The night was quiet, so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Leaning against the wall, Gu An silently cursed—why was his heart beating so fast?

For some reason, although he couldn’t hear anything outside, he had an unsettling feeling that the Demon of Greed and Rage was approaching his room.

His eyes kept darting between the door and the window. Moonlight filtered through the gaps in the door and window, shining so brightly it was terrifying.

The White Spirit Mouse trembled in his chest, making Gu An’s chest itch. He wanted to throw it out, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Time passed slowly as Gu An held his breath and focused.

Gu An had never longed for daylight as much as he did now.

This Tai Xuan Sect was anything but safe!

He needed to accumulate more lifespan and keep a low profile, but he also had to make sure his strength continued to grow!

Lost in thought, Gu An didn’t know how much time had passed when his gaze suddenly fixed on the threshold of the door.

The door was less than a meter to his left, and under the moonlight, a shadow appeared in the gap beneath the door. At that moment, his scalp tingled.

The Demon of Greed and Rage!

It was coming!

Gu An’s heart raced, his whole body tensed up.

He had the sudden urge to rush outside!

Suddenly!

Gu An’s body froze. He felt a damp hand press down on his head, its sharp nails digging into his forehead, sending chills down his spine.

His mind went blank as he cautiously lifted his gaze. Out of the darkness above his head appeared a pale arm, as delicate as a woman’s, with sharp claws for nails gripping his head.

The owner of the arm slowly emerged from the darkness, revealing a face obscured by disheveled hair. Though her true appearance was unclear, Gu An could see her mouth filled with sharp, blood-dripping fangs.

She was smiling!

Damn it!

Terrified, Gu An lashed out in desperation, striking the Demon of Greed and Rage across the face with a fierce slap.

Boom!

The roof of the house exploded, sending debris flying. Flesh splattered across the room, and the roof tiles and grass soared dozens of meters into the air, disappearing into the night.

The night sky was dark, and the forest surrounding the Medicine Valley loomed like a host of sinister figures.

“Huff, huff…”

Gu An gasped for air, his right arm trembling as he held it up. His hand was covered in blood, and the demon ghost’s blood was splattered all over his face.

When the chaos finally settled, Gu An still couldn’t calm down.

Moonlight poured into the room.

A large bloodstain bloomed on the wall, grotesque and horrifying. A pale severed arm lay at Gu An’s feet.

Several moments later, Gu An finally regained his composure.

[You have successfully seized 52 years of lifespan from the Demon of Greed and Rage (Second-Tier).]

Staring at the prompt in front of him, Gu An continued to pant, but his expression turned puzzled.

“That’s it?”

Gu An felt it was absurd. Was he just too strong, or were Chu Jingfeng and the others too weak?

Just as he was trying to figure it out, he heard the faint sound of a door opening. Without hesitation, he lay down, closed his eyes, and quickly draped the demon ghost’s severed arm over his body.

Not satisfied with that, he pried open the demon ghost’s hand and wrapped it around his own neck, feigning unconsciousness.

…

Autumn was approaching, and the weather had cooled.

Gu An was in the Spiritual Heart Grass garden, harvesting herbs, while Li Ya and Meng Lang stood by the wooden fence, watching him work.

Li Ya had half his body wrapped in white bandages, and two shocking scars ran across his face, narrowly missing his right eye. It was hard to imagine what he had gone through.

Meng Lang, on the other hand, seemed unscathed. Watching Gu An cheerfully picking herbs, he clicked his tongue in wonder. “Look at this guy, picking herbs like he didn’t just have a run-in with the Demon of Greed and Rage.”

Li Ya remained expressionless, though his scarred face gave him a more menacing appearance. He said calmly, “Maybe he’s just trying to find joy in hardship. How do you know he’s still smiling behind closed doors?”

That night, four days ago, felt as vivid as if it had happened just last night. Thinking back to his battle with the Demon of Greed and Rage, Li Ya couldn’t help but feel a lingering fear.

