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

Three days later, at night.

The Valley of Shadows was deathly silent, even the usually tireless night owls were silent.

Gu An sat cross-legged beside the ghost mulberry tree that served as a "conduit," his fingertips resting on the gnarled roots, his brows furrowed deeply.

Something's wrong; the monster underground is behaving differently.

The dull, rhythmic heartbeat was replaced by a teeth-grinding, grinding sound. It was as if a dull file was scraping against the seal left by Han Qingsong, again and again, through thick layers of rock.

"Thump, hiss... thump, hiss..."

The sound traveled up the tree roots, making Gu An's fingertips go numb.

The Ghost Mulberry Tree responsible for transporting the venom was in a terrible state. Its originally deep purple leaves had turned a strange grayish-white, and its bark was cracked, oozing not the purplish-black essence of blood, but streams of yellow water with strong acid corrosiveness.

"Drug resistance developed faster than expected."

Gu An slowly stood up, his eyes filled with gloom.

After feeding on potent toxins for half a month, the flesh-and-blood monster finally came to its senses. It no longer passively endured the toxins that rotted its bones and intestines, but began to ruminate, even trying to expel the deadly poison from its body through this only connection.

This is a power struggle. If it can't be suppressed, not only will the Blood Spirit Dew be lost, but the Ghost Mulberry Tree used as cover will also be poisoned and withered instantly. Then, the Yin Meridian nodes will go out of control, and the seal left by Han Qingsong will undoubtedly be broken.

"Want to throw up? Not so easy."

Gu An took out the small dagger from his pocket; the blade gleamed coldly in the moonlight.

Without the slightest hesitation, he swiftly sliced ​​off the rotten, yellowed bark from the base of the tree.

"Sizzle—"

A foul-smelling yellow smoke billowed out; it was the toxic gas regurgitated by the regurgitated Tai Sui.

Gu An held his breath, and the antidote pill he had been holding under his tongue transformed into a cool medicinal liquid that flowed throughout his body. He moved swiftly, taking out a handful of white powder resembling lime powder from his storage bag—it was powder he had ground from the roots and stems of the extremely yang-natured Lieyang Grass, which he had been studying the True Explanation of Hundred Poisons over the past few days, specifically to counteract yin poisons.

"Sprinkle!" White powder fell like snowflakes, covering the smoking wound.

When the yellow smoke meets the white powder, it instantly produces a violent popping sound, and black scabs quickly form, forcibly blocking the outlet of the toxic gas.

But this is only a temporary solution and cannot address the root cause.

The grinding sounds from underground grew increasingly frantic, and the earth began to undulate like waves. The soil beneath Gu An's feet churned and surged, as if a giant beast was about to burst forth from the ground.

[Warning: Monster's berserk level has risen sharply, seal has loosened by 20%]

The red text on the panel was flashing wildly.

Gu An's eyes sharpened. He could no longer rely on blocking tactics; he had to cut his losses and survive.

The roots of this ghost mulberry tree have deeply penetrated the flesh of the Tai Sui, now becoming a conduit for the Tai Sui to vent its anger. This part of the root system must be severed to temporarily sever the connection between the two, allowing the monster to digest the rampant medicinal power underground on its own.

"Plant affinity, activate!"

Gu An closed his eyes, and his senses instantly extended downwards along the vast root network.

In that pitch-black underground world, he sensed the massive, dark red mass of flesh writhing violently, its countless tentacles lashing the rock walls like mad whips. The main roots connecting to Gui Sang were being firmly bitten and corroded by Tai Sui.

"This is it."

Gu An suddenly opened his eyes, channeling all his spiritual energy into the dagger in his hand.

"Geng metal refers to [something], attached!"

A dark golden light covered the blade.

*Thud!* The dagger plunged deep into the ground, precisely cutting into a main root node three feet underground.

"Break!"

Gu An let out a low roar, twisted his wrist, and unleashed a burst of power.

Thud! A muffled sound, like a bowstring snapping, came from underground.

