Chapter 24: Chapter 24: Jiang Qiong at the Ninth Layer of the Elixir Formation Realm

Spring passed and autumn arrived, and five years flickered by in an instant.

Over these five years, Gu An had maintained his plan of dedicating one year of his life span every night. Over five years, he had devoted more than 1,800 years of his life span, and his cultivation realm had reached the eighth layer of the Nascent Soul Realm.

After crossing the fifth layer in the Nascent Soul Realm, the time required for each minor realm increased exponentially. The evolving Gu An could only train rigorously, taking even longer.

Now, his remaining life span was more than 10,200 years. The incorporation of Eight Scenic Caves had improved his annual life span income.

Five years later, three more servant disciples had joined Mystic Valley. They all took Gu An as their master: two males and one female, respectively named Tang Yu, Su Han, and Zhen Qin, sorted from oldest to youngest.

Gu An no longer chose disciples based on their talent; instead, he selected disciples of mediocre talent to avoid trouble. Each of the three had a potential extreme lifespan of around two hundred years. On that basis, he tried to choose disciples who caught his eye.

One day, at the entrance to the valley, Xiaochuan, Ye Lan, Wuxin, Tang Yu, Su Han, and Zhen Qin gathered around Lu Jiujia.

"Brother, I wish you success!"

"Uncle Master, don't forget us when you're in the Outer Sect."

"Don't worry, I'll be at Medicine Valley."

"If you fail, I will mock you."

Today was the day for Lu Jiujia to go to the Outer Sect for the assessment. Gu An had sliced a Green Vine Fruit into four pieces, sharing them among the four junior brothers and sisters. Their cultivation levels surged, with Lu Jiujia being the first to reach the ninth layer of the Qi Cultivation Realm.

It is worth mentioning that since eating the Green Vine Fruit, Wuxin had completely settled down. He cultivated peacefully in his room every night without wandering over hills and valleys, and he became even more diligent in his actions.

Twenty-three-year-old Lu Jiujia was spirited and ambitious. He looked toward the pavilion where his eldest brother resided. Seeing his eldest brother standing at the window looking at him warmed his heart.

"Wait for my good news; I won't let Elder Brother down!"

Lu Jiujia said proudly and then turned depart.

With the residual wind leg technique he had cultivated over the years, he felt that he could make a name for himself in the Outer Sect.

Dressed in a robe with a white base and black patterns, Gu An watched Lu Jiujia leave from a distance, feeling a complex mix of emotions.

He couldn't tell if it was relief or reluctance, perhaps a bit of both.

"To think at just twenty-seven years old I'm this sentimental. What about when I am two hundred or two thousand, even twenty thousand years old?" Gu An chuckled self-deprecatingly.

He turned and sat down at the desk, picking up Green Hero Travelogue to continue his enjoyment.

Released last year, Green Hero Travelogue was, in his opinion, a masterful work. The author's skill in describing romantic encounters had reached a transformative realm.

An ancient hour later,

Wuxin came to visit. The twenty-one-year-old was still dressed as a monk. Gu An often teased him about being a 'Jade-Faced Monk Tang', especially after Gu An had custom-made monk robes for him in the Outer Sect, which further enhanced his aura.

"Elder Brother, I have watered the entire garden up the mountain. Is there anything else you require today?" Wuxin approached Gu An and spoke softly, glancing at Green Hero Travelogue and immediately blushing brightly.

Without even lifting his eyes, Gu An said, "There's nothing else; you may go and cultivate."

Wuxin moved to the opposite side of the desk but did not leave, hesitating visibly.

Gu An glanced at him and asked, "Is there something else?"

In his black robe, he already had an authoritative presence. Over the years, the yields from Medicine Valley had been excellent, and since he did not hoard money for himself, he had paid out of pocket to buy new clothes for everyone in Medicine Valley, making none of them look like mere servant disciples.

Wuxin bit his lip and said, "Brother, to tell the truth, with my talents, it's impossible for me to be admitted to the Outer Sect. I genuinely want to stay in Medicine Valley with you for life."

Gu An put down Green Hero Travelogue and studied him closely.

Wasn't that what his words implied?

He wanted to progress!

Gu An frowned, his expression troubled.

Seeing his reaction, Wuxin became anxious and suddenly knelt down.

"Brother, where do I fall short? I am more diligent than they are, more obedient, and unlike everyone else, I don't want to go to the Outer Sect," Wuxin said fervently, his eyes beginning to redden.

Gu An noticed that he had activated some cultivation technique, causing an upsurge of qi-blood.

Smart boy, learning from me, huh?

Gu An spoke earnestly, "Wuxin, in my heart, no one is better or worse than anyone else. Like the Green Vine Fruit, I divided it equally among you. However, the position of head disciple is crucial and may even represent the next Valley Master. Although I am a servant disciple, my treatment is no inferior to that of ordinary Outer Disciples, and I must acknowledge the Sect's generosity."

"It seems you have been hiding something from me, of course, everyone has their own difficult circumstances that they can't speak of. I won't pry further. You will always be my junior brother, but the position of head disciple..."

Toward the end, he sighed, looking helpless.

Wuxin was stunned, not expecting that his actions from years ago had long been noticed by his elder brother. His first reaction was panic, followed by a feeling of being deeply touched.

The last time he had gathered intelligence late at night was five years ago; his elder brother had tolerated his behavior for five years.

What did this mean?

His elder brother truly regarded him as one of his אםשב.

Putting himself in his elder brother's shoes, Wuxin felt that if he had been in the same position, he probably would have severely punished such a junior brother long ago,

The more Wuxin thought about it, the more ashamed he became. He really couldn't keep up the act any longer.

