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Li Ya was far better company than Meng Lang—Meng Lang was a complete animal!

"You’re about to reach Foundation Establishment?" Gu An asked.

Using his lifespan detection, he saw that Li Ya’s cultivation had already reached the ninth level of the Qi Refining Stage. Such rapid progress!

Could it be that someone wise and powerful was secretly guiding him in the forest?

Or maybe Li Ya had the soul of a wise old man who had been wronged and was hiding inside him?

Li Ya nodded, "I’m preparing to establish my foundation next month."

He paused, then said seriously, "After this parting, we may never meet again. In the Medicine Valley, don’t be too accommodating to Meng Lang. If you let him push you around, he’ll walk all over you. When new disciples arrive, as their senior, you’ll need to assert yourself more…"

Gu An was speechless. Why had two people been lecturing him today?

Still, Li Ya’s advice felt more sincere compared to Du Ye’s.

Gu An suddenly felt a bit reluctant.

Since childhood, he had always walked on eggshells in the Ji family. He’d never had a real friend, only people he had to please. A friend like Li Ya, who would even give him gifts, was something he’d never experienced.

He understood that what Li Ya said was true. This farewell might well be forever.

Unable to hold back, Gu An said, "You too. Don’t be reckless like before. Staying alive is what matters most. You’ve managed to climb from being a menial disciple to the brink of Foundation Establishment in under two years. Your talent must be top-tier. As long as you survive, you’ll definitely become a renowned cultivator one day."

Li Ya smiled at his words.

The two stood in the courtyard, chatting for a while before Meng Lang returned. Upon hearing that Li Ya was leaving, his mood also turned somber.

In the end, Li Ya left after saying his goodbyes to Gu An and Meng Lang. He went to bid farewell to Cheng Xuandan, and Zhang Chunqiu accompanied him as he left the Medicine Valley.

The winter snow had not yet fully melted, and the valley felt noticeably quieter.

In his spare time, Gu An began practicing the sword technique that Li Ya had gifted him. His goal wasn’t ambitious; he didn’t aim to fully master it but wanted at least to be proficient enough for it to appear on his status panel.

It took time for a technique to appear on his attribute panel, and Gu An didn’t want to find himself in a dangerous situation only to realize it was too late to use his lifespan to hastily learn it.

The sword technique Li Ya had given him was called the Li Family’s Seven Swords. The name sounded ordinary, but Gu An knew that the Li family represented the royal family of the Great Cang Dynasty, so he practiced it seriously.

Winter passed, and spring arrived, bringing vitality back to the Medicine Valley.

After Li Ya’s departure, Zhang Chunqiu brought back another disciple, a fourteen-year-old boy named Xiao Chuan.

Xiao Chuan was a reclusive boy who, after joining the Medicine Valley, rarely interacted with Gu An or Meng Lang. However, after Gu An helped him pick medicinal herbs a few times, Xiao Chuan warmed up to him, and their conversations increased. Even so, Xiao Chuan remained largely silent.

As summer arrived, Gu An checked his attribute panel and realized he had turned seventeen.

He’d never known the exact date of his birthday, and he didn’t care.

Rather than birthdays, Gu An was more eager to know when he could finally start harvesting third-tier medicinal herbs.

Most of the herbs in the Medicine Valley took several years to mature, so his lifespan gains had slowed recently.

One day.

Zhang Chunqiu approached Gu An.

"Junior Brother Gu, I have a task for you. The reward is quite generous. Would you be interested?" Zhang Chunqiu asked with a cheerful smile.

Gu An raised an eyebrow. A task in the Medicine Valley?

Suppressing his reluctance, he asked, "What kind of task is it, Senior Brother?"

"There’s an outer sect disciple who’s about to leave for a long-term training expedition. He’ll be gone for about two years, and your task would be to take care of the medicinal herbs in his cave. When he returns, he’ll reward you with ten mid-grade spirit stones," Zhang Chunqiu explained with a smile.

Hearing this, Gu An was immediately tempted.

Spirit stones are graded from low to high as low-grade, mid-grade, high-grade, and top-grade. The value difference between each grade is a hundredfold. One mid-grade spirit stone is equivalent to one hundred low-grade spirit stones, and Gu An’s monthly wage was only one low-grade spirit stone. This task would be the equivalent of earning a thousand low-grade spirit stones in two years. How could he not be tempted?

Gu An hesitated and asked, "Is this senior trustworthy?"

Zhang Chunqiu was momentarily stunned, then burst into laughter. He looked at Gu An with approval and said, "Not bad, Junior Brother Gu, you’re cautious. Don’t worry, he’s an old friend of mine. We joined the Tai Xuan Sect in the same year. The reason he picked you is that you’re diligent and reliable. If it were Meng Lang, I wouldn’t feel as confident. Plus, his cave is only about ten li from our Medicine Valley. You’ll only need to check in twice a month."

After a moment of hesitation, Gu An agreed.

It had been half a month since he’d had the chance to harvest any herbs. Watching his lifespan stagnate was unbearable. He missed the rush of accumulating lifespan through his special ability.

The Dragon Force Divine Essence Art only granted him an increase of one year of lifespan per month. If not for his ability to steal lifespan, he would have been satisfied with that. But now, his greed had grown.

Moreover, he wasn’t sure how long the effect of the Dragon Force Divine Essence Art would last. After all, everything had its limits.

Seeing that Gu An agreed, Zhang Chunqiu immediately led him out of the valley.

Gu An hadn’t left the Medicine Valley in two years, and now that he was finally leaving, he felt a bit nervous.

