ushernet Chapter 100: The Shenzhou Sutra and the Fear of the Integration Stage
Chapter 100: The Shenzhou Sutra and the Fear of the Integration Stage
Chapter 100: The Shenzhou Sutra and the Fear of the Integration Stage
Gu An had no idea what Yang Ni was thinking. His choice of Lu Jiu Jia as his disciple was simply because he had no better option. As for Yang Ni, he assumed she would leave sooner or later, so he never considered her as a potential True Legacy First Disciple.
Late at night, after the banquet had ended and everyone had returned to their rooms, Gu An quietly headed to the Eight Views Celestial Realm. For some time now, he had been delving into the Ten Thousand Gu Mystical Art and had made significant progress.
Beneath the Spirit Tree, Gu An’s thoughts stirred, summoning a figure from within a cave. The figure moved like a gust of wind, kicking up blades of grass in its wake—it was none other than Meng Lang, now transformed into a Gu corpse.
Gu An mentally commanded Meng Lang to pick a mature herb. After the task was complete, Gu An waited for a long time, yet the expected notification of lifespan absorption never arrived.
The plan had failed!
It seemed that future endeavors would require his personal intervention. Gu An felt a twinge of regret but wasn’t too disappointed. After all, the harvests from the Third Medicine Valley and Horizon Valley had already started yielding results. His annual lifespan gains were at least 100,000 years, and the number continued to grow.
In less than a century, he could accumulate ten million years of lifespan!
At this pace, Gu An was already satisfied. After all, for ordinary cultivators, how many realms could they ascend in a hundred years?
After sending Meng Lang back to the cave, Gu An drew the Tianxiu Sword and began practicing the Wood Spirit Sword Technique.
The next morning, Gu An descended from the pavilion to lead his disciples in their morning exercises. Yang Ni also joined in. After the exercises, she quickly headed toward the forest.
Gu An noticed her unusual behavior. She seemed different today, so he decided to observe her. He saw Yang Ni sowing seeds in the forest, causing him to raise an eyebrow.
The seeds looked unfamiliar!
As a Grand Ascension Stage cultivator, Gu An had a photographic memory and keen observational skills. One glance told him that these seeds were of an unknown variety. He walked over, stopping behind Yang Ni.
“What are you planting?” Gu An asked curiously. As Yang Ni straightened, he discreetly cast a lifespan probe toward her palm.
[Nightshade (Sixth-Grade): 0/120/5000]
A sixth-grade spirit flower? And its name was Nightshade?
Gu An couldn’t help but associate it with the Nightshade Sect.
Yang Ni replied, “I found these seeds in the storage pouch of an enemy I defeated long ago. I don’t know their exact name. They’ve been sitting in my pouch for decades, and I only thought to plant them today.”
“Is that so?” Gu An murmured, thoughtful.
Yang Ni observed his expression and asked, “Is there a problem with planting them?”
“Go ahead and plant them.”
Gu An smiled, not revealing the flower’s origins. If Yang Ni wanted to plant a sixth-grade spirit flower, why would he stop her? After all, he would be the one harvesting the herbs she cultivated.
After offering a few encouraging words, Gu An turned and left. Yang Ni watched his departing figure, finding him increasingly hard to understand.
“To think I was intimidated by a mere Core Formation cultivator,” Yang Ni thought to herself with self-mockery. Then, she crouched down and continued planting the Nightshade seeds.
No matter what Gu An speculated, as long as she had the chance to plant the flowers, she would plant them!
She glanced at Gu An’s retreating back and thought, Once I achieve great merit, I’ll spare your life and even introduce you to the Nightshade Sect.
Having spent years together, she had grown fond of Gu An and thought it would be a pity if someone like him perished in sectarian conflicts. He would thrive as part of the Nightshade Sect.
With the advent of spring, life began to flourish anew. The Taixuan Sect buzzed with activity again.
In early March, Gu An and Shen Zhen were discussing books in the pavilion when they suddenly sensed something. Setting their books aside, Gu An cleared his throat and said, “Put these things away.”
Shen Zhen’s cheeks flushed as she hastily stored all the drawings on the table into her storage pouch. Once everything was tidied up, they headed downstairs.
