Steadily becoming a saint, the immortal officials hired me to tend the horses

Under the blazing sun, the sky was clear and boundless, with mountains surrounding and causing the earth to sway and forest to sway; a gust of mountain wind blew in, cooling down Gu An who stood in the garden.

Gu An wiped the sweat from his forehead, his gaze intensely focused on the blossoming plants on the ground, each vibrant in color, showing no signs of wilting even under the scorching sun.

Standing on either side of him were two young men, the three of them had been accepted as disciples into the Medicine Valley under the Supreme Sect's Elixir Hall that day. Compared to Gu An's excitement, the other two seemed disinterested, listlessly wiping their sweat.

In front of them stood a plainly-dressed young man with average looks but a robust physique and bright eyes. He was Zhang Chunqiu, the eldest disciple of Medicine Valley, now explaining to Gu An and the others about the intricacies of harvesting Spirit Flowers and Spirit Grass.

"The plants in this garden are all first-grade medicinal herbs. You can't pluck them by the root, you need to cut them from the stem close to the ground," Zhang Chunqiu's voice boomed energetically, unaffected by the blistering heat. "After cutting, you must wrap them with the Spirit-Protecting Paper in your hands to prevent the spiritual energy from leaking...

With scissors in his right hand and strips of white paper in his left, Gu An seriously noted every word from Zhang Chunqiu.

Unlike the two next to him, he treasured this position, having endured many disdainful looks to fight for this opportunity.

Others thought he was just making a show of faltering, of declining, not knowing this was the best path for him to grow stronger!

"Alright, let's begin. Each person pick one plant, and I will check them," Zhang Chunqiu had barely finished speaking when Gu An crouched down.

Gu An placed the Spirit-Protecting Paper down and carefully held the root stem of the red flower before him.

"Buddy, you're too nervous. Even if you cut it wrong, it won't matter. It's just a first-grade medicinal herb, after all, used for refining basic elixirs. At my home, I wouldn't even look twice at them," said Meng Lang, who stood to the right of Gu An, his clothes rich and indicating a noble background.

Indeed, that was the case. Aside from Gu An, who was a house servant, the other two were from wealthy families. However, when the affluent sought entry into the Immortal Cultivation Realm, they still had to consider the Spirit Root of Immortal Cultivation, and they all had the most mediocre Five Elements Roots, only able to remain in the Supreme Sect as Menial Disciples.

Gu An ignored Meng Lang's words, concentrating on cutting the flower.

Grasping the root stem, he snipped lightly with the scissors, then wrapped the base of the red flower with the Spirit-Protecting Paper.

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

Zhang Chunqiu looked it over and smiled approvingly, "Well done, you're very careful."

Gu An didn't reply but stared intently at the red flower in Zhang Chunqiu's hand.

At that moment, he was even more nervous than before cutting.

After a few breaths, a row of text that only Gu An could see appeared before him.

[You successfully harvested a Red Spirit Flower (first grade) 1-year lifespan]

Success!

Gu An's face lit up with a smile, and he felt a huge weight lift off his shoulders.

Indeed, only those plants and animals filled with spiritual energy could have their lifespan taken by him.

The first time Gu An took a lifespan was when he was ten; he accidentally bumped into a flowerpot held by another servant, causing the Spirit Flower to drop and giving him twelve years of lifespan.

At the time, the Courtyard Guardian was so mad he wanted to chop off one of his hands, but it was the third young miss, Ji Xiaoyu, who intervened and saved him.

This time, his entry into the Supreme Sect was also thanks to Ji Xiaoyu, whose Dual Spirit Root was an uncommon occurrence every hundred years. Many Major Sects had made overtures to the Ji Family, and Ji Xiaoyu, accompanied by five of her family members, was admitted into the Supreme Sect; Gu An was one of the only two house servants.

Without Ji Xiaoyu, his mediocre Five Elements Roots would only get him into a third-tier sect.

As Gu An privately celebrated, Meng Lang and another youth named Li Ya had also completed their harvest.

Zhang Chunqiu placed the three Red Spirit Flowers into his Storage Pouch and said solemnly, "Your task today is to collect fifty Red Spirit Flowers together, only within this garden area, without overstepping into others. After completion, bring the Red Spirit Flowers to the loft to find me."

Having said that, Zhang Chunqiu turned and left.

Meng Lang waved his fist towards Zhang Chunqiu's departing back and muttered under his breath, "Such a trivial matter and you talked for half a day. Haven't you ever led junior disciples before?"

Li Ya plopped down on the ground, furiously wiping his forehead with his sleeve.

Once Zhang Chunqiu ascended the stairs, Gu An turned to Meng Lang and Li Ya and said, "Brothers, seeing your rich garments, your families must be quite well-off. You're probably not used to this rough work. I'm different; I'm just a servant. Why not let me take over? I'll complete the task, and you can rest in a cool place. Just look out for me in the days to come."

Meng Lang's eyes brightened upon hearing this, and he exclaimed with delight, "Sure thing, brother, you're on the right track. If you ever cannot stay, I'll ensure you're provided for your whole life."

Li Ya, lacking the strength to speak, nodded in agreement.

Then, they left behind their Spirit-Protecting Papers, supporting each other as they walked out of the garden.

Gu An picked up the papers, turned back to the garden, his eyes shining even brighter than the scorching sun above.

In his eyes, the garden full of Red Spirit Flowers wasn't just plants, but the stepping stones paving the path to immortality!

He began to move carefully, not only aiming to complete the task but to do it well, to avoid losing this perfect job.

The prideful sun kept shining its boundless light, showing no sympathy for the toil of the people below.

As Meng Lang and Li Ya rested in a small pavilion, constantly mopping their brows and too exhausted to speak, they kept their eyes on Gu An.

Time ticked away; Gu An was drenched in sweat, yet he was utterly thrilled, his smile never fading.

Watching Gu An's beet-red face, Meng Lang couldn't help but admire, "It's such a hot day, and the kid is really giving his all. I like it. We'll take good care of him in the future. Let him eat and drink well, and no one else is allowed to bully him. That way, he can keep working for us."

Li Ya rolled his eyes and said sarcastically, "There are only a few people in this valley; who could bully him? If the eldest disciple bullies him, would you dare to talk back?"

Meng Lang coughed and looked at Li Ya, inquiring, "Brother, which Li Family are you from?"

Calmly, Li Ya replied, "From the Li Family of Cangzhou's Changluo."

"Changluo? Isn't that the Imperial City? Do you share a surname with the Royal Family?" asked Meng Lang, astonished. Just after he finished, he couldn't help but widen his eyes.

Li Ya didn't answer but quietly looked at Gu An.

Meng Lang started to feel uneasy. He hadn't expected to run into a member of the Royal Family here.

But then he thought about it and felt it was normal. After all, this was the Supreme Sect, the Tai Cang Imperial Dynasty's number one Immortal Cultivation Sect. The fact that the Sect shared the 'Tai" character with the Dynasty was enough to indicate the prestigious status of the Supreme Sect. It wasn't outrageous to encounter members of the Royal Family even at the lowest levels of the Sect.

After a long time,

Gu An finally finished picking fifty Red Spirit Flowers. He packed all the wrapped Red Spirit Flowers into the bamboo basket and, shouldering the basket, looked towards the other garden areas, his face full of anticipation.

There were more than fifteen areas in the valley garden, and their current location was just a small corner. He guessed that the Medicinal Herbs in the other areas might be even more valuable.

There was plenty of time!

Gu An didn't want to reveal his "Golden Finger" just yet. That was enough for today.

He walked along the path toward the loft, meanwhile gesturing to Meng Lang and Li Ya to come over, and the two got up and approached.

