Chapter 7: Three Thousand Years Life Span, Crisis Reborn

When Gu An saw Chu Jingfeng, Chu Jingfeng had also laid eyes on him.

Just as Gu An was about to quicken his pace to greet him, Chu Jingfeng leaped into the air, reaching heights of several yards, glided over the hillside, and landed in front of him, like a migrating goose.

"You must be Gu An," Chu Jingfeng said with a heavy voice. "I have some questions for you."

Gu An pretended to be nervous as he performed a bow, replying, "I am. What does the senior wish to inquire? I shall answer truthfully."

Seeing Gu An's forthright manner, Chu Jingfeng's expression softened. He spoke quietly, "You've encountered the Demon of Greed and Wrath; she even choked you, didn't she? Can you still recall her face?"

Gu An shook his head, "There wasn't a lamp lit in the room that night, I couldn't make out her face at all. She appeared and immediately scared me unconscious…"

As he spoke, he secretly circulated his Qi-Blood, causing his face to turn instantly red.

Seeing him so embarrassed, Chu Jingfeng's anger dissipated quite a bit.

"What am I doing, troubling a Menial Disciple..." Chu Jingfeng thought to himself with self-mockery.

His countenance turned warmer as he said, "If you remember anything, or if you encounter anything, you can contact me."

With that, he took out a Spirit Stone the size of an egg and said, "This is a special Spirit Stone. Infuse it with Spiritual Power to communicate with me."

He tossed the Spirit Stone to Gu An, then leaped into the air. A long sword flew out from his waist, and he stepped onto the sword to shoot out of the grove, leaving a shower of falling leaves in his wake.

Gu An couldn't help but feel, whether it was an illusion or not, that after losing his arm, Chu Jingfeng had become even stronger.

Without much thought, Gu An carried the Spirit Stone and headed towards Medicine Valley.

"Sigh, when will I ever have my own Storage Pouch?"

The youth walked uphill through the forest, dappled sunlight raining down, his figure seemingly draped in a colored garment.

…

Time flew swiftly; in the blink of an eye, two years passed.

The nineteen-year-old Gu An walked through the forest, taller and sturdier than he was two years ago. Clad in simple garb, his whole person still appeared neat and tidy, especially his eyes, which were exceptionally bright. His long hair was casually tied back with a grass rope, and two strands of hair fell across his forehead, adding to his carefree and unruly charm.

Behind him followed a youth, ordinary in appearance, a full head shorter than him, carrying a bamboo basket on his back, wiping big beads of sweat from his brow as he moved.

"Senior brother, how much farther?" Xiaochuan called out weakly.

He was the only disciple in Medicine Valley junior to Gu An and liked to tag along behind him. Hearing that Gu An was managing a Cave Mansion for Outer Disciples, he had pleaded for a long time until Gu An agreed to bring him along this time.

The reason Gu An agreed was that he had his own considerations.

He had heard from Zhang Chunqiu yesterday that the owner of the Cave Mansion had returned, so to prevent any mishaps, he decided to bring Xiaochuan with him.

If there was any malintent on the other side, they might think twice seeing an additional person there.

Gu An didn't wish any harm on Xiaochuan. If real trouble arose, his Dragon Strength Divine Primordial Skill was not practiced in vain.

"Almost there," Gu An said without turning back, and to be honest, he began to understand Zhang Chunqiu's fondness for him.

Having such an obedient Junior Apprentice Brother was indeed worry-saving.

Xiaochuan let out a groan. He had heard these same words no less than eight times now. If he had known, he wouldn't have come.

Ten miles was already a long journey for an ordinary person, let alone on a rugged mountain path in the scorching heat. Xiaochuan felt he was nearing his end.

Gu An offered no further comfort because they were indeed almost there.

About half an incense stick's time later, Gu An pushed through the underbrush and arrived in front of a mountain wall. He didn't open the mountain gate directly but instead bowed with his fists and said, "Junior Gu An has come to return the Cave Mansion Jade Pendant to the senior."

