https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-7-Three-Thousand-Years-of-Lifespan-Crisis-Reborn/12573969/
Chapter 6: A Well-Fed Outer Disciple
Chapter 6: A Well-Fed Outer Disciple
Gu An caught the manual, feeling a mix of emotions. Though he knew Li Ya intended to leave, hearing it confirmed stirred a sense of reluctance within him.
Here 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 much better than Meng Lang; Meng Lang was a brute!
"Are you about to start building your foundation?" Gu An asked.
Using his life-probing ability, he could see that Li Ya's cultivation had reached the ninth layer of the Qi Refining realm—an impressively fast breakthrough.
Could there be a master guiding him in the forest?
Or perhaps Li Ya had the soul of the old man, who had been persecuted by evildoers, hidden within him?
Li Ya nodded. "I plan to start building my foundation next month."
He paused, then spoke earnestly, "After this farewell, we may never meet again. Don't be too obedient to Meng Lang here in Medicine Valley; it will only make him take advantage of you. There will definitely be other disciples joining in the future, and as a senior disciple, you need to have your own temper..."
Gu An was speechless. How had he been lectured by two people in one day?
Still, compared to Du Ye, Li Ya was more sincere.
Gu An felt a sudden twinge of reluctance.
Growing up in the Ji family, he had always walked on thin ice and had never had any true friends. All he had were people he deliberately tried to please, and he had never had a friend like Li Ya who could give him gifts.
He understood that Li Ya's words were true, and this farewell could very well be their last.
Gu An couldn't help but say, "You too, don't be as reckless as before. Staying alive is the most important thing. You were able to rise from a menial disciple to the brink of foundation building in less than two years. Your talent is definitely top-notch. As long as you live, you will surely become a top-notch great cultivator renowned throughout the world."
Hearing Gu An's words, Li Ya couldn't help but smile.
The two stood in the courtyard and chatted. Before long, Meng Lang returned, and upon hearing that Li Ya was leaving, his mood also sank.
In the end, Li Ya left. After bidding farewell to Gu An and the others, he went to visit Cheng Xuandan, and finally, Zhang Chunqiu escorted him out of Medicine Valley.
Even before the winter snow had completely melted, Medicine Valley had become much quieter.
In his free time, Gu An began to practice the sword manual that Li Ya had given him. His aspirations were not lofty; he didn't aim to master it, but he wanted to at least become proficient and have it appear on his attribute panel.
It took time for a cultivation technique or manual to appear on the attribute panel, and Gu An didn't want to wait until he was in danger, only to realize he hadn't cultivated it in time.
The sword manual Li Ya had given him was called the "Li Family Seven Swords." The name was quite ordinary, but Gu An knew that this Li family represented the royal family of the Tai Cang Empire, so he practiced it diligently.
As winter turned to spring, vibrant life flourished throughout Medicine Valley.
After Li Ya's departure, Zhang Chunqiu brought back another person, a 14-year-old boy named Xiao Chuan.
Xiao Chuan was a reclusive boy who rarely interacted with Gu An and Meng Lang after joining Medicine Valley. However, after Gu An helped him gather medicinal herbs several times, Xiao Chuan developed a favorable impression of him, and their conversations gradually increased. Nonetheless, overall, Xiao Chuan remained a man of few words.
Time passed, and summer arrived. Gu An learned from his attribute panel that he had turned 17 years old.
Growing up, he had never known the exact date of his birthday, and he didn't care much about it anyway.
Birthdays were of less concern to Gu An than when he would be able to harvest third-rank medicinal herbs.
Most of the medicinal herbs in Medicine Valley took several years to mature, so his lifespan growth rate wasn't consistently increasing and had recently started to slow down.
One day, Zhang Chunqiu found Gu An.
"Junior Brother Gu, I have a task here that offers a substantial reward. Are you willing to take it on?" Zhang Chunqiu asked with a smile.
Gu An raised an eyebrow. Was there another task available within Medicine Valley?
Suppressing his reluctance, he asked, "May I ask Senior Brother what the task is?"
"An outer disciple is about to go out for experience and won't be back for at least two years. The task is to help take care of the medicinal herbs in his cave abode during his absence. When he returns, he will reward you with ten middle-grade spirit stones," Zhang Chunqiu explained with a smile.
Gu An's heart stirred at the mention of the reward.
Spirit stones were classified into four grades: low, middle, high, and top. Each grade was worth a hundred times more than the one below it. A single middle-grade spirit stone was equivalent to a hundred lower-grade spirit stones, and Gu An's monthly allowance was only one lower-grade spirit stone. This task was equivalent to earning a thousand lower-grade spirit stones in two years, so how could he not be tempted?
Gu An hesitated and asked, "Can that senior be trusted?"
Zhang Chunqiu was taken aback for a moment before bursting into laughter. "Good question, Junior Brother Gu. You're very cautious. Rest assured, that person is an old friend of mine. We joined the Tai Xuan Sect in the same year. The reason I chose you is that you're diligent and honest. I wouldn't trust Meng Lang with this task. Moreover, his cave abode is not far from our Medicine Valley, only about ten miles away. You only need to visit twice a month."
After some hesitation, Gu An eventually agreed.
In the past half-month, he hadn't had the opportunity to gather medicinal herbs, and seeing his lifespan not increasing made him anxious. He missed the feeling of rapidly extending his lifespan.
The Dragon Vein Divine Origin Technique could only grant him one year of lifespan increase per month, and without his ability to steal lifespan, he would have been satisfied. But now, he was greedy for more.
Moreover, he wasn't sure how long the lifespan-increasing effect of the Dragon Vein Divine Origin Technique would last, as everything had its limits.
Seeing that Gu An had agreed, Zhang Chunqiu took him directly out of the valley.
