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

Chapter 60 Cheap Apprentice

Qi Yunmeng's remnant soul swayed in the air, seemingly quite helpless at Gu An's "ready to fight to the death" stance.

"Since I said I would protect you and get you out, I will not go back on my word. However, with your current abilities, you are still a bit short of being able to cross the territory of that black-scaled python or avoid the blockade of its disciples and followers."

The wisp of blue light slowly drifted toward a patch of ruins in the corner of the hall, its voice carrying a hint of commanding authority.

"Although this Demon Suppression Division is now abandoned, it was once a place where serious criminals were imprisoned. Among the remaining rubble, there are a few trinkets that are worth looking at. Go, turn over the rubble under that collapsed stone pillar in the northwest corner."

Upon hearing this, a glint flashed in Gu An's eyes.

What the ancestor considered "junk" would be invaluable treasures in today's cultivation world. Without a word, he picked up the broken sword and walked over.

Adhering to the principle of "a thief never leaves empty-handed", Gu An did not directly flip over the stone pillar. Instead, he first scanned the area with his divine sense to make sure there were no remaining restrictions before carefully moving the basalt pieces that were pressing on it.

Beneath the rubble lay a flattened half of a wooden cabinet. The cabinet had long since decayed into ash, but within the ashes, a faint, dark red luster shimmered.

Gu An reached out and grabbed a piece of blood amber the size of a fist in his palm.

The blood amber was murky all over, like congealed blood, and sealed in the very center was a shriveled, pitch-black seed that looked just like a painful human face.

The moment he touched the seed, Gu An's [Spirit Plant Affinity] talent started throbbing wildly in his mind.

It was an extremely ferocious and thirsty predatory urge, as if it had been starved for millions of years. It craved blood, flesh, and everything that had life.

"This is..." Gu An felt his fingertips burning and subconsciously wanted to throw it away.

"Ghost-faced withered vine."

Qi Yunmeng's voice rang out at the right moment, "It's an ancient ferocious plant. This thing is extremely difficult to cultivate, requiring a large amount of essence blood to nourish it. It is also inherently bloodthirsty. Once it grows, its vines are as hard as refined iron, and the barbs on them contain a deadly poison that paralyzes the nerves. Back then, in order to capture that demon who was skilled in using wood-escape techniques, I specially sought out seeds from the Southern Frontier."

"It's a pity that the demon died too quickly, so these seeds have been sitting here unused."

Gu An felt a surge of excitement upon hearing this.

A vicious plant capable of strangling demons!

For him, who possesses the [Spirit Plant Affinity] and the "Life-Growing Wood Technique," this kind of plant-based treasure is more handy than any flying sword or magical weapon. If he could accelerate its growth, using it to set traps or launch surprise attacks would definitely be a deadly weapon for cunning.

"Thank you for the treasure, Ancestor!" Gu An happily put the blood amber containing the ferocious seed into his storage bag, keeping it close to his body.

"Don't thank me yet, there's more."

Qi Yunmeng's illusory finger pointed to another spot, "Go take a look at that 'Class B' rack over there. There should be a skeleton underneath. That was the former head jailer who was in charge of guarding this place. Although that kid's cultivation level wasn't high, there's one thing in his possessions that you're currently lacking the most."

Gu An did as instructed.

There was indeed a corpse under the rack, but it was already broken apart, and the clothes on the body were tattered into strips.

Gu An crouched down, enduring the stale smell, and groped around in the pile of bones.

Soon, his fingers touched a cold, hard object.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a broken jade pendant, only about half the size of a palm. The pendant was grayish-white, its surface covered with cracks, and it looked unremarkable, not even as translucent as jade in the mortal world.

But when Gu An tried to infuse a trace of his newly cultivated Yi Wood spiritual power...

"Buzz".

The jade pendant trembled slightly, but instead of emitting light, it generated a strange suction force.

Gu An felt that his own aura, which was not particularly strong to begin with, was instantly suppressed to the extreme under this suction force.

If you don't look at him with your naked eye, but only scan him with your divine sense, he looks like a lifeless stone at this moment, and even the faint sound of his heartbeat is blocked by the jade pendant.

"The Breath-Concealing Pendant".

Qi Yunmeng said calmly, "This is a standard magical artifact used by the prison guards of the Demon Suppression Division back then. It was specifically used to conceal their aura when patrolling the cells, so as not to be detected by those vicious criminals. Although it is a defective product, this piece does not appear to be completely damaged."

"While your 'Turtle Breathing Technique' has some merit, it's only for feigning death. This Breath Concealing Pendant, combined with your Turtle Breathing Technique, is enough to allow you to move freely while evading the spiritual sense detection of an early Foundation Establishment cultivator. Even..."

Qi Yunmeng paused, "It can even allow you to disguise yourself as a mortal with no spiritual power in front of a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator."

Gu An's pupils contracted sharply, then he was overjoyed.

Goudao artifact!

His biggest weakness right now is his low cultivation level. In this perilous battlefield, being discovered means certain death. With this item, his chances of survival on his upcoming escape will at least double!

"My darling!"

Gu An cherished the broken jade pendant, hanging it on his waist and hiding it close to his body.

Having acquired two treasures in a row, Gu An's eyes were already gleaming with greed.

He no longer needed Qi Yunmeng's guidance, but instead, like a rat that had entered a rice jar, he began to thoroughly plunder the ruins.

"Although these bone-piercing nails are rusted, they are made of deep-sea sunken silver. Taking them back and refining them would be worth a lot of spirit stones."

"This broken chain must be made of fine black iron, right? I'll take it."

"Hmm, there seem to be runes for a spirit-gathering array engraved on this floor tile? Even though it's incomplete, it'll be good to take it back and study it."

Gu An moved swiftly, leaving a trail of dust wherever he went. The storage bag quickly bulged, filling it to the brim.

Floating in mid-air, Qi Yunmeng watched this scene, and the corner of his mouth twitched twice on his usually dignified and aged face.

He, the venerable patriarch of the Green Wood Sect, was once a man who spent money like water and regarded wealth as dirt. How come the disciple he took in was such a... such an ignorant country bumpkin?

They even want to pry away the stones people use as stepping stones?

"Alright, alright!"

Qi Yunmeng finally couldn't stand it anymore and snapped at him, "How big is your storage bag? What are you doing putting all this junk in it! Throw away the useless stuff and make room for real things!"

Gu An reluctantly threw down a huge basalt floorboard, dusted off his hands, and chuckled, "Ancestor is right. I'm just afraid of being poor, aren't I? These things may be broken, but I can still exchange them for a few spirit stones at the market. Little by little, it adds up."

Qi Yunmeng snorted coldly: "You've got some ambition! Once you've mastered my 'Life-Generating Wood Technique,' you won't have to worry about spirit stones anymore. I can just accelerate the growth of a few spirit herbs, and that'll be enough for you to live comfortably!"

Although he complained, a hint of satisfaction flashed deep in Qi Yunmeng's eyes as he looked at Gu An's meticulous and calculating appearance.

In the world of cultivation, geniuses die the earliest, while those with a seemingly greedy but actually pragmatic "locust" personality live the longest.

"Now that we've finished looting, let's get down to business."