Chapter 317: Demon Fetus

Chapter 317 Demon Fetus

[You have successfully seized 9,670 years of lifespan from Ancestor Dark Soul (Mystic Celestial Immortal Stage, Third Layer)]

Gu An glanced at the prompt without any change in expression. If that guy hadn’t lunged at him first, he wouldn’t have bothered to kill him.

He didn’t search the soul because there were more Heavenly Demons hidden in the space inside the stone pillar!

Casually, Gu An said, “Just a demonic soul. Doesn’t matter how strong it was.”

Doesn’t matter?

Zhu Xinglan opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say.

Meanwhile, Gu An’s divine sense remained locked on the space within the stone pillar. Inside that pitch-black space, there was an even more terrifying presence—a Heavenly Demon.

He locked onto the demon’s position.

It was an egg.

A demon egg formed entirely from demonic energy, about ten feet tall, glowing faintly like a dim star in the depths of a dark universe.

Gu An’s divine sense pierced into the demon egg and saw a demon fetus inside.

On its body were tangled, massive karmic threads—so complex that they made Gu An uneasy. His instincts warned him that destroying this demon infant could bring even bigger trouble.

He withdrew his divine sense and stopped himself, reactivating the restrictions on the stone pillar.

Then he turned to Zhu Xinglan and said, “From now on, don’t let anyone enter here. Don’t disturb this pillar either. There’s a powerful Heavenly Demon inside that hasn’t awakened. It won’t be easy to deal with.”

Upon hearing that, Zhu Xinglan tensed up. He muttered, “A Heavenly Demon… So the previous disaster isn’t truly over.”

Gu An raised a brow. “The internal strife at Dingtian Peak was related to a Heavenly Demon?”

“Yeah. That horrifying evil thing was one of them. They say the last peak master was actually a Heavenly Demon in disguise. The sect was scared the news would cause a huge uproar, so they covered it up…” Zhu Xinglan nodded, his face full of concern.

A bigger uproar meant the Holy Court. The Holy Court feared the Heavenly Demons most of all.

Gu An suddenly thought of You Yingying and Shen Xinzi. Could there be other reincarnated Heavenly Demons in the world?

It was definitely possible.

He had a strong feeling he’d just triggered a serious side plot.

Not something he wanted to get involved in, so he decided to seal this place off. After all, the demon fetus was still asleep.

“In that case, all the more reason to keep your mouth shut. Understand?” Gu An instructed.

As for telling the Holy Court, he had thought about it—but the fact that he casually killed a Mystic Celestial Immortal could easily be exposed in the process. Plus, Renjian Peak didn’t exactly trust the Holy Court; otherwise, they wouldn’t have hidden the truth about the Heavenly Demon in the first place.

Anyway, he was only here to collect herbs. Whatever happened to Renjian Peak wasn’t his problem.

Of course, once he was strong enough to ignore karmic entanglements, he could get rid of that demon fetus and finally feel at ease.

Zhu Xinglan nodded, but his tightly furrowed brows didn’t relax.

Blood Prison Great Saint stared at the stone pillar, deep in thought.

Soon after, they left the cave. Zhu Xinglan began sealing off the entrance, while Gu An rode the Blood Prison Great Saint back to the mountaintop.

Blood Prison Great Saint had a ton of questions but didn’t dare ask with a Grandmaster around, so he held them in.

In the days that followed, Gu An began picking herbs across Renjian Peak. Zhu Xinglan had already cultivated a massive herb garden, which disciples tended daily.

At first, the disciples were thrilled that Gu An himself had come to gather herbs. Eventually, they got used to it. Still, no matter how friendly Gu An appeared, they stayed respectfully cautious.

After spending half a day at Dingtian Peak, Gu An left with hundreds of thousands of years of lifespan.

He came to harvest herbs once a month. The lifespan income from Dingtian Peak alone had exceeded a million years last year—more than everything he’d earned on the Taicang Continent.

Back at Taixuan Sect, the moment Blood Prison Great Saint was about to speak, Gu An cut him off.

“Remember what I said on the way here. Don’t ask. You’ll understand eventually.”

That made Blood Prison Great Saint respect him even more.

He felt like his master was trying to teach him a lesson.

His biggest flaw was impatience—that’s how he ended up like this. He really did need to temper his Dao heart.

On Renjian Peak, Gu An was a high and mighty peak lord. In Taixuan Sect, he was just an ordinary valley master.

Watching Gu An casually joke with the errand disciples, Blood Prison Great Saint was full of admiration. He didn’t think his master was faking it—he genuinely believed all life was equal.

There may be strong and weak cultivators, but the value of a life was the same.

The more he watched, the more he realized how much he had to learn from Gu An. A person who treated others this way was sure to build strong karmic ties. Who knew? Maybe someday someone would rise against fate and spread tales of this kindness far and wide.

His revelation didn’t last long, though—because that annoying fat rat came to pester him again.

What drove him mad was… that fat rat was even faster now!

Was it just him, or did the rat also seem like a top-tier prodigy?

This was getting ridiculous!

Meanwhile, Gu An was making rounds through each section of the Medicine Valley. Though the Third Medicine Valley rarely had issues, he still had to put in appearances to keep the disciples from slacking off.

Summer gave way to autumn.

