https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-8-Divine-Pure-Yang-Art-the-Position-of-the-Senior-Brother/12573970/
Chapter 7: Three Thousand Years of Lifespan, Crisis Reborn
Chapter 7: Three Thousand Years of Lifespan, Crisis Reborn
As Gu An laid eyes on Chu Jingfeng, the latter also noticed him.
Gu An quickened his pace to greet him, but Chu Jingfeng leaped up, soaring several zhang high and gliding over the hillside. He landed in front of Gu An with the grace of a wild goose.
"You must be Gu An. I have some questions for you," Chu Jingfeng said in a deep voice.
Gu An pretended to be nervous and bowed respectfully. "Yes, Senior. Please ask, and I will answer truthfully."
Seeing Gu An's obedient demeanor, Chu Jingfeng's expression softened. He spoke softly, "Do you remember the face of the Greedy and Hateful Demon Ghost who choked you? You saw her that night, didn't you?"
Gu An shook his head. "The oil lamp wasn't lit, so I couldn't see her face clearly. As soon as she appeared, I fainted in fear..."
As he spoke, he secretly manipulated the qi and blood in his body, causing his face to turn red instantly.
Chu Jingfeng's anger dissipated somewhat as he witnessed Gu An's embarrassment.
"What am I doing? Why am I making things difficult for a menial disciple..." Chu Jingfeng thought to himself, feeling a bit ridiculous.
His face softened, and he said, "If you remember anything or encounter any troubles, feel free to contact me."
With that, he took out a spiritual stone the size of an egg and continued, "This is a special spiritual stone. Infuse it with your spiritual power, and we can communicate."
Chu Jingfeng tossed the spiritual stone to Gu An and then leaped into the air. A long sword appeared out of thin air at his waist, and he stepped on it, rushing out of the forest. Leaves fluttered down as he made his exit.
Perhaps it was just an illusion, but Gu An felt that Chu Jingfeng had become even stronger after losing his arm.
Gu An didn't dwell on it further and headed toward Medicine Valley, spiritual stone in hand.
"Sigh, when will I finally have my own storage bag?"
The youth walked through the forest on the hillside, bathed in the mottled sunlight, as if wearing a colorful cloak.
...
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, two years passed.
The now nineteen-year-old Gu An strolled through the forest, looking taller and more robust than he had two years ago. Even in his plain cloth attire, he exuded a clean and vibrant aura, especially with his bright eyes and long hair casually tied back with a grass rope, a few stray strands falling across his forehead, adding to his carefree and unfettered demeanor.
Behind him followed a boy of ordinary appearance, a head shorter than Gu An, with a bamboo basket on his back. As he walked, he wiped away the large beads of sweat from his forehead.
"Brother, how much further is it?" Xiao Chuan asked weakly.
He was the only disciple in Medicine Valley with a lower status than Gu An, and he often tagged along with Gu An, having begged for a long time to accompany Gu An on his trip to tend to the cave abode.
Gu An had his reasons for agreeing to bring Xiao Chuan along.
He had heard from Zhang Chunqiu that the owner of the cave abode had returned, and he wanted to avoid any potential mishaps, so he decided to bring Xiao Chuan as a precaution.
If the owner had malicious intentions, perhaps having another person present would give him some pause.
Gu An didn't want to put Xiao Chuan in harm's way, and if anything unexpected happened, his Dragon Vigor Divine Primordial Art wouldn't have been cultivated in vain.
"We're almost there," Gu An said without turning his head. To be fair, he was beginning to understand why Zhang Chunqiu favored him so much.
Having an obedient junior brother like this was indeed very convenient.
Xiao Chuan let out a mournful cry. Those were the only two words he had heard from Gu An at least eight times. If he had known, he wouldn't have come.
The journey of over ten li was already arduous for an ordinary person, and the rugged mountain path and hot weather only made it more challenging. Xiao Chuan felt like he was dying.
Gu An didn't offer further consolation because they were truly close.
After about half an hour, Gu An pushed aside the grass and stood before the mountain wall. Instead of opening the mountain gate directly, he cupped his hands and said, "Junior Gu An has come to return the cave abode jade pendant to Senior."
Xiao Chuan stood on the other side of the grass, his curiosity piqued as he examined the mountain wall.
His background wasn't much better than Gu An's, and he didn't know much about the cultivation world. Even an outer disciple of Tai Xuan Gate seemed like a big shot to him.
Rumble...
The mountain gate opened, and a hoarse voice echoed from within, "Come in."
Gu An turned to Xiao Chuan and said, "Wait for me here."
Xiao Chuan naturally didn't dare to follow him inside. Just witnessing the opening of the cave abode was enough to make him feel that the trip had been worthwhile.
Gu An stepped into the cave abode, exuding more confidence than he had two years ago.
This confidence stemmed from the longevity he had accumulated. His lifespan had now reached over three thousand and four hundred years.
In addition to the medicinal herbs in the cave abode, Cheng Xuandan had also started assigning him to collect third-grade medicinal herbs during these two years, so his lifespan had increased rapidly.
Confidence comes from strength, and although Gu An had only cultivated a trace of spiritual power, he was no longer the same as before.
As he walked through the cave passage, Gu An saw a man sitting by a stone table.
He was a middle-aged man, thin and frail, with a loose robe that hung loosely on his body. His hair was a mix of black and white, and his eye sockets were sunken, giving him a shrewd and calculating appearance.
From the first glance, Gu An knew that this man was not to be trifled with.
[Zhu Mo Cliff (Cultivation Realm Layer Nine): 58/130/140]
His lifespan limit was even lower than Zhang Chunqiu's, indicating that his talent was inferior.
Gu An guessed that the reason his cultivation level was higher than Zhang Chunqiu's was probably due to his reliance on pills.
As Gu An approached Zhu Mo Cliff, he quickly handed over the cave abode jade pendant.
Zhu Mo Cliff took the jade pendant and said softly, "You've done well. I'm very satisfied. Here's a bag with ten middle-grade spirit stones. Take it with you."
Gu An picked up the cloth bag from the table and handed it to Zhu Mo Cliff.
Gu An respectfully took the bag and secretly weighed it in his hand before thanking Zhu Mo Cliff.
"You may leave now," Zhu Mo Cliff waved his hand.
Gu An nodded, bowed once more, and turned to leave.
As he turned, his sharp eyes caught something, and he quickly reacted by sending out a lifespan probe.
【Greedy and Hateful Demon Ghost (Tier 2): 31/140/180】
Gu An remained calm and quickened his pace away from the place.
Zhu Mo Cliff watched Gu An's departing figure, his eyes turning cold. Only when he heard the sound of the mountain gate closing did he coldly hmph and mutter, "Consider yourself lucky."
The restrictions on the outer disciple's cave abode were elementary. These restrictions were a type of magical mechanism, and naturally, the outer disciple's magical mechanisms were not sophisticated. Thus, Gu An, who was outside the cave abode, heard Zhu Mo Cliff's muttering, which only added to his unease.
So there is a problem! Gu An had suspected before why the Greedy and Hateful Demon Ghost's attack had not affected Zhu Mo Cliff's cave abode along the way. Now it seemed that this fellow was somehow connected to the demon ghost.
"Senior brother, did it go well?" Xiao Chuan looked at the approaching Gu An with a concerned expression and asked.
Gu An revealed a smile and said, "It went well. Let's go; we should head back."
Xiao Chuan nodded, and the two walked in the direction they had come from. It wasn't until they had walked a fair distance that Xiao Chuan began to inquire about the owner of the cave abode.
Gu An gave a simple description, causing Xiao Chuan's heart to yearn for such a place of his own.
For the rest of the journey, Gu An was lost in his thoughts about the Greedy and Hateful Demon Ghost and Zhu Mo Cliff's words.
"This is too dangerous! I can't ignore this matter. I need to find Chu Jingfeng for help," Gu An thought to himself, recalling the spiritual stone that Chu Jingfeng had left him.
However, before that, he needed to improve his strength, just in case.
The thought of having three extra years of lifespan made Gu An excited.
The Dragon Vigor Divine Primordial Art could conceal his aura, and even with spiritual power, he could hide it well. This time, he decided to improve his cultivation first and then enhance his offensive capabilities.
"Should I evolve the Remaining Wind Leg or the Li Family's Seven Swords?"
Gu An began to agonize over this question.
An hour later, the two finally returned to Medicine Valley. Gu An took the bamboo basket from Xiao Chuan and made his way to his own courtyard.
The basket was filled with ordinary medicinal herbs they had picked along the way.
Exhausted, Xiao Chuan had no energy to do anything else and headed straight to his own courtyard.
Gu An entered his room and closed the door. He placed the bamboo basket and cloth bag on the table and then walked over to his bed.
He took a deep breath and first sensed the auras of the others in Medicine Valley.
Meng Lang was practicing spells in the forest, Cheng Xuandan was refining pills, and Zhang Chunqiu was bitterly absorbing qi.
"Hmm, it seems no one is paying attention to me."
Gu An brought up his attribute panel.
【Name: Gu An】
【Lifespan: 19/3463】
【Spirit Root: Five Elements Intermediate Spirit Root (Can invest lifespan to evolve cultivation)】
【Cultivation: Qi Refining Realm Layer One (Can invest lifespan to evolve cultivation)】
【Cultivation Techniques: Fire Control Manual (Unpracticed), Spring Wood Art (Unpracticed), Dragon Vigor Divine Primordial Art (Mastery), (Can invest lifespan to evolve cultivation)】
【Secret Arts: Remaining Wind Leg (Unpracticed), Li Family's Seven Swords (Unpracticed) (Can invest lifespan to evolve cultivation)】
...
Gu An cautiously invested one year of his lifespan into cultivation evolution.
【You cultivated for one year, but due to your mediocre talent and ordinary cultivation technique, your progress is minimal】
As soon as this prompt appeared, Gu An felt a change within his body.
One strand of spiritual power became two strands...
Gu An's lips twitched as he couldn't help but look at the Spring Wood Art.
He had only mastered this one qi absorption technique. As for the Fire Control Manual, it was an auxiliary technique that an old servant had taught him when he was burning firewood for the Ji family. As the name suggested, it was used to control fire.
"Forget it, there's no need to wait for a more advanced technique. Anyway, I can use my lifespan to evolve, so even an ordinary technique in my hands can be promoted to an unparalleled divine art..."
With this thought, Gu An's eyes became firm.
He chose to invest a hundred years of his lifespan to evolve the Spring Wood Art.
【You practiced the Spring Wood Art for one year, but due to your mediocre comprehension and talent, your progress in the Spring Wood Art is minimal】
【You practiced the Spring Wood Art for ten years, and you finally mastered the Spring Wood Art. Your qi absorption speed has increased】
【You practiced the Spring Wood Art for fifty years, and your Spring Wood Art has finally reached the grand completion stage. Your qi absorption speed is now ten times what it used to be】
【You practiced the Spring Wood Art for a hundred years, and you gained new insights into the Spring Wood Art. The Spring Wood Art has evolved into the Spring Origin Manual】
A flood of memories poured into Gu An's mind, all related to the cultivation of the Spring Origin Manual.
The Spring Origin Manual was far less complex than the Dragon Vigor Divine Primordial Art, so it didn't take long for Gu An to open his eyes.
After opening his eyes, he first listened for the sounds of the others in Medicine Valley. Xiao Chuan was already asleep, and the others were busy with their own tasks, so no one seemed to have noticed him.
Now, the question was: should he continue to improve the Spring Origin Manual or directly evolve his cultivation with it?
The higher the proficiency in a cultivation technique, the faster Gu An's cultivation would improve, which would also save him some lifespan.
After much thought, Gu An felt that the cultivation technique was the most important and couldn't be taken lightly.
"I'll invest a thousand years into it first!"
(End of Chapter)
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