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Chapter 1: Seizing Life
🕑 Added 2024-12-08 08:50:12 +0000 UTCUnder the scorching sun, the sky was clear, the mountains surrounded the area, and the world seemed to tremble. The forests swayed, and a gust of wind blew through the valley, bringing a refreshing breeze to Gu An, who stood in the garden.
Gu An wiped the sweat from his forehead, his gaze fixated on the vibrant flowers and plants blooming on the ground. Each one was brightly colored, showing no signs of wilting despite the intense sunlight.
On either side of him stood a young man, both showing little interest compared to Gu An’s excitement. They absentmindedly wiped their sweat as they stood there.
In front of them stood a young man in simple clothes. He had an ordinary appearance but a sturdy build and bright eyes. He was Zhang Chunqiu, the senior disciple of the Medicine Valley under the Pill Hall of the Tai Xuan Sect, explaining the essentials of harvesting spiritual flowers and herbs to the three of them.
"The flowers and herbs in this garden are all first-tier medicinal herbs. When harvesting, you can't pull them out by the roots. You need to cut them from the stem near the soil. After cutting, you must use the protective spirit paper in your hands to wrap them to prevent the spiritual energy from leaking..." Zhang Chunqiu's voice was loud and full of energy, completely unaffected by the blazing sun.
Gu An held the scissors in his right hand and the white paper strips in his left, carefully noting down Zhang Chunqiu's every word.
Unlike the two beside him, Gu An cherished this job greatly. He had endured many hardships to secure this opportunity.
Everyone thought he was giving up, that he was about to fall into ruin, but little did they know, this was the path most suitable for his rise to power!
"Alright, let’s begin. Each of you harvest one plant, and I will inspect them," Zhang Chunqiu said. As soon as he finished speaking, Gu An squatted down.
Gu An put down the protective spirit paper in his hand and carefully held the stem of the red flower in front of him with his left hand.
"Brother, you’re way too tense. Even if you cut it wrong, it’s no big deal. It's just a first-tier herb, ordinary grass used for refining basic pills. Back at home, I wouldn’t even bother with it," said Meng Lang, who stood on Gu An’s right. He was dressed in luxurious clothing, clearly from a well-off family.
Indeed, aside from Gu An, who was a servant, the other two were from wealthy families. However, despite their backgrounds, even noble sons had to have spiritual roots to enter the cultivation world. Unfortunately, both of them had the most mediocre five-element spiritual roots. To stay in the Tai Xuan Sect, they could only become labor disciples.
Gu An ignored Meng Lang's words and focused on cutting the flower.
He gently snipped the stem and then used the protective spirit paper to wrap the root of the red flower.
After completing this task, he stood up and handed the flower to Zhang Chunqiu for inspection.
Zhang Chunqiu took a look and smiled in satisfaction. "Well done. You’re very meticulous."
Gu An didn’t respond but kept his eyes fixed on the red flower in Zhang Chunqiu’s hand.
At that moment, a line of text that only Gu An could see appeared before him.
[You have successfully seized 1 year of lifespan from the Scarlet Spirit Flower (First-Tier).]
Success!
A smile broke across Gu An’s face, and a weight seemed to lift off his shoulders.
As expected, only living beings with spiritual energy could have their lifespans seized.
The first time Gu An seized a lifespan was when he was ten years old. He accidentally knocked over a flowerpot carried by another servant, causing the spiritual flower inside to fall. As a result, he gained twelve years of lifespan.
At that time, the guard was furious and wanted to cut off one of his hands. Fortunately, Miss Ji Xiaoyu stepped in and saved him.
This time, Gu An was able to join the Tai Xuan Sect thanks to Ji Xiaoyu’s help. Ji Xiaoyu was a rare dual-spirit root cultivator, and many major cultivation sects had extended invitations to the Ji family. She had brought five members of the Ji family to join the Tai Xuan Sect, and Gu An was one of only two servants allowed to accompany them.
Without Ji Xiaoyu, someone like him, with five-element spiritual roots, could only have entered a third-rate sect.
As Gu An reveled in his secret joy, Meng Lang and the other boy, Li Ya, had also finished harvesting their plants.
Zhang Chunqiu placed the three Scarlet Spirit Flowers into his storage pouch at his waist and said seriously, "Your task for today is to collectively harvest fifty Scarlet Spirit Flowers. You may only operate within this garden and are forbidden from stepping into other areas. Once completed, bring the flowers to the pavilion and find me."
With that, Zhang Chunqiu turned and left.
Meng Lang waved his fist at Zhang Chunqiu's back, muttering under his breath, "Such a small task, and he talked for half a day. Hasn’t he ever had junior disciples before?"
Li Ya sat down on the ground, frantically wiping sweat with his sleeve.
After Zhang Chunqiu went upstairs, Gu An turned to Meng Lang and Li Ya and said, "Brothers, judging by your fine clothing, you must come from wealthy families and are likely not used to such labor. I’m different; I’m just a servant. Why not let me handle the task? You can rest in the shade, and in the future, I hope you’ll take good care of me."
Meng Lang’s eyes lit up when he heard this. He laughed and said, "Brother, you’re quite clever! If you ever find yourself struggling here, I’ll make sure you live a life of comfort."
Li Ya, too exhausted to speak, nodded in agreement.
The two left their protective spirit paper behind and supported each other as they walked out of the garden.
Gu An picked up their papers and looked back at the garden, his eyes gleaming. The scorching sun above couldn’t compare to the fiery passion in his eyes.
To him, the entire garden of Scarlet Spirit Flowers wasn’t just a patch of flowers—it was a path paved with steps to immortality!
He began working carefully, determined not only to complete the task but to do it well, lest he lose this perfect job.
The sun shone with its full brilliance, showing no mercy to the people below.
Meng Lang and Li Ya rested in a small pavilion, continuously wiping sweat, too tired to speak, their eyes following Gu An.
Time passed, and Gu An, though drenched in sweat, remained exhilarated, his face never losing its smile.
Watching Gu An, whose face was flushed red, Meng Lang couldn’t help but comment, "In such hot weather, this guy is really going all out. I like him! From now on, we’ll take care of him—make sure he eats and drinks well. No one’s allowed to bully him so that he’ll keep doing our work."
Li Ya rolled his eyes and snapped, "There’s hardly anyone in this valley. Who could possibly bully him? If Senior Brother were to bully him, would you dare speak up?"
Meng Lang coughed awkwardly and then looked at Li Ya, asking, "Brother, which Li family are you from?"
Li Ya calmly replied, "The Li family of Changluo in Cang Dynasty."
"Changluo? Isn’t that the imperial capital? You share the same surname as the royal family?" Meng Lang asked in surprise, his eyes widening.
Li Ya didn’t respond, simply staring quietly at Gu An.
Meng Lang grew uneasy. He hadn’t expected to meet a member of the royal family here.
But after a moment of reflection, it made sense. This was the Tai Xuan Sect, the number one cultivation sect in the Great Cang Dynasty. The fact that it shared the character "Tai" with the royal dynasty indicated how revered the sect’s position was. Encountering a royal family member among the lower-ranked disciples wasn’t out of the ordinary.
Time passed.
Gu An finally finished harvesting fifty Scarlet Spirit Flowers. He placed all the carefully wrapped flowers into a bamboo basket, hoisted it onto his back, and looked longingly toward the other areas of the garden. His face was filled with anticipation.
There were more than fifteen different areas in the valley, and the one they were assigned to was just a small corner. Gu An speculated that the herbs in other areas must be of even greater value.
There’s plenty of time ahead!
Gu An didn't want to reveal his unique ability, so he decided to stop for today.
He followed the small path toward the pavilion, waving to Meng Lang and Li Ya as he walked. The two of them stood up and approached.
"Brother Gu An, you’ve worked hard. Let me carry the basket," Meng Lang said with a wide smile. The three of them had introduced themselves earlier when they met the valley master, so they remembered each other's names.
Gu An saw through Meng Lang's little scheme but smiled and handed the bamboo basket to him without protest.
Li Ya smirked and cast a disdainful glance at Meng Lang.
Gu An, focused on keeping his job, didn’t want to make too much of an effort. He wasn’t interested in standing out too much or being reassigned, so he let Meng Lang have his way without complaint.
The three of them arrived at the pavilion to meet Senior Brother Zhang Chunqiu.
Zhang Chunqiu was holding a book when they entered. He put it down when he saw the three of them and said, "Put the Scarlet Spirit Flowers down. This is a basic cultivation manuals left by our master. In your free time, you should study and train hard. Strive to one day escape this menial work and become a true disciple of the Tai Xuan Sect. Five years ago, one of our disciples received a spiritual pill from the master, successfully built their foundation, and became an outer sect disciple."
As he spoke, Zhang Chunqiu waved his hand, and three cultivation manuals flew out from his sleeve, landing in front of Gu An, Meng Lang, and Li Ya.
Gu An caught one and looked at the cover.
Spring Wood Technique!
Just from the name, it sounded incredibly basic!
Gu An wasn’t disappointed, though. He knew he was still at the bottom of the hierarchy in the Tai Xuan Sect.
Zhang Chunqiu gave them a few more instructions before letting them settle into the nearby courtyard. It was reserved for the menial disciples, and currently, the four of them were the only ones in the Medicine Valley. The valley master was away and wouldn’t return for two years, so Zhang Chunqiu was in charge of the valley for the time being.
An incense stick’s time later.
Gu An lay on a wooden bed, panting heavily, his face flushed from the day’s heat.
His mind stirred, and lines of text appeared before him.
[Name: Gu An]
[Lifespan: 15/151]
[Spiritual Root: Five Element Ordinary Spiritual Root (Lifespan can be invested to accelerate cultivation)]
[Cultivation: Unranked (Lifespan can be invested to accelerate cultivation)]
[Technique: Fire Control Art (Not yet cultivated) (Lifespan can be invested to accelerate cultivation)]
…
Gu An had seized a total of eighty-eight years of lifespan!
Before this, his lifespan was sixty-three years, of which twelve years were gained from the flower pot incident when he was ten. This meant that he originally had only fifty years to live.
First-tier medicinal herbs could only provide one to two years of lifespan, but for a mortal, even a single year was precious!
As Gu An looked over his attribute panel, the more he looked, the more excited he became. In just a short time, he had gained eighty-eight years of lifespan. This job was simply too wonderful!
He was determined to become a permanent disciple in the Medicine Valley!
Who cared about becoming an outer sect disciple or an inner sect disciple? He didn’t care for that at all.
Rumor had it that to become a formal disciple, one would need to go out and complete dangerous tasks, such as slaying demons and monsters in the mortal world.
Gu An had never killed a chicken in his life, and in his previous life on Earth, he had been an ordinary person. There was no way he could bring himself to kill.
Staying in the Medicine Valley was perfect—there was virtually no danger, and he could accumulate lifespan like crazy!
Who said that cultivating immortality required risking one’s life?
Gu An lost himself in a beautiful daydream, unable to extricate himself from his thoughts.
The night passed quickly.
Gu An woke up early in the morning. After a simple wash, he immediately went to find Zhang Chunqiu to receive a new task.
Zhang Chunqiu, who hadn’t slept and had been meditating to gather spiritual energy, smiled appreciatively at Gu An’s diligence. He stood up and walked to the door, pointing to a different area of the garden. "You can harvest the Spiritual Heart Grass from that area. Once you've finished, just leave the grass at my door. There's no need to knock."
With that, he waved his sleeve, and more strips of protective spirit paper fell into Gu An’s hands.
Zhang Chunqiu saw the barely concealed excitement on Gu An’s face, hesitated for a moment, then smiled warmly and said, "Junior Brother, keep working hard. As long as you are diligent and willing to endure hardships, you’ll eventually make something of yourself."
