NOVEL FROG Chapter 1: Seizing Life
Chapter 1: Seizing Life
Under the scorching sun, the sky was clear for thousands of miles. Surrounded by mountain peaks, the heavens and earth fluctuated, and the forest swayed. A gust of wind blew all the way into the valley, making Gu An, who was standing in the garden, feel a trace of coolness.
Gu An wiped the sweat off his forehead and stared at the blooming flowers on the ground. They were all brightly colored, and even under the sun, they showed no signs of withering.
On his left and right stood a youth. The three of them had entered the Medicine Valley under the Supreme Mystery Sect's medicine hall. Compared to Gu An's excitement, the other two seemed to lack interest and were absent-mindedly wiping their sweat.
In front of them stood a young man in plain clothes. His appearance was ordinary, but his body was strong and his eyes were bright. He was the eldest disciple of the Medicine Valley, Zhang Chunqiu. He was explaining the essentials of picking spirit flowers and spirit herbs to Gu An and the others.
"The flowers and plants in this garden are all rank one herbs. When you pick them, you can't uproot them. You need to cut them from the stem near the soil. After cutting them, you need to wrap them with the Spirit Protection Paper in your hands to prevent the spirit energy from leaking out…" Zhang Chunqiu's voice was loud and clear, and he was full of spirit. He was not affected by the scorching sun at all.
Gu An held a pair of scissors in his right hand and a white piece of paper in his left hand. He carefully memorized every word Zhang Chunqiu said.
Unlike the two beside him, he cherished this position very much. He had endured a lot of supercilious looks to get this opportunity.
Others thought that he was going to fall, but they didn't know that this was the most suitable path for him to become stronger!
"Okay, let's begin. Everyone pick one and I'll examine it." As soon as Zhang Chunqiu finished speaking, Gu An squatted down.
Gu An put down the Spirit Protection Paper in his hand and carefully held the root of the red flower in front of him with his left hand.
"Brother, you're too nervous. It's fine even if you cut it. It's just a rank one herb. These are all ordinary herbs used to refine basic pills. If it were me at home, I wouldn't even look at them." Meng Lang, who was on Gu An's right, said. He was dressed luxuriously and seemed to be from an extraordinary family.
In fact, it was indeed so. Other than Gu An, who was a servant, the other two were from rich families. However, the children of rich families had to pay attention to the cultivation spirit roots. They were the most mediocre of the five spirit roots. If they wanted to stay in the Supreme Mystery sect, they could only be disciples.
Gu An ignored Meng Lang's words, and focused on cutting the flower.
Pinching the stem, he gently cut it with a pair of scissors. Then, he wrapped the root of the safflower with Spirit Protection Paper.
After doing all this, he stood up and handed it over to Zhang Chunqiu for inspection.
Zhang Chunqiu took it and took a look. He smiled in satisfaction and said, "Well done. You are very meticulous."
Gu An did not reply, but stared at the red flower in his hand.
At this moment, he was even more nervous than before.
A few breaths later, a line of words that only Gu An could see appeared in front of him.
[You have successfully obtained one year of lifespan from the Crimson Spirit Flower (Rank-1)]
Success!
A smile appeared on Gu An's face as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders.
Sure enough, only animals and plants that contained spiritual energy could have their lifespans snatched by him.
The first time Gu An seized his lifespan was when he was ten years old. He accidentally bumped into a flower pot held by another servant, causing the spirit flower to spill on the ground. Because of this, he seized 12 years of lifespan.
At that time, the guard was flustered and exasperated and insisted on cutting off one of his hands. It was the Third Miss, Ji Xiaoyu, who stopped him and saved him.
This time, Gu An was able to enter the Taixuan Sect because of Ji Xiaoyu. Ji Xiaoyu was a rare Dual Spiritual Root that was hard to come by in a hundred years. Many large Immortal Cultivation sects had thrown branches at the Ji Family. Ji Xiaoyu had brought five members of the Ji Family to enter the Taixuan Sect, and Gu An was the only two of them.
