Gu Hong set down the book in her hand and stood up. “Honored guest, please come with me,” she said calmly.
She remained as composed as ever while leading Li An into the inner chamber.
Although Li An trusted Gu Hong more than most, he still activated his full divine sense, carefully scanning the surroundings.
There were no preset traps or formation arrays.
Gu Hong led Li An straight into her boudoir and shut the door behind them.
“Li—”
She turned around, her eyes filled with irrepressible joy and excitement, just about to speak when Li An raised a finger to his lips in a silencing gesture. He then swiftly laid down two formation arrays.
One was a sound-dampening array, which weakened the transmission of sound so that nothing from within the room could be heard outside. Naturally, this was only a mid-level array and could not block spiritual sense detection, so hidden within the array, Li An had placed a Thunderstrike Talisman.
Over the years, he had openly purchased five talismans in the city: two Thunderstrike Talismans and three Explosive Talismans. By being so open about it, he made it all the more difficult for anyone to associate him with the identity of the Black-Hearted Talisman Master.
The second formation was a lethal kill array.
Once everything was in place, Li An finally turned and smiled at Gu Hong. “Fellow Daoist Gu, it’s been many years. I hope you’ve been well.”
Gu Hong’s eyes brimmed with long-awaited happiness, as though she had countless words to say. But in the end, she merely smiled and replied:
“I’ve been well.”
The two sat down and began to exchange stories of the years they had spent apart.
What Gu Hong recounted was more or less what Li An had learned through rumors. Years ago, she and her master had come to White Tiger City to seek help from her senior brother, Zhang Deyi, hoping he would assist them in acquiring ingredients for the Minor Restoration Pill.
But to their surprise, Zhang Deyi had become like a different person. He met with them once, coldly refused their request, and then drove the master and disciple out.
Left with no choice, Gu Hong stayed in the city with her master.
In truth, with Gu Hong and Old Gu Songxi’s abilities, they could have led a decent life in the city. But they had been targeted at every turn, as though someone was deliberately trying to drive them away.
To avoid direct confrontation with Zhang Deyi, Gu Hong and her master had always endured, even going out of their way to avoid business competition with his faction.
“Senior Brother used to be kind-hearted and generous… sigh.”
Gu Hong let out a soft sigh as she spoke.
“The human heart is the hardest to predict,” Li An added, though his mind had drifted to how his Second-Grade Alchemy Legacy had been exposed.
Based on Gu Hong’s account… the change in Zhang Deyi had been extreme!
“Was he possessed?” The thought flickered through Li An’s mind.
It wasn’t impossible.
His alchemy skills had skyrocketed, his insight had become extraordinary, and he now rejected all former acquaintances…
Li An was well-versed in the concept of possession.
Typically, after possession, the original soul wouldn’t vanish immediately.
It would remain within the body, its space increasingly compressed by the intruder’s soul.
During this inner struggle, anything or anyone the original soul held dear might stir powerful resistance, undermining the stability of the one who possessed the body.
If this were true, everything began to make sense.
Zhang Deyi must have found Gu Hong and her master highly unsettling, unwilling to even see them. That would explain why he mobilized forces throughout the city to suppress and pressure them—to drive them out.
There had even been a rumor that some high-level figure in White Tiger Mountain disliked Gu Hong and her master, which led to many alchemists refusing to work with them.
The true origin of all this… was likely Zhang Deyi himself.
Even Li An had hesitated to work with them—he had only considered Gu Hong as a backup.
Had Luo Yong not turned against him, Li An might have gone to Zhang Deyi for alchemy assistance after all.
But Gu Hong, determined to gather ingredients for her master’s Minor Restoration Pill, had stubbornly persisted in the city. Zhang Deyi, unable to outright kill or ruin them—perhaps to avoid provoking the original soul’s resistance—could only pretend they didn’t exist.
“A rat afraid to bite the trap,” Li An thought.
He said nothing aloud. Gu Hong and her master were only at the Foundation Establishment stage; this kind of secret was far beyond their reach and would only bring them distress.
He briefly described his own journey—saying he had been out when the Demon Sect attacked the market district, then went into secluded cultivation in Tempered Moon Valley for years. After the incident with the Zhao Clan, he made his way directly to White Tiger City.
“By the way, Daoist Li, you said in your letter that you needed my master’s help to refine a Foundation Establishment Pill. Have you gathered all the required ingredients?”
Gu Hong asked, taking out several Second-Rank Spiritual Herbs. “Over the years, I’ve managed to collect a few. But I’ve never had any luck finding a high-quality Essence Beast Core or Purple Spirit Grass. You probably already have those?”
At her words, Li An’s heart warmed slightly.
Clearly, Gu Hong had kept his request in mind all this time—she had even gathered ingredients for him.
“Many thanks, Fellow Daoist Gu, but there’s no need—I’ve prepared everything.”
Li An asked, “How is Alchemist Gu’s health?”
“These past years, Master has been quietly preserving his strength, waiting for the day he can refine the Foundation Establishment Pill for you.”
Gu Hong smiled sweetly. “After all, he’s counting on you to establish your foundation soon and purify that Essence Beast Crystal Core for him.”
—Four years ago, when Li An had last visited Gu Hong, he left her a crystal core and a letter.
In the letter, he explained that he had arrived in White Tiger City and was preparing for Foundation Establishment.
The crystal core he left behind was shrouded in a layer of gray deathly aura—unable to be purified. Li An explained in the letter that he had found a method to cleanse it, but he needed to succeed in Foundation Establishment first.
Thus, Old Gu Songxi had been waiting ever since.
That was Li An’s bargaining chip—because that gray death aura had come from a Fate Seed, only he could remove it.
“My apologies for keeping Alchemist Gu waiting,” Li An said.
Gu Hong replied, “Since that’s the case, there’s no time to waste. Let’s go see him now.”
“Oh, and I haven’t told Master your true identity. I only said we’re refining a Foundation Establishment Pill as repayment for the Essence Beast Crystal Core. You don’t need to reveal who you really are.”
Li An was inwardly moved.
Gu Hong truly considered everything for him. She hadn’t even told her own master the truth, just to protect his identity.
…
Immediately, the two left the room, and Li An dismantled the two arrays he had set up.
They turned the corner and entered a quiet chamber. The furnishings were simple—nothing but a single prayer mat.
Sitting in meditation on that mat was an elderly man with white hair and beard—Old Gu Songxi.
He looked even more aged than before.
“Master, the Daoist who requested the Foundation Establishment Pill has arrived,” Gu Hong announced.
Old Gu opened his eyes and looked at Li An. A glint of scrutiny passed through his eyes before he rose and smiled warmly.
“Many thanks, Fellow Daoist, for your generous gift. It allowed this old man to extend his frail life a while longer—I am deeply grateful!”
He offered a slight bow.
Li An returned the gesture. “It is I who should thank Alchemist Gu for your assistance!”
Old Gu said, “No need for courtesy, Fellow Daoist Yuan. Have you brought the ingredients? We can begin right away!”
His elderly eyes shone with eager anticipation.
…
(End of Chapter)