"Brother, actually..." Wuxin clenched his teeth, it seemed like he had made a significant decision.

"Actually, I come from the Thousand-Autumn Pavilion. My father is one of the seventy-two Pavilion Masters of the Thousand-Autumn Pavilion. I am of poor aptitude and was often bullied by my siblings, so I ran away. The reason I wandered around at night was because I heard about Brother Li Ya's deeds, hoping for some opportunity to prove myself to my father someday. But now I've given up.

Not to mention comparing to my siblings, even compared to Lu Jiujia, I am far behind..."

Wuxin said all at once, and toward the end, he lowered his head, not daring to look at Gu An.

Gu An's face showed shock and disbelief.

"You..."

Hearing the trembling voice of his senior brother, Wuxin felt even more ashamed, his forehead pressed tightly to the ground.

Gu An had not expected Wuxin to come from the Thousand-Autumn Pavilion.

What was this all about?

Why not just rename Mystic Valley to Thousand-Autumn Valley then!

Gu An secretly dispersed his divine sense, forming an invisible barrier, guarding against anyone eavesdropping.

He remained silent for a while, then finally let out a deep sigh and said, "Enough, stand up and talk."

The uneasy Wuxin, hearing this, instantly silently heaved a sigh of relief.

As Wuxin stood up and saw the complicated expression on Gu An's face, his heart was even more touched.

Indeed, his senior brother truly cared for him!

"I am not very familiar with the Thousand-Autumn Pavilion. I heard it is a demonic sect?" Gu An took a deep breath and asked.

Wuxin nodded and said, "It indeed is the demonic path, and it's the most evil one. Corpse Path, Poison Skill, Soul Capturing, Poison Creatures, and all other demonic arts, they master them all. I couldn't stay any longer, that's why I escaped..."

"Then, will your father come looking for you? I have to consider the other disciples," Gu An worriedly asked.

Wuxin quickly shook his head and said, "How could he possibly come looking for me? He would rather I were already dead; I am his greatest shame!"

Hearing this, Gu An's expression eased slightly, and he scolded, "Wuxin, I won't allow you to belittle yourself like that. How can one's character be judged merely by their cultivation level?"

Wuxin scratched his head and chuckled, "I know, but since the Thousand-Autumn Pavilion is a demonic sect, brother, people in the demonic path are not normal."

Gu An nodded. He seemed to recall something and asked, "Right, have you ever heard the name Jiang Qiong while you were in the Thousand-Autumn Pavilion?"

"Jiang Qiong?" Wuxin was startled and pondered with a frown.

After a few moments, he suddenly realized and said, "I remember now. She was the premier genius of the Thousand-Autumn Pavilion a hundred years ago, also the daughter of the second pavilion master, but she has been dead for many years. I heard my father mention her when I was a child; he even wanted my elder brother to marry Jiang Qiong."

Curious, Gu An asked, "How old is your father?"

Wuxin replied, "Nearly five hundred years old. He has more than a hundred children, so he wouldn't care if I were lost."

Gu An fell silent.

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Gu An asked a few more questions, but unfortunately, Wuxin didn't know much about Jiang Qiong.

"Since you have confessed your background, I will train you to become the chief disciple. If a position of a chief disciple of a valley can be exchanged for a demon cultivator who has lost his way and found it again, it could be considered a meritorious deed. However, this matter must not be disclosed for now. Convince everyone in the valley with your performance," Gu An said earnestly.

At these words, Wuxin was ecstatic.

He was about to express his thanks to Gu An when he heard Gu An continue to instruct, "From now on, you cannot mention a single word about the Thousand-Autumn Pavilion, not even when you are alone. This is the Supreme Sect, and even talking to yourself might be overheard."

Wuxin quickly nodded, heeding the instruction.

The two brothers shifted the topic, chatting about other casual matters.

Wuxin felt himself growing closer to his senior brother, a feeling he was very grateful for, he should have been honest with his senior brother sooner.

...

During the night, Eight Scenic Caves.

Gu An came to a clearing next to an underground river, starting to plant medicinal herbs.

His movements were not fast. As someone who didn't cultivate much on routine days, he enjoyed the process of planting. What he planted were not just any plants, but life.

People from Huaxia inherently loved farming, a habit that followed along with his soul into the world of immortal cultivation.

After finishing his planting, he looked satisfactorily at his newly developed garden, neatly arranged, possessing a unique aesthetic beauty.

"Dear disciple, come here for a moment."

Jiang Qiong's melodious voice came from an opening, and Gu An immediately went over.

Over the years, Jiang Qiong occasionally summoned him to help pick some medicinal herbs and even to assist with alchemy.

Gu An wasn't busy in vain; during this process, his alchemy skills improved leaps and bounds.

Jiang Qiong's mastery of alchemy was far superior to that of Cheng Xuandan, clearly evident from how she taught.

He made his way to the cave chamber which was still dimly lit. On the ground stood a pill furnace, half a person tall, with a pile of ashes stacked beneath it.

Just as Gu An was about to speak, he suddenly heard a noise. He focused his gaze and saw a coffin in the depths beginning to tremble.

Boom!

The coffin lid fell down, crashing onto the ground and raising a cloud of dust.

Gu An saw a hand crawling out from the upright coffin, skinny like a ghost's claw. He immediately cast a life span detection.

[Jiang Qiong (Core Formation Realm Nine Layers): 185/304/2490]

Goodness!

Nearly two thousand five hundred years of maximum life span!

Why does someone in the Core Formation Realm Nine Layers have only three hundred years of life span?

Could it be related to her injuries?

Gu An wondered, and at the same time, his last trace of caution vanished.