Chan Ji ignored Li Ya, her gaze fixed on Li Xuanyu. She smiled seductively and said, "Li Xuanyu, aren't you a girl of heavenly pride? How come you're so miserable? It seems that you and your brother from the Li family are no match for us."
Xu Ruye took a step towards Li Ya.
Li Xuanyu suddenly threw her sword, and as the blade flew, it split into four sword shadows, all aimed at Xu Ruye.
Xu Ruye reacted extremely quickly. With a wave of his right hand, the purple qi in his hand exploded like flames, forcibly blocking Li Xuanyu's sword.
Chan Ji, like a ghost, appeared behind Li Xuanyu with a red fan in her hand. She fanned it forcefully, and a rolling red poisonous mist surged forth, forcing Li Xuanyu to dodge.
The red poisonous mist quickly spread through the mountains and forests. A giant python could be vaguely seen moving swiftly in the mist. Wherever it passed, the red mist rose and quickly surrounded Li Ya and Li Xuanyu.
Li Xuanyu landed beside Li Ya, her eyes scanning the surroundings. Chan Ji's figure was no longer visible, while Xu Ruye hovered above the forest, looking down at them.
"How dare you harbor murderous intent in the Supreme Sect's territory?" Li Ya asked in a deep voice.
Xu Ruye's lips curled up in a mocking smile. He said sarcastically, "I've long heard that the Supreme Sect's land is vast. Since the current sect leader took office, the Supreme Sect's control over the border has weakened, seemingly allowing the disciples to resolve conflicts themselves. The eight outer gate cities are like a wall; inside the wall is a reputable sect, but outside, it's survival of the fittest, no different from the Demon Path."
"We've been fighting for so long, and no one has come to help. It seems the Supreme Sect hasn't stationed anyone beyond the outer gate. Today, I'll kill you and take your sister. I won't even bother participating in the world outer gate conference. What do you think?"
"I'll also kill the people in the Medicine Valley. If Princess Li came to protect you personally, your relationship must be significant."
Xu Ruye seemed to think of something and licked his lips.
"Buy me some time," Li Xuanyu said softly as she sat down cross-legged and quickly began to cast magic. A golden flame appeared faintly on her forehead.
Li Ya's gaze hardened, and he suddenly squatted down and leaped up. His long sword pointed skyward, and sword qi surged, shaking the surrounding forest. The red mist rolled up, creating a grand scene under the twilight.
Xu Ruye sneered. He quickly took a large purple flag from his storage bag. The flag had a menacing evil ghost embroidered on it, seemingly ready to leap out.
He slammed his left palm down, causing a massive shadowy hand to descend, forcibly suppressing Li Ya's sword qi.
Li Ya frowned. His Spiritual Power was far inferior to Xu Ruye's and could not compete.
Under his watch, the purple flag in Xu Ruye's hand erupted into a purple whirlwind, causing him to feel dizzy.
"Not good!"
Li Ya's face changed dramatically as a strong sense of dizziness overcame him. The most terrifying part was that his body seemed unable to fall.
"He wants to capture your soul; he's truly bold!"
The voice of the Martial Master echoed in Li Ya's mind, filled with shock and anger.
Li Ya was even more panicked after hearing this.
"Let me taste the soul of the Taicang Imperial Lineage!" Xu Ruye laughed sinisterly, his eyes full of greed.
Whoosh—
A sharp, piercing sound came from afar, causing Li Ya, who was stuck in midair, to subconsciously look. Even Li Xuanyu, who was meditating, couldn't help but glance up.
A leaf, carrying fierce sword qi, streaked across the sky, aiming straight at Xu Ruye.
Instinctively, Xu Ruye glanced at it, but the leaf was too fast for him to react.
Bang!
His head exploded instantly, and a blood mist enveloped the forest. The red mist dissipated as a strong wind swept it away, and Li Ya was thrown to the ground. Li Xuanyu used her Spiritual Power to resist the wind, but was still forced to get up quickly.
"Mr. Xu!"
In the roaring wind, Chan Ji screamed. She was about to leap up when another whistling sound approached. She turned her head to see the terrifying wind pushing the red poisonous mist over her. Her robe was pulled back, outlining her perfect curves.
In her pupils, there was the reflection of a leaf.
Bang!
The leaf pierced her head, and blood sprayed everywhere, splattering the forest. The leaf continued its furious trajectory, cutting down trees and raising a cloud of dust before finally embedding itself into a large tree's trunk.
Thud! Thud!
Xu Ruye's body fell to the ground, followed by Chan Ji's corpse. Soon, all that remained in the forest was the sound of the wind.
Li Ya propped himself up, sitting on the ground, his black hair disheveled, staring in shock.
Not far away, Li Xuanyu was equally terrified, looking dazedly at the corpses of Xu Ruye and Chan Ji.
"To kill an enemy with a flying leaf, such domineering sword qi, this person must be at least at the Nascent Soul Realm, and his sword Dao accomplishment is extremely high!" The voice of the Martial Master echoed in Li Ya's mind.
Li Ya was jolted awake. He quickly stood up and cupped his fists, shouting, "Which senior intervened to help us?"
Li Xuanyu heard him and followed suit, looking around.
But, unfortunately, no one responded.
"Boy, check over there!" The Martial Master's voice urged Li Ya to walk in a certain direction.
Li Ya immediately walked over, trembling. His injuries and the soul capturing made him very uncomfortable.
