Longevity Begins With Zongmen Handyman

Chapter 3: Longevity Seeds

At dusk, a group of exhausted disciples crawled to the mountain gate. The disciples who rode on the white eagles had already arrived and were selected by the outer gate officials and elders. By the time Li An and the others arrived, they couldn't see the figures of Wang Dazhu and the others.

"Next, I will assign you tasks," the immortal in charge of bringing them up the mountain said, "Zhang Susu, Wang Zilin, with their wood attribute miscellaneous spiritual roots, will be responsible for cultivating spiritual plants. Lu Yishan, Guo Mang, with their fire attribute miscellaneous spiritual roots, will be responsible for blacksmithing..."

After finishing reading the names, the immortal paused, "Li An, with no attribute spiritual roots..."

His gaze fell on Li An, "Where do you want to go?"

Among the many menial workers, Li An's spiritual roots were the most special.

Therefore, the immortal didn't bother to think about where he should go, and Li An unexpectedly gained the right to choose.

Li An's heart moved, "Disciple is willing to go cultivate spiritual plants!"

As a spiritual plant farmer, it was most suitable for him to cultivate the Life-Nurturing Immortal Technique.

"Alright, it's up to you. Officials, please take your people and leave."

After the immortal finished speaking, seven or eight immortals walked up and led their own people away according to the assignments.

"Zhang Susu, Wang Zilin, and Li An, right? You three, come with me!"

A middle-aged man spoke. He was Fan Jie, the steward of "Spirit Plant Mountain," and also a registered disciple!

Fan Jie was burly and had a big belly. He glanced at the three people and lingered a bit longer on Zhang Susu.

Although Zhang Susu only had a miscellaneous spiritual root, she came from a secular noble family in Tianyang County. She was pretty and had a good figure, a true beauty, second only to Mu Qingwan.

He nodded in satisfaction.

...

Xuanyang Sect was one of the seven major immortal sects in the Great Li Dynasty, occupying dozens of miles of mountains.

Spirit Plant Mountain was located in the remote northern mountains. The slopes here were relatively gentle, and the spiritual energy was abundant. There were even hundreds of acres of spiritual fields between the slopes.

"It's so beautiful here!"

Zhang Susu couldn't help but exclaim. With just one glance, the scenery of Spirit Plant Mountain was extremely beautiful.

"Such strong spiritual energy!"

Wang Zilin, who came from a lower class background, was also pleasantly surprised.

With such strong spiritual energy, living here all the time would be very beneficial for cultivation.

Only Li An secretly complained.

What a mess, so much land...

Could it be that he really had to work like a horse and an ox?

Fan Jie led them up Spirit Plant Mountain. There were some dwellings here for the menial workers to live in.

Halfway down the mountain were the spiritual fields where spiritual rice, beans, and other crops were grown. On the other hand, halfway up the mountain, because of the steep terrain, nothing was planted.

"These are some cultivation techniques. Among them are the Breathing Technique and the Cloud Manipulation Technique. The Breathing Technique, when combined with spiritual stones, can allow you to quickly enter the Qi Refining stage. The Cloud Manipulation Technique is the technique you will use for farming in the future."

Fan Jie stopped at the foot of the mountain and gave each of them two bamboo scrolls, a small piece of spiritual stone, and a small bag of spiritual rice, saying,

"You must practice diligently. These spiritual plants are about to mature. You only have one month to learn, understand?"

The three of them showed expressions of joy and nodded like little chicks pecking at rice.

"Now go, these houses at the foot of the mountain are all empty. Choose a place to live by yourselves. There are menial worker uniforms in the rooms. Change into them starting tomorrow!"

"Without my permission, you are not allowed to take a step up the mountain. If you dare to violate this, I will break your legs. Remember that!"

After Fan Jie finished speaking, he walked up halfway up the mountain himself.

He lives on the mountaintop!

After he left, the three of them began to choose their residences.

"Susu, this residence is the largest and has a small garden. It is most suitable for you to live in. What do you think?"

Wang Zilin voluntarily gave the best residence to Zhang Susu without asking Li An.

Zhang Susu seemed quite satisfied with the residence and nodded, saying, "Thank you, Senior Brother Zilin!"

Wang Zilin smiled and said, "Let's live closer to each other so that it will be convenient for us to communicate and cultivate in the future..."

He chose a residence right next to Zhang Susu and then proposed, "Susu, Li Xiong, how about we study the Tuna Technique and Cloud Manipulation Technique together?"