Xiaochuan stood on the other side of the underbrush, curiously examining the mountain wall.

His background was not much better than Gu An's, and he knew little about the Immortal Cultivation Realm. Outer Sect Disciples of the Supreme Sect were big shots in his eyes.

Rumble—

The mountain gate opened, and a hoarse voice came from within:

"Come in."

Gu An turned back to Xiaochuan and said, "You wait here for me."

Naturally, Xiaochuan didn't dare follow him inside. Just witnessing the spectacle of the Cave Mansion opening, he already felt the trip was worth it.

Gu An stepped toward the interior of the Cave Mansion, and compared to two years ago, he was much more confident.

His confidence stemmed from his accumulated Life Span; his Life Span had already reached more than 3,400 years.

In addition to the Medicinal Herbs in the Cave Mansion, during these two years, Cheng Xuan Pill also began instructing him to gather Tier Three Medicinal Herbs, so his Life Span had been rapidly increasing.

A person's confidence comes from strength, and while Gu An had only cultivated a trace of Spiritual Power, he was no longer the same as before.

Passing through the cave tunnel, Gu An saw a person sitting by a stone table.

It was a middle-aged man, lean in figure, with a Daoist robe that hung loosely on his frame, hair interspersed with black and white. His hollow cheeks and protruding cheekbones made him look deeply calculating.

The moment Gu An saw him, he felt that this person was no easy deal.

[Zhu Mo Cliff (Qi Cultivation Realm 9th Floor):58/130/140]

His Life Span limit was not as high as Zhang Chunqiu's, indicating his natural talent was inferior to Zhang Chunqiu's.

The reason his cultivation was higher than Zhang Chunqiu's was likely due to being bolstered by elixirs.

Gu An speculated in his heart; he approached Zhu Mo Cliff quickly, retrieving the Cave Mansion Jade Pendant and presented it with both hands.

Zhu Mo Cliff took back the Jade Pendant and said softly, "You've done well, I am satisfied. This bag contains ten Middle Grade Spirit Stones, take it with you."

He picked up a cloth bag from the table and handed it to Gu An.

Gu An respectfully accepted the cloth bag, weighing it surreptitiously, then thanked Zhu Mo Cliff.

"You may go now," Zhu Mo Cliff waved his hand.

Gu An nodded, once again paid his respects, and then turned to leave.

As he turned, his sharp eyes caught something, and he reacted quickly, immediately casting a Life Span Detection.

[Demon of Greed and Wrath (Tier Two): 31/140/180]

Gu An remained expressionless and hastened away.

Zhu Mo Cliff watched Gu An's retreating figure, his eyes growing colder. After hearing the sound of the mountain gate closing, he snorted coldly and murmured to himself, "You're lucky."

The restrictions in the cave mansions of the Outer Disciples were quite rudimentary; restrictions were a kind of spell mechanism, and those belonging to Outer Disciples were naturally not very sophisticated. So, Gu An, who was outside the cave mansion, overheard Zhu Mo Cliff's murmur, which only added to his unease.

There was indeed a problem!

Gu An had previously wondered why the Demon of Greed and Wrath had come all the way without affecting the cave mansion of Zhu Mo Cliff along the way. It turned out that this scoundrel had a connection to the Demon of Greed and Wrath.

"Senior Brother, did it go smoothly?" Xiaochuan looked at the approaching Gu An and asked with concern.

Gu An showed a smile and said, "Smoothly. Let's go; we should head back."

Xiaochuan nodded, and the two walked back in the direction they came from. It wasn't until they had gone quite a distance that Xiaochuan began to inquire about the owner of the cave mansion.

Gu An gave a simple description, which left Xiaochuan full of admiration.

For the rest of the journey, Gu An had no mind to chat with Xiaochuan; his head was full of the Demon of Greed and Wrath, as well as Zhu Mo Cliff's words.

No, he couldn't ignore what he had seen; it was too dangerous!

Thinking of the Spirit Stones left by Chu Jingfeng, Gu An decided to seek help from him.

