Entry: I Secretly Cultivate Immortality in the Martial Arts World

21: Chapter 21 Ye Chen, fortunes change every thirty years! Never underestimate a young man’s potential!Sure enough, three days later, Ji Yingying and four other fellow Disciples stepped out from the entrance of the Myriad Beast Valley.

The corners of everyone’s robes showed signs of damage, but a flash of pearly white on Ji Yingying’s wrist was particularly striking.

It was a small snake, its entire body like jade, quietly coiled there.

Gu Yan swept his gaze over the group and then glanced into the depths of the valley entrance; Xuan Chenzi was not accompanying them.

After that, the days returned to their usual monotony.

Another year passed in the blink of an eye.

When the three-year guard duty period ended, Gu Yan and Ji Yingying returned together to the Sect’s Mission Hall.

The journey was quiet, with only the mountain Peaks visible rising and falling in the sea of clouds.

Ji Yingying suddenly spoke, breaking the silence: ”Junior Brother Gu, regarding before... thank you.”

Gu Yan was slightly startled and looked over: ”Senior Sister, why do you say that?”

Ji Yingying gently stroked the white snake on her wrist, and the little snake flicked its tongue, appearing docile.

”That day, the Xuan Chenzi invited you to enter the inner valley with him. If you had gone, the ownership of this little guy might not have fallen to me.”

She knew well that Gu Yan could easily subdue a mutated white tiger; his strength was unfathomable.

Therefore, Gu Yan’s absence had invisibly spared her a formidable rival, and she noted this favor.

Hearing this, Gu Yan couldn’t help but smile inwardly.

This Senior Sister Ji had a straightforward personality, even thanking him solemnly for a favor that didn’t really count as help.

However, this frankness did make him feel a bit better about Ji Yingying.

He shook his head and simply said: ”Senior Sister, you take it too seriously; Opportunity is just a matter of fate.”

Inside the Mission Hall, after handing over his token, he received three taiyi currency notes, each with a denomination of ten thousand.

Gu Yan was calculating as he headed back to the small courtyard on the east side of Danxia Peak, when his steps suddenly paused.

He hadn’t returned in three years; the monthly rent of five hundred contribution points must have long been overdue, and the courtyard should have been reclaimed by the Sect, right?

He turned and headed to the Administration Hall to inquire.

The responsible Disciple flipped through the accounts, looked up, and said: ”Senior Brother Gu, the fees for the courtyard at Dongbing No. 17 on Danxia Peak have already been paid in full, and it was prepaid for ten years.”

”Ten years?” Gu Yan’s heart skipped a beat.

Five hundred contributions a month, six thousand a year, that meant sixty thousand for ten years!

This was by no means a small sum.

Seeing his confused expression, the Disciple added: ”It was paid on your behalf by Senior Sister Lin Wei from Danxia Peak.”

”As I thought.” Gu Yan sighed inwardly.

When he originally accepted the long-term mission, he did have the intention of temporarily leaving the Sect to let their feelings cool down.

Unexpectedly, upon his return, he owed an even heavier favor.

As for simply abandoning the courtyard and finding another place? Gu Yan couldn’t bring himself to do such a thing.

He wasn’t oblivious to romance; he understood her intentions, but the path to immortality was long, and worldly ties had to be handled with caution.

But for now, he could only take it one step at a time.

After thanking the administration Disciple, Gu Yan returned to the small courtyard with mixed feelings.

Pushing open the courtyard gate, the expected dust did not appear.

The stone table in the courtyard was clean, and there wasn’t even a spiderweb in the corners; clearly, someone had been carefully maintaining it.

It went without saying who had done this, and he couldn’t accept such a generous favor for nothing.

Therefore, Gu Yan turned around and headed straight to Changqing Workshop.

He spent quite a few contributions to purchase a batch of high-quality medicinal herbs.

Returning to the courtyard, he took out the small Pill Furnace that he hadn’t used in a long time.

Three days later, Lin Wei came to the small courtyard as usual, but found Gu Yan sitting cross-legged under the old tree in the courtyard.

She was startled at first, then surprise bloomed in her eyes: ”Junior Brother Gu? You... you’re back?”

She had long since learned that Gu Yan had accepted a long-term mission and left the Sect, and she understood that this might have been because he wanted to avoid her.

Therefore, she did not pester him or follow him, but still came here to clean from time to time.

Gu Yan opened his eyes at the sound and saw the slender figure at the doorway, a rare smile appearing on his face: ”Senior Sister Lin, I’m back.”

This smile was different from his usual polite indifference, and Lin Wei keenly sensed this change.

She thought to herself: As expected, good soup must be simmered slowly, and the affection of a good... cough, a good Junior Brother, must also be nurtured over time.

The two sat down by the stone table and chatted about some trivial recent events in the Sect.

At the end, Gu Yan took out a jade bottle and pushed it toward Lin Wei.

”I gained a little during this trip, so I refined some Medicinal Pill along the way. This pill might be helpful for your Internal Energy cultivation in the martial path, please accept it.”

Lin Wei took it; although she didn’t know the name of the Medicinal Pill, she didn’t doubt him, her heart filled with joy at receiving the gift: ”Thank you, Junior Brother.”

She didn’t know that for someone practicing the martial path, the trace of Spiritual Qi contained within this Medicinal Pill was enough to cleanse the Meridians. The effect was far superior to ordinary martial arts pills.

Lin Wei didn’t stay long; after chatting for a while, she got up to leave, her steps appearing lighter as she walked away.

Gu Yan tidied up a bit and then left the Inner Sect to visit Elder Chen in the Outer Sect area.

The old man was in high spirits and vigorous, having actually reached the Middle Stage of the Second Transformation Stage in the martial path.

He pulled Gu Yan aside and exclaimed: ”Thanks to the Medicinal Pill you left last time, my old bones were able to achieve this progress.”

Gu Yan smiled and took out a few more bottles of Medicinal Pill, the same kind he had given Lin Wei: ”Elder Chen, keep these for your use.”

Elder Chen hurriedly refused: ”How can this be! Your cultivation is not easy, these Medicinal Pill...”

”Elder Chen, please accept them. My martial path cultivation has reached the Early Stage of the Third Transformation Stage, so this kind of Medicinal Pill is of little help to me now.”

Hearing that Gu Yan had reached the Third Transformation Stage, Elder Chen was stunned for a moment, then his wrinkles smoothed out, and he laughed heartily, saying it was good again and again.

Only then did he stop refusing and accept the Medicinal Pill.

After chatting for a while longer, Gu Yan said his goodbyes.

On the way back to the Inner Sect, passing by the Outer Sect martial arts arena, he suddenly heard a commotion.

He saw several Outer Sect Disciples surrounding one person, speaking with mockery.

”Ye Chen, didn’t you brag about amazing everyone at the next Outer Sect competition and stepping all over us? How come you’re still at the Early Stage of the First Transformation Stage, unable to even refine Internal Energy?”

”Haha, based on his little bit of Aptitude? Daydreaming!”

”Ye Chen, if you are willing to kneel down and kowtow today, and call us good Senior Brothers, we won’t make things difficult for you, how about it?”

Someone on the side chimed in: ”Senior Brother, don’t waste your breath on him. Before, he relied on Senior Sister Liu’s care, but now Senior Sister Liu is about to become the Dao Companion of that Senior Brother at the Late Stage of the Second Transformation Stage in the Inner Sect, who cares about him anymore? It’s a good time to teach him a lesson, maybe Senior Sister Liu will even feel refreshed!”

The young man Ye Chen, surrounded in the middle, pursed his lips tightly, his face flushed with anger.

Gu Yan, watching from a distance, shook his head slightly.

The Taiyi Dao Sect was founded on the Dao, and its Sect style had always been upright. This kind of street-like bullying behavior showed that the quality of this batch of Outer Sect Disciples was truly not high.

But he didn’t stop his steps. The Karma of the world was complex, and intervening without reason often just invited trouble.

Just as Gu Yan was about to walk away, a low roar filled with suppressed anger came from behind him: ”You... don’t bully people too much! Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river, do not bully the young for being poor! This humiliation today, I, Ye Chen, will remember it in my heart!”