Without Ji Xiaoyu, with his penta spirit roots aptitude, he could only enter a third-rate sect.
While Gu An was secretly rejoicing, Meng Lang and another youth named Li Ya had also finished plucking.
Zhang Chunqiu put the three Crimson Spirit Flowers into the storage bag at his waist and said seriously, "Today, your mission is to pluck 50 Crimson Spirit Flowers together. You can only move around in this garden and are not allowed to trespass on other garden grounds. After you are done, bring the Crimson Spirit Flowers to the pavilion and find me."
With that, Zhang Chunqiu turned and left.
Meng Lang waved his fist at Zhang Chunqiu's back and muttered in a low voice, "Talking for so long about such a trivial matter. Is there a need to be so serious?"
Li Ya sat on the ground and frantically wiped his sweat with his sleeves.
When Gu An saw Zhang Chunqiu go upstairs, he turned around and said to Meng Lang and Li Ya, "Brothers, judging from your luxurious clothes, your family background must be excellent. You can't do such rough work. I'm different. I'm just a servant. Why don't you let me do it for you? I'll complete the mission while you find a shady place to rest and take care of me in the future."
Meng Lang's eyes lit up when he heard that. He smiled in surprise and said, "Not bad, Brother. You're very considerate. If you can't stand it one day, I'll guarantee you a lifetime of food and clothing."
Li Ya no longer had the strength to speak and nodded in agreement.
Then, the two of them left their respective Spirit Protection Talismans and walked out of the garden while supporting each other.
Gu An picked up the Spirit Protection Talismans and looked back at the garden. His eyes were shining, and even the blazing sun in the sky was not as intense as his eyes.
In his eyes, the Crimson Spirit Flowers in the garden were not flowers, but stones that paved the way to life!
He began to move carefully. Not only did he have to complete the mission, but he also had to do it well to avoid losing this perfect task.
The blazing sun emitted its own radiance, not caring about the feelings of the people in the world.
Meng Lang and Li Ya walked to a small pavilion to rest. The two of them kept wiping off their sweat and didn't even have the strength to speak. Their eyes followed Gu An.
Time passed by slowly. Gu An was sweating profusely, but he was very excited. The smile on his face never disappeared.
Looking at Gu An's flushed face, Meng Lang couldn't help but sigh. "This kid is really hardworking on such a hot day. I like it. We'll take care of him in the future. Let him eat well and don't let anyone bully him. This way, he can continue to work for us."
Li Ya rolled his eyes and said in a bad mood, "There aren't many people in this valley. Who can bully him? If Eldest Senior Brother bullies him, do you dare to talk back? "
Meng Lang faked a cough and looked at Li Ya. He asked, "Brother, which Li Family are you from?"
Li Ya said calmly, "The Li Family of Cang Prefecture's Chang Province."
"Chang Province? Isn't that the Imperial City? You have the same surname as the Imperial Family?"Meng Lang asked in surprise. As soon as he finished speaking, he couldn't help but widen his eyes.
Li Ya didn't answer. Instead, he quietly looked at Gu An.
Meng Lang became nervous. He didn't expect to meet a disciple of the Imperial Family here.
However, after thinking about it, he felt that it was normal. This was the Supreme Mystery Sect, the number one Immortal Sect of the Tai Cang Empire. To be able to share the same surname as the Empire, it was enough to see how high the status of the Supreme Mystery Sect was. It wasn't strange to meet a disciple of the Imperial Family at the bottom of the Supreme Mystery Sect.
After a long time.
Gu An finally finished picking fifty Crimson Spirit Flowers. He put all the wrapped Crimson Spirit Flowers into the bamboo basket. He carried the bamboo basket and looked at the other parks. His face was full of anticipation.
There were more than fifteen parks in the valley. The one they were in was only a small corner. He guessed that the value of the herbs in the other parks was higher.
There was still a long way to go!
Gu An didn't want to expose his golden finger. He would stop here for today.
He walked along the small path to the loft. At the same time, he waved at Meng Lang and Li Ya. The two of them stood up and walked over.
"Brother Gu An, thank you for your hard work. Let me carry the basket for you."
Meng Lang said with a smile. The three of them had introduced themselves when they met the Valley Master, so they remembered each other's names.
Gu An saw through Meng Lang's thoughts. He smiled and nodded, then handed the bamboo basket to him.
Li Ya curled his lips, his eyes showing disdain.
Gu An only wanted to keep this job. He didn't want to be transferred out because his performance was too good, so he couldn't be bothered to argue with Meng Lang.
The three of them came to the loft and met with their Eldest Senior Brother, Zhang Chunqiu.
Zhang Chunqiu was holding a book. When he saw Gu An and the other two enter, he put down the book in his hand and said, "Put down the Crimson Spirit Flowers. These three books are the basic techniques left behind by Master. Cultivate well when you rest and strive to jump out of here in the future and become a true disciple of the Supreme Mystery Sect. Five years ago, a disciple obtained Master's spirit pill and successfully built his foundation. He became an outer disciple of the Supreme Mystery Sect."
As he spoke, he waved his right hand. Three secret books flew out from his sleeve and flew towards Gu An and the other two.
Gu An took one and read the words on the book.
Spring Wood Art!
It sounded so low-level!
Gu An wasn't disappointed. After all, he was at the bottom of the Supreme Mystery Sect.
Zhang Chunqiu gave a few more instructions and asked them to find a room in the courtyard next door. It was specially reserved for odd job disciples. Currently, there were only four disciples in the Medicine Valley. The Valley Master was outside and would only return in two years. Therefore, Zhang Chunqiu was in charge of the Medicine Valley now.
Half an hour later.
Gu An lay on the wooden bed, gasping for breath. His face was flushed red. After all, he had just been exposed to the sun.
With a thought, lines of words appeared before his eyes.
[Name: Gu An]
[Lifespan: 15/151]
[Spirit Root: Ordinary Five Elements Spirit Root (Can be invested in lifespan evolution cultivation)]
[Cultivation: Unrated (Can be invested in lifespan evolution cultivation)]
[Cultivation Technique: Fire Controlling Art (Incomplete) (Can be invested in lifespan evolution cultivation)]…
Gu An had seized 88 years of lifespan in one go!
Before this, his lifespan was 63 years. Twelve of them were obtained when he broke the flower bed when he was ten years old. In other words, he could only live for 50 years at the beginning.
A Tier 1 herb could only provide one to two years of lifespan. However, to mortals, one year was a long time!
Gu An looked at his stats panel and became more and more excited. He had earned 88 years of lifespan in such a short period of time. This was a wonderful task!
He wanted to be a holdout in the Medicine Valley!
He didn't care about Outer Sect disciples or Inner Sect disciples.
It was said that to become an official disciple, one had to go out to carry out missions to slay demons and devils in the human world. It was very dangerous.
Gu An had never killed a chicken since he was young. In his previous life, he was an ordinary person on Earth. He could not do it.
How good would it be to stay in the Medicine Valley? There was almost no danger and he could crazily earn lifespan!
Who said that cultivation required one to risk their lives?
Gu An was immersed in his beautiful imagination and could not extricate himself.
The night passed.
Gu An woke up early in the morning. After a simple wash, he went to find Zhang Chunqiu to receive the mission.
Zhang Chunqiu did not sleep. He was internalizing Qi to cultivate. He smiled in relief at Gu An's diligence. Then, he got up and walked to the door. He pointed at a garden and said, "You can pick the Spirit Heart Grass in that garden. After you're done, just leave the Spirit Heart Grass at the door. There's no need to knock."
With that, he waved his sleeves and pieces of Spirit Protection Paper fell into Gu An's hands.
Zhang Chunqiu looked at Gu An, who could not restrain his excitement. He hesitated for a moment and revealed an amiable smile. "Junior Brother, work hard. As long as you are hardworking and willing to endure hardships, you will definitely be able to make it."
(End of Chapter)