If I become a saint, a celestial official will summon me to raise horses.

Chapter 52 Internal Strife, The Third Medicine Valley

Winter is gone and spring is coming; another New Year is just around the corner.

Xuan Valley welcomes the Spring Festival, and the disciples are busy preparing. Gu An, on the other hand, is carrying the White Spirit Mouse and inspecting the various areas.

The white mouse seemed to enjoy being held by him, its eyes closed as if it were asleep.

A whooshing sound came from the horizon. Gu An turned his head and smiled.

Ye Lan is back.

She quickly landed beside Gu An, put the flying sword into her storage bag, and smiled sweetly, "Senior brother, I'm back for the festival. You won't be unwelcome, will you?"

Gu An looked at her and asked with a smile, "Isn't the Enforcement Hall busy?"

"Even when you're busy, you can always find a few days. Appropriate relaxation is more conducive to cultivation. This is what you said, senior brother, and I have always kept it in mind."

Ye Lan blinked and said in a playful tone.

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Ye Lan pulled Gu An toward the attic, saying as they walked, "Senior brother, let's go to your room first, I'll show you the treasure."

baby?

Gu An threw the white spirit rat on the ground and then followed Ye Lan.

The two walked up to the attic. After entering the house, Ye Lan did not close the door, which relieved Gu An.

Ye Lan walked to the table, took out a brocade box from her storage bag, turned to look at Gu An, and said with a smug smile, "Senior brother, this is a Foundation Establishment congratulatory gift that I specially prepared for you."

"Why bother? I didn't give you any gifts when you established your foundation."

"Without my senior brother's Foundation Establishment Pill, how could I possibly establish my foundation? I'm not one of those geniuses who can forcibly establish their foundation based solely on their own spiritual roots and aptitude," Ye Lan said with a shake of her head and a smile.

Upon hearing this, Gu An stopped refusing and walked to her side, looking at the brocade box with curiosity.

Ye Lan opened the brocade box, and inside was a grass root, which looked like the root of a ginseng plant. If one did not carefully sense it, it would be difficult to detect the faint fluctuations of spiritual energy inside.

[Human-faced Tree (Revival Status): 0/600/22000]

A lifespan of 22,000 years?

Gu An raised an eyebrow; it was the first time he had ever seen the words "recovery status".

Ye Lan explained, "These are the roots of a sixth-order spirit tree. Once buried in the soil for several years, they can regrow and enhance the spiritual energy of the surrounding area."

Gu An asked curiously, "Where did you get such a valuable treasure?"

Ye Lan blinked and said, "Some time ago, when we were capturing spies from the demonic path, I found this in the cave of a spy from the Thousand Autumns Pavilion, but I didn't hand it over."

"Isn't this... bad?"

"Don't worry, the other disciples of the Enforcement Hall will also leave something behind. The higher-ups have tacitly approved it, as long as they don't take too much and no one knows about this treasure."

Upon hearing this, Gu An felt less burdened. He thought for a moment and said, "If you need any medicinal herbs, just let me know anytime. I'll have a second herb valley soon, and we can help each other out from now on."

Ye Lan smiled and said, "Okay, I'll go find the others first. I even brought them gifts."

Gu An nodded, and Ye Lan left immediately.

He looked at the brocade box on the table, wondering where to plant it.

After much deliberation, he decided to reserve the third medicinal valley. The new medicinal valley needed to enhance its spiritual energy, and the more abundant the spiritual energy, the faster the herbs would grow.

Xuan Valley already has its own rules and doesn't need spirit trees. Tianya Valley is even less of a problem, so why would it need to dig out its own seeds?
Tianya Valley is Li Xuandao's medicine valley. He only has management rights. If he has any needs in Tianya Valley, he can ask Li Xuandao for them.

Afterwards, Gu An put the brocade box into his storage bag, then walked to his desk, picked up his brush and ink, and began to write on the paper.

Ye Lan's arrival made the atmosphere in Xuan Gu even better.

As night fell, various Spring Festival activities began, creating a lively atmosphere. After everyone was seated and started drinking, Zhen Qin asked Ye Lan to tell them about the experiences of outer disciples on missions, and Ye Lan did not refuse.

In addition to guarding the outer sect, the disciples of the Enforcement Hall also have to go out to train, and Ye Lan is no exception.

"At the time, our mission was to exorcise evil spirits. We went to a mountain town where nearly a thousand households had been wiped out in just a few days. To prevent the evil spirits from continuing to harm the people, the local government requested assistance from the Tai Xuan Sect. There were seven of us in total..."

Ye Lan vividly recounted her experience at the time. It happened to be evening, and the disciples listened with great tension, especially the female disciples who huddled together in a tight embrace.

Seeing the little girl who used to follow him around so closely now standing on her own, Gu An's smile never faded.

When Ye Lan talked about ghosts and monsters, all the disciples' hearts were in their throats, and even Xiao Chuan, Wu Xin, and Su Han were very nervous.

The disciples didn't disperse until late at night.

Ye Lan followed Gu An back to the attic. Gu An took out the manual he had written and handed it to her, saying, "This is a leg technique manual that I found in the inner sect before. You can practice it when you have time."

Whirlwind Shadowless Kick!
Ye Lan took the manual, but instead of opening it, she put it into her storage bag. She looked at Gu An and said, "Senior brother, you'd better be careful if you encounter Lu Jiujia in the future."

"What's wrong with him?" Gu An asked, puzzled.

