Chapter 19 : Myriad Beast Valley, Ji Yingying
Chapter 19: Myriad Beast Valley, Ji Yingying!
“I’m just a weak woman and not afraid of gossip, yet you, a dignified man, are the one worrying about it first?”
Gu Yan fell silent for a moment, not knowing how to respond.
Reasoning with a woman? Across both his past life and this one, he had never mastered that skill.
Seeing him at a loss, the smile in Lin Wei’s eyes deepened. She stepped forward and, without giving him a chance to react, hooked her arm around his again.
“Junior Brother, are you heading back to your residence? Senior Sister will walk with you for a bit.”
Without waiting for his reply, she continued:
“By the way, what level is your martial dao cultivation now? I’ve already broken through to the late stage of the Second Revolution!”
“In a few more years, I might even attempt the Third Revolution. If you have any doubts in cultivation, feel free to ask Senior Sister.”
In the Martial Dao Nine Revolutions, each revolution was a world apart, and every step forward required years of hard cultivation.
At thirty years old, Lin Wei reaching the late stage of the Second Revolution placed her talent at an above-average level within the inner sect.
Unfortunately, she did not know that Gu Yan was not walking an ordinary martial dao path.
“Thank you for your concern, Senior Sister. I only entered the mid-stage of the Second Revolution not long ago,” Gu Yan replied calmly.
Lin Wei’s eyes lit up. “Junior Brother’s progress is actually this fast!
Back in the outer sect, I remember you were only at the First Revolution…”
She paused, a look of realization flashing in her eyes.
“It seems Junior Brother’s talent was always exceptional—you were just limited by resources before.”
Gu Yan casually responded with a few words, half true and half false.
The two walked slowly along the bluestone path.
Lin Wei talked nonstop along the way, from sect anecdotes to cultivation insights. Gu Yan mostly listened quietly, occasionally giving a brief response.
Before long, a secluded courtyard came into view—it was Gu Yan’s residence on the eastern side of Pill Glow Peak.
Lin Wei released his arm and walked halfway around the courtyard wall. “So Junior Brother lives here.”
“Then Senior Sister will have to visit often in the future.”
Gu Yan stopped before the courtyard gate and turned to face her. “Senior Sister Lin, if you truly have intentions toward me, you might as well focus first on martial dao cultivation.”
Lin Wei was startled, confusion appearing in her eyes.
Gu Yan continued, “At the Sixth Revolution of martial dao, one may enter the realm of Martial Immortal, with a lifespan of five hundred years. Time will then be long—some matters need not be rushed.”
His words were subtle; Gu Yan’s intention was to make Lin Wei retreat in the face of difficulty.
Martial dao cultivation was extremely difficult, and the Sixth Revolution Martial Immortal was even more distant and unattainable.
If she focused on cultivation, naturally she would have no time to bother him.
However, after hearing this, Lin Wei blinked, and then her fair cheeks flushed red at a visible speed.
“Junior Brother… what you mean is… you want to… pursue longevity together with me?”
Gu Yan: “……”
“You hope I work hard in cultivation so that in the future I can…” Lin Wei’s voice grew softer and softer, the last few words nearly inaudible.
Gu Yan opened his mouth, wanting to explain, yet not knowing where to begin.
Was he supposed to directly 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 filled with unprecedented determination.
“Junior Brother, rest assured—I will cultivate diligently and break through my realm as soon as possible!”
Having said that, she turned and left, her steps light as the wind, disappearing at the end of the path in an instant.
Gu Yan remained standing at the courtyard gate, taking quite a while before coming back to his senses.
“This…” Gu Yan rubbed his brow and let out a long sigh.
Forget it. A misunderstanding is a misunderstanding. At least it would bring him some peace for a while.
He could only blame himself for being careless today, failing to release his divine sense in advance, which allowed Lin Wei to run into him directly.
Gu Yan pushed open the courtyard gate, entered the room, and began his daily cultivation, absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
In the following days, what Gu Yan did not expect was that Lin Wei truly did not come to disturb him.
But that peace only lasted seven days.
Early one morning, just as Gu Yan finished a night of cultivation, his divine sense detected someone outside the courtyard.
Opening the door, he saw Lin Wei sitting by the stone table in the courtyard, holding a scroll and reading attentively.
Seeing him come out, she looked up and smiled sweetly. “Good morning, Junior Brother. Senior Sister happened to pass by and is reviewing her studies here.”
After speaking, she lowered her head and continued reading, making no sound to disturb him.
Gu Yan was speechless and could only retreat back inside.
From then on, every seven days, Lin Wei would come without fail, regardless of wind or rain.
