Chapter 1: Taking life

 Under the scorching sun, the sky was clear, with mountains encircling the horizon. The earth and heavens seemed to tremble, and the forest swayed gently as a mountain breeze swept through, bringing a slight coolness to Gu An, who was standing in the garden.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Gu An gazed intently at the blooming flowers and plants on the ground. Their colors were vibrant, showing no signs of wilting, even under the harsh sunlight.

To his left and right stood two other young men. Today, the three of them had been admitted to the Medicine Valley under the Pill Hall of the Taixuan Sect. In contrast to Gu An's excitement, the other two seemed disinterested as they absentmindedly wiped their sweat.

In front of them stood a young man dressed in plain clothes. Though his appearance was ordinary, he had a robust physique and bright eyes. 

He was Zhang Chunqiu, the senior disciple of the Medicine Valley, who was instructing the three on the proper techniques for harvesting spiritual flowers and herbs.

"The flowers and plants in this garden are all first-tier medicinal herbs. When harvesting, you must not uproot them entirely. Instead, you should cut them near the soil, and after cutting, wrap them with the spiritual paper in your hands to prevent the spiritual energy from leaking out..." 

Zhang Chunqiu's voice was loud and full of energy, unaffected by the scorching sun.

Gu An held scissors in his right hand and white strips of paper in his left while carefully noting every word Zhang Chunqiu said.

Unlike the two beside him, Gu An cherished this role. He had endured many hardships to seize this opportunity.

While others thought he was slacking off and destined to fail, little did they know this was the path best suited for his growth!

"Alright, let's begin. Each of you pick one herb, and I'll inspect it," Zhang Chunqiu instructed. As soon as he finished speaking, Gu An crouched down.

Gu An placed the spiritual paper aside and carefully grasped the stem of the red flower before him with his left hand.

"Brother, you're too nervous. Even if you cut it wrong, it doesn't matter. These are just first-tier herbs, they’re basic materials for refining simple pills. Back home, I wouldn't even bother with them," said Meng Lang, who stood to Gu An's right. He was dressed elegantly and looked like he had an extraordinary family background.

Indeed, unlike Gu An, who came from a servant's background, the other two were from wealthy families. However, even the children of rich families needed spiritual roots to be accepted into the cultivation world. Being of the most ordinary five-element roots, they could only remain in the Taixuan Sect as servant disciples.

Ignoring Meng Lang's words, Gu An focused on cutting the flower.

He grasped the stem, gently snipped it with the scissors, and then wrapped the root of the red flower with the spiritual paper.

After completing the task, he stood up and handed the flower to Zhang Chunqiu for inspection.

Zhang Chunqiu took a look and smiled with satisfaction, "Well done, you're very meticulous."

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

At that moment, lines of text appeared before Gu An, visible only to him.

【You successfully absorbed the lifespan of the Crimson Spirit Flower (Tier 1): +1 year of lifespan.】

Success!

A smile spread across Gu An's face as he felt a wave of relief wash over him.

As expected, plants and animals imbued with spiritual energy could have their lifespan absorbed by him.

The first time Gu An discovered his ability to absorb lifespan was when he was ten years old. 

He accidentally bumped into a servant carrying a flowerpot, causing the spiritual flower to spill onto the ground, and he unintentionally absorbed twelve years of its lifespan.

At that time, the guard was furious and wanted to chop off one of his hands. It was only thanks to the intervention of the Third Miss, Ji Xiaoyu, that he was spared.

Gu An’s entry into the Taixuan Sect was also due to Ji Xiaoyu’s influence. Ji Xiaoyu was a rare double spiritual root talent and she attracted the attention of numerous major cultivation sects. She entered the Taixuan Sect with five members of the Ji family, with Gu An being one of the only two servants included.

Without Ji Xiaoyu's support, someone with Gu An's five-element spiritual root would have only been accepted into a third-rate sect.

While Gu An was secretly delighted, Meng Lang and the other guy named Li Ya also completed their harvest.

Zhang Chunqiu placed the three Crimson Spirit Flowers into the storage pouch at his waist and said sternly, "Your task for today is to jointly harvest fifty Crimson Spirit Flowers. You may only operate within this garden and must not trespass into other areas. After you're done, bring the flowers to the attic to find me."

With that, Zhang Chunqiu turned and left.

Meng Lang shook his fist at Zhang Chunqiu's retreating figure and muttered under his breath, "So much fuss over something so trivial. Has he never trained junior disciples before?"

Li Ya sat directly on the soil and wiped the sweat with his sleeves frantically.

After seeing Zhang Chunqiu head upstairs, Gu An turned to Meng Lang and Li Ya and said, "Brothers, judging by your fine attire, you must come from wealthy families and aren't used to this kind of labour. But I'm different; I'm just a servant. How about I handle the task for you? You can rest in the shade, and in return, just take care of me in the future."

Meng Lang's eyes lit up at the suggestion, and he smiled in surprise, "Sounds good, brother! If you can’t stay in the sect one day, I guarantee you'll never have to worry about food and shelter for the rest of your life."

Li Ya, too exhausted to speak, nodded in agreement.

The two handed over their spiritual paper and supported each other as they walked out of the garden.

Gu An picked up the spirit protection papers, looked back at the garden, his eyes shining, the scorching sun in the sky was not as hot as his eyes.

To him, the garden full of Crimson Spirit Flowers wasn't just a collection of plants; it was a staircase leading him toward immortality!

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

The scorching sun blazed down, indifferent to the suffering of those below.

Meng Lang and Li Ya found a small pavilion to rest in. They kept wiping their sweat and didn't even have the strength to talk. Their eyes followed Gu An.

Time passed slowly. Gu An was drenched in sweat, but his entire being was filled with excitement and the smile on his face never disappeared.

