[Lv Baitian (Core Formation Realm, Third Layer): 754/1050/3200]
Core Formation Realm, Third Layer?
Seeing Elder Tian’s cultivation level soar so high, Gu An felt secretly startled.
In the future, he’d have to keep a close eye on Elder Tian, lest he surpass him without Gu An even knowing.
Gu An had realized that the higher the realm, the more people practice energy-concealing sorcery, and it’s very difficult to judge an opponent’s cultivation level just by the senses.
In other words, the world of immortal cultivation is all about who can hide deeper!
Luckily, he had hidden deep enough and still had the confidence to continue hiding.
Elder Tian seemed to feel Gu An’s gaze, opened his eyes, looked at him, and he nodded slightly before returning to his room.
The Demon Path was about to attack, yet he was not the least bit panicked; he would do whatever needed to be done.
The Supreme Sect was no pushover, especially with Elder Tian, the hidden sect leader, secretly exerting his power; Gu An’s task was to protect his Medicine Valley well.
…
At the end of summer, the weather was cool.
As Gu An walked within the Outer City, he noticed a significant increase in the number of Disciples of Law Enforcement Hall and many Divinity Transformation Realm presences on the city walls in various directions.
The whole city emitted a tense and solemn atmosphere.
The Demon Path was truly about to come!
As usual, he first went to check the Heavenly Repair Platform.
The Underworld Demon Emperor and Ghost Mother of Ephemera were still there, sitting alone like ascetics, without other demons hiding their identities around them.
Gu An always felt that the Underworld Demon Emperor might be related to the Demon Path, but he hesitated to report this upwards, to avoid drawing himself into the vortex.
His goal was immortality; would the Supreme Sect even exist after ten thousand years?
He was never a person who harbored the great justice of the world in his heart; he was just an ordinary person.
After scanning the area, Gu An didn’t see any powerful unfamiliar faces; it seemed the Supreme Sect had tight control over outsiders lately, only allowing outsiders to leave, not to enter.
Afterwards, Gu An went to visit Jiang Qiong.
Jiang Qiong was not at her mansion, and her servant asked him to wait in the hall.
Gu An stood in the hall, observing his surroundings. He could sense that there were very intricate restrictions within the hall, invisible to the naked eye.
He often studied the Ziwei Array Chronicles given by Jiang Qiong, and his understanding of formations had accumulated to be quite substantial, which allowed him now to discern hints of their workings.
While observing, Gu An suddenly sensed something and his expression turned peculiar.
There was a large space underneath this mansion, just like the Eight Scenic Caves below Mystic Valley!
An Ancient Hour later, Jiang Qiong finally returned.
After she entered the hall, she waved her right hand and the door slammed shut.
Gu An stood up to look at her; she walked to the head seat and sat down, said, “No need for formalities, take a seat.”
Her face was gloomy, clearly having encountered something unpleasant.
Gu An took out a storage bag from his waist and placed it on the table next to her, said, “These are the first mature batch of herbs, please check them.”
Jiang Qiong’s herbs were of high grade and rank, so now the first batch had matured.
Jiang Qiong did not reach for the storage bag, instead she asked, “You must have other matters, too; otherwise, you could have simply let Hu Mo do the checking.”
Gu An nodded, said, “I heard news that the Demon Path intends to besiege the Supreme Sect, is that true?”
This kind of matter, the Demon Path knew best.
Jiang Qiong nodded, said, “Yes, in no more than half a year, the great war between good and evil under the Taicang Dynasty will erupt. The cause is the continuous expansion of the Supreme Sect over the years, which has made the Demon Path uneasy, and secondly because they have the support of the Demon Clan, a coalition that indeed holds hope of defeating the Supreme Sect.”
Gu An hesitated for a moment, then said, “I heard that after a hundred years, demons outside the nine dynasties will invade. Shouldn’t we be living in peace and striving to cultivate? How can we trust the Demon Clan so easily?”