It had been two years since Gu An last left Medicine Valley, and as he stepped out, he felt a bit nervous.
At the valley entrance, a stretch of lush mountains greeted his eyes. Sunlight filtered through the trees, forming circles of rainbow light that were especially beautiful.
Zhang Chunqiu patted his waist, and a long sword flew out from his storage bag. He grabbed Gu An's arm, leaped onto the sword, and soared into the sky, riding the sword through the air.
Gu An hugged Zhang Chunqiu's waist tightly, his black hair tousled by the hot summer wind, and a hint of envy flashed in his eyes.
Sword flight! The quintessential method of transportation for cultivators! He never expected that Zhang Chunqiu had this ability up his sleeve!
Zhang Chunqiu, feeling the strength of his arm, burst into laughter. "Junior Brother Gu, you better keep your eyes wide open and remember the way here. From now on, you'll have to fly here by yourself."
Gu An couldn't help but ask, "Senior Brother, can you teach me this sword-riding technique?"
"Then you'll have to work hard. Once you reach the fourth layer of Qi Refining, I'll teach you how to ride the sword."
"The fourth layer of Qi Refining..."
"As long as you're willing to put in the effort, you'll surely reach the fourth layer of Qi Refining one day."
As Zhang Chunqiu said this, he straightened his back, his expression open and sunny.
He thought to himself, "In Junior Brother Gu's eyes, I must seem so admirable right now. I hope he's truly inspired and becomes less lazy about his cultivation."
In his opinion, Gu An was great in every way, except for his lack of enthusiasm for cultivation. In his free time, the boy preferred to bury his nose in books.
Gu An felt a bit speechless. Was reaching the fourth layer of Qi Refining that difficult?
"Can't I just spend a hundred years of my lifespan to achieve it?" he wondered.
If not, then how about five hundred years?
If five hundred years isn't enough, then...
That's just ridiculous!
The two brothers chatted as they rode the sword through the air.
Before long, they landed in a mountain forest. Even after they landed, Gu An was still relishing the feeling of flying through the sky.
Zhang Chunqiu led Gu An through a dense forest to a mountain wall. He took out a jade pendant and inserted it into a groove on the wall.
"His cave abode is protected by restrictions. From now on, you must carry this jade pendant with you whenever you come here. Don't lose it, or you'll have a big problem," Zhang Chunqiu instructed.
Gu An nodded. The mountain wall trembled, and a stone door appeared and opened.
Zhang Chunqiu took back the jade pendant and led Gu An inside.
The two disappeared into the darkness, and after a few breaths, the stone door closed with a boom.
The cave abode was larger than Gu An had expected. Just the passageway was fifty feet long, and it led to a spacious cave chamber. Gu An's attention was immediately drawn to an area filled with medicinal herbs.
There were at least a hundred herbs growing densely, taking up most of the space in the cave. With Gu An's current knowledge, he could tell at a glance that these herbs were of high quality.
Are all outer disciples of Tai Xuan Gate this wealthy? Zhang Chunqiu began to instruct Gu An on which herbs to harvest and how to cultivate the various types of herbs. This cave abode had restrictions that ensured a constant water supply, but they had to be careful not to overwater the herbs, or they might die. Some herbs, if not harvested in time, would ignite with spiritual energy, causing all the herbs to be destroyed.
There were also seeds on the table, and after harvesting, Gu An would need to plant more.
The outer disciple had also prepared spirit-protecting paper, which was placed on the table.
"Alright, I'll be off now. You finish up here and try to find your way back. If you're not back at Medicine Valley by evening, I'll come looking for you," Zhang Chunqiu said, patting Gu An's shoulder and handing him the jade pendant.
Gu An was not impolite, and he saw Zhang Chunqiu out before returning.
He didn't immediately start harvesting the herbs but instead took a moment to survey the cave chamber.
It was quite simple, with only a stone bed, a stone table, and two stone stools. Oh, and there were also books hidden behind vines on the cave walls.
Gu An had no intention of browsing through them; what if cultivators had some kind of surveillance restriction in place? It was better to be safe than sorry. He'd just earn his lifespan honestly and avoid trouble.
Gu An began harvesting the mature herbs.
[You have successfully taken the Spirit Flame Herb (Third-Rank) and gained 9 years of lifespan.]
Hiss—
A third-rank herb!
Gu An wondered if his understanding of herb ranks was flawed or if outer disciples were indeed much better off than those in Medicine Valley.
Oh well, time to enjoy the benefits!
The first batch of eleven herbs gave him eighty-nine years of lifespan, bringing his total lifespan to one thousand two hundred and sixty-four years.
Using his lifespan-sensing ability, Gu An scanned the area and spotted a fourth-rank spirit herb.
What a wealthy outer disciple! Gu An was delighted. He needed to maintain a good relationship with such a generous employer and hopefully establish a long-term partnership.
Wait a minute!
Could he do this for other Tai Xuan Gate disciples as well? After all, going out for experience was something all disciples would eventually do.
No, he needed to focus on this task first and play it safe. What if he encountered evil people who tried to take advantage of him? As a mere servant disciple, he would surely be the one sacrificed if there was a conflict with a formal disciple.
Gu An began planting the seeds of the Spirit Flame Herb carefully, wanting to do a good job.
After the time it took for a stick of incense to burn.
Gu An left the cave abode, closed the mountain door, and made his way back to Medicine Valley.
He was afraid of encountering demons like the Greedy-Hatred Yokai again, so he hurried along the way.
With the aid of the Dragon Vein Divine Origin Technique, he returned to the valley entrance in less than half an hour. Even before he drew close, he spotted someone.
Chu Jingfeng!
The one-armed Chu Jingfeng looked haggard, dressed in a black robe, almost unrecognizable from before.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
