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Chapter 7: Three Thousand Years of Lifespan, Danger Resurfaces
Chapter 7: Three Thousand Years of Lifespan, Danger Resurfaces
When Gu An spotted Chu Jingfeng, Chu Jingfeng also saw him.
Gu An was about to quicken his pace to greet him, but Chu Jingfeng leaped into the air, soaring several zhang high. He flew over the hillside and landed gracefully in front of Gu An like a wild goose.
"You must be Gu An. I have some questions for you," Chu Jingfeng said in a low voice.
Gu An, feigning nervousness, bowed respectfully and replied, "Yes, senior. Please ask your questions, and I will answer truthfully."
Seeing Gu An’s obedient demeanor, Chu Jingfeng’s expression softened. He asked gently, "You’ve seen the Demon of Greed and Rage, and she even grabbed your neck. Do you remember her face?"
Gu An shook his head, "The room was dark that night, and I couldn’t see her face clearly. As soon as she appeared, I fainted from fear…"
As he said this, he discreetly manipulated his inner qi, causing his face to flush red.
Chu Jingfeng noticed Gu An’s embarrassment, and his anger subsided significantly.
"What am I doing, making things difficult for a menial disciple…" Chu Jingfeng thought to himself, self-mockingly.
His expression became more gentle as he said, "If you recall anything or encounter anything unusual, you can contact me."With that, he took out a spirit stone the size of an egg and said, "This is a special spirit stone. You can use it to communicate with me by channeling your spiritual energy into it."
He tossed the spirit stone to Gu An and then leaped into the air. A sword appeared at his waist, seemingly out of nowhere, and he stepped onto it, flying into the forest. Leaves fluttered down as he disappeared.
Was it just his imagination, or had Chu Jingfeng become stronger after losing his arm?
Gu An didn’t dwell on it. Holding the spirit stone, he continued his way back to the Medicine Valley.
"Sigh, when will I have my own storage pouch?"
The young man walked along the forested hillside, dappled sunlight filtering through the leaves, making it seem as though he was wearing a robe of many colors.
...
Time passed quickly, and two years went by in the blink of an eye.
Now nineteen, Gu An walked through the forest. He looked taller and sturdier than he had two years ago. Even though he still wore plain clothes, he appeared clean and composed. His eyes were especially bright, and his long hair was tied casually behind his head with a grass rope. Two strands of hair fell across his forehead, giving him a carefree and somewhat unrestrained aura.
Following behind him was a younger boy, average in appearance and a head shorter than Gu An. The boy carried a bamboo basket on his back, wiping away large beads of sweat from his forehead as he walked.
"Senior brother, how much farther?" Xiao Chuan asked weakly.
Xiao Chuan was the only disciple in the Medicine Valley with a lower rank than Gu An, and he often followed Gu An around. When he heard that Gu An was managing an outer sect disciple’s cave, he had begged for a long time until Gu An finally agreed to bring him along this time.
Gu An had his own reasons for bringing Xiao Chuan along.
Yesterday, Zhang Chunqiu mentioned that the owner of the cave had returned. To prevent any trouble, Gu An decided to bring Xiao Chuan with him.
If the cave owner had any malicious intent, the presence of another person might make him hesitate.
Gu An didn’t intend to put Xiao Chuan in danger. If anything did happen, his Dragon Force Divine Essence Art wasn’t just for show.
"Almost there," Gu An replied without turning his head. To be fair, he was starting to understand why Zhang Chunqiu liked him so much.
Having such an obedient junior disciple made things much easier.
Xiao Chuan groaned. He had heard those same words at least eight times by now. If he had known it would be like this, he wouldn’t have come.
For an ordinary person, walking ten li was no small feat, and with the rugged mountain paths and the scorching weather, Xiao Chuan felt like he was going to die.
Gu An didn’t offer any more reassurance, because they were truly almost there.
After about the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, Gu An pushed aside the bushes and approached the rock wall. Instead of opening the stone gate right away, he clasped his hands and said, "Junior Gu An is here to return the cave’s jade pendant to Senior."
Xiao Chuan stood on the other side of the bushes, his face full of curiosity as he stared at the rock wall.
His background was no better than Gu An’s, and he knew little about the world of cultivation. To him, an outer sect disciple of the Tai Xuan Sect was practically a big shot.
Rumble—
The stone gate opened, and a hoarse voice called from within, "Come in."
Gu An turned back and said to Xiao Chuan, "Wait for me outside."
Xiao Chuan naturally didn’t dare to follow him inside. Just witnessing the stone gate open was already enough to make the trip worthwhile.
Gu An confidently stepped into the cave, far more self-assured than he had been two years ago.
That confidence came from the lifespan he had accumulated—he now had over three thousand years.
In addition to the herbs inside the cave, he had also been harvesting third-tier herbs under Cheng Xuandan’s direction for the past two years, leading to rapid lifespan growth.
Confidence is born from strength. Although Gu An had only cultivated a small amount of spiritual power, he was no longer the same person he once was.
As he walked through the cave tunnel, Gu An saw a man sitting at a stone table.
It was a middle-aged man with a thin frame. His loose robes hung off his body, and his black-and-white hair, sunken eyes, and prominent cheekbones gave him an air of deep calculation.
The moment Gu An saw him, he had a gut feeling that this man wasn’t to be trifled with.
[Zhu Moya (Qi Refining Stage Ninth Layer): 58/130/140]
His lifespan limit was even shorter than Zhang Chunqiu’s, indicating that his aptitude was inferior to Zhang Chunqiu’s.
Gu An guessed that Zhu Moya’s higher cultivation was likely the result of relying on pills.
As these thoughts ran through Gu An’s mind, he quickly approached Zhu Moya, took out the cave’s jade pendant, and offered it with both hands.