Hearing this, Jiang Qiong glanced at him and snorted, said, “Do you think all of the Demon Clan are united? The demons outside the nine dynasties are not purely of the Demon Clan; if they invade, the Demon Clan will also face slaughter, not to mention the Human Race. When have humans ever truly united? Moreover, the more chaotic the situation, the more there is to struggle over.”
“The resources of the immortal cultivation world in the nine dynasties are limited. The stronger the Supreme Sect becomes, the more it suppresses other sects’ cultivation resources. Since ancient times, the so-called struggles between good and evil have actually been about competing for resources, just with a righteous cause as an excuse.
This time, the Demon Path’s pretext for starting the war is the Supreme Sect’s evil deeds, which you’ll soon hear about. Once the hearts of the Supreme Sect are unsettled, the Demon Path will launch their attack. If successful, the roles of good and evil might be reversed; if unsuccessful, the Supreme Sect won’t have the residual power to annihilate the Demon Path either.”
Hearing this, Gu An fell silent.
He was the one who could best understand this, as each of his breakthroughs involved absorbing a massive amount of spiritual energy, thereby affecting the Supreme Sect.
If the spiritual energy and spirit stones of the entire dynasty were concentrated in one sect, those in power within the sect would have a greater chance of breaking through. Thus, even with only a hundred years left until the demon calamity, they still competed fervently.
Or rather, the Great Cultivators cared not for the common people but for their own cultivation level. As long as they were strong enough, they could even travel southward across the sea in search of opportunities for immortality.
After pondering for a while, Gu An asked, “Martial Master, which side are you on?”
Jiang Qiong laughed, said, “I stand with the victors. You need not worry; I can ensure that our Outer City remains unharmed. Moreover, there are too many Great Cultivators in this city; the Demon Path won’t attack from this direction.”
Upon hearing this, Gu An secretly heaved a sigh of relief and jokingly responded, “As long as my Medicine Valley is safe.”
“Scared now? I told you to practice cultivation more often, but you never listen.”
“Cultivation is not something that should be rushed.”
“Hmph, you’re just lucky to have me as your Martial Master. Before you leave, go find Hu Mo; I’ve spoken to him already, and he prepared a batch of Immortal Cultivation Elixirs for you ahead of time to help increase your cultivation level. You’re fifty years old and still haven’t formed your core; truly useless. Don’t ever say you’re my disciple in the future.”
“Thank you, Martial Master!”
Gu An chuckled and said, but internally he was critical.
A fifty-year-old at the ninth layer of the Unification Realm, have you ever heard of such a thing?
I’d scare you to death if I told you!
Next, Gu An asked about the highest cultivation level among the Demon Path’s most powerful, but Jiang Qiong was also unsure. She bluntly said that if Lv Baitian were present, the Demon Path certainly wouldn’t dare to invade, but now with Chu Tianqi as the Sect Leader, it would be difficult to determine the victor in a battle between the strongest of the righteous and the demonic.
This statement made Gu An silently mourn for the Demon Path.
Lv Baitian is not dead yet!
“By the way, Martial Master, have you ever heard of the Underworld Demon Emperor?” Gu An suddenly asked.
Jiang Qiong thought for a moment and shook her head, “I haven’t heard of it, what about it?”
“It’s nothing, I just saw it mentioned in a book. They say he’s very powerful. Since you don’t know, let’s leave it at that, I should take my leave now.”
Gu An replied, then rose to perform a ceremonial bow, and turned to leave.
Jiang Qiong watched his departing figure, pensive.
…
Since talking with Jiang Qiong, Gu An’s worries about the grand battle between righteous and demonic paths had significantly subsided, and his days continued as uneventful as ever.
Three months later.
At the end of autumn, the Third Medicine Valley was still piled with many dry, yellow leaves.
In the early morning, Gu An was leading his disciples in a drill, and Elder Tian was also participating, yet only Gu An noticed that his physique seemed even more robust than before.
This guy’s cultivation level had already reached the ninth layer of the Core Formation Realm.