As they exited the valley, Gu An was greeted by the sight of endless forest. Sunlight filtered through the trees, creating rings of rainbow light. The scene was breathtakingly beautiful.

Zhang Chunqiu patted the storage pouch on his waist, and a sword flew out. Grabbing Gu An’s arm, he leaped onto the sword, and the two of them soared into the air, flying on the sword’s power.

Startled, Gu An clung tightly to Zhang Chunqiu’s waist, the hot summer wind blowing through his hair as envy filled his eyes.

Sword flight! The hallmark of a cultivator!

He hadn’t expected Zhang Chunqiu to possess such a skill!

Feeling the strength of Gu An’s grip, Zhang Chunqiu laughed heartily. "Junior Brother Gu, make sure to keep an eye on the path. You’ll have to come here on your own from now on."

Gu An couldn’t resist asking, "Senior Brother, could you teach me this sword-flying technique?"

"Well, you’ll need to cultivate diligently. Once you reach the fourth level of the Qi Refining Stage, I’ll teach you," Zhang Chunqiu replied.

"Fourth level of Qi Refining…"

"If you work hard, you’ll reach it one day."

As he spoke, Zhang Chunqiu couldn’t help but straighten his back and flash a bright, confident smile.

In his mind, he thought, "In Junior Brother Gu’s eyes, I must look quite impressive right now. I hope this will inspire him to stop being lazy and take his cultivation seriously."

From Zhang Chunqiu’s perspective, Gu An was a decent person overall—he just didn’t enjoy cultivating. In his free time, the kid was always reading.

Gu An found it amusing. Was reaching the fourth level of Qi Refining supposed to be hard?

I could spend a hundred years of lifespan. Would that work?

If not, then five hundred years!

And if that’s still not enough…

Nonsense!

The two brothers chatted as they flew on the sword.

Before long, they landed in a forest. As they touched the ground, Gu An was still savoring the sensation of flying.

Zhang Chunqiu led Gu An through the dense forest until they reached a rock face. Taking out a jade pendant, he pressed it into a groove in the rock face.

"The cave has a protective formation. From now on, you’ll need to carry this jade pendant with you. Don’t lose it, or it’ll be a hassle," Zhang Chunqiu instructed.

Gu An nodded, and moments later, the rock face trembled. A stone door appeared and slowly opened.

Zhang Chunqiu retrieved the jade pendant and led Gu An inside.

The two disappeared into the darkness, and a few breaths later, the stone door slammed shut.

The cave was much larger than Gu An had expected. The passageway alone was five zhang long. When they arrived in a spacious chamber, Gu An’s attention was immediately drawn to an area where medicinal herbs were being cultivated.

The herbs were densely packed, numbering at least a hundred, and took up most of the chamber. From his experience, Gu An could tell at a glance that these herbs were of high grade.

Are all outer sect disciples this wealthy?

Zhang Chunqiu began explaining to Gu An which herbs needed to be harvested and the process of cultivating them. The cave had a built-in formation, so it didn’t lack water, but too much moisture could cause the herbs to die. Some herbs, if not harvested in time, could even ignite spiritual flames, destroying all the plants.

There were also seeds on the table. After harvesting, Gu An would need to replant the herbs.

The outer sect disciple had even prepared spirit-preserving paper, which was also laid out on the table.

"Alright, I’ll leave you to it. Once you’re done, head back on your own. This will be a good test to see if you can find your way back. If you’re not back by evening, I’ll come to find you," Zhang Chunqiu said, patting Gu An on the shoulder before handing him the jade pendant.

Gu An politely saw Zhang Chunqiu out before returning to the cave.

He didn’t immediately start harvesting herbs. Instead, he took a moment to observe the cave.

It was quite simple—just a stone bed, a stone table, and two stone stools. Wait, there were also books hidden in the walls, covered by vines.

Gu An had no intention of browsing through them. What if there was a surveillance formation in the cave?

Better to be diligent and focus on earning lifespan, without stirring up any trouble!

Gu An began harvesting the mature herbs.

[You have successfully seized 9 years of lifespan from a third-tier Spirit Flame Herb.]

Hiss—

A third-tier herb!

Gu An suddenly wondered if his understanding of herb grades was off, or if the outer sect disciples really enjoyed far better treatment than he had in the Medicine Valley.

Oh well, better enjoy it while I can!

The first batch of herbs he harvested consisted of eleven plants, granting him a total of 89 years of lifespan, bringing his total lifespan to 1,264 years.

As Gu An used his lifespan detection ability to scan the cave, he even spotted a fourth-tier spiritual herb.

Such a wealthy outer sect disciple!

Gu An was thrilled. With such a generous employer, he had to make sure to maintain a good relationship for future collaborations.

Wait a minute!

Couldn’t he do this for other Tai Xuan Sect disciples as well?

After all, every disciple would need to go on long-term expeditions at some point.

No, better focus on this task first. I need to play it safe. What if I run into a bad person who tries to extort me?

I’m just a menial disciple. If I get into a conflict with a full disciple, I’ll definitely be the one cast aside.

Gu An carefully planted the Spirit Flame Herb seeds, making sure to do everything perfectly.

An incense stick’s worth of time later.

Gu An left the cave and closed the stone door behind him, making his way back toward the Medicine Valley.

Fearing that he might encounter another demon like the Demon of Greed and Rage, he walked quickly.

Thanks to the Dragon Force Divine Essence Art, Gu An reached the valley entrance in less than half an hour. As he approached, he spotted someone standing there.

Chu Jingfeng!

Chu Jingfeng, with his right arm missing, looked weathered and worn. He was dressed in black robes, a far cry from his former self.