"Brother Gu An, you've worked hard. Let me carry that," said Meng Lang with a grin. The three of them had introduced themselves when they met the Valley Master, so they remembered each other's names.

Gu An saw through Meng Lang's little thought and, with a smile, nodded and handed over the basket.

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

Gu An just wanted to keep his job. He didn't want to be reassigned because of performing too well, so he couldn't be bothered to quibble with Meng Lang.

The three of them arrived at the loft and met with Senior Brother Zhang Chunqiu.

Zhang Chunqiu was holding a book. When he saw Gu An and the others arrive, he put down the book and said, "Put the Red Spirit Flowers down. These are three Basic Sorcery Manuals left by Master. Practice well during your free time and strive to leap from here in the future and become a true disciple of the Supreme Sect. Five years ago, a disciple received Master's Spirit Pill and succeeded in Foundation Establishment, becoming an Outer Sect Disciple of the Supreme Sect."

As he spoke, he waved his right hand, and three Secret Manuals flew out of his sleeve toward Gu An and the others.

Gu An caught one and read the title.

Spring Wood Skill!

It sounded so basic!

But Gu An was not disappointed. After all, he was at the lowest level of the Supreme Sect.

Zhang Chunqiu gave them a few more instructions, then told them to find a room to stay in the neighboring courtyard, which was reserved for servant disciples. Currently, there were only four disciples in Medicine Valley, and the Valley Master was away and wouldn't return for another two years, so now Zhang Chunqiu was in charge.

An hour later.

Gu An lay on the wooden bed, breathing heavily and his face flushed red. After all, he had just gone through an intense sun exposure.

With a thought, lines of text appeared before his eyes.

[Name: Gu An]

[Life Span: 15/151]

[Spirit Root: Five Elements Ordinary Spirit Root (Can invest life span for cultivation)]

[Cultivation Level: Insignificant (Can invest life span for cultivation)]

[Cultivation Technique: Fire Control Technique (Unmastered) (Can invest life span for cultivation)]

...

Gu An had snatched a whopping eighty-eight years of life span!

Before this, his life span had been sixty-three years, ten of which he gained at the age of ten for breaking a flowerpot. This meant he initially had only a fifty-year life span.

A first-grade Medicinal Herb could provide one to two years of life span, but for a mortal, one year was incredibly long!

Gu An looked at his Attribute Panel and became more and more exhilarated. In such a short time, he had earned an additional eighty-eight years of life span – this job was incredibly rewarding!

He wanted to be a permanent resident of Medicine Valley!

Worldly Disciples, Inner Sect Disciples – he looked down on them all.

Rumor had it that to become a Formal Disciple, one had to go on missions, slaying demons and eradicating evil in the Human World, which was very dangerous.

From a young age, Gu An had never even killed a chicken, and in his past life on Earth, he was just an ordinary person. Asking him to fight was too much.

Staying in Medicine Valley was so good. It was almost free of hazards, and he could crazily accumulate life span!

Who says Immortal Cultivation has to be about risking your life?

Gu An fell into a beautiful reverie, from which he couldn't extricate himself.

Overnight passed.

Early in the morning, Gu An woke up. After a simple wash, he went to find Zhang Chunqiu to receive his tasks.

Zhang Chunqiu had not slept; he was practicing Qi Absorption Cultivation. Seeing Gu An's diligence, he smiled approvingly and then got up and went to the door, pointing to a garden area and said, "All the Spirit Heart Grass in that area can be picked. When you're finished, just leave the Spirit Heart Grass at the door. There's no need to knock."

With that, he waved his sleeve, and strips of Spirit-Protecting Paper fell into Gu An's hands.

Zhang Chunqiu looked at an excitedly uncontrollable Gu An, hesitated for a moment, then with a kindly smile said, "Junior Brother, work hard. As long as you are diligent and willing to endure hardship, you will definitely make it."