After being invited by Gu An, Wuxin didn't say a word until he walked out of the Menial Hall; he just nodded his head from beginning to end.
Gu An doubted whether he had invited a mute.
For Wuxin, becoming a Menial Disciple as soon as possible was the most important thing at the moment, and since he had a good first impression of Gu An, he agreed right away.
The reason he was so eager to become a Menial Disciple was that he was a spy from the Demon Dao.
He came from the Thousand-Autumn Pavilion of the Demon Dao sect, as the youngest son of a Pavilion Master. Because his talent wasn't as good as his brothers', he volunteered to become a spy.
One reason was to escape the oppressive environment at home, and the other was to see if he could accomplish something notable.
If he couldn't, then so be it.
Wuxin looked ahead at Gu An and Cheng Xuan Pill; he had already made a preliminary judgment about the two.
One was a kind, simple ordinary cultivator.
The other was an old man nearing the grave.
From their conversations, it seemed that Medicine Valley was indeed a relaxed place with a good atmosphere.
…
Snow poured down heavily, engulfing Profound Valley in a white haze, where heaven and earth were of one color.
Bang!
Wuxin fell into the snowy ground, the snow splashing on his face. He grimaced in pain and clutched his chest.
"Lu Jiujia! Why are you so serious?" Ye Lan reproached from the side.
Lu Jiujia stood on the snowy ground, slowly retracting his leg. He lifted his chin and huffed, "Sparring should be serious, only that way can we improve."
His cultivation level had reached the Qi Cultivation Realm Fifth Layer, making him the strongest person openly in Medicine Valley. Ye Lan's cultivation level was at the Qi Cultivation Realm Fourth Layer, and Xiaochuan was the same as Gu An, both at the Qi Cultivation Realm Third Layer.
Wuxin, at the Qi Cultivation Realm Second Layer, had no chance of defending against Lu Jiujia.
"Damn… how can a Menial Disciple be so strong…" Wuxin's morale nearly collapsed.
He saw Lu Jiujia practicing leg techniques, so he couldn't help but try, only to be defeated by Lu Jiujia's two kicks.
What he didn't know was that Lu Jiujia had a good senior brother who would take time every day to practice with Lu Jiujia. Lu Jiujia, always fighting with all his might, never won, but day after day, his leg techniques became very refined, and his physical qi power was not small.
Not believing his bad luck, Wuxin thought he had been careless. He stood up and charged at Lu Jiujia again.
Bang! Bang!
Lu Jiujia kicked twice more, once again knocking Wuxin to the ground.
Wuxin felt like his forearm was about to break. At fifteen, he lay in the snow, shedding tears of humiliation.
Why did it have to be like this…
This was not the life of a spy he had imagined. He wasn't traversing mountains of daggers or seas of flames, but if he had to lose, he should have lost while stealing intelligence…
He was actually defeated by an average-looking Menial Disciple.
"If I hadn't practiced this technique… with my talent… how could I endure such humiliation?"
Wuxin clenched his fists tightly, the arguing voices of Ye Lan and Lu Jiujia ringing in his ears, sounding so grating.
Lu Jiujia, facing Ye Lan, complained discontentedly, "He's a boy, not a delicate girl. Leave us alone; don't be biased towards him. When senior brother kicked me to the ground, why didn't you make a peep?"
Ye Lan glared at him and retorted, "What do you mean I didn't make a peep? I spoke up for you, and you yelled at me. And senior brother didn't exert as much effort as you did. Think about it carefully; when senior brother sparred with you, didn't he wait for you to finish all your kicks before gently defeating you? Unlike you, you're being rough, careless. What can Wuxin Learner Brother learn from sparring with you?"
Upon hearing this, Lu Jiujia's discontented expression changed. He recalled carefully, and it seemed to be true.
It was precisely because he gave his all every time that he had more ideas.
Getting beaten one-sidedly indeed teaches nothing…
Lu Jiujia couldn't help feeling ashamed, and he felt even more grateful to Gu An.
Senior brother was truly too good to him.
Ye Lan helped Wuxin up and seeing his reddened eyes, she hurriedly consoled, "Don't mind him; he means well, wanting to seriously spar with you to progress together. It's just that he likes to be earnest."
Seeing Wuxin's red eyes, Lu Jiujia felt awkward and scratched his head.
"Jiujia, I see your leg technique has improved. Come practice."
A gentle voice came from behind, and Lu Jiujia turned to see Gu An approaching with a spring-like smile.
Upon hearing this, Lu Jiujia immediately nodded eagerly; he had recently become overconfident, feeling that he could beat senior brother.
Ye Lan and Wuxin looked towards Gu An, Wuxin secretly wondering if this senior brother was really as formidable as he seemed.
Could he defeat Lu Jiujia who was two levels above him?
Gu An stopped, motioned Lu Jiujia over, who chuckled and swiftly advanced towards him.
Bang!
Lu Jiujia was sent flying ten meters, creating a long trench in the snow.
His eyes seeing stars, he almost passed out, feeling as if his organs were shifting and experiencing extreme pain.
Wuxin was stunned.
Such a fast leg!
He hadn't even seen how Gu An had kicked.
Meanwhile, Ye Lan was all smiles as she quickly approached Gu An, praising how his leg technique was getting faster.
Gu An rubbed her head and then looked at Wuxin, asking, "Wuxin, do you want to learn leg techniques in the future?"
Wuxin's lifespan potential was higher than others, marking him as a talent that shouldn't be wasted by Lu Jiujia's rough kicks.
"Yes!" Wuxin responded, his tone firm and strong, unlike his usual timidity.
