Evolving a Technique, Dragon Force Divine Origin Technique

Meng Lang and Zhang Chunqiu were likewise surprised by Li Ya's choice, but neither said a word.

Cheng Xuandan looked at Li Ya with approval and nodded slightly. "Not bad. You have an eye for things, and you're not impatient, either."

With a sweep of his right hand toward the table beside him, three secret manuals appeared atop it. He shot Zhang Chunqiu a look, and Zhang Chunqiu immediately began distributing the manuals.

From beginning to end, Gu An never had a chance to speak.

Fine. He had been left out.

Gu An had been born optimistic, so he did not lose heart.

You may be cold to me today, but sixteen years from now, I'll put aside all past grudges and burn incense for you!

Gu An accepted the manual bearing the words 'Qi Cultivation Technique' and put on a delighted expression.

"Demons have recently infiltrated the Taixuan Sect. Medicine Valley lies at the edge of the sect, and though disciples patrol the area, danger still exists. Do not leave Medicine Valley in your daily lives. You may go."

After giving his instructions, Cheng Xuandan waved them away. Gu An and the other two immediately bowed and took their leave.

Gu An walked behind them. After leaving, he casually pulled the door shut.

Cheng Xuandan nodded slightly. "That boy named Li Ya is no ordinary person. He has likely cultivated some method for concealing his cultivation. His essence, energy, and spirit are no weaker than yours. Keep a closer eye on him from now on. Also, he comes from the Imperial Family, so do not be overly harsh with him."

Zhang Chunqiu nodded. After some thought, he said, "Master, Gu An is the most diligent one. On top of that, his aptitude is the worst, so he will surely remain in Medicine Valley the longest..."

Cheng Xuandan said calmly, "Mm. Then teach him well. I'll leave him to you."

Zhang Chunqiu smiled and bowed again in thanks.

Elsewhere.

Gu An and the other two returned to their courtyard. Along the way, Meng Lang kept talking about demons. Far from being afraid, he was excited.

Li Ya stopped and looked at Gu An. "The Qi Cultivation Technique is actually not bad. It can conceal your aura and extend your lifespan. I already have a cultivation technique, so I don't need it. For someone like you, the Qi Cultivation Technique is actually the better choice."

Hearing this, Gu An smiled. "Thank you for your guidance, Brother Li. I'll probably have to stay in Medicine Valley for the rest of my life. The Record of Hundred Herbs truly has little meaning for me. I can learn about medicinal herbs by following Eldest Senior Brother."

Li Ya nodded slightly. Seeing that Gu An was so willing to heed advice, he was quite pleased.

The three did not chat for long and soon returned to their respective rooms.

There were not many daily duties in Medicine Valley, so they had plenty of time to cultivate.

Gu An sat on his bed and began flipping through the Qi Cultivation Technique.

He had originally held no interest in the Qi Cultivation Technique, but after hearing Li Ya say that it could conceal one's aura and increase one's lifespan, he suddenly wanted to cultivate it and, while he was at it, test Lifespan Evolution.

Over the past year, he had cultivated the Spring Wood Technique Zhang Chunqiu had given him, but he had made no progress. After practicing for only half a month, he gave up.

Rather than practicing cultivation techniques tediously, he preferred going to Medicine Valley's library to read more books on medicinal herbs and various travel journals, broadening his horizons.

Days passed one after another.

Aside from his daily inspections of medicinal herbs, Gu An cultivated in his room.

After cultivating for fifteen days, the words Qi Cultivation Technique finally appeared on his Attribute Panel, though the note after it still read: Not Mastered.

Gu An gazed at his Attribute Panel, his face full of anticipation.

It was his first time using Lifespan Evolution, and he was quite nervous. He had no idea how many years of lifespan it would take to deduce the Qi Cultivation Technique.

Although his lifespan had already exceeded a thousand years, he would still feel heartache if it cost him dozens or even hundreds of years.

Gu An stared at the Qi Cultivation Technique on his Attribute Panel and silently chose to invest lifespan into Lifespan Evolution.

[Please select the amount of lifespan to invest]

Looking at that line, Gu An made his choice without the slightest hesitation. Immediately afterward, two lines appeared before his eyes.

