Chapter 17: Serving as Valley Master
Gu An indeed underestimated the range of the White Spirit Rat's activities. He followed the White Spirit Rat for more than ten miles, but the White Spirit Rat still did not stop.
The further he got from Xuan Gu, the less interested he became.
Although he had been to the outer gate, it was just a route.
He felt that there would be danger in the area beyond twenty miles with Xuan Valley as the center, even though he had reached the seventh level of Foundation Establishment Realm.
Fortunately, the Bai Ling Rat did not keep walking. When it was about twenty miles away from Xuan Valley, it stopped.
This was still a mountainous area with a stream flowing down from the mountains. The white rat stopped by the stream and began to circle.
Gu An walked over and saw many flowers and plants on both sides of the stream, as well as many stones of different sizes.
He grabbed the white rat and swept it away with his right leg.
boom--
Grass clippings flew everywhere and stones splashed everywhere. Gu An cleared a large space with just a sweep of his legs.
He looked carefully and found a square stone slab beside the stream.
Oh my goodness! A manhole cover?
Gu An walked to the stone slab and squatted down. There were mysterious patterns carved on the stone slab. He had never seen either the words or the pictures before.
He could feel a trace of spiritual energy leaking out from the edge of the stone slab. Perhaps this was why the White Spirit Rat was able to find this place.
The Foundation Establishment Stage already has spiritual consciousness, which is an invisible and intangible force. When spiritual consciousness is extended, it is like opening a third eye, and it can peek through objects.
Gu An seldom uses it, but that doesn’t mean he has no spiritual awareness. In fact, one can cultivate spiritual awareness when one reaches the seventh level of Qi training.
He immediately concentrated his spiritual consciousness, trying to penetrate the stone slab and spy on the space below.
However, as soon as his spiritual consciousness touched the stone slab, it was bounced back by a mysterious force, causing his body to tremble.
So strong? Even the seventh level of the Foundation Establishment Realm's spiritual consciousness cannot penetrate its restrictions...
Gu An hesitated. With such a powerful restriction, could there be a huge danger hidden underneath? There was spiritual energy flowing inside, so either some kind of natural treasure was being cultivated, or someone was in seclusion underneath.
no!
Don't be reckless!
Let's observe for a while! Gu An let go of the white rat, and then moved the surrounding stones and weeds to cover the mysterious stone slab. After the stone slab was completely covered, he caught the white rat and turned back to the valley.
The White Rat squeaked, but he paid no attention.
After returning to Xuan Valley, Gu An did not mention this matter to anyone, as if he had never left the valley.
In the following nights, in addition to carrying out his daily tasks, Gu An would also go to the stone slab to observe.
Night after night, there was no sign that the covering around the slab had been moved.
In addition, Gu An discovered that Wu Xin would go to the forest every night, looking for something.
He did not expose Wuxin, because his intuition told him that Wuxin's identity was not simple.
A person at the second level of Qi training can live for more than 300 years. He must have practiced some extraordinary skills.
Gu An once used his spiritual sense to observe Wu Xin's practice, but he couldn't see anything special about it. It looked just like normal Qi intake practice.
Just like that, the hot summer passed.
Xuan Valley was gradually covered by a pale yellow color. Gu An opened up seventeen gardens in the surrounding mountains and forests. The workload increased, and Xiaochuan and others had to patrol every day.
It was evening of that day.
Cheng Xuandan found Gu An and signaled with his eyes that Gu An should follow him. The master and disciple walked towards the northern mountain.
Gu An looked at Cheng Xuandan's back with mixed feelings.
Cheng Xuandan's lifespan has decreased again, and his age is the same as his current lifespan, which means he is about to die.
Although he was cheated by Cheng Xuandan, Cheng Xuandan did give a lot to him. As he was about to die, he couldn't help feeling a little sad.
He tried hard to convince himself not to be sad.
What he pursues is the path of immortality and cultivation. He will experience many separations and deaths in the future, and he will get used to it sooner or later.
Of course, the prerequisite is that he can continue to survive.
Wu Xin, who was watering the plants, saw Gu An and the other man and couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.
He silently noted down the direction the two people were going. There must be something mysterious about that forest.
After entering the forest, Cheng Xuandan said, "I will take you to the entrance to the underground. You cannot tell anyone else about this place, including your fellow apprentices. They may be close to you today, but once they leave the Medicine Valley and train outside, they will become strangers to you."
Gu An did not refute, he had always been clear about this.
As long as Xiaochuan and others do not give up their goal of becoming outer disciples, they will separate sooner or later.
Gu An hesitated for a moment and asked, "Master, were you a member of Qianqiu Pavilion from the beginning, or were you chosen by Qianqiu Pavilion later?"
Cheng Xuandan's steps were heavier than before, and he replied: "My experience as a teacher is the same as yours, and my status is inherited from you."
Gu An was silent.
He suddenly felt that Cheng Xuandan was also a pitiful person.
"After I helped Master do some things, I can't get rid of this identity, but I don't regret it."
After hearing what his master said, Gu An hesitated to speak.
He hasn't done anything yet, can he get ashore? Cheng Xuandan began to talk about his experience with his master. In his words, his master had a strange temper, sometimes strict, sometimes jumpy, like a child.
In his words, his master is like an old child who has never grown up.
They went all the way around to the back of the mountain, and Cheng Xuandan stopped in front of a cliff that was covered with moss and vines.
