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

The following day at noon.

The sun blazed overhead, yet it couldn't penetrate the perpetual gray mist that shrouded the entrance to Ghostly Valley.

Gu An stood hunched over beside the boundary marker. He had deliberately not changed into his clean blue robe today, but instead wore his old gray clothes stained with medicine and mud. His face was sallow, his eyes were sunken, and even the back of his hand, which was exposed outside his sleeve, had several dark blue "poison spots" drawn on it with a special medicine.

If you're going to put on an act, you have to go all the way. If you don't play the victim, how can you convince people that what he's doing is a "hard job"?

"Buzz—"

A whooshing sound came from above. Unlike Han Qingsong's clear, piercing whistle filled with sword energy, this sound was muffled and rough, like an old bellows being pulled.

A fiery red beam of light pierced through the clouds and crashed heavily into the valley entrance.

As the smoke cleared, a low-grade flying magic artifact—the Fiery Shuttle—was revealed. Standing atop the artifact was a short, stocky man with a face full of bulging muscles. He wore the standard robes of an outer disciple, but they appeared somewhat tight due to his obese physique. A large gourd of wine hung from his waist, and his entire body reeked of alcohol mixed with cheap perfume, enough to give anyone a headache.

It was Wang Mazi, the newcomer who took over from Gu An.

Wang Mazi put away his magical artifact, glanced down at Gu An, and the large, hairy black mole on the corner of his mouth looked particularly greasy as his muscles twitched.

He did not conceal his aura; the spiritual pressure of a fifth-level Qi Refining cultivator was like a wall, crashing into Gu An without any hesitation.

"Cough cough..."

Gu An swayed violently, like a withered blade of grass blown down by the wind, staggering back several steps before barely managing to steady himself by holding onto the boundary marker. He clutched his chest and let out a heart-wrenching cough, a few drops of dark blood seeping from between his fingers.

"I...I've met Senior Brother Wang."

Gu An gasped for breath, his voice so weak it sounded like he might die at any moment, "Senior brother's divine skills are unparalleled, his aura is astonishing... Junior brother's crippled body... really can't withstand it."

"Hmph, trash is trash."

Seeing this, Wang Mazi's contempt deepened, but he also reduced his spiritual pressure somewhat. After all, Steward Zhao had instructed him that this was a sick hen that only laid golden eggs; scaring it was fine, but if he really killed it, he would be in deep trouble.

He strode up to Gu An, extended a finger as thick as a carrot, and almost poked Gu An's nose.

"Enough with the nonsense. Manager Zhao sent me to deliver a message."

Wang Mazi said with a forced smile, "The battle at the front is intense, and the sect's demand for Xuan Yin Silk has increased significantly. Starting this month, in addition to the original quota of one hundred catties, and the 20% 'loss' from Young Master Zhao's side..."

He paused, his small, beady eyes sweeping greedily over Gu An. "We need to add another five jin."

"Five...five jin?"

Gu An shuddered, his face turning deathly pale instantly; this time, it wasn't a complete charade.

The production of Xuan Yin silk is fixed, and the Xuan Yin silkworms' silk-spinning cycle is also cyclical. Currently, to maintain production, he is already overdrawing the vitality of those mutated mulberry trees. Add another five catties, and that's like pressing oil from stones.

"Senior Brother Wang... this... this is really asking too much of you." Gu An pleaded with a bitter face, "The mulberry trees in the valley just suffered a great disaster and are still in the recovery period. One hundred and twenty catties is already the limit..."

"Stop pretending to be poor!"

Wang Mazi rudely interrupted him, spitting all over Gu An's face. "These five catties are my errand fee! You think it's easy for me to make this trip all this way? What? Manager Zhao can take it, Young Master Zhao can take it, but I can't?"

Gu Anxin felt a chill. It turned out that it was easier to see the King of Hell than to deal with his underlings. This Wang Mazi saw Zhao Feng enjoying the spoils and wanted a piece of the pie, so he used his position to try and extort money from him.

"Senior brother, please calm down, senior brother, please calm down..."

Gu An quickly pulled out a money pouch he had prepared beforehand and presented it with both hands. The pouch contained ten low-grade spirit stones, which he had extracted from Xun Yin's inheritance.

"Please take this money for tea, senior brother, to moisten your throat," Gu An said with a humble smile. "As for the five catties of silk... I'll try my best... try my best to squeeze some out."

Wang Mazi took the money bag, weighed it in his hand, and only then did the bulge on his face relax a little.

"You're smart to back down, kid."

He skillfully tucked the spirit stone into his pocket, but his steps didn't stop. Instead, he kicked aside the rocks blocking his way and walked straight into the valley.

"Now that I've handed over the job, I also have to do some inspections for Manager Zhao to see if you've been slacking off, and while I'm at it... check if you've been hoarding any good stuff."

Gu An's pupils suddenly contracted.

This idiot still wants to go into the valley?

Normally it wouldn't be a problem, but last night he had given that underground monster a potion, and the eerie sweet and fishy smell and lingering poisonous smoke still lingered around the ghost mulberry tree that served as its conduit.

If Wang Mazi notices something amiss, or if this greedy fellow tries to claim that "special" mulberry tree for himself...

"Wait a minute, senior brother!"

Gu An quickly caught up and stood in front of Wang Mazi, saying, "The yin energy in the valley is too heavy, and poisonous insects roam freely. Senior Brother's body is precious; what if he were to be harmed by those filthy things..."

"Get out of here!"

Wang Mazi slapped Gu An away, "I'm at the fifth level of Qi Refining, what am I afraid of a few bugs? If you utter another word, I'll cripple you right now!"