The group of Disciples burst into louder mockery and cursed a few more times, but ultimately didn’t dare to take action blatantly within the Sect, so they dispersed resentfully.

Gu Yan had already walked far away, but that phrase ”do not bully the young for being poor” drifted into his ears, causing him to raise his eyebrows slightly.

This Ye Chen, why does he have a protagonist vibe?

He only had this thought for a moment and didn’t delve deeper.

He didn’t know that this Ye Chen was indeed a person harboring a great secret, formerly a Martial Venerable at the Peak of the Nine Transformations. Because his cultivation went wrong, he used a secret technique to disperse his memories and was reborn to re-Cultivate. He had joined the Taiyi Dao Sect three years ago and had only recently awakened part of his memories and a set of Ninth Transformation Cultivation Technique.

In a flash, another year passed. Gu Yan was twenty-nine years old, at the Seventh Level of Foundation Establishment.

This day happened to be the monthly public lecture at the Preaching Pavilion of the Inner Sect, and Gu Yan and Lin Wei went there together.

Halfway there, he saw a somewhat familiar figure talking to a beautiful female Disciple. It was Ye Chen.

He saw Ye Chen’s hands tightly clenched in his sleeves, seemingly trying hard to suppress his churning emotions. The woman’s expression was calm, even carrying a trace of faint aloofness.

After a few words, she turned and left without looking at Ye Chen again. Ye Chen froze on the spot, his shoulders trembling even more noticeably.

Gu Yan and Lin Wei passed by, roughly guessing what kind of scene this was. He was just about to walk straight past, but he heard Ye Chen suddenly speak: ”In front... is that Senior Brother Gu Yan? Please stop.”

Gu Yan stopped and turned around, somewhat surprised: ”You know me?”

Ye Chen cupped his hands: ”Senior Brother Gu, I am Ye Chen, a True Disciple of Sword Perching Peak. I often hear Senior Brother Xu Gang mention that Senior Brother Gu is the person with the most composed Heart-Nature and the most diligent cultivation he has ever seen in the Inner Sect.”

He paused, seemingly finding it hard to speak, but continued, ”I am being presumptuous today, but I wanted to ask Senior Brother Gu for advice on one matter.”

Gu Yan was slightly surprised upon hearing this. Ye Chen not only joined the Inner Sect but also became a True Disciple of some Elder? This speed of promotion was not simple. More importantly, there was Xu Gang; he still remembered this person. A few years ago, when he was in seclusion, the Sect had sent him to check if he had any problems with his cultivation. But he didn’t have a deep friendship with the other party; how could Xu Gang have such a high opinion of him?

”What does Junior Brother Ye wish to ask?”

Ye Chen took a deep breath, his gaze sweeping over the quiet and beautiful Lin Wei beside Gu Yan, a flash of complexity in his eyes, and he said in a low voice: ”I have heard... Senior Brother Gu is highly admired by many Senior Sisters and Junior Sisters. When Senior Sister Xu Yue mentions you, she is also full of praise. I am foolish, and I wanted to ask... how... how can one win the favor of the one they love?”

Gu Yan: ”...” He was speechless for a moment. This question’s tone shift was too abrupt. Beside him, Lin Wei covered her lips with her sleeve, emitting a very soft laugh.

Gu Yan steadied himself and deliberated: ”Junior Brother Ye, matters of the heart depend on fate and sincerity. Forcing it will only easily create obstacles. It is better to let nature take its course and focus on your own cultivation. When you achieve success in the martial path, your brilliance will naturally shine, and what is meant to come, perhaps will come.”

Gu Yan’s tone was calm and earnest, and what he said was the truth. Of course, there was one crucial factor he didn’t say out loud. If you were born as handsome as I am, you would probably save yourself a lot of trouble. Unfortunately, looking at Ye Chen’s appearance, although decent, it was only average.

Gu Yan didn’t say anything more, nodded slightly to Ye Chen, and continued walking toward the Preaching Pavilion with Lin Wei.