Then came the second cut, the third cut… each cut precisely severing the connection between the Ghost Mulberry and the Tai Sui. As the root system broke, the surging, violent poisonous gas instantly lost its outlet and was forcibly forced back into the ground.

"roar--!!!"

A muffled roar of resentment came from underground, making Gu An's internal organs tremble.

The monster was clearly suffocating.

Just as Gu An thought the crisis was temporarily over and was preparing to draw his sword and retreat, an unexpected change occurred.

At the break of the last severed tree root, due to the sudden imbalance of underground pressure, a plume of pink mist shot out like a high-pressure valve.

The fog came too fast, it was too eerie.

Unlike the previous toxic fumes, which had a foul and pungent odor, this one carried a captivating and exotic fragrance, similar to the scent of rotten peaches mixed with the delicate fragrance of a virgin.

"not good!"

Although Gu An held his breath immediately and had the antidote pill to protect him, the mist ignored his physical defenses and entered his sea of ​​consciousness through his pores.

In an instant, Gu An felt a roar in his mind, and the scene before him instantly distorted.

The once gloomy and desolate Ghostly Valley is gone, replaced by a magnificent golden palace.

Gu An found himself sitting on a high throne, wearing a purple-gold robe, with spiritual energy around him transforming into tangible dragons and phoenixes.

At his feet knelt two trembling figures: one was Zhao Feng, whose face was full of flattery and whose forehead was bleeding from kowtowing, yet he still smiled obsequiously; the other was Wang Mazi, who was bound hand and foot and covered in blood.

"Elder Gu... Ancestor Gu! Spare me!"

Zhao Feng crawled over like a dog, holding out the scrolls of top-grade Xuan Yin silk in both hands. "I was blind before, these... these are all to offer as a tribute to you! Please take me as your spirit slave!"

"Grandpa Gu! I was wrong! I was really wrong!"

Wang Mazi cried and slapped himself repeatedly, "I shouldn't have coveted your silk, I shouldn't have gone into the valley... I'll skin you right now to make boots!"

The thrill of wielding power and having the power of life and death overwhelmed Gu An's reason like a tidal wave.

This is the destination he has been trying to reach by surviving until now and proceeding step by step.

If you just nod, it's all true.

Gu An's lips curled into an uncontrollable, intoxicated smile, and his raised hand seemed to be about to stroke Zhao Feng's humble head.

However, just as his fingertips were about to touch, a fierce blood energy, honed through cultivating the Hundred Refinements Golden Body, surged forth from the depths of Gu An's dantian.

The excruciating pain spread again, then swept through his entire body, stimulating every neuron in his body—a deep, ingrained memory of pain from each medicinal bath.

The pain was like a bucket of ice water, instantly extinguishing the illusory pleasure.

"It's all fake, it's all fake."

The dazed look in Gu An's eyes shattered instantly, replaced by a chilling clarity. He looked at Zhao Feng, who was kneeling and begging for mercy in the illusion, and coldly uttered a single word: "Get out."

Crack! The magnificent golden hall shattered like a mirror.

Gu An snapped back to reality and found himself still standing in the cold mulberry grove, his heavy clothes already soaked with cold sweat.

The pink mist did not dissipate; instead, it gathered and remained, like a living pink cloud, hovering three inches above the severed root, slowly wriggling.

"This is……"

Gu An gasped for breath, his heart pounding wildly.

In that instant, if he hadn't been so determined and his body hadn't endured such inhuman torture, he probably would have already succumbed to that boundless illusion, until his soul withered and he died.

This isn't poison gas at all. This is a soul attack! It's a mirage-like aura that emerged from the flesh-and-blood demon after that creature devoured the Corpse-Fragrance Demon Flower, combining it with its own Yin energy!

[Successfully Identified: Tai Sui Mystery (Mutant)]

[Rank: Tier 1, High Grade (Close to Tier 2)]

[Characteristics: Powerful hallucinogenic, arousing the deepest desires or fears, pervasive and difficult to defend against.]

