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

Meng Lang and Zhang Chunqiu were just as stunned by Li Ya's decision, yet they remained silent.

Looking at Li Ya with a look of approval, Cheng Xuandan gave a slight nod. "Excellent. You possess a discerning eye and avoid acting on impulse," he remarked.

With a casual motion of his right hand toward a nearby table, three secret manuals materialized instantly. He cast a glance at Zhang Chunqiu, who immediately began the task of handing them out.

Throughout the entire exchange, Gu An was barely given a moment to speak.

Well, it seems I have been completely overlooked.

Being naturally upbeat, Gu An didn't let it get to him.

Though you treat me with such indifference today, in sixteen years, I will hold no grudges—I'll even burn some incense for you!

Gu An accepted the manual labeled 'Energy Nurturing Skill', putting on a display of genuine happiness.

"Lately, demons have managed to slip into the Supreme Sect. Since Medicine Valley sits on the outer edge of the Sect, dangers remain despite the presence of patrolling disciples. 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 of them, Gu An included, bowed and promptly exited.

Walking at the rear, Gu An made sure to pull the door shut behind them.

Inside, Cheng Xuandan nodded slightly and spoke, "That youth Li Ya is far from ordinary. He appears to be using a technique to mask his Cultivation Level. His Essence Energy and Spirit are not inferior to your own. Keep a closer eye on him. Furthermore, he has ties to 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 the most hardworking among them. Since his aptitude is the lowest, he is likely to remain in Medicine Valley for a much longer time..."

"Mhm, in that case, look after him well. His future is in your hands," Cheng Xuandan replied flatly.

With a smile, Zhang Chunqiu expressed his gratitude to his master.

Elsewhere.

The group returned to their shared courtyard. As they walked, Meng Lang spoke of the demon infiltration; rather than being terrified, he seemed quite thrilled.

Stopping in his tracks, Li Ya turned to Gu An. "The Energy Nurturing Skill is actually quite decent. It has the power to hide one's aura and extend one's life span. Since I already possess a cultivation technique, I have no use for it. For someone in your position, it is actually the superior choice."

Hearing this, Gu An’s face beamed. "I appreciate the guidance, Brother Li. I expect to spend my life here in Medicine Valley anyway. Mastering the Hundred Herbs Collection isn't vital to me, as I can simply learn about the plants by following the eldest disciple."

Li Ya nodded, seemingly satisfied that Gu An had taken his words to heart.

The trio didn't linger for long and soon retired to their respective quarters.

Daily responsibilities in Medicine Valley were few, leaving them with ample time for Cultivation.

Sitting upon his bed, Gu An began to flip through the Energy Nurturing Skill.

He initially lacked interest in the manual, but Li Ya's mention of aura concealment and life span extension sparked a desire to test his life span evolving ability.

Over the past year, he had attempted the Spring Wood Skill provided by Zhang Chunqiu. However, after two weeks of zero progress, he had abandoned it.

To him, reading herbology texts and travelogues in the Medicine Valley library to expand his knowledge felt more productive than the repetitive grind of cultivation.

Time slipped away.

Aside from his routine herb inspections, Gu An dedicated his hours to cultivating in his room.

After fifteen days of effort, the words 'Energy Nurturing Skill' finally appeared on his attribute panel. Nevertheless, the status next to it indicated it was still unmastered.

Gu An gazed at his panel, filled with anticipation.

This was his debut using life span evolution. He felt a wave of nerves, uncertain how much of his life span would be consumed to advance the Energy Nurturing Skill.

Even though he had over a millennium of life span, losing decades or a century in one go would still be painful.

Fixing his eyes on the 'Energy Nurturing Skill' entry, he silently commanded the system to invest life span into its evolution.

[Please select the amount of life span to invest]

Gu An made his choice without a second thought. Immediately, two notifications 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]

A sudden surge of vitality rushed through Gu An, though the sensation faded as quickly as it had arrived.

Is that all?

The word 'average' felt like a personal insult to Gu An.

This is pure bullying!

A question formed in his mind—was his aptitude tied directly to his Spirit Root?

He immediately decided to invest a hundred years of life span into evolving his Spirit Root.

[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]

Checking his panel again, he saw his Spirit Root had upgraded from 'Ordinary Five Elements Spirit Root' to 'Better Five Elements Spirit Root'.