It’s hard to know how he cultivated, as Gu An witnessed no fluctuations in spiritual energy while he was around.
After the drills ended, Gu An let the disciples disperse, while he walked towards the loft, surrounded by sixteen Ancient Gold-Swallowing Insects, making his surroundings seem as if they were glittering with gold stars.
Just as he reached the base of the loft, he stopped in his tracks.
He saw two figures speeding from the sky, they were Vice Sect Leader Ji Hantian and Elder Gu Zong.
Elder Tian, who was inspecting the medicinal herbs in the garden, turned his head to look, but after a glance, he redirected his attention.
Upon landing, Gu Zong and the other greeted Gu An and called him upstairs to talk.
Once inside, Gu Zong, as usual, set up a restriction.
Bang!
Ji Hantian slammed the table, making Gu An’s heartbeat accelerate.
Damnit!
Do they always have to slam the table every time they come?
Gu An really wanted to use the Great Yin-Yang Transformation, transform into a Demon Cultivator, and give Ji Hantian a thorough thrashing.
The furniture in this room was made of fine wood; he would be heartbroken if it were damaged.
“Chu Tianqi is too much. I didn’t expect the entire Chu Family to be so corrupt. Pan An, you must write a book about this, reveal it to everyone, as the Supreme Sect being the orthodox sect of the world, we must let the people oversee it!” Ji Hantian said furiously.
Again?
Gu An remained silent, regretting his previous mercy.
Gu Zong sat down, annoyed, “What’s the rush? You act as if you don’t know his deeds at all. I think you just want to be the Sect Leader. This time, don’t use Pan An as your pawn again. Pan An has already become the flag of recruitment for the Supreme Sect; this flag must not become a sword for fighting for power within the Supreme Sect.”
Gu An looked towards Gu Zong, appreciating his sensible speech.
Ji Hantian sighed and said, “I indeed want to be the Sect Leader. I believe if I become the Sect Leader, I could make the Supreme Sect better. Look at what Chu Tianqi has done; his subordinates have been creating the Demon of Greed and even conspiring to sacrifice an entire Outer Sect. I thought he was Sword Venerable Fudao, so I trusted him, but he clearly is not.
Now the Demon Path is becoming aggressively threatening, and unfavorable rumors about Chu Tianqi are rife within the sect, causing unrest; the Supreme Sect is in danger!”
Creating the Demon of Greed?
Gu An was surprised internally. He had previously heard from Chu Jingfeng and thought it was the Chu Family’s adversaries involved with the Demon of Greed.
Now it seems there was more to the story.
Was it an internal power struggle, or a self-directed drama?
“Chu Tianqi has indeed been disappointing. When he initially harshly punished Chu Xian’s descendants, I thought he was being virtuous at the expense of his kin. Now it seems, it was just self-preservation. However, it’s difficult to make a move against Chu Tianqi, many in the Hall of Elders are his supporters, plus he has good relations with the Daotian Sect.” Gu Zong shook his head.
Hearing this, Gu An was confused.
What exactly was this performance aiming at?
What was the point of telling him, an Outer Disciple, all of this?
It was probably a staged performance, intended to stir his emotions and motivate him to volunteer to expose the darkness of the Supreme Sect.
The two continued criticizing Chu Tianqi, listing all his alleged wrongdoings, and Gu An couldn’t help but feel a surge of anger.
If Chu Tianqi truly acted that way, he was indeed utterly reprehensible.
Nevertheless, Gu An maintained his rationale and remained unmoved.
Gu Zong looked at Gu An and said, “The Supreme Sect may face calamity soon. Your Third Medicine Valley grows too many medicinal herbs; it must be guarded. We are planning to send fifty Core Formation Realm Cultivators to guard the Third Medicine Valley; what do you think?”
Ji Hantian added, “The Gu Family and Ji Family will each provide twenty-five people. Xiaoyu will be among them too, not only to help you guard the valley but also to keep her away from the war.”