When Gu An spotted Chu Jingfeng, Chu Jingfeng also saw him.
Gu An was about to quicken his pace to greet him, but Chu Jingfeng leaped into the air, soaring several zhang high. He flew over the hillside and landed gracefully in front of Gu An like a wild goose.
"You must be Gu An. I have some questions for you," Chu Jingfeng said in a low voice.
Gu An, feigning nervousness, bowed respectfully and replied, "Yes, senior. Please ask your questions, and I will answer truthfully."
Seeing Gu An’s obedient demeanor, Chu Jingfeng’s expression softened. He asked gently, "You’ve seen the Demon of Greed and Rage, and she even grabbed your neck. Do you remember her face?"
Gu An shook his head, "The room was dark that night, and I couldn’t see her face clearly. As soon as she appeared, I fainted from fear..."
As he said this, he discreetly manipulated his inner qi, causing his face to flush red.
Chu Jingfeng noticed Gu An’s embarrassment, and his anger subsided significantly.
"What am I doing, making things difficult for a menial disciple..." Chu Jingfeng thought to himself, self-mockingly.
His expression became more gentle as he said, "If you recall anything or encounter anything unusual, you can contact me."
With that, he took out a spirit stone the size of an egg and said, "This is a special spirit stone. You can use it to communicate with me by channeling your spiritual energy into it."
He tossed the spirit stone to Gu An and then leaped into the air. A sword appeared at his waist, seemingly out of nowhere, and he stepped onto it, flying into the forest. Leaves fluttered down as he disappeared.
Was it just his imagination, or had Chu Jingfeng become stronger after losing his arm?
Gu An didn’t dwell on it. Holding the spirit stone, he continued his way back to the Medicine Valley.
"Sigh, when will I have my own storage pouch?"
The young man walked along the forested hillside, dappled sunlight filtering through the leaves, making it seem as though he was wearing a robe of many colors.
...
Time passed quickly, and two years went by in the blink of an eye.
Now nineteen, Gu An walked through the forest. He looked taller and sturdier than he had two years ago. Even though he still wore plain clothes, he appeared clean and composed. His eyes were especially bright, and his long hair was tied casually behind his head with a grass rope. Two strands of hair fell across his forehead, giving him a carefree and somewhat unrestrained aura.
Following behind him was a younger boy, average in appearance and a head shorter than Gu An. The boy carried a bamboo basket on his back, wiping away large beads of sweat from his forehead as he walked.
"Senior brother, how much farther?" Xiao Chuan asked weakly.
Xiao Chuan was the only disciple in the Medicine Valley with a lower rank than Gu An, and he often followed Gu An around. When he heard that Gu An was managing an outer sect disciple’s cave, he had begged for a long time until Gu An finally agreed to bring him along this time.
Gu An had his own reasons for bringing Xiao Chuan along.
Yesterday, Zhang Chunqiu mentioned that the owner of the cave had returned. To prevent any trouble, Gu An decided to bring Xiao Chuan with him.
If the cave owner had any malicious intent, the presence of another person might make him hesitate.
Gu An didn’t intend to put Xiao Chuan in danger. If anything did happen, his Dragon Force Divine Essence Art wasn’t just for show.
"Almost there," Gu An replied without turning his head. To be fair, he was starting to understand why Zhang Chunqiu liked him so much.
Having such an obedient junior disciple made things much easier.
Xiao Chuan groaned. He had heard those same words at least eight times by now. If he had known it would be like this, he wouldn’t have come.
For an ordinary person, walking ten li was no small feat, and with the rugged mountain paths and the scorching weather, Xiao Chuan felt like he was going to die.
Gu An didn’t offer any more reassurance, because they were truly almost there.
After about the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, Gu An pushed aside the bushes and approached the rock wall. Instead of opening the stone gate right away, he clasped his hands and said, "Junior Gu An is here to return the cave’s jade pendant to Senior."
Xiao Chuan stood on the other side of the bushes, his face full of curiosity as he stared at the rock wall.
His background was no better than Gu An’s, and he knew little about the world of cultivation. To him, an outer sect disciple of the Tai Xuan Sect was practically a big shot.
Rumble—
The stone gate opened, and a hoarse voice called from within, "Come in."
Gu An turned back and said to Xiao Chuan, "Wait for me outside."
An hour later, they finally returned to the Medicine Valley. Gu An took Xiao Chuan’s bamboo basket and headed to his courtyard.
The basket was full of ordinary herbs they had picked along the way.
Xiao Chuan, exhausted, didn’t have the energy to do anything else and went straight to his room to rest.
Gu An returned to his own house, closed the door, and placed the bamboo basket and cloth pouch on the table before heading to his bed.
Taking a deep breath, he first attuned his senses to the other people in the Medicine Valley.
Meng Lang was practicing spells in the forest, Cheng Xuandan was refining pills, and Zhang Chunqiu was struggling with qi cultivation.
Good, no one seemed to be paying attention to him.
Gu An pulled up his attribute panel.
[Name: Gu An]
[Lifespan: 19/3463]
[Spiritual Root: Five-Elemental Improved Spiritual Root (Can be enhanced with lifespan)]
[Cultivation Level: Qi Refining Stage, First Layer (Can be enhanced with lifespan)]
[Techniques: Fire Control Art (Unmastered), Springwood Technique (Unmastered), Dragon Force Divine Essence Art (Mastery) (Can be enhanced with lifespan)]
[Skills: Remnant Wind Kick (Unmastered), Li Family’s Seven Swords (Unmastered) (Can be enhanced with lifespan)]
...
Gu An cautiously invested one year of lifespan into cultivating his cultivation level.
[You’ve cultivated for one year. Due to your average aptitude and the ordinary quality of your technique, your progress is minimal.]
As soon as the notification appeared, Gu An could feel the change in his body.
One strand of spiritual energy became two...
Gu An’s face twitched. He had no choice but to turn his attention to the Springwood Technique.
This was the only qi-cultivating technique he had learned. As for the Fire Control Art, it was just an auxiliary technique taught to him by an old servant back in the Ji family. As the name suggested, it was simply about controlling fire.
"Forget it. I won’t wait for a higher-level technique. After all, I can evolve anything with lifespan. Even the most ordinary technique can become a supreme art in my hands..."
With that thought, Gu An’s expression became resolute.
He chose to invest 100 years of lifespan into cultivating the Springwood Technique.
[You’ve cultivated the Springwood Technique for one year. Due to your average aptitude, your progress is minimal.]
[You’ve cultivated the Springwood Technique for ten years. You’ve finally mastered the Springwood Technique, increasing your qi cultivation speed.]
[You’ve cultivated the Springwood Technique for fifty years. Your mastery has reached a higher level, increasing your qi cultivation speed tenfold.]
[You’ve cultivated the Springwood Technique for one hundred years. You’ve gained new insights, and the Springwood Technique has evolved into the Spring Essence Art.]
A flood of memories surged into Gu An’s mind, all related to the cultivation of the Spring Essence Art.
Compared to the Dragon Force Divine Essence Art, the Spring Essence Art was much simpler, so it didn’t take long for Gu An to fully absorb the information.
Once he opened his eyes, he listened carefully for any sounds in the Medicine Valley. Xiao Chuan was already asleep, and everyone else was busy with their own tasks. No one had noticed him.
Now came the question.
Should he continue improving the Spring Essence Art, or use it to directly evolve his cultivation?
The higher the level of his technique, the faster he could increase his cultivation. This would also allow him to conserve lifespan.
After thinking it over, Gu An decided that improving his technique was the most important thing. He couldn’t afford to be careless.
I’ll invest a thousand years and see how far I can go!