The night was silent, with the sound of a pin dropping. Leaning against the wall, Gu An cursed inwardly, why was his heartbeat so fast?
For some unknown reason, although he could not hear anything outside, he had an inexplicable feeling that the Demon of Greed was approaching his house.
His eyes moved back and forth between the door and the window. The moonlight seeped through the cracks, so bright, it was terrifyingly bright.
The White Spirit Rat trembled, making Gu An's chest itch. He wanted to throw it out, but he couldn't bear to.
Time slowly passed as Gu An held his breath and focused his attention.
Gu An had never longed for daylight to come as much as he did now.
This Supreme Sect was not safe at all!
From now on, he would have to accumulate more life span, grow stronger quietly, and never stop improving his strength!
Gu An's mind wandered aimlessly. He didn't know how much time had passed when his gaze suddenly fixed on the threshold of the door.
The door was less than a meter to his left. The threshold, illuminated by the moonlight, had a shadow appearing in the crack. At that moment, his scalp tingled.
The Demon of Greed!
It was coming!
Gu An's heart raced up to his throat, his whole body tensed.
He even felt the urge to rush out!
Suddenly!
Gu An's body stiffened. He felt a wet hand press down on his head. Sharp nails dug into his forehead, sending chills down his spine.
His mind went blank in an instant. He cautiously looked up and saw a pale arm emerging from the darkness above his head, like a woman's arm, with a hand pressing down on his head, nails sharp like claws.
The owner of the arm reached out from the darkness. A hideous face with disheveled hair appeared, its true features obscured, only the blood-dripping fangs visible.
She was smiling!
Damn!
Gu An was completely terrified. He lifted his arm and slapped it angrily, hitting the face of the Demon of Greed.
Bang!
The roof of the house was blown open, blood and flesh splashed inside. Shards of tiles and turf from the roof flew up tens of meters high, disappearing into the night.
The night sky was so dark, the mountains and forest surrounding Medicine Valley stood like demons and ghosts.
"Huff, huff, huff..."
Gu An panted heavily, his raised right arm trembling. His hand was covered with blood, and the blood of the Demon of Greed splattered all over his face.
When everything quieted down, Gu An still couldn't calm down.
Moonlight poured down, shining into the house.
A huge bloodstain blossomed on the wall, horrifying and terrifying. A pale severed arm lay at Gu An's feet.
After a dozen breaths, Gu An finally calmed down.
[You have successfully taken 52 years of life span from the Demon of Greed (Tier 2)]
Looking at the prompt that popped up in front of him, he still panted heavily, but his eyes took on a quizzical look.
"That's it?"
Gu An found it absurd. Was he too strong, or were Chu Jingfeng and the others too weak?
Just as he was confused, he vaguely heard a door opening. He immediately lay down, closed his eyes, and hung the Demon of Greed's arm on himself with a swift motion.
That wasn't enough. He raised his hand, pried the Demon of Greed's fingers open, and then clamped them around his neck. After doing all this, he spread his arms and pretended to be unconscious.
...
Autumn was approaching, and the weather was no longer so scorching hot.
Gu An was picking Calming Grass in the garden area. Li Ya and Meng Lang stood outside the wooden fence, watching him work.
Half of Li Ya's body was wrapped in white cloth, and there were two shocking scars on his face, almost reaching his right eye. It was hard to imagine what he had been through.
On the other hand, Meng Lang seemed unharmed. He stared at Gu An, clicking his tongue in wonder, "This kid could still be so happy picking medicinal herbs, as if he hadn't encountered the Demon of Greed."
Li Ya's face was expressionless, but the scars on his face added a touch of fierceness to him. He said calmly, "Maybe he is finding joy in his suffering. How do you know he can still keep smiling after closing the door to his room?"
That night four days ago seemed like just yesterday. Li Ya recalled his fight with the Demon of Greed, filled with lingering fear.
He survived purely by luck.
Chu Jingfeng's injuries were even more serious than his, having an arm torn off. As for Cheng Xuandan, Zhang Chunqiu, and Meng Lang, they were all unscathed.
That morning, the Supreme Sect sent several cultivators. Their cultivation levels were higher than Chu Jingfeng's, the highest reaching the Ninth Layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm. They interrogated Gu An thoroughly, who pretended to be traumatized, knowing nothing. In the end, those cultivators concluded that someone else must have intervened, saving the servant disciples in this part of Medicine Valley. After all, Gu An had no Spiritual Power, so it couldn't have been him who killed the Demon of Greed.
Afterward, Gu An intentionally switched to a different house. Zhang Chunqiu treated him even better, seeming very guilty.
While Li Ya and Meng Lang discussed Gu An, Gu An was enjoying the pleasure of harvesting the life span from second-tier medicinal herbs.
Second-tier herbs could bring him two to five years of life span. He was helping Li Ya and Meng Lang pick, a total of sixty second-tier herbs this time, which was immensely satisfying.
Simultaneously, he couldn't help but think of the Demon of Greed.
Killing the Demon of Greed gave him fifty-two years of life span. Wouldn't that mean exterminating demons and ghosts could bring him even more life span?
But as he thought of that terrifying night and the injuries of Chu Jingfeng and Li Ya, he immediately abandoned the idea.
No need!
He wasn't in a hurry to get stronger, so why risk his life?
Yes.
He needed to develop quietly, with caution!
After a while.
Gu An finally finished picking all sixty Calming Grass. He carried the bamboo basket to Meng Lang, ready to hand it over.
