In Emei, start by obtaining golden attributes.

Chapter 271 Gentleman’s Agreement
Seeing Gu Shaoan's fingers resting on his wrist, Sun Baifa didn't say anything, but just quietly puffed on his pipe.

But deep within those eyes, behind the swirling smoke, a glimmer of hope appeared.

Sun Xiaohong, standing to the side, also stared at Gu Shaoan without moving, her face showing a hint of nervousness.

After a few breaths, Gu Shaoan withdrew his hand.

"Brother Gu, how is my grandfather?" Sun Xiaohong asked.

Gu Shaoan withdrew his hand and looked at Sun Baifa, saying, "Senior's pulse is deep and hesitant, like a stone, with a wiry quality that is both strong and weak, and it also has a slight slippery quality. If I am not mistaken in taking your pulse, then you must have damage to your Ren and Du meridians. You must have experienced a qi deviation during your cultivation, which caused your essence, qi and spirit to backfire and become blocked."

"Furthermore, there is a very faint, almost imperceptible, stagnant, and congealed sensation at the root of the string, which is a clear sign that the blood stasis has not been relieved in time after severe internal bleeding and has coagulated into a clot."

At this point, Gu Shaoan paused before continuing, "The most troublesome thing is that there is a force of heaven and earth within your body that you cannot control."

"If I'm not mistaken, the injuries in your body are likely from when you failed to condense the Three Flowers to break through to the Celestial Realm."

After saying this, Gu Shaoan couldn't help but feel a sense of awe.

Based on Gu Shaoan's pulse diagnosis, Sun Baifa's injuries must have been present for over ten or twenty years.

These injuries, along with the remaining power of heaven and earth within his body, have made it extremely difficult for Sun Baifa to suppress these injuries and the power of heaven and earth over the years.

It is virtually impossible to make any further progress in internal strength.

It was when Gu Shaoan mentioned "the power of heaven and earth" that Sun Baifa could no longer maintain his composure.

Upon hearing Gu Shaoan's description, Sun Xiaohong's expression changed drastically. She grabbed Sun Baifa's sleeve and asked anxiously, "Grandpa, didn't you say that your injuries were no longer a problem?"

Looking at the nervous Sun Xiaohong, Sun Bai sighed and said, "If I don't say it this way, can you all feel at ease?"

After patting Sun Xiaohong's hand, Sun Baifa looked at Gu Shaoan with some surprise.

"I never expected that someone your age would know about the power of heaven and earth."

Sun Bai sighed and said, "Although I had heard that your medical skills were good before, I did not expect that your medical skills were so high. With your skill in taking a pulse, let alone those so-called divine doctors in the martial arts world of the Great Wei Kingdom, even the imperial physicians in the palace cannot compare with you."

After a pause, Sun Bai shook his head and said, "It's also my fault for being so arrogant when I was young. I didn't know the immensity of heaven and earth, and before I had honed my spirit and energy to the right level, I thought about trying to break through. As a result, I ended up like this after the breakthrough."

Gu Shaoan asked curiously, "Could you elaborate on the process of your failed breakthrough, senior?"

The Celestial Realm is Gu Shaoan's next goal.

For Gu Shaoan, learning about this information in advance is beneficial and harmless.

Upon hearing this, Sun Bai sighed and said, "There's not much to say. When I used my essence, energy, and spirit to condense the Three Flowers, I drew upon the power of heaven and earth. As a result, the Three Flowers became unstable. The moment the power of heaven and earth entered my body, the Three Flowers that had just begun to take shape were scattered by this power of heaven and earth. Then, the power of heaven and earth also invaded my body."

"The result is that the power of heaven and earth has settled in my body."

At this point, Sun Baifa couldn't help but curse aloud.

"Fine, I'll stay here! But not only will they not pay rent, I'll also have to eat and drink well and feed these ancestors in my body all day long with my internal energy."

At this point, Sun Baifa couldn't help but sigh deeply and looked at Gu Shaoan, saying, "So you should take this as a warning. If you want to condense the Three Flowers, you must do everything you can to lay a solid foundation, lest you end up like this old man."

Finally, Sun Baifa added, "Now that you understand the situation inside this old man's body, you should know how special it is. These forces of heaven and earth have already attached to or even merged into my meridians, and cannot be forced out by external force. Even Master Zhang of Wudang probably couldn't do it. Do you still want to make this deal?"

As the last sentence fell, Sun Baifa felt a mix of emotions.

Gu Shaoan smiled and said, "That depends on what you think, senior."

"Ok?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Baifa raised an eyebrow.

Sun Xiaohong, standing to the side, asked with a delighted expression, "Brother Gu, do you have a way to cure Grandpa?"

In response to Sun Baifa's question, Gu Shaoan nodded slightly and said, "It's a bit troublesome, but it's treatable."

