Chapter 381: Chapter 381: Variables, Hidden Spirit Palace

Ever since Shen Zhen had left, every time Gu An saw Ji Xiaoyu, she would ignore him, feigning ignorance.

In the days that followed, rumors began to spread in Medicine Valley, suggesting that there was a falling out between the master and Elder Ji.

This led An Xin to inevitably inquire about this matter when she accompanied Gu An to Mortal World Peak.

“Don’t gossip, I haven’t had any conflict with her.”

Gu An gave An Xin a stern look and spoke without mincing his words.

An Xin giggled and did not press further, instead, she went to the side to begin her cultivation.

At Mortal World Peak, she did not need to hide her cultivation level, so she cherished the opportunity to cultivate there.

Gu An descended the mountain alone, wandering aimlessly on the mountain.

Because of the previous controversy over stealing herbs, Gu An deliberately slowed down the pace of harvesting on Mortal World Peak. However, even so, with the constantly increasing production from the Outer World Cave, he was already able to amass nearly four million years of lifespan every year.

His total lifespan had exceeded four hundred million years!

At this rate, Gu An could also become rapidly stronger.

Therefore, he now tried to keep a low profile, taking fewer disciples and intervening less, to avoid accelerating the pace of the major changes in Great Heavenly Spirit Land.

Walking along the mountain path, Gu An’s divine thought reached out to Zhu Xi.

Zhu Xi was at the lowest-ranked Sea Peak, where Mortal World Peak had purposely allocated a sea area for disciples below the Immortal Path Realm, and only those who had reached the Nirvana Realm could pay tribute to divine peaks like Dingtian Peak.

Years had passed, and Zhu Xi had become integrated into Mortal World Peak, with a low presence and her talents unknown to others, her life following the same routine as her previous days by Moonfall Divine Lake.

Recently, she had reached Core Formation, and within Mortal World Peak, she was essentially like a servant disciple, tending to the Medicine Garden, much like Gu An had once been.

Gu An could sense the immense Spiritual Power contained within her; the Tai Chu Swallowing Yuan Body was like a black hole, quite challenging for even a Free Immortal to discern her physique.

Once she fully released it, her cultivation level would skyrocket.

In terms of physique, she was definitely the strongest Gu An had ever seen in his time, with the Ancient Treasure Body paling in comparison by several levels.

At this moment, Zhu Xi was planting medicinal herbs. Even though she was alone in the garden, she conducted herself with utmost caution, appearing no different from an ordinary disciple.

Gu An watched for a while, then lost interest and retracted his gaze.

He made some calculations; it was inevitable that Zhu Xi would eventually have a falling out with Mortal World Peak. Once her theft of the medicinal herbs came to light and led to a conflict with the disciples of Mortal World Peak, she would be expelled from the peak and might even be pursued and hunted.

But that node was still very far away.

Gu An had no intention of stopping it; along the way, he foresaw that many disciples’ fates would turn against Mortal World Peak. The reason for this was that there were simply too many disciples in Mortal World Peak, and it was implausible that all of them would remain from beginning to end. Even if he intervened early, as long as Mortal World Peak continued to take on disciples, such troubles would still arise.

The deeper Gu An delved into the research of cause and effect, fate, and destiny, the more he could feel how terrifying destiny could be.

Knowing and possessing the ability to change one’s destiny is not necessarily a good thing. Because once changed, destiny introduces unpredictable variables, and those variables were beyond the control of the one who initiated the change. Only when a cause is present can one speculate the outcome; without a beginning, it is impossible to calculate the result.

Throughout the herb-gathering process that followed, Gu An kept observing the cause and effect of Dingtian Peak disciples, enhancing his understanding of the Way of Cause and Effect.

Night fell.

Gu An did not return to the Supreme Sect, choosing instead to stay on Dingtian Peak.

He lay on a chair, with the bright moon above and a book in his hands, thoroughly enjoying himself.

An Xin was still cultivating nearby, her body emanating specks of Light Star, ethereal and otherworldly, as if she could ascend to immortality at any moment.

The courtyard resounded with the chirping of insects, adding a touch of vitality to the garden.

Suddenly.

Gu An looked up, only to see a shooting star streak across the night sky at an incredible speed.

Usually, such a shooting star signifies the arrival of a Heaven and Earth Flying Immortal. However, this time was different; Gu An could feel that the other party’s cultivation was far above that of Heaven and Earth Flying Immortal, likely a Divine Thought True Immortal.

Could it be that the Immortal Dynasty and the Holy Court are about to go to war again?

Gu An thought this to himself. The Qi Fortune of these two powers was too grand, capable of blocking cause and effect deductions. At least he was not yet able to comprehend it completely.

He hoped for peace in the Great Heaven and Earth, hoping the battle would wait a thousand years or ten thousand years. By then, he would be more confident in handling any catastrophe.

“It’s time to establish a new Medicine Valley.”

Gu An quietly contemplated, as he had entertained such a thought for a while.

He chose an underwater location for the next Medicine Valley.

Eggs must not all be put in one basket.

As the moon set and the sun rose, the next morning Gu An sent An Xin back, then went alone to Immortal Seeking Island to exchange his own share of the Island Master’s profits for a large quantity of medicinal herb seeds.

He left this task to Island Master Xun Hanfeng.

Xun Hanfeng did not question why Gu An needed so many medicinal herbs. In the Immortal Cultivation World, the demand for medicinal herbs was no less than that for Spirit Stones; no one would complain about having too few herbs. The higher the realm, the greater the need for herbs; he only envied Gu An’s capability.

It was not until the evening that Xun Hanfeng handed over a high-level Storage Bag to Gu An, filled with medicinal herbs.

Night descended once again, and Gu An arrived at the largest sea area in Great Heavenly Spirit Land. Under the night sky, the waves rolled furiously, creating an oppressive atmosphere.

