“`
Gu An caught the secret manual and felt a subtle feeling in his heart. Although he had known that Li Ya was going to leave, when he actually heard that he was leaving, there was an unexpected twinge of reluctance in his heart.
In Medicine Valley, he had only two friends; after all, he had nothing to talk about with Cheng Xuandan and Zhang Chunqiu.
Li Ya was so much better than Meng Lang, who was nothing but an animal!
“Are you preparing for Foundation Establishment?” Gu An asked.
He had used Life Span Detection and saw that Li Ya’s cultivation level had already reached the ninth layer of the Energy Cultivation Realm. Such a fast breakthrough speed.
Could it be that there was a senior in the forest giving him guidance?
Or perhaps Li Ya housed the soul of an old man who had suffered betrayal and persecution?
Li Ya nodded and said, “I plan to begin Foundation Establishment next month.”
He paused for a moment, then said earnestly, “Once we part this time, I’m afraid we may not meet again. Don’t be too submissive to Meng Lang in Medicine Valley; that would only embolden him to take advantage of you even more. There will surely be other disciples in the future, and as a senior brother, you must assert your own temperament…”
Gu An was speechless—how come he was being lectured by two people in one day?
But compared to Du Ye, Li Ya was more sincere.
Gu An suddenly felt a sense of loss.
Since childhood, he had trodden on thin ice in the Ji Family without any real friends—only people he deliberately tried to please. He had never had a friend who would give him a gift like Li Ya.
He understood that what Li Ya said would come true. This separation could be for a lifetime.
Gu An couldn’t help saying, “The same goes for you. Don’t be as reckless as before. Staying alive is the most important thing. If you can rise from a Servant Disciple to someone on the verge of Foundation Establishment in less than two years, your talents must be top-notch. As long as you live, you will undoubtedly become a famous top Great Cultivator who will shake the world.”
Upon hearing this, Li Ya couldn’t help but smile.
The two stood in the courtyard and chatted, and soon, Meng Lang returned. Hearing that Li Ya was leaving, he was also quite downhearted.
In the end, Li Ya did leave. After saying goodbye to Gu An, he went to visit Cheng Xuandan, and finally, Zhang Chunqiu took him away from Medicine Valley.
Winter snow had not yet fully melted, and Medicine Valley became much quieter.
When Gu An had free time, he began to practice the sword manual that Li Ya had given him. His aspirations were not high—he didn’t seek to master it, but at least wanted to become skillful enough to have it appear on the attribute panel.
Making a cultivation technique or a secret manual appear on the Attribute Panel takes time, and Gu An didn’t want to find out too late during a moment of danger when he might need to sacrifice life span to practice it.
The sword manual Li Ya had given was titled “Li Family Seven Swords.” Though the name was quite common, Gu An knew that this Li Family represented the Taicang Dynasty’s Imperial Family, so he practiced it diligently.
As winter gave way to spring, the vibrant life bloomed throughout Medicine Valley.
After Li Ya’s departure, Zhang Chunqiu brought back a person—a fourteen-year-old boy named Xiaochuan.
Xiaochuan was a reclusive teenager and seldom interacted with Gu An and Meng Lang after he entered Medicine Valley. After Gu An helped him collect spirit grass several times, Xiaochuan developed a fondness for him, and they gradually conversed more, but overall, Xiaochuan remained a man of few words.
Time progressed into summer, and Gu An learned from the Attribute Panel that he had turned seventeen.
From childhood, he had never known the exact date of his birthday, and he did not care about it.
More than a birthday, what Gu An looked forward to was when he would be able to pick third-grade spirit grass.
Most of the spirit grass in Medicine Valley needed several years before it could be picked, so his lifespan growth rate was not always increasing and had recently started to slow down.
On this day.
Zhang Chunqiu found Gu An.
“Junior Brother Gu, I have a task here with a decent reward. Would you be willing to take it?” Zhang Chunqiu said with a beaming smile.
Gu An raised an eyebrow—there were tasks within Medicine Valley?
