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

As Wang Mazi vanished into the horizon, his harsh words, "If you lose even a tael, I'll skin you alive," still echoed at the entrance of Youying Valley.

Gu An stood there, expressionless, looking at the mess of insect corpses scattered all over the ground.

Instead of feeling fortunate to have survived, he took out the half-empty bottle of Blood Spirit Dew from his sleeve and gently stroked the cool bottle with his fingertips.

"Qi Refining Level 5..."

In the world of cultivation, each realm represents a new level. Between the mid-stage and late-stage Qi Refining realms lies an insurmountable chasm of magical power. Wang Mazi not only surpasses him in cultivation but also possesses a low-grade flying magic artifact for protection. In a direct confrontation, his own limited abilities would likely not even be able to break through the opponent's protective aura.

To kill him, the skilled Gengjin Finger technique, the beginner-level Golden Light Technique, the poisons and hidden attacks available at hand are far from enough.

"Since we can't win with magic, we have no choice but to fight with our lives."

Gu An turned and walked heavily toward the stone house. He didn't have time to slowly nurture the silk. Wang Mazi was coming to collect the silk at the end of the month, which meant that the guy would be going into the valley again next month to explore the place that had raised suspicions.

His visits were not merely for show, but for sharpening his skills.

Back inside, Gu An closed the doors and windows and retrieved all the poisonous herbs hidden under the bed.

The Azure Furnace was erected, and earth fire rose. This time, he held nothing back.

He chopped up the remaining piece of Corpse Fragrance Devil's Tongue, along with the roots and stems of the Bone-Rotting Grass, half a bottle of corpse oil obtained from Xun Yin, and a few drops of his own heart's essence blood forced from his fingertips, and threw them all into the furnace.

"Glug."

Before the stove lid was even properly closed, a dizzying plume of sweet, cloying black smoke was already billowing out.

Gu An held his breath, swallowed two antidote pills, and used his hands to cast dozens of spells like butterflies flitting among flowers, forcibly suppressing the medicinal power that was about to explode.

He was concocting poison; this batch of "Bone-Corroding and Soul-Soothing Soup" was more than three times more potent than before.

Although the giant monster underground has developed drug resistance, if the dosage is large enough to kill a second-tier demon beast, it will have to spit out what it has ingested.

Two hours later, the fire in the furnace went out.

Gu An lifted the lid of the stove, and inside there was only a small bowl of pitch-black, viscous medicinal liquid that was almost stringy. There was no medicinal fragrance, only a chilling, deathly stillness.

"Drink up, then it's time to get back to work."

Gu An carried the alchemy furnace and moved like a ghost through the mulberry forest, arriving at the Ghost Mulberry Tree that served as a conduit.

It was midnight, the time when yin energy was at its strongest. The muffled heartbeat from underground still lingered, but now carried a languid quality—the monster had eaten its fill and was fast asleep.

"Wake up."

With a swift stroke of his longsword, Gu An cut a gap the size of a large bowl into the tree root and poured the extremely poisonous black soup into it.

A hissing sound—the venom seeped into the wood, producing a sound like sulfuric acid corroding it. The entire ghost mulberry tree trembled violently, and half of its leaves instantly turned yellow and withered.

Followed by.

boom!

The ground jolted violently without warning, as if something underground had been scalded.

"roar--!!!"

A deafening roar echoed through the rock formations, causing Gu An's eardrums to bleed.

The earth trembled violently, and the ghost mulberry tree was struck as if by lightning, its bark cracking inch by inch. The giant monster underground was clearly stimulated to the extreme by this potent ingredient; it struggled frantically, trying to expel the piercing and corrosive venom.

But this poison penetrates deep into the bones and marrow. In order to combat this potentially deadly toxicity, Tai Sui had to mobilize the purest essence of its blood and qi to flush it out and neutralize it.

Three breaths later.

The red dew no longer seeped from the gap in the trunk of the ghost mulberry tree, but instead squeezed out a liquid that was dark purple to almost black and as viscous as mercury.

That was the essence of blood and qi that had been forcibly extracted and compressed to the extreme by the venom.

Gu An reacted quickly, and with just ten drops, the jade bottle was filled.

The heat emanating from the liquid was so intense that a layer of white mist appeared on the surface of the jade bottle, and there was also a faint, eerie aura about it.

"What an overbearing thing."

Gu An sealed the bottle and ran away.

The roars from underground grew increasingly violent, and the monster seemed poised to break free of its seal at any moment. But before it could emerge, the poisonous energy was enough to paralyze it for days.

……

Courtyard No. 13, Building B.

The cold pool water inside the wooden bucket had already been prepared, and the surface of the water was even covered with a layer of black, oily varnish.

Gu An stood by the bucket, looking at the bottle of purplish-black concentrated blood spirit dew in his hand, a ruthless glint in his eyes.

This stuff is said to be a great tonic, but in reality it's a dangerous drug; once it enters the body, it's either effective or fatal.

"Rather than sit and wait to die, it is better to put yourself in a deadly situation."

Gu An uncorked the bottle and poured the ten drops of purple liquid into the bucket.

boom!

There was no boiling or bubbling.

The moment the purple liquid entered the water, the entire bucket of yin water instantly turned into a pitch-black gelatinous substance. A terrifyingly high temperature erupted from inside the bucket, even scalding the iron hoops on the edge of the wooden bucket until they turned red.