The demon energy here was extremely dense, with only rare traces of the breath of Cultivators of the Human Race.

Gu An flew into the sea, which was extremely deep. The deepest point lay more than a hundred thousand miles from the surface, and it concealed numerous demon creatures as terrifying as Heaven and Earth Flying Immortals, and there were even traces of the aura of the Carefree Primordial Immortal.

Since the Great Heavenly Spirit Land was controlled by the Human Race, the powerful demon creatures had no choice but to band together. They formed their own world within this sea, isolated from the rest of the world.

As Gu An descended some distance, the surroundings became pitch-black and oppressive.

Upon reaching ten thousand miles beneath the surface, a green light appeared below, resembling a boundless green ocean. He saw numerous tiny sea creatures that, although not yet possessing Spiritual Wisdom, were incredibly fast, comparable to Cultivators in the Core Formation Realm.

After passing through this green sea, darkness returned. Continuing downward, from time to time he saw various lights, all emitted by demon creatures. Gu An even saw several Cave Abodes situated on the mountainous bodies of the ocean.

Further down, he even saw a Demon City, radiating dazzling light, with countless demon creatures coming and going.

In this way, Gu An arrived at the depths of the sea floor without any demons noticing.

He found a region with no demon activity and used his mana to demarcate a hundred-mile radius on the sandy bottom. Then he created a clone. With the clone’s Great Mana, he formed a Barrier so that beings outside could not see inside it.

His original self then began casting spells to create an environment suitable for the growth of medicinal herbs. The Spiritual Energy at the bottom of the sea was immense, enough for the herbs to thrive.

After altering the environment, he began to construct an array.

An Ancient Hour later.

This undersea Medicine Valley had been sown with medicinal herb seeds. He didn’t intend to keep demon creatures to guard this Medicine Valley; his clone would suffice in the future.

Although the clone did not have independent thought, if there were any movement, it could still alert Gu An in a timely manner. When the time came, Gu An would project his consciousness onto the clone, which could use the clone’s power to resolve any trouble.

Even a Free Immortal would be no match for his clone!

After making all preparations, Gu An went to the edge of the Medicine Valley, took out a stele, and planted it in the sand. Then, using the Fate Determining Pen, he wrote on the stele.

Hidden Spirit Palace!

He called it a ‘palace’ because he planned to build one there later, which could even serve as a dojo.

Gu An admired his own handwriting; it was truly becoming more elegant.

He then vanished from the spot, returning to the Supreme Sect.

The sea floor was silent; outside the Hidden Spirit Palace was darkness, like an abyss. Occasionally, enormous figures like mountain ranges swam above the Hidden Spirit Palace, while Gu An’s clone meditated without opening its eyes.

…

Fifteen years later.

In early summer, Gu An sat in the pavilion of Mystic Valley, admiring his Attribute Panel. He was very close to his five hundred million year Life Span mark.

The high-rank medical herbs of Outer World Cave would bring him a substantial increase in Life Span in the coming years, delighting his mood.

Life was monotonous, but Gu An did not find it dull. Watching his Life Span grow, he felt like he was leveling up in a game, a very fulfilling feeling.

A knock came at the door, and Gu An said casually, “Come in.”

At his words, the door opened and Lu Jiujia entered.

At five hundred and eighteen, Lu Jiujia appeared to be just over forty, with a long beard that added to his imposing presence.

He approached and gave a formal bow to Gu An, saying, “Brother Gu, the Chen family’s Medicine Valley has refused my terms. They continue to encroach on Mystic Valley’s territory—what should be done?”

Years had passed, and as the Supreme Sect grew stronger and remained uninvaded, more and more Medicine Valleys appeared outside the Outer Sect. Some were Medicine Valleys managed by the Supreme Sect, while others were cultivated by families to accumulate resources for their descendants.

A Medicine Valley had sprung up around Mystic Valley, even larger in territory than Mystic Valley itself.

The Chen family, a family that had risen to prominence in the last millennium, had elders in the Supreme Sect’s Inner Sect City who held high status and great power.

Having heard this, Gu An responded, “No worries, I’ll have An Xin go there tomorrow. In no more than three days, their Medicine Valley will vanish.”

Upon hearing this, Lu Jiujia’s face broke into a smile. He had no doubts about his brother’s words. Brother Gu’s influence was not small, after all, and the Chen family was merely testing his bottom line; otherwise, they would have already tried to seize Mystic Valley.

Gu An looked up at Lu Jiujia and asked, “How goes your Cultivation lately?”

Decades ago, Lu Jiujia had broken the Cultivation Level restrictions of the Innate Reincarnation Skill. With Gu An’s secret guidance in the Path Enlightenment, his maximum Life Span had reached seven hundred years.

But seven hundred years was not long. Lu Jiujia’s Cultivation Level had grown too slowly, currently only at the ninth layer of the Core Formation Realm. Even if he released his Cultivation again, it seemed unlikely he’d reach the Divinity Transformation Realm.

By all appearances, Lu Jiujia had no hope of achieving Nirvana in this life.

Hearing the question, Lu Jiujia scratched his head and said, “Honestly, brother, I feel increasingly powerless. When Cultivating, I find my heart weary and my thoughts wandering.”

Gu An replied, “There’s nothing to be done then; you must find a way to overcome it.”

Lu Jiujia could only nod.

He felt helpless and ashamed.

His brother had looked after him so much over the years, and he felt he had let his brother down.

Changing the subject, he said, “Speaking of which, brother, a prodigy has appeared in the Medicine Valley recently. Would you like to meet him?”

As he brought up the prodigy, his excitement surged.

After managing the affairs of Mystic Valley for hundreds of years, this was the first time he had encountered such a genius. It made him proud to be associated.