Sometimes she sat in the courtyard reading, sometimes she quietly gazed at the distant mountains, staying from morning until dusk, yet never knocking on the door nor speaking much.
After a month of this, Gu Yan finally could not sit still any longer.
Calculating the time and estimating that Lin Wei would come again today, he slipped out of the courtyard silently before dawn.
Morning mist lingered along the mountain path as his figure swept forward like the wind, heading straight for the Task Hall at Evergreen Market.
Inside the Task Hall, a wall displayed various mission notices.
Gu Yan’s gaze swept across them before stopping on a long-term mission:
【Guarding the entrance of Myriad Beast Valley, long-term mission, duration three years.】
【Sect contribution reward: 30,000】
【Requirement: Above Second Revolution in martial dao, strong will.】
【Note: Disciples have previously died during beast riots while on duty. Please consider carefully before accepting.】
Thirty thousand contribution points—this was an extremely high reward among long-term missions.
After a brief consideration, Gu Yan made his decision.
This would not only allow him to accumulate contribution points for future resource exchanges, but also completely avoid Lin Wei—killing two birds with one stone.
He took out his identity token and accepted the mission.
For martial practitioners, three years was not a short time—after all, how many three-year periods did one have in life?
But for Gu Yan, who cultivated immortality, it was but a fleeting moment.
After accepting the mission, he did not return to Pill Glow Peak and instead left the sect directly.
After presenting his mission token and being granted passage, he headed northwest toward Myriad Beast Valley.
He deliberately controlled his speed. Half a day later, a vast and continuous mountain range came into view.
Two steep peaks stood facing each other, forming a natural canyon between them.
At the valley entrance stood a massive ten-zhang-tall gate of black iron, exuding a chilling aura.
This was the seventeenth entrance of Myriad Beast Valley.
Several stone houses and pavilions had been built on the open ground before the gate.
Two inner sect disciples were sparring. Seeing Gu Yan approach, they stopped and stepped forward.
“Junior Brother, are you the new one taking over guard duty?” one of the taller disciples asked with a cupped fist.
Gu Yan presented his identity and mission token. “Correct. Inner sect disciple Gu Yan, here to guard Entrance Seventeen.”
After verifying the token, their attitude became more polite.
The tall disciple introduced himself, “I’m Zhao Heng, and this is Li Mo.”
“Our guard duty still has three months left. You’ve come a bit early, but there are plenty of rooms here—you’re welcome to stay.”
Just as they were speaking, the sound of hooves came from the end of the mountain path.
Soon, a snow-white steed galloped over, carrying a woman in white.
The most eye-catching feature of the woman was her cascading silver hair.
Her appearance was delicate and beautiful, her expression cold. After dismounting, she spoke little, only handing over her identity and mission token.
Zhao Heng took a look, and his expression immediately turned serious, his tone gaining a hint of respect. “So it’s Senior Sister Ji from Cloud-Mist Peak.”
Ji Yingying—direct disciple of Elder Qingyue of Cloud-Mist Peak, with early Third Revolution martial dao cultivation.
It was said she possessed a special bloodline. In less than ten years since entering the sect, she had already reached the Third Revolution—she was a well-known genius within the sect.
Gu Yan had also heard of her reputation.
The next day, the two began familiarizing themselves with guard duties.
The work was not complicated. Every day, they patrolled a ten-li radius around the entrance, checking whether the protective illusion formations were intact.
If beasts within the valley attempted to escape, they had to drive them back or kill them.
The ferocious beasts capable of breaking through the valley’s illusion formations were mostly comparable in strength to Second Revolution martial practitioners.
From Gu Yan’s true cultivation perspective, this was merely practicing in a place with better scenery—while also earning sect contribution points.
Most importantly, Lin Wei would surely not chase him to such a remote place.
For ordinary inner sect disciples of the Taiyi Dao Sect, what was truly difficult here was the loneliness.
Myriad Beast Valley was located in a remote part of the sect. Aside from fellow disciples delivering supplies once a month, almost no one came here.
However, Gu Yan had long been accustomed to cultivating alone, so he adapted well to patrolling here.
Two months passed like this. Zhao Heng and Li Mo completed their term and departed.
Only Gu Yan and Ji Yingying remained at the valley entrance, each occupying one of the two pavilions.
Ji Yingying had a cold temperament.
Aside from necessary daily patrol handovers, she hardly spoke to Gu Yan and rarely even looked at him.
Her only fixed activity was practicing a set of sword techniques beneath an old pine tree at the valley entrance every morning at dawn.
The two lived in separate quarters, each performing their duties, coexisting peacefully without disturbance.