Entry: I Secretly Cultivate Immortality in the Martial Arts World

19: Chapter 19 Valley of Ten Thousand Beasts, Ji Yingying!”I, a mere young woman, am not afraid of gossip from others. Yet you, a dignified man of seven feet, are the one worrying about it first?”

Gu Yan fell silent for a moment, momentarily not knowing how to respond.

Reasoning with a woman? He hadn’t learned that skill in his past life or this one.

Seeing him stumped, the smile in Lin Wei’s eyes deepened. She took two steps forward and, without a word, hooked her arm through Gu Yan’s.

”Is Junior Brother heading back to his residence? Senior Sister will accompany you for a while.”

Without waiting for Gu Yan to answer, she continued:

”By the way, what stage is Junior Brother’s Martial Cultivator cultivation at now? Senior Sister has already achieved a Breakthrough to the Late Stage of the Second Transformation Stage!”

”In a few years, I might be able to challenge the Third Transformation Stage Realm. If Junior Brother has any confusion regarding Cultivation, feel free to ask Senior Sister.”

The Nine Transformations of the Martial Dao are like climbing to a new heaven with each Transformation; every step forward requires years of hard work.

At thirty years old, reaching the Late Stage of the Second Transformation Stage, Lin Wei’s talent could be considered upper-middle among the Inner Sect Disciples.

Unfortunately, she did not know that the path Gu Yan was taking was not the ordinary Martial Dao path.

”I appreciate Senior Sister’s concern, but I have only recently entered the Middle Stage of the Second Transformation Stage,” Gu Yan replied calmly.

Hearing this, Lin Wei’s eyes lit up: ”Junior Brother’s progress is so rapid! Back when we were in the Outer Sect, I saw that you were only at the First Transformation Stage...”

She paused, a look of realization flashing in her eyes.

”It seems Junior Brother’s natural talent was extraordinary all along; you were just limited by resources back then.”

Gu Yan gave some perfunctory responses, half-true and half-false.

The two walked slowly along the bluestone path.

Lin Wei talked non-stop along the way, from gossip about the Sect to insights on Cultivation. Gu Yan mostly listened quietly, occasionally responding with a word.

Before long, a quiet little courtyard appeared before them; it was Gu Yan’s residence on the east side of Danxia Peak.

Lin Wei let go of his arm, walked halfway around the courtyard wall, and said, ”So this is where Junior Brother lives.”

”Then Senior Sister will have to visit often in the future.”

Gu Yan stopped in front of the courtyard gate, turned to face Lin Wei, and said, ”Senior Sister Lin, if you truly have intentions towards Junior Brother, you might as well focus on your Martial Dao Cultivation first.”

Lin Wei was stunned, confusion rising in her eyes.

Gu Yan continued: ”The Sixth Transformation Stage of the Martial Dao allows one to enter the Martial Immortal Realm, at which point one’s Lifespan can reach five hundred years. Time is long; there is no need to rush into things.”

This was said subtly. Gu Yan’s original intention was to make Lin Wei back off.

Martial Dao Cultivation is extremely difficult, and a Sixth-Turn Martial Immortal is even more out of reach.

If he let her focus on Cultivation, she naturally wouldn’t have time to pester him.

However, after hearing this, Lin Wei blinked, and then her fair cheeks turned red at a speed visible to the naked eye.

”Junior Brother... does Junior Brother mean... you want to... attain longevity together with me?”

Gu Yan: ”...”

”You hope I work hard at my Cultivation so that in the future, we can...” Lin Wei’s voice grew quieter as she spoke; the last few words were almost inaudible.

Gu Yan opened his mouth. He wanted to explain, but he didn’t know where to start.

Should he just say, ”Senior Sister, you misunderstood; I just don’t want you coming to find me”?

”Senior Sister understands!” Lin Wei suddenly raised her head, her eyes full of unprecedented determination.

”Junior Brother, rest assured, Senior Sister will definitely practice diligently and achieve a Breakthrough in my Realm as soon as possible!”

After saying that, she turned and left, her steps as light as the wind, and she disappeared at the end of the path in the blink of an eye.

Leaving Gu Yan standing alone in front of the courtyard gate, it took him a while to come back to his senses.

”This...” Gu Yan rubbed his brow and sighed deeply.

Forget it, a misunderstanding is a misunderstanding; it will at least bring some peace for a while.

It was his own fault for being lax today and not using his Divine Sense to scan the surroundings beforehand, which led to him being caught by Lin Wei.

Gu Yan pushed open the courtyard gate, walked into the house, and began his daily lessons, absorbing the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.

In the following days, to Gu Yan’s surprise, Lin Wei really did not come to disturb him.

But that peace only lasted for seven days.

This morning, just as Gu Yan finished a night of Cultivation, his Divine Sense perceived someone outside the courtyard.

Pushing the door open to look, Lin Wei was sitting at the stone table in the courtyard, holding a scroll of classics, reading intently.

Seeing Gu Yan come out, she looked up and smiled sweetly: ”Good morning, Junior Brother. Senior Sister was passing by and decided to review my lessons.”