Meng Lang fake-coughed and said, "This time, you should hand it over to Senior Brother yourself."
Recalling his pathetic performance that night, he felt ashamed to claim any credit from Gu An.
Gu An didn't decline, smiling, "Alright."
He politely nodded at Li Ya, then walked toward Zhang Chunqiu's pavilion.
Li Ya did not linger either, turning toward the distant forest, while Meng Lang watched back and forth, awkwardly scratching his nose.
In the main hall.
Gu An handed all the Calming Grass to Zhang Chunqiu. Zhang Chunqiu didn't let him leave immediately but pulled him aside, asking with concern if he had been sleeping well recently.
Every time Zhang Chunqiu thought of Gu An being choked by the Demon of Greed, he felt guilty. As the senior brother, he couldn't protect his junior disciple, which made him feel utterly useless.
Gu An had always been so obedient and compliant. If this junior disciple died, honestly, even thinking about it made him sad.
"By the way, regarding the matter of the Demon of Greed, don't mention it again. Today, when I went to the Outer Sect, I heard that the demon was raised by a senior within our sect. This matter cannot be spread, just pretend it never happened," Zhang Chunqiu said seriously.
Hearing this, Gu An couldn't help but frown.
So that's how it was, no wonder the demon could move around so freely for so long.
Zhang Chunqiu seemed uneasy, adding, "Such a senior is not someone we can offend. With just one word, they could make our entire Medicine Valley disappear. You come from humble beginnings, you should understand best the disparity brought by status and power. Only by enduring can we survive."
He then raised his hand, taking out a secret book from his chest, "This is a secret technique prepared for you by our master. It cost our master five years of sect contributions to obtain. After all, you indeed suffered an injustice."
Gu An immediately beamed with joy, accepting the secret book and seeing the characters on the cover.
Residual Wind Leg!
"Thank you, Senior Brother, thank you, Master!" Gu An bowed deeply in gratitude.
Zhang Chunqiu blinked and smiled, "Practice more when you have time. You might be able to protect yourself in the future. Don't give this secret book to Meng Lang. As for Li Ya, he has shown extraordinary talent. Master has decided to help him break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm. In two years at most, he'll be leaving Medicine Valley."
Upon hearing this, Gu An was not surprised. Someone with Li Ya's cultivation level staying in Medicine Valley was indeed a waste.
Afterward, Zhang Chunqiu exchanged a few pleasantries with Gu An before allowing him to leave.
As Gu An closed the door behind him, Zhang Chunqiu sighed softly, "Such an honest child, he will surely take care of Master in the future. I can also go down the mountain... Lotus, wait for me..."
As Gu An was descending the stairs, his steps faltered for a moment before he resumed walking.
...
The Demon of Greed's attack did not kill anyone in Medicine Valley, but it changed the atmosphere. Li Ya became increasingly mysterious, often hiding in the forest after completing his tasks, and even Meng Lang began to practice diligently.
Gu An practiced the secret technique Residual Wind Leg for a month before he managed to barely display it on his skills panel. This frustrated him, and he decided to give up on the technique, planning to rely on life span extension in the future.
Days and nights passed, autumn leaves covered Medicine Valley.
Gu An's figure constantly appeared in various garden areas, making him the busiest person in Medicine Valley. Zhang Chunqiu trusted him more and no longer supervised his work. As for Cheng Xuandan, he was always confined in his room, focusing on alchemy, often unseen for months.
Autumn ended, and winter arrived, white snow blanketed Medicine Valley.
A new year began amid the snow.
It wasn't until the snow started to melt that visitors came to the valley, specifically to find Gu An.
Inside his house, Gu An closed the door, walked to the table, and poured hot tea for the young man already seated.
The young man, wearing the blue robe of the Supreme Sect's outer disciples, looked around the room and asked, "How has the past year and a half been for you?"
Five among those who followed Ji Xiaoyu into the Supreme Sect included Gu An and the young man before him, both house servants.
The young man's name was Du Ye, with four spirit roots qualification. With the help of the Ji Family, he had joined the Supreme Sect's outer sect. After more than a year apart, his entire demeanor had changed.
"It was alright," Gu An responded casually.
Du Ye looked at him, shook his head slightly, and said, "You, you, you insisted on coming here back then. With the influence of the Third Miss and the Ji Family, it wouldn't have been difficult to get you into the Outer Sect. Why come here to suffer, with no hope of cultivation in sight?"
Gu An looked at his own nearly thousand years of life span compared to Du Ye's less than one hundred fifty, and smiled, "My qualifications are mediocre. I'm afraid of death and pain. This quiet place suits me better."
Du Ye chuckled and then criticized him a bit more before finally revealing his purpose: "Young Master Ji Lin plans to establish a presence within the Supreme Sect for the Third Miss and build a network. We need to contribute as well. You should gather medicinal herbs regularly; I will come every six months to collect them. These herbs can be used by Young Master Ji Lin to build connections with other disciples."
"Alright, no problem," Gu An agreed readily. Medicinal herbs weren't particularly important to him anyway.
Seeing Gu An so agreeable, Du Ye smiled.
They chatted for a while longer before Gu An escorted Du Ye to the entrance of the valley, then turned back.
Upon returning to the courtyard, Gu An saw Li Ya waiting for him.
Li Ya approached Gu An, placing a secret book in his hands, "I'm leaving. Take this sword technique as a farewell gift, thanking you for all you've done for me over the past year and a half."