Chapter 7: Chapter 7 Three Thousand Years Life Span, Crisis Reborn
When Gu An saw Chu Jingfeng, Chu Jingfeng also saw him.
Just as Gu An was about to quicken his steps to greet him, Chu Jingfeng leapt up, reaching several yards high, and landed in front of him like a great bird.
"You are Gu An, right? I have something to ask you," Chu Jingfeng said in a deep voice.
Gu An pretended to be nervous and saluted, replying, "Yes, senior, what do you want to ask? I will answer truthfully."
Seeing Gu An being so honest, Chu Jingfeng's expression softened as he said softly, "You have seen the Demon of Greed. She even squeezed your neck. Do you remember her face?"
Gu An shook his head and said, "That night the house wasn't lit, so I couldn't see her face clearly. As soon as she appeared, I fainted from fright..."
Saying this, he secretly circulated his qi-blood inside, making his face flush instantly.
Seeing him so embarrassed, Chu Jingfeng's anger dissipated significantly.
"What am I doing, making things difficult for a servant disciple..." Chu Jingfeng thought self-mockingly.
His expression became gentle as he said, "If you remember anything or encounter anything, 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 communicate with me by injecting spiritual power into it."
He tossed the spirit stone to Gu An, then leapt up. A long sword flew out from his waist, and he stepped on the sword, rushing out of the woods with falling leaves around.
It was unclear if it was an illusion, but Gu An always felt that he had become stronger after losing his arm.
Gu An didn't think much about it, holding the spirit stone, and walked towards Medicine Valley.
"Sigh, when will I ever have my own storage bag?"
The young man walked on the hillside in the woods, the dappled sunlight falling on him, as if he were cloaked in a colorful garment.
...
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, two years had passed.
Nineteen-year-old Gu An walked in the woods. He looked a bit taller than two years ago, and his body was sturdier. Even though he wore simple cloth clothes, he looked clean overall. His eyes were particularly bright, his long hair casually tied at the back with a piece of straw rope, and two locks of fine hair falling on his forehead, exuding a free and unrestrained demeanor.
Behind him followed a boy with an ordinary appearance, a head shorter than him, carrying a bamboo basket, wiping his sweat as he walked.
"Brother, how much further?" Xiaochuan asked weakly.
He was the only one in the Medicine Valley who was junior to Gu An. He usually liked to stick to Gu An. Upon hearing that Gu An handled the cave for the outer disciples, he begged for a long time until Gu An finally agreed to take him this time.
Gu An agreed to take him for his own considerations.
Because yesterday, Zhang Chunqiu said that the owner of the cave had returned. To prevent accidents, he decided to bring Xiaochuan along.
If the other party had malicious intent, seeing another person there might make them hesitate.
Gu An didn't want to harm Xiaochuan. If something really happened, his Dragon Strength Divine Primordial Skill was not practiced in vain.
"Almost there."
Gu An said without looking back. Honestly, he began to understand why Zhang Chunqiu liked him.
Having such an obedient junior was really reassuring.
Xiaochuan wailed, having heard these two words no less than eight times. Had he known this, he wouldn't have come.
Several miles were not short for ordinary people, added with rough mountain paths and hot weather, Xiaochuan felt he was on the verge of death.
Gu An didn't continue to comfort him because they were really close.
After about the time it took for half a cup of tea to be drunk, Gu An pushed aside the grass and came to the mountain wall. He didn't directly open the mountain gate but instead clasped his fists and said, "Junior Gu An, here to return the jade pendant of the cave to the senior."
Xiaochuan stood on the other side of the grass, curiously looking at the mountain wall.
His background was no better than Gu An's, with little knowledge of the Immortal Cultivation World. In his eyes, outer sect disciples of the Supreme Sect were already big figures.
Rumble——
The mountain gate opened, and a hoarse voice came from inside:
"Come in."
Gu An turned to Xiaochuan and said, "Wait for me outside."
Naturally, Xiaochuan didn't dare to follow in. Seeing the spectacle of the cave opening, he already felt it was worthwhile.
Gu An stepped towards the cave. Compared to two years ago, he was more confident.
His confidence came from the lifespan he accumulated. His lifespan had reached over three thousand four hundred years.
Besides the medicinal herbs in the cave, these two years, Cheng Xuandan also began instructing him to pick third-grade medicinal herbs, so his lifespan increased rapidly.
People's confidence comes from strength. Although Gu An had only cultivated a trace of spiritual power, he was already vastly different from before.
Passing through the tunnel, Gu An saw a person sitting at the stone table.
It was a middle-aged man, slim, his robe seemed loose on him. His black and white hair, sunken eyes, and prominent cheekbones gave an impression of deep scheming.
At the first glance of him, Gu An felt that this person was not kind.
[Zhu Moyan (Energy Cultivation Realm, Ninth Layer): 58/130/140]
This lifespan limit was not even as high as Zhang Chunqiu's, indicating his aptitude was not as good as Zhang Chunqiu's.
The reason why his cultivation level was higher than Zhang Chunqiu's was probably due to the elixir.
Gu An speculated in his heart. He quickly walked to Zhu Moyan and took out the jade pendant of the cave, offering it with both hands.
Zhu Moyan took back the jade pendant and said softly, "You did well, I am satisfied. Here is a bag with ten mid-grade spirit stones, take it."
He picked up a cloth bag on the table and handed it to Gu An.
Gu An respectfully accepted the cloth bag, secretly weighing it and then thanked Zhu Moyan.
"You may go now," Zhu Moyan waved his hand.
Gu An nodded, saluting again, then turned to leave.
As he turned, his sharp eyes caught something. His reaction was quick, immediately casting a life span detection spell.
[Demon of Greed (Second Grade): 31/140/180]
Gu An maintained a calm demeanor, quickly leaving.
Zhu Moyan watched Gu An's back, his eyes turning cold. When he heard the sound of the mountain gate closing, he snorted coldly and murmured, "Lucky for you."
The outer disciples' cave restrictions were very low-level, essentially magical mechanisms. Thus, even outside the cave, Gu An heard Zhu Moyan's muttering, which made him even more uneasy.
Indeed, there was a problem!
Gu An had previously suspected why the Demon of Greed didn't affect Zhu Moyan's cave along her way. It turned out this scoundrel had something to do with the Demon of Greed.
"Brother, did it go well?" Xiaochuan looked at the approaching Gu An with concern.
Gu An smiled and said, "It went well, let's go back."
Xiaochuan nodded, and the two walked back the way they came. After some distance, Xiaochuan started asking about the owner of the cave.
Gu An briefly described him, making Xiaochuan's mind race.
During the remaining journey, Gu An didn't pay much attention to Xiaochuan, his mind filled with thoughts of the Demon of Greed and Zhu Moyan's words.
No, he couldn't ignore this; it was too dangerous!
Gu An thought of the spirit stone left by Chu Jingfeng and decided to seek his help.
But before that, he needed to boost his strength just in case.
After three years of not gambling his life, just thinking about it made Gu An excited.
The Dragon Strength Divine Primordial Skill could conceal his aura. Even if he had spiritual power, it could be hidden well. This time, he planned to first enhance his cultivation level and then improve his offensive skills.
"Should I cultivate the Residual Wind Leg or the Li Family's Seven Swords?"
Gu An began to ponder this question.
An ancient hour later, the two finally returned to Medicine Valley. Gu An took Xiaochuan's bamboo basket and walked to his courtyard.
The bamboo basket was full of common herbs they had picked along the way.
Exhausted, Xiaochuan had no energy for anything else and also headed straight to his courtyard.
Gu An returned to his room, closed the door, and placed the bamboo basket and cloth bag on the table before heading to his bed.
He took a deep breath, first sensing the auras of others in Medicine Valley.
Meng Lang was practicing spells in the woods. Cheng Xuandan was refining elixirs, and Zhang Chunqiu was struggling to absorb energy.
Hmm, it seemed no one was paying attention to him.
Gu An called up his attribute panel.
[Name: Gu An]
[Lifespan: 19/3463]
[Spirit Root: Five Elements (decent spirit root) (can invest lifespan to evolve cultivation)]
[Cultivation Level: Energy Cultivation Realm, First Layer (can invest lifespan to evolve cultivation)]
[Cultivation Techniques: Fire Control Art (not mastered), Spring Wood Skill (not mastered), Dragon Strength Divine Primordial Skill (mastery) (can invest lifespan to evolve cultivation)]
[Ultimate Skills: Residual Wind Leg (not mastered), Li Family's Seven Swords (not mastered) (can invest lifespan to evolve cultivation)]
...
Gu An cautiously invested a year of lifespan in evolving his cultivation level.
[You practice Energy Absorption for a year. Due to average aptitude and average cultivation technique grade, your cultivation level increased minimally.]
As this prompt appeared, Gu An felt a change within him.
A trace of spiritual power turned into two traces...
Gu An's mouth twitched. He had no choice but to focus on the Spring Wood Skill.
He had only grasped this one Energy Absorption Skill. As for the Fire Control Art, it was a supporting skill, taught by an old slave in the Ji family when he used to collect firewood. As the name implied, it was about controlling fire.
"Forget it, I won't wait for a higher-level technique. After all, I can evolve it with lifespan. Even the most ordinary cultivation technique can become an ultimate skill for me..."
With this thought, Gu An's eyes became resolute.
He decided to invest a hundred years of lifespan in evolving Spring Wood Skill.
[You practice Spring Wood Skill for one year. Due to average intelligence and aptitude, your progress in the Spring Wood Skill is minimal.]
[You practice Spring Wood Skill for ten years. You finally master the Spring Wood Skill. Your Energy Absorption speed increases.]
[You practice Spring Wood Skill for fifty years. Your Spring Wood Skill significantly improves, achieving ten times the previous Energy Absorption speed.]
[You practice Spring Wood Skill for a hundred years. You gain new insights into the Spring Wood Skill, evolving it into Spring Origin Art.]
A flood of memories entered Gu An's mind, all about the cultivation of Spring Origin Art.
Spring Origin Art was far less complex than Dragon Strength Divine Primordial Skill. Hence, it didn't take long for Gu An to open his eyes.
Upon opening his eyes, he first listened to the sounds in Medicine Valley. Xiaochuan was already asleep, and the others were busy with their own activities, not paying attention to him.
Now, a dilemma arose.
Should he continue enhancing Spring Origin Art, or evolve his cultivation level with Spring Origin Art?
The higher his cultivation technique's achievement, the faster his cultivation level would increase, saving lifespan investment.
After much thought, Gu An concluded that the cultivation technique was paramount and couldn't be taken lightly.
He decided to invest a thousand years in it first!
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone