Chapter 1

Daling.

In the medicinal garden of the Dan Ding Sect,

Su Xing looked around and, seeing that no one was paying attention, picked a ‘Purple Ginseng Grass’ from the garden and hid it in his sleeve.

After doing this, Su Xing took a deep breath and glanced at the exit of the medicinal garden casually.

Fortunately,

the garden supervisor, Fu Qingsong, was lying on a rattan chair with his eyes closed, as he usually did after noon.

Fu Supervisor had the habit of taking a short nap after noon every day, which Su Xing had observed and summarized over the past month.

Taking this opportunity, Su Xing walked quickly toward the exit of the medicinal garden without drawing attention.

However…

Just as Su Xing was about to leave the garden, Fu Supervisor’s voice echoed faintly: “You’re leaving without saying anything to me?”

As a medicine boy in the medicinal garden, Su Xing was required to enter the garden at dawn and could only leave at dusk.

If converted to a 24-hour system, it meant he had to work 11 hours a day.

During this period, he was not allowed to slack off or leave early.

According to the rules of the Dan Ding Sect, Su Xing needed to inform Fu Supervisor before leaving the garden at this time.

Outside the medicinal garden,

hearing Fu Supervisor’s voice, Su Xing had no choice but to turn around.

His face showed no emotion: “Supervisor Fu, I saw you were taking a nap, so I didn’t dare to disturb you.”

“Hmm….”

Fu Supervisor lay motionless on the rattan chair: “Why are you leaving early?”

Su Xing replied respectfully: “I’m not feeling well.”

Fu Supervisor sat up.

He glanced at Su Xing’s sleeve, hinting at something: “You didn’t take anything you shouldn’t have from the garden, did you?”

Fu Supervisor’s words made Su Xing’s heart race.

Could it be that this old man discovered his little move?

But that was impossible.

Fu Supervisor always faced away from the garden when he napped. How could he possibly know that Su Xing had taken the ‘Purple Ginseng Grass’?

Before Su Xing could speak, Fu Supervisor continued: “You know the rules of the sect. If you don’t want this to become a big issue, give me twenty spirit stones. I’ll take a loss and help you make up for the lost medicine. Then this matter will be over.”

Twenty spirit stones?

Hearing Fu Supervisor’s words, Su Xing couldn’t help but curse the man’s greed in his heart.

—He worked from dawn to dusk in the medicinal garden every day, and after a month, he only earned four spirit stones.

By this calculation,

Su Xing would need to work for five months to save up twenty spirit stones.

Using five months of labor to avoid punishment from the sect seemed勉强 acceptable, but the reality was not so simple.

Unlike in his previous life,

in the world he had transmigrated to, both cultivators and commoners had their remaining lifespan displayed on their chests.

Moreover, most people’s lifespans were between 20 and 50 years.

Those who could live past 40 or even 50 years were called long-lived species.

And those with lifespans below 30 years, like Su Xing, were called short-lived species.

Although everyone in this world had short lives, the cultivation world had a low-cost ‘Lifespan Pill’ that could extend one’s lifespan.

This pill could only be purchased with spirit stones and could only be consumed by cultivators.

For those with a lifespan of less than 40 years, each Lifespan Pill could extend their life by one month.

For those with a lifespan between 40 and 60 years, each Lifespan Pill could extend their life by half a month.

The higher one’s lifespan, the less effective the Lifespan Pill became.

Additionally, each time a cultivator broke through to a higher realm, although it did not directly increase their lifespan, it significantly enhanced the effect of the Lifespan Pill.

Therefore, the higher one’s cultivation, the longer their lifespan.

As an Earthling, Su Xing had transmigrated into a short-lived species with a lifespan of only 23 years and only at the Qi Condensation stage of cultivation.

When he transmigrated, the original body was already destitute, with less than two months of lifespan remaining.

To survive, Su Xing had to spend spirit stones every month to buy Lifespan Pills, or he would die from the depletion of his lifespan.

The problem was,

one Lifespan Pill cost five spirit stones, while Su Xing’s monthly income was only four spirit stones.

With this deficit, his lifespan decreased every month.

Even if Su Xing spent all his spirit stones on Lifespan Pills, after four months, he still had only 10 days of lifespan left.

So, Su Xing didn’t even have enough spirit stones to buy Lifespan Pills, let alone 20 spirit stones to bribe the greedy Fu Supervisor.

In desperation, Su Xing pulled open his chest and revealed a blood-red ‘ten’ mark: “Supervisor Fu, you can see I’m almost dead. Why would I steal those herbs for nothing?”

The ‘ten’ mark on Su Xing’s chest represented his remaining 10 days of lifespan.

In the cultivation world, there were two types of people that cultivators generally dared not provoke.

The first type was high-level cultivators with higher cultivation than oneself, which was self-explanatory.

The second type was short-lived species like Su Xing, who had some cultivation but were nearing the end of their lifespan.

When someone is about to die, they can do anything.

Outside the medicinal garden,

seeing the lifespan displayed on Su Xing’s chest, Fu Supervisor’s eyes showed a hint of wariness, and he also understood the situation.

Clearly,

Su Xing had stolen the medicine to exchange it for spirit stones and buy Lifespan Pills to extend his lifespan.

This was a poor man, and a short-lived poor man at that.

Fu Supervisor did not want to provoke such a person who had nothing to lose.

After all, a ‘Purple Ginseng Grass’ was not worth much.

After a moment of hesitation, Fu Supervisor waved his hand: “Since you’re not feeling well, take a few days off. Don’t come to the garden during this time.”

Seeing that the other party was willing to let him off, Su Xing secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said with a sense of relief: “Thank you, Supervisor Fu, for your understanding!”

…

Most sects in the cultivation world were built near spirit veins.

For example, the Dan Ding Sect.

Since the sect’s spirit vein was located on the mountaintop, the closer to the top, the denser the spiritual energy, and the more likely it was to be inhabited by sect elders.

As for low-level cultivators like Su Xing, they lived at the foot of the mountain, sharing a courtyard with other Qi Condensation stage cultivators.

Low-level cultivators had to work every day.

It was just past noon, and it was still working hours. After returning to his courtyard, Su Xing did not see any other cultivators.

With no one around, Su Xing decided to continue researching the formula for the Lifespan Pill.

Researching the formula for the Lifespan Pill was taboo in the cultivation world, but to survive, Su Xing, as a short-lived species, had no choice but to do so.

For some unknown reason, the Heavenly Court had issued a ban: no cultivator was allowed to privately refine Lifespan Pills, or there would be unpredictable consequences.

Those who violated the Heavenly Court’s rules would be executed immediately.

Although the Heavenly Court could not possibly pay attention to a low-level cultivator like Su Xing,

and although countless cultivators ignored the Heavenly Court’s ban and privately researched the formula for the Lifespan Pill every year without facing punishment,

private refinement was still a risky business that should not be exposed.

It was best if no one discovered it.

In the room,

after closing the door, Su Xing took out his notebook from a hidden compartment under the bed and reviewed his research on the Lifespan Pill.

The Lifespan Pill was blood-red in appearance.

It looked like a pigeon egg-sized meat ball.

According to the information Su Xing had gathered, the Lifespan Pill was a type of pill and was refined by the alchemists of the Heavenly Court.

Therefore, to refine the Lifespan Pill, one first needed to understand the art of alchemy.

As a low-level cultivator, Su Xing did not have the qualifications to learn alchemy, so he thought of other methods.

After spending two spirit stones to smooth the way, Su Xing was successfully transferred to work in the medicinal garden.

Using this opportunity, he began to study various pharmacological knowledge intensively.

Additionally,

as a transmigrator, Su Xing had some expertise in chemistry, having studied it in college.

Based on his knowledge from his previous life, there were two main methods to analyze the Lifespan Pill: ‘chemical analysis’ and ‘instrumental analysis.’

However, due to limited conditions, Su Xing could only use the ‘chemical analysis’ method.

Chemical analysis involved using various reagents to identify the sample.

Using his knowledge from his previous life and the pharmacological knowledge he learned in the medicinal garden, Su Xing managed to reconstruct about 70-80% of the Lifespan Pill’s formula.

Not only that,

during his research, Su Xing also collected various materials that might be needed to refine the Lifespan Pill.

Some of these materials were ‘taken’ from the medicinal garden, while others were purchased from the market.

Finally,

after four months of hard planning, Su Xing decided to start refining the pill.

Although his preparations were not very thorough, he really had no time to delay, as he only had 10 days left to live.

Because he was poor, Su Xing lacked various raw materials, and even the alchemy furnace he used was a second-hand one bought from the market.

The furnace was only two palms wide, less than knee-high, and had a black surface.

It was unknown how high the success rate would be…

In front of the alchemy furnace,

Su Xing, following the formula he had researched, added ‘Purple Ginseng Grass,’ mica, and yellow essence to the furnace in sequence.

Thinking that the Lifespan Pill contained protein, Su Xing hesitated for a moment and then added some beef, which was the closest in nature.

After doing this, Su Xing, with great reluctance, took out a ‘Spirit Fire Talisman’ from his pocket and attached it to the surface of the furnace.

Although Qi Condensation stage cultivators could absorb spiritual energy, they mainly relied on physical combat because they could not cast spells.

Since they could not use fire spells, they could not refine pills.

Therefore, Su Xing had to buy a dozen ‘Spirit Fire Talismans’ from the market to replace the furnace fire needed for refining pills.

By piecing together various resources, he finally met the minimum standards for refining pills.

In the room,

Su Xing sat cross-legged and slowly channeled a thread of spiritual energy from his body into the ‘Spirit Fire Talisman’ on the surface of the furnace.

Instantly, the ‘Spirit Fire Talisman’ released a scorching flame that enveloped the entire furnace.

The heat from the flame forced Su Xing to step back half a meter.

After nearly a quarter of an hour, the ‘Spirit Fire Talisman’ gradually extinguished.

According to the Heavenly Court’s ban and rumors,

when cultivators attempted to refine the Lifespan Pill, whether successful or not, there would be some unpredictable and serious consequences…

Therefore, for safety,

after the high temperature on the surface of the furnace dissipated, Su Xing stood at a distance, holding a wooden stick, and carefully lifted the lid of the furnace.

It was unknown whether this was a success,

but by chance, Su Xing actually found four blood-red, pigeon egg-sized meat balls in the furnace.

From the outside, these meat balls looked almost identical to the real Lifespan Pills.

Looking at the four meat balls in the furnace, Su Xing felt a mix of joy and worry.

He was happy because the Lifespan Pill had been successfully refined, and from the outside, it looked no different from the real thing.

But he was also worried because of these ‘Lifespan Pills.’

Could this haphazardly concocted thing really be eaten?