Li Xuanyu went to check the corpses of Xu Ruye and Chan Ji. She stabbed them twice, using sword qi to shred their hearts.
Li Ya walked for two hundred zhang before stopping in front of a tree. His gaze fell on the trunk, and his face changed dramatically.
"How is this possible..."
Li Ya muttered in a trembling voice. Following his gaze, a leaf was embedded in the tree trunk, surrounded by a wisp of sword qi. The tree trunk had already cracked, as if it could explode at any moment.
"This person attacked from ten miles away. I could only sense the direction, not his presence."
The Martial Master's voice was filled with admiration, followed by a sigh of amazement. "It seems the Supreme Sect isn't so weak after all. A Great Cultivator is watching over the outside."
Li Ya stared at the leaf, trying to calm himself down.
At this moment, Li Xuanyu approached from behind. When she saw the leaf clearly, she was equally stunned.
...
As night fell, at Mystic Valley, Valley Master's pavilion was brightly lit and decorated. Gu An and his disciples sat around a large round table, exchanging cups and chatting happily.
Xiaochuan and Tang Yu were engaged in a drinking contest. Xiaochuan, this martial uncle, was already red-faced, but he refused to admit defeat, continuing to drink despite others' advice.
Their wine was not ordinary wine but Spiritual Wine that Gu An had specifically bought from the outer sect. A jar was worth two low-grade spirit stones, equivalent to two months' salary for a servant disciple.
"We encountered two demon cultivators today. Do you think more demon cultivators will come?" Su Han suddenly asked. His words instantly dampened the atmosphere at the dining table.
Their smiles disappeared, and they all began to worry.
Gu An comforted them with a smile: "Don't worry. There are outer disciples patrolling. Didn't you see them today? Perhaps after this incident, the patrols will increase."
He was not worried because he was immersed in joy.
After killing Xu Ruye and Chan Ji, he had successfully obtained one hundred and twelve years of life span.
He was summarizing the rules of obtaining life span. He could only judge that the years obtained depended on the remaining life span of the target, ranging from ten to twenty percent, with no fixed amount, making it rather random.
Although killing cultivators yielded higher life spans, Gu An was not looking forward to more such incidents.
Killing too many enemies would eventually lead to trouble. It was safer to accumulate life spans through medicinal herbs, as he currently did.
There were always people stronger than you. Even if Gu An could quickly become stronger by killing enemies, if he encountered an overwhelmingly stronger opponent, he would still die.
He couldn't determine the highest cultivation level in the mortal world.
But he felt that if he could survive for a thousand or ten thousand years, he might become invincible in the mortal world.
Hearing Gu An's words, everyone found them reasonable, and the atmosphere lightened again.
Gu An didn't dwell on his own matters; he started chatting with his junior brothers and sisters, asking about their future cultivation goals. The atmosphere continued to rise, and eventually, he too started drinking.
The first Spring Festival in Mystic Valley was considered a success.
Everyone dispersed late into the night.
Gu An then went to the Eight Scenic Caves.
Jiang Qiong was sitting under the Green Vine Tree, cultivating energy. Demonic Qi surrounded her, making her look terrifying.
Gu An brought a meal to her and said, "Martial Master, today is the Spring Festival of Mystic Valley. This is a meal that my junior sister made. Would you like to try it? I wish you a speedy recovery of your power."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Qiong opened her eyes and asked in confusion, "Spring Festival? What festival is that?"
Gu An gave the explanation he had prepared. Whoever asked, he would reply that he heard it from an old man.
"Hmm, setting a festival is indeed a good idea; it can unite people's hearts." Jiang Qiong nodded in approval, then looked at the food basket in Gu An's hand.
Gu An immediately set down the basket and took out the dishes one by one, along with a small jar of wine.
Seeing this, Jiang Qiong's eyes lit up. She mused, "Since it's your kind gesture, I can't not eat it."
She picked up a bowl of food and began to eat voraciously.
Gu An quickly poured her wine and curiously asked, "Martial Master, I have always been puzzled by something."
"Speak..." Jiang Qiong mumbled as she drank the wine in one gulp, her mouth covered in liquid, unsure if it was oil or wine.
"Why did the Thousand-Autumn Pavilion insert spies outside the outer sect? It seems Mystic Valley can't gather any information." Gu An asked.
Jiang Qiong rolled her eyes at him and said irritably, "Who told you to gather information? Your role is to wait patiently. Once the Green Vine Tree fully matures, this place will become a stronghold for the Thousand-Autumn Pavilion. Other people handle intelligence gathering."
Hearing this, Gu An became even more uneasy.
What?
A stronghold?
Gu An frowned and asked, "Is Mystic Valley the only possible stronghold?"
"Of course not. Besides Mystic Valley, at least five other Medicine Valley masters are spies for the Thousand-Autumn Pavilion. They just don't know each other's identities. A hundred years ago, a spy from the Thousand-Autumn Pavilion even became a True Disciple. By now, they are probably at Elder-Level." Jiang Qiong answered casually.
Gu An fell silent.
Had the Supreme Sect become so riddled with spies?
Jiang Qiong put down the empty plate, picked up a large chicken leg, and smiled, "The taste is not bad. Although I have long since started fasting, indulging occasionally is nice. As a reward, I'll teach you the secret technique of the Thousand-Autumn Pavilion later."