Outside the pavilion, they saw a group of cultivators flying toward them. Among them, Gu An spotted a familiar face—Ji Xuanyu.
Gu An turned his back to them and said, “Comprehend it on your own.”
With that, he left, leaving the group to pore over the text.
Liu Yu opened the first page and began reading aloud: “The Dao that can be spoken is not the eternal Dao; the name that can be named is not the eternal name...”
Behind him, Gu An’s lips curled into a smirk.
The Shenzhou Sutra wasn’t the Dao De Jing—it was a mishmash of famous phrases from ancient Chinese classics that he remembered. It was just convincing enough to fool them. There was no way he’d transcribe the real Dao De Jing. What if someone actually comprehended its truths? That’d be a disaster!
After receiving the Shenzhou Sutra, Ji Xuanyu and the others each found a secluded spot to meditate, keeping to themselves. Their presence didn’t disrupt the usual rhythm of the Third Medicine Valley.
Five days later.
Closing her copy of the Shenzhou Sutra, Ji Xuanyu looked down at the errand disciples laboring in the valley below. After a moment of thought, she descended the mountain to assist them.
A genius sitting on the opposite peak saw her actions and seemed to have a realization. He also began descending the mountain.
Though they couldn’t make sense of the Shenzhou Sutra, its profoundness was undeniable. They connected its mysteries with Gu An’s initial arrangements, wondering if enlightenment might come amidst pastoral toil.
Ten days passed.
One by one, the other prodigies joined in the herb farming and other menial tasks of the Medicine Valley. They diligently worked during the day, studied the Sutra during breaks, and cultivated their energy at night.
Gu An was thoroughly pleased. Lü Baitian’s selection of top-tier prodigies proved accurate—not a single one of them was foolish. Once they deemed something meaningful, they committed themselves wholeheartedly.
Six months flew by.
Gu An turned 59. On this day, while gathering herbs in Horizon Valley, his expression suddenly shifted. Handing the herbs to Sun Da, he left the valley without explanation, leaving the onlookers puzzled but uninterested in questioning him.
Since mastering the Black Tortoise Tidal Palm, Lü Xian had ceased antagonizing Gu An. Instead, Lü Xian had thrown himself into relentless cultivation, seemingly possessed. His rapid progress suggested he might achieve the Nascent Soul Stage within a few years.
A hundred miles from Horizon Valley, Gu An vanished into thin air, reappearing thousands of miles away in the Xuan Valley, then using a teleportation formation to arrive at the Third Medicine Valley.
Stepping off the platform, he hurried toward the Sevenfold Purity Tree, where he saw a figure standing in contemplation.
From a distance, Gu An performed a lifespan probe:
[Zong Ying (Integration Stage, Level 4): 860/2800/3100]
This man practiced a unique technique that masked his cultivation as Nascent Soul Stage, Level 2.
Gu An’s interest was piqued. Though his Grand Ascension Stage divine sense could discern hidden cultivation, it couldn’t fully unravel Zong Ying’s technique.
Walking up to the Sevenfold Purity Tree, Gu An greeted him, “I am Gu An, the master of this Medicine Valley. May I ask who you are?”
Zong Ying, with his sharp features, small eyes, and goatee, looked every bit like a villain. Smiling, he raised a hand in greeting. “I am Zong Ying, an Inner Sect disciple. Passing by, I sensed the extraordinary aura of this tree. Could it be the legendary Sevenfold Purity Tree?”
Gu An stepped closer, grasping Zong Ying’s wrist firmly with his Foundation Establishment Stage strength. “Indeed, it is. Do you want it?”
Zong Ying found the situation laughable. A mere Foundation Establishment cultivator dares lay hands on me?
The Taixuan Sect must be short on talent if they’ve tasked someone so weak with growing the Sevenfold Purity Tree. Then again, perhaps it’s to avoid drawing attention.
Zong Ying prepared to shake Gu An off with the strength of a Nascent Soul cultivator, confident it would suffice.
But in the next moment, his expression shifted dramatically. His eyes narrowed, his brows furrowed, and he began to struggle.
Surprise turned to terror as his face paled.
How is this possible?!