At midday.
Gu An, Meng Lang, and Li Ya stood in front of a wooden fence in a garden area, Meng Lang stared curiously at the white-haired old mouse in Gu An's hand.
Li Ya pondered and said, "This should be a White Spirit Rat. They are highly interested in spiritual resources rich in spiritual energy, hence the name Treasure Hunting Rat. They can barely be considered spirit beasts."
Upon hearing this, Meng Lang couldn't help but ask, "What is the difference between spirit beasts and demon beasts?"
"Demon beasts cultivate themselves into existence, while spirit beasts are born with the ability to perceive nature's spiritual energy. They can also cultivate, and their aura isn't as bloody as demon energy; to put it simply, spirit beasts are not as dangerous as demon beasts," explained Li Ya.
Upon hearing this, Gu An suddenly didn't want to kill the mouse.
Meng Lang's interest grew, and he laughed with a hehe, "Gu An, how about giving this old mouse to me?"
Gu An raised an eyebrow and cursed silently, calling him an animal, daring to ask for it!
Li Ya said coldly, "White Spirit Rats don't usually live alone. If there's one here, it means there's a nest nearby. Go catch them yourself. It's rather degrading to fight over a mouse."
Upon hearing this, Meng Lang's cheeks flushed with anger, and he huffed, "Then I'll catch!"
With that, he turned and left.
Once he was far away, Gu An said to Li Ya, "Thank you."
Gu An found that Li Ya seemed cold but was actually quite easy to get along with, generous in nature. He didn't stop Gu An from watching him practice swordplay usually, and today, he even spoke up righteously.
If Li Ya hadn't spoken up, Gu An would have been in big trouble.
If he had to make Meng Lang cry from a beating, with that kid's volume, the commotion would be unmistakable!
Li Ya looked at Gu An, sizing him up, and said softly, "Somehow, you seem to have changed suddenly, but I can't quite put my finger on what exactly has changed."
Suddenly, Li Ya grabbed Gu An's wrist with his right hand. The speed seemed so slow in Gu An's eyes, but instead of dodging, he pretended to be surprised.
"Brother Li, what are you..."
"It's nothing."
Li Ya withdrew his hand, hesitated for a moment, then added, "Your aura is stable, and there's no significant problem with your body, except for the lack of spiritual power. Even if your talent is mediocre, don't forget to cultivate. With effort, there is always hope."
Gu An nodded and started making small talk following his remark.
Li Ya seemed to be in a good mood today and was quite talkative. Through him, Gu An gained a deeper understanding of the Immortal Cultivation World.
It had to be said, members of the Imperial Family were indeed different, possessing extensive knowledge without even traveling the world.
After the time it takes to burn half a stick of incense, Meng Lang returned quickly.
"There's a big problem!" Meng Lang came to Gu An's side and whispered, his tone anxious.
Gu An looked up towards the entrance of Medicine Valley.
Li Ya asked, "What's wrong?"
Meng Lang's eyes widened as he said, "There's a cultivator guarding the entrance of the valley. When I went up and asked him, he said he is an Inner Sect Disciple of the Sect, he had taken on our master's reward task to protect us for a month."
"I bet the master posted the task because of the demon we talked about earlier. What if the Inner Sect Disciple can't fend off the demon? Wouldn't we be done for?"
Gu An had already seen the figure of the Inner Sect Disciple from afar, his current vision enabling him to see the person's true appearance.
It was a young man dressed in a green robe, handsome and distinguished, clearly not an ordinary man.
[Chu Jingfeng (Foundation Establishment Realm, Level One): 19/290/870]
Reaching Level One of the Foundation Establishment Realm at nineteen?
A genius!
No wonder he could be an Inner Sect Disciple.
Gu An looked at the inspection hint in front of him and felt a myriad of emotions.
The Supreme Sect truly lived up to its reputation as the foremost institution of the Taicang Dynasty, brimming with geniuses.
Li Ya and Meng Lang began discussing the mysterious demon. Meng Lang thought it was preposterous, considering how powerful the Supreme Sect was, that a demon could infiltrate, and yet, after half a month, it still hadn't been caught.
Li Ya, however, thought it was normal, to use his words, the Supreme Sect was too vast, and Medicine Valley being on the edge made it normal for disciples to face danger.
"A hundred years ago, there was a Demon Cultivator who invaded the Supreme Sect, killed hundreds of disciples, and left unscathed. That demon might know some Secret Techniques, making it hard to capture," Li Ya spoke with a distant tone.
"Don't mention the Supreme Sect; there's no absolutely safe place in this world. The amount of Spirit Resources provided by the Dynasty to the Demon-Suppressing Mansion every year is an astoundingly large figure..."
Li Ya started discussing the state of the world. Gu An and Meng Lang listened with great interest, taking in every word.
Coming from an Immortal Cultivation family like the Ji Family, Gu An had little exposure to the wider world, and this was the first time he realized how dangerous the world was.
Demons roamed the land, and evil spirits ran rampant, with three or four in ten Cultivators dying at the hands of demons and evil spirits.
After listening, Gu An became even more fearful.
He definitely couldn't go out in the future. He had to stay in the Supreme Sect and accumulate life span!
Survive for a thousand or even ten thousand years, survive until the Supreme Sect collapses!
"But our Medicine Valley has so many medicinal herbs of great significance, how could the Sect send only an Inner Sect Disciple?" Meng Lang said indignantly.
Li Ya shook his head and said, "There are more than fifty such Medicine Valleys in the Supreme Sect. The herbs cultivated here are not considered very precious. Inside the Sect, there are more valuable Medicine Valleys where all the herbs are divine resources capable of changing a mortal's fate."
Upon hearing this, Gu An's eyes lit up, and he began to inquire about the details of that Medicine Valley.
However, Li Ya was only aware of the existence of that Medicine Valley and didn't know the specifics.
After talking for a while longer, the trio eventually departed, each having to check on their assigned garden areas regularly to prevent any mishaps with the herbs.
Once the inspections were finished, they each returned to their rooms.
Gu An tied a rope around the White Spirit Rat's body to prevent it from escaping.
He sat cross-legged on his bed with the White Spirit Rat on his lap, and then he began to cultivate.
He practiced the Dragon Strength Divine Primordial Skill, which could enhance his strength and life span. As for other cultivation techniques, he was too lazy to practice them; he preferred to simply expend his life span when more was available.
By the time night fell, Medicine Valley became more silent than it had ever been before.
Now with exceptionally acute senses, Gu An could hear Cheng Xuandan and Inner Sect Disciple Chu Jingfeng talking over a hundred zhang away. Cheng Xuandan was very respectful towards Chu Jingfeng, indicating that Chu Jingfeng was more than just an Inner Sect Disciple.
Through their conversation, Gu An learned the name of that demon.
The Demon of Greed!
Chu Jingfeng was disdainful of the Demon of Greed. His confident tone also reassured Cheng Xuandan, and Gu An could distinctly feel Cheng Xuandan's heartbeat returning to normal.
"The Demon of Greed..."
Gu An's eyes flickered with curiosity, wondering whether his Dragon Strength Divine Primordial Skill could exterminate the Demon of Greed.
According to the inherited memories of the Dragon Strength Divine Primordial Skill, its Dragon Strength had the effect of suppressing demons and exterminating evil.
He had to prepare for the worst, in case Chu Jingfeng couldn't withstand it!
Even with his extended lifespan, he only had one life to live!
He couldn't afford to gamble with it!
That night, the breath of everyone in Medicine Valley was unstable, clearly affected by their emotions. Capturing this, Gu An became even more nervous.
Only when dawn came did Gu An begin to sleep.
For the next five days, the Demon of Greed did not appear, and Gu An's tense heart gradually relaxed.
The sixth day.
As always, as darkness descended, Gu An returned to his room to rest. This time, he brought back four travelogues from the library, aiming to broaden his knowledge of the world.
The White Spirit Rat scurried out from under the bed and swiftly jumped onto the table. Ever since it had experienced Gu An practicing the Dragon Strength Divine Primordial Skill, it had become dependent on him and wouldn't run away even if not tethered.
Gu An sat down at the table, teased the White Spirit Rat, then began to flip through a book called "Green Hero Travelogue."
The window was left half-open, and the cool breeze of the night blew in, causing the flame of the oil lamp to flicker and casting shadows of the White Spirit Rat on the table, which occasionally stretched.
Gu An found this travelogue quite interesting.
It had quite a bit about the affairs of men and women, with the Green Hero wandering the world, appreciating the scenery from north to south, slaying demons and monsters, as well as having brief romantic encounters.
He continued reading deep into the night and felt something amiss.
Why did every woman the Green Hero encountered like him? The man made a show of reluctance, always being half-pushed and half-pulled by the women...
This couldn't have been written by some scholar, could it?
Gu An inwardly scorned the author of the book but was still engrossed in reading it.
Whoosh—
A gust of cold wind blew in from outside the window, and even Gu An, who had cultivated the Dragon Strength Divine Primordial Skill, couldn't help but shiver. He put down the book in his hand and got up to close the window.
Before he reached the window, he suddenly heard a noise in the distance. He stopped and listened carefully.
"Demon! Meet your demise!"
The low shout from Chu Jingfeng made Gu An's hair stand on end.
Had the Demon of Greed arrived?
But Chu Jingfeng seemed not afraid, even excited, and reliable.
"Ah—"
Just as Gu An's heart began to calm, he heard Chu Jingfeng's scream, which frightened him into quickly closing the window and turning off the oil lamp.
Gu An retreated to a corner inside the room. The White Spirit Rat clearly sensed something and quickly jumped into his arms.
The little creature was actually trembling too!
Its trembling intensified Gu An's fear.
From childhood to adulthood, Gu An had never encountered demons or evil spirits. It couldn't be helped; the Ji Family was too safe. As a child, the most terrifying beings in his eyes were the Ji Family's Court Guardians, resembling Zhang Fei and Li Kui.
"Chu Jingfeng, you'd better live up to your bravado, and Li Ya next door, with your extraordinary spirit resource and unique life pattern, you must be like the protagonist of a novel, who will ascend to greatness upon defeating that demon..."
Gu An strived to calm his emotions, his fists clenched tightly, already condensing the Dragon Strength within his body.
Soon, he heard the sound of the door next door being pushed open—it was Li Ya, rushing out with his sword to support Chu Jingfeng.
As for Meng Lang, he was even less resilient than Gu An, hiding under the bed and almost making Gu An curse out loud.
This good-for-nothing pretended to be so tough in front of him usually, posing as a big brother, but he turned out to be such a coward when faced with danger.
Thinking this, each second that passed felt like torture to Gu An.
In his Perception, the breath of Chu Jingfeng suddenly disappeared, and Gu An didn't know whether he was dead or alive.
"Demon! Hold your tongue!"
Li Ya's voice was captured by Gu An, sending chills down his spine.
Was the demon planning to eat them?
Then, Gu An heard a thud, and Li Ya's voice abruptly ended.
Was it over for him? Was he that useless?
Gu An's heartbeat pounded like a war drum, unable to settle down.
Cheng Xuandan and Zhang Chunqiu were hiding in their own rooms, ignoring the commotion outside, truly living up to the phrase "like master, like disciple..."
Outside the room, silence fell, and even Gu An, with his superior senses, could not detect any movement or the presence of the Demon of Greed.