Lu Jiujia began to wail in the distance, attracting Gu An's attention.
Gu An walked over to him, looked down at him, and snorted, "Stop pretending, Senior Brother is asking you, do you like this kind of sparring?"
Lu Jiujia lay on the ground, slightly turned to the side, and glanced at Gu An with one eye. Seeing his serious expression, he covered his eyes again and said in pain, "Senior Brother, I was wrong…"
Gu An pulled him up and helped pat the snow off his body while speaking softly, "A true strong person is not someone who defeats those stronger than himself, but someone who can control his own arrogant heart and not bully those weaker than himself."
Lu Jiujia rubbed his chest and seriously pondered Gu An's words.
Ye Lan and Wuxin also heard this, especially Wuxin, whose mind was stirred. He had not expected that such a master was hidden in the small Medicine Valley.
At Thousand-Autumn Pavilion, bullying the weak was the norm; he was weak, and even his father and brothers bullied him.
That's right!
They were not true strong people at all!
Wuxin thought to himself, and his look towards Gu An changed.
"Let's start with you teaching Wuxin how to train his legs," Gu An said while patting Lu Jiujia's shoulder, and Lu Jiujia quickly nodded, not daring to refuse.
Afterward, Gu An took Ye Lan up the mountain to check on the seeds they had just planted, while Xiaochuan stayed on the mountain.
As for the Cheng Xuan Pill, after returning, he locked himself in his room and didn't come out. Gu An had visited him once, and he said he was recuperating. Since then, Gu An did not dare to disturb him.
Days passed, one by one, and Wuxin's joining made Medicine Valley more lively. Lu Jiujia and Xiaochuan loved to tease him, and their laughter could be heard from time to time within Medicine Valley.
Year-end.
Night fell.
Gu An was reading in his room, no longer the Green Hero Travelogue but another book called Thousand-Autumn Pavilion Secret History.
This book came from the Library Pavilion of Medicine Valley; its authenticity was unknown, but he read it for enjoyment anyway.
The candlelight flickered slightly, and wisps of cold air seeped through the window gaps. Gu An, now at the sixth layer of Foundation Establishment Realm, was unmoved.
When he finished the page, he put down the book, ready to stand up and go about his daily routine.
Suddenly, he heard a slight movement from the neighboring room, someone walking out of the room door, their movements very light, but not escaping his ears.
It was Wuxin!
Gu An was very familiar with the aura of everyone in Medicine Valley and immediately recognized the person's identity.
He silently listened to Wuxin's footsteps as Wuxin headed towards the Library Pavilion. After entering the building, the lad started browsing through the books.
"What is he looking for?" Gu An wondered with curiosity.
In his impression, Wuxin was very honest; he would seriously do whatever Gu An assigned, unlike Lu Jiujia, who would occasionally slack off.
Besides being honest, Wuxin also had a competitive heart second only to Lu Jiujia's. He would occasionally challenge his two senior brothers, losing repeatedly, but continued to challenge nonetheless.
Could this lad be looking for a secret manual?
Gu An thought, feeling a bit sorry for his junior brother.
Starting tomorrow, he decided to personally teach his junior brother.
Wuxin searched for about half an hour and then quietly returned to his own room.
A while later, Gu An got up and quietly left his room, intending to go to the mountains several miles away for his daily routine.
…
Another summer arrived.
Gu An turned twenty-two, and his life span had now exceeded four thousand years; he planned to save it up until ten thousand years old before using it.
Half a year passed, and through his daily plans, his cultivation level had successfully broken through to the seventh layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm, but his apparent cultivation level remained at the Qi Cultivation Realm Third Layer.
As time went by, Gu An grew more curious about the seventh-tier Spirit Tree that Cheng Xuan Pill had mentioned. He had even tried searching for it, but could never find the entrance leading underground.
Wuxin also occasionally ventured out at night to explore. One time, the two almost ran into each other, but fortunately, Gu An's excellent hearing allowed him to detect it in advance.
Near noon, Gu An squatted under a tree, observing his White Spirit Rat.
The White Spirit Rat was spinning circles wildly in front of him, very lively.
"Has it grown? But spring has clearly passed..." Gu An thought, puzzled.
He had been raising the White Spirit Rat for several years, and its size had not changed. With Li Ya gone, he couldn't determine the White Spirit Rat's growth stage.
The little creature seemed to understand Gu An's words, suddenly jumped up, nipped Gu An's hand, then swiftly ran away.
Gu An didn't feel any pain, so he wasn't angry either. His gaze followed, and he saw the White Spirit Rat stop and start spinning wildly in the same spot again.
Wait!
Could it be...
Gu An thought of something and quickly stood up, moving towards the White Spirit Rat.
Seeing him coming, the White Spirit Rat no longer dallied and ran towards the forest, with both person and rat soon disappearing into the woods.
Wuxin stood under the tree, watching the direction Gu An had gone. He frowned and thought, "The forest again, Lu Jiujia said that the previous Li Ya and Meng Lang both liked to practice alone in the forest, and the leg techniques of our eldest senior brother far surpass his cultivation realm. Could there be some mystery in the forest?"
The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed; he did not chase after Gu An but planned to check it out quietly at night.
On the other side.
Gu An followed the White Spirit Rat across mountains and valleys, eventually leaving Medicine Valley.
Good lord, did this creature usually roam so far?
Gu An realized he had underestimated the White Spirit Rat and grew even more curious about where the White Spirit Rat would take him.
Li Ya had mentioned before that the White Spirit Rat was known as a Treasure-Seeking Rat.
Could it have already found the seventh-tier Spirit Tree?