Watching Gu An suppress Meng Lang with a single leg, Xiaochuan, Lu Jiujia, and Ye Lan were extremely excited.
On normal days, Meng Lang always boasted that he was the strongest in Medicine Valley, who would have thought that today, in his loss of control, he would be made to kneel by a single leg from his eldest senior brother!
No wonder the eldest senior brother isn't Meng Lang!
The master has a discerning eye!
Gu An gazed down at Meng Lang, who was kneeling before him, and spoke, "Haven't you come to your senses yet?"
His spiritual power flowed through his right leg into Meng Lang's body, forcibly smoothing out the chaotic spiritual power within him.
Meng Lang's breathing stabilized, the bloodshot in his eyes began to fade, and his ferocious expression gradually returned to normal.
Seeing that he had awakened, Gu An slowly retracted his leg, then helped him up.
Meng Lang suddenly came to his senses, looking up at Gu An while breathing heavily.
"Gu An... What... what just happened to me?" Meng Lang asked with difficulty, the violent fluctuations of qi-blood in his body making speaking quite strenuous.
Gu An replied, "It seemed like you experienced a cultivation deviation."
Upon hearing this, Meng Lang's eyes widened in shock and he asked, "I didn't harm you, did I?"
Xiaochuan and Lu Jiujia's expressions instantly became peculiar.
Ye Lan subconsciously wanted to answer, but Gu An hastily interjected, "It's fine, you managed to restrain yourself at the critical moment."
Meng Lang let out a sigh of relief, forcing a cheerful smile he said, "That's right... after all, I am the true eldest senior brother. How could I harm you..."
Ye Lan, on the other hand, looked at Gu An with eyes full of admiration.
The eldest senior brother is not only powerful but also very gentle!
Xiaochuan and Lu Jiujia shared the same thoughts, while feeling contempt for Meng Lang.
Talk is cheap, just a moment ago he was like a ghost!
Gu An told Xiaochuan and the others to disperse, then helped Meng Lang back to his room.
"What kind of cultivation technique are you practicing? It's too shady, isn't it?" Gu An asked, although he had a poor opinion of Meng Lang, after all, they had spent day and night together, and if possible, he still hoped Meng Lang would be safe and sound.
Meng Lang chuckled and said, "Of course, it's a divine skill... it's just that my talents and comprehension aren't enough, making it easy to go astray. But there's no helping it, I must become an Outer Disciple..."
Confused, Gu An asked, "Why must you become an Outer Disciple when you didn't seem to care before?"
Meng Lang's complexion instantly darkened, and he fell into silence.
Seeing that he did not want to speak, Gu An did not press further; after helping him to bed, Gu An then turned and left.
This incident was but a minor episode for Gu An; he couldn't control others' fates. Everyone had their own aspirations, and if one perished on the Immortal Cultivation Path, it wouldn't be considered a pity.
Arriving in the courtyard, Gu An continued to practice the Eight Trigrams Step.
...
Winter passed and spring arrived, another year of fine scenery.
In the early morning, when Medicine Valley still held remnants of snow, Gu An took his junior brothers and sisters up the mountain.
"Felling trees and pulling out roots is also a form of cultivation. You can use your spiritual power to do it. Once your spiritual power is depleted, you can cultivate to replenish, which will aid in improving your cultivation level."
Dressed in green, Gu An stood in the forest, smiling softly. He had his hands clasped behind his back, exuding the demeanor of a master.
That day, with a single leg, he had subdued Meng Lang who went into cultivation deviation, successfully establishing himself as a dominant figure in the eyes of his junior brothers and sisters.
Gu An even felt the younger junior sister developing different thoughts about him, increasingly clinging to him. Fortunately, he guided Ye Lan in her cultivation timely, diverting her attention.
How could one speak of affection in Immortal Cultivation?
In this life, Gu An did not wish to fall into the whirlpool of emotions too early—such would lead to losing his way.
Xiaochuan turned and asked, "Eldest senior brother, do we use our hands, or do we use our legs?"
Gu An maintained his smile and said, "However is convenient for you. Cultivation is one aspect, completing the task is another. You must find the right balance."
Is this how Zhang Chunqiu felt before?
Talking nonsense is actually quite enjoyable!
"Junior Brother Xiaochuan, let's see who can do it faster!" Lu Jiujia said, rubbing his hands in anticipation.
Xiaochuan readily agreed, and Ye Lan also clamored to join, only to be ignored by the two who did not enjoy competing with a girl.
So Gu An watched them pulling up trees while simultaneously planning out a new garden area.
What medicinal herbs should be planted in this mountain?
Gu An got lost in thought.
Although Xiaochuan and the others were Cultivators, their cultivation levels were not high. It took them an entire half a day just to clear a piece of land. Gu An brought Soul Shaking Grass seeds, a third-grade medicinal herb, for them to plant.
After finishing it all, the senior brothers went down the mountain together, chatting and laughing, as the sunset stretched their shadows long across the hillside.
Gu An encouraged his junior brothers and sisters to share their goals—all three aimed to enter the Outer Sect, each driven by different motives.
Xiaochuan simply wished to become stronger; Lu Jiujia aimed to prove himself to his family; Ye Lan seemed to have some unspeakable secret, speaking vaguely.
Gu An listened with keen interest, believing that every person should have their own story.
Hearing different people's stories could enrich his own life as well.
...
A month had passed since they planted the Soul Shaking Grass, and that night, the moon was sparse with stars.
Gu An was sitting in meditation on his bed inside his room, gazing at his Attribute Panel and caught in a dilemma.
[Name: Gu An]
[Life Span: 20/3163]
[Spirit Root: First-Class Wood Spirit Root, Four Elements Decent Spirit Root (Life Span can be invested for evolutionary cultivation)]
[Cultivation Level: Energy Cultivation Realm Nine Layers (Life Span can be invested for evolutionary cultivation)]
[Cultivation Techniques: Fire Control Art (Unmastered), Divine Wood Pure Yang Skill (Mastery), Dragon Strength Divine Primordial Skill (Mastery), Alchemy (Initial Insight) (Life Span can be invested for evolutionary cultivation)]
[Ultimate Skills: Gale Shadowless Leg (Integrated Mastery), Li Family's Seven Swords (Unmastered), Eight Trigrams Step (Unmastered) (Life Span can be invested for evolutionary cultivation)]
Should I invest my life span to break through the cultivation realm?
Cheng Xuandan has the ability to refine Foundation Establishment Pills. Now that she is so good to Gu An, perhaps he could seek a Foundation Establishment Pill.
However, Meng Lang's anomaly made Gu An wary of Cheng Xuandan once more.
Meng Lang had no illustrious background; if he possessed a divine skill, he could have practiced it long ago. Why wait until Li Ya and Zhang Chunqiu had left before he began?
With Gu An's current senses, he could be certain that Meng Lang hadn't been in contact with any strangers in the past two years. At most, he was summoned by Cheng Xuandan, and Gu An wouldn't eavesdrop on their conversations every time.
Forget it.
Better to rely on oneself than to rely on others—play it safe!
The path of immortal cultivation is fraught with dangers; a single misstep can result in utter destruction!
Gu An immediately invested a year of his life span into his cultivation level to undergo evolutionary training.
[Special Reminder: Cultivation level is actually present. The evolution process turns the abstract into the concrete, and its consumption will exceed the life span used in actual cultivation.]
[You focused on Energy Absorption cultivation for one year, and due to the lack of a Foundation Establishment Pill and opportunities, you failed to break through the Foundation Establishment Realm.]
Two lines of prompts appeared before Gu An's eyes, and since he hadn't succeeded in breaking through, his cultivation level saw no improvement.
Gu An, unfazed, continued to invest year after year.
Failure, failure, failure...
After a full nine times, his expression could no longer remain composed.
Damn it!
Laozi doesn't believe this anymore!
Invest a hundred years!
Gu An, with his temper flaring, directly invested a hundred years of his life span into his cultivation level for evolutionary training.
[You cultivated Energy Absorption for ten years, and with your Great Accomplishment in the Divine Wood Pure Yang Skill, you forcefully attempted to break through the Foundation Establishment Realm, but ultimately failed.]
[You cultivated Energy Absorption for twenty years, and with your Great Accomplishment in the Divine Wood Pure Yang Skill, you forcefully attempted to break through the Foundation Establishment Realm and finally succeeded.]
[You cultivated Energy Absorption for thirty years, and your cultivation level broke through to the second layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm.]
[You cultivated Energy Absorption for fifty years, and your cultivation level broke through to the third layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm.]
[You cultivated Energy Absorption for seventy years, and your cultivation level broke through to the fourth layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm.]
[You cultivated Energy Absorption for a hundred years, and your cultivation level broke through to the fifth layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm.]
Rows of prompts crazily flashed before Gu An's eyes.
He had no time to rejoice when he sensed something was amiss—the breakthrough through so many levels would surely cause an enormous commotion, wouldn't it?
No sooner had this thought crossed his mind than his body started to overheat, the Divine Wood Pure Yang Skill automatically circulated, and he quickly stood up and leaped out of the open window.
His steps were incredibly fast, silent and swift, and in less than three breaths' time, he dashed into the forest. With his feet kicking against the mountain wall, he climbed rapidly to the peak like an agile monkey. By this time, nature's spiritual energy was already surging toward him.
He leaped, plunging into the dim forest, his right foot landing on a branch to gain momentum. After several jumps, he landed smoothly on the ground.
Spiritual energy madly flooded into him, creating a whirlwind around him.
The speed at which he absorbed spiritual energy grew faster and faster, causing him to feel secretly alarmed. Fortunately, he had reacted quickly; if the breakthrough had happened in Medicine Valley, it would have certainly disturbed others.
Cheng Xuandan and Meng Lang might not dare to come out, but Xiaochuan and Lu Jiujia, two hot-headed fools, would definitely do so.
While Gu An thought this, he surged forward quickly, as nimble as a spirit fox. Under the cover of night, the forest rustled with the sound of swaying leaves.
Leveraging the Gale Shadowless Leg, Gu An's running speed was extremely fast as he traversed the range of mountains.
He was getting farther and farther from Medicine Valley.
He had not yet stopped when his cultivation realm began to break through, with spiritual energy violently surging into his energy channels, also inducing his dantian to evolve.
So painful!
Gu An frowned, but his pace did not slow down.
He ran wildly for more than ten miles, and eventually, he stopped in a stand of trees, sitting down beneath one to cultivate energy.
While cultivating, he marveled to himself.
He hadn't expected a hundred years of life span to allow him to break through from the ninth layer of the Energy Cultivation Realm to the fifth layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm.
It seemed the life span he seized was truly substantive. Of course, his rapid breakthrough was primarily due to the mastery of the Divine Wood Pure Yang Skill.
If he were to invest a thousand years of life span, could he possibly reach the Elixir Formation Realm in one go, or even touch upon the Nascent Soul Realm?
Gu An lost himself in boundless reveries.
The more spiritual energy he absorbed, the more the forest seemed to be engulfed in a tempest, violently shaking, with leaves falling everywhere—in the darkness, they appeared like demons and ghosts baring their fangs and claws.
"This commotion is a bit exaggerated..."
Gu An ruefully thought to himself, recognizing the downsides of evolving cultivation with life span: excessive noise that drew unwanted attention.
After evolution, it wasn't a case of cultivation level increasing out of thin air but compressing the necessary spiritual energy into one period for a rapid breakthrough.
Such was the turmoil from the ninth layer of the Qi Cultivation Realm to the fifth layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm, what kind of earth-shaking disturbance would it cause when he attempted to break through from the Elixir Formation Realm to the Nascent Soul Realm?
During the breakthrough, should other cultivators be attracted, that would be bad news indeed.
Gu An made it a habit to plan for the worst scenarios.
No good!
He had to be even more careful in the future!
Gu An decided to invest a year of life span into his cultivation level each day going forward, advancing step by step.
Time swiftly passed and the night was engulfed by a fierce wind. Gu An's robe billowed with the gusts as the spiritual power within him grew rapidly.
A short while later, his aura suddenly shifted.
Foundation Establishment successful!
His dantian transformed, generating spiritual power even quicker while also stimulating his bones and entire body to become stronger.
It wasn't over yet!
His cultivation level kept soaring, as clouds of dust mixed with grass clippings swirled around him, the sound mighty.
Foundation Establishment Realm second layer!
Foundation Establishment Realm third layer!
Foundation Establishment Realm fourth layer!