Watching Gu An's flushed face, Meng Lang couldn't help but remark, "In this heat, this guy is really giving it his all. I like it. We should take good care of him in the future—make sure he eats and drinks well, and no one bullies him. That way, he can keep helping us with our tasks."

Li Ya rolled his eyes and replied, "There are hardly any people in this valley. Who's going to bully him? And if the senior disciple were to pick on him, would you dare to stand up to him?"

Meng Lang cleared his throat, then looked at Li Ya and asked, "Brother, which Li family are you from?"

Li Ya calmly answered, "The Li family of Changluo in Cangzhou."

"Changluo? Isn't that the imperial capital? You share a surname with the royal family?" Meng Lang asked in surprise. As soon as the words left his mouth, his eyes widened in astonishment.

Li Ya didn't respond, simply gazing quietly at Gu An.

Meng Lang began to feel uneasy. He hadn't expected to encounter a member of the royal family here.

But he thought about it and felt that it was normal. This was the Taixuan Sect, the foremost cultivation sect in the Taicang Empire. The fact that it shared the "Tai" character with the empire showed how superior its status was. It was not outrageous to meet a royal family member at the bottom of Taixuan Sect.

After a long while, Gu An finally finished harvesting the 50 Crimson Spirit Flowers. He placed all the carefully wrapped flowers into a bamboo basket, slung the basket over his back, and looked longingly toward the other gardens. His face was full of anticipation.

There were more than 15 gardens in the valley, and the one they were in was just a small corner. He guessed that the herbs in the other gardens must be of even greater value.

There was still plenty of time ahead!

Gu An didn't want to expose his golden finger, so he stopped here today.

He walked along the path toward the attic, waving to Meng Lang and Li Ya as he did so. The two got up and walked over.

"Brother Gu An, you've worked hard. Let me carry that for you," Meng Lang said with a smile. The three had introduced themselves when they first met the valley master, so they remembered each other's names.

Gu An saw through Meng Lang's intentions but smiled and nodded, handing the bamboo basket over to him.

Li Ya curled his lip and a hint of disdain flashed in his eyes.

Gu An, however, was focused on keeping this job. He didn't want to be reassigned for doing too well, so he couldn't care less about Meng Lang's petty schemes.

The three of them arrived at the attic to meet Senior Brother Zhang Chunqiu.

Zhang Chunqiu was holding a book. When he saw Gu An and the others enter, he put the book down and said, "Place the Crimson Spirit Flowers over there. These three manuals are basic cultivation techniques left by our master. Use your free time to practice them well. Strive to advance from here and become true disciples of the Taixuan Sect. Five years ago, a disciple here succeeded in building his foundation with our master's spiritual pill and became an outer disciple of the Taixuan Sect."

As he spoke, he waved his right hand, and three manuals flew out from his sleeve toward the trio.

Gu An caught one and looked at the words on the cover.

Spring Wood Technique!

It sounded so basic! 

Gu An wasn’t disappointed, though, as he knew he was at the bottom of the Taixuan Sect.

Zhang Chunqiu gave a few more instructions before telling them to find rooms in the courtyard next door, which was reserved for servant disciples. Currently, there were only four disciples in this medicine valley, and with the valley master away for another two years, Zhang Chunqiu was in charge.

An incense stick's worth of time later...

Gu An lay on the wooden bed, panting heavily, his face flushed from the heat he had just endured.

He focused on his mind and lines of text appeared before his eyes.

***

[Name: Gu An]

[Lifespan: 15/151 years]

[Spiritual Root: Ordinary Five-Element Spiritual Root (Lifespan can be invested to enhance cultivation)]

[Cultivation Level: Unranked (Lifespan can be invested to enhance cultivation)]

[Cultivation Technique: Fire Control Technique (Not yet mastered) (Lifespan can be invested to enhance cultivation)]

***

Gu An had just absorbed a total of eighty-eight years of lifespan! 

Before this, his lifespan was 63 years, including the 12 he gained at the age of 10 when he broke the flower pot. This meant that originally, he was only expected to live to the age of 50 (approx).

Tier 1 medicinal herbs could only provide one to two years of lifespan, but to a mortal, even a single year was incredibly valuable!

As Gu An stared at his attribute panel, he grew more and more excited. In such a short time, he had already gained 88 years of lifespan—this job was truly amazing! He was determined to stay in the medicine valley for as long as possible.

He had no interest in becoming an outer or inner disciple. 

It was said that becoming a formal disciple required going out on dangerous missions to slay demons and monsters in the mortal world. Gu An had never killed anything in his life, not even a chicken. In his previous life, he had been an ordinary person on Earth. The thought of going into battle was something he couldn't bear.

Staying in the medicine valley was much better. It was almost entirely safe, and he could earn lifespan like crazy!

Who said cultivating immortality had to be life-threatening?

Gu An was lost in these blissful thoughts, almost unable to contain himself.

The night passed.

At dawn, Gu An woke up, washed up quickly, and went to find Zhang Chunqiu to receive his next task.

Zhang Chunqiu hadn’t slept; he was meditating and cultivating by drawing in spiritual energy. Seeing Gu An’s diligence, he smiled approvingly. Then, he stood up, walked to the door, and pointed to a section of the garden. "You can harvest the Serenity Grass in that area. After you’re done, just leave it by the door; no need to knock."

With that, he waved his sleeve, and several pieces of protective spiritual paper fell into Gu An's hands.

Zhang Chunqiu noticed the barely contained excitement in Gu An’s expression. After a moment’s hesitation, he smiled warmly and said, "Junior Brother, work hard. As long as you're diligent and willing to endure hardship, you'll eventually make something of yourself."

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