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

Chapter 17 Taking on the Role of Valley Master
Gu An had indeed underestimated the White Spirit Rat's range of activity. He followed the White Spirit Rat for more than ten miles, but the White Spirit Rat still did not stop.

The farther he got from Xuan Valley, the less interested he became.

Although he had been to the outer gate, that was just one route.

He felt there was danger within a radius of twenty miles centered on Xuan Valley, even though he was already at the seventh level of the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Fortunately, the white spirit rat did not continue walking. It stopped when it was about twenty miles away from Xuan Valley.

It was still a mountain range, with a stream flowing down from the mountains. The white mouse stopped by the stream and began to circle.

Gu An walked over. There were many flowers and plants on both sides of the stream, as well as many stones of different sizes.

He grabbed the white rat and then swung his right leg across.

boom--

Grass clippings flew everywhere, and stones scattered in all directions. Gu An simply swept his leg across the area, clearing a large open space.

He looked closely and saw a square stone slab by the stream.

Good guy!
Manhole cover?

Gu An walked to the stone slab and squatted down. The stone slab was carved with mysterious patterns, neither of which he had ever seen before, whether it was text or pictures.

He could sense a trace of spiritual energy leaking out from the edge of the stone slab; perhaps this was why the White Spirit Rat was able to find this place.

The Foundation Establishment Realm already possesses divine sense, which is an invisible and intangible power. When divine sense is extended, it is like opening a third eye, allowing one to see through objects.

Gu An rarely uses it, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have divine sense. In fact, one can cultivate divine sense once they reach the seventh level of Qi Refining.

He immediately focused his divine sense, trying to penetrate the stone slab and peer into the space below.

However, the moment his consciousness touched the stone slab, it was repelled by a mysterious force, causing his body to tremble.

So strong?
Even the divine sense of a seventh-level Foundation Establishment cultivator couldn't penetrate its restriction...

Gu An hesitated. Could there be a great danger hidden beneath such a powerful restriction?
There is a surge of spiritual energy inside, which means either some kind of rare and precious material is being nurtured, or someone is in seclusion down there.

No!

Don't be reckless!

Let's observe for a while first!
Gu An released the white spirit rat, then moved the surrounding stones and weeds to cover the mysterious stone slab. Only after completely concealing the stone slab did he catch the white spirit rat and turn back to the valley.

The white mouse squeaked, but he ignored it.

After returning to Xuan Valley, Gu An did not mention the matter to anyone, as if he had never left the valley.

In the evenings that followed, in addition to carrying out his daily tasks, Gu An would also go to the vicinity of the stone slab to observe it.

Night after night, there was no sign that the coverings around the stone slabs had been moved.

In addition, Gu An discovered that Wu Xin would go to the mountains and forests every night, searching for something.

He didn't expose Wuxin; his intuition told him that Wuxin's identity was not simple.

To have a lifespan of over three hundred years at the second level of Qi Refining, one must have cultivated some kind of extraordinary skill.

Gu An had used his divine sense to observe the Enlightenment Cultivation, but he couldn't figure it out. It looked just like normal Qi Absorption Cultivation.

And so, the sweltering summer passed.

As Xuan Valley gradually became covered in a pale yellow color, Gu An opened up seventeen plots of land in the surrounding mountains and forests. As the workload increased, Xiao Chuan and the others had to patrol the area every day.

That evening.

Cheng Xuandan found Gu An and gestured for him to follow. The master and disciple headed towards the northern mountain peak.

Gu An watched Cheng Xuandan's retreating figure, his feelings somewhat complicated.

Cheng Xuandan's lifespan has decreased again, and his current age is the same as his lifespan, which means that he is about to die.

Although he was tricked by Cheng Xuandan, Cheng Xuandan had indeed done a lot for him, and as he was about to die, he couldn't help but feel sad.

He tried to convince himself not to be sad.

He pursues the path of immortality and cultivation, and he will experience many separations and deaths in the future, but he will get used to it sooner or later.

Of course, this is all predicated on him being able to live on.

Wu Xin, who was watering the plants, saw Gu An and the other person and raised his eyebrows.

He silently noted down the direction the two had gone; there must be some mystery in that mountain forest.

After entering the forest, Cheng Xuandan said, "I will take you to the entrance to the underground. You must not tell anyone else about this place, including your junior brothers and sisters. They may be close to you today, but once they leave Medicine Valley and go out to train, they will become strangers to you."

Gu An did not refute this; he had always been well aware of it.

As long as Xiaochuan and the others do not give up their goal of becoming outer disciples, they will part ways sooner or later.

Gu An hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Master, were you a member of Qianqiu Pavilion from the beginning, or were you selected by Qianqiu Pavilion later?"

Cheng Xuandan's steps were heavier than before. He replied, "My experience is the same as yours; my identity is that of a master."

Gu An remained silent.

He suddenly felt that Cheng Xuandan was also a pitiful person.

"After I helped Master with some things, I couldn't shake off this identity, but I don't regret it."

Upon hearing his master's words, Gu An hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

He hasn't done anything yet, is it possible for him to get ashore?
Cheng Xuandan began to recount his experiences with his master. In his words, his master had an eccentric temper, sometimes strict and sometimes unruly, like a child.

In his words, his master was like an old child who never grew up. They circled around to the back of the mountain, where Cheng Xuandan stopped in front of a cliff face covered with moss and vines.

"Master, is our grandmaster alive or dead?" Gu An couldn't help but ask.

