Seizing Lifespan

Under the scorching sun, the sky was clear for ten thousand miles. Surrounded by mountain peaks, the world seemed to ripple with heat, and the forest swayed as a mountain breeze swept through, blowing into the valley and bringing a hint of coolness to Gu An as he stood in the garden.

Gu An wiped the sweat from his forehead, his eyes burning as he stared at the blooming flowers and plants on the ground. Each one was brightly colored, showing no signs of wilting even under the intense exposure.

Standing on his left and right were two other youths. The three of them had joined the Medicine Valley under the Alchemy Hall of the Taixuan Sect today. Compared to Gu An's excitement, the other two seemed uninterested, wiping their sweat with distracted expressions.

Standing before them was a young man in plain clothes. His appearance was ordinary, but his build was sturdy and his eyes were bright. He was Zhang Chunqiu, the head disciple of the Medicine Valley, who was currently explaining the essentials of harvesting spiritual flowers and herbs to the three of them.

"The flowers and plants in this garden are all first-grade herbs. When harvesting, you must not pull them out by the roots; you need to cut them at the stem near the soil. After cutting, you must wrap them with the Spirit Protection Paper in your hands to prevent the spiritual energy from leaking out..." Zhang Chunqiu's voice was loud and full of vigor, completely unaffected by the scorching sun.

Gu An held the shears in his right hand and strips of white paper in his left, carefully memorizing every word Zhang Chunqiu said.

Unlike the two beside him, he cherished this position dearly. He had endured many cold stares just to secure this opportunity.

Others thought he was slacking off or throwing his life away, but little did they know, this was the path to becoming stronger that suited him best!

"Alright, begin. Each of you harvest one, and I will inspect them." As soon as Zhang Chunqiu finished speaking, Gu An crouched down.

Gu An set down the Spirit Protection Paper in his hand and carefully held the stem of the red flower in front of him with his left hand.

"Brother, you're too nervous. It's fine even if you mess up the cut; they're just first-grade herbs. These are common plants used for refining basic pills. Back home, I wouldn't even look at them." Meng Lang, who was to Gu An's right, spoke up. He was dressed in luxurious clothing and appeared to come from an extraordinary background.

In fact, that was true. Aside from Gu An, who was a servant, the other two were from wealthy families. However, even children from wealthy families had to rely on their spiritual roots to enter the world of cultivation. They all possessed the most mediocre five-element spiritual roots, so to remain in the Taixuan Sect, they could only serve as handyman disciples.

Gu An ignored Meng Lang's words and focused on cutting the flower.

He pinched the stem, made a light snip with the shears, and then wrapped the base of the red flower with the Spirit Protection Paper.

After finishing, he stood up and handed it to Zhang Chunqiu for inspection.

Zhang Chunqiu took it, looked it over, and smiled with satisfaction: "Well done, you are very meticulous."

Gu An did not reply, instead staring fixedly at the red flower in his hand.

At this moment, he was even more nervous than before he had cut it.

A few seconds later, a line of text that only Gu An could see appeared before him.

[You have successfully plundered 1 year of lifespan from the Red Spirit Flower (First-grade)]

It worked!

A smile appeared on Gu An's face, and he felt a sense of relief wash over him.

Sure enough, only plants and animals containing spiritual energy could have their lifespans plundered by him.

Gu An first plundered a lifespan when he was ten years old. He had accidentally bumped into a flower pot carried by another servant, causing the spiritual flower to spill onto the ground, and he had gained twelve years of lifespan from it.

At the time, the estate guard was furious and wanted to cut off his hand; it was the Third Miss, Ji Xiaoyu, who intervened and saved him.

This time, Gu An was able to join the Taixuan Sect thanks to Ji Xiaoyu. Ji Xiaoyu possessed a rare dual-spiritual root that appeared once in a century, and many major cultivation sects had reached out to the Ji Family. Ji Xiaoyu brought five members of the Ji family to join the Taixuan Sect, and Gu An was one of the two servants.

