Spring passed and autumn came; Medicine Valley of the Supreme Sect went through another year of neglect in the change of seasons.
The door of a pavilion opened, and the sixteen-year-old Gu An, Meng Lang, and Li Ya walked out from the room. They turned around and saluted inside, then Meng Lang closed the door.
The three of them breathed a sigh of relief and then walked down the stairs.
When they arrived at their own courtyard, Meng Lang couldn't help but complain, "He could talk for an ancient hour about these things. Wouldn't it have been easier if he just handed us the Hundred Herbs Collection?"
Li Ya shook his head helplessly, then he walked to the corner of the courtyard, picked up the sword inserted in the soil, and began practicing his swordsmanship.
Although his spirit root qualification was mediocre, he was, after all, from the Imperial Family and had a set of exquisite swordsmanship in his hands. He planned to use this swordsmanship to make a comeback.
The Taicang Dynasty revered the traditions of immortal cultivation; the court officials were all practitioners of it. The dynasty designated every citizen in the thirteen provinces into ranks: from low to high, they were slaves, commoners, officials, and immortals.
Merchants were also considered commoners. Only those who achieved immortal status could be considered truly noble; ordinary officials could only hold office in towns. The rulers of commanderies or a prefect of a province were all immortals, let alone Changluo in the Imperial City. To enter Changluo, one had to be immortal.
Many families of immortal status would exile children with poor spirit root qualification to ensure the purity of their bloodline; the Imperial Family was no exception.
The immortal-status Li Ya was not someone Gu An could provoke.
Because he was of slave status.
During this year, Gu An specifically helped Li Ya and Meng Lang pick medicinal herbs. Most of the picking took place in summer or early morning, so his efforts earned their goodwill.
At other times, such as planting, watering, and fertilizing, Gu An did not help them. They also felt embarrassed to ask for help because Zhang Chunqiu would always stand on the pavilion, watching during the planting.
Gu An listened to Meng Lang's incessant chatter while watching Li Ya practice swordsmanship.
Every man had a dream of being a swordsman.
After a year of spending so much time together, the three of them had established a good bond. Li Ya did not mind them watching his sword practice. After all, he couldn't hide and practice swordsmanship, and the Li family's swordsmanship also had a unique energy nurturing spell; merely practicing the sword moves was useless.
Meng Lang talked for a long time but finally ended his speech with reluctance. He patted Gu An's shoulder and smiled, "You never practice, why are you so interested in swordsmanship?"
Gu An casually replied, "I am of mediocre qualification, so I'm too lazy to practice. Watching him practice is just out of boredom. Don't you think life in Medicine Valley is very monotonous?"
"Yes, it is too boring. Back home, I had four maidservants for entertainment. Do you know..." Meng Lang lamented and then started his endless chatter again.
Gu An had long been used to his bragging nature and was too lazy to expose him.
Until dusk fell, Li Ya finally finished practicing. He inserted his sword into the courtyard soil. While wiping his sweat, he said, "I'll take a walk in the small forest."
With that, without waiting for Gu An and Meng Lang to respond, he walked towards the courtyard gate.
After he left the courtyard, Meng Lang muttered in a low voice, "What do you think he's always doing in the small forest?"
Gu An shrugged, "How should I know? He's a scion of the Imperial Family; it's normal for him to have some secrets. What if he returns someday to become a prince?"
"Impossible, he's already been sent out to be a servant disciple."
"But think about it, there are many sects besides the Supreme Sect. Why was he sent here to be a servant?"
Gu An shook his head. His words stunned Meng Lang.
Then, Gu An walked to the well, scooped a ladle of water from the bucket, drank it in one gulp, and then put down the ladle, heading towards the courtyard gate.
Meng Lang did not follow Gu An. He knew what Gu An was going to do. After muttering a word, he returned to his room to practice.
Gu An arrived at a patch of land where second-order spirit grass, Calming Grass, was planted.
This year, Gu An had only been picking first-order medicinal herbs. The herbs here were not ordinary plants; they took longer to mature. Many herbs needed years to be harvested, so the herbs he picked within a year were not many.
Zhang Chunqiu had said that in another month, they could pick the Calming Grass in this patch for the first time. Gu An had been looking forward to it for a long time.
In his eyes, each deep blue Calming Grass wasn't just a medicinal herb but a number representing his life span.
Suddenly.
Gu An saw a Calming Grass shaking. He looked closely and his face instantly changed. He immediately vaulted the wooden fence and rushed over quickly.
He saw a palm-sized white-furred mouse digging at the soil under the Calming Grass, seemingly trying to uproot it.
Seeing Gu An rushing over, the white-furred mouse was so frightened it bolted away like a flash of lightning, quickly disappearing under the wooden fence at the edge, escaping without a trace.
Gu An initially wanted to chase after it, but seeing the Calming Grass bitten off and its stalk broken, he quickly squatted down and took out a piece of Spirit Protection Paper from his waist.
His left hand quickly snapped off the Calming Grass, and then his right hand used the Spirit Protection Paper to wrap its root, preventing the spiritual energy from dissipating.
After finishing the wrapping, Gu An stood up.
[You successfully obtained four years of life span from the second-order Calming Grass]
Before Gu An could smile, another line of text appeared in front of him:
[Your life span surpassed one thousand years for the first time, activating the Life Span Detection function]
Life Span Detection?
Curious, Gu An looked at a Calming Grass on the ground and murmured in his heart, 'Check life span.'
[Calming Grass (second-order): 4/25/102 years (age/life span/life span limit)]
This Calming Grass could live up to one hundred and two years?
The obtained life span differed from its original life span; it seemed he couldn't completely take away all of the target's life span. Most of it dissipated with the target's death.
Gu An wasn't sure about the difference between life span and life span limit, possibly related to cultivation.
He picked up the wrapped Calming Grass, got up and left, walking towards Zhang Chunqiu's pavilion.
All medicinal herbs in Medicine Valley needed to be handed over to Zhang Chunqiu for safekeeping. Every six months, Gu An and the others received their salaries as servant disciples of the Supreme Sect. It was all used to cultivate spirit stones and spirit pills. Zhang Chunqiu also rewarded them with seeds based on their performance.
There were three Calming Grasses planted in Gu An's room, one more than Meng Lang and Li Ya. Meng Lang and Li Ya didn't feel jealous about this.
Just as Gu An was leaving the garden, he saw someone climbing the stairs leading to Zhang Chunqiu's pavilion. It was an elderly man in black, wearing a black cloth hat and carrying a book box on his back, making him look very mysterious.
Watching the elderly man from a distance, Gu An felt stirred and checked his life span. Instantly, two lines of text appeared before his eyes:
[Cheng Xuandan (Energy Cultivation Realm Eighth Layer): 104/120/180]
Cheng Xuandan!
The master of Medicine Valley and Gu An's nominal master. He had only heard Zhang Chunqiu mention him; Cheng Xuandan had been traveling for years, and today was the first time seeing him.
The one hundred and four-year-old Cheng Xuandan had a life span of one hundred and twenty years, with a life span limit of one hundred and eighty years. So barring any accidents, he could live for another sixteen years.
Gu An found Life Span Detection interesting. It could help him identify others' cultivation levels and qualifications.
He speculated that the life span limit could indicate a person's talent, but this guess needed to be verified repeatedly.
Cheng Xuandan entered Zhang Chunqiu's room and closed the door.
Gu An went into Zhang Chunqiu's courtyard, placed the wrapped Calming Grass on a long table, and then turned around and left.
He returned to his own courtyard and first visited Meng Lang, who was cultivating inside.
[Meng Lang (Energy Cultivation Realm Second Layer): 17/90/190]
Hmm, indeed a waste.
After understanding Meng Lang's life span, Gu An didn't talk much and soon returned to his own room.
Until nightfall, he heard Li Ya's footsteps and got up to open the door.
Li Ya just turned to go into his room. Seeing him open the door, he couldn't help asking, "What's the matter?"
While checking Li Ya's life span, Gu An replied, "Master is back. How about we visit him together tomorrow?"
[Li Ya (Energy Cultivation Realm Sixth Layer): 18/210/1550]
Hiss—
A life span limit of one thousand five hundred and fifty years!
So, this was the talent of the Imperial Family?
Wasn't Li Ya said to have a mixed spirit root?
Gu An's look towards Li Ya changed. Perhaps Li Ya was an undiscovered genius who would eventually shine brightly.
And this guy had reached the sixth layer of the Energy Cultivation Realm!
What did it mean?
Playing dumb to catch tigers?
The cultivation levels Gu An was exposed to, from low to high, were: Qi Cultivation, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul, and Divinity Transformation. Each major realm was divided into nine smaller layers. Li Ya managed to reach the sixth layer of the Energy Cultivation Realm at eighteen years old; it wouldn't be long before he could reach Foundation Establishment, becoming an official disciple of the Supreme Sect.
He must build a good relationship with such a talented fellow disciple!
Hearing this, Li Ya raised his eyebrows slightly and nodded, "Sure, you are considerate. Call me when you get up tomorrow."
With that, he turned and walked toward his room.
Gu An watched him close the door, his heart full of emotions.
Indeed, social classes existed in every world, and the difference in status destined it to be difficult for him and Li Ya to become real friends.
Gu An wasn't angry. Being a house servant since childhood, he had endured many cold looks and neglect; he didn't resent Li Ya, who appeared mediocre to him.
No matter, with the Golden Finger that could take life spans, Gu An believed he would eventually become immortal. Before that, what he needed was to keep a low profile and survive the accumulation phase steadily.
To live peacefully meant no conflicts, no stirring trouble, and the lower the profile, the better!
Gu An smiled, then turned and closed the door.
Tonight's moon was round and its light spread like water on the stone steps in the courtyard.
...
At dawn, inside the great hall.
Gu An, Meng Lang, and Li Ya stood side by side. In front of them, Cheng Xuandan sat on a chair, holding a cup of hot tea. Zhang Chunqiu stood beside him, showing great respect.
[Zhang Chunqiu (Energy Cultivation Realm Fifth Layer): 54/110/175]
Gu An thought his senior brother's qualification was low. But then again, there were many such medicine valleys in the Supreme Sect, and having one Li Ya was already rare.
Moreover, compared to them, Gu An was the most useless when he first arrived.
Cheng Xuandan raised his murky eyes to observe the three of them. He began, "I have heard about your performances from your senior brother. Since this is our first meeting, I should present you with greetings."
"You can choose among the Hundred Herbs Collection, the Energy Nurturing Skill, and the Poison Wood Vine spell. You can only choose one, and you must not share them. If I find out, you will be severely punished."
Hearing this, Meng Lang was the first to speak, "Master, I want the Poison Wood Vine spell!"
Gu An thought that no one would want the Hundred Herbs Collection, so he let Li Ya choose first as a favor.
Li Ya followed, "Disciple wishes for the Hundred Herbs Collection."
Gu An looked at him in surprise.
Brother, not playing by the rules?