Upon hearing those eight words, Sun Baifa's pupils dilated slightly: "Little monster, are you serious?"

Before Gu Shaoan could respond, Sun Baifa immediately said, "No, given your personality and character, you would never say something like that if you weren't sure."

As soon as he finished speaking, Sun Baifa felt a tsunami of emotions raging within him.

Known as the "Old Man of Heavenly Secrets," Sun Baifa was once considered a prominent figure in the martial arts world.

On a whim, he tried to condense the three flowers without being fully prepared.

Not only did the breakthrough fail, but it also left him with a host of problems.

For the past ten or twenty years, he has had to constantly suppress the power of heaven and earth within his body with his internal energy, making it difficult to make any progress in his internal energy cultivation.

Similarly, due to his own problems and stagnant progress in strength, Sun Baifa's morale was gradually worn down.

They even became somewhat timid and hesitant.

But Sun Baifa has not wasted these past ten or twenty years.

Although he has made little progress in his internal strength, Sun Baifa has made considerable progress in martial arts over the years.

If the injuries within his body could truly be healed, Sun Baifa thought that given some time, he might be able to try condensing the Three Flowers again.

His thoughts raced through his mind, and after a moment of contemplation, Sun Baifa suddenly raised his head.

Then, in Gu Shaoan's sight, Sun Baifa put down his pipe and picked up the teapot to refill Gu Shaoan's cup with tea.

Immediately, a bright smile appeared on his old face.

"Young friend, have some tea!"

But the wrinkles on his face made Sun Baifa's smiling old face look like a daisy.

In response, Gu Shaoan couldn't help but lean his head and upper body slightly back.

Faced with Sun Baifa's arrogant yet obsequious reaction, Gu Shaoan chuckled and said, "Senior, you'd better be normal."

Seeing Gu Shaoan's resistant reaction, Sun Baifa's smile froze.

Then he sighed softly, "I'm getting old after all. People used to say that my smile was the most touching in the world, but now that I have more wrinkles on my face, I'm being disliked."

Sun Xiaohong, standing to the side, shuddered and looked at Sun Baifa with a chill, saying, "Grandpa, is this person you're talking about blind?"

The moment he finished speaking, Sun Baifa's hand landed on Sun Xiaohong's face.

"You have no manners. It was your own grandmother who said that."

Upon hearing this, Sun Xiaohong suddenly looked enlightened and then stuck out her tongue in acknowledgment.

After a bit of playful fighting, Sun Baifa's previously fluctuating emotions had calmed down somewhat.

His gaze returned to Gu Shaoan, and after taking another puff of his pipe, he asked, "Speak! What do you want from this old man?" Gu Shaoan replied softly, "This junior wants the intelligence network of your family."

Upon hearing this, both Sun Baifa and Sun Xiaohong, who was standing to the side, changed their expressions drastically.

Gu Shaoan, however, kept his eyes straight ahead, calmly looking at Sun Baifa and Sun Xiaohong.

Everyone in the world knows the name of the Old Man of Heavenly Secrets, Sun Baifa.

Few people know that the Heavenly Mystery Elder Sun Baifa is not a lone figure, but comes from a reclusive martial arts family, the Sun family of Huainan.

The Sun family had existed since the early days of the Great Wei Kingdom.

It has been hundreds of years since then.

Within Huainan Prefecture, the master of Xingyun Manor, whose internal energy cultivation has reached the level of Condensing Qi into Yuan, is known as "Sun the Hunchback, who can carry a mountain on his back and not be crushed by it." He is Sun Baifa's second son and Sun Xiaohong's second uncle.

Next to Huainan Prefecture, in Li'an Prefecture, a hundred miles away, Sun Baiyao, the head of the Poison Hall, nicknamed "Immortal Three-Way Faller," is also Sun Xiaohong's seventh uncle.

It is said that his poisoning skills are no less than those of the Five Poisons Child of the Five Poisons Sect.

This meant that even though Sun Baiyao was only at the level of returning to the innate realm, ordinary martial artists who had condensed Qi into Yuan or even Yuan into Gang would not provoke him rashly.

Its reputation for being poisonous is widespread.

However, the most powerful members of the Sun family in Huainan were not these capable individuals within the family.

Rather, it's the Sun family's intelligence capabilities.

Currently, within the Great Wei Kingdom, only five entities possess the strongest intelligence gathering capabilities.

The imperial court, the Dragon Guard Manor, the Azure Dragon Society, the Hundred Knowledge Hall, and the Sun family of Huainan behind Sun Baifa.

While the intelligence capabilities of the five entities vary in strength, the differences are not significant.

Anyone with a bit of foresight would clearly understand the importance of intelligence.

However, building an intelligence network is by no means an easy task.