Without Ji Xiaoyu, with his five-element spiritual root aptitude, he would only have been able to join a third-rate sect.

While Gu An was secretly happy, Meng Lang and the other youth named Li Ya had also finished their harvesting.

Zhang Chunqiu placed the three Red Spirit Flowers into the Storage Bag at his waist and said sternly: "Your task today is to harvest fifty Red Spirit Flowers together. You may only operate within this garden and are not permitted to cross into other areas. Once finished, bring the Red Spirit Flowers to find me at the pavilion."

With that, Zhang Chunqiu turned and left.

Meng Lang shook his fist at Zhang Chunqiu's retreating back and muttered under his breath: "Took forever to explain such a trivial thing. Has he never led junior brothers before?"

Li Ya sat directly on the dirt, frantically wiping sweat with his sleeves.

After seeing Zhang Chunqiu go upstairs, Gu An turned back to Meng Lang and Li Ya and said: "Two brothers, looking at your fine attire, you must come from excellent backgrounds and aren't used to such rough work. I'm different; I'm just a servant. Why not let me do it for you? I'll complete the task, and you two can find a cool place to rest. Just look after me a bit in the future."

Upon hearing this, Meng Lang's eyes lit up, and he smiled in pleasant surprise: "That works, brother! You're very sensible. If there ever comes a day you can't stay here, I'll ensure you have a life of comfort."

Li Ya, who no longer had the strength to speak, nodded in agreement.

Afterward, the two left their respective Spirit Protection Papers and, supporting each other, walked out of the garden.

Gu An picked up the discarded papers and looked back at the garden, his eyes glowing; even the scorching sun in the sky was not as intense as his gaze.

In his eyes, the garden full of Red Spirit Flowers were not flowers, but the stepping stones to the path of immortality!

He began to work with extreme caution. He not only had to complete the task but also do it well to avoid losing this perfect job.

The scorching sun radiated its boundless light, showing no mercy for the feelings of the living beings below.

Meng Lang and Li Ya went to a small pavilion to rest. The two wiped their sweat incessantly, lacking even the strength to talk, their gazes following Gu An.

Time passed second by second. Sweat poured down Gu An like rain, but he was incredibly exhilarated, and the smile on his face never faded.

Watching Gu An, whose face was flushed red, Meng Lang couldn't help but remark: "On such a hot day, this kid is really putting in the effort. I like him. Let's look after him more in the future, make sure he eats and drinks well, and don't let others bully him, so he can keep doing things for us."

Li Ya rolled his eyes and retorted irritably: "There are hardly any people in this valley; who could bully him? If the head disciple bullies him, would you dare to talk back?"

Meng Lang coughed feignedly, looked at Li Ya, and asked: "Brother, which Li family are you from?"

Li Ya replied calmly: "The Li family of Changluo in Cang Province."

"Changluo? Isn't that the Imperial Capital? Do you share the same surname as the Imperial family?" Meng Lang asked in surprise, and as soon as he finished, he couldn't help but widen his eyes.

Li Ya did not answer, but quietly watched Gu An.

Meng Lang became restless; he hadn't expected to run into a member of the Imperial family here.

But then he thought about it and felt it was normal. This was the Taixuan Sect, the number one cultivation sect of the Great Cang Dynasty. The fact that it could share the character 'Cang' with the dynasty was enough to show the transcendent status of the Taixuan Sect. It wasn't entirely absurd to encounter a member of the Imperial family at the bottom of the Taixuan Sect.

A long while later.

Gu An finally finished picking fifty Red Spirit Flowers. He placed all the bundled Red Spirit Flowers into his bamboo basket, shouldered it, and looked toward the other garden plots, his face full of anticipation.

There were over fifteen garden plots within the valley, and the one they were in was just a small corner; he guessed that the herbs in the other plots were of even higher value.

There is plenty of time!

Gu An did not want to expose his golden finger, so he decided to call it a day.

He walked along the small path toward the pavilion while waving at Meng Lang and Li Ya, who both stood up and walked over.