Gu An felt a pang of regret. Watching his life span drop from four digits to three made him incredibly uneasy.

It appeared that evolving a Spirit Root was a bottomless pit for resources.

"Perhaps I should try the Energy Nurturing Skill one more time?"

The thought persisted. Having tasted the power of spending life span, he felt a restless urge to continue.

"I only need a year to gain a thousand years of life. I'll spend a bit more today and work harder to earn it back later... Considering it's my first time using this, I'll indulge just once..."

Taking a deep breath, Gu An silently committed five hundred years of life span to the evolution of 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 barrage of notifications flooded Gu An's vision. Before he could even finish reading, a massive torrent of memories crashed into his mind.

A soft wind drifted through the window, tugging at the bed curtains and Gu An’s dark hair. With his eyes shut, he began to breathe rhythmically, his exhales carrying the faint, echoing sound of a dragon's roar.

After an unknown amount of time, Gu An slowly returned to consciousness.

He opened his eyes to see the shadowed silhouettes of the forest outside his window.

Night had fallen.

Gu An had fully inherited the memories of practicing the Dragon Strength Divine Primordial Skill and had achieved instant mastery of the technique.

This skill was modeled after the cultivation of the Dragon Turtle. It allowed the user to mask their breath and Cultivation Level while developing immense Dragon Strength.

The original Energy Nurturing Skill was merely a foundational component 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, and the Supreme Sect had simply found a small piece of it, renaming it the Energy Nurturing Skill.

If he spent another three hundred years, what would this technique become next?

Gu An suppressed the temptation to spend more of his life. He focused on his body, feeling a staggering, overwhelming power coursing through him.

He felt as though a single strike could bring down an entire building!

This sensation of raw power was incredible.

Furthermore, his senses had sharpened drastically. He could hear the rhythmic 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 claimed thirteen lives, mostly servant disciples from the various wings of Medicine Valley. Master, the two of us might not be enough to ensure their safety," a voice said.

"Do not worry. I have already submitted a Sect mission. They will send a disciple at the Foundation Establishment Realm to safeguard our valley," another replied.

"That is a relief. The spiritual energy in the valley felt strange this afternoon; I feared the demon had arrived. I'm ashamed to say I didn't even dare to step out," the first voice confessed.

"Well, you have stayed by my side since you were young and lack experience in the world. It is natural to be cautious..."

Listening to them, Gu An broke into a cold sweat.

He had been too reckless!

In the future, he would have to be far more careful when deducing techniques.

Luckily, Zhang Chunqiu’s cultivation was relatively low, or Gu An would have been exposed right then and there.

After listening a bit longer to ensure they weren't discussing him, Gu An finally exhaled in relief.

He continued to explore his new physique while using the Dragon Strength Divine Primordial Skill to suppress his aura to its lowest point. His Qi-Blood was pulled deep into his body, making him look just as frail and ordinary as he did before he started cultivating.

Two hours 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—Mastered!

Gu An looked on with pride. Unfortunately, since this was a physical cultivation technique and didn't generate Spiritual Power, his official Cultivation Level remained 'below par'.

Regardless, he felt confident that he could easily dominate anyone in the Energy Cultivation Realm.

Now, he just had to wait for his life span to grow.

With his technique at the mastery level, the Strength Energy within him was automatically working to increase his life span, even if the exact rate was still a mystery.

Sleep eluded Gu An that night.

Despite checking his panel repeatedly until dawn, he saw no increase in his life span. He reasoned with himself that no technique could grant a full year of life in a single day.

Indeed!

Persistence would surely bring rewards eventually!

After a quick wash, Gu An left his room for a walk, hoping the sight of the herbs would calm his mind.

By chance, as he reached a specific patch of the garden, he spotted a white-haired mouse.

It was the same creature that had been nibbling on the Calming Grass before!

After checking to ensure no one else was around, Gu An crept toward the mouse.

The white-haired mouse had its back to him, ten yards away, completely unaware of his approach.

When the gap closed to seven paces, Gu An lunged like an arrow from a bow. He blurred across the distance and snatched the mouse with his right hand.

The creature was terrified, immediately throwing its tiny paws up in a gesture of surrender.

"So, you like stealing my life span? Your luck just ran out!"

Gu An grinned victoriously as he held the mouse; in his heightened state, he could see every tiny movement of the mouse trying to turn around.

Far too slow!