He was lucky to have survived.

Chu Jingfeng’s injuries were even worse than his—his arm had been torn off. As for Cheng Xuandan, Zhang Chunqiu, and Meng Lang, they had escaped without a scratch.

The next morning, several cultivators from the Tai Xuan Sect had arrived, all more powerful than Chu Jingfeng, with the strongest at the ninth level of the Foundation Establishment Stage. They questioned Gu An about the incident, but Gu An, pretending to be traumatized, claimed to know nothing. In the end, the cultivators concluded that someone else must have intervened to save the menial disciples of the Medicine Valley, as Gu An had no spiritual power and couldn’t possibly have killed the demon ghost.

Afterward, Gu An purposely switched to a different room. Zhang Chunqiu treated him even more kindly, seemingly feeling guilty.

While Li Ya and Meng Lang were discussing Gu An, Gu An himself was happily enjoying the spoils of harvesting second-tier herbs.

Second-tier herbs granted him two to five years of lifespan. By helping Li Ya and Meng Lang harvest, he could pick sixty second-tier herbs this time—what a windfall!

At the same time, his thoughts turned to the Demon of Greed and Rage.

Killing the demon ghost had earned him 52 years of lifespan. Didn’t that mean he could gain even more by slaying demons and monsters?

But as he recalled the terrifying events of that night, along with the injuries sustained by Chu Jingfeng and Li Ya, he quickly abandoned that idea.

There’s no need!

He wasn’t in a hurry to grow stronger, so why risk his life?

Yes.

No need to be reckless, better to grow steadily!

A while later.

Gu An finally finished harvesting sixty stalks of Spiritual Heart Grass. Carrying a bamboo basket on his back, he approached Meng Lang to hand it over.

Meng Lang coughed awkwardly and said, “This time, you should hand them to Senior Brother yourself.”

Remembering his cowardly behavior that night, Meng Lang felt too ashamed to take credit for Gu An’s work.

Gu An didn’t argue and smiled. “Alright.”

He nodded politely to Li Ya before heading toward Zhang Chunqiu’s pavilion.

Li Ya, too, had no reason to linger and turned to head toward the distant forest. Meng Lang stood there awkwardly, rubbing his nose.

Inside the main hall.

Gu An handed over all the Spiritual Heart Grass to Zhang Chunqiu. Instead of dismissing him immediately, Zhang Chunqiu held him back, expressing concern and asking if he had been sleeping well lately.

Every time Zhang Chunqiu thought about the image of Gu An being strangled by the Demon of Greed and Rage, he felt immense guilt. As the senior disciple, he had failed to protect his junior, and it made him feel utterly useless.

Gu An was always so obedient and well-behaved. The mere thought of losing such a junior made Zhang Chunqiu feel miserable.

“By the way, don’t mention the Demon of Greed and Rage incident again. I heard today that the demon was actually raised by a certain elder in the sect. This matter shouldn’t spread, so just pretend it never happened,” Zhang Chunqiu said seriously.

Gu An frowned slightly upon hearing this.

So that’s why the demon was able to roam free for so long.

Sensing Gu An’s unease, Zhang Chunqiu added, “An elder of that level is not someone we can afford to provoke. With just one word, they could erase our entire Medicine Valley. You come from humble origins, so you should understand better than anyone the importance of knowing your place. Only through patience and endurance can you survive.”

He then took out a manual from his sleeve, saying, “This is a secret technique that Master acquired for you by spending five years of sect contribution points. After all, you really did suffer.”

Gu An’s face lit up with joy as he accepted the manual. The cover bore three words:

Remnant Wind Kick!

“Thank you, Senior Brother! Thank you, Master!” Gu An immediately bowed in gratitude.