[You have invested one year of lifespan into 'Qi Cultivation Technique' for evolutionary cultivation]

[You cultivated the Qi Cultivation Technique for one year. Due to your mediocre comprehension and aptitude, your cultivation made no progress, but your essence and energy improved]

Gu An suddenly felt incomparably comfortable all over, but the sensation came quickly and vanished just as fast.

That was it?

The word mediocre stabbed deeply into Gu An.

This was too damned insulting!

A question arose in Gu An's heart. Was so-called aptitude related to Spirit Roots?

He immediately chose his Spirit Root for Lifespan Evolution and invested a full hundred years of lifespan in one go.

[You have invested one hundred years of lifespan into Spirit Root for evolutionary cultivation]

[You began comprehending heaven, earth, and nature, increasing your Spirit Root's perception of nature. One hundred years passed, and your Five Elements Spiritual Root's perceptive ability improved]

After reading the two notifications, Gu An brought up his Attribute Panel again and discovered that his Spirit Root had changed from 'ordinary Five Elements Spirit Root' to 'fairly good Five Elements Spirit Root.'

Gu An felt that he had taken a loss. Watching his lifespan shrink from four digits to three, his heart ached terribly.

It seemed that evolving Spirit Roots was a bottomless pit.

"Should I try the Qi Cultivation Technique again?"

Such a thought surfaced in Gu An's mind. After trying out spending lifespan, he felt an itch in his heart.

"I earned a thousand years of lifespan using just one year. If I spend a little more today, I can work hard to earn it back later... Mm, I'll indulge myself just once today. After all, it's my first time using this ability..."

Gu An took a deep breath and silently chose to invest five hundred years of lifespan into the Qi Cultivation Technique.

[You have invested five hundred years of lifespan into 'Qi Cultivation Technique' for evolutionary cultivation]

[You cultivated the Qi Cultivation Technique for one year. Due to your mediocre comprehension and aptitude, your cultivation made no progress, but your essence and energy improved]

[You cultivated the Qi Cultivation Technique for ten years. Due to your mediocre comprehension and aptitude, your cultivation made no progress. You successfully mastered the Qi Cultivation Technique, and your vitality improved]

[You cultivated the Qi Cultivation Technique for one hundred years. Years of cultivation gave you insight into the Qi Cultivation Technique, and your Qi Cultivation Technique began to change]

[You cultivated the Qi Cultivation Technique for two hundred years. Your Qi Cultivation Technique merged with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, transforming into a cultivation method]

[You cultivated the Qi Cultivation Technique for three hundred years. Your Qi Cultivation Technique advanced into the Spirit Nourishing Technique]

[You cultivated the Qi Cultivation Technique for four hundred years. On this day, you suddenly attained enlightenment, gathered the true meaning of heaven and earth, and created the Dragon Elephant Origin Nourishing Technique from the Spirit Nourishing Technique. Your body and vitality transformed]

[You cultivated the Qi Cultivation Technique for five hundred years. The Dragon Elephant Origin Nourishing Technique reached great mastery, broke through the technique's limits, and advanced into the Dragon Force Divine Origin Technique. Your physique underwent a qualitative transformation]

Line after line of notifications flashed before Gu An's eyes. Before he could finish reading them, an enormous flood of memories surged into his mind.

A Qingfeng blew in through the window, stirring the curtains beside the bed and Gu An's black hair. With his eyes closed, he unconsciously opened his mouth and breathed in and out, faint traces of dragon roars accompanying his breaths.

After an unknown amount of time, Gu An gradually awakened.

He opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was the dim mountain forest beyond the window.

Night had fallen.

Gu An had inherited all the cultivation memories of the Dragon Force Divine Origin Technique. He had even directly mastered the technique.

The Dragon Force Divine Origin Technique was a cultivation method created by drawing upon the cultivation of dragon turtles. It could conceal one's aura, hide one's cultivation, and even cultivate the force of a dragon.

The Qi Cultivation Technique was merely part of the foundational cultivation method for the Dragon Force Divine Origin Technique. Lifespan Evolution was equivalent to deducing a complete technique from an incomplete one.