But before that, he needed to enhance his strength just in case.

Gu An hadn't spent any life for cultivation in three years, and just the thought excited him.

Dragon Strength Divine Primordial Skill could conceal one's aura, so even if he possessed Spiritual Power, he could hide it very well. This time, he planned to improve his Cultivation Level first, then his offensive methods.

"Should I develop Residual Wind Leg or Li Family's Seven Swords?"

Gu An began to deliberate over this question.

An hour later, the two finally returned to Medicine Valley. Gu An took the bamboo basket from Xiaochuan and then walked towards his own yard.

The basket was filled with common medicinal herbs they had picked along the way.

Xiaochuan was exhausted and had no energy left to do anything else, so he directly headed for his own yard.

Gu An returned to his room, closed the door behind him, placed the bamboo basket and cloth bag on the table, and then went to sit on the bed.

He took a deep breath and first sensed the presence of others in Medicine Valley.

Meng Lang was practicing spells in the forest, Cheng Xuan Pill was engaged in alchemy, and Zhang Chunqiu was struggling with Qi Absorption.

Hmm, it didn't seem like anyone had noticed him.

Gu An called up the Attribute Panel.

[Name: Gu An]

[Life Span: 19/3463]

[Spirit Root: Five Elements of good quality (can invest life to evolve cultivation)]

[Cultivation Level: Qi Cultivation Realm Tier One (can invest life to evolve cultivation)]

[Cultivation Techniques: Fire Control Technique (unpracticed), Spring Wood Skill (unpracticed), Dragon Strength Divine Primordial Skill (Refined to Perfection) (can invest life to evolve cultivation)]

[Secret Skills: Residual Wind Leg (unpracticed), Li Family's Seven Swords (unpracticed) (can invest life to evolve cultivation)]

…

Cautiously, Gu An decided to invest a year of his life span into Cultivation Level evolution.

[You've cultivated Qi Absorption for a year; because of your mediocre talents and Cultivation Technique Tier, your Cultivation Level didn't increase much.]

This prompt appeared, and Gu An felt the transformation within his body.

A strand of Spiritual Power became two…

Gu An's lips twitched involuntarily, and he couldn't help but turn his attention to the Spring Wood Skill.

It was the only Qi Absorption Technique he had mastered. As for the Fire Control Technique, it was a Supporting Technique. An old servant of the Ji Family had taught it to him while he chopped wood, and as the name suggested, it was to control the intensity of fire.

"Forget it, I won't wait for a more profound technique. Anyway, I can use life to evolve it. Even the most common technique can become an unrivaled divine skill with me..."

Thinking this, Gu An's eyes became resolute.

He chose to invest a hundred years of life span into evolving his practice of the Spring Wood Skill.

[You practiced Spring Wood Skill for one year; due to your mediocre comprehension, your improvement in mastery is minor.]

[You practiced Spring Wood Skill for ten years; you finally achieved proficiency in Spring Wood Skill, and your Qi Absorption speed has increased.]

[You practiced Spring Wood Skill for fifty years; your Spring Wood Skill has finally reached a significant level of mastery, and your Qi Absorption speed is now ten times faster.]

[You practiced Spring Wood Skill for a hundred years; you gained new insights into Spring Wood Skill, upgrading it to Spring Origin Technique]

A flood of memory surged into Gu An's mind, all concerning the cultivation of Spring Origin Technique.

Spring Origin Technique was far less complex than Dragon Strength Divine Primordial Skill, so it didn't take long for Gu An to open his eyes.

After opening his eyes, he first listened to other people in Medicine Valley; Xiaochuan had fallen asleep, others were busy with their tasks, and for the moment, no one had noticed him.

Now came the question.

Should he continue to improve Spring Origin Technique or directly evolve his Cultivation Level using Spring Origin Technique?

The higher the mastery of a technique, the faster Gu An could increase his Cultivation Level, which would also save on the life span he had to invest.

After much thought, Gu An felt that the technique was the most important thing and shouldn't be neglected.

First, he would invest a thousand years into it!