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

Chapter 11: Retreating to Advance, Putting Oneself in a Deadly Situation

A few days later, another red paper order was posted all over the bulletin board of the miscellaneous servants' peak. This time, the ink was thicker, exuding a chillingly bloody aura.

"The front lines are in dire need of attention; the supply convoy has been ambushed. All laborers at the late stage of Qi Refining Level 2 or above, regardless of injury status, are to be immediately assigned to the supply convoy and depart in three days. No delays are permitted!"

The crowd erupted in uproar. Previously, only Qi Refining Level 3 cultivators were being reassigned to fill the array's cores, but now even Qi Refining Level 2 cultivators were being pulled in to transport supplies.

What are grain transport teams? They are easy prey in the eyes of demonic cultivators. Once attacked, those farmhands who only know how to farm will be lambs to the slaughter.

Gu An stood on the outskirts of the crowd, wrapping his patched gray robe tighter around himself. He felt a chill creeping up his spine.

His current disguise is that he's at the mid-stage of the second level of Qi Refining and is injured. Logically, he could hold out for a while longer. But the sect's bottom line is gradually receding; today it's the late stage, tomorrow it might be the mid-stage.

As long as they remain in this large pool, they will eventually be caught in a fishing net.

"We cannot sit idly by and wait to die."

Gu An turned around, his gaze passing through the layers of spirit fields, and looking towards the darkest corner of the Miscellaneous Service Peak—the Valley of Shadows.

That place might be a dead end, but it could also be the only way to survive.

……

The courtyard of the steward.

"Snapped!"

An exquisite celadon teacup shattered on the ground.

Zhao Feng, his eyes bloodshot and chest heaving, pointed at the bowing and scraping spirit plant farmers in front of him and cursed, "A bunch of useless trash! You raised spirit mulberries for years, and they just died like that? What are you good for?!"

The plant growers trembled with fear, not daring to utter a sound.

The Spirit Mulberry Forest in Youying Valley is situated on a yin vein, making it inherently difficult to cultivate. A few days ago, it seemed to be bewitched by some evil spirit, with large swaths of leaves turning yellow and falling, threatening to destroy the entire harvest.

This batch of spirit mulberry leaves is a key material for the sect to refine poison-resistant clothing. If the goods cannot be delivered, Zhao Feng will be severely punished by his superiors.

"Get out! All of you, get out!"

Zhao Feng kicked over the table in front of him.

Everyone felt as if they had been granted a pardon and scrambled away to escape.

Just then, a hunched figure moved unsteadily against the flow of people to the doorway.

"Reporting to the steward..."

Zhao Feng, still furious, suddenly looked up, his eyes flashing with murderous intent: "Who?"

Upon recognizing the sickly Gu An, Zhao Feng frowned even more deeply and waved his hand dismissively: "If you've come begging to avoid being drafted, get lost. I'm not in the mood to listen to your pitiful cries right now."

Gu An didn't leave. He leaned against the door frame, his face pale, as if he might die at any moment, but his cloudy eyes revealed a resolute determination to go all in.

"My lord, I... have a way to revive Ling Sang of Youying Valley."

Zhao Feng paused, then sneered, "You? Those old hands at the third level of Qi Refining are helpless against this, and you, a piece of trash at the second level of Qi Refining, dare to speak so arrogantly?"

"I... know that my cultivation is low."

Gu An pulled a dirty cloth bag from his pocket, carefully unfolded it, and inside was a clump of dark, smelly soil.

"This is a folk remedy I stumbled upon by chance. It's a method of fighting poison with poison. The Yin energy in Youying Valley is heavy, and ordinary spiritual beings are too weak to be nourished. Only this kind of mud mixed with bone-rotting grass and black dog blood might be able to stimulate life."

As Gu An spoke, he coughed violently twice, a trickle of blood oozing from the corner of his mouth. "I...don't want to go to my death with the grain transport team. My body will fall apart halfway there. Please, sir, give me a chance to try my luck in Youying Valley."

Zhao Feng narrowed his eyes, his gaze sweeping back and forth between the lump of black mud and Gu An's face.

The black mud did indeed exude a chilling spiritual energy fluctuation, resembling some kind of unorthodox method.

Normally, he would have beaten this arrogant brat into submission. But now, he had no choice but to try anything, even if it seemed hopeless.

In any case, the Yin energy in Youying Valley is extremely heavy. Ordinary servants who go there will have their bodies invaded by the Yin energy within three months, shortening their lifespan. If they stay there too long, they will die anyway.

Since this kid doesn't want to go to the front lines as cannon fodder, let him go to Ghost Valley as fertilizer.

"You want to go to Ghostly Valley?" Zhao Feng sat back in his chair, tapping his fingers lightly on the armrest, a cruel smile curving his lips.

"Yes. If I cannot save Ling Sang, I am willing to die to atone for my sins. If... if I am lucky enough to save her..." Gu An knelt down with a thud, burying his head deeply in the ground, "I only beg you, sir, to spare me three years from going to the front lines, so that I may live a few more years."

"Three years?"

Zhao Feng chuckled, "Fine, I agree. As long as you can deliver the full amount of spirit mulberry leaves, you won't have to go to the front lines for three years, or even for the rest of your life."

He casually tossed a jet-black token, which landed in front of Gu An.

"Take this sign and get out of here in Ghost Valley. If I don't see any improvement in three months, you can bury yourself there and use you as fertilizer."

Gu An was overjoyed, his hands trembling as he held the token, kowtowing repeatedly: "Thank you for your mercy, Your Excellency! Thank you for your mercy, Your Excellency!"

……

As he left the steward's courtyard, Gu An did not straighten his back, maintaining his submissive demeanor until he returned to his thatched hut.

Close the door and bolt it.

Gu An straightened his back, and the humility and fear in his eyes vanished instantly, replaced by a profound calmness.

That so-called secret recipe was nothing more than mud he had casually dug up, mixed with some of his own vomited blood.

What truly saved Ling Sang was his mastery of the Minor Cloud Rain Technique, which had reached the [Mastery] level, and the inexhaustible Azure Wood Spiritual Power within his body.

Although the Valley of Shadows is filled with yin energy, it is precisely because of this that it is rarely visited by people.

But for Gu An, that place was a natural barrier.

Once inside the valley, there's no need to worry about Zhao Feng spying on you in the middle of the night, or about your spells being discovered.

As for yin energy entering the body?

Gu An touched the jade slip on his chest that contained the "Turtle Breathing Technique".

The Turtle Breathing Technique specializes in sealing away life force, and its greatest strength lies in locking in one's own vital energy in harsh environments. The chill of the Ghostly Valley not only cannot harm him, but it can also become the best place to hone the Turtle Breathing Technique.

As the saying goes, "Put yourself in a desperate situation and you will survive."

Gu An quickly packed his bags.

He didn't bring much: a few worn-out clothes, a familiar black iron hoe, and a few pieces of spirit stones and pills hidden deep in the cellar.

He took one last look at the dilapidated hut where he had lived for three years.

The mold in the corner of the wall, the cracks in the bed board, and the freshly harvested No. 4 spiritual field outside the window.

This place holds the most difficult years of his life since he transmigrated, and it is also the starting point for his journey to immortality.

But now, it's time to leave.

Gu An pushed open the door and went out without saying goodbye to anyone, including Old Zhang next door.

In this chaotic world, every farewell may be a final goodbye, so there's no point in saying more.

He lowered his straw hat and walked along the secluded mountain path toward the valley behind Zayi Peak, which was shrouded in gray mist all year round.

The mountain wind howled, whipping up the withered leaves on the ground.

Gu An's figure quickly disappeared into the mist, like a drop of water merging into the ocean, without a sound.