Steadily becoming a saint, the immortal officials hired me to tend the horses Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Evolution of the Cultivation Technique, Dragon Strength Divine Primordial Skill
Previously on Steadily becoming a saint, the immortal officials hired me to tend the horses...
Meng Lang and Zhang Chunqiu were just as stunned by Li Ya's decision, yet they remained quiet.
Cheng Xuandan offered Li Ya a look of approval, nodding slightly as he remarked, "Very well. You possess a keen eye for value and do not act out of haste."
With a flick of his right hand toward a nearby table, three secret manuals materialized instantly. He signaled to Zhang Chunqiu, who immediately began passing the manuals to the group.
Through the entire exchange, Gu An was given no opportunity to speak.
Fine, I was completely disregarded.
Being naturally upbeat, Gu An didn't let it get to him.
Though you treat me with indifference today, in sixteen years, I will hold no grudges—I'll even burn some incense in your memory!
Gu An accepted the book titled 'Energy Nurturing Skill', putting on a facade of genuine joy.
"Lately, demons have managed to slip into the Supreme Sect. Medicine Valley sits on the outer perimeter, and while disciples are out patrolling, threats still linger. Stay within the valley during your daily routine. You are dismissed."
Once Cheng Xuandan finished his orders, he dismissed them with a wave. The three, Gu An included, bowed promptly and took their leave.
Walking at the rear, Gu An made sure to close the door behind them as they exited.
Cheng Xuandan nodded quietly and noted, "That youth, Li Ya, is far from ordinary. He seems to have mastered a technique to mask his Cultivation Level. His Essence Energy and Spirit are not inferior to yours. Keep a close watch on him. Furthermore, he hails from the Imperial Family, so do not be overly strict with him."
Zhang Chunqiu nodded in agreement. After reflecting for a moment, he added, "Master, Gu An is actually the most hardworking among them. Since his aptitude is the weakest, he is likely the one who will remain in Medicine Valley the longest..."
Cheng Xuandan replied indifferently, "Hmm, then see to it that he is cared for. He is under your supervision now."
Zhang Chunqiu smiled and bowed to thank his master.
Elsewhere.
The trio returned to their shared courtyard. As they walked, Meng Lang prattled on about the demons; far from being afraid, he seemed quite thrilled.
Li Ya paused, turning to Gu An to say, "The Energy Nurturing Skill is actually a solid choice. It can hide your presence and extend your life span. Since I already possess a cultivation technique, it is useless to me. For a person like you, it is actually the superior option."
Hearing this, Gu An’s expression brightened into a grin. "I appreciate the guidance, Brother Li. I expect I’ll spend my whole life here in Medicine Valley. Mastering the Hundred Herbs Collection isn't vital for me; I can just learn about plants by following the eldest disciple."
Li Ya nodded, seemingly satisfied that Gu An had taken his advice to heart.
The three didn't linger for long and soon retreated to their respective quarters.
Daily tasks in Medicine Valley were sparse, leaving them ample time for cultivation.
Gu An sat upon his bed and began skimming through the Energy Nurturing Skill.
He hadn't cared for the manual at first, but after Li Ya mentioned its life-prolonging and aura-concealing properties, he suddenly felt the urge to practice it to test his life span evolving ability.
During the past year, he had attempted the Spring Wood Skill shared by Zhang Chunqiu, but after two weeks of zero progress, he had simply quit.
To him, reading travelogues and herbology books in the Medicine Valley library to expand his knowledge was far better than the dull grind of failed cultivation.
Time slipped by.
Aside from his scheduled herb inspections, Gu An spent every moment in his room cultivating.
After fifteen days of effort, the words 'Energy Nurturing Skill' finally appeared on his attribute panel. However, the status next to it still showed it as unmastered.
Gu An stared at the panel with a look of anticipation.
This was his first attempt at using life span evolution, and he felt a surge of nerves, wondering how much of his life span the Energy Nurturing Skill would consume.
Even though his life span was over a thousand years, it would still sting if it cost him decades or a century of his life.
