Gu An caught the secret book, feeling a subtle emotion in his heart. Although he had known for a long time that Li Ya was leaving, hearing it for real made him feel a bit reluctant.
In this Medicine Valley, he had only two friends, as he didn't talk much with Cheng Xuandan and Zhang Chunqiu.
Li Ya was much better than Meng Lang; Meng Lang was just a beast!
"Are you about to reach Foundation Establishment?" Gu An asked.
He had used Life Span Detection to see that Li Ya's cultivation level had already reached the ninth layer of the Qi Cultivation Realm, a very rapid breakthrough.
Could it be that there was a master in the forest guiding him?
Or perhaps, was there an old grandfather's soul persecuted by evil people hidden inside Li Ya?
Li Ya nodded and said, "I plan to attempt Foundation Establishment next month."
He paused for a moment and then said seriously, "This farewell, we may never meet again. In this Medicine Valley, don't be too submissive to Meng Lang; that will make him fawn over you. In the future, Medicine Valley will surely have other disciples. As a senior brother, you must have your own temper..."
Gu An was speechless. How did it happen that two people lectured him in one day?
But compared to Du Ye, Li Ya seemed more sincere.
Gu An suddenly felt reluctant.
From childhood to adulthood, he had always been treading on thin ice in the Ji Family, never having real friends, only those whom he tried to please. Never had he had a friend like Li Ya who would give him gifts.
He understood that Li Ya's words would come true. This parting might be for a lifetime.
Gu An couldn't help but say, "You too, don't be so reckless as before. Living is the most important thing. You have ascended from a servant disciple to the verge of Foundation Establishment in less than two years; your talent is undoubtedly top-tier. As long as you stay alive, you will surely become a top great cultivator famed across the world."
Li Ya heard his words and couldn't help but smile.
The two stood in the courtyard chatting. Before long, Meng Lang returned, and upon hearing that Li Ya was leaving, he too became quite downcast.
In the end, Li Ya still left. After saying goodbye to Gu An, he went to visit Cheng Xuandan, and finally, Zhang Chunqiu took him away from Medicine Valley.
The winter snow had not yet fully melted, making the Medicine Valley quite desolate.
In his spare time, Gu An began to practice the sword manual given by Li Ya. He had modest pursuits; he didn't aim to master it but at least to become proficient enough to have it appear on his attribute panel.
It took time for cultivation techniques and secret books to appear on the attribute panel. Gu An didn't want to be caught unprepared in a dangerous situation, realizing too late that he hadn't cultivated enough.
The sword manual given by Li Ya was called the Li Family Seven Swords. The name was very ordinary, but Gu An knew this Li Family represented the Taicang Dynasty's Imperial Family, so he practiced very earnestly.
Winter passed, and spring brought new life to Medicine Valley.
After Li Ya left, Zhang Chunqiu brought back another person, a fourteen-year-old boy named Xiaochuan.
Xiaochuan was a solitary boy. After entering the Medicine Valley, he seldom communicated with Gu An and Meng Lang. After Gu An helped him pick medicinal herbs several times, Xiaochuan developed a liking for him, and gradually, they talked more, although Xiaochuan still remained mostly silent.
As summer arrived, Gu An learned from his attribute panel that he had turned seventeen.
From childhood, he had never known his exact birthday, nor did he care.
Compared to his birthday, Gu An was more eager to know when he could pick third-grade medicinal herbs.
Most of the medicinal herbs in Medicine Valley required years to be ready for harvesting, so his life span didn't always increase steadily and had begun slowing down recently.
One day.
Zhang Chunqiu found Gu An.
"Junior Brother Gu, I have a task here with considerable reward. Are you willing to take it?" Zhang Chunqiu asked with a smile.
Gu An raised an eyebrow. Tasks within the Medicine Valley?
He resisted his reluctance and asked, "Dare I ask, Senior Brother, what is the task?"
"An Outer Disciple is about to go out for training and won't return for two years. The task is to look after the medicinal herbs in his cave. When he returns, he will reward you with ten mid-grade spirit stones," Zhang Chunqiu said with a smile.
Gu An was immediately tempted.
The grades of spirit stones, from low to high, are low-grade, mid-grade, top-grade, and supreme-grade. Each level is worth a hundred times more than the previous one. One mid-grade spirit stone is equivalent to a hundred low-grade spirit stones, and Gu An's monthly salary was only one low-grade spirit stone. This task was equivalent to gaining a thousand low-grade spirit stones over two years. How could he not be tempted?
Gu An hesitated and asked, "Can that senior be trusted?"
Zhang Chunqiu was taken aback, then laughed heartily. He said with approval, "Good, Junior Brother Gu, you are cautious. Rest assured, that person is an old friend of mine. We entered the Supreme Sect the same year. He chose you because you are diligent and honest. If it were Meng Lang, I wouldn't be so sure. And his cave is not far from our Medicine Valley, only a dozen miles away. You just need to go twice a month."
Gu An hesitated for a while but eventually agreed.
He hadn't had a chance to pick medicinal herbs for half a month. Watching his life span not increase made him miserable; he missed the feeling of living a hundred years very much.
The Dragon Strength Divine Primordial Skill only granted him a year's worth of life span each month. Without the Golden Finger to seize life spans, he would be quite satisfied, but now, he was very greedy.
Moreover, he didn't even know how long the effects of the Dragon Strength Divine Primordial Skill would last, as everything had its limits.
Zhang Chunqiu saw that he agreed and directly led him outside the valley.
Gu An had not left the Medicine Valley in two years. Now, leaving the valley made him somewhat nervous.
As he walked out of the valley entrance, he saw endless mountains and forests. Sunshine poured through the woods, forming circles of rainbow light, particularly beautiful.
Zhang Chunqiu patted his waist, and a long sword flew out from his storage bag. He grabbed Gu An's arm and leapt onto the sword, then began flying with sword control.
Gu An hugged his waist tightly, frightened, while the hot summer wind ruffled his black hair, and his eyes were filled with admiration.
Flying with sword control, this was the standard for cultivators!
He never thought Zhang Chunqiu had this skill!
Zhang Chunqiu felt the strength in his arm and laughed aloud. "Junior Brother Gu, you better open your eyes wide and remember the way back. You'll have to make this journey yourself in the future."
Gu An couldn't help but ask, "Senior Brother, can you teach me this Sword Control Technique?"
"You need to cultivate diligently. Once you reach the Fourth Layer of the Qi Cultivation Realm, I will teach you sword control."
"The Fourth Layer of the Qi Cultivation Realm…"
"As long as you work hard, you will achieve the Fourth Layer of the Qi Cultivation Realm in due time."
Zhang Chunqiu couldn't help but straighten his back and revealed a bright smile.
He thought to himself, "In Junior Brother Gu's eyes, I must appear very imposing now. I hope he truly gets motivated and stops being lazy in his cultivation."
In his eyes, Gu An was good at everything except for his lack of interest in cultivation. During his free time, this kid loved reading books.
Gu An found it quite ridiculous. Was reaching the Fourth Layer of the Qi Cultivation Realm that difficult?
If I put a hundred years of my life into it, would it work?
If not, then five hundred years!
If five hundred years wouldn't do, then...what a joke!
The two brothers chatted as they flew on the sword.
Soon, they landed in a forest. After landing, Gu An still reminisced about the feeling of flying in the sky.
Zhang Chunqiu led Gu An through a dense forest to a rock wall. He took out a jade pendant and pressed it into a recess in the rock wall.
"The cave has restrictions. You must bring this jade pendant when you come, and don't lose it. It will be very troublesome if you do," Zhang Chunqiu instructed.
Gu An nodded. The rock wall trembled, revealing a stone gate, which then opened.
Zhang Chunqiu took the jade pendant and led Gu An inside.
The two disappeared into the darkness. After several breaths, the stone gate closed with a boom.
This cave was more spacious than Gu An had imagined. The passage alone was five zhang long. They entered a large chamber, and Gu An's eyes were drawn to a section growing medicinal herbs.
Those herbs were densely planted, at least a hundred in number, occupying most of the chamber's space. With Gu An's current knowledge, he could see that these herbs were of a high grade at a glance.
The Outer Disciples of the Supreme Sect were this wealthy?
Zhang Chunqiu began instructing Gu An on which herbs should be picked and the specific process for cultivating various herbs. This cave had its own restriction and wasn't short on water, but too much water could cause the herbs to die. Some herbs would ignite spiritual energy flames if not picked in time, destroying all the herbs.
There were also seeds on the table. After harvesting, Gu An had to continue planting.
The Outer Disciple had already prepared some Spirit Protection Paper, which was also placed on the table.
"Alright, I will leave first. When you are done, come back by yourself. See if you can find your way back. If you haven't returned to the Medicine Valley by evening, I will come looking for you." Zhang Chunqiu patted Gu An on the shoulder and handed him the jade pendant.
Gu An did not neglect his manners and sent Zhang Chunqiu out before returning to the cave.
He did not immediately pick the herbs but looked around the cave chamber.
The setting was simple, with only a stone bed, a stone table, two stone stools, and some books hidden in the cave wall, covered by vines.
Gu An had no intention of reading the books. What if the cultivator had set up a monitoring restriction?
Silently earning longevity was good enough; there's no need to stir up trouble!
Gu An began picking the mature herbs.
[You successfully seized 9 years of life from Spirit Flame Grass (Third-Grade)]
Hiss—
Third-grade herb!
Gu An suddenly wondered if his understanding of herb grades was wrong or if the Outer Sect had significantly higher standards than the Medicine Valley.
Forget it, just enjoy it!
The first batch of herbs to be picked consisted of eleven plants, giving him an additional 89 years of life, bringing his total life span to 1,264 years.
Gu An used Life Span Detection to survey the area and even saw a fourth-grade spirit herb.
This Outer Disciple was quite wealthy!
Gu An was delighted. Maintaining a good relationship with such a wealthy employer meant potential long-term cooperation in the future.
Wait!
Could he also perform such tasks for other Supreme Sect disciples?
After all, going out for training was something all disciples experienced.
No, I should complete this task first. One step at a time. What if I encounter evil people who want to extort me?
As a servant disciple, if he clashed with official disciples, he would certainly be the one to suffer.
Gu An carefully planted the Spirit Flame Grass seeds, intending to do his job well.
After 30 minutes.
Gu An left the cave. After closing the cave gate, he headed toward the Medicine Valley.
He feared encountering demons like the Demon of Greed again, so he walked quickly.
Thanks to the Dragon Strength Divine Primordial Skill, Gu An returned to the valley entrance in an hour. Before he could get close, he saw someone.
Chu Jingfeng!
Chu Jingfeng, with his right arm severed, looked weathered, wearing a black robe, a far cry from his former self.