"Master, is our great master dead or alive now?" Gu An couldn't help but ask.
He thought of the stone slab that he had been paying attention to. The stone slab was not far from Xuan Gu, and the master of Xuan Gu was a spy of the Demonic Path. He had reason to suspect that the stone slab was left by Cheng Xuandan's master.
Cheng Xuandan replied, "He said goodbye and left before he passed away. I will follow his example. I will leave tomorrow and everything in this Medicine Valley will be handed over to you."
Gu An frowned. He was not thinking about Cheng Xuandan, but his master.
In other words, Cheng Xuandan’s master might still be alive?
Cheng Xuandan took out a compass from his sleeve. He pushed away a piece of grass vine on the mountain wall, found a groove, and then pressed the compass on the groove. As he injected spiritual power into it, the compass began to tremble and emit a faint light.
Gu An clearly felt that Cheng Xuandan's breath was becoming weaker.
He couldn't help but worry that Cheng Xuandan would suddenly die here.
The mountain wall began to tremble, the sound was not loud. Soon, a hole appeared in the mountain wall, and Gu An had to lower his head to go in.
Cheng Xuandan said, "Go in, I'm waiting for you outside."
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Gu An hesitated and said, "Master, please give me the compass. I will go in after you leave."
Cheng Xuandan smiled, then took down the compass and handed it to Gu An.
A stone door emerged from the cave in the mountain wall, blocking the entrance again. It fits tightly and looks very intact, as if there is no entrance at all.
Cheng Xuandan turned and walked down the mountain, and Gu An followed.
"The underground space has its own complete set of formations. If you want to plant some spiritual herbs and flowers that you don't want others to know about, you can choose to go down there." Cheng Xuandan said softly, as if he was making arrangements for his final wishes.
Gu An listened carefully. He felt conflicted. He was grateful for what Cheng Xuandan had done for him, but he was still a little wary in his heart.
Don't relax until the end.
Cheng Xuandan is going to die anyway, so wait until he dies before you relax.
Gu An would burn incense to Cheng Xuandan every year in the future and respect him then.
The way down the mountain was very slow. Cheng Xuandan's voice was very subtle. He narrated everything that happened underground. Gu An listened carefully. There were many details and it didn't sound fake.
By the time they reached Medicine Valley, it was already dark.
Cheng Xuandan said the last words to Gu An: "Life is long, and sometimes being mediocre is a good thing. You can do what you want."
Gu An watched him walk back to the attic. After he closed the door, Gu An still stood there looking at him, not knowing what he was thinking.
After standing there for half an hour, Gu An finally walked towards his own courtyard.
The fellow disciples were practicing in their respective rooms, and the courtyard was very quiet.
That night, Gu An had been practicing.
When it was almost dawn, he heard Cheng Xuandan's footsteps. He walked to the window and watched Cheng Xuandan go downstairs.
Cheng Xuandan staggered and walked very slowly.
He didn't look in Gu An's direction. After going downstairs, he walked straight towards the entrance of the valley.
Gu An watched his back disappear at the entrance of the valley, but still did not leave the window.
When the sun rose from the east mountain, the first ray of sunlight in the morning swept over the top of the mountain, shining on Gu An, lengthening his shadow.
After Xiaochuan, Lu Jiujia, Ye Lan and Wuxin woke up one after another, they all felt that something was wrong with the atmosphere in the Medicine Valley.
They soon discovered something was wrong. In the past, the eldest senior brother would lead them to practice martial arts at this time. The body-building exercise called Young Eagle Takes Off did have some mysteries.
Gu An, who was always prepared for the drill, did not lead them in exercises today.
It was not until noon that Gu An showed up and gathered them together, announcing that Cheng Xuandan had left and that from today on, he would be the master of the Medicine Valley.
Xiaochuan and the other two were a little excited and asked Cheng Xuandan where he was going. Ever since Li Ya left, Cheng Xuandan became gentle and treated his disciples very well, so his disciples had a very good impression of him.
Only the enlightenment of the heart is not deeply touched.
After half an hour of noise, the fellow apprentices finally dispersed.
Gu An came to the top of the mountain and looked from afar in the direction where Cheng Xuandan left.
Only after he could no longer see Cheng Xuandan did he come into Cheng Xuandan's house.
Cheng Xuandan's alchemy furnace was still there, and there were a lot of things placed on the table next to it, including storage bags, letters, many keys, and even a jar of spiritual flowers.
He picked up the letter and read it. The content was very simple: "Master only knows that you love to pick flowers and plants. Before you leave, I will leave you a fifth-level tiger blood flower for you to pick as a farewell gift."
A smile appeared on Gu An's face, and he picked up the storage bag.
He is most interested in this thing.
How could a cultivator be without a storage bag?
In this way, he began to examine the legacy left by Cheng Xuandan.
It was not until the evening that Gu An left Cheng Xuandan's attic. There was a purple cloth bag around his waist, which was Cheng Xuandan's storage bag.
He walked towards the northern peak and came to the mountain wall where the underground entrance was. He took out a compass from his storage bag and pressed it into the groove on the mountain wall.
With a low roar, a cave appeared in front of him.
Gu An took off the compass, then lowered his head and walked into the cave. After only five steps, the cave passage suddenly became wider and the entrance began to close.
Gu An's life as a valley master is about to begin~ Gu An: Fellow Taoists, this is my first day as a valley master. Can you vote for me to be the decision-maker? (End of this chapter)