Such a Plump Outer Sect Disciple

Gu An caught the manual, feeling a subtle sensation in his heart. Although he had long known Li Ya was leaving, hearing that he was actually going to depart left him feeling a tinge of reluctance.

In this Medicine Valley, he only had two friends; after all, he had nothing to talk about with Cheng Xuandan or Zhang Chunqiu.

Li Ya was far better than Meng Lang—Meng Lang was a total beast!

"Are you about to reach Foundation Establishment?" Gu An asked.

Using his lifespan detection, he saw that Li Ya's cultivation had already reached the ninth level of Qi Refining. What a fast breakthrough speed.

Could there be an expert in the woods guiding him?

Or perhaps, was there the soul of an old master hidden within Li Ya, someone persecuted by villains?

Li Ya nodded and said, "I plan to reach Foundation Establishment next month."

He paused, then said earnestly, "After this parting, I fear we may never meet again. Don't be too submissive to Meng Lang in the Medicine Valley; that will only let him push you around. There will surely be other disciples in the valley in the future, and as a senior brother, you must have some backbone of your own..."

Gu An was speechless. How had he been lectured by two different people in a single day?

But compared to Du Ye, Li Ya was much more sincere.

Gu An suddenly felt a sense of reluctance.

From childhood to adulthood, he had walked on thin ice in the Ji Family. He had no true friends, only people he had deliberately tried to please. He had never had a friend like Li Ya, who would actually give him gifts.

He understood that Li Ya's words would likely come true; this parting could be for a lifetime.

Gu An couldn't help but say, "You too, don't be as reckless as before. Staying alive is the most important thing. You've leaped from a Handyman Disciple to the verge of Foundation Establishment in less than two years; your talent must be top-tier. As long as you survive, you will surely become a world-renowned, top-tier great cultivator."

Hearing his words, Li Ya couldn't help but smile.

The two stood in the courtyard chatting. Before long, Meng Lang returned, and upon hearing that Li Ya was leaving, his mood also became very low.

In the end, Li Ya left. After saying goodbye to Gu An and the others, he went to visit Cheng Xuandan, and finally, Zhang Chunqiu led him away from the Medicine Valley.

Before the winter snow had completely melted, the Medicine Valley felt much more desolate.

In his spare time, Gu An began to practice the sword manual Li Ya had given him. He didn't have high aspirations; he didn't seek to master it, but at least he wanted to become proficient enough for it to appear on his panel.

It took time for cultivation techniques and manuals to appear on the Attribute Panel, and Gu An didn't want to wait until he was in danger and needed to burn his lifespan, only to find it was too late to practice.

The sword manual Li Ya gave him was called the Li Family Seven Swords. The name was very ordinary, but Gu An knew that this "Li Family" represented the royal family of the Great Cang Dynasty, so he practiced it very diligently.

Winter passed and spring came, with vibrant vitality spreading throughout the Medicine Valley.

After Li Ya left, Zhang Chunqiu brought back another person—a fourteen-year-old boy named Xiao Chuan.

Xiao Chuan was a reclusive boy. After entering the Medicine Valley, he rarely interacted with Gu An or Meng Lang. After Gu An helped him pick medicinal herbs several times, he developed a favorable impression of Gu An, and the two began to talk more, though, on the whole, Xiao Chuan remained a man of few words.

Time moved into summer, and Gu An learned from his Attribute Panel that he had reached seventeen years of age.

From childhood to now, he had never known the exact date of his birthday, nor did he care.

Compared to his birthday, Gu An was more looking forward to when he would be able to harvest third-grade medicinal herbs.

Most of the herbs in the Medicine Valley took years to mature, so his lifespan growth rate hadn't been consistently increasing; recently, it had begun 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 chuckle.

Gu An raised an eyebrow. There were tasks within the Medicine Valley?

He suppressed his resistance and asked, "May I ask, Senior Brother, what the task is?"

"An Outer Sect disciple is about to go out for training and won't be back for at least two years. The task is to help him look after the herbs in his cave dwelling. When he returns, he will reward you with ten Mid-grade Spirit Stones," Zhang Chunqiu said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Gu An was immediately tempted.

Spirit Stones were graded from low to high: Low-grade, Mid-grade, High-grade, and Supreme-grade. Each level was a hundred times more valuable than the last. One Mid-grade Spirit Stone was equivalent to one hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones. Since Gu An's monthly pay was only one Low-grade Spirit Stone, this task was equivalent to earning one thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones over two years. How could he not be tempted?

Gu An hesitated and asked, "Is that senior trustworthy?"

Zhang Chunqiu was stunned, then burst into laughter. He said with an approving look, "Good, Junior Brother Gu, you are very cautious. Rest assured, that person is an old friend of mine; we joined the Taixuan Sect in the same year. The reason I chose you is because you are diligent and honest. If it were Meng Lang, I wouldn't be at ease. Besides, his cave dwelling is not far from our Medicine Valley, only a dozen miles away. You only need to go twice a month."

Gu An hesitated for a while, but eventually agreed.

He hadn't had a chance to harvest herbs for half a month, and seeing his lifespan not increasing made him feel very uncomfortable. He missed the feeling of burning his lifespan.

The Dragon Force Divine Origin Technique could only bring him a one-year lifespan increase per month. If he didn't have his golden finger for stealing lifespan, he would certainly be satisfied, but now, he was greedy.

Moreover, he wasn't sure how long the lifespan-boosting effect of the Dragon Force Divine Origin Technique would last; after all, everything had a limit.

Seeing him agree, Zhang Chunqiu led him straight out of the valley.

Gu An hadn't left the Medicine Valley for two years, and being made to leave the valley actually made him a bit nervous.

Stepping out of the valley entrance, what met his eyes were rolling mountains and forests. Sunlight spilled through the trees, forming circles of iridescent light, which were exceptionally beautiful.

Zhang Chunqiu tapped his waist, and a long sword flew out from the Storage Bag at his hip. He grabbed Gu An's arm, leaped up, landed on the sword, and began to fly.

Gu An was so scared he hugged his waist tightly. The scorching summer wind ruffled his black hair, and a look of envy appeared in his eyes.

Flying on a sword—this was the hallmark of a cultivator!

He hadn't expected Zhang Chunqiu to have such a trick up his sleeve!

Zhang Chunqiu felt the strength in his arm and laughed heartily: "Junior Brother Gu, you must keep your eyes peeled and remember the path we took; you'll have to come here on your own from now on."

Gu An couldn't help but ask: "Senior Brother, could you teach me this Sword Flight Technique?"

"That requires diligent cultivation. Once you reach the fourth level of the Qi Refining realm, I will teach you how to fly a sword."

"The fourth level of the Qi Refining realm..."

"As long as you are willing to work hard, one day you will achieve the fourth level of the Qi Refining realm."

As he said this, Zhang Chunqiu couldn't help but straighten his back, revealing a bright and sunny smile.

He thought to himself: In Junior Brother Gu's eyes, my image must be very tall and impressive right now. I hope he is truly inspired and stops being lazy with his cultivation.

In his eyes, Gu An was perfect in every way, except that he didn't like to cultivate; in his spare time, this kid was always reading books.

Gu An was speechless. Is the fourth level of the Qi Refining realm really that hard?

If I burn a hundred years of my lifespan, would that work?

If not, then five hundred!

If five hundred doesn't work, then...

That's ridiculous!

The two brothers chatted while flying on the sword.

Before long, they landed in a mountain forest. After touching down, Gu An was still savoring the feeling of flying through the sky.

Zhang Chunqiu led Gu An forward, passing through a dense forest until they reached a cliff face. He raised his hand, took out a jade pendant, and pressed it into a groove on the rock wall.

"His cave dwelling has a restriction. You must bring this jade pendant with you in the future. Don't lose it, or it will be very troublesome," Zhang Chunqiu cautioned.

Gu An nodded. Immediately after, the cliff face trembled, and a stone door appeared and swung open.

Zhang Chunqiu took back the jade pendant and led Gu An inside.

The two disappeared into the darkness, and a few seconds later, the stone door slammed shut.

This cave dwelling was larger than Gu An had expected. The tunnel alone was five zhang long. They arrived in a spacious cavern, and Gu An's gaze was immediately drawn to an area where medicinal herbs were planted.

Those herbs were planted densely, numbering at least a hundred, occupying most of the space in the cavern. With Gu An's current knowledge, he could tell at a glance that the grade of these herbs was not simple.

Are Outer Sect disciples of the Taixuan Sect really this wealthy?

Zhang Chunqiu began to instruct Gu An on which herbs to harvest and the specific cultivation process for each type. This cave dwelling came with its own restrictions; water was not an issue, but they feared excessive moisture, which could cause the herbs to perish suddenly. Some herbs would even ignite with spiritual flames if not harvested in time, causing all the herbs to be destroyed in an instant.

At the same time, there were seeds on the table; Gu An would have to continue planting after harvesting.

That Outer Sect disciple had already prepared Spirit Protection Paper in advance, also placed on the table.

"Alright, I'm leaving now. Once you're done, come back on your own. Try to see if you can find the way back first. If you haven't returned to the Medicine Valley by dusk, I will come looking for you." Zhang Chunqiu patted Gu An on the shoulder and handed him the jade pendant.

Gu An was not impolite; he saw Zhang Chunqiu out before returning.

He didn't harvest the herbs immediately, but instead looked around the cavern.

It was very simple: just a stone bed, a stone table, and two stone stools. No, wait, there were also books hidden on the cave wall, obscured by vines.

Gu An had no intention of browsing them. What if the cultivator had some kind of surveillance restriction?

It's better to honestly earn lifespan and not stir up trouble!

Gu An began to harvest the mature herbs.

[You successfully plundered 9 years of lifespan from Spirit Flame Grass (Tier 3)]

Hiss--

Tier 3 herbs!

Gu An suddenly didn't know if his understanding of herb grades was wrong, or if the treatment in the Outer Sect was truly far superior to the Medicine Valley where he stayed.

Forget it, enjoy it first!

The first batch of herbs to be harvested consisted of eleven plants, bringing him eighty-nine years of lifespan. His total lifespan thus reached one thousand two hundred and sixty-four years.

Gu An used his lifespan to scan the area and actually saw a Tier 4 spirit herb.

What a wealthy Outer Sect disciple!

Gu An was very happy. He needed to maintain a good relationship with such a wealthy employer so they could cooperate long-term in the future.

Wait!

Couldn't he do this for other Taixuan Sect disciples as well?

After all, going out for training was something all disciples would experience.

No, let's handle this matter first. I must be steady and cautious. What if I encounter a villain who tries to extort me?

He was only a Handyman Disciple. Once he came into conflict with an official disciple, he would definitely be the one discarded.

Gu An began to plant the Spirit Flame Grass seeds. He was very meticulous, wanting to do the job well.

One stick of incense later.

Gu An walked out of the cave dwelling. After closing the stone door, he headed toward the Medicine Valley.

He was afraid of encountering another demon like the Greed-Hatred Demon Ghost, so he walked very quickly.

Relying on the Dragon Force Divine Origin Technique, Gu An returned to the entrance of Medicine Valley in less than half an hour, and before he even got close, he spotted someone.

Chu Jingfeng!

With his right arm severed, Chu Jingfeng looked weathered and worn, dressed in black robes; he was like a completely different person compared to before.

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