After saying that, she continued to lower her head to read, not making a sound to disturb him.

Gu Yan was speechless and had to retreat back into the house.

From then on, every seven days, Lin Wei would come, rain or shine.

Sometimes she would sit in the courtyard reading, sometimes she would quietly gaze at the distant mountains, staying from dawn till dusk, but she never knocked on the door, nor did she speak much.

After a month of this, Gu Yan finally couldn’t sit still anymore.

Calculating the time and estimating that Lin Wei would come to sit quietly today, Gu Yan slipped out of the courtyard quietly before dawn.

Morning mist swirled on the mountain path; his figure swept past like a cool breeze as he headed straight for the Mission Hall at Changqing Workshop.

Inside the Mission Hall, information about various missions was displayed on a wall.

Gu Yan’s gaze swept over them and finally rested on a long-term mission:

【Guard the entrance of Myriad Beast Valley, long-term mission, duration three years. Can obtain Sect contribution: 30,000. Requirement: Above Second Transformation Stage Martial Dao, firm will. Note: Disciples have previously encountered beast riots during their watch and unfortunately died; please consider carefully before accepting.】

30,000 contribution points; this was considered a very high reward for a long-term mission.

Gu Yan pondered for a moment and made his decision.

This could accumulate Sect contribution for exchanging resources in the future, and also completely avoid Lin Wei; it was killing two birds with one stone.

He took out his identity token and accepted the mission.

For a Martial Cultivator, three years is not a short time; after all, how many three years can one have in a lifetime?

But for Gu Yan, who is cultivating immortality, it was just a fleeting moment.

After accepting the mission, he did not return to Danxia Peak and went straight out of the mountain gate.

He showed his mission token to be let through and then sped towards Myriad Beast Valley in the northwest.

He deliberately controlled his speed, and half a day later, a vast, continuous mountain range came into view.

Two steep peaks stood facing each other, forming a natural canyon in the middle.

A ten-zhang-high black iron gate stood at the entrance of the valley, emitting an aura of slaughter.

This was the seventeenth entrance of Myriad Beast Valley.

Several stone houses and pavilions were built on the open space in front of the gate.

Two Disciples wearing Inner Sect attire were practicing against each other. Seeing Gu Yan walk over, they stopped and stepped forward.

”Is this Junior Brother the new one here to take over the watch?” asked the tall Disciple, cupping his hands.

Gu Yan showed his identity and mission token and said, ”That’s right, Inner Sect Disciple Gu Yan, here to take over the watch at the seventeenth entrance.”

The two checked the token, and their attitude became a bit more polite.

The tall Disciple introduced, ”I am Zhao Heng, and he is Li Mo. Our watch period has three months left. Junior Brother came a bit early, but there are plenty of houses here, so staying is fine.”

Just as they were speaking, the sound of hoofbeats came from the end of the mountain path.

Before long, a snow-white steed came stepping through the dust, with a woman in white sitting on its back.

The most striking thing about the woman was her waterfall of silver hair.

Her features were beautiful, her expression indifferent. After landing, she didn’t say much, only handed over her identity and mission token.

Zhao Heng took it and looked, his expression immediately becoming serious, his tone carrying a bit of respect: ”So it is Senior Sister Ji from Cloud Mist Peak.”

Ji Yingying, Personal Disciple of Elder Qingyue of Cloud Mist Peak, with a cultivation of the Early Stage of the Third Transformation Stage.

It is said that she possesses a special Bloodline and has been at the Early Stage of the Third Transformation Stage after only ten years of joining the Sect; she is a famous Genius in the Sect.

Gu Yan had also heard of her reputation.

The next day, the two began to familiarize themselves with the watch duties.

The work was not complicated: patrol the ten-mile radius around the entrance every day and check if the defensive maze formation was intact.

If any beasts in the valley tried to escape, they needed to be driven back or killed in time.

And the Vicious Beasts that could escape the maze formation at the valley entrance mostly had the strength comparable to a Second Transformation Stage Martial Artist.

In terms of Gu Yan’s real cultivation, this was just changing to a place with nice scenery to Cultivate, and there was even Sect contribution income.

The most important thing was, Lin Wei wouldn’t chase him to such a remote place, right?

For ordinary Taiyi Dao Sect Inner Sect Disciples, what was truly hard to bear here was the loneliness.

Myriad Beast Valley is located in a remote part of the Sect, and apart from the fellow Disciples who deliver supplies every month, few people come on weekdays.

However, Gu Yan spent most of his time Cultivating and patrolling alone anyway, so he adapted well to this.

Two months passed like this, and Zhao Heng and his companion completed their watch period and left.

Only Gu Yan and Ji Yingying were left in the two pavilions at the valley entrance.

Ji Yingying had a cold temperament.

Except for the necessary daily patrol handovers, she almost never spoke to Gu Yan, and her gaze rarely lingered.

Her only fixed activity was practicing a set of sword techniques under the old pine tree at the valley entrance every morning at dawn.

The two lived in separate rooms, each doing their own duties, and lived in peace.