"Brother Gu An, you've worked hard, let me carry it," Meng Lang said with a chuckle. The three had introduced themselves when they met the valley master earlier, so they remembered each other's names.

Gu An saw through Meng Lang's little scheme, nodded with a smile, and handed the basket to him.

Li Ya curled his lips, a look of disdain appearing in his eyes.

Gu An only wanted to keep this job; he didn't want to be transferred away for performing too well, so he couldn't be bothered to bicker with Meng Lang.

The three arrived inside the pavilion to meet the senior apprentice brother, Zhang Chunqiu.

Zhang Chunqiu was holding a book. Seeing Gu An and the others enter, he put the book down and said, "Put the Red Spirit Flowers down. These three books are the basic techniques left behind by our master. Practice them well during your rest time and strive to leap out of here one day to become a true disciple of the Taixuan Sect. Five years ago, a disciple received a spirit pill from the master and successfully achieved Foundation Establishment, becoming an outer sect disciple of the Taixuan Sect."

As he spoke, he waved his right hand, and three manuals flew from his sleeves toward Gu An and the others.

Gu An took one and clearly read the characters on the cover.

Spring Wood Technique!

It sounds so low-level!

Gu An was not disappointed, however; after all, he was at the very bottom of the Taixuan Sect.

Zhang Chunqiu gave a few more instructions before telling them to find rooms in the adjacent courtyard. Those were reserved for the servant disciples. Currently, there were only the four of them in the Medicine Valley, and since the valley master was away and wouldn't return for another two years, Zhang Chunqiu was in charge of the Medicine Valley for now.

An incense stick of time later.

Gu An lay on a wooden bed, panting heavily, his face flushed red; after all, he had just experienced a bout of intense sun exposure.

He focused his mind, and lines of text appeared before his eyes.

[Name: Gu An]
[Lifespan: 15/151]
[Spirit Root: Ordinary Five Elements Spirit Root (Can invest lifespan to evolve cultivation)]
[Cultivation: None (Can invest lifespan to evolve cultivation)]
[Technique: Fire Control Art (Not yet mastered) (Can invest lifespan to evolve cultivation)]

Gu An had gained eighty-eight years of lifespan in one go!

Before this, his lifespan had been sixty-three years, twelve of which he had gained when he broke a flower bed at age ten; in other words, he was originally only meant to live to fifty.

A first-grade herb could only provide one to two years of lifespan, but for a mortal, a year is so long!

Gu An looked at his attribute panel, feeling more excited the longer he stared. In just this short time, he had earned eighty-eight years of lifespan; this job was truly wonderful!

He was going to be a permanent resident of the Medicine Valley!

He didn't care for outer sect disciples or inner sect disciples.

It was said that becoming an official disciple required going out to perform missions, slaying demons and devils in the human world, which was extremely dangerous.

From childhood to adulthood, Gu An had never even killed a chicken, and in his past life, he was just an ordinary person on Earth. He couldn't bring himself to engage in slaughter.

How good it was to stay in the Medicine Valley; he would almost never encounter danger, and he could earn lifespan like crazy!

Who said that cultivating immortality requires risking one's life?

Gu An fell into a beautiful daydream, unable to pull himself out.

A night passed.

Gu An woke up early in the morning and, after a simple wash, went to find Zhang Chunqiu to receive his tasks.

Zhang Chunqiu was not sleeping; he was practicing Qi circulation. Seeing Gu An's diligence, he smiled with satisfaction, then stood up, walked to the door, pointed toward a plot of land, and said, "You can pick all the Spirit Heart Grass in that garden plot. After you finish picking them, just leave the Spirit Heart Grass at the door; there's no need to knock."

With that, he flicked his sleeve, and several pieces of Spirit Protection Paper landed in Gu An's hands.

Zhang Chunqiu looked at Gu An, who was struggling to suppress his excitement, hesitated for a moment, then wore a kind and amiable smile and said, "Junior brother, work hard. As long as you are diligent and willing to endure hardship, you will surely make something of yourself."