Gu An covered his swollen cheek and fell into the roadside bushes. His lowered eyelids revealed a murderous intent as sharp as a blade.

Since you're looking for death, don't blame me for sending you on your way.

He twitched his fingers slightly and gently grasped a transparent silk thread inside his cuff.

Wang Mazi swaggered into the mulberry grove.

Looking at the silvery-gray silkworm cocoons hanging from the branches, his greed was almost overflowing. These weren't silkworm cocoons; they were clearly spirit stones!

As he walked, he casually plucked a few mulberry leaves, crushed them, and kicked the tree roots, behaving like an imperial envoy inspecting his territory.

Gradually, he walked to the vicinity of the fissure in the ground.

A faint smell, a mixture of blood and strange fragrance, filled the air.

"Um?"

Wang Mazi twitched his nose and stopped walking.

As a cultivator who had spent years mingling at the bottom of the cultivation world, he possessed a beast-like intuition for the aura of rare and precious materials. This scent... didn't seem like yin energy; rather, it resembled the exotic fragrance of a high-grade spiritual fruit ripening.

He turned his head and fixed his gaze on the thickest ghost mulberry tree not far away, whose bark was an eerie dark red.

"That tree..."

Wang Mazi licked his lips, his eyes gleaming. The soil beneath the tree was a deep color, faintly glowing red; it was clearly no ordinary substance.

"Good lad, you were indeed keeping something to yourself!"

Wang Mazi sneered, his figure blurred, and he headed straight for the ghost mulberry tree.

Gu An, who was lying in the grass, felt his heart leap into his throat.

That's precisely where the Blood Spirit Dew is produced! Although he'd cleaned up the traces, the dense aura of blood energy is difficult to completely conceal in a short time. Once Wang Mazi digs open the tree roots and discovers the secret beneath…

They might even kill him to keep it for themselves and cover their tracks.

No. There must still be spies left by Zhao Feng outside the valley entrance, and Wang Mazi is here to deliver orders. If he dies in the valley, Zhao Feng will definitely become suspicious and will come to check in person.

Then there's nothing we can do... Gu An suddenly hooked his finger.

Buzz! Three zhang to the left of Wang Mazi, under a pile of rocks, a long-buried silk thread snapped.

There, buried were dozens of highly venomous corpse beetles that Gu An had captured from the Rotten Bone Swamp, sealed in a pottery jar and starved for three whole days.

"Snapped!"

The earthenware jar shattered. A swarm of starving carrion beetles surged out like a black tide. Attracted by the bait powder that Gu An had specially smeared on Wang Mazi's path, they hissed and pounced on Wang Mazi with a sickening screech.

"What is that?!"

Wang Mazi, who was about to dig up the tree roots, was startled by the sudden commotion. Before he could react, several corpse beetles leaped up and bit hard into his protective aura.

sizzle-

The protective aura was corroded by the venom, and wisps of blue smoke rose from it.

"Damn it! It's a carrion beetle!"

Wang Mazi was horrified. Although these insects were not strong individually, they were numerous and highly venomous. Once bitten, the worst consequence was the festering of the skin and flesh, and the serious consequence was the poison entering the body.

He didn't bother to investigate the mulberry tree anymore; instead, he summoned a fireball talisman and hurled it at the swarm of insects.

boom!

The flames exploded, blasting the carrion beetle to pieces, but this only fueled the ferocity of the remaining swarm. More poisonous insects emerged from the ground, densely packed, a sight that sent chills down one's spine.

"Gu An! You good-for-nothing! Is this the valley you've been in charge of?"

While frantically brandishing his magical artifacts to defend himself, Wang Mazi cursed, "How can there be so many corpse beetles in this place?!"

Gu An then stumbled over, his face filled with terror: "Senior brother, be careful! That demonic cultivator died in the valley a few days ago, and the body wasn't properly disposed of. It probably attracted these poisonous creatures... I'm coming to help you right now!"

As he spoke, he grabbed a handful of unknown powder and flung it out.

The powder appeared to be an insect repellent, but it was actually mixed with a small amount of a drug to provoke poisonous insects.

Sure enough, as soon as the powder was released, the corpse beetles went even crazier and even began to self-destruct, splashing green venom everywhere.

"You bastard! What kind of bullshit medicine did you throw up?!"

Wang Mazi was splashed with poison. Although it didn't break his defenses, the stench made him want to vomit. As he watched the endless swarm of insects, his greed was finally suppressed by fear and disgust.

"Damn it! What a fucking jinx!"

Wang Mazi dared not linger any longer. He summoned the Fiery Shuttle, which transformed into a streak of red light and soared into the sky, before fleeing in a sorry state towards the outside of the valley.

"Deliver those five catties of silk to me by the end of the month! If it's even an ounce short, I'll skin you alive!"

Wang Mazi's angry roar came from mid-air and gradually faded into the distance.

Only after the streak of light completely disappeared into the horizon did Gu An slowly straighten up. The fear and humility on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a deathly stillness as deep as an abyss.

He glanced at the ghost mulberry tree that had almost been exposed, and then at the insect corpses scattered all over the ground.

"Five catties..."

Gu An muttered to himself, bent down and picked up a stone that was pitted and uneven from the venom of the corpse beetle. He casually gathered it in his hand and gradually tightened it, and the stone turned into dust in his palm.

"Since you're in such a hurry to be reincarnated, then I'll grant your wish."

Wang Mazi is alive today because the time is not yet ripe. But now that he has seen this tree, even if only for a fleeting glimpse, this hidden danger must be eliminated.