Chapter 81: Ancient Gold-Eating Insects, Demonic Path's Siege on Taixuan Sect

Gu An looked at Li Ya, who had just climbed in through the window, and said helplessly, “What treasure could possibly outshine my windowsill?”

Dressed in a green robe, Li Ya walked to the table, retrieved a pouch from his waist, and placed it on the table with a proud smile. “This treasure, you’ll definitely like.”

Gu An extended his spiritual sense into the pouch, furrowed his brow, and asked, “Why is it filled with insects?”

“These are Ancient Gold-Eating Insects. Their teeth can bite through any metal or ore in the world. If you feed them gold-attributed spiritual energy, they can grow even stronger. There are sixteen inside, including one queen. They’re great for guarding your home or even digging holes.” Li Ya chuckled.

Hearing this, Gu An grew intrigued and asked curiously, “How do you get them to recognize a master?”

“There’s a special technique for that. You’ll need to drop a bit of blood essence onto the queen to establish a soul bond with her.” Li Ya explained, then pulled a thin manual out of his storage pouch and handed it to Gu An.

Gu An accepted it but didn’t open it immediately. Instead, he asked, “So, how did the Hundred Clans Conference go?”

Li Ya pulled a chair over and sat across from Gu An, sighing as he replied, “It wasn’t smooth sailing, but it was an eye-opener. This world is truly filled with experts, and geniuses are as numerous as fish in a river. My talents were nothing at the conference. Out of the countless prodigies from the Nine Dynasties and Hundred Clans, I barely made it into the top hundred. Even Zhou Tongyou only managed to secure a spot in the top ten.”

Seeing Li Ya’s optimistic demeanor, Gu An felt some of his worries ease.

Li Ya began recounting his experiences at the conference, and Gu An listened intently. Halfway through, Gu An even got up to pour wine, sipping as he listened.

By dusk, Li Ya was still brimming with stories.

Gu An remarked, “So, only our Third Young Miss could pose a threat to Lü Xian?”

“Her Qilin Step is indeed remarkable. She’s the only one who managed to injure Lü Xian. Unfortunately, after taking nine steps, she encountered a heavenly tribulation and had to stop her duel abruptly. We haven’t seen her since.” Li Ya nodded.

“A heavenly tribulation? What does that mean? Is the Qilin Step that powerful?” Gu An asked in surprise. He had taken countless steps over the past two years and never encountered anything like that.

Li Ya shook his head. “How would I know? Maybe she’s harboring some kind of secret.”

Innate Dao Seal!

Gu An sighed inwardly.

Is this what they call... cheating?

“Compared to Ji Xuanyu, it’s Lü Xian’s strength that shocks me the most. He’s my next goal. I’ll challenge him and reclaim my honor.” Li Ya declared with determination.

Gu An asked, “Didn’t you say he broke your arms and legs? Don’t you hate him?”

Li Ya shook his head. “It was a fair duel. Why hate him? Besides, I refused to admit defeat. A senior once told me that Lü Xian is also a pitiful soul. He has residual souls inside him vying for control of his body. That’s why he sometimes acts erratically—kind and friendly one moment, violent and irritable the next.”

Residual souls?

Gu An let out a breath of relief. If that were the case, he didn’t need to worry anymore. He had been concerned that Lü Xian might be the reincarnation of an immortal, but it didn’t seem so.

“What do you mean by residual souls?” Gu An asked, puzzled.

“I’m not sure. Maybe it’s related to some treasure or perhaps he was once possessed. In any case, he’ll continue to suffer until he expels the residual souls. No wonder we hadn’t heard of him in the Taixuan Sect before. He was probably kept hidden by the Lü family. Oh, and his father is the previous sect master, Lü Baitian.”

“Lü Baitian went mad practicing his cultivation, and now his son is tormented by residual souls. It seems like quite the coincidence.” Li Ya said with a frown, then sighed. “If Lü Xian weren’t affected by those souls, he might already have reached the Nascent Soul Stage. His strength is unimaginable.”

Gu An chuckled. He didn’t expect Li Ya to sympathize with Lü Xian.

“By the way, who’s that senior you mentioned? Sounds impressive.” Gu An asked, feigning curiosity.

“A senior who prefers to remain unnamed. Sorry, I can’t tell you.”

Heh, it’s probably the ‘grandpa’ spirit inside you, right?

Gu An thought. He could sense the soul within Li Ya growing stronger.

It suddenly struck Gu An—if he could detect the soul in Li Ya at his current stage, couldn’t Void Transformation Stage grandmasters also notice it? Yet, from Li Ya’s words, no one seemed to have picked up on it.

Is it because my cultivation technique is too advanced, or for some other reason?

Even as night fell, Li Ya showed no signs of leaving. He continued chatting with Gu An, now describing the landscapes he had seen during his travels. It wasn’t until dawn the next day that Li Ya finally left.

After Li Ya departed, Gu An picked up the manual he had left behind and began studying how to bond with the Ancient Gold-Eating Insects.

Beneath the clear skies, in the Third Medicine Valley.

Standing before Elder Tian, Gu An raised his right hand, revealing a golden insect perched on its back. At first glance, it resembled a gold beetle, but its mandibles were far larger.

“Ancient Gold-Eating Insects. These are incredibly rare. You wouldn’t typically find them anywhere in the Taicang Empire.” Elder Tian exclaimed.

“My senior brother Li Ya gifted these to me. He placed in the top hundred at the Hundred Clans Conference and brought back these insects. They’ll be perfect for patrolling the valley.” Gu An said with a smile. He had mentioned Li Ya to Elder Tian more than once—just in case Elder Tian someday regained his position as sect master, he might remember Li Ya and give him special attention.

Elder Tian nodded. “It seems this Li Ya is indeed talented and loyal. A single Ancient Gold-Eating Insect is worth a fortune, let alone sixteen.”

Gu An opened the pouch at his waist, releasing the insects. One, twice the size of the others, landed on his shoulder, while the rest swirled around him.

Xiao Chuan, passing by, couldn’t help but come over. Gu An proudly showed off the insects. By nightfall, every errand disciple in the Third Medicine Valley had seen them. Gu An wasn’t just showing off—he wanted to ensure no one attacked the insects while they patrolled in the future.

Spring turned to autumn, and three years passed in the blink of an eye.

Gu An crossed the fifty-year mark. These three years had been peaceful yet fulfilling. His lifespan had surpassed three hundred thousand years, and his annual lifespan harvest continued to grow.

One day...

Xiao Chuan descended from the teleportation array platform with Ye Lan in tow.

Gu An was teasing a White Spirit Rat, which had grown as large as a dog. Seeing Ye Lan arrive, he immediately stood up to greet her.

Ye Lan's face looked grim. Facing Gu An, she said, "Senior Brother, let’s talk inside."

Gu An nodded and led Ye Lan upstairs. Meanwhile, Xiao Chuan approached the White Spirit Rat, only for it to turn and run. Annoyed, Xiao Chuan picked up a stone and hurled it, but missed.

Inside the room, Gu An closed the door.

He had just turned around when Ye Lan spoke. “Senior Brother, Wu Xin is a Thousand Autumn Pavilion informant!”

Gu An’s expression changed slightly as he frowned. “Nonsense. What proof do you have?”

Ye Lan pulled out several sheets of paper and said, “These are all records of disciples from the Demon-Slaying Hall. The person who brought Wu Xin into the sect wasn’t a demonic spy, but tracing his connections backward, every single one is. Moreover, the Thousand Autumn Pavilion has been searching for a pavilion master’s son for years. That person is said to look like a monk with indelible monk scars on his head.”

Gu An took the papers and examined them carefully.

The documents detailed the individuals Wu Xin interacted with, including visits to certain figures in the outer sect cities.

Careless! How could he not be more meticulous?

Gu An cursed inwardly. Still, he remained calm—it was Ye Lan who had discovered this, after all.

After finishing his review, Gu An looked up and asked, “How many people know about this?”

“Just me for now. Normally, the Law Enforcement Hall doesn’t investigate errand disciples. We did discover that one of the valley masters in the outer sect Medicine Valley is also a Thousand Autumn Pavilion informant, but we haven’t identified who. We wanted to continue the investigation, but someone higher up prohibited us.” Ye Lan’s delicate brows furrowed in frustration.

“Who stopped you?”

“The Outer Sect Grand Elder, Jiang Qiong, but her people said the order came from the inner sect.”

Gu An suddenly felt that having Jiang Qiong as the Outer Sect Grand Elder was a blessing—she could shield him from trouble.

Although Gu An had never worked for the Thousand Autumn Pavilion, the presence of the Spirit Tree made it impossible to clear his name. He didn’t want his peaceful farming life disrupted.

Gu An stepped forward, placed his hands on Ye Lan’s shoulders, and took a deep breath. “Junior Sister, this matter must be suppressed. Even if Wu Xin comes from the demonic path, we’ve lived alongside him for years. I believe he’s not a bad person.”

Held by Gu An, Ye Lan’s cheeks reddened slightly. She lowered her gaze and said softly, “Senior Brother, are you also with the Thousand Autumn Pavilion? If you are, I’m willing to go with you.”

“How could that be? I was born a member of the Taixuan Sect, and I’ll die a ghost of the Taixuan Sect.”

“I don’t care. Wherever you go in the future, you have to take me with you.”

“Then can you suppress this matter?”

“Mm. I’ve already destroyed the other evidence; only the copy in your hand remains.”

Gu An released her, casually tossing the papers into his storage pouch.

Better to keep them for emergencies than destroy them outright.

Ye Lan continued, “This is actually a minor issue. I knew you’d protect him. I came to tell you about something much bigger. The demonic path is preparing to siege the Taixuan Sect—this time for real. The Law Enforcement Hall’s informants in the Wan Yin Sect have uncovered the plot. Apparently, there are traitors within the Elder Hall of the sect’s main city. This information has already been passed up, and the four inner sect cities are preparing for battle.”

“There are many grandmasters from other sects and empires stationed in the outer sect. The Taixuan Sect hasn’t driven them away despite their long stays. If the demonic path attacks, the outer sect cities could become incredibly dangerous. There might even be demonic spies waiting to coordinate an internal uprising.”

Demonic path invasion?

Gu An frowned. “The Taixuan Sect’s disciples have grown in number over the years. How would they dare?”

“They’ve allied with the demon race. Together, they plan to destroy the Taixuan Sect and split the Taicang Empire’s territories between them,” Ye Lan replied gravely.

Allied with the demon race?

Gu An was puzzled. Didn’t the demonic path factions realize the Demon Calamity would arrive in a hundred years?

After sharing additional intelligence, Ye Lan quickly left. Gu An personally escorted her to the teleportation array, ensuring she reached the outer sect city of Xuan Valley to avoid breaching protocol.

As Gu An headed back to his quarters, he spotted Elder Tian sitting in a withered posture beneath an old tree.

It struck him that it had been a long time since he had probed Elder Tian’s condition.

Previously, Elder Tian had ascended two cultivation levels after visiting the Heavenly Mending Platform, but he had since fallen silent—a strange development.

As Gu An pondered, he casually cast a lifespan detection technique toward Elder Tian.