Ye Lan sighed and said, "Didn't we say before that there is internal strife within the Tai Xuan Sect, with elders who oppose the sect leader secretly recruiting disciples? Lu Jiujia has taken an elder from the outer sect's elder hall as his master, and that elder is working for the sect leader's enemy. If this continues, a major upheaval will inevitably erupt within the Tai Xuan Sect sooner or later. If the sect leader can have the last laugh, he will definitely purge the rebellious disciples, and Lu Jiujia will certainly not escape."

“I tried to persuade him before, but he wouldn’t listen. He said that the path of cultivation is one of struggle, and it’s better to take a chance than to live a mediocre life. His choice is actually not wrong. I’m just worried that if you get too close to him, you will be implicated by him later. He probably thinks the same way, which is why he didn’t return to Xuan Valley.”

After hearing this, Gu An fell silent.

He couldn't interfere with Lu Jiujia's choice, because Lu Jiujia was right; cultivating immortality required competition. The reason he didn't compete was because he could seize lifespans, so he had no right to instruct others on how to cultivate immortality.

Ye Lan started talking about other things, focusing on the outer sect. The internal struggles of the Tai Xuan Sect even involved the Ji family and members of the royal family, which Gu An listened to with great interest.

It wasn't until early morning that Gu An saw Ye Lan off.

The two chatted all night and were still full of energy.

Before leaving, Gu An reminded her not to forget to practice the Gale Shadow Kick. Ye Lan nodded, but her eyes held a hint of resentment.

After she left, Gu An instructed his disciples to practice their exercises.

……

On a sweltering summer day, Gu An, who was thirty-five years old, stood by the window, gazing at the sky with a slight frown.

He was waiting for Gu Yu.

The six-month period has passed, why hasn't it arrived yet?
Gu An was eagerly anticipating his third medicinal valley. He had already prepared the seeds and was just waiting to plant them.

Nothing will happen, right?

Gu An was worried. Last month, when he went to the outer sect, he clearly felt that something was wrong. There was a group of disciples dressed in black in the city. It was said that they were a hall established by the new outer sect elder, called the Demon Extermination Hall.

The Demon Extermination Hall is directly under the control of the Grand Elder. The lowest cultivation level for disciples entering the hall is the fifth level of the Foundation Establishment Realm, and their treatment surpasses that of other halls.

The Tai Xuan Sect has eight outer gates. If the outer gates are like this, what about the inner gates and the sect's main city? Such a struggle will inevitably affect the ancient sect.

Ugh!
So annoying!
It's ruining my ability to decide what to buy!
Gu An suddenly felt like punching those troublemakers to death.

Just then, he suddenly sensed something, and his gloomy face instantly broke into a smile.

Here he comes!

Gu An sensed Gu Yu's presence, but he tried to calm himself down and did not go downstairs.

After a long while, Gu Yu finally landed in the Xuan Valley.

"Gu An!"

Gu Yu shouted loudly, immediately attracting the attention of the disciples in the valley.

Gu An pushed open the door, looked at Gu Yu, and said, "Brother Gu, come up and talk to me."

Gu Yu tossed the compass in his hand into his storage bag and then went upstairs.

After entering the room, Gu An closed the door and poured him tea. Gu Yu did not sit down, but instead browsed the bookshelf next to him, seemingly looking for something.

"I haven't written the final volume of Investiture of the Gods yet," Gu An said.

Upon hearing this, Gu Yu was immediately disappointed. He turned around, sat down at the table, took out books one by one from his storage bag, and finally took out a token.

"This is your Valley Master's Decree. Your Medicine Valley is located between the outer and inner sects, less than a hundred miles from the outer sect city. For someone at the Foundation Establishment stage like you, traveling back and forth is not a hassle. These books are my father's casual notes on his life experiences. You can refer to them. My father said that they don't necessarily have to be written according to the facts. You can modify them appropriately, or even create a fictional story based on his experiences."

Gu Yu explained, and as he spoke, his expression became quite playful, and he gave Gu An a meaningful look.

Gu An placed the teacup in front of him and picked up the Valley Master's token. Unlike the bronze token of Xuan Valley, this token was silver-white and contained several layers of restrictions.

"I'll take you to the Medicine Valley later. If you get lost afterward, just probe your spiritual sense into the token, and it will guide you," Gu Yu said, taking a sip of tea.

Gu An nodded; he couldn't wait to see his new medicine valley.

Gu Yu seemed to remember something and said, "Right, when you write about me, include Zhou Tongyou. Write that he is the strongest genius of the younger generation in the cultivation world, but he especially admires me and follows my lead."

Gu An's face twitched, and he said, "This isn't a good idea. I'm afraid writing it like this will cause me trouble."

"Tell me what you want, and I'll give it to you."

"It's not about the price."

"One hundred high-grade spirit stones!"

"If he sees this, he'll definitely investigate me..."

"One thousand high-grade spirit stones—that's all I have left!"

"How about a homophone?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Yu raised an eyebrow and said, "Okay, but only one word can be changed."

"it is good!"

Gu An agreed, but he wouldn't slander Zhou Tongyou in the book. He considered making the two brothers love-hate each other, so that neither would offend the other.

He could tell that Gu Yu had no hostility towards Zhou Tongyou; otherwise, he wouldn't have taken Zhou Tongyou as a subordinate, but rather humiliated him in the book.

It's estimated that Gu Yu is just jealous of Zhou Tongyou. If he could become Zhou Tongyou's brother, and there were some emotionally charged plot twists, Gu Yu would probably be satisfied.

After resting for half an hour, the two immediately set off, flying away from Xuan Valley on their swords.

(End of this chapter)