Suppressing his reluctance, he asked, “May I ask Senior Brother, what is the task?”
“There’s an Outer Disciple who is about to go out for experience and won’t be back for two years. The task is to take care of the spirit grass in his cave dwelling until he returns. When he does, he will reward you with ten Mid-Grade Spirit Stones,” Zhang Chunqiu said with a smile.
As soon as Gu An heard this, his heart was moved.
Spirit stones are graded from Low-Grade to Mid-Grade to Top-Grade to Supreme-Grade, each level valued a hundred times more than the last. A Mid-Grade Spirit Stone is equal to one hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones, and Gu An’s monthly remuneration was just one Low-Grade Spirit Stone. The task was equivalent to getting one thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones in two years—how could he not be moved?
Gu An hesitated and asked, “Can that senior be trusted?”
Zhang Chunqiu was taken aback, then burst into laughter. He said with approval, “Not bad, Junior Brother Gu, you are very cautious. Rest assured, that man is an old friend of mine. We entered the Supreme Sect in the same year. The reason he chose you is because of your hard work and honesty. If it were Meng Lang, I wouldn’t be at ease.
Plus, his cave is not far from our Medicine Valley; it’s only a dozen li away. You just need to go twice a month.”
After hesitating for a while, Gu An ultimately agreed.
Recently, he hadn’t had the chance to pick spirit grass for half a month. Watching his lifespan not increase made him very uncomfortable. He was missing the feeling of sacrificing life span to gain more.
The Dragon Strength Divine Primordial Skill could only bring him a year’s increase in lifespan each month. If it weren’t for the Golden Finger that allowed him to seize lifespan, he would certainly be content, but now, he was greedy.
And besides, he was unsure how long the effect of the Dragon Strength Divine Primordial Skill to increase lifespan would last, as everything has its limits.
Seeing that he had agreed, Zhang Chunqiu immediately led him towards the valley exit.
Gu An hadn’t left Medicine Valley in two years; the thought of actually leaving the valley made him a bit nervous.
As he stepped out of the valley, the sight of continuous mountains and forests greeted him. Sunlight streamed through the trees, forming circles of rainbow rays that were extraordinarily beautiful.
Zhang Chunqiu patted his waist, and a sword flew out from the storage bag there. He grabbed Gu An’s arm, leapt up, and landed on the sword, following which they flew on the sword.
Gu An, frightened, held tightly onto his waist. The hot summer wind blew his dark hair into a mess, envy in his eyes.
Sword Control, this is a hallmark of cultivators!
He hadn’t expected Zhang Chunqiu to possess such a skill!
Feeling the strength of his grip, Zhang Chunqiu laughed heartily. “Junior Brother Gu, you better keep your eyes wide open and memorize the way back, as you’ll have to come on your own in the future.”
Gu An couldn’t help but ask, “Senior Brother, could you teach me this Sword Control Technique?”
“`
“Only if you diligently cultivate and reach the fourth layer of the Energy Cultivation Realm, will I teach you Sword Control Technique.”
“The fourth layer of the Energy Cultivation Realm…”
“As long as you are willing to work hard, one day you will certainly reach the fourth layer of the Energy Cultivation Realm.”
While saying this, Zhang Chunqiu couldn’t help but straighten his back and reveal a hearty and sunny smile.
In his heart, he couldn’t help thinking, “In Junior Brother Gu’s eyes, my image must be very grand right now. I hope he is truly inspired and will no longer be lazy in his cultivation.”
In his eyes, Gu An was good in every aspect except for his lack of interest in cultivation; in his free time, that kid was always reading books.
Gu An was quite speechless. Was reaching the fourth layer of the Energy Cultivation Realm very difficult?
If I consume a hundred years of my lifespan, would that work?
No? Then how about five hundred years!
If five hundred years don’t suffice, then…
This is ridiculous!
The two brothers flew on their swords, chatting as they went.
Before long, they landed in a forest, and after touching down, Gu An was still savoring the feeling of flying in the sky.