The reason why the Protectorate Manor was able to build a huge intelligence network in just over twenty years was because Zhu Wushi had the backing of the imperial court, and at the same time, he also had the unwavering support of Wan Sanqian, the richest merchant in the world.

If the Emei Sect wants to build its own intelligence network, it will take at least a decade.

Therefore, Gu Shaoan had to find another way.

The imperial court, the Dragon Guard Manor, the Azure Dragon Society, and the Hundred Knowledge Hall all did not meet Gu Shaoan's requirements.

Only the Sun family behind Sun Baifa is the most suitable.

After a moment, Sun Baifa spoke up: "You must have misunderstood something, kid. My granddaughter and I depend on each other for survival. What family do we have behind us? If I had a family backing me up, why would I have needed to wander around with my granddaughter all these years?"

Gu Shaoan simply smiled and remained silent in response to Sun Baifa's reply.

Seeing this, Sun Baifa remained silent for a few moments before asking, "How exactly do you know all this, kid?"

Gu Shaoan said slowly, "It was just an accidental discovery, senior, there's no need to worry."

Sun Baifa didn't speak, but slowly closed his eyes, as if he was thinking about what kind of accident Gu Shaoan was referring to when he said "accident".

After a short while, Sun Baifa shook his head and opened his eyes again.

"Fine! There are no secrets that stay hidden forever. After all, the more you do, the more mistakes you make. Besides, with your current strength, if you want to secretly investigate something, those people in the Sun family probably won't be able to find out."

Gu Shaoan said softly, "This junior thought that senior would try to argue for a while longer."

Sun Baifa responded, "There's no need for that. After all, if you really wanted to harm us, you wouldn't need to reveal these things now."

Then, Sun Baifa asked, "Since it's a transaction, let's be more specific. You can't just say that my Sun family will serve you in the future, can you?"

"Don't worry, senior, I wouldn't say such unrealistic and foolish things," Gu Shaoan replied.

With a light tap of his fingertips on the table, Gu Shaoan used a special force to draw two streams of water from the teapot into Sun Baifa and Sun Xiaohong's cups. He continued, "Actually, my request is simple. Whenever it involves matters related to my Emei Sect, I would like to trouble the Sun family behind you to send the message to the Emei Sect and inform me as soon as possible."

Sun Bai asked, "Is that all?"

Gu Shaoan nodded and said, "That's all."

After a pause, Gu Shaoan continued, "Of course, I will not let the Sun family work for the Emei Sect for free. If any member of the Sun family falls ill in the future and has a condition that is difficult for ordinary doctors to treat, I can help with the treatment."

At this point, Gu Shaoan paused briefly before adding, "Of course, this is on the premise that the people sent by the Sun family are not evil, since I have no interest in helping others do evil."

"And the Sun family and my Emei Sect can also reach a secret agreement to help each other in the martial arts world, one openly and one covertly."

After listening to Gu Shaoan's words, Sun Baifa fell silent again.

He took a few puffs of his pipe.

Gu Shaoan did not urge him, but picked up his teacup and sipped the fragrant tea.

Sun Xiaohong, who was sitting next to her, clearly understood the impact of Gu Shaoan's deal on the Sun family, and sat quietly and obediently to the side without saying a word.

He would only occasionally look up at Gu Shaoan, and then at Sun Baifa.

Time passed quietly in their silence.

After a long silence, Sun Baifa spoke up: "First, regarding matters concerning my Sun family, besides you, there are no more than three people in the Emei Sect who know anything about the Sun family."

"Secondly, this deal is valid while you are alive. Once you are gone, the deal with my Sun family will automatically become void. Whether to continue the cooperation will depend on the decision of the next head of the Sun family."

"Third, my Sun family will only proactively inform the Emei Sect and you of any information we discover related to the Emei Sect. We will not disclose any other information. If you want to know any additional information, you will have to speak with me alone, and I will decide whether it is feasible."

After listening to Sun Baifa's three requests, Gu Shaoan nodded and said, "Okay."

Seeing that Gu Shaoan agreed, Sun Baifa extended his left hand.

Understanding Sun Baifa's meaning, Gu Shaoan raised his right hand and patted Sun Baifa's hand.

This can be considered a gentleman's agreement between the two.

Then, Sun Baifa spoke up: "Alright, the deal is done. Now tell me how you plan to heal this old man's injuries!"

Gu Shaoan replied, "If you wish to treat your injuries, I need to go back and prepare some medicine first. Once the medicine is ready, I will come again tomorrow to explain the treatment method to you."

“Okay!” Sun Baifa nodded.

After finishing his tea, Gu Shaoan nodded to Sun Xiaohong, put his bamboo hat back on, and used his lightness skill to leave.

(End of this chapter)