Although he called out to Li Xiong, he basically didn't pay attention to Li An, only focusing on Zhang Susu.

"That's a good idea. If we study together, we will progress faster!"

Zhang Susu also nodded, but looked expectantly at Li An.

Li An's attribute-less spiritual roots were slightly higher than theirs, so if Li An could cultivate with them, they would benefit to some extent.

"I'm sorry, I'm a bit tired and want to rest first."

Li An said indifferently, then found a secluded room for himself.

Both Zhang Susu and Wang Zilin felt a bit awkward.

"Huh, isn't it just attribute-less spiritual roots? Why be so proud... Now we're all the same, aren't we?"

Wang Zilin couldn't help but speak up.

...

The living conditions for the servants were very simple, but fortunately, there were pots, bowls, and utensils for basic living.

Li An put aside the Tuna Technique and Cloud Manipulation Technique and took out the small bag of spirit rice!

Compared to spirit stones, spirit rice's main function was to satisfy hunger, with a thin amount of spiritual energy. This small bag of spirit rice weighed only about a catty, enough for an ordinary person to eat for a year!

Spirit rice was important for beginners and low-level cultivators since they couldn't cultivate without eating.

Moreover, the spiritual energy in the spirit rice could be used to adapt to cultivation techniques. After becoming familiar with the techniques, they could use spirit stones to break through, avoiding waste.

In the room, there were pots, bowls, and utensils. Li An washed the pot, rinsed the rice, and started a fire to cook. His movements were a bit awkward.

Steam continuously rose from the pot, carrying the unique fragrance of the spirit rice.

The rice was cooked, filling up a large pot.

If someone else saw this, they would definitely find it absurd. Such a large pot could feed dozens of people!

Moreover, at this stage of just starting cultivation and being unfamiliar with techniques, eating too much would waste a lot of spiritual energy and not be effectively utilized.

So, they started by eating sparingly, with a maximum of twenty grains per meal.

Li An cooked half a catty of rice in this pot.

He dared to eat like this mainly because of his experience from his previous life's cultivation, so he wouldn't waste spiritual energy.

He filled up a large bowl with spirit rice and slowly started eating.

As the fragrant spirit rice filled his stomach, Li An's mind slowly activated the Life-Nurturing and Immortal-Casting Technique.

At this moment, Li An's qi and blood slowly circulated, and a trace of mist was extracted from the spirit rice.

Li An guided it several times, but the amount of mist was too scarce and dissipated with a single drive.

Li An remained calm and continued to chew and swallow the rice, continuously driving the Life-Nurturing and Immortal-Casting Technique.

As the pot of rice slowly emptied, a thin mist accumulated in his body, finally reaching a certain quantity and being drawn into his dantian by Li An.

"Settle—"

Li An whispered, and the numerous thin mists condensed together and were absorbed by his dantian.

But there was still not much change.

Li An took a glance and instantly felt a bit distressed. Half of the small bag of spirit rice was already gone!

But he didn't pay much attention to it and cooked the remaining portion together.

After finishing eating everything.

Finally, a green sprout emerged in his dantian.

With the emergence of this sprout, a hint of vibrant green appeared in his dantian. Li An felt his whole body becoming comfortable, and his body, which had been injured by the thunder spiritual energy today, was slowly being nourished.

"The Longevity Seed... it succeeded!"

Li An was somewhat excited.

In his previous life, after obtaining this scroll of cultivation technique, he had studied it countless times.

In this life, he finally had the opportunity to put it into practice.

Everything fell into place.

"The Longevity Seed is the core of the Life Nurturing and Immortal Casting Technique cultivation! The stronger the seed is connected to my life, the more vigorous my life force will be, and the longer my lifespan will be!"

"Moreover, the unique aspect of the Life Nurturing and Immortal Casting Technique is that the seed takes root above the dantian. After continuous growth, it can nourish the body and gradually change one's spiritual roots."

Li An whispered.

This was the fundamental reason why he chose the Life Nurturing and Immortal Casting Technique.

As long as he persevered, developed steadily, and relied on a lifespan beyond that of an ordinary person, as well as slowly changing his spiritual roots... there would be a glimmer of hope to break through to the Nascent Soul stage and even higher realms.

The lifespan of a cultivator was also limited. For example, a Qi Refining stage cultivator could live up to two hundred years at most. If they couldn't reach the Foundation Building stage, they would die of old age.

But Li An estimated that if he cultivated the Life Nurturing and Immortal Casting Technique properly, he could live for about three hundred years!

Directly increasing his lifespan by a hundred years.

Then, Li An couldn't help but furrow his brows.

Now that he only had one jin of spirit rice per month, he didn't know when his seed would sprout its first leaf.

The seed was his hope for repairing his spiritual roots. Before his spiritual roots were repaired, he couldn't step into the Qi Refining stage.

However, in a month, he would have to participate in labor, and if he didn't have a breakthrough by then, he would probably be scolded and targeted by Fan Jie.

He still had a small piece of spirit stone in his hand, but spirit stones were extremely precious. They contained more abundant and pure spiritual energy than spirit rice and should be saved for when he officially entered the first level of Qi Refining.

He thought for a moment. The spirit rice in the outside spirit field was almost ripe...

However, there were formation restrictions guarding the area, and no one could enter the spirit field except during labor time.

"The formations and restrictions here should be relatively low-level and can't cover the entire area..."

Li An whispered. In his previous life, he had cultivated to the Foundation Building stage, so he had some knowledge of formations, Qi Refining, and alchemy.

He got up, boiled some hot water, and took a hot bath in the wooden tub. The sweat and fatigue from the day finally dissipated.

He changed into the sect's menial disciple uniform. The light gray uniform was neither too loose nor too tight, made of fine linen, and much more comfortable than the old cloth he wore when he first entered the sect.

Then he went to sleep.

...

In the blink of an eye, seven days had passed.

During these seven days, Li An would occasionally go outside to take a walk, enjoy the scenery, and familiarize himself with the terrain.

"I finally entered the Qi Refining stage!"

The joyful voice of Wang Zilin came from outside.

Taking advantage of the fact that it wasn't yet dark, Li An also went out for a walk. He saw Wang Zilin and Zhang Susu celebrating each other.

"Brother Li, I assume you have also made a breakthrough, right?"

Zhang Susu's beautiful eyes looked towards Li An.

"Not yet."

Li An's face showed some embarrassment as he said, "My body was injured by the Thunder Spirit Qi, so I still need some time to recover..."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Susu's eyes flickered as she said, "Brother Li, there's no need to worry. I still have some spirit rice here, I can share some with you..."

Although spirit rice is not a spiritual medicine, it can still nourish the body.

She came from a secular noble family and knew how to get along with people.

Don't underestimate Li An's current injury, but he still possesses a non-attribute spiritual root, and there may be opportunities for him to rise in the future.

After thinking for a moment, Li An said, "Then I thank Miss Susu."

He took the small handful of spirit rice that Zhang Susu shared with him, then turned around and went back to his room.

A faint smile appeared on Zhang Susu's lips.

"Susu, this person doesn't know how to appreciate kindness, why be so polite to him?"

Meanwhile, Wang Zilin couldn't help but feel some resentment!

...

Inside the room.

Li An was very calm.

The spirit rice Zhang Susu gave him wasn't of much use, but he could only accept it.

Because he didn't want Zhang Susu to have a negative impression of him.

—With Zhang Susu being the only female cultivator on Lingzhi Mountain, and being so beautiful.

Moreover, on the day Fan Jie brought them here, his gaze lingered on Zhang Susu for a long time, and Li An couldn't fail to notice the implications.

Whether it was proactive or passive, Zhang Susu would eventually become Fan Jie's close companion!

Owing her a small favor would make future interactions easier.

As for Wang Zilin... Li An didn't care about him at all.

For Wang Zilin to be so close to Zhang Susu was simply courting death, and Fan Jie would deal with him.

Right now, Li An only had one thing on his mind.

To live steadily and change his spiritual root!

He absolutely didn't want to attract any unnecessary trouble or risks.

Currently, he had no cultivation base and no ability to protect himself... he was too weak.

...

It was already late at night.

Li An quietly slipped out of the room.

Following the route he had determined over the past few days, he arrived at a corner where the spiritual field and the mountain peak intersected. Due to the complex and overlapping terrain, the restrictions did not cover this area!

This was thanks to his experience from his previous life; otherwise, even if he was just a menial disciple, not even a named disciple like Fan Jie would be able to find this flaw.

Jumping into the field, he rolled up his pants and took off his shoes, stepping into the ditch and quietly entering a fertile spiritual field.

Walking inside the ditch wouldn't leave footprints!

Moreover, the ditch was a breeding ground for mosquitoes, and the rows of spiritual rice near the ditch were often easily eaten by insects, resulting in lower yields, so no one would pay attention.

Li An was extremely cautious as he gently plucked a few immature spirit rice grains from a stalk...

...

(End of this chapter)