He thought of the stone slab he had been keeping an eye on. The stone slab was not far from Xuan Valley, and the master of Xuan Valley was a spy of the demonic path. He had reason to suspect that the stone slab was left behind by Cheng Xuandan's master.

Cheng Xuandan replied, "He took his leave before passing away, and I will follow his example. I will be leaving tomorrow, and I will entrust everything in this Medicine Valley to you."

Gu An frowned; he wasn't thinking about Cheng Xuandan, but about her master.

In other words, Cheng Xuandan's master might still be alive?

Cheng Xuandan took out a compass from his sleeve. He pushed aside a patch of grass and vines on the mountain wall, found a groove, and then pressed the compass into the groove. As he poured his spiritual power into it, the compass began to tremble and emit a faint light.

Gu An could clearly sense that Cheng Xuandan's aura had become even weaker.

He couldn't help but worry that Cheng Xuandan might suddenly die here.

The mountain wall began to tremble, though the sound wasn't loud. Soon, an opening appeared in the mountain wall, and Gu An had to duck to enter.

Cheng Xuandan said, "Go inside, your master will wait for you outside."

Gu An hesitated and said, "Master, please give me the compass. I'll go in after you leave."

Cheng Xuandan smiled, then took the compass down and handed it to Gu An.

A stone door emerged from the cave entrance in the mountain wall, sealing the entrance again. It was perfectly sealed and looked completely intact, not at all like there was a cave entrance.

Cheng Xuandan turned and walked down the mountain, with Gu An following behind.

"The underground space has its own complete array. If you want to plant some spiritual herbs and flowers that you don't want others to know about, you can choose to go down here," Cheng Xuandan said softly, as if giving his last instructions.

Gu An listened attentively, feeling conflicted. He was grateful for Cheng Xuandan's actions, but a sense of unease remained.

We cannot let our guard down until the very end.

Anyway, Cheng Xuandan is going to die soon, so we can relax our guard after he dies.

Gu An would offer incense to Cheng Xuandan every year thereafter, and then he would show him respect.

The descent was slow, and Cheng Xuandan's voice was soft as she recounted everything that had happened underground. Gu An listened attentively; the details were so vivid and believable.

By the time they reached the Valley of Medicine, it was already dark.

Cheng Xuandan said her last words to Gu An: "Life is a long journey. Sometimes being mediocre is a good thing. You can do what you want to do."

Gu An watched him walk back to the attic. After he closed the door, Gu An still stood there watching, lost in thought.

After standing there for about half an hour, Gu An finally walked towards his courtyard.

The junior disciples were cultivating in their respective rooms, and the courtyard was very quiet.

Gu An spent the entire night cultivating.

As dawn approached, he heard Cheng Xuandan's footsteps. He went to the window and watched Cheng Xuandan come downstairs.

Cheng Xuandan walked slowly with a limp.

He didn't look in Gu An's direction; after going downstairs, he walked directly towards the entrance of the valley.

Even after Gu An watched his figure disappear into the valley, he did not leave the window.

As the sun rises over the eastern mountains, the first rays of morning light sweep across the mountaintops and fall upon Gu An, elongating his shadow.

After Xiao Chuan, Lu Jiujia, Ye Lan, and Wu Xin woke up one after another, they all sensed that something was wrong with the atmosphere in the Medicine Valley.

They quickly realized something was wrong. Usually at this time, their senior brother would lead them in practicing their skills. The body-tempering technique called "Eagle Takes Flight" was indeed quite profound.

Gu An, who never misses a workout, didn't lead them in exercises today.

It wasn't until noon that Gu An appeared and gathered them together, announcing that Cheng Xuandan had left and that from this day forward, he would be the master of Medicine Valley.

Xiao Chuan and the other two were quite excited and pressed Cheng Xuandan for directions. Since Li Ya left, Cheng Xuandan had become gentle and treated his disciples very well, so his disciples had a very good impression of him.

The only thing I didn't deeply understand was the enlightenment.

After half an hour of commotion, the junior brothers and sisters finally dispersed.

Gu An arrived at the mountaintop and gazed into the distance in the direction Cheng Xuandan had left.

Only after he could no longer see Cheng Xuandan did he enter Cheng Xuandan's room.

Cheng Xuandan's alchemy furnace was still there, and there were many things on the table next to it, including storage bags, letters, many keys, and even a pot of spiritual flowers.

He picked up the letter and read it; the contents were very simple:
"I only know that you love picking flowers and herbs. Before I leave, I'm leaving you a fifth-tier Tiger Blood Flower to pick as a farewell gift."

Gu An smiled and then picked up the storage bag.

He was most interested in this thing.

How can a cultivator not have a storage bag?

And so he began to examine the legacy left by Cheng Xuandan.

It wasn't until evening that Gu An left Cheng Xuandan's pavilion. He had a purple cloth bag hanging from his waist, which was Cheng Xuandan's storage bag.

He walked towards the northern mountain peak, and came to the mountain wall where the underground entrance was located. He took out a compass from his storage bag and pressed it into the groove on the mountain wall.

With a deep rumble, a cave entrance appeared before him.

Gu An took down the compass, then lowered his head and walked into the cave. After only five steps, the cave passage suddenly widened, and at the same time, the cave entrance began to close.

Gu An's life as the Valley Master is about to begin!
Gu An: Fellow Daoists, this is my first day as Valley Master. Could you please cast your votes to support me as the person in charge?
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(End of this chapter)