Zhu Moya took the jade pendant and said softly, "You’ve done well. I’m pleased. Here’s a pouch with ten mid-grade spirit stones. You can take it."
He lifted a cloth pouch from the table and handed it to Gu An.
Gu An respectfully accepted the pouch, discreetly weighing it in his hands, then thanked Zhu Moya.
"You may leave," Zhu Moya said, waving his hand.
Gu An nodded, bowed again, and turned to leave.
As he turned, his sharp eyes caught something. Without hesitation, he used his lifespan detection ability.
[Demon of Greed and Rage (Second Tier): 31/140/180]
Gu An remained outwardly calm and quickly walked away.
Zhu Moya watched Gu An’s retreating figure, his expression turning cold. Once he heard the stone gate close, he snorted and muttered to himself, "Lucky for you."
The protective formation around outer sect disciples' caves was quite basic—just a low-grade magical mechanism. Given that, it wasn’t surprising that Gu An, standing outside the cave, had overheard Zhu Moya’s muttered words, which only heightened his unease.
So there was a problem after all!
Gu An had already suspected something. Why hadn’t the Demon of Greed and Rage attacked Zhu Moya’s cave when it had passed through the area before? Clearly, this guy had a connection to the demon.
"Senior brother, did everything go smoothly?" Xiao Chuan asked with concern as Gu An walked toward him.
Gu An smiled, "Yes, it went well. Let’s go back."
Xiao Chuan nodded, and the two began heading back the way they had come. Once they were a distance away, Xiao Chuan started asking what the cave owner was like.
Gu An gave a brief description, which left Xiao Chuan fascinated.
For the rest of the journey, Gu An didn’t feel like chatting. His mind was preoccupied with thoughts of the Demon of Greed and Rage and Zhu Moya’s ominous words.
No, I can’t just ignore this. It’s too dangerous!
Gu An thought of the spirit stone Chu Jingfeng had given him and decided to seek Chu Jingfeng’s help.
But before that, he needed to improve his strength, just in case.
It had been three years since he last used his lifespan to power up. The mere thought of it made Gu An excited.
The Dragon Force Divine Essence Art could conceal his aura, allowing him to hide his cultivation. This time, he planned to boost his cultivation first, then work on his offensive skills.
"Should I evolve the Remnant Wind Kick, or focus on the Li Family’s Seven Swords?"
Gu An found himself torn between the two.
An hour later, they finally returned to the Medicine Valley. Gu An took Xiao Chuan’s bamboo basket and headed to his courtyard.
The basket was full of ordinary herbs they had picked along the way.
Xiao Chuan, exhausted, didn’t have the energy to do anything else and went straight to his room to rest.
Gu An returned to his own house, closed the door, and placed the bamboo basket and cloth pouch on the table before heading to his bed.
Taking a deep breath, he first attuned his senses to the other people in the Medicine Valley.
Meng Lang was practicing spells in the forest, Cheng Xuandan was refining pills, and Zhang Chunqiu was struggling with qi cultivation.
Good, no one seemed to be paying attention to him.
Gu An pulled up his attribute panel.
[Name: Gu An]
[Lifespan: 19/3463]
[Spiritual Root: Five-Elemental Improved Spiritual Root (Can be enhanced with lifespan)]
[Cultivation Level: Qi Refining Stage, First Layer (Can be enhanced with lifespan)]
[Techniques: Fire Control Art (Unmastered), Springwood Technique (Unmastered), Dragon Force Divine Essence Art (Mastery) (Can be enhanced with lifespan)]
[Skills: Remnant Wind Kick (Unmastered), Li Family’s Seven Swords (Unmastered) (Can be enhanced with lifespan)]
...
Gu An cautiously invested one year of lifespan into cultivating his cultivation level.
[You’ve cultivated for one year. Due to your average aptitude and the ordinary quality of your technique, your progress is minimal.]
As soon as the notification appeared, Gu An could feel the change in his body.
One strand of spiritual energy became two…
Gu An’s face twitched. He had no choice but to turn his attention to the Springwood Technique.
This was the only qi-cultivating technique he had learned. As for the Fire Control Art, it was just an auxiliary technique taught to him by an old servant back in the Ji family. As the name suggested, it was simply about controlling fire.
"Forget it. I won’t wait for a higher-level technique. After all, I can evolve anything with lifespan. Even the most ordinary technique can become a supreme art in my hands…"
With that thought, Gu An’s expression became resolute.
He chose to invest 100 years of lifespan into cultivating the Springwood Technique.
[You’ve cultivated the Springwood Technique for one year. Due to your average aptitude, your progress is minimal.]
[You’ve cultivated the Springwood Technique for ten years. You’ve finally mastered the Springwood Technique, increasing your qi cultivation speed.]
[You’ve cultivated the Springwood Technique for fifty years. Your mastery has reached a higher level, increasing your qi cultivation speed tenfold.]
[You’ve cultivated the Springwood Technique for one hundred years. You’ve gained new insights, and the Springwood Technique has evolved into the Spring Essence Art.]
A flood of memories surged into Gu An’s mind, all related to the cultivation of the Spring Essence Art.
Compared to the Dragon Force Divine Essence Art, the Spring Essence Art was much simpler, so it didn’t take long for Gu An to fully absorb the information.
Once he opened his eyes, he listened carefully for any sounds in the Medicine Valley. Xiao Chuan was already asleep, and everyone else was busy with their own tasks. No one had noticed him.
Now came the question.
Should he continue improving the Spring Essence Art, or use it to directly evolve his cultivation?
The higher the level of his technique, the faster he could increase his cultivation. This would also allow him to conserve lifespan.
After thinking it over, Gu An decided that improving his technique was the most important thing. He couldn’t afford to be careless.
I’ll invest a thousand years and see how far I can go!