Longevity: Starting as a menial servant in the Green Wood Sect

A cold wind howled, carrying the stench of blood from the stone cave outwards.

Gu An didn't waste time studying the blood-red skull mark. This thing was like a bone-deep infection; since it couldn't be removed for the time being, he would use the terrain to suppress it.

He dragged the body of the man in black and walked heavily toward the "Yin" direction marked on the human skin map.

That is the deepest part of Ghostly Valley, and also the source of the surging Yin energy.

After an incense stick had burned, Gu An stopped in front of a crack in the ground about three feet wide.

The crack was bottomless, and thick black mist churned out from it like boiling water. Just standing on the edge, a layer of black frost formed on your eyebrows.

"Dust to dust, ashes to ashes."

With a blank expression, Gu An kicked the corpse, along with the pile of tattered clothes, into the crack.

Unfortunately, the corpse fell without a sound. The moment it entered the black mist, it was frozen and swallowed by the extreme cold.

Gu An raised his left hand and, in the dim light, discovered that the originally bright red skull mark on his wrist had dimmed somewhat under the influence of the dense yin energy, and the burning sensation had also subsided.

"It worked!"

This is a natural shielding area.

As long as he doesn't leave Youying Valley, it will be extremely difficult for the Blood Blade Sect to locate him using the Blood Curse.

Gu An turned around, not rushing back to the stone cave, but looking at the strange plant growing at the edge of the crack.

It was a completely black mulberry tree, its trunk covered with tumors resembling human faces. Its roots were deeply embedded in the cracks, greedily absorbing the pure yin essence leaking from the yin veins.

Among the branches and leaves of this ghost mulberry tree, there were more than a dozen grayish-white fleshy worms, each about the thickness of a finger.

This should also be a type of spirit silkworm.

Unlike the usual plump, white spirit silkworms, these creatures were entirely metallic gray, with sharp mouthparts that made a teeth-grinding "crunch" sound when they gnawed on the hard, iron-like mulberry leaves.

What concerned Gu An even more was that several of the well-fed and watered silkworms had begun to spin cocoons.

The silk thread was not white, but a gray that shimmered with a cold, silvery light.

Gu An reached out and carefully picked up a strand of silk.

"hiss."

The moment I touched that strand, a sharp pain shot through my fingertip.

The silk thread was as sharp as a knife, easily slicing through his third-level Qi Refining skin. It was also icy cold to the touch and had a slippery feel, as if it couldn't be grasped.

"This is……"

Gu An's pupils contracted slightly as a passage from the "Collection of a Hundred Arts" that Qingmu had learned flashed through his mind.

Mysterious Yin Silk. An extremely rare mutated silk that is impervious to water and fire, and difficult to cut with swords and spears. Most importantly, it has an extremely strong ability to isolate and conceal spiritual power.

The robe woven from this silk is called the "Mysterious Yin Robe," a top-grade magical artifact material used for nighttime travel and assassination in the cultivation world, and even some Foundation Establishment stage cultivators cannot obtain it.

"I see."

Looking at the mulberry grove nourished by yin energy, Gu An suddenly felt enlightened. The previous plant grower had only thought of using yang energy to counteract yin energy, which resulted in the mulberry trees dying.

He seized the opportunity and used the black rain containing yin energy to irrigate the mulberry trees, which not only saved them but also used the poisonous water from the poisonous insects in the valley as nutrients for the mulberry plants, inducing the mutation of the spirit silkworms and producing this strategic resource.

In a clumsy attempt, he had already accomplished something significant.

A thought flashed through my mind, and the panel popped up.

Silkworm rearing: Beginner's Guide (15/100)

[Mutant species discovered: Xuan Yin Silkworm. Quality: Tier 1, High Grade.]

Gu An's lips curled into a cold, hard smile. His chances of survival had increased. As long as he had value and held this thing in his hand, not only Zhao Feng, but even the outer sect elders would have to treat him with respect.

……

half a month later.

Inside the Valley of Shadows, silvery-gray silkworm cocoons hang from the branches, resembling cold silver eggs.

Gu An sat cross-legged at the entrance of the stone cave, holding a self-made bamboo shuttle in his hand, skillfully extracting and peeling the silk from the boiled silkworm cocoons.

The movements were fluid and graceful, each thread was perfectly extracted and wound onto a specially made spool.

[Experience in unraveling complexities +1]

[Experience in unraveling complexities +1]

Just then, Gu An's hand suddenly stopped moving.

The barrier at the valley entrance was violently violated.

Gu An was all too familiar with this surge of spiritual energy, which was violent and carried an undisguised rage.

Without even thinking, he knew that the person who came was Zhao Feng.

Counting the days, it should be here soon.

Gu An put down the bamboo shuttle and did not get up to greet him. Instead, he calmly and neatly stacked the several spools of Xuan Yin silk that had been prepared on the stone table.

Then, he loosened his collar, carefully concealed the jade slip containing the Turtle Breathing Technique close to his body, and adjusted his breathing.

His heartbeat slowed, his face turned sallow, and he instantly became listless, reverting to his sickly, half-dead state.

"boom!"

With a deafening roar, the already dilapidated illusion array at the entrance of Ghostly Firefly Valley crumbled like paper. A violent spiritual pressure, accompanied by a foul wind, instantly swept across the entire valley entrance.

Zhao Feng, stepping on a flying leaf, stormed in with a murderous look on his face.

"Gu An! You're courting death..."

The cursing stopped abruptly. Zhao Feng's prepared words of accusation were abruptly stuck in his throat the moment he saw the scene inside the valley.

What I saw was not the desolate and lifeless place I had imagined.

The hundreds of spirit mulberry trees that should have rotted away and died were now displaying an eerie deep purple hue. Their branches and leaves were lush and rustled in the eerie wind, as if countless ghostly hands were dancing. What shocked him even more was that among those branches and leaves hung countless silkworm cocoons that gleamed with a cold, silvery-gray light.

"This is……"

Zhao Feng's figure blurred, and he instantly landed in front of the stone table. He grabbed a spool of silk thread that Gu An had neatly arranged, and a little spiritual energy emanated from his fingertips.

"hiss--"

A sharp, cutting sensation came over him. Zhao Feng's protective aura, which was at the sixth level of Qi Refining, was easily cut by this seemingly delicate thread, and a bloodstain seeped from his fingertip.

It feels cool to the touch, smooth as silk, yet incredibly resilient.

"This is... Xuan Yin Silk?!"

Zhao Feng gasped in shock. The anger that had been burning in his triangular eyes vanished instantly, replaced by a greed and ecstasy that could consume reason.

This is a valuable auxiliary material for refining top-grade magic weapons and even spiritual weapons! In the market, a single tael of Xuan Yin Silk can fetch the high price of ten low-grade spirit stones, and it is in high demand but not readily available.

How much is here? Zhao Feng's gaze swept over the ten spools of silk thread on the stone table, then fell upon the silkworm cocoons hanging from the branches. This is a mountain of gold!

"Gu An!" Zhao Feng whirled around, staring intently at Gu An huddled in the corner, his voice icy. "How did you create this thing?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Gu An felt a murderous intent that reached its peak, and cold sweat inexplicably broke out on his back.

He knew that if he couldn't give a clear answer, or if he used some treasure that could be easily replicated, Zhao Feng would kill him without hesitation to steal the treasure, even if he was only at the third level of Qi Refining.

Gu An trembled, as if he had been scared out of his wits, and knelt down with a "plop".

"Reporting to...reporting to the steward."

Gu An's face was ashen, and he clutched his chest, coughing violently. Each breath was laborious, like pulling a bellows. "I... I was forced into this situation. The yin energy in this valley is too strong; ordinary methods simply cannot sustain the mulberry trees. I had no choice but to... I had no choice but to offer myself as a sacrifice to the formation."

"To feed the formation with one's own body?" Zhao Feng frowned, not bothering to reduce his oppressive aura.

"Yes." Gu An raised his hand tremblingly, and a cloud of mist condensed at his fingertips.

But this cloud was not the usual bluish-green color; it was a deathly white with a hint of ashen gray, and it even contained a faint, almost imperceptible, scarlet aura.

"rise."

Gu An let out a low shout, his face turning deathly pale instantly, as if all his energy had been drained away in that instant.

A cold, dark rain fell, precisely drenching a sacred mulberry tree.

The moment the mulberry tree came into contact with the black rain, its branches and leaves unfurled, and the silver light on the silkworm cocoons intensified. Gu An, on the other hand, went limp and collapsed to the ground, black blood slowly seeping from his seven orifices.

"My discovery is that only by fusing one's own essence and blood with wood-type spiritual power, and then using a special reverse meridian technique to perform the Cloud and Rain Technique, can the Yin energy at the bottom of this valley be transformed into the nutrients needed by the spiritual mulberry."

Gu An lay on the ground, his voice so weak it sounded like he might die at any moment, "This method... is extremely detrimental to one's lifespan. I only resorted to this desperate measure to survive and to complete your mission, sir."

Zhao Feng's eyes flashed, and his divine sense ruthlessly invaded Gu An's body.

Sure enough, his internal meridians were withered, and his qi and blood were depleted, especially around his heart meridian, which was deathly still. This kid was like a candle with both ends lit; although it shone brightly, it was overdrawing its life force.

Gu An wasn't afraid of his probing, since he could cultivate using Yin energy. However, if too much Yin energy was accumulated, his physical body couldn't handle it either. The damage he was currently experiencing was all due to natural accumulation, but it was mostly an illusion created by the Turtle Breathing Technique.

The murderous intent in Zhao Feng's eyes slowly faded.

Such unorthodox methods of exchanging life for possessions are not uncommon in the cultivation world. Since it requires a special wood-based cultivation technique, reverses the flow of meridians, and shortens one's lifespan... Zhao Feng has no intention of doing such dirty and tiring work.

If Gu An is killed and someone else is replaced, it's questionable whether they can learn this method. Even if they do, who would be willing to die for such a small gain?

Keeping Gu An is like keeping a hen that lays golden eggs. Even though this hen is dying, as long as it can still lay eggs, we have to keep it.

"You are indeed loyal."

Zhao Feng put on a fake smile, took two steps forward, and surprisingly reached out to help Gu An up, even patting the dust off his clothes.

"Brother Gu, since you have such abilities, you are my right-hand man. Don't take those misunderstandings to heart."

Gu An was flattered and trembled even more violently: "M-my lord, you flatter me. My life belongs to you."

He paused, gritted his teeth, and pulled out the ten scrolls of Xuan Yin Silk from his robes, holding them above his head with both hands: "These... are all a tribute to you, sir. From now on, of the monthly output, I... I will only keep ten percent of the spirit stones to buy healing pills to prolong my life, and the remaining ninety percent will all belong to you, sir!"

90/10 profit split!

Zhao Feng's breath hitched, and his gaze towards Gu An instantly softened.

So sensible! So incredibly sensible!

This is practically a natural consumable.

"Oh, Brother Gu, you're too kind." Although Zhao Feng was polite, his hands betrayed his true intentions as he pocketed the Xuan Yin Silk. "Since you're so sincere, then this Youying Valley will be your territory from now on. No one is allowed to set foot here except me! If anyone dares to cause trouble, just say my name, Zhao Feng!"

By tying together interests, the agreement can be reached instantly.

Seeing that the time was right, Gu An pressed his advantage, kneeling down and kowtowing again: "Thank you for your protection, sir! However... this valley is not peaceful. A few days ago, a demonic cultivator broke in, and if I hadn't been lucky enough to escape quickly, I probably wouldn't be alive to help you plant mulberry trees. I... would like to ask you to bestow upon me two protective spells, even those you wouldn't consider important, as long as they can allow me to survive in this valley for a few more days..."

"Demonic cultivator?"

Zhao Feng frowned. This Xuan Yin Silk was his cash cow; if Gu An was killed by the demonic cultivator, his source of income would be cut off.

"Hmph, those Blood Blade Sect scum."

Zhao Feng cursed, rummaged through his storage bag for a moment, and casually tossed out two yellowed booklets.

"These two spellbooks, one offensive and one defensive, are only mid-grade first-tier, but they'll be enough for you. Practice them diligently, don't die easily, and plant the mulberry trees well. I, Zhao Feng, will not treat you unfairly."

Gu An received it with both hands as if it were a treasure.

One book, "Leaf Blade Technique," and one book, "Golden Light Technique."

It was exactly what he had been dreaming of! Especially the "Golden Light Technique," which he had coveted for a long time in the Ghost Market but couldn't afford, but now he had obtained it without any effort.

"Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir!"

"Alright." Zhao Feng waved his hand, in a great mood. "I'll come to pick up the goods at the beginning of next month. If the yield can be increased by another 20%, I'll relieve you of your menial job and promote you to outer sect spirit plant grower."

After making his promise, Zhao Feng didn't linger. He still had to rush to complete his task, and then take the remaining portion to the market to sell, turning the Xuan Yin Silk into cash to buy pills to help him break through to the seventh level of Qi Refining.

He made hand seals, and array flags flew out and landed around the valley entrance.

"Buzz—"

A thicker and more complex cyan light curtain rose up, completely sealing off the entire Ghostly Valley.

This is both protection and imprisonment.

As Zhao Feng transformed into a streak of light and disappeared into the distance, the humility and weakness on Gu An's face vanished without a trace.

He straightened up, wiped the black blood from the corner of his mouth, and his eyes were calm as an abyss.

[Interpersonal Skills Experience +1]

[Items Obtained: Spellbook x2]

"Ninety percent of the profits in exchange for a life, plus two spellbooks and an absolutely safe training ground."

Gu An weighed the manual in his hand, a cold smile playing on his lips. "This deal isn't a loss."

Given time, Zhao Feng will only take the surface of what's in Youying Valley; the true core will forever remain in his hands.