Gu An truly underestimated the activity range of the White Spirit Rat. He followed it for over ten miles, and the rat still didn't stop.
The further he got from Mystic Valley, the less interest he had.
Although he had been to the Outer Sect, that was only on one route.
With Mystic Valley at the center, once he passed a radius of twenty miles, he felt it would be dangerous, even though he was already at the seventh layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm.
Fortunately, the White Spirit Rat did not continue indefinitely. When it was about twenty miles away from Mystic Valley, it stopped.
This was still a mountainous area, with a small stream flowing down from the mountains. The White Spirit Rat stopped at the edge of the stream and began to circle around.
Gu An walked up to it. There were many flowers and plants on both sides of the stream, as well as numerous stones of varying sizes.
He picked up the White Spirit Rat, then swept his right leg across.
Boom—
Grass and debris flew everywhere, and stones scattered all around. Gu An cleared a large area with just one sweep of his leg.
Looking closely, he discovered a square stone slab near the stream.
I'll be damned!
A manhole cover?
Gu An walked over to the stone slab and crouched down. The slab was carved with mysterious patterns he had never seen before, neither in writing nor in pictures.
He could feel a trace of Spiritual Energy leaking from the edges of the stone slab, which perhaps was why the White Spirit Rat had been able to find this place.
In the Foundation Establishment Realm, one already has Divine Sense. Divine Sense is an invisible, intangible force. When Divine Sense reaches out, it is like opening the Heavenly Eye, enabling one to see through objects and spy within.
Gu An seldom used it, but that didn't mean he lacked Divine Sense. In fact, as soon as one reached the seventh layer of the Energy Cultivation Realm, one could begin to cultivate Divine Sense.
He immediately concentrated his Divine Sense in an attempt to penetrate the stone slab and explore the space beneath.
However, as soon as his Divine Sense touched the slab, it was repelled by a mysterious force, causing his body to tremble.
This strong?
Even Divine Sense at the seventh layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm couldn't penetrate its Restriction...
Gu An hesitated. With such a strong Restriction, could there be immense danger beneath?
There were currents of Spiritual Energy inside. Either it was nurturing some kind of heavenly material or treasure, or someone was in seclusion below.
No!
He couldn't be reckless!
He needed to observe for a while first!
Gu An let go of the White Spirit Rat, then moved the surrounding stones and weeds to cover the mysterious stone slab completely. Only after he had thoroughly concealed the slab did he take the White Spirit Rat and turn back to the valley.
The White Spirit Rat squeaked, but he paid it no mind.
Upon his return to Mystic Valley, Gu An did not mention this to anyone, as if he had never left the valley.
In the following nights, in addition to his daily tasks, Gu An would go to the vicinity of the stone slab to observe.
Night after night, there were no signs of the covering materials around the slab being disturbed.
Apart from that, Gu An noticed that Wuxin went into the forest every night, apparently in search of something.
He did not expose Wuxin, as his intuition told him that Wuxin had an extraordinary identity.
A lifespan of over three hundred years at the second layer of the Energy Cultivation Realm suggested that he must be practicing some special Cultivation Technique.
Gu An had once specifically used his Divine Sense to observe Wuxin's cultivation, but could not discern anything exceptional—it seemed just like normal Energy Absorption cultivation.
And so, the scorching summer passed.
Mystic Valley gradually became covered with the yellow of fall, and Gu An cleared seventeen plots of land in the surrounding mountains. The workload increased, requiring Xiaochuan and others to patrol every day.
One evening.
Cheng Xuandan summoned Gu An, signaling with his eyes for him to follow. The master and apprentice walked towards the mountain peak to the north.
Gu An looked at Cheng Xuandan's receding figure with complex emotions.
Cheng Xuandan's lifespan had decreased again; his age matched his remaining life, meaning he was nearing death.
Even though Cheng Xuandan had tricked him, Cheng Xuandan indeed had made considerable sacrifices for him. As a man facing imminent death, he couldn't help feeling sentimental.
He tried to convince himself not to feel sad.
He was pursuing the path of immortal cultivation toward eternal life. He would inevitably experience many more farewells in the future and would eventually get used to them.
Of course, this was provided that he could keep on living.
Wuxin, who was watering plants, saw Gu An and his master's figures and raised an eyebrow.
He silently noted the direction the two were heading, certain that there must be some secrets within that stretch of forest.
As they entered the woods, Cheng Xuandan spoke, "I am taking you to the entrance that leads underground. You cannot tell anyone about this place, including your junior brothers and sisters. Today they may be close to you, but once they leave Medicine Valley and gain experience in the outside world, they will become strangers to you."
Gu An did not argue; he had always been clear on this point.
As long as Xiaochuan and the others didn't abandon their goal of becoming Outer Disciples, their separation was inevitable.
After a moment of hesitation, Gu An asked, "Master, were you originally from Thousand-Autumn Pavilion, or were you chosen by them later?"
Cheng Xuandan's steps were heavier than before. He replied, "My experience is the same as yours. My identity is inherited from my teacher."
Gu An fell silent.
He suddenly felt that Cheng Xuandan was also a pitiable person.
"After doing some work for my master, I couldn't get rid of this identity. But I have no regrets," Cheng Xuandan said.
Hearing his master's words, Gu An wanted to speak but refrained.
He hadn't done anything yet, but could he make it ashore?
Cheng Xuandan began recounting his experiences with his master, who he described as having an unpredictable temperament, sometimes stern and other times capricious, like a child.
In his words, his master was like an old child who never grew up.
They wound their way to the back of the mountain peak, where Cheng Xuandan stopped in front of a moss and vine-covered cliff face.
"Master, is Martial Master dead or alive?" asked Gu An, unable to hold back his question.
He thought of the stone tablet he had been focusing on, which wasn't far from Mystic Valley, and with the Master of Mystic Valley being a spy for the Demon Path, he had reason to suspect that the stone tablet was left by Cheng Xuandan's master.
Cheng Xuandan replied, "He bid farewell and left before passing away in meditation, and your teacher will follow in his footsteps. I'll be leaving tomorrow, and I bequeath all of Medicine Valley to you."
Gu An's brow furrowed, but it wasn't Cheng Xuandan he was considering - it was his master.
Does that mean Cheng Xuandan's master might still be alive?
Cheng Xuandan took out a compass from his sleeve, pushed aside a piece of vine on the cliff face, found a groove, and pressed the compass into it. As he channeled his spiritual power into it, the compass trembled and emitted a faint light.
Gu An could clearly feel Cheng Xuandan's breath growing even weaker.
He couldn't help worrying that Cheng Xuandan might suddenly die right there.
The cliff face began to tremble, but the sound was not loud. Soon, a hole appeared in the cliff, one that Gu An had to lower his head to enter.
Cheng Xuandan said, "Go on in, I'll wait for you outside."
Gu An hesitated and said, "Master, why don't you hand me the compass? After you leave, then I will go in."
Cheng Xuandan smiled, then took off the compass and handed it to Gu An.
A stone door emerged from the hole in the cliff, sealing it off completely again. It was so perfectly aligned that it didn't look like there had been a hole at all.
Cheng Xuandan turned and began to walk down the mountain, with Gu An following him.
"The underground space has its own set of complete formations. In the future, if you wish to plant some spirit grasses and spirit flowers that you don't want others to know about, you may choose to grow them below," Cheng Xuandan said softly, as if making his final arrangements.
Gu An listened attentively, feeling conflicted. He was grateful for Cheng Xuandan's actions, but deep down, he always remained on guard.
He couldn't relax until the very end.
Since Cheng Xuandan was going to die anyway, he could relax after his death.
In the future, Gu An would offer incense to Cheng Xuandan annually, and he would show his respect then.
The descent down the mountain was slow. Cheng Xuandan's voice was faint as he described everything below ground, and Gu An listened carefully. The details were plentiful and didn't sound fabricated.
By the time they reached Medicine Valley, night had already fallen.
Cheng Xuandan's last words to Gu An were, "Life's journey is long. Sometimes being of average talent is a good thing, and you can do what you want to do."
Gu An watched him return to the pavilion. After Cheng Xuandan shut the door, Gu An still stood there, gazing, lost in thought.
After standing still for nearly half an ancient hour, Gu An finally walked to his own courtyard.
The junior brothers were all cultivating in their rooms, and the courtyard was quiet.
That night, Gu An was cultivating the entire time.
Just before dawn, he heard Cheng Xuandan's footsteps. He went to the window and watched Cheng Xuandan descend the stairs.
Cheng Xuandan moved staggeringly and slowly.
He didn't look in Gu An's direction. After descending the stairs, he headed straight for the valley entrance.
Gu An watched his figure vanish at the mouth of the valley but still did not leave the window.
When the sun rose from the eastern mountain, the first rays of the morning sun crept over the mountaintops, casting Gu An's elongated shadow.
When Xiaochuan, Lu Jiujia, Ye Lan, and Wuxin gradually woke up, they all sensed something amiss in Medicine Valley.
They quickly realized what was wrong. Usually, at this time, the senior brother would lead them in their cultivation techniques, and that body-strengthening technique known as "Eaglet Taking Flight" indeed held some profound secrets.
The unwavering Gu An had, surprisingly, not led them in their exercises today.
It wasn't until noon that Gu An appeared and gathered them together to announce that Cheng Xuandan had departed and, starting from today, he was the Master of Medicine Valley.
Xiaochuan and the others were somewhat excited as they asked about Cheng Xuandan's whereabouts. Ever since Li Ya had left, Cheng Xuandan had become gentle, and he was very kind to his disciples, so their impression of him was extremely good.
Only Wuxin was not particularly moved.
After half an ancient hour of commotion, the junior brothers and sister finally dispersed.
Gu An went to the mountain peak, gazing at the direction Cheng Xuandan had left.
It was only after Cheng Xuandan's figure had completely disappeared from view that Gu An went into Cheng Xuandan's room.
Cheng Xuandan's pill furnace was still there, and the table beside it was covered with various items, including a storage bag, letters, numerous keys, and even a jar of spirit flowers.
He picked up the letter and read its simple content:
'My dear disciple, knowing your fondness for harvesting flowers, I leave you with a fifth-order Tiger Blood Flower to pick as a parting gift.'
A smile appeared on Gu An's face as he then picked up the storage bag.
He was most interested in that item.
What cultivator would be without a storage bag?
And so, he began to check the legacy Cheng Xuandan left behind.
It wasn't until evening that Gu An left Cheng Xuandan's pavilion, now with a purple fabric bag at his waist, which was Cheng Xuandan's storage bag.
He headed toward the northern mountain peak, arrived at the cliff where the underground entrance was, and took a compass out of the storage bag, placing it in the groove on the cliff face.
Along with a deep rumble, a hole appeared in front of him.
Gu An took the compass and then ducked his head to enter the hole. After only five steps, the tunnel suddenly expanded, and as he moved forward, the mouth of the tunnel began to close.