Early Autumn — Hidden Realm

Tian Yao’er, Tianqing, and Tianbai were launching a combined assault on Gu An. The three demons moved with constantly shifting techniques, their surging demon aura forming a massive dragon-like flow that surrounded him.

Despite their attack, Gu An looked utterly at ease. A wave of his hand was enough to nullify their spells.

Tian Yao’er stepped into the Nine Extremes Free Step, appearing behind him in an instant. Her palm struck out, unleashing flames that morphed into a phoenix mid-air and swallowed him whole.

A second later, the fire phoenix shattered. The shockwave sent Tian Yao’er flying.

Gu An lifted a leg, and countless afterimages exploded outward. Tianqing and Tianbai turned pale—they didn’t even have time to react before being hit again and again, launched into the distance in sorry states.

The three demons struggled to their feet, gazing at Gu An with grievance written all over their faces.

“If this were a real fight to the death, you’d already be dead. Out there, nobody’s going to go easy on you like I do.”

Gu An retracted his leg and said offhandedly.

Tian Yao’er widened her eyes. “Are all the beings outside as strong as you?”

“There’s always someone stronger.”

Gu An replied casually. He’d already held back—none of them were actually hurt.

“Really?” Tian Yao’er looked skeptical. She always felt like Gu An liked to bluff, warning them about this or that, but always remaining calm and composed no matter what.

Gu An snorted. “Anyway, you three still need more training.”

Tianqing and Tianbai immediately rushed to his sides and hugged his arms. “Master’s right,” they said sweetly.

Tian Yao’er gritted her teeth. What the h**l?! When did these two get so out of line?

After a few more words of advice, Gu An finally left.

Tian Yao’er lunged at Tianqing and Tianbai—round two began.

The autumn breeze swept through, blowing a leaf into the courtyard, where an elderly man in fine robes was sweeping.

It was none other than an aged Xiao Chuan.

Both hands on the broom, his movements were slow and elegant—like he was sweeping more than just dust, but a kind of tranquility.

A teenage boy ran into the courtyard and spotted him. “Grandpa! You’re sweeping again? What’s so fun about sweeping? We’ve got servants for that.”

The boy wore a blue robe, with delicate features, about fifteen or sixteen, and his hair tied up high with youthful flair.

Xiao Chuan didn’t stop. Smiling kindly, he replied, “It’s not fun. It’s just habit. Sweeping reminds me of the past. When you get old, you like to reminisce. You’re still young—you don’t get it.”

The boy stood in front of him, hands on hips, complaining, “Grandpa, I heard you used to cultivate in a sect. Why don’t you introduce us to Taixuan Sect? It’s not like cultivation’s forbidden to mortals. Even the governor’s grandson became a cultivator.”

“Grandpa, we may be rich, but not that rich. We have to think long-term.”

He kept rambling, but Xiao Chuan just watched with a smile, totally unbothered.

When the boy finally finished, Xiao Chuan suddenly asked, “What if you got into a sect and found out your aptitude was average? You can’t keep up with anyone around you. What would you do?”

The boy scowled. “No way I’d be that bad!”

“Well, your grandpa was that bad.”

“But we’re different! What if someone in our family is a natural-born genius? Wouldn’t that bless our entire clan—even you!”

“Haha, your uncle once joined a sect. Mediocre talent. Nearly got killed in a fight with another cultivator. I can tell who’s got potential—these eyes of mine are still sharp.”

Xiao Chuan shook his head. Every child in the family asked him these things sooner or later. He’d sent some off to cultivate before, but none had turned out well.

He never sent them to Taixuan Sect. He didn’t want to trouble his senior brother.

If they couldn’t make it in lesser sects, what were they going to do in Taixuan?

“But… can you really tell?” the boy argued, face turning red.

Just as Xiao Chuan was about to respond, his eyes suddenly widened.

Gu An had entered the courtyard, glancing around as if looking for someone.

When he spotted Xiao Chuan, a smile broke across his face.

The boy noticed his grandfather’s expression and turned to look. He frowned, sizing Gu An up. “Who are you? I’ve never seen you before.”

Smack!

Xiao Chuan gave the boy a light slap on the back of the head and scolded with a smile, “You think you know everyone in the house except the maids? Get lost!”

The boy pouted but left, still sneaking glances at Gu An as he walked off.

[Chuan Yue (Qi Refining Stage, First Layer): 15/80/180]

Gu An wiggled his eyebrows at Chuan Yue, who glared at him in return.

Once the kid was gone, Xiao Chuan rushed over and hugged Gu An excitedly.

“Senior Brother! What brings you here?” Xiao Chuan was overjoyed.

Gu An snorted. “Why didn’t you call me that in front of your grandson?”

Xiao Chuan grinned. “Didn’t want him pestering you. You’re a powerful cultivator from Taixuan Sect, at least in his eyes.”

Seeing the age etched onto Xiao Chuan’s face, Gu An felt a bit dazed.

“If your grandkids want to seek immortality, why stop them?”

“I’m not stopping them. They just want to use my connections. If they really had talent, they’d rise without me.”

Xiao Chuan shook his head. His words actually made sense to Gu An.

It had been decades since they last met. Xiao Chuan had grown more composed. The passage of time was clear on him. He was no longer the silent boy who used to trail behind Gu An all those years ago.