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

A cold wind howled, whipping up the withered leaves on the ground, swirling them between the two.

Zhao Feng's phrase "good method" was like a hooked, soft knife; it was impossible to tell whether it was praise or a verdict.

The spiritual pressure of a sixth-level Qi Refining cultivator poured down without reservation. Gu An felt his shoulders sink, and the soft mud beneath his feet instantly covered his feet. He knew this was a show of force.

Although Elder Han appointed him as an outer disciple, in Zhao Feng's eyes, Youying Valley was still his own little territory. If he couldn't feed this hungry wolf, even with that status protecting him, he would be living a life worse than death.

Gu An didn't reply, and didn't even straighten his back.

He silently stuffed the wooden waist token, symbolizing his status as an outer disciple, into his pocket, then obediently bent his knees and, with a "plop," knelt down once again in the muddy pool mixed with blood.

This kneeling was swift and decisive, devoid of any dignity befitting a Qi Refining Level 3 cultivator, nor the arrogance of someone newly promoted to outer disciple.

Zhao Feng raised an eyebrow, loosened his hands behind his back slightly, and the hidden force that had been brewing at his fingertips dissipated.

"Senior Brother Zhao."

Gu An lowered his head, his voice hoarse, tinged with a mixture of deliberate flattery and fear. "Elders are high and mighty figures, how could they understand the difficulties of us lower-level disciples? This status as an outer disciple is just an empty title. In this Bing-character district, the sky is still the same sky, the earth is still the same earth, and I... am still just an obedient dog under my senior brother's command."

These words sounded agreeable. Zhao Feng's cold smile faded slightly, but the greed in his eyes remained: "Being obedient is a good thing, but just being obedient won't fill your stomach. As you know, Youying Valley is now under public control, and my hard-earned money is completely gone."

"I understand."

Without the slightest hesitation, Gu An reached into his robes and pulled out a storage bag stained with blood.

This was taken from that one-eyed demonic cultivator. It contained most of the demonic cultivator's belongings, as well as a few spirit stones that Gu An had casually picked up from next to Sun Cheng's corpse.

Aside from the human skin map and a few bottles of crucial antidote pills, Gu An stuffed in everything he could.

He raised both hands high, holding the storage bag above his head, and presented it to Zhao Feng.

"These are the stolen goods left behind by that demonic cultivator, and also the valuables that Senior Brother Sun... left on the ground."

Gu An spoke sincerely, as if he were offering not the blood and sweat earned from a night of life-or-death struggle, but a pile of hot potatoes. "My cultivation is low, and I'm afraid it will shorten my lifespan if I take these things. The sect wants silk, the elders want performance, and these mundane items... should be your reward for your hard work, senior brother."

Zhao Feng's gaze sharpened, and he scanned the storage bag with his divine sense.

Good heavens! Two low-grade magic artifacts, over thirty low-grade spirit stones, and several bottles of Qi-union pills for improving cultivation. This windfall is more than he made in two years as the manager of this Bing-character district!

Gu An may seem dull, but he is actually a very insightful person.

Zhao Feng reached for the storage bag, weighed it in his hand, and finally a genuine smile appeared on his face. He had indeed harbored some shady intentions, wanting to use the pretext of reorganizing defenses to trip up Gu An and force the kid to give up some benefits.

Unexpectedly, the other party was so cooperative.

"Junior Brother Gu, what are you doing?" Zhao Feng said politely, but his hands quickly stuffed the storage bag into his robes, not even bothering to remove the bloodstains on it. "Since you risked your life to get it, how could I, your senior brother, possibly..."

"If you don't accept it, I won't feel at ease." Gu An raised his head, his pale face full of pleading. "Although Youying Valley has become a Grade B resource point, how to do the monthly accounts and how to report the losses is all up to you, senior brother. I only ask to be able to cultivate peacefully in this valley. As for everything else... it's all yours, senior brother."

This is not just money to buy one's life; it's a pledge of allegiance.

Zhao Feng gave Gu An a deep look.

Although this young man is mediocre in talent and timid in character, his keen insight and ruthless actions—ruthless to himself and generous with his wealth—make him someone who can survive long in the world of cultivation.

"Okay, okay, okay."

Zhao Feng said "good" three times in a row, and the suffocating spiritual pressure on his body completely subsided.

He stepped forward, patted Gu An's shoulder affectionately, and casually channeled a gentle stream of spiritual energy into him to help Gu An calm his disordered breathing.

"Since you're so kind, Junior Brother, I can't be ungrateful," Zhao Feng said in a low voice, his words carrying a hidden meaning. "The person who will come to collect the silk on the first day of next month is my nephew from my own clan. If, at that time, one or two out of ten of the Xuan Yin silkworms 'die of disease,' it's a natural disaster or man-made calamity, something that happens all the time."

Gu Anxin understood and kowtowed again: "Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother."

"Alright, get up. Take good care of your injury and don't let it interfere with important matters."

Zhao Feng, having gained both the benefits and the leverage, was in high spirits. He lingered no longer, summoning his flying leaf magic artifact, transforming into a streak of green light that shot out of the valley and disappeared into the vast sea of ​​clouds.

Only after the blue light completely disappeared did Gu An slowly stand up from the mud.

He patted the mud off his knees, and the humble, fawning expression on his face receded like the tide, replaced by a stagnant calm.

That bag of things was worth nearly a hundred low-grade spirit stones.

Does it hurt? Of course it hurts.

Those were resources he risked his life for.

But Gu An knew very well that if he didn't spend the money now, Zhao Feng would have a hundred ways to make him die an unexplained death in order to vent his anger and establish his authority.

The forbearance we show now is for the sake of being even more ruthless when we draw our swords in the future.

"call……"

Gu An exhaled a breath of stale air, turned around, and walked into the depths of the mulberry grove.

He returned to the cold, damp cave and pulled out the only remaining trophy—a map made of human skin—from the lining of his clothes.

Light the oil lamp; its dim light illuminated the health bars on the map.

Gu An flipped the map over and carefully examined the back under the light. In his haste, he had only noticed that the leather felt somewhat familiar, but now, as he calmed down and looked closely, he discovered the clues.

In the lower right corner of this human skin map, there is a very faint dark pattern.

It was a broken, blood-red lotus flower, deliberately diluted with some kind of potion. If he hadn't possessed [Spirit Plant Affinity] and was extremely sensitive to plant fibers, he wouldn't have been able to detect it at all.

Gu An's pupils contracted sharply. He pulled out the iron plaque he had previously taken from Xun Meng's corpse—Zhao Feng's private supervisor's token.

The back of the iron plate is engraved with intricate cloud patterns.

Gu An overlapped the dark patterns on the back of the map with the cloud patterns on the iron plate, and held it up to the light. They fit perfectly.

The broken blood lotus filled a blank space in the cloud pattern, forming a complete design—a blood-stained knife stuck in green wood.

"really."

Gu An's fingers trembled slightly.

Zhao Feng wasn't just greedy; he was utterly rotten.

This map of the underground passages used by the demonic cultivators to ambush Youying Valley actually contained a secret mark that matched Zhao Feng's token. This meant that the Blood Blade Sect's ability to locate the Yin Meridian nodes so accurately, and even to move through the outer defenses with impunity, was entirely due to Zhao Feng's covert coordination!

Even the dead Sun Cheng might have been a pawn deliberately left behind by Zhao Feng, a blood sacrifice to pave the way for the demonic cultivators.

"What a grand strategy."

Gu An felt a chill run down his spine. He thought he had only been caught up in an ordinary invasion by demonic cultivators, but he never expected to have stepped into a vortex of traitors colluding with the enemy.

If he hadn't handed over that storage bag today and hadn't shown such obedience, Zhao Feng would probably have risked being punished by the elders to kill him on the spot in order to silence him.

"The money spent to buy life was well spent."

Gu An carefully put away the map, along with the overseer's token, and stuffed it into the bottom of the broken pottery jar filled with dried silkworm excrement.

This thing is a death warrant now; in the future, it will be the death warrant sent Zhao Feng to his death.

He sat down cross-legged, and the light screen in front of him flickered slightly.

[Interpersonal Skills Experience +5]

Current Status: Incubating

Gu An closed his eyes and began to circulate the "Turtle Breathing Technique".

Although the spiritual energy within his dantian was thin, it was slowly circulating. He lost a large sum of spirit stones, but gained a relatively safe buffer period.

During this period, he must quickly convert those Xuan Yin Silks into something that can truly enhance his strength.

For example, the auxiliary ingredients in Zhuji Dan.

For example, more powerful methods of killing.

Because he knew that beneath the seemingly calm surface of Youying Valley, a turbulent undercurrent was already brewing. A battle between him and Zhao Feng was inevitable, and that battle was not far off.

"Senior Brother Zhao..."

In the darkness, Gu An's murmur was as soft as the wind, "We have a long future ahead of us."