Zhang Chunqiu led Gu An forward, passing through a dense forest to arrive in front of a cliff face. He raised his hand and took out a Jade Pendant, pressing it into a slot on the cliff.
“This cave has restrictions. You’ll need to bring this Jade Pendant in the future. Don’t ever lose it; it would be quite a hassle,” Zhang Chunqiu cautioned.
Gu An nodded. Following that, the cliff trembled, a stone door emerged and then opened up.
Zhang Chunqiu removed the Jade Pendant and led Gu An inside.
The two vanished into the darkness, and a few breaths later, the stone door thunderously closed.
The cave was larger than Gu An had anticipated. Just the tunnel itself was thirty feet long. They arrived in a spacious cave chamber, where Gu An’s gaze was instantly drawn to an area planted with herbs.
The herbs were densely planted, at least a hundred of them, occupying most of the space in the chamber. With Gu An’s current level of understanding, he could tell at a glance that these herbs were not of ordinary grade and rank.
Are all the Outer Disciples of the Supreme Sect this wealthy?
Zhang Chunqiu began to instruct Gu An, pointing out which herbs should be harvested and detailing the specific processes of cultivating each type of herb. The cave came equipped with its own restrictions and did not lack water, but too much could cause the herbs to die abruptly.
Some herbs, if not harvested in time, could even ignite with spiritual energy flames, resulting in the destruction of all the herbs.
Also, there were seeds on the table. After Gu An completed the harvesting, he would need to continue planting.
The Outer Disciple had already prepared Spirit Protection Papers in advance, also placed on the table.
“Alright, I’ll leave now. You come back on your own after you finish. First, try to see if you can find your way back. If you haven’t returned to Medicine Valley by evening, I’ll come looking for you,” Zhang Chunqiu patted Gu An’s shoulder and then handed him the Jade Pendant.
Gu An was not discourteous. He sent Zhang Chunqiu off before returning.
He didn’t immediately begin harvesting herbs, but instead, he surveyed the cave chamber.
It was very simple, with only a stone bed, a stone table, and two stone stools—no, there were also books hidden on the cave walls, obscured by strands of vines.
Gu An had no intention of browsing through them. What if the cultivators had some sort of surveillance restriction in place?
It’s better to honestly earn lifespan and not cause any trouble!
Gu An started to harvest the mature herbs.
[You have successfully stolen nine years of Spirit Flame Grass (third grade) lifespan.]
Sss——
Third-grade herbs!
Suddenly, Gu An didn’t know whether it was his own misunderstanding of the grade and rank of the herbs or if the treatment for Outer Disciples was indeed far superior to that of his position in Medicine Valley.
Forget it, enjoy it first!
The first batch of herbs to be harvested was eleven in total, granting him eighty-nine years of lifespan, which made his total lifespan reach one thousand two hundred sixty-four years.
Using Life Span Detection, Gu An took a look around and actually spotted fourth-grade Spirit Grass.
Such a well-off Outer Disciple!
Gu An was very pleased inside; such a lucrative employer was someone to maintain a good relationship with for the possibility of long-term cooperation.
Wait a minute!
Couldn’t he also do this kind of work for other disciples of the Supreme Sect?
After all, every disciple would experience going out for adventures.
No, first get this job done well. One must be steady and thorough. What if he encountered evil people trying to extort him?
He was merely a Servant Disciple, and if he were to have a conflict with an Official Disciple, he would certainly be the one to be discarded.
Gu An started planting the Spirit Flame Grass seeds. He did so with great care, wanting to do a good job.
Thirty minutes later.
Gu An came out of the cave and closed the cave door behind him. Then, he headed in the direction of Medicine Valley.
Wary of encountering demons like the Demon of Greed again, he walked quickly.
With the power of Dragon Strength Divine Primordial Skill, in less than an hour, Gu An arrived at the entrance of Medicine Valley. Before he even approached, he spotted someone.
Chu Jingfeng!
Chu Jingfeng, with his right arm severed, had a weather-worn face and wore a black robe, looking completely different from before.