Gu An stared at the pink mist, the fear in his eyes gradually fading, replaced by a fervent joy.

What he lacks most is what he gets; what he lacks most right now is hard control.

Although the Gengjin Finger is sharp, it is only capable of single-point damage; although the Golden Light Technique is tough, it can only passively withstand attacks.

Faced with a Qi Refining Level 5 cultivator like Wang Mazi, who possessed a flying artifact and could run away if he couldn't win, he never had complete confidence in capturing him.

But this Tai Sui mist is different. Just inhaling a trace of it will cause even a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator to be momentarily disoriented for several breaths.

In a life-or-death struggle, a single breath can determine life or death.

"Great stuff, really great stuff."

Ignoring his exhaustion, Gu An quickly pulled out a specially made jade bottle from his robes. This bottle was originally intended to contain highly poisonous corpse-dissolving liquid, and its inner wall was engraved with a spirit-sealing array, making it perfect for containing this malevolent star.

He carefully channeled his spiritual energy, enveloping his hands, not daring to touch the mist directly.

"receive!"

Gu An made a hand seal, using the Qi-guiding technique to guide the pink mist, like peeling silk from a cocoon, guiding it into the jade bottle strand by strand.

This process is extremely dangerous.

Each time he was guided, countless bizarre and fantastical fragments of visions would flash through his mind. Sometimes it was mountains of spiritual stones, sometimes it was corpses scattered all over the ground, and sometimes it was the ecstatic joy of successfully establishing his foundation.

Gu An bit his tongue tightly, using the pain to stay awake, as if dancing on a tightrope over a cliff.

After an incense stick's time, the last wisp of pink mist was drawn into the bottle. Gu An quickly plugged the bottle, applied three sealing talismans, and then sealed the bottle opening with beeswax.

After doing all this, he collapsed onto the ground, utterly exhausted.

The panel in front of me trembled slightly, and a new message popped up:

[Having experienced a life-or-death illusion, my mind has been tempered, and my spiritual sense has increased by 1.]

[Successfully extracted a rare poison, marking a breakthrough in poison-making techniques]

[Poison Making: Proficient (1/400)]

[Item Obtained: 1 bottle of Tai Sui Mist]

Gu An gripped the cold jade bottle, his fingers tightening slightly until his knuckles turned white. A master-level poison-making technique, combined with this bottle of mist powerful enough to capsize even a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator.

He originally had only a 50% chance of defeating Wang Mazi, but now that chance has risen to 80%.

"Senior Brother Wang..."

Gu An got up from the ground, patted the dirt off his body, looked out of the valley, and a cruel smile appeared on his lips. "You'd better accept this return gift carefully."

The tremors underground finally subsided completely. The Tai Sui, whose "straw" had been cut off, seemed to have exhausted itself or lost its outlet, and could only digest the violent medicinal power alone underground.

Ghost Valley returned to its deathly silence.

But Gu An knew that this was only temporary.

There are only three days left until the end of the month when the silk will be delivered.

Three days later, this place will no longer be a mulberry grove for farming, but a graveyard for hunting.

Gu An turned around and walked towards the stone house. Right now, he still needed to make the final preparations.

The layout of the Thousand-Thread Trap needs to be changed. The original trap can only trap ground targets and is not enough to deal with flying magical artifacts.

It needs to be raised higher and have more netting.

As for the Blood Spirit Dew, Tai Sui hasn't been able to excrete it these past few days, but Gu An still has enough in stock for one medicinal bath.

That's enough for his final sprint; he wants to refine that "copper skin" to be three times thicker.

The door of the stone house slowly closed, shutting out all outside prying eyes.

In the darkness, Gu An sat cross-legged in the black medicine barrel, enduring the familiar, tearing pain without uttering a sound. Only his eyes, shining brightly in the darkness, revealed a ruthlessness that was not of his age, yet chilling to behold.