Gu An focused on the 'Energy Nurturing Skill' entry and silently commanded the system to invest his life span into its evolution.
[Please select the amount of life span to invest]
Upon seeing the prompt, Gu An made his choice without hesitation. Immediately, two lines of text flashed before him.
[You have invested one year of life span to evolve the practice of 'Energy Nurturing Skill']
[You have cultivated the Energy Nurturing Skill for one year. Due to your average comprehension and aptitude, your cultivation has made no progress, but your Essence Energy has been enhanced]
Suddenly, Gu An felt a burst of vitality. However, the sensation vanished as quickly as it had arrived.
That was all?
The word 'average' felt like a direct insult to Gu An.
This is blatant discrimination!
A suspicion formed in his mind—was his aptitude tied directly to his Spirit Root?
He immediately decided to invest life span into evolving his Spirit Root, pouring in a hundred years in one go.
[You have invested a hundred years of life span for the evolution practice of 'Spirit Root']
[You begin to comprehend the nature of Heaven and Earth, increasing your Spirit Root's perception of nature. After a hundred years, your perception of the Five Elements Spirit Root has improved]
After reviewing the prompts, Gu An checked his panel again. His Spirit Root had upgraded from 'Ordinary Five Elements Spirit Root' to 'Better Five Elements Spirit Root'.
Gu An felt a pang of regret. Seeing his life span drop from four digits to three made him feel quite distressed.
It appeared that upgrading one's Spirit Root was a bottomless pit of years.
"Should I give the Energy Nurturing Skill another go?"
The thought nagged at him. Having already tasted the power of spending his life span, he felt a restless itch in his heart.
"I only have to spend a year to gain a millennium. I'll splurge a little today and work hard to earn more later... Fine, I'll indulge just this once since this feature is new..."
Gu An took a deep breath and silently opted to invest five hundred years of his life span into evolving the 'Energy Nurturing Skill'.
[You have invested five hundred years of life span for the evolution practice of 'Energy Nurturing Skill']
[You have cultivated the Energy Nurturing Skill for one year. Due to your average comprehension and aptitude, your cultivation has made no progress, but your Essence Energy has been enhanced]
[You have cultivated the Energy Nurturing Skill for ten years. Due to your average comprehension and aptitude, your Cultivation Level has made no progress, but you successfully mastered the Energy Nurturing Skill, and your Qi-Blood has been enhanced]
[You cultivated the Energy Nurturing Skill for one hundred years. The constant cultivation led you to a realization about the Energy Nurturing Skill, and it began to transform.]
[You cultivated the Energy Nurturing Skill for two hundred years. Your Energy Nurturing Skill merged with nature's spiritual energy and evolved into a Technique of Immortal Cultivation.]
[You cultivated the Energy Nurturing Skill for three hundred years. Your Energy Nurturing Skill was promoted to Spirit Nurturing Skill.]
[You cultivated the Energy Nurturing Skill for four hundred years. On that day, you suddenly had an epiphany, grasped the Heaven and Earth True Meaning, and created the Dragon Image Nurturing Primordial Skill from the Spirit Nurturing Skill. Your body and Qi-Blood were transformed.]
[You cultivated the Energy Nurturing Skill for five hundred years. The Dragon Image Nurturing Primordial Skill reached mastery, broke through the limits of Cultivation Technique, and was promoted to Dragon Strength Divine Primordial Skill. Your physique underwent a fundamental change.]
A flood of prompts cascaded before Gu An's eyes. Before he could even finish reading, a massive torrent of memories crashed into his consciousness.
A soft breeze drifted through the window, tugging at the bed curtains and Gu An's dark hair. With his eyes shut, his mouth opened instinctively, his rhythmic breathing carrying the faint, echoing sound of a dragon's roar.
After some time had passed, Gu An slowly regained awareness.
Opening his eyes, he saw the shadowed woods outside his window.
Night had fallen.
Gu An now possessed the full memories and mastery of the Dragon Strength Divine Primordial Skill.
The Dragon Strength Divine Primordial Skill was a technique inspired by the cultivation of the Dragon Turtle. It was designed to mask one’s presence, hide one's cultivation level, and develop Dragon Strength.
The original Energy Nurturing Skill was merely a foundational piece of this greater technique—essentially an incomplete fragment that had now been restored.
Gu An suspected that the Dragon Strength Divine Primordial Skill had always existed in its entirety, and the Supreme Sect had simply found a small piece, which they renamed the Energy Nurturing Skill.
If he spent another three hundred years, what would this technique become next?
Gu An fought down the urge to spend more of his life. He focused on his body, feeling an overwhelming, explosive power coursing through him.
He felt as though he could shatter a building with a single strike!
This sensation of raw power was incredible!
Furthermore, his senses had sharpened immensely. He could hear the soft breathing of Meng Lang and Li Ya; he could even catch the faint sounds of Zhang Chunqiu and Cheng Xuandan talking in the distance.
"That demon has already slain thirteen people, mostly servant disciples from the various wings of Medicine Valley. Master, the two of us might not be enough to keep them safe," a voice said.
"Do not worry, I have already put in a request for a Sect mission. The Sect will send a Foundation Establishment Realm disciple to safeguard our Medicine Valley," the other replied.
"That is a relief. Earlier today, the spiritual energy in the valley felt strange; I feared the demon was upon us. I'm ashamed to say I didn't even dare to step out," the first voice admitted.
"Well, you have lived under my protection and haven't seen the world. It is natural to be cautious..."
Overhearing this, Gu An broke into a cold sweat.
He had been too reckless!
In the future, he could not afford to be so careless when deducing techniques.
It was a stroke of luck that Zhang Chunqiu's cultivation was low, or Gu An's activities would have been exposed.
After listening a bit longer to ensure they weren't talking about him, Gu An finally relaxed.
He continued to explore his new physique while using the methods of the Dragon Strength Divine Primordial Skill to suppress his aura to its lowest point. His Qi-Blood was pulled deep within his body, making him look just as frail and ordinary as he did before he started cultivating.
An hour later, Gu An opened his eyes and checked his Attribute Panel.
[Name: Gu An]
[Life Span: 16/402]
[Spirit Root: Good Five Elements Spirit Root (can invest lifespan to evolve cultivation)]
[Cultivation Level: Below par (can invest lifespan to evolve cultivation)]
[Cultivation Techniques: Fire Control Art (not mastered), Spring Wood Skill (not mastered), Dragon Strength Divine Primordial Skill (mastery) (can invest lifespan to evolve cultivation)]
Dragon Strength Divine Primordial Skill, mastery!
Gu An viewed the results with pride. Unfortunately, since the Dragon Strength Divine Primordial Skill focused on physical cultivation rather than Spiritual Power, his cultivation level remained "below par."
Even so, Gu An felt confident that he could dominate anyone in the Energy Cultivation Realm.
Now, he just had to wait for his life span to grow again.
With his mastery of the Dragon Strength Divine Primordial Skill, the Strength Energy within him was automatically extending his life span, though the exact rate remained a mystery.
That night, sleep eluded Gu An.
However, despite checking his panel repeatedly until the sun rose, his life span hadn't increased. He told himself that no technique could grant a full year of life in just one day.
Indeed!
Hard work pays off; the rewards will come in time!
Gu An did a quick wash and stepped outside, planning to clear his head by walking among the medicinal plants.
By chance, as he reached one corner of the garden, his eyes landed on a white-furred mouse.
It was the same one that had been eating the Calming Grass before!
Gu An scanned the area to ensure no one else was around, then began to creep toward the mouse.
The white-haired mouse had its back turned ten yards away, completely unaware of his presence.
When the gap closed to seven paces, Gu An lunged forward like a released arrow, covering the distance in a flash and snatching the mouse in his right hand.
Terrified, the white-haired mouse instantly threw its paws up in a gesture of surrender.
"You think you can just steal my lifespan? You're finished!"
Gu An chuckled with pride as he held the creature; he could actually see every tiny movement of the mouse trying to turn around.
Way too slow!