Gu Zong’s request to Gu An was simple: to write a book detailing his accomplishments. Naturally, Gu An had no reason to refuse, especially since Gu Zong wasn’t asking him to make him the protagonist of Investiture of the Gods.

In return, Gu Zong promised to elevate Gu An’s status to that of an Outer Sect disciple, along with granting him an herb valley twice the size of his current one in Xuan Valley.

Six months later, Gu Yu would personally deliver the reward to Gu An.

A book for an herb valley—Gu An felt it was a fair deal, especially since writing didn’t take much of his time anyway.

That night, after Du Ye returned to his room, he couldn’t help but ask Gu An about his meeting with Gu Zong.

“Sect secrets. Are you sure you want to probe further?” Gu An asked meaningfully, instantly scaring Du Ye into silence. He didn’t dare ask again.

The next morning, as the guests from the Ji Mansion dispersed, a cultivator came to find Gu An, handing him a storage bag, claiming it was from the Third Miss, Ji Xiaoyu. Using his divine sense, Gu An scanned the contents of the bag and found it full of materials for an array—enough to set up a proper formation.

He debated whether to warn Ji Xiaoyu, but seeing that there were now even more Ji family cultivators guarding the mansion, with many meditating on the rooftops, he realized the Ji family had already sensed the impending danger.

Since they were prepared, there was no need for him to worry.

At noon, Gu An and Du Ye left the Ji Mansion, using the teleportation array to return to the Outer Sect’s city.

After bidding Du Ye farewell, Gu An headed back to Xuan Valley, already planning out the layout for his second herb valley in his mind.

With Li Xuandao’s herb valley, Gu An would soon control three herb valleys, meaning his lifespan would grow rapidly in the future.

Even though he had already reached the first layer of the Void Crossing realm, Gu An knew he would never consider any amount of lifespan to be too much. There were certainly many more layers above the Void Crossing realm, and the higher he climbed, the more lifespan he would need.

His ultimate goal was immortality—the pinnacle of the cultivation path!

Riding his flying sword through the skies, Gu An stood tall, his heart filled with dreams of eternal life as the wind rushed past him.

But when he finally returned to Xuan Valley, he frowned.

Landing gracefully, he stored his flying sword. Not far away, Ye Yan, who had been pulling weeds, noticed him and immediately ran over.

“Master, you’ve finally returned! Yesterday, a senior arrived at our herb valley and said he wanted to stay here for a while,” Ye Yan reported.

Gu An nodded. “I see. Go on with your work.”

He glanced around and noticed flags planted discreetly in the surrounding forest, hidden among the weeds—a clear sign of an array.

Sensing the presence of the visitor, Gu An feigned ignorance and made his way toward the direction of the aura, all while discreetly inspecting his herbs.

To his surprise, six of his fourth-grade herbs were missing!

His expression turned cold.

The visitor wasn’t ordinary—he was a Divine Transformation realm cultivator. But even a Divine Transformation cultivator who dared to steal from him would have to pay a price!

Gu An soon reached the courtyard by the creek, where he saw an old man busily working at a pill furnace. The furnace looked ancient, standing about half a man’s height, with wisps of green smoke rising from it.

The alchemist was a hunched, stout old man with graying hair tied in a simple knot with a grass cord.

[Qiu Qianli (Divine Transformation Second Layer): 486/930/1050]

After confirming that Qiu Qianli wasn’t concealing any stronger cultivation, Gu An stepped forward, asking, “May I ask the senior’s name and where you come from?”

His tone was sharp, completely different from his usual polite demeanor.

Qiu Qianli stood up, turning to Gu An with a smile. “My name is Qiu Qianli. I’m just passing through and wanted to stay in your herb valley for a few days.”

Gu An pressed on, “Are you from the Tai Xuan Sect, senior?”

With Ji Xiaoyu about to reach Core Formation, Gu An had to be cautious of any unexpected visitors.

After all, Divine Transformation cultivators didn’t normally visit his herb valley.

The disciples working in the valley glanced toward the courtyard, all aware that this visitor wasn’t someone to take lightly. Seeing Gu An return gave them a sense of relief.

“And you? Are you the owner of this herb valley?” Qiu Qianli asked with a smirk.

“That’s right. But why won’t you answer my question?” Gu An’s eyes narrowed.

Qiu Qianli chuckled to himself, muttering, “A mere Qi Refining stage servant dares to speak to me like this?”

Suddenly, he crouched and slammed his hand into the ground.

The earth trembled, and the flags hidden in the surrounding forest shook violently, releasing a surge of demonic energy. The energy shot into the sky, forming a demonic net that covered the entire Xuan Valley. A moment later, the net became invisible, as if nothing had happened.

“What are you doing?” Gu An feigned panic.

The disciples in the distance noticed something was wrong, and several rushed toward the courtyard.

First to arrive were Xiao Chuan and Ye Yan, followed by Wuxin, Zhen Qin, and Su Han. The other disciples, though slower, remained on guard, too afraid to approach.

Su Han stood in front, gripping his sword tightly, though his trembling legs betrayed his fear.

Zhen Qin’s face was pale with fright, but she still stood in front of Gu An, trying to protect him, making him want to laugh.

This foolish girl!

Qiu Qianli’s right hand crackled with sinister demonic energy as he stood up, his face contorting into a menacing grin. “Now that the valley master has returned, there’s no need to pretend anymore. If you all want to live, you’ll do as I say. Otherwise, I’ll skin you alive, rip out your souls, and make it so you can neither live nor die!”

The overwhelming pressure of his aura sent waves of terror through the disciples.

Wuxin, trying to muster some courage, spoke up, “We’re just Outer Sect disciples. Even if you extract our souls, it won’t do you much good. Let’s talk this through. What do you want us to do?”

He was afraid that Gu An might not see through Qiu Qianli’s cultivation, so he jumped in to negotiate first.

Qiu Qianli sneered. “Smart kid. From now on, you’ll stay in this valley and do as I command. I’m going to use this herb valley to refine pills. Don’t even think about escaping. My array is formless and colorless. Even a Core Formation cultivator would be turned into a pool of blood the moment they touched it.”

The disciples had seen the formation activate earlier and had no doubt about his claims.

Qiu Qianli then looked at Gu An, grinning mockingly. “Valley master, let me tell you. I’m from Wan Yin Sect. What are you going to do about it?”

Wan Yin Sect!

They just won’t leave me alone…

Gu An hadn’t killed many people in his life, but aside from Fu Xiong, all of them had been from Wan Yin Sect.

Feigning fear, Gu An gritted his teeth and said, “Senior, please forgive my earlier offense. As long as you don’t harm my disciples, I will obey your every command. If you want to extract a soul, start with mine!”

His words caused the disciples to panic, though none dared speak out, afraid of provoking Qiu Qianli.

Wuxin clenched his fists in regret, thinking, “If only I had trained harder. Had I mastered my techniques, I wouldn’t have to watch my senior face this…”

Zhen Qin, Xiao Chuan, Su Han, and Ye Yan were having similar thoughts.

Qiu Qianli laughed, a cold, condescending sound.

Gu An quickly added, “Senior, I have fifth-grade herbs in my room that would make excellent pill ingredients. Would you like to use them?”

“Not bad. You’re quite sensible. Go fetch them,” Qiu Qianli waved his sleeve dismissively.

Gu An turned and sprinted toward his pavilion.

The others remained on high alert, watching Qiu Qianli closely, terrified he would make a move.

Qiu Qianli scratched his ear, casting a leering glance at Zhen Qin. “Little girl, come here and help me.”

Seeing his predatory smile, Zhen Qin felt both disgusted and terrified.

What should she do?

Judging by the earlier display of the array, there was no way anyone in the valley could oppose this demonic cultivator.

But just as Zhen Qin stood frozen with fear, a dark purple figure appeared beside Qiu Qianli out of nowhere.

Qiu Qianli’s pupils contracted instantly. He turned his head in disbelief.

So fast!

How is this possible?

Before Qiu Qianli could react, the figure’s right hand, sharp as a sword, pierced through his chest, lifting him into the air.

His eyes widened in shock, staring down at the figure below.

This figure was cloaked in dark purple flames, its face obscured, like a being from the depths of the underworld.

Wuxin, Zhen Qin, and the others were equally shocked, stumbling back in fear.

“Thousand Autumn Pavilion… Demon Shadow Divine Art…” Qiu Qianli’s voice trembled with terror.

He realized with horror that he couldn’t even circulate his spiritual energy. That one blow had shattered his golden core, and the dark energy now suppressed his nascent soul, preventing it from escaping.

This person must be beyond Divine Transformation!

Having used the Demon Shadow Divine Art and Great Yin-Yang Transformation, Gu An glanced at Wuxin.

Wuxin seemed to realize something, his face turning pale.

Then, with a crushing surge of sword energy, Gu An’s hand clenched, shattering Qiu Qianli’s body into pieces, leaving only his nascent soul hanging from his arm. Qiu Qianli’s storage pouch fell into Gu An’s other hand.

Blood splattered everywhere.

The disciples stood frozen, too shocked to move.

“Mas…” Qiu Qianli’s nascent soul began to speak, but before he could finish, Gu An’s immense power obliterated him.

The figure vanished into thin air.

A second later, Gu An came crashing out of his pavilion’s upper floor, holding the five-grade Tiger Blood Flower.

He rushed into the courtyard, shouting, “Senior, don’t do anything rash!”

Leaping over the courtyard wall, he hurried to Zhen Qin’s side. Seeing the blood all over the place but realizing none of his disciples were harmed, he sighed in relief.

His voice trembling, he asked, “Where… where did that demon go?”

His voice was low, as if afraid Qiu Qianli might still hear him.

Zhen Qin seemed to snap out of her shock, letting out a shrill scream before grabbing Gu An’s robe. “Master, he’s dead… he was…”

The other disciples came to their senses, glancing nervously in every direction, terrified the mysterious shadow might reappear.

It took Gu An quite some time to piece together what had happened from their panicked explanations.

He had to admit—acting was exhausting.

Gu An instructed his disciples to remain on high alert, not to let their guard down.

At the same time, he discreetly channeled his spiritual energy through the ground, shattering the invisible array.

A curtain of demonic energy briefly appeared above Xuan Valley before the array collapsed, dissolving into nothingness. Autumn leaves drifted down from the mountain peaks.

“The array is gone?” Ye Yan asked cautiously.

Wuxin took a deep breath, turning to Gu An. “Senior Brother, we should talk somewhere private.”

Killing Qiu Qianli had netted Gu An an additional sixty-six years of lifespan—not a bad reward.

Feeling satisfied, Gu An pretended to be puzzled, hesitating before finally nodding.

The two made their way back to Gu An’s pavilion, while the other disciples gathered to discuss what had just occurred.

Inside the pavilion, Wuxin closed the door and looked at Gu An, gritting his teeth. “The one who struck earlier must be a senior from the Thousand Autumn Pavilion, likely sent by my father to protect me…”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep