After the cave entrance was completely closed, Gu An continued to walk along the cave passage.
With the divine sense of the seventh layer in the Foundation Establishment Realm, Gu An walked as if it were broad daylight, without any obstacles, and the further he went, the wider the passage became, seemingly endless.
Gu An became even more curious about Cheng Xuandan's master, just what kind of extraordinary person could construct such a vast underground passage?
The passage twisted downward, and after traveling for dozens of miles, Gu An still hadn't reached the end.
He was now certain that the place beneath the stone slab was connected to this underground passage.
A gust of Spirit Wind blew from the front of the passage, hitting Gu An's face, making him feel refreshed.
Light began to appear in the passage ahead, and he saw that the walls were embedded with crystals of various colors. Gu An carefully sensed them and found they were not Spirit Stones, which disappointed him greatly.
If they had all been Spirit Stones, he would have struck it rich!
Thinking this, Gu An continued forward.
He remained highly alert the entire time. Although Cheng Xuandan had always treated him well in the end, he dared not let his guard down, remembering Cheng Xuandan's tricks with Meng Lang.
What if Cheng Xuandan was acting?
After walking several more miles, Gu An saw that the passage ahead became very bright, and he heard the sound of water.
He had reached the cave entrance!
Gu An cautiously made his way over. As he arrived at the entrance and looked into the underground space ahead, his eyes widened.
"I really hit the jackpot..."
Gu An murmured to himself, his eyes showing a look of astonishment.
Following his gaze, he saw a vast underground space ahead, several times larger than Mystic Valley, over a hundred square meters from the ground to the ceiling. A giant tree, more than a hundred meters high, stood in the middle. The trunk needed more than a dozen people to embrace, and though its branches and leaves were not many, it bore lantern-like fruits that were crystal clear and emitted a blue glow.
Below the tree was a lush meadow, with a two-meter-wide underground river flowing beside it, just at the edge of the underground space, near the mountain wall.
[Green Vine Tree (Seventh Order): 245/9999/87600]
87,000 years of maximum lifespan!
Nearly ten thousand years of current lifespan!
Seeing this information, Gu An felt an impulse to uproot the tree, but he restrained himself.
According to Cheng Xuandan, this seventh-order Spirit Tree was the key to the underground formation. It managed the entire formation, allowing other rare herbs and treasures to grow freely. The spiritual energy gathered from these treasures would then activate the formation, replenishing the seventh-order Spirit Tree.
Uprooting the Green Vine Tree would mean losing a highly potent plantation field.
Furthermore, this place could serve as his cave. The formation set up by Cheng Xuandan's master was extremely diverse, and cultivating and breaking through here would not draw attention.
Gu An glanced around and saw that the cave walls in every direction were embedded with unique stone statues, dozens of them, with special runes in between, mysterious and profound.
He stepped out of the cave entrance and immediately noticed a stele standing nearby, with four words engraved on it:
Eight Scenic Caves!
After a glance, Gu An continued walking into the cave.
The entire way, he frantically used Life Span Detection.
Everywhere he looked, there were third and fourth-order Spirit Grass and Spirit Flowers. The closer he got to the Green Vine Tree, the higher the rank of the herbs, dazzling his eyes.
With such a large treasury hidden away, Cheng Xuandan still couldn't establish his foundation?
Gu An didn't know whether to feel sorry for Cheng Xuandan's poor aptitude or for his insufficient alchemy skills.
Even if his alchemy skills were lacking, he could sell some herbs to get Spirit Stones or ask the alchemists of the Supreme Sect for help.
In Gu An's view, in a sect like the Supreme Sect, it shouldn't be difficult to create a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator with enough resources.
Of course, there was another possibility: Cheng Xuandan was afraid of revealing his identity.
Gu An walked to the Green Vine Tree and stood beneath it, feeling the majestic and vibrant aura of the tree.
He circled the Green Vine Tree and noticed that the Eight Scenic Caves had not just one entrance but eight.
He suspected that one of these entrances connected to the stone slab he had previously discovered.
For the time being, he had no intention of exploring the other entrances. He turned around and took out the Hundred Herbs Collection from his Storage Bag, starting to compare it herb by herb.
If any were mature, he would harvest them directly!
The harvested herbs could be taken to the Outer Sect to exchange for more high-rank seeds, ensuring continuous development!
The thought excited Gu An.
An hour flew by, and Gu An had already harvested over 130 third-order medicinal herbs, crazily collecting more than 900 years of life span, pushing his total to over 5,000 years.
This demonic cultivator identity was worth it!
Gu An felt exhilarated. There were so many medicinal herbs in the Eight Scenic Caves, and he had only harvested a tenth of them, and those were the lowest-grade herbs.
From now on, this would be his cave, his secret base!
Just as Gu An was about to bend down to pick another herb, he suddenly heard a noise. He immediately turned around, his gaze fixed on a distant entrance.
The entrance was pitch black, looking eerie and terrifying.
Gu An moved to the side.
Not all the grass on the ground was medicinal herbs; there were also ordinary weeds. He suspected a battle was about to occur, so he needed to move to avoid damaging his herbs.
Those were his life!
Gu An walked toward the underground river, his eyes continuously fixed on the entrance.
Soon, footsteps and heavy breathing emanated from the entrance, as if a wild beast were about to charge out.
A foot stepped out of the darkness. When Gu An fully saw the newcomer's true appearance, he frowned.
It was Meng Lang!
At this moment, Meng Lang looked disheveled, his clothes tattered, his feet bare, and his neck covered with blood veins. His face was red, as if scalded, his eyes filled with blood, and he exhaled white breaths.
"Roar——"
Meng Lang roared at Gu An and lunged at him.
His speed was extremely fast, closing the distance between him and Gu An.
Gu An advanced instead of retreating, stepping forward to meet him.
The distance between them rapidly shortened, and grass clippings flew everywhere along the way.
Meng Lang leapt, trying to pounce on Gu An. Gu An sidestepped, ramming his knee into Meng Lang's abdomen, sending him flying back.
Gu An frowned even more tightly. His right leg felt slightly numb.
Goodness!
How did Meng Lang become so tough?
Gu An felt that even the Demon of Greed wasn't as tough. Although he hadn't used his full strength or any spiritual power, he could make a rough judgment.
He had held back to see if Meng Lang could still be saved.
He shook his right leg and charged at Meng Lang again.
Meng Lang fell onto the grass, seemingly unaware of pain, immediately getting up to pounce on Gu An again.
Gu An planted his right foot, forcing his body to stop abruptly. His left leg followed, and spiritual power flowed into it as he performed the Gale Shadowless Leg.
Gusts of wind rose from the ground, and leg shadows continuously landed on Meng Lang, sending him flying once more. After landing, he rolled for a dozen meters before coming to a stop.
His limbs showed obvious signs of distortion. He tried to get up, but the next second he fell again, his forehead hitting the grass heavily.
Gu An withdrew his leg, a curious look appearing on his face.
Could the effects of Cheng Xuandan's Poison Skill be this powerful?
Meng Lang had only reached the first order but had such a formidable physique, comparable to the Demon of Greed!
How could Cheng Xuandan possibly compare to the Great Cultivator behind the Demon of Greed?
Gu An grew more certain that Cheng Xuandan had hidden some things, likely related to his master.
He walked up to Meng Lang and looked down at his demonic, monstrous body, hesitating on how to deal with him.
"He's already dead, so why should I care about his identity in life?"
Gu An's eyes flickered as grass clippings and dust around his feet began to slowly swirl, indicating that he was cultivating energy.
At that moment!
Gu An saw the corner of a book poking out from Meng Lang's chest. He immediately reached out, using spiritual power to pull it through the air, the book flying into his hand swiftly.
"Myriad Poison Mystic Skill..."
Gu An read softly, flipping through it quickly. It was a cultivation technique, but it was incomplete, with the last page showing a clear content break.
Apart from the initial technique of immortal cultivation, it also recorded five kinds of Poison Skills, each with illustrations. After comparing, he finally found the poison technique afflicting Meng Lang.
Flame Corpse Poison!
"The one afflicted, nourished by flame energy, with a body as tough as deep rock and immense strength... No cure, no way to dissolve it, till the body shatters into pieces..."
After finishing reading, Gu An couldn't help but look at Meng Lang, his eyes showing sympathy.
How pitiful.
The Myriad Poison Mystic Skill recorded a method to restrain the Flame Corpse Poison: just cover the seven orifices of the afflicted, preventing the poison worm from consuming spiritual energy, making the poison worm fall into a false death state, unable to act.
He immediately used soil to seal Meng Lang's seven orifices, then stood up and looked at the cave entrance from which Meng Lang had come.
He didn't explore it immediately; instead, he put the Myriad Poison Mystic Skill into his Storage Bag and turned around to continue harvesting herbs.
Even if Cheng Xuandan's master was still alive, since the other didn't act against him, a Qi Cultivation Realm cultivator, they either had no killing intent or couldn't move. In that case, why alert the enemy?
The longer time passed, the more advantageous it was for Gu An.
After an hour.
Satisfied, Gu An left the Eight Scenic Caves. His lifespan had reached an astonishing 7,000 years!
He had harvested all the third-order medicinal herbs he could. Next, he would plant new seeds. When the new seeds matured, many years would have passed again.
After the third-order herbs, it would be time to harvest the fourth-order ones!
To prevent the ecological damage of the formation, Gu An didn't harvest all the mature medicinal herbs at once. He collected some and planted some, ensuring continuous and effective sustainable development!
Moreover, medicinal herbs, even if mature, could be left to grow. The longer they lived, the more lifespan he could take from them. Naturally, there was a critical point among this, and Gu An was still observing it.
...
Early the next morning, the new master of Mystic Valley, Gu An, stepped out of his room and immediately urged his junior brothers to come out.
After hearing Xiaochuan's response, he walked toward Ye Lan's courtyard.
"Junior sister, time to come out," Gu An called.
"Okay, senior brother." Ye Lan responded quickly, more active than the junior brothers.
Soon, everyone stood before Gu An.
Gu An glanced at them and smiled, "Congratulations, you are going to be uncles. I will recruit new servant disciples who will be my disciples and your nephews."
At these words, everyone became excited, talking about the future. No one mentioned Cheng Xuandan; it was not because they were heartless, but because they had agreed privately not to mention Cheng Xuandan for the next month.
Gu An offered some encouragement, then began to lead his junior brothers and sisters in morning exercises to stretch their muscles. Afterward, he would go to the Eight Scenic Caves to plant flowers and herbs.
Life was about to get busy!