Gu An suspected that the Dragon Force Divine Origin Technique had existed in the world all along. The Taixuan Sect had merely obtained a fragment of it and thus named it the Qi Cultivation Technique.

If he invested another three hundred years of lifespan, what changes would the Dragon Force Divine Origin Technique undergo?

Gu An forcibly suppressed his urge to spend lifespan. Feeling his physique, he could sense a tyrannical force within his body, making him feel as though he possessed boundless strength.

He felt that with one punch, he could easily shatter an entire pavilion!

This feeling of strength was simply too wonderful!

More than that, his senses had improved tremendously. He could hear Meng Lang and Li Ya breathing. He could even hear the conversation between Zhang Chunqiu and Cheng Xuandan in the distance.

"That demon has already killed thirteen disciples. Most of them were Handyman Disciples from the various medicine valleys. Master, you and I alone may not be able to protect them."

"It's fine. Your master has already applied for a sect mission. The sect will send a Foundation Establishment Realm disciple to guard our Medicine Valley."

"That's wonderful. The spiritual energy in the valley was somewhat abnormal this afternoon. At the time, I thought the demon was coming. To my shame, I did not even dare leave the house."

"You, you... You grew up beneath your master's wing and have never gone out to gain experience. It is understandable that your nature is timid..."

Listening to their conversation, cold sweat streamed down Gu An's back.

He had been careless!

From now on, he could not act recklessly when deducing cultivation techniques.

Fortunately, Zhang Chunqiu's cultivation was low. Otherwise, Gu An's cultivation would have been discovered.

Gu An eavesdropped for a while. Only after confirming that Cheng Xuandan and Zhang Chunqiu were not discussing him did he finally relax.

He continued to feel out his new physique. At the same time, following the method of the Dragon Force Divine Origin Technique, he suppressed his aura to the lowest possible level and pressed his vitality deep within his body. He looked no different from before cultivating, still frail enough to be blown over by the wind.

An hour later, Gu An opened his eyes and brought up his Attribute Panel.

[Name: Gu An]

[Lifespan: 16/402]

[Spirit Root: fairly good Five Elements Spirit Root (lifespan may be invested for evolutionary cultivation)]

[Cultivation: unranked (lifespan may be invested for evolutionary cultivation)]

[Techniques: Fire Control Art (not mastered), Spring Wood Technique (not mastered), Dragon Force Divine Origin Technique (consummate mastery) (lifespan may be invested for evolutionary cultivation)]

Dragon Force Divine Origin Technique, consummate mastery!

Gu An looked at it with complete satisfaction. Unfortunately, the Dragon Force Divine Origin Technique was a body cultivation method and could not cultivate spiritual energy, so his cultivation remained unranked.

Even unranked, Gu An felt that sweeping through the Qi Refining Realm would not be a problem.

Next, he could wait for his lifespan to increase.

His Dragon Force Divine Origin Technique had already reached great mastery. The force within his body would help him increase his lifespan automatically, though its rate of increase was difficult to determine for now.

That night, Gu An found it difficult to sleep.

Yet even after waiting until dawn and repeatedly refreshing his Attribute Panel, he still did not see his lifespan increase. He could only console himself: no matter how powerful a technique was, it could not possibly add a year of lifespan in a single day.

Mm!

Heaven never let down those who spent lifespan. Sooner or later, a pleasant surprise would come!

Gu An washed up briefly, then left his room, intending to stroll through the gardens and calm himself by looking at the medicinal herbs.

As luck would have it, the moment he arrived at one garden, his gaze locked onto a white-furred mouse.

It was the mouse that had previously gnawed on the Calm Heart Grass!

Gu An looked around and confirmed that no one else in Medicine Valley had left their rooms. He immediately crept toward the white-furred mouse.

The white-furred mouse had its back to him. Ten zhang separated them, and it did not notice anyone approaching.

When they were less than seven steps apart, Gu An shot forward like an arrow released from its bow and snatched up the white-furred mouse with his right hand.

The white-furred mouse was terrified. It immediately raised its two little paws in a posture of surrender.

"You dared steal my lifespan? Heh heh, you're finished now!"

Gu An laughed smugly. While capturing the white-furred mouse, he had been able to see the entire process of it turning around.

Too slow!