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

Outside the Valley of Shadows, on a half-mile slope.

A small courtyard built of bluestone stands alone halfway up the mountain, completely shaded by several old locust trees. This place was originally an abandoned detention center, but now it has become Gu An's new residence, marked by a wooden sign that reads "No. 13, Class B".

Gu An stood at the courtyard gate, holding the wooden waist token that represented his status as an outer disciple, and gently pressed it into the groove of the gate.

"Buzz".

A barely perceptible ripple spread through the air. It was a fluctuation of spiritual energy that only cultivators could perceive—the most basic small-scale spirit-gathering array and isolation restriction had been activated.

Gu An pushed open the heavy wooden door, and a breath of spiritual energy, though not strong, was several times fresher than the air in the servants' quarters, which was mixed with the smell of sweat and earth.

"This is... a spirit-gathering array?"

Gu An took a deep breath, feeling the subtle pleasure of his pores opening up.

This is the treatment of outer disciples of the Spirit Plant Hall. Even in such a remote and deserted corner, as long as they are registered with the Spirit Plant Hall, the sect's Spirit Plant Hall will set up a simple formation to provide spiritual energy for the disciples cultivating spirit plants.

Although it is just a simple formation, cultivating within it can increase speed by at least 30%.

The courtyard was small, with a dry well and two stone houses. The furnishings inside were simple: a hard wooden bed, a stone table and chairs, and nothing else. But it was clean, sturdy, and had its own entrance.

Gu An didn't rush to pack his luggage. Instead, he closed the courtyard gate behind him and then took out several warning talismans that he had taken from the storage bag of the one-eyed demon cultivator. He then pasted them on the four dead corners of the courtyard wall and the hidden place behind the gate.

After doing all this, he circled the house three times, scanning the walls and floor inch by inch with his divine sense. Only after confirming that there were no spying formations or residual divine sense marks did he breathe a sigh of relief and slump down on the stone bench.

"So, I finally have a place to call home."

Although it was only a few steps away from the gloomy Ghost Valley, compared to the servants' quarters where hundreds of people were crammed together in a straw hut with no privacy, this place was simply paradise.

More importantly, this place is very close to his "base".

Gu An placed the black iron hoe, whose blade had been chipped during the turmoil, in the corner of the wall. Then he took off the storage bag from his waist, the one Zhao Feng had "gifted" him (which mostly contained junk that Zhao Feng looked down on), along with his own spoils of war, all of which were now there.

"Splash!"

The items were spilled onto the stone table.

Two low-grade spirit stones, a white porcelain bottle labeled "Qi Gathering Pill", a brand-new cyan Daoist robe, and the iron token that allows entry to the first floor of the Scripture Pavilion.

This is the monthly salary for outer disciples in their first month.

Gu An picked up a spirit stone and held it up to the sunlight. Its transparency was acceptable; although it couldn't compare to the finest pieces he'd seen in the Ghost Market, it was still a solid piece of currency.

"Two spirit stones, if used sparingly, are enough to sustain an ordinary outer sect disciple for half a month's cultivation. Plus this bottle of Qi Gathering Pills..."

Gu An uncorked the bottle and sniffed it. A faint medicinal fragrance wafted out, but the fragrance was mixed with a hint of burnt smell.

Inferior products. Erysipelas accounted for at least 30%.

Gu An expressionlessly put the stopper back in the bottle. Taking too many of these kinds of pills would clog his meridians, essentially severing his cultivation path. If he were the old Gu An, a menial laborer, he would have treasured them. But now, with the Xuan Yin Silk as his source of wealth, his standards had naturally risen.

Previously, Zhao Feng had been very strict in preventing the sale, but now it's a different story. He could hand over a batch to appease the elders, and he and Zhao Feng could secretly pocket the next batch, thus making a profit.

"We still have to go to the ghost market."

Gu An pondered. The Profound Yin Silk couldn't be used within the sect. Although Zhao Feng had taken the lion's share, he still had a considerable amount left for himself. It had to be exchanged for high-purity pills, or…

His gaze fell on the iron token of the Sutra Repository.

Knowledge is the most scarce resource right now.

He needed to know the origins of the auxiliary ingredients in the Foundation Establishment Pill, understand how to remove the blood curse from his body, and find a high-level wood-type cultivation technique that could conceal his aura and complement the "Turtle Breathing Technique".

Although the "Green Wood Everlasting Spring Skill" is moderate and peaceful, and can prolong life, it is too mediocre in terms of killing and concealment.

As night falls, a mountain breeze begins to rise.

Gu An carefully put away all the valuables, leaving only a spirit stone in his palm.

He sat cross-legged on the hard wooden bed, beneath which lay freshly laid dry straw. The spirit-gathering array activated, and the surrounding wandering spiritual energy flowed into the room like trickling streams.

"call……"

Gu An adjusted his breathing and entered a meditative state.

Unlike the anxiety and fear in the servants' quarters, or the biting cold in the caves of Youying Valley, the spiritual energy here is gentle and lingering, perfect for nourishing the meridians.

As the "Green Wood Everlasting Spring Technique" was activated, the spirit stone in his palm dimmed at a visible speed.

A wisp of cyan spiritual energy flowed through his meridians, washing away the hidden injuries left from the forced casting of the spell.

The panel appears.

[Cultivation in progress: Spiritual energy absorption speed +30%]

[Aoki Changchun Kung Fu Experience +1]

[Aoki Changchun Kung Fu Experience +1]

……

The sense of security from watching the numbers jump around finally allowed Gu An's nerves, which had been tense for months, to relax a little.

After an unknown amount of time, the spirit stone in his palm completely turned to dust and slipped through his fingers.

Gu An opened his eyes, a flash of blue light disappearing from them.

[Qingmu Changchun Gong: Level 2 (25/400)]

[Realm Level: Qi Refining Level 3 (220/400)]

The progress is encouraging. At this rate, with the help of elixirs, he should be able to reach the threshold of the fourth level of Qi Refining in less than half a year.

"But this blood curse..."

Gu An rolled up his left sleeve. Although the blood-red skull mark on his wrist had dimmed considerably under the suppression of the Yin energy in Youying Valley, it was still like a time bomb.

We must find a way to remove it as soon as possible.

Gu An got up and stretched his stiff limbs. It was already past midnight, the dead of night.

He habitually opened the window to get some fresh air and take a look at his surroundings.

This courtyard, number thirteen of the "Yi" series, is located in a remote area. To the left is a cliff, and to the right is a bamboo forest. There is also a courtyard that looks like it has been abandoned for a long time, with a sign that reads "number twelve of the "Yi" series."

However, just as Gu An opened the window, his nostrils twitched slightly. A very faint medicinal scent drifted in on the night breeze from the bamboo grove.

The smell is strange. It doesn't smell like the burnt aroma of alchemy; it's more like simmering some kind of rotten, aged meat, mixed with the bitterness of herbs. It's nauseating, yet it also has a strange, cloying sweetness.

Gu An's eyes narrowed instantly. Someone's living there? That seemingly abandoned No. 12 courtyard, is it inhabited?

He immediately held his breath, instinctively activating the [Turtle Breath Technique], instantly concealing his aura and disappearing into the shadows behind the window like a stone sculpture.

Through the gaps in the bamboo grove, Gu An could see a faint, eerie green light shining through the two tightly closed, dilapidated windows of Courtyard No. 12.

The flickering firelight cast a hunched figure onto the window paper.

The shadow moved stiffly, seemingly holding a long stick in its hand, stirring it incessantly in a large pot.

"Glug... Glug..."

An extremely faint boiling sound drifted on the wind.

Gu An frowned. This outer sect of the Green Wood Sect was indeed a den of iniquity. Those who stayed up all night brewing this kind of evil stuff were definitely not good people.

Just as Gu An was about to close the window, not wanting to meddle in other people's business.

The figure on the window paper suddenly stopped moving. Immediately afterwards, the two tightly closed windows creaked open a crack.

A pale, withered hand, resembling a chicken claw, reached out and poured a bowl of dark, grime into the soil beneath the window.

Then, the face was revealed.

He was an extremely thin middle-aged man with deep-set eyes and high cheekbones; his skin looked as if it were glued directly to his bones. But his eyes were frighteningly bright, with more white than black, exuding a neurotic excitement.

After throwing the trash, the man didn't close the window immediately. Instead, he stuck his head out and sniffed the air.

The next moment, his gaze passed over the bamboo forest and stared straight at the No. 13 courtyard where Gu An was.

Even though they were far apart and Gu An hadn't lit a lamp, he still had the illusion that he was being targeted by a venomous snake.

The man grinned, revealing a set of broken, yellow teeth, then turned his gaze toward the direction of Ghostly Valley not far away.

He was looking at the mulberry trees.

There was no greed in his eyes, only a kind of...hunger as if he were looking at some kind of food.

Gu An felt a chill run down his spine and gently closed the window. This new neighbor was a bit eerie.

"It seems the outer gate is even more lively than I imagined."

Gu An leaned against the wall, gripping the leaf blade he used for self-defense tightly in his hand.

I thought moving out of the servants' quarters would bring some peace and quiet, but I never expected to escape one danger only to fall into another. The medicinal smell on this person was definitely not that of a legitimate alchemist; it seemed more like that of a heretical cultivator who practiced poison arts or Gu techniques.

Moreover, he was interested in Ghost Valley.

This crossed Gu An's bottom line.

"Whether it's a human or a ghost, as long as they don't block my way, I can pretend to be blind."

Gu An murmured to himself in the darkness, his fingertips gently stroking the human skin map in his arms.

"But if they dare to reach out..." He closed his eyes and continued to circulate his internal energy.

In this chaotic world, neighbors are either creatures to be sold or killed. They should never be trusted unless absolutely necessary.