Gu An crushed a Qingxin Pill and jumped naked into the bucket.

"Ugh!!!"

The moment he entered the water, Gu An's eyes bulged violently, and blood vessels instantly filled his eyeballs.

That's not water at all, it's clearly molten iron!

The skin charred and curled the moment it came into contact with the liquid, then was brutally torn apart by the violent force. The muscles beneath the skin felt as if they were being gnawed by a million ants, and the fascia contracted violently under the high temperature, making a snapping sound.

The excruciating pain was no longer the burning, throbbing sensation that spread throughout the limbs and pierced the eight extraordinary meridians; instead, it suddenly transformed into a pain that nearly tore apart the soul and destroyed the mind.

Gu An tried to call out, but no sound came out because his throat had already been scorched by the heat.

He gripped the edge of the bucket tightly, his fingernails snapped, and his fingertips embedded in the wooden board. The excruciating pain in his ten fingers couldn't mask the agony caused by the medicine.

"Lock...lock it up!"

With the opening of the Green Wood Everlasting Spring Technique, a continuous stream of spiritual energy flowed through Gu An's body, violently surging and inhaling as his dantian opened.

The Turtle Breathing Technique was activated frantically, but the usually invincible method of locking in qi was now like a paper dam, unable to withstand the impact of this flood.

Life is slipping away at an alarming rate.

Gu An could clearly feel that his life force was being used as fuel by this domineering medicinal power, burning wildly.

The roots of my hair started to turn white, and my skin became loose, as if I had aged ten years in an instant.

On the verge of death, a sudden flash of inspiration struck Gu An.

Since we can't stop it, let's hammer it! Hammer this destructive force into our bones and into our skin!

He forcibly dispelled the seal of the Turtle Breathing Technique and instead activated the Hundred Refinements Golden Body technique that he had previously comprehended.

Gu An was no longer passively defending, but actively guiding the heat flow, washing over the broken flesh again and again like forging iron.

Sizzle—the charred, dead skin peeled off, revealing fresh, tender red flesh beneath, a bloody mess. The tender flesh, under the influence of the medicine, quickly hardened, scabbed over, peeled off again, and regenerated once more.

With each rebirth, the new skin becomes more resilient and less fragile.

This is a process of breaking yourself down and then rebuilding yourself.

Gu An's consciousness swirled in pain. He saw Old Zhang's wrinkled face, Zhao Feng's greedy smile, and Wang Mazi's finger pointing at his nose.

"kill……"

Gu An squeezed out a single word.

This murderous intent became the only pillar that sustained him through the long night.

……

I don't know how much time passed.

The black gelatinous substance in the bucket turned back into clear water, without even a trace of heat remaining.

As dawn broke, it shone on Gu An's bare upper body.

He slowly opened his eyes, his gaze not filled with the confusion of someone just waking up, but with two cold, sharp glints.

Splash!

Gu An stood up from the bucket and looked down to examine himself.

The pale, sickly complexion was gone. In its place was a subtle yet deep bronze color.

The bronze color was very light, hidden beneath his skin, and only when he tensed his muscles would a metallic sheen flow across his entire body.

He casually picked up the small knife on the table; its blade was so sharp it could cut a hair in an instant.

Gu An didn't use his spiritual power to protect himself; instead, he directly took the knife and slashed his left arm fiercely.

A sickening scraping sound rang out, but instead of the expected splatter of blood.

The sharp blade sliced ​​across the skin as if it were cutting through a tough old cowhide, leaving only a shallow white mark that disappeared in an instant.

"Now even ordinary iron can't hurt him."

Gu An's lips curled slightly, revealing a sinister smile.

Although this low-grade magic weapon was not infused with spiritual power, it was sharp enough that it couldn't even cut through his oily skin.

This means that as long as he is not hit in a vital spot by a magical artifact, he can withstand the aftershocks of ordinary spells and sword strikes.

This is the terror of physical cultivation. Many cultivators often overlook this step of cultivating physical techniques. For them, strengthening their muscles and bones is nothing more than the actions of a martial artist, which is laborious and thankless, and can easily damage their foundation.

But Gu An is different. Having read many cultivation novels, the quality he inherited is cunning and ruthlessness, and of course, he also has a bit of a gambler's nature.

The reason is simple: in this world, if you have no one to rely on, you can only fight for yourself.

After recovering, Gu An summoned the control panel.

Name: Gu An

[Realm Level: Qi Refining Level 4 (15/800)]

Physical Strength: Copper Skin (Beginner)

Lifespan: 19/100 (Original overdraft, maximum permanent deduction of 7 years)

Upon seeing the lifespan section, Gu An's gaze sharpened slightly.

Seven years of his lifespan, which had recovered after several breakthroughs, were burned away overnight.

He walked up to the bronze mirror.

The boy in the mirror still had a handsome face, but his once jet-black temples now had a few glaring strands of white hair.

At nineteen years old, he exuded the vicissitudes of old age.

"Seven years of lifespan in exchange for a body of steel."

Gu An reached out and picked up the strand of white hair, then forcefully pulled it off with his fingertips.

"It was worth it."

In this world, it's better to live tough than to live long. If he can't get past Wang Mazi, forget seven years; if Wang Mazi decides to kill him, tomorrow will be his death day.

Now that the copper plating is complete, we have confidence in our defenses.

Next, it's time to prepare a return gift for that greedy Senior Brother Wang.