, why are you here?" Ye Lan's cold face immediately broke into a smile when she saw Gu An, and her subordinates tactfully dispersed. They had seen Gu An before and knew of the relationship between the two.
"I came to see how you're doing. Are you injured?"
Gu An asked with concern, and Ye Lan shook her head. Then, she pulled him to the side and told him about what had happened the day before.
After the battle yesterday, the outer city had suffered heavy casualties, mainly because a terrifying demon known as the Yellow Springs Demon Emperor had launched an attack within the city, causing the outer city's array to break and resulting in a bitter battle.
In the end, the Yellow Springs Demon Emperor had left, becoming a shadow in the hearts of everyone in the outer city.
After listening to Ye Lan, Gu An felt even more keenly the cruelty of the cultivation world.
Fortunately, the people he cared about were safe.
After chatting with Ye Lan for a while, Gu An bade her farewell and left.
He came to the Supplementary Platform, and there were now only a few people left on the platform, most of whom were injured.
The Ephemeral Ghost Mother was still there, and she had bloodstains on her body, looking like she had truly fought for the Tai Xuan Gate.
It seemed that she was not working with the Demon Path or the Yellow Springs Demon Emperor.
After scanning the Supplementary Platform, Gu An went to find Jiang Qiong.
Jiang Qiong was in her mansion, and after Gu An closed the door, he looked at her and asked, "Didn't you say that this city wouldn't be affected?"
Jiang Qiong sat in a chair, her face pale, and her qi and blood unstable, indicating that she had also been injured.
"The situation changed, and the intelligence I received was false. It seems that the Qianqiu Pavilion already suspects me." Jiang Qiong took a deep breath and said with a sigh.
Gu An's eyes lit up as he heard this. "Since that's the case, I might as well sever ties with the Qianqiu Pavilion and turn over a new leaf!"
He had too many undercover identities, and even he felt guilty about it. It was necessary to give some of them up.
Jiang Qiong shook her head. "It won't be that easy."
Instead of comforting her, Gu An asked, "By the way, has the Sword Venerable Fu Dao shown himself?"
He was very concerned about who was impersonating him!
"It was a fake. That person was not the Sword Venerable Fu Dao at all but a spy from the Demon Path who had been lurking in the Tai Xuan Gate for hundreds of years. He pretended to be the Sword Venerable Fu Dao, but once the Demon Path learned of his true identity, their wariness of him diminished, and they launched their attack."
As Jiang Qiong spoke of this matter, she couldn't help but rub her brow.
Gu An asked in surprise, "Are they turning on each other in the Demon Path, or has that person already turned and become a decoy for the Tai Xuan Gate?"
Jiang Qiong shook her head. "I'm not sure either. My mind is in turmoil right now. It is said that Chu Tianqi has already fled, and the deceased Lyu Baitian has regained control of the sect. He plans to investigate the Tai Xuan Gate thoroughly. In the coming days, it would be best if you didn't come to see me. I need to deal with this investigation from above. Early this morning, word came that the Tai Xuan Gate will soon establish a Venerable Cabinet, which will be above the Elders' Hall. The Sword Venerable Fu Dao will be one of them, and the sect leader will also select three people from the Elders' Hall to be included in the Venerable Cabinet."
"The Venerable Cabinet will take over the governance of the Tai Xuan Gate and eradicate all heretical practices."
Lyu Baitian had actually listened to Gu An's suggestion.
It's good that he took the advice!
Gu An had made this suggestion not only to appease Lyu Baitian but also because he genuinely wanted the Tai Xuan Gate to improve. If Lyu Baitian didn't have the time to manage the sect, then let someone else do it.
There were too many people in the Elders' Hall, and by the time they unified their opinions, the lower levels would already be in deep trouble. The establishment of the Venerable Cabinet should help alleviate some of the suffering within the Tai Xuan Gate.
Subsequently, Jiang Qiong took out a storage bag and said that it contained high-grade seeds that she had exchanged for eight-tenths of her savings. All of them were above the fifth rank, and she asked him to come back and see her again after these medicinal herbs matured.
This meant that they would not see each other for several years.
It seemed that Jiang Qiong was facing a dangerous situation. The Qianqiu Pavilion didn't trust her, and the Tai Xuan Gate might still investigate her.
It was truly a precarious situation.
Gu An could only wish her good luck in his heart and then left happily, carrying the storage bag.
...
News of the Demon Path's five sects besieging the Tai Xuan Gate swept through the cultivation world like a whirlwind, shaking the entire Great Cang Imperial Court.
The might of the Tai Xuan Gate also struck fear into the hearts of the entire Demon Path. In the following period, an eerie calm descended upon the cultivation world.
After reclaiming the position of sect leader, Lyu Baitian made drastic changes. He established the Venerable Cabinet, weakened the power of the Elders' Hall, ordered an investigation into the Demon Path's spies, and executed over a thousand of them.
After Chu Tianqi's escape, the Chu family suffered Lyu Baitian's insane retaliation. All the Chu family disciples in the sect were punished, some killed, some imprisoned, while the younger disciples with better conduct had their cultivation abolished and were branded with a curse seal, sent to the outer sect to work as menial disciples.
Among them was a Chu family disciple who was sent to work at Xuan Valley.
Someone Gu An knew.
Chu Jingfeng!
When Gu An had first entered the Tai Xuan Gate, he had encountered the Greedy and Angry Demon Ghost attacking Medicine Valley. At that time, Cheng Xuandan had invited Chu Jingfeng, an inner sect disciple, to help. Chu Jingfeng had lost an arm in that battle and later helped Gu An clear out the evil cultivators allied with the Greedy and Angry Demon Ghost around Xuan Valley.
Looking at Chu Jingfeng, who sat across from him with a careworn face, Gu An couldn't help but sigh.
The last time they had spoken, Chu Jingfeng had promised that Gu An could seek help from the Chu family for any trouble he encountered.
Times had changed, and the Chu family had completely fallen from grace.
Chu Jingfeng still had a broken arm, wearing tattered cloth, his hair messy, and his face covered in stubble, looking dejected and listless.
"Chu Jingfeng, as long as you're alive, there's still hope. Work hard, and if you show good behavior, the sect will revoke your punishment," Gu An said, offering comfort.
Wu Xin had already quietly left. Now that he was back in charge of Xuan Valley, he needed to cultivate new talent.
He thought that Chu Jingfeng was a good candidate.
If Chu Jingfeng performed well, he could teach him the Dao Yan Gong (Way of Deriving Force) that he had learned from Wu Xin.
The Dao Yan Gong, which relied on accumulating spiritual energy to break through limits, might be able to save Chu Jingfeng, whose cultivation had been abolished.
Chu Jingfeng nodded numbly without saying a word.
Gu An didn't make things difficult for him and, after giving him some instructions, let him go.
After leaving the room, Chu Jingfeng even closed the door behind him, showing a low profile. However, Gu An couldn't see respect in his eyes, only despair.
Alas!
Pitiful!
Gu An shook his head, picked up a brush and paper, and began to write.
Half a year had passed since the great battle between the righteous and demonic paths, and as winter turned to spring and then to summer once more, he had already reached the age of fifty-one. With this passage of time, he had gained many new insights into life, which he now wanted to express in his writing.
It was only in the evening that Gu An left the tower and, via a transmission array, arrived at the Third Medicine Valley.
He could sense that Shen Zhen was in his house.
Ever since he had threatened to write about her half a year ago, they had cut off contact.
Now that she had appeared, would she come to settle the score with him?
After all, as a saint, how could she not care about her reputation? Gu An thought as he went upstairs to find Shen Zhen.
Upon entering the room, he saw Shen Zhen sitting calmly at the table, wearing a veil and doing nothing. She looked at him peacefully.
Something's not right!
She's not like her usual self!
Could she be going crazy?
Gu An quickly closed the door and turned to face her, intending to ask, but she spoke first. "Have you started writing the 'Medicinal Hero's Journey'?"
3rd update!
Asking for monthly votes at the end of the month~~
I'll try to update early tomorrow, constantly adjusting QAQ
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