Zhang Chunqiu blinked and smiled. “Practice it whenever you have free time. It might help you protect yourself someday. Don’t show it to Meng Lang, though. As for Li Ya, with his extraordinary talent, Master has decided to help him break through to the Foundation Establishment Stage. He’ll probably leave the Medicine Valley within two years.”

Gu An wasn’t surprised by this news. With Li Ya’s cultivation, staying in the Medicine Valley would indeed be a waste.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Zhang Chunqiu finally let Gu An go.

As Gu An closed the door behind him, he overheard Zhang Chunqiu muttering to himself, “Such a good, honest kid. He’ll surely take care of Master for me when I leave the mountain… Xiaolian, wait for me…”

Gu An’s steps faltered for a moment, then he continued down the stairs.

…

Though the Demon of Greed and Rage’s attack hadn’t resulted in any deaths in the Medicine Valley, it had certainly changed the atmosphere. Li Ya became more and more mysterious, often retreating into the forest after finishing his duties. Even Meng Lang had started taking his cultivation more seriously.

Gu An, meanwhile, had practiced the Remnant Wind Kick technique for a month, only barely managing to get it to appear on his status panel. The lack of progress frustrated him so much that he decided to abandon regular cultivation altogether and save it for when he could use his lifespan to advance.

As the days and nights passed, autumn leaves blanketed the Medicine Valley.

Gu An’s figure could frequently be seen moving about the different gardens, becoming the busiest person in the Medicine Valley. Zhang Chunqiu trusted him more and more and no longer bothered supervising his work. As for Cheng Xuandan, he stayed holed up in his room, refining pills all day. It was rare to even see him once a month.

Autumn passed, and winter came, blanketing the valley in thick white snow.

A new year arrived amid the snowfall.

It wasn’t until the snow began to melt that someone from outside the valley came to visit. This person came specifically to see Gu An.

Inside the house, Gu An closed the door and walked to the table, pouring a cup of hot tea for the young man who had already taken a seat.

The young man was wearing the cyan robes of an outer sect disciple of the Tai Xuan Sect. He scanned the room’s modest interior before asking, “How has the past year and a half been treating you?”

Of the five people who had joined the Tai Xuan Sect under Ji Xiaoyu’s guidance, only Gu An and the young man sitting before him were servants.

The young man’s name was Du Ye, a cultivator with four spiritual roots. With the Ji family’s connections, he had been accepted into the outer sect. In the year and a half since Gu An had last seen him, Du Ye’s demeanor had undergone a noticeable change.

“It’s been fine,” Gu An responded casually.

Du Ye looked at him and shook his head slightly. “You’re something else. Back then, you insisted on coming here. With the connections of Third Miss and the Ji family, it wouldn’t have been difficult to get you into the outer sect. Why did you come to this place to suffer when there’s no hope for cultivation?”

Gu An looked at Du Ye’s lifespan, which was less than 150 years, and then thought about his own nearly 1,000-year lifespan. With a smile, he said, “My aptitude is poor, and I’m afraid of both pain and death. This quiet place suits me just fine.”

Du Ye shook his head, smiling. He lightly scolded Gu An a few more times before finally getting to the point of his visit. “Young Master Ji Lin is preparing to build his influence within the Tai Xuan Sect and make connections. We all need to contribute to this effort. You should focus on gathering medicinal herbs whenever you can. I’ll come by every six months to collect them from you. These herbs will be used as resources to help Young Master Ji Lin win over other disciples.”

“Sure, no problem,” Gu An agreed without hesitation. After all, the herbs didn’t matter much to him.

Seeing how easy Gu An was to deal with, Du Ye smiled in satisfaction.

The two chatted for a while longer before Gu An escorted Du Ye to the entrance of the valley and then turned back toward his courtyard.

As soon as he returned, he saw Li Ya waiting for him.

Li Ya approached Gu An and pressed a manual into his chest. “I’m preparing to leave soon. Consider this sword technique a parting gift to thank you for all you’ve done for me over the past year and a half.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep