Chapter 2: Thousand-Year Life Span
As spring gave way to autumn, the Medicine Valley of the Supreme Sect had spent another year unvisited by outsiders.
A door in a loft building opened, and the sixteen-year-old Gu An, along with Meng Lang and Li Ya, walked out from inside. They turned back to bow to the room, then Meng Lang closed the door.
All three breathed a sigh of relief, then made their way down the stairs.
Once they arrived in their courtyard, Meng Lang couldn't hold back his complaints, "Could he not have talked for a whole hour about such trivial matters? Wouldn't it have been easier to just hand us the 'Hundred Herbs Record'?"
Li Ya shook his head in resignation, then he walked over to a corner of the yard, picked up a sword planted in the earth, and began practicing his swordsmanship.
Though his Spiritual Root Qualification was mediocre, he at least originated from the Royal Family and possessed an exquisite set of sword techniques; he planned to rise through the ranks with these skills.
In the Tai Cang Dynasty, where the Path of Cultivating Immortality was revered, both scholars and warriors pursued cultivation, and the Imperial Dynasty delineated a hierarchy for the people of the thirteen states, ranging from slaves to commoners, officials, and immortals.
Merchants were considered commoners, and only those who reached the status of immortal were true nobles. Ordinary officials could only serve in towns, heads of county cities, and governors of states were all of immortal status – not to mention entering Changluo, the Imperial City, which required one to be of immortal status.
Many families of immortal status would exile members with poor Spiritual Root Qualifications to ensure the purity of their lineage, and the Royal Family was no exception.
Even down on his luck, Li Ya of immortal status wasn't someone Gu An could afford to provoke.
Because he was of slave status.
Over the year, Gu An had specifically helped Li Ya and Meng Lang gather Medicinal Herbs, mainly during summer or early mornings, so his efforts made both of them appreciate him.
Other times, such as planting, watering, or fertilizing – the menial tasks – Gu An did not assist, and they were too embarrassed to keep asking for his help, especially since Zhang Chunqiu would be overseeing from the loft building.
Gu An listened to Meng Lang's endless chatter while watching Li Ya practice swordsmanship.
Every man dreams of being a swordsman.
Having spent a year in each other's company from dawn to dusk, they had formed a good bond. Li Ya did not stop them from watching him practice swordplay, after all, he couldn't hide to practice, and besides, the Li Family's sword techniques came with unique Qi Cultivation Spells, mere knowledge of the sword moves was useless.
Meng Lang spoke for a good while before finally coming to a close with seemingly more to say. He slapped Gu An on the shoulder and joked, "You never bother to practice any skills yourself, why are you so interested in swordplay?"
Gu An casually replied, "I just can't be bothered to cultivate with my meager talents. Watching him practice is just out of boredom. Don't you think life in Medicine Valley is rather dull?"
"Yeah, it's so boring. You know, back at home, I had four maids to entertain me, you have no idea…" Meng Lang lamented, then continued his never-ending stories.
Gu An was used to his boastful nature and couldn't be bothered to burst his bubble.
It wasn't until dusk settled that Li Ya finally stopped practicing with the sword. He planted his sword back in the yard and, while wiping his sweat, said, "I'm going to walk around the grove."
With that, he didn't wait for Gu An or Meng Lang to reply and walked toward the courtyard gate.
After he had left, Meng Lang muttered in a lower voice, "What do you think he's always doing in that grove?"
Gu An shrugged, "How would I know? He's a scion of the Royal Family; it's normal for him to have secrets. Maybe one day he'll return to become a prince."
"How's that possible? He was sent out to be a menial disciple."
"But think about it, there's more to this world than just the Supreme Sect. Why would he come here to be a menial disciple?"
Gu An shook his head, leaving Meng Lang speechless.
Soon after, Gu An went over to the well, scooped up a ladle of water from the bucket, and gulped it down. Then he set the ladle aside and walked out of the courtyard.
Meng Lang didn't follow. He knew what Gu An was about to do, muttered something under his breath, and went back to his room to continue his cultivation practice.
Gu An arrived at a section of the garden where second-tier Spirit Grass, the Calm Heart Grass, was cultivated.
Over the year, Gu An had only picked first-tier herbs. These Medicinal Herbs were not ordinary plants – they required much longer to mature, with many needing years before they could be harvested, so the amount he had gathered in a year was not substantial.
Zhang Chunqiu had said that in one more month, they would be able to harvest the Calm Heart Grass from this section, marking their first time picking second-tier Medicinal Herbs. Gu An had been looking forward to this.
To him, the deep blue stalks of Calm Heart Grass were not just Medicinal Herbs but life span values.
Suddenly.
Gu An saw a stalk of Calm Heart Grass shivering. He focused his gaze and his face changed dramatically. He immediately vaulted over the fence and hurried over.
He saw a palm-sized white-haired mouse fiddling with the soil beneath the Calm Heart Grass as if trying to uproot it.
Upon seeing Gu An rush over, the white-haired mouse, scared out of its wits, darted away like lightning, swiftly vanishing beneath the wooden railing at the edge of the area.
Gu An wanted to chase it but then noticed the Calm Heart Grass had been gnawed on and its stem broken. He quickly squatted down and pulled out a piece of Spirit-Protecting Paper from his waistband.
With his left hand, he swiftly plucked the Calm Heart Grass, and with his right, he wrapped its roots in the Spirit-Protecting Paper to prevent the leakage of Spiritual Energy.
Once bandaged, Gu An stood up.
[You have successfully acquired Calm Heart Grass (Tier Two) adding 4 years to your life span]
Before he could even smile, another line of text appeared before his eyes:
[Your life span has surpassed a thousand years for the first time, activating the Life Span Detection feature]
Life Span Detection?
Gu An was silently curious. He glanced at the ground at another Calm Heart Grass and thought 'view life span'.
[Calm Heart Grass (Tier Two): 4/25/102 years (Age/Life Span/Maximum Life Span)]
This Calm Heart Grass could live up to a hundred and two years?
The life span he had seized was different from its natural life span. It seemed he couldn't fully strip the target of all its years; most of the life force escaped upon the plant's death.
Gu An didn't understand the difference between life span and maximum life span, it may have something to do with cultivation methods.
He picked up the bandaged Calm Heart Grass, stood up, and left, heading towards Zhang Chunqiu's loft.
In the Medicine Valley, all harvested herbs had to be handed over to Zhang Chunqiu for safekeeping, and every six months, Gu An and the other two would receive their salary as Menial Disciples of the Supreme Sect, consisting of Spirit Stones and Spirit Pills for their cultivation, Zhang Chunqiu would also award them with seeds of Medicinal Herbs based on their performance.
Gu An's room housed three Calm Heart Grass plants, one more than Meng Lang and Li Ya had, yet the two did not envy him.
Walking out of the garden area, Gu An spotted someone climbing the stairs to the loft where Zhang Chunqiu resided—a black-clad old man with a bookcase on his back and a black cloth hat on his head, exuding an air of great mystery.
Observing the black-clad old man from a distance, Gu An's mind stirred, and he decided to check the man's lifespan. Immediately, two lines of prompt appeared before his eyes:
[Cheng Xuan Pill (Qi Cultivation Realm, 8th Floor): 104/120/180]
Cheng Xuan Pill!
The master of Medicine Valley and nominally Gu An's mentor, whom he had only heard Zhang Chunqiu mention, was someone Gu An was seeing today for the first time after many years spent wandering.
Cheng Xuan Pill was one hundred and four years old, with a normal lifespan of one hundred and twenty years and a maximum of one hundred and eighty years. This meant, barring any accidents, he only had sixteen more years to live.
Gu An found lifespan detection quite intriguing, for it helped him identify others' cultivation levels and talents.
He speculated that the maximum lifespan might represent the extent of one's talent, but this was a hypothesis that needed further use to confirm.
Cheng Xuan Pill entered Zhang Chunqiu's house and closed the door behind him.
Meanwhile, Gu An went into Zhang Chunqiu's courtyard, placing the wrapped Calm Heart Grass on a long table before turning to leave.
He returned to his own courtyard and first paid a visit to Meng Lang, who was cultivating inside the house.
[Meng Lang (Qi Cultivation Realm, Tier Two): 17/90/190]
Hmm, truly worthless.
After learning about Meng Lang's lifespan, Gu An did not stay to talk and quickly went back to his own room.
He waited until nightfall, then got up and walked out the door as he heard Li Ya's footsteps.
As Li Ya was heading to his room, he saw Gu An opening his door and couldn't help asking, "What is it?"
While checking his lifespan, Gu An replied, "Our mentor has returned, how about we visit him together tomorrow?"
[Li Ya (Qi Cultivation Realm, 6th Floor): 18/210/1550]
Hiss—
A maximum lifespan of one thousand five hundred and fifty years!
Is this the talent of the Royal Family?
Isn't Li Ya also of Mixed Spirit Root lineage?
Gu An's gaze toward Li Ya shifted suddenly, perhaps perceiving him as a buried genius who was bound to dazzle eventually.
Moreover, this guy's cultivation had already reached the sixth floor of the Qi Cultivation Realm!
What did this mean?
Was he pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger?
The cultivation realms Gu An had encountered, from lowest to highest, were Qi Cultivation, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul, and Divinity Transformation, each divided into nine minor levels. Li Ya reaching the sixth floor of the Qi Cultivation Realm at eighteen suggested he might not need many years to achieve Foundation Establishment and ascend as a Formal Disciple of the Supreme Sect.
Such a talented fellow disciple must be befriended!
Upon hearing Gu An's suggestion, Li Ya slightly raised his eyebrows and nodded, "Sounds good, you've thought this through. Call me after you get up tomorrow."
After that, he turned and walked towards his room.
Gu An watched him close the door, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
Indeed, hierarchy existed in every world; the disparity in status meant becoming true friends with Li Ya would be difficult.
But Gu An was not angry. Having been a house servant since childhood, accustomed to disdain and neglect, he did not resent Li Ya—who could blame him for appearing so unremarkable.
No matter, with the Golden Finger of stealing lifespan, Gu An felt he would inevitably ascend to immortality. Until then, his goal was to keep a low profile, to pass through the phase of accumulating lifespan safely.
To remain safe, one should avoid conflicts and trouble, keeping as low a profile as possible!
A smile spread across Gu An's face, then he turned and closed his door.
The moon was full that night, and its glow scattered like water over the stone steps of the courtyard.
...
In the early morning, inside the main hall.
Gu An, Meng Lang, and Li Ya stood side by side. Before them sat Cheng Xuan Pill, holding a cup of hot tea, with Zhang Chunqiu standing next to him, the senior brother exuding great respect.
[Zhang Chunqiu (Qi Cultivation Realm, 5th Floor): 54/110/175]
Gu An thought the senior brother's talent was lacking, but then he reconsidered: in the Supreme Sect, there were many places like Medicine Valley, and the emergence of someone like Li Ya was already rare enough.
Besides, compared to these people, it was the original Gu An who was the most worthless.
Cheng Xuan Pill lifted his cloudy eyes to survey the three disciples and spoke, "I have learned of your performance from your senior brother. As we meet for the first time, as your mentor, I must present you with a welcome gift."
"You may choose one from the Hundred Herbs Record, the Qi Cultivation Skill, or the Poisonous Wood Vine spell. You can only choose one, and you must not teach it to each other. If I find out, I will punish you severely."
Upon hearing this, Meng Lang spoke first, "Master, I want the Poisonous Wood Vine!"
Gu An figured nobody would want the Hundred Herbs Record, so he let Li Ya choose first, to do him a favor.
Following suit, Li Ya said, "I would like the Hundred Herbs Record."
